Another Day, Another Destiny [Luna]

[julia]

Hiding had turned out to be a bit more difficult than Julia had hoped. She'd already seen her brother a few times around Knockturn Alley, and had heard that he was looking for her. A series of rather unfortunate circumstances had forced her to leave Hogwarts, and she'd made a quick dash to the family estate to gather anything that was absolutely necessary, surprised that James hadn't been there. A quick stop to Grintingott's later, and Julia had taken to the shadows, hiding in any dark corner for the night. After a decent length of time had passed, she'd taken up a room in The Leaky Cauldron, under an assumed name of course, and rarely left her room.

She did, on occasion, venture out to restock her supply of magical objects. Julia had always been a big believer in reading tea leaves, and went through quite a bit of the stuff as she tried to figure everything out. Most nights she could be found sitting before the fire in her room, gazing into a teacup or crystal ball to figure out where the future was taking. On occasion she'd get a decent vision of the future, accompanied by one of those blasted headaches, but her Seeing ability hadn't really helped much.

The young witch decided she needed to get out again. Just get some fresh air, a good meal, and maybe a Firewhiskey. She had picked up that nasty habit with this mess, she'd never been a drinker in the past but now she felt that she needed something to keep up that warm and optimistic feeling that seemed to be replaced with cold and fear every time she saw a movement in the shadows. Who knew when Evangeline would find her? Or James? She just hoped she'd foresee it.

As she was getting her things together, some money and the like, Julia looked at the mirror Neville had given her. Yes, he wanted her to contact him with it. But she felt like such a coward, running from school and into the arms of the Order for protection. She wrote that feeling off, slipping the mirror in her pocket as he had advised before slipping out the door and into Knockturn Alley.

Everything was going pretty well, no one had recognized her yet that she knew. She turned down a little side street, glancing around to make sure that no one was around before continuing on. Once she was sure that she was quite alone, she drew the mirror from her pocket, looking it over for a moment. She cleared her throat with one last look around, then held the looking glass up and spoke into it. "Neville-" A movement in the shadows caught her eye, and she shoved her hand into the pocket, still grasping the mirror.

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[loony]

Luna had to get out of St Mungo's. She was slowly losing her mind, stuck in there, day in and day out. She knew it was for her own good, that her capture or death would not be merely her own anymore... but she was sick, and angry, and sometimes she felt perfect and sometimes she wanted to hunt down Voldemort and break him in half with her bare hands. One of those especially violent moods had grabbed her recently, and she had stalked out of the run-down building to prevent herself from just hauling off and hitting someone across the face.

"It isn't fair!" She hissed to herself as she walked, hood up, through Diagon Alley. "I can't even tell anyone about the baby, even in the Order... the more that know, the more dangerous it is!" Her eyes stung, but she'd been crying hot tears enough to make gallons of salty stew. Her cheeks remained dry, her teeth clenched. She didn't realize she was wandering down into Knockturn Alley until she came up short near Borgin and Burkes, heart pounding. She turned as quickly as she dared, afraid that sudden movements might give her away.

Everything made her frightened now. She broke into a cold sweat and ducked into an alleyway, suddenly paranoid she was being followed. Panting softly, she almost missed the soft voice whispering "Neville..."

She whipped around, blond hair falling around her face from beneath her hood. "What do you want with him!?" She asked in a soft, frightened and high-pitched voice. She was sure whoever was nearby and whispering her husband's name was about to kill her, or worse...

[julia]

Julia couldn't believe how stupid she was being. Really, trying to contact the leader of the Order while in a street in Knockturn? There were plenty of places, Muggle places even, where it would have been perfectly safe. But Knockturn had someone lurking around every corner, in every shadow. She knew that, she'd known that for years. And she had tried it anyway.

And she had gotten caught. Just her luck, right? But the voice that questioned her didn't seem intimidating. The hair sent her back a few steps, afraid that it was Evangeline beneath that cloak. She took a breath, calming herself down. No, it wasn't Evangeline, it sounded nothing like the vampire. She was just being paranoid. Her hand strayed to her wand, holding it down at her side in case the woman in front of her attacked. Julia surely wasn't about to attack anyone in Knocturn, but most of them wouldn't feel the same if they knew who she had been trying to contact.

"I..." Julia stalled, trying to come up with a good excuse. She had no idea who the woman was. She couldn't very well just come out and say that Neville had told her to contact him if she ever wanted to take him up on the offer to join the Order. But if she could put two and two together, the stranger would be able to figure out what Julia had been doing with the mirror. "I was just trying to contact him..." The young witch ran through the blonde female Death Eaters in her mind, ruling them out one by one. But then who was the woman in front of her.

"And what is it to you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

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[loony]

Luna stiffened at Julia's tone. A young girl, trying to contact her husband? Was he cheating on her? At a time like this, when the world was black and his wife was expecting? She puffed up, getting ready to go off on the student in front of her, when it came to her (albeit slowly).

"You're Julia Porter," Luna murmured softly, looking the teenager up and down thoughtfully. "Don't worry, you're safe. It's fine." She put her hands up, signaling that she was unarmed and not threatening the girl. "I'm Luna. Neville's wife." She emphasized the wife part a little more than she meant to, but when it came to her Neville, she could get a little paranoid. She wasn't a pretty young seventeen year old anymore... she was a tired and pregnant woman of twenty-six now. Not old by any definition, but she felt old nonetheless.

[julia]

It was only when the woman in front of her stiffened that Julia realized just how sketchy her situation was. She was just randomly trying to contact Neville? It must have looked wrong for the student to be looking for him, but her intentions were anything but what someone's mind would go to. At the woman's physical change, Julia gripped her wand tighter, raising it ever so slightly in preparation to defend herself.

But then the woman before her said her name. Julia lowered her wand, one eyebrow coming up in an arc of confusion. If the woman knew who she was, then she must be part of the Order, right? The suspicion was confirmed when the woman introduced herself as Luna, and the fact that she was married to Neville. She stowed her wand, keeping it within easy reach, and withdrew her hand from the pocket without the mirror. Julia held a hand out, smiling at the older woman. "It's nice to meet you, Luna." She looked around, like someone was going to pounce on their little meeting at any moment.

"Neville told me to contact him when I thought I was ready to join the Order... And believe me, I'm quite sure that I'm ready now."

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[loony]

"Yes," Luna said in reply to Julia's greeting, not entirely comfortable. Still, she took the girl's hand and shook it gently, shifting her cloak so that her hood fell away slightly, but so the length of it hid her belly. It had begun to bulge, not necessarily noticeably, but...

She wasn't her husband. She wasn't about to blindly trust this girl. "Are you sure?" She frowned at Julia. "It isn't fun. It isn't rewarding. It's not like we have a lot of food, or can even ensure our own safety. You're not going to be sleeping on a normal bed or having regular meals, and when you're note going mad with boredom, your heart will be pounding itself out of your chest in fear. Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to turn back and have a happy, comfortable life..."

Why was she talking like this? Trying to scare someone away from the path of compassion, from the life of truth and rightness... Truth be told, Luna would give anything to be safe and happy again. She would trade places with Julia, just to be able to have peace and quiet, and a proper environment to raise her baby in. Some days she was bitter about her lot in life (although that was likely the hormones talking at this point), and even consoling herself with the fact that she was doing the right thing wasn't enough...

[julia]

The smile remained on Julia's face as the woman accepted her hand. She seemed a bit apprehensive, but that was to be expected. After all, Julia was related to a Death Eater, why would she be trusted? Well, she'd hopefully be able to change Luna's view.

Julia's smile faded when Luna began to talk again, seemingly trying to talk her out of this. Julia knew the risks. She knew what might happen. But she also knew that if she went back and tried to grovel her way back into their good graces, it wouldn't go over very well. "No, it's not too late to turn back to the life where the Dark Lord tortures me to near insanity to try and get at information about your husband. The life where he'll use me like some sort of object he can torture into having a vision. Or maybe I'll try to get back through my brother's friends. I'm sure Evangeline would just love to welcome me back with a nice bite to the neck." She took a breath, trying to calm herself down. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not some spoiled, pampered little brat who will run at the first sign of trouble. I made my choice when I didn't betray Neville to the Dark Lord, when I ran from Hogwarts and went into hiding."

She ran a hand through her hair, hoping she hadn't upset Luna. That wasn't her aim at all, she just wanted to explain to the woman that she was ready for wherever the Order wanted her, whatever they wanted her to do.

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[loony]

Luna listened to Julia patiently, taking in the girl's words. A soft sigh tugged at her lips. Julia was young, she would regret her choice... but perhaps she wouldn't. She had already reached the point of no return, as it were.

"Come with me," was all she said, lowering her hood once more so that it covered her face, then turning to Julia, wand out. "I'm going to disillusion you, Julia. I promise that is all I am going to do." She gently pressed her wand to the student's crown, where a cold and unpleasant trickling sensation spread down her body.

Soon, the chameleonic effect of the charm had wrapped it's way around the girl. Luna smiled softly under her hood, offering her hand to the teenager. It was her left hand, where the slim, battered silver wedding band gleamed weakly in the lights of the stores.

She led Julia down the streets, not daring to apparate for fear of being caught by the Ministry. Luckily for her, hiding behind a cloak was fashionable, at least in this end of the city, and she didn't seem to be getting any strange looks. Luna did her best to hide her striking hair and the fact that he hand seemed to be gripping nothing at all, walking swiftly down the alley.

[julia]

Julia had been ready to argue, to convince Luna that she was ready to join the Order. She may have been a child in most of the members' eyes, and she was sure she'd feel it at some points, but she felt like it was something she had to do. She couldn't take one more day at Hogwarts, or living with James.

But Luna didn't object.

Julia backed away a step when the woman's wand pointed at her, just the slightest bit hesitant to trust anyone casting any sort of charm on her. After all, the last time someone had cast anything on her, it had been the Cruciatus Curse. She knew Luna wasn't going to do that, but her body disagreed regardless. Julia nodded, watching Luna's wand move to her head. The cold sensation tied Julia's stomach into knots, it was the same feeling she had been trying to drive away with Firewhiskey ever since she left Hogwarts. She assured herself that it would go away eventually, and took Luna's hand.

Julia couldn't help but wonder where Luna was taking her, but wasn't going to ask. After all, if people couldn't see Julia, it would look a bit weird for Luna to be talking to her. Or to nothing. Or whatever it would seem to everyone else. But hopefully they'd get out of Knocturn soon, away from everyone that Julia was just so sick of seeing.

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