Lost Unicorn, Never again
Chapter 3
Birthdays

Luna and her parents walked down the road heading to the Weasleys, Luna almost skipping with anticipation. They were a half hour late for the party, as usual. The Lovegoods never managed to be quite on time for anything. If they weren't an hour late, they were a week early.

The three of them arrived at The Burrow, neatly dodging Mr. Weasley's enchanted lawn mower. He had the strangest taste in artifacts.

"Aaron!" Mr. Weasley's voice boomed, calling out to Luna's father. "How ya doing? The Daily Prophet keeping you busy? I haven't seen you in ages. Still reporting on human/giant relations? I heard it's getting pretty nasty over in France. Little skirmishes and stuff."

The adults were all seated on couches in the sitting room, and Luna's parents moved to join them. Luna clung to her mother's hand. She didn't want to leave.

"It's okay Luna," Luna's mother told her. "I'll be right here. Run along and join the kids upstairs."

Luna held back for a moment, uncertain.

"Ginny's up in her room, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "The Fawcett girls are here too. They've been waiting for you."

That was enough for Luna. She left the adults behind and headed up the stairs, passing by Bill's room - where the boys were engaged in some loud activity - and heading for Ginny's. She pushed the door open a crack, just enough to see in.

"Luna!" Ginny yelled, hopping off the bed and running over to the doorway. "Look what I got!" She held a broomstick in her hands, showing it off to Luna.

"I was just showing it to Tara and Sara. Their parents won't buy one for them until they get into Hogwarts. Mine won't either," Ginny grinned.

"How'd you get it then?" asked Luna, joining the other girls on the floor.

"I crawled in through the side window of the broom shed. They usually leave it open a crack for air. Now I'm strong enough to lift it myself and crawl past the ledge."

Ginny looked exceptionally pleased with herself.

"It's Percy's broom," Tara added. "He never uses it himself, so he won't even notice it's gone. He likes to think he's all good at Quidditch and stuff, but he never flies, so when he gets on a broom, watch out," she said distastefully. Tara was a year younger than Percy and probably hated him more than anyone in the village.

"Yeah," Ginny nodded. "Anyway, look what I can make it do."

She put the broomstick down on the floor, held out her hand, and said "Up!" It floated effortlessly into her palm. Sara gasped with delight. Luna felt herself smiling.

"I want to try flying it, sometime when nobody's looking. It can't be that hard. Fred and George do it all the time," Ginny said.

"My mother won't let me fly broomsticks," Luna said, frowning. "She says I need to be well grounded or something like that. That and it's dangerous."

"Oh, it can't be that hard," Ginny said. "Fred and George do it all the time. They're only three years older than us."

"Even our mother lets us fly," Sara broke in. "She just won't let us have our own brooms. Or let us borrow hers when she's not around. Or let us fly too high." Sara started frowning a bit.

"Still," Luna hesitated.

Mrs. Weasley's voice came booming from downstairs. "Girls! Food is ready!"

The four of them ran downstairs, where a magnificent (and probably somewhat magical) pot-luck lunch awaited them. Luna, unfortunately, was a picky eater. None of the exotic casseroles, stews, roast game, or other fancy foods appealed to her. She contented herself with a butter-and-sugar sandwich, and headed out to the garden to find a spot to eat.

"Just a sandwich?" said Sara, walking over with Ginny close behind her. Her own plate was piled high with food. "No wonder you're so skinny. You look like you'd blow away in the wind."

"I have enough," Luna said simply.

She nibbled at her sandwich, eventually finishing it long after the other girls had polished off their meals. Over in a corner of the garden, the boys had gathered. Luna looked over there, wondering what they were planning. Finally, Ginny noticed her gaze.

"Oh no!" she said. "I've got Percy's broom in my room! He'll notice it's gone if he's going to play!"

Out of nowhere, George popped up behind them. "Not to worry. You think Percy would walk to the broom shed himself? I'll grab it on my way back. Nobody else'll know the difference."

"Oh, thanks!" Ginny exclaimed gratefully. She shot her brother a smile, and Luna - just briefly - wished that she had a sibling. The feeling passed soon enough though; according to Ginny, they were usually more trouble than they were worth.

The Fawcetts had to go home, and so Ginny and Luna were the only ones who couldn't participate in the Quidditch game. Well, Ron couldn't either (Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let him on a broom yet either, and besides, the teams weren't even), but they placated him by making him the referee.

And so the two of them found themselves lying in the field by the Burrow, looking up at the Quidditch game proceeding above them. There were only three people per team, and so they couldn't fill all the normal Quidditch positions. Instead, Fred and George each carried a big bat and acted as both Beaters and Chasers.

"Showoff," Ginny muttered, as Fred caught the Quaffle with one hand and simultaneously beat back a Bludger with the other. "He coulda just ducked."

Luna just stared off into the sky. She liked Quidditch, but she'd seen plenty of games before, and they were all the same. The heavens above, however, always held something new. No two clouds were ever alike.

"Look at Percy there! He almost fell off his broom!" Ginny convulsed with a fit of giggles. "And he wants to be captain of the Quidditch team when he goes to Hogwarts!"

Luna didn't respond. The fluffy cloud overhead looked just like a unicorn.

"Are you listening, Luna?" Ginny asked, turning her head towards Luna. "You're not, are you? Oh, why do always have your head in the clouds?"

"It looks like a unicorn," Luna remarked.

"Yeah, so? Why do you suddenly care about unicorns?" Ginny asked. "It's not like you're going to see one anytime soon. They never come near people if they can help it."

"You're wrong," Luna said simply.

Ginny suddenly perked up. "Huh? How do you know? Have you seen one?"

A sudden doubt sprung up in Luna's mind. The unicorns were here secret - they'd come to trust her, and her alone. They came to her and kept her company. Nobody else had seen them, else the news would be all around town. Should she really tell Ginny about them?

But in the end, her need to share won out. "I've seen them over in that forest there. In a little clearing. They come to me each morning."

"Really?" Ginny's eyes opened wide. "Wow! I can't wait to see them! You'll take me, right?"

"Uh huh," Luna nodded. But then she looked over at the forest. Over by the copse where she usually met the unicorns, there was a quick flash of white. Were they back? Had they come for her?

But no. The creature wasn't standing still, waiting, like it normally did. Luna saw only its backside. It was moving, heading deeper into the forest.

Running away from her.

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers for the first two chapters: Sphere's Delight, Neev, RR, Visser Voldemort, Elyse, Lily, Goggle Boy, Luna-Lovegood, and Rjk2005. Am hoping I can pick up the update pace; I had a bunch of other commitments last week that took priority. There's still quite a bit of character development before we get to plot, though. Bear with me. :)