She supposed that the extra hours she had put in at the beginning of the month were her own fault.  The one year anniversary of her breakup with Seamus had her throwing herself into work in an effort to avoid thinking of it all.  Her father had refused to let her work that night, though, which had led to the whole scene with Zabini.  She idly wondered if he had resolved things with his Hannah.

Refreshed from what some would consider a huge and scandalous mistake, she had returned to work bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Only to discover that Prinze, the company that had printed the Quib for as long as her father had been editor, had decided to take a step back from what they had declared "fringe magazines".

Suddenly without a printer, and with her father still recovering, Luna had scrambled to find a new printing company.  It was only yesterday that she found one that was both willing to print the Quib and didn't want to charge an insane amount of money to do so.  As it was, they were going to have to raise the price of their paper for the first time in over a hundred years.  Only by two sickles, which she hoped would not upset their readership too much.

With that issue finally settled, she'd taken the opportunity to take the weekend off.  She fully planned on sleeping for the majority of it, with a side of catching up with her room mate, if the red head ever made an appearance.  And to find out why Dean Thomas had apparently taken up residence with them.

Ginny set her bag on the ground as she came in the front door, larger bags draped over her shoulders. She'd spent most of the morning buying new medical journals and books from Flourish and Blotts. She was slightly disappointed that Hermione wasn't there, but she knew the witch had another job. As it was, Ginny didn't have any appointments, and she'd be alerted if anyone tried to open the front door for an emergency. As it was, she'd have 2 patients. Both of them Slytherins. She really hoped this wasn't the way the clinic would go forever. She'd made the children exam rooms for a reason.

She made her way to the kitchen, hoping that she'd think of something good for Halloween. Something that would draw in the people and build her client base. She smiled when she saw Luna sitting at the island. "Moon!" She frowned. "You look tired."

"I feel like I could sleep a week," Luna confessed, smiling at her friend as she stood and helped her with her packages.  They were as heavy as they looked and she wondered what could possibly be in them.  "Doing some light shopping?"

"Medical texts. For the clinic." She grunted when Luna helped with the bags, setting them on the ground by the island. "Just in case someone comes in with a disease I've never heard of." She looked up with a smile. "Though, I really don't think that's possible." She laughed before reaching out and pulling Luna into a hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you ages! How are you?"

Luna returned the hug with enthusiasm before stepping back and considering the question.  She was over worked, yes, but she also felt better about herself than she had in a long time.  "I'm good," she finally answered.

"Texts for the clinic," she gasped, realizing what exactly Ginny had said.  Had she been so busy that she'd missed the final decision all together?  Or had she had some typically "Luna" moment where Gin had told her and she simply hadn't paid attention or forgot the moment her attention had been caught by something else?

"You have many patients then?" she asked, hoping that she wouldn't be caught out.

Ginny snorted as she pulled back from the blond. "Two. Two patients. Both did the things to themselves." She chewed on her bottom lip as she took a seat at the island. What did she want to tell Luna? What could she tell Luna without sounding like a nutter.

She started playing with her hands, spinning the ring on her little finger. "You know how I'd been telling you I was seeing a private client about some healing?" She waited for Luna's nod. She'd only mentioned it in passing. She actually was surprised Luna remembered it at all, considering how they'd only seen each other in passing for the last month. "It's gotten... complicated."

Luna cocked her head to the side and considered this.  "Has the healing or the patient gotten complicated?"  She hoped that was an appropriate response.  She had a vague remembrance of Gin mentioning a private patient and desperately hoped that the red head hadn't imparted some important bit of information in the past.  Luna did listen to her, really she did.  But when she was busy, or concentrating on something else, she tended to faze out anything that wasn't part of what she was doing at that moment.  It had gotten better since her school days, at least.  Or Gin was just nicer about it.

"Both. The healing itself isn't going as well or as quickly as I hoped." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "But that's not what's upsetting. What's upsetting is the fact that the patient is a childish prat who has a nice chest." She rolled her eyes. "But he's a prat. And he knows he's a prat and is still a prat."

"You've never had a problem treating prats before," Luna pointed out.  "Remember that bloke two years ago, who thought he should have a medi-wizard license?  You told me that he knew just enough to be dangerous and second-guessed every decision you made.  You managed to treat his rash despite his attitude."  She took a sip of her now cold tea and grimaced into the cup.  "Or is it his nice chest that is the real problem?"

"No, the real problem is that he likes nice chests as well." At Luna's confused look, she sighed. "He likes blokes. More specifically, he likes Blaise. My partner. How... it's ridiculous. I'm ridiculous." She let out a feral growl, setting her cheek against the marble of the island. "It's just stupid. I'm avoiding him."

Luna blinked in confusion.  Ginny's partner's name was Blaise?  As in Zabini?  Oh, Rowena's tit, she'd slept with her best friend's business partner.  If there had been any doubt in her mind that she wanted to keep that night to herself, this news put it to rest.

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about Zabini chasing after your prat of a patient.  He likes women too much to ever go after a bloke I would think."  And hundreds of women would go into mourning if he ever changed his mind, she thought.

Ginny snorted, looking up at Luna through her hair. "Well, I'm thinking the rumors are over-exaggerated, because I had a rather disastrous dinner with them Thursday. Together. Dating? Pet Names? It was disgusting." She shut her eyes, hating that she was taking her frustration out on them. It wasn't their fault. Not really. This was her fault. Her fault for liking someone inappropriate. It'd been that way with Harry for years.

Yes, but that worked out in the end.

Ginny growled at herself before shaking her head. "It's just not right. It's abnormal."

"That a male could like another male that way?" Luna asked in confusion.  Ginny had never shown the slightest hint of any sort of prejudice or homophobia before.  Surely that's not what she meant.

Ginny's head flew up, shock on her features. "What? No! I'm abnormal! Not them! It's not- being gay is not wrong. Merlin, that's not what I meant." Her hand reached out and touched Luna's hand. "I like a gay man, Luna. I like someone who doesn't like girls." She shook her head. "Or, doesn't like girls anymore. Apparently he liked girls at one point in time, but-" She shook her head, holding her hands out in front of her. "No. It doesn't matter. He's with Blaise. He's with my partner. I need... this just needs to stop."

"You're not abnormal," Luna denied instantly.  "And I know you're not the first woman to like someone who is completely wrong for you.  At least he's wrong because he prefers men, not because he's a mass murderer."  She took a drink of her tea, forgetting that it had gone cold, and cursed the bitter taste.  "Yuck.  Do you want some tea?  And did you say that they had pet names for each other?"  Maybe she had misheard Zabini?  Could he have said Hani? Or was Hannah a feminine form of some other name?  Hans or Hannibal?

Ginny rose an eyebrow as Luna went to the stove and began making more tea. "I didn't hear any pet names." She shook her head. "That's a lie. They called each other 'sweet buns' and 'muffin' and I'm sure other equally as nauseating things." She laid her upper body across the island, watching at Luna bustled around, getting clean cups out. "He's not a mass murderer, no. Not that I know of." She blinked before sitting up. "I really don't know anything about him. Nothing. I know what I knew about him from school. I know he spent the last 5 years elsewhere and seems to be less of a git. Sometimes. But other than that? Nothing."

She shook her head. "I'm pathetic. I only like him for his body." Liar. "I mean, I can't like him because I don't know him."

"Maybe they just have an open relationship," Luna muttered before continuing in a louder voice.  "Admiring a bloke's form isn't the end of the world.  Guys do it all the time with their "Women of Quidditch" calendars and such."

"Yes, but I'd like to think I enjoy a little more substance than that." She sighed as Luna handed her a steaming cup. "Forget it. It's a stupid crush, and I'll get over it." She leveled Luna with a look, hoping her best friend would let it drop. "And you? How's the paper? I see you're home at a time you usually aren't."

"Hopefully that will change soon.  There was a bit of a crisis involving the printing company.  We had to find a new printer, which added a great deal of stress.  But now that it's dealt with, I should have some more time off.  I absolutely refuse to work this weekend.  I feel like it's been forever since I did more than crash into bed or the couch in Daddy's office.  I woke up this morning and hardly recognised the place, what with the painting supplies and all.  Did I completely miss Dean moving in, or have you found time for a new hobby?"

Ginny snorted. "He's staying here. He's in my room. I didn't think you'd mind." She mentally winced. She should have asked Luna first, but with all of them being on separate schedules, she didn't think it would matter. "He needed a place to stay for a bit. I didn't want him going anywhere dirty or unsafe. I'm sorry if I just assumed you'd be alright with it. This is your house too. I should have asked first."

"Oh, I have no problem with it," Luna assured her before taking a sip of her tea.  "I was just a bit confused.  I wasn't expecting to step on a tube of paint or knocking my elbow against an easel.  What's the point in have a grand house like this if we can't let friends crash every once in awhile.  No worries, Gin."

Nodding, Ginny took a sip of her tea. "I'm glad." She let her hands warm on the cup before looking up at Luna in thought. "We should. We should have people over for... games or something. Exploding Snap. Bloody Parcheesi. I'm so sick of not having a life. I love the clinic. Just thinking about it and I get butterflies in my stomach, but I miss you. And I miss Harry and Dean. And Fred. We should have a night."

Maybe it was her desire to forget about what had been going on in other areas of her life, but Ginny was startled to realize it was true. She missed her friends. Her old friends. The ones she'd grown up with. She missed her brother. She missed how she used to feel. Before everything happened. "A fun night."

Luna pondered the idea for a moment.  She had never been a social butterfly, but she did enjoy her small circle of friends.  "Maybe Neville?  It sounds like a grand plan, if we can all manage it.  When would you like to host it?"

Ginny waved her hand in the air. "I have no idea. It was just an idea. Maybe we start out small. Have Harry over. Have a Dean, Harry, Luna and Ginny night. Muggle cinema. Games. Dinner. Probably some food that's bad for us." She smiled, taking another sip of her tea. "Besides, you need to get away from that paper and have some fun. Knickers shopping a month ago is just not enough."

"Was it really that long ago?  Rowena, I need a break.  And that sounds perfect.  Do you think Harry has time?  His Auror evaluations should be coming up, right?"  She seemed to recall that Ginny had mentioned his graduation timeline to her once, back when the two were still dating.

Swallowing and nodding, Ginny set her cup down on the counter. "Yeah. On the first. He has tests all that day, then he'll know." Ginny made a mental note to plan a present or balloons or something equally as embarrassing. "Maybe sometime after that?"

"That sounds good."  She glanced over at the calendar on the wall, which was filled with notes about various things.  "What do you think of the Saturday after that?  It could be a celebratory night as well.  Assuming he passes, though I can't imagine he wouldn't.  But if not, a consolation night?  We'll pick up Ogden's Old and cake if that's the case."

Ginny beamed. "That sounds fantastic. Really. I think he'll appreciate the thought. And if he doesn't, we'll just use it as an excuse to eat cake." Rising to rinse out her cup, she looked back over her shoulder at Luna. "Don't think I've forgotten to look for a man for you. I haven't found anything yet, but I will."

Luna forced a laugh.  "I don't have time for a bath, much less a bloke.  What guy would willingly put up with my schedule?"  She took her cup to the sink and smiled back at her friend.  "I'm happy right now, Gin.  Over worked, yes, but happy for the first time since Seamus.  I don't need the added stress of a bloke in my life."

Bumping hips with Luna, Ginny turned and leaned backwards against the counter, smirking at the blond. "I'm happy you're happy. Really. I feel better knowing that." She walked around the counter and grabbed her books. "I'll owl Harry about the party. Let him know we have plans and he better not break them."

"He knows better than to brave your wrath," Luna joked.


[Summary: Ginny and Luna catch up after a busy month. Plans are made for a celebration when Harry becomes a full Auror.]