The Trouble With Love

Luna was hunting for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. So far, she had been unsuccessful. In fact, she had not seen a single one. Frowning, she scanned the meadow again, for what seemed to be about the millionth time. The meadow was filled with lush green grass that was knee-high and brightly colored wildflowers, as well as a lone tree to the side of the stream. The stream itself was a twinkling strip of water that meandered through the meadow. Suddenly, her attention was caught by a suspicious clump of grass. She started to tremble in excitement. However, she was disappointed when out of the grass stepped a perfectly ordinary boy. He had tousled straw-blonde hair and was several inches taller than her. This, however, was not what disturbed Luna. It was his eyes. They were an intense green- just like Harry's. Of course, she was at quite a distance...

She began to creep away, but unfortunately he spotted her and started bounding towards her, splashing haphazardly through the stream and crushing many of the wildflowers, leaving behind him a trail of destruction. She groaned and wondered vaguely if he would crush her as well. When he finally arrived, panting but grinning happily, she cautiously said, "Hello, I'm Luna. Who are you?"

"Oh, my name is Justin. I live beyond the copse," indicating a far off copse of trees, "in the village of Sentila. I could take you there," he said eagerly, then flushing and then saying, "If you want me to, that is."

"Oh, sure," she murmured vaguely, having at that moment spotted (or so she thought) a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in the distance. Justin then bounded off again with Luna trailing behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They walked down Sentila's main street, Justin pointing out and labeling all of the sites. Luna was actually quite interested in everything, but was startled when, out of the blue, Justin asked a very odd question.

"Would you like to stay here for a while?"

Shock registered on Luna's face.

"Ummm, I- I don't know." But then her mouth betrayed her by saying, "On second thought, I'd love to!"

Whoa, where did that come from? she wondered.

Justin immediately grinned, tousled blonde hair draping over one of his eyes. Luna's heart fluttered. "Great! We have this great little guest room, you'll just love it..." he said as he jogged off, gesturing to Luna to follow.

~*~*~*~*~*~

What am I doing here? she asked herself later that night as she lay on the guest bed. Justin then walked in, and she suddenly thought, oh, yeah, that's what I'm doing here. She impulsively slapped her hand, telling herself angrily, no, I'm Harry's! What am I doing swooning over some Muggle boy?!? Justin just watched, looking both amused and concerned at the same time, which, she realized, made him look even cuter. She slapped herself again for the traitorous thought.

"Luna, why do you keep slapping yourself?" he asked with curiosity.

"No reason," she said in a high and rather squeaky voice.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course!" How could I not be okay, with you here? Hey, wait a second, when have I ever thought this kind of thing about Harry?? I haven't, she realized with dawning horror. Could I be...?

No, no, NO! she screamed at herself, pushing the thoughts out of her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Justin had been watching Luna with ever-growing concern. He saw so many emotions cross her face: love, anger, something rather akin to misery, more anger, shame, fear. What is she thinking about? Must be complicated...

He sat on the edge of the bed. Her toes skittered away as if he were a poisonous bug or something.

"Luna," he asked hesitantly, "are you okay?"

Her face flushed to a rather remarkable shade of magenta.

"Ummm, well, no, not really," she admitted.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said quickly.

"Are you sure?"

Without warning, she burst into tears. He cautiously reached over and hugged her. Before he could let go, she had put her arms around his neck and was sobbing into the front of his sweater. Awkwardly, he patted her back. However, this just made her cry harder.

Bewildered, he began to absentmindedly stroke her hair and say, "It's okay, don't cry," over and over, like a mantra. Still she clung to him, sobbing her heart out.

Eventually she looked up at him, eyes red, and tears still trailing down her cheeks, eyes glistening.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," she whispered brokenly.

"It's okay, really," he murmured comfortingly, still stroking her hair.

"No, it's not," she said angrily, pulling away from his embrace. "Nothing is okay! Everything I thought I knew and felt has just been turned upside down!" Her voice was rising steadily, getting louder and louder with each passing second. "And it's all because of you!" She then ran out. He heard a door slam downstairs. She must have gone outside. Maybe the rain will make her feel better, for he had just noticed the raindrops rolling down the windowpane.

How can it be me who's turned her world upside down? he wondered. He then strode to the window and looked out of it, immediately spying a slight blonde-haired figure running down the cobbled drive, stumbling occasionally.

I have to go after her, he decided, and then raced through the cottage, out the front door, and out into the whispering rain, running madly. He slowed down once he reached the main street, eyes desperately seeking for Luna.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Luna ran blindly through the streets, skidding around corners. Tears were flooding down her face. Finally, she reached her destination, the weeping willow by the stream. She curled up between two of the roots and almost instantly fell asleep and began to dream.

She was looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. She saw the clump of grass rustle. This time though, it was Harry who stepped out.

"Harry!" she cried.

"Luna, I'm coming!"

She began to run towards him, but as she went, her legs became stuck in a mire of deep mud.

"Harry!"

Suddenly, Justin leaped from some grass, where he had obviously been hiding.

"I'll save you, Luna!"

With this, he raced after Harry, a knife held high.

"Noooooo!!!" she screamed, feeling as if her heart was being torn in two.

And then she woke up.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Justin heard Luna's scream pierce the night. He had been searching for two hours, and had no idea where Luna had gone. Until now, that is.

He smacked his forehead. "Of course, the meadow!" he exclaimed, and sped off to where he was quite sure Luna was.

She had her arms wrapped around her knees and was shaking violently, eyes staring in numb shock at the ground when he arrived.

"Luna!" he cried, racing over to her and quickly dropping to his knees and putting his arms around her. She relaxed slightly within the circle of his arms.

"Justin? Is- is that you?" she asked.

"Yes, don't worry, it's me," he whispered into her ear as he once again began to stroke her hair. "You're safe now."

"But you went after Harry with a knife. Are you sure I'm safe?"

"Harry?" he asked.

"My boyfriend. You were going to kill him, and I couldn't stop you," she said, tears gathering in her eyes again and beginning to spill over.

Tilting her chin so that she was looking straight into his eyes, he said firmly, "I would never do anything like that, not if it would hurt you." He caressed the side of her face. "I would never ever hurt you, because I love you."

"Wha-?"

"Hush," he said, placing his finger over her lips.

She gazed at him wonderingly. And then, leading her out into the rain, he kissed her, and only the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks saw.