It started with a letter tucked into her Herbology textbook.
Hallie found it just after class, the parchment warm to the touch despite the cool breeze in Greenhouse Three. The handwriting was elegant and looping, with faint ink-smudges in the corners.
"Meet me under the Willow just before supper. Bring your curiosity."
—L
Hallie smiled so hard she had to tuck her face behind the book to hide the blush blooming across her cheeks.
She dressed carefully, though she told herself she wasn't. Just a slightly brighter ribbon in her hair, a robe freshly laundered, her favorite boots—not because it was Luna, she insisted to herself, but because it was autumn and one ought to dress for the leaves.
(And maybe because she wanted Luna to think she looked nice.)
She arrived early, as usual. The Whomping Willow loomed large at the edge of the lawn, its branches swaying gently in the evening wind—calm today, thanks to a containment charm.
Luna was already there, barefoot in the soft grass, holding two mugs of something steaming.
"Pumpkin tea," she said simply, offering one to Hallie. "For bravery."
Hallie took it, their fingers brushing. "Do we need bravery today?"
Luna looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "Not for fighting. For saying things."
Hallie's heart did a quiet little leap.
They sat beneath the willow, the protective spell casting a gentle dome around them. A cocoon of silence and rustling leaves.
Hallie pulled her knees to her chest, holding the warm mug in both hands like a little fire.
She looked up at Luna. "You know… you confuse me in the nicest way."
Luna turned to her, blinking. "Why?"
"Because I'm not used to someone making the world quieter. Safer. You just… are, and I want to be near it."
Luna smiled, eyes soft. "That's how I feel about you, you know."
Hallie froze, mug halfway to her lips. "Really?"
"Of course. You're like… a gentle storm. You change the air around people. And you never even realize how lovely it is."
Hallie's ears turned pink. "That's—thank you. That's a lot."
"You're very cute when you get flustered."
Hallie let out a tiny squeak and buried her face in her scarf, her cheeks positively glowing now. "You can't just say things like that."
"I can," Luna said serenely, "and I will."
There was a silence, but not an awkward one.
Just warmth. Just closeness.
And then Luna shifted slightly, close enough that their shoulders touched.
Hallie didn't move away.
Instead, she turned slightly and said—quiet as a breeze, but with something behind it—"Would you mind if I held your hand again?"
Luna's smile answered before her fingers did.
Their hands fit together easily, naturally. Like they'd done it a thousand times before in a thousand lives.
Hallie giggled—light, breathy, joyful.
"What?" Luna asked.
"Nothing. I just… I always thought I'd have to pretend to be this girl. Smile a certain way. Talk softer. But I don't. I just get to be, and it feels so… easy."
Luna leaned her head gently against hers. "Because you were always her."
Hallie beamed. "You say the nicest things. I might start floating."
"Then I'll catch you," Luna said, with a dreamy confidence that made Hallie's heart feel like starlight.
Later, as they walked back toward the castle hand-in-hand, Hallie looked down at the way their fingers were laced and whispered, "Is this something?"
Luna paused.
"It could be," she said. "If you want it to."
Hallie smiled.
She did.