June 7th, 1994
Ginny sat with eyes wide and mouth hanging open after listening to Hermione tell her what happened the previous night. They were sat outside by the lake under Ginnys favorite tree. Luna was nearby, planting what looked like daisies on the edge of the lake. Harry and Ron were standing off to the side, talking about similar events..
"Ok. Hang on. Let me make sense of this. Sirius is Harry's Godfather, and long time best friend of his parents and Professor Lupin, but also childhood enemies of Professor Snape, who both found you all confronting each other over Rons rat, who was really Peter Pettigrew, thought to be dead, but was actually in hiding for betraying Harry's parents to You Know Who?" Hermione nodded, so Ginny continued. "Who ended up escaping again... while Lupin was busy turning into a werewolf, that would have ripped you to pieces had it not been for Sirius Black turning into a dog to protect you... and then you time turned with Harry to save buckbeak and Sirius and Harry I suppose since Dementors almost devoured him... wow, this is quite a lot." Hermione nodded again and Ginny was rubbing her head, watching Luna tossing dirt behind her.
"Harry was hoping to stay with Sirius for summer, but since he's now on the run, he's got to go back to his muggle family." Hermione whispered, and Ginny grimaced. Those people treated him horribly.
"What will you be doing?" Ginny asked, and Hermione shrugged.
"I'll go home for a bit, but Ron mentioned your mum wanting me to go over to the Burrow. I expect to be there in a few weeks."
Ginny nodded again and turned her attention to Luna, who was walking over with dirt on her hands and knees.
"The flowers look lovely, Luna." Hermione said, and Luna smiled.
"Thank you. I like to do that at the end of every term. Hopefully soon there will be lots of flowers scattered around the grounds. Parflups don't like flowers."
Ginny and Hermione raised their eyebrows but kept any questions to themselves. They found it best to allow Luna to express herself as she pleased. Ginny picked up her wand and took Luna's hands in hers.
"What a mess, Luna. You could have used magic to plant those." she said, and quickly cast a Tergeo to remove the grit and grime.
"Where's the fun in that, Ginevra?" Luna replied dreamily and Ginny just smiled. She actually quite liked her carefree spirit. It was refreshing.
The boys eventually wandered over and mentioned they needed to finish packing before heading to the great hall for their last dinner before they would all need to head home for summer. Hermione said good bye to the girls and left with them.
"Luna, do you have plans for summer?" Ginny asked, pulling blades of grass out of the ground and letting the breeze pull them away from her hands. Luna smiled again, looking at her.
"I think I'll be spending a lot of it with you, actually. Father is quite busy with the Quibbler lately."
Ginny hummed and looked back out onto the lake. She felt her cheeks flush, and couldn't figure out the clenching feeling in her gut. She wondered briefly if she was about to be sick. That would be embarrassing.
"How do you think our third year is gonna be? Better? Worse?" Ginny asked, a slight tremble in her voice. Luna grasped her hand and looked intently at her friend.
"Worrying means you suffer twice. Just take each day as it comes."
Ginny blinked at her a few times before smiling. Luna just had a way of putting her mind at ease, no matter the situation. She nodded.
"Okay. Let's head in for the feast."
They got up, and Ginny noticed Luna had not let go of her hand.
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August 20th, 1994
Ginny was sitting on her bed when her door opened and in walked Luna. Ginny grinned at her friend and stood to give her a hug before they sat together on the floor, Luna's favorite spot.
"Are you excited to come with us to the Quidditch World Cup?" Ginny asked, pulling threads up from her worn rug.
"Not as much as you are, about the actual game, but I am excited to go with you and meet interesting people." Luna replied, airily. Ginny laughed.
"Of course, wouldn't expect anything else, honestly. So, was your father okay with you staying her for the rest of the summer?"
Luna nodded and proceeded to pull out a container with Ginnys favorite brownies in them, and two bottles of milk.
"He said he doesn't want me to miss out on life with my friends. I told him I'd stay with him if he was lonely, but he said he wouldn't be. He's got the crumpled horned snorkacks to find." Luna broke apart a brownie and popped some into her mouth, chewing happily.
"Is he actually going to try and find them!?" Ginny exclaimed. No one, but Luna and her father, believed those creatures existed, and Luna had often said he wanted to search for them, but Ginny never thought he actually would.
"Mhmm... he got the portkey for Egypt today." Luna replied, taking a sip of her milk. Ginnys eyes went wide.
"He thinks they're in Egypt? Merlin..." she didn't know what else to say. Hopefully, he wasn't disappointed. Ginny wouldn't mind being proven wrong about all Luna's funny creatures.
A soft knock could be heard at Ginnys door.
"Come in," she called and in popped the head of her brother, Fred.
"Mum says come down to help set the table."
"Did mum actually request my assistance, or did she ask you?"
He grinned and winked at his sister and said, "Time is of the essence, Gin! George and I have a sensitive, ah, experiment going at the moment that we need to monitor. You understand, don't you?"
Before she could reply, he shut the door with a soft click and she rolled her eyes. Luna giggled.
"Come on, let's go before your mum starts to shout." Luna said, standing and pulling her up along with her. Ginny laughed lightly and they went downstairs.
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August 24th, 1994
"Oi! Watch it!" Ron yelled from his broom, while Fred and George grinned wickedly. Her brothers and Harry were all playing some Quidditch out back, and the twins kept sending the bludger toward Ron, even though Harry was also in the air. Ginny thought about joining, feeling pity for Ron, but she didn't want to leave Luna alone with nothing to do. They, including Hermione and Mr. Weasley, were sitting outside at the garden table enjoying some fresh lemonade Mrs. Weasley made earlier. Every one was relaxed and enjoying the day before they'd need to turn in early. Quidditch World Cup was tomorrow and it was very exciting.
"We are just trying to ensure you do well before trying out for the Quidditch team, Ron! You do still want to, don't you?" called George, teasingly.
"Not bloody likely with you two still on the team!" came Rons annoyed response.
Ginny grinned. She wanted to laugh, but didn't want to be harassed by her already irritated brother. She watched them zoom around, tossing the quaffle back and forth before Harry was finally able to get passed Fred and score a goal. Ginny whooped while Hermione and Luna clapped approvingly. Mr. Weasley chortled quietly through his sons' light banter.
Ginny glanced over at Luna who had been using sticking charms on several pieces of paper since they'd been sat outside. "What are you doing, anyway, Luna?"
"I am making a hat to wear at the event tomorrow, of course."
Hermione and Ginny shared an amused look. If Luna's talents in DIY were any indication of what the end result of her hat would be, they were all in for a treat.
Ginny leaned over to whisper to Luna while the twins roared about the goal they got passed Harry and Ron. "Make sure it doesn't cover too much of your pretty head, Luna."
Luna giggled and blushed, and Ginny smiled mischievouly. She wasn't sure what made her say that, but she enjoyed her friends reaction nonetheless.
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August 25th, 1994
The Weasleys and co finally made it to their portkey, and found their tent upon arriving to the open field. It was so crowded, it was quite impressive the amount of charmwork necessary to keep muggles from stumbling upon it all. Ginny, Luna and Hermione quickly ran in to claim their sleeping spaces while the boys goofed off. They all eventually began to get ready for their exciting night. Ginny opted for a simple orange shirt and a tassled olive green jacket with dark jeans and of course her oversized green leprechaun hat. It had nothing on how Luna looked, however.
Luna fashioned a rather lovely version of a flower crown, but instead there were paper clovers in varied sizes and shades of green. She'd managed to string in some glowing nettle that was harmless, and had various rainbow colors of ribbon attached to the back that fell upon her long locks. She had half her hair piled up in a wand held bun atop her head through the opening of her crown, with several wisps falling loose to frame her face. She matched it up with a flowy, long sleeve, green dress that sparkled as she moved, rainbow tights and white boots to keep her legs and feet warm.
Ginny was stunned. This was the most "normal" type of outfit Luna had ever worn, and she looked very pretty in it. Everyone else seemed to think so too, as Harry and Ron didn't seem to have anything to say, and Luna was graciously accepting compliments from Hermione and Mr.Weasley.
"We can appreciate the rainbow and the clouds inspiration very much, Lovegood." said George, impressed.
"Our only worry is that the Leprechauns mistake you for some lost Deity of theirs and try to steal you away!" said Fred, swinging an arm around Luna's shoulders. She laughed lightly and shook her head.
"Nonsense, Fred," Luna replied, always being the only one of their friends to ever know with certainty, which twin she was actually speaking with,"I expect they don't get fooled very easily. They have natural defenses to that sort of thing."
Fred frowned and nodded as though he were deeply in thought and agreeing with her statement. George snickered quietly and they all gathered up to leave.
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The match was great, and the festivities afterward had been wonderful...
Until the Death Eaters came.
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Ginny was left in the care of the twins as George clutched onto her hand. They were following Fred, running through the tents into the over dense woods. Ginny felt Luna's hand in hers for most of the way, but a crowd of people pulled them apart. Ginny had screamed, pulling on George to stop, but he held her hand firmly and followed his twin onward. Eventually, they reached a quieter part of the woods, and slowed to a stop. Ginny was panicked and crying by this point.
Where was Harry, and Ron and Hermione? Where was Luna? She'd been right with them, and she let go of her. She left her behind. The overwhelming fear and guilt washed over her and she collapsed to the ground. One of the twins fell beside her and attempted to soothe with words and pulled her into a hug. She could barely focus on what he was saying, her mind filled with regret and worry.
"Luna..." She sobbed quietly, crumpling in on herself. She hated how helpless she felt. Powerless to do anything at all. She could hear people screaming in the distance, but eventually even that stopped. What on earth was going on out there?
End Chapter 6