"Oh, sod off," Lily said quietly for the tenth time that day as a familiar figure approached her once again. Ron sniggered from her side, doing his best to hide his smile so Lily wouldn't say anything.

"Hullo, Lily," Colin Creevey said while fiddling nervously with his camera in hand. It still had a large bulb attached to the top. Lily didn't know how the mousy-faced boy could balance it; it seemed too top heavy.

"Hullo, Colin," she replied, her voice devoid of any warmth. She was getting really sick of Colin following her around constantly, and even more tired of hearing the distinctive click of Colin snapping a picture of her. Even Malfoy was starting to notice, and she was really tired of the things he was saying during Potions.

"Do you mind if I get a picture of you?" Colin asked, tapping the camera he was holding. "I never got my last one back from Lockhart, and I was wondering if-"

"No," Lily said. She pushed past the boy; they were in the process of leaving the common room when the first-year rat approached them.

"No problem, then," Colin quickly said, backing up. "Sorry for bothering you, I'll see you around."

"Right," Lily said, turning for the exit. At least Colin was learning, even if it was very slow. Maybe tomorrow he'd only ask nine times. She couldn't hear Ron and Neville following behind her; the common room was quite crowded. The first years, second years, and third years all managed to snag a weekend with relatively little work to do. The upper years didn't, of course, but they were mostly in the library. Even with that advantage, they still didn't get the cough in front of the fireplace, and so decided to venture off into the cold, freezing castle. Lily's thighs were already chilled, even with her robes tightly closed. She hated skirts. She didn't understand why none of the other girls ever complained.

"You should be nicer to him," Ron said bravely after they left the warm, comfortable common room behind. "He just likes you, is all."

"I don't like him," Lily grumbled. "He only asked permission this time because I threw a fit when he didn't the other hundred times."

"Good times," Ron said fondly. Lily was pretty sure he egged the boy on just because he thought it was funny. Lily was biding her time. She'd get her revenge eventually. She had a feeling Lavender liked him, but she wasn't quite mad enough at either of them to encourage that. At least Lavender was talking to her again, though; the girl cried the entire night after the attack on Mrs. Norris, and then begged for Lily's forgiveness the entirety of the next day. That was unnecessary, of course, since Lily forgave her on the first attempt, but Lavender could be very dramatic.

"He's been hanging around Ginny, did you know?" Lily asked. A shiver went down her spine as they passed a particularly drafty window. Lily couldn't stand how cold it got here so quickly; it wasn't even Halloween yet, and she was freezing to death. She could have sworn the closest suit of armor had frost on it as they passed by.

"He has?" Ron said, warmth leaving his voice. "What's he want with her, do you reckon?"

"They're in the same year," Neville said.

"Still, though," Ron grumbled.

"She said they've been studying together with the rest of the first year Gryffindors," Lily explained. "They've formed a study group, apparently."

She thought she managed to hide her hurt feelings well enough; she found out when she asked Ginny to study Transfiguration with her and completely got blown off. At least the first-year girl seemed sad about it. Lily got the feeling she wasn't super fond of her fellow Gryffindor first years. She saw her with a Ravenclaw girl far more often, and once even a Slytherin, although that could have just been her eyes playing tricks on her.

"Unnatural, that is," Ron complained. Lily and Neville both chose to ignore it. Lily, for one, didn't understand why it was an issue, but she wasn't going to push Ron into an explanation. They reached the staircase after passing several yawning paintings. Lily didn't know what they were so sleepy for; it's not like they had anything they actually needed to do.

"Where are we heading, anyway?" Ron asked after a few more minutes of silence, hands shoved in his pockets. Lily's own hands were trailing the guardrails of the staircase; they liked to move too frequently for her to ever feel safe. She'd never seen one move while somebody was on them, but it was better to be safe. It was really only a matter of time.

"Out," Lily answered, taking a brief chance to rub her legs for warmth once they reached the next landing; they had to wait for Neville to untangle himself from the false step. He almost always fell through it, even when reminded to skip it. Ron and Lily stopped trying ages ago. It was a pain to help him, as well. He tended to pull people in with him, and then it was all an even bigger mess. Better to just let him get out on his own. It was better for the boy that way.

"I thought you were cold," Ron said, turning around to face Neville's shame. He tended to get impatient. "It's only going to be worse for you outside."

"The library, then," Lily suggested. She mostly just wanted to be away from prying eyes. Everybody was still talking about the Chamber of Secrets at every opportunity, and that made her feel anxious. Despite McGonagall saying she was clear, she couldn't help but feel worried about it.

"Not a chance," Ron said, snorting. Lily couldn't say she was surprised; Neville would study with her if she asked, but Ron only ever did it when he absolutely needed to. It was a bit annoying, to be perfectly honest.

"Where do you suggest we go, then?" Lily snapped.

"We can go outside, I suppose," Ron said. "It's really not that cold out."

Lily grumbled an insult under her breath, but Ron didn't seem to notice. Neville finally managed to get himself free, and he took the last few steps far more carefully. He looked a bit embarrassed, but Lily was pretty sure he was getting used to it by now. If you were walking with Neville Longbottom back up to the Gryffindor Common Room, it was expected that he'd get stuck somewhere. It was as natural as falling asleep during a lecture from Professor Binns.

"What about Hagrid's?' Neville suggested. "It'll be warm in there."

"Can't, mate, he said he'll be busy tending his pumpkins for the weekend," Ron reminded him. They were getting really big, and Hagrid didn't want them coming by until they were gone. They were still attracting Flesh-Eating Slugs, and he didn't want any of them getting bit.

"Right," Neville said reluctantly. "I forgot. What else could we do?"

Lily had to admit, she never expected a free weekend to be boring. She wasn't even tired enough to take a nap after their Quidditch practice in the morning. Her hair was still wet from the shower she took afterwards, which certainly didn't help her feel any warmer.

"We could always check out one of the secret tunnels on the map," Lily suggested. She was itching to do so, since there were still so many that didn't have a label on them. She enjoyed the map far more now that Neville and Ron knew about it.

"What's the point without the cloak?" Ron groaned. "Half of them head off campus, you said so yourself. How are we going to avoid getting caught?"

"Fine, then," Lily said in a huff. She resisted the urge to cross her arms; Ron's new thing was teasing her about it. He claimed it made her look too much like his mother. It turned out to be a good suggestion, too. She stumbled on one of the steps as they crossed to the fourth floor, and barely caught herself in time by grabbing onto the railing. She wouldn't have been able to blame Dobby for that one, although she could blame her sore legs from practice.

"We could play some exploding snap next to the lake," Neville suggested. "It's not too windy out today."

"Left the cards upstairs," Ron grumbled.

"What clubs are meeting today?" Lily asked.

"On a Saturday?" Ron asked. "You really want to join a Saturday club and waste all our weekends?"

"It's not a waste if we're having fun, Ron," Lily said.

"Saturday is Knitting, Ancient Runes, Sphinx, and Potions clubs," Neville said, counting them each off on his fingers.

"Throw Potions out," Ron demanded, "Snape supervises, and I've had enough of him in my life, thank you very much."

"What about the art club?" Lily asked. "They meet on Saturday, too."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Sure, Lily, let's join the art club. That sounds like a great idea."

"What's wrong with that?" Lily asked.

"What's the point in joining when none of us are any good at it?" Ron said in the same whiney tone.

"I draw all the time!" Lily said. "And- and I can paint, too. I just haven't done it in a while, is all."

"Well, you go right ahead and waste your time," Ron said. "Might as well join the knitting club while you're at it, if you're interested."

Lily was stung by that, and she quickly dropped the subject. She let the boys fall ahead of her, so they could lead the way instead. Neville glanced back at her with a worried look, then turned back to Ron.

"What about Ancient Runes, then?" Neville said. "We can compromise."

"None of us are taking Ancient Runes, Nev," Ron pointed out.

"I'm taking that next year," Lily said nervously.

Ron snorted. "You're taking ancient runes? Blimey, Bill said the homework from that alone nearly killed him."

"Flitwick wants me to take it," Lily said. She was starting to feel defiant again. "We'll just go for today, and you two don't have to join if you don't want to."

To emphasize her point, she turned back up the stairs, heading back for the fourth floor where the club met. They made it down to the second, and her legs were straining in protest, but she was now filled with determination. Ron didn't argue, and he followed behind with his hands in his pockets while Neville walked by her side.

"What does Flitwick want you to take that for?" Ron asked. "He doesn't even teach the subject."

"He wants me to take a course on spell development in sixth year," Lily said sheepishly. "But I have to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes if I want to."

Ron whistled. "Good luck with that, then. Those are the hardest two."

"What are you taking?" Lily asked. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, but it would do good to hear it anyway.

"Whatever's easiest," Ron said with a shrug, proving Lily right.

"I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures for one," Neville said.

"I was going to take that one, too," Lily said happily.

"Three electives?" Ron said incredulously. "You know we only need two, right?"

"I wanted to take the extra," Lily said. "It sounds fun."

"You're starting to sound like Percy," Ron said. "He took them all. Got 12 OWLs, just like Bill. Mum never shuts up about it."

"You could too, you know,' Lily said. "You could do it if you tried."

Ron snorted, but Lily could see his ears when she turned back to look at him. She probably hit a sensitive spot, although she didn't mean to. She didn't let herself feel bad, though; she was still upset about the art thing.

She turned off at the fourth floor, waving at Circe as she passed her portrait. It was better to stay on the woman's good side, just in case the secret passage wasn't a girl thing, but a friendly thing. She'd try to stop by for a chat on the way out, even if Ron would surely complain about it. There were a few students milling about in the hallway, chatting idly and trying to pass time. Most were Ravenclaw; they were closer to that dorm than any other.

"Now," Lily said once they stopped in front of the proper classroom. "Who wants to join the club with me?"

The door was open to the usually unused classroom, and Lily could see a few students already inside chatting with others. Some seemed to already be working on something, even before the official start time. She also happened to notice that every Ravenclaw prefect was in attendance, Penelope Clearwater included. She started to raise her hand to wave, but the blonde girl wasn't looking anywhere near her direction.

"I'll go for now," Ron decided with a shrug. "Maybe it'll be fun. What do they even do here?"

"That's the spirit, Ron," Lily said cheerily. She chose to ignore the question; she thought he wouldn't like the answer.

"I'll come too," Neville said nervously. Lily had a feeling that he, at the very least, would not become a regular member, even if Ron did, by some miracle, want to join.

Lily took the first step in, then gave out a gasp in surprise as she froze in her tracks. There were two first years sitting in the far corner, one of which she definitely recognized.

"Ginny?" Lily asked as she approached, utterly perplexed, "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Lily," Ginny said, seeming embarrassed. "I just came with a friend. She didn't want to join a club by herself." Ginny motioned to the girl sitting to her side as her face turned the same shade as her hair. Clearly, she was hoping not to run into anybody she knew.

The small, blonde first year didn't look up from the magazine she was reading with her pale silvery eyes. Lily glanced at the cover. It had a large, bold title on it labelled as The Quibbler, as well as a drawing of what Lily could only describe as a large moose with spider legs. She certainly hoped they wouldn't be learning about that creature next year.

"You're friends with a Ravenclaw?" Ron asked incredulously as he sat down at a nearby desk. Lily glanced over at the blue trimmed robes, comparing them to Ginny's red. She filed away a question to ask later, just in case it was stupid. She'd try to ask it when Ron wasn't around.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ginny said with a sniff. Lily wondered if she wasn't actually embarrassed. Maybe she just didn't want her brother here. Lily decided to sit next to Ginny, that way nobody else could. She seemed far more comfortable that way.

"Hello," Lily said, leaning over to offer a handshake to the Ravenclaw girl. "I'm Lily. Lily Potter."

"Luna Lovegood," the girl said in a dreamy tone. She didn't look up from the magazine, although she did still shake Lily's hand. Her hand was much smaller than Lily's was, but it was quite soft. Lily appreciated that she didn't gawk, let alone react to the name. She quickly added Luna to the list of people she liked.

"How are you today?" Lily asked nervously. As to why she was nervous she had absolutely no clue. It was just a sudden feeling that come up on her. Luna finally glanced up, tilting her head slightly in confusion, as if she noticed how Lily was feeling. Lily thought her eyes were pretty when they actually focused on something. They had a sort of calming effect about them.

"I'm doing well," Luna said at last, looking back down at her reading material. "Although I've heard that you haven't been."

Lily frowned, starting to feel nervous again. "What do you mean?"

"It's just something the older students have been saying," Luna said, flipping a page. "They said you aren't well."

"Who's been talking about me?" Lily said hotly. "I haven't done a thing."

"I don't remember the specifics," Luna said airily. Lily had a feeling she'd be cursing Malfoy again later tonight.

"What are you all doing here?" Ginny asked, trying to change the subject. Lily wasn't sure if she wanted that; she still wanted to be mad.

"Lily wanted to join the club," Ron said in a mocking tone.

"And I suppose you didn't have anything better to do?" Ginny asked in a similar tone.

"Course not, we're here, aren't we?' Ron answered.

"I thought it sounded fun," Lily mumbled. She tucked her legs underneath her, trying to get warm again. It was absolutely freezing in this room. They were sitting near a window, and Lily could have sworn she could feel the wind blowing through it, even if not so much as a single lock of hair was moving. She could see one of the Ravenclaw prefects look over disapprovingly, but he didn't say anything. It wasn't against any of the school rules to sit like this. Lily knew; she checked, just in case McGonagall ever tried to say something. Her classes were always cold.

"I thought so, too," Luna said, humming as she closed her magazine and tucked it back into her robe. Apparently, she was now interested enough in the conversation to give it her full attention. "I thought it'd be quite useful in studying druidic mythology. Did you know they left runes all over the world, leaving instructions on how to build their ancient technology?"

"The druids?" Lily asked for confirmation. "I thought they were just a bunch of pagans." That was what she learned in Muggle school, anyway. She never gave them a second thought once she learned magic was real.

"They never even existed," Ron said, shaking his head. "They were a myth wizards invented to get the Muggles off their backs."

"No, they most definitely existed," Luna said, shaking her own head. "You can read all about them in this month's Quibbler. Daddy published an article written by Melissa Gorghawk, she's spent years researching them."

"Gorghawk?" Lily asked, feeling even more confused. That wasn't a name she'd ever heard before, although she supposed it wasn't anymore strange than a lot of wizard names.

"Yes, she's regularly featured," Luna said, dreamy tone sounding just a tad more excited. "She'll be in next month's, too, although daddy wouldn't say what she wrote about. He wanted it to be a surprise."

"So your dad runs the magazine, then?" Lily asked.

"Ours says The Quibbler only runs nonsense," Ron said. Luna shot him a glare, or at least what Lily interpreted as one. Her facial expressions didn't seem to ever change much. That one definitely seemed angrier, though. Lily shot him a better one, just to shut him up.

"The Quibbler only publishes the truth that other sources are afraid of," Luna said matter-of-factly. Ron sniggered, Neville looked nervous, and Ginny looked mad. Lily just felt confused.

"Why are you being so mean?" she asked Ron. The ginger boy looked taken aback at that, as if he never expected to be called out.

"I'm not-"

"You've been mean all day," Lily interrupted. "Knock it off, Ron."

"Thank you, Lily," Ginny said. "I would have been a bit more rude about it, though. You didn't even call him a prat."

"Prat," Lily added with a nod.

"There you go," Ginny said with a smile.

Ron grumbled something mutinously as he turned to face the front of the room, leaning forward on the desk he was siting at. Neville smiled sheepishly at Lily, then joined his friend, probably attempting to smooth things over. Neville only really had the two friends, and he couldn't stand when they were arguing. Lily couldn't stand it either, but for entirely different reasons. She turned to focus back on her own conversation with the two girls, noting that Luna was giving her that strange look again, as if searching Lily's soul for some sign.

"What?" Lily asked nervously.

"Thank you," Luna said with a nod. It seemed she found whatever she was looking for.

"You're welcome," Lily said. "Say, do you two mind if I ask a question?"

"You just did," Luna said.

"Go ahead, Lily," Ginny said.

"Where did you two get your robes?" Lily asked in a whisper, gesturing towards the different colors they were wearing.

"Pardon?" Ginny asked with a furrowed brow.

"I think the hat changed them," Luna said, holding out her arms so everybody could get a better look at them. "They were just plain black, before, but as soon as I was sorted into Ravenclaw, they turned blue."

"Oh, that," Ginny said. "Did you not notice, Lily? You were sorted a year before us."

"I was too nervous to pay any attention," Lily admitted. "Did the robes you had packed in your trunks change, too?"

"They must have, or I'd be out of clothes by now," Ginny said.

"I'm still running out of clothes," Luna said sadly. "My last sock went missing yesterday." She pulled up her robe to prove her point, showing her bare ankle sticking from her shoe.

"That can't be comfortable," Lily said. "Do you want some of mine? I've got too many, we bought a full replacement set over the summer in case my feet grew some more, but they haven't moved an inch."

Luna shook her head happily. "No, I'm sure they'll turn up eventually. I just hope they do before it starts snowing. Thank you for offering though! You're very kind!"

"Say, Lily," Ginny said as she leaned forward. "You asked one, now we get one, right?"

"Err- sure, Gin," Lily agreed. She didn't mind answering a question, it was just the contents of the question she feared, especially when it was presented that way.

"Do you think the Chamber of Secrets is real?" Ginny asked. Lily almost felt relived for a moment, then her brain processed the question, and she felt her body tense up in response as her brain flashed back to the petrified frame of Mrs. Norris hanging from the sconce, blood writing gleaming on the wall.

"Father thinks so," Luna answered instead. "I wrote him about it the day after. He's planning on running a full edition on it in a few weeks, once he finds an expert on it. He's hoping none of the other papers will pick up on it first. But that's all a secret, so don't go telling!" Luna leaned forward on that last part, pressing a finger to her mouth in a shushing motion.

"What do you think, Lily?" Ginny asked again. "Percy reckons it can't be, but if it isn't, who would do that to Mrs. Norris?"

"I don't know," Lily said too quickly, "How would I know?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes, and Lily quickly looked away, wishing she could appear less suspicious since she actually didn't know a single thing.

"Sorry Ginny," she said, "I- I just don't like to think about it, is all, and- and people keep bringing it up."

"Right," Ginny said with a nod. "Sorry, Lily, I forgot you have a cat."

"Can I meet him?" Luna said sweetly. "Mrs. Norris was sweet to me, but now she's not around."

"Mrs. Norris was sweet to you?" Ginny said.

"Sorry, Luna, I forgot him at home," Lily said. "Ginny and I just got out of the hospital right before the train left, and he got left behind in our rush."

"I understand," Luna said thoughtfully. "You'll have to let me meet him sometime, though. Maybe I'll come over during the Holidays."

"She lives nearby," Ginny explained to a dumbfounded Lily. "We used to play together all the time when we were little."

"But then Ginny broke her leg climbing a tree and couldn't come anymore," Luna said sadly.

"Mum wouldn't let me," Ginny said angrily. "Thought Luna pushed me and I was just covering for her."

"I'll bring him to your place," Lily offered. "He'll like that, he doesn't like being cooped up inside so much. That's why we left him, actually, he was out in the garden playing with the gnomes."

"You have gnomes?" Luna said with her face beaming in excitement. "Gnome spit is said to have powerful magical properties. Can you bring one of those for me, too?"

"Err-" Lily stammered.

"Sure, Luna," Ginny agreed. "Mum'll be happy to see them gone, you can have the whole lot."

"Well, now, I do believe it's time to start," the Ravenclaw prefect from earlier called from the front of the room. Everybody snapped to attention, conversations ending abruptly. Lily turned to attention as well, although her mind was still wondering about how the gnomes could possibly be helpful in any way. She just thought they were ugly and mean.

"Where's Professor Babbling?" a fourth year Ravenclaw asked.

"She won't be joining us," the Head Boy explained. "Magical Spell Theory and Research meets on Saturdays this year."

Lily groaned, wondering what she was getting herself into. Ron looked back with a sly grin, and she made a rude gesture in his direction. She realized afterwards that she was lucky none of the multiple authority figures in the room didn't happen to notice. At least Ron was back in good spirits now if he was making fun of her again.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ignatius Pebblebrook," the prefect said, smiling as he introduced himself. He had short, brown hair, and glasses that rested on his rather small nose. They seemed to be constantly at risk of falling off, as he pushed them back up every few seconds. Lily thought it looked absolutely ridiculous, but it was also oddly charming.

"Who doesn't know their Head Boy?" the same fourth year said. There were quite a few laughs and chuckles from around the room. Lily joined in nervously, trying desperately to ignore her own embarrassment. She did not notice, nor could she tell you who the Head Boy or Girl were from the previous year. At least Ginny looked equally embarrassed about it. Only upon looking very closely did Lily notice that his badge was different from the normal Prefect's badges.

"Quiet down, quiet down," Ignatius said. "I see we have a few first years and second years joining us today. You're all more than welcome to stay, and even officially join the club if you wish, although I admit you probably won't be of help until next year. Still, though, good on you all for showing some initiative! If you do stick around, you'll do much better when you start the class in the future."

Lily waved nervously as the other students turned to look at them. At least Penelope seemed excited to see her there; she finally got that smile and wave she was digging for earlier.

"Of course, you're more than welcome to join even if you don't intend on taking Ancient Runes. Horace here didn't, and he's been an immense help!"

Lily couldn't help but feel that was a poor choice of words; the sixth-year boy Ignatius motioned towards didn't seem happy about it, either. He was fat, and his brown hair clung to his head. Nobody else seemed to notice it, though, except for Ron, who was doing his best to hide a smile.

The rest of the meeting went about as well as Lily could have expected, since she didn't know a single thing about Ancient Runes or how to read them. Ignatius spent most of his time helping the first and second years figure everything out. Lily certainly appreciated it; she'd have been rather lost without his help.

"I hope to teach the subject someday," he explained as they were wrapping up for the day. "Professor Babbling has already recommended me for the job, but she doesn't plan on retiring for another 5 years. Plenty of time for me to get some experience in the field, of course. Hogwarts tends to require at least ten, but Dumbledore said he'd consider me if I earned an O on my NEWTs."

"What'll you do before then?" Lily asked, unable to contain the question. She could see Ron tapping his foot impatiently near the door, with Neville, Ginny, and Luna standing nearby. She waved them on, just in case she had more questions. He waved back, then backed out of the room.

"I've been offered an entry position at Gringotts," Ignatius said, puffing out his chest a little. "I'll be an apprentice ward-breaker."

"My brother Bill does that," Ginny piped up. Lily jumped at the sound of her voice; her and Luna came forward, standing nearby where they could hear the conversation.

"I remember Bill," Ignatius said fondly. "He was Head Boy in my fourth year. Joined the club the same year, matter of fact. He didn't lead it like I do, but he was there as well."

"I know all that," Ginny said. "He was my brother, why wouldn't I?"

"Right," Ignatius said, seeming a bit embarrassed. He scratched at his sideburns, which skewed his glasses slightly. "Well, anyway, then, err- Do any of you plan to come to the next meeting? We'd love to have some fresh blood, as it were."

"I do," Luna said happily as she pulled her magazine back out of her robes. Ignatius looked like he was torn about her involvement, but he settled on a friendly smile in the end.

"I will, too," Lily piped up. Ignatius seemed far more excited about that, likely due to the prestige of having The Girl Who Lived join your club. She couldn't say she was surprised, although she was certainly a little disappointed.

"I might," Ginny said, tone betraying the fact that she definitely wouldn't. She had the worst time of them all, and swore loudly that she wouldn't be taking the class in her third year. Lily was briefly disappointed that she wouldn't have at least one friend in the class with her, only to be more disappointed that Ginny was a first year and would never have been in the first place. She wondered if she could, perhaps, convince Neville to take it.

"Splendid!" Ignatius said with his hands clapped together. "I shall see you both the next weekend, then?"

"As long as practice doesn't run too long," Lily said. Wood always tried to drag these things out, even long after his subordinates were tired and ready to wrap up.

"Of course, Quidditch comes first!" Ignatius said. He pushed his glasses up again, and Lily had to hold back her question. Surely there was some sort of spell that could keep them in place, with all the other specific charms that were around.

"I'll see you Thursday, Lily," Penelope called from near the door. Lily gave her a wave, then noticed the confused look on all the people currently surrounding her.

"She's tutoring me," Lily explained. "Well, actually, Flitwick is tutoring me, but he asked her to help me practice most weeks."

"Interesting," Ignatius noted. "Not very often he takes an interest in a student outside of Ravenclaw. Your spellwork must be impressive. If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the Headmaster soon. We have to discuss the state of Hagrid's pumpkins. Our groundskeeper is worried they might not be ready in time."

Ignatius bowed to the three girls, something Lily thought even more odd and embarrassing, and then swept out of the room. Ginny apparently agreed, as she was trying to hold back a smile when Lily turned to look at her.

"I like him," Luna said airily. "He's always been very nice in the common room."

"Yeah, he, err-" Lily started.

"He seemed delightful," Ginny finished with a giggle.