A/N Hi! So this story idea came to me as I as listening to that Toy Story song. You've Got a Friend in Me. This is my idea on how Ginny and Luna met and tentatively became friends. Everybody portrays Luna as REALLY out there and while she is out there. I feel like that's not all there is to her. Not everything she says is about some creature, she has a "normal" side as well. Okay, small rant about many Luna portrayals over. For now the story is called Of Beetles and Brushes, but if I decide to continue it I'll probably change it. Please enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way making money from the Potter series. Just a lowly fan fiction writer with an idea.
Ginny Weasley let out a small groan and stretched out upon waking from her dream of playing Quidditch for Gryffindor. With a small smile the twelve year old turned her head towards the clock. Her smile fell quickly and she gasped in shock. It was four minutes before her first class was to start! She got up and started to get ready.
Ginny was two months into her second year and things were not going all too well. After what had happened last year in the Chamber, Ginny had lost most of her friends in Gryffindor. She couldn't answer the questions they asked about the incident, so they left her alone. Colin Creevey was the only one in her year that was willing to speak to her. However Ginny felt so bad about what she had done that talking to him was hard.
She yanked her faded, black, second-hand robes on and tried to put her shoes on while running. She grabbed her book bag and a piece of gum before leaving the room angrily. She knew that the girls in her dorm had seen that she was still asleep when they had left. They had checked to make sure that she was up every day last year. But it seemed that the summer had turned their attitudes towards their roommate sour. She often noticed them whispering to each other while stealing quick glances at her. And it had not escaped her notice that they never asked her to join them in the library or out at the lake any more.
"Stupid, petty girls," Ginny muttered as she ran down the steps to McGonagall's classroom.
When she burst through the door, everyone turned around to look at the intruder. Ginny suddenly realized that she had not brushed her hair as she started to turn red. She glanced at her roommates and saw them grinning. Gracie Taylor was even giggling.
"Miss Weasley, how nice of you to join us," McGonagall said dryly clearly irritated.
"Sorry, Professor," Ginny replied turning even redder.
"Five points from Gryffindor, take a seat." As Ginny looked around the room she noticed that the only empty seats were at an empty table or next to a petite blonde Ravenclaw that Ginny had noticed but never spoken to. The small girl did not turn to stare at Ginny's entrance and it seemed less embarrassing than sitting alone at an empty table so Ginny made her way to the seat.
The girl did not look up as Ginny sat down and McGonagall continued to speak. She was doodling on a bit of parchment. Ginny tried to peer covertly at it. The drawing seemed to be of an animal but one that Ginny did not recognize. It was a shaggy four-legged thing with a tail and a large somewhat curved horn sticking out of its forehead. Ginny stared at it for a minute searching her brain to come up with an identity for the animal before giving up and turning to listen to McGonagall speak.
Fifteen minutes later they were instructed to review turning a beetle into a button and back again. The blonde didn't look up from her drawing as the rest of the class stood to retrieve a beetle. After a moment's hesitation she grabbed two and made her way back to her seat. She sat and placed the beetle in front of the girl. She paused in her drawing and looked up at the redhead. Ginny noticed that her eyes were large and so grey that they almost seemed silver. The blonde stared at Ginny for a few moments before Ginny spoke.
"Err… We're supposed to practice changing a beetle into a button and back." She said growing slightly uncomfortable with the other girl. The blonde nodded and said in a light airy voice, "Thank you."
She turned away carefully placed the drawing in her book and pulled out her wand which Ginny noticed was tucked behind her ear. She stroked the beetle twice before pointed her wand at it and saying "Ipsum bruchus" in a somehow forceful yet dreamy voice. The thin white strand of magic missed hitting the beetle as it quickly scuttled up the desk.
"I hate it when that happens," Ginny started unaware of why she continued to speak to the odd Ravenclaw who once again turned her gaze upon Ginny. "I'm Ginny, by the way, Ginny Weasley."
"Luna Lovegood," she responded turning back to scoot the beetle back to the center of the desk. Ginny shot the spell at her own beetle, and missed, thinking that Luna's name seemed to fit her personality well. Both girls took another few tries at it. Luna turned her beetle after a few tries and paused. Out of the corner of her eye Ginny noticed her tense up and was surprised when she spoke once again."
"Your beetle is scared," Luna told her, "You see it keeps running away, if you touch him a few times with your finger and wand it won't seem so scary to him and he'll stay in place."
Luna turned back to her new button and pretended not to watch as Ginny decided to try her theory.
"Why not?" She thought, reaching out to her beetle and gently rubbing its back with the tip of her wand. She raised her wand two inches and said "Ipsum bruchus!" To her surprise, the beetle did not move and she watched as it flattened into a button. She turned to the girl expecting an "I told you so," but the blonde just smiled slightly and spun her button on its edge.
"Thanks," Ginny said. Luna did not react. "Err… I saw what you were drawing but I couldn't think of its name," she offered attempting to start a conversation.
"That's okay. I would be surprised if you knew. It's a Crumpled-Horned Snorkack, or at least what Daddy and I think it'll look like no one actually been able to tell, they are very fast." Luna explained happily.
"Oh, I've never heard of one of those before. Does it live in England?" Ginny responded confusedly.
"Yes, in the South." Luna responded a little surprised that Ginny had asked about the creature that many scoffed at.
"Hm." Ginny said opening her Transfiguration book to look up the spell to change the beetle back.
As Ginny flipped through the pages, Luna gathered up her courage once again.
"May I ask why you were late this morning?" She said softly. Ginny looked up and smiled at her.
"I overslept. I woke up about five minutes before class started I didn't even have the time to brush my hair." Ginny told Luna while running her fingers through her red locks trying to untangle them. "Got too caught up in a dream I suppose." She continued trying not to get angry at her roommates once again, however, she could not stop herself from sending a small glare to Gracie as she chatted with a Ravenclaw boy in front of her. Luna saw this but wisely decided not to say anything about it.
"That happens to me a lot too. I normally blame it on the Wrackspurts." She said. Ginny shot her a confused look. "Wrackspurts fly into your ears and make your brain a little slower. Perhaps your room is infested."
Ginny shrugged and realized that Luna believed in things that no one else had ever mentioned to her. But she wasn't going to tell her that she was wrong. She had told Colin that she had been possessed by You-Know-Who and had set the attack on him. He had just told her that she was ridiculous and that she was simply a victim like him. She remembered what it felt like to have somebody not believe the truth, and even though she didn't believe in the creatures Luna was naming off, she believed they were there. Ginny wasn't about to make this kind but odd girl feel the way she did that day when she told Colin.
"Perhaps," She responded. "How do I stop them from bothering me?"
Ginny immediately knew that her choice was the correct one. Luna's face lit up faster than a Nimbus 2001 could fly. She smiled widely at Ginny who could not help but return a large smile back.
"All you need is an amulet. I could make one for you, if you'd like." Luna said quickly. "In the meantime, if you feel one approaching, just beat it away."
"Okay," Ginny smiled and found the right spell in her book. "Here we go, Suchurb Muspi!"
Her button was a beetle once more. She smiled proudly and watched as Luna restored her beetle, smiled and, petted its back.
"Oh, before I forget," Luna said reaching into her bag. "Here."
She had handed Ginny a small blue hairbrush. She smiled and took it saying thanks as she began to brush out her hair.
Ginny pulled the brush through her hair and looked at Luna. Sure she was a bit odd but she wasn't that bad after all. She was kind, smart, and in some ways she thought looking at the brush a normal girl. Who knew, maybe they could be friends.
A/N: Please give me some feedback! I love it! And let me know if you think I should continue the story. If I do be aware chapters will be shorter like this one, perhaps even shorter than this one. I just cannot write long chapters I love to read stories with long chapters but I cannot write them. I'm also kinda rambley in ANs haha. Sorry. Also, if you've stumbled across a great HP fanfic let me know! Have a great summer y'all. Thanks for checking out the story!
Jess