A/N: Written for Hogwarts assignment 8 - Defense Against the Dark Arts: task 3 - Write about telepathy.
Word count: 706
Ginny leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the cold wind from off the lake whip her hair around. It was grounding after the fight she and Michael had just had. They were over for good; she was sure of that. It was something she'd been putting off for months, hoping he'd get over himself, but she should have given it up as a lost cause the first time he flew off the handle over something ridiculous.
Footsteps behind her pulled her attention away from the lake. She glanced over her shoulder to see Luna approaching with an uncharacteristic frown on her lips.
"I'm sorry about you and Michael," she said as she sat down.
Ginny scowled. "Is Michael saying anything about me?"
"Oh," Luna replied as if she hadn't considered the possibility of that. "No, I haven't talked to him."
Ginny frowned. "Then how did you hear? It only happened half an hour ago."
Luna turned away from her to face the lake, her posture stiff in a way that was very unlike her. Ginny straightened up, her newfound curiosity almost drowning out her feelings about the breakup.
"I heard it in your thoughts," Luna admitted quietly.
It was silent for a long time. Ginny stared at Luna, but Luna refused to look back.
"In my thoughts?" Ginny repeated. "You can read my mind?"
Adrenaline rushed through her veins. What else had Luna seen? Memories of some very private things flashed through her mind again before she noticed Luna turning red. Merlin! Of course, Luna could see them now. Ginny's cheeks warmed as she desperately tried to repress what was suddenly very hard not to think about.
"I can," Luna admitted, her body angled almost entirely away from Ginny now.
"What have you seen?" Ginny asked.
Strangely, she didn't feel angry that Luna had been snooping around in her head. She was only embarrassed.
"Not much," Luna rushed to say. "Today is the first time I've ever heard your thoughts."
Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. So Luna had never seen the more than friendly thoughts Ginny had had about her over the years. Except she could see them now! Ginny cursed, desperately thinking about anything and everything else. She looked down at the grass.
Luna cleared her throat before she continued. "I've been able to read my parents' thoughts since I was little, but that's it. Besides them, you're the first person I've been able to hear."
Ginny's head shot up, her mouth agape. "Really? Why?"
Luna shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. My dad says it's my special gift. It's not Legilimency. I don't have to think about it, and I've been able to do it since I was small. He always said that I must have been able to hear him and Mum because of our connections with each other."
They made eye contact for the first time since they'd sat down. Ginny swallowed.
"I'm sorry," Luna added. "If I could turn it off, I would, but I've never been able to."
"That's okay," Ginny said, her heart racing in her chest. She would have to become really good at controlling her thoughts very quickly if she had any hope of maintaining their friendship. Wait. No. She shouldn't have been thinking that when Luna could hear her either.
"It's only when I'm close to you," Luna said. "I heard about Michael as I was walking up to you."
That was a relief.
"I think I can hear you now because of my feelings for you," Luna said, sounding far more confident than she had at the beginning of the conversation.
Ginny's head shot up. "What?" she asked, even though Luna's words were already replaying themselves in her mind.
"I like you," Luna said. "That's probably why I can hear your thoughts. I've never been close to anyone like I am you."
She probably just means as friends, Ginny told herself.
"I don't," Luna responded as if Ginny had spoken out loud. Ginny blushed, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"I like you too," she admitted, though she knew she didn't have to. It was clear as day inside her mind.
Luna giggled as Ginny closed the space between them.