Hoops and Hyacinths'

by headcanonsandmore

Basketball star Ginny Weasley has reached something of a plateau in her life; her sports career is going well, but she feels as if she's missing something. However, in the run-up to Ron and Hermione's wedding; the florist Luna Lovegood appears, and Ginny's world begins to change. (A Muggle AU with background Ron/Hermione, rated T to be safe)

2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two, 'Hoops and Hyacinths'

'Ginny? Earth calling Ginny…'

The youngest Weasley was brought rudely back to the physical plain by the voice of Hermione Granger.

'Er… sorry,' Ginny said, heat filling her cheeks. 'What were you saying?'

Her bushy-haired friend sighed, and put down her pen.

Once again, Ginny had been roped into wedding preparation. And, once again, she had been caught staring into space when she was supposed to be writing orders for cake decorations.

'I was saying…'-Hermione said, exasperatedly-'…that the preparation is only going to get more difficult from here-on-in.'

'Don't worry, love,' Ron said, giving his fiancée a kiss on the cheek as he passed her chair. 'We'll get it sorted.'

It was now Hermione's turn to blush, as her face burned where Ron had kissed her. Ginny smiled; Hermione being a lovesick goof around Ron was just adorable to watch, especially considering how serious she was most of the time.

'W-well, yes….er, thank you, Ron…' stammered the flustered Hermione, trying to recover her composure. 'Anyway, Ginny; how did you and Neville get on with getting those flower orders the other day?'

'Not too bad,' Ginny said, smiling. Ron winked at Hermione, making her blush even harder and promptly drop her pen onto the floor.

'More than that, if I remember correctly,' Neville chuckled, giving Ginny a knowing smirk. 'Someone developed a bit of a soft spot for the florist.'

Ginny let out a groan. She had been hoping that topic wouldn't come up.

'Is that so, Gin?' Ron asked, popping down a cup of tea in front of his little sister, and giving her a supportive smile. 'You and Luna?'

Ginny nodded, her face burning.

'Good for you,' Ron continued, now sitting down next to Hermione. 'Put on the old Weasley charm, eh?'

Hermione let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

'"The old Weasley charm"?'

'Yeah.' Ron grinned. 'Want me to give you another demonstration, 'Mione, or was the kiss on the cheek enough?'

Hermione chuckled, smiling shyly at Ron out of the corner of her eye.

'So…. Luna then; eh, Ginny?' Harry asked, rolling his eyes as Hermione and Ron continued their flirtation over their cups of tea. 'I haven't seen her in a while; how's she doing?'

'Wait, you know her?'

'I got roped into helping Neville with his pieces for the gardeners' exhibition when we were students. Luna's stall was always near ours.'

'Oh, yeah!' Neville said, his eyes going misty with nostalgia. 'Those were some fun times, weren't they…'

Harry snorted.

'Well, to people who like botany, anyway.' Neville admitted, as Ginny got up to add some milk to her tea. 'Which is why I'm going again this evening. Pretty sure I told you that earlier. Speaking of which; Ginny, can you help me out with it?'

Ginny narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

'Why should I?'

Neville grinned.

'Because Luna might be there as well, and it would give you an excuse to talk to her.'

Ginny felt her face burn again. She hadn't been this obvious about crushes since… well, since Harry.

'Neville, don't tease her…' Ron said. 'Ginny really likes this girl.'

Sometimes, Ginny felt really lucky to have Ron as a brother. What a sweet guy; no wonder Hermione was besotted with him.

'I mean, as long as it's okay. I don't know much about gardening…' Ginny said, scratching her arm absentmindedly.

'You'll do fine. Just keep the flirting with Luna casual until the entries have all been judged.'

'Hey, I'm Ginny Weasley; I can be as casual as anything.'

Harry snorted.

'Yeah, miss "falls off my stool whenever my crush enters the room"…'

Ginny glowered at him. Did he really have to bring that up? She'd been a naïve teenager, after all.

Ron chuckled under his breath, before clapping Ginny supportably on the back.

'You'll be fine, sis,' he said. 'Luna's a sweet girl; I'm sure you'll have no problems talking to her.'

Ginny thought back; yes, she hadn't had any problems conversing with Luna (her own flusteredness aside), but that wasn't the only thing she was worried about.

Luna got under Ginny's skin in a way that no-one had ever really done before. She'd only me the florist once, but Ginny couldn't get her out of her mind. Yes, Ginny had often made a fool of herself when she was crushing on Harry, but that hadn't been the same.

Ginny never lost concentration normally; it was something she was known for. But, ever since she'd met Luna, she'd been drifting off into space routinely. Thankfully, it hadn't affected her basketball skill, which was a small mercy.

By contrast, Angelina was even more impressed with Ginny's playing than usual, and had even said that Ginny was now 'glowing' whilst training. Ginny had blushed furiously when she'd heard this comment, her head full of the scent of a certain flower-shop, and the gorgeous dirty-blonde who owned said-shop.

'Anyway,' Hermione said, pulling Ginny back into the present. 'We really do have to get on with sorting out the wedding. Ron, are you absolutely sure you've gotten leave from work?'

'Course, love,' Ron said, absentmindedly stroking the back of Hermione's hand with his thumb. 'I think we're still waiting for Harry to hear back about his leave, though.'

'Don't worry, Hermione,' Harry urged, as his bushy-haired friend opened her mouth (no doubt to scold him). 'It's in the pipeline; I'm sure they can manage to give a few weeks off a case to one of their best people in the field.'

Harry's eyes suddenly looked fearful. He and Ron exchanged frantic looks, as if Harry had accidentally let slip something he shouldn't have done.

'"The field", mate?' Ron said, jokingly. 'You've been watching too many Bond films. The government have very high standards, you know.'

'Oh ha ha.'

Ginny would have probably tried to get them all to elaborate on Harry's apparent slip of the tongue, but her thoughts were once again on Luna.

Did the blond florist like her? It had certainly seemed that way. She's been blushing, and complimenting Ginny the whole time. She'd looked so cute with her face turning pink. Ginny wasn't really good at flirting with people, but with Luna, it had seemed so natural.

Maybe that was something she could test out again if she met Luna that evening. Although Ginny wasn't sure how it would work in a crowded exhibition centre.

After driving back to her flat, Ginny decided to change into some clean clothes. Considering that she was going to be working with plants, Ginny picked out a practical pair of cargo trousers and a dark brown t-shirt, before going to have a quick shower.

There was a possibility that Luna would be there, so Ginny washed her hair, applied some scent to her skin, and popped her deodorant into her bag (just in case she worked up a sweat whilst helping Neville with his entry).

'Okay, Weasley,' she told herself, staring into her bedroom mirror. 'Don't mess this up.'

After getting changed, Ginny texted Neville to let him know when she'd get there, and sped off on her bike to the exhibition, which was being held at Neville's old university campus.

'Hey Ginny,' Neville said, as the redhead pulled into the carpark. He was already pulling potted plants out of his jeep. 'Now, this is what we're gonna do…'

Ginny spent the next hour helping Neville wheel his various plants into the exhibition. Neville had a barrow that he was using as a base for his entry. Ginny probably would have thought it was very pretty, if she wasn't the one re-potting and then leveraging pots of various plants onto it, developing quite a sweat as she did so.

'Bloody hell-'

'Language…' Neville urged, casting a wary look over the passers-by, as the exhibition had begun to fill with people. 'Come on, Ginny; this is serious…'

Ginny wiped the sweat off her forehead, and sat down next to Neville. Thankfully, he'd been considerate enough to bring deck-chairs for them.

Neville handed Ginny a bottle of water, which she eagerly began to consume.

'Sorry, Nev',' Ginny said, swallowing quickly. 'Guess I'm not used to all this heavy lifting…'

'It's no biggie,' Neville replied, smiling cheerfully. 'I mean, you are a Weasley; curse words are your bread-and-butter, after all…'

Ginny chuckled. That was very true. Not that her mum would ever know about it.

The exhibition was now teeming with people. Everywhere Ginny looked, she could see gardeners of all shapes and sizes milling around. There was a mix of students from Neville's old university, gardeners from across the city, as well as-

'Professor Sprout!'

Neville thrust out a hand to his old university teacher; a squat, cheery-looking lady, wearing a compost-covered old hat with a hole in it.

'How are you, Neville?' Sprout asked, grinning as she heartily shook Neville's hand. 'Work keeping you busy?'

'Yeah, not too bad. Can't complain. You still teaching at the uni?'

'Wouldn't have it any other way. Oh, I see your potting's as good as it always was…'

'I learnt from the best,' Neville chuckled, scratching the back of his neck in apparent embarrassment, as Professor Sprout began to inspect his work.

'Flattery will get you nowhere, my lad,' Sprout grinned. Then, her eyes fell on Ginny. 'Now there's a familiar face; Ginny Weasley!'

Ginny smiled a little nervously.

'Hi, professor; it's been a while…'

'Neville, did you rope this poor girl into doing the heavy lifting for you?'

Neville giggled.

'No; although she was more open to the idea after I pointed out that Luna Lovegood was going to be here-'

'Neville!' Ginny exclaimed, feeling her face burn. The last thing she wanted was for everyone in the vicinity to know about her crush on the blonde florist…

'Ah, young love…' Sprout smiled wistfully, her kind face spreading into a warm smile. 'She's a lovely girl, is Luna. You have good taste, my lass.'

'T-thank you…'

Ginny spluttered into silence, before Neville tapped her on the shoulder.

'Hey, could you put these empty pots back into my jeep, by any chance?'

'S-sure,' Ginny stammered, glad to get away from her love life being discussed with Neville's old professor. 'Er, be back in a bit.'

Ginny hoisted the pots onto a nearby gardening trolley, and began to wheel towards the exit. She was secretly hoping that she might see Luna on her way, but no such luck. Although, she did notice Hannah Abbott staring at Neville from several stalls away, which brought a smile to her face.

The warm summer air hit Ginny as she pushed the trolley through the university grounds and towards the car-park. It was hot enough to not need a jacket, which Ginny was glad for, because she was working up a sweat as she wheeled along (the pots were a lot heavier than she had expected).

Ginny trundled along to Neville's jeep. Unlocking the boot with the keys Neville had given her, she began to leverage the clay pots into the back of the jeep. They were quite heavy despite being empty, and Ginny felt glad that she had done weight-training as part of her basketball training.

It was all going swimmingly until she reached the final clay pot. Not only was it the largest, but it was also the heaviest.

Oh well, at least it's empty...

Unfortunately, the pot wasn't quite asempty as she had thought, and a large quantity of compost deposited itself over Ginny as she hoisted it into the boot.

'Urgh…' Ginny groaned, blinking as she wiped specks of compost out of her eyes with her arm. 'Seriously? Great… now, even if I do see Luna, I'll look like a twit-'

'Someone say my name?'

Bugger!

Luna Lovegood had just stepped out from behind a nearby van. She was wearing a pair of tatty dungarees, and her hair was tied into a loose bun.

In other words, she was jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Ginny was acutely aware that, not only was she covered in compost, but she was also a) sweaty b) boiling hot and c) smelling like something the cat had dragged in.

'Oh, hello Ginny,' The blonde woman chirped, smiling happily. 'I thought I heard your voice- oh, you're covered in compost!'

'Y-yeah,' Ginny mumbled, feeling very self-conscious. Why did she have to blush now? Why?

'I've got a brush here,' Luna said, now digging through her handbag. 'I mean, I think you look very devil-may-care this way, but it's not very clean to have compost in your hair…'

Ginny smiled; Luna was so sweet.

'Thank you,' she said, taking the brush from the florist, who continued to stare at her.

'I didn't know you were at the exhibition, Ginny; did you have an exhibit here?'

Ginny shook her head, brushing her red hair as she did so. She felt even more self-conscious now; was Luna… staring at her hair? Did Luna… like Ginny's hair? She hoped so.

'No, just helping Neville out. Did you submit an entry?'

'Yes,' Luna said, staring at Ginny a little shyly through her long hair. 'I've based it around the works of Sappho.'

Ginny blinked, feeling a bit confused.

'Er…. who?'

Luna smiled slightly, her cheeks dimpling.

'She was a poet from the island of Lesbos. She's often considered one of the first queer female writers in western literature.'

'Oh…' Ginny said, now feeling a bit stupid. Her awareness of queer writers began and ended with t.A.T.u. 'Sorry, I've never really been good at literature.'

'Neither am I,' Luna said. Then, her cheeks went a little pink. 'I…I actually chose the topic for… other reasons.'

Her eyes tentatively met Ginny's.

The Weasley girl felt her stomach explode with butterflies.

Oh… Luna was…. Oooh….

'Other… other reasons?'

Luna nodded, pulling at a loose strand on her dungarees.

'I'm sorry you didn't get to see it.'

'I'm-I'm sure your entry will do really well,' Ginny stammered, feeling her face burn.

'Thank you,' Luna said, tucking a strand of her dirty-blonde hair behind her ear. 'I hope so.'

'Er… so, do you know much about… Sappho's writing, then?'

Luna blinked, her face bypassing pink and turning red.

'W-well…' the blonde stuttered, her eyelashes fluttering hurriedly. 'I've always been… interested… but I've never really… understood Sappho completely. At least, not until recently, anyway…'

'I see,' Ginny said, grinning nervously. 'Well, maybe… you just needed to find the right person… I mean, to discuss stuff with…'

Luna's eyes met Ginny's.

'I think I have… found the right person.'

Oh god, Ginny thought, her breath catching in her throat, was this girl trying to kill her?...

The two women stared at each-other, not breaking eye contact. There was a long silence, broken only the traffic from outside the university. But Ginny couldn't have cared less; staring into Luna's gorgeous grey eyes, the rest of the world didn't seem to exist.

Finally, Ginny summoned her courage, swallowed nervously, and wet her lips to speak.

'Luna…. I was wondering… would you by any chance-?'

CRASH!

Both women jumped.

A red-faced Neville Longbottom poked his head out from behind a nearby wall. He was holding the broken remnants of a large plant-pot in his hands, and his overalls were covered in compost.

'Sorry….' he said, apologetically, as he stood up. 'I was wondering why you taking so long putting those back… thought you'd tripped and fallen… then I saw you both but I didn't want to interrupt…'

Inwardly, Ginny wanted to tell Neville to shove off, but the poor bloke looked so apologetic that she couldn't bring herself to do so.

There was a chuckle beside her, and Ginny turned. Luna's face was still red, but she was now smiling broadly at Ginny, her cheeks dimpling as she did so.

'We never seem to have much luck with this, do we?'

Ginny smiled.

'I guess not.'

Luna smiled shyly at Ginny again.

'I really like you, Ginny.'

Ginny felt her heart quicken, and her face flushed once again.

'I… I really like you too, Luna.'

Ginny saw Luna's face brighten, and (summoning her courage), the redhead opened her mouth again.

'Luna; could I…by any chance…. have your number?'

From nearby, Neville smiled as the flustered florist (blushing furiously) wrote down her phone number with a marker pen onto the hair-brush that Ginny was still holding.