Luna Lovegood had always watched Ronald Weasley play Quidditch. He didn’t know it of course but she always watched. Ever since she was little and her family had moved into a house near the Burrow, their house joined on to the field where Ron and his brother’s had played. She used to sit at her window and cheer as each shot was blocked and each snitch was caught. No matter what role Ron was playing she was always on his side. She had even booed when he was hit on the head by a bludger sent by his brother George. Mrs Weasley had locked him inside for a week which finally gave young Ginny a chance to play.
 
	Ginny and Luna had played together when Ginny was not allowed on a broom. They had acted out the tale of The Boy Who Lived many times with dolls. Luna often was forced to be He-who-must-not-be-named whilst Ginny was the courageous Potters. Luna could tell how obsessed Ginevra was with the story of Harry Potter but she chose to ignore it and let her play. Luna had never had too many friends, she had always been considered strange because of her fixation with the unknown. Luna loved mystery and legend. Her father was the owner of the Quibbler, a magazine devoted to the unusual. This would be Luna’s way of escaping. Her mother had died whilst she was young and Luna found that she could disappear into her own world by just picking up the Quibbler and imagining the world of the creatures she read of. 

	When the Weasley children started leaving for Hogwarts, Ginny’s mother had made her help out around the house more often. Luna was forced back into solitude and her imaginary world. She still watched the Weasleys play quidditch but at all other times she was alone and mysterious. Soon, Ginny stopped visiting altogether and Luna started to examine the world around her more often. When she wasn’t reading the Quibbler she had her nose stuck in books about legendary animals and the secrets of the past.

	By the time Luna was old enough to join children of her own age at Hogwarts, she had learnt more about the past than she knew about the present. This had given her the appearance of lunacy which had led to her nickname of ‘Loony Lovegood.’ Luna did not care about what other people thought of her. She had been alone for a very long time and it didn’t matter if she was alone now. She was sorted into Ravenclaw house but had not made any friends.

	Straight away she had recognised the Weasleys because of their red hair and vibrant personalities. She observed Ron and his close friends Harry and Hermione with only the slightest envy. The boy she had cheered for probably didn’t even know her name and his best friend would know her even less. He was Harry Potter, the boy whose story she had acted, the boy who’s parents she had pretended to murder before getting defeated by Ginny’s toy Harry. And then there was this Hermione girl. Luna could tell she was smart; it was something about the way she walked that gave it away the most, something which was almost like a strut but controlled by fear of being teased and ridiculed. Luna had often wondered why Hermione wasn’t in Ravenclaw herself but didn’t dwell on it too much as she was enjoying her studies. 

	Luna’s favourite was History of Magic. She was undeniably good at the subject as she had read about it in so many books. She was also good at Defence against the Dark Arts but failed miserably when it came to potions. Professor Snape had no time for dreamers as she was often reminded before being given a detention. Luna didn’t mind this too much either as it gave her more time to be completely alone rather than being ignored by her roommates and fellow students, but as time went on she became bored of the constant put-downs and ridicules. She longed for a friend who she could talk to and so she watched Ron more closely. 

	Before long she could tell that her life would be more interesting if Ronald was in it. He Harry and Hermione often went on adventures and quests, even when they were put into danger. When the chamber of secrets was opened and students where being petrified, Ronald and his friends had personally sought out the monster that was harming half-bloods and muggle-borns, even when Harry himself had been suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin. When Hermione had been petrified, however, the duo lacked the knowledge to battle whatever had hurt her. Luna suspected the creature to be a cockatrice with it’s petrifying touch or even in the worst scenario a Basilisk. She remembered the Legend of Medusa which had stemmed from these terrifying creatures. Medusa was a gorgon whose hair was made up of baby basilisks. She knew that if this was the case it would not be long before a student died but she lacked the confidence to do anything about it.

	Luckily Hermione had come to the same conclusion and had ripped out the page from ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them’ and had it in her hand when she was petrified. Harry had found it and they had pursued their creature once more. When Ginny Weasley had been taken into the chamber Luna had never felt more alone. Ginny had been her only real friend, even if they had not spoken for years. Luna decided that if Ginny lived, she would make an attempt of reconciling their friendship the next time she saw her. However, by the time Ginny was released from the Hospital Wing after Harry had saved her from Tom Riddle, and what had turned out to be a Basilisk after all, it was time to leave Hogwarts and return to her house near the Burrow. She attempted to ask Ginny around for dinner once but the Weasleys had gone to Egypt on holiday and Luna never got the chance. Once again she was thrown into her life of loneliness. Her father was around occasionally but most of the time he was busy at the Quibbler. Luna was forced to return to a life lonelier than even she had known before. She didn’t have any quidditch to watch and she had already read most of the books in her collection. 

That summer was hot and still so on most nights Luna would take a tent out into her garden and lie down under the stars, dreaming of a life full of friends and adventures; a life which she had wished for since the start of last term, a life which included Ronald Weasley.

<b>A/N: Please let me know if you wish to hear more of this story. Review and tell me if you want to know what Luna thought of her second year at Hogwarts. Otherwise I shall keep this as a one-shot of her first year and her discovery of her feelings for Ronald Weasley </b>