Harry sat at the edge of the lake peering out over it. He had been coming here a lot lately to think. Recently, he had been thinking about one thing and one thing only: Valentine's Day. It was only three days away, and he seemed to be the only one without out a date to the upcoming Valentine's Day Dance. The dance was Professor Lockhart's newest bright idea. Yes, Lockhart. He had been released from St. Mungo's over the summer and Dumbledore had hired him back as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

The dance had only been announced a few days ago, but people were already pairing up. If he didn't ask someone soon, he wouldn't have a date at all! He racked his brains, trying to think of someone he could ask. Well, there was always Parvati, but she hated him after the Yule Ball. Then there was Lavender, but she was already going with Seamus. There was also Ginny, but he didn't think of her as more then a friend and it'd probably be too weird going with her. He was running out of ideas about who to ask.

"Hello, Harry" a voice called from behind him, and he turned around to find Luna strolling across the grounds of Hogwarts towards him.

"Hey, Luna," he said back. She sat down next to him. Harry noticed that she was still wearing her famous radish earrings that he had grown to love.

"It's really beautiful out here," she commented. Harry followed her gaze out over the lake. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was ablaze with bright blues and purples and oranges.

"Yeah, it's so peaceful too. That's why I come out here so much," he said.

"Maybe I should start joining you," she commented.

"That would be nice," Harry said, and he realized that those words had come from his heart.

"Really?" she asked.

"Definitely," he replied. Harry suddenly realized that he had actually fallen for Luna. Now he knew who he wanted to ask to the dance. If only he could just spit out the words.

Harry and Luna sat in silence gazing over the lake at the sunset. Harry occasionally stole glances at Luna. She looked so peaceful just sitting there, like she was lost in her own little world. He made up his mind that he would ask her tonight

"Umm…Luna?" Harry asked after many moments of silence.

"Yes?" She asked as the clock chimed nine times.

"W…Its time to go," he said, chickening out at the last moment.

"Your right," she said. Harry stood up and held out his hand to help her up.

"I'll walk you to your common room," he told her.

"But you'll get caught!" she said.

"Not will this," he showed her the invisibility cloak. "Come on, get under it."

Luna situated herself under the cloak and they began the slow walk to the castle. Harry found that he didn't mind being this close to Luna. He could smell the vanilla shampoo in her hair and decided it was his new favorite smell.

They reached the steps in no time at all and soon found themselves inside the school. Harry allowed Luna to lead him towards her common room. When they reached it, Luna pulled the cloak off herself.

"Good night, Harry," she said in her usual dreamy voice.

"Night, Luna. Sweet dreams," he said in an equally dreamy voice. He gathered the cloak around him and made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt like he was walking on air the whole way there, and when he finally laid down in his bed, he laid there for hours debating over how to ask Luna to the dance.

-

Harry awoke the next morning at the crack of dawn. He stood up and stumbled to the window. A pale pink and golden glow lit the sky. Harry couldn't help but think of Luna when he saw it. Her hair was the exact same shade of gold, and just as beautiful. Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes. He had been up until the late hours of the morning thinking about Luna.

Across the room, Ron gave an exceptionally loud snore and Harry was pulled out of his trance. Why does Ron always have to snore at the worst times? Harry thought to himself and then stood up. As long as he was awake he might as well go get some breakfast.

He got dressed and climbed down the stairs of the boy's dormitory and then out the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. The halls of Hogwarts were strangely silent at this hour of the morning. Harry walked quietly down to the Great Hall, where only a couple of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were seated at their tables. He was the first Gryffindor down for breakfast.

Harry filled his plate with sausages and eggs, but was too anxious to eat. He chased his sausages around his plate instead.

"Hello, Harry," a familiar dreamy voice called out.

"H…Hello, Luna," Harry managed to choke out. He turned to look at her and placed his elbow straight into the butter dish. His cheeks flushed brighter than his best friend's hair, which is saying something since Harry never blushes. Luna was staring off in space, however, and didn't seem to notice

"Same time tonight, Harry?" she asked.

"Y…yeah," he stuttered.

"See you then," she said and glided across the room to take a seat at the Ravenclaw table. She pulled out the latest issue of The Quibbler and was soon absorbed within its pages.

"Hiya, Harry!" Ginny said as she sat down next to Harry, who suddenly realized that his elbow was still in the butter dish.

"Hey, Ginny," he said and quickly pulled his elbow out of the dish. He rolled up his sleeve in hopes that no one would notice. Ginny, meanwhile, was laughing her head off.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked as he sat down next to Harry. Hermione sat down across from him.

"Oh, nothing," she said and winked at Harry.

"Right…." Ron said, "and since when are you Miss Cheerful this early in the morning?"

"Since today I get to go to Hogsmeade," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh ya," Ron said and was obviously more cheerful after that.

"Let's make a stop at Honeyduke's. I'm out of sugar quills," Harry said

"Me too, and I'm running low on my supply of Dudley Dung Bombs," Ron said. Harry laughed. The twin's business had grown rapidly over the summer and they had decided to extend their business to Hogsmeade. Their newest product, Dudley Dung Bombs, had been a huge hit among students at Hogwarts. These bombs were exactly like dung bombs, except they targeted a single person instead of an area and smelled much worse.

"Ron! You are a Prefect!" Hermione snapped.

"So? That doesn't mean I can't have a little fun!" he snapped back, and the two were soon in a full-fledged argument.

"Would you two just knock it off for one day at least?" Harry begged after their voices had risen so loud that you could hear them all the way in the Gryffindor Tower from here.

"Sorry mate," Ron muttered and they both grew quiet.

"Shall we go?" Harry said. Many of the others were getting up to go to Hogsmeade. They nodded and made their way to the gates.

It was a beautiful day outside-perfect for a Hogsmeade weekend. It was slightly cold outside, but nothing a sweater and a pair of earmuffs couldn't cure. There was a thin layer of pure white snow on the ground that sparkled under the fiery sun. The trio walked along in silence, just appreciating the beauty of the outdoors.

Harry stopped in front of Honeyduke's. "Can we go in here?" he asked, and Ron and Hermione both nodded. The three ducked inside the door and found that, not surprisingly, it was decorated for Valentine's Day: pink and red hearts dangled from the ceiling, heart-shaped boxes of candy lined the shelves, mini cupids under magic spells flew around the store shooting fake arrows.

They spent a great deal of time in there, and when they finally left the store their pockets were considerable lighter. They made their way to the Three Broomsticks to take a break and get a butterbeer.

Upon entering the store, Harry immediately spotted Neville, Ginny, and Luna seated in a corner. Ginny spotted them and waved them over.

"Hey, guys," Harry said as he took a seat next to Neville. Ron went to go get butterbeers and returned a few minutes later with them. All six of them were sitting there talking when Seamus approached their table.

"Hey everyone" he said.

"Hey, Seamus," Harry greeted. "Having fun?"

"Yeah, Hogsmeade is really special around Valentine's Day," he replied. "Speaking of Valentine's Day, who are all of you going to the dance with?"

"I don't have a date," Harry said, and Neville, Ginny, and Luna nodded in reply. Ron was to busy glaring at Seamus, who was eyeing Hermione hopefully.

"So…if that's the case….Hermione, will you go to the dance with me?" he asked.

"Well, I umm….I…I can't," she stuttered, clearly taken aback by the question.

"And why can't you!" he snapped, glaring at her. Harry was frightened by how his friend could change moods so quickly.

Hermione said nothing, just opened and closed her mouth. She looked terrified, while Seamus looked as if he would attack her if she didn't say anything.

"She can't go with you because she's going with me!" Ron blurted out, and then blushed as everyone turned to stare at him.

"Oh," Seamus said, and turned and ran from the bar.

Harry, Neville, and Ginny were still staring at Ron and Hermione, who were blushing profusely.

"How come you didn't tell me?" Harry questioned Ron.

"Cause we aren't….unless you want to, Hermione?" Ron looked at her hopefully.

"Well, sure, why not?" Hermione blushed and Ron smiled.

"It's about time," Ginny muttered under her breath, but only so Neville and Harry could hear.

It was getting late, so they all decided to start walking back to the castle, but not before making a stop at the twin's shop. There, the twins gave them discounts on their latest items, which made Harry and Ron very pleased but really irked Hermione.

"We're prefects, Ron!" she said when Ron told her she needed to loosen up.

"Ron's right, Hermione, you need to have some fun in your life," Ginny laughed and handed her a brown package.

"What's this?" she asked, holding the package cautiously.

"Just open it," Ginny said, still laughing. Hermione gave her a wary look, but unwrapped the package and revealed a heart-shaped box.

"What's this?" she asked again and held up the box.

"Go on, open it!" Ginny urged. She slid the top off of the box and a puff of pink smoke filled the air. When the smoke cleared, a huge red heart appeared over Hermione. Inside the heart was a message: Hermione + Ron Forever.

By this time, Ginny was doubled-over laughing along with Harry, Neville, and Luna. Hermione and Ron both blushed as red as the heart, but soon began to laugh along with the rest. It took several minutes for them to stop laughing long enough to talk.

"I am going to get you, Ginny! " Hermione screeched when she finally caught her breath.

"Not if you can't catch me!" she jeered, and ran off down the road with Hermione chasing him. The others ran after them.

-

Later that night, Harry approached the lake and sat down at the edge of it. The sun had just begun to set and the sky was filled again with beautiful colors, but Harry found himself longing for another beauty: Luna. He sat there waiting for her, and just when the sun was only half-way visible over the horizon, he heard her voice calling to him.

"Evening, Harry," she said.

"Hey, Luna. Glad you could make it," he said. She sat down next to him and stared out over the lake. She was immediately at ease, but that wasn't the case with Harry. He was still trying to muster up the courage to ask Luna to the dance.

"Did you know that the colors of the sunset were created many centuries ago by a group of witches who called themselves the Rainbow Tribe," Luna informed him in her dreamy voice.

"I…I didn't know that," Harry said.

"Yes, they lived right before the first magical world war nearly four thousand years ago. They sensed a war coming, yet they wanted to preserve a part of the peaceful world they lived in forever. They all gathered together one day, a few hours before the start of the war, and preserved the colors of their world in sunsets so that everyone who came after them could always have proof that the world isn't all bad," she explained.

"Well, it worked," Harry said, and they both went back to gazing at the sunset.

"Aww….its Potter and Loony! Such a cute couple!" an all-too familiar voice jeered.

"Nobody invited you here, Malfoy," Harry spat at him.

"Nobody said I couldn't come here either," he said.

"I just did!" Harry snarled and stood up. He clutched his wand in his hand.

"Nasty temper you got there, Potter. You might want to work on controlling that. I don't think Miss I'm-as-loony-as-my-radish-earrings would like her boyfriend to be in Azkaban," Malfoy sneered.

"Shut up, Malfoy, or I'll put you in St. Mungo's before you can say quidditch, got it?" Harry threatened.

"How cute! Potter's trying to act big and bad in front of his little girlfriend!" Malfoy snickered.

"That's it! You're dead, Malfoy!" Harry spat and aimed his wand at Malfoy. There was a flash of light, and Malfoy was suddenly stumbling around on jelly legs. Malfoy reached for his wand, but Luna was quicker.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, and Malfoy's wand flew out of his hand. Harry cast another curse at Malfoy, whose hair turned to huge red radishes. He turned to run, but Luna stopped him.

"Percificus Totalus!" she exclaimed, and his arms and legs snapped together. He fell to the ground with a thunk.

"Harry! Luna! What did you just do!" a histerical voice called over the grounds. Harry looked up and groaned as he saw Hermione running towards him.