A/N: I received over one hundred thirty hits on my first chapter alone. I want to thank everyone who read it and encourage you to tell me what you think. Suggestions are always welcome )
I also had to fix a few things in the two chapters that I didn't like. Work with me here, it's difficult without a beta.

Chapter II: Conversations Over Chamomile

Luna lounged comfortably on the sapphire-colored bed in her dormitory, tangling herself within the sheets and staring intently at the ceiling. Her mind was still slightly groggy this early in the morning and it was making it difficult for her to concentrate on the shapes on the ceiling. She had always wanted to know what they were; some were very strangely shaped, with horns and what seemed to be tentacles sticking out of their pudgy bodies. She had been pondering for a while if they were supposed to be sea serpents or paint splotches.

"Luna...?" her roommate Anne said. She walked forward and looked down on Luna's upside-down face, eyeing her with some suspicion.

"You look different at this angle," Luna pointed out as she pushed a stray blonde lock off of her cheek.

Anne shifted uncomfortably. "Er--thanks. Luna, why are you on my bed?"

It's rather obvious, I thought, Luna said to herself. "The House Elves are cleaning my sheets and I wanted somewhere to lie down."

"Oh, I see. Well, if it's not too much of a problem, I am really quite tired and would like to take a nap before breakfast."

"Why didn't you sleep last night?" Luna asked casually

Anne's eyes narrowed slightly. "I... couldn't fall asleep. In any case, I really would like to--" Her tone was not cross, but Luna knew better than to refuse one of Anne's demands.

"I'll move, just give me a second." Luna flipped over on her stomach and wriggled her way out of the sheets. As soon as her feet were free, she fell to the ground with a resounding crash that caused her remaining three roommates to nearly jump out of their beds.

Anne bit her lip to keep from shouting, deciding instead to simply walk over Luna and climb into bed. The other three girls gave annoyed groans and began to rise, one by one, to go to the sink to clean up. One, a particularly smug looking girl with frizzy chestnut hair, gave Luna a seething look as she passed by. The other two decided it would be best not to say or do anything.

Luna remained on the ground for a moment before pulling herself up and walking over to the wardrobe to pick out her clothes for the day. After pulling out her newly washed school skirt and tie, her eyes lifted to look at her face the massive oak mirror that rested on top of the wardrobe. She noticed, with some amusement, that the fall had caused her hair to develop a rather large, matted knot near her left ear. She set her clothes down and summoned her brush from the other end of the room, then proceeded to do battle. After a few minutes of rigorous brushing, she finally set down the brush, quite satisfied with the result.

I wonder if Hermione has his problem every morning, Luna thought as she pictured Hermione's mass of bushy brunette locks. Ginny had told her that Hermione often complained about it, but Luna didn't understand why Hermione hated it so much. She had always rather liked the other girl's hair--it gave her a easily recognizable appearance.

Hermione. Her alone name gave Luna a twinge in her chest.

She really didn't know why she liked Hermione so much. She was never really well-disposed towards Luna and always seemed to put up a front when she was around. On top of that, Luna admitted that she didn't know much about the other girl. She knew Hermione was passionate about books and learning (of course, everyone in Hogwarts knew that) and was highly intelligent. Hidden behind her intellect, however, Luna knew that Hermione was also temperamental, somewhat close-minded, and often second-guessed herself; certainly not the kind of person to place on a pedestal to be admired for her perfection, but then Luna would not have been at all interested in her if she were.

She daydreamed back to yesterday when she had given Hermione the pendant. The Gryffindor seemed utterly baffled by the gift, a thought that still made Luna smile a bit. She had wanted it to be a token of friendship that would change Hermione's attitude towards her. She really couldn't explain why-- she normally didn't care what other people thought of her. For some reason that Merlin only knows, Luna had wanted Hermione to like her and, if she could be so lucky, become her friend. Luna had never had a really close friend before and desperately wanted one. Sure, she did have friends, Ginny for example, but none that were close to her in the way Luna wanted them to be. Most people at Hogwarts probably couldn't imagine "Loony" Lovegood would want anything normal like friendship, but she did. She wanted someone to talk about books over and take long walks outside with. Something simple and pure that she desperately hoped Hermione could fulfill.

Anne's shallow breathing began to grow louder as the other three girls left the room in a sullen-looking pack, leaving Luna alone in the corner. She quickly grabbed the rest of her clothes and changed quickly, not really caring if Anne saw her or not. After she finished buttoning her jumper, she put in a new pair of earrings her father had found in Sweden-- silvery colored crescent moons with a comet's tail made of stained-and-polished bark from Hoddmimir's Wood. Luna playfully shook her head to make the earrings sway before she stood up and headed off to breakfast.

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"Good morning, Luna," Ginny said cheerfully as Luna walked past the Gryffindor table. "I like your earrings; are they new?"

"Good morning, Ginevra," Luna replied lightly. "Yes, thank you. Daddy bought them at one of our detours in Sweden." She noticed a few of Ginny's Gryffindor friends snicker slightly and chose to ignore them.

"I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been doing?"

"Quite fine. I've noticed we've received a lot of homework already."

Ginny's smile faltered a bit. "Yes, I can agree to that. I just can't wait until later in the year before O.W.L.s start--we'll have a fabulous amount to do."

Luna nodded. A moment later she noticed Dean Thomas, Ginny's boyfriend, looking at her with raised eyebrows and a grimace. "Are you feeling all right?" she asked him. Ginny's head snapped around and she looked at Dean intently. He blinked and looked away. "I'm fine, just some indigestion."

"You should drink chamomile tea," Luna said dreamily, picturing in her mind the first time she ever drank it. It was in her front yard when she was younger, with her mother reading some Muggle book she had found in their neighbors library... "It works really well for stomach pain, you know. The ancient people of western Europe used to have elaborate ceremonies where they'd use it for health purposes and for love potions. Some people used it to summon Miniuenna to feast on their sacrifices to the gods." Dean looked slightly surprised, then nearly laughed.

"He'll do that, thanks," Ginny said half-heartedly as she held back the urge to hex Dean.

Luna blinked, nearly forgetting who she was talking to. The memory had been so vivid that she didn't want to leave it. Suddenly, she felt a tickle on her elbow. She abruptly turned to find Hermione standing next to her, looking slightly embarrassed. Her cheeks had a slight red tinge to them that Luna found to be intriguing.

"Luna?" she said, her voice hesitant. "I just--well, I just wanted to thank you for the gift again. It really was unnecessary, but I thank you all the same."

Luna felt her heart lurch a bit, a phenomena that gave her whole body a surprisingly warm feeling. "You're welcome. Are you feeling better today?"

Hermione's slightly red cheeks turned a deep scarlet. By now, most of the Gryffindor table were watching the pair with interest. "Oh, yes. I had some dinner and went to bed two hours earlier last night." She paused slightly, trying to read Luna's vague expression. "Look, about my mood yesterday... I really don't know what I was thinking. I was ornery from lack of sleep, but that was no reason to lash out at you, especially because you were so kind to me."

Luna knew that what was happening was a strange event. Hermione rarely apologized (in part because she's rarely wrong, Luna thought with a smile), and it showed in her house mates incredulous expressions. Ron Weasley had a large chunk of toast hanging out of his open mouth and Harry's eyebrows were buried in his hair.

"It's all right, Hermione." The look on Hermione's face proved that she didn't believe her. "I mean it, you know."

To Luna's surprise, she began to smile timidly. "I really did like the pictures. My favorite was the poet reading from his book."

Luna couldn't help but smile back. She felt a leap of happiness at Hermione's willingness to tell her something personal, even if it was a trivial opinion. "It suits you."

There was a pause that Hermione seemed to find very awkward--she kept looking at her feet and rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Hermione?' Luna asked, finally breaking the silence.

Hermione looked up. "Hmm?"

"I'm going to get a muffin."

"Oh," Hermione breathed. "Yes, well, I suppose I shouldn't keep you from your breakfast." She paused. "Have a good day, then."

Luna smiled dreamily as she watched Hermione sit down, a slightly disappointed look on her face. Had she wanted to say something else? Luna couldn't think of a time when someone other than her father had wanted to tell her something important.

She walked towards the Ravenclaw table feeling as if she had just drank a vial of pepper-up potion. A rather lonely seat at the end of the table caught her eye and she sat down, noticing she was near a group of third-years who went out of their way to ignore her presence. Despite their apparent rudeness, she was grateful all the same--it would give her time to think.

She had hoped the gift would make Hermione open her eyes a bit more and tolerate her as a possible friend, not just an eccentric (or loony, she thought, smiling a bit) girl a year behind her. Knowing that her wish had come true certainly lightened her mood and made her normally sleepy-looking eyes bright.

She vaguely noticed movement on her right and watched as her roommates, including an exhausted-looking Anne, stand up out of their seats and begin walking towards Defense Against the Dark Arts. Luna looked down at her muffin and was surprised that half of it was already gone. She quickly finished the other half and grabbed her book, ready to face her first defense class with Snape. Somehow she had a feeling that even his harsh words won't dent her good mood.

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Hoddmimir's Wood (From Encyclopedia Mythica)
Norse mythology, Yggdrasil ("The Terrible One's Horse"), also called the World Tree, is the giant ash tree that links and shelters all the worlds. Beneath the three roots the realms of Asgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim are located... On the day of Ragnarok, the fire giant Surt will set the tree on fire.Other names for the tree include: Ask Yggdrasil, Hoddmimir's Wood, Laerad and Odin's Horse.

Miniuenna - Mixture of the Latin minium (vermilion) and penna (winged). Could be anything red-colored with wings, though I thought of it as a big dragonfly-esque beast. It's one of Luna's strange creatures, by the way.