Author's Note: I am flattered by all the reviews I received on the last chapter. They were helpful, encouraging, and even entertaining. Thank you for your support everyone! I actually had this chapter ready yesterday but since FF.net was having problems i couldn't post it. But here ya go, chapter 8:……………………………………………………………………………………………
The next morning Hermione felt Ginny shaking her awake, but she did not want to open her eyes and end the wonderful dream she had been having.
"Hermione, you have the most ridiculous grin on your face," said Ginny.
"What time is it," Hermione mumbled.
"Almost half past nine. Come on, Mum's made pancakes."
Hermione reluctantly opened her eyes and saw Ginny bustling around the room in her pajamas. Hermione rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"Nice hair," Ginny teased.
"Oh shut up," said Hermione. She swung her legs over the bed and stood up, pulling all her hair back into a messy bun. "I'll be right back," she yawned.
She made her way to the bathroom where she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Then she headed back to Ginny's room, absent-mindedly pulling the drawstring on her flannel pajama bottoms while she walked.
"You do that a lot you know," Ginny said when she entered.
"Do what?"
"Fiddle with that drawstring."
"Oh. Nervous habit I guess. Are you coming?"
Ginny nodded and followed Hermione downstairs. The smell of pancakes greeted them when they entered the kitchen.
"'Morning, girls," said Mrs. Weasley.
"'Morning," they chorused.
Ginny sat down at the table. Hermione plopped down next to her. "Mrs. Weasley, those smell delicious."
"Oh thank you, Hermione. They'll be ready soon."
"Mum, are the boys not up yet?"
"No, they aren't. But they'll be down here soon enough. You know Ron always wakes up when he smells food."
Ginny and Hermione laughed.
Sure enough, footsteps were heard on the stairs several minutes later and Harry and Ron, both looking very tousle-haired, made their way into the kitchen.
"Pancakes, Mum?" said Ron.
"Yes, dear. Sit down, they'll be ready in a moment."
Harry and Ron sat down across from Ginny and Hermione. Hermione smiled at Ron but then brought her gaze back down to the table.
Mrs. Weasley placed a large stack of pancakes on the kitchen table, along with five plates. Ron looked like he was about to pounce on the breakfast.
Everyone took their share of pancakes and started eating. Ron and Harry were both wolfing down their portions. Hermione didn't blame them; the pancakes were absolutely scrumptious.
Harry set down his fork for a moment and swallowed the bite of pancake he had just stuffed in his mouth. "So, what are we going to do today?" he asked the others.
No one answered him for a moment. "Play Quidditch?" Ron suggested.
"Nah, I'm sick of Quidditch," said Ginny. "But you know, Luna did invite us to come over to her house again. She's leaving for Sweden the day after tomorrow. I'll bet she would love to see Harry and Hermione."
Harry shrugged and Hermione said, "Sure." She looked at Ron's face. He was scowling. She tried hard to suppress a smile.
After breakfast the four of them went upstairs to wash up and change. Around eleven, they departed from the Burrow and walked to Luna's house.
"It's really hot out here," Hermione complained after ten minutes.
"Don't worry, we're almost there," said Ron.
They trudged along for five more minutes and soon found themselves in front of a funny looking house. There were no neighboring homes; the house sat alone surrounded by a purple fence. It was five stories high and was very narrow. A blue flag was situated on the top of the house.
"So, this is Luna's house," said Ginny. The corners of her mouth twitched. She opened the gate of the fence and marched up the path to the front door. Several chickens that were scampering in the front yard looked at her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Ginny.
There was no doorbell next to the front door. On the contrary, a thick rope was hanging from the side of the house. Ginny pulled on it and a weeee sound ensued.
The front door opened and a blonde girl with large eyes appeared. She smiled when she saw them. "Why, hello," Luna said in her dreamy voice. "What are you all doing here?"
"I thought Harry and Hermione might like to see the equipment you're taking on your expedition, Luna," Ginny answered.
"Oh of course! Come in. You can meet Dad," she said brightly.
The four of them stepped inside. Hermione looked around the house and saw many strange contraptions situated around the front hallway. Framed covers of The Quibbler were hanging all along the walls. A spindly staircase wound its way to the upper floors.
"Er…I like your house, Luna," said Harry.
"Do you? I've always liked it," she said dreamily. "Would you like to come upstairs and meet Dad?"
"Sure," Ginny answered.
Luna led them up two more flights until they reached the landing of a large office. A man with sandy hair was sitting back in his chair with a quill behind his ear, holding several papers and muttering to himself. He was surrounded by many glass cages which held different types of lizards and mice. A large gray owl was perched on a stand next to his desk.
"Dad," said Luna, "my friends have come to visit today."
Luna's father looked up and set the pile of papers on his messy desk. "Well hello!" he said brightly. He was wearing blue and green plaid trousers with a yellow buttoned-down shirt. His collar was turned up so that he looked like a vicar. "And who are all of you?"
"Hi Mr. Lovegood," said Ginny. "I'm Ginny Weasley. This is my brother Ron and our friends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."
"Nice to meet you all," said Mr. Lovegood. "Luna's told me all about her adventures with you last year." He turned to Harry and gazed happily at him. "Are you the Harry Potter we printed the editorial about?"
"Er…yeah," said Harry uncomfortably.
"I should thank you for that. No issue of The Quibbler has ever sold out faster! It surprised me really; usually our readers are very keen to hear updates on the Crumple-Horned Snorcack. Has Luna told you about our upcoming expedition?"
"Yeah," said Harry. "It sounds like fun."
"Oh it will be! I can't wait to see the Snorcack up close. I've seen pictures of course, but nothing compares to seeing things in person!"
Luna beamed at her dad. Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron all smiled politely.
"Would you like to see the equipment we're taking?" Luna asked them.
"Sure," they replied.
"Have fun," said Mr. Lovegood. "I need to finish working on this editorial. It's about Cornelius Fudge, you know. It seems he's resorted to even more drastic measures with the goblins."
"Uh-huh," Ron muttered. The four friends followed Luna up another flight of stairs and reached a landing where there was a bright green door.
"This is my room," said Luna in her odd voice. "I've already started packing for the trip so most of the equipment is in here." She pushed open the door and led them into her room. The lion hat and eagle hat she had made the previous year were both situated on a table. Many pictures covered the walls along with some magazine articles. A string of butterbeer caps stretched across the ceiling.
Hermione gazed at all the pictures. Most of them were of Luna and her father, but there were also many pictures of a blonde woman with very large misty eyes.
"Is this your mother?" Hermione asked Luna, pointing at the pictures.
"Yes. She died when I was nine years old. She was very pretty, wasn't she?"
Hermione was startled. "Oh…I'm sorry, I didn't know. But yes, she was very pretty."
Luna nodded and headed for her bed, where a large suitcase was situated. She pulled out all the equipment she was taking on the trip and started showing them.
"And this," she said, holding up some chocolate sauce, "is to attract the Crumple-Horned Snorcack. They are very sensitive to chocolate and can smell it from miles away." She smiled at them.
Hermione was very tempted to burst out laughing, especially when she saw the look on Ron's face, but she decided to try and be nice to Luna instead. "That's interesting Luna," she said.
"Thank you," Luna replied. She beamed at the chocolate sauce. Harry seemed to be very amused by her enthusiasm. Ginny appeared rather entertained as well.
After Luna finished showing them all of her supplies, they whiled away the afternoon in her attic. There was a great deal of old wizarding contraptions, and even some Muggle devices as well. Ron was very impressed by some of the Muggle things.
"How does this work?" he asked Hermione. He was holding a video tape. "Is it some kind of weapon?"
Hermione laughed. "No, Ron. It's a video. You watch it on the television."
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"Luna," Hermione called. Luna looked up from showing Harry some old Wizarding editorials.
"Yes?" Luna asked.
"Ron found this videotape. Do you have a television and a VCR somewhere so I can show him how it works?"
It turned out that Luna did own a television and VCR. Hermione put the tape in the VCR and watched Ron and Ginny in amusement. They were both staring at the screen avidly.
"That's amazing," Ginny said in an awe-struck voice.
"It's like a bunch of photographs enlarged with voices," said Ron.
"Yeah, it's called motion pictures," said Harry. He grinned at Hermione.
Luna and her father invited them to stay for dinner. They obliged and were soon feasting on roasted chicken. It turned out Luna's father was a very good cook.
The dinner conversation was spent discussing the Muggle devices in the attic. Mr. Lovegood seemed to be an avid Muggle enthusiast like Mr. Weasley and was very well educated about non-magical contraptions. He told them about all the items he had ever collected.
After dinner Mr. Lovegood disapparated to meet up with some of the Quibbler staff. The five teenagers were left to their own devices. Hermione thought they would probably go home soon since there was nothing left to do, but then Luna asked them if they would like to see her dad's automobile.
"Your dad has a car?" Ron asked eagerly.
"Oh yes. He bought it several years ago. It's very fun to ride in."
"Let's see it," said Harry.
Luna led them outside into the back garden. A car was parked in the middle of the yard and was covered with a thick sheet. Luna took the sheet off and allowed them to gaze at the faded blue car.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Luna asked. "I wish I could drive it. Dad said he would teach me how when we came back from Sweden."
"I wish you could drive it too," said Ron. "I could fly my dad's old car, but that was magically enchanted so I didn't really have to do anything."
"Wish we could go for a ride," said Ginny wistfully.
Hermione gazed at the steering wheel of the car and something inside of her snapped. "I can drive it," she declared.
"What?" said Ron and Ginny in unison. Harry stared at Hermione but Luna smiled.
"Do you know how to?" she asked.
"Yes, my dad taught me last year," Hermione said. "I'm not supposed to of course, it's not legal, but I know how to all the same."
"But I asked you to drive your car a couple of days ago and you wouldn't," Ron said. He was frowning at her.
"Well…things change," said Hermione. She was feeling reckless, and the car did look rather appealing.
A broad grin spread across Ron's face. Ginny and Harry looked excited too. Luna started humming under her breath.
"So…shall we go then?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah!" Ron, Harry, and Ginny chorused. Luna shrugged and murmured, "Okay. But let's be careful. I don't want to upset Dad."
Hermione walked timidly to the driver's side of the car. She opened the door and sat down. Harry climbed into the passenger seat next to her.
"How come you get to sit there?" Ron asked. He seemed rather annoyed.
"Because I grew up with Muggles and if Hermione needs any help I can take over," Harry said smugly.
"Fine," Ron huffed. He sat down in the backseat next to Ginny and Luna.
Hermione turned the car key and revved up the engine. "Seatbelts, everyone," she said. Five clicks later she pressed her foot to the pedal and they were off.
"Turn on the radio, Harry," Hermione said as she drove the car up a hill.
Harry obliged and they were soon listening to some rock music. Hermione couldn't help but grin. She felt so rebellious…so free…
"You know," said Luna, "if you press one of the buttons up there the roof will come down."
Harry searched for the right button, pushed it, and soon the roof folded back into the rear of the car. Cool night air whipped Hermione's face as she surged smoothly forward, listening to Ron's and Ginny's whoops from behind her.
"Where should we go?" she asked them.
"Let's go to the lake!" said Ginny.
"Brilliant!" Ron yelled. "Hermione, turn right up here."
Hermione followed his directions and they were soon cruising along a gravel path. The sun was setting and everything was becoming steadily darker.
"You can stop up here," said Ginny. "The lake is right ahead."
Hermione slowed down and parked the car. The five of them climbed out and walked toward the lake.
"That was awesome!" Ron enthused. "You're a total badass, Hermione!"
Hermione blushed and laughed. She strolled to the edge of the dock and looked down upon the clear, reflective water in the small lake.
"We used to come swimming here when we were little," Ginny told them.
"Yes, my parents used to bring me here too," said Luna.
The five of them became silent and watched the ripples in the dark water. Hermione could hear the chirping of crickets and the buzzing of other insects.
"I sort of feel like swimming," she blurted out. She wasn't sure why she had said that and hastily added, "It's too bad we didn't bring any bathing suits."
"Who says you need a bathing suit to go swimming?" Ron said mischievously. Hermione turned to look at him but all of a sudden Ron pushed her shoulders forward and she fell into the lake.
She hit the cool water hard and came up right away gasping for breath. The plunge into the lake had shocked her and she had swallowed a lot of water. She pushed her sopping wet hair back and turned to glare at Ron.
All four of her friends were laughing at her. "Ronald Weasley," she yelled, "I am going to kill you!"
Ron continued to laugh heartily. Hermione reached up and seized his ankle. Ron's eyes widened in surprise before he fell into the water next to her. He bobbed up and whipped his head around. "What was that for?" he said.
"You asked for it," she said with a grin.
Hermione heard a splash next to her and turned to see Ginny's wet head emerging from the water. She was laughing. "This water feels good," Ginny said, wiping her eyes.
Harry was standing on the dock laughing at the three of them. He took off his glasses, pulled off his trainers, and jumped into the lake as well.
"Coming, Luna?" Harry asked when he reached the surface.
Luna smiled dreamily, pulled off her shoes, and hopped into the lake.
Hermione was rather surprised by the turn of events but she was enjoying herself nonetheless. Ron looked very handsome with wet hair and she found herself distracted by him.
"Who wants to play Marco Polo?" Harry asked.
"What's Marco Polo?" Ginny asked.
"It's the same thing as Blind man's Bluff. Have you heard of that?"
"Oh yeah! I haven't played that in ages. Who wants to be it?" Ginny said.
The five of them looked at each other. "Ron should be it," Hermione declared, "because he pushed me in!"
Ron grinned lopsidedly. "Fine," he muttered. "What do I do?"
"Go under water and count to ten," Hermione told him. "Close your eyes and when you come up say 'Marco'. We'll all respond 'Polo' and you have to try and tag us while keeping your eyes closed."
"Sounds easy enough," said Ron. "Why do I have to count?"
"So we can all distance ourselves from you a little bit," Hermione responded.
"Okay," said Ron. He dunked his head under the water. Hermione looked at the others and mouthed, "Come on!"
She pulled herself up on the edge of the dock and the other three followed her. "Don't say anything when he comes up," Hermione whispered with a grin.
Ron's head emerged a moment later. "Marco!" he called.
No one said anything.
"Marco!" he repeated.
Hermione smirked at her other three friends.
"Where are you guys? I thought you were supposed to say 'Polo'!"
Ron opened his eyes just as Hermione jumped in the water right next to him. She landed with a huge splash and Ron was sprayed with a lot of water.
"Hermione!" he shouted. "You cheated!"
She laughed at him. "So? You're the one who pushed me into the water!"
"Well you splashed me!" he said. "So take some of this!" He began to splash her with a lot of water. Hermione let out several yelps and tried to splash him back. They were oblivious to their other three friends, who had jumped back into the lake and were watching them with some amusement.
"Ron, you're going to get it!" Hermione yelled. She jumped on his back and dunked his head under the water, laughing as he struggled to throw her off.
Ron managed to release her grip after about three seconds and came up sputtering and laughing. Hermione didn't notice Harry sneak up behind her and cover her eyes with his hands.
"What the—?" Hermione said but she was soon drowned out by more splashing from Ron. She could hear Harry laughing as he kept his hand over her eyes. She tried to throw him off and block the water that was hitting her.
"Hey! That's not fair! Two on one!" Ginny shouted. She jumped on her brother's back and tried to stop him from splashing Hermione. He laughed and tried to throw her off. Meanwhile, Luna had jumped on Harry's back and Hermione felt his hand tear away from her eyes.
Hermione began to spray Harry with water as Luna pinioned his arms behind his back.
"No," Harry laughed, "no, stop! Ron, the girls are attacking me!"
"I'm coming mate!"
Ron relinquished Ginny's hold on him and swam over to Hermione. He grabbed her arms and she tried to wrestle free from his strong grip.
"Ron!" she yelled.
He merely laughed behind her and she tried to kick his legs. He dunked her head for a few seconds before she came up, turned around, and spit water at him.
"Argh!" Ron said. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.
Ginny had climbed out of the lake and was now dangling her legs over the dock, watching the two couples in amusement. Luna had finally let go of Harry and he was rumpling his messy wet hair.
"Why'd you get out, Gin?" Hermione panted.
"I was getting cold."
"There might be a blanket in the trunk," Luna called.
Ginny walked over to the car and opened the trunk. Hermione saw her search it and pull out two blankets. Then Ginny grinned and pulled out a bottle.
"Luna, there was some Ogden's in the trunk," she said as she returned to the dock.
"Oh yes, Dad's rather fond of fire whiskey," Luna replied.
"Do you think he'd notice if we had some?" Ginny asked mischievously.
"Ginny!" Hermione said warningly.
Ginny ignored her and kept her gaze on Luna.
"I don't think Dad would notice," Luna said. "He probably doesn't realize he has a bottle in the car."
"I've never tried fire whiskey," Harry said. He turned to Luna. "Is it any good?"
"Yes, it's alright. Dad's allowed me to try a bit of his before."
"Great! Let's have some then!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione bit her lip as she watched Harry and Ron climb out of the lake to join Ginny. Luna followed them and Hermione reluctantly climbed up onto the dock as well. Part of her wanted to lecture her friends, but a voice in her head kept saying Relax. Just let them be.
Hermione decided to listen to the voice and didn't say anything. She figured a few drinks wouldn't hurt her friends, and the bottle was rather small anyway.
Ginny twisted off the cap and took a short drink from the bottle. She lowered it and clucked her tongue as though trying to decide whether she liked it or not.
"Well?" Ron prompted. "How is it?"
"Not bad," said Ginny. "It's pretty hot though."
"Let me have some." Ron took the bottle from Ginny and raised it to his lips, gulping down some of the liquid. He cocked his head. "Not bad," he muttered.
Harry grabbed the bottle from him and downed some as well. "I like it," he declared. "Luna?"
He held out the bottle to her and she took it. She gazed dreamily at it for a moment before taking a short sip. "I always thought it tasted rather sour," she said vaguely.
Ron took the bottle back and took another sip. He held out the bottle and glanced at it, smiling. "I think this stuff is pretty good. Better than that drink Charlie let me try." He looked at Hermione. "Do you want to try some?"
Her four friends turned to look at her. Hermione felt an inner battle going on inside her. Her mouth felt dry and she could almost hear her parents scolding her about drinking. But there wasn't much left in the bottle anyway, and it couldn't hurt to just taste it, could it?
She took the bottle from Ron and grasped it tightly. She gazed unfocused at it for a moment and bit her lip again. Then she decided that she really would like to try it, and she was almost of age anyway…
A moment of daring seized her. She shrugged her shoulders, raised the bottle to her lips, and downed some of the hot liquid. It had a weird taste, very unlike anything she had ever tried before, but was somewhat intriguing.
"I think I like it too."
Ron was looking at her incredulously. "You actually drank it? I thought you would smash it and then lecture us. What ever happened to 'You are a prefect'?"
Hermione shrugged again and took another sip. Ginny beamed at her and Harry laughed. Luna didn't seem to think anything of it. She was twirling a flower and humming again.
The five of them finished off the Ogden's with about three sips each and sat in a circle, talking about the summer that was upon them. They avoided the topic of the war and the incident in the Department of Mysteries. All of them were feeling too happy and peaceful to talk about that.
Ginny had a blanket wrapped around her. She was sitting across from Hermione and listening to Harry make fun of the Dursley's. Luna laughed at nearly everything Harry said and he seemed glad to have her as an audience.
Hermione was only half-listening. Ron was sitting right next to her and she was very conscious of the close proximity between them. There was also the fact that he was shirtless, as both him and Harry had taken off their wet shirts so they could dry off. Hermione was fighting the temptation to look at his bare torso.
Suddenly she shivered violently. Ron looked at her with some concern.
"Are you cold?"
"Just a bit," said Hermione.
He reached over and grabbed the other blanket. He handed it to her and she wrapped it around herself, smiling at him. Even though it was dark she could see the tips of his ears turning pink.
The two of them turned back to listen to Harry again as he rounded off his story about Dudley's pig tail. Ginny and Luna were both giggling and Hermione laughed too.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ron shiver next to her.
"Are you cold now too?" she asked him.
"Nah, I'm alright."
"This blanket's pretty big," she told him. "Here." She unwrapped it from around herself and threw some of it to him. They were pulled closer together as Ron tried to wrap it around himself.
Hermione felt their arms touch and blushed furiously. The other three didn't seem to notice what was going on, which was probably because of the surrounding darkness. A cool breeze whipped through the night air and Hermione felt it brush against her wet clothes. Goose bumps appeared all over her arms and she shivered again.
"Er…here," said Ron. He scooted closer to her so that their arms and knees were both touching. Hermione stiffened at this contact and felt more blush creeping down her neck. She was sure Ron was blushing too.
After a few more minutes they became more comfortable with the sitting arrangement and joined in the conversation again. Ginny was talking about Fred and George's joke shop and Ron told them all about their newest candy creations.
Hermione felt very at peace with the world and wasn't contributing much to the conversation. She just listened as her friends all talked. Soon Ron stopped chatting too and leaned back, putting his weight on his palms.
Hermione heard him let out a laugh and she turned around to look at his face.
"What?" she questioned.
"Your hair is such a mess," he said with a wide grin.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I guess I'll just have to fix it then," she said. She tugged the elastic out of her hair and felt it collapse on her shoulders. She then shook her head violently, which caused Ron to get sprayed with water.
"Hermione!" he said. He threw up his arms to shield himself from the water droplets.
Harry, Ginny and Luna had also been sprayed with water too. They stopped talking and protested against her head-shaking, but they were all laughing.
"Well, Ron asked me to fix my hair," Hermione said angelically. "So I was just trying to do him a favor."
Ron frowned at her, but she could tell he was amused. There were water droplets all over his face and chest and she was tempted to wipe them off. Ginny was watching the pair intently and smiling.
"Guys, it's kinda late," said Harry, who was looking at his watch. "We should probably go home."
"That's a good idea, I don't want Dad to worry," said Luna.
She and Harry stood up and walked back to the car. Ginny unwrapped her blanket, folded it, and followed them. Hermione looked at Ron, who shrugged his shoulders, and the two of them stood up.
Hermione folded the blanket and walked to the car, Ron trudging along next to her.
"You know, Mione, I think I won our little water war," he said playfully.
"You did not! I absolutely killed you," she responded.
"Okay, I'll let you think that."
She hit his arm and he recoiled. "Hermione," he said in mock-hurt tones, "how can you be so violent?"
"You deserved it," she said smugly.
"I'll bet I can get you back."
"Oh yeah? How?" she said challengingly.
"Are you ticklish?" Ron asked evilly. Hermione opened her mouth in horror but before she could say anything, Ron had grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her.
Hermione stopped in her tracks and tried to pull away from him, shrieking with laughter. "Ron," she breathed in-between laughs, "stop! That tickles!"
"Well, you see, that's sort of the point," he responded.
"Ginny!" Hermione yelled as she writhed. "Help! He's tickling me!"
She could see Ginny standing by the trunk with Harry and Luna, packing the blankets away. None of them said anything but they were all laughing as they watched Hermione try to pull away from Ron.
"Come on, lovebirds," Harry called. "We need to get going."
Hermione turned red amidst her gales of laughter but wasn't all that embarrassed. Ron was still tickling her mercilessly and she seized his hands, holding them tight. "Okay," she panted, "you need to stop. I'm about to die."
"Fine," Ron said amusedly, "but admit that I won."
"Never!"
Ron started tickling her stomach again and she gasped, "Okay! Okay! You win!" She seized his hands again to make him stop.
He ceased his torturing of her and muttered, "That's better. I always knew you'd see clearly in the end."
Hermione squeezed his hands with all the strength she could muster and he winced. "Ow!"
"Mmhmm," she mumbled. "Yep, you're a big tough guy, Ron."
"I know I am. Watch this." Without warning, he bent down and picked her up.
"Ron! Put me down!" she yelled.
He grinned evilly and carried her to the car. Harry, Ginny, and Luna were already sitting in it waiting to leave.
Ron put Hermione down when they reached the automobile.
"About time," Harry muttered through the open door.
"Sorry, mate, but I had to teach Hermione a lesson."
Hermione bit her lip to suppress a smile and said nothing. She simply climbed into the driver's seat and turned the key to start the engine. In the rear view mirror, she saw Ron walking behind the car to get into the backseat on the other side.
"Ginny, shut that door," Hermione said quickly.
Ginny didn't hesitate since she knew what Hermione was up to. As Ron crossed behind the trunk, Hermione pressed down on the pedal and began driving down the dirt road.
"Hey!" Ron shouted as he ran after the car.
Harry was laughing like a maniac as Ron tried to keep up with them. Ginny was giggling madly. "Look at him go!" she shouted.
Hermione licked her lips and pressed down a bit harder on the pedal. She felt the cool night air whipping her face again as she sped down the gravel road. Ron was still trying to keep up.
"Run, Forrest, run!" Hermione shouted. She snickered evilly and Harry grinned at her.
"He does look like a bit of an idiot," said Luna matter-of-factly. She was smiling too.
Finally Hermione slowed down to allow Ron to catch up with them. She could hardly breathe because she was laughing so hard. Harry, Ginny, and Luna were all laughing too.
Ron caught up with them and jumped into the back of the car.
"That—was—not—funny," he huffed. He was panting heavily.
"On the contrary, Mr. Weasley, it was most entertaining," Hermione said.
Ron glared at her but she could tell he was trying not to smile. She turned around to look at him.
"Ron, I really think I won," she said with a wide innocent smile.
He smirked at her. "Okay, I admit it, that was pretty good."
"I knew you'd see clearly in the end." She put her foot to the pedal again and they cruised off into the night.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Several minutes later Hermione parked the car smoothly in Luna's backyard and they all climbed out of it. Ginny was still giggling randomly and Ron was shooting her evil looks.
"Thanks for having us today, Luna," Ginny said once she had finally regained composure. "It was a lot of fun."
"Yeah, thanks Luna," Ron and Harry chorused.
"Good luck on your expedition," Hermione said.
"Thank you," Luna said happily. "And thank you for coming to visit me."
"Anytime," said Harry. He was gazing at her differently than he usually did.
"Er…guess we'll be going now," Ron said. "Don't want Mum to worry."
"Bye, Luna!" said Ginny.
Harry and Ron both said goodbye as well and walked toward the front gate. Ginny trotted after them, fiddling with her hair. Hermione turned to Luna.
"Umm…thanks, Luna. I really had fun today."
"No problem," said Luna dreamily. "You know, I think Ronald is rather fond of you."
Hermione blushed. She stared at the girl she usually found so annoying, the girl who was the complete opposite of her. For some reason Hermione couldn't understand why she used to dislike Luna. Now she just felt like an old friend.
"Well…" Hermione said happily, "It seems to me like Harry is becoming rather fond of you."
Hermione expected Luna to say something odd or give her a confused, dreamy look. What she had not expected was for Luna to react like any other teenage girl would. Hermione watched as Luna's large eyes grew a bit wider and a light blush clouded her face.
"We'll see," Luna said. There was only a hint of the usual dreaminess in her voice. Hermione gazed at her in surprise, but then laughed.
"I think I misjudged you," Hermione muttered.
Luna smiled. "I may have misjudged you too." Her voice had returned to its dreamy quality. "We're more alike than I imagined."
"Yeah," Hermione said. She was still marveling at the blonde girl. "Umm…have fun in Sweden, Luna."
"Oh I will. Have a good time with Ronald. I'll try and write you all." She gazed serenely at Hermione, who nodded and turned to leave the yard.
She caught up with Harry, Ron, and Ginny and fell into stride with them. "What kept you?" Ron asked.
"Nothing…I was just talking to Luna," Hermione said simply. Ron fell back a pace to walk next to her. Ginny and Harry were chatting happily in front of them.
"About what?" Ron asked curiously.
Hermione shrugged and Ron didn't press her any further. She watched his silhouette in the moonlight as they walked along.
"What?" he asked when he saw her looking at him.
"Nothing."
They walked in silence for a few more moments. Then Hermione felt Ron's warm hand close slowly over her own. She bit her lip and smiled at him.
"Is this okay?" he asked her worriedly, looking down at their hands.
"Yes," she said shyly.
She saw him grin lopsidedly at her and turn back to watch the road.
"I was talking to Luna about…you," she blurted out. She felt herself go red.
"About me?"
"Yeah." Hermione didn't say anything else; she decided to let him figure out what that meant. She could almost see his brain working furiously under that tangle of vivid red hair.
"Oh," he said finally. They walked in silence the rest of the way home and Hermione wondered vaguely if he had taken the hint. She felt his hand within her own and knew there was a connection between them. They were dancing on a thin line and she knew they were about to cross it.
Hermione felt a peculiar sensation in her stomach as she reflected on this. Things were finally happening between them. She only wondered whether Ron realized it too.
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A/n: That was definitely my favorite chapter to write. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I wanted to get some R/Hr flirting in there, and I also wanted Hermione to gain a better understanding of Luna. I think it would be part of her changing experience. The Harry/Luna stuff was interesting to explore too. I got a vibe at the end of OotP that there was something going on between them. I apologize if you guys don't feel the same way…I tried not to overwhelm you with it. Luna is a difficult character to write and I hope I did her justice. Any feedback on that would be great. Review, review, review!