"Why won't you listen to me?"

Luna walked into the Great Hall defiantly, Ginny following closely behind her.

"I am listening to you," Luna replied. "What do you have to say?"

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

Luna turned to look at Ginny. "Whatever for?"

Ginny flushed slightly. "You know... About what we talked about..."

Luna looked somewhat perplexed for a moment, but then finally realized what Ginny was referring to. "Oh no, of course not."

"Then why do you keep trying to run away from me?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not trying to run away from you, Ginny. I need to get over to my table. I have a Potions study meeting to go to."

Ginny looked up at Luna. "So... you're not mad at me?"

"Whyever would I be?" Luna asked, a bit confused.

Ginny was about to respond when she heard a voice calling out to her. She looked over to see Harry waving her over hurriedly. For a brief moment, she contemplated not going over to speak to him, but decided against that plan of action in the end.

"Can we talk later?" Ginny asked.

"Of course," Luna replied. "I always love talking with you. It makes me feel... wanted." She skipped away, towards the Ravenclaw table.

This only served to make Ginny more confused than ever. Almost involuntarily, she started to walk over in Luna's direction, when she heard Ron call out: "Oi! Ginny! Harry wants you!"

She angrily stomped off in their direction. When she got there, she glared pointedly at Ron.

"I was trying to talk to Luna, no thanks to you..."

"We saw that, Ginny. It was pretty obvious. Harry here just wanted to ask you a question."

Ginny looked at Harry. "What is it, Harry?"

"You know, we're going to Hogsmeade in a few weeks, right?"

Ginny had almost completely forgotten about that. Just thinking about it now brought a wide smile to her face.

"I remember now. Why?"

"Well even though it was supposed to be just you and me... Why don't we invite Luna along with us?"

Ginny stopped cold. "Why...?"

"She seems so lonely lately. It would do her some good to be with some people she trusts."

A tear ran down Ginny's face. Harry stared at her in shock. "What's wrong?"

"If only you knew..." Ginny ran out of the Great Hall before she completely dissolved into tears. She didn't want everyone asking questions.

Harry turned to Ron. "What in the hell is wrong with her?"

"Do you really want to know?" Ron asked.

"Of course I do... I asked, didn't I?"

Ron took a deep breath, then with trepidation he began to tell him everything.