ABSTRACTION

Hermione Granger didn't think she'd ever be able to properly understand how Luna thought. As much as she tried to re-educate the younger Ravenclaw girl she found herself increasingly confronted by the muddled and misleading philosophies and ideas that seemed to have had their point of origin in her father's very creative imagination and choice of career.

Luna, who had of late taken to wearing a pair of glasses with cherry red frames and a cream outline, was simply one of those unknowable mysteries that she doubted she would ever really have time to fully unravel.

Over the past few months Hermione had been spending more time with the other girl, not from choice but more from what she saw as necessity; someone had to take the girl in hand and at least try and prepare her for the OWLs she would undoubtedly fail if she kept on turning in essays on crumple-horned snorkacks and nargles. Much to her annoyance however, Luna had begun to refer to these extra-curricular study sessions as 'dates'.

Hermione wouldn't have minded so much if it hadn't been for the fact that Luna had been progressively telling more and more people that she was 'dating' Hermione. Even this wouldn't have been so bad if Luna's imaginative interpretation of the events hadn't taken such a hold on the collective consciences of both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw houses.

Only yesterday, Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe had stopped her in the corridor on the way to Transfiguration class and inquired, politely but firmly, if Hermione was aware that it was Luna's birthday in a month and offered suggestions for various romantic things they might like to do together.

Barely able to contain her humiliation, Hermione had hurried away from that encounter and resolved to put an end to Luna's silliness as soon as a suitable opportunity presented itself.

That opportunity arrived on the Tuesday before Hallowe'en; Luna sat opposite her in her now familiar cherry red glasses, a copy of Hogwarts: A History open and unread before her as her pale eyes gazed out at Hermione from behind the lenses.

"Hello, Hermione." She said after a while, as if she had just entered the library and noticed Hermione sitting down before her.

"Hello again, Luna." Hermione said firmly, somewhat irked that the younger girl seemed to have no recollection of the previous three times she had said hello since she opened the book.

"How are you today, Hermione?" Luna continued casually.

"I'm..." Hermione began and then stopped abruptly, her face flushing red.

Abruptly she realised that the sudden weight that had fallen upon her knee and so completely derailed her reply to Luna was in fact the other girl's hand.

"Hello, Hermione." Luna said again, more forcefully, her hand gently gliding up the other girl's knee.
Hermione opened her mouth to reply but found herself quite unable to respond.

She felt the slip of Luna's fingers up her leg and beneath the folds of her skirt and her blush became that much more pronounced.

It was in that moment that she realised that perhaps, whilst she couldn't quite bring herself to think in the same fashion as the other girl, Luna Lovegood's approach was not entirely without merit.