"Hey Ginny." Luna said as she sat down in her usual seat next to Ginny in transfiguration.
Ginny seemed to jump but didn't say anything. She looked worse than ever and Luna really felt for her. "Hope you ok, Ginny, do you want me to take you to the hospital wing or anything? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine." Ginny snapped.
Luna was about to reply but professor McGonagall saved her the worry as she strolled into the classroom. "Ok class, today we are going to learn how to transfigure teapots. It will require all your concentration and hard work. Understand?"
Ginny gathered her books and walked out.
"Miss Weasley, where are you going?" McGonagall attempted to follow but then decided against it. "Miss Lovegood, do you have any idea as to why my student just left the classroom?"
"I don't think she was feeling too well, professor." was the only reason Luna could think of, worry was etched across her face. Ginny was a dear friend but Luna really did wish she would stop acting out acting out of sorts!
The day carried on as normal for Luna but Ginny didn't return for any of her lessons. She didn't see her at lunch either. She tried to put it to the back of her mind but she just couldn't. It was not like Ginny and it had to be something more than just the chamber, surely…
Things carried on like this for what seemed like forever for Luna, Ginny got progressively worse and she really did miss her friend. It was lovely seeing Fred but she missed the others too. The only thing that seemed to be going right was her school work, she was doing well in all of her subjects, apart from DADA that was. However hard she tried, she just couldn't get the jist of all the spells and theories. It just didn't make any sense and wasn't very logical. It sometimes made her feel inferior and a lot more venerable, especially in times like these. She was aware that a duelling club had been set up but didn't bother to go. She didn't want to embarrass herself like that. She was aware that Fred and the rest of them had gone. She had a feeling many girls had gone just because it was Professor Lockhart running the club but she didn't really see the appeal; he wasn't that good looking and if Luna was honest, he always seemed kind of arrogant. No the sort of person she liked to be around. The Weasleys seemed to have a real talent for defence against the dark arts. They may not have been the most intelligent people but they were all fiercely loyal, very good at defence spells and amazing people to be around. In her opinion anyway. That was part of the reason she felt to safe in the presence of them she knew that they would never let anything harm her even if she wasn't so good at defence spells.
Luna was sitting in the common room when an annoyed looking 5th year came through the portrait hole and walked over to her. "Oh by the way, Dumbledore is looking for you. Says its urgent or something." they said in a bored voice.
Luna jumped up immediately and ran to Dumbledore's office as fast as she could. One because apparently it was urgent and two because she didn't feel safe wondering around the school without Fred.
As she got to the office she realised she had no idea what the password was. She stood there pondering what to do next when the door opened. She crept inside. It seemed Dumbledore wasn't there at that precise moment so she decided to stay awhile and wait. She wondered about how the door managed to open but put it down to how powerful Dumbledore's magic was. Her mind then turned to the office itself. It was full of things Luna had never seen before; they amused her rather a lot, although she was careful to not touch anything in case she broke it. She was just wondering over to look at a sword that was placed in the corner of the room when she heard a slight cough, she turned but nobody was there. Thinking she was hearing things she carried on making her way across the office. She heard another little cough and turned to see the sorting hat, sat on its stool looking at her.
"hello." she said wondering over it, after being brought up in a magic world, talking to a hat didn't seem so strange.
"You, your Luna Lovegood, aren't you?" the hat said, its voice crackling from disuse.
"Yes, yes I am."
"You were a problem for me you know. I don't often get problems and I rarely make mistakes; however you, you I made a mistake with." the hat's wise old voice told her.
"What do you mean? How did you make the mistake?"
"People do not realise how important ones house is to forming ones character and future. I fear I have made a grave mistake. You may have the brains of a Ravenclaw like your dear mother and the loyalty of a Hufflepuff like your beloved father but you are a true Gryffindor at heat and that is where you belong. However things cannot be changed and in the words of Albus Dumbledore, It does not do well to dwell on the past and forget to live." after his small speech the hat crumpled back in to a pile and said nothing more.
"He always was a curious item." Dumbledore chuckled making Luna jump.
"H-hello professor. The door was open so I just came in. I hope you don't mind"
"Of course I don't Luna. Curiosity is a good thing, as long as it is treated with great caution."
"Yes professor." Luna didn't really understand.
"Now i've called you to my office today, Luna, to discuss a certain Miss Ginny Weasley. She has not been right since the chamber of secrets has been opened, all of her teachers have commented on it. I wondered if you had anything to add to that?"
"I have nothing to add, sorry professor Dumbledore sir, I wish I could help. I really do. I don't know what's up with her and it troubles me." Luna said in a rush.
"There is nothing to fret about, Miss Lovegood; all will be fixed soon enough. You may leave."
"Thank you professor." she still wasn't sure as to why she had been called to his office but she hoped that what she said had been enlightening.
"So he just asked you how she was doing?" Fred enquired, his was sprawled across one of the larger rocks in the clearing in the forbidden forest, Luna was lying on the floor reading the quibbler.
"Along the lines of that yes." Luna mumbled half heartedly. Surly it wasn't that hard to grasp, she had repeated the story at least five times.
"Hmm… A bit weird, don't you think?"
"No not really. Your sister has been acting odd ever since the chamber of secrets was opened. At first I thought it might be just worry, I mean everyone scared, but after awhile I kind of guessed it was something else. Something more." Luna trailed off.
Fred shot up suddenly, his movements surprised Luna. "What are you trying to imply?"
"Fred calm down, I wasn't implying anything." Luna's voice was calming, as if trying to get Fred out of his sudden mood.
"But you were went you? You mean to tell me that I don't know my sister well enough?"
"No, that's not it Fred."
"Or what… that she's the one to have opened the chamber of secrets?"
Luna didn't reply. She had never seen Fred so angry.
"It is! Of course! Luna, you're mental! What are you thinking?" Fred was now pacing. Luna was sat on the floor with her knees tucked right under her chin, not knowing what to do. She stayed quiet which only made Fred rant on more.
"How dare you accuse my sister! How dare you! Just because she hasn't been talking to you much recently, she has other friends you know! She's probably only friends with you because she feels sorry for you. That's the only reason anyone's friends with you. Because they feel sorry for you or because I tell them to! No wonder no one likes you if this is how you act, its- Luna?" Fred turned and realised she was gone. He then realised what he said and regretted it instantly, well, all apart from the accusing his sister parts.
"Luna, Luna!" he shouted down the corridors. She was fast but he was faster and he knew he would catch up with her. "Luna!" he shouted as he saw the ends of her blonde hair turn a corner. "Luna stop, please." he had caught p with her and grabbed her shoulder. "Please remove your hand from my shoulder, Fred Weasley." tears were streaming down her face and she looked utterly distraught.
"I am so sorry, I didn't mean what I said, Luna. Please believe me."
"You know I thought that for once I had friends, best friends even. It was that thought and that thought alone that kept me going when I knew everyone else in the school hated me. What's the point Fred, what's the point?"
"Luna…"
"And don't worry yourself, Fred; don't bother asking anyone else to be my friend. They clearly don't want to be." Luna spat the words. Fred was about to reply when a scared looking Ginny rounded the corner with soaking wet robes, she ran right past them, as if she hadn't even seen them.
"What?" Fred mumbled.
"I don't know Fred, but it obviously had nothing to do with the chamber." Luna ran off, fresh tears running down her face. Fred had never felt so guilty in his entire life.
Little did Fred know that when Luna implied there was something more she was taking about the nargles, not the chamber of secrets.
