A/N: Thanks to SugaryTears, because you rock and your reviews motivate me to write. Think about it - if you reviewed, you could be up here, and the next chapter would probably be out even faster, because every storyteller loves feedback! *shameless grin*

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or the Telephone song Cendrillon that inspired me for the general plot. Nope.

TALES OF SCATHACH THE SOLITARY

Fairytale

Beloved Cinderella

Once upon a time, not so long ago, a young girl I knew had found the perfect Prince Charming, a real hero, handsome, rich and smart. He was as obviously infatuated with her as she was in love with him. In short, they were the ideal couple, and everybody wished them luck when they announced their decision to marry right after graduation.

The girl's name was Luna Lovegood. Sunshine on her blonde hair made it sparkle like liquid gold; her skin was as clear as a small river, and as white as snow; her petite frame concealed her strong mind and quick thought. Ginevra Weasley, probably her best friend, used to say her laugh sounded like little bells, and in spite of her rather eccentric behaviour she was a loving daughter, a true friend and a faithful lover.

Her Prince Charming was Harry Potter. Need I say more? Hero of the Wizarding World, he's so famous even you kids should know him. He was handsome, of course, not to mention rich, and he could be charming if he wanted to.

Luna fell in love with Harry, and he fell in love with her. Their relationship progressed slowly, stealing kisses between classes, little touches in hallways and smiles at dinner. Then came the one sunny day when they were sitting by the Lake and Harry proposed to Luna. Her face lit up with the biggest smile I've ever seen, and her deep blue eyes filled with tears of happiness. As she leaned over to kiss him, she whispered her answer, her eyes searching his while a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Like everyone expected, their wedding was magnificent, the groom radiant, the bride the very image of beauty in a white dress with green ornaments. We all held our breath when we saw her walking down the aisle next to her father. Although her face was hidden behind a light green lace veil, we all saw her smile, head held high as her long blonde hair, decorated with small fairy lights and lilies, fanned behind her. Then she lifted the veil, and Harry looked as if he would faint right there. Luna soon-to-be Potter was the very picture of beauty, ethereal like a fairy, gracious like an elf.

They were married, and, after a honeymoon in Australia, Luna moved with him to a small castle out in the green Welsh hills. Tending to dragons and loving her husband made the years kind with Luna. Even after the birth of three children, James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Rose, she still looked as she had ten years previously.

But alas, the happiness didn't last. The fairytale broke the day Harry announced to Luna he was leaving. Why, she asked, the hint of a smile still on her face. But when he said it was to live with Gabrielle, she refused to believe him. Why, she asked again. That time, he didn't answer.

The next day at dawn, she heard the sound of four brooms flying away, leaving in haste. Luna ran to the window, but, alas, it was too late. She could only watch her life fly away from her as her beloved children and her husband departed forever. That instant her fairytale completely shattered into a thousand tiny pieces that, Luna thought, seemed to clatter to the floor around her. Standing in the fragments of what had once been an ideal, something we'd all dreamed of since we'd been but children, tears were running down Luna's face and traced glittering paths on her pale cheeks. Not a sound from her lips disturbed the silence that begun to settle in the house.

After that day, Luna never became again the girl I'd once known so well. Soon later, she turned to drinking, apparently finding the oblivion she searched so desperately. Harry had taken their money as well, and, since she couldn't live anymore without her alcoholic solace, she began to make her money on the streets. People who'd known her in her youth barely recognized her anymore. The sunny, light-hearted, even eccentric girl had disappeared. Left of Luna was only her body, a mere shadow of her former self, though still beautiful enough to attract possible clients.

Not even a year later, she was found somnolent in a dark corner of Knockturn Alley. Alcohol and the Wizarding World's various drugs had done an irreparable damage to her frail limbs and delicate mind. Not even thirty-two years old, Luna's life found an ending during a sombre dream from which she never returned.

And thus, Cinderella and her Prince Charming did not live happily ever after.

A/N: Next chapter: Draco/Ginny romance goodness!

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Anna Scathach