Curiousity Killed the Cat

And I thought Hermione was bad right before the Yule Ball. This was nothing compared to that.

This was more like holy-shit-I-am-going-to-crap-my-pants-in-a-fit-of-absoltue-panic bad.

And I was stuck in the middle of it.

“Oh my God, we are our Ancient Runes O.W.L. test today!” she said, on the bridge of hyperventilating.

“Hermione, calm down you’ll do fine---” I started to say but was cut off by her.

“No, no, no! I am going to fail, I just know it!” she groaned, ignoring any bit of advice I might give her. We had started taking our O.W.L. exams two days ago, which meant I had already knocked out Transfiguration and Potions, both of which I am pretty sure I did well on. Our testing began to about an hour, but Hermione was still freaking out while I was at ease.

“Hey, I got to go but I’m sure you’ll fail!” I said, running off at my lame attempt at reverse-psychology. I hurried over to Luna, who was sitting by the water edge, her feet resting in the water.

“Mine if I join you?” I asked, sitting down next to her.

“Oh, hello Elyse,” she said, peacefully as I slipped off my knee-high socks and shoes, dipping my feet into the cool water. The thing I liked most about Luna was that she really didn’t talk much so when silence fell upon us, I welcomed it. I sighed as the sun hit my legs; it was a beautiful day. The sun was out and shining, white clouds were visible but not big enough to create any shade, and it was a pleasant temperature.

“Look, it’s Looney Lovegood!” some fourth-year Slytherin said, pointing at Luna. I was fully prepared to yell back a string of words that would make him think twice before calling her Looney again but someone beat me to it.

“Hey kid!” some guy called, grabbing his attention. “Shut it.”

We turned to see a guy sitting under a tree, legs crossed as he read some magazine. He had light brown, almost a honey color, hair with bangs that fell into his eyes. He was cute, I suppose. He got up and walked over to us, sitting next to Luna who looked a bit flustered.

“Hi,” he said, smiling at Luna. I suddenly felt very third wheel-ish and focused on me feet.

“Hi, thanks for that,” she replied, her soft voice a bit nervous.

“Oh, my pleasure,” he said, not even glancing over at those boys, “you shouldn’t be treated like that. I’m Ryland by the way.”

“Luna,” she said, shaking his hand which was held out for her.

“Pretty name,” he complimented, causing Luna to tinge pink. “You’re in Ravenclaw, right?”

“Oh, yeah. ‘Wits beyond measure is---” she started.

“ ‘Worlds greatest treasure’. I’m a Hufflepuff, fourth year,” Ryland said, finishing Luna’s tune. I figured that they really didn’t need me so with a tap on Luna’s shoulder, I left. I doubt that they realized it though, seeing as they were absorbed in each other. I was happy for Luna.

If she managed to find a guy who was convinced that Nargles were real, I would eat my hand.

“And he knows about the Nargles!” Luna finished, a beaming smile on her usually plain face. I glanced down at my hand and remembered about what I had said before looking back at Luna.

“That’s great, Luna!” I saw, returning her smile. Ryland Wells was his name and he was not only a huge fan of the Quibbler, but he also wore a butterbeer cork necklace to keep away the Nargles. “I’m glad that you found someone perfect for you!”

“Yes, well, I have to go and study for Charms tomorrow,” she said before skipping off, leaving me in the dust with a whole new perspective of the world.

“Hiya,” I sat, plopping down in between Harry and Hermione, who were chatting with Ron in the library.

“Hey Elyse,” Hermione said, stopping her minor freak out to look at me.

“I have a new thought,” I said, remembering Ryland and Luna.

“A thought? That must have been hard,” Ron said, laughing at his little joke until my shoe came in contact with his shin.

“That there seriously is someone for everyone out there,” I said, causing Harry to shift a bit in his seat, trying to figure out what I meant.

“What exactly do you mean?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at my calm expression.

I shrugged. “Today, Luna met a guy who believes in Nargles, the Quibbler, the whole deal. What are the odds?”

Harry relaxed, draping his arm around the back of my chair. “Really? Well, er, good for her?”

Ron let out a snort of laughter. “Who is that crackpot?”

That earned him another swift kick in the shine.

“His name is Ryland Wells, a fourth-year from Hufflepuff,” I explained, ignoring Ron’s mutters of pain.

“No other big discoveries today?” Harry teased, a grin forming on his face.

I playfully punched his arm. “None, except that Ron can’t crack a joke to save his life.”