free to be (you and me): chapter two

There was something wrong with Luna Lovegood. Something more than the quirkiness she usually displayed. There had to be. She wasn't normal, that was for certain.

All the years she'd been at Hogwarts, she'd listened as her dorm mates — Ginny, Heather, and Kimmy — rated the guys on a hotness scale from one to ten. She had never understood why. Boys were boys, just as girls were girls.

And that's where she thought she was broken.

•

She'd never been normal. But this was farther from the regular everyone else portrayed than she'd ever been. All her life Luna had longed to fit in. That was impossible, of course, because she had a gift. She knew that. But it didn't prevent her from wishing.

And now this? No attraction to anyone. She didn't see what the fuss was about over boys like Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy.

There was definitely something wrong with her.

•

Ginny found Luna in her corner of the library, researching furiously. Her hair was lying in limp waves from the heat, and a sheen of sweat covered her nose. She had her wand tucked behind her ear and was wearing her butterbeer cork necklace.

"Luna?" ventured the redhead. "What are you doing?"

"Nargles," muttered Luna without looking up. "They're messing with everyone's heads."

Ginny blinked. "Uh...what? Regular people-speak, Luna."

"Nargles," explained the blonde, finally glancing up. Ginny's warm brown eyes met Luna's dreamy blue ones. But today, they looked a bit crazed. "They're everywhere. I told people to sleep with radishes under their pillow, but I don't think they listened to me because the Nargles are still here. They have been for years."

Ginny pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. "What are the Nargles doing?"

"Making them like guys." Luna sounded a bit hysterical now. "They're making people experience unusual attraction and everyone is acting weird!" A frustrated tear slipped from the corner of her eye. "I just don't get it! What's so special about boys?"

"Shh," Ginny comforted. She wiped away the tear with her thumb. "I get it, Lu. Believe me, I know."

"You do?" Luna looked so innocent, so confused yet hopeful, that Ginny's heart went out to the girl.

"Yes. It's called aromanticism, I think. You don't understand the big deal about how everyone seems to want a romantic relationship, right?" Luna nodded. "I don't either. I've defined myself as asexual and aromantic, though lately I've been questioning the former label. I don't experience sexual attraction — and aromantic means someone who doesn't experience romantic attraction."

"Could I be that?"

"You could," Ginny said. "But maybe you should read about it." She stood and retrieved the book that had helped her immensely, plunking it down on the table. "Here's the list of terminologies and orientations. If you find one that sounds like you, look it up in more detail."

Luna pulled the book toward her and spun it upside down. Ginny shook her head and stifled a laugh.

"I'm here to talk," she assured the blonde before getting up and walking out. Luna was absorbed in trying to decipher the upside down sentences and didn't reply.

•

"Is Ginny here?" Luna asked, radiating serenity. She'd finally hit upon a term that seemed to describe her well, and she wanted to share it with the only other person she knew who identified.

The brunette Luna had asked nodded. "She's over there," she replied, pointing to the dimly-lit corner. Luna thanked her and drifted off.

"Hello, Ginny," she greeted the redhead, who was scribbling on a piece of parchment. When Ginny looked up, Luna smiled in amusement and wiped an ink blot off her cheek.

"Luna!" She bounced up and gave Luna a hug. "Have you read more about it? It's fascinating, isn't it?" She lowered her voice. "Have you found a term that you would use to label yourself?"

Luna nodded. "Demiromantic asexual," she said softly. "I think it's perfect."

"Someone who doesn't want sex," Ginny recalled, "and someone who needs a connection of some sort before they want to enter a romantic relationship." She grinned proudly. "It sounds perfect. And are you happy?"

"Yes," replied Luna. And she was. The only thing that would make her happier was...

"Luna?"

"Hm?"

"I've changed my mind. I don't think I'm aromantic after all."

"What are you?" Luna asked, barely daring to hope.

"I think, maybe, homoromantic. But I'm still questioning that." She glanced away toward the crackling fire at the other end of the common room. "And I was wondering...will you go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

Luna's face split into a grin — a real grin; not the phony one she gave out most of the time. "I'd love to."

author's notes: as i've gotten a few reviews pointing out that luna and ginny aren't in the same house, i'd like to clear a few things up. one, i know that; two, i never explicitly wrote that luna was returning to the gryffindor common room. i headcanon that luna and ginny are good enough friends and luna isn't a slytherin so people don't much mind her popping in.