FINALLY! Luna content! Sorry it took so long. Any conversations you were hoping for between Luna and Hermione, or Luna and Ginny for that matter, have officially been scrapped. I really had hoped for more, but...oh, well! Everything underlined is with Luna.

On a side note, I've noticed that I have only 22 reviews, and that some people who added this to their story alerts did not review. I'm not mad, just a little sad. I'd like to know what you're thinking!

- xHx

The going had been far slower than Luna had expected. Sam did not listen to any of her ideas, though Frodo was quick to give an excuse for his friend and gardener's antics.

"He's always like this," Frodo would say. "His father told him stories when he was younger, but he always found time to come over to my Uncle Bilbo's house to hear his stories. He always wanted to see other places in this world of ours."

Luna just smiled and took it to mean that Sam meant no offense by it. But then, of course, Gollum joined their small company, and Sam seemed anxious for one of Luna's ideas. But she would not give any.

Every night when the two Hobbits and the odd creature that is Gollum laid down to rest, she pulled out her gift from Lady Galadriel, the Orb of Iswamande. She would look into it to find out what their friends and former companions were doing.

This journey was going to take a lot more strength than she had.

"Helm's Deep!"

Gandalf was outraged, to say the very least. Hermione could hear him all the way in the stables, where she was busying herself with brushing Cúron's mane. Everyone else there occasionally threw her a dark sort of stare.

She only looked up for a second when Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli came through the stables. When Shadowfax blew past her, she didn't even glance up.

Then two men holding ropes led a dark horse, not black, but dark, into the stable. The stallion was very upset. Cúron was disturbed by the stallion's loud whinnying. Hermione had no choice but to stay with the mare and calm her. Aragorn, however, approached the stallion.

A few moments later, the stallion's cries quieted, and Cúron, too, began to calm. Hermione caressed her snout and smiled gently. "You see? It's all right. Nothing's wrong."

A few hours later, Hermione was back in her simple battle clothes, on Cúron's back, riding from the city of Edoras. Legolas and Gimli were just ahead of her; Freda and Éothain were not far behind.

With Hermione rode two young girls, whom she had given nicknames, for their real names were far too much for her. The younger had hair of bright red and turquoise eyes, while the elder had hair of light brown and clear, dark brown eyes. Hermione nicknamed them Arya and Anaya, after a pair of sisters she had known before her acceptance to Hogwarts. They were fraternal twins, just three days older than her.

It was going to be a long journey.

Sam, Frodo, Luna, and Gollum – who now kept calling himself Sméagol – were in a hilled area. Sam was cooking a pair of rabbits that Gollum had brought. Luna was gazing into the little orb, watching Ginny, Merry, and Pippin interacting with what looked like a giant, walking, talking tree.

She didn't notice Frodo walk away.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam called. She tucked the orb into her pack and followed them to an incredible sight.

"Who are they?"

"Wicked Men. Servants of Sauron. They are called to Mordor. The Dark One is gathering all armies to him," Gollum said. "It won't be long now. He will soon be ready."

"Ready to do what?"

"To make his war. The last war that will cover all the world in Shadow."

"We've got to get moving," Luna said.

"Come on, Sam."

"Mr. Frodo, look!"

The whole party turned.

"It's an oliphaunt. No one at home will believe this."

Gollum turned and ran, and warriors appeared everywhere, loosing arrows at the army crossing the path. Luna ran down into the fray.

"Miss Luna!" Sam cried. She disappeared from their sight. They did not see what happened, but she was struck by a stray arrow from one of Faramir's men.

Hermione held loosely to the two girls, riding to Gimli's left.

"It's true, you don't see many Dwarf women," the Dwarf said. "And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men. And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women, and that Dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" Hermione, Arya, and Anaya laughed. "Which is, of course, ridiculous."

The Dwarf gave a shout as the horse he was riding took off all of a sudden, which led to him falling from it. Anaya was in charge of the reins to guide Cúron, which, she had explained to them, was necessary, should a dizzy spell begin.

Legolas was near. She knew that by some forgotten instinct that had recently surfaced, which was proving to be very useful. Before leaving Edoras, the two had chosen a signal for her to give if she felt dizzy, so he could catch her. She would trust only him for this purpose.

As they rode across this stretch of land, it started. She lifted her left hand in a slightly clenched shape, as if she were reaching for something. This was the signal. She heard Arod coming up to her left, just before she went limp, luckily falling halfway across both horses. Arya and Anaya did not panic. They had been told that this was normal for her.

Five minutes later, her eyes opened. She shook her head slightly and, with a little assistance from Legolas, righted herself. Cúron was unfazed. She and Arod kept a steady pace, side-by-side.

"What did you see?" Legolas asked, gently touching the girl's cheek.

"Lothrendis, Sam, and Frodo. Things have…changed for them." She pushed her hair over her ears, momentarily ignoring the look in Legolas's eyes. "I'm glad we've discussed these previously, otherwise I would have fallen off of Cúron and likely injured myself."

"It's nothing, Hísiven. I would have done it without prior discussion. It's to be expected."

The brunette looked over at the blonde with a startled expression. Either he was a mind reader, or he sincerely believed that it was his duty to protect her. It was probably the latter, since she was the Wild Star of the Elves and he was the Prince of Northern Mirkwood, so she shook herself and just kept looking forward. But she could not ignore that she did feel drawn to him. She took a deep breath and hugged the girls who sat in front of her, taking the reins back for a time.

For just a moment, she thought back to the image that had come to her when they left Lothlórien in the boats. It was an impossibility, of course, but in the corner of her mind, she wondered how it would feel to walk down the aisle in a gown of pure white, to see the triumph in his eyes.

I have got to let it go.

When the column of women, children, and soldiers stopped to rest, Hermione returned Anaya and Arya to their mother. The girls' father had died recently, though both girls were stoic about it. If this had been the other world and they had been young witches, Hermione would have said they would be destined for incredible things. Anaya was likely to be a little heartbreaker, no matter how you put it or what world she was in.

But Hermione had something to do.

"Legolas?"

They stood together, tending their horses, though they were there more to talk than anything.

"Something is troubling you, Hísiven," he said. He didn't even ask. He had to be a mind reader.

"Yes, there is. Something important," she muttered, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Aragorn doesn't even know about this, unless Gandalf told him. I have to die in this war, Legolas."

She opened her eyes to see the Elf's bright blue eyes full of pain and fear.

"It is a necessary action, because I cannot truly be here without letting everyone else back into their world. Unless I die in this world, my friends will all be trapped in a sort of in-between place. Currently that just includes Ron and Luna."

"Lothrendis and Rothrandir, you mean? Lothrendis has died?"

"Yes, that's who I mean. She ran into a fight without knowing the consequences and was struck down by an arrow. Sam and Frodo do not know that she is dead; they think she is a captive."

They looked at each other intently. Legolas eventually accepted it, but he did not look all that happy about it. But then, she wasn't that good at reading his emotions. It didn't help her that he never spoke of his emotions.

"If you must do it, then I must come to terms with it. I only ask that I be allowed to say goodbye."

"If you do, then every moment will be a goodbye, for we will not know when it is coming," she said, shaking her head slightly. "It is best to live as if the next moment, one of us would be struck with an arrow or run through with a sword or trampled by a horse."

And then, without prelude or any hint whatsoever, he kissed her.

His lips were surprisingly soft, like the leaves of a rose under a midday sun in spring, his hands gentle as he pulled her to him. There was no fighting it now; she was falling for him. She had been falling for him since he'd arrived in Imladris and even before that, in her childhood dreams. But this was different. That had been slow, gentle. This hit her with the force of a semi truck speeding down a steep hill. Before it had been much more like childish banter between best friends of the opposite sex, but after this there was no way to get back to that. She gave in, wrapping her hands around his shoulders and kissing him back fervently.

Nothing's ever going to be the same, she thought. Guess I'd better get used to this now, because it feels like there's going to be a lot more of this in the near future.

YAY! A kiss scene!

Just thought I'd throw in a completely irrelavent allusion to another fandom I read but am adamant never to write fanfiction for, seeing as the first time I tried, I killed off a lead character. Oh, well. Cookies for anyone who guesses the reference! Hint; it doesn't even connect to a kiss scene.

- xHx

P.S.; Any guesses before the edit will be discounted. You also have to have the book title, the chapter number, the chapter title, and a basic summary of what the reference is about. Thank you.