Today was the day. The day Fred both enjoyed and dreaded every year… Quidditch try-outs. Fred knew that he and George were the best pair of beaters Hogwarts had seen in decades; whether it was the fact they had been playing together since they could ride a broom or some kind of twin telepathy they were as in-synch as any two players could be. The thing was Fred could never quite shake the fear of being replaced. It was for that reason Fred had allowed George to drag him out of bed before the sun had even risen to get in some extra practice.

The Twins made their way down to the Quidditch pitch, making a quick detour to the kitchens where the house elves packed them some breakfast to take down to the pitch. Once they were in their Quidditch kit and on the field George went into drill sergeant mode, having them fly laps of the pitch and take turns throwing the bludgers for the other to hit for target practice.

"Come on Georgie," Fred protested after more than an hour of repetitive drills "at this rate we'll be too knackered to even stay on our brooms during try-outs."

George reluctantly agreed and within a few minutes they were sitting in the stands tucking into their packed breakfast.

"You know George, I think you had a point about not being made captain," noted Fred as he began tucking into some lukewarm porridge "with training sessions like that the team would be working like clockwork in no time. I mean we'd all be knackered, possibly dead, and we'd all probably hate you but we'd be pretty amazing at Quidditch."

"Wow Freddy, that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me… I'm truly touched" George mocked. His sarcasm was met with a well-aimed jab to the ribs.

"No, seriously, you'd have made a great captain."

"Well don't let Angelina hear you say that, here she comes now."

The twins hastily packed away the remains of their breakfast and made their way down to where a small group had formed around Angelina. After a brief greeting she began to explain how the try-outs would work, mainly that she was only looking for a keeper to replace Wood. Fred noticed that Ron was among the group of potential keepers, his skin a light shade of green, looking more nervous than Fred could ever remember seeing him. George, obviously noting Ron's distress, suggested that everyone take a few laps of the field to get warmed up. Angelina nodded her agreement while flushing a shade of fuchsia. Fred took this as his cue to kick off and fly into the air.

A crowd had begun to flock to the stands to watch the tryouts, as was normal, and Fred was feeling the need to show off a little. He was mid corkscrew when she caught his eye. Suddenly Fred had forgotten how to breathe, it was a miracle he managed to complete his corkscrew at all. Luna looked beautiful. She was wearing her hair in a single braid, she'd even woven in a red ribbon, and in the sunlight her hair looked almost golden.

Griffindor coulours, I'm impressed.

She was sat alone, as was usual, and Fred couldn't work out why it bothered him so much. Shouldn't someone so unique and kind be surrounded by friends. But Luna had said it herself, being different made people uncomfortable.

Fred managed to complete his lap and land without completely embarrassing himself, and for that he couldn't be more grateful. Upon landing he heard a couple of 4th year boys laughing.

"Can you believe it? Looney came dressed for the occasion, did you see that ridiculous ribbon? That girl has lost her marbles, that is, if she ever had any."

Fred could feel an angry blush creeping up his neck, although again he couldn't work out why. He instead made a quick mental note to send a bludger into the boys path during his trial.

Looks like you won't be making the team he thought sourly.

XXXXX

Ron was their new keeper. He had well and truly outshone the competition and Fred was very proud of his baby brother, not that he'd ever admit it. The grin on Ron's face was so infectious that the whole team was smiling as they left the pitch and change out of their kit. Despite this Fred felt he had performed poorly, and he was pretty sure why.

I'm going to have to get over this… whatever this is. I can't just go to mush any time I see her.

Fred decided to go for a walk to clear his head, leaving George to head back to the castle with the rest of the team. Fred had walked for all of five minutes before he ran into Luna… Literally.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. Oh, It's you." She stuttered out steadying herself "Hello Fred."

"Hi Luna… er, why the running?" He asked taking in her slightly windswept hair that was no longer neatly pleated but in its usual waves.

"Oh that, I just felt like I had to run. Do you ever feel that, an overwhelming need to just do something?" she asked, looking up at him with inquisitive eyes.

"Well yeah, but it usually gets me into trouble". They shared a laugh before falling into a comfortable silence. As if by unspoken agreement they began to walk together through the grounds.

"So, I saw you watching the Quidditch try-outs" stated Fred.

Wow, real smooth Casanova.

"Yes, I do like Quidditch, I've never played myself but I can see the appeal. You're really very good, kind of graceful on a broom." Fred began to blush at the praise. "Oh no, now I've embarrassed you, I always just say what I think. I don't really have a filter."

"No, I'm not embarrassed, I like… I like how you say exactly what you think"

"That's good" she smiled in a way that made Fred's stomach do a funny flipping thing. "So where was Harry today, I'd have thought he wouldn't miss anything Quidditch-ey?"

"Oh, yeah. Harry wanted to be there but he was given detention by the toad" Fred almost spat the word, that woman made his blood boil.

"A toad? I can't imagine Harry allowing a toad to give him detention, a Kermibeast maybe, they're giant toad-like crea…"

"No, I mean Professor Umbridge"

"I see… she does look a lot like a Toad. And I suppose she's only given him a detention because she's a Ministry official. There's a big conspiracy going on in the ministry, trying to discredit Harry to cover up the return of You-Know-Who. It's ridiculous how many people believe the nonsense in the Daily Profit, the truth is quite obvious if you think about it."

Fred couldn't remember a time he'd been so relieved to hear that someone knew the truth, that he wasn't going to have to convince her. In a bold moment Fred scooped her up into a hug.

"You know, you're pretty smart Luna" he whispered before releasing her from the hug. A hint of a smirk, not unlike his own, was playing on her lips as she answered.

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

Fred couldn't have stopped the grin that was spreading all over his face even if he'd wanted to. Luna matched his grin with a dazzling smile all her own.

"So, Lunch?" asked Fred

"Oh yes, I hope there's pudding…"

A/N: Okay guys, chapter 3. Lemme know what you think.

Hoping to get at least on more chapter done before Wednesday because I'm off on Holiday/Vacation and won't have my laptop as my family want me to "be social" and "actually go outside" hahaa.

Anyhoo review if you have any tips or comments. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. 3