p style="text-align: center;"Chapter 18: The Dirigible Duo/p

"Luna wasn't the sort of girl who'd made a lot of friends growing up. Part of the reason for that was a lot of the community around her was muggle and she didn't want to accidentally let slip something about the wizarding world, but the other reason was that she'd always been different from the people around her. She saw things in a unique way, and a lot of people didn't really like that. One of the few exceptions to that rule had been Ginny Weasley. She had been her age and a witch so naturally she had tried to befriend the girl upon meeting her, and she had been rewarded with a friend who had always made her feel accepted and welcome whenever they spent time together. Having somebody like that was something she was more grateful for than she knew how to express. So when you take all that into account, seeing the other girl kiss her boyfriend had been more than simply a friend stabbing her in the back. It had taken the one constant rock in her world aside from her father and removing it without warning, leaving her at a loss of what to do. Ginny had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. Harry was great, but he couldn't replace the kind of bond that she had with Ginny. A part of her wanted to reach out to the other girl, but she didn't feel like she was ready to. Nor did she think that Ginny really deserved that sort of kindness after the stunt she'd pulled. Not knowing what else to do, Luna simply decided to find an abandoned classroom and cry until no more tears were left to fall, and that's exactly what she did./p

By the time she'd cried herself out she felt marginally better. She still felt fragile, and there was an unsettling emptiness in the place where Ginny's friendship used to be. It made her want to hit something, scream, and pull her hair all at the same time but she did none of those things. Instead, she rubbed at her face to get rid of the tear tracks before running her fingers through her hair to get out some of the tangles. Once she felt slightly more presentable she exited the abandoned classroom and began walking towards the entrance to the school so she could go out and get some fresh air and sunshine. Perhaps a little bit of time outside might help lift her spirits. However, just before she reached the main doors she felt somebody grab her by the arm. In an instant she whirled around with her wand out and a stupefy on her lips, ready to drop whoever had dared touch her without her consent. To her surprise though, a tired and hurting Ginny looked at her with bloodshot eyes most likely from a combination of crying and lack of sleep. Seeing her friend like that made her heart ache, and she slowly lowered her wand. "What is it, Ginny? I was planning on going outside since it's a nice day." she told her, not in the mood to play any games right now.

Ginny bit her lip, eyes darting around to see if anybody was listening in on what she had to say. "Listen, I just want to talk for a bit. I don't care where we do that if you want we can go outside somewhere. Please Luna, I need to explain what happened. If after I do you still feel like you don't want to speak to me fine, but at least hear me out. You owe me that much after how long we've been friends." she told Luna.

The redhead hadn't even properly apologized yet but Luna could already hear how sorry she was for the way things turned out in her voice. It was enough to tug at her heartstrings and she let out a long drawn out sigh. "I don't know why I'm even agreeing to this, but okay...I'll listen. Come on, I know a good spot where we won't be bothered." Luna told her, motioning for Ginny to follow as she set off across the grounds at a good clip. She led Ginny a short ways into the forbidden forest before leading her to a hollowed out tree that was plenty big enough for the both of them to fit inside. Making her way inside the hollow tree trunk, she leaned against the wood and studied her friend. "This is the spot, you can go ahead and tell me whatever it is you have to say. I'm warning you now, though Ginny...I'm not sure if I can forgive you for what happened or just move on. What you did hurt, plain and simple." she said, crossing her arms as she waited to hear what she had to say for herself.

Hearing her friend say that made Ginny wince, but she steeled herself and stepped inside the tree with her. Before she spoke she held out a hand that was holding the dirigible plum earrings Luna had given her. "Here, before we start I just wanted to give these back. Until such time as I deserve to wear them again, I think you should hold onto them." she told her. The gesture surprised Luna but she took the earrings and pocketed them. Fidgeting a little, Ginny eventually just copied Luna and leaned back against a different side of the hollow tree trunk and started to talk. "As you know, Dean and I broke up on the morning of the Quidditch game. What you may or may not know is the reason why...you see, Parvati and Lavender were gossiping in the common room and Lavender was convinced I was still crushing on Harry hard and simply using Dean as a distraction because Harry was dating somebody else. The two of us started to get into it when Dean came down and overheard what was going on. Much as I hate to admit it, Lavender was right that I still had feelings for Harry and Dean saw as much so ended our relationship right then and there. After that was the Quidditch game, and my emotions were all over the place. By the end of it, I was just so relieved to have a friend to talk to that I just relaxed around Harry. Before I knew it I was kissing him, it wasn't planned...I was just grateful for him coming to check on me and I hoped maybe it was because he cared. I wasn't thinking about you and him as a couple, or at all really...it just happened. Before I knew what had happened Harry pushed me away and you saw us, and he gave me a good tongue lashing before going to try and find you." she explained, summarizing everything that had happened for Luna. "I know nothing I can say will make what I did right or hurt any less, I betrayed my best friend for a stupid boy. Harry's great don't get me wrong, but he's still just a stupid boy and I risked the most valuable friendship I had for no reason. D-do you think we could ever most past this and be friends again?" she asked, tears starting to fall as she looked at Luna hopefully.

Luna stood there listening calmly to everything Ginny had to say, taking it in as she thought things over. By the time she finished and asked if she thought they could ever be friends again Luna sighed, shaking her head before looking intently into Ginny's eyes. "I honestly don't know Ginny, all I know is we definitely can't be friends right now. For ages you've been literally the only person my age I could trust, and you tried to take the most important person in my life away from me for no other reason than to show your 'gratitude' to him." she said, putting air quotes around the word gratitude as she shivered. "It makes me sick to even think about. What's worse is I talked to you about this in the summer, and you told me you were happy that Harry and I had gotten together. You assured me that your crush on Harry wouldn't be an issue, and then after just over a month into the school year you go and kiss him! I'm sorry, but that's not okay in any way, shape, or form." Luna told her, tears of her own starting to fall now and she let them. "Harry and I understand each other in ways that I can't even put into words, and you tried to take that away. What you did was selfish, and it's not at all like the girl I thought I knew." she told her, hands holding onto her arms as she squeezed herself, trying to hold onto something. Right now she felt unsteady, like the ground under her feet could be ripped out from under her at any moment.

To her credit, Ginny didn't try to deny anything that Luna said as she looked down at her feet. The weight of it what she had broken between them was finally starting to sink in and she forced herself to look up at her friend. "Okay. I know that I fucked up Luna, it's not like I woke up one day and set out to try and steal him from you. I made a mistake, and I really am sorry." she said again, before moving to get out of the hollowed out tree trunk. "I guess all we can do is see how things are with a little time. I'll give both of you some space. If you think of anything I can do to try and make things better just let me know." she told her, giving Luna one last wistful look before leaving her and heading back towards the castle. A few more tears fell as she left but she didn't fight it, simply letting them fall as she walked. It was okay to mourn the loss of things that were important to you, and even though there was a small chance things might be fixed in the future that didn't change the way things were now.

While Luna watched Ginny walk away she felt like her heart was being ripped into tiny pieces. She knew that she had to do this, she couldn't let what her friend had tried to do go without some sort of consequences. However, it didn't make losing her best friend any easier on her. The Dirigible Duo had been a short-lived team, and they hadn't even gotten a proper chance to go on their pranking spree at Hogwarts. Sitting on the ground where she knew nobody would find her inside her tree, she pulled her knees tight to her chin and began to cry. It started haltingly at first, but soon she was soaking her clothes with the salty tears she couldn't seem to stop. The painful sobs started to make her stomach hurt but she let it run its course, feeling more alone than she had in a long time. Luna knew that she still had Harry, but he wasn't a replacement for the best friend she had just lost.

By the time her tears finally slowed to a stop her muscles were sore from sitting like that, her stomach on fire from the sobs that had racked her body for what felt like ages. Things would never go back to the way they had been with Ginny before this happened, they simply couldn't. Perhaps in time they might find some sort of way to regain a semblance of friendship but it would never hold a candle to what they had shared before. The trust between them that had made that sort of friendship work was shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, and each one felt like they were cutting her open when she tried to pick them up and put them back together. So instead, she gathered them all up and shoved them into a corner of her brain that she did her best to wall off. It took some time, but by the time she finished doing that she felt like she could function again and she forced herself to get up. Her heart hurt, her body hurt, and she had a massive headache but now at least she felt she could move on with her day. Slowly she began what felt like a long walk back to the castle. Each step felt like it had a hefty weight to it, and she couldn't deny to herself that things had changed. Whether it would be a good one overall or a bad one she couldn't yet tell.

Her first priority upon returning to the castle was getting cleaned up, so Luna went straight to her dorm and got a change of clothes before heading to the showers. A long, hot soak later and she felt much more human. Her muscles were still tender, but the heat had helped loosen them up and it didn't hurt nearly as much to move as it had before. She stepped out and dried off before putting on some casual robes and going off to see if she could find Harry. It took her almost an hour, but she eventually spotted him heading towards the owlery and set off to catch up with him. She found him as he was coming out, presumably after sending Hedwig off with a letter or perhaps just visiting his familiar. Luna tried to speak but realized she couldn't find her voice, so settled for crushing Harry with a tight hug instead. His arms wrapped around her, and the comfortable weight of them pressing against her began to help ease her racing heart and the painful emotions that had stirred up when she saw him. It wasn't anything that Harry had done, it was just the gift of having somebody who could help share the weight of the burden she carried. Her heart was heavy, but having him there with her helped make it feel so much lighter. "I talked to Ginny. We agreed that for now it would be best if we kept our distance from each other. It...it hurt like hell telling her I wanted her to leave me alone, but I had to do it. She's always been there for me, Harry...and now that's just gone. Can I count on you?" she asked him, looking into his eyes as she searched them. Luna wanted to see a calm, reassuring presence from the boy she cared so much about. "I know you can't replace her, but I really need somebody I can rely on right now." she told him.

Seeing Luna like this was rather unsettling to Harry because she'd always been so strong. Of all of his friends he thought she was the one most prepared to handle anything that might come her way. Right now she was fragile, though. She was asking if he could be her rock in a world that felt so unsteady and he took his time before answering, his arms holding her tight while he thought. "All I can say is that I'll do my best not to let you down, Luna. I never want to see you hurt, so of course I'll do my best to be here for you when you need me." he told her. Harry leaned down to press his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and using the pressure of pushing against her lightly to ground himself. He tilted his head and his lips found hers, kissing her tenderly as one of his hands moved to her neck and the other to the small of her back, pulling her tighter to him. When he opened his eyes he knew what he had to do, and he felt himself begin to blush as he looked into the beautiful blue eyes he'd come to know so well. "Luna Lovegood, I love you." he whispered.

Luna accepted what Harry had to say, after all anyone could do was their best. When he pressed his forehead against hers she welcomed the intimacy, and was more than happy to kiss him back. The kiss was tender, sweet, and reminded her that there were still a lot of good things left in her life to enjoy. Just because she'd lost what she had with Ginny didn't mean the year couldn't still be a good one. She smiled brightly as she stared into his green eyes, and when he told her that he loved her she couldn't stop her sharp intake of breath as she looked at him in surprise. They'd only been dating for about two and a half months, so she definitely hadn't been expecting him to tell her that so soon. Caught off guard, she began to search her own feelings to see where she stood and she smiled before kissing him again. This time the kiss had more fire in it as she was the one in control, and she bit his lip hard before pulling back. "I think I just might love you too, Harry Potter. You always know just what to tell me to make me feel better." she told him with a laugh. "I never would have thought we'd fall so hard for each other, but here we are. I wouldn't trade what we have for anything." Luna said firmly. All of a sudden her world that had been out of balance was brought into focus again, and they started to make sense once more. So long as she had him by her side, she knew that no matter what happened things would be alright.

Hearing Luna say that she thought she loved him was enough to make Harry beam right back at her. For a good portion of his life he'd thought he was some unlovable freak, convinced that he would never mean anything to anybody. But here in front of him was this incredible girl saying that she thought she loved him, too. With a little time he was sure that she would be able to say it with more certainty. For now, though...he would take the opportunity to tease her a little while he could. "Oh, so you just think you love me, huh? What do I have to do to convince you of it, hmm?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. The kiss left him breathless and he didn't mind her biting his lip at all, in fact it kind of turned him on a little. Her added mushy sentiments after that comment were enough to make him more serious again, though, and he nodded. "Yeah, I never thought I would be ready for a relationship as serious as ours. It's a good thing, though...sometimes life knows what it is you need and gives it to you whether you think you're ready or not. But here we are, and it's amazing. We're not perfect, but we're real...and here for each other. Which is what really matters." he told her quietly, reaching out to grab her hand as he laced his fingers through hers.

His questioning of her 'I think I love you' was enough to make her laugh and she just rolled her eyes. "You don't have to do anything, silly. Just keep being yourself, that's all I need." Luna told him with a smile. She listened to what he had to say about their relationship and she couldn't help but agree and was more than happy to lace their fingers together. Shifting, she moved so that she was laying her head against his chest and felt herself begin to relax. Today had been an emotionally trying day and she was more grateful than he would ever now that he had chosen that moment to tell her how he felt. It was something special to hold onto as she moved forwards without her best friend. What they had was something worth fighting battles for to try and protect it, and she would continue to do what she felt she had to. "That's a pretty good point, that is what really matters. Harry, I wanted to say thank you. For everything. Without you I don't know where I'd be but I know my life wouldn't feel nearly as special as you make it for me." she said, snuggling against his chest.

Harry was happy to adjust their position and began to stroke her hair gently as she talked and he listened, smiling. She might feel like her life wouldn't be as special without him in it, but he could say the same for her. Before they'd started dating his life had just been a constant string of battles he didn't really know how to fight. He'd gotten this far mostly on luck and some talented friends, and he knew that couldn't hold out forever. With Luna by his side though, he felt like he had a real fighting chance. "Luna, you're welcome but you don't need to thank me. What we have...it's everything I could possibly want. You push me to do better and call me out when I need it. The other day you even slapped me and were right to do so. No matter what happens we'll be okay. We just have to stick together and nobody will be able to stop us." he told her, leaning down to kiss the top of her messy blonde hair. She had forgotten to brush it out after her shower and it was more of a mess than usual. Honestly though, he thought the mess was beautiful and suited her just fine at the moment.

Smiling as she listened to Harry, she simply nodded and rubbed her head against his chest before letting out a yawn. "I hope you're right, Harry. Now stay still, I'm going to use you as my pillow now and take a nice nap." Luna informed him. Wiggling a little, she moved until she felt comfortable and then felt herself begin to rapidly drift off to sleep in the arms of the boy she loved. She might have only said that she thought she did, but she knew that it was more than that. The love and support between them was real and she could feel it surrounding her, helping take away the pain of losing a good friend. As she slipped off into her wild dreams, she whispered something he could barely hear. "I really do love you too, you know."

Harry smiled as he heard it, and would have replied but he noticed Luna had already drifted off into sleep and continued to stroke her hair as he held her. This was the least he could do for her after having such a rough go of it lately. While he held her, he began to get tired as well and before he knew it he had joined her in dreamland. The both of them were having rather nice ones at the moment after having just told each other that they were in love. It was a much needed rest they had both earned, and nobody disturbed them in their slumber.