Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter One
Everybody thought that she was highly unusual.
Some found it rather annoying and pitiful, while a very few saw her bizarreness, freshly interesting from the biased and self-conscious kumquats surrounding them.
Not that she immensely cared on what other people thought of her, save for those blessed souls, who thought of her as fascinating. She liked the idea of it and was simply ecstatic at the notion of having acquaintances that might, in the very distant future, become her friends.
Though that very moment, all thoughts have been set aside. She has been, for the past quarter of an hour, doing the terribly exhausting chore of dragging her school trunk and finding a train compartment where she can be of peace.
She was also secretly hoping to find Ginny Weasley, who was genuinely nice to her ever since their first year in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ginny was, in the whole span of her adolescent life, the closest thing that she had for a friend. And it was also because of her that she met the likes of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and her brothers, Ronald and the twins, Fred and George.
She smiled to herself as she remembered their trip back to King's Cross last end of term. The mixture of amusement, embarrassment and what not in their faces was truly priceless. Who wouldn't after they heard a detailed elaboration of the mating process of Crumpled Horned Snorkacks? 'Wizards these days are so obsessed in their work and in gaining power, Lu.' Her father used to say. 'It's our job not to deprive the masses of what's really going on in our world.'
She giggled as she involuntarily raised her hand to play with her Butterbeer cap necklace only to clutch a handful of air. She remembered that someone had thought it was amusing to take it and never return it again. She sighed and hoped that whoever took her necklace give it the outmost care it deserves.
Realizing that there was no hope in finding Ginny or a decent enough compartment, she walked towards the end of the train. After making sure that her trunk was safe from the other students (or is it the other way around?), she stepped out to the platform and took hold of the railing.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the train, a newly appointed prefect opened the door to the exclusive room. He sat down exasperatedly at the nearest cushion and exclaimed,
"Those Weasley twins are unbelievable! I caught them in their compartment making a gigantic photo of Gilderoy Lockhart pick his nose and then eat it! Talk about uncivilized! And their mates just sat there and laughed like there was no tomorrow! Haven't they thought that they're not the only ones in this train? Unbelievable!"
Another prefect, Slytherin, looked up from a book. "Quite right, Fowler. That was quite tactless of them. Imagine, keeping the picture to themselves and not sharing it to the whole wizarding world." He retorted sarcastically.
Fowler sent him an icy glare. "I wasn't talking to you, Hawkins."
"O really? To who then? The air?"
Tension hung and it would have been worse if not for the Head Boy.
"That's enough, Hawkins. I think Fowler here's got a lot more Weasley humor than he could handle. Didn't you, mate?"
The former scowled and went back to reading while the latter paled. "I― that's not the point!"
The Head Boy, Cedric Diggory, was an extremely handsome boy of seventeen. He just smiled good naturedly at the distressed prefect. "They were probably just having a bit of fun. No harm done, right?"
Fowler was about to open his mouth to argue when he added, "Don't answer that. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll do a bit of patrolling."
Before anyone could say anything anymore, he was out the door.
The corridors contained fewer students than he expected. Some first years ― whom he swore grew shorter and shorter every year ― walked in groups towards the loo, glancing uneasily to some of the older years, particularly to the gang of green-clad Slytherins led by Draco Malfoy. He received an appreciative smile (and not to mention a piece of Chocolate Frog) from the Food-Trolley Lady as he stepped aside for her cart of sweets to pass by. He had resumed walking when he bumped into someone unexpected.
Cho Chang was with her friend Marietta, chatting animatedly when she suddenly found herself looking at her ex-boyfriend, Cedric. Both stopped dead and avoided each others gaze as silence hung. Things have been awkward since last year when he found her being cozy with another Ravenclaw at the Astronomy Tower while he was doing his late night rounds. Broken-hearted, he ended things privately the next day. He succumbed in a depressed state for only a week, thanks to his friends who did everything they could to make him smile again.
'It's alright, mate. It's her loss.'
'Yeah and here I was, thinking that Ravenclaws were smart.'
'You were too pretty for her anyway.'
When he didn't even respond to their little wise-cracks, his friends knew exactly what to do.
They pretended to smirk evilly and crack their knuckles. 'Oi, Diggory. If you don't shape up this instant, we will see to it that you won't be able to play in any Quidditch match, even if you're captain and even if we lose the opportunity to win the Cup. You wouldn't want that now, do you?'
To their delight, he finally grinned.
From what he had heard, Cho was in a much worse state after their break-up. He couldn't quite believe it until he saw her one morning over a bite of his breakfast. She was paler than before, her hair disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. He didn't know whether he should feel pleased or sympathetic at her. What made things worse that particular morning however, was that when she saw him looking at her, she spilled her food all over her and made a quick exit at the Great Hall.
Back at the Hogwarts Express, Cedric shifted uncomfortably. "Cho, uh… hi."
Silence.
He scratched the back of his head, making another attempt to strike a conversation. "So, how was your, uhm, summer?"
She quickly looked up at him with a surprised expression and back down to the floor again. Mumbling a barely audible, 'Fine.' she half raced towards the bathroom leaving her friend behind.
"Sorry about that." Marietta said shyly, giving him an apologetic smile. "It's been quite hard for her, you see."
"Oh." He again shifted uneasily.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault. What she did was very foolish." And with that, she left him there standing and went to comfort Cho.
He continued to stare at the door even moments had passed since Cho's friend disappeared into it. Waiting for a certain ex-girlfriend to come out perhaps?
He shook his head. No, he wouldn't think of her any more than an acquaintance or a schoolmate. Feeling as if weight has been lifted out of his shoulders, he walked the corridors once more, making sure no one was making serious mischief.
He was nearing the end of the train when he noticed that the back door was opened. He was about to close it when he heard fits of laughter. Curious, he looked out and saw a third year girl wearing Hogwarts robes with blue and bronze detail. A Ravenclaw. Her ethereal dirty-blond tresses swaying to the wind, her laughter echoing and her eyes closed. Somehow Cedric wished to see her eyes, though he did not know why. But he noticed that she was leaning far toward the railing. It was far too dangerous for his liking.
The train was now passing 5-minute bridge with more than a hundred feet drop and Luna savored the fresh air sweeping her face. She felt so peaceful as if no one would ever disturb her from this blissful dream…
"OI! GET BACK FROM THERE, ITS DANGEROUS!"
She turned, her eyes widening from surprise. Someone had caught her!
But before she could open her mouth to speak, her hand slipped and Luna Lovegood was now descending towards the lake. DOWN. DOwn. down.
Yuri-chan's note: My hostility towards Cho Chang is evident, as you can see in this initial chapter. So don't flame me on being too harsh on her okay? And also Ginny Weasley… but due to the fact that she's nice to Luna, I will spare her.
Oh yeah, a little warning: THE NEXT CHAPTER IS VERY SHORT. It will just show what will happen next.
Feel free to guess what will happen next as long as you write it down on your review and an advanced Thank You if you ever decide to do so. \m/