Characters' current ages: Shiro Ueda: 13. Luna Lovegood: 12.

A storm was striking outside one evening at Hogwarts. Dangerous dark gray clouds made up the sky, blanketing any sunlight that feebly attempted to shine through. Sheets of rain pounding against windows made the only visible sight when peering outside a streaky blur. Thunder boomed ominously in the distance, while lightning cracked occasionally.

How fitting this awful weather was for Shiro's mood. He was gradually slipping out of Draco's manipulative grasp and back to his true self, but was it really for the best? He would return to his old ways and please his friends and family by it… But what would the consequences be? Oh, what he'd give for a place to escape reality, to let loose… Apparently his feet were working ahead of his mind, because he glanced up to find he was standing outside of the library. Forming the slightest of smiles, he opened the door and entered.

It seemed like the entire population of Hogwarts was avoiding the library, as if the room was right in the middle of the storm outside. Shrugging internally, he nodded at Madam Pince and set off to browse the shelves. Some gory sort of fiction would suit his fancy… It was when he reached the horror section that he became aware of the fact that somebody else was present in the room. Hand suspended in midair reaching for a book, he turned around leisurely as if expecting a 20 foot tall troll to be standing behind him. The sight that met his eyes was anything but that: the other person in the room was Luna Lovegood.

The blonde Ravenclaw was sitting complicatedly cross-legged on a couch, using one hand to support a gigantic novel and the other to fiddle with her necklace of butterbeer caps. Her lips were moving slightly; she must have been mouthing the words she was reading. Shiro so greatly envied her ability to remain constantly in her own little world, oblivious to everything she didn't deem important…

Suddenly, Shiro was blushing and ducking behind a bookshelf. That airy, stuck-in-a-dream behavior of hers: did he not find it intriguing, attractive? Hadn't he told his roommates, Blaze, and himself that Luna was the one he had a crush on? It didn't take much thought for him to know that he meant it. People constantly insisted he'd be good with Blaze or Konata, yet he thought of Blaze as too much like a sister, and Konata was taken plus he knew- well, assumed- she thought of him as an older brother. Besides: he couldn't describe it, but something just drew him to Luna… Some unseen mutuality between them…

"I know you're standing there," a voice almost too high to be natural indicated. Shiro jumped, snapping out of his thoughts with a jolt. His blush increased when he saw that Luna was staring straight at him, her position otherwise unchanged. "You're not afraid of me, are you, Shiro? I won't bite you."

Shiro chuckled nervously, stepping out from behind his hiding space. "Oh, n-no, of course not, Luna…" She just smiled at him for a few seconds, until his stammered: "U-uh, what, a-are you looking at me like that, for?"

"Hm? It's just, people so rarely call me Luna anymore. Nobody besides Daddy and my professors, I don't think."

"Well that's rather dumb, considering your name is Luna… What would people call you?" But he knew the answer before Luna verbalized it.

"Loony." She uncrossed her legs, her pleasant expressing never faltering. "Although I don't mind it all that much, everyone seems to enjoy it." Shiro narrowed his eyes slightly, slipping over and sitting beside her on the couch.

"That's awful of them, Luna. I'm glad it doesn't hurt you, though…" He flashed a heartfelt smile. "If it means anything, I don't think you're loony at all. I think you're brilliant."

Luna's smile remained the same, yet something in her expression did change. It took Shiro a moment to register it, but he eventually concluded that some sort of surprised relief or happiness sprung into her eyes. It was silent for a good half minute as the two simply blinked at each other, Shiro's smile fading in the awkwardness. "I-I, er… I like, your earrings," he murmured, eyeing the radishes dangling from Luna's earlobes. She brushed back her straggly hair as if to confirm her earrings were still present.

"Thank you," she answered with the same expression she'd had from the start. "I like your teeth."

What an odd comment. Shiro just stared at her uncomprehendingly, offering a confused smile, until she provided him with further explanation in that airy voice of hers. "You smile with your teeth. They're very white, you know. It's quite lovely."

"Thanks," Shiro replied quietly, his cheeks burning red again. His smile had been complimented multiple times by various people, so how come he didn't seem to actually acknowledge the praise until now?

More silence. Shiro shifted uncomfortably as Luna's eyes gradually drifted back down to her lap. There! There was something to talk about… "That book. Are you enjoying it so far?" Shiro inquired, hoping his tone didn't sound too eager.

"Oh, yes, it's my fifth time reading. It's very charming…" Glancing down, Shiro now got a better view of the cover. It displayed an image of a young witch and wizard attempting to reach each other from two islands. Shiro drew in a silent gasp the second he laid eyes on the title.

"Wow, this is my favorite romantic novel! I've read it six times myself…" he breathed. Interest flickered across Luna's face.

"You have? It is an engaging tale, isn't it?"

"Absolutely… So many morals can be drawn from it, I'll probably have a different view on all the events every single time I read it." Shiro was getting so excited that Madam Pince had to remind him to lower his voice.

"The plot is very riveting, yes? So sad and moving…" Luna tapped her index finger against her lip. "I don't quite understand chapter 49, though. That warm, luscious feeling of perfection that was being described… I simply couldn't grasp it."

"You mean the kiss chapter?" Shiro confirmed. When Luna nodded, he said, "I see what you mean, I couldn't relate to it…" His heart gave a lurch when he realized what he was saying: neither of them were able to understand part of their mutual favorite novel because neither of them had been kissed… He gulped deeply and began shaking just a bit, making one of the most daring decisions of his life. "Luna, would you… Would you like to know what it feels like?"

"It would be a lovely experience, yes," Luna replied nonchalantly. Surely even shehad to be able to take Shiro's hint… Apparently she didn't though, for her dotty smile still remained unaltered. It wasn't until Shiro scooted closer to her that the grin shrunk a bit. Her already huge eyes widened; nonetheless, she didn't speak. Instead, she sat there completely still as Shiro gingerly grasped her hand that was on the novel, tilted his head in what he deemed to be the correct direction, and partially closed his eyes. The brown haired boy's heart was pounding and he could feel himself begin to perspire.

You are so disgusting, he scolded himself. Still, Luna did not recoil. In fact, when Shiro leaned forward at long last and softly mashed his lips against hers, her eyes closed. She squeezed his hand, signaling that she did not desire him to pull away. Shiro absorbed all he could of the moment- the mild scent of some sort of incense emanating from her, the tickle of her hair against his cheek- and wished it would last forever; that the firework show occurring in his head would never end… Yet he must have jinxed it, for the two found themselves withdrawing.

"Goodness, no wonder the author described it as being so brilliant… That was quite nice," Luna breathed. Shiro simply nodded, his tongue tied. The dirty blonde Ravenclaw got to her feet, gingerly placing her novel on the coffee table in front of her. "Thank you, Shiro, I appreciate the experience. I will see you at breakfast." And with that, she skipped out of the library, leaving a dumbstruck Shiro to gawk after her with nothing but the sound of whistling winds in the background. Somehow, he just knew that even if Luna was both his first crush and kiss, the two would never become a couple.