When Luna reached the lavatory, she heard retching noises coming from one of the stalls.
There was no doubt as to who that was.
"Mione?" the girl called upon knocking on the sliding door. "Are you sick?"
There was a flush, then the brunette opened the door. She looked extremely pale. She stumbled to the sink to rinse her mouth.
"Oh Luna, yes, but it's not a magical virus or anything..." Hermione blurted when she turned off the water.
"Oh so you didn't digest yesterday's meatloaf? I'll admit it was too salty..." the blonde babbled.
"No... Luna, I think I might be pregnant." Hermione finally breathed.
Luna couldn't suppress a gasp.
"What? Are you sure?" She asked.
Hermione nodded, holding on to the washbasin for support. "Since I wasn't getting my period, I took about twenty tests, magical and muggle, and they all turned out to be positive."
"Oh Merlin, what if I am pregnant, too? I haven't had my period in a while." The Ravenclaw voiced her concerns.
The Gryffindor girl couldn't repress a laugh. "Oh, Luna, you're a funny one. It's impossible for you to be pregnant if you're having intercourse with a girl."
Luna seemed to think about it, then she sighed, relieved.
In that moment, Luna's girlfriend rushed into the bathroom. "Mione? Are you alright?" she asked, out of breath.
"Oh, no, she's got a bun in the oven!" Luna tittered excitedly, earning a look of a thousand deaths.
"Don't blurt it out like this, thanks!" Hermione hissed.
Ginny covered her mouth with her hands.
If Hermione had been pregnant, she would have become an aunt. The thought made her feel excited, although she tried to conceal her enthusiasm- she didn't know whether the news would be positive for her brother or Hermione herself.
"Is that a good thing?" the redhead asked, putting a comforting hand on Hermione's forearm.
"I don't know," the brunette sighed, "Ho do you think your brother would react?"
Ginny noticed her friend's hopeful yet scary look. She didn't know, if she had to be honest. Although, her brother wasn't certainly known for being the bravest man the Wizarding World had even seen. The chances of him running away were high.
"Well, I'm not sure he would rejoice, but I guess you could tell him? I mean, if you're planning on keeping it..." The redhead suggested.
"I'll think about it... For now, keep it under your hat. Especially you, Luna." Hermione demanded.
"I won't say anything, people who don't keep secrets get bitten by Domodils." said Luna.
If the girl ever brought up magical beasts, it meant she was serious.
That night, Luna couldn't sleep.
She wondered how her girlfriend could be fast asleep, not in the least bothered by what had happened only hours before.
The fact that she was wrapped into her lover's arms probably helped lull her away.
Luna was not so lucky because something was eating away at her guts.
It was the fact that she had sworn secrecy on Hermione's condition.
Keeping secrets wasn't Luna's favourite thing to do, as it never came easy to her.
At dinner, when she had seen Ron, she'd had a compulsory urge to yell 'your girlfriend is pregnant!' in his face, but she suppressed it.
Domodils had no mercy on people who didn't keep their word.
And, besides, she had promised Hermione that her secret would be safe with her.
Ginny should have had a worse time than her, since Ron was her own brother, but that wasn't the case.
The morning after, at breakfast, Luna tried to avoid looking Ron in the eyes.
Harry and Draco didn't know about it, either, so she had to keep it from them as well.
She opted to keep her eyes on Ginny. It didn't raise suspicion, as she would often spend minutes staring in awe at her girlfriend's beauty.
Hermione's discomfort, however, didn't go unnoticed.
"Babe, are you sure that this is only due to the NEWTs stress?" A worried Ron asked.
When the girls went back under the tree, they had all reassured him that Hermione had suffered a panic attack for the excessive stress she was in and she had been sick as a consequence.
"Yes, it's no big deal. Sorry if I ever lash out on you... I don't really mean to." His girlfriend simply said, giving him an apologetic look.
"But you could at least let me help you release the tension..." Ron suggested.
Draco thought that he had somehow read his mind on the day before.
And that was the best medicine for stress, it had worked for Harry.
Hermione couldn't prevent her cheeks from becoming as red as a beetroot.
"No, Ron, I don't need distractions... I have to study... And you should too. Tell you what, you go to the library to save our seats, I'll meet you there in a bit, ok? Then we can finish the Potions assignment before our class starts."
Ron nodded his head, then he rose to his feet, bent slightly to give his girlfriend a peck on the cheek and, ultimately, he left.
Hermione suddenly began sweating profusely.
"Oh, dear, Mione, are you Ok?" Harry questioned as he noticed it.
Hermione took a deep breath, all while her eyes were shut.
"I'm pregnant." Her words came out as an almost inaudible whisper.
"What?" Harry and Draco exclaimed in unison, not sure they had heard her right.
"I'm pregnant." Hermione repeated, slightly raising her voice. She gulped nervously.
Harry wasn't sure about how he should have reacted. It was shocking, but at the same time he didn't know if his friend was happy about it. Judging from her expression, however, she didn't look like she was on cloud nine.
"Oh... that's... " he mumbled.
"I don't know how to feel about this, myself!" Hermione whined. "I mean, part of me has always wanted a baby... And I seem to be pretty good at taking care of people... But another part of me is terrified. I don't know if I'm too young... Or if Ron is fine with it. What if I scare him off like this?" She was definitely agitated and she started breathing heavily.
Ginny took her friend's hands into hers. "Mione, steady your breaths, ok? If you're this distressed, you might harm the baby." She tried to calm her down.
Hermione nodded. Her breathing gradually slowed down until she regained herself completely.
"Tell you what, if my brother ever tries to leave you, I will kick his nuts!" The redhead reassured.
"Thanks, Gin." Said Hermione. She then removed her hands from Ginny's hold and flashed her a bright smile.
Ginny thought that changing the subject would be a good idea, so she turned to Draco and Harry and asked them about their talk with Narcissa, as they had not been able to discuss it before.
Draco and Harry told them all about it and everyone thought that Mrs Malfoy was very interested in the public recognition that would have come to her for her son's marriage to the Chosen One, but saw it as a simple reminder of the Malfoys being material people.
The Malfoys, though, were good at concealing their true intentions.
Draco had not been terrific at that, not recently, but his parents were aces at it.
As the five friends discussed their way through breakfast, Narcissa was in her house, pacing the floor.
Her steps reverberated through the living room, given its hugeness.
Her husband was sitting close to her, on his beloved armchair.
He was standing in front of the fireplace, tapping on the armrest impatiently.
The couple was waiting for someone to show up in their fireplace, by the looks of it.
"I thought punctuality was his forte." Lucius snorted.
"I told you, dear, he can not always be available for communication, given his situation." His wife reassured. She walked closer to him and place a loving hand on his shoulder. "You will see, he will be here any minute."
Just as she had predicted, the flames roared and a face appeared in the form of fire.
"Oh, good morning." Narcissa said with a smile.
"Greetings." said Lucius in a monotone.
"Sorry, I'm late, I just had a lot going on." the person on the other line spoke.
"Oh, no worries, darling." said Mrs Malfoy, gently. "The plan is going smoothly, from up here."
"My wife has been very convincing, I reckon." Mr Malfoy intervened.
"Yes, I know, I was there during her meeting with them." The voice in the fire said. "I do think that Potter has begun to suspect something is fishy with you, Mrs Malfoy."
"Mmm." Narcissa said, thoughtfully. "Harry should be a legilimens, he really is good at reading through people."
"Such characteristic makes him incredibly odious." Lucius spat with a disgusted expression.
"Well, with no further do, give us your first update of the day, son." Narcissa ordered to the head in the fire.
"Ok, so..." the male voice said, the face it belonged to sighed. "Last night they slept in the same room, like every night. Nothing new. They've just spent the whole of breakfast time analyzing their talk with you, ma'am. Nothing too relevant for the time being."
"Excellent, boy. We'll talk this evening again." said Lucius.
"Thank you for your services, really. Your information is crucial for the fulfillment of our plan." Narcissa said, beaming.
"Alright, see you later, Mr and Mrs Malfoy." Said the talking head before disappearing completely.
When the guest left, Mr Malfoy turned his attention to his wife.
"Dear, are you sure we can invest our total trust into him?" he asked her, apparently not convinced of his loyalty.
"Oh, given his situation, I'm positive that he will not fail us, my sweet." Narcissa guaranteed.
"I do hope you're right. Now, about our plot, is it sensible for me to act after you do?" Lucius questioned.
His wife summoned another armchair and proceeded to sit next to him, her legs crossed.
"Yes, it is. I am the one he trusts, now, aren't I? It only makes sense for me to make the first move." the woman explained.
Her husband nodded his head in approval.
"You will see," Narcissa went on, confident. "we will get our son back, this time. He won't have a choice."
The two last year couples spent their afternoon trying to study in the library, as their top spot was occupied, this time, by Blaise and his posse.
Given their unfriendliness, they decided it would be more reasonable to stray from those people.
Luna and Ginny, however, had decided to spend their day differently.
The had upcoming exams, too, but theirs were simple, routine ones, so they thought it wouldn't hurt them to lighten the load a little.
Their idea was to go for a leisure flight in the Quidditch pitch.
That day, said spot was free as most of the players of each team were busy revising.
Luna had only flown from time to time, like for the lessons with Madam Hooch or during Christmas time in the Weasley household, but she wouldn't do it that often.
Hence, Ginny thought it was only a good idea to teach her girlfriend how to fly properly.
The redhead was wearing her Quidditch training uniform, while Luna sported her "anti-nargle" vest, as she put it.
It was basically an old decorative armour remodeled for the girl's physique. It covered her whole body except for her torso and Ginny thought it was perfect for their activity.
The two girls made a bet on their outdoor fun for the day; if Ginny succeeded in making Luna a perfect flier, they would have gone to see the European Cup that summer, if the Ravenclaw had not learned anything they would have gone to the Nargle convention, instead.
Ginny was determined to win, as she was hoping to see her favourite team ever, the Hollyhead Harpies, compete against the Quiberon Quafflepunchers.
When they arrived at the pitch, they positioned themselves on their brooms. Ginny mounted her Cleansweep Eleven, while Luna had to use one of the school brooms.
"So, Madam Hooch taught you how to mount and how to take flight, with the occasional trick. I'm here to show you how to do these things combined and perfectly. I noticed that, during our Christmas Quidditch friendly match, you were good at taking flight, but not at maintaining yourself in balance. " Ginny explained, her voice sounding like it belonged to an expert.
The girl was very proud of her flying abilities and she wasn't afraid to show it.
"Yeah, so, how can I fix this, babe?" asked a struggling Luna, who was struggling with keeping the broom still.
"Now, you grip the stick firmly, like so..." said Ginny, holding onto the broomstick like she said she had to. Luna's hands almost slipped from them.
"Oh, no, you'll fall from the sky, like this. Here," the redhead corrected, placing her own hands on the other girl's and moving Luna's in the right fashion.
"I like it when you hold my hands like this. Also, your body is so close to mine and I love it." Luna purred.
No matter how often Ginny heard her girlfriend's compliments, she would always blush at them.
"I like it, too, but I need you to focus on the broom." she giggled.
"But you're, like, a thousand times more interesting than this piece of wood." Luna chanted.
"Just focus, ok?" Ginny instructed. "Or I will think that you're failing this class on purpose just to win your ticket to the convention, am I right?"
The Ravenclaw rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I also want a reward later."
"Depends." Ginny teased. then she went back to her own broom.
"Now, when you soar, your first thought must be balance." the Gryffindor said, rising up in the air. "Just concentrate on a fixed point in the air. Watch." that said, she sped towards one of the rings, looking right ahead of her, not daring to shift her glance.
Concentrating wasn't Luna's most important skill. She was terrible at it, most of the times.
But the thought of receiving a reward from her girlfriend, even if it meant to say goodbye to the Nargle event, pushed her forward.
She stared at where Ginny was now floating, then she reached her at ease.
"Woo!" Ginny whooped. "You did it! Now, watch me as I do a series of loops."
In no time, the girl was already making eights in the sky at a moderate speed.
Those tricks looked extremely hard for Luna, who usually never did them.
After taking a deep breath, she tried to make swirls in the blue, but they didn't come out as beautiful as her girl's.
"Yay, that's awesome! " Ginny cheered, clapping her hands. "Well, I'd say my work here is done! And, since we were able to make this miracle, I guess I win the Hollyhead Harpies."
Luna pretended to be upset, but she was actually very happy for that.
The truth was that she wasn't that bad at flying herself - when in Ginny's backyard, she pretended to be terrible at things just to get her attention.
Now, she knew that Ginny was going to 'make impossible happen' because she already knew how to do these things - at least, partly.
It was just too precious to see her girlfriend so happy and thrilled about going to see her beloved team play and this happiness was a consequence of Luna's actions.
When they landed back on the ground, Ginny planted a kiss on the other girl's lips.
Luna sighed contentedly when they parted. "Is this the whole of the reward?" she asked, acting disappointed.
Ginny shook her head, grinning from ear to ear. "No, silly. But it's something that I can't give you out here."
A/N: yeah, I know, not much drarry in this episode. But I pinky swear that next chapters will make up for it, my loves.