Discovering a lost heart.
Author's notes: I really had some problem with the ending, since I realised that I don't know where I'm going to take this story. So if it seems like a cliffhanger, then it is because it is one. The next update will take probably take some time, I'm afraid. But I will try and make up for it, by making the next chapter longer than this. And now that I've gone and made promises that I can't be sure to keep, go ahead and enjoy the the latest chapter of my fic.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter or anything or anyone related to him (I sure as heck don't want to own Dudley). I'm not making money on this, but if you wish to prove me wrong, I won't be to upset if you send me money. Preferably euro or yen, I don't trust the dollar as it stands. Cookies would be nice too...
Chapter 2, Confessions.
Time is a wonderous thing. Eventhough it never really changes pace, it can sometimes appear to do so. During times of fun it seems to accelerate, disappearing off in to the distance. During times of waiting it seems to move so slowly, its movement is hardly noticeable. And some times, usually when one doesn't know what to do next, it doesn't seem to move at all. This was one of those times.
Oh no. It is just not possible, it couldn't have happened. But it had happened, Luna had grabbed his arm. How foolish of her. There just wasn't any way she was going to get out of this one. Might as well take the bull by the horns, and come out in to the open.
"Ronald. I… I want to tell you something." Mustn't show a hint of doubt. Mustn't let him know how nervous she really was.
What now? Not only did she have to prevent him from getting away to be alone, she had to grab his arm to make the situation as embarrassing as possible. How was he going to get out of this situation without making a fool of himself?
"Ronald. I… I want to tell you something."
What? What could she possibly have to tell him? It's not like they knew eachother that well. He turned to look at her.
"For a long time now, I've been… Oh, I don't know how to say this…"
Luna, speachless? Had the world gone mad? Or had he just dreamed of waking up and getting out of bed, never truely leaving the merry land of dreams? Luna would certainly fit in there.
"I love…no, I mean…I like…no, I mean…" Why wouldn't the words come out? She knew what she wanted to tell him, didn't she? Then why was it so difficult?
Why is she talking about love in front of him for? Oh, now he got it. For the only reason any girl would even dream of getting close to him for.
"Look. I'm not the right person to be telling this to."
Luna was completely taken aback. What did he mean?
"If you want me to hear you confess your undying love to Harry, so that I can tell him for you, then you are just picking the worst time imaginable."
"Wait, Ronald…"
"It's too late anyway. He's found true love now, and they're off snogging themselves senseless." He was sure that steam was coming out of his ears by now. Certainly his cheeks were flushing.
"You mean Hermione?" It wasn't that difficult to guess, really. Luna knew that she had seen something between those two.
"You knew?" Was he really the last person to know? Had even Luna been told before him?
"I guessed, with what I have seen of them." Luna began to relax, he had just misinterpreted her. There was still a chance that he might…
"So everybody could see it in plain sight, except me," he said as he sighed.
Luna picked up on the sad note in his voice. Why was it upsetting him so much? And then she remembered something that Ginny had said, and understood. He had still been hoping to pair off Harry with his little sister.
"Don't feel bad about it. Neither of them saw it happening either, but they couldn't be with anyone else."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just that you can't expect two people who don't belong with eachother, to get together just because you want them to. Love doesn't work that way."
"So you don't think she and I could have been together?"
This brought Luna to a dead stop. She and I? This wasn't about Harry and Ginny? But who, then? Hermione? Could it be about Ronald and Hermione, oh no… But of course, how blind could she be? Her hand let go of his arm and fell limply to her side. Ron hardly noticed as he was full of emotion of his own.
"Of course not! Why would you? Why would anyone?" That said, he turned on his heel and left to find a more secluded area, leaving Luna all alone.
Of course. They had been prefects together, they were close friends. There was no way that Luna could compete with her. She had been with Ronald since their first year, she was pretty and smart. She was everything Ronald wanted, and would ever want to want. And even now, when she was together with someone else, Ronald still loved her and wanted to be with her. Ronald loved Hermione. She felt as if someone had knocked all the air out of her. And why did it have to rain now? Wait, it wasn't raining. Then why did she feel her face getting wet? She reached up with her fingers to her face. Tears? She gave a tentative lick to her fingers. Salty. Just like back then, the last time she had shed tears. Her mother's funeral.
Ron kept on walking. Why were there so much people everywhere? Was there no place where he could be alone with his own thoughts? Scratch that! Was there no place where he could be alone away from his own thoughts? But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape from his thoughts. The funny thing was that he should have seen it coming. The way Hermione seemed to always be thinking about Harry whenever she and Ron were alone together, how she always got along better with Harry and how she always seemed to shun him away. Ron just wasnt good enough. For anyone. Even Loony Luna was as eager to confess her love to the Boy Who Lived, as everyone else was. Luna. Why did she have to enter his thoughts? Ginny had also had a crush on Harry, but it was Luna that he first thought of. Ginny. Had she known? Was that what she had meant by giving up on Harry? And why couldn't he get Luna's face out of his mind? He didn't know if he should be glad that he ran into her or not. Sure, she had been able to take his mind off his troubles, but it had hurt to hear her, so casually, tell him that Hermione and Harry getting together was obvious. He had, since their forth year, thought he knew what was obvious and what wasn't. It had been obvious that Harry and Cho were going to get together. And when they broke up, he had thought that it would be obvious if Harry and his sister got together. But they never did, and now this happened. Might as well predict that Harry and Loony would get together. Loony Luna. He laughed a little, thinking about the Spotty-Striped Waterspider, and then shook his head vehemently. He was getting much to side-tracked on this whole issue, and he felt that he needed to focus, so he could get it over with. He just wanted to sort out his feelings about it all and move on with things.
First things first, how did he really feel about it? Since he stormed out of the common room, he hadn't stopped to consider his own feelings on the whole situation. Sure, he felt betrayed, but why? Because Hermione and Harry kissed each other. But why was that hurtful? Because Ron wanted to kiss... no, be together with Hermione. Right? Yes, right. He maybe had been slow in realising his feelings for what they were, but he was somewhat certain about them. Somewhat? Nevermind. Why did he feel betrayed? Because they never told him. Did they know beforehand that this was how they felt about each other? He guessed so, but he wasn't sure. Luna had been certain that they were going to get together, but had they seen it themselves? Maybe Luna had picked up on something no one else saw, it would be very typical for her to do that. But if they hadn't known themselves... then they hadn't been keeping it a secret, right? But how would he know? He wondered how Luna saw... Luna. She had said that it was fairly obvious, meaning that she knew they were likely to get together. And she said it almost happily... Of course! She hadn't been on her way to confess her love of Harry Potter. She was thinking about... About what? He thought back to what she said. "I love, no I mean... I like...", that's what she had been saying. So maybe it was about someone else she loved, but who? It couldn't be Ron, he wasn't special enough for anyone to love. But who else could it have been? Neville? Dean? Seamus? What business was it of his anyway? Luna could get together with whoever she damn pleased to get together with. None of his business at all. With that thought he crossed his arms and took a look around him. He had reached the edge of the forbidden forest, quite a bit away from Hagrid's hut, and he had a complete view of the lake. He could see the distant figure of Luna still standing by the edge of the lake. From what he could see, she was standing very much in the same place as he left her, except her arms were hanging by her sides and she was looking out over the lake, her back to him. She was very still for the moment, and he became hypnotized by her solitary frame. Then she bent down to the ground and picked something up.
The lake looked so peaceful. What she could see of it with her eyes flooded by tears. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, and since she didn't have a handkerchief with her, she waited for the tears to run dry. Then she could wipe her face with her sleeve and head back to the castle. Hopefully Ronald didn't find out how she felt from what she said, she kept wondering about that. If he knew how she had felt it would make everything so much more embarrassing. Ronald. He was in love wih Hermione. And she knew that she couldn't blame him. Hermione was the cleverest witch in her year, Luna was just the second cleverest in her own year. Hemione looked pretty with her unruly hair, Luna looked strange with her necklace of Butterbeer corks. Ronald had known Hermione since their first year, and hadn't even talked with Luna before her forth year. But even so... How come he couldn't notice her? How come that, even when Hermione was with Harry, Ronald wouldn't give her a second glance before going off? Not that Luna had wanted him to see her cry, of course. Unless a part of her did want him to see, if anything to tell him how much he hurt her. Her face was quivering now, and she didn't care whether it was her restrained tears or anger that caused it. She just felt like hitting something really hard. But she was surrounded by water, and it just wasn't rewarding to punch that. She looked down at the ground by her feet, and saw a few rocks. She bent down and picked one up. Tossing it in the air once, she thought hard on what had happened earlier, and the revelations that had come from it, and then squeezed the rock hard in her hand. Letting all her anger and sadness flow in to the rock, she lifted it up and threw it hard in the lake. Feeling the intense relief of emotions, she beamed proudly at the ripples she had caused. As she was about to turn around, she heard a sudden sound.