Towards the end of the lecture, Hermione felt her attention drifting and she found herself wondering how Luna was doing with her research in the library. Working on this project wouldn't be the easiest thing while attending University and while Ipson hadn't mentioned the length of it Hermione was fairly certain it would take more than a year at the very least. Although she was terribly excited about the idea of being involved with such an important study it was a bit daunting to think she would be devoting so much of her life to one thing for so long.
It was like getting married in a way.
Or at least that was how Hermione imagined it. There was a commitment needed and a resolution of feeling. You had to be sure you wouldn't tire of the subject after a few weeks and want to move onto something else much like you had to be sure of such a thing if you were to get married to another person. Honestly, it worried Hermione a bit. She always felt that part of the reason she couldn't pick a major was the fact that she couldn't quite decide what was her favorite subject. There were so many things she loved learning about and the idea of choosing one that was the very best, the most interesting, the most important, was almost unfathomable to her. Still, worries or not, working on this project really was the best way to find out if research and writing was something that suited her and not just another educational whimsy as Ron liked to say and not just a fear of commitment.
Ron had taken to making jokes that she had a phobia of commitment when they spent time with Harry and Ginny. For months he had been first hinting then suggesting and finally outright asking if she would move in with him and every time she avoided the subject or put it off and it was becoming something of a sore point for them. One that often came up around Harry and Ginny, Harry and Ginny who had just gotten engaged and had been living together ever since Ginny graduated from Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny whom Ron held up as an ideal couple, feeling that he and Hermione should follow in their footsteps.
The idea of living with Ron was too daunting, it felt strangely suffocating and nerve wracking at the same time and Hermione felt that surely that wasn't the normal reaction. When she asked Ginny how she felt when Harry asked her to move into his flat Ginny's eyes had sparkled and shone and she had looked more like a girl in love than Hermione had ever seen her. She was irrationally jealous of the redhead when she had seen her reaction just because Hermione knew she had never looked that way.
Sometimes she thought she simply couldn't look that way, that it wasn't in her ability. That she was too logical, too precise, and controlled to be in love like Ginny was and that was the reason she couldn't act with Ron the way Ginny did with Harry. The jokes Ron made about commitment, they stung her because of this, and she always snapped at him when he made them and she knew Ron thought it was just her being upset that he had said something stupid but it was more than that. It was the fact he was speaking the truth without realizing it.
Perhaps things would change with this project though. Hermione had secretly held onto the superstition that she wouldn't be able to truly move on in her relationship with Ron while her plans for the future and her education were so uncertain. If her work with Professor Ipson finally led her on a clear path for her work perhaps her personal life would follow suit and she could broach the topic of moving in with Ron without a feeling of dread seizing her.
She was pulled from her ruminations by her classmate, Su Li, who gave her shoulder a small shake while saying her name. Hermione blinked and stared up at the other girl as she said, "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"
"Honestly, Hermione," said Su in wry tones, giving a hearty laugh. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I didn't think you were even capable of daydreaming and here you do it in the middle of Professor Meedlemeier's lecture on wizarding warlords." Hermione just stared blankly up at the other girl and Su shook her head. "I was just telling you class was over. Weren't you saying you had to meet someone in the library? Or was that nothing more than a flimsy excuse to get out of spending time with your mates at the pub yet again?"
"You sound like Ron," Hermione accused in a playful huff, standing up and putting her satchel over her shoulder. "I really am meeting someone in the library. Another graduate of Hogwarts, in fact."
"Oh?" inquired Su with interest. "Anyone I know?"
"I'd hope so," replied Hermione, trying to hold back her impatience at the slow pace of the students in front of them. "She was in your house, after all." She turned to look at the pretty Asian who wore a look of definite impatience and chuckling, Hermione said, "It's Luna Lovegood."
"Loony Lovegood got into the world renowned University of Magical Studies and Theory?" Su said in clear disbelief. Shaking her head, she drawled humorously, "What's her major? Imaginary things and fabricated fairy tales?"
The other girl then began relating some story about Luna's pursuit of the Blibbering Humdinger in the Ravenclaw dormitory which went on for most of Su's fifth year at Hogwarts. As she spoke, the frown that first formed on Hermione's face when Su referred to Luna as Loony grew until it became a quite powerful scowl. She thought of the discussion she had with Harry so long ago about how the blonde's possessions were hidden from her and before she knew it, Hermione found herself saying, her voice soft and dangerous, "Did you ever help hide her things?"
"What?" Su paused in her story, her eyes going wide at the scowl on Hermione's face. "You look so scary. Is anything the matter?"
"Did you ever help hide her things?" Hermione repeated stiffly. The two girls were now outside the lecture hall, standing in the emptying corridor as their classmates went their separate ways for the day. "I heard that it often happened to Luna in the Ravenclaw house. People stealing her things and hiding them from her as some sort of lark, thinking it was funny instead of plainly cruel. Were you one of the people who did that?"
Appearing afraid to answer but perhaps compelled by the grim expression on Hermione's features, Su offered lamely, "It wasn't just me. Everyone in the house did it. Hermione," Su gave a nervous laugh as she tried to explain. "We were only children and you know how children tease and Loony, well, she made an easy target. It was all in good fun, she must have known that, she never complained."
In that moment, Hermione wished that she was in her fifth year again because if she was she knew she would be able to slap Su and not feel the slightest bit guilty or immature about it. But now she was in her second year at University and almost twenty one years of age and she just couldn't do it. So instead she said, her voice hushed but powerful in its solemnity, "Her name is Luna, not Loony, and the reason she never complained is she, for whatever reason, always thinks the best of people. Even the ones who hurt her for no apparent reason at all." Hearing this, Su looked remorseful and opened her mouth to speak, maybe to apologize, but Hermione didn't want to hear it. Especially since she was not the one Su needed to apologize to and she interrupted quietly, "And just so you know, Luna is in the Student Healer program. One of their highest ranked pupils, as I understand it. She's going to be working with me on a research project for Professor Ipson and I couldn't be more pleased."
Before Su could reply, Hermione turned on her heel and started an angry walk towards the library, leaving her friend behind and hoping that the cool night air and the speed of her pace would help to calm her down. It had been some time since she had been this upset and the feeling was disconcerting. She wasn't sure why, but it bothered her tremendously to hear that Su, someone that she liked quite a bit, had been one of the people in Ravenclaw who bullied Luna.
Was it because it spoke ill of her decisions in choosing friends? That she was able to feel close to someone who could be so heartless? Then again, Su was right in a way, they had been children and children, despite all the claims they were pureness and light, could also be cruel at times. Unrelenting and harsh in their teasing of things they found to be different and Luna was definitely different. Maybe she was upset at herself because what she had done today had been too little, too late, and it made no real difference in how Luna's life at Hogwarts had been. It wasn't like she was that much better than Su. She never teased Luna and stole her things but she hadn't been terribly kind to her in their years together. Hermione couldn't even count the amount of times she casually dismissed whatever the blonde said with a sneer and disdain in her voice. Certainly the things that had been said were ridiculous but still… that didn't mean she had to be so mean about discounting Luna's beliefs.
Though she did think that it was too little, too late, Hermione promised herself she would change on this. That how she acted towards Luna simply wasn't right and she would use their time together working on this project to fix her behavior. To try and make it up to the younger girl whether she realized this or not.
But fulfilling this promise was rather difficult if she couldn't manage to locate the other girl, thought Hermione as she stepped into the impressive University library. She estimated on her first visit it had to be at least fifteen times larger than the one at Hogwarts. While she had considered Luna's earlier description of her location to be unnecessary and humorous in its extreme detail she now found herself grateful for the information as she walked through the enormous stacks, ducking under a whizzing line of books, some of which were dancing a jig, as they flew towards the check out desk. Because even as familiar as Hermione was with the library it was intimidating in its size and quite easy to get lost inside. To be honest, that was one of her favorite pastimes, to simply dawdle and explore the library to find new sections and the brunette had spent hours on end wandering through the shelves and Hermione still thought she hadn't gone through even half of the stacks yet. And besides that, she was in something of a hurry. They only had so much time to work on the project and it was after six so they would presumably have to stop to eat dinner as well. Unless she could convince Luna to eat and work at the same time. Something that Ron rather hated and had been banned when he visited her flat for meals.
Making a sharp right at Muggle Studies, Hermione grinned as she caught sight of Luna sitting at what was indeed a very skinny rust colored table in the most atrocious looking purple upholstered chair. Studying the stacks of the Magical Creatures section as she walked over to the blonde, Hermione said in way of a greeting, "The table is perfectly perpendicular, isn't it? I never noticed."
"The stacks form congruent adjacent angles," Luna smiled, shutting the large text on exotic herbs she had been reading. She rose to her feet and began organizing the pile of books on the table. "Those are the very best angles, you know. They're the angles preferred by Wrackspurts."
"Really?" questioned Hermione warmly, fully aware as she said this of her promise to not immediately discount Luna's beliefs just because they were a bit strange. She couldn't, however, keep the fondness from her voice when she spoke. Maybe it was age having mellowed her or the conversation she just had with Su but Hermione was starting to find Luna's oddities more charming than irritating. Although she was sure at some point she would get irritated with her again. Becoming annoyed with others because she was unable to understand their actions or point of view was a regrettable part of her personality she was uncomfortably aware of. One that she had tried to rid herself of in the past but had failed rather miserably in the attempt. "Why is that?"
Studying Hermione blankly for a moment, as if wondering why the other girl was bothering to ask her such a thing, Luna finally replied, "Their favorite Muggle subject is geometry."
"I always liked science over mathematics when I was in primary school," Hermione informed, picking up a stack of books and wincing under the weight before she gave up and simply decided to cast a floating spell and have them follow behind her. Luna, for whatever reason, felt it proper to place her books on the top of her head in a tremendously tall and wavering stack that made Hermione entirely nervous.
"That's right," said Luna thoughtfully, her tower of books leaning to the left as she looked to Hermione while they walked through the Foreign Magic section. "Your parents are Muggles, aren't they? Your first studies were at a Muggle school as a child." Hermione immediately tensed, whenever her bloodline was brought up it was usually anything but pleasant and though she didn't expect the other girl to say anything derogatory she still lay in wait of it. But instead, Luna smiled gently and asked, "Which do you find more fun? Muggle or Wizarding education?"
Blinking at this, Hermione stopped to truly consider it then said, "For me, it would have to be Wizarding simply because I grew up as Muggle. I think anyone who has the experience of suddenly discovering magic is real when you've spent your entire life believing it to be merely a fanciful thing cannot help find the learning of it terribly fun. Also," Hermione paused, considering if she really wanted to continue, then she looked to Luna and saw the genuine interest and soft acceptance in her blue eyes and knew it was safe to do so. "I never managed to fit in when I was at the Muggle primary school. It was only after I began attending Hogwarts that I was able to make friends."
"It was the same for me," remarked Luna serenely, a wisp of a smile on her pale features. They exited the Transfiguration section and she noticed the brunette was headed towards the check out desk. "No, it's all right," Luna murmured, reaching out for Hermione's hand. When the other girl looked to her, she tilted her head, making the books stacked on top of it to shake and lean forward, causing several people nearby to stare and Hermione to feel quite nervous for fear of them falling onto her. "I've already checked out all of the books. We just need to disapparate to your flat with them and then we can start straight away on our research."
"Why didn't you say this earlier?" asked Hermione, slightly annoyed at Luna but mostly irritated with herself for already feeling that way. But honestly, they had just wasted how much time strolling through the library when they could have just disapparated to her flat at the very beginning.
Luna stared at Hermione with wide luminous eyes that slowly moved away from the brunette as she said vaguely, "I found it relaxing. The walking and talking…"
"Is that all?" asked Hermione who was definitely fighting annoyance.
"It rather felt as if we were friends, I suppose I wanted it to continue," Luna revealed, her gaze focused off into the distance, looking at nothing in particular. Her eyes returned to Hermione once again, a sad smile tugging at her lips as she said, "You always seem so tense. It isn't at all good for you. There have been cases where wizards have tied themselves up into actual knots because their magic has caused their stress to emerge physically. I would hate to see you become a pretzel, Hermione. I do not believe even you could make that a pretty look."
The annoyance, the irritation with herself, perhaps even the stress left Hermione on hearing Luna's words and a guilty flush covering her features, Hermione reached out for the other girl, surprised when the blonde allowed her to take her hand. "I'm sorry," said Hermione, her voice low and filled with regret, thinking herself to be far worse than Su or anyone who had ever teased Luna at Hogwarts. "But please don't say it felt like we were friends, Luna, because that's a lie. We are friends, truly. Or at least, we are if you want us to be." Hermione formed a sardonic smile and gave a barking sort of laugh before she continued, "I can understand if you want to decline. I've been awful to you, I realize. A horribly awful person since I've only now just figured it out."
Silence except for the bustling of the other library patrons and Hermione felt a gentle tug of her hand as Luna slipped out of her hold. Then a feather light touch emerged at her chin, making her lift her gaze to look into lidded blue eyes which held a look of indefinable quiet knowing and a small smile played on Luna's lips. "Yes," she breathed, tilting her head to one side and leaning the books forward on the stack although they had yet to succumb to the dangers of gravity. "You can be awful at times, Hermione. But I can be just as awful, I do suppose that everyone can. In any case," Luna's small smile grew into one much larger and far more beautiful. "I still think us to be friends. Especially since you're beginning to feel the same."
"The same?" Hermione echoed with confusion.
"Shall we disapparate now?" inquired Luna, ignoring the brunette's question as she reluctantly pulled her hand from Hermione's chin which she had been cupping gently and raised it up to help balance the stack of books on her head that was teetering dangerously to the right. "We seem to be gathering an audience, although for what reason, I'm not entirely sure."
Noticing the stares of several nearby students who were all fixated on the tower of books on top of Luna's head, Hermione didn't reply and instead took the blonde's free hand. "We'll side long disapparate," Hermione said. "Since you've never been to my flat before."
"Don't forget your books," reminded Luna cheerfully. "I'm quite excited to see your flat, you know. I just hope you don't have any Vesper Boggits hiding in your underpants drawer. That is their chosen breeding ground."
Blushing as she suddenly had the image of Luna searching through her underpants drawer for Vesper Boggits, whatever they might be, Hermione squeezed the blonde's hand then with a flick of her wand and a small audible pop, they were standing in the tiny living room of her flat. As she observed Luna taking in her surroundings with that lidded and all knowing gaze Hermione suddenly became very aware that her flat wasn't at its neatest. Stacking the pile of floating books down on her coffee table she tried to hide her wand behind her back as she cast some silent cleaning spells that would hopefully put things in better order without Luna noticing.
"It's lovely, not messy in the least," said Luna her tones dreamy as she reached for the precarious pile of books on her head and placed them next to Hermione's on the coffee table. Hermione sighed as she realized her attempts at covert cleaning had failed miserably and Luna walked over to the built in bookcase that took up the far right wall, her fingertips dancing across the spines of the books. "Not at all like my father's. He becomes so caught up with his work that he can't seem to keep the house tidy."
"I don't know," offered Hermione kindly, "it wasn't that bad when I visited."
"That's right," Luna said, her attention still fixed on Hermione's very crowded bookcase. "You were there during the war." She turned to Hermione, a veiled but sad look in her eyes as she murmured, "I don't think I ever did apologize to you, Harry, and Ron for what my father did that day. It wasn't very kind nor brave of him, was it?"
"You don't have to apologize for that," said Hermione quickly, walking over to the blonde. "Things were bad for everyone at that time and your father… he was so frightened for you, Luna. We all were."
"You were frightened for me," said Luna slowly, mulling this over as her gaze drifted away from Hermione. If she was going to say anything more, her response was interrupted by the rumblings of her stomach. Luna touched her midsection and as she did so, the motion of her hand tugged up the material of her plaid t-shirt to reveal creamy white skin and a toned abdomen. The sight of which caused Hermione to blush and avert her eyes. "I've just been told I'm quite hungry. Would you mind terribly if we ate while we worked?"
"Not at all," Hermione replied, keeping her gaze well aware from Luna's stomach and feeling very pleased the other girl didn't share Ron's opposition to eating and working at the same time. She started to head into the kitchen but paused as she recalled Ron's food scavenging from the previous day and how it had not produced good results. Turning around and doing her best not to feel embarrassed, Hermione said, "I don't have much by the way of food though. Is it all right if we ordered out?"
A mischievous twinkle emerged in Luna's blue eyes and she drawled, "If I'm allowed to pick the meal."
"All right," said Hermione slowly, already wondering if this was a wise decision. "What are we having?"
"It's a surprise," Luna informed playfully, hopping towards the brunette, her hands laced behind her back. "Though I do need to know what flavors you prefer. Spicy, sweet, sour, salty?"
"Sweet, I suppose," murmured Hermione, beginning to truly worry about what she had gotten herself into. "Although not too sweet. Does sweet but also sour make any sense at all?" she asked rather pathetically.
"Perfect sense," said Luna with a warm smile. She looked to Pigwidgeon who was eyeing Crookshanks cautiously from his perch above the window. Shortly after they began dating the tiny owl had taken a liking to Hermione and often preferred spending time with her over Ron. The brunette believed this wasn't anything against Ron but more a testament to the fact she had a ready supply of owl snacks that she gave to the bird quite freely while Ron could be a bit stingy with handing out rewards to his pet. That didn't mean the owl was entirely comfortable with the constant presence of one very large and predatory orange tabby cat in Hermione's flat. "Can I ask you to send a message for me?" Luna questioned and it took Hermione a moment to realize that the blonde was speaking directly to Pigwidgeon whose wide yellow eyes regarded her speculatively. "I promise to share some of the food with you if you do and I especially promise the food will be tasty." The tiny owl twisted its neck for a moment then fluttered his wings as he hooted eagerly. Luna smiled widely at this, clapping her hands as she said, "Splendid!" Luna quickly scribbled a letter with what Hermione presumed was their food order on it but paused in her writing to look at Hermione with a sudden look of concern. "It should cost two galleons and nine sickles. That's not too much, is it?"
"Not at all," Hermione assured, shaking her head. "We'll simply split it even. You do need my address for the delivery, don't you? It's 13 Savile Row, Flat 4, Westminster, London."
Pigwidgeon hopped about on his perch, ready to eat the promised food, and the moment Luna tied the letter to his tiny leg he was waiting at the window for her to open it. Watching as he flew hurriedly out in the night sky, Luna said, a smile in her voice, "He is an impatient little thing, isn't he? It's quite adorable. Almost as much as your blush I'd wager." When she turned around, Hermione was demonstrating said adorable blush and Luna chuckled. "Ah, there it is. I was wondering how long I would have to wait before I could see it."
"We should get to work!" Hermione said briskly, doing her best to get rid of the blush and the confusing feelings that were stirring in her. She never acted this way around Ron, getting embarrassed when he said the smallest little thing about her looks, so why did she around Luna? It didn't make any sense in the slightest.
A half an hour later, they were in the process of reviewing the benefits of using hopping root and cinder weed when a loud knock sounded along with several excited hoots. Hermione went to answer the door with Luna following close behind her and when she pulled it open, she was greeted by an enthusiastic Pigwidgeon who went whizzing past her head. Releasing a yelp, Hermione ducked down and scowled a bit, soon freezing in this position when she felt the warmth of Luna's hand resting at the small of her back.
Still stuck in this pose, Hermione peered up and was met with the sight of a handsome Indian wizard dressed in a beautifully embroidered and sequined all black Sherwani holding four wooden boxes filled with food. The man raised an amused eyebrow at Hermione before looking to Luna and remarking, "We hadn't heard from you in so long we were fearing you had forgotten us, Miss Lovegood. Travel cannot be the issue, for we are wizards, are we not?"
"I've been busy with my studies but I do want to visit you and the others in Bangalore again," Luna said, her hand easily sliding down Hermione's back and her arm soon wrapped around her waist as she tenderly raised the brunette up to her height, causing Hermione to lean against her. Luna wore a dreamy smile as she took the food from the Indian wizard and said, "I nearly discovered the Krodha Swinging Lizard there." Balancing the boxes of food with her free hand, she looked to Hermione, her eyes going wide as she said, "I've been rude, haven't I? Hermione this is my good friend, Bheru Jaspal, he's a wonderful chef from Bangalore, India. He was also my guide in the search for the rare Krodha Swinging Lizard when I visited the region."
"Sadly it was never discovered," Bheru murmured, looking regretful as he said this. A buzzing sound filled the air and he frowned as he pulled out a silver pocket watch and flipped it open. Giving a soft sigh, he looked to Luna with dark eyes and said, "I must take my leave. I've another order and I must change before I return to the kitchen."
"Formal wear is best for deliveries but not for adding spices," agreed Luna wisely. "Two galleons and nine sickles is it?" When Bheru dipped his head as a sign of agreement, Luna smiled and handed him the payment.
Bowing low as he accepted the money, Bheru looked up with smiling dark eyes and said, "You must agree to visit us soon. The next time we shall find the Krodha Swinging Lizard. I swear it upon my ancestors." Rising up to his full height, he tilted his head at Hermione, observing her for a moment before he said, "It was a pleasure to have met you, Miss Hermione. I hope that I will also see you again soon." Hermione returned the sentiment a bit shyly and he smiled again then took his leave with another low bow and an audible pop from the disapparation.
Out of habit more than a sense of awareness, Hermione shut the front door, watching Luna hum and skip into the kitchen with their food. "Luna," said Hermione slowly as she tried to wrap her mind around the conversation that had just gone on and what it implied. "You ordered our food from a restaurant in Bangalore, India?"
"Yes," said Luna cheerfully, her expression faltering when she saw Hermione's disbelieving expression. "I promise you that it's quite tasty. I'm sure that you'll enjoy it."
"Pigwidgeon surely didn't fly all that way in such a short amount of time," Hermione appeared to be saying this aloud for her own benefit. As if hearing it come from her own lips would reassure her that the reasoning was sound.
"Of course not!" Luna exclaimed with a laugh, removing the lid from the first box and filling the flat with a sweet scent that suddenly made Hermione very hungry. "I sent him to the international wizarding delivery post. They have a little man there, Williwog or Ogdoddler or something or other who is in charge of food deliveries. He apparates to whichever restaurant you want around the world and gets the food for you. Though it seems Bheru wanted to deliver our order in person when he noticed it was from me. I haven't seen him in several months."
"When were you in Bangalore?" asked Hermione, drawn to Luna's side, eyeing the sizable amount of food the blonde ordered. She blinked when Luna opened the last box which had a large bowl filled with what looked to be freshly sliced papayas and several other ingredients. "Is that really papayas in the salad?"
"Papayas, peanuts, long beans, tart tomatoes," Luna ignored Hermione's first question in favor of the second and immediately reached into the bowl and retrieved a slice of papaya and tomato, offering them up to Hermione with a sweet smile. "They call it Som Tam. Have a taste?"
For some strange reason Hermione had the nagging feeling that Luna was trying to feed her by hand and the idea didn't disturb her as much as she thought it should. Which is perhaps why she took the papaya and tomato from the blonde and put them into her own mouth, soon forming a smile at the delicious taste of the food. "It's wonderful," she said.
"Bheru is a marvelous chef," said Luna, stacking up the now empty food boxes and with a flick of her wand they disappeared, most likely returned to their home restaurant. She picked up one of the perfectly round balls that was grilled a handsome brown and looked over her shoulder at Pigwidgeon who was back on his perch, his gaze torn between watching Crookshanks and eyeing the feast they had before them. "Little friend," she called out, beaming when his focus turned to her and he hooted eagerly. "Here's your treat," Luna announced happily as she threw the ball in the air, causing Crookshanks to try and intercept the treat, but failing as Pigwidgeon risked certain danger to intercept the food. "Oh my," her eyes went wide. "Competitive, aren't they?"
"Sometimes I wonder if Ron feeds him at all," said Hermione sardonically, retrieving the plates and silverware. She took a seat and looked expectantly at Luna. "Well? What did you order for me?"
"Tomato Perugu Pachadi," answered Luna serenely, picking up a bowl filled with something that, to Hermione, looked similar to soup but with a thicker consistency. It was cooked a lovely golden brown and was topped with red seasoning and smelled absolutely delectable. "Bheru served it to me the first time I had dinner with his family. It's a classic chutney where red tomatoes are sautéed in seasonings and combined with beaten curd. I thought you might enjoy it since it has a bit of a sweet and sour taste to it."
Hermione was very much aware of Luna's gaze being focused on her as she lowered her spoon into the bowl and took her first sip. A few moments passed as she let the texture wash over her tongue then a smile spread across her features, causing Luna to bounce happily in her seat and clap her hands on seeing it. Chuckling at this reaction, Hermione said, "You're right, Bheru is a marvelous chef, and you're equally marvelous for being able to get me to immediately like a new dish. That's a rarity, I can promise you. I usually tend to be rather dull in what I eat. Ron complains of it sometimes, says I should try different things."
"Different is similar to those who have already experienced it," Luna murmured as her gaze drifted away from Hermione and towards Pigwidgeon as she threw another treat to him but only after handing one to the disgruntled Crookshanks who was now sitting by Hermione's feet at the table. "It's entirely relied on perspective."
"True," said Hermione thoughtfully, taking another sip of the pachadi before she spoke again. Shaking her head as Crookshanks purred and rubbed up to Luna in hopes of getting more food, she said, "What are you feeding them?"
"Chicken Masala Balls," said Luna, scrunching her nose up in a charming manner. "Horrid name but a yummy treat, nevertheless. I ordered vegetarian for our meals but I rather thought they would prefer meat."
"I think you chose well," replied Hermione humorously, watching as her cat gobbled up more of the food in record speed. "Honestly, Crookshanks," she sighed. "You're going to be big as a house someday. I'll have to invent a spell for you to lose weight at this rate."
"Perhaps that can be your first research study. There must be some wizards and witches who would find good use for a method of magical feline weight reduction," Luna said, sounding quite serious. "Fat cats are horribly common."
Shaking her head at the idea of such a study, Hermione said dryly, "I should just send him over to Ron's. The poor thing would be sure to lose weight if he stayed there if the way Pigwidgeon begs for food is anything to judge."
"I'm sure Ron feeds him," said Luna gently as she threw another treat to the small owl. "But boys can't really spoil as well as girls and that leaves our little friend wanting." Hermione opened her mouth to reply but Luna reached for a nearby textbook on exotic mushrooms of the magical marshlands and said, "Shall we continue our work? I do think your idea of using cinder weed was a fine one but perhaps it would work better with the incendiary reaction caused by galloping black mushrooms. Though they are a rare find so maybe we should discount that option."
Just like that their wandering conversation on food and overweight felines was over and they were once again at work on the project given to them by Professor Ipson. It was what they were there for, after all, so it was hardly surprising to Hermione but the feeling of disappointment she had was. She was sad to see their fun little chat come to an end and for once in her life she found herself wanting to do something other than study.
And it was all because of Luna Lovegood.