Disclaimer- Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Hermione walked into the Great Hall, walking slowly and thoughtfully. Her mind was miles away, thinking of the previous night's conversation with the gray-eyed Ravenclaw. She seemed to understand her personal darkness in ways not even her mother understood. Just as she was walking to the Gryffindor table, she did a double take when she noticed Luna sitting next to her place, as if it were perfectly normal for her to cross house borders. She was eating a breakfast of oatmeal with kippers; oblivious to the stares she was receiving. Her glazed eyes were trained onto a copy of the Quibbler, a sight that made Hermione smile. Many people did not know, but the young Ravenclaw actually read a book underneath the guise of reading the newspaper. It was something she herself did with her copy of Hogwarts, a History. Honestly, how could people expect her to read the book a million times? It grew dull after reading it twenty times.

"Good morning, Luna. How are you this morning?" She took everything in stride, acting as if it were an every day occurrence to sit next to the younger girl.

"Good morning Hermione Granger. The wrackspurts told me this morning that I should sit here, as a friend might need my attention. Want to sit here with me and wait for them?" It was sweet of the Ravenclaw to make her feel comfortable, in her own way. "Of course Luna. I'll stay with you while you wait."

Silence reined their section of the table, but not an awkward silence. It was the type of comfortable silence shared by two friends who didn't need to talk idle chatter to be with each other. It was an odd sight for everyone to see, the strange, loony Ravenclaw with the ever practical, stoic Gryffindor. Yet, it seemed extremely right. Luna was the softness to Hermione's sharp edges, her warm to her cold, the light in Hermione's dark. The two complemented each other well, as if two pieces in a puzzle came together. It was a sight to see for Hermione to not be with her two bookends, but still pleasing. She seemed relaxed in the other girl's presence, a surprise for people who hadn't noticed anything was wrong.

It was with these observations in mind that Neville Longbottom sat across from the two girls; two of the few people who had never made fun of him or made him feel inferior. He looked at them with a fond smile, realizing how the two could depend on each other greatly. "Hullo, Luna, Hermione. Did you two sleep well?"

He was greeted by two bright smiles and their responses. " Good morning Neville Longbottom," said the dirty blonde haired girl, "I slept well, except for some vivid dreams about Crumple-Haired Snorcacks. I think they were trying to tell me that they live in Switzerland, but I'm not sure." Through all of this, Hermione was smiling and rolling her eyes, before turning to Neville.

" Good morning, Neville. I slept well, thank you. And you?" The trio continued their chatter until the doors opened and Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lavender walked in. They were all talking and laughing and barely noticed the trio at all as they sat across from them. Luna sensed Hermione's mood plummet and grabbed the older witch's hand and squeezed it in comfort. The other witch was startled before giving Luna a smile of thanks. She would need all the strength she could get to act as if everything was all right. All through this, Neville looked at them questioningly, but he kept quiet, as he understood something was going on that he wasn't privy to.

"Oi Hermione, what are you doing over there? And Luna, what are you doing here instead of in Ravenclaw?" As usual, it was Ron who made the blunt questions, his mouth filled to the brim with what appeared to be eggs and sausages. Hermione wrinkled her nose before replying without emotion, " I'm sitting here because I want to and Luna is here because I invited her over."

"Shouldn't she be at her own table? I mean, it's not as if she didn't have her own table to sit and her own friends over there." As usual, Ron proved his foot-in-mouth disease by forgetting Luna's experience with her house. She wasn't truly welcome with them as they saw her as something from the bottom of their shoes.

But he wasn't counting on whom he was dealing with. " No thank you Ronald Weasley. I'd rather sit here, as the Ravenclaw table is infested with green tickled praspugs. I'd rather be here. Besides, the company is better, wouldn't you say, Hermione?" The younger girl said this last bit with a wink at Hermione, who smirked with a blush peppering her cheeks slightly.

"Since when are you two friends? I thought Hermione hated your dads newspaper and called it a pile of rubbish." Ron wasn't too happy at his friend having other people as friends. He wanted her to only have him and Harry as friends, his childhood possessiveness acting up.

"Ron, that was highly inappropriate. Besides, who says I'm not her friend? Luna is an amazing girl who I am proud to say is my friend. She has been nothing but nice to me, even with my rude comments, and she is truly a great witch. Besides, what's your problem with me having other friends?"

"You're not supposed to! Can't you see you're fraternizing with the enemy?" Ron's face was turning an unbecoming shade of red. He didn't realize that he had said the wrong thing to a very angry witch.

"Fraternizing with the enemy?! Don't come to me with that trash from fourth year, Ronald. You don't even hear yourself, do you? You don't hear how stupid you sound, spewing childish things like house rivalry when there are worse things out there in the real world. Come on Luna, let's leave this idiot here in peace." She grabbed Luna's arm and walked out of the Great Hall, leaving a spluttering redhead and an amused Neville Longbottom in her wake.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Luna? How did you know about the blue?" Hermione and Luna had gone outside after the problem with Ron. They had walked around the grounds before settling down under a tree in front of the lake. They were lying down, staring at the clouds while Luna pointed out the ones that looked like one of her fanciful creatures and Hermione listened to her dreamy voice. She gathered her Gryffindor courage before asking the question that had kept her up half the night and even found its way into her dreams.

Luna lay quietly next to her, as if thinking what to tell her before she answered in a voice that seemed breezier than her previous one. "As you know, I watched my mother die while I couldn't do anything. I love my mother dearly, and losing her was the hardest thing I ever had to go through. The months after her death, the blue sunk its claws into me, like a Crumple Haired Snorcack does when they're hungry. Everything was blue, and I thought it wouldn't ever change. My creatures were all I had left, and I loved talking about them. They were the only things that could change my world to a light blue again. When I met you, I knew you were going through the same thing, but I didn't tell you anything because you seemed too proud, you didn't want to have help. I wanted to go to talk to you, but I couldn't approach you. But last night, it felt like you were calling out to me, and I couldn't stop myself from going. Hermione, please know that you're not alone. You will never be alone, for as long that I am here, I won't let you suffer anymore."

The little Ravenclaw's words brought such great emotions to the surface, that the almost emotionless Gryffindor could not handle them. She was terrified, comforted, happy, sad, everything at once. But for once, Hermione felt her world turn white. Not light blue, but a pure white. She escaped the oppressive blue that had plagued her almost her whole life, and she felt like an animal who had been caged their entire life and was released from the oppression abruptly. She didn't know how to handle the tingle that went through her body, a feeling that felt like magic. This was what magic was. This peace, calm, love. Her world seemed much lighter and happier, and she couldn't stop the cry of joy she let out, couldn't stop her body from lifting up Luna, hugging her, clutching her like a lifeline.

"Thank you Luna." She bent down and kissed her softly. Those smiling gray eyes fluttered, eyelashes covering them, and the two shared a joining of lonely souls who overcame the blue, leaving them in the bright white.

A.N. So what did you think? It's my first attempt at Hurt/ Comfort and femmeslash. I appreciate Constructive Criticism and feedback!