A/N: Now for Ginny to meet back up with the gang….
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter obviously. If I did then Hermione and Ginny would be together, Luna and Cho would be a couple, and Harry and Ron would be snogging each other senseless. Alas this is not true so thus we have to content ourselves with the boring old hetro ships.
Somehow I manage to make it to the compartment near the back of the train within which I am supposed to meet Harry and the rest. This is truly an accomplishment considering that I had been too preoccupied going over my encounter with her to pay much attention to where my feet were taking me. Alright time to snap out of it. Can't let them see me like this or else they'll know something's up and I REALLY don't want to have to endure an interrogation right now. I'm not entirely sure I wouldn't let something slip. Mentally slapping myself, and then physically slapping myself for good measure (which by the way scared a few passing third years), I slowly slide back the glass door and step into the compartment.
"Um guys…what the HELL happened here?" I had just walked into what I could only interpret as a gooey green bog. Nasty looking green crap was splattered across the walls, windows, seat, and what I could only guess was five people.
"Neville felt it was absolutely necessary to show us the fascinating defense mechanism of his new plant had developed. Thus we are now dripping in thousands of years of Darwinian survival evolution," deadpanned the human sized blob that encased the wizarding world's natural born savior.
"Who's Darwin?" questioned a tall gangly blob to my left. Obviously my brother.
"He was a 15th century scientist who studied various species of plants and animals and concluded that all life evolved from more ancient species as a way of adapting to their environment. He was the originator of the concept of survival of the fittest." I smirked as the blob to the right of Ron recited a complex spell and suddenly blew away the muck to reveal my genius best friend. Hermione Granger…always the know-it-all.
"He also was the man to first discover the Crumple Horned Snorflax. He was never able to reveal that part of his finding though since the Ministry viewed his discovery as a breach in the statute of secrecy. They wiped his memory and stole the research in the name of the protection of the entire wizarding world. They still have the file in the Department of Mysteries." The room went silent at Looney Luna's latest "scientific" tidbit of knowledge. At that I just started laughing. I can't believe I was worried about them noticing that something's wrong with me. Compared to them I'm damn near normal.
"Um ok. Thanks for the history lesson. Now that that's done think we can get this bloody shit OFF me!"
"Oh Ronald calm down and watch your language or else I will scourgify your mouth and clean it out instead of your clothes."
"Yes, maam," asserted Ron grudgingly. I swear whenever those two do finally act on their intense feelings for each other, Ron will be the most hen-pecked boyfriend ever. Kind of makes me feel sorry for him…almost. I waited patiently as Hermione walked around the room with her wand out stretched, siphoning the slime off first Harry, then Luna, and finally Ron. I sat down on an already cleaned off seat as she made her way around the room clearing the rest off the gunk off the compartment interior. Harry glanced up me quickly as I collapsed, seemingly still fuming. Damn he's so moody these days. I swear I get it that the whole wizarding world thinks he's a mentally disturbed, that he had to spend nearly the entire summer with relatives that would prefer him dead, that he almost was expelled from school for defending his cousin and himself from a fate worse then death. But still the dude seriously needs to lighten up. I smiled a bit at this, which seemed to tick him off more.
"So where were you all this time, huh? You get jumped or something? I giggled nervously at that. Not that far off. It was actually the other way around…
"Don't listen to him," assured Hermione over her shoulder, "he's just mad because just before you entered Cho came in and saw him looking like the swamp thing." Oh well that makes sense then. I actually kind of would have liked to have seen the look on her face.
"It's OK. I actually did meet this girl on my way down here. She seemed to be at least my age, but I can't remember having ever seen her at school before."
"Oh? What does she look like?"
"Um..." She's painfully beautiful with the most graceful figure I've ever seen. "She's a bit shorter then Harry…" Her eyes make me feel as if I am diving into a warm ocean. "Her eyes are kinda green…" Her hair reminds me of fresh molasses and looks so soft that all I want to do is run my fingers through it. "Her hair is light brown and sort of short." Hermione gazed out the window for a moment in deep thought.
"Well doesn't really ring a bell for anyone specific. What was her name?" Syd…
"Sydney Thomas."
"Hmm... nope. Harry? Ron? Neville? Luna?" Each one shook their head in turn. I frowned a little. That's weird. There's no way she was younger than me, but still between all of us you'd think one of us would have seen or met her. I was really hoping I would get another chance to apologize for my behavior earlier. That's the reason I told myself for the staggering sense of grief that I felt at this news. I knew the truth though. I need to see her again.
Sunk deep within my funk I glance up distractedly. Luna is staring at me. I meet her steady unblinking gaze with my own confusingly unnerved one. We maintain this silent stare down until finally Luna looks away from me and back down at the latest copy of the Quibbler…smirking. WTF! Luna doesn't smirk! She had no comprehension of irony or sarcasm, is debilitating literal, and in no way malicious or secretive. Why would she smirk? Then again she is unnaturally observant and has the annoying habit of realizing exactly..what…your….thinking….. I suddenly realized that perhaps my secret obsession was no longer quite so secret. Shit…
Dum..dum..DUM….LUNA!!!
