A/N: First of all, I'm terribly, terribly sorry about taking so long. I really tried, but after starting with university and six hours of maths a day I was too drained to write more than 200 words which made actual sense. And then again, I'm also terribly sorry that this chapter is so bloody short, but I didn't want to keep you waiting longer...I hope you'll forgive me.

Like always (and I can't help but be both happy and proud that this list is getting longer and longer) I'd like to thank theghostinside, who I'd like to dedicate this chapter to for being wonderful as well as wonderfully helpful, superioritycomplex144, Anakaraya Ravenclaw, RoibenJazz, trish, hoperocks and gbheart for their wonderful comments. You make my days, guys (:

When Harry woke up the next morning his head was hurting like hell, his eyes stung when met with the morning sun and his mouth was dry. The night before, he had lain awake until he could see the sun rise, thinking everything over and over again. It had paid off, though; he had finally come to a conclusion, even if it wasn't one he liked a lot: There was no way he could keep his relationship with Ginny up anymore, not after what he had discovered the night before. She simply didn't deserve it, not only because she was his best friend's sister, but also because he still cared for her. Not quite as a friend, and certainly not as a lover, but there was a little of the affection, a bit of the trust and definitely enough of respect for her left to make it clear he owed her at least that, after she had been so wonderfully sweet and caring towards him. Especially right after the war when he had needed someone to reassure him so badly, and his two best friends had been too wrapped up in their own world.

Somehow, it even hurt him, not caring for her in that way anymore, since it had been one of the constants in the past; it felt like an era was ending and something new was starting at this very moment. And that was just as scary, if not even more so.

Slowly he rose, each joint cracking as he made his way to his kitchen, quickly brewing some strong coffee, which would hopefully help him through the day and with what he had planned next: Because although he knew, deep in his heart that his decision was the right one, he needed to talk to someone about it before taking the final step, and that someone was, of course, Hermione.

There was no one in the world he trusted quite as much as the brown-haired girl, not even Ron, and he knew that she'd understand, contrary to the ginger.

So, right after gulping down the too-hot liquid he went over to the house he had left only hours before by floo powder, knowing that her boyfriend wouldn't be in; at this time of day he was always helping George out with the shop.

'Hello?', he called into the empty room, as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace, 'Hermione?'

For a second, there was no reply, then a head appeared in the door to the kitchen. 'Who- Oh, Harry, it's you. What are you doing here?'. She asked confused, eyebrow slightly raised.

'Sorry, I should've called…but I really, really wanted to talk to you. I need some advice.' With a sheepish smile on his lips and his heart beating nervously, he looked at her, hoping she'd be willing to help even though his visit was so unexpected.

'You should have, yes…' she paused for a second, seemingly thinking, 'Still, since you're already here, fine. But I warn you, Luna's here, too; she stayed over. So if you want to talk to me in private, you'll have to come back.'
Harry thought about it for a moment, contemplating if letting Luna know about it would be a good idea, before deciding that he needed to get it off his chest, no matter what. And anyway, the chances of the blonde girl of all people, telling anyone sounded more absurd the more he thought about it.

So he shook his head and followed Hermione silently.

Luna was sitting at the same spot she had been when he left yesterday, a cup of tea between her hands. She turned at the sound of the opening door, greeting him with a cheery smile which didn't fit with his mood at all.

'Hello Harry', she said, 'What are you doing here?'

'Well, I've got a bit of a problem, and I wanted Hermione to help me with it…', he started.

'Do you want me to leave the two of you alone, then?' From anyone else these words would've sounded hurt or even hostile, but the way the ex-Ravenclaw said them, they sounded merely curious.

'No, no, it's fine. Actually, it might be good to hear a third opinion.'

'Is it about Draco Malfoy?'

'What?', Harry spluttered, feeling blood rushing to his face, 'Why should it be about Draco?'

'Just wondering', she answered happily, before changing the subject, 'But what is it then?'

It took the brunet a few seconds to put his thoughts into order again after Luna had messed them up with her strange question.

'It's about Ginny', he said slowly, 'It's just that…well, I don't think I…love her anymore.' It was harder to say it than he had thought and the second the words had left his mouth he knew why: It was only then that he really realized it was true.

'I suspected you were in some kind of crisis', Hermione broke the silence which had followed his statement, 'But I never thought it would be so severe.'
'You knew? How?', he asked, a bit dumbfounded.

'Well, you didn't touch her all the time anymore; you didn't constantly look at or sit close to her. You just were more…distant when it came to her. It really wasn't that hard to see.'

'Did Ron-?' The panic was evident in his voice.

'He noticed it too, if you mean that. I think it is part of why he has been behaving so terribly towards you recently; he's afraid you'll hurt her. And from what you've said, I suppose you will.'

The panic rising in him must have shown in his face, because before Hermione could say anything more, the other girl interrupted their talk.

'Don't worry so much, Harry', Luna said sweetly, ' I'm sure that Ron'll understand. You just have to give him some time; I think he's just a bit scared because you've been making so many choices he doesn't understand lately. Maybe you should just talk about it sometime.'

She leaned back again, smile still on her lips, leaving the others staring at her. It was easy to forget that there was more to Luna than her dreamy, slightly insane exterior.

At last, Hermione spoke, 'She could be right, you know? It hit pretty hard when you started being friends with Malfoy, especially because you spent so much time with him. More than with us. He even said something about us losing you once, and if you break up with Ginny now, it's surely going to confirm whatever horrible thing he is imagining going on.'

The Golden Boy knew he shouldn't, but fact was that the only thing he registered in that very moment was the last sentence: 'So you think I really should break up with her?'

The brown-haired girl looked at him for a moment, then said, 'Yes. It will break her heart, but it wouldn't be fair if you pretended to still love her.'

'I agree with Hermione', the blonde suddenly spoke up, 'But I think that Ginny already knows. After all, we both noticed that something was wrong; it'd be strange if she hadn't', she continued when seeing the horrified look on the male's face.

'You think she- but she can't….not even I knew about it…and if, why didn't she say anything?'

The girls looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
'Because she loves you, and she wants you to stay with her, of course', Luna said, only to have the other add, 'You idiot.'

The three sat in silence for a few moments; Harry's thought rushing through his head like mad, because suddenly breaking up seemed so much scarier than before.

'It's just….', he whispered, 'I still don't want to hurt her.'

The brown-haired girl sighed and rested her chin on her hands, 'You will, though, there's no other way. And the longer you postpone it, the harder it is going to be for her. She'll think you've given the two of you another chance.'

Hermione was right, of course, like always, but exactly that was the problem.

'I'll do it', the Golden Boy said, sounding tired, 'Just not today; I want to talk to Ron first. Tell him my part of the story, too and I doubt he'd listen if I tried afterwards. Do you know when he'll be back today?'

'About seven, I think. And just so you know, I think it's a very brave thing to do', she answered, a small, encouraging smile on her lips.

'Thanks. I just don't think he'll see it the same way.'

'Probably not', she stood up and moved to the counter, 'Do you maybe want a cup of tea? You know, tea fixes everything.'

'Yes, please. I think I could use some fixing.' He smiled weakly.

'You look that way too', the girl answered, turning her back to him.

Harry grimaced, but couldn't quite disagree; he surely looked like he hadn't slept in days.

'How are things going with Draco, by the way?', Hermione asked, suddenly changing the topic, false innocence prominent in her voice, 'I was rather surprised by his behaviour yesterday. It appears you were right about him changing.'

'You should have brought him along sooner, though', Luna piped in, 'We had a fascinating talk about Veelas; he knows quite a lot about them. I suspect he might be related to one.'

'I don't know about that, but we're getting along great. It's strange, but I don't even think about us being enemies anymore…'

Harry didn't notice it, but when talking about the fair-haired boy, his face suddenly lost all its weariness, his eyes started to sparkle and a smile graced his lips. The girls did, though.

Both had noticed a change in their friend's behaviour, whose cause was obviously a certain former schoolmate of them. He seemed deeply affected by Draco Malfoy, unconsciously imitating certain gestures and figures of speech the other used often, spending as much time with him as possible and of course, talking about him at each and every opportunity.

Especially Hermione had worried at first, not only because of the experiences they had had with the blonde in the past, but also when seeing how much this friendship had strained the relationship with Ginny, as soon as the ginger had finally realized that her boyfriend's affections for the other boy weren't as platonic as the brunet himself seemed to think.

The brown-haired girl had changed her mind about them just the day before, when seeing how Draco had tried his hardest to impress them for the other one's sake, how he had looked at him with clear adoration in his eyes and the way Harry had smiled so reassuringly at him every time he had noticed the former Death-eater's gaze.

But most importantly, she had seen them after they had left, standing in the middle of the street, but too wrapped up in their own world to notice anybody else except the other one. And when Harry's stroking had stopped and they were left just staring into each other's eyes, she had known that whatever it was between the two of them, it was special, special enough to risk everything else for it.

Hermione feared that that was exactly what her friend was doing at the moment, since, unlike Luna, she wasn't so sure how Ron would take it that the Golden Boy had not only fallen out of love with his sister, but also in love with a male ex-Slytherin, who happened to be the very person making their life a living hell for seven years.

She had told the blonde girl everything after returning inside, and they had ended up talking the whole night through. Luna had told the other about her own talk with Draco and it had made her heart ache. It appeared that the fair-haired boy was just as besotted with Harry as the Golden Boy was with him, if not more; in her soft, dreamy voice she had spoken about longing looks cast towards the kitchen door, smiles at the mention of the boy's name, faces lighting up when the brunet entered the room, adoring glances being shared and flirtatious smiles accompanying playful teasing.

However, unlike the other, the former Death-eater seemed to be aware of his feelings, which explained the trace of sadness mixed into each word, smile and look directed at the other.

And although Hermione desperately wanted to open Harry's eyes, she knew it wouldn't have been a good idea; he had to find that out for himself and see what he wanted to do about it. She just hoped that, when the time would come, he would make the right choice.