The two children headed up to the gate of the Burrow. Ron had reluctantly let go of Luna's hand, explaining to her that his brothers would poke fun at him for holding hands with a girl. He was glad that Luna was so understanding; she'd nodded, expression serious, and let go of his hand at once. However, her words confused him slightly.

"I'm afraid to say that Wrackspurts must have gotten to your brothers, Ronald."

When he'd asked her what this meant, she'd explained to him that Wrackspurts were tiny little creatures that floated into a person's ears and made their brain "go fuzzy", so they would potentially act spastic, out of control, overemotional, or put far too much importance on certain things, such as the idea that girls were "icky" and thus one must not hold hands with them, at least not somewhere where they'd be seen. Upon asking how they were affecting his brothers when he'd never seen them, Luna told him that they were invisible. "Daddy gave me a pair of special glasses to see them with, he called them "Spectraspecs". I can make you a pair if you like."

Ron had not been entirely convinced that these "Spectraspecs" were going to useful, especially when Luna described their appearance as a pair of horned pink patterned spectacles with funny glass for the lenses, but Luna seemed far too serious about the Wrackspurts to be lying. Luna didn't seem like the sort of person who'd lie, so it was better to be safe than sorry, right? He'd agreed to take her up on her offer, and they'd shaken hands on the deal, like he'd seen Ministry workers do when negotiating with his Dad.

Both of them had headed up the Burrow door, which flung open to reveal a tearful Molly Weasley, who grabbed Ron in a bear-hug and began alternating towards babbling concerns and checking to see if he was alright, and scolding him as if it was the end of the world. "Honestly, Ronald, what where you thinking? What if you'd gotten lost in the woods and ended up hurt? It's too dark out to go off on your own! Something in there could've attacked you!"

"Mum, I'm fine! Luna was with me!", he shouted, trying to breathe through his mother's well-meaning but crushing embrace. His Mum may give great hugs, but when she got upset, she could squeeze like a boa constrictor!

"Luna? Luna Who?", his Mum asked, standing back and looking about before catching sight of the little girl with dirty-blonde hair standing patiently a few feet away. A look of recognition flitted across her face. "Oh, hello, dear. You're Xenophous' little girl, aren't you?" Luna nodded silently. "Well, come on in then, it's cold out and you'll catch your death out there in only that jumper. I've made some beef stew tonight, would you like some?" Another nod.

Beckoning softly, she went back inside, reminding Ron not to go wandering off again, and to leave the door unlocked so his brothers and father could come back into the house, as she'd send them out to search for Ron earlier while she tried to convince Ginny that "no, your brother isn't going to be eaten by werewolves, your brothers and your father are out looking for him.". Ginny had, according to his Mum, decided to stay up to for when the others got back from searching, so as to make sure for herself that Ron hadn't been eaten by any of the big scary things that Fred and Geroge had said lived in the forest. Since it was now light out, she'd ended up sleeping on the couch, having finally nodded off, despite her best efforts, an hour or so after the Weasley search party went out. Ginny had curled up in her sleep into a little ball, the quilt and blanket covering her now bunched up under her chin, her vibrant red hair peeking out from the edges.

Ron started to go inside, before realizing that something was wrong: Luna wasn't following him. Turning around, he motioned for her to come in, but she shook her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she held out her hand. Ron stared at his friend, puzzled. "What're you holding your hand out for? I'm not going to hold it or anything, if that's what you want. What if someone sees? Now come in, it's freezing out." Luna shook her head, replying, "We made a deal, remember? I won't hold your hand when your brothers are around."

"So?"

Luna grinned at him. "Well, I don't see any other Weasley boys here, do you?"

Ron opened his mouth to answer, but closed it upon realizing that Luna was right. Returning her grin, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the warmth of the Burrow, making sure she got inside first before he shut the door.