Canis Minor

Seamus sat on the stairs to Hogwarts, whistling an old song as he let the sun warm his face. It was a beautiful day, his homework was finished, and tomorrow was Saturday. Life couldn't get much better than that.

He opened one eye lazily when he heard someone sit next to him. It was that odd girl, Luna. She looked at him and smiled. He grinned back and closed his eye.

"Hey, Luna," he said, shifting so he was reclining against the stones. "And what're you doing on this fine Friday? Looking for the Nargles again?"

"No," she said. "I just thought I'd come sit with you for a while."

"Why?" he asked, not really caring but enjoying the conversation all the same.

"Because your nose," she said breezily, opening up the latest copy of the Quibbler.

"My nose?" he echoed, feeling around on his face.

"There's a constellation on your nose," she said matter-of-factly. "It's Canis Minor." She pulled out a small handmirror and handed it to him.

"Hmm," he murmured, looking at the sprinkle of freckles on his nose. "It appears you're right."

"I usually am," she sang, rolling a butterbeer cap on her fingers. "Part of being a Ravenclaw."

"Hey, I heard you went with Harry last year, to the Ministry," he said, sitting up. "Did you really?"

"Mm-hmmm," she muttered, watching the sun reflect on her butterbeer cap. "It was pretty frightening."

"Sure you weren't supposed to be in Gryffindor?" he joked, chortling. Luna just shrugged.

Seamus watched her for a moment as she played with the cap. She was transparent looking, everything thin and wispy, from her hair to her legs and feet.

"How'd you know that it was Canis Minor on my face?" he asked for a while, bored of watching the cap.

Luna stopped rolling the thin piece of tin in her hand, putting it in her lap. "I know exactly what it looks like," she said after a moment, looking at her skirt. "I look at it every night."

"Why?" he continued, genuinely interested now.

"My mum's name was Aludra. It's a star in that constellation."

"Oh. Oh."

"Yeah. I talk to it- her- at night, sometimes," she said, fiddling with her hair. "After she died, my dad would sit me on his shoulders and point it out to me, and tell me that my mum was still watching after me, even though she was gone."

Seamus wasn't used to comforting people. He'd never know anyone who died, and wasn't familiar with helping people cope, preferring to simply laugh and distract them instead. He didn't think that would work with the ghostly-looking girl at his side.

"What was she like?" he asked softly, looking at his laced hands. A glance up showed him a startled-looking girl, obviously unused to being asked about her.

"She was brilliant," she replied, smiling. "She loved to work, and was always trying to come up with new spells."

"No," said Seamus. "I mean, what was she like?"

Luna looked at him for a minute, dissecting him with her eyes. He shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the scrutiny, but then she nodded her head.

"She liked to cook," she began, looking into the sky. "Her favourite flowers were Queen Anne's Lace and baby's breath." She rambled for a long time, talking about Chinese Checkers, roasted chicken and knitting, on and on, everything that had been locked in her head for years. Seamus listened to every word, marveling at the pink rising in her cheeks as she became excited over a memory of swimming in a river and thoughts of bedtime stories.

He blushed when his stomach rumbled loudly; they had missed lunch. "Oh," she said, grinning. "I think I made you miss lunch. I'm sorry."

He laughed. "It's alright, Luna. Your mother sounds like a remarkable woman." He stood up, brushing off his pants. After a moment, he held his hand out. "Let's go to the kitchens, eh? I hear they make a wicked roast."

She took his hand, and he felt it for a minute, feeling the hard spots on her fingers from writing and the downy-soft palm. He found he rather liked it. He nearly jumped when she started doing the same thing, but took her hand firmly and helped her up.

"Sounds fine," she murmured, turning to the castle. They marched up the stairs and back inside. It took Seamus a minute to realise that he hadn't let go of her hand, and that she hadn't let of his. He looked around and watched the faces of the passerby. There were stares of horror, looks of amusement, faces of confusion, and generally an atmosphere that shouted "Huh?".

Never one to stop the party, he laced his fingers through Luna's and led her to the main corridor, watching her giggle at the stupified looks from her schoolmates.

"Roast chicken or ham, dearest?" he asked loudly, winking at her. She merely laughed loudly and trotted next to them.

He didn't let go for the rest of the day.