Hidden in the Bushes

Hermione wouldn't mind having to snuggle up to Luna for warmth either. Just saying. She watches in anticipation as Luna takes a bite of the picnic she had worked hard to create herself - that's why the mini quiches look just a little funny shaped, because Hermione in 2.0 isn't the Mama Bear master chef she was in 1.0. "Lucky us indeed," she grins. "How are you? What have you been up to?" she asks before taking some cheese and crackers. She finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about Luna, and how her day was, and who she talked to, and how many times she laughed because that is always a beautiful sound.

Luna thinks the mini quiches look perfect, and she can tell that Hermione put a lot of work into them. "Nothing much. I just talked to Dean Thomas earlier. He taught me some seventh year spells, and- Oh! I produced a corporeal patronus!" she exclaims excitedly because that was a really happy moment that only happened because of their happy moment in the library. "It was a hare. I've never done one of those before. Just the little, shapeless ones." She grins and takes a bite of one of the quiches which tastes wonderful, mostly because Luna knows Hermione made them just for this date. "How was your day?"

"Non-corporeal," Hermione clarifies absently. She doesn't mean to correct people all the time, it's just a reflex she's always had. She is beaming with pride at Luna, though, because producing a corporeal patronus us a big deal. "Wow, that's brilliant Luna, very advanced magic. You'll have to show me sometime," she says, nerding out just a little bit because she is Hermione after all. "My day was alright. I got a chance to catch up on some reading, and spend some time with Viktor. Did you know, I made him a study schedule, and he actually uses it! Usually when I would do something like that for Harry and Ron they would just roll their eyes and drop it in the fire," she says with a little shrug. "Oh, would you like some pumpkin juice?" she offers, remembering her manners since she is hosting this little party for two.

Luna greams at being complimented by Hermione about her magic skills because that's a big deal considering how smart Hermione is. She smiles as Hermione talks about her day, not at all jealous about Viktor like she used to be because she has Hermione, and Viktor doesn't. And Luna's figured out that Viktor is gay by now because she heard some disappointed fangirls moping over it. "That's nice. Viktor seems a lot more polite than Ron and Harry. And much more mature," she nods because Viktor suddenly isn't so bad anymore. "Yes, please" She grins and waits for Hermione to pour her some juice, sighing happily because this is the best date of her life. It's only the second, but still the best nonetheless.

Hermione grins. "Viktor is definitely light years ahead of Harry and Ron in maturity. He's always been a very dependable friend, even when he was in Bulgaria and we only got to write letters. He always wrote when he said he would, and never forgot or ditched to go hang out with some cute boy or something," Hermione explains, then decides she should stop rabbiting on about Viktor because she is on a date with Luna. She pours two goblets of the juice, handing one to Luna with a smile. "So who else have you been spending your time with these days?" she asks, wondering who she'll be competing with for Luna's attention. Because she wants all of Luna's attention and all of her time and if that's selfish of her, then so be it. "Do you get to spend much time with your Ravenclaw friend, Nikki, right?

Cute boy, huh? Well, that just confirmed it. Luna smiles as she takes the drink, glad that Hermione has nice friends that are obviously not going to be any competition for her if they like guys. "Oh. I just saw her the other night, actually. That new guy, Caradoc, wants to start a band and he wants Nikki and me to be in it with him along with some other Hufflepuff guy, Tristan I think his name was. So that should be fun. And I've been spending a lot of time with Dean too. We've been studying together, though we didn't get much done the other night because we started talking about Snorkacks and Unicorns," she says with a small laugh as she thinks about how fun it had been with Dean, even though the entire time she was wishing she could have told her BFF about Hermione.

"A band?" Hermione blinks. "I didn't know you were musical. What instrument do you play? I played the keyboard as a child, but I think I haven't touched one since the summer after my second year here. You know," she muses, "I don't believe I've met any of these Hufflepuffs. That's a little strange." She breaks off a moment, a flash of jealousy ripping through her as Luna talks about how much time she spends with Dean and it becomes clear to her how close they've become as friends. She takes a sip of pumpkin juice to give herself a moment to regain her composure, firmly reminding herself that she has no need for childish and petty jealousies. "Snorkacks?" she blinks. She should be used to Luna coming up with all these fanciful creatures by now, but it takes her by surprise every time. It always heartens and amuses her, to see Luna so steadfastly willing to throw her belief behind something whether there's solid evidence or not. In the earlier days of their friendship it had annoyed her, but she'd since come to understand it was part of Luna's charm.

"I've always wanted to be able to play the keyboard," she smiles. "But I play the drums. My dad taught me when I was younger because he says it keeps the wrackspurts away," she explains with a nod because she wouldn't have bothered learning the drums if it weren't for a good reason like keeping away wrackspurts. "Hufflepuffs are pretty nice. I only know Rad, really, and I've talked to Cedric before, and met Tristan once. He doesn't talk much," she shrugs because she's not so sure if Tristan liked her or not. Then again, Rad did say he was rather shy. Luna takes a sip of her juice before explaining the snorkacks because this might take a while. Well, maybe not considering she's never actually seen one so there's not much to explain. "Mhm. Like the Crumple Horned Snorkack. They're little animals that live in Sweden...With a Crumpled Horn. They're really rare though. I've never actually seen one yet, but my dad and I did find tracks this summer when we went there."

"If I ever remember how to play, I could teach you some keyboard," Hermione offers, smiling shyly and giggling a little at the thought of Luna, beautiful and delicate and gentle, bashing away at a set of drums. "I'm glad Hufflepuffs are nice. Viktor always speaks very highly of Cedric, but I don't remember ever really meeting him beyond a passing hello at the Yule Ball a couple of years ago." She has another sip of juice, and a little sammich. She wants to ask Luna how on earth she could be sure the tracks they found were from Snorkacks, but she doesn't want to break the peace of the moment with one of their little debates about the logistics of all the different animals featured often in the Quibbler actually existing. Really, she'd just rather sit her and chat, and smile, and snog Luna silly.

"Really? That would be great! I've always liked how the piano sounds," she said with a smile because piano music is pretty. "Cedric seemed pretty nice. He's the Quidditch captain so I guess it makes sense that Viktor would like him so much." Luna is glad that Hermione doesn't question the Snorkack logic because she agrees that their time together would be better spent by snogging. "So, who have you been spending time with recently?" she asks curiously because she's just realized that she doesn't know much about Hermione's social life other than that dreadful date with Percy.

Hermione flushes, because she doesn't really spend time with many people because until Lumione Mya didn't even want to deal with her. "Um, not all that many people, really. AJ and Audrey, for the most part," she says, smiling a little at the thought of the three of them, so close yet so different. "I spent a lot of my time studying, as you know. Which luckily for me, often involves spending time with you." Smiling, secure in the knowledge that their surroundings hide them from prying eyes and the approach of any unwelcome visitors will be heard well in advance, Hermione shifts closer to Luna. Angling her head to the side a little to reach, she drops a quick, sweet kiss on Luna's lips.

Luna is about to say something but she forgets what it was for a moment as she feels Hermione's lips on her own, still smiling as Hermione pulls away from the short kiss that felt a lot longer than it really was. She takes a moment to let that fluttery feeling in her chest pass because she still can't believe this is all happening to her. She's on a date with Hermione, who is telling her how much she likes spending time with her and giving her random kisses every time they see each other. Little things that Luna's only imagined and fantasized about but never thought would actually happen. "I've always liked studying with you," she smiles softly. "I'm always telling Dean how smart and clever you are, actually," she adds with a slight blush before she remembers that thing she wanted to say before. "And I know your friend, Audrey! She's in my house and we met in the common room a few days ago. She seems really friendly. All your friends seem really nice, like yourself." She smiled up at Hermione and hesitated slightly before moving her hand over to gently take the older girl's hand in her own, smiling brightly at how well their hands fit together.

Hermione looks down at their hands entwined together, her smile deep and soft and content. "Thank you," she says, because what else is she supposed to say? It's not like she can deny it - she's the brightest witch in her year. "And Audrey is very friendly. She's one of my very best friends and I love her dearly. She's lots of fun, and very smart. I hope you'll like her a lot." She lapses into silence, her thumb running over Luna's hand gently, sighing happily and enjoying being with her.

Luna smiles as Hermione's thumb lightly trails small circles on her hand. "I do like her. She told me about how you two spend your summers together playing er-- Um. Bored games, I think it was," she says, feeling like the name doesn't suit it because what Audrey described sounded rather fun, yet the name bored game says the exact opposite. She smiles up at Hermione and lightly gives her another kiss because kissing Hermione is one of the many things about her girlfriend that she can't seem to get enough of.

Hermione smiles, but any reply she is about to make is cut off by Luna leaning in and kissing her. When Luna pulls away, Hermione follows her, reclaiming her lips in a longer, slightly more intense kiss because only a couple of seconds is not nearly long enough. "I don't think I'll ever get sick of this," she whispers against the other girl's mouth before resuming kissing her.

Luna's wondering how she hasn't drifted off and floated away like a happy, little bubble because recently she's felt like she's about to fly away every time Hermione's around. That's how happy this makes her. She gladly and eagerly returns the kiss, bringing one hand up to softly rest on Hermione's cheek.

Hermione sighs at the feel of Luna's soft hand against her cheek, moving her face into the contact a little more. Her lips work with more urgency against Luna's, her tongue slipping between the other girl's lips to massage her own and Hermione's head begins to swim happily with the sensations. She forgets where she is, what she's doing, everything but the girl she is kissing and Hermione shifts so that her body is as close to Luna's as she can get it while they're still sitting up. Her hands slip around her, one resting on her hip and the other at the small of her back, tangling lightly in the fabric of her shirt.

The hand on Hermione's cheek slowly slides back to tangle itself in the hair that Luna's admired for so long as she lets herself relax into the kiss, her head spinning with happiness as she feels Hermione's hand on her tiny body. She's pretty sure that nothing has ever felt more right than kissing her girlfriend here in this secluded spot outside where no one can bother them. Her other hand rests on Hermione's waist as she lets herself fall back on the blanket, pulling Hermione down on top of her without breaking the kiss.

Hermione lets out a muffled squeal of surprise as Luna pulls her down on top of her and she throws a hand out to keep herself from crushing the slighter girl, all the while never breaking their kiss. She rests one forearm against the blanket, not really sure where hands and limbs are meant to go in this sort of situation but mostly following whatever feels comfortable. Her other hand moves up, brushing through Luna's hair for a few seconds before drifting down to her waist, rubbing gently at it as Luna's shirt rides up ever so slightly and Hermione feels a jolt of excitement at the contact with soft skin.

Luna can't help but smile against Hermione's lips as she lets her hands rest on each side of Hermione's waist. She feels a slight rush of electricity run through her as she feels Hermione's soft hands touch her skin, not even caring why such a simple touch can make her feel this way because she's enjoying it too much to think about the why and how of it all.

Hermione is usually the one who analyzes every little thing, who wants to know all the wheres and whys and hows. But this is entirely different, and she's lost in the feeling with no concentration left spare to think about the scientific aspects of why there seems to be an electrical charge between her skin and Luna's. She breaks the kiss for air, panting a little and staring down at Luna in fascination, her golden hair splayed across the picnic blanket, her eyes shining and beautiful as they look back up at her. "You are so pretty." She blushes a bit, because she hadn't meant to say that out loud, and lowers her head again more to avoid having to watch Luna's reaction to her clumsy statement than anything else. She brushes a soft, almost apologetic kiss to Luna's cheek before her mouth wanders further south, exploring the sweet-tasting skin of a pale jaw and delicate neck. She doesn't know what she's doing, really, but she's content to feel her way and work on instinct for now.

Luna blushes at the compliment, both ecstatic and surprised that she's hearing those words come from Hermione's soft and gentle lips. She's pretty sure that she's never had a better week in her life because the past few days have been nothing short of amazing, and it's only just begun. As Hermione's lips make their way down her neck, she lets out a quiet, content sigh, wishing they could just stay out here forever and not have to worry about anything else. One of her hands on Hermione's waist slowly and hesitantly pushes the fabric of her shirt out of the way so she can instead rest her small hand on Hermione's soft, smooth skin.

Hermione lets out a little gasp of surprise as Luna's hand works its way beneath her shirt to rest on bare skin and she smiles against her neck, kissing gently at the column of her throat. She's well on her way to being completely lost in the moment when she hears a sudden rustling sound, a movement that makes her withdraw as if she's been burned. She rolls into a sitting position and glances around nervously, her breathing hitching in her throat both from the breathlessness of what she and Luna had been doing, and nervousness that they were about to be interrupted. It dawns on her that things were getting a little carried away for their location and she flushes. "Sorry," she breathes when she is sure the sound was a false alarm. "Maybe we should slow that down a little, though? Have some pumpkin juice and study for a while instead?" she suggests, although her body would very much like to resume her position of a few seconds ago.

LENORE IT IS FOUR AM AND AS ADORABLE AS THIS IS YOU SHOULD SLEEP.
also, inner caradoc would just like to say:

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

*giggles* 4:40am now... But then, you are talking to the woman who drove to Maccas an hour ago because she had a craving for frozen coke. Did you know they don't serve frozen coke after 1am? *writes an angry letter to Amethyst about that*
I'm not tired yet... Rad and Mol time? I feel like she needs one more chance to be crushy before Jolly starts....