Five Times Dean and Luna Almost Held Hands

Five Times Dean and Luna Almost Held Hands

Five Times Dean and Luna Almost Held Hands

The first time Luna ever saw Dean Thomas outside of Hogwarts was in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. Under the flickering light of the little stars from Ron’s pocket, she saw how terrible he looked, although she could not appear any better. He was wearing purple robes that were clearly very old, but much of the damage to them looked new. He was bruised and bloody. It made Luna wonder what was happening to the world outside of this room yet again, and now that escape seemed to be imminent she was more afraid of it than ever.

She had learned to make the shouting and the pain in the house above her wash over her. When she felt a wrackspurt near, she allowed it into her head. Imprisonment would be easier with a fuzzy mind. But now, knowing that it was Hermione being tortured was almost too much to take. She focussed on freeing her friends from their bonds.

When they were free, Dean and Luna’s eyes met, and he muttered a thanks. She tried to muster a smile in the chaos, but found that she could not.

Moments later, and Harry was telling them to go with the house-elf, Dobby. Luna and Dean protested. Dobby held out his hand towards them, and eventually they both took it. Two pairs of hands, grasping Dobby’s one, and in the last second Luna felt Dean’s finger brushing against hers. But with a crack the dungeon disappeared, and Dean’s touch with it.

*

It was terribly cold, and the sounds of the waves crashing harshly against the rocks made Luna pull the coat that Fleur had given her even tighter around her. They had come outside to lay Dobby to rest.

She was not as troubled by death as most people seemed to be, because it had been with her for most of her life. Nevertheless, the injustice of Dobby’s fate had upset her far beyond the emotions she showed on the outside. She could see how difficult this loss was for Harry, who had already lost so many, and so she kept her own grief mostly to herself.

They headed back inside, and Luna found herself on the sofa next to Dean. She did not look at him, but listened curiously to the information that Bill was sharing with the group. It was strange to be here, in someone’s loving home, and to be able to hear the sea.

Bill took Harry, Ron and Hermione upstairs. Fleur loitered in the doorway, apparently unsure of what to say to her guests. After an awkward few moments, she offered them tea and then disappeared into the kitchen to make it. Bill joined her when he returned downstairs.

‘I never imagined I’d be caught up in a war when I got my Hogwarts letter,’ said Dean, breaking the silence that had fallen in the room.

‘The world often shows us things in our lives that were once beyond our imagination, I think,’ Luna replied, in her quiet dreamy voice. ‘Perhaps it is a case of not having any expectations, but keeping our mind open to possibilities.’

He narrowed his brown eyes as he surveyed her, and Luna had a feeling that this was the first time that Dean Thomas had found truth in something she said: she’d seen that look before on the faces of her friends.

‘You’re probably right,’ he agreed.

‘I hope Daddy’s okay.’

‘I’m sure he’s fine,’ said Dean, his voice soft, empathetic. ‘He’s probably even more worried about you.’

‘Yes, I expect he is.’

They caught one another’s eyes completely for the first time since they had been in the Malfoy’s dungeon. That moment felt a million years ago now. They were both searching for something from each other, Luna knew, but she certainly didn’t know what it was; some sense of connection, perhaps, to another person and someone who was around her own age. Sat with all of the others in this room, she could not help but feel a stab of loneliness at the realisation that everyone else in the room was so incredibly close to someone else. When she had been at Hogwarts, she had thought this kind of feeling unnecessary. She wasn’t so sure anymore. And there was something, something in Dean’s eyes that seemed to connect with hers.

She began to reach towards him, and her hand hovered over his for a fraction of a second. But with a tinkle of china, Fleur and Bill reappeared. Luna pulled her hand back, and hoped that Dean hadn’t noticed.

*

Luna carefully placed the small bunch of lilac flowers she had collected into the jar that Fleur had given her. She rearranged them for a couple of moments, until they fell in a way that she liked. Then she stood back, and surveyed the scene. It was much better.