#I dunno how well the luna stuff in the fic will do I dunno how well female lead stuff does honestly | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

idratherstayslytherin · 6 years ago

Text

Feelings We Can't Let Go (A Drarry Fic) CHAPTER SEVEN

Summary: Harry needs to pass his NEWTs with a decent grade in Potions. The Ministry sends Harry to France so he can study for his exam with none other than Draco Malfoy, who has been blocked from Wizarding Society for almost a year now. It was supposed to be just a few months of tutoring, but it was so much more than that.

Read it on AO3 or here on tumblr:

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

Quick note: Posting re-edited chapter here and on ao3 again, because I want to improve my English and terrible writing. I added a bit of the text and re-written some parts that didn’t feel right or were ooc in my opinion, I also corrected grammar.

This chapter took way longer as it was mainly written by my at a time co-writer. I thought I loved the whole idea, but i noticed few things that just weren’t making sense or the scenes were too short, didn’t have enough explanation or character development. Now that I added quite a bit of text I like it a lot more :)

Do let me know what you think of it!

////////

Harry wasn’t proud of it, but the next morning he just slipped out of Draco’s flat before the other boy woke up. He didn’t know what was happening between them and how to deal with it, and he definitely didn’t want to go back to Grimmauld Place to face Ginny, so there was only one place to go: the flat Ron and Hermione were renting since they moved out from Sirius’ old place where all of them were living together since the war.

It was still early when he got there, but luckily Hermione was awake and making breakfast as he arrived, so he joined her and Ron who woke up later for the meal, without saying a word apart from muttering the odd ‘thank you’ when Hermione poured him some more coffee and Ron handed him the eggs. He tried his best not to look up, pretending to be focused on his food, but he couldn’t help but notice the worried glances between his friends. Hermione tried to make conversation a few times, but Ron was too busy eating to give a reply beyond a shrug or a nod, and Harry was hardly in the mood to talk.

“ If you could just tell us what’s wrong …” Hermione said softly. Harry sighed. He knew he would have to say something eventually, but he didn’t know what to say. He definitely didn’t want his friends to feel sorry for him. “Is it something to do with Ginny? I talked to her on the Floo this morning, and she didn’t seem too happy…”

“We had an argument last night.” Harry muttered. He really didn’t want to talk about this. Especially with not only Hermione, but Ginny’s very own brother.

“About what?” Ron asked through a mouthful of ham. Hermione gave him a frown.

“It’s nothing.” he lied. What could he say? Ron just shrugged, but Hermione was still looking at him with that look Harry knew way too good, and he knew he’d have to talk to her properly before he left.

“She said something about you not sleeping at home…” Hermione mentioned carefully. Harry shook his head and leant back in his chair. He didn’t like where this was headed.

“Blimy, Harry, you aren’t cheating on my sister, are you?”

“God, no!” Harry responded immediately, seeing Ron’s shocked face. Well he didn’t really cheat on Ginny, did he? Sleeping in someone else’s arms isn’t cheating. They didn’t even kiss. Why was he even thinking about kissing Draco? Well, to be fair, he's been thinking about it for a while now, he couldn't stop himself. “I just couldn’t stay there, so I went over to Draco’s place and spent the night there.” He admitted as he was sure now that Hermione talked to Ginny, she already knew about Harry still hanging out with the blonde.

“You slept at Malfoy’s place?” Ron looked horrified, and even Hermione looked appalled, even though she was hiding it pretty well.

“It isn’t as bad as it sounds.” Harry muttered, regretting mentioning it at all.

“I dunno, it sounds pretty bad to me.” Ron said, pretending to vomit. Hermione frowned at him again, but Harry knew she wasn’t too keen on the idea either.

“I know you don’t like him and I understand it, but he’s changed a lot and we’re friends. I told you that many times. I needed a place to stay, so I went over to his flat, that’s all. We only slept, that's all.” Harry was getting agitated.

“What do you mean you only slept? What else would you do? You aren’t even gay, Harry! And who would want to have sexwith Malfoy? Ew.” Ron pulled a disgusted face. Harry looked away, feeling blush creeping up his cheeks. He knew one person who at least thought about it few times. He couldn’t help but remember the flash of Draco’s pale chest, the way the other boy’s nightgown hung on his frame, the grip of his hands, the scent of his skin and hair… He had to stop thinking about it. He didn't want to admit to himself something he was too scared of. He just wasn't. The thought of being honest about all the feeling he has been feeling for the past two or so years, made him want to jump off the cliff.

Harry looked at his friend startled when Ron spoke again, only to find his friend staring at him with wide eyes. “You didn’t, did you?”

“Didn’t what?”

“Sleep with him. Like, you know…” Ron trailed off and made an eyebrow move that could only indicate one thing. Harry’s jaw dropped. Why was Ron contemplating whether he had or would want to have sex with Draco? Was Harry even more blinded by his own fear than Ron was oblivious to certain stuff?

“No, of course I didn’t!” But I thought about it. Harry's mind added. He was getting more stressed out about finally saying what has been hiding in his mind for a long time. He didn't want to come clean even to himself, especially to himself. He knew it would only make all of his problems grow bigger and he did not need that to happen. He pushed away all the thoughts that were indicating THIS ONE THING.

“Thank Merlin.” his best friend exhaled, digging into his breakfast again. Harry had only eaten half of his plateful, but he didn’t feel like eating any more. This whole situation was making him feel so uncomfortable. He was in love with Ginny and was getting married to her. They were planning to send out the invitations within a week. Seriously, what was wrong with him? He should be happy, he was getting what he had always wanted. Family. Love. He would have kids, and hopefully he would be a good father. He was getting everything he ever dreamed of, with who he had been with and who he had wanted for years now, he was getting married to the girl who had been an amazing friend to him for ages, someone who he could talk to and play quidditch with and enjoy himself with, someone who had a lovely family he was almost already a part of. Yet something wasn’t right. Well, a lot of things weren't. Everything was going fucking terrible. Harry just couldn't unpack the content of him mind right now, he would most certainly break down and wouldn't know what to do about the events that would approach after that.

He wanted everything to go as planned. He would go home, apologize to Ginny, send the invitations out, go to the robe fittings to the Burrow, check on the menu and the decoration and the guestlist and finally get married. Then he would spend the Christmas holidays with Ginny, just the two of them, cozy at home, enjoying their days as newly weds, they would have a New Year’s Eve reunion party with all their friends, and he’d finally start work in January after months of training. It would all be alright. It had to be. He will get over THIS THING with Draco, he will. He was way too scared of his feelings towards the boy. Ginny should be able to take Harry's mind of the blonde, Harry just needed to marry her and start sleeping with her again. That had to put him back in the right mind.

“Don’t mind Ron, he’s just being childish.” Hermione’s voice caused Harry to snap out of his thoughts.

“It’s okay” he said with a forced smile. Hermione sighed. Her relationship with Ron was great, but still very much like it was at Hogwarts, her correcting him and telling him off for things he said and did, almost acting like a second mother to him a lot of the time.

“No it’s not. I’m serious, Harry, I can see that something’s bothering you, and I wanted to talk to you properly without making a joke out of everything. What is it?”

“I’m alright, I swear, Hermione. Thank you for being concerned, but you don’t need to worry about me. Yes, we had an argument with Ginny, but I’ll go home after this and apologize to her and we’ll be fine. I’m fine.” He could tell he hadn’t fully convinced her, but she gave him a smile and changed the topic, and Harry was glad to think about something else. Ron left for work a bit later, but Harry stayed for another few hours, listening to everything Hermione had to say about work and books she was reading and plans she had, and how excited she was about going on a holiday with Ron, and telling Hermione about the wedding plans and how he was looking forward to starting his job next year.

He left before lunchtime, heading back to Grimmauld Place, picking up some of Ginny’s favourite takeaway on the way, along with a bunch of flowers. They were going to sort this out with Ginny. They had to. One can’t just cancel a wedding less than a month before it, can they? And he didn’t want to cancel it, right? Things were just seeming a little less charming than other days, but that didn’t mean he had to bail out on his fiancée.

As Harry got home, he noticed another pair of shoes in the hallway, a pair of bright yellow converses with flowers painted all over them which could only belong to one person, so that meant Ginny wasn’t alone. The door of their bedroom was ajar, and indeed, the two girls were sitting there, Luna braiding Ginny’s hair and listening to a funny story the redhead was telling her. Harry awkwardly stopped in his doorway. It was his home, but he felt strange interrupting them, and he didn’t quite know what to say to his soon to be wife.

“Go on if you'd like, but we aren’t alone anymore.” Luna said to Ginny without even turning around, and to be honest, Harry wasn’t even surprised. Somehow the blonde always seemed to know where he was, what he was doing and how he was feeling which he had kind of gotten used to, but it still made him a little uncomfortable sometimes. Ginny looked back at him over the top of her shoulder. Her face was unreadable, she didn’t look angry, but maybe she was just concealing it well, even though Harry knew that wasn’t his fiancée’s forte. “Nice flowers” Luna added with a smile as she passed Harry. He gave her a nervous smile, and entered the bedroom, sitting down on the couch facing Ginny.

“Look…” he started, stammering for the moment, then paused, pinching his nose. He should have gone through what he wanted to say. “You know I’m not good at this, Gin, and I’m sorry about it. But all I really want to say is that I’m sorry and I should have talked to you properly, I should have been here for you. I’m probably the worst boyfriend or fiancée ever, but I love you, and I really want this to work. We just need to both be a little more patient and discuss things and it’s going to be alright. I want it to be alright. This should be our month, I don’t want to spend it fighting about petty things. I want us to be happy.”

“Harry…” Ginny sighed. “I love you too and you know it and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. But please, just talk to me, alright? You can tell me what’s wrong, you need to get used to this. I know you went without having anyone to talk to about your feelings for most of your life, but I’m here for you. And I want it to work too.” She gave him a warm smile. Harry felt relieved, and layed the flowers on the couch, standing up and greeting Ginny with open arms, pulling her close to himself and burying his face in her red hair that was shining in the sunlight pouring in through the window. They were going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.

*********

As it happened, nothing was okay. They had two other rows just that week, one again about Harry ‘hiding his feelings’ as Ginny put it, and another one about whether inviting Draco was a good idea. Ginny ended up tearing the invitation in half but Harry sent it anyway after he cast a reparo on it.

Then there were the fittings which should have been fun, after all Harry had been spending almost all of his holidays at the Weasley house for years now, but Molly kept asking him about what he would want to name his children with Ginny, and even though he was mostly happy about the wedding and becoming part of the Weasley family, the thought of having kids, especially lots of kids scared him, and the Weasley matriarch seemed quite keen on the thought. But at least she made them beautiful wedding robes, or at least Harry was pleased with what he got, and Hermione fell in love with Ginny’s dress, which made Molly promise to make her a similar one for her own wedding.

Of course this wasn’t all, they had to work on planning the decorations (thank Merlin Luna was happy to help with that), the music (Ginny wanted Harry to get the Weird Sisters to play live, saying that he should use his fame for something, but he hated doing that, it was bad enough to put up with everyone giving him special treatment every day, he didn’t want to take advantage of it, and he especially didn’t want any of it on his wedding day, so they ended up inviting some local band Dean knew which the redhead girl was grumpy about), the food (of course Molly already had the whole menu planned, but she kept changing things, and people kept popping up promising to bring some cake and munchies), they worried about the weather coming up with the best way to use heating and waterproofing charms, and pretty much everything else that one could worry about, and Harry had quite had enough of worrying.

It was only the 10th which meant they still had ten more days, everything was perfectly planned, but Ginny and Molly and even Hermione kept finding mistakes in the plans, things they wanted to change for better, last minute invitations were sent, and when for once they weren’t worrying about anything, Ginny was getting flowers and all kinds of unnecessary accessories for their wedding night, and Molly was obsessing over soon having new ginger babies in the family (unless of course they inherited Harry’s dark hair). And Harry was tired of it. He just wanted to go at least half a day without talking about the wedding, and fortunately he had just the friend for that.

********

“Wow this was the best day I’ve had in weeks now” Harry exclaimed leaning back on the sofa. It really was. Draco and he went out to a muggle restaurant the blond had found and they had a delicious meal and afterwards they spent hours just strolling down the streets of outer muggle London talking, both of them enjoying being away from the noise and the crowds before retreating to Draco’s flat.

“Wedding not going as planned?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow. They avoided the topic most of the day, the blond seemed a little uncomfortable talking about it and Harry was more than glad to forget about it for as long as he could.

“Depends on what you count as going as planned.” Harry groaned. “Yes, everything is going the way Ginny and Molly want, and we are apparating to Shell cottage every day to check whether everything is okay, so yeah, it’s going as planned. Apparently it will be the most beautiful wedding ever, and it’s going to be perfect, the perfect hero of the perfect wizarding world marrying his perfect wife before going off and making lots of perfect ginger hero-babies, or at least that’s what we are expected to do according to Molly. But also yes, it’s a fucking mess and I’m so tired of all of it I just want to get done with it.”

“I’m sure it will go well and once it’s over and you don’t need to worry about anything, you two will be happy.” Draco said carefully, giving the brunette a forced smile. He didn’t really know what else to say. He could hardly say ‘just cancel the wedding already and break up with the stupid Weasley girl’, could he? But it was paining him. Not only the fact that Harry was getting married, but the fact that the boy wasn’t happy about it. Draco wanted him to be happy. Even if that meant that he was marrying Ginny.

“Yeah, I guess…” Harry didn’t sound too convinced, but Draco didn’t think much of it. He was just stressed. Even if the boy was attractracted to men, he could never love Draco, besides, he was just few days away from marrying the love of his life (according to the Daily Prophet at least), why wouldn’t he be happy? He might worry and be tired of all the planning, but that was only temporary, and everything would be fine. Of course, everything being fine for Harry and Ginny meant nothing would be fine for Draco, but he was used to that. “Do you have any more of that firewhiskey?”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry had downed quite a few shots throughout the afternoon, and he wasn’t drunk yet, but he was definitely tipsy, and it was probably a good time to stop drinking. Draco himself only had a couple of glasses of wine, he drank it more for the taste, and he hated it when he couldn’t control himself, so he always payed attention to stopping in time. Well, almost always...

“Of course it is.” Harry contested, and stood up, or rather tried to stand up, ending up stumbling and grabbing the blond boy’s shoulder to hold himself up and steady himself before making his way to the kitchen to get the bottle of alcohol. Draco just shook his head and helped the boy sit back down, as he seemed way to dizzy to control his steps and stay in balance. The brunette downed more than half of what was left in the bottle in one go before Draco could snatch it from him. “Hey! Give it back!”

“Harry, that’s more than enough for today, you are getting drunk. Alcohol solves nothing and you’ll just end up with a nice hangover and anyway you need to get home safe and without Ginny getting too pissed at you.”

“Fuck Ginny.” Harry hiccupped. Draco’s eyes widened. He could never tell whether alcohol made people say the truth or utter bullshit as their brain wasn’t functioning properly, but whichever this was, it came as a shock to him. Maybe it wasn’t only the stress of the wedding. Maybe their relationship wasn’t really working, and that’s why Harry kept showing up after rows and at weird times because something was off, maybe it wasn’t just the usual bickering and arguing of a couple getting married. “Dra-” Harry hiccupped again. “Dra…c…o… fuck I can’t speak” he slurred. The blond boy pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t like where this was headed. “I’m going to call you Dray, okay?” Harry announced. “Hey, that rhymed!”

“Harry, you need to get your shit together, okay?” Draco said cutting him off. “I’m going to make you a potion that will sober you up real quick and then you can go home. Stay here, I’ll be back in a sec, it doesn’t take long to make.”

“No, don’t go away!” Harry protested as Draco stood up, reaching out and clutching the blond boy’s hand.

“Fine.” Draco said with a sigh, and sat back onto the couch. How could he say 'no' to those eyes? Harry seemed content with this, but his hand remained on top of Draco’s, their fingers intertwined.

“Hey, can I stay for the night?” Harry asked after a few minutes of silence.

“No. No way, Harry, that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Why?”

“It just wouldn’t.” Draco said in a tight voice. “You are going home. I’m going to get you some coffee and some water, that should help a bit if you don’t want the potion.”

“Don’t go.”

“I’m only going to the kitchen, Harry, okay? I’ll be back in a minute.” He pulled his hand away, and stood up, walking over to the kitchen after staring at the brunette for a few seconds wondering whether he was alright.

He poured some water for Harry, and started making some coffee, staring out of the window into the darkness of the night while it brewed. No, a drunk, touchy-feely Harry spending the night definitely wasn’t a good idea. He would fix him a drink, and send him home by Floo, apparating wasn’t safe enough, there was no way Harry could apparate even to the next door room without splinching himself.

When Draco returned to the living room, a glass of water and a steaming cup of coffee in his hands he found Harry asleep on the couch. Sighing, he put the drinks down in front of the boy, deciding to leave him sleep for half an hour or so in hope that it would help, and retreated to the armchair in the corner of the room with a book in his hand.

Harry indeed was a little better when he woke up later that evening, he was still drunk and dizzy and speaking rubbish, but he let Draco feed him some food and he drank his water and he was okay with going home, even though he did ask whether he could stay over again, but the answer was still no, so he stepped into the fireplace with a handful of Floo powder and a grimace on his face, mumbling something about not wanting to go home before calling out ‘Grimmauld Place 12’ and disappearing in the flash of green flames.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Ginny screamed as soon as Harry retrieved his footing (meaning he slumped against the wall before he could topple over), stepping or rather stumbling out of the fireplace.

“What?” Harry slurred. He didn’t think anything was wrong. Well, nothing apart from the fact that he didn’t really want to be home with Ginny, and he had to do his best to fight down the urge of stepping back into the fireplace and going back to Draco’s place.

“Seriously, Harry-” Ginny seemed to be lost for words. “I swear, I just can’t. You really need to stop this, it isn’t okay.”

“Stop what?”

“YOU KNOW VERY WELL WHAT!” Ginny shouted. “Seeing Malfoy. And getting drunk. I think he’s bad influence, and you really need to quit alcohol. Merlin, I thought I knew the man I was marrying.”

“You don’t have to, you know.” I have someone else I want to spend all my days with.

“What do you mean?” The redhead’s voice was cold as ice. Harry still wasn’t 100% sure of his surroundings and what his fiancée thought the problem was or anything, but he knew something was off. Something was really off. So he just walked out of the living room mumbling something about feeling tired and going to bed and headed upstairs towards their shared bedroom, staggering up the stairs.

The next morning arrived with rain and a terrible headache for Harry, along with silent treatment from his fiancée, Harry guessed he deserved it.

A few hours later after he got himself together, took some hangover potion, and even the rain had stopped falling, Ginny still hadn’t spared him even a fleeting glimpse that day.

“Gin, can we talk, please? I’m sorry if I said or did something… but I swear I don’t remember what happened. Please. Just talk to me!” He pleaded as soon as Ginny got off the Floo with Hermione. She had avoided him all morning, she got up before he did, made breakfast but had already finished eating by the time Harry arrived downstairs and was busy doing the washing up. After that she went out to do the shopping, then she had a bath, then she sat around reading her book, not looking up even when Harry was talking to her before disappearing to talk to Hermione.

“What?” Ginny asked turning around, pretending that she didn’t hear Harry’s words. “Were you saying…?”

“Ginny, could you just please stop pretending like you can’t hear what I’m saying?” Harry asked, raising his voice. “We’re getting married for Merlin’s sake we can’t go on like this, not talking about problems.”

“Oh, are we now?” Ginny snorted, rolling her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“What?” Harry asked confused. “Of course we are… what do you even mean?”

“You don’t remember anything from last night?”

“What? What’s that got to do with anything?” Harry couldn’t understand what was going on.

“Just answer the question.” Ginny’s tone was cold as ice again.

“I-” Harry stammered. “I don’t know. I remember being at Draco’s. And coming home. And falling over on my way to the bedroom.” This wasn’t the complete truth, though he wasn’t lying either. He did remember having a sort-of-row with Ginny, but not what it was about. He also remembered not wanting to come home, but staying at Draco’s place. He had to admit, he wouldn’t have minded if he had chosen to act on the latter, at least he would probably be home still instead of having this uncomfortable conversation. Home. When did Draco's place became 'home' in his mind?

“Convenient.” Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

“What do you mean ‘convenient’? What’s convenient about it? I was drunk, Gin, what were you expecting?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe you not to be drunk and talk bullshit?!” She stormed out of the room. Or rather would have stormed, if Harry hadn’t caught her arm. “Let me go!”

“No. Not until you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you!” Harry shouted. “Look, I’m sorry if I said something, I was drunk, I didn’t mean it, but please just tell me, let me apologize and we can forget about this whole thing! There’s no need for you to be difficult!”

“I’m the one being difficult?” Ginny let our a short, disbelieved laugh.

“Yes! If you could just tell me…”

“Just forget about it.” Ginny said, rolling her eyes, shoving Harry off freeing her arm, and walking out. Harry just sighed, and sat back on the couch. Nine more days until the wedding. He had nine days to make it up to Ginny for whatever he said, and he didn’t have a clue where to start.

But in the end it worked out. Ginny seemed to have forgotten about the conflict, and Harry really did his best not to instigate arguments and avoid whiskey, and his fiancée was a little more patient and open. Of course, this didn’t mean they didn’t have rows every second day, but at least they were talking. And Harry tried hard to turn every thought of Draco, or thought of going over to the boy, to make out sessions with Ginny that led to bed. Harry wished he could say it worked and he didn't imagine lean, flat chested body, silver blond hair and grey eyes; whenever he had sex with his fiancee.

There was a specific one time when he just couldn't lie to himself anymore. He was laying in bed at five am in the morning, not being able to sleep after the night of fun with Ginny. He was thinking about how both Draco and Ginny made him feel and how he reacted to them. One of them was definitely standing out from the other as he remembered Hermione's words, while she was talking about Ron: "It's the way he makes me feel, you know, I can feel it in my whole body. It's like sparks, even after all these years I still feel the same teenage joy when I kiss him, or look at him. He annoys me, but I love him. We make each other better people. I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone, but him. We went through too much shit together, we just get each other." Harry came to few realizations, he definitely wasn't straight, he was in love with the idea of Ginny not her, and most importantly, he fancied Draco Malfoy. He really did. All of him. It scared Harry, he finally came clean to himself and it indeed ruined everything that was about to happen.

Harry was afraid of this revelation. He simply could not be...., and with DRACO? Everyone expected him to marry Ginny, he himself even expected that from himself. He had to go along with the wedding for reasons. He needed this marriage. It would get better after the wedding. He'll fall in love with Ginny and he will get Draco out of his head. It will work.

Harry cried this morning and decided to visit Seamus, who occupied Harry with showing him new drinks at his pub and feeding Harry some of experimental food. It wasn't bad to Harry's surprise, it actually tasted pretty darn good, he even asked for more of the tasty creamy pasta with mushrooms vegetables and vegetarian sausage. Food always seemed to lift up Harry's mood, food and alcohol.

He spent the whole day helping Seamus out in the pub, hanging out with him, talking about life, until Dean apparated in front of them, walked over to Seamus and planted a kiss on his lips. It made both Harry and Seamus blush, for different reasons of course. Harry didn't know they were together, he didn't know they were gay. Actually, Dean explained to Harry that he was bisexual, which meant that he was attracted to both man and woman. He said that smiling lovingly at Seamus and adding "but of course, my heart belongs to this beautiful man." which again, made Seamus blush and roll his eyes. Harry felt like he shouldn't be looking at them, it was way too intimate. They were both so in love, Harry felt like a third wheel. He was happy for them though.

That whole situation made Harry think, and after a longer talk with both of his friends he came to the conclusion that he felt the same as Dean. The both boys congratulated him and told him they knew this all along, said that they could see the way he was looking at Cedric back in the fourth year, which made Harry growl at them. He did not share his feelings towards Draco as he didn't see any sense in it. He was getting married to Ginny and he was planning on falling in love with her anyway.

Next days Harry spent helping with last minute wedding preparation. He tried to make Ginny and himself Harry. He believed they would get to the point were both of them would be madly in love. They had to.

**********

The day of the wedding was a beautiful day, even Draco agreed on this, despite loathing everything else about the day.

It might have been the second half of December, but the sun was shining, and simple fur-lined coats or robes were enough to keep the cold out, but even if someone was cold, the heating charms held, and the tent was warm and cozy, packed with food and candles and people chattering excitedly.

Shell Cottage itself was off the premises for the time before the wedding, as it was where Ginny was getting prepared in the company of her mother, her best man, Ron, and the two bridesmaids, her best friends, Hermione and Luna who were more than happy to help her with her dress and flowers and all the other girly things.

Harry was greeting the guests in the company of Dean and Seamus, before retreating to talk to Draco when he noticed the blond arrive and got tired of small talk with people from Hogwarts he hardly knew and Ministry people, and Ginny’s teammates.

“I see you are enjoying yourself, aren’t you?” Harry asked with a grin as he approached Draco who was standing around alone, watching the waves of the sea, nursing a glass of firewhiskey in his hand. He let out a short laugh, and turned around to see Harry. The brunette was already in his wedding robes, which were simple black with a hem embroidered in silver with constellations, hand done by Molly. Underneath he was wearing a plain white shirt and a bowtie, his hair was messy, but just in the way that made it look perfect without looking scruffy or unkempt. And it wasn’t only his hair, he looked perfect all in all.

“You look good.” Draco said, with a shy grin, doing his best to tear his gaze away from the brunette, quickly downing the rest of his whiskey.

“Thanks.” Harry said with a slight blush. “Ron told me I was looking like a poofter, but I actually really like these robes.”

“You are marrying his sister for Merlin’s sake” Draco said, choking on his breath. “How could you be gay? Besides, how can clothes define your sexuality?”

Harry just shrugged. He remembered the night at Seamus's pub and his realization there. He may not be gay, but he was definitely not straight. He was still a bit insecure and scared about it, but seeing the love coming from Dean and Seamus he felt better about his feelings. He just knew he couldn't allow his feelings towards Draco develop further. Draco was looking at him with wide eyes, but he ignored it. This wasn’t a path he wanted to follow, or at least he knew he shouldn’t.

“You look good too.” He said with a smile, before changing the topic to something less uncomfortable. And it was true. Draco was dressed in a midnight blue shirt with black robes, which looked good on him, highlighting his pale skin and hair. But that was none of Harry’s concern and he knew that. He would be seeing Ginny in less than an hour who was going to look beautiful, and he was going to marry her, and nothing else mattered.

Ginny indeed was beautiful, and the whole wedding was beautiful. She looked amazing in her dress which was cream coloured at the top, and dark blue, almost black at the bottom (almost like the colour of Draco’s shirt, Harry thought), where it was embroidered with constellations just like Harry’s robes.

It was dark outside, and it got colder, but the heating charms held. The inside of the tent was decorated beautifully, Luna did an amazing job with the flowers and the fairy lights, it looked magical, almost unrealistically beautiful. The crowd was quiet while they said their vows and cheered at the right times, and Hermione was the one to catch Ginny’s bouquet, making both her and Ron blush scarlet and Molly and the rest of the people who knew them, cheer even louder. The band they invited was great, and the food was amazing, and they were having a lovely time. Mostly, at least. Harry started to become a little uncomfortable when people went up to Ginny and started asking her about what it was like to be married to the ‘chosen one’ and how she achieved everything possible now that she married the hero and saviour of the wizarding world.

After a while he couldn’t stand it any longer, he excused himself and stood up from the dinner table, and walked outside the tent, wrapped in one of the blankets Molly brought for anyone who was cold.

The night was still, and the sounds coming from the tent seemed so faint it was almost unreal, he kept glancing down at his ring finger to remind himself that this was actually happening.

Hermione joined him after a while, also wrapped in a blanket. She stopped next to Harry, resting her head on his shoulder.

“What does it feel like to be a married man?” She whispered.

“I don’t know. It feels the same, to be honest.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yes.” Harry said simply. He was. Momentarily at least, now that he wasn’t surrounded by his friends and admirers, and that he wasn’t having an argument with Ginny. But he didn’t want to destroy the moment.

“That’s the main thing.” Hermione said with a smile, and she squeezed Harry’s hand.

“Oi! Chosen one! You are expected to be inside, don’t leave your wife to deal with all that shit on her own!”

Harry tensed immediately, and Hermione noticed, giving him a worried glance, before turning to Ron, who walked up to them, putting his arm around Hermione.

“I miss this, you know.” Hermione spoke up after standing like that for a while. “Being together like this, just the three of us.”

“Yeah, especially here at Shell Cottage, I keep thinking about the last time we were here.” Ron said. Harry just nodded, and swallowed thickly. He visited Dobby’s grave before they set up the tent and everything, and he didn’t mind it that they held the wedding here, but standing by the sea, he couldn’t help but think back to when they left from there, with Griphook, and Hermione as Bellatrix, and arrived back from Malfoy Manor, landing in the water, and how he held the little body of the elf who had helped them so much, until the very last minute. And he wasn’t able to save him. Hermione must have known what he was thinking, because she squeezed his hand again. Harry gave him a forced smile, and returned his gaze to the slow beating of the waves.

After a while, Harry went back into the tent, and made small talk with everyone who came up to him, and even gave a few autographs, even though he hated it, he ate another few plates of food even though he wasn’t exactly hungry, and he pretended to be excited about the presents he and Ginny got, most of which were terrible, some ugly pieces of chinaware and other bits like that.

Later, they moved the tables out of the way, and served more cocktails and other alcoholic drinks, and the band started playing harder, and everyone started dancing, Harry danced with Ginny, of course, but then with Hermione, and Ron, and Molly, and Fleur, and Luna, he fooled around a bit with Seamus and Dean who were pretty drunk already and just ended up snogging, so Harry left them to it, and said goodbye to some of the older guests from the Ministry and Hogwarts who were a bit over enjoying alcohol and music, Kingsley and McGonagall for example, amongst others.

After they left, Harry wandered around a bit on his own. Ginny was dancing with her father and her brothers, and Harry was happy enough to be off the dance parquet to join them, so he went looking for Draco, who he hadn’t seen since a little after the ceremony itself, and he was beginning to worry about him. He hoped he had just gone home early, and nobody seemed to have seen him, so he guessed this was the case, but he wished he had at least told him he was leaving.

As the night progressed, more and more people left, or were sleeping on the couches and benches knocked out by way too much alcohol, by the time 1am passed, it was only the Hogwarts gang who were up and dancing, minus the few couples who were off snogging or doing Merlin knows what somewhere.

Harry was actually enjoying himself a lot, the pressure of the wedding had gone away, it didn’t even feel like a wedding anymore, more like a Hogwarts reunion party. And he didn’t care if anyone called him childish or immature for it, but he enjoyed it much better than the thought of being a mature and responsible husband and soon-to-be father.

#drarry #drarry squad #harry potter #hp #draco malfoy #drarry fic #my fic #feelings we can't let go #fic #ao3 #fanfic #wip #my writing #fic update #hpdm

3 notes · View notes

thechocobros · 7 years ago

Text

“SEE LUNA SAFE TO ALTISSIA” - part 16

Pair: Nyx Ulric / Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Words: 6722

Plot: Luna and Nyx didn’t fell in the Empire’s trap, Nyx didn’t had to use the ring and he survived. What would have happened if Nyx really had the chance to ‘see Luna safe to Altissia’, like he promised to Regis? Here the part 5: The quick showdown in Altissia separated the newly wed Lunafreya Nox Fleuret and Nyx Ulric. She must fullfill her duty as Oracle. He must survive and go back to protect her. New allies and new enemies will come in their way, so in the chaos that follows, what will the future bring to them all?

Personal Comment: This took me long because I’m making so many things for the lunyx week! I also started to write two new lunyx fics etc, so please, please FORGIVE ME! >.< I hope this chapter will make amends. I’m publishing it before the week, so you will have time to read it.

Speaking of the chaper … Action and angst. My jam. I had to rewrite some scenes after seeing Ignis’ episode trailer, where Ravus appears too xD I also wanted to show more Luna and Nyx in their roles (especially Luna. Damn, that last update really ruined her more and I needed to go back to a more KG version of her, where she actually does stuff without whining), so yeah, I hope I did it good? More action!Luna is yet to come anyway. Let me know.

The next chapter should be the final one. OMG.

Luna must have fainted at some point for she woke up on the couch, exhausted and covered in sweat. She had experienced terrible nightmares as always, but this time waking up and realizing that Nyx wasn’t back yet felt even worse.

Out of the window, the sun was setting alread, or maybe it was the dawn of the day after, she couldn’t tell and this made her panic. If she wasn’t able to understand what time was it, how could she know if it was the case to be worried or not?

She asked the soldiers guarding her room but they didn’t see the Glaive return. He was away for more or less 15 hours. Luna thanked them and shut the door behind her. Once she was alone with her fears, she started to cry.

——–

The worst part was not knowing what happened to him.

Luna waited until midnight on a chair on the balcony, biting her nails to the quick. Her fingers bled when she bit too deep, and all she could do was weigh the possibilities of what could’ve happened. Maybe he was caught by the Imperials. Maybe Noctis thought he was a traitor under Kingsglaive fatigues. Maybe he was killed. Her mind screened and examined dozen of awful scenarios, where her husband got trapped, betrayed, tortured and even assassinated, and in each of them she felt like it was her fault.

The torment born by these nihilistic thoughts brought anything but peace and nobody was there to offer her comfort. In fact, after their last discussion, Ravus decided that it was too risky to stay in touch with her sister and was now probably too disposed with the Empire to actually care about his new brother-in-law. Luna wished to ask Aranea, but had no way to contact her.

And so, Luna realized that she was alone.

“You just have to go on with the plan and do what you gotta,” Nyx had whispered in her ear during their last night together after loving her thoroughly and passionately. “You have your duty. Coming back to you is mine.”

Awakening Leviathan. Kill her and also the other Gods. Defeat the Darkness together with Noctis. Nyx strongly believed that she was able to accomplish such an absurd and extremely dangerous mission, even without his help.

The amount of faith he placed in her was unbelievably huge, but he had always been right about her. Even in so little time, he was able to know her better than she ever knew herself. She believed that she had the power in winning this battle because of him, heard it until it resounded throughout her entire being. Luna wouldn’t let him down no matter what came to pass.

—–

When the dawn came, Luna knew her husband was lost, perhaps forever.

Her heart was shattered in thousand pieces, but none of that matter now. She had a duty to see through and couldn’t let her own irremediably compromised feelings tear her down before it. She was the Princess Oracle, no, she was the Queen Oracle like her mother before her and she carried the voice that only the Gods would adhere to.

She had to look at things in the right perspective, focus on her priorities. She tasted a piece of heaven thanks to Nyx, but now he was gone and she had to do what Eos expected her to, Nyx included. Wiping away her tears with closed fists and nerves taunt as tight ropes, Luna would not falter – not now, not ever.

——–

Nyx was engulfed in nothing but pain and darkness.

It was like someone was tearing his skin off, piece after piece slowly, starting with his arm. He wished to have his arm torn off once for all so he wouldn’t have to bear that constant agony, but the relief didn’t come until an immeasurable amount of time later.

Nyx couldn’t understand when or how, but he started to breathe again and was able to open his eyes.

Even before realizing where he was, his first thought went to Lunafreya. Where was she now? What did she thought when she didn’t see him coming back and what did she do afterwards? If he was still alive, he had to go back to her at any cost.

But wherever she was, it had to be better than his situation.

The place he was caged in was nothing but a dark dungeon with cold walls and only a small window on the ceiling. Hewas chained by the wrists behind the back. His shoulder still hurt like hell, but as he tried to stand on his feet from the supine position he was, he noticed that also his entirebody was sore. Nothing alike the miserable condition he was some time ago anyway.

“You shouldn’t exert yourself,” said someone in a matter-of-fact tone. “I so kindly pulled you from death’s cold embrace so you don’t meet such a tragic end. Need time to gather your bearings? By all means, you shall have it.”

Nyx boggled at the sound of that mellifluous and cruel voice, it was like a creepy music which sent shivers upon his spine. Even at cost of terrible pain, the Glaive turned to watch his interlocutor.

“You…!” He said, recognizing Chancellor Ardyn Izunia himself leaning on the wall and waiting for his awakening.

“Me? Judging by your tone, I assume you recognize me.” He whispered melodiously. “Excellent. I dislike frivolous formalities immensely. We can speak simply, you and I.”

Nyx gnashed his teeth, trying to stand up. He just didn’t have the strength to, barely managing to move a few inches that his restraints allowed. “You healed me?”

“You may be surprised of how many people I used to heal back in my time though I might be a tad rusty at it now. Feel the drawbacks, yes?”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t fancy conversing with corpses. To put it plainly, dead men tell no tales.”

Nyx was finally able to sit, his ribs protesting like they were broken in two and a wave of nausea struck him even if there was nothing inside his stomach to dispel the sensation. “I guess this is the Imperial way of getting someone’s attention?” He brought his chained wrists to his sides, gingerly brushing where the bullet went through. “Dunno if I even wanna know what happens when you guys get friendlier than this.”

Ardyn Izunia moved too, his unhurried gait held an air of pompous clairvoyance and the aloofness of a grand chessmaster.

“Magitek troops are neccessary pawns, but simply incompetent. They know no other way to stop a Glaive but to shoot first. They lack the foresight to consider much else.“

"So using Lunafreya’s notebook and pretending to be Prince Noctis to corner her was probably your idea, huh?”

“You recognized my style! I’m glad to hear that and well, you can’t say that wasn’t genius.” When Nyx raised an eyebrow at the word ‘genius’, the Chancellor added quickly, “Lower your suspicions now. I hold nothing but the deepest regard for men like you, Nyx Ulric. Men who are brave enough to stab the Frostbearer in the name of love. You remind me of myself when I was your age and maybe this is the reason why the Gods are not fond of you. But I do. In fact, the last person who dared to challenge the Astrals was myself so impatience drove me to meet you in person. To see that spark in someone’s eyes.”

“What do you really want?” asked Nyx, not liking his insinuations and starting to loose his coolness. The wound on his shoulder was gone, but the pain left him exhausted and wasn’t in the mood for his mind tricks.

“I want to help you.”

Nyx grimanced. “I don’t buy that one bit.”

“But what if I told you that as soon as I heard about the Glacian’s tragic end, I brought the Crystal to Altissia so your lovely princess could awaken the Infernian and the Draconian?”

Nyx narrowed his eyes and held his breath, studying the chanchellor’s expression to determine if anything expressed had a ring of truth to them. There must have been a catch somewhere, he knew it. Ardyn’s eyes were glowing with the cruelest light, it was like a purple and malicious spark, able to creep the hell out of Nyx. He couldn’t trust his words. “Isn’t what you wanted?” The chancellor continued, appealing to Nyx’s true desire, “To kill all the Six and free the innocent princess from their devices?”

“It is. But I also want to save my King and Eos from the grip of Darkness.”

“Ah, and that’s where, hero. However, I’m not apathetic to your distress, I’ll give you an inestimable opportunity. Consider it a sign of gratitude for killing the Glacian once and for all in my place. Without her divine intromission and the other Astrals’ help, the Chosen King will be in the palm of my hand.”

“What… are you talking about?”

“I can protect the Princess Oracle when she wakes the rest of the Six. I can lend her my power so she will quickly end them. Speaking of ‘her’, I mean your 'wife’.” Izunia stopped to admire with a corrupted smile Nyx’s surprised expression. “Yes, I know that too. What an admirable act of courage, to get marry in order to escape from the destiny the Gods chose for her. But now, don’t throw your bliss away. If you allow me to protect her, I can offer you an everlasting future by her side.”

Nyx instinctively shook his head. “What are you asking me in exchange?”

The chancellor gesticulated with his hand, trying to look casual. “Nothing. After your princess kills the Six, you can take her and flee. You can take her wherever you wish, no one shall ever oppose you ever again.”

Nyx smiled, but he was not amused at all. His mind caught the evil beyond the apparent endeavor of looking lenient. “You only want Lunafreya out of the way.”

Ardyn Izunia pretended to look offended, a mock gasp before chuckling, “Oh! You presumemy beautiful gift as something terrible!”

“Afraid of her, too, aren’t you? You’re right to. Just wait to see what she and Prince Noctis are gonna bring to your sorry ass.”

Ardyn Izunia wasn’t one to know Nyx’s insolence and to tolerate those of his ilk. His playful smile turned into the pure personification of evil as his face lit of a mischievous glow Nyx would be better to fear. “You may live to regret your words.”

“The only thing I would regret is to free my princess from the demons of her past only to force her again under a far more heavy remorse. She would never accept your offer and neither will I.”

Speaking such a reckless statement with a defiant grin painted on his lips earned Nyx a backhand slap to the face. The strength beyond it was so supernatural that the Glaive couldn’t help but fell back on the floor, blood spilling from his nose and lip. He didn’t emit a single whine though. He was not so easy to break.

“So be it. You chose to be the one to experiment regret: because of you, I will kill your beloved wife before Gods do.” That was the only sentence which was able to sweep away the smirk from Nyx’s sore face. No physical pain nor personal menace couldn’t be compared with the fear of seeing Luna being hurt because of him.

“You can’t win this battle, Ardyn Izunia. They won’t let you.”

But Ardyn didn’t bother to reply. He just took his hat off and bowed a little, leaving him there, chained and worried. It was his turn to smirk smugly, like he already won it all.

—————

Luna decided to step out from her safe hiding place to perform the rite of awakening the Hydraean. She sent a short message to First Secretary Claustra to inform her of that, and received a visit from her correspondent.

“Your groom?” she asked, taking a sit on the empty chair in the luxurious room of the Princess.

“Not here,” Lunafreya answered, glacial expression and posture elegantly composed. She was dressed in the beautiful white dress Nyx bought her in Lestallum, her make-up was on and her trident was ready to be used. She wear her mask perfectly, exactly like it has been all those years. If she didn’t hold on to such an appearance she wouldn’t be able to hide her heartbreak. Nobody was allowed to see the pain beyond.

“I met with Prince Noctis this morning,” Camelia stated, trying to look professional. Her eyes hid a evil glow though, but Luna knew she wouldn’t be cause of trouble, not until she and Altissian people would have been safe. “He told me he received a message from you and that you would have asked me to perform the ritual to awake the Hydraean.”

Luna boggled, her words slicing through her like a knife. If Noctis received her message, it meant that Nyx succeed in his mission. So whatever happened to him, happened after that. She stood in silence to mask her anxiety from Camelia.

“We’ve sealed a deal. You can have your ritual. But I want my people to be protected.”

Luna was relieved to hear that was her condition.

“It’s reasonable.”

“We decided to evacuate the city but we’re going to need time. Now you will have a speech where you reassure people of having the situation under control. By the voice of the Oracle, Altissia will listen and evacuate promptly. My only plea wouldn’t help.”

“I can do so.”

“And tomorrow you will call for the Goddess of the Sea, not before noon. This time should be enough for a correct evacuation. The Prince’s friends are gonna help.” There was a small pause where Luna took a deep breath and forced herself to keep a straight face up. She had to focus on the real goal.

“What is the Empire going to say about your intromission in this situation?”

“The Empire knows the Accordo government will do anything to protect its people, so if we organize the evacuation they won’t be in the position to say anything. Regarding me protecting you, this is a personal business they will never know of. Furthermore, it was only a temporary solution. In fact, from now on, you will be on your own. Accordo is not going to protect you when the speech will start, nor it will during the ritual on the altar. You, Prince Noctis and the Empire will be allowed to do whatever you want on our territory once people are safe, but we won’t mingle in your affairs.” A neutral position. An hazardous choice for an all-business politician like Camelia Claustra. Luna was sure that if it wasn’t for the old friendship between her and her mother she wouldn’t have gone that far either.

“I see.”

“You know what really allures the Empire. The power of your trident, along with the rest of the Lucian Ancestors Arminger. When they’ll see Prince Noctis wielding them, they will lose their mind and chaos will burst. If worse comes to worst, you can threaten to throw the trident into the sea. Then they’ll listen. In the meantime, it will be well guarded. Better than the Oracle herself.”

“Understood. I shall reclaim it at the altar.”

“Remember, you’ll be under imperial watch.”

“Right.”

“Think of it as a necessary evil in order to forge the covenant.”

Luna felt weird hearing her mention a covenant. Camelia wouldn’t have known that the princess had evoked the rage of the Gods upon herself because she refused to forge any more kind of covenant. The First Secretary couldn’t even imagine what Luna was actually trying to accomplish with Leviathan’s awakening.

“I am in your debt.” Luna said anyway, bowing a little. The more complacement with the situation, the better.

“Once it’s over, you may go as you please. But you do so without our protection.”

“So be it.”

Camelia let a sigh escape from her lips. For the first time since they met, she looked compassionate when she said: “You better get going. Your public is waiting for you.”

Luna shouldn’t have been surprised of the escalating pace of her life, yet as she watched Camelia leaving the room, a squeeze on her heart reminded her she was getting closer and closer to the end.

She wished Nyx was there beside her.

When a dozen of imperial soldiers rushed in the room, almost crushing the door open for the excessive zealousness and pointing with their guns at her like she was a criminal, Luna didn’t stop to stare into the distance. If she was able to bear her husband’s absence, not even an entire army would have hurt her anymore. She took an unnoticed deep breath and stood up proudly, fervor in her eyes. The soldier who tried to put her on the opposite side of the gun was pulled away with one only firm and cold wave of the hand. Too bad Luna couldn’t see the face he made under the helmet.

She walked ahead, having nothing but one goal: destroy the Gods and the Darkness and possibly find a way to get her husband back.

———–

The gunshot was healed, but now Nyx had to deal with the headache caused by Izunia’s punch. He had to turn around a bit, breathing heavily and hoping that the hemorrhage would have ceased. In the meantime, his brain couldn’t stop thinking and thinking. He had to do something but he was chained down and not even his magic would have been useful in that condition.

He cursed under-breath for falling right in the Chancellor’s trap, but then again he knew it wasn’t his fault. He only had to find a way to get out of there. Who knew if the chaos already started somehow up there.

“Hey!” He screamed, headed to nobody in particular. “Is someone there? Heyyy!” The echo of his own voice was the only thing answering back. He let his head falling back on a stack of hay. That dungeon was so dark and silent it was hard to catch the smallest noise. The frustration grew bigger, until his whole body started to scream like a desperate. “Heyyy, someone take me out of here!” he screamed again, angrier. Then he heard something. A delicate swish, nothing more, but it sounded like it responded to the Glaive’s screaming. Nyx lift his head and looked around. “Who’s there?” he asked, this time almost whispering.

A shadow came out from the darkness and he boggled.

“Sir Ulric?” The mysterious figure was hazel at the beginning but as it got closer, Nyx could only sigh in relief and most likely, in disbelief.

“You…? What are you doing here?”

Ignis Scientia, the Prince’s advisor himself, came under the only candle light they had and adjusted his glasses, surprised as much as the Glaive.

“I’m evacuating the area under Secretary Camelia’s orders and it happened I had to check if someone was left behind in this dungeon.”

“Great! Find a way to get me out of here.”

“I’ll reserve the questions about your imprisonment later.”

“Yeah, later is good.” Nyx grinned, licking the blood away from his lip. He tried to stand up because he wanted to be useful for Ignis in case, but the young advisor seemed to have already clear in mind a solution. After less than one minute, he came back with Nyx’s kukris and without saying a word he shoved it in the floor, looking expectedly to the Glaive, which quickly understood his plan. As a matter of fact, Nyx started to feel immediately the magic running through his veins, screaming to him to be used. Smirking with satisfaction, Nyx let it go. He warped out of the cage’s bars, grabbing the hilt of his weapon and holding on to it. He had left the chains back in the prison and now was free to move again.

“If they really wished to cage you, they should have hidden your kukris in a better place, not near the dungeon’s entrance, where i spotted them before.”

“Right. Our weapons are more important than arms to us, our whole magic is connected to them. And to the King, of course.” Nyx confirmed, knowing that a member of the Crownsguard like Ignis knew all this for sure. “Thanks for bringing my kukris back, someone must have taken them away from me when they knocked me out” Nyx said, expertly rotating the knifes and insert them back in his belt.

“What happened?”

“After my talk with the prince, Ardyn Izunia decided to chat and somehow I ended up here. Crazy, ain’t it? Anyway, what’s the situation up there?”

“Lady Lunafreya is about to wake the Hydraean. The rite will start in a matter of minutes.”

Nyx felt his heart ache, knowing that Izunia was headed towards the altar too, with the clear intention to hurt her. Lunafreya needed his guardian, now more than ever, and he was still too far from her. He had to be quicker than a bolt.

“Ignis Scientia, what about Kingsglaive and Crownsguard joining forces? Please, take me to Lunafreya.”

—–

As Luna stepped ahead towards the podium, she heard people’s voices slowly shut up, in great expectations. It surprised her how many people promptly came as soon as they heard she would have had a small speech. Like she needed more evidences, that was one another one showing that she really was an inspiration for all Eos.

As the silence fell, she knew she held them in the palm of her hand. Whatever she would say, they would have listen, so she took a deep breath.

“Dear friends,” Luna started, “I stand before you today with little hope the words I speak shall reach beyond these walls. For slowly but surely, the Light fades from our world. And as it does, the shadows shall loom ever longer until all succumbs to the darkness. Darkness that evokes terror, hatred and sorrow in the heart of men. The ashes of Lucis… A dream of peace, twisted into a nightmare of death and destruction, claiming innumerable lives and leaving myriad souls to suffer.”

The memories hit Luna’s mind with an unexpected ferocity. Sometimes she wanted to afford the luxury of thinking that she wasn’t traumatized by Insomnia’s destruction, but she was. She really was. Even if she had already Nyx next to her at that time, she couldn’t forget the horrible feeling in her guts when Glauca passed his sword through Regis’s spine the same way he did with her mother. Nor she could forget the sensation of having buildings almost falling upon her, the screams of the citizens panicking around, the fire illuminating their skin, the blood on her dress, the smell of the ashes and powder, the uncertainty of not being able to do what it was her duty to do.

After stopping for a second, Luna regained enough energy to continue: “Yet, I beg you, do not surrender to despair. Have faith, for even if our gods would abandon us, the real power to resist darkness is inside every one of us. Working together, we can build a new world, a new future where the sun always shines. Where the night will mean only dreams instead of nightmares, where the rays of the moon will illuminate the peace fell upon us all. Our world will be delivered from the perils of the dark. I stand before you here, in Altissia, to call upon Leviathan, Goddess of the Seas, spirit of the deep. But first I offer you my solemn vow: on my honor as Oracle, I will not rest until the darkness is banished from our world and the light is restored.”

And in that very moment, an emotional applause covered her words. She looked into the crowd and she spotted a single familiar face. She couldn’t be certain of his identity because so many years passed since last time they talked. Only when he nodded, Luna could sigh in relief.

Noctis.

Her childhood friend.

She smiled, nodding back to him, and turned away.

————-

Ignis was incredibly fast for a man moving in such an elegant suit. Nyx expected to have to slow down the pace, but thanks to the stars it wasn’t necessary. They both ran so fast it was even hard to catch them with the eyes. Their goal was the altar but arriving there was more difficult than they expected.

The city was completely empty so they didn’t have to worry too much about people left behind and if this was a good thing, it also meant Altissia wasn’t a safe place for them neither.

A dark grey sky was illuminating a ghost town, touched only by a cold wind and spurts of water coming from the sea. It wasn’t raining yet, but there was so much humidity that the effect on the clothes and skin was very similar. It was so creepy that Nyx hardly recognized the warm and romantic city who welcomed him and the Princess only a week before.

In the meantime, Ignis continued to run, unstoppable. It looked like he knew perfectly every narrow lane and every hidden path, which was probably true since he seemed like the kind of guy who studies maps at night to be prepared the day after. If it wasn’t for him, Nyx wouldn’t have reached the cathedral square so fast.

“This is where Lady Lunafreya had her speech,” the young Advisor explained quickly, not bothering to stop to catch his breath. The place where they arrived was huge and now empty. The ferocious and supernatural wind pulled papers and trash on the beautiful tiles of the square, turning the original beauty into a desolated open space. “She headed in that direction. The altar must be there.”

Nyx grabbed Ignis’ arm, forcing him to stop.“You shouldn’t come with me. It’s too dangerous. A mess bigger than you think is about to start and you must not die.”

“I can take care of myself.”

Nyx shook his head, that was not what he meant. “I don’t doubt it. It’s not you I am worried about. Go to the Prince, keep him safe. If you die before, you won’t be able to do it.”

“What about Lady Lunafreya?”

Nyx closed fists, his eyes grew darker as he whispered, determined. “You have the Prince, I have the Princess. It’s my job to keep her safe. I won’t allow anyone to do any harm to her, as much as you won’t allow anyone to hurt the Prince.”

“You’ll need help.”

At that words, Nyx smirked, but the smiled didn’t reach his blue eyes. “Yes, I know. But I’ll manage it somehow.”

Behind the glasses, Ignis’ pupils reveled his evident desire to go back to Noctis and stand by his side during the battle. He clearly wanted to be helpful and he knew the best way to do it was to go back to his friend.

“Don’t die,” he said, finally nodding. They were in the center of the square and the dark clouds announcing a supernatural event we’re surrounding them. It felt somehow like a goodbye.

Nyx was about to answer when a sudden earthquake shook the floor underneath their feet. They barely had the strength to stand straight before a frightening noise broke the sky in two. They quickly turned to watch the sea in the distance and they saw the huge profile of Leviathan breaking out of the ocean, screaming with a terrible voice, capable of making the bravest man to shiver.

“The Hydraean!” Ignis screamed, his voice bearable audible in the chaos.

“Lunafreya has begun the rite!”

Ignis and Nyx shared one more look and nodded. They would have proceed with the plan if another intimidating noise - this time much closer - wouldn’t have interrupted. It wasn’t good news.

An entire fleet of imperial airships was on their way towards the altar, and as they passed by, Nyx noticed one in particular staying behind. Nyx instinctively wielded his kukris, because he kinda knew who was inside it. As a matter of fact, that single airship veered towards them.

“Bet it’s the Chancellor!” Nyx screamed so Ignis would hear him. The advisor wielded his knifes too, ready to fight, but when a small army of MTs jumped down the airship, there was not much they could do if not starting to kill them all one by one.

Nyx and Ignis formed an unexpected compatible duo in battles. Nyx was more impulsive but this defect was balanced by Ignis’ impeccable strategies he kept yelling at him. As expected, Nyx was a better soldier. His magic was way more powerful thanks to the warp and the spells he learned to use in the Kingsglaive so together they needed only a couple of minutes to have the situation under control. As soon as they did, Nyx caught the Chancellor’s profile watching them from the airship.

“I knew it” he had the time to whisper before Ardyn Izunia jumped down on the square next to them.

“You escaped the dungeon. Why am i not surprised, I wonder” he spoke out loud, gesticulating at Nyx like he was an old friend he was glad to meet again. “And you’ve got company I see.” Ignis’ eyes narrowed in the attempt of lining up the pieces of the puzzle, he certainly had no idea of what was really happening. In spite of this, when he spotted the Glaive wielding the kukris against the Chancellor, he did the same, lips arching in a menacing grimace.

“Go to Lady Lunafreya” he ordered, like the strategist he was.

“You have to run away, too. Fighting him now would be out of our league.”

“I fear it is” Ignis admitted, but his elegant accent didn’t lose the composure.

Yet, Ardyn Izunia summoned a weapon in that very moment, a beautiful sword Ignis could swear he saw already somewhere. Was that really an ancestral weapon? Things were getting even more confusing at this point.

A dozen of other imperial soldiers appeared out of the fog in that very moment, charging against them with the ferocity of an entire army.

Nyx had less than two seconds to decide. He didn’t want to abandon an ally like Ignis there, because he knew that would have been the equivalent of a sentence to death. At the same time, he knew that staying there to fight wouldn’t have helped Ignis anyway. They both would have died and the sacrifice would have been heroic yet useless. But in spite of any logic, for Nyx it just wasn’t an option. He never abandoned a companion during all his military career and he certainly wouldn’t had now. Wasn’t he the hero of Kingsglaive after all?

“Hell no.” Nyx said, then, with a smug smile on the face.

The impact was violent. There was shooting, iron against iron, screams, smell of sweat and blood. Ardyn chose Nyx as his direct adversary, so the soldiers threw themselves on Ignis. They took him down after less than a minute, attacking him from the front and from the back. The Strategist was really good in using magic even if he was just a member of the Crownsguard and not a Glaive like Nyx, so he was able to free himself a couple of time, but he would have died pretty fast anyway if it wasn’t for a long sword coming to help him. Looking up to see who was there surprised Ignis a lot:

“Lord Ravus!”

“I will regret this, Scientia. But for now, let’s just join forces.”

In spite of the impression he wanted to give, Ravus proved himself a lot less careless than he would have ever like to admit. Understanding that there would have never been a more crucial battle, he was ready to play the “it’s now or never” game.

Ignis didn’t need to be asked twice. No matter how much he was covered in sweat and blood, he stood up again. He and Ravus joined together against the imperial soldiers, opening a way to reach Nyx and Ardyn.

In the meantime the Glaive - who was hardly warding off Ardyn’s knocks - noticed Ravus’ arrival and with a smooth somersault, he moved back, crouched down and then warped ahead, so he could reach the allies.In a second, Nyx, Ravus and Ignis were standing one next to the others, watching their backs to protect themselves from the Empire’s wrath. In a way, counting on the support of such skilled allies was a relief, but it couldn’t last, because they had to part as soon as possible. In fact, Ravus’ true intentions were reveled when he said: “Ulric, go to Lunafreya. I’ll stay with Scientia, so you can stop playing the war hero.”

Nyx smirked but nodded, silently thanking his brand new brother in law for the help.

Under the Chancellor’s eyes, Nyx avoided a soldier which was attacking him, and was forced to warp on the closest airship to avoid the hit. The platform were he land was empty and safe, a perfect spot to watch the situation from another angle. However, when the airship started to move, Nyx gasped, glad but also worried for not knowing the direction he was headed to.

“Don’t die, ok?” He screamed anyway towards Ignis and Ravus, which still were in the center of the square, surrounded by imperial soldiers. He didn’t leave lighthearted, on the contrary, he knew that both Ignis and Ravus were risking their life and that their possibilities of survival were very few.

He cursed under-breath as he noticed that Leviathan in the distance was throwing huge pieces of buildings up in the air. Some reached the area close to them, starting fires and destroying everything. He focused again on the two allies getting smaller and smaller from the safe place on the airship. He noticed that they started to fight already but in a very short time Ignis was immobilized on the floor by the imperial soldiers. The rain was wetting his glasses, the mud sullied his elegant suit. It was a pitiful view even from afar and Nyx hated it. In fact he felt the urge to warp back to help him but decided to trust Ravus.

The last thing he saw was Ardyn Izunia swaying towards the royal Advisor and saying something, before he turned to watch the Glaive go with the most malicious blink.

Nyx closed fists, knowing it still wasn’t over.

And in the distance, the yell of Leviathan broke the sky in two.

————

Everything was still. In front of the altar where she was standing, there was nothing but the sea, fogged by the upcoming cataclysm.

Lunafreya collected her energy to perform the Awakening for the last time. Even if the disease weakened her enormously, she still had in her what she needed and after all, that was her calling. She did it perfectly. As she felt a quake in her magic, also the earth underneath her trembled in a similar way and the ocean curled up in spirals, making space for the ferocity of the Goddess of the Sea. The huge creature, with the form of a snake or better a dragon, appeared abruptly from the depths of the waters, screaming her anger out and spilling intolerance. Even if Luna got immediately soaking wet, she didn’t flinch. She stood still, the trident in her hand, with a determined glow in her eyes.

“What fool mortal dares break the slumber of the Tide!?” The Hydraen’s voice was like the broken noise of a vibrant radio station, it was terrible, harsh, strident. Luna needed all her strenght to not step back.

“It is I, Lunafreya, blood of the Oracle! Goddess of the Seas, I beseech you: cease your vain attempts of using mankind for revenge. Bless us all with the freedom of choosing about our own destiny.” Her request was simple: she just wanted to be set free.

“This wretched pile of bones and flesh, ignorant of that which governs all, comes to requisition the might of a goddess?“

"I do.”

“Blasphemous ingrates, all men, quick to forget the ages their goddess stood watch!” With a single violent wave, Leviathan threw the princess against a wall. The poor soul almost fainted because of the pain and blinking her trembling hands, she used the trident to regain footing. Her voice was beautiful in the chaos:

“It is in receiving mercy that men offer praise, and in shedding grace that the gods solicit worship.”

But Leviathan wasn’t inclined to accept any praise, and temperment most foul to afford shedding grace. “Yet this profane speck speaks her «freedom» heresies before a goddess! Insufferable sacrilege! Such a thing is far beyond your control!”

Lunafreya stared at the wild creature in front of her, as the saddest sigh touched her lips: “Well, I had to try to ask nicely”. But now, all she could do was to proceed with the plan, even if that would have meant risking more than her own life. If she failed, the entire world would have paid for her act of rebellion. Yet it was for the world’s sake she had to try.

She raised her trident up to the sky, releasing all her white magic in a single burst. It was unexpected, not even the Goddess of the Sea could imagine to be hurt immediately after her awakening. Nor she could expect to be hit by the Oracle itself.

The brilliant ray of power emanated from Luna cut both her fins and slashed the scales near her throat, but didn’t kill her immediately. On the contrary, it provoked her rage even more. As a reaction, Leviathan moved her tale, hitting Luna with an impressive wall of water and she didn’t fall in the depths of the ocean only because she found a rock to hold on to. As the Oracle spat out salt water that assaulted her nose and mouth, she took a second to recover and then tried again to raise her trident in the air. Leviathan was badly injured which made her extremely exasperated. As the Goddess lost from her fins the same silver blood Shiva shed too, she moved again out of control, causing such an hysteria that Luna couldn’t hit her again with the trident’s magic.

The Oracle let the adrenaline take over her own mind, so she could jump from a debris to another debris. Her beautiful white dress tore apart, a irregular slit appeared on the soft material but the girl didn’t bother. She helped herself with her own bare hands, turning the long skirt into a messy mini. After that, she looked out for an ally in all that chaos, knowing someone must be there.

In fact, Noctis appeared in that very moment on a spike in the distance. Luna felt a light squeeze on her heart as she watched the future King of Kings standing there, ready to fight and keep to his duty. In spite of his huge role in the destiny of the world, he still was the childhood friend whose memory filled Luna’s mind for years. Who knew if he used the Ring already and if its power started to corrupt his bones, leading him inevitably to self destruction. The coming developments would have revealed it to her in the hard way.

Lunafreya understood immediately what she was supposed to do now that she noticed the young prince in the chaos: reach out for him and fill him with the Oracle’s magic so he would have the strength to take the battle to Leviathan head on.

Clasping her fingers around the trident’s cold metal, Luna rushed ahead, trying to get close.

The war cries of the Sea Goddess were deafening and because of them, Luna missed an imperial airship’s arrival, coming out of the blue toward her direction. She stopped, staring in surprise at the Chancellor Ardyn Izunia himself descendingto meet with her.

Luna couldn’t believe at her eyes when the man grinned with a wicked smirk that illuminated his entire face, concealing nothing to the Oracle. He had came for her and now she hadn’t nowhereelse to run.

#lunyx #kingsglaive #final fantasy xv #lunafreya nox fleuret #nyx ulric

29 notes · View notes