Ginny hands her a tiny orange, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. "Happy Christmas, Luna," she says with a wide grin, her eyes sparkling in the candlelight.
Luna tries to smile back, but as always, the waves of nervousness rage inside her and she blurts out something ridiculous about blast-ended skrewts or erumpent horns. Ginny only laughs in return. Most people laugh at Luna, but Ginny always seems to be laughing at life in general. Ginny's laughter never makes Luna sad. As Ginny turns away to tease Ron, Luna cradles the gift in her hand. Later, when she takes a bite, all she sees is the light in Ginny's eyes.
—
Luna's shoes are gone again. She sighs and pushes her long blond hair out of her face. No sense lying around here, I suppose, she thinks to herself. Just as she's leaving the Ravenclaw common room, she sees Ginny leaning against the corridor wall. She's so happy to see that bright red mane that she doesn't notice what's going on. Luna opens her mouth to say hello, but just before she does, Ginny shifts slightly. Luna's mouth clamps shut. Ginny and Harry are kissing, all hurried passion, stealing a moment away from Ron and Hermione and the rest of the world.
Silently, Luna slips past them. She tells herself that Ginny didn't think about where they were, that Ginny didn't know Luna had to walk around the castle today looking for her shoes, that Ginny doesn't know how Luna feels. None of those thoughts erase the pain, or the image of Ginny, eyes closed, leaning into someone else's kisses, arms around someone else, hair entangled in someone else's hands. Luna never finds her shoes, but it barely registers for her.
She starts telling the other students that she hates oranges, that the smell of them makes her sick. It's a small way for Luna to protect herself, to forget about Ginny. Of course it doesn't work, and of course she still sneaks an orange every once in a while when no one can see her. Every time she smells oranges, she sees Ginny laughing, all lit up with candlelight and Christmas spirit, and then she sees Ginny kissing Harry. The vision makes her heart hurt, but sometimes it's worth it just to see Ginny's smiling face again in her mind.