Just a Kiss

Slam.

"Would you like me to take the charm off the door first?" Hermione asked, trying not laugh.

Harry glared at her from his position on the floor, where the Imperturbable Charm on the classroom door had pushed him away, hard. "Yes, please," he answered sardonically, getting to his feet.

Hermione smiled and performed the countercharm. She wanted to offer more advice to Harry, to show him exactly what she had written on her parchment, but after having known him for six years, she knew that he'd do what he wanted to anyway. She just hoped that whatever happened, he and Ginny both would come out of it fine. They were, after all, two of her best friends, and she hated seeing either of them hurt.

"Thanks," said Harry hastily and he pushed open the door, preparing to run to Gryffindor Tower so he could finally get that fireworks kiss from Ginny once and for all--

"Oh!"

Harry winced, realizing that he'd hit someone. He hurried to the other side and found none other than Luna Lovegood there, her bottom planted firmly on the floor. She looked up at him as Hermione, who had heard the obvious hitting of one object on another, ran out the door to see what had happened.

"Why hello," Luna said calmly, rubbing her forehead. Her wand was surprisingly still stuck behind her ear. "Did you see what hit me just now? I suppose it was a Knockerpoof, they have a habit of hitting things--"

"No," said Harry, who could not help grinning at the sight of her wand. He offered a hand to help her up. "It was me, Luna. I opened the door and hit you by accident." Luna took it, and as she uprighted herself Harry caught his second glimpse of lime-green that day and struggled to remain composed.

Wanting to strike himself in the head with a heavy object, he asked to see where the door had hit her. It wasn't much more than a bump, but Harry healed it with his Espikey spell anyway. Afterward, he realized that he was still holding her hand and pulled his own away quickly, as if he had been burned. What was he doing here, talking to her, after everything? Didn't she know what everyone was saying? Didn't she care?

He backed away, preparing to wave goodbye and leave, (so his overactive imagination would cease to function and he could get to his common room) but Luna spoke first.

"Thank you," she said touching the area on her forehead where the bump had previously been. "That's quite a useful spell, isn't it?" she asked dreamily, and Harry's eyes traveled from her face, down her butterbeer-cap-adorned neck, to her--

"I got a nasty bruise on my knee when I went to dinner, I surely could have used it then."

"What happened?" Harry inquired, his curiosity getting the better of him, in more ways than one. His eyes flew upward to meet Luna's, and he blushed hard, hoping with all his might she had not noticed what he tried not to think of as his "ogling".

Seeing that everything was all right, Hermione tiptoed away unnoticed, the scroll of parchment under her arm. She'd leave it to the two of them and go comfort Ginny in the meanwhile.

"Victoria Frobisher tripped me," Luna told Harry, without a hint of bitterness in her voice. She pointed to show him the black-and blue mark on her knee. Harry's stomach dropped, and all impure thoughts vanished. "She's one of Ginny's good friends, you know, and I suppose with all of the rumors going about and all..." So Luna had heard.

Harry's pity was overtaken by an upsurge of anger. What kind of 'friends' did Ginny have? "That's still no reason for her to do that!" he told Luna heatedly. "Did you do anything about it? Like go tell Flitwick, he's the Head of your House, isn't he?"

Luna shook her head no. Somehow Harry wasn't surprised, and he was reminded of a conversation with Neville Longbottom from his first year, which was very similar to the one he was having now. "Well, you should!" he cried indignantly.

"It wouldn't make a difference, Harry, I'm sure you're aware of that," Luna said simply. "Besides, if it weren't one thing, it'd be another. People fear what they do not understand, which mainly means me," she finished, smiling.

"That doesn't make it right," Harry argued, although he saw the truth in her point. "You shouldn't let them walk all over you."

They both fell silent; Harry's green eyes sparked with fury, while Luna's blue ones remained as unperturbed as always.

"Why do you care?" she asked him idly, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. Her smile had faded.

Harry stared at her, taken aback. "Why... do I care?" he repeated, unsure of himself. "I don't--not like that." He felt more and more uncomfortable as the seconds passed. "It's just..." But he failed to elaborate.

Luna waited awhile longer, humming "Weasley Is Our King". Then she sat down, Indian style, right in the middle of the hallway and watched him as if he were putting on a show.

"WILL YOU PLEASE STOP DOING THAT?!" Harry bellowed, as he saw Crumple-Horned Snorkacks for the third time today and his brain was hit with an onslaught of indecent images, mainly of him and Luna doing unmentionable things...

Luna's hair blew back slightly with the force of Harry's words, but other than that she was quite undisturbed. "Stop doing what?" she asked, honestly confused.

Harry was thoroughly exasperated with his own male mind, the design of the Hogwarts' uniform for girls, and Luna's panties always finding a way to catch his eye. "Stop doing that with--" he started angrily, then realized by the look on Luna's face--her usual one--that she either really had no idea what he was talking about or was hiding it very well.

Of course she has no idea what you're talking about, you idiot, he reminded himself. It's not her fault you can't keep your mind out of the gutter, you act as if Luna's been showing you her panties on purpose--

"Potter!"

Professor McGonagall was walking briskly down the hallway, and Harry could nearly see the steam coming out of her ears. "Could you have been any louder, Potter? Do you have a desire to allow the entire castle to hear you? Ten points from Gryffindor and a detention. That includes you as well, Miss Lovegood, now please stand when I am speaking to you," she added, noticing Luna on the floor.

Luna resumed humming "Weasley Is Our King" and stood up. She removed her wand from behind her ear and began twirling it through her fingers like a baton, faster than Harry or Snape had.

"But Professor," Harry tried, while Luna switched the spinning wand from hand to hand. McGonagall's eyebrows nearly touched her hairline. "Luna didn't--"

"I don't know what is going on with the two of you," McGonagall cut him off, looking from one to the other (Luna was twirling the wand under her leg now), and here Harry realized Hermione was not with them--"especially you, Mister Potter, but I advise you to at the very least to stop bellowing like some sort of hoodlum." She lowered her glasses. "In any case, you shall be serving your detentions with Professor Slughorn tomorrow might at eight--I daresay he told me just this morning he needed help organizing his potion ingredients..."

It took all of Harry's will not to groan aloud at the thought of serving detention with Slughorn, but he managed it--mostly because he was temporarily distracted when Luna tossed the wand up high again, pivoted, and caught it without missing a beat.

"Now I highly suggest the two of you get back to your respectable common rooms, or at least to the library for studying purposes," she told them sternly, and turned on her heel.

Harry sighed. There really was no way the day could get any worse now, could it? He gloomily made a move to go. "Well, see you later, Luna."

"Where are you going?" Luna asked, gracefully making figure eights with her wand.

"I have to talk to Ginny," he said, watching her performance. "About... you know, these rumors and stuff."

"Would you like me to come with you?"

Harry was about to say no, but then he realized with a start that Luna would be a major asset in this situation; she would be able to confirm that the rumors were nothing more than just that, and everything would work out.

And then, Harry thought to himself, a smile broadening on his face, I'll finally get my fireworks kiss.

"Let's go," he invited, beckoning to her. His mood had done a complete turnaround. Everything was going to turn out all right.

With on final spectacular catch, Luna tucked her wand behind her ear walked next to him. "Where'd you learn to do those tricks?" Harry could not help wanting to know.

"Daddy bought a Muggle television some years ago, and one day I watched something where a lot of Muggle women wearing long sparking gowns had to show off their talents," Luna told him dreamily. "They all were named after different countries, and had a habit of not being able to stop smiling... Anyhow, one of them twirled around a sparkly stick for her turn--a baton, it's called--and I was quite interested. Daddy went out and got me one too the very next day, and I've been practicing ever since," she added with a touch of pride.

"Have you ever been to the Gryffindor common room?" Harry asked Luna, stopping to look up at the Fat Lady's portrait, where they had just arrived.

"No," she answered, shaking her long mane of blond hair, and Harry worried that it might be against the rules to bring a student from another House into Gryffindor Tower. However, he told the Fat Lady the password anyway.

"She's not in Gryffindor," the Fat Lady said, looking at Luna apprehensively, without clearing the way.

Not good. "Yes, I know but--"

"Hello. I'm Luna Lovegood, what's your name?" Luna had introduced herself to the framed woman.

"It's just the Fat Lady," said Harry impatiently, turning back to the painting. "Look, I know Luna's not in Gryff--"

But Luna was shaking her long mane of blond hair. "That can't possibly be your name," she told the portrait. "I'm sure your real name is very lovely."

"Oh!" breathed the Fat Lady, clearly flattered. "My name is Fortenthsia Litargno Henterdinger," she said, puffing out her chest pompously.

"Nice to meet you, Fortenthsia," said Luna politely, while Harry watched incredulously. "What an exquisite name you have."

The Fat Lady/Fortenthsia blushed. "Thank you! Have a lovely evening," she said, swinging forward to reveal the portrait hole.

Harry grinned and stepped into the hole with ease. Luna, however, who was obviously not used to going through the hole (and also had legs that were shorter than Harry's), was having trouble getting over the low wall between the bottom of the hole and the floor--she nearly tripped over it, and Harry managed to catch her right before she fell. Girls, he thought, sort of annoyed, conveniently forgetting that he had done the same more than once since coming to Hogwarts. "Here, I'll help." He took Luna by the waist and lifted her through the hole. The portrait swung closed behind them.

Harry quickly scanned the room for Ginny, while Luna tugged at her skirt to pull it down; it had bunched up when he carried her. "Has anyone seen--" he addressed the room loudly, but ceased as he slowly noticed that nearly everyone in the Common Room was staring at him, many with stunned expressions. Even further, he realized, his stomach sinking, his arms were still wrapped around Luna's waist.

And smack dab in the middle of all this stood a livid Ginny, patches of pink on each of her cheeks and unshed tears in her eyes.

The room had gone silent, and before Harry had the chance to move his hands or even open his mouth, Ginny had strode up to him and smacked him hard in the face.

Harry stared at Ginny in shock as she walked away, as Ron, who looked ready to kill and was being pulled along by a determined Hermione, flanked her instantly.

"Come on," Luna whispered, gently prying Harry's hands off her waist and tugging at his arm, while some room's occupants openly glared at them.

"But..." Harry tried weakly, putting a hand to his throbbing cheek and looking after where he had seen Ginny last.

"You can't stay," Luna said softly and Harry knew she was right, as Dean Thomas and a couple of the girls he knew as Ginny's friends, including Victoria Frobisher, were moving in on him.

Luna pushed the portrait open, and with a violent oath by Dean as his farewell, Harry left with her, wondering how it all had gone so wrong.