Luna sat quietly next to Padma at the back-to-school feast. Cho sat right across from them, raising a thin eyebrow and tapped her pink painted manicure on the table in an annoying matter. "Chang," Padma muttered with a scowl in her direction.
"Patil, still teasing the rest of the male population with your Lovegood whore?"Cho asked pulling a pink lolly-pop out of her mouth.
"Still whoring around with the guys dreaming of Padma so that maybe they'd pay attention to you?" Luna snapped keeping a straight face the whole time.
Cho clicked her tongue as a response, "Lesbians…" She strutted away to the other end of the table with the rest of her crew.
"She must have run out of comebacks." Padma said smirking. Luna nodded as her gaze shifted from her empty plate to the boy who had kissed her earlier. Goosebumps traveled up her arms as her eyes met his. She blushed and turned away looking straight at Dumbledore who was trying to catch everyone's attention.
"Welcome New and Old Students back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts is the school where there will always be a long list of opportunities." Dumbledore smiled at the first years crowded in front of him, "The sorting ceremony will begin, then we will announce the rules, and our lovely Professor McGonagall will share our new heads and prefects."
Dumbledore took his seat at the table while Professor McGonagall walked over to the stool with the dusty old sorting hat on top. She snuck a wink at Dumbledore as she pulled her list out of the pocket of her cloak. I looked like a small piece of torn parchment, but then Minerva tapped her wand on top of the list and the list grew into a long scroll of parchment, the end touching her feet.
"ABBOT, SAVANAH." McGonagall yelled. A scrawny blonde girl sat on the stoo; and turned a sickly pale.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The girl sighed in relief after the hat's loud voice echoed through the hall.
"BONES, KIMBERLY!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"BAKER, KAYLYNN!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"CHANG, LILO"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"CUSTING, JON."
"GRYFINDOR!"
"DANE, BELIZE!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"DONNIGAN, GILLIGAN!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
The list went on for about thirty minutes and by the time McGonagall got to V, most the students were too tired to cheer. The Great Hall echoed with the sound of stomachs rumbling. McGonagall sat back down on her seat behind the head table. Albus Dumbledore quickly stood up and walked to behind the podium.
"Thank you Minerva! Now back to the Rules that benefit your safety, not because I'm trying to make you as annoyed as possible." Albus smiled while the new students clapped, and the old students rolled their eyes remembering hearing every time they had been at the Back-To –School feast.
"The Forbidden Forest is obviously forbidden with the exception of detentions and teacher's supervision if for research project." Dumbledore smiled. Padma peaked over at the Gryffindor table to notice Ron Weasley and Harry Potter rolling their eyes as Hermione Granger took notes. "You must be inside the castle at sundown and cannot go onto the grounds until sunrise, with the exception of the Head of House's note for Quidditch practice." Harry Potter nudged Dean Thomas who grinned as he sat down next to him. Luna smiled hoping that this year Madame Hooch would allow her to commentary the games again.
"You must be in your Common Room by Ten O' Clock Sharp. Your head of house will check on you at eleven to make sure you are in your appropriate dormitories." Dumbledore smiled shifting his glance to the Slytherins. Cho turned red and giggled along with a couple of other Ravenclaw girls. "This means that all girls should be in their dormitories and all boys should be in their dormitories. I understand that we're getting more mature, but school is a place for learning academics." Dumbledore held a small unenthusiastic smile.
"Extra courses have been added this year due to the ministry's law. We have decided to add an extra wing to Hogwarts along with another set of students." Then magically about a hundred older looking wizards appear that were recognized as the graduating class of last year. "Welcome last year's seventh years as brand new eighth years!" Dumbledore explained with a large smile on his face. Students groaned, the idea of another year of school did not sound appealing to them.
"The new wing, Albaith wing, is off limits to any 1st years to 6th years. 7th years may be accepted if put in 8th year classes. Our 8th year students will rejoin their old houses once more, but will not be sharing dormitories with the other students but will have small dorms in the Albaith wing." Dumbledore explained cheerfully. "Our new teachers include Madame Heiring, our new elvian language teacher for students majoring in foreign language. Let me introduce Edwin Adax, a researcher from the ministry that will take small groups of people studying extra their super natural abilities. This new class is optional, and you must have guardian consent to do so, and a letter is currently being mailed to your parents now, so you may have permission." Dumbledore explained gesturing his hands to the small windows near the ceiling where the mail usually flies through.
"Now students we'll have Professor McGonagall share our prefects and heads." Dumbledore said as she retreated back to his gold framed chair. Minerva got up and stood next to Dumbledore's podium.
"Students, there will only be seventh and sixth year prefects. There will be a head boy and head girl as well. Seventh years are not capable of being prefects but of Heads. Sixth years are only prefects. Older students do not require a head or prefect in the Albaith wing. Now, to present our prefects of this year..." Minerva grumbled pulling another list that was really only an average size of parchment. "Our Gryffindor prefects of this year are, Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey." The Gryffindor table clapped cheerfully for Ginny and Colin. A couple of hoots were heard from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table.
"Our Hufflepuff prefects are Jillian Cooper and Mitchell Martinez!" Hufflepuffs grinned as a short Spanish student stood up and flexed his arms showing his large muscles.
"Ravenclaw prefects of this year are Killian Loure and Luna Lovegood." Luna groaned and hid her face behind her hands as it turned a beet red. Padma clapped and so did many other students, but Luna did receive a couple of glares from Cho's end.
"Slytherin prefects of this year are Devon Darth and Silvia Kornoff." The Slytherins politely clapped as Silvia flipped her silky strawberry hair behind her shoulder.
"When I call our heads I would like you to stand up so that the rest of the students can recognize you, because that way they know where to go for help." McGonagall spoke demandingly.
"Drum roll please…" McGonagall grinned under her small pointy nose, and the first years pounded away at the table as if they were just given the freedom to eat as much candy as the y wanted. McGonagall silenced them with a swift arm movement and read aloud from her list, "Our heads of this year will be… HERMIONE GRANGER AND BLAISE ZABINI!!!" Blaise Zabini sprouted up from the Slytherin table girls cheering wildly. Draco Malfoy patted him playfully on the back. Hermione jumped up and down grinning.
Luna glanced over at Blaise, finally realizing that he was the guy she had seen in her dreams and had met on the train. His piercing blue violet eyes met hers and Luna quickly shifted her glance feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. She looked at Padma who was grinning at her.
"Congratulations Luna, you are a prefect! You can give me a pass into that nice bathroom!" Padma squealed as she hugged Luna. Luan rolled her eyes and smiled,
"Yes, because that what friends are for." Padma giggled and then turned her attention to Dumbledore who was standing behind his podium and McGonagall had gone back to her desk.
"Now students, you may begin your meal, I hope that is as delicious as it is home-made!" Dumbledore chuckled and he trotted back to his seat to his hot meal. Along the middle of every table food appeared, along with plates and silverware. Padma drove her spoon into her mashed potatoes, and stole a glance at the Ravenclaw table. Ron wasn't sitting where he was earlier; in fact he wasn't at the Gryffindor Table at all. Padma made a confused face and forgot about it as soon as she noticed Luna staring off at the ceiling which had shooting stars dancing in circles.
"What's up Luna?" Padma asked.
Luna sighed and shifted her gaze back to her, "What if I'm not a good prefect?"
Padma chuckled softly, "Luna, you'll be great, I promise you!" Padma said hugging her friend. Luna smiled at Padma and then her attention focused on Ron Weasley who was poking her shoulder.
"Hello…" Luna said.
Ron cleared his throat, "Do you mind if I have a word with Padma?"
Luna smiled sarcastically, "Say your word quickly and then you can be on your way!" Ron made a frustrated expression by tightening his jaw.
"Padma I-" Ron began but then was rudely interrupted by Luna,
"That's two words! Now off you go." Luna smiled shooing him away with her hands.
"Luna, could Ron sit in your seat for a moment so he can talk to me about something?" Padma asked with pleading eyes.
Luna stood up and glared at Padma and then glared at Ron, "Fine then." Luna walked away and found herself going towards the exit by the Slytherin table.
"Padma, hey I was wondering if, maybe, you would like to go to…hang out sometime." Ron asked.
"Of course I'd love to." Padma grinned. Finally, she was going to have a chance with the Ron Weasley.
He smiled back making Padma feeling weak in the knees, "Great, I suppose I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Padma waved goodbye as he walked away, she had to turn her back from the Gryffindor table to keep from staring. Her eyes continued to widen as realization hit that Ron had practically asked her out.
Luna, on the other hand, was furious and knew that she was going to be in a sour mood about everything that had happened in the past five minutes for the next five days. As Padma rudely made her give up her seat for that man whore Luna found herself going towards the Gryffindor table. She sat in Ron's spot, which was located next to Harry Potter and across from Hermione Granger. They both passed confused looks among each other and both looked at Luna quizzically.
"How was your summer Luna?" Hermione asked still looking completely oblivious as to why she was here. Luna knew that if she wasn't so mad she probably wouldn't have even been sitting here to begin with. She'd probably react to this like Hermione would, but Luna shrugged her insecurities off.
Over at the Slytherin table Blaise Zabini glared at the table wear Luna was sitting. He envied how Harry Potter was looking at her like a piece of meat. He tried not to look over or think about it, so his supernatural ability would not take the best of him, he simply stared at his uneaten mashed potatoes and turned his gazed back to Jude. Jude was eating those mash potatoes in a disgusting manner. He shoved a spoonful into his mouth and then glared at Ron Weasley as most of his mashed potatoes slipped out.
"Um…Is there a problem Maddock?" Blaise asked looking at Jude suspiciously. Jude shook his head and crinkled his nose in a displeased manner as he wiped his face with his napkin that was a crumple in his lap.
"Its nothing Zabini, I just can not stand Weasley." Jude said throwing his napkin on top of the slop of mashed potatoes with great force. Blaise noticed him looking at Padma who was obviously swooning on the spot. She practically worshiped the ground Ron Weasley stepped on. It was obvious about her opinions towards him. Blaise began to wonder what Luna thought of him. "Just look at the way he acts! Like he has every single girl wrapped around his finger."
"Well Maddock, you are talking to me, and I'm probably the Slytherin that's most like him." Blaise muttered as-a-matter-of-factly.
"No Zabini, you keep those girls from feeling something, so when its over, they're not lost. They move on faster than a rabbit."
"…You know Maddock, I have been thinking- that perhaps there is something more than just Weasley bothering you."
"Really? Thinking have you? About what?" Jude rolled his eyes and continued to eat his mashed potatoes in a disturbing manner.
"That perhaps its jealously taking over this sudden outburst in emotion."
"Think what you want Zabini, but the truth simply is."
Zabini shook his head and looked over at Luna who was walking back to the Ravenclaw table ignoring Patil's every attempt to get her to talk to her. Blaise thought to himself staring at the flushed blonde goddess. The truth simply is. Luna Lovegood simply is.