Chapter Five
Over the next few weeks Luna kept expecting to be confronted by Neville but the moment never came. The day before Halloween she found Hermione in the library so she could figure out what was going on.

"Hermione, what's up with Neville?" she asked. Hermione looked up from the parchment she'd been writing on and dropped her quill.

"I don't know. I thought he was going to talk to you but he never did and now he keeps avoiding me," she explained.

Luna nodded but the craziest thought just popped into her head. What if she went to Neville instead? This might put Hermione in a bad position because she probably shouldn't have told her. But that else could she really do?

She left Hermione in the library and was on her way to the Great Hall when who should she run into but Neville, literally. He was bent over at the foot of the marble staircase picking something up that he'd obviously dropped.

"Hey Neville," she said cheerfully. Neville looked up at her, terror in his eyes. He grabbed whatever it was he'd been picking up and bolted in the opposite direction. That went well, Luna thought to herself as she continued on to the Great Hall.

***

With the absence of Harry and Ginny, Ron was made Quidditch Captain and put in charge of finding a new Seeker and Chaser. Harry had been the best Seeker they'd had since Ron's own brother Charlie Weasley had been on the team so whoever took over the spot probably wouldn't be as good. Ron put Seamus in Ginny's spot and Dennis Creevey as Seeker.

Ron was enjoying his new position as Captain because he could tell everyone else what to do. The fun part was watching Cormac McLaggen storm off the pitch when he was rejected as Chaser and Seeker.

Ron was hovering in front of the three golden hoops thinking about Hermione and wasn't concentrating so he almost got hit in the head by the Quaffle. He flew out of the way just in time but hit his left hoop and went flying off his broom. He grabbed his broom and was hanging in midair with one arm.

Dean Thomas who had thrown the Quaffle came to the rescue and helped Ron back onto his broom. From now on Ron stayed focused as he guarded the hoops. He had plenty of time to think about Hermione and even see her later.

Neville was re-potting Mandrakes in Greenhouse Two when he heard a noise outside. He covered the Mandrake seedling carefully with dirt and took off his earmuffs before looking around the table.

"Hello?" he called, wondering who was wandering around out there. He was about to go back to the Mandrake seedlings which he was re-potting as a favour to Professor Sprout when Luna appeared from behind a shelf.

He grabbed his earmuffs and shoved them on his ears, ignoring Luna and going back to his re-potting. Luna knew he was ignoring her but valiantly tried to get his attention. She waited until Neville had put the next Mandrake into a pot before she pulled his earmuffs off.

"Hi," she said brightly but Neville didn't turn around. He went next door into Greenhouse Three to water the Flotterblooms while Luna followed. "You can't ignore me forever!" she called but Neville was apparently going to try. He slammed the door in her face and went over to fill the watering can.

She opened the door and jumped up on the bench right next to the Flotterblooms so Neville dropped the watering can and stopped in front of her.

"What?" he cried exasperatedly.

"You like me," Luna said teasingly.

"So?" Neville said, picking up the watering can and putting it on a shelf.

"What ya gonna do about it?" Luna said amusedly, jumping down from the bench.

"Nothing," Neville said turning around. Luna stood up on her toes and pressed her lips to Neville's. He dropped the shovel he'd just got off the shelf and kissed Luna back. She wrapped her arms around Neville's neck and he lifted her up onto the bench.

"Wow," Luna said. Neville nodded uncomfortably. Luna jumped down and took his hand, dragging him out of the greenhouse and across the grounds.

***

Hermione had her Arithmancy book open on her lap but she wasn't reading. Ron had her pressed up against her bed frame and was kissing her. All thoughts of homework disappeared from her mind while kissing Ron.

Ron ran his hands through Hermione's hair as their lips moved in synchronisation. He had a pile of homework waiting for him in his dormitory but he'd much rather kiss Hermione after almost falling off his broom thinking about her.

They sprang apart when the door of the girl's dormitory swung open. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil walked in already chatting about something and their mouths dropped open at the sight of both Ron and Hermione on the bed. They giggled and went over to Lavender's bed, disappearing behind the hangings.

Ron kissed Hermione's cheek and reluctantly went back to his own dorm to start his homework. Hermione tried to concentrate on her Arithmancy book but she was still thinking about Ron, anxious to still be with him.

***

Hermione was on her way to the Headmistress's Office to enquire about her new Head Girl duties. As she walked along the corridor on the seventh floor she shoved her Arithmancy and Ancient Runes textbooks into her bag.

"Animagus," she said and was allowed entry to the staircase. The staircase moved upwards and she was soon at the door to the Headmistress's Office. The door was already open so she stepped inside to find Professor McGonagall writing away at her desk.

"Hello, Hermione. I need to dash out for a second so if you wouldn't mind waiting here," Professor McGonagall said, standing up. Hermione nodded and sat down on the seat in front of the desk as the Headmistress brushed past her and out the door. She was going to get out her Arithmancy textbook and catch up on the next chapter when a glowing from behind a partition in the office caught her eye.

She stood up and walked over to where the glowing was coming from. She identified a pensieve and was trying to decipher the runes around the edges when she was tipped inside. Her scream vanished from her lips as she was sucked inside Professor McGonagall's memory.

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time," said Professor McGonagall. Hermione recognised herself standing with Harry and Ron. Her mind flashed back to her very first year at Hogwarts when they'd gone to question Professor McGonagall about Dumbledore's whereabouts.

"But this is important," Harry persisted. Hermione wasn't really interested in the memory she'd landed in, more about why Professor McGonagall had been thinking about it recently. It was hardly relevant at the moment, was it? The Philosopher's Stone had been destroyed that year, so how was that memory of particular importance?