Hermione and Ginny sat down on the same side of the table, both looked slightly dazed and neither seemed to have much of an appetite. Luna eyed the pair with hopeful interest as they seated themselves. Harry simply smiled, peering at them over the rim of his coffee cup, "About time you two showed up," he teased.
Ron greeted them each with a nod, his mouth full of sausage and toast, "G'mornin' 'Ermione, Ginny."
Hermione winced at the redhead's manners. Ginny gave her brother a half-hearted smile, "Morning everyone," she said.
Hermione chimed in, trying to behave normally, "Yes, good morning! It is going to be a beautiful day, I think," she may have been laying it on a bit thick but her mind was still racing and brunch was really the last thing she had interest in. The girls each grudgingly took some toast and eggs.
Neville grabbed another piece of toast and some sausage and gave Luna a kiss goodbye. Then he waved at the others around the table and walked briskly out of the pub to disapparate.
Luna glanced between Hermione and Ginny and smiled a strange smile, even for Luna, "I trust you had a good night, Ginny?" she asked.
"Yes. A very nice night," the redhead replied. Hermione blushed slightly, remembering both her dream from the previous night and how she had awakened in Ginny's arms. "Although...this morning could have been better," the redhead continued, shooting a glare in the direction of the pub door where Neville had disappeared. Hermione mirrored the look at the door and Luna gathered that her husband must have interrupted something.
Hermione ate her eggs and toast slowly, her mind upstairs, traveling again over the creamy expanse of skin exposed when Ginny had taken her shirt off. Ginny ate too, reluctantly at first, but quickly realized she was very hungry and piled more and more food onto her plate until it dwarfed even her brother's. Harry watched the feast from behind his coffee and smiled. It felt very like being back at the Burrow. He missed mornings like this. He stabbed a single sausage with his fork and quickly munched it down.
Ginny and Hermione did an admirable job of hiding any indication of what had taken place upstairs, but they each felt tension surging between them like an electric current. At one point Hermione almost knocked over her juice glass when Ginny dropped her napkin and accidentally brushed against her thigh while retrieving it. Harry noted the two were acting rather oddly but said nothing. The two girls managed to relax a bit more, food and conversation eventually proved a worthy distraction from the ache they both felt.
Hermione, Luna and Harry continued to talk while the two Weasleys attacked the plates in front of them. "I took the day off today," Harry said looking at Hermione, "Ron needs help finding a house," he paused to sip his coffee, "We're meeting the realtor in a while. You wouldn't want to come along, would you?" he asked hopefully. Harry knew the house hunt would be terribly dull and thought that having Hermione along might make it less so, or at least might make it go faster.
As Harry watched Hermione intently, waiting for an answer, her eyes involuntarily shot to Ginny. Harry thought he saw Ginny return the look and was just about to say something when Luna, who had also noticed Hermione look toward the redhead, spoke up, "I'm afraid you boys will have to go it alone as Hermione and Ginny and I already have plans for the day."
Hermione stared at Luna in surprise. Ginny's mouth fell open, threatening to spill its contents. Why had Luna said such a thing? Harry felt that Luna's statement had surprised the girls as much as it had he and Ron but he did not have time to think too much about it as Luna had started speaking again, changing the subject, "And anyway, why would Ron even want a house? He spends almost all of his time at the joke shop...perhaps he should just move in there?"
Everyone, including Ron, laughed. Luna always said what she thought and somehow seemed to know a lot more than she should. It was a wonderful quality albeit occasionally disconcerting.
Ginny was halfway through her enormous breakfast before she noticed eyes on her and looked up, meeting a strange look from Luna, "It feels good to finally be back together, doesn't it," she asked with a knowing smile. Ginny wondered exactly what Luna meant by the comment and why she had made an excuse for them to avoid a day of house hunting, but could do little more than smile and nod enthusiastically, her mouth still full.
A short time later, everyone sat back from the table as the food disappeared from the platters, leaving them clean and stacked behind the bar again. Ron glanced at his watch and rose from his seat, "Harry, we gotta go, mate. My appointment is in half an hour."
Harry stood up as well, "Brilliant," he said with only a hint of reluctance, "let's go find your dream home."
Luna, Hermione and Ginny all got to their feet to bid the boys farewell and wish them luck on their quest. There was an awkward moment when Ginny and Hermione moved to hug Harry at the same time, resulting in some stuttered apologies, red faces and Harry glancing amusedly between the two normally composed witches. He had an inkling as to what was going on and resolved to drag it out of Hermione later.
After the moment passed, Ron hugged his sister and his ex-girlfriend then turned to follow the boy-who-lived out of the pub. Harry lifted his brow and called over his shoulder, "Well...um, you girls have a good time today." The knowing smirk on his face made Ginny blush and Hermione nervous. Luna threw an arm over each of the other girls' shoulders and waved at the two as they exited, "We will!"
Once Harry and Ron were out of sight, Luna released her grip on the girls and walked toward the fireplace, "We should get going too. So much time has been wasted already." Ginny and Hermione exchanged questioning looks as they followed behind her, coming to a stop standing very close together, their hands barely touching. Hermione felt tension coiling again within her abdomen; the feeling intensified as she noticed Ginny's breathing had quickened. She caught the redhead's gaze and gave her a nudge and a cautious wink, earning a grin. While they would have rathered spend the day alone, both were certain spending it with Luna would be much easier than dealing with the boys.
They waited for Luna to say something, but she simply grabbed a handful of floo powder and prepared to step into the fireplace. Ginny spoke quickly, stopping the blonde, "Luna? What are you doing? If you don't tell us where we're going how are we supposed to come with you?"
Luna turned and stared at her friends, a look of confusion replacing her normally dreamy look, "Why would you come with me?"
Ginny sighed and looked at Hermione for help, the brunette cleared her throat, "Um, Luna...you told Harry and Ron that the three of us had plans for today," she began delicately, somewhat concerned at her friend's sudden lapse in memory. Hermione continued, "You do remember that, don't you?" worry beginning to show in her voice.
Luna glanced between the two women as a smile grew across her face, quickly turning into a laugh. Ginny and Hermione looked nervously at one another, wondering what was going on with their friend.
"Of course I do! But I only told them that so you wouldn't be stuck looking at houses and wasting even more time," Luna replied as her laughter died down.
Ginny was puzzled, "Well, then...what are we doing today?"
Luna raised her brow as she regarded Ginny, the redhead really could be thick as her brother sometimes, "Well, Ginny, I am going home. I have a publication to organize. The Quibbler doesn't write itself, you know," she finished with a smile before adding thoughtfully, "Hm...it would be nice if The Quibbler could write itself."
Ginny still didn't get it, "So...what about Hermione and I, Luna? What did you need us to do?"
Hermione chuckled as she reached out and entwined her fingers with Ginny's, startling the younger girl, "Gin, she wants us to spend the day together..." she explained. The redhead's jaw dropped, renewing Hermione's giggles, "You know we can't hide anything from Luna. She somehow always knows. I guess maybe we were a little obvious this morning," the brunette trailed off.
The blonde surveyed her friends kindly, "Actually, you behaved quite well at brunch, only Harry suspects...but he is an Auror now and has certainly developed his intuition beyond his school days. You were much less careful before," Luna concluded.
"Before?" Hermione questioned, her breath catching in her throat, "Before, when?"
Ginny answered before Luna had the chance, her eyes on her shoes, "Back at Hogwarts."
Hermione felt her face grow red, "I didn't know you knew..." she muttered in the redhead's direction.
"Knew what?" Ginny began, realization setting in, "You mean...you? In school? When? I knew I...but I had no idea...I mean...Wow...Why did you never say anything? How long?"
Luna laughed heartily at the girls, "You were both incredibly obvious to me, but apparently to no one else, yourselves included." The blonde girl hugged her friends tightly for a few moments before pulling away, a sad smile on her face, "You have wasted so much time already. Now that you have finally found each other, make the most of it," she smiled broadly at her friends, "Have a wonderful day!" Luna took a step toward the fire, before briefly turning back, "Feel free to stop by if you like later, I will be making a steak and kidney pie for dinner. Goodbye," with that, she stepped into the grate and disappeared in green flames.