So Does

Hermione sneezed and rubbed her nose roughly. She hated spring.

She had criss-crossed the grounds of Hogwarts unceasingly since dawn; Madam Pomfrey was out of her allergy potions, and Hermione was doomed to suffer watery eyes and a runny nose until later that evening, when the potion would be ready. Unable to sit down and concentrate on her studies, she had left the castle in search of some quiet, where she could be miserable in peace.

She finally descended to the Great Lake and sat on the banks, where she sniffled occasionally and wiped her red eyes. Ron and Harry didn't suffer from her seasonal allergies, and were off gallivanting on the Quidditch Pitch, studies forgotten as they attempted to bean one another with Quaffles for hours on end. Ginny had run off with Colin to do whatever they were going to do, and Neville was tutoring Padma Patil in Herbology. Hermione was left to sneeze, snort, and snuffle in total solitude.

As she watched the Giant Squid do its laps across the lakes, her mind drifted to the most recent events of that day's Daily Prophet. Another death of a Ministry Official, this time an Unspeakable. Attacks on Muggles in Dublin. Dementors sweeping through Manchester. Werewolves set loose in Leeds. She sighed and sneezed wetly. Almost every page of the Daily Prophet screamed with the sensation of murder, mayhem, and malevolence. The fingers of darkness were spreading, infecting every place it touched.

A huge sneeze welled up, and before she could stop herself, she sputtered all over the place. "Yuck," she muttered.

"Need a hankie?" asked a hazy voice. Hermione turned around and just stopped a scowl. There, with her mismatched socks and rumpled shirt was Luna, with a large cream-coloured handkerchief in her hand.

"Thank you," grumbled Hermione, taking the proffered hankie.

"You look quite awful," said Luna conversationally, flopping down next to Hermione on the warm sands.

"You're ever so kind," Hermione muttered, wiping her nose before sneezing again. Luna smiled and stretched her arms out, letting one hand dig itself into the golden banks. Her other hand swirled lazily in the water, creating ripples in the crystal blue lake.

For a little while, neither girl spoke. Luna was quite content to gaze at the Giant Squid as it continued swimming, and Hermione was far too miserable to do anything but glare at all the healthy, non-allergy afflicted students as they merrily made their way around the grounds.

"Did you hear about the Transmogrification?" asked Luna suddenly. Hermione looked at her suddenly serious from the corner of one red, watery eye.

"Transmogrification?" she echoed in confusion.

"Yes," said Luna, quite happily. "Daddy reported it in The Quibbler a few months ago-" Hermione rolled her eyes at this- "but the Daily Prophet announced it today. They think it might help werewolves transition from human to wolf to human much less painfully, and the Healers and Unspeakables say that it might be the first step in finding a cure."

"I didn't see that in the Daily Prophet," commented Hermione, fixing her face up in confusion.

"It was on the last page," continued Luna, a smile blossoming on her small, thin face. "Under the Kwikspell Self-Defence Kit advertisement. I think the Kwikspell makers are going to make a good deal of gold in the next few months."

"I imagine," wheezed Hermione, stopping another sneeze.

"I wish they'd stop putting all the good news on the last page," said Luna, sounding quite serious. "People are getting ill over the bad news."

"Well, people need to know the facts," said Hermione judiciously. "There's no use in hiding what's been going on now; the Ministry did that once, and look what that got us."

"Oh, we should never hide it," mused Luna. "But should we hide away the good news?"

"Well, the bad news is somewhat more important," sniffed Hermione impatiently. "People need to be aware of what's going on. They need to be able to defend themselves."

"Is it more important?" asked Luna rhetorically. "I think it's just as important."

"Yes, well, you think that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are important too," muttered Hermione. If Luna heard her, she affected not to notice, but continued to talk.

"People are getting more paranoid," she noted dreamily, "neighbour accusing neighbour, friend accusing friend. People have gotten arrested over rather stupid things, like owning a copy of 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' and knowing a lot of offensive spells."

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry," pointed out Hermione. Luna rolled on her side and propped her head up on her arm, sand sprinkled on her skin.

"A lady in Ottery St. Catchpole was arrested for being friends with a known werewolf," she said in a rather pointed voice. Hermione sighed. She couldn't believe was having this conversation with Luna Lovegood, of all people.

Yet inside, Hermione felt a need to talk. Ron simply couldn't deal with it; he was of the mind that they should just 'firebomb' (a word he had learned from Dean) all the Slytherins and have it done with. Ginny clammed up, and Harry simply got irate when she needed to talk. Hermione was stuck with her ever-growing fears alone, watching helplessly as they grew like Devil's Snare in the darkness of her own mind.

"The world is just an ugly place," Hermione murmured, tying Luna's hankie into knots of Devil's Tongue. "Every day, it just gets worse and worse. There's no room for good news anymore; there's too much bad news that everyone has to know."

"There's always room for some good news," protested Luna quietly. "And the good news is important too. If not more important, than just as important. We need to see every side of the world, not just the dark or the light."

"No, there isn't," said Hermione angrily. "Don't you read? It's not just people dying and getting hurt. It's more people turning bad, more people deciding to be evil. It's everywhere. It's like a virus. And it's growing."

"But you can't just fight with wands and spells," argued Luna. "You have to have hope, and faith, and believe that you can win. If you don't, all is for naught, even if you have an army at your back."

Hermione opened her mouth to refute Luna, but found that she was too exhausted to think of a suitable argument. All she wanted to right them was lay down and nap for the rest of the afternoon. A dull pain grew at the base of her head, and she scowled. Between her runny nose, an oncoming headache, and Luna's babble, Hermione knew that she was in no shape to argue her points. However, she couldn't resist trying to get her point across.

"So you would rather just splash the good, happy news across the front of the papers and hope that everyone forgets that horrid things are happening?" she challenged.

"No, that's not what I meant, and you know it, Hermione," chided Luna softly. "I would rather people know that bad things are happening, but so are good things. There must be equality." Hermione shrugged, then looked into the blindingly bright sun, letting the light dazzle her sore eyes.

"Sometimes it seems like life only exists to bring more wickedness into the world," Hermione sighed. "Even as humankind progresses with technology and philosophies, more evil comes from it than good."

"It's a basic human fallacy, and perhaps our greatest one," replied Luna, skipping her fingers off the water's edge. "We're too inclined to see the differences between ourselves. Look at our Houses; bravery, intelligence, hard-work and ambition. Perhaps if we stopped for a moment, and saw what we had in common, then things would be a little easier."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hermione crossly.

"It means that you may be very logical," mused Luna, turning over to face the sun, "and I may be a bit eccentric, but if you like crunchy peanut butter, then you're okay with me."

"It's not that simple," protested Hermione.

"I know," said Luna serenely, "but nothing really is. It takes more work to see the good in things. Searching through the filth and dirt and grime of all that is bad to find a single speck of goodness is consuming, maybe even painful."

"And you still have to see all the badness to find it, if you find it," added Hermione, her brown eyes darkening with sadness. "It's not even worth it half the time; all that work and dedication for something so small. And there's still piles of evil and darkness."

"It's always worth it," insisted Luna, her large silvery eyes flashing with the sunlight. "It's worth it because you can take it, and mould it, and make it bigger and stronger than it was before."

"But the darkness never goes away," said Hermione morosely. "Evil will still abide. Evil endures."

"Yes, it does," agreed Luna. "Evil lasts. It always has, and it always will."

"Evil survives," repeated Hermione in an empty voice. She felt the burden of a thousand pains, worries, and heartbreak crash onto her shoulders at once, and her breath hitched as she tried to speak. "It's everywhere. It won't go away. Evil abides."

"But so does good," said Luna gently. Hermione turned to look at Luna, who sat up straight and looked her in the eye, sable meeting mercury.

"Humans always look to what makes us different," Luna said, spreading her arms wide. "We seek to see what makes us different, and evil, from one another. What if we looked at what was good, and the same? Humans always see the bad side, Hermione, and look where it gets us. What if you remembered, instead of all the people who died, what they fought for? What if you remembered that someone had the courage to stand up and fight? What if you saw all that was good, and decent, and wonderful in the world? The things that you fight for are the things you live for, Hermione. People forget that. Look for what's hopeful, and beautiful, and strong and proud and light. Don't look at your enemies, look at your friends. Don't look at the darkness; look for the small light. Don't find everything that's different in others, find everything that makes you the same. You don't make friends by trying to find out how they're not like you, but how they compliment you."

Hermione stared at her hands, slowly letting Luna's words wash over her. She was right, as much as Hermione didn't want to admit it. But a small part of her, the basic, primal part of her, wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe that there was still something good left in the world, even in the darkness. And she found, to her surprise, that she did still believe. Luna smiled widely, as if sensing Hermione's thoughts.

"I guess you're right," said Hermione, a small smile beginning to quirk on her lips. She felt immensely better, not just from Luna's strangely comforting words, but because she was finally able to unload a little. "Thank you for listening to me complain," added Hermione, the sincerity in her voice even striking her. Luna just tossed her head a little and laughed. The two sat in companionable silence for a long while, Hermione mulling over Luna's words, and Luna daydreaming, her trademark look of wistfulness spread on her face.

A large bell sang in the distance. "Oh!" exclaimed Hermione. "Madam Pomfrey must have the Sneezing Solution ready." She got to her feet, and then offered a hand to Luna, hauling her up. "I've got to run and get it before I go another night with a stuffy head."

Luna looked at her feet. "Want some company? I have an extra copy of the Quibbler to read while you're waiting."

"Sure," said Hermione. The girls started off for the castle, walking for some time in silence.

"So," said Hermione finally, "tell me more about this Transmogrification."

Luna smiled.

Fin.