For Luna Lovegood, the entire world is off-color – not-so-green greens, could-be-bluer blues, almost-brown reds. It's all there, and she can see it, but there's something frustrating about being so close to the real thing, yet not quite there.

And that's how her life is. Everything's just a little bit off, like the fact that she skips the tiniest bit when she walks, or that all the paintings seem just the slightest bit crooked, or that every word looks misspelled, even when it's not.

And the creatures? They're all those colors that she and only she can see, real but not – real to her. It doesn't matter if anyone believes her. In her world, they exist. They do.

And then, she can see.

And then, war jolts her awake, and it's like going inside after squinting in the sun for too long. It's all in sudden clarity; there are more important things than finding the rainbow her colors belong to, and exchanging them for the right ones. It's not what she needs to worry about.

But maybe now, things will change. The greens will look a little greener, the blues a little bluer, the reds a little redder. Maybe those knocked-over paintings will be righted, and it won't feel like she's limping, and she won't have to recheck all her spellings.

And there's something undeniably exhilarating about the scarlet of a Stunner shooting past her ear, or the emerald Killing Curse heading straight for her that she gets out of the way of at the last moment. It's an odd dance, twisting and twirling and ducking beneath spells (everycolor), around Shield Charms (silver), between people (alive), and now the dress robes are really beautiful as they spin outward, whipping out with the slightest breeze about the ankles –

And although people's faces are chalk-white, she knows they are, and things aren't so off-color anymore.

~o~

A/N: Random drabble written at one in the morning. Thought I'd post it and see what you think. :)

Oddly enough, I got this idea while I was swimming. I was floating on my back, eyes closed so I wouldn't go blind (ugh, Texas), and when I opened them, it was just really weird - the bushes were all pale and everything was - well, off-color. The line "maybe the greens will look a little greener" popped into my head for no particular reason, and voila! You have this drabble.

OH! In other news, Potter Puppet Pals has a new YouTube channel, under the actual name Potter Puppet Pals. Three short - but hilarious - vids! Check them out. Once you do, you can tell me whether you want to be mustache buddies or not. ;D

Also: I have joined Fanfictioners Against World Hunger, where you play on freerice(dot)com and answer questions - math, English, foreign languages, everything - to donate rice for fics that you like. Contact Gryffindor777 for more info, and help end world hunger.

Again, do not favorite without reviewing. I'm serious. I mean, come on, most of us out there are writers. We know how it feels when we get a review. Usually, it makes our day. So please, take up that policy. Make someone else's day for a change (selfish dipwads... I mean, please!).

~whispered touches

Disclaimer: I do not own Luna Lovegood or anything else you may recognize. She belongs to J.K. Rowling and her affiliates. No copyright infringement is intended.