Luna walked up the staircase to the Ravenclaw common room, feeling thoroughly miserable. It had been a terrible day. Everyone had made fun of The Quibbler again, the people to whom she had kindly pointed out had nargles following them hadn't appreciated her help and, yet again, Ginny couldn't see her this evening because she had Quidditch practice.

It wasn't that Luna didn't support her girlfriend's love of the sport. Luna was sure it was very good for her: lots of exercise, team building, fresh air- and yet sometimes she would like nothing better than to stop Ginny going to these practices all together. It sapped so much time that they could be spending together, and Luna felt spurned: evidently, she was second best to a broom. Immediately after thinking this, Luna scolded herself. The notion was completely selfish and unfair. Ginny loved Quidditch, Luna was a horrible girlfriend to be annoyed at her for doing something she enjoyed. She sighed: feeling worse than ever, Luna climbed the last few steps up to the spiral staircase, reached the common room door and tapped the bronze knocker.

What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?

Although she was in a bad mood, riddles always fascinated Luna, and she felt slightly cheered trying to think of an answer- 'a choice?'. The door creaked open and, pleased with herself, Luna stepped in. The common room was quiet, filled only with a few students silently working on homework. Normally she might have joined them, but still felt too down to work on anything tonight so instead walked up to her dormitory, heaving a sigh of relief as she entered. None of the other girls were there yet: it was completely peaceful, and in that space she felt the weight of the day begin to lift from her shoulders. It was a beautiful room, with a high, church-like ceiling, crossed with wooden beams. The walls were wood panelled, the area around her bed covered with motifs of brilliantly coloured flowers and birds she had painted in her first year. She began to walk around the room, thinking of what to do that evening. Perhaps she could read a book? Luna laid on the bed, thinking-

Or, at least that was what she meant to do.

'Ow!'

Luna shrieked and jumped off the bed. As she laid down she had felt something underneath her, something very warm and very solid; vaguely person shaped. It had yelped.

'Who's there?' Luna tried not to let her voice tremble. It was insane to think anyone could break into the Ravenclaw common room, let alone her dormitory, the riddles were too difficult for anyone but a Ravenclaw to crack. It must just be one of her roommates tricking her. But what if it wasn't? What if a prisoner had somehow escaped from Azkaban unnoticed, crawled through Hogwarts grounds, climbed in through her window, placed an invisibility charm upon themselves and climbed on her bed? It seemed unlikely, and yet-

'Calm down, it's me! I just wanted to surprise you!' Ginny threw what looked like Harry's invisibility cloak off, very red in the face and wincing slightly.

Luna stared at her. 'How did you get in?' she asked, not believing her eyes.

Ginny smiled at her sheepishly. 'I know we haven't been able to see much of each other, what with all the Quidditch practices for the upcoming match. I thought I'd take an evening off, surprise you. Harry lent me his cloak and your roommates helped me sneak in. I thought it would be a nice shock, but I think I've scared you half to death instead!'

Luna sat on the edge of the bed and gave her girlfriend a tight hug. 'No, it is a nice shock. I've missed you a lot, it's lovely to see you.' Ginny smiled and took her hand.

'I thought we could have a picnic by the lake, if you'd like. I asked the house elves to pack some sandwiches for us last night, we should be able to pick them up if we go down to the kitchens.'

'I would love to.'

/

'Merlin, I don't think I can go a step further, this is so heavy!' With a heavy thunk, Luna plopped her end of the enormous picnic hamper down and flopped, wheezing on to the grass. Ginny looked at her, concerned.

'Are you ok? I think the house-elves might have packed slightly too much.'

'I think I've punctured a lung, but apart from that I'm perfectly fine!' Luna managed to choke out between gasps. She sat up on her elbows. 'Is it ok if we stay here? I don't think I can carry that hamper much further, and this is a pretty spot.' Ginny looked crestfallen.

'The view of the lake at sunset is so pretty though, I thought it would be really romantic'.

Luna stared at her girlfriend, pondering what to do. Ginny evidently had her heart set on a picnic by the lake: Luna wanted to make her happy, but her arms ached. The problem was that, unlike her athletic girlfriend, Luna was completely sedentary. Her poor, noodle-like arms simply couldn't take the shock of suddenly carrying an enormous hamper of food. She bit her lip, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, a bright idea struck her. 'What if you flew the food?'

'I'm sorry?'

'As in, what if we tied the hamper to your broom, and you flew close to the ground? That would drag it along.'

Ginny looked anxious. 'Well Luna, the thing is, to see you I told Alicia I was feeling too ill to practice tonight. I can't go to the broom shed, I'm meant to be in bed with a stomach ache, they'll see me! It's only Harry who knows I'm bunking'.

Luna shrugged, undeterred. 'We'll do what Harry did in the Triwizard Tournament. They won't notice, they'll be too busy practicing.' With that, she pulled out her wand with a flourish. 'Accio Ginny's broom!' There was the faint sound of a crash, and the broom came hurtling towards them. Ginny winced.

'I'm sure we can repair the hole in the shed after the picnic, they won't finish for ages', said Luna.

As Ginny hurtled along in the sky, the hamper bumping along the ground in her stead, Luna had to admire her girlfriend's flying ability. She was very beautiful, her bright red hair flying behind her in a stream of vermillion, directing the broom with the agility and grace of a ballet dancer. Trying to keep pace, Luna sprinted in her wake – Ginny was the only person she would exercise for- until, suddenly, the lake sprang into view. Her girlfriend was right, the sunset over the water really was amazing, the lake's surface a mirror, reflecting the cherry pinks and dusky purples of the sky. It was warm; crickets chirped in the jade grass. Ginny flew down to meet her, the picnic basket following suit, coming to a stop behind them. Luna opened the hamper to reveal a three-course feast, complete with silverware cutlery and a flagon of pumpkin juice. They sat together, watching the sky.

'This is perfect, Ginny,' Luna said. 'This is the best surprise in the world.' They began their picnic, enjoying the beautiful evening.

The next day, Ginny walked to Quidditch practice feeling slightly sheepish. She and Luna had managed to return the broom and repair the shed before the team finished practice but only just, and she was worried that some members of the team had seen her before they hurried away. As they got changed into their robes, Katie raised an eyebrow at her.

'You know, the broom shed is very neat today. Usually it's falling to bits, but it almost looks like someone repaired the walls.'

Ginny laughed weakly. 'That's so weird, but I guess that's a good thing! Maybe Filch patched it up for us last night in a fit of altruism.'

Katie side-eyed her. 'You wouldn't, by any chance, know anything about it?'

Shit, they're on to me, Ginny thought. Oh well. They couldn't prove anything.