Harry and Ron were having a private conversation with Griphook while Hermione, Luna, and Fleur were sipping tea by the fireplace. None of them seemed particularly interested in discussing the ongoing war, so they passed the time flipping through the latest copy of Witch Weekly.

"Ugh, I cannot imagine why lavender, of all colours, would be ze eyeliner of ze season," Fleur scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Eet makes one look like zey 'ave a black eye."

"I feel like overdone dark brown does that," Hermione replied, wrinkling her nose.

"I personally struggle with makeup," Luna said airily. "My hand gets all shaky, and most of it makes my face itchy. Sometimes I'll do a bit of lip gloss. I even let Cho put mascara on me once, but it just doesn't feel like me."

Hermione flipped to the next page. "Oh look at that, it's Rita promoting that new perfume laced with love potion," she groaned. "Honestly, I'm not surprised. That beetle would probably bathe in the stuff."

Luna tilted her head. "Beetle?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you guys?" Hermione leaned forward with the thrill of a juicy secret. "She's an unregistered Animagus. She can shift into a beetle. Which, in my opinion, is so fitting." Fleur and Luna burst into giggles along with her. "I once trapped her in a jar and blackmailed her with the information to keep her nose out of our business."

Tears began streaming down Fleur's cheeks from laughter. "Ermione! You 'ave such... how you say... spunk! I truly 'ope I 'ave you as a sister-in-law one day! I shall tell Ron to put a ring on zat finger!"

Hermione blushed, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't pretend you don't love him, Ermione," Fleur teased with a sly smirk. "I 'ave seen ze way you look at 'im."

Hermione set the magazine down with a sigh. "Okay, fine. I admit it—I've loved him for years. And I think he loves me too, he just... won't say it."

"Well, why don't you tell him?" Luna said thoughtfully. "There's no rule that says a girl can't confess first, you know. I was going to confess to Harry, but he beat me to it."

Hermione choked on her tea. "Harry!? You and Harry—you two are—?"

Luna nodded with a dreamy grin. "We only started yesterday. But I'm happy. He's my first real boyfriend, you know."

Fleur raised a brow. "As opposed to a fake boyfriend?"

Luna giggled nervously.

"Luna, is there something you're not telling us?" Hermione asked, grinning now, intrigued. "Did you kiss someone before Harry or something?"

Luna smiled sheepishly, then launched into the story of how Draco, in an emotionally erratic and alcohol-fueled moment, had been her first kiss. Hermione's face twisted into a mixture of shock and horror as she finished.

"Draco!? Oh goodness, I am so sorry!"

"I'm not," Luna said gently. "It was a volatile time for us all. He'd bring me books and cups of tea during my time there. You'd be surprised—he's actually a good friend, when he wants to be."

Hermione opened her mouth like she was going to protest but paused instead.

"Well, I am assuming since you're with 'Arry, you told Draco you don't feel zat way?" Fleur asked.

Luna nodded. "He agreed."

"I'm sorry, I'm not going to see Draco the same way again," Hermione muttered, still visibly stunned. "But... to be fair, he did take a Cruciatus Curse for me. So maybe he has changed."

Luna smiled dreamily. "Yes. I believe he has."

She leaned back into the sofa with a soft sigh, looking between the girls. "It's really nice to have girl talk again," she said thoughtfully. "I've been surrounded by men for three whole months. Not that they were unpleasant. Ollivander was a huge comfort, and Draco turned out to be a good friend, but it's nice to be around girls again."

Hermione smiled, clinking her teacup gently against Luna's. "To girl talk."

"To girl talk," Luna echoed with a grin.