"Hmm? Luna?"
One afternoon, Ginny Weasley was returning from the greenhouse, dragon-hide gloves tucked under her arm, when she spotted a familiar figure crouching suspiciously in a corner. It was her childhood playmate—the eccentric Luna Lovegood—peering around furtively as if spying on someone.
Luna hadn't changed a bit—still as peculiar as ever.
She wore her usual radish earrings and a necklace strung together with Butterbeer corks. Ginny honestly couldn't understand what was so fascinating about all that junk.
"What are you doing?"
Curious, Ginny leaned against Luna's side, mimicking her sneaky posture to see what had caught her attention.
It was Nolan. He stood casually against a window ledge, arms crossed, deep in conversation with an older Asian Ravenclaw student.
"You're spying on Nolan?" Ginny whispered incredulously.
"That man… isn't normal." Luna's voice was as dreamy as ever, but her tone carried a strange sort of conviction.
Her intensity reminded Ginny of Luna's obsession with Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.
This girl really was odd.
"He reminds me of a creature that only comes out at night—like a werewolf or a vampire." Luna spoke with absolute certainty. "He's dangerous. He's surrounded by an aura of misfortune from head to toe. Someone should exorcise him."
"Oh, Luna, you'd better hope Nolan's fangirls don't hear you, or they won't be happy."
Ginny shook her head.
She had grown up with Luna, but she still had no idea what went on inside the girl's mind.
Then again, did anyone?
"I'll expose his schemes," Luna declared stubbornly before wriggling out of Ginny's grasp. "He's leaving—I have to follow him!"
Ginny watched in disbelief as the small blonde girl darted off in pursuit.
"Maybe Luna's real dream is to become a wizarding secret agent…? Who knows?" Ginny sighed and shook her head.
Lately, Ginny Weasley hadn't been feeling well. She often felt weak and drained of energy. Every evening, after finishing her homework and writing in her diary, she would grow unbearably drowsy and doze off by the cozy Gryffindor common room fire.
More than once, her dormmates had to carry her back to bed.
When Hermione found out, she jokingly started calling her "Aurora."
But… what did that even mean?
"Aurora?" Ginny frowned.
"It's from a Muggle fairy tale," Hermione explained, sitting by the fireplace, carefully revising a long and complicated manuscript with her quill. "Aurora is the Sleeping Beauty—she's always asleep, but she never ages or loses her beauty. She stays that way until the kiss of her beloved prince wakes her from her dreams."
Hermione had been unusually busy lately.
Ginny rested her chin on her palm, pondering the story. "Hmm… But if Miss Aurora never wakes up, how does she even know that the prince kissing her is actually the one she loves?"
Hermione's smile froze.
"So that prince never actually asked for Miss Aurora's consent before kissing her, right? That makes him arrogant and self-important. He must've thought no woman in the world could possibly refuse him. How awful. Just like…"
Ginny hesitated for a moment before finally saying the name, "Nolan Von Draugr."
Without even looking up from her work, Hermione commented, "You don't seem too fond of Nolan. That's unusual—most girls tend to like him."
Ginny propped her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. "At first, when I only heard about him, I think I sort of admired him. But then, after seeing how close he is with so many girls…"
"You felt disappointed?" Hermione finished marking the last parchment, stacked the pages together, and began flipping through them again from the beginning. "Nobody is as perfect as they seem. I know you still admire Harry, but to be honest, I see him as just another ordinary boy. As a friend, he's great, but…" She paused. "He'd be even better if he wasn't such a rule-breaker."
"Maybe you're right…" Ginny murmured, but her voice trailed off as Harry and Ron approached.
"You're still working on all that?" Ron frowned at Hermione's latest project, clearly unimpressed. "Harry and I were hoping you could help us with our Potions assignment…"
"The one on rash-healing remedies?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, looking annoyed. "That was assigned a week ago! You never asked me about it, so I assumed you actually did it on your own!"
"But you've been so busy lately…" Harry chuckled nervously. "Come on, Hermione, don't be like that. We don't need much, just a little hint—just enough to point us in the right direction, alright?"
"You two are absolute idiots," Hermione grumbled, standing up to fetch her notes.
Ron eagerly nodded, relieved that she wasn't completely refusing. After all, Hermione Granger would never simply let someone copy her homework.
"I'd love to know how you two actually spend your weekends," she added, crossing her arms.
"Quidditch!"
"Watching Harry play Quidditch!"
"RON!" Hermione shrieked, furious. "RON WEASLEY! You are going to memorize that potion recipe today if it's the last thing I do!"
As the trio bickered, Ginny let out a small sigh, glancing at the now-empty chair across from her. Once she was sure no one was watching, she carefully pulled out an old, tattered notebook.
Opening it, she found the blank pages waiting for her. A warm, delighted smile spread across her face, as if she were reuniting with an old friend.
Dipping her quill into ink, Ginny began to write…
…
A few days later…
"You don't look too well, Ginny," one of the Weasley twins commented over breakfast, noticing how pale and tired their little sister looked.
"Yeah, you're looking kind of peaky," the other twin agreed.
"I don't know… Maybe I've caught a cold," Ginny mumbled.
"The weather's been terrible lately," Percy added from beside her. "You should take some medicine. Madam Pomfrey has an excellent remedy for colds, though it does have a slight… um… side effect."
Ginny narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What kind of side effect?"
One of the twins grinned mischievously. "Oh, nothing too bad—just a bit of steam coming out of your ears!"
"Yeah, remember Lee? He took that potion last week, and I swear, for a moment, I thought I was looking at the Hogwarts Express!"
"And it tastes absolutely foul," Lee Jordan chimed in, smirking. "But hey, you should try it. Not everyone gets to experience steam shooting out of their nostrils!"
"Ugh, that sounds awful," Ginny groaned.
"Well, no need to suffer through that," said one of the twins. Then he suddenly turned to the Slytherin table and shouted across the Great Hall, "Nolan! You got anything for a cold?"
Nolan, who had been rubbing his temples and barely keeping his eyes open, yawned and muttered, "You're sick… and you want me to fix it?"
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