Sanity ~ A Luna Lovegood Fanfiction

Hugs

When I emerged into the kitchen, Daddy was sitting at the table, a mug of pumpkin juice with delicate tendrils of steam rising from it in his hand. When he saw me he quickly put a stop to his chatter with Mrs. Weasley and he pulled his hands from the fiery beverage, clasping them in front of his chest.

"Ah, Luna!" he said in his dreamily soft voice, "All packed already. You must be improving with your charms."

This idle conversation felt odd as the words left his mouth and met with my ears. My father, I hadn't seen him in months. I had no idea where he has been all this time.

"Maybe we should go," I said.

"Already, dear?" Molly shrieked loudly, disturbing Ron and Harry from their apparently stressful game of Wizard's Chess.

"We have so much to talk about," I insisted, gazing at Daddy and his strained face, hoping for my smile to be reciprocated.

"Don't just go just yet, I'll make you some pumpkin juice."

"I've put you through enough trouble," I said but she wasn't paying me attention, she was taking down another mug from the cabinet.

"Your father and I were just discussing the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, very interesting animals aren't they?"

"Now, Mrs. Weasley, don't bother yourself with the pumpkin juice," my father said calmly, his eyes creasing at the edges pleasantly, "I do think we ought to get going. My dirigible plums are in harvest and if I don't get to them soon those blasted augureys will be at them. I need all hands on board at this time of year."

Mrs. Weasley stopped and frowned, looking dismayed. "I really would love to have you stay a bit longer," she said in a disappointed tone. "But I can't imagine keeping you from your work."

I could see that in her eyes, she didn't really want us to go. If she had her way, we'd be seated around the table and talking for hours. All she really wanted was a little company. Something I thought would be easy to come by in such a large family but obviously the woman was lonely.

The guilt welled up inside me, like a potion spilling over the brim of a cauldron. "I am terribly sorry Mrs. Weasley. It was a pleasure staying here. I'll gladly come and visit as much as I can and you're welcome to write me anytime you see fit."

I found myself feeling emotional. In the short space of time since she took me in, I've grown so affectionate for Mrs. Weasley. We had so many little things to talk about and she has so much knowledge about her garden that I could learn a lot from.

Redness flooded into Mrs. Weasley's worn cheeks and a smile swept broadly across her face as she waddled toward me. She grasped my arms gently and pulled me into a tight hug. The scent of fresh pumpkin and raw pastry filled my nostrils as I was absorbed into the big lady's warm and loving embrace.

"Thank you so much for everything you have done for me," I told her.

Molly backed away slowly. She seemed to turn away, avoiding my eye. "Nonsense," she uttered.

Then Harry and Ron got up loudly from their chairs, Ron looking somewhat smug.

I felt a smile broadening across my face as Ron pulled in for a hug.

"See you," he mumbled graciously in my ear. I couldn't help but smile even wider.

Harry stepped forward and grabbed me into a hug. It was tight. But it was nice. I inhaled his welcoming fragrance of fresh air.

"Thank you, Luna. Thank you so much. I don't want to think about what could've happened if I didn't have you in my life," he murmured in my ear as sincere as I'd ever heard him.

"I may have helped you along the way but I have always known that you are capable of doing anything, Harry," I replied.

"I'm not invincible."

"That's not what I meant." I smiled warmly. "...Thank you for being there for me."

"George!" Molly yelled, disturbing the peace of the kitchen, tilting her head toward the ceiling, "Come down here and say goodbye to Luna."

"Mum, I'm right here," said George, sitting on a plush old armchair in the corner reading a week's old The Daily Prophet.

It was only then that I, too, noticed him. I must've been too absorbed in myself.

He folded the paper neatly and wedged it under his arm. I met him halfway between his armchair and where I was standing and he immediately clutched me to his chest. I felt his rattly breath as I wrapped my arms around his bony waistline.

He bent in closer and in a whisper only audible to myself he said, "Dirigible plums harvest in August, not May."

I blushed a deep shade of crimson and stepping back I looked up into his pale face. I felt my heart shaking.

"Our..." He looked deeply concerned and pensive for a few seconds before collecting himself and continuing, "Our new product idea for the Skiving Snackboxes, it's main ingredient was dirigible plums. So we were doing a lot of research." He gave me a knowing look. "I can't blame you for wanting to leave though."

His defeated face and his lowered voice pained me to witness. Even though I felt the guilt piling up like a mountain of pebbles, I couldn't bring myself to disagree with him, to tell him how much I love the Burrow and how I wish I didn't have to leave.

When he retreated to the armchair. I felt Daddy's loving, comforting arms around me and his gentle, peaceful voice, "Shall we go now, sugar-pie?"

I gazed around the kitchen, saying goodbye to the whimsical furnishings and all the meaningful knick-knacks. Meeting Molly's expectant gaze, I nodded in reply.

The door creaked unpleasantly behind us. Daddy put out his arm for me, an arm that felt much thinner than I remembered, and with a click we were gone.