A wave of tranquillity spread through Hermione as she reclaimed her regular seat in the library. She never thought that she could love the smell of fresh parchment and new books more than she already had, but returning to Hogwarts after the war had given her a deeper appreciation for these simple pleasures. Classes didn't commence until the following day, but it was out of character for Hermione to waste a potentially productive afternoon idly discussing the summer with fellow students. Besides, it was not one any of them wished to relive. Her thoughts went to the fallen wizards and witches she had come to call friends. Feeling her heart ache slightly, she quickly opened her brand new grade seven copy of 'The Standard Book of Spells' by Miranda Goshawk. Her love of learning would serve as a great comfort through what she suspected to be quite a lonely year ahead.

Life in Hogwarts after the war was so vastly different than the memories she looked back on so fondly. Hermione had realised that it would be, that was inevitable. However, she forgot to take into account the fact that her best friends may not be so eager to return. Harry and Ron had jumped on the chance to become Aurors right after the defeat of He Who Must Not Be Named. Naturally, after defeating the Dark Lord himself, they were seen as more than qualified in their chosen profession. Hermione, being the academic genius she is, desired to complete her studies at Hogwarts, and returned alone that day to commence her final year so she could finally sit her NEWTS.

A tap on the shoulder startled Hermione back to reality. She glanced up to see the librarian, Ms. Pince, smiling fondly at her. The library itself was dark and deserted. The white glow of moonlight pouring in through the large ornate windows suggested that she had, once again, become so lost in her love of knowledge that she was out of the common room past curfew.

"Your dedication to learning will never cease to amaze me, Ms. Granger!" said Ms. Pince, "However, I do fear that you will damage your lovely eyes should you continue to strain them as much as you do. Go and get some rest, and I'm sure I will see you again tomorrow."

"Thank you, Ms. Pince, it's good to see you again," smiled Hermione, "Goodnight."

With that, the librarian left Hermione to gather her belongings. She watched the older woman as she exited the library, only stopping to rearrange some untidy books. It felt good to be back to normality.

As she walked towards Griffindor common room, she became overly aware of the emptiness of the castle. Due to damages caused by the battle, only a select few who wished to complete their NEWTS had been allowed back into Hogwarts, resulting in less than thirty students returning. Slowing her pace, she decided to take the long route back. She was already late, so an extra few minutes wouldn't make much of a difference. She was the only female Griffindor in Hogwarts anyway, so nobody would miss her.

Rummaging in her bag as she walked, Hermione extracted a letter she wrote for Ginny and headed towards the Owlery. She was grateful that the Weasley girl wished to keep contact with her despite her break up with Ronald. Their romance had been a fleeting passion followed by a harsh sting of reality. During the war, the found comfort and solace in each other. Unfortunately, once the celebrations ceased and life went back to normal, their relationship lacked substance. Hermione's attraction to Ronald faded quite quickly once she realised that the deepest conversation she could possibly have with him was about his devotion to the Chudley Canons. She needed intellectual stimulation, and Quidditch statistics certainly couldn't offer her that. He took the news badly at first, but a fiery reconciliation with Lavender Brown soon took the sting from his damaged ego.

She smirked to herself thinking about that ridiculous girl. She never thought there would be a day where she would actually be glad of Lavender's obsession with Ronald. Life really does have a funny way of making things work out, she thought. Gazing up at the moonlit sky as she walked, Hermione was unaware of the large wooden door of the Owlery opening until it hit her square in the face, the shock landing her flat on the ground, right hand clutching her throbbing mouth.

"Hermione!"

The dazed girl looked up to see a flurry of white blonde hair coming towards her. She felt a warm, soft hand catch her free hand and another around her waist before being pulled to her feet.

"Oh dear, Hermione, it's not like you to not pay attention. I suspect you may have Wrackspurts in your ears."

"Wrackspurts? What?"

"They're invisible creatures that float into your ears and make your brain go fuzzy. You should be careful, an intelligent girl like you wouldn't want that happening."

Hermione moved her hand from her mouth to rub her eyes, finally coming to her senses. That vague and dreamy voice was unmistakeable. Besides, who else would come out with such a ridiculous statement?

"Luna, I –"

"Oh dear, you've burst your lip! I'm terribly sorry, Hermione," she said wistfully as she reached for the brunette's mouth and wiped the blood with her thumb, "I'm usually quite alone at this time of night, so I don't take notice of how quickly I open doors."

Hermione was taken aback by the sadness in the huge cerulean blue eyes staring regretfully at her slightly swollen lip. Suddenly she became aware of their closeness. Luna's hand has remained on her waist, her face only inches away… Those eyes looked as though they contained the depths of the sea itself.

"It's quite alright, Luna," stammered Hermione as she took a step back, feeling quite flustered, "I really shouldn't be out this late anyway. Come to think of it, neither should you! Why are you here?"

To Hermione's relief, Luna's expression returned to its calm and dreamy state as she turned her gaze to several owls flying overhead.

"I like to come down here at night to feed the owls." Luna's expression darkened slightly, "Some witches and wizards seem to think they are beneath us. They let their owls become quite malnourished. I don't understand why anyone would mistreat the creature that they rely on to carry the precious thoughts that once lay in their mind, their deepest emotions…"

Luna's voiced trailed off as she lost herself in thought. Hermione felt a warmth in her chest as she pondered the blonde's profound thought. She was quite surprised that Luna could come out with such an intelligent statement. Then again, Ravenclaw house was known for its bright witches and wizards. Perhaps, despite Luna's silliness, she had underestimated the blonde.

"Accio letter!" Luna's airy voice echoed quietly through the empty court yard like a ghost. "I'll give this to my owl for Ginny, it's the least I can do to apologise for damaging your pretty face."

Hermione blushed at the compliment. She had completely forgotten why she had been at the Owlery in the first place.

"Thank you, Luna. That would be great."

The blonde beamed before skipping back into the Owlery. Hermione remained motionless, willing her flushed cheeks to return to their normal colour. Why was she even blushing?

Before she had time to answer her own question, Luna had returned. She bounced over to Hermione, lacing her fingers through the brunette's to lead her back inside.

"Your letter is on the way to the Burrow, and now Hermione must be on her way to bed before any more damage can be done to her."

There they were again, those melancholy blue eyes. She didn't know why, but Hermione couldn't stand them. She stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, causing Luna to swing around, her eyes filled with urgency.

"Is Hermione alright?"

She took the worried blonde's other hand in hers, the silkiness of Luna's skin almost making her shiver. She didn't understand what she was feeling, but she'd worry about that later.

"I'm perfectly alright, Luna, honestly! Please don't feel so bad, it doesn't even hurt anymore."
Luna released Hermione's right hand so she could lick her thumb before brushing it lightly across the brunette's bottom lip. Hermione shuddered at her touch, the slight wetness on her lip causing her stomach to tie itself in knots. A look of concern took over Luna's face once again.

"Oh dear, I've hurt you again," her lilted voice flooded with sadness, "I don't mean to hurt Hermione, I just wanted to wash away the mark I have left. It was terribly selfish of me."

"No, Luna, please," begged Hermione. She couldn't bear to look at that sad sea of blue any longer, "You aren't selfish, not at all, you just –"

"I assume you girls have a good reason to be wandering the corridors at this hour?"

The two sprung apart and turned swiftly to see Professor McGonagall marching towards them. They were caught.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, we were just on our way to bed," explained Hermione, "It's my fault really, I had a bit of an accident because I wasn't being careful. Luna simply stopped to help me."

Professor McGonagall couldn't help but smile at the two witches.

"Alright, you two, but this is your first and last warning! The rules may have been quite lenient last year but we are back to normality now so don't make a habit of this. Now, off with you! Goodnight."

They watched as the Headmaster transformed into a cat and disappeared into the shadows created by the solid stone walls of the castle.

They walked silently towards Griffindor common room. Hermione knew that Luna would insist on walking her the full way, so she didn't even try to object. If it kept that sadness out of her blue eyes, she'd let Luna walk her all the way back to London. She tried to read Luna's expression, but long strands of blonde hair hid her porcelain face. She stopped once again when they arrived at the stairs below the Fat Lady's portrait, and they both sat down on the first step. Luna looked across at Hermione, her cerulean eyes glistening in the moonlight. Luna's eyes possessed a hypnotic quality that took the brunette by surprise. She found herself somewhat breathless.

"Thank you for walking me, Luna," she whispered, "and please don't feel sorry about my lip, it was an accident, and mainly my fault. It will be better soon, promise."

Hermione watched as those blue eyes once again returned to her bloody lip with such regret. She felt her heart ache inside her chest.

"To tarnish a thing of such beauty feels like an almost unforgivable crime," Luna's sad singsong voice floated through the empty corridor, "but if Hermione wishes that I don't feel sorry, then I will simply make amends as much as I can and do my best to forget."

Before Hermione could say another word, the warmth from the blonde's soft hands was radiating through her face. She looked at Luna, whose face was mere inches from her own. Hermione didn't know why, but she didn't stop it. Looking back on it later, she realised that she simply couldn't. A shiver ran through her whole body like an electric current as the blonde's lips met hers in a delicate, lingering kiss. She slowly opened her hazel eyes to see a trace of a smile cross Luna's face through the silky hair that fell like a shroud from her bowed head.

"Goodnight, Hermione. I hope that helped."

Hermione remained seated at the bottom of the stairs, watching the blonde disappear into the shadows towards the Ravenclaw common room. The sweet smell of Luna's honeyed breath lingered with her. After taking a while to gather her thoughts, Hermione picked up her text books before turning to approach the Fat Lady. The days of fighting the Dark Lord were over, but Hermione began to wonder if a whole other kind of adventure was in store for her at Hogwarts.

Secretly, she hoped she was right.