Beautiful

They were beautiful.

She'd always thought there was something majestic about their beauty. Whether it be the leathery wings that were intricately decorated with hair; or the serpentine features that highlighted their glittering white eyes, pupil-less in their wise yet unassuming stare; or their enlarged forms laden with angles and arches, adding unique definition to their lustrous, dark skin whilst displaying their mighty skeleton in all its glory. There was something about the reptilian-equines that fascinated Luna, always catching her silver eyes at the start of the year.

Only there was someone else watching the Thestrals with her today.

She had listened carefully to the soft footsteps as he walked towards her, occasionally stepping on a twig or puddle. His breaths had gotten louder as he neared, a bit tired from the trek to reach here.

She raised her hand, gently petting the majestic Thestral in front of her, smiling as he leaned into her touch whilst she ran her fingers through his beautiful black mane. He gently nudged her palm with his nose as she cupped his face, captured by his docile behaviour.

"Hello, Harry Potter," she called calmly as the footsteps neared, her Irish lilt prominent. There was only one person who would approach her or Thestrals so casually.

"Your feet," breathed Harry, a cloud forming in the cold as he spoke. "Aren't they cold?"

Glancing at her bare feet, she nodded slightly at his concern, humming her confirmation. She wiggled her toes, having only just noticed the uncomfortable numbness. They were slightly dirty, since the soil was still damp, but were unharmed with no scratches or cuts.

There weren't many who would be worried about her.

"Unfortunately, all my shoes have mysteriously disappeared," she explained, glancing at him for the first time. "I suspect Nargles are behind it," she added in a conspiratory whisper, hiding the reason she knew to be true.

Her eyes returned once again to the captivating creature, enchanted by the way the sunlight caused his leathery skin to shine. The reflecting shimmer highlighted the movement of his mighty muscles as he walked towards the lake, uncomfortable by the presence of a stranger. The water was glimmering brightly at the sun, casting an ethereal light on the surrounding trees, making their green leaves appear almost golden. The grass, still covered in dew, twinkled in the sunshine, causing flashes of light to appear all around the clearing like fairylights.

She wondered if there were any Heliopaths around today. The more she thought of it, the more she noticed a distinctly reddish tinge to the leaves on the trees to the left. Perhaps she could try and find them later.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as Harry stared intently at the Thestral retreating towards his family. His emerald eyes widened as he examined their intimidating features—the ones that always scared people away. She waited for him to flinch or recoil in disgust at the sight of the unconventional horses, yet he simply continued staring, observing them.

"What are they?" asked Harry softly, in an awe-filled whisper.

"They're called Thestrals," she explained in her melodic voice, turning to face him. "They're quite gentle really, but people avoid them because... they're a bit..."

"—different," finished Harry, watching the baby Thestral trot over to her father. The tiny horse nestled into her father's side, who wrapped his large wing around her, hugging his child to his body. The little baby squealed happily—a high pitched sound—before flapping her fragile wings and wagging the long, black hair on her tail.

Unconcerned, Luna walked towards the little Thestral, feeling her bag to make sure she had what she was looking for. Once Harry noticed her movement, he quickly followed, jogging to catch up with her.

"But why can't the others see them?" he asked quickly.

"They can only be seen by people who've seen death," she explained earnestly, looking at him with her large, silver eyes. A second passed; Harry gulped, staring at the ground before turning his concerned eyes to her.

She'd never liked his circular glasses. They always obstructed his expressive eyes from people.

"So… you've known someone who's died?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"My mum." She nodded. "She was quite an extraordinary witch, but she did like to experiment and one day one of her spells went badly wrong." She shrugged sadly. "I was nine."

"I'm sorry," said Harry sincerely. His face betrayed his emotions, as it always did. Whilst she saw concern, she was pleasantly surprised to find no pity in his startling eyes.

"Yes, it was rather horrible," she conceded. "I do feel very sad about it sometimes, but I've got Dad."

An image of her mother—a beautiful woman with long, blonde hair that fell in cascading waves down her back, and large doe eyes who saw what others couldn't see—flitted past her mind. Her mother had been laughing just minutes before the incident, dancing around the garden with her arms spread open as she immersed herself in the magic of the nature around her, her eyes closed as she twirled. Five minutes later, a smile was on her face as she removed her wand from behind her ear and pointed it at the cauldron she had been brewing outside.

"Just watch, Luna dear. I've got it this time!" she had exclaimed excitedly in her harmonic voice. Her blue eyes had been filled with wonder, glittering with happiness.

A complicated wand movement later, there was an explosion. The cauldron had erupted and her mother, who was lying on the floor with a blissful smile on her face, was no more.

Shaking the memory from her mind, she stopped the nostalgic turn of her thoughts. It wasn't as if she would never see her mother again. She was sure, despite it all, that her mother's soul was happy. After all, she was free from the corporeal world. If that meant that Luna couldn't be with her for now, then it was a small price to pay.

She reached into her bag and removed a deep red apple. The little Thestral, having caught sight of the juicy fruit, shrieked excitedly.

"We do both believe you by the way," commented Luna casually. At Harry's confused stare, she continued, "That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and you fought him, and the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you and Dumbledore."

"Thanks," he replied. "Seems you're about the only ones who do," he added softy, staring at the baby before him.

"I don't think that's true," reassured Luna, leaning down in front of the little Thestral. She rolled the ripe apple towards her, watching with affection as she sniffed the fruit and shook her head disappointedly, looking at her expectantly with glittering white eyes. "But I suppose that's how he wants you to feel," she added.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if I were You-Know-Who, I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else, because if it's just you alone, you're not as much of a threat," she explained, smiling gently as she shrugged. Harry's eyes clouded over at her words and he glanced thoughtfully across the lake, considering her observation.

Leaving him to his thoughts, Luna retrieved the piece of raw meat from her bag and threw it towards the small creature. She watched with satisfaction as she immediately leaped into the air, catching the tender flesh between her sharp fangs and slicing through it hungrily.

When she turned away from the Thestrals, she noticed Harry was looking at her intently, as if searching for something. She smiled calmly towards him, nodding towards the path as she walked away from the beautiful clearing, leaving the equally beautiful Thestrals to their own devises. When she noticed him following her obediently, she chanced another look towards her friend.

Everyone else would have seen his emerald eyes, tousled hair and celebrated scar and concluded that he was beautiful too. Yet, as she observed him from her peripheral vision, she noticed his quite determination, his kind consideration and his unwavering loyalty to his friends. She saw the things everyone overlooked when they viewed him as a superficial object—whether that was the lying child, or the saviour of the world. It was because she saw what others couldn't see that Luna noticed the sparkle in his eye whenever he was with his friends, or the small smile that teased his lips whenever he was happy, or the quiet desperation in his furrowed eyebrows when he was frustrated.

With a small smile of her own, Luna came to the same conclusion.

Yes. He, too, was beautiful.

AN: This one-shot was dedicated to XStrawberryDuckFeathersX for her absolutely amazing reviews left for my story, For The Greater Good. I couldn't have asked for more helpful, detailed and just lovely feedback and truly appreciate it. It was written to thank my reviewers, and her specifically, when I crossed the "100 reviews" threshold. So, thank you :)

~Kay