Warnings, Disclaimer and Setting: See first chapter.
A/N: This chapter doesn't really have any Luna in it... but seeing as the story is pretty much Luna!Centric, that should come soon enough. The first two sections of this chapter were originally not in it, but then I decided that I needed a sort of basis for the rest of it. The chapter is quite short, but they'll get longer as the story continues. Please review!
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Chapter 1-
Ginny sorted through the papers on the table. She could hear her brother and his girlfriend standing in the doorway, but she was determined not to look up. Instead, she concentrated on the profiles in her hands. There was a blonde girl admitted to St. Claire's several weeks back... but, no, that couldn't be it. The girl had brown eyes.
There was a cough, and, in spite of herself, Ginny looked over to Ron.
"Yes?" she demanded, slightly rudely, glaring at her brother and Hermione.
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced at once by Hermione.
"Ginny, don't you think that... maybe you should give this a rest?" Her voice was tactful, bordering on patronizing.
"Give what a rest?" Ginny looked at her dangerously.
"This." Hermione waved a hand, gesturing at the papers and folders that were scattered all over the table and part of the floor. "I know you miss Luna, but this isn't going to bring her back."
"And not trying to find her is?" Ginny replied. "She's not dead, Hermione."
"I never said she was!" Hermione shot back, tears threatening to fall. "It's just... after Harry..."
Ron stiffened. "Hermione..."
"After Harry... maybe you need to move on," Hermione continued. "We have... your brothers have... Neville has..."
Ginny stood up. Her seat scraped across the floor loudly, and Hermione and Ron both winced.
"Don't you get it?" Ginny's voice was perfectly quiet, but dangerous all the same. "This is why I have to find Luna. You have... you have each other. But Harry's gone. Luna was... she was my friend. She is my friend."
Ron and Hermione exchanged looks over Ginny's head, as she stormed out of the kitchen.
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"Are you sure about this?" Ginny asked. "I mean, I know you're busy and everything... I don't want to mess up your job."
Percy shook his head. "It's the least I can do after... well, everything," he said, bowing his head slightly.
Ginny nodded. "You were a prat."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Thanks," he said, his voice dripping with a sarcasm Ginny didn't know he had.
Ginny shrugged. "You must have realised."
"Well... yes. But that's why I want to make it up to everyone."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments; each sipping at some kind of warm, fruity liquid that Mrs. Weasley had given them.
"Don't get your hopes up, though," Percy warned his sister. "There are a lot of girls with blonde hair and blue eyes. I wouldn't even bother going, except that they can't seem to get a photograph of this girl, and we may as well check."
Ginny nodded. "So, it's okay to go this afternoon?"
Percy nodded. "Meet me here at three o'clock."
"Okay."
Ginny apparated back to the Burrow, relieved to see that nobody else was there. With a sigh, she sat down at the table. This had to be Luna. It was one of the last hospitals in England she hadn't yet checked. And the alternative was... well, she didn't want to think about that.
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"I'm sorry."
Percy's words echoed around Ginny's head, and she gave a disappointed shrug. He was right, she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up.
"So... you're not friends with April?" the nurse asked, a bewildered look coming onto her face.
Ginny just gave another shrug, and it was Percy who answered. "We're... looking for someone. A friend of ours. We haven't seen her for several months, and someone suggested she might have been injured, maybe in a hospital... We thought it might have been April, but..."
The nurse gave a sympathetic smile. "Oh. That must be hard." She gestured to the thin blonde-haired girl, crawled up in the corner. "We found April in the middle of the road. It must have been a hit and run accident, or something similar. We took her in, and found she suffered several different... illnesses, all to do with her mind."
Ginny stared at the girl –April. Her blue eyes seemed empty, like she could no longer think for herself. And perhaps she couldn't.
"Well, we'd best be off, then," stated Percy. "Thank you for your help."
The nurse smiled. "It was no problem." She hesitated. "Your... friend. Do you know what's wrong with her?"
Percy shook his head, since Ginny seemed inclined to not speak. "No. She just went missing."
The nurse nodded slowly. "We had an admittance here a few months ago. It was... a girl, of about seventeen years old. Same eye and hair colour as April."
Ginny stared at the nurse. "Where is she?"
The nurse smiled sadly. "A few rooms away from here." She paused. "The girl... she's been suffering several different mental illnesses, one of which we think is post-traumatic stress disorder. She also displays a range of different phobias. We couldn't find any of her family members, so... she doesn't have anyone to care for her. Unless...?"
"Can we see her?" Ginny asked desperately.
The nurse hesitated then nodded. "This way."
Ginny and Percy followed the nurse through the halls. She stopped at a doorway, and gestured for them to enter.
