It was always the same.
She'd smile - that confident, kind beam that tore her away from her usual awkward yet blasé mood. For the briefest of moments, it seemed like she cared…more.
And the warm haze would be gone, and maybe there'd be a brief conversation, and they'd go back to being friends.
Well, almost friends.
Classmates.
That's how it was just forty minutes before, during Transfiguration class.
But that was over now. Time to move on.
Every conversation in the room poured back into Luna's brain. Her attention went back to Ginny, who was waiting a few steps ahead of her. Today, her long curtain of fiery red hair hung in a french braid down her back, swaying slightly and catching the light as she moved back and forth, humming quietly.
Luna hurried ahead to walk with her - which was strange. She'd never run - she'd usually walk at her own pace, alone, lost in her own thought. Instead, Ginny had taken on that mood - staring off into the distance and not noticing anyone behind or in front of her.
She tapped her shoulder. "Wrackspurts?" Luna asked.
Ginny's attention snapped back to her friend. "Wha - oh, just thinking. Yes, wrackspurts, I guess," she said, forcing the blank expression off her face and hastily changing the subject. "Brutal Transfiguration session, wasn't it?"
Luna nodded. "Some days it seems as if Professor McGonagall might teach us all turn ourselves to gurdyroots."
Her redheaded friend giggled, wiping a tear out of her eye and dropping her books and wand in the process. Both girls bent down to gather together Ginny's possessions. Luna picked up a heavy textbook marked with neat block letters.
"Defensive Magical Theory." She looked at Ginny. "You have Defense Against the Dark Arts next, don't you?"
Ginny sighed. "I suppose I do. Ugh - with the Slytherins. And Umbridge."
"She's rather horrid, isn't she?"
"I want her gone. Absolutely and completely gone. I don't care if we had Lockhart or Crouch, and I don't care if we end up having Snape in her place. But Umbridge needs to leave this school. Now. She's absolutely evil - and honestly, her class can hardly be called 'Defense Against the Dark Arts'. She's the bloody dark force we need to be defended from."
"Well, I'll try to make an anti-Ministry potion for you if you'd like. If Snape doesn't notice."
"Okay," laughed Ginny. "See you at dinner?"
Luna nodded and walked downstairs, everything looking just the slightest bit brighter than it had before.
She wondered if Ginny considered her a friend.
Even if she wished she could be more.
Luna waited by the the staircase, waiting as Ginny waved at her from across the room.
"Sorry I was late to dinner," she said. "Quidditch ran late. Ron was…terrible, to be honest. And it was raining - trying to seek covered in mud is absolutely awful. I definitely wouldn't recommend trying it. The only reason I could actually see was that Angelina made us cast the Impervius charm on our faces. Harry's idea, I think."
Harry. There was no questioning that Ginny admired him.
Harry was another almost-friend. The D.A. was almost like having friends. And he'd done that for her. So if Ginny's attention went to him…maybe it was okay.
Maybe.
Maybe it was a topic best left alone.
"Let's go outside," she decided. The Hogwarts grounds were always the place where she could think the most clearly. "There's a full moon tonight."
She led her friend out through the castle doors, careful to avoid Filch. The two girls were soon flying through the night air. Luna only stopped running when she reached the border to the Forbidden forest.
"Look at the sky."
Ginny's gaze followed Luna's finger, her chocolate-brown eyes shining with tiny golden stars when she noticed the silvery glow illuminating the dark clouds.
For a few moments, both of them were silent. They drifted into their own universes - parallel ones, at that.
After a while, Ginny whispered something - and although Luna heard it, she didn't pay attention to what her friend said.
Ginny smiled understandingly. "Wrackspurts?"
Something glowed inside her when she heard her companion use the phrase she'd long relied on. "Maybe," murmured Luna, grinning. "You?"
"No," breathed Ginny. "Wrackspurts could never give me this feeling."
A warm, fast-paced pulse seemed to take over her, every thought gone.
Ginny's cool hand stroked her cheek. She was only vaguely aware that they were standing merely inches apart.
Luna closed her eyes as Ginny's lips met hers.
It wasn't a perfect kiss. It was the first time for both of them - and that was okay. But Ginny's lips were sweet, and her hair was soft when Luna reached up to stroke it - even if her fingers got tangled in her long braid.
And all of that was slowly filling her with warm bubbles - sunshine on a winter night. She had needed it.
She just never wanted to admit it.
They could have stayed like that forever.
When they finally stepped apart, Ginny looked at the ground. It was an eternity before she looked up. But when she did, her eyes greeted Luna's with a shy smile.
Luna found her voice. "Ginny - how did you know that my birthday's next week?"
She was greeted with a smile. "Consider this an early present."