It really was all pure coincidence. Absolutely no planning to it whatsoever-- not that these two were likely to have planned a meeting, in any event. They'd wandered in very different circles.
It's Luna's last night in Australia, and the team are out celebrating their successful discovery of what they'll probably name the Victorian Clawhide, and it's nice. It's cheerful and not stifling and everyone's smiling entirely genuinely, because the war hadn't touched this part of the war-- at least, not so badly.
(She remembers Hermione murmuring, one night, about how she'd sent her parents here. Luna wonders if she's found them, yet, but doesn't intend on writing to ask. She came here to leave that life behind for a while, after all.)
The noise and general good cheer is still a little much, especially after being in the relative quiet of the Outback with only the rest of the magizoologists for company, so Luna retreats to the sidelines every so often to catch her breath.
It's one of these times ducking away that she catches sight of what she thinks is a familiar face, but it's going to take her a few heartbeats to properly put a name to it.
It was a hell of a coincidence, to be sure. Daphne often spent her nights in local bars and taverns, talking with locals where and when she could, or just sitting in a corner booth, people-watching and writing. In Australia, the former is an option, though it does mean having to fend off more unwanted advances than she'd prefer.
The excuse of not sharing a language doesn't deter all men all the time, but it does deter some. Such was the trade-off for not having to stumble her way through communicating. Aussie slang may as well be a foreign language, though.
She's sat at a corner table, back to the wall and looking out at the crowded room. Can't help it, really; traveling alone as a woman is always dangerous, no matter where in the world you are, and no matter what sort of mess you've left behind. She's about due for a check-in owl with Tori, so the poor dear knows the worst hasn't happened. Daphne was expecting an engagement announcement from her within the next letter or so, which would mean having to go back home, at least long enough for the wedding.
Strange coincidence, to be lost in thoughts about home right when she catches sight of someone from home. Of course she remembers Lovegood, hard to forget a face you've seen with radishes attached to the ears of, especially when your best friend always took the time to point her out for a laugh every single time you crossed paths in school.
There's a spike of shame at the memory of joining in on that mocking. What stupid children they'd been.
Well, now Daphne is the one friendless and alone. When Luna's eyes meet hers, she gives her a small wave, and an olive branch of a smile.
Oh! So they do know one another after all. One of the Greengrasses, she's fairly certain. It takes the time she needs to approach her to remember. Luna's smiling the whole way, though.
"Hello!" she says, and she really does sound closer to properly cheerful, now, after all this time away, "It's-- Daphne, right?"
Others would probably have been more cautious about approaching a Slytherin so openly. Luna knows better.
She's a little surprised at the warm welcome, but then, Luna had always been so cheerful in school as well, hadn't she? Daphne nods, her own smile brightening. "And you're Luna? It's been a while since I've run into anyone from home. Small world, isn't it?"
She waves a hand at the empty chair across from her. "Would you care to join me?"
"True enough, darling." Daphne hums, resting her chin in her palm, elbow propped up on the table, as she watches Luna settle into her seat. Perhaps she should have expected it more, going to a Wizarding bar in an English-speaking country. Ah well.
"Nothing but wanderlust, I suppose. I wanted to see new things, meet new people... broaden my horizons, as it were." One finely-manicured finger traces the rim of a drink she didn't pay for. "What about you?"
B] also my hc is always that Xeno died after the war bc Azkaban was a mess
“How exciting! Travel really is rather freeing; I hope you’ve been finding plenty of new horizons.”
These last few years, after all, had been the polar opposite of freedom. Luna doesn’t let the fact of it shake her smile too much.
“The same, in a way. I wanted to— get away for a while. See more of the world.” There’s a brief flash of something tired in the back of her eyes, but it doesn’t linger, “There’s so much more than just home, after all, and it was a wonderful opportunity to try to find some of the creatures my— my father always spoke of.”
This time the ache in her expression is much more apparent, but her voice doesn’t tremble as she continues, “It’s what he would have wanted, I think.”
"Oh, there's been plenty. I've mostly used muggle means to travel, which was a whole lot of new horizons in itself for me, but I find it's more focused on the travel itself, rather than simply getting you to your destination, and I like that." It's been so long since she's seen that sort of strained expression on someone else; it was part of the reason she'd left, if she were honest, and she tried to be these days. It seemed easier to handle now that she'd had a break from it all, though.
"Have you managed to find any?" She asked curiously, rather than linger on offering likely unwanted condolences. She did soften her gaze, though; everyone lost people during the war, some just didn't finish leaving until after it had ended.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
travelling band
It's Luna's last night in Australia, and the team are out celebrating their successful discovery of what they'll probably name the Victorian Clawhide, and it's nice. It's cheerful and not stifling and everyone's smiling entirely genuinely, because the war hadn't touched this part of the war-- at least, not so badly.
(She remembers Hermione murmuring, one night, about how she'd sent her parents here. Luna wonders if she's found them, yet, but doesn't intend on writing to ask. She came here to leave that life behind for a while, after all.)
The noise and general good cheer is still a little much, especially after being in the relative quiet of the Outback with only the rest of the magizoologists for company, so Luna retreats to the sidelines every so often to catch her breath.
It's one of these times ducking away that she catches sight of what she thinks is a familiar face, but it's going to take her a few heartbeats to properly put a name to it.
no subject
The excuse of not sharing a language doesn't deter all men all the time, but it does deter some. Such was the trade-off for not having to stumble her way through communicating. Aussie slang may as well be a foreign language, though.
She's sat at a corner table, back to the wall and looking out at the crowded room. Can't help it, really; traveling alone as a woman is always dangerous, no matter where in the world you are, and no matter what sort of mess you've left behind. She's about due for a check-in owl with Tori, so the poor dear knows the worst hasn't happened. Daphne was expecting an engagement announcement from her within the next letter or so, which would mean having to go back home, at least long enough for the wedding.
Strange coincidence, to be lost in thoughts about home right when she catches sight of someone from home. Of course she remembers Lovegood, hard to forget a face you've seen with radishes attached to the ears of, especially when your best friend always took the time to point her out for a laugh every single time you crossed paths in school.
There's a spike of shame at the memory of joining in on that mocking. What stupid children they'd been.
Well, now Daphne is the one friendless and alone. When Luna's eyes meet hers, she gives her a small wave, and an olive branch of a smile.
no subject
"Hello!" she says, and she really does sound closer to properly cheerful, now, after all this time away, "It's-- Daphne, right?"
Others would probably have been more cautious about approaching a Slytherin so openly. Luna knows better.
no subject
She waves a hand at the empty chair across from her. "Would you care to join me?"
/rolls up sleeves let's make sappho proud
And this being a Wizarding World bar, well.
She smiles at the offered seat, shifting down into it as she says, "That'd be lovely, thank you."
Once she's settled, she asks brightly, "What brings you to this part of the world, then?"
hell ye
"Nothing but wanderlust, I suppose. I wanted to see new things, meet new people... broaden my horizons, as it were." One finely-manicured finger traces the rim of a drink she didn't pay for. "What about you?"
B] also my hc is always that Xeno died after the war bc Azkaban was a mess
These last few years, after all, had been the polar opposite of freedom. Luna doesn’t let the fact of it shake her smile too much.
“The same, in a way. I wanted to— get away for a while. See more of the world.” There’s a brief flash of something tired in the back of her eyes, but it doesn’t linger, “There’s so much more than just home, after all, and it was a wonderful opportunity to try to find some of the creatures my— my father always spoke of.”
This time the ache in her expression is much more apparent, but her voice doesn’t tremble as she continues, “It’s what he would have wanted, I think.”
no subject
"Have you managed to find any?" She asked curiously, rather than linger on offering likely unwanted condolences. She did soften her gaze, though; everyone lost people during the war, some just didn't finish leaving until after it had ended.