Chapter 1
Hermione ran through the corridor, ignoring all passersby who were looking at her strangely, her vision blurry from teary eyes. She skidded round a corner and carried on until she was in a more deserted part of the castle and burst into the girl's bathroom. She sobbed and coughed, crashing to the floor by a sink and covered her face with her hands, her bag falling to the floor with a thud. Her body shook as she cried, large salty droplets landing on her skirt and leaving dark stains. Her whimpers echoed in the otherwise empty bathroom. Suddenly the door opened and soft footsteps made their way across the room, stopping just in front of her. She shivered and daren't look up.
A familiar voice broke through her strangled sobs "Whatever's the matter, Hermione?" The quiet and serene voice of Luna Lovegood made Hermione stir and look up. Luna was kneeling in front of her, pulling her gently into a hug. Hermione's eyes widen slightly at the younger girl's actions. She had never seen Luna hug anyone before, the blonde girl usually being distant from others. Perhaps it was because no one else gave her the chance to get close, always teasing and mocking her, or hiding her things. Whilst Hermione did none of these things she had still been abrupt with the girl on more than one occasion, when the two disagreed about the existance of Crumple Horned Snorkacks and Hermione's opinions on The Quibbler. So she was rather surprised when Luna held her close. Surprised, but comforted.
"Well?" Hermione jumped a little as the younger girl tugged her from her thoughts back into reality. She was surprised to see Luna was no longer hugging her, but was still very close as she was leaning her forehead against Hermione's. This caused a blush to creep up her neck and along her cheeks whist a strange and unknown feeling appeared in her gut with a jolt. "I... uh.. well you see... it was Ron..we had an argument. Again." Hermione mumbled and glued her eyes to the floor. Luna was so close she could smell her sweet perfume; it smelt wonderful.. Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Aah well that makes sense. I hear you two have been arguing a lot" Luna replied quietly, gently cupping the older girl's face in her hand. Hermione looked up again in surprise, both at Luna's actions and her words, her face turning a deeper shade of crimson.
"H-How did you know that?" Hermione stuttered, her eyes still streaming with tears. Luna sighed and gently wiped the older girl's tears away with her thumb, which caused a jolt in Hermione's lower abdomen.
"Ginny told me, she sees you arguing a lot in the common room you know" Hermione looked into Luna's eyes and was again caught off guard by the younger girl. There was something different about Luna's usually calm and far-away eyes. Was she worried?
"Well yeah... we have. I like him so much but he just frustrates me and has even begun making fun of me! Ugh of all the people I had to fall for why did it have to be that moron?" Hermione growled and again buried her head in her hands. Luna cupped both of Hermione's cheeks in her hands and wiped her tears away, yet again.
"Shh it's ok, it's not your fault. You can't choose who you fall for.." Luna scooted closer still to the older girl, whilst Hermione looked up and smiled weakly.
"I guess..." Luna then pulled the brunette in for another hug and squeezed her tightly, which made the older girl purr quietly. When she realised what she was doing she squeaked and pulled back with an alarmed expression on her face.
"I didn't..I... I mean..." She blurted, not knowing what to say. Luna just chuckled and kissed her cheek. Hermione boggled at this, her face turning crimson again. She carefully touched her finger tips to her cheek where Luna's lips had been moments before. A playful smile appeared on the younger girl's face and she raised her eyebrow slightly
"You liked that didn't you?" Hermione could only nod. Why did she like it? And just what was it about this blonde girl that was making her heart pound in her chest and a jolt appear in her lower belly? Before she could wonder any more, Luna leant in and gently brushed her lips against the brunette's. Hermione held her breath for a second and then started to kiss back. She closed her eyes and pulled the blonde closer, wrapping her arms around Luna's neck. Luna put one hand on Hermione's lower back and one in her bushy brown hair; she eagerly deepened the kiss, licking Hermione's lower lip, which caused the older girl to whimper again, but this time for a very different reason. The younger girl couldn't help but chuckle into the kiss.
The young blonde leaned back, gently breaking the kiss and tucked a strand of hair behind the brunette's ear with a dreamy smile, her eyes sparkling with happiness.
"Feeling any better?"
"Much" Hermione nodded with a grin, this time it was her turn to pull Luna into a hug. She kissed the younger girl's neck then sat back and purred quietly. Luna stood and offered her hand; Hermione willingly took it and stood up as well. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, then they walked out of the bathroom hand in hand, a smile playing on both their lips. The blonde led the brunette along the corridor and down the vast stairwell. She began skipping and Hermione couldn't help but laugh and join in. Soon they reached the large oak doors that led outside and wandered into the grounds of Hogwarts, a gentle breeze playing with their hair.
After wandering for a while the two settled down by a large beech tree near the lake, Luna sitting by the trunk and tugging Hermione down to sit in front of her and wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist. Hermione dumped her bag on the floor to the side then leaned into Luna's embrace and closed her eyes. This time it was Luna's turn to purr as she breathed in the scent of Hermione's perfume, whilst gently kissing her lover's neck. They stayed like that for a while, talking occaisonaly and just enjoying each other's company.
Hermione shivered and opened her eyes, realising she had fallen asleep in Luna's arms. The sun was low in the sky and it glowed an orangey pink. Hermione sat up and stretched with a yawn. She then turned to look at the girl who had opened up her world so much in so little time. She hadn't even considered liking or being with a girl in that way before.
Luna smiled sleepily, leaning in to kiss Hermione; it looked as if she had fallen asleep too.
"If you're cold, we can go inside you know" Hermione couldn't help but smile at Luna's beautifully calm voice, serene as ever.
"Mm we could but I want to stay outside a bit longer. Let's go for a walk shall we?" The older girl stood up and stretched again, helping Luna to her feet, then scooped up her bag. They wandered around the lakeside and something caught Luna's eye
"Oooh aren't those daisies pretty?" She skipped over and squatted down to smell the flowers in question. Hermione chuckled and followed the younger girl over, bending down to also breathe in their sweet scent.
"They are pretty aren't they?" She mused, gently stroking the top of Luna's head. The blonde beamed up at the brunette then proceeded to pick some of them, making sure to leave a few
"Need to make sure there are still some for the Crumple Horned Snorkacks; they feed on flowers, you know. Daisies are their favourite."
"Do they now? Well they have good taste" Hermione chuckled, with a raised brow.
"They do, don't they?" Another wonderful smile radiated from the younger girl's lips as she stood up and gently intertwined her fingers in between those of Hermione's, her other hand holding a bunch of the flowers she'd just picked. Hermione stood up and they continued to wander around for a while, before Hermione shivered again. Luna smiled with a sympathetic look in her eyes and led the older girl back to the castle. Neither of them quite felt like parting with one another or joining anyone else so they wandered around until they found an abandoned class room.
They wandered over to a desk and Hermione sat on it, pulling her lover close. She gently kissed Luna on the lips, whilst the young blonde moved herself closer and responded in kind. She wrapped her arms around Hermione's waist and hummed happily into the kiss, causing the older girl to chuckle. They broke the kiss and leaned their foreheads together as Luna had done earlier. Hermione smiled and nuzzled against Luna's neck, kissing it gently then adding a quick nip. Luna giggled and kissed Hermione's nose.
They cuddled for a while longer then Luna picked up one of the daisies she had picked earlier and handed it to Hermione with a sweet smile. Hermione blushed a little which caused her lover to giggle and kiss her cheek. Hermione slipped carefully from the desk and wrapped her arms around Luna's waist and pulled the younger girl close into a loving embrace. Luna purred, then after they had finished hugging she tucked another of the daisies behind Hermione's right ear. She then skipped over to the desk as Hermione chuckled and sat on one of the chairs to watch, whilst Luna scooped up the flowers and began placing some of them in her hair. Hermione couldn't help but admire the younger girl's beautiful golden locks, how they seemed to glow in the sunset and how they framed her beautiful face. But of course now Luna had her back to Hermione she couldn't see Luna's face; instead she followed the beautiful blonde hair down Luna's back with her eyes, chuckling quietly at the trail of daisies adorning the younger girl's long hair that went all the way down her back, not quite hiding the curves of her body...
Hermione blushed as she found herself staring at Luna's physique and quickly grabbed a book out of her bag. Feeling flustered, she turned her back to Luna who was now humming quietly again and started to read. For a while she couldn't get the mental image out of her head, but after a time she began to actually start reading the book instead of just staring at the words. Starting to calm down she let a quiet sigh escape her lips. She hadn't noticed her lover approach her from behind and jumped when Luna placed her hands on Hermione's shoulders.
"Something the matter, Mione?" Luna's dreamy voice whispered in her ear. A shiver of pleasure went down Hermione's spine and she swallowed
"N-No, just got a bit engrossed in my book and didn't realise you were right behind me is all." She turned and grinned up at Luna who giggled and leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek, causing her to turn slightly red. Luna purred quietly and rested her head on Hermione's shoulder for a little after Hermione had turned and started to read again in an effort to hide her blush. Luna then started humming and picked up some more of the flowers and started placing them in Hermione's hair, which caused the brunette to blush some more as her hair was gently played with. Luna continued humming as a blush appeared on her own face as she breathed in the beautiful scent of Hermione's coconut shampoo, loving just how close she was to the person she had admired from a distance for so long.
Hermione purred as her hair was played with, deciding that despite her earlier argument, today had been a wonderful day.