Ginny had just gotten back from Hogsmeade and more specifically a lovely date with Harry. She was content to take the long way to the school past the river. She was quite happy that evening as she walked back onto the school grounds. That was until she saw a distressed Luna sitting in by the lake. Her shoulders were slumped forward and her copy of The Quibbler was lying abandoned on the ground. It looked like Luna was crying which was something Ginny had only seen once or twice before.

"Luna." She called trying to get the other girls attention without startling her.

She sat straight up with a jolt at being caught crying. She tried to wipe away her tears "Hello Ginny." She gave her friend a weak smile.

"What's wrong Luna?" Ginny asked cutting right to the point. "And don't tell me nothing or try to change the subject. I know you to well for you to try to avoid this."

"I don't know what to do Ginny." She started to pull at the grass. "I made a big mistake a week ago." She frowned. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to talk about it or not.

"So?" Ginny waited. "Tell me about it. You know I'm always there for you."

"I…" Luna paused. "I don't want to embarrass anyone else."

"You can tell me. I won't tell or say anything. You know that"

Luna thought about it briefly. "I kissed someone after the Quidditch game last week." Luna said still unwilling to give up Hermione's name. she didn't add that it was because of her excitement or because Hermione had held her hand throughout most of the game and so she thought the older girl might be receptive in that moment. She sighed and continued her story. "But this person was in a relationship and I knew this. They avoided me all week which was miserable because I thought we were good friends. We finally talked today and I just…" she frowned and took a deep breath. "I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to go without telling her how I feel." She sighed miserably. She was so upset she didn't even notice that she'd given her crush a gender.

Ginny quickly went through a list of girls that Luna knew well and considered friends. It was a short list. As she thought about it she realized that it could only possibly be one person. "Luna." Ginny said carefully. "Do you know where she even stands when it comes to that type of relationship?"

"No… No I really don't and I don't know how to ask." She said brushing off the fact that Ginny figured out she was talking about a girl.

"I'm just going to ask you out right Luna because I don't know how to dance around this." She took a deep breath. "Are we talking about Hermione?"

Luna stared at her best friend. She shouldn't have been as surprised as she was that Ginny had figured it out. "Yes." Luna said barely above a whisper. "I think I'm in love with her."

Ginny could feel the conflict inside here instantly. Part of her wanted to encourage Luna because she wanted her friend to be happy. The other part of her worried about her brother, she knew Ron was crazy about Hermione. As she sat there silently she remembered part of their conversation that she hadn't thought about before. "What did you mean when you said she WAS in a relationship?"

"Oh." Luna said surprised. "Today…"

"Today?" Ginny asked trying to get her to continue.

"I was at Hogsmeade just leaving Honeydukes when I ran into her. Well she ran into me is probably more correct. She was really upset. When she finally was calmed enough to talk about what happened she said she broke up with Ron."

"She…" Ginny frowned. "Please…Please don't tell me you were hoping for this Luna because I cannot deal with that."

"No!" Luna exclaimed "Ginny, I just want Hermione to be happy. I didn't WANT them to break up. He made her happy… most of the time anyway."

"I believe you." And she did because she knew that Luna would never try to harm anyone unless they deserved it and even then only in extreme circumstances. She also knew that as far as Luna knew Hermione and Ron were happily in love until recently.

"I don't know what to do. I've never felt like this before." She sighed

"You're a very smart girl Luna. I'd even wager you were just as smart as Hermione. You'll figure out what's best. And I'll be here for you every step of the way."

"Thank you Ginny. That means a lot" Luna stood brushing off her skirt, she held a hand out to her friend. Ginny smiled and when she was standing pulled Luna into a tight hug.

"You're my best friend you know. I don't want you to have to hide stuff like this from me. I mean I was the first person you told about Katie." She laughed. "Now let's go get some supper."

Luna nodded.