Chapter 3: Stand Out

"But you spoke to him! That's…. progress, at least!"

Though Ginny Weasley's words were insistent in their encouragement, the smile behind them was caught between thrilled and tense. The stretch to her dimples was a microcosm of the diametric pull she felt as she considered to whom she should hold a higher loyalty: her brother or her best mate who was the closest thing to a sister she'd ever had.

Mind you, a mere year and a half ago, the question Ginny posed to herself now would have had an easy answer: she would have chosen her brother, no matter which one, because, well… she hadn't had any friends. Certainly not best friends, and who were girls. True, Hermione had always been friendly, but with how she hung about Harry and Ron, there was little time for Ron's kid sister.

Eighteen months ago, Ginny had become convinced she didn't deserve to have friends at all, nor would she find any. Her entire first year at Hogwarts had been something of a wash where making connections was concerned. It was difficult to go unnoticed with a family like hers and being an only girl, yet still she had managed it. It had been a delicate balance: to not want to be noticed because she was a Weasley, and yet want to be noticed for just herself.

Well, she'd been noticed, all right - and gone from being universally invisible to being universally despised, it felt like, despite Harry and Dumbledore's best efforts. The Chamber of Secrets hadn't been her fault, they insisted, and that might be true, but only to a certain degree. Very few people were willing to consider very deeply matters of agency and free will, especially when there appeared a clear culprit regardless.

The summer between first and second year had been humiliating. The family trip to Egypt had hardly helped in bolstering moods. At times, she had even contemplated killing herself. So it had been in this state of mind that Ginny had boarded the Hogwarts Express for the second time, and wandered into a seemingly empty compartment, wanting to hide, only to find someone already seated there.

It had unnerved Ginny to realize that the odd bird with blonde plaits and bugging silver eyes already knew exactly who she was. Then she'd been struck by how the other girl didn't seem to associate or pass any judgment based on her identity and past at all. By the time the train had pulled into Hogsmeade Station, Ginny and the girl from Ravenclaw were chittering like two sisters.

And Ginny had made a great new friend.

Then made another great friend - Neville had joined them in their threstral carriage ride to the castle.

But Luna…. Luna Lovegood would always be first.

The Year of Sirius Black, as last term had come to be known amongst most of the students, had been made more bearable for Ginny thanks to Luna's serene presence and the dependable, true-blue support of Neville. Even with all the Dementors about, all the strange happenings within the castle, Luna had remained almost mesmerizingly unaffected by it all.

Except for that Halloween night, the night Sirius Black had invaded Gryffindor Tower.

The attack on her brother had left Ginny too distracted to reflect on what she had done a year ago Halloween… and had left her intrigued by how unusually shaken Luna had become over said attack. While the Fat Lady portrait and some interiors to the dormitories were being repaired, some Gryffindor girls, including Ginny, had temporarily relocated to Ravenclaw Tower across the castle. When she wasn't in class or in the Eagle's Common Room, Ginny was visiting Ron in the Hospital Wing. And every day, Luna would ask after him. Finally, Ginny had gently confronted her best girlfriend.

When Luna confided in Ginny that she had a crush on Ron, Ginny had wanted to laugh, and almost had. Out of all of her brothers - hell, out of all the blokes in the school - why did Luna have to fancy Ron? But then, Ginny had considered: though Luna could do better than Ron, if she were to marry any of Ginny's brothers, even Ron, then they'd be sisters. A girlish fantasy, perhaps, but it was enough for Ginny to, albeit reluctantly, …. encourage her best mate's crush.

At her side, Luna ducked her head while a very uncharacteristic blush tinted her cheeks. "Sure. He went from not knowing I exist to only just knowing my name!"

Ginny smirked and bumped Luna's shoulder. "My brother knows who you are…. He knows we're mates…" At Luna's storm-cloud colored orbs bulging in panic, Ginny laughed. "I didn't tell him you fancied him, love! But I did warn him off teasing you! Or nicking your things."

That must be why he didn't call me Looney, Luna thought and she smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Ginevra."

Literally any other person who said that name would have received a fierce Weasley glower for their trouble, but for Luna, Ginny rewarded her with a smirk. "What are best mates for?"

Luna bit her lip. "Ginny…. How do you get to be… more than mates? With a bloke," she amended quickly.

"It doesn't happen overnight, lassie. If it did, I'd already be with…." She mentally slapped herself. "Never mind. Any rate, maybe you could get involved in something - particularly something he likes - to get him to notice you."

Luna arched an eyebrow even around her pensive expression. "Like how you got a house elf to deliver a singing Valentine gram to…."

"Never you mind about that!" Ginny cut across her, her cheeks rouging pink.

Luna shrugged. "Well at least you know Harry likes house elves. Maybe you should get involved in their emancipation - like that SPEW Club I hear Hermione Granger's got going…"

"Right, all right, I thought I was supposed to be giving you advice…"

The pair of girls entered the Great Hall for breakfast to find a group of boys standing around the Gryffindor table in a whispered, heated discussion. Ginny looked: Harry and her brother were not among them. Spying Ginny, Neville dashed up to his best mates.

"Morning, Neville! What's wrong? Have you seen a Bandersnatch? Their excessively fast flying speeds can put the fear of Merlin in a person," Luna chirped.

"No Bandersnatch, Lu!" Neville dipped his head at Ginny. "Wotcher, Gin."

"Hullo." Her reply was stilted. Luna glanced between her two best mates with the curious frown more reminiscent of a child sensing her parents were fighting. Ginny and Neville had been acting all awkward around each other for the better part of two months, ever since Christmas night.

"Your brother is going to be really upset."

Ginny sighed. "What did you do now?"

"Aside from snogging you at the Yule Ball? Nothing," Luna quipped out an answer literally.

"OI!" came two voices simultaneously - Neville, for Ginny assuming he had done something wrong, and Ginny, for Luna even bringing that infamous kiss up.

Ginny finally sighed again. "What is it, Nev?"

"Lee Jordan is stepping down as Quidditch commentator!"

"What?!" Ginny's face fell in horror. "But… but he still has the rest of this term and next! He graduates with my brothers!"

"Fred and George can't talk him out of it; they've already tried!"

Ginny frowned. "Can't he ride out the close of this season at least?"

"With the Tournament taking up so much excitement and interest, we've been lucky to have a full season this term as it is," Dean Thomas pointed out.

Seamus Finnegan nodded grimly at his side. "McGonagall is holding auditions after dinner this evening out of the pitch."

"How?" Ginny asked. "Unless they get a pick up game going, how is anyone supposed to call a match…?"

Seamus shrugged. "She and Lee will screen for the best successor. It's open to all years and all Houses." His gaze shifted to Luna. "Say, Loo…ovegood," he caught himself as Ginny deliberately coughed out a warning. "Maybe you'd like to have a go?"

Luna flushed. "Me?" She seemed startled and touched, as if this was the first time anyone had invited her to partake in anything before, and it probably was.

Neville, who Ginny knew was a startlingly rabid fan of the game, for one so meek (almost as rabid as her brother) beseeched with his best girl. "Please, Luna… you must!"

Ginny grew thoughtful. With Lee's commentary legendary, who else could they possibly get to step up? And besides…

"Lu: get him to notice you!" Ginny prompted in her ear in a whisper. "This is it!"

The pretty Ravenclaw considered it. With that, Luna smiled pleasantly. "All right, then. I'll have a try!"

Neville, Seamus and Dean gratefully pushed a sign-up sheet under the blonde girl's nose, all three looking relieved.

That evening, Neville, Luna and Ginny headed out onto the Quidditch pitch for the commentator hearings. The dusk at Hogwarts was an inky twilight, with only a streak of orange on the horizon dying against the purpling sky.

"Who's even going to show out?" Ginny whined, bemoaning. "Everyone loves Lee's commentary!" A beat. "Except for the Slytherins, who don't love anything!"

As if in answer, they came over the crest of the pitch to find at least two scores of students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw apiece, plus a gaggle of Slytherins, hoping to hijack the school sport and color it with their own brand of humor.

"Huh. They must not love it that much," Luna observed mildly.

Neville grimaced. "So far, I'm not overwhelmed by our choices." He jerked his head towards the stands. "Gin and I will be up there watching, Lu."

Ginny buzzed Luna's cheek. "Luck, old girl!"

After a moment of standing there awkwardly, Neville also buzzed Luna's cheek. "Yeah. Luck." Luna beamed, pleased.

Ginny and Neville hiked up into the nosebleed section of the stands. They sat down side by side, though not looking at each other, just in time for Madame Hooch to magically project the footage of an old Quidditch match with the sound off. Every commentator auditionee would have to call the play they were seeing in real time, over a Muggle microphone (Lee Jordan had never used a Sonorous Charm to project his voice). The match would be rewound and fast forwarded at random to keep prospectives on their toes.

Neville shivered against the tail-end February chill. "How are they even supposed to choose….? It's just calling like you're seeing…"

"They'll want to see how she colors her commentary. For creativity," Ginny grunted, gaze fixed stubbornly ahead.

She felt Neville glance askance at her. "Maybe… maybe you should have gone for….?"

"Not me. I only want to make the Squad and play."

Neville shifted his gaze down to his shoes. When the silence reigned on for too long, all the way through the first commentating, he finally floated, "Gin….?"

"Uggh! Are you ever going to stop obsessing? Moping…? - It was a kiss, Nev! That's it!"

Neville stared at her and the way she suddenly rounded on him, startled. "I… I thought… you didn't like it…"

"Of course not! Does not liking it mean I have to feel more than nothing for it, love? It was a kiss. Let's just… move on." Her features softened as she bit her lip. "I just want my best friend back, Nev. I'm very grateful that you took me to the Ball. And the kiss wasn't even that bad, for my first." She almost laughed at how ashamed of himself Neville looked, as though he had stolen Ginny's first kiss from her. Shaking her head, Ginny darted in and pecked Neville lightly on the lips before jerking away.

"There. Now we're even. Mates?"

Neville slowly grinned in relief. "… Mates." Ginny shook his hand then bumped his shoulder playfully, sending him an easy grin.

Neville turned his gaze back to the projected match. "Was I at least all the way under the mistletoe….?"

"Oh, shut up!" Ginny hissed through a laugh.

"Sssh!" Neville hushed her, smiling. "Our Lu's up next!"

Ginny followed his gaze out to the pitch, heart thumping for her friend as Luna's voice sounded through the microphone.