A/N: Another slightly angsty Ginny POV I'm afraid. But I promise that we'll hear about Greg's side of things in the next part.

ooo

Luna,

I know this is pretty short notice, but you don't happen to be free to meet up this afternoon, do you?
I'm still feeling a little out of sorts after last night and think I could use some fresh air.

What do you say? Care to join me for a snowy walk around the Black Lake?

Ginny

ooo

Dear Ginny,

I am sorry you are feeling sad. I'm sure you and your friend will be able to work things out.

Yes, I would like to meet up, but I think I have a better idea of what we can do. Why don't you meet me at 2pm at the edge of the Forbidden Forest near Hagrid's hut? There is something I would like to show you.

Sending you a warm hug.

Your friend Luna

ooo

Ginny stared at Luna's letter, her eyes following the painted butterfly that the clever witch had enchanted to flutter happily around the words written in glittering purple ink. Like everything Luna did, her letters were always colourful and whimsical, and despite her current state of distress, Ginny couldn't help but marvel at the witch's talent as she brushed her thumb over the happily bouncing insect. She read the words again, the aching feeling in her chest getting stronger as she went over the first two sentences again.

'I am sorry you are feeling sad. I'm sure you and your friend will be able to work things out.'

She hadn't mentioned anything to Luna about Greg, but somehow the observant Ravenclaw always seemed to know things without having to be told.

She didn't exactly know what she had expected, but when she had arrived at breakfast that morning, the first thing she did was cast a look around for the tall Slytherin, and instantly found him sitting with his friends near the far end of the Great Hall. But it wasn't until she was halfway through her first piece of toast, that she realised something was off.

Greg and Ginny rarely sat together at meals, but usually there were at least a few glances exchanged, sometimes even shy smiles and little waves, and often times one would walk over to the other to exchange a few pleasant words once they had finished their meals and were about to leave the Great Hall.

But today had been different. Greg hadn't looked at her once, quietly eating his cereal and keeping his gaze trained stubbornly at the table in front of him. At first Ginny thought he might just be hungover, too – things like that could make people grumpy after all – but by the time Greg had got up and left without casting as much as a quick glance at her, Ginny had convinced herself that something was seriously wrong.

It was almost noon now and she was dreading to go back to the Great Hall for lunch. She hadn't heard from Greg all morning and, despite that not being unusual, her anxious mind was making up all sorts of reasons as to why her friend would ignore her. It didn't help that she also barely had any recollections of the night before. What if, in her drunkenness, she had said something to upset him? How was she supposed to apologise for something she didn't even remember? Or worse… what if Greg disapproved so much of her behaviour – getting drunk and being loud and suggestive – that he didn't want to be friends with her anymore?

Swallowing thickly she looked back down at Luna's letter, an ominous feeling settling in her stomach as she read the location Luna wanted to meet in. As far as Ginny was concerned it was best to stay as far away from the Forbidden Forest as possible, and she really hoped that Luna wasn't going to rope her into accompanying her on one of her crazy quests to find magical creatures that probably didn't exist. But she needed a distraction. So with a deep sigh, she scribbled a quick reply on the back of Luna's lavender scented parchment and agreed to meet the eccentric witch at the suggested location.

"Where exactly are we going?" Ginny asked, as she followed Luna along the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Oh it's not much further." Luna replied vaguely.

Ginny sighed. She was feeling a little on edge and had half a heart to make up an excuse and tell Luna that she needed to get back to the castle, when the blonde witch stopped so abruptly that Ginny nearly walked into her.

"There you are." Luna breathed, gazing at something beyond the border of the forest. Ginny followed Luna's line of vision and gasped when she spotted a horse-like creature between the trees.

"Thestrals!" She whispered; eyes wide as she took a curious step closer. She had learned about Thestrals before, had even ridden one back in her fourth year, but she'd never been able to see one until the beginning of this year. They were beautiful, in a mysterious, almost eerie way; - the skeletal body black as the night, with huge, bat-like wings and dark, gleaming eyes.

"This is Mórrigan." Luna explained, as she pulled a piece of raw meat out of her bag and stretched her arm out in offer. Ginny took a cautious step back, half hiding behind Luna, and watched mesmerised as the dark creature approached.

"She was born in March and is the youngest of the herd." Luna beamed as Mórrigan accepted the meat with careful teeth and allowed the blonde witch to stroke her neck gently. "I'm helping Hagrid train her to pull the carriages."

"Oh." Ginny breathed, beginning to understand.

"With a little bit of practice, she'll be ready to attend the carriage ride down to the Hogsmeade train station next week." Luna said, her forget-me-not blue eyes filled with warm affection and pride, as she ran a gentle finger across the creature's nose, before turning to Ginny with a wide smile. "Care for a ride?"

Ten minutes later Ginny was sat in a two-seater coach with Luna, bundled up in a blanket and holding jars of bluebell flames, as Mórrigan and another Thestral named Thanatos took them on a ride around the lake.

"Now tell me about your friend." Luna said, looking encouragingly at her.

Ginny let out a deep sigh and shrugged. "He's not talking to me right now."

"Hmmm." Luna hummed thoughtfully "And are you talking to him?" she asked, her pale eyebrows raised in question.

"Yes, of course I am." Ginny bristled. She was feeling a little defensive all of a sudden and couldn't quite hide her frustration. "It's not me who's behaving strange, you know? I don't even know what's wrong. One minute we're cuddling on the sofa and everything is fine, and the next minute he doesn't even look at me."

"And did you ask him why?" Luna inquired, a knowing expression on her face.

"I… uhm…" Ginny swallowed, before shaking her head reluctantly. "No. I didn't"

"Then how can you know that he's not talking to you?"

"I… I don't." Ginny admitted grudgingly. "But he didn't even look at me, Lu!" She cast the pretty Ravenclaw a desperate look, "And I have no idea what I did wrong."

"Sometimes," Luna said wisely. "We do everything right, and things still don't happen the way we want them to."

Ginny huffed out an agitated sigh.

"That's not helping."

Luna laughed. "Oh, I don't think you have anything to worry about. It looks like you just need to talk to him. Then things will soon fall into place."

"So what? I'm supposed to just act like nothing happened?" Ginny asked incredulously.

At that, the blonde tilted her head to look at her, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Act like you want him to act." She finally said. "If you want things to go back to what they were before yesterday, then yes, pretend nothing ever happened. Just as long as that is really what you want."

"I do." Ginny said, but there wasn't much conviction in her voice. "I think."

Part of her really did want everything to go back to normal. She yearned for those days when her friendship with Gregory had been easy and uncomplicated. When they had laughed and joked, and nothing had ever felt awkward. But there was also a part of her that wondered if maybe they could be more than friends. That part of her that had felt how her heart began to thrum every time he smiled at her, or the way her whole body lit up with fire whenever he accidentally brushed his fingers against her skin.

The question was: Did she really want to risk a perfectly good friendship, because of a stupid little crush? - No. No she did not.

She sucked in a deep breath through her nose, before letting it back out through her mouth in a steady stream of air.

"Yes." She finally said, a new sense of determination settling in her stomach. "That's definitely what I want."

"Then that's what you have to do." Luna said, and Ginny thought she could see a glimpse of disappointment flit across the witch's eyes. "Go and talk to him. Be his friend."

"Yeah, I will." Ginny said, refusing to acknowledge the sad little smile on her friend's face. "Thanks Luna."

Luna nodded and then her smile finally reached her eyes, as she draped an arm around Ginny's back and leaned in to rest her head against hers. "That's okay." She whispered, before adding a cryptical "Sometimes things take longer than you think. But eventually everything turns out the way they should."