Harry's wounds were quickly mended and before they knew it Professor McGonagall was leading them to the Great Hall for the evening meal. Harry stomach was in knots, it was obvious that they weren't at school this year and undoubtedly everyone would be asking him why they were back. He thought of having to see Ginny for a week and he was filled with dread. But what was worrying him the most, which surprised him greatly, was that Ron and Hermione would pick up where they left off now that they were back at school. He tried to tell himself that this was simply ridiculous, but the worrying wouldn't stop. 'How can this kind of stuff be bothering me when I'm going to face Voldemort soon?' His thoughts stopped abruptly as he entered the great hall and made his way to the Gryffindor table. He felt everyone's eyes on him, and looked up to see Ginny staring intently at him. They all sat down and Ron began to smile at everyone before helping himself to the shepherd's pie.

"Harry," Hermione whispered "Look who isn't at the Slytherin table." Harry looked over and noticed that as well as Malfoy being missing, Crabbe and Goyle were too.

"Gone to join their mate I'll bet," He said bitterly. Harry tried to eat some dinner but found that he had no appetite. He waited for Ron to finally finish dinner before they made their way to their rooms. Outside the Great Hall Neville and Luna approached them.

"Hello Harry," Neville said. "Come back to school then?"

"Not exactly," Harry replied, "Why don't you come to our rooms and we can talk there"

"That's a good idea," Luna said "People are being rather nosy right now, especially that girl right there!" Luna pointed towards a girl desperately trying to listen in to their conversation. It looked suspiciously like Ginny but she was gone so quickly that they couldn't quite tell. Ron burst out laughing at Luna's frankness.

"You sure made that girl run of pretty quick!" he said still chortling to himself as they walked to their rooms. Luna smiled vaguely in Ron's direction whilst absentmindedly touching her bottle cap necklace. After a lot of walking they finally reached a huge portrait of a witch tied to a stake.

"Hello there!" She called merrily "You must be our guests! Hurry up dears I have a lot to be getting on with. What's the password?"

"Gobbledegook!" Ron said enthusiastically.

"Ah yes!" replied the witch "One of my favourites. Well come on in, come on in…" The portrait swung open to admit them into quite a cosy set up. There was a small living room with couches, chairs and a fireplace. They followed a hallway to a study area, their bedrooms and a bathroom. They made their way back into the living room and before long it was looking thoroughly lived in.

"So what's been going on here then? Who's the new DADA teacher?" Ron asked interestedly. Neville rolled his eyes, but it was Luna who answered.

"This rather curious woman, she seems perfectly lovely but she says some very strange things sometimes…She seems to live it her own world. It looks rather fun though. Her name's Miss. Periwinkle." Ron started laughing at the obvious similarities between Luna and Miss. Periwinkle, but quickly stopped at Neville's frantic hand movements behind Luna's back.

"Miss Periwinkle?" Harry asked, "Hardly sounds professional"

"Yeah what does she teach you to do? Hear an unforgivable and quickly retaliate…with cute fluffy bunnies coming out the end of your wand!" Ron said laughing.

"Actually Ronald," Luna said in a surprisingly stern voice "If you didn't judge people before you know them then your opinion might actually be valuable." The room was silent and Harry was staring open mouthed at Luna. Everyone looked at each other for a few moments before Ron finally mumbled an apology to Luna. Luna appeared satisfied after this and their conversation turned to a more agreeable subject.

"You'll never guess who's going out with Lavender Brown?" Neville asked them. When no one could guess correctly and they were all getting mildly irritated he finally answered "Colin Creevey!" This announcement was met with disbelief, then yells of disgust.

"That is well wrong!" Ron said, "What does she see in him?"

"Maybe she likes having her picture taken" Hermione retorted, which earned a laugh from Harry.

"What does it matter anyway Ronald?" Luna asked "Do you still like her?" Ron looked from Luna to Hermione, then to the wall very quickly. Hermione suddenly found her hands very interesting. Harry watched Hermione, looking for a clue as to how she felt about Ron now she was back in school. Neville was simply confused. Luna kept looking at Ron until he finally answered.

"No Luna, I don't like Lavender. It's just, you know, Colin Creevey! I thought she was sinking low with me… but Colin!" He made a look of disgust.

"Oh Ron," Luna smiled. Ron smiled too, he much preferred Ron to Ronald. "She didn't sink low with you. Actually I personally think you sunk low with her." Ron puffed up his chest and looked very pleased by this comment. Harry looked from Hermione to Neville, not quite sure what to make of it.

"I'm quite hungry," Ron said quickly, feeling uncomfortable "I think I'm gonna go to the kitchen. Anyone want anything?" Everyone smiled at this expected announcement.

"No thanks Ron," Hermione said "But come back soon, we should really go and see Hagrid tonight" Ron nodded in agreement as Neville and Luna stood up to leave.

"I'm rather hungry too" Luna said, "Besides, I've heard that the kitchens used to be a resting place for travelling gnomes. I'm quite curious to see if there's any evidence of that…" Ron looked quickly back at Harry and Hermione, who were both trying to cover their laughter with various cushions. Ron, Luna and Neville left their rooms, leaving Harry and Hermione alone…

They looked nervously at each other, both thinking the same thing 'Just act normally'.

"I can't believe that Greyback escaped," Hermione said "That must mean that someone was out there to help him."

"I was thinking the same thing, probably another werewolf. Why would they wait outside the school though? The chance of a pupil ever going out of the gates is small…" Harry replied.

"We'll figure it out. At least the teachers know now though, they can keep an eye out. Not to mention warn Lupin to stay away from the school…" Harry nodded in agreement then they lapsed into silence again.

"So…" Harry finally said "Do you want to come to the room of requirement with me? I was just going to see if the Horcrux is still in the same place…I don't want to do anything yet." Harry half wished that Hermione would say no, just he wouldn't have to feel like he was on edge all afternoon.

"Sure," Hermione agreed, hoping that by having something to do they might actually have a decent conversation. They walked towards the door, both trying to keep a reasonable distance from each other.

After locating the Horcrux Harry and Hermione decided to go their own separate ways for a while. Hermione headed for the library, and Harry decided to take a walk on the grounds. He was walking down the hallway when he saw Luna walking towards him.

"Hello Harry," She said in her dreamy voice "Where are you going?"

"Just for a walk, do you want to come?" He said, surprising himself at the question. Luna beamed at him and linked her arm through his. They walked to the grounds in silence. Harry was looking around and remembering happier times. He spotted the tree that he, Hermione and Ron often sat under and smiled to himself. It seemed so long ago; everything was such a mess now. Harry was brought out of his reverie by Luna's voice.

"You have to kill Voldemort this year Harry," She said in an oddly conversational tone. Harry looked at her surprised at the use of Voldemort's name and grinned.

"What's so funny?" She asked, "I hope you're not making fun of me…"

"No!" Harry said quickly "No I would never, it's just that everyone always avoids these kind of subjects and when they do want to talk about it, it's quite annoying. I don't mind talking to you about it though. Hermione and Ron too of course." Luna smiled vaguely and seemed to be lost in thought for a while.

"We need to go to the ministry…" Luna said suddenly. It almost sounded like she was talking to herself so Harry was unsure how to respond.

"Uh…What?" Harry said

"The ministry. Before you fight Voldemort you and I need to go to the room with the voices and the veil, remember?" She asked, seemingly urgent.

"Why?" Harry asked sounding slightly alarmed.

"It will answer the questions you've had for a long time. It will give you the strength and power to defeat him." She said in a matter of fact tone, much like the way one would say that snow is cold. "I have to go with you Harry, we're the only ones connected to it. You see?" Harry stared at her dumbfounded. 'Has she finally gone stark raving mad?' he thought to himself.

"Don't worry, you don't have to believe me now. But once we've been there you'll see." Luna said.

They walked for a while longer and Harry found himself telling her of the place they were staying in and their general mission, though not, of course, anything about the Horcruxes. He found himself asking her to come and stay with them, and to his surprise he actually wanted her there. He found her reassuring, some of the things she said were extremely odd but she also had a refreshing perspective. Luna seemed excited about the idea, though not entirely sure what her father would think. They fell into a companionable silence once again and Harry felt a little weight lift off of him. 'It's the way it's supposed to be' he thought to himself, and knew it to be true within his heart. Harry was surprised when Luna stopped suddenly, she looked nervous and kept twisting her necklace. Finally she spoke-

"Does Ron know that you and Hermione love each other?"

Harry's mouth practically hit the floor at this frank statement and Luna began to laugh so hard that she was eventually on the floor. Harry stood there for a while looking around to see if any other students could see Luna rolling around on the floor. Eventuallyshe stood up and stopped laughing.

"Your face! I'm sorry Harry that must have been quite unexpected. People think I don't notice anything, but I notice more than most people." She said. Harry had managed to close his mouth but he was still reeling from her revelation. 'How could she know?' 'What if she tells Ron?' and 'What the bloody hell do you mean love?' were thoughts that kept spinning around and around in his mind.

"Don't worry Harry," Luna continued, "I won't tell Ron, but I think you should soon. It's not very fair on him."

"We haven't even done anything. Well, we kissed once but we decided that it was best for Ron if we just stopped. I can't upset Ron, I won't." Harry replied and felt relieved that he could finally talk about this with someone.

"Ron will be angry, but he'll get over it. It might take a few weeks, or maybe even a few years. But you two are friends, and in the end neither or you will give that up for anything." Luna said distractedly. Harry was shocked by everything that Luna was saying, but at the same time he felt a little hope. Could it be possible for him to have Hermione and Ron? A thought suddenly struck Harry and he knew at once he was right. He began to grin and Luna looked at him as if he were the one going mad.

"You like Ron," Harry said, his grin getting wider and wider. Luna flushed furiously and began twisting her bottle cap necklace faster and faster.

"Please don't say anything Harry," she said pleadingly. Harry felt a little pity for her; he supposed that people would make fun of Luna mercilessly.

"Luna, we're friends. I won't say anything, you can trust me." Harry said, and earned a bright smile and a hug from Luna.

"I'm glad we're friends Harry," Luna said dreamily. Harry laughed a little and replied-

"Me too Loony," which earned him a flick on the forehead. He laughed even harder at the odd gesture as they walked back into the school, oblivious to the other students gossiping about them and a possible love affair...

A/N - Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to read this little story of mine and review. It's been a slow start (after all...you have to set the scene) but things will start moving in the chapters to come. I won't be updating everyday, but it will still be regular. Jarno, thanks for your review :) In the last chapter Greyback was transformed. I usually try and stick close the the 'facts' in the Harry Potter books, but I thought it would be more interesting if I had Greyback talking. Sorry for the confusion, and thanks again everyone :)

Islanzadi

xx