Author's Rant (because I don't know how to shut up):

"Where's Hermione, when are we going to see Hermione, why haven't we seen Hermione… blagh, blagh, blagh, no romance, blagh, blagh."

This just in from the Daily Prophet:

Famed know-it-all Hermione Granger died today when a giant library case of books fell on top of her. At present, there has been no word from her family if they plan to pull her dead body out of the rubble of books or simply leave her there to rest.

That's right… I'm crazy enough to do it and you know it. I use to have a pretty nurse who gave me all kinds of color pills… blue, white… even a green one. Don't remember what the green one did or even how I made it back home that night. (True story) Well I think it was true… never trust an Irishman who takes you bar hopping. Anyway the nurse has moved on… I wish she stop visiting me through the rubber room door glass and just leave for good, but I'm still here. Alone. Bored. Drooling a little. Just pining away till football season.

I miss the nurse… or is it the pills? Maybe the nurse is the Pill. That sounds right.

You know, I think Buck Nuts sounds better than BuckNC… hmm. All things considered, this story isn't as bad or "decent enough story line" as some have said. It's been really tough to write a multi-chapter mystery spy novel. Plus, I have to admit that it's taken me several chapters to remember how to write again. Nice to know I haven't lost it … unlike the nurse. Where did she go again?

You think maybe I should reach out and post this story on Simply Undeniable and Quidditch Pitch?

Nah, now that would be crazy and stupid.

:::

Beta Note: I think everyone is really complaining about the wrong thing. I want to know where Neville is. He has done much more to advance the plot than Hermione at this point. Not to mention the poor dear is just quite adorable. I could respect someone who wants to know where Neville is, but complaining about Hermione right now is silly. What would she even do? It's not like Ron can talk to her about the magic stuff he is trying to figure out. Let's not be ridiculous.

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Chapter 20: Luna Eclipse

Merlin, did he hate homework. Don't get him wrong, it was exciting and wonderful to finally see what Professor Dumbledore was really talking about with all these Muggle science books. Nonetheless, it was the mundane cross-checking, reference lookups, researching, and then more researching something else that made him want to beg and plead for Hermione to do the work for him. Oh if only he could.

"She just yell at me again that I was lazy or I was pathetic." Ron griped to himself as he thought of his ex-girlfriend.

His frustration with homework was matching his sour mood after reading a Daily Prophet gossip article of Hermione and Derrick Braunstein looking at new flats together. The so-called happy power couple seemed to be looking at the expensive estates around Oxford and Godrics Hollow. Places that could be well described as the most expensive magical residency in Britain.

"I hope they move in right beside the Malfoys." Ron devilishly wished at the implied friction between neighbors. "Then she can join one of those super-rich snobby neighborhood associations with them… I can see it now."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Malfoy. … Yes, hi I'm Hermione Granger Braunstein. Why yes, I am the little girl you tortured in your dining room during the war. Small world isn't it? Anyway, as you may know I sit on the neighborhood association committee and it's my duty to inform you that it's illegal to be such evil gits in our neighborhood. Plus, you're not legally zoned to house non-family members or dark lords in the basement."

"Excuse me Love, would you like another cup of coffee or another scoop perhaps?" A waitress asked him.

Ron broke away from his cutting thoughts to realize the waitress at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley was asking him a question.

"What?"

"I said Love, would you like another cup."

Ron now realized what she had asked of him and lifted his empty coffee cup for her to pour him more. She obliged and then with a rather pleasant smile asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you? Anything at all?"

When she had asked Ron if there was "Anything at all," she had also leaned forward to reveal her rather nice and open cleavage for him to gaze at. Or that's what he thought she did… he wasn't really paying much attention to her. Ron didn't have much attention for anything else right now, especially pretty women not named Hermione.

"She probably is going to have one of those new custom built libraries built in her new stupid mansion. I hope a huge bookshelf full of heavy books falls right down on top of her. It would serve her right. Nah… she probably just read her way out of it."

"Love?"

"What… oh, I'm good. I'll call you if I need more."

The waitress made a bit of a growl of frustration as she left his table.

"I should get George to build an exploding house warming gift. Level a two story mansion to nothing but rubble." Ron murderously thought to himself.

Ron finally reflected on what he was thinking and feeling.

"Bugger… I'm going all mental again. Face it Weasley, she's better off without you."

He grudgingly pushed down his jealousy and frustration as he forced himself to refocus solely on his studying.

"London dispersion is a type of force acting between atoms and molecules. London force is a weak intermolecular force arising from quantum… what the Merlin is quantum? I'll look it up later. From a quaint ton, whatever … induced instantaneous polarization in molecules. Hmm… Muggles might think it's instantaneous if it was magic."

Ron scribbled a note next to that line to figure out what "quanta dung," or whatever that word was and then read on.

"London forces are exhibited by nonpolar molecules because of the correlated movements of the electrons… That last part is Dumbledore's stream. …in interacting molecules. Because the electrons from different molecules start "fleeing" and avoiding each other… Wait, then they don't always travel a certain way. That annoying tour guide was wrong. Those eleck-trons are running away from one another. Then that means that Dumbledore was right, they do have a choice."

Ron was a bit amazed with himself at what he just learned. He continued to read on.

"London forces are present between all chemical groups and usually represent the main part of the total interaction force in condensed matter."

"Merlin that would mean it's everywhere," Ron said aloud in sheer amazement.

"Do you mean Wrackspurts?" A distant and dreamy voice said to him.

Immediately, Ron took his nose out of the Muggle science book to see a smiling and quirky beautiful woman walking straight toward his booth.

"Luna!" Ron celebrated as he jumped up from the booth and gave one of his best friends a welcome home hug. "Are you back from Siberia already?"

Luna was now a Wizarding Naturalist or as she like to call it a Magizoologist. The name seemed as loony as Luna, but in her own endearing way it fit. Another surprising fact about Luna was that no matter what far off land Ron and Harry found themselves at during a mission; they would surprisingly bump into Luna looking for some weird magical unknown creature. It was sheer lunacy at how often they meet up with her while on a mission. Be it the dense jungles of Central America, the shifting sand dunes of Africa, or even the highest peaks of the Himalayas – there was Luna.

"No, that was last week when I discovered a new species of Blibbering Humdinger. I think I'm going to call them Rolf or if would you like - I can call them Ron."

Ron had no idea what the Merlin was a Blibbering Humdinger or a Rolf, but he was sure he didn't want some strange smelly ugly looking creature to be his namesake. It probably looked like a Blast-Ended Skrewts for all he knew.

"Wow… ah… no, Rolf sounds good. Yeah go with Rolf." Ron hesitantly said in the hopes that he didn't offend one of his best friends.

Luna as gracious and distant as ever took no offense and politely took a seat in the booth with him. Ron once again had to hold back a laugh at how insane yet brilliant Luna could be. He also noticed for maybe the first time in his life, just how beautiful she was. She was wearing her favorite Dirigible plum earrings and a big yellow sunflower in her hair that matched the color of her yellow dress.

"Wow, I guess… I never noticed her." Ron thought to himself on how beautiful Luna was.

"I'm sorry to hear that Hermione and you broke up. I hope you will still be my friend." Luna rather dreamily said to him with a distant facial expression that she carried so often.

"Why would I lose you as my friend?" A bit confused, Ron asked her what she was trying to tell him.

"I understand that when couples break up, it's customary for the woman to keep all the friends and for the man to be ridiculed." Luna stated a bit reluctantly. Her facial expression was no longer distant but more a bit fearful at losing a friend.

Ron shook his head and even though Luna wasn't too far off the mark in his opinion on how breakups normally go; he wasn't about to lose Luna as a friend. With remarks as perfect and perceptive as the one she just made, it would definitely be his loss.

"That may be, but you're still my friend. We've been through a lot and I don't care what other women are telling you to do. You've always had the courage to do your own thing and make up your own mind."

Luna warmly smiled in relief and then uncharacteristically she reached her hand across the table to lay it on his. In the process, she bumped one of the Muggle science books hiding Professor Dumbledore's Transfiguration school book underneath.

Ron stood witness to Luna's face changing from unabashed happiness, to curiosity, to recognition and then finally to sheer horror. She quickly snapped back her hand from Ron and looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any given second.

"What's wrong Luna? Did I say something?"

"That book! You have his book! Professor Dumbledore."

Ron felt his face go red with the dilemma that Luna was putting him in. On one hand she knew exactly what the book was and whom it was from. On the other hand, he swore never to tell anyone about it. That promise was going to force him to lie to her and he knew he wasn't going to enjoy it.

"No, no… it's a gift for Bill and Fleur to give too little Victoire." Ron lied rather convincingly. He was surprised and a bit ashamed at how good he was at telling a lie.

With a swift flick of her wand, before Ron could react, Luna summoned the book to her with non-verbal magic.

"Luna – NO!"

Immediately, she opened it and burst into tears. Ron felt that she must've recognized Albus Dumbledore's notes written throughout the book. How he had no idea, but she wasn't going to be fooled with another lie. Instead, he got up and walked around the table to stand beside Luna and then slowly grabbed the book out of her shaking hands. He magically placed it into his Auror robes out of her sight. He then reached out and comforted a bawling and distraught Luna.

"I've never seen you like this, Luna."

Luna continued to cry into his chest and he stood there holding her, caring for her, until she could speak again. It took well over ten minutes before Luna could gather the strength to stop crying. Ron said nothing as he rubbed her back and let her drench his shirt with tears. He really didn't know what else to do, but since Hermione always seemed to like it when he did just that; he would do the same for Luna.

"I… I… Ron…"

"Yes Luna?" Ron asked as he reached for a napkin to give to Luna.

"Please… don't try…"

Another round of crying started and Ron had no idea what he wasn't supposed to be trying. After about another two minutes of crying, Luna seemed to be strong enough for him to ask what she meant.

"Luna, what do you want me not to try?"

Ron was looking down at her and he realized he never knew just how grey her eyes were. It was a pane of sorrow that made him realize just how lonely and sad she was.

"Learn…learning how to use Muggle magic. My mother-"

Ron reacted to her mentioning her mother. "Luna, your mother? I don't understand."

Luna gulped a breath of air before she spoke. "She used Professor Dumbledore's book. It… it's what killed her. She wanted to make magic move in different directions. It worked on several spells… but then. The Killing curse… she was trying to make it go in the opposite direction. She thought it would stop Voldemort." After a small pause she finished, "I'm the one that returned the school book back to Dumbledore after my mother's funeral."

Realization swept over Ron as he remembered the story of how Luna's mother had died. She was an extraordinary powerful witch that had been experimenting with spells.

"Merlin, she was trying to use Dumbledore's school book…" Ron finally understood what Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were talking about. "That's what they were talking about when they said…"

"The last person to hold this school book killed herself in a terrific accident."

Ron was horrified to think that he was holding the thing that had driven Luna's mother to her death. McGonagall and Dumbledore had warned him, but it hadn't felt this real before.

He was griped with fear and understanding that some things aren't meant to be known, to be tested, to be pushed beyond magical limits. Great men, like Dumbledore have dared but with dire consequences, his sister for one. Then there were the evil men like Voldemort who had also dared to break the limits. It was his obsession for power that led him to push the very limits of magic and mortality. That obsession left nothing but a wake of death and destruction in his reckless path.

Ron knew what he had to do.

"Thank you Luna. I'm going to return the school book tonight."

Luna briefly smiled and kissed him on the cheek before she hastily left him there standing in appreciation and understanding of his friend's advice and bravery.

"She should've been a Gryffindor." Ron remarked aloud, as he touched his cheek.

:::

"Take it and burn it," Ron demanded as he slammed Professor Dumbledore's fifth year Transfiguration school book on Headmistress McGonagall's desk.

McGonagall didn't seem surprised by his outburst and remarked as such. "We can't. It has an indestructible charm on it."

Exasperated Ron said, "Then bury it in the Forbidden Forest. Anywhere just as long as no one ever uses it."

"I take it you weren't able to solve how it works." McGonagall arrogantly remarked.

Ron's anger must've shown at once again being underestimated, even though he didn't answer her.

His reaction drew her in to reservation about what she thought. After a few seconds of watching him she changed her tone. "I know that look Mr. Weasley. You know something."

Ron spat, "I know that Luna's mother was the last one to use this book. I know that you don't think I'm capable of learning how to figure out what he's talking about, but I don't care. I'm not going to end up dead or like Professor Dumbledore with his sister."

With that Professor Dumbledore's portrait hanging on a nearby wall with the other Headmasters spoke up.

"Ronald my boy, did you go to the place I suggested?"

"Yes sir, and I know what you really meant by the stream. It's the current of eleck-trons. Why didn't you just tell me that in the beginning?"

Professor Dumbledore's eyes started twinkling as he stood up in his portrait and solemnly left.

"Albus? Albus… he does this whenever you need him to answer questions." McGonagall declared in frustration as she looked at the empty portrait then over to Ron.

"I'm returning back to Paris," Ron stated to the Headmistress as he was about to make his leave.

"Mr. Weasley, a second."

"Yes ma'am."

"I received a report that there has been another killing this afternoon. A publisher you met this morning I understand."

Ron remembered the two Publishers in Monsieur Delacour's office. If he was to make a guess on which one was dead, then he figure it was the one wanting a private interview.

"The Immortals don't waste any time."

"Yes, sadly they are quite efficient with killing." McGonagall professed in frustration. "I need you to be careful… more careful than you have been Ronald."

Ron felt a bit more comfortable with McGonagall calling him by his first name.

Impulsively, he spoke his mind. "I will be. I got your boyfriend watching my back."

McGonagall facial expression instantly turned to anger as she shouted, "Gerard is not my boyfriend. He's an insensitive, reckless, thoughtless – rogue."

Ron didn't back down, even though he realized he shouldn't had said what he said.

"Who loves you. Why do women like you and Hermione never appreciate that fact?"

"It's Hermione and you, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall corrected his grammar in Hermione-esque style. "My personal affair is none of your business and as for Hermione Granger and yourself; I suggest you learn to move on."

Ron never one for backing down from an argument unwisely spoke his mind. "Like you have. It must be easy for you … and Hermione to pretend how useless we were. Nothing like upgrading to a better job and boyfriend to help you with that illusion… except, it was only an empty Headmistress tower for you. Not much of a dating scene I take it."

"Get out!"

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A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to write. You wouldn't believe this - I had writer's block. I couldn't write about Luna! I love Luna, she's funny, she's brave, she's… aggghh!

Next chapter: A Beater's truth to science, a wizards duel with Harry, and yes… the return of Hermione. That's if you Review!