I don't own Harry Potter. I can only wish that I did. Please read and review (:

Luna sat down opposite him across the compartment. He began with his friendly chit chat, he was always so lovely to her. It was as if he was her friend. She gazed through his black rimmed spectacles into his piercing green eyes. They were beautiful, she thought, like goblin made emeralds.

"So, Luna, how were your holidays?" He asked, always a gentleman.

"Very nice, thank you Harry. Daddy got in a new batch of Gernumblies, actually, and he seems to think that if digested, their saliva could provide a fantastic antidote to sore throats."

Harry hadn't the faintest clue what a Gernumblie was, nor why in the world anyone would want to swallow their saliva. But he knew from experience it was best not to ask.

"That's fascinating, Luna.", he answered, being careful to make sure their wasn't a trace of sarcasm in his voice. She beamed.

"Yes, Daddy's always coming up with new antidotes. There's an article about his cure for Ratpox in the latest edition of the Quibbler."

"Oh, um yeah I read that, interesting stuff." Harry replied, making a mental note to read Luna's father's magazine as soon as possible.

"You read it?" Luna exclaimed, "Wait till I tell Daddy! Oh, and he asked me to ask my friends whether they preferred the Ancient Magic section in the magazine, or the Snapes and Ladders game at the back. I found it quite amusing myself, I just hope Snape didn't happen to flick through Daddy's magazine. Doubt he would anyway, wizards like him think my fathers a lunatic. He isn't." Here Luna stopped, as if she was thinking hard, and Harry noticed her cheeks grew very pink. She noticed him staring. "Anyway, Harry,", she continued,"do you mind answering, I mean, I know I'm not your friend, and..."

"Luna you know you're my friend," Harry cut in gruffly, "I'd be happy to answer, but.."

Here Harry paused. 'I'd be happy to answer but I didn't even read the damn thing' He thought to himself.

Just then the compartment door slid open to reveal Ginny standing there with Ron behind her, who was looking very put out.

"Mind if we join?" Asked Ginny,

"Course not." Harry answered, grinning and motioning for her to sit beside him.

Luna snorted.

"Alright Luna?" Ginny asked, sitting down.

"Fine thank you," she responded, careful to disguise her jealousy – Harry was very fond of Ginny, and it hadn't escaped Luna's notice.

"Hello Ron," Harry said,

Ron looked the other way. Harry frowned.

"What's up with him?" He asked Ginny. She shrugged. "He mentioned something about Hermione talking about you non stop all holidays, and not bothering to ask how he was. She stayed with us for a while you see."

Harry bit his lip. He hadn't been invited to stay with the Weasleys, he had been stuck at home with the Dursleys. He shuddered. It was certainly very nice to get away from them. He wasn't going to miss them, not one bit. Ginny looked at Ron hunched up in the corner next to Luna. She smiled. "If you ask me Ron's got a bit of a crush on Miss Granger."

Ron sniffed loudly.

"I'm right here," he growled, "And I most certainly do not have a 'crush' on Hermione. Anyway, I just know she likes Harry."

Harry blushed and shook his head as if to disagree. Luna sighed. The one boy on the planet who was nice to her just happened to also be the most admired, most fanciable boy at Hogwarts. She had massive competition with Ginny already, who was practically perfect and very pretty. Nobody called her loony or weird. It was unbearable to consider that maybe the much loved, bushy haired Hermione liked Harry too. Luna felt awful thinking about her friends like this, but she couldn't help it. Harry Potter was just so... lovely. What chance did she have with him? Not much, she knew that. She had heard people whispering about her. She had heard Hermione and Ginny calling her 'Loony Luna'. So what if she was always daydreaming? She didn't think it gave them the right to be so mean. She didn't think they were doing it on purpose. They were nice girls, they had obviously just heard everyone else calling her that and had caught onto it. But if Harry didn't call her that, why should they? Just then Luna heard Ginny whisper to Harry, "Look, she's dreaming again". Luna fiddled with her hair self consciously. She wasn't always as 'out of it' when she was thinking as she obviously looked. After all, she was sitting right there, right opposite Ginny. Did she really seem that vacant? Was she really that gormless? Luna was instantly very insecure. She looked down at her clothes, her lucky rainbow socks, her old purple tracksuit with sunflowers on, her silver belt made from Gernumblie magic, a gift from her father. She supposed she did dress quite 'odd' in a way. Luna glanced out the compartment window. 'I'm not loony!', she thought in desperation to herself. Then she felt three faces looking at her, and realised she had spoken aloud. Her cheeks rapidly grew as red as her radish earrings.

"Where is Hermione, by the way?" Luna asked, trying to direct the attention off her. Then she immediately regretted it as Harry got up to leave.

"I don't know," he said, "I'll go find her, shall I?" He pulled open the compartment door and then he was gone, leaving Ron sulking, and Ginny and Luna face to face.

'Great,' thought Luna. Comparing her own clothes to Ginny's pretty pink sweatshirt and blue jeans, she suddenly felt very jealous. She had never cared much for her appearance. But it was then when she decided that that year would be a fresh start. No more 'Loony' Luna. She vowed that on the first Hogsmeade trip that weekend she would purchase some more attractive clothes. Until then she would have to wear her robes, anyway. They had to wear their robes on school days but on weekends they where allowed to dress in normal clothes. That reminded her.

"I'll just be back," she told Ron and Ginny, "I'm going to change into my robes."

Ron half smiled. He wasn't so bad when he wasn't speaking, Luna thought, he didn't have the chance to make any mean sarcastic remarks.

Ginny nodded. "Me too. Actually, I think I'll change after I've eaten. I don't want to miss the lunch trolley. It should be coming around soon, shouldn't it Ron?"

The notion seemed to perk Ron up a bit.

"Yeah, I'm dying for some chocolate. Keen to get away from that loony diet Mum had us on over Summer" He said, considerably cheerier. Luna flinched at the word loony.

"I've never liked chocolate much," Luna said to herself, walking out of the compartment in a trance, robes in her hand. "Not good for your immune system anyhow, Daddy says. It ruins your chances of fighting off Dragontoxis."

I know, not amazing. Please read on and review. I'm a new comer, so be nice. Thanks (: