Burnt Meringue

Burnt Meringue

Ginny Weasley shifted nervously from one foot to the other. I do look like a meringue, she thought, surveying the assembled crowd of wedding guests over and over again. That is, like the burnt meringue, the one that turned out a tad too dark, too shapeless, just generally too different...

She felt a bit queasy, her only wish was to get away as soon as possible, since she was certain she wouldn't be able to endure loitering about with the absolutely terrific newlywed couple and that frightfully nice, elflike creature of a co-bridesmaid any longer, while all these people were roaming around them enthusiastically, almost certainly shooting piercing glances towards her. Slowly but surely, it all became too much for her to handle.

Luckily for her, Ginny had made sure to have a loophole up her sleeve.

As the rush of clicking cameras and congratulating relatives flashing their fake smiles had finally subsided, she crept away.

Without looking back, she hurried through the gardens, stopping for the first time as she circled the small well at the far end of her family's grounds, but only halting briefly to get rid of the golden high-heeled sandals that were cutting her flesh and in which she had not been able to walk properly anyway.

She felt relieved as she ran off without hesitation - relieved as she saw her at last.

When she spotted her sitting there on the daisy-covered, summery meadows atop the Stoatshead Hill, a most pleasant shiver erupted in her stomach, spreading all over her body until even her fingertips began to tingle softly. Slowing down a little, Ginny watched Luna bustling about on a blanket, smoothing it out now and then, just to ruffle another spot, as if she was building a nest for an imaginary, tiny and probably animal guest she was expecting to attend their picnic as well.

But Luna was waiting for her, a fact that let her heart almost miss a beat. Waiting, only for her. This time, she wouldn't be an ornament that could be set aside once the spectacle was over.

Absent-mindedly, Ginny gathered up the front of her pale-golden bridesmaid dress so she could quicken her steps a little, because clearly, Luna hadn't noticed her coming yet. Little wonder, given that her ash-blond hair covered almost her whole head like a curtain. Smiling to herself, Ginny considered the comical possibility that this curtain might as well be one of the reasons Luna was able to regard all things so differently.

The summer sun burnt her neck, since she had her hair pinned up in a knot, but the feeling of cool grass beneath her bare feet revived her, stirring up a fresh wave of excited anticipation.

Only as Ginny let her sandals fall into the grass, Luna glanced up at her, a mischievous smirk crossing her face.

"So, you've actually come," Luna remarked, grinning teasingly; yet, her smile couldn't hide the astounded look in her eyes.

A shiver running down her spine joined the tingle in her fingertips and Ginny involuntarily remembered how awkward and careless she had behaved towards Luna, when she had asked the blonde girl for this meeting, almost appearing as if she was only in need of a motivation to disappear from the wedding reception - as though Luna was just an excuse and not the genuine reason for their appointment.

However, that simply hadn't been her intention. Maybe at first Luna had only been an escape plan, Ginny admitted to herself, but the more the wedding had been drawing nearer, the more she had been longing for their date. Even today, during the actual wedding ceremony, Ginny had found herself annoyed and irritated by trivialities; the most irrelevant incident had brought her to the edge of wanting to vanish, to be able to simply leave everything behind. All day she had been haunted by the prospect that she could spend the whole afternoon with Luna instead, sitting here, basking in the sun, and sharing a few moments of intimate silence occasionally interrupted by the faint murmur of a warm summer breeze.

And all the while, as Ginny had been picturing this wonderful afternoon in her mind, Luna had obviously doubted that she'd turn up at all. Seeing Luna's surprised expression made her feel uneasy, and she started picking nervously at the ribbons holding her hair together.

"Is that a French hairstyle?" a grinning Luna suddenly asked. "'Cause it looks so lop-sided. Maybe it's a French thing to do at a wedding... Do you suppose that'd look good on me, too?" Daringly, Luna lunged across the blanket at Ginny's locks, grabbing one of the loosened ribbons, and tried to tame her own blonde curls with it.

"Err - what - no," Ginny stammered out, the words hardly passing her lips. "No, that was me - or rather, that was my hair, trying to break free."

"Oh yes, I can see that," Luna replied thoughtfully. "I wouldn't want to be restrained like that, either. Come over here." And with that, she pulled Ginny down onto the blanket, positioned herself behind her, and little by little removed all ribbons holding up Ginny's red curls.

With every ribbon falling down, Ginny felt a little more relaxed and at ease - well, more relaxed, yet more confined, but in a pleasant way. She wouldn't have wanted Luna to move an inch away from her.

"By the way, you're curly-haired now," Luna said once she had removed the last ribbon from Ginny's hair, rousing the redhead from her thoughts.

Ginny shook her head, her scalp still feeling taut where her locks tried to fall back into place, when she suddenly heard a chuckling snort behind her.

"That tickles!"

So, Luna had not yet backed away, Ginny realized, and thus some of her locks had brushed the Ravenclaw's face, as she had shaken her stubborn mane.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I -," Ginny turned around with a jolt, startled to find herself nose to nose with Luna.

The blonde was laughing, in actual fact beaming with her eyes as well - however she had managed to do that -, and, faintly nudging Ginny's nose with her own, got to her feet - and Ginny doubted that it had been accidental.

Almost in slow motion, Ginny fully turned around, watching Luna, who was now busy unpacking sweets; huge, multi-coloured, fluffy and glittering toffees that, for the first time since she'd disappeared, reminded her of the wedding and, more importantly, of the dress she was still wearing.

"Oh my," she sighed. "I suppose the sweets and I go quite well together at the moment... These curly locks make me look even more like a meringue. You know, like a slightly burnt and damaged one, that isn't pearly white and beautifully curved, but toppled to one side and oddly dark and crinkled at the top."

Ginny briefly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to rid herself of these memories, but opened them up again, as she noticed something sweet and fruity in front of her face. Luna.

"Now, I think that's just the way they should be," Luna grinned, feeding Ginny a strawberry.

A few seconds that could quite easily have been hours passed, before Luna sealed Ginny's lips with her own. Loosing her balance, Ginny fell down backwards onto the blanket, but didn't care that she was smearing fruit all over her dress.

After all, she thought, Luna surely likes meringue best with some strawberry sauce on top.