Chapter One; Mobile phones, catching up and too much wine.
It was loud in the Leaky Cauldron, full of happy couples and families about to start their day full of shopping. It was predicted to be a beautiful day outside, but the air was still brisk and families hadn't yet had a chance to eat, so Tom the barman was rushing around taking orders and pouring drinks faster than his feet could move. The pub was lively and loud, except for one man.

Ron Weasley sat alone in a corner of the Leaky Cauldron with his back to the room, picking at his food slowly, sadly. He was so wrapped up in his own, unhappy thoughts that he didn't notice the dirty blonde haired girl standing next to him for several minutes.

'Ron?' the dirty blonde asked gently, not wanting to startle him. Ron looked up at the girl through his slightly too long fringe, and jumped up out of his seat when he saw who it was.

'Luna! It's so good to see you!' he exclaimed, genuinely happy to see his old school friend.

'How are you, Luna?'

'Oh, I'm alright, thank you, but you don't look like you're having a very good day either?' Luna asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question to Ron, who sighed deeply and shook his head.

'May I join you?' Luna asked, gesturing to the table where Ron's now cold breakfast rested.

'Um, sure!' Ron pulled out a chair for Luna, and she gracefully sat, placing an odd, rectangular item on the table.

'What are you doing here, Luna? I haven't heard from you for ages.'

'I have a muggle boyfriend, so I've been living with him in the muggle world.' Luna explained, hesitating to say more.

'Is that why you have that on the table?' Ron gestured to the item. Luna picked it up; it was larger than her hand.

'This is a mobile phone, Ron. Muggles use these to keep in contact with each other, since they don't have the use of owls as we do.'

Ron was busy eyeing the mobile phone with curiosity, so he didn't notice Luna looking at it like she wished it would disappear. At that moment it buzzed in her hand, making Ron jump.

'Why's it doing that? Is it broken?' he eyed it suspiciously, making Luna giggle. She remembered when mobiles were foreign to her, too, and she had had similar reactions to it.

'No, Ron, my boyfriend sent me a message. A letter through the phone.' Luna had her head down, typing a response as she tried to explain to an increasingly confused Ron.

'Well, I don't understand, but you should pay my dad a visit, he would have kittens over that.'

Luna was silent for a few moments, occasionally typing, occasionally just staring at the screen. Ron caught Tom's attention and signalled for two drinks, which arrived as Luna finally raised her head and placed the mobile in her jacket pocket, which she had slung over the back of the chair.

'Yes, Ginny told me the same thing last time I saw her, but I haven't quite gotten around to seeing your dad just yet.' Luna spoke dreamily, but Ron thought she spoke with a hint of stress layered under her normal dreamy voice. He chose to ignore it, figuring that Luna would tell him if she felt like it.

'So what are you here in the Leaky Cauldron for? Are you on your way to do some shopping?' Ron purposely changed the subject, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. Luna pulled a sticky marshmallow out of her own drink as she responded,

'Yes, I was hoping for a new book. As interesting as the muggle world is, I felt the need to return to the wizarding world briefly.' She swallowed her marshmallow with relish. Ron couldn't help but stare at her lips, where a tiny amount of marshmallow had gotten stuck.

'You've got, uh,' Ron gestured hopelessly to Luna's lips, which he now noticed were a rather attractive shade of pink.

'Oh, I'm sorry, that's rather unladylike, isn't it?' Luna grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her lips carefully.

'Don't apologise, it could happen to anyone.'

'So why are you here all alone, Ron? I thought you would be here with Hermione?' Luna questioned, carefully folding the napkin so that the part that had touched her lips was folded away, hiding from the world.

'Oh, well, um.' Ron paused, looking for the right words to use, but Luna noticed his discomfort and supplied the words in her straightforward way.

'Are you and Hermione not doing so well?'

'We've actually broken up.' Ron kept his eyes on his drink.

'Oh, I see. So you are trying to avoid her?' Luna's question made him jerk in surprise.

'Yeah.' He sighed, hating to admit it. 'It's just been hard. We officially broke up a few years ago, but no one knows yet. I live in her house still, pretending to be happy with her.'

'So move out.' Luna said.

'What?'

'If it's her house and you're unhappy, why don't you find your own home? Stop pretending and go find happiness.' Luna spoke so straightforward, so honestly, she made it so easy. Ron stared into his mug, wishing that he felt like he could leave. But he didn't feel comfortable leaving Hermione all on her own, especially with her history. How could he be sure that she would actually look after herself?

'There's more you're not telling me, isn't there Ron?' Luna asked gently, pulling him out of his thoughts. Ron nodded, feeling bad that he couldn't tell her, but Hermione's history was hers to tell, not his, and he did promise that he wouldn't tell anyone.

'Do you want to go and do some shopping?' Luna purposely changed the subject this time, saving Ron the discomfort.

'Sure,' Ron smiled gratefully. 'Did you want to go anywhere in particular?'

'Well I need to stock up on everything magical, it will be awhile before I will have another chance to visit Diagon Alley, so I may be here all day.' Luna warned, but Ron smiled.

'Sounds great. We can go visit George in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes too, if you want?'

Luna beamed at the thought. Ron caught himself staring at her petite pink lips again, as well as how her silvery blue eyes sparkled when she smiled.

'That sounds wonderful, Ron.'

The pair walked the length of Diagon Alley at least three times. They went into every shop once, spending the most time in Madam Malkins and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and then continued to walk and talk for the rest of the day. As it began to grow dark the pair stopped just beside the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace, where people could floo in and out, and Luna finally thought to check her mobile for the first time since she first put it into her pocket that morning.

Ron watched her face fall the longer she looked at the funny little device. Ron wondered what could make Luna look so sad if her boyfriend was sending her letters through the device. Shouldn't it be making her smile?

'Is everything ok, Luna?' he asked gently. Luna started and put the mobile back into her pocket, smiling rather forcefully.

'Of course. I just had a couple of messages from my boyfriend. He is rather worried about me since I have been gone all day. I really must go.' Luna glanced at Ron, appearing to try and make a decision.

'Can we do this again, Ron? I rather enjoyed myself today.'

'Course we can, Luna. I'd like that a lot.' Ron smiled encouragingly. He had noticed that every time Luna's boyfriend was brought up in their conversation, Luna would speak about him briefly and then try to change the subject. He hoped that she was happy with him.

'I have to work tomorrow and the following day, so how about two days from now, on the weekend?'

Ron can't help but notice the way Luna's eyebrows crease as she thinks about it, before they smooth out and she beams at him again.

'Yes, I think that should work. Shall we meet at the Leaky Cauldron in the morning again?'

'Sounds like a friend date,' Ron smiles, and Luna tilts her head, still beaming.

'I'll see you then, Ron.' And Luna stood up on her tiptoes to lightly kiss Ron on the cheek before she left the Leaky Cauldron, leaving behind a stunned Ron, his fingertips tenderly touching the spot where her perfect pink lips had kissed him.

Ron gets home just in time to find Hermione serving up dinner. He sits down gently, still feeling light and happy after his day with Luna.

'How was your day, Hermione?' Ron asks, looking for any signs that she had been drinking yet.

'Not too bad, I went to visit Neville today. He's loving being a professor at Hogwarts, says it's far more rewarding than all his time being an auror.' Hermione sounded tired as she poured herself a small glass of wine.

'And he gets to play in the Herbology greenhouses all day, which is a dream come true for him.' Ron pointed out, laughing a little. Hermione only gave him a tired smile as she sat down at the table with him. Ron sighed quietly. He wished that their lives together could be easier, more relaxed, like when they first moved in. But now their conversations were short sentences and forced smiles. If they spoke to each other at all.

They ate in silence, and sat in a slightly awkward silence for a few moments once they were finished. Hermione poured herself another, fuller glass of wine.

'Do you need that?' Ron asks gently. Hermione avoids his gaze and simply takes a large swallow in response. Ron sighed in frustration.

This needs fixing. We are both miserable. We need to move forward so we both start living again.

'Hermione,' Ron starts, and loses his nerve, gathering the dishes in a pile. Hermione doesn't move a muscle while he moves around the kitchen, trying to find his nerve. Finally he rested on the table just in front of Hermione and waited for her to look up at him, his heart hammering with nerves.

'One week. One more week then we will have one final night together. Then we will tell everyone, alright? Because this is bullocks.'

'One week.' Hermione nods. Ron is sure that she doesn't believe him. They had done this numerous times, told each other they would start telling everyone they had broken up, but then they never did it.

But this time, Ron was serious. Luna's words were ringing in his head; "Stop pretending and go find happiness". He would make a real effort this time, so that both he and Hermione could move on. And he would find a way to continue to keep an eye on her, make sure that she didn't go back to her old habits.

Ron sighed and pushed away from the table.

'I'm going to bed, don't stay up too late.'

Hermione doesn't respond, but Ron was certain that by the time she joined him that night, the bottle she had opened with dinner would be finished, and he would be too deeply asleep to feel her stumble into bed.