A/n Warning: No wand waving magic used in this story. It's also a wee bit anti-Harry and Ron. Tom Riddle and Voldemort are father and son and are leaders of seperate broomriding gangs.

Luna Lovegood was Ginny's best friend for two simple reasons, one: Luna didn't

giggle when seeing one of the Weasley's male offspring because she paid them

little to no mind and two: She didn't hold something stupid that you did against

you, ever.

It was the night before the new school year started and Molly had made a large

dinner in celebration of it. 'No kids underfoot for the next four three months, WOOT!' she cheered under her breath as she set the table. Since so many were staying over in the house that night she decided that instead of cramming everybody into the kitchen that they were having the meal it outside in their gnome filled garden. She was also hoping that one of the little buggers would bite one of her older boys on the ankle and that they would de-gnome the garden for her before their holidays from work ended.

Ginny and Luna would be starting their third year at Hogwarts and Molly was very interested in how that was going to play out for them. Neither were particularly happy about Summer ending, mainly because Ginny still had the stigma of being 'Diary Git' because she had briefly believed that the writings she'd found of a Shroom addict had been real and Luna was considered odd by the very same hypocrites that feared the woman that lived in a stall (though it was tastefully decorated) in the third floor girls bathroom and called herself Moaning Myrtle. Myrtle was always wearing a sheet with a pair of eye holes cut out and trying to sneak into the boy's bathroom. How and why the creepy middle aged woman hadn't been slapped with a sexual harassment suit was beyond the two girls' comprehension.

"That is Hermione Granger." Ginny told Luna in a conspiratorial whisper and motioning with her potato covered fork at a bushy haired girl with larger then usual front teeth sitting at the other end of the picnic table near Ginny's parents. "I think she likes Ron only in an 'I can fix him' sort of way. Potter keeps telling him she likes him, likes him. "

Luna cocked her head to the side and squinted as she observed the chatting pair a long moment. "Here's hoping she succeeds, because he needs all the help he can get. And Potter is just slow on the uptake" Luna smirked and turning her attention from the other end of the table and back to her friend raised her glass up she clinked it with her friend's "Cheers." she said, "And here's hoping this school year ends better then the last one." Ginny nodded her head in agreement.

Sitting down across from the two girls were Fred and George. Sharing a look with his twin George held out his hand towards Luna and in the middle of his palm, she spotted a sweet.

"Care for a toffee?" he asked.

"Care to see your next birthday?" Luna threatened smiling sweetly and was ready to stab his hand with her fork if he inched it any closer.

Fred laughed and George chuckled having not expected that. Ginny plucked the candy from his hand before he retracted it after Luna's refusal, "What? It might come in handy." she said trying to look innocent as she shoved the treat into her jumper pocket.

"Handy my fungus covered Auntie Em." Luna snorted disbelievingly, "You just want me to hold down Malfoy and you shove it down his throat."

"I do not." Ginny defended herself, "...I want to shove it up his nose."

"Can we not shove things up people's noses this year?" Luna whined shaking her head tiredly, "I was kind of hoping that maybe we could branch out into setting them on fire instead. Crabbe smells like he's flammable." she ended sounding hopeful.

"What about Goyle?" Ginny asked thoughtfully.

"He just smells." Luna answered and wrinkled her nose.

The spitting, sputtering and back slapping to help the other one to breath happening at the far end of the table garnered the attention of everyone else at the other end.

Narrowing her eyes in annoyance at the disturbance the twins were causing, "FRED! GEORGE!" Molly snapped and wondered silently to herself if she would ever figure out which one of them she had dropped on their heads when they were babies so that she could get him the psychiatric help he obviously needed at St Mungos because the other was just a lost cause that she hoped for the good of England never sired any children.

Luna and Ginny shared a smirk and tucked into their food.

Later that night while getting ready for bed, Luna cocked her head to the side and listened to the sound of Hermione scolding Ron for something or other at the far end of the hall, "I'm glad my dad's taking us to the station tomorrow because I don't think that she nor him would make it unscathed if I was stuck in the same car with that lot."

"Tell me about it. I'd have to get some of Charlie's dirty socks to tie on a stick and threaten them with because riding in the same train car with them last year was such a happy, happy, joy, joy moment." Ginny grumbled eying Luna evilly.

"Hey, not my fault that lot of fifth year Hufflepuffs were a fans of my dad's and could be bribed into letting me sit with them for a couple of issues of the Quibbler. You were off planning your and Pothead's wedding remember." Luna said defending herself.

"Please, "Ginny said rolling her eyes and climbed into her bed, "Don't remind me of that. And in my defence he had saved me from that Balisk so I was a bit star struck at the time which believe me went the way of the dino's when I talked to him on the train last year. The boy thinks he's being abused by his aunt and uncle since she makes him weed the garden and wear his cousin's hand me down clothes and his uncle won't let him run wild like their own son does."

Luna snorted, "Yeah poor pitiful him sounds to me like they might not have much extra money to just throw around and want him to grow up to be someone half decent. Oh the same of it all lets hold a boo-hoo fest for the dear."

"I know what you mean, Neville Longbottom doesn't have any parents either and they were on the same boat taking that three hour tour as Harry's family was and he's now being raised by his half sane grandmother and paranoid uncles but you don't hear anybody fawning over him now do you?"

Luna had unfurled her sleeping bag on the floor and was settling down for the night, "Must be one of those mysteries of the universe Gin is all I can tell you. By the way, think we can talk Charlie into letting us intern with him next summer to get 'Care of Exotic Critters' credits for our fourth year?"

"...Maybe. I he does, I do know that if we use the "No, we don't mind dragon dung." line we might even be able to score some extra galleons as pen cleaners since none of the students the Ministry sends like that part of them learning how to care for them and are willing to bribe to get the job done." Ginny said sleepily.

"Cool we'll ask him tomorrow before we leave for the station. Well goodnight Gins."

"'Kay sounds like a plan, g'night Lu Lu."