Written for Hogwarts' Romance Awareness Challenge, Day Nineteen: Creature mates.

Word count: 534

smile

"You'll know them when you meet them," Luna's mother had always used to say when Luna wanted to know how she'd recognize her mate, the one living soul meant to complete hers. Pandora would brush Luna's blonde hair carefully, and wistfully say, "I knew that your father was mine instantly. There's no feeling quite like it in the world, you'll see." And then she'd let Luna turn her head to face her and she'd kiss her daughter's forehead softly.

Luna hadn't really believed it until now. After all, her creature side was easily concealable - or most of it was anyway. It was impossible to hide her otherworldly eyes, of course, but as a banshee Luna's powers only acted up around dead bodies or imminent deaths.

Which is why she doesn't expect it at all, when the pretty redhead girl sits in her compartment and her heart starts beating faster.

It feels like a disease, like she's sick almost. Her mother never mentioned that - never said anything about the way Luna's blood would turn hot in her veins, the way her muscles would spasm on their own and how her hands would reach to hold someone she's never met or touched before.

It builds fizzles in her stomach and bubbles up her lungs, builds itself up in her throat until it scratches at the back of her throat like she's holding a million spiders inside her. She may have only felt this once before - this urge to scream out a name, to herald a death (and Merlin, hadn't that been terrible, knowing in advance that she would never be able to save her own mother?), but it's different this time around.

This scream, this announcement she's trying so hard to swallow back up, it's not a sign of death - at least not an upcoming one. It's something else entirely.

This is what her mother had told her about, in what now feels like another lifetime.

"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley," the girl says, smiling shyly. She shifts on her feet and puts on a smile that makes Luna want to smile back. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Luna shakes her head and gestures at the free seats wildly, not trusting her own voice not to betray her right now. Ginny Weasley. The name suits her somehow, and Luna's already imagining how it will taste in her mouth, how it'll probably roll right of her tongue. Would it really ring as clearly in the air as she thought it would, as the build up in her throat would suggest?

Only one way to find out, she supposes.

"Hi Ginny Weasley," she says, and oh, those words are everything to her, she can already tell, "I'm Luna Lovegood. I think we're going to be great friends."

"Really?" Ginny asks, in equal parts bewildered and enthusiastic. "You think so?"

Luna smiles widely and reaches forward to take Ginny's hand in hers. "I know so," she states, because if there's one thing she knows, it's that from this day forward, she'll fight to stay at Ginny's side no matter what.

That she'll do anything to keep Ginny smiling the way she is now.