Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters to be mentioned. I have no affiliation with J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers or any other person or persons concerning the Harry Potter texts.
As she entered the Great Hall, Luna couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly in awe. 'Professor Flitwick must have stayed up very late last night for this,' she thought, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Never before had Hogwarts seen such dazzling Halloween decorations. There was black and orange velvet carpeting between the House tables, nearly transparent streamers suspended in the air beneath the enchanted ceiling, and hundreds of dimly glowing candles lining the walls, conjuring a breathtakingly eerie atmosphere. There was so much more to look at, Luna had a hard time taking it all in, much less picking something to focus on. It was apparent that many other students felt the same way, as the entrance to the Great Hall was nearly packed with gaping people.
"Hurry up and get in, all of ye! Blocking the whole bloody way, that's what yer doin'!" a gruff voice demanded. Luna turned to see Filch a couple of paces away. The caretaker was shooing everybody in, and Luna felt others trying to push past her. Mrs. Norris meowed in the background. Walking in silently, she chose a vacant spot at the Ravenclaw table as a sandwich appeared on a plate at the table. Luna wrinkled her nose; something was missing. Almost immediately, a goblet of pumpkin juice materialized beside the food. Satisfied, she picked up the sandwich and took a small bite out of it. Her copy of The Quibbler lay on the table beside. In between bites, she would read a few lines, then resume her eating.
Someone sharply poked her shoulder, and Luna looked up from her meal, unfazed. "Why are you sitting here all by yourself?" Ginny Weasley inquired, tilting her head to the side and looking down at Luna expectantly.
"Because nobody is sitting with me, so I'm sitting alone," Luna replied logically. Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Don't be silly, Luna. Now take your plate and come join us at the Gryffindor table," Ginny said resolutely, tugging the Ravenclaw by her elbow.
Obediently, Luna gathered her things and followed the redhead with a single protest of, "I wasn't being silly, you know."
"What's she doing here?!" Ron vented as Luna nestled in between him and Neville Longbottom.
"Ron!"
"Eating," Luna clarified, just as Hermione yelled indignantly. The two looked at each other and fell silent.
"Well, since Luna was all by herself, I thought it would be nice to invite her to come sit with us," Ginny said through clenched teeth. "Is that all right with all of you?" she added, challenging everyone. Harry, Hermione, and Neville nodded. Ron, on the other hand, glared at Ginny. But with a single scornful look from his sister, he lowered his gaze and nodded curtly. "Glad that that's settled then," Ginny concluded, and took her place by the table on Ron's other side, facing Harry.
"Has anyone read about the latest discovery concerning the Blibbering Humdingers?" Luna began, her upper body leaning slightly over the table. Her tone was quiet, almost as if she was telling a secret. Ron shot an 'I told you so' look at Ginny, who pretended not to see him.
"I haven't Luna, but maybe you could tell us about it sometime," Harry broke the short, uncomfortable silence that followed Luna's question.
"That would be lovely," the blonde said, staring vaguely at a point just above Harry's shoulder. More silence followed. This time, it was Hermione who tried to ease the situation.
"Ginny, Luna, have you started preparing for your O.W.L.s yet?" A typical Hermione-like inquiry. Ginny shook her head, but Luna smiled and nodded in the affirmative.
"I could use some help, though," Ginny began hesitantly, looking wide-eyed and innocent at Hermione. The older girl sighed and gave a small laugh.
"Sure, sure. Keep in mind, I'm agreeing to help you, not do the work for you," Hermione warned sternly. Ginny grinned. "You'll never learn anything if you don't give a whack at it, even if you're not sure of the answers. And I won't give you hints, either." Harry smiled knowingly at Ron. They both heard the same spiel before, but always managed to coax some answers out of Hermione. Luna began humming 'Weasley is Our King,' her gaze directed towards Ron.
"Will you quit it?" Ron barked, clearly not minding to cover up the agitation in his tone. Luna blinked at him.
"Quit what?"
"Quit singing that stupid song."
"But it's not a stupid song. It's a song about you, Ronald," Luna explained, smiling sweetly. Ron snorted.
"Taking the mickey, are you?"
"I have no intentions of doing so."
"Well it sure looks like you do."
"Looks may be deceiving," Luna said in a singsong voice.
"Stop." This last comment came from Ginny. "Both of you. Before you start a scene."
"You're not Mum," Ron seethed.
"Should I owl her?" Ginny retorted. She knew what to use against her older brother. Especially since he didn't have a good history with Howlers. Luna simply blinked once more and turned to stare at the ceiling. She did not resume her humming.
The rest of their lunch was spent in silence, with occasional hard glances between Ron and Ginny. Luna was the first to leave, The Quibbler in hand. 'What a most interesting lunch,' she thought, climbing up the staircase to the Ravenclaw Tower. It was a Friday, and she had the rest of the afternoon free. The perfect opportunity to do some meditation.
She barely noticed when the owl landed on her bed. Her eyes were closed, and she was sitting on her bed cross-legged. The ruffling of feathers alerted her of the creature's presence. "Why hello, Pigwidgeon!" she greeting cheerfully, removing the rolled up parchment tied to its leg. She pet Pig softly on the head, then proceeded to unroll the letter.
"Luna,
Harry said that Ron said that he wants to tell you he's sorry. Meet me outside the Gryffindor common room in half an hour.
Don't let any Prefects or professors see this. I'm not entirely sure if you're allowed in.
Ginny," Luna read aloud. She reread the entire thing twice. "Wonder what he wants to say he's sorry for," she said to herself. Nevertheless, she placed the note under her pillow and watched Pig hop off her bed and fly back to the Owlery through the open window.
It was exactly two minutes before the time Ginny had arranged to meet Luna. The redhead paced outside the portrait hole, awaiting her friend's arrival. At a minute to, Luna came into view, descending a nearby staircase. Ginny stopped pacing and walked forward to meet Luna halfway. "Cover your ears. The Fat Lady won't like you hearing the password," Ginny instructed. Luna nodded and clamped her hands over her ears, shutting her eyes as well. "Squealing Mandrake." As soon as the portrait swung open, Ginny grabbed Luna by the elbow and pulled her inside. Luna didn't mind that it was the second time in one day Ginny had done that.
Red and gold flashed before Luna's eyes. The common room was quite occupied, so Luna walked behind Ginny, trying to conceal herself as best as possible. "He's downstairs in the dormitory," Ginny whispered, "so you'll have to go down and see him. He's cooled off quite a bit since before." Luna nodded wordlessly and walked with Ginny to the stairs. Ginny motioned Luna forward, but didn't follow after her.
Luna knocked on the door once, with one quick rap using her knuckles. It was Harry who opened the door. His expression was serious, and he smiled to Luna before moving to let her in. Once she walked past him, he exited the dormitory, closing the door after him.
Ron was sitting on his bed, leaning forward on his elbows. He looked up when he heard her footsteps. He stood up, straightening his tie formally. "I.. er..." Luna didn't interrupt, but allowed him time to find his words. "I just wanted to say I didn't mean to blow up at you at lunch today. I was out of line, you didn't do anything wrong... much, and I'm really sorry." His lines sounded nearly rehearsed, and Luna had a creeping suspicion that Hermione and Ginny had put him up to this. "Oh, and here," he added, thrusting a box of Chocolate Frogs at her. "I heard these were your favourite," he said, eyeing the candy slightly regretfully. Hermione and Ginny had made him do that, too.
"Thank you, Ronald. That's very sweet of you," Luna chirped, relieving him of the box and stepping forward to hug him. "But there's really no need to be sorry. You haven't done anything." Ron pulled away and narrowed his eyes. He was undoubtedly thinking that something was way off about Luna. He had, in fact, injured her feelings, and she acted as if nothing had happened.
"Er... yeah, anyway..." he mumbled, running a hand through his hair.
"Good bye, Ronald!" Luna excused herself. She waved quickly to him, then opened the door and left the dormitory. Ron followed after her. They walked up the staircase, one behind the other. As Luna reached the top, she saw Harry, Hermione, and Ginny lined up to greet them. She smiled as she walked past them.
"Good job, mate," Harry said with a smirk.
"Hope you learned your lesson," Hermione added.
"You had better have made it believable," Ginny warned. Ron coughed. His friends sure were hard on him.
Luna began humming again. A different tune this time, much livelier and merrier now. Thankfully, nobody in the common room had noticed her arrival and departure. That didn't mean Luna didn't take notice of her surroundings, however. Just before she stepped through the portrait hole, she caught a glimpse of a large piece of paper in the air. Someone was sitting by the fire, their back towards her. And in their hands was a copy of The Quibbler.
A/N: Second chapter is up! XD Keep those reviews coming in, and guesses, too. Whoever guesses correctly gets a huge, chewy, chocolate chip cookie!!!! Mystery person still has not been revealed. o.O But start putting the clues together. –does the hokey pokey-