Beautiful, crystal snowflakes had begun to fall from the gray, fluffy clouds painted across the frigid sky. It was the first snow of the season, and to Harry, nothing was as peaceful and gorgeous; especially after the past few years of his life. Ever since the end of his fourth year, Harry's life had gone downhill. He lost his godfather, his friends were acting as if he was going to kill himself at any moment, and Hermione and Ron had begun to leave him out of activities due to their recent 'puppy love' they finally admitted toward one another. Harry thought he might find solace in confiding in Ginny, but even she found a 'cuddle buddy'. It wouldn't have been so shocking if it hadn't been Neville.
Harry stared out of his window, watching the frozen designs pass by. He began to think back...back to when he had Sirius. Back to when Ron and Hermione were acting like their normal, bickering selves. Back to when Ginny was in love with Harry, not Neville. Back to when everything seemed right with the world. So far back, in fact, that Harry didn't notice that Hedwig nearly smacked into him as she flew to the window. Startled back to the painful present, Harry let Hedwig in and untied a letter from her leg.
He opened the letter and read:
Dear Harry,
My father told me that I'll be staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. Apparently there was a flourish of Invisible Zebras in Zambia that he had to tend to. By the sound of things, they must be quite temperamental considering the fact that my dad has many invisible cuts and bruises from them already (and he's only been there 2 days!) Anyway, maybe soon we can go to Hogsmeade and do some holiday shopping. I hear that Honeydukes has some new, special effects candy. I bet that would be a great job, to test magical candy. If I don't take after my father in the job market, maybe I'll find out how to do that. Well, owl me back and let me know what you think about Hogsmeade. The next Hogsmeade weekend is December 17 (next weekend). Ta ta for now, Harry!
Truly, Luna
Harry set the letter down, a slight smile playing about his mouth. For some odd reason, ever since the end of term last year, the only person that could make Harry really smile was Luna. Although she was a strange girl (to say the least), she never asked 'how are you feeling' or 'would you like to talk about anything on your mind'...she acted as close to normal as she could toward Harry. And to tell the truth, Harry looked forward to her letters. She has such random yet amusing thoughts mused Harry as he sat down to write Luna's reply.
He sucked the end of his quill thoughtfully, dipped it into his inkwell, and wrote:
Dear Luna,
Wow, Invisible Zebras. That sounds quite interesting. I hope your father gets you some invisible pictures of them to look at when he gets back. About Hogsmeade, I was planning on going there anyway to get some new robes and maybe browse Honeydukes. I guess I have to buy Ron and Hermione something as well. So, yeah, we can hang out there together. In fact, while we're out, we can have Butterbeers on me, as a bit of a Christmas gift. We can ponder the possibility of being magical candy testers. I know I'd like to do that, but I bet it would be even better to test Quidditch supplies. Well, I need to get some holiday reading done for N.E.W.T. Defense Against The Dark Arts. I'll meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast tomorrow. See you then.
Cheers, Harry
After he gave it a final look-over to make sure everything didn't sound too stupid (wait, this IS Luna we're talking about) he rolled up the bit of parchment, tied it to Hedwig's leg, and sent her off into the reddish sunset. Harry began to drift in his thoughts, melting into the beauty of the outside. If only I could frame this beauty...this feeling I have at this very moment. He wasn't sure if it was the beauty of it all or just the prospect of getting out of the castle, but he was actually excited about hanging out with Luna at Hogsmeade.
"Gee, Harry, I was beginning to think you had been attacked by Crumpled-Neck Snorkacks on the way down here. What took you so long?" inquired Luna as a disheveled Harry sat himself next to her at the Ravenclaw table.
Harry wasn't fully sure how his day had gotten so disorderly. Somehow, he'd woken up half an hour after he'd intended, had to take a cold shower because the piping was frozen, ripped his favorite sweater, and, of course, stepped in his glasses...twice. However, no matter how unkempt things seemed to get, everything righted itself with the sight of Luna sitting at the Ravenclaw table, oddly examining a raisin bagel. For some reason or another, it really amused Harry how she could find such enthrallment in something as simple as a bagel.
After he situated himself in a seat and started to pile hotcakes onto his plate, he answered, "It's just been one of those mornings, I guess. So, is that bagel infested, or are you just admiring it?" He leaned back in his chair and smiled amusedly at Luna as she rolled her eyes.
"If you must know, I thought one of the raisins was moving. Obviously, that would be a ludicrous idea, but I figured anything is possible," she finished as her face returned to its normal, dreamy gaze.
Harry chuckled and replied, "Yeah, with you, anything is possible."
He ate his pancakes, and as he did so, he chose to entertain himself by watching Luna stare at the bagel for another two minutes and finally give in to putting some cream cheese on it and eating it.
"You ready, Luna?" asked Harry after he took his last gulp of pumpkin juice left in his cup. Luna was picking at her nails (more out of habit since she barely had nails there), so Harry figured it was pointless asking.
"No, I think I just want to sit here...and...well, digest, I guess. Father always said you should wait at least 10 minutes after eating to move around."
Considering the fact that responses like these from Luna were the norm, Harry just nodded, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes. It was so nice and warm where they sat because it was right near the fireplace, so Harry decided to just take in the warmth for all it was worth and enjoy the feeling. Who would have thought being around Luna would be this relaxing?
They arrived in Hogsmeade a bit later than they intended to, (Really, Harry, I swear I saw Mrs. Norris giving a Sphinx directions to Egypt on my way down to meet you!) however, it was no matter to Harry. Late or early, he was getting away from all the fuss and drama that was at Hogwarts at the moment. He looked forward to spending a worry-free day with Luna to keep himself sane enough to get through the rest of the term.
They walked up and down the streets of Hogsmeade; however, even if they had intentions of visiting shops, all thoughts of shopping were drowned out by their attentiveness toward one another.
They barely realized that it was bitterly cold until Harry looked at Luna and said a bit oddly, "Um, Luna, you have icicles forming on your eyelashes."
"Oh, don't worry about that. That usually happens to me when my father is thinking about the evolution of dung beetles," replied Luna, rather nonchalantly. "Would you fancy a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"
"Sure. Remember, it's my treat," said Harry with a warm smile.
The two trudged through the snow toward the tavern. Once inside, they found a table rather close to the fire, sat down, and ordered their drinks.
Once they got their drinks, they sat talking; occasionally, they took sips from their steaming mugs. "So Harry, do enlighten me," started Luna (as she always did when she wanted to dig deeper into Harry's soul), "you said that winter is your favorite season of the year. Why's that?"
He gazed into her wondering eyes and thought for a moment. Then, he grinned and said almost reminiscently "I never really thought about it. I'd have to say it's because even though most of nature dies in the winter, it still finds a way to make you gasp in amazement."
Luna stared back at him and simply replied, "Let's go gasp together."
They trudged back outside, down toward the Shrieking Shack, and into the forest. They sat on a large boulder and just stared at the trees, blanketed with a fresh coating of glistening snow. They sat for a long time, silenced by the splendor all around.
"You know, Harry, I think this is the most beautiful thing in the world," whispered Luna in total awe.
Beautiful, crystal snowflakes had begun to fall from the gray, fluffy clouds painted across the frigid sky. To Harry, nothing was as peaceful and gorgeous...until he looked into Luna's eyes and realized he was wrong.
"You know, I've actually seen something more beautiful than this," replied Harry, never taking his gaze from hers.
Luna looked at him, genuinely quizzical, and said, "Oh really? Well, let's hear it then. What could possibly be more beautiful than this?"
Harry took her hands into his own, leaned in toward her, and took her lips with his own. Their kiss was so gentle; it felt as if their lips were wisps of cloud. Luna draped her arms around Harry's neck as he took his arms securely around her waist. They lost themselves in the kiss, almost melting the snow around from pure passion.
As they broke apart, Harry gazed into Luna's dreamy countenance. After what seemed like an eternity of comfortable silence, Harry finally replied, "You."