A/N: I own a cat named Harry Potter and that's about it.
Thanks to all those who reviewed. You don't know howhappy you make me! On with the story....
Harry awoke the next day with butterflies in his stomach. It was still pretty early, but he got out of bed, dressed, and headed to the common room. Not to his surprise, Hermione was already up and working on an essay for Potions that was due on Tuesday.
"Morning, Hermione."
"Good morning, Harry. You're up early. Excited about your day with Luna?" Hermione asked, trying her hardest not to smile.
"Sure... We always have a good time. Not a big deal. Why... do I seem excited? Because I'm not. I mean, I am, but it doesn't matter--" Harry stammered before he was interuppted by Hermione.
"Harry! Relax, don't get so worked up. I know it's just like every other Sunday. I just can't help but feel... nevermind."
Harry raised his eyebrow. "Can't help but feel what?"
"Oh, nothing. It's nice to see you getting along so much with her. Don't know if I could spend a whole day alone with her myself, but you two do make quite a nice pair." Harry stared at Hermione in shock.
"Pair? What are you getting at? Luna's not my girlfriend, Hermione" he said.
"I know! I wasn't saying that at all! You're just friends, I was only saying...."
"Friends. We are JUST friends! Nothing more, Hermione. Like the two of us, only she doesn't feel the need to nag me to no end." As soon as Harry said this, he knew he had gone too far. A hurt look crossed Hermione's face and Harry felt the guilt well up inside of him.
"I just care about you, Harry. And Ron. I don't do it to be a pest. I might nag you at times, but I help you more. So before you take one of your moods out on me..." Harry cut in before she could finish.
"You're right, Hermione. Shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Sorry."
"It's alright. I just know from now on that Luna is a touchy subject." She said, returning to her essay.
"It's not touchy! Talk about her all you want!" He sighed. "I'm going down to breakfast."
Without waiting for her, he stood up and climbed through the portrait hole. He didn't feel all that hungry, but there was no where else he could think to go other than the Great Hall. When he arrived, the tables were sparesly filled since most students slept in on Sundays. He sat at the Gryffindor table, grabbed a piece of toast and some blackcurrant jam, and started to eat. Two bites into his toast, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find Luna standing behind him. Her hair was pulled into a very messy bun on the top of her head.
"Hello, Harry. You're up rather early."
"Morning, Luna. It's not that early, I was just .. um... starving" he said, mentally kicking himself. How could he look starving when he was nibbling on a single piece of toast? "You're up early as well."
"No, actually, I always wake up early, no sense in wasting the day sleeping in bed. Morning is such a beautiful time of day, I would hate to miss it. Daddy always said that morning was a chance to see the world at it's best, to capture the very essence of life."
"Guess Ron and I have missed out on most of the essence of life." How can you make a joke when she told you something so nice? What a prat. Harry cringed at his attempt at humor.
Luna didn't seem to notice because she just nodded and stood there staring at him. A second or two went by before Harry finally got the hint.
"Luna! Care to sit and join me?"
She smiled at him dreamily. "That would be lovely, thank you Harry."
She sat next to him, placing the book she had been reading the day before next to her plate. As she poured some juice into a goblet, Harry picked up the book and opened it. He turned the pages and was astonished to find that not one word was written in any language he recognized.
"Hey, Luna. This book... what language is it written in?"
Luna looked up from her eggs. "Well, those are runes, you know. Ever since 3rd year I have been fascinated with Ancient Runes. My father gave it to me for Christmas. He received it when he was in Egypt researching a story. It's a beautiful tale of love and adventure."
Whatever the story was about, Harry had no idea. He put the book down and started to add more food to his plate. He was starting to get his appetite back. The two ate in silence for a few minutes until Luna turned to look at him.
"Harry, I thought of something wonderful for us to do today. I got the idea from the Quibbler and I've been wanting to do it for weeks. You can help me!"
Harry smiled at the excitement in her eyes. "Sure, whatever you want Luna. I'll just need to get my cloak if we're going outside. It seems pretty cold today." He looked up as Ron and Hermione sat across from them. "Morning mate. Luna" Ron said to him. Hermione just smiled at them and poured some pumpkin juice into her goblet.
"Good morning Ronald, Hermione. Pardon my running off, I just need to run up to my room to grab a few things. I'll meet you in the entrance hall in 15 minutes, Harry." Once she left, Harry stood as well. He saw the look on their faces. Hermione had probably told Ron all about his fit earlier. He didn't want to talk about it just yet. "I have to go up to my room and grab my cloak, maybe a scarf. I'll catch up with you two later."
Before they could protest, he walked out of the Great Hall and made his way to Gryffindor Tower.
Fifteen minutes later, he was in the Entrance Hall waiting for Luna. When he saw her coming, he couldn't help but smile. She was carrying a rather large box, and seemed to be struggling. He ran up to her and took the box from her hands.
"Thanks, Harry. It was rather heavy." She said dreamily, as if she had just noticed she was even holding a box. "And now, off to the lake!"
The two left the castle and started on the path down to the lake. The cool winter air whipped around them. Harry looked at Luna and noticed how pretty she looked when the wind picked up the loose strands of hair around her face. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold air. He had to hand it to her. She really wasn't bad looking, he actually found her attractive. Or, I suppose she would be attractive. To some people. Not me. Not attracted. Nope. Not at all.
So as not to appear to be a nutter for staring at her, he looked into the box he was carrying. There were many objects that caught the light: glass beads, mirrors, tin foil. Several smaller boxes, all painted bright colors, and what appeared to be potpourri were at the very bottom. Before he could ask what all this was for, Luna spoke.
"How have you been feeling lately, Harry? Have you had anymore of those dreams?"
There was no way he could tell her that he had seen her and her father die at the hands of Voldemort. "Nope", he lied.
"That's good to hear. I must say, you have been less moody over the past month or so. When you first got back to school, I didn't think you were always that nice, you know. I'm glad we've been spending loads of time together because I know that there's more to you than meets the eye. Kind of like ramamugs. They appear to be a flower, much like an ordinary daisy, but if you uproot it you find a larger creature living underneath the surface. That's what you are Harry. If one doesn't take the time to know you, they might miss out on truly knowing who you really are."
"Well, thank you for taking the time to get to know me."
They stopped walking and stood there just looking at eachother. She raised her hand and gently wiped the hair from his eyes. "Thank you for letting me in." She smiled and took the box from his hands and placed it on the ground.
Harry looked around, they were pretty close to the lake now. They were standing in front of a bush about the height of Luna. Looking at the shrubbery with exitement, she asked "Ready?"
Harry still had no idea what they were up to. "Ready for what?"
"Well, I got this idea from the Quibbler. The full moon will be coming in a couple of weeks and I thought we could set up some traps early. A wonderful creature comes out when the moon is full and I want to see if we could catch one."
Harry's heart started to pound. "Luna, what creature besides a werewolf comes out on the full moon?"
"Why, Moon Sprites, of course."
A/N: You know the drill, read and review! It just makes me write and update faster and faster!
