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SIYE Time:13:02 on 29th March 2024
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That Terrifying Momentum
By Caleb Nova

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Category: Post-OotP, Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Other, Ron Weasley
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Disturbing Imagery, Extreme Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 24
Summary: To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts. An AU sixth year.
Hitcount: Story Total: 89329; Chapter Total: 3366







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8

Remember October, November?

Part II


It was during the break period after morning Herbology that Hermione found the opportunity to corner Scott by himself. The blond boy seemed to instinctively know when she was attempting to seek him out and was almost never found without the company of others. She wasn't sure whether he was doing this on purpose or if he was just a very sociable person, but she strongly suspected the former.

So when she came across Scott loitering outside of the entrance to the Headmaster's office, she seized upon her chance to talk with him. If she could have chosen the time and place then it would have been at some other juncture, as she already had a great deal on her mind after Herbology. Between Ron's behaviour during the trip to Hogsmeade and Hermione's recent intimations that she might invite him to Slughorn's Christmas party, she had quite a bit to think about.

Of course it was possible that Scott could assist her with that, since he was at least partly responsible for some of it. His manipulations, as well as those of his sister, had not gone unnoticed by Hermione during their trip to the Three Broomsticks. She wasn't fully prepared to shoot down any counterarguments Scott might conjure, but she had to take her chance when it came.

Upon spotting Hermione bearing down on him Scott's eyes went carefully blank. Hermione mentally reinforced her plan of attack. She was sure he would be infuriatingly intractable.

"Hey, Hermione," Scott drawled. It was his typical greeting, but the quirked-up corners of his mouth said that he knew exactly what she wanted.

"Hello, Scott," Hermione said. She didn't waste any effort propitiating with a smile or an innocently friendly demeanour. He said nothing, forcing her to continue, "Are you here to see the Headmaster?"

"Nope."

"Oh. You already talked to him?"

"Nope."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Standing around."

"In front of Dumbledore's office?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Somewhat of an odd place to stand around, don't you think?"

"Not really."

Scott wasn't making this easy, and she was becoming quite cross with him. "When we were at the Three Broomsticks, why did you tease Ron like that?" she said directly, switching to a different approach. If relevance wasn't working then she'd try a topical ambush.

Scott shrugged. "Why do I do anything?"

Hermione's standing with Scott was difficult to label. He seemed to exist in a separate space for each individual who knew him. For Harry, he was what Hermione would best describe as a co-conspirator. For Ron he was just another casual friend. For her, he was a puzzle. She treated him with a wary amity since he had, so far, been harmless. She suspected that Harry possessed the most complete picture. Dumbledore also had to know at least some things about him, or how else could Scott have gained admission to the school?

Her suspicions concerning Scott's dubious origins were enough to tag him as untrustworthy, but what bothered Hermione even more were his utterly inscrutable motivations. Was he really just an American student who had a troubled past to hide? Hermione supposed a history of petty crime or family troubles would justify his secrecy if he was trying to break away from an old persona.

Those pieces only fit certain parts of the puzzle, and the picture they made didn't feel right. There was more to it — she just wasn't seeing it. She didn't know enough.

Still, the idea that he was running from his old life earned some sympathy from her. This, combined with his seemingly genuine friendliness and clear desire to help them when he could, had resulted in her treating him as a friend in return, if a somewhat uncertain one.

So it was that Hermione felt upset by Scott's refusal to confide in her what he had told others. What was wrong with her that he thought such treatment was necessary?

"Why won't you answer me?" she asked him, and she must have failed to suppress the hurt she was feeling because his eyes softened at her tone.

"All right... I thought you and Ron could use a little help," Scott confessed.

"Help? What do you mean?" Hermione said a bit nervously.

"Yeah, I wonder. You two obviously have something going on. You saw how Ron flipped out when I was coming on to you, it was an obvious joke and he still couldn't take it. Anybody could parse that."

"Yes, well… Ron can be overprotective sometimes," Hermione said, though that wasn't what she wanted to believe.

Scott lifted a sceptical eyebrow. "If that's what you really think, then why would you even bother asking me about it?"

Hermione struggled with herself for a moment before bursting out, "He's so stubborn! Why can't he just tell me what he's thinking or feeling without me having to pry? Then when I do, he only gets angry again and we're right back where we started," she said, and sighed despondently.

"He doesn't work like that. And neither do you, for that matter. When was the last time you walked up to him and said 'Hey, Ron — I'm hot for your body, let's make out or something'? Never, that's when."

Hermione flushed. "I wouldn't say that!"

"So you're not hot for his body?"

"That's really none of your business," she said primly, "and this is hardly constructive."

"You told him this morning that you were going to invite him to the Christmas party, so that's a good start. Dress up nice, let those boobs hang out a little, and sparks will fly — I guarantee it," Scott said, giving her a dual thumbs up.

Hermione coloured even further, catching herself just before she looked down at her chest, an action which would have given Scott no end of amusement.

Scott laughed at her pinked cheeks. "Relax, Hermione. He wants you, believe me. I know the look. Here you are all worried that you're not attractive enough because you're a bookworm or whatever, and all he wants is for you to sit on his face." He leaned in towards her. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about — with the possible exception of pregnancy. You've seen his family."

Scott's crudity was unforgivable. But even worse were the images that sprang unbidden before her mind's eye at his words. She was appalled that Scott would even imply Ron wanted her to… to do… well… that thing he said. That didn't stop the scene from playing out like a silent movie in her head… Ron's strong hands wrapped around her thighs while she lowered herself down and he slipped his tongue up into — no! No, no, no, Hermione Granger did not entertain those kinds of thoughts, no matter what Scott Kharan said! It would be wrong of her to fantasise about Ron that way; he was her friend after all…

She steadfastly ignored her previous breakings of that particular rule, as well as the fact that she had figured out the logistics involved in just such a situation from literature that she would never confess to reading.

"I don't think that's exactly what he's been feeling -" Hermione said, bravely ignoring her burning cheeks as Scott snorted in derision. "- but I will ask him to the Christmas party… like I said I would."

"Swell. Now we'd better hit it if we want to get to class on time." Scott straightened up, moving from his position against the wall.

"What were you doing in front of the Headmaster's office?" Hermione asked one more time as they walked.

"Oh," Scott raised one hand and dropped it in a dismissive gesture, as if just remembering himself, "my sister is in there talking to Dumbledore. I was just showing her to the office."

That was a reasonable alibi. After the events in Hogsmeade, Hermione suspected that Lila Kharan was a member of the Order. Was there an American branch? Certainly she wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to have contacts in many other nations.

For now, she'd have to add this information to the growing pile of questions without answers. It wasn't that Hermione would ever abandon the drive for the truth about Scott, but her life had its own growing demands on her time.

Over the course of the following two weeks, Hermione was able to think of little else but the approaching Christmas party. Every day an unspoken understanding lingered between her and Ron, and they seemed to move closer together. Eye contact was a risky proposition. It was when she could observe him unnoticed that she could appreciate the changes maturation had effected upon him. She often caught herself watching him just for the sake of looking.

It was in the blank spaces that life at Hogwarts flew through the motions. Between her class load and showing support for Ron and Harry during their Quidditch practices when she could, the days slipped by with increasing speed. Scott was becoming gradually more absent from their down time in the common room — his schedule of tutoring sessions was growing increasingly demanding as he took multiple written exams. Neville and Luna became common fixtures during their break periods. Lately it seemed as if Luna was spending a greater amount of time in the Gryffindor common room than in the Ravenclaw one, which was a good thing as far as her friends were concerned.

Most of all, Hermione found herself concerned with homework — mounds of it. It had been brought upon her by her own choice, as she pursued more classes than her friends, but that didn't make it any less testing. She endured the snide remarks from her classmates and the extra work because she took a deep satisfaction in learning, a kind most people couldn't understand. Goofing off was all well and good on occasion, but there was so much to think and to write and to discover!

One evening, Hermione was unfurling a length of parchment on which was written a partially completed essay for Ancient Runes. She quickly scanned over her effort thus far and, pleased with what she saw, dipped her quill into the inkpot and settled down to finish. She had chosen to work in the common room as it was mostly empty at this time of day (it was not yet curfew, and the majority of students tended to remain at dinner and in the halls until they had to leave), and now and then she liked to curl up on a couch while she worked. There was something wonderful about a Hogwarts evening in front of the fire.

The second her quill touched the paper, the portrait entrance swung open to admit a great deal of noise, startling her. Her hand jolted across the essay, leaving a thick black streak. She scowled down at this new blemish on her otherwise perfect composition. Whoever was responsible would suffer the full wrath of her prefect powers.

"- Need to calm the fuck down, right now -" Was that Scott?

"Calm down?" She immediately recognised the second voice as Ron, clearly in a rage. "After what she said -"

"- Because you are out of line, man, way out of line -" Yes, that had to be Scott.

"You are sort of overreacting," Harry's voice joined in, though he sounded oddly unenthused.

"YOU HEARD WHAT SHE SAID, THAT -" Ron choked on whatever he had been about to say.

"Don't," Scott said firmly, "don't even go there. Take a deep breath and chill out."

Hermione shrank deeper into her couch. It was facing the fire and the back was to the entrance, so they hadn't seen her yet. Despite her misgivings about eavesdropping, she wanted to hear more and knew that if she stepped in they would stop.

"Things were said; mistakes were made, all right?" Scott continued. "This ain't worth a fuckin' meltdown."

"Do you think she did?" Ron said after a moment of silence, and Hermione had the feeling this wasn't the same 'she' as before.

"Dunno…" Harry said uncomfortably.

Ron must have looked at Scott because Scott said, "I don't know, man - I wasn't here. Why don't you ask her?"

"I can't," Ron muttered. "I can't ask her that."

"Then go be all pissed at her without her knowing why," Scott said irritably, "and when she stops talking to you, you'll never find out. How's that sound, big guy?"

Ron sighed as if he had been deflated, and she heard him slump against the wall. "It's just -"

"- just that you want to hate this Krum guy, but he's not here, so you're mad at her instead," Scott finished, his voice less harsh now. "I get it."

Hermione's eyes widened. Viktor? What on earth did he have to do with anything?

"He's right, Ron," Harry said, and he sounded less apathetic this time. "Don't start a row with Hermione over some ancient history. For one thing, my ears will thank you."

Hermione barely managed to repress a squeak of surprise, clapping one hand over her mouth. There was no sound following Harry's revelation and, for an awful moment, she thought they might have heard her. She was able to relax when Scott started talking again. They were talking about her! Her and Viktor! She was torn between indignation and the unbearable need to know more.

"Harry's ears aside," Scott was saying, "I don't think you've got anything to worry about. You guys know Hermione better than me, but I just can't see her doing anything with this Krum dude. If he tried to slip her the tongue you'd have known about it, because he'd probably be dead, or enjoying life as a toad. Though not a bad existence really, toads… I could go for that…"

Hermione was furious that they were talking about her semi-relationship with Viktor behind her back but was also a bit stunned at how well Scott had read her.

There was a moment of silence before Scott got back on track and continued, "Anyway, the goods are intact if you get what I'm saying. The cherry remains unpicked. So don't get your knickers in a twist over some kindergarten level foreplay. There's been more hardcore shit filmed by Disney. If it was any more innocent it'd be a Precious Moments collectible. I could put it on a billboard and sell breath mints. You'd be more likely to get a boner from Sunday School. …I'm running out of one liners. Let's go to bed."

"You'll feel better in the morning, Ron," Harry said, "then maybe you can talk to Ginny again -"

"I don't want to talk to Ginny!" Ron spat, evidently still somewhat in the grip of fury.

"All right, no Ginny..." Scott said. "Whatever. Just don't freeze out Hermione for something your sister said - you dig?"

"What?"

Scott sighed. "You get it?"

"Yeah… I get it…." Ron said, but he still sounded miserable. "I'm going to bed."

Ron's dejected footsteps receded up the stairs to the dormitories, leaving a hidden Hermione with Scott and Harry. Her mind was racing, thoughts coming and going so quickly that she was surprised the others couldn't hear them ricocheting off the inside of her skull.

"Looking a little green there, Harry."

"… I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do."

"She's just a friend," Harry said unconvincingly. "That's all."

Hermione repressed a tut of disbelief and was shortly distracted from her own predicament. Who did Harry think he was fooling? Whatever had happened with Ginny before the three boys had arrived at the common room, Hermione could have told anyone who asked that something had been going on between Ginny and Harry long before that.

"You know what?" Scott said, the annoyance returning to his voice. "I really don't want to deal with another round of this crap. Talk to me again when you're ready to man up."

Another set of footsteps went up the stairs, and Hermione held her breath, waiting. Were they all gone now? There was nothing audible save the crackling of the fire. She prepared herself for a quick peek over the top of the couch to confirm that they had left -

- and nearly jumped out of her skin when Scott said, "See? I told you so, Hermione."

The final pair of feet walked up to the dorms, leaving Hermione with her thoughts and a fast-thumping heart.


It was the day of the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and while Luna Lovegood was neither (nor was she particularly absorbed with Quidditch), she was still attending the game to show support for her friends. It was the nice thing to do, and she did enjoy watching the occasional Quidditch match. It was quite exciting at times. Basking in the tension of the crowd could be quite a thrilling experience, much like Snorkack hunting… or naming new stars.

But first, she had to find her special hat.

It was with some ceremony that she reached underneath her four poster bed and felt around with a blind hand. Her fist closed on a familiar fuzzy mane, and, with a tug, she freed her unusual headgear from its dusty resting place. Pulling her wand out from behind her ear, she renewed the magic that powered the hat. With the charms freshened, she was certain it would be extra loud. She felt it was important that the hat deliver its morale-boosting roar to every person in the stadium - she didn't want anyone to feel left out.

Luna carefully dusted the lion's head replica off, making sure its tawny coat gleamed. The lion needed to be beyond reproach for such a momentous event. After all, lions were prideful creatures. A dusty lion just wouldn't do.

Sitting back, she stopped to admire her handiwork before she donned it. It was, in her opinion, a very excellent replica of a lion's head - life-sized - and its roar was very realistic. The fact that it was also a hat was just the icing on the cake. Even without its lofty perch, it would still be excellent. Yes, she was fond of the hat. She hoped Neville liked it too.

The hat was heavy, but not unbearably so, as she settled it on her crown. It did limit her vision somewhat, so she tipped her head upwards to compensate. It was a little difficult to navigate the stairs in such a manner, but she managed it without injury and hurried out into the corridor.

Upon Luna's arrival with her humongous headgear, Scott was suitably impressed. "Oh good lord, what the hell is that?"

Luna looked up into the brim of her hat, trying to view it from her standpoint. "Do you like it?"

"I feel a stirring deep within me at the sight, and while that might be chalked up to the green chilli my sister sent me, I think it's the Gryffindor pride."

"It's a cool hat, Luna," Neville affirmed, "especially when it roars."

She beamed at them.

"HEY!" The three of them turned to see Trevor come tearing down the hallway at full speed, a bedraggled looking Kylie panting behind him as she tried to keep up. He came to a skidding halt in front of them. "Sorry I'm late; I had to find Kylie!"

"It's fine, we're just now ready to go," Scott said, motioning towards Luna.

"Wow!" Trevor gazed up in awe at Luna's hat. "That's a wicked hat!"

"It's unanimous - the hat is awesome," Scott said solemnly. Then he frowned and looked over his shoulder so that he could see Kylie, who was hiding behind him and eyeing the fierce hat with trepidation. "Well, almost unanimous."

"Maybe I should test it to make sure," Luna said thoughtfully. She didn't want to arrive at the game with a malfunctioning lion. She touched her wand to the hat.

The lion head reacted with a deep throated bellow that was deafening in the confined space of the hallway. Trevor was rocked back on his heels by the blast of sound, but the look on his face couldn't have been more delighted. Kylie jumped as if she had been electrocuted.

"Works fine, I think." Neville winced..

Scott dazedly looked towards the ceiling. "Is that you, God?"

"Cool!" Trevor said in summary, then immediately switched subjects. "We'd better hurry or we might not get good seats!"

"All right, let's go find Hermione," Scott agreed.

There were many other students on their way down to the stadium. As the group made their way, Luna's hat attracted various forms of attention, including a few cheers from the Gryffindors and some very ugly looks from the Slytherins. Her fellow Ravenclaws ignored her rather than be associated with such a sight. That didn't bother Luna; she was accustomed to being disregarded by her house.

The weather was sunny as they walked across the grounds towards the pitch, taking the edge off of the early November chill. Luna was a little disappointed that the clear blue sky held no clouds as she enjoyed naming cloud shapes in addition to stars. They spotted Hagrid leaving his cabin and waved to him. He returned it with a cheery wave of his own and ambled over to them.

"Great day fer a match!" Hagrid said by way of greeting. He looked at Luna and gave her a wink. "I like yer hat, Luna."

"Yes, it's quite popular," Luna said serenely.

"I'll be sittin' with Dumbledore an' the other teachers today," Hagrid explained, "but you lot know who I'll be cheerin' for, eh? Give Harry a roar for me, Luna!"

The stadium was a riot of conflicting colours, one half predominately red and gold and the other an explosion of green and silver. Homemade banners and pennants were in abundance. Luna's hat elicited multiple comments as they moved through the Gryffindor stands looking for Hermione. They found her sitting on the very first row just above the players' entrance to the pitch. Upon their arrival, she shifted over and removed the scarf she had put on the bench to save it for them.

"I felt bad taking so much of the bench like that," she said as they sat down. "It's filled up so fast today that I didn't have much choice."

"This is a great spot!" Trevor exclaimed, clearly enthused by their position.

"We were running just a little late," Scott explained to Hermione. "Luna had to get her hat — which was totally worth it."

"Here comes Harry," Neville interrupted them, pointing towards the team entrance.

As Harry and the rest of the team made their way to the starting positions, Luna lifted her wand again and activated her hat. Despite the overwhelmingly loud cheering and booing that drowned out all other sounds, the lion's roar cut through the cacophony like a foghorn. A few people turned towards the disturbance and grinned appreciatively — but only the ones that were sitting a good distance away. Everyone in Luna's immediate proximity gave her an entirely different sort of look while they massaged their ears. Out on the field, Harry looked slightly startled and turned towards where they were seated before his attention was pulled back to the toss up.

The lion roared again when Ron saved his first goal. Luna decided not to sound it after he saved his second. It rattled her brain inside of her head, and while everyone's brain could use a good rattling now and then, there were limits on that sort of thing.

"Aww, yes! Hell yeah!" Scott exclaimed after Ron made yet another spectacular save. He raised his right hand, making an odd gesture that looked like a pair of horns. "Ron is on fire today!"

"No, that's just his hair," Luna told him patiently. It was a mistake anyone could make, she supposed.

"It's an expression — it means that he's doing really well."

Luna nodded agreeably. "Yes, he is."

"Ron's a great player so long as he doesn't get nervous," Neville said. "I saw he was really pale this morning… I wonder what happened?"

Nobody said anything after that, but Luna noticed Hermione's lips thin out into a severe line, much like Professor McGonagall seemed to be fond of doing.

As the ferocious game played itself out in the air in front of them, Luna devoted her time to people-watching rather than Quidditch-watching. Her mind moved in such a fluid manner that it was hard to occupy it solely with one thing at a time. The match continued in a whirl of colour and fury without her supervision. There were so many more things to think about than just Quidditch.

Like Neville, for instance. For Luna, Neville occupied an oft visited corner of her mind. She wasn't entirely sure why, and that in itself warranted further investigation. He was her closest friend, an oddity in her solitary existence. Self-realisation was a strong trait in Luna and she had no illusions about what other people thought of her. But she was who she was, and she chose not to care what they said when she wasn't around; and apparently Neville didn't care either. He always stuck by her without concern for the damage it would do to his own social status. Luna thought Neville was a strong person on the inside; he just needed some help seeing that in himself.

Luna stopped thinking about Neville long enough to witness Harry's capture of the Snitch. The stands around her exploded in celebration, and Luna correspondingly activated her hat for one last victorious bellow. Scott was making that symbol with his hands again while Trevor stood up on the bench so he could see over the heads of the other celebrants. Hermione had vanished, and, down on the field, Luna could see her familiar brown hair streaking towards the triumphant Gryffindor team. For his efforts Ron received a full-bodied hug from Hermione, though she quickly let go with a blush. The look on Ron's face clearly said that the Quidditch match wasn't the only win of the day for him. For some reason Lavender Brown, who was standing near the foot of the stands, looked rather put out about something. Luna had a feeling that she knew what that something was.

Luna wasn't surprised that things between Ron and Hermione were changing. They had been suppressing some very powerful emotions and urges, and that kind of frustration couldn't be good for anyone. Now it seemed that they were finally on the right path.

Luna sighed happily to herself in a vague sort of cosmic contentment. Sometimes certain things in life just felt right to Luna, and Ron and Hermione were one of them. They had been wrong for so long that it had put her off balance at times when she was in their presence. She was glad they were clicking into place. If Luna ever felt that way about someone, she'd be sure to tell them right away.

The stands were beginning to empty and she looked to her companions to see if they were ready to leave. To her left, she found Scott looking at her with a very odd expression. "Do I have Nargles in my hair?" Luna asked a bit worriedly, her hands rising to tentatively pat her blond tresses.

"No..." Scott said slowly, "You're Nargle free for now. Are you happy for Ron and Hermione?"

"Oh, yes," she assured him. "Very. They were wrong for a long time — but now they're almost right, so it will probably be okay."

"You think?" Neville said, looking down at the field. Harry, Ron and Hermione were having an animated discussion near the exit. "I hope so. I don't want to be around the tower if they start fighting all the time."

"You might want to cross your fingers then," Scott muttered.

Luna followed his gaze down to the still talking trio and saw that things might be taking a turn for the worse. Harry seemed to be explaining something to Hermione, and her eyes widened, darting over to Ron. Ron reddened dangerously while Hermione, her face steadily flushing, talked to him rapidly. Scott might have been holding his breath as he watched.

To Luna's pleasant surprise, Ron appeared to exert some control over himself and released a sigh, giving Hermione an awkward shrug. To Luna's even more pleasant surprise, Hermione hugged him again in apology for whatever it was that she had done. Harry stared at his feet, clearly out of place. The moment - whatever it had been - passed, and the three of them disappeared through the players' exit.

"Two for two," Luna thought she heard Scott say under his breath as he let it out.

"Are you coming to the party, Luna?" Neville asked her, pulling her attention back to him.

"Yes," she said. "But first I'd like to put my hat away. I wouldn't want to set it down at the party for someone to accidentally sit on."

"I think they'd get quite a surprise if they did," Neville smiled.

"Nothing like a lion's head up your ass to ruin your day," Scott said, nodding sagely.

They followed the tail end of the crowd back to the school, a milling herd of students more concerned with talking than with covering any ground. Luna carried her lion under her arm since her neck had become tired due to the hefty nature of the hat.

Once inside, Luna split from the group and headed towards the Ravenclaw tower to stash the lion's head back under her bed until the next time it was needed. In the dormitories, she received thankfully little harassment for sitting with the Gryffindors instead of her housemates. Though they hadn't been directly involved in the game, the Ravenclaws enjoyed seeing a Slytherin defeat. The students of Salazar's house had never gone out of their way to endear themselves to others. It was too bad, really. Luna thought some of the Slytherins might be interesting people in their own right. Why did they like snakes so much? There were creatures that were much more fascinating, though she supposed snakes had their own slithery appeal.

After storing the hat, Luna made her way across the school to the Gryffindor portrait, where she found Neville waiting outside to let her in. That was very thoughtful of him. She wouldn't have wanted to be stuck out in the hall - she might have missed the party!

The festivities were going full tilt when the portrait swung open to admit the two of them. Luna spotted Scott ensconced in one of the couches next to Harry and Ron, both of whom were reliving the highlights of the game to a crowd of eager onlookers while Hermione rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. Crossing the room, Luna herself received a few pats on the back and acknowledgements for her display of support. It gave her an unfamiliar glow somewhere deep in her midsection. She quite liked that feeling.

"Luna!" Harry called to her with a wave. "I heard your hat!"

"Everybody heard her hat," Ron laughed.

Neville nearly tripped over several pairs of feet while trying to reach the couch before giving up and turning himself around to fall gracelessly backwards onto it. Scott deftly reached over and scooped Kylie up a second before she was flattened by the descending Neville, who hadn't seen her. Luna sat next to Neville, taking one of the butterbeers Harry offered the two of them from an icebox nearby.

The party continued with a dull roar of conversation as Luna looked about the room with fondness. The Gryffindor common room was a place she enjoyed being. It exuded a cosy comfort that the Ravenclaw equivalent never held for her. Of course, she reasoned, the Ravenclaw common room had never been full of friends. With Neville a warm presence on her right, her friends conversing around her, and the butterbeer settling wonderfully into her stomach, Luna sank back into the couch in gentle contentment. If she had known this had been what she was missing during her earlier years at Hogwarts, she'd probably have tried to make friends sooner.

She must have dozed off for a bit at that point, which in one way was a shame because she didn't want to miss anything. But on the other hand, waking up warm and comfortable was always nice.

"Luna," Neville was saying, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Hmm?" she responded sleepily. She yawned and sat up straighter. The shadows were deeper in the common room, and it was no longer full of boisterous celebrants.

"We're going to play a card game that Scott knows. Do you want to play?"

"Yes, I would," Luna said, waking up fully. A new game! That was always worth learning.

"Okay, the game's called 'War'," Scott explained, passing a deck from hand to hand with easy dexterity, "and it's really simple, so you won't get lost. Now — hey, where did Ron and Hermione go?"

"What? They were just here," Harry said in confusion, looking around the room.

"I thought they were getting some drinks," Scott frowned. "Well, what the hell."

Luna stood. "I'll look for them," she offered. She needed to stretch out after her nap anyway.

"All right, cool. Tell them we're playing War and if they don't want be seen as craven before the eyes of man and God, they need to report for combat."

Easier said than done - or was it easier done than said? Luna pondered this as she wandered the tower aimlessly in search of her quarry. She found that when one moved in an aimless fashion, one tended to come across the most interesting things. This theory gained some circumstantial evidence in its favour when Luna paused at a random door and discovered that it was in fact the entrance to Ron and Harry's dorm room. There were two familiar voices echoing from inside.

This presented multiple paths to pursue, a sticky problem of the decision-making sort. Should she return to the common room and inform the others that Ron and Hermione were busy, or open the door and tell the pair that they were needed downstairs, or even stay where she was and eavesdrop? She wasn't fond of that word, 'eavesdrop'. Eaves certainly had never done anything to her to be deserving of a dropping. 'Reconnoitre' was a much more pleasant term. It rolled nicely off the tongue and was uncommon enough to be an attractive addition to any conversation.

Oh, they had stopped talking while she stood in indecision. Perhaps she should open the door now that they were done? It seemed the proper course of action. Reaching out, Luna opened the door and stepped into the room.

She was greeted with the unusual sight of Ron kissing Hermione.

Now here was a fascinating development! And so soon after they had fought, too. Luna suspected it to most likely be their first kiss. Ron's hands were hanging clumsily at his sides and Hermione seemed to be in a state of stunned astonishment, reacting about as much as a mannequin would have. However, Luna herself had never been kissed, so perhaps her analysis of the situation was flawed in some way. It made her a bit sad, actually. She should really get around to having her first kiss sometime soon.

The pair broke apart with a sudden jerk, and Luna realised that they had noticed her. Hermione slowly flushed a deep red, and Ron wasn't much better off, his mouth working, but no sound emerging. They both had a wide-eyed expression that would have been comical in any other situation. Luna could have laughed, but it would have been a very rude response. It was her fault, really, for not taking her first option and returning downstairs.

Luna thought that she should probably attempt to put them at ease. "I'm very sorry to interrupt your first kiss," she said in a calm, placating manner. "Scott is teaching us a card game and I came to get you, but I guess card games weren't very much on your mind just now. It's my fault for thinking you were done when you stopped talking - but you weren't done yet. I'll leave so you can finish."

Luna's voice seemed to jar Hermione out of her stasis. "I - I should go," she whispered weakly and sped out the door on shaky legs. For a second Luna thought Ron might reach out and grab Hermione's arm. Instead he slumped back onto the foot of his bed and stared at the floor.

When it became clear that Ron wasn't going to say anything, Luna backed out into the hall. "I'm very sorry," she apologised again and gently shut the door.

Back in the common room, Scott looked up from the game of War that he was waging with Harry when Luna came down the stairs. "Hermione just came through here," he said.

"They didn't row again did they?" Harry asked resignedly.

"No," Luna said, reseating herself on the couch next to Neville, "but I'm afraid I may have made things all wrong again."

Her worry must have been apparent because Neville awkwardly patted her hand. "I don't think you could ever do that, Luna," he tried to reassure her, though he couldn't have understood what she was talking about. Luna still appreciated him for his effort.

Scott became strangely still, and his eyes went unfocused and distant. Only a couple of seconds passed before he moved again, and his gaze returned to its usual sharpness. "No, I don't think you did. I think they'll be fine, whatever this is."

Scott was probably right, Luna thought. Things didn't feel the same as they had the last time Ron and Hermione had something come between them. Maybe everything would work out in the end.

"This is the problem with War," Scott grunted, and Luna shunted all thoughts of right and wrong, Hermione's and Ron's, to the edges of her psyche. There was still a card game to learn, after all. "It's a game of chance, so Harry is kicking my ass."

"Like I couldn't kick your arse in a game of skill?" Harry taunted him.

"This is what I get for not rigging the deck. Next time I'll give that bitch a special shuffle, and we'll see how you like fighting royalty with a bunch of deuces and fives."

"So you can only win by cheating?"

"You just keep asking for it, don't you? All right, you watch my deck come back in the second half. I know I've gotta be getting down to the good stuff now. I have not yet begun to fight!"

"You got that right; all you've been doing is talking."

"Just bend over and take it, Harry. SHAZAM! Jack of Spades. Beat that shit - I dare you, I double dog dare you, I defy you -"

"Queen of Hearts."

"MOTHERFU-"

Luna supposed that even if she wasn't really learning how to play, at least she'd come away with an expanded vocabulary.

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