Disclaimer … is right here. Not mine.

A/N: Oh gosh. I like this SO MUCH MORE than the last one. This chapter and the next two actually have some kind of vague, general plan, so expect them pretty quickly. I hope this works. I had OOTP in my mind the whole time in case that's not abundantly clear. (It's a longer one too!)

For a long time, the only sound anyone heard was sniffling. People weren't speaking to one another; no one had approached the podium since Dennis had sat down, and even the younger students were stunned into an unusually respectful silence. It was only when Ginny had started to calm down that Hermione dared to whisper in her ear, "Do you think we should go after them?"

Ginny pulled back from her friend, wiping the back of her hand across her swollen eyes, and nodded.

"Yes," she said quietly. "Not just Harry and Ron, though. We also need to find George. If he's not back by the end of the service, Mum will be beside herself, and he'd be mad at himself for missing it too."

Hermione swallowed hard thinking about George's speech, but she nodded. "Ok. Let's go before someone else speaks."

The girls stood and started to walk out of the row, and as they passed Bill and Percy, each in his own private misery, Hermione felt her own eyes fill. But the look of determination was once again in Ginny's eyes, and she quickly explained to her parents where they were going. Arthur nodded gratefully, squeezing his daughter's hand as she passed him.

Once they were far enough away from the lake to work out a plan, they sat down with their backs against a tree as they tried to figure out the best way to do this.

"I think we should split up," Ginny said quietly, and Hermione looked at her in surprise.

"Are you sure?" she asked, and Ginny nodded, hastening to explain.

"It will be faster that way, and that's really the point, isn't it? We need to find them as quickly as possible."

"Okay," Hermione said slowly, but her uncertainty was written plainly on her face, and Ginny tried to suppress her exasperation.

"I know you're worried about Ron," she said, "but so am I. It doesn't really matter who finds him, does it?"

Hermione shook her head in denial. "No, that's not it. I know you'd be just as good for him as I would. It's just… I can't imagine George would want anyone but you right now. I don't think he'd take too kindly to my finding him."

Ginny shook her head and gave Hermione a surprised sort of smile.

"Hermione, haven't you figured it out by now? You're part of this family. Ron may be in love with you, but we all love you. I promise you this. If you find George, it will be fine."

Hermione couldn't find the words to answer. She swallowed hard and managed a nod, and Ginny reached over and patted her gently.

"Get used to it," she said. "You're a Weasley now. Well… minus the glaringly red hair and freckles."

Hermione smiled. "It's ok, Gin. I think I have enough hair issues of my own."

Now both girls laughed, albeit weakly, and they were about to go their separate ways when another voice asked, "Are we each covering certain areas of the school?"

Startled, they looked at one another and then Luna stepped out from behind the tree, observing them serenely.

"Oh," Hermione said, trying to recover her composure. "Oh, ok. I – that is, we didn't realize you were also going to look," she said, cringing at the awkwardness in her voice, but Luna seemed, as usual, completely unperturbed.

"Well," she explained, examining the bark of the tree as Ginny and Hermione examined her, "I figured you needed to find them quickly, so I thought it would make sense for me to help. You know – three people looking for three people would speed things along."

Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other, and Ginny shrugged slightly. There was really no way they couldn't accept her assistance, especially since time was of the essence, and having Luna along would definitely help. The look in Ginny's eyes, though, let Hermione know that she was thinking about what the two of them had just discussed, but Luna surprised them once again, saying, "Oh, and if I find George, I'll send along a signal. I don't think he'd be comfortable talking to me."

Ginny's mouth fell open slightly. Nothing was more unnerving than having Luna completely on target, but she was suddenly incredibly grateful to her.

"Ok," she said briskly. "Thanks, Luna. And you were right before. Let's figure out the places for each of us to go."

It took surprisingly little time for the girls to divide up the school, and then they each set out on their own paths.

Luna drifted along toward the castle. Anyone watching her would have thought her to be lost, but she had a very definite goal in mind. She'd been given the task of checking some of the classrooms, and she had some idea of where to go first and who she might find there. She was completely unsurprised to find that she was right.

It had once been Professor Lupin's classroom, and while there was no longer any indication that he'd once taught third years how to defeat their fears in this very room, it was clear that one of his former students was having a hard time accepting that he'd never do anything like that again.

Luna stopped short when she entered the room, but she'd been so quiet that Harry didn't even look up. He was sitting on the floor in the back of the room, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head on his arms. She watched him for a moment without his knowledge, and then she made her way over to the professor's desk in the front of the room, walking loudly enough to attract his attention. By the time she'd reached the desk and sat down on its surface, he was watching her, and she returned his gaze steadily.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, and then Harry mumbled, "So who sent you to find me?"

Luna shrugged. "I just got lucky, I guess. Hermione, Ginny and I split up the school. But I did have the feeling I'd find you here," she said quietly.

He nodded. He was staring at his feet again, and she looked around the room, giving him time to decide if he wanted to say anything else before she insisted that he return to the service with her.

After a moment, he cleared his throat and surprised himself by saying, "A lot of this is my fault, you know."

Luna looked at him again now, and her eyes were surprised. "What is?" she asked simply, and Harry stared at her.

"All – all of this," he said, gesturing around the room. "If I'd just gone into the forest sooner, there wouldn't have to be a Memorial here today. Remus might bring Teddy to this room in ten years to show him where he used to teach. Fred would still be in the back of the shop, coming up with inventions to terrorize future Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. George would laugh…" he trailed off, horrified to feel a lump rising in his throat. This was Luna, he reminded himself. The lump was painful, but crying in front of her would surely be worse. He couldn't imagine what she would say if he did. He swallowed hard. She was watching him now.

"How could you have known to go into the forest sooner?" she asked slowly but with much more deliberateness than usual. Harry didn't answer. He couldn't. He just looked at her, and a memory came back, suddenly, of the conversation she'd had with him after Sirius had died. She was the only person whose company he hadn't minded, he remembered, because she seemed to understand how he was feeling. Her simple question now showed him that this hadn't changed. How could he have known? She was right.

"Thanks," he said gruffly. Luna nodded, her eyes drifting to a point over his head. Grief was burning in his throat, and he was grateful that she wasn't looking right at him anymore though he thought that might have been intentional.

They sat in silence for another minute until Luna finally said, somewhat reluctantly, "We should go back. Ginny and Hermione think it's important for everyone to be there when the service ends."

Harry nodded and got to his feet, surreptitiously wiping his face on his sleeve, hoping she hadn't noticed. If she did, she said nothing, and he felt gratitude rush through him. He'd thought he couldn't have had worse luck when Luna walked through the door, but somehow, the pit in his stomach suddenly seemed smaller.

They didn't speak as they walked, but when they'd almost reached the Memorial, Harry reached out a hand to stop Luna, and she turned to him questioningly.

"I…," he started and then stopped. There was no way he could ever say it all. "Thanks," he said simply. It wasn't enough, but she smiled.

"It's what friends do, Harry," she said softly, and he watched her go to her seat with a smile of his own, his first in days.