Completely Nutters!

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, they are all the property of JKR and any publishing house that currently has the rights to print the Harry Potter books.
Author's Notes: Have any comments about grammar, language, what you don't like? Don't bother posting them. I write for my own pleasure, if you don't like the fic, don't read it!

Luna stared out over the Quidditch pitch, her head feeling heavy with cold and the weight of the huge lion-head hat that she was wearing for the Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch Cup.

"Weasley is our King." she sang the words quietly, under her breath as Ron made another save, Pansy Parkinson flying away from the goal, her angry mutterings muffled by the wind rushing past her face.

"I can't believe you wore that again Luna," Ginny tapped her strange friend on the shoulder when it seemed that she hadn't been heard. "Luna?" Ginny leaned in and nudged her friend, grinning when Luna finally turned to look at her.

"Is there something wrong with my hat?" She touched the roaring lion fondly on the nose, "I am surprised that more people aren't wearing them. Looking over the crowd it was easy to spot many enchanted "Go Gryffindor" banners, that flashed red and gold with sparkles, but not one other roaring lion hat was in sight.

"No, it's just very." Ginny struggled for the right word, wondering what Hermione would say if she hadn't been forced to stay away from the match with a violent case of the flu that even Pepper-up potion hadn't been able to hold at bay. "Loud?" She bit her lip and watched as Luna's face fell for a moment, before a dreamy smile crossed her face as the Weasley song (as it had become known) began to filter through the disbelieving roars of displeasure coming from the Slytherins. Ron had saved yet another point from being scored.

"Ronald is playing very well," Luna murmured, staring off dreamily in Ron's direction, a faint smile on her face. "He is a good keeper."

Ginny smiled, wondering what Ron would think if he realised that Luna was so enamoured with him that she even talked to herself about him. "I guess so," Although Ginny was really happy that Harry was back on the team in the position of Seeker, Ginny was a bit miffed that she hadn't been given another spot, maybe replacing one of her brothers as a Beater. It seemed that now Harry was back they had no need her anymore.

"Don't you think that your brother is a good keeper? He keeps all those nasty Slytherins away from the goal posts." Luna tilted her head to one side in a contemplative manner, then turned back to watch as more excitement exploded on the pitch. It seemed like Harry, then Draco, had spotted the snitch and were heading, at lightning speed, toward the ground as the small golden ball attempted to escape their grasp.

Ginny looked at the back of Luna's head, incredulous. She couldn't help but wonder when Ron would finally take off the blinkers that had him focussed solely on Hermione, especially when it was obvious to everyone else in sight that Hermione was only interested in one person, the one that quite often would sneak into the 'Requirement Room' to spend time with her when she was supposed to be studying for whatever subject she felt that she was falling behind in.

Christmas was in a few weeks, and Ginny longed for home, she wondered if Luna felt the same. The small Ravenclaw often mentioned her father, but his name was usually connected with some strange creature being featured in the 'Quibbler' or some expedition he was going on to research something new for a strange new feature in the 'Quibbler'. Ginny was tempted to ask Luna what she was doing for Christmas, but at the same time was a little bit afraid of what unusual answer the girl would come up with. Nothing was exactly straight forward with Luna, who had many unique tales to tell.

"Look over there, Weasel…you're little admirer is staring at you again," Pansy Parkinson swooped past Ron, the Quaffle in her hands and a smug grin on her chubby face. "The loony has a huge crush on you," she laughed out loud as she threw the ball at Ron's head, narrowly missing, then bouncing off the goal post.

"Yeah, maybe, but I bet even she would have scored that goal…" Ron shook off the uneasy feeling he had about what Pansy had said, and continued to concentrate on the game going on around him.

"You're going to regret that, Weasley," Pansy spat as she flew back to the centre of the pitch and did her best to unseat Katie Bell, who was currently holding the Quaffle and headed determinedly toward the Slytherin goals.

"Sure I am," Ron muttered under his breath, taking a chance and glancing up into the Gryffindor stands, grinning despite himself when he heard the unmistakeable roar of Luna's hat and the beginning of the chorus, "Weasley is our King…Weasley is our King…"

The game for Slytherin went downhill drastically when Katie managed to score three goals in a row, Gryffindor were ahead by forty points, and the Snitch was still at large.

Finally, shouting triumphantly, Harry's hand closed around the elusive golden winged ball and held it aloft, the team, having not even noticed that Harry had been chasing it above their heads, all flew down low to circle the field, enjoying the cheers from the crowd.

Flushing, Luna stood up, sidling out into the aisle, "I'll see you later, Ginny," she breathed, already walking over to the steps that led to the edge of the Quidditch pitch.

"Luna, we'll be having a…" Ginny watched, dismayed, as her quiet friend continued to walk away. "Party…" the last was said on a sad whisper. Ginny wished that Luna didn't just walk away as she had just now, it was an occupational hazard, being the strange girl's friend.

"Oooh, look boys…" Pansy pushed away from the low wall and walked over to stand in front of Luna, an expression of pure malice on her pug-like face. "It's Weasel's little girlfriend." It was obvious that Pansy was after a fight, or at least a little bit of violence, but Luna just shrugged her shoulders and turned to walk away. This was how she dealt with the bullies in her year. Most of them had learned after a while that they never got any satisfaction out of goading her, so they just took her things and hid them around the dorm and common room. "Aww…don't you want to talk to us?" Pansy pouted, her eyes glittering with enjoyment at the momentary trapped expression on Luna's pale face.

Ron walked ahead of Harry into the changing rooms, dumping his stuff on the bench just inside the door and heading over to the magically locked lockers to pick up his school uniform.

"I noticed Luna sitting next to Ginny," Harry grinned, remembering the roaring of her lion as he had caught the snitch, although he doubted that was what she had been watching when he had rolled onto the ground with the snitch in his hand.

"That girl's a total nutcase. Why does Ginny insist on hanging around with her? Do you think she's still 'damaged' after all that stuff with you-know-who?" He leaned forward and whispered the last, just in case anyone was standing near by. He knew that Ginny was still very sensitive about the Chamber of Secrets and Tom Riddle, and was hoping that it had been forgotten by now.

"Ron, she's not that bad. I think she's really sweet," Harry patted Ron on the shoulder, wondering why his friend was so resistant to the idea of Luna hanging around with him and his family.

"Yeah, well if she followed around after you all summer you might feel differently," Ron muttered, the words slightly muffled as he pulled his cloak on over his head. "Party tonight then?" It wasn't really a question so much as a statement of fact. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup, and almost certainly the House Cup this year, it was definitely a cause for celebration.

"Yeah, I'll see you back in the Common room. I need to get this back to Katie," he held up the snitch which lay jiggling lightly in the palm of his hand.

"Okay." Ron rolled his eyes as he left the changing rooms. It was no secret that Harry and Katie had been seeing a fair bit of each other since the start of the year, both of them so obsessed with Quidditch, and so full of raging teenage hormones.

"Even he can't stand you being around him…" Pansy held up a small ball that resembled in almost every way a remembrall, and soon Ron's voice could be heard, "I wish she'd stop hanging around with us…people will think that we're just as nutters as she is…"

Luna looked at the ball mortified for a moment, but before Pansy could see the short-lived weakness, she schooled her features into a dazed stare. "So what? I heard Draco Malfoy say the same about you," everyone knew that Draco was the one weak spot that the dog-like girl had, it was obvious in the way that she hung off virtually his every word, scaring off any other girls who even contemplated going near him.

"Right!" Pansy laughed, "…and I'm supposed to believe that, coming from a girl who fancies a freaky ginger boy?" Tossing a strand of her greasy-looking hair over her shoulder, Pansy sniffed, irritated and took a step closer to Luna, enjoying it when the smaller girl took a hesitant step backward. "What's the matter Loony?" The nickname, that so often sounded almost friendly from the girls she shared a dorm room with, sounded sinister on Pansy's lips. "You frightened with no one else to stand up for you?" Grasping hold of Luna's resisting arm, Pansy dragged the smaller girl into a doorway and pushed her against the rough wood door.

"Ron, have you seen Luna?" Ginny ran up and tapped her brother on the shoulder, stepping back when he spun round.

"You've managed to lose her?" he questioned, amused. "How can you lose someone with that kind of hat on her head?"

"She wandered off just after the game. She seemed a bit strange today." Ginny frowned, she knew that Luna often wandered off alone and spaced out quite often, but she knew that most of the Slytherins would be after the blood of anyone who had supported Gryffindor today, especially anyone who had any kind of connection with Harry, just because they had lost the game so spectacularly.

Laughing now, Ron cast an incredulous look at his sister and continued to walk in the direction of the main school building. "How can you tell the difference? She's always strange…she's a complete loony!"

Ginny stopped, her hands on her hips, an infuriated expression on her face, and almost shouted at her suddenly shocked brother. "She's my friend, Ron. She's not a Loony, she's just a bit different. There's nothing wrong with that."

Ron shook his head, a smile still on his face. "Ginny, you've really changed. I think I preferred it when you had a crush on Harry, and hardly said anything. You sound just like mum."

Pansy had stopped shaking Luna, much to the smaller girl's relief. She had an evil smirk on her face, her head tipped to one side as she listened to conversation coming from close by. "See, he thinks you’re a Loony, Lovegood. And coming from him that's saying something…"

Luna listened, part of her heart shattering as Ron confirmed what she had already known deep down. He didn't really like her, he just put up with her. "What's the matter, Loony? You all sad that Weasel doesn't like you?" Pansy pushed Luna away, sending her sprawling onto the floor, her once grand roaring lion hat a little ripped and no longer roaring. "Well, I guess my job is done for the day," Pansy brushed her hands off on her already slightly messy skirt and grimaced. "I hope you washed today, Lovegood!"

Luna watched Pansy and her little brigade of followers walk off before she pushed herself to her feet and brushed the dirt off her cloak. She sniffed back the tears that she had managed to hide from the bullies and, looking at the ground, she started to walk back to the school, hoping that she wouldn't see anyone on the way.

"Luna?" Ginny noticed her friend's diminutive form and ran after her, finally catching up and tapping her on the shoulder. "Luna, are you okay? Did you fall over or something?" She had noticed the dirt on the back of Luna's cloak, and could see faint silvery tracks on her cheeks.

Luna shook her head for a moment, then nodded quickly. She didn't want Ginny to know what had happened. She knew that Pansy had just been looking for someone to pick on, and Luna was an easy target. "Yes, I'm just so clumsy," her silvery eyes clouded over and her voice turned vague, "I thought I saw a pregnant snorking wiglack and tripped over something."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Ginny couldn't hide her concern. She knew that there was little, if any difference in their ages, but there was something about Luna that made Ginny feel very protective.

"I'll be fine. I think I should go and clean up." She continued to walk on, ignoring the fact that Ginny had stopped to wait for her brother. Ron was the last person Luna wanted to see, she blushed at the thought of just having to talk to him.

"Hey, Luna…" Luna took a deep breath and turned round, slowly, her eyes never wavering from the spot on the ground in front of her feet. Ron ran up until he was standing behind Ginny and looked at her. "We're having a party to celebrate our victory. Do you want to come?" He gulped in a mouthful of air and waited for an answer.

"I don't think so, Ronald," she spoke so quietly that Ron and Ginny both had to strain to hear what she was saying. "I fear that I am not in the right mood for a party."

Ron's brow wrinkled in confusion at the answer, and he stared at Luna's back as she continued to walk away. "What's up with her?"

"I don't know, but I bet it was something to do with you…" Ginny elbowed Ron in the stomach, ignoring his grunt of pain.