The rest of the week went better than any time Ginny could remember since before she started Hogwarts. She liked Luna very much, even if she was quite odd, and having a best friend made school much more fun. Luna seemed happier, too- Ginny saw her smiling in the hallways, very different from the faraway, almost sad look she usually wore. The two shared a fondness for Muggle books, which Ginny managed to "borrow" from her father- a Muggle enthusiast- and Luna's mother, also fascinated by Muggle things herself, passed on to her when she was young.

The two of them met up that morning under a tree near the lake, and after returning the books they traded ("Oh, I loved it! 'What a treacherous thing, to believe that a person is more than a person'... I really think John's my new favorite author!" "Oh, isn't he wonderful? I loved yours, too. It was funny and serious all at once...Mr. Sir reminded me of Filch.") they began to people-watch, while eating Chocolate Frogs.

"There's my brother, Percy." said Ginny, pointing to a tall, skinny boy with curly red hair and a smug look on his face. He was reprimanding some first-years for feeding the giant squid. One of them had snuck behind him and was mimicking him, and the others looked like they were trying to contain their giggles.

"Oh, I know him," said Luna. "Isn't he Gryffindor's Head Boy?"

Ginny snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's Head Boy. When he got that stupid badge in the mail, it was all he could talk about all summer. He's thinks he's so perfect. You know, sometimes I think Mum wished she just had seven Percies, and didn't have to deal with the rest of us. Especially Fred and George."

"You have six brothers and sisters?"

"Just brothers, unfortunately. The oldest one's Bill. He's twenty-two, ten years older than me. I liked him the most, I cried a lot when he moved out. Our family went to Egypt over the summer, and he came along, that was nice. Then there's Charlie, he's okay too. He trains dragons in Romania, that's really cool. I'll probably never do anything half that interesting." Ginny sighed, softly, ate another Chocolate Frog, and continued. "Then there's Percy, who's an enormous prat. I mean, he's my brother and I love him, but he's an enormous prat. Then there's Fred and George, they're twins."

"Oh, yes, I've heard about some of the things they've done. They must be very funny."

"Yeah, they're alright. They play pranks on the rest of us a lot, especially when we were younger. Mostly Percy, but me and Ron, too."

"And then there's Ron, right? He's a third year, isn't he?" Luna's face lit up a little.

"Um, yeah. He's best friends with Harry Potter. When he was a first year, he came home

that summer and told us all about how he and Harry Potter were best friends. I thought that he was completely full of it, of course. Then he brought Harry to our house over the summer. I made such a complete fool of myself around him, of course. I had a huge crush on him. At first it was nothing too strange, I mean, he was the Boy-Who-Lived and all that. So it was okay if I jumped up and down and squeeled when I saw him at King's Cross when we picked up Ron." She cringed, as if she couldn't believe she had acted so stupid. "But then, when I found out he and Ron really were best friends, it got so weird. It wasn't a celebrity crush anymore, it was just a plain-old crush, and I made such an idiot of myself. I sent him a singing Valentine, Luna. A singing Valentine."

Luna giggled "I remember that. That was you?"

"Yeah. I didn't really care that he was famous anymore. I liked that he was nice to my brother, and he didn't get mad at me for acting like such an idiot.I liked that he was short and skinny, like me, and wore glasses. I just... I liked that he was so normal, and so awesome all at once. I liked that he was brave and adventurous, even though apparently when he lived with Muggles he was a nobody, just like me. Ron told me that. I guess I just always wanted to be a hero like him, and when I met him for real, it made me happy that we weren't that different. Does that sound stupid? Of course we're different. He's the Boy Who Lived, for God's sake."

"Well, I don't think you're so different. Maybe you've never taken down Voldemort single-handedly. But you stood up to Amanda and Natalie for me. That was the bravest thing I've ever seen. But anyway, what about Ron?"

"Ron?"

"Yeah! I want to hear more about him. Didn't he win real-life version of wizard chess in his first year to get to the Sorceror's Stone? I love chess. My mum loved it, too, she and my dad built our house to look like a chess rook."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, my brother's a big chess geek. Anyway, yeah, I guess Ron's alright. He and I were sort of like best friends, before he went to Hogwarts. Now he doesn't pay any attention to me." Ginny shrugged.

"He's very funny. And he supports the Chudley Cannons, doesn't he? That's my favorite Quidditch team. And last year, Lavender Brown tripped me in the hallway and he told her off."

"Yeah, he also sleeps with a teddy bear named Eugene. Anyway, enough about my family. What about you?"

Luna suddenly looked serious. "Well... my dad's the editor of the Quibbler. And my mum died when I was nine."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Luna, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. She's not really gone. I'll never, ever forget her."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, with only the sound of the Chocolate Frogs being eaten to be heard. Then Ginny cleared her throat. "If you don't mind me asking... How did she die?"

"Well, my parents loved to experiment. Magic wasn't just set in stone to them, it was more than just a science. My dad says that in the old days, magic wasn't as rigid as it was today. You know how when you were a little kid, you could do magic without a wand, without trying, just because of how you felt? And that's how they knew if you were really a witch or a wizard?" Ginny nodded. "Well, my dad said that a long time ago, all magic was like that, and eventually it was honed down into specific spells, with specific wand movements and incantations. He said that some people even think that a very long time ago, everyone could do magic."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He said that his personal theory is that at some point, magic and emotion and energy ran smooth together, connecting humanity, and that one day it split, into Wizard Magic and Muggle Magic."

"Muggle Magic?"

"Yeah. My dad thought the pureblood supremacy movement was ridiculous because of that, he said that we're all the same, and if you wanted to see Muggle Magic in action, look at the things Muggles do. Look at Muggle art, look at Muggle science, look at these." She gestured to the books they were reading. "He said that the oldest kind of magic was love. Love in it's purest form, is the strongest kind of magic there is. He says that he thinks that's going to be important in the defeat of Voldemort, although he's not sure how." Luna looked up at Ginny. "You probably think I'm totally bonkers, don't you?"

"Not at all," Ginny said very softly, entranced by Luna's words. "That's...really cool, actually. What does that have to do with your mother?"

"She was doing an experiment, trying to tap into that old magic. But something terrible happened. I remember watching her, standing over a spellbook and a book of Muggle poetry, but she did something wrong. She was trying to understand love as magic, but instead...she conjured up hate." Luna sighed deeply. "My dad was standing next to her, he said that he felt the most horrible, vile feeling in the world. I was standing off in a corner, I felt it too, a little. Did a Dementor attack you on the train in September?"

"Yeah, it was awful."

"Me, too, it was. Anyway, that's what it felt like. My mum got the full blast of it, and she screamed- that was the worst part. Seeing her in pain like that. Then she fell to the ground, screaming in pain... and she died."

Luna said all of this quite calmy, it was Ginny who was in tears. "Oh my God, Luna. I'm so... so sorry. I'm sorry I made you tell me that, it sounds horrible-"

"It's okay." Luna shrugged. "Like I said, she's not really gone. Frog?"

Ginny wasn't exactly sure what Luna meant by that, but she didn't argue. She took the frog and ate it. "Your mother must have been really brave, Luna." If there was anything Ginny respected, it was bravery.

Luna smiled, and pulled a picture out of her robe pocket. "That's her."

She held a picture of her family. Luna looked about eight years old. In the picture, she was smiling, and swaying back and forth, like a fidgety child. She stood between her two parents. Her father was an odd-looking man, with a long nose, long, straggly blonde hair like Luna's, and brown eyes that were staring adoringly at Luna's mother. She was tall and thin, with dark brown hair and big, silvery eyes just like Luna's. She was pretty in an odd sort of way- her smile was crooked and her ears were big, but Ginny liked how she looked; there was something very beautiful about her. She was smiling at her husband and daughter, with her left hand on Luna's head and her arm around her husband's shoulders. Her eyes didn't have the faraway look Luna's did, though- she looked like she couldn't be happier just where she was.

"She was really pretty. You were cute. I like that thing your father's got around his neck," said Ginny, pointing to a triangle on a chain around the man's neck, which glinted in the light as leaned over to give his wife a kiss.

Luna smiled. "Thanks. I don't know what that is on Dad's neck. I've asked him before, all he says is 'in due time'." She put the picture back into her pocket.

Ginny squeeled, and immediately felt stupid.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just... you know what I said about Harry? About how I wanted to be a hero like him?

"Yeah?"

"Well, Ron tells me about the stuff him and Harry and Hermione do, and it seems like all the awesome stuff they do involves a mystery, like who was Nicholas Flamel, or who... was the heir of Slytherin." She paused and looked away for a moment. "But anyway, maybe this could be our mystery, Luna! Your dad's locket, and your mom's death and the old magic! We could be awesome just like them!"

"Like Ron?"

"...Yeah, and Harry and Hermione. It would be an adventure."

Luna smiled. "That sounds lovely."

They high-fived, and a feeling of pure happiness rose up in Ginny's chest. Everything from last year was finally behind her, and she had a best friend. A best friend, and a purpose.