Luna sat at the edge of her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she silently cried.

She was thinking about him, like she always did. Usually she thought back on happy memories of a day spent with him, or the confused looks that crossed his face when she said something weird, or such. However, the last few days had been different.

She always knew that he was in love with Ginny, but she never quite wanted to believe it. He didn't usually show signs that he loved her, besides talking about her a lot, which wasn't really to be considered weird as Ginny was Luna's best friend. But lately…

Like when they went into Hogsmeade for Valentines' Day the day before. He had asked Luna to go with him, and even though she knew that he had only asked her because Ginny had Quidditch practice and couldn't go, it still hurt when he said things like, "Ginny would have had fun here," or, "I wish Ginny had been able to come."

It seems that those would be just random, throwaway comments, but Luna knew that if Ginny had gone, she wouldn't have. And knowing that someone she loved so much was in love with her best friend…it hurt her far more than anyone realized.

She hid her hurt and sadness behind the mask of a quirky, strange girl who liked nothing better than to relay her father's newest conspiracy theory.

Luna sighed and flipped over so she was laying on her stomach. She buried her face in her pillow. The tears no longer flowed, but the deep feeling of being put second to Ginny by him again lingered.

And it wasn't just to him that she was second, she realized with a jolt, it was to the rest of their friends too.

Harry had been Ginny's boyfriend, and was obviously still in love with her. Although he was always kind to Luna, if it was a choice between saving Ginny's life, or saving hers, she knew who would die.

Hermione could be a good friend when she wanted to be, but she had lately been far too preoccupied with Harry's quest for Voldemort's horcruxes (there was only one left!), and trying to bring Ginny out of the short depressions she would sometimes fall into when thinking of Harry too much, to talk to Luna about such trivial matters as being in love…

Ron…She laughed. Ron was somewhat scared by her, she knew. But she also knew that out of all of their friends, he was one of the only ones that really took notice when she was upset. Luna tried to hold back the tears that once again threatened to fall.

There was a ball in honor of the students that would graduate later that year that night. It was going to be a big deal; held down at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade instead of in the castle, like the Yule Ball was. If you were under 7th year, you had to have been asked by a 7th year in order to go. And everyone but Luna was going. Ron with Hermione, Harry with a Ravenclaw 7th year named Felicia Carter, and Ginny with…him.

Luna knew that Ginny had only agreed to go with him because she didn't want to hurt his feelings; Ginny had told Luna herself…And even though it wasn't a real date, and Luna realized that, it still hurt that he hadn't even seemed to consider her.

Ron had noticed how upset Luna had been that morning whenever the subject of the ball came up. He had given her a hug after breakfast, and told her that he was sorry that she couldn't go…

'Yeah,' thought Luna, 'I'm sorry I can't go too. I'd much rather be at Hogsmeade with them instead of sitting here, crying on my bed.'

She sighed again, and stared blankly at the ceiling. She would just have to resign herself to the fact that she would always come second to Ginny in Neville's mind, no matter what she did…