I'm finally getting around to updating this... Yay for me. Anyways, enjoy chapter 10.

"...lucky."

Harry was absorbed in his Quidditch through the Ages book- so much so, that he almost didn't hear Ron's statement, directed at him.

"What was that, mate?" asked Harry as he put his book on his lap, in order to better see his best mate. "Did you say something?"

"Yeah, I said that I really think you're lucky."

Harry just gaped at Ron for a moment; this was definitely not something he'd expect Ron to say. He tried to recover without sounding like a complete git. "Why do you say that, Ron?"

Ron looked up at his mate, and Harry's jaw almost dropped- Ron had never looked so... depressed before. Nothing like this. It was almost as though...

"I don't think me and Hermione are going to last very much longer." Ron had been waiting all day to say that, waiting until just the right moment when his girlfriend wasn't around. Harry could visibly see that a huge weight had been lifted off Ron's shoulders, though he could still tell that not all of Ron's troubles had come and passed; the way he sunk into one of the good armchairs only confirmed it.

This was another thing that Harry wasn't expecting- he had always thought that Ron and Hermione were constantly on good terms. It'd taken them six and a half years to get together, they'd become close to best friends since then- something big must be up for Ron to say something like that. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you think that?"

Ron looked up at Harry, seemingly near tears. "She... she thinks that I'm in love with Loony- oh, sorry, Luna."

If he wasn't expecting the previous two statements, then this one absolutely floored him. Ron, in love with Luna? Is it possible...? "Are you?"

"No, I'm not, and that's the thing that's bothering me the most- she won't even give me a chance to explain myself... She's just judging me already..."

"That's not like her... Is this about the Christmas gift you gave her?"

Ron looked up again, surprised. "I- I thought no one else knew about that."

Harry chuckled, amused. "She told me about it herself. She really liked the snowglobe, by the way."

Ron looked even more uncomfortable, once Harry had said that. "What am I supposed to do? She won't even let me get near her anymore..."

Despite his intense wish to stay out of Ron and Hermione's troubles, he started to get afraid that this one might ruin the two for good. "Alright, Ron, do you want me to go talk to Hermione for you?"

"That'd be great," was all he said, before he got up out of his chair and headed up the stairs to their separate rooms. Harry stayed downstairs and pondered for a moment, before he finally made up his mind and headed out the portrait hole- with his Invisibility Cloak, in case he couldn't get this done before curfew.

--

Silently, Harry climbed the stairs that would lead him up to the entrance to Ravenclaw tower. If I'm going to talk to Hermione about Ron and Luna, it might be best to have Luna come with me and explain to her that it was a mistake. Maybe if she hears it straight from her mouth, then she'll be more apt to believe it... Harry was so lost in thought, he almost missed the door he needed to go through; he opened it to hear a pair of voices arguing.

"So what if I'm in love with him?" came the first voice. "Is that a crime?" Is that Luna...?

The second voice was more harsh than the first: "You'll never be good enough for Harry, little Loony. Just face it." Harry recognized the second voice immediately. Draco...

"Why do you even care?" came Luna's voice again. Before Draco had a chance to respond, Harry stepped out of the darkness.

"Good question, isn't it, Draco?"

Draco's face paled; he knew that voice from anywhere. He composed himself quickly, and turned to face his confronter. "Well, wee Potter, what are you doing out this late?"

"I came here to find Luna."

This threw Draco off; why the hell had he come here to find Luna? "What do you want with Loony?"

"That can wait. Right now, my business is with you." Harry stepped forward, wand drawn and ready. "Leave her alone. In fact, just leave. I'm not the only one who isn't supposed to stay down here long..."

Draco wanted so badly to curse Harry, but he knew that with his track record as of late, it would be the last straw. So, he simply settled for flashing a menacing look and a very rude gesture towards Harry, then stomping off while muttering Wizard Swears under his breath.

Harry turned to Luna. "Are you alright?"

Luna had turned a bit pale(r), but when Harry spoke to her, her face started to blush almost immediately. "I'm fine..." Please, don't let him bring up what I said...

"I need to talk to you about something." Luna's heart almost stopped when she heard this, and she awaited him asking if she was really in love with him... "It's about the snowglobe that Ron gave you for Christmas."

Time sped up again, and Luna found herself able to breathe easier. "What about it?"

"Well, Hermione found out about it, and she took it the wrong way."

Luna looked a bit puzzled. "I was the one who was showing it off to her. I didn't realize she was going to get mad about it..."

"She thinks that the reason that Ron gave you that snowglobe was because he was in love with you."

Luna let out a soft laugh. "I see... is he?"

Harry smiled. "No, he's not." Although I am... "The only one that Ron's interested in is Hermione. And right now, he thinks their relationship is in big trouble."

Luna thought for a second, then focused in on Harry again. "Alright. Let's go talk to her."

"That was the plan, yes." Both of them laughed, then set off down the hallway.

Luna turned to Harry as they walked. "By the way... did you hear all of our conversation?"

"Most of it," Harry replied. "I heard the part where you said you were in love with me, if that's what you're referring to." Before Luna could say anything, Harry went on: "Don't worry; I sort of already knew."

Slowly, she looked at Harry. "So... you don't mind?"

"Why would I? Because you're Luna?"

Luna hung her head, staring intently at the ground as they walked. "Well... yes. I am quite the loner around here. You, Hermione, and Ginny are my only friends here..."

"You've got Ron and Neville, as well. And besides, I thought it would be obvious how I feel about you."

Her head snapped upward, as she gazed into his eyes. "So... you-"

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

Luna simply closed her eyes, a tear forming at the corner of one of them. She reached out and took Harry's hand; as she felt his fingers close around hers, she smiled that dreamy smile of hers. I'll let you lead me home...

--

Soon, the two made it back to the Great Hall, where Harry knew that Hermione would be; she had told Harry to meet her after dinner, to study for their Herbology exam the next day. Sure enough, Hermione was sitting in her usual spot, her nose buried in a book that, for what Harry could make out, was called Rare Plants of Europe and Asia. He walked up and sat beside her, still holding tightly to Luna's hand; Luna took a seat by Harry.

"Hermione, we need to talk."

"Not now," was her reply. "I have to study for this exam. Why don't you go talk to your girlfriend Luna?"

"Hermione, it's me, Harry."

Hermione looked up, surprised. "Oh, hello, Harry. I thought you were Ronald."

"I know. That's why I'm here."

Hermione turned suddenly, facing her book again. "Whatever he told you to say, I don't-"

"And Luna's here, too."

This stopped Hermione in her tracks; she glanced behind Harry to see Luna staring off into space. "Okay, so what do you two want?"

"To tell you it was all a misunderstanding. Luna and Ron have no feelings for each other. Truth be told, it's me and Luna who are in love."

Hermione looked down suddenly; sure enough, she saw that Harry and Luna were tightly holding hands. As if they never want to let go...

Ron's face flashed into Hermione's mind, and a tear formed in the corner of her eye, as she thought of how he must be feeling at the moment... I've got to make things right... "I guess I jumped to conclusions... Where's Ron right now?"

"Probably still in the Gryffindor dorms." Hermione got up quickly and, stuffing her books into her bag, ran off. "Thank you!" she yelled behind her back.

Harry was about to turn to Luna when he heard her speak up: "There's no one here."

He turned to Luna, to ask her what she'd said, but when he faced her, he was greeted with her lips pressed up against his. He closed his eyes, and the two kissed passionately. As the two sat there, feeling more alive than ever before, a common thought passed through both their minds: Who cares if anyone comes in?

Well, guys, that was fun. It was also the biggest HarryLuna fic that I've written for this set of stories, but I really don't care. Why? 'Cause I had fun writing this one, moreso than most any other story I've written (at least for this compilation). Again, sorry for taking almost three months to update this. Hope you'll stick around, and anxiously await chapter 11!