Title: Laughter Archiving: just ask.
Rating: PG. Pairing: Harry/Luna
Date Written: August 18, 2005
Notes: Harry/Luna for Literaryll. This was hard. wah. I'm not sure if I like it, but oh well. :) Here goes.
And just like that, Harry finds himself laughing at Luna's jokes and frowning at Ginny's. At first he thinks he is to blame for laughing at the wrong things, Luna's things. Then he thinks maybe he's really to blame for laughing at all.
They are walking together, the three of them, because Luna has seen them both and has yet to pick up on Ginny's obvious desire of being alone. Harry walks in between them, caught between Ginny's rising irritation and Luna's butterfly laugh. "Do you know what I saw once?" Luna says. "A sign someone had put up at Hogsmeade Station where the carriages were. It said: 'Don't feed the thestrals.' There were children standing around it looking confused. It was delightful."
"Yes," says Ginny dryly, looking to the right so Luna will not see the rolling of her eyes. "Innocent children, how amusing."
"No, not amusing," says Luna thoughtfully. "Delightful."
The choice is as easy for Harry in that moment as choosing to feast or fast, and he lets go of Ginny's hand before he realises he has made it. In the sunlight Luna's hair is a burnished gold, and only later will he realise that what he has been searching for is not something to laugh at--but rather, a different way to laugh.