(As always all rights go to the creator of HP!)

Now for chapter 2, read and enjoy!

Chapter 2 ~ The Next Morning and Ron's Problem

The next morning Hermione had awoken feeling better. Better that she had finally seen the truth and that she had gotten everything out. She descended the stairs after cleaning up and changing her robes. She almost ran back up the stairs when she saw Harry and Ron already in the common room. Biting her lip, she looked at them for an instant before bidding them good morning and heading towards the Great Hall.

Harry knew all too well from Ron what was wrong. As she left, Ron scoffed. "God… is she still bloody upset?" He said out loud. Harry looked to his friend, "How can you say that? You broke her heart." He told him. Harry felt for Hermione and hoped that she would get past this but also knew that it was going to take time.

Ron ran a hand through his messy red hair. "Well excuse me…" He half snapped at Harry. He didn't want to hurt Hermione but she got on his god damn nerves at times. He looked at Harry, "She will be fine mate." He said, neither of them knew whether that was a lie or not. To them, only time could really tell.

Ron needed a change of subject, "Come on, let's go grab some breakfast." He suggested. Harry sighed, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes. He could not believe the way Ron was acting, what a git. He replaced his glasses and nodded slightly. He was going to make sure that he kept Ron away from Hermione; she didn't need to be around him while she was going through this.

Hermione entered the Great Hall to find it half full. Her thoughts were sluggish as she walked to the Gryffindor table. She kept her head down as she sat down at the less crowded end of the table. She picked up a single piece of toast and started to nibble on it.

Luna had come back to the Ravenclaw common room late that night. Her potion hadn't gone exactly as she had planned. It had exploded in her face but not enough to cause any harm besides some soot residue. She crept into the girl's dorms without alerting anyone. All the girls in the dorm knew that she sleep walked from time to time, so seeing Luna around late at night was nothing new.

She fell asleep, strangely she was thinking about Hermione's emotional state as she did. The next morning, she awoke bright and early. She looked around to see all the other girls still fast asleep. Quietly, she cleaned up and dressed for the day. The only part missing were her shoes.

Nargles again. She mused in her thoughts. Oh well… and with that she grabbed her messenger bag and headed out to walk the grounds to complete what she does every morning. She started in the forest to visit the Threstals. She always gave them some meat that she kept just for them. This plus visiting the owls and the rest of the creatures and delivered them their goodies as well as she had put it. It had taken only a small portion of the morning because it never took her very long, she just always took longer because the outside had felt better to her than being inside, not that she minded.

By the time she was finished she was quite hungry and headed straight to the Great Hall. It was only half full. She scanned the room until she saw Hermione nibbling on a piece of toast, she was looking down again. Suppressing the urge to sigh and shake her head in annoyance, she started towards the girl.

Hermione heard the chattering fill the air around her, but she was lost in her own thoughts. Thoughts of Ron, thoughts of how complicated love was, and oddly enough thoughts of the kindhearted Luna. A light touch on her shoulder pulled her from these thoughts. She turned and saw one of the people she was thinking about, "Luna." She said softly.

"You know sulking isn't good for you." Luna said taking a seat next to Hermione. The Gryffindors looked towards the two girls out of curiosity. Hermione felt her cheeks burn, why were they staring? Luna thought nothing of it, but when she saw Hermione's cheeks starting to change to a faint color of red. "Pay them no mind. Curiosity often kills the cat… although that might turn out bad for them." She said with a dazed smile.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. It was soft but it was a laugh none the less. This made Luna smile wider. It was good to see Hermione laughing. Hermione felt a whole hell of a lot better, thanks to Luna.

Hermione gave Luna a small smile back. "Thanks Luna. I needed that laugh." She said. "Anytime." She replied. Luna started to pile food onto two plates. Hermione looked at her with a confused, "Why two plates?" She asked the girl.

"One for you and one for me." Luna said, placing a small amount of oatmeal in a bowl for Hermione. Hermione almost wanted to laugh at her. Why would she be doing this for her? The toast may not have filled her up but Luna was taking this to the extreme. Luna had pushed all the food in front of Hermione.

With an internal sigh and a smile Hermione started to eat. Luna was glad that Hermione hadn't argued about eating breakfast. The room had grown loud and then quiet again. When it was quiet Hermione could clearly hear distinct voices coming down the hall. Oh no… She groaned in her thoughts as she started to gnaw on her lower lip.

Luna saw Hermione's face go from happy to distress. She looked around and sure enough the problem had walked into the Great Hall. It was Ron's voice that she guessed Hermione heard. She looked back at Hermione, who looked like she was having an inner debate with herself. "We could always leave you know." Luna said in her soft voice.

Hermione released her lower lip from her teeth, "I suppose…" she stopped there. Luna's smile disappeared; she looked back at the two boys heading for the table.

[I hope everyone is enjoying the story! Cant really update a lot thanks to school, but here's chapter 2! comments are appreciated!]

~ Rorilyn Blackraven