It was rather strange for Luna to be so curious about someone she had barely spoken to, but George had certainly managed to occupy her concerns with alarming ease. She couldn’t help wondering whether he had taken her advice and was trying to lead a normal life without his brother, or if he was still feeling guilty and distressed about it. However, she hadn’t really seen Ginny or any of the Weasleys after her encounter with George, so she wasn’t sure how he was doing.
Throughout the rest of her holidays, Luna spent time working with her father on The Quibbler or walking about Diagon Alley. One early August day, she was walking around Diagon Alley. After visiting Mr. Ollivander, she noticed dark clouds lurking in the morning sky. She had come out to take a moment to admire the beautiful sky, coloured in various shades of grey and blue. She noticed that Diagon Alley was bustling with witches and wizards of all sorts who were busy doing their shopping. Luna heard someone shout her name from behind. She turned around and saw Ginny rushing towards her.
‘Hello, Ginny,’ she said in a tone which evidently showed her astonishment. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m alright. But, you know how everything is … all over the place,’ answered Ginny, as she finally caught up with her. ‘I’m really glad to see you, Luna. I was at the shop helping George; we all are – me, Ron, Hermione and Harry. You should see what a mess it is, really. Can you come join us as we could do with some more help?’
‘I’m sorry, Ginny,’ Luna began apologetically, though she was glad to know that George was finally concentrating on his shop. ‘Daddy really needs me today at work. I would’ve been delighted to join you if it wasn’t so important. I need to help him write an article about the Blibbering Humdinger we saw near Cheshire the other day.’
Ginny’s face held an amused expression and her eyes were widened slightly, but after some time, she changed her expression and gave Luna a faint smile. ‘No problem, Luna.’
Ginny seemed to have a rather thoughtful expression on her face, as though she was thinking about something very carefully; she almost looked troubled.
‘What’s wrong, Ginny?’ asked Luna, slightly concerned.
‘Uhh — nothing really,’ she said in a low tone, as she snapped out of her reverie. ‘Everything is in such disarray. I don’t know … things will never be the same, will they?’
Ginny fell silent again, but this time Luna had understood what she was thinking. The war had taken its toll on everyone but there were some who suffered the most. Ginny had lost friends and family, and it was difficult for her to recover from it, especially when a cloud of misery and uncertainty hung over everyone’s head.
‘Perhaps things will never be the same as before,’ said Luna solemnly. ‘My mother used to say that there is always sunshine after a dark storm. All wounds left by the war will heal with time. I think it will be better than before.’
‘I hope you are right, Luna,’ replied Ginny, unable to keep the hopeful tone in her voice away. ‘Don’t let me keep you from doing your work. I’ll see you later.’
With that, Ginny disappeared into a crowd of people and Luna skipped her way to her dad’s office. Something was definitely troubling Ginny and Luna hoped she would get a chance to find out what it was so that she could be of some help.
The bright sunny days of August soon came to their end, and it was nearing the start of September, which meant Luna was becoming rather busy preparing for Hogwarts. The booklists and the letters had arrived. She had bought all her things from Diagon Alley a few weeks ago. The holidays seemed to have passed by faster than usual, and as Luna thought about it, she had done a lot of work this time. She had experienced a rare combination of emotions during her holidays. She had seen sorrow as well as joy, and she had come to terms the most unusual incidents. Overall, she could have said that it was her most interesting and saddening summer holiday yet.
Even though Luna was quite happy to return to Hogwarts, she was rather sad because she would be leaving her dad alone at home again. It was one of the things she truly disliked about going back to school and the thought of it distressed her. But while she checked her trunk to see if everything was packed on the first of September, Luna knew this would be her last year at Hogwarts, and she felt rather strange about it. She had never really thought about leaving Hogwarts, and now that she did she felt a strange mixture of sadness and happiness. Luna felt reassured knowing she would have her friends to get through the year as she fondly glanced at the new paintings of all her friends that she had made on her bedroom wall after they repaired their house.
She ate her breakfast with her dad, who appeared to be extremely delighted and cheerful. She knew he was upset and he was going to miss her terribly, but he always concealed his feelings from her. Luna knew he would become very lonely, but at least they were both more assured of each other’s safety than the last time Luna went to Hogwarts. They went to the station in a Muggle taxi, which was a rather slow but comfortable means of transport. Luna wasn’t a great flier and since she had never really enjoyed the Floo Powder journeys, she had got used travelling like a Muggle.
They reached King’s Cross with fifteen minutes to spare, and found it quite noisy and busy. Luna was wearing her Muggle clothes because she thought it better to change on the train, and her Hogwarts robes were in her trunk, which she put into a trolley. She and her dad went through the barrier and entered platform nine and three quarters. People were screaming on top of their voices, kids were running about excitedly, and parents were trying to calm them down. Everyone was making his or her way to the train with huge trunks.
‘We’re on time, Luna dear,’ said her Dad, looking around with relief. ‘Now, I think you had better get on the train and find yourself a compartment.’
‘Yes, Daddy,’ muttered Luna, hugging him. She looked up and smiled at her Dad, who returned it. He always saw her off in high spirits because he felt it made the journey safe and successful. ‘I’ll miss you.’
‘So will I, dear. I hope you haven’t forgotten to take some of the Dirigible Plums with you.’
‘I’ve packed a whole box,’ she said brightly. And then just as quick reminder, she added, ‘I’ll be eagerly waiting for my monthly subscription of The Quibbler.’
‘Of course,’ he said enthusiastically with a broad smile. ‘I’ll see you at Christmas, then.’
‘Goodbye, Daddy!’
With that, Luna hopped on the train with her luggage and began to search for a compartment. She kept an eye out to check if any of her friends were around, but since she couldn’t find any, she had to settle for an empty compartment. She kept her luggage in the compartment and began to read the latest Quibbler edition. Soon, she heard the compartment door open and saw Ginny and Hermione pop in with their luggage.
‘Hey, Luna!’ greeted Ginny with a smile. She went over to the window curiously. ‘Too bad we can’t see anyone from here, you must be crestfallen, Hermione.’
‘No, why should I be?’ snapped Hermione, looking at Ginny with a flustered face.
‘I thought you’d want to see Ron,’ said Ginny with mock innocence while Hermione simply glared at her in embarrassment.
As the Hogwarts Express made its way by the countryside, Hermione’s annoyance calmed down and Ginny became strangely subdued. The silence was rather long. After waiting for some time, Luna finally decided to speak.
‘Are you okay, Ginny?’
‘What? Oh, no, I was just thinking about George,’ she said in a low tone after a long pause. An expression of deep concern spread across her face. ‘I think George is hurting himself awfully. He’s opened the shop and all, but his heart isn’t in it. It’s just so plain that he’s trying to make us think he’s happy and that he’s moved on. But he isn’t fooling anyone.’
Luna remembered Ginny seeming rather uncertain about George at Diagon Alley, but all this time she had simply assumed that things had become all right. She had been wrong, it seemed.
Hermione’s expression softened slightly, and then in a soothing voice she said, ‘Don’t worry, Ginny. He will be fine, I’m sure. He just needs some time and a push in the right direction.’
‘I’m sure he got a push in the right direction, so he tried to make an effort to live like he used to before,’ responded Ginny somewhat discontentedly. Hermione’s words of comfort hadn’t worked.
Luna was beginning to realise that Ginny had an inkling of the conversation between George and her at the Burrow. However, the more pressing thought on Luna’s mind was George. She had been happy when Ginny told her he had re-opened the shop. She had thought he was finally able to face the situation, but it seemed he was still struggling.
‘It’s going to be hard for George, Ginny,’ said Luna unexpectedly, as the other two stared at her in surprise. ‘He feels guilty that he lived while Fred died, but he needs to realise it’s not wrong of him to be happy without Fred.’
‘I hope there is a way to make him realise that,’ said Hermione in a miserable tone. ‘He doesn’t look himself at all. I mean every one has been subdued and desolate after the war, but he’s looked absolutely lost. Ron and I were talking about him the other day. Ron says George is always in a reverie. When customers arrive, Ron is forced to take care of them because George sometimes doesn’t seem to take notice of his surroundings. Perhaps we could help him somehow …’
‘Yeah, we should really do something,’ said Ginny, looking deep in thought. ‘I’ve been thinking about it a lot, you know. I guess it was the ideal time for us to get our hands on this.’
Ginny held out a parchment in her hand, which looked like a letter to Luna. She shifted in her seat to get a better view of the parchment while an expression of comprehension spread across Hermione’s face and she whispered ‘Oh!’
Mr. Fred and George Weasley,
This evening, I received your letter with the proposal to buy Zonko’s for the third time. You seem to want a location for a branch of your own merchandise, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, at Hogsmeade, and I’ve been wondering why you don’t look elsewhere in Hogsmeade for a suitable location. You said in your letter that Zonko’s was the inspiration for your own joke shop, and you wish to help me at a time when Zonko’s is struggling to flourish.I have no intentions to sell Zonko’s at the moment because I love my shop very much. But if you come to me with an offer I can’t refuse, I would be willing to consider it.
Zonko
Luna finished reading, and looked up Ginny and Hermione in confusion. They both seemed to have something on their mind that Luna did not understand. It was Ginny who explained it -
‘You see, the twins always wanted to have a shop at Hogsmeade,’ Ginny said with a hint of interest in her voice. ‘And it was their dream to buy Zonko’s. I remember they were at Hogsmeade during our fifth year holding discussions. I don’t think they managed it because of the war.’
‘So that day when we were cleaning the shop at Diagon Alley,’ added Hermione. ‘We came across this letter, and a long parchment that had plans about how to turn Zonko’s into Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.’
‘I’ve been thinking about it,’ said Ginny, looking quite pleased as she continued to explain. ‘I mean, I don’t know how we’re going to do it while in school, but I really want to do it. I know it sounds crazy when George is least interested in the shop right now, but I really want us to open that shop for him in Hogsmeade.’
Ginny looked at the two of them expectantly, as though she was hoping they would show a sign of appreciation or agreement. Hermione was staring blankly and biting her lip, as though she was struggling to hold herself back. Luna thought it was a nice idea, and it could end up being the necessary inspiration for George. However, she thought giving him a basket of Dirigible Plums was still her preferred choice. She was about to suggest it to Ginny when Hermione spoke up.
‘But Ginny –’ exclaimed Hermione with an incredulous expression on her face. ‘It’s impossible, don’t you see? How are we going to buy Zonko’s? Where will we get all the gold? And most importantly – who will do all this when we’re supposed to be in school? I think you’re being a bit naïve.’
‘Hermione!’ Ginny shouted crossly, shaking her head. ‘I would’ve thought you of all people might have known from experience that nothing is impossible if you have the determination. I love my brothers, and I’m going to do anything to see them happy!’
Hermione looked affronted as she opened her mouth to argue and closed it once again. Luna couldn’t help but support Ginny in the matter, because if a wizard or witch is determined and open minded, he can achieve great heights. However, Luna had always thought that Hermione was always rational and believed too much in what was written in the books instead of being imaginative and instinctive. She hadn’t even recognised the horn of a Snorkack as Luna had found out from her dad.
‘I think that’s a very good idea, Ginny,’ asserted Luna with conviction as Hermione gave her a bemused look. ‘I would love to help you.’
Ginny finally looked to have got over her fit of anger and smiled, glancing at Luna with the same mystifying expression that she had previously. Luna assumed that it was because she was delighted to have her helping them. She was extremely happy to know that Ginny cared for her brothers so much that she was going to help them to accomplish their dream, and she was glad to be a part of their plan.
‘Are you with us then, Hermione?’ asked Ginny, giving her a very searching look.
‘Uh – I-of course, Ginny,’ Hermione answered in a rather uncertain tone before forcing a faint smile on her face.
The sun was about set, and the sky turned a brilliant shade of purple. The Hogwarts Express was slowing down its pace, indicating they were closer to Hogsmeade. As she bounced out of the compartment into the corridor, Luna thought that it would make her feel better to see George cheerfully playing pranks on people just like he used to before.