The Art Of Making People Shut Up
1.
The first time Ginny Weasley encountered Luna Lovegood's unique world view was in the sorting line, she had been fidgeting nervously, avoiding her brothers looks and trying not to imagine their reactions if she was sorted anywhere other than Gryffindor.
"My father was a Ravenclaw, but mum was a Slytherin. I think that I'd like to be in both- alternating weeks perhaps." The ageless voice came from a tiny girl in front of Ginny, little of the girl was visible beneath her waist length yellow hair.
"That isn't really how it works," Ginny said, pleased that having six older brothers had finally come in handy.
"Oh," The girl turned to face Ginny, huge grey eyes gazing through her, "That's how it should work." With that, the strange girl drifted off towards the sorting hat before McGonagall had enunciated the first syllable in "Lovegood, Luna."
Ginny stuffed the soaking wet blouse into her bag when she heard the door to the girls bathroom open, she would just have to hope that she'd managed to get the blood stain out. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance when she saw her interrupter was the girl from the sorting, the girl who had quickly acquired the nickname of Loony Lovegood.
"Been spending time up on the hills?" Luna asked casually.
"No. Why?" Ginny snapped; she didn't know where she'd been.
"You look pale. The hills around Hogwarts are infested with Flying Light Leaches."
"No they're not." Ginny was sure if that was true, Fred and George would have found a use for them by now.
"My father says it's true."
"You're fathers a nutter, everyone knows it." Ginny said attempting to hide her dripping schoolbag behind her back.
Luna's usually vacant gaze sharpened, "I don't make judgments on your father."
"Alright, okay, whatever you say. I've got to go." Ginny dashed for the door still trying to hide the fact that her bag seemed to have sprung a leak.
"Ginny, a Dripping Wandfish seems to be hiding in your bag."
2.
"Demiguise hide? Luna, you can't write your potions essay on Demiguise hide." Ginny said, looking over Colin's head at the other girl as the second years were herded through the corridors, the teachers still on full Sirius Black alert.
"Why not? I'm bored of parchment."
"Um, because Demiguise hide is invisible. Snape wouldn't be able to read it." She paused for a minute, "Hey Colin, maybe you should do that, it might up your marks if Snape can't read what you've wrote."
"Hey!" the short boy took a swipe at the redhead. Luna continued to wander down the corridor taking no notice of the two friends or their loud squabble.
When Ginny and Colin finally arrived in potions, Ginny having threatened Colin with the twins' latest innovation, they found Luna writing 'Luna Lovegood loves Stubby Boardman' on the desk in indelible ink. She got detentions for a fortnight.
"Luna, you can't do your Care of magical creatures projects on Crumple Horned Snorknacks," Ginny insisted.
"Hagrid said we could do them on any creatures we liked," Luna used her luminous orange pendant to pick under her nails.
"I think he meant real creatures."
Luna muttered something about Ravenclaws and teaching standards. Ginny muttered something that sounded a lot like Loony Lovegood.
3.
Ginny had nipped away from the Yule ball, in order to attempt some sort of numbing spell on her feet, seeing as Neville had managed to mash them into a painful pulp within two songs. As she stepped out of the great hall she found herself faced with something her mother would have describe as an explosion in a paint factory. She blinked, then blinked again, then realised that she was, in fact facing Luna Lovegood wearing a robe of may different colours, there was no discernable pattern to the splashes of colour, in fact she looked as if she'd just thrown cans of paint at her ordinary school robes. Which, knowing Luna, was a distinct possibility.
Luna was also wearing a bulky necklace that looked like it had been assembled from stringing five of Fred and George's fake wands together.
"You look very pretty tonight Ginny," Luna observed in her usual detached voice.
Ginny blushed, she had put a lot of effort in, even if it was for Neville rather than Harry. She looked Luna up and down, searching for something to compliment Luna on, her robes and jewellery were as insane as usual, but her lank blonde hair was pulled back from her face in a pony tail, revealing high cheek bones, and her thin lips sparkled with some sort of charm. "Those are very interesting robes Luna."
"Well, since the founders held the first Yule ball, so I thought I'd wear the colours of all four houses." Luna gestured down at her crazy robes.
"Oh, uh, that's..." Ginny was saved from having to work out exactly what that was by the arrival of Neville, asking if she wanted to dance again. She gave Luna a questioning look.
"That's ok," Luna shrugged, "I was thinking of asking Professor Snape to dance anyway."
"Luna, maybe..." Luna vanished before Ginny could say how much of a bad idea that was.
4.
Sitting down by the lake Ginny flexed her ankle, feeling the slight twinge that Madam Pomfrey hadn't been able to entirely heal; she hadn't spoken to any of the others who had been at the department of mysteries since returning to Hogwarts. Harry was still trying to come to terms with Sirius' de- what had happened to Sirius. Ron and Hermione were rallying round him, Ginny was staying out of his way, she remembered the disaster of her first year, during the summer after all she had wanted was to be left alone, resenting her family for forcing their presence on her.
"Hello," Ginny turned sharply, lost in memories she hadn't noticed Luna sit down next to her on the dew soaked grass, clutched in Luna's long fingers was a magazine.
"Is that The Quibbler?"
"No, it's Witch Weekly," before Ginny could ask what Luna was doing reading Witch Weekly Luna had dropped the magazine into her lap, "I thought that would be a good thing for Harry to do."
The magazine was open at an advert for Warlock Wilkans Winged Horse Farm; the advertisement declared that visitors could hire a winged horse for the day. "You want to take Harry horse flying?"
The blonde nodded once, "Flying horses have the ability to heal wounds of the heart."
"Luna, I'm not sure if..."
Luna dipped her head forward and kissed the freckle on the tip of Ginny's nose. Ginny's jaw dropped, she was speechless.
A ghost of a smile passed over Luna's lips, "I thought it might stop you correcting me."
Ginny opened her mouth to speak, only for her mouth to be covered by Luna's damp lips, Luna's hands clutched Ginny's baggy second hand robes. Ginny parted her lips slightly and slid backwards until her back was pressed into the grass, Luna moving with her, Lips pressed together gently, not moving just lying together.
Luna drifted gently away, long straw like hair falling gently down over both girls. Ginny's eyelids fluttered open and she saw Luna's wide, pale eyes staring at her. "What was that for?"
Luna shrugged and moved off Ginny to lie on the grass next to her, "When my mum died father took me for a day out at a winged horse farm. It helped."
Ginny couldn't think of anything to say to that, so she just leaned over and pressed her lips briefly against Luna's cheek. The two girls lay on their backs on the grass and Ginny listened in silence as Luna told her about her mum and the flying horses.