Yay! I actually updated on time. Another big thanks to anyone reading and to all the reviews I've had! Makes me all happy on the inside. This one is a little long, I think it's the longest one I've written! Anyway, I'll stop talking now.. lol.
Chapter 37 - Friendship
The fall rolled on and was nearing the winter season; Ron was trying his best to practice for the up coming Quidditch match but to no avail. His nervous behavior was getting in the way of his performance. No matter how much Harry, Ginny and Hermione told him to relax, he just couldn't. Ginny even tried to train her brother in the art of being cool and collect.
"The game is today you know," Ginny told her brother. "You still haven't really grasped this."
"It's against Slytherin, why does it have to be against them!" Ron complained. Hermione placed her hand on his back and tried to comfort him. "You'll do fine if you just listen to Harry and Ginny," she told him.
"Easy for you to say," Ron uttered rather tactlessly. Harry frowned at his behavior. Hermione took her hand off his back and frowned along with Harry. "Come on, we don't want to be late for the match," he said grabbing Ron. He protested slightly but followed. "See you in the locker room Ginny," Harry called to her.
Ginny nodded her head as she sat with Hermione in the common room. Lavender Brown and some of her closet friends decided to leave the room to get seats for the big game. Ginny watched them leave and she turned to Hermione. "Why did Lavender have such a change of heart anyway?" Ginny asked her.
Hermione had to hold back from telling her the truth. She knew that one bad quality Weasleys had was jealously. "I'm not sure," she lied, "she told me that she just felt awful for being so full of herself."
"She was never like that when I was in my first year," Ginny commented, "it wasn't really until your third and fourth year." She looked at Hermione who looked uneasy. "What's the matter?" Ginny asked her.
"Nothing," Hermione smiled. I really have to keep my secrets for a while longer, she thought sadly. "Come on, you have a game to win," Hermione leaned in and kissed Ginny softly.
Ginny was glowing, "with that kiss I think I can perform so much better now." She smiled and got up. She headed for the portrait hole dragging Hermione along with her. They parted ways at the pitch. Hermione went to find a seat with the Gryffindor supporters and Ginny walked off to the locker room to get ready. Much to Hermione's surprise, Luna was sitting in the stands with what looked to be a giant lion on her head.
"Um, hello Luna," Hermione grinned uneasily. She took a seat next to the odd Ravenclaw student who tried her best to cover her usual blue and bronze uniform with scarlet and gold. "Hello Hermione!" Luna beamed.
"I'm surprised that you aren't sitting with the Ravenclaws," Hermione smiled once again trying to be as polite as she could be. Luna shook her head no and the huge lion nearly toppled over. "Why would I? All my friends are here!" she beamed once again. "Look at this too." She pulled a cord on her hat and the lion roared loudly. "Isn't that cleaver?" Luna looked at Hermione with the most dazed look she'd ever seen on the girl's face.
Neville came to sit down but was startled by the lion head's roar. "Whoa! Luna!" he laughed. "That scared me." Luna turned to greet him with a wide smile, "I'm sorry Neville."
Hermione turned her head to the field where she saw Harry leading his team out. Ron and Ginny were easy to spot since they were both red heads. Hermione smiled at Ginny who was searching the Gryffindor stand for Hermione. She spotted Luna instead because of the lion's head hat.
Ginny mouthed, 'Nice Hat!' to Luna. She smiled and pulled the cord again causing the lion to roar once more. Ginny giggled but her eyes moved next to Luna to see Hermione covering her ears but still smiling at Ginny. Hermione mouthed over, 'Good luck' to her. Ginny smiled and winked at her. This caused Hermione to have a shiver down her spine that she couldn't explain. What is it with you and Quidditch players? One wink and you melt, Hermione told herself.
On the other side, the Slytherin team was being lead out and Hermione could tell that Draco was looking over to the Slytherin stands at Pansy. They seemed to be singling something at each other.
They all flew up into the air. Harry led them to their positions. Katie Bell was near Ginny who was inhaling and exhaling rather quickly. Ron took his place as keeper with a rather sick look on his face.
About five minutes into the game, Ron was already trying to defend the goals but he wasn't having much luck. Zacharias Smith was commentating this match much to Hermione's disgust. "And it looks like Weasley just can't keep the quaffle out of the goal!" he called out. Ginny turned red with anger as she swung her broom around to catch the quaffle as it headed her way. Ron, who was now being laughed at by Slytherins, was turning red.
"Still having problems there Weasley?" Draco laughed, "Thought you got over this last year?"
"Stuff it Malfoy," Ron called back. He started to prepare himself once again. Ginny closed her eyes as she held onto the quaffle and speed off down the pitch to the Slytherin goal. She was going in and out when Slytherins came after her and she managed to break free and score one for the Gryffindors. All of the Gryffindors got up to cheer, Luna's lion head roared proudly. Hermione clapped loudly and didn't even seem to care about the lion's roar.
The game rolled on, and Ron managed to keep the quaffle out of the goal. It was all fine until, Katie was intercepted and the quaffle was rolling at a high speed to Ron and he couldn't block it. He spun on his broom and cursed loudly. Over head, Zacharias' voice rang out, "I'm beginning to think that Ronald Weasley only got onto the team because of his ties to captain Harry Potter. What do you think?"
Ginny gritted her teeth. If Fred and George were there, she knew exactly what they would do. She allowed her temper to get the best to her as she rammed her broom into the commentating stand. She flew out and shouted up at Smith, "YOU WOULD KNOW ALL ABOUT THAT, WOULDN'T YOU?"
Zacharias stumbled and nearly fell off. McGonagall was rather upset at both Ginny's and Zacharias' shots. She took the megaphone from Smith and called out, "10 points from both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor!"
Ginny frowned and looked back into the stands at Hermione who was crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes went over to Ron who was actually smiling at her. "Thanks Ginny," he said. She managed to read his lips and said, "No problem bro."
The snitch was now out in the field. Harry charged forward without even noticing Draco was going in the same direction. "Watch it Potter," Draco spat as he almost crashed into Harry's broom. He didn't pay much attention to him as he speed after the snitch. Draco pushed his broom into Harry's to try to knock him off, but he kept his balance. Harry reached out his hand and nearly touched it. Draco was now racing with his hand stuck out in front of him. They were both almost touching it when Draco wasn't paying attention to a bludger hit him off his broom.
Harry grabbed hold of the snitch with a spin in his broom. The game was over and the Gryffindor side of the stadium was cheering loudly and the pitch was filled with the roar of Luna's hat.
Later that day in the great hall, Ginny was sitting with Hermione, Ron and Harry as they ate dinner. Draco was glaring at them from the Slytherin table but Ron was the first to stick his tongue out at him. "That was great, minus Ginny losing her temper," Hermione glared at Ginny.
"What? You heard what that pompous little weasel said about Ron," Ginny cried out. Hermione shook her head, "you could have just said something to him instead of nearly knocking him out of the stand!"
"No way," Ron said in between bites of food, "that was the best show case of sisterly love. Thanks Gin."
"You just don't get it Hermione," Ginny laughed. "You don't have siblings so you wouldn't get it." Once the words were out, it was hard to get them back in. Harry had cringed at that statement. Hermione was filled with anger and said, "Well, fine, if you think that. I'll let you be with your brother. I'm going to go do my homework."
Hermione got up crying as she ran off upstairs. Luna had noticed this and got up from the Ravenclaw table. As much as she wanted to eat her pudding, she wanted to know what had happened to Hermione. "What did I say wrong?" Ginny groaned.
"You shouldn't have said that," Harry told her. "You shouldn't be like Ron."
"Hey!" Ron shouted, "That's insulting me!"
"You are tactless," Harry groaned.
"Forget it, I guess it was wrong. I have to go find her. She must be in the library," Ginny got up and ran off. Ron was steaming at Harry so he too got up and rushed off to the common room.
Hermione wasn't in the library like Ginny had guessed but in the second floor bathroom. Moaning Myrtle was about to say something to her, but Hermione glanced angrily at her. She took the hint and floated into a mirror. The door creaked open and Hermione thought it was Ginny so she said, "go away. I don't want to talk to you right now."
"I'm sorry," the voice said. It wasn't Ginny's, but Luna's. She was turning to leave but Hermione turned around suddenly. "Luna?" she asked.
"Yes?" Luna said. She had a look of concern on her soft face and her silvery blue eyes were looking at Hermione as if looking for an answer to her tears. "Don't go," Hermione pulled on her robes. "I thought you were Ginny."
"Oh," Luna smiled, "no, I saw you leave the table in such a rush I had figured that perhaps Ronald said something to you."
"It wasn't so much him as Ginny," Hermione sighed, "well it was both of them. I hate it when she takes his side and then all of a sudden my feelings don't matter."
Luna nodded her head as she pulled her into a hug softly. "It's ok to cry," Luna told her. "But don't allow them to get to you too much. I have heard that siblings have a tight bond that sometimes blinds them to other's feelings. I'm sure they meant nothing by it."
Hermione nodded her head as she cried into Luna's shoulder. "You're right," she muttered under the Ravenclaw's robes. "Why did she have to say what she said to me though? It was so tactless."
"What is it that she said?" Luna asked.
"She told me that since I don't have siblings, I wouldn't understand why she did what she did at the game and that was why I'm upset at her. Really, that wasn't it. I just wish she would control her temper. She's so much like her mother." Hermione lifted her bushy brown haired head off of Luna's shoulder for a moment to gaze into caring blue eyes.
Luna's face was not looking off, it wasn't dazed, but it was serene. Hermione felt comfort from her. Something she never thought she would feel from her. Hermione was starting to feel an almost sisterly bond with Luna. "I think the reason she said that, as much as it was tactless, was because it's true."
Hermione pouted her full lips and rested her head on Luna's shoulder again. "But it's not true."
"In a way, it was, wasn't it? You didn't understand why Ginny was so upset. Certainly I have noticed that Ginny has a bad temper but it does come in handy. You know that she defends you and everyone she cares about with valor. She does this because she is just like that. She's a protector and feels the need to do so."
Hermione understood Luna. She lifted her head again. Luna dried off her tears with the sleeve of her robes. With a dazed smile she asked, "are you alright now Hermione?"
"Yes," she nodded. "Her temper may come in handy sometimes. Other times it scares me."
"Don't let it," Luna hugged her again, "She would never hurt the ones she loves. She has stood up for me many times when people call me names."
"She has?" Hermione sniffed.
"Yes," Luna smiled, "Harry has as well." Her silvery blue eyes seemed to light up when she said Harry's name.
"Can I ask you something? You know, about Harry?" Hermione was now willing to ask Luna about what she was wondering.
"Yes?" Luna tilted her head at the brunette.
"Well, I don't want to be rude or seem like I want to gossip but are you and Harry together?" she asked finally.
Luna laughed softly. "No," she answered, "that would be nice though. He is so much like me in ways that aren't, well, as others put it, loony. I do enjoy that about him. He also seems to understand where I come from and I think that perhaps he could be a good partner."
Hermione blushed. She had been right about the chemistry she saw between the two. "Do you think he feels the same way?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," Luna nodded, "I will have to see how he reacts when I am around him. So far, it has been inconclusive." Luna was back to looking off into space since she now knew that Hermione was feeling better. Her silvery blue eyes were glued to the wall as Hermione backed away from her slowly. "Thank you Luna," she said as she went to the sink to wash her face.
"No need to thank me," Luna grinned. "It's what friends are for." Luna's eyes met Hermione's and once again there was a sisterly connection between the two. Ok, so her beliefs are odd, that doesn't make her a horrible person. She's rather comforting even if she is blunt. She doesn't hold back, Hermione thought with a smile, Luna Lovegood and I friends. That's lovely.
The bathroom door creaked once again and Ginny walked into the room. "H-Hermione?" she called. "Yes?" Hermione sniffed.
"I'm sorry," Ginny walked into the room. It had taken her so long to swallow her pride. Luna glanced at Ginny and then at Hermione. "I think I should leave you two alone," she grinned. She walked to the door, pulled it open and walked out into the hallway.
"It's ok," Hermione said as she leaned against the sink. "I shouldn't have reacted like that. It is the truth."
"No, it's not," Ginny moved closer to her. "You know what its like to have a brother because you have Harry."
Hermione smiled, "I guess I would have done the same if something was said about him or even Ron. As much as Ron might annoy me, he is like a brother to me too."
Ginny laughed, "You don't want him for a brother. He's so clueless sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Hermione laughed. She extended her arms and pulled Ginny into her. They hugged tightly. "Thank you for swallowing your pride and saying sorry to me," Hermione giggled.
Ginny, who was muffled under robes, only nodded. Hermione pulled her away and then pulled her in again but this time to kiss her deeply. Myrtle was now poking her head out of the wall. "Oh what's this? Kissing in the girl's room? Not the first time I've seen it," she laughed loudly.
Hermione and Ginny both broke the kiss to turn around. "Myrtle!" they both shouted in unison. The Ravenclaw ghost laughed even louder and sank into the wall again.