Hi there! I'm Ichigo and this is my crazy alter-ego, Kaori!
Kaori: For all intensive purposes, she's the crazy one.
But anyway, we don't own Harry Potter. And please read this story with an open mind.
Kaori: And don't flame us if it isn't what you expected.
So here it is...
"When you're in love you never really know whether your elation comes from the qualities of the one you love, or if it attributes them to her; whether the light which surrounds her like a halo comes from you, from her, or from the meeting of your sparks."
-Natalie Clifford Barney
You wonder how these things begin...
All things considered, it probably began the moment they met. But if you asked either of them, they would probably say it began on a chilly day in mid-September, when Ginny Weasley sat by herself on a set of stone stairs outside the castle.
She stared deadly at the parchment in her hands. Words words words. Never anything more. "Heading for Bristol, looking for Horcruxes, weather's horrible, wish you were here, much love, Harry."
She didn't even pay attention to what the letters said anymore. The stories and the little updates didn't really mean anything, for safety reasons they probably weren't even true, they were just there to fill the page. In only two words, she could tell what he meant to say: "Love, Harry." That was all she needed to read anymore.
Love, Harry.
Ginny stared at those two little words and tried to read Harry's mind. What was he thinking about? What was he feeling? Ginny closed her eyes and pictured Harry in her mind. But her eyes snapped open when a little gust of wind caught the letter and tried to wrestle it away from her. She scrambled for it, but the wind wrapped its greedy little fingers around the parchment and snatched it away from her. She watched helplessly for a moment as the letter sailed away, then she sprang to her feet and chased after it.
Ginny's heart sank as the letter floated farther and farther away. At this rate she would never get it back. Just as it looked like the letter were about to fly out over the lake and be lost forever, a thin hand snatched it out of the air.
Luna Lovegood looked vaguely surprised, as if the letter had flown into her hand completely by accident. She turned it over in her hands. Ginny saw her eyes train across the page. Luna looked up at Ginny with pale, glassy blue eyes. Ginny's heart skipped a beat. There was something strange about those eyes.
"Is this yours?" Luna asked.
Ginny nodded, a little miffed that Luna had read the letter. But what could she say?
"It must be hard having a boyfriend who you never see," Luna said.
"Yeah, I guess."
Luna's eyes stared blankly, not quite at Ginny's face, but somewhere above her left shoulder, as if someone were standing there. Ginny glanced nervously over her shoulder. Nobody.
"Erm, could I have my letter back, now?"
Luna held out her hand and Ginny took it back. Luna had crumpled it a little in her hand. Ginny smoothed it out against her legs.
"Do you miss them?" Luna said, flatly. "Harry and Hermione, and your brother?"
Ginny nodded, wishing she had thought to use a summoning charm rather than just running after the letter. Luna wasn't really somebody she wanted to see right now.
"So I guess he must really love you," Luna said, her blue eyes seeming almost not to blink.
"I guess." Ginny suddenly realized what was strange about Luna's eyes. She looked as if she had been crying. And there was something remarkable about the way she talked, as well. There seemed to be no pattern whatsoever to her thoughts; or maybe it was just that there were so many jumbled ideas in her little blonde head that they overflowed and tumbled out of her mouth at random. There was something strangely soothing about her calm chaos. It felt as if nothing bad could possibly happen to you while she held you in her pale blue gaze. And suddenly, Ginny began to talk. She told Luna everything, all of her thoughts and dreams and hopes and worries. Within three minutes they were sitting together on the soft moss around the foot of a tree with Ginny babbling her head off and Luna just sitting and watching, nodding occasionally.
"...and, I mean, I think he loves me, he makes me believe that he loves me, and then I think I love him too, but then I wonder if he really cares about me or if he just wants sex..." Ginny trailed off. She couldn't believe she had just spilled her guts to Luna Lovegood, of all people. Luna Lovegood, who now was just sitting there calmly, looking rather like a somewhat tranquilized psychotherapist.
"Did you sleep with him?" Luna asked.
Ginny started, then blushed, turning away.
"Well, did you?" Luna prodded.
"Yeah," Ginny looked away again, feeling suddenly ashamed. "Twice." A lock of wavy red hair fell shyly from her ponytail.
"Did you like it?"
Another lock of slightly damp hair fell into Ginny's face. She wasn't sure if she was comfortable with this. Well, she was the one who had started it, she supposed. "It was okay, I guess." She turned the question around defensively. "How about you, then?" she said, almost accusingly.
"I did once," Luna said, staring vacantly at her fingernails. "I cried."
"You cried?" Ginny said in a hushed voice. "It was that bad?"
Luna nodded. "I didn't like it. And it hurt."
"Wow," Ginny said.
"Didn't it hurt at all for you?"
Ginny shook her head. "Not at all. I guess I got lucky."
"I guess."
Ginny sighed. It was actually nice to have another girl to talk to while Hermione was gone. Colin Creevey, effeminate or not, wasn't somebody she felt she could say anything to.
"Ginny," Luna said, after a pause.
"What?"
"Do you know why I told you that?"
"Why?"
"Because I trust you, that's why."
"Oh." Ginny was suddenly perplexed.
"You're a nice girl, Ginny."
"Oh." She paused. "Thank you." Ginny wasn't sure if she were more surprised to hear that Luna trusted her, or just that the skinny blonde had said something coherent.
There was a slightly awkward pause. Luna leaned back against the tree while Ginny fiddled with the hem of her skirt.
"What?"
"What?"
"Did you say something?"
"No."
"Oh."
Silence again.
Ginny turned to Luna. "You weren't on your way somewhere, were you?"
Luna shrugged vacuously.
There was another silence.
"If he only wanted sex, he wouldn't need you, would he?" Luna said abruptly.
"What?"
"Harry."
"What do you mean?"
"He's famous, he's attractive, athletic... He could have any girl he wanted. If all he was after was sex, he wouldn't need you."
"I guess." Ginny wasn't sure if that made her feel any better or not. She took a drink from a little canteen in her bag.
"Unless he's gay, of course," Luna added. Ginny choked, splashing water down the front of her grey sweater. Luna seemed to take no notice.
"Damn," Ginny muttered, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. Oh, well. It was only water. And it didn't seem to have soaked through to her blouse. Ginny pulled her sweater over her head. As she looked up, she saw Luna watching her. Ginny blushed and looked down, adjusting her tie. She wasn't sure why Luna's blue eyes made her so flustered suddenly. She stuffed her canteen and her sweater into her bag. "I'd better go."
Luna looked up at her as she stood. She didn't say anything.
"I have to meet Colin," she said, almost as an apology, though she wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. "We're going to trade notes from Potions." She laughed uncomfortably. "Hopefully, between the two of us we'll be able to piece the lesson together..." she waved shyly and started to go.
"Wait," Luna said, rummaging in her bag. She took out a ball of yarn, a bundle of sticks, a rancid purple onion, and finally a few pieces of parchment. She held them out to Ginny. "Take mine."
"Oh," Ginny said, taking them. "Thank you."
"Any time," Luna said dreamily, looking out at the lake.
"It was - erm - nice talking to you," Ginny said.
"See you in Potions," Luna said.
"Right." Ginny turned and walked away.
Luna looked down. Ginny had forgotten something.
It was the letter from Harry.
Luna looked at it for a moment, then tucked it into her bag.
And there's Chapter 1! We hope you liked it. Even if it was a little short.
Kaori: And be sure to come back for Chapter 2.
Right. Read and review! Thank you!