"Why did she think I'd invite someone else?" Ivan muttered to himself in confusion. He turned to Luna to get her opinion, but she remained where she was.
Yvonne was about to question her, but Luna spoke first.
"You must be too tall!"
Tall? Yvonne frowned, wondering where Luna was going with this.
Or was it just Luna's imagination playing tricks on her?
Even as Ivan thought this, Luna moved towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders.
It was the first time Ivan had been so close to Luna, and he seemed uncomfortable with it.
Before he could think any further, he felt the witch's hands on his shoulders.
Ivan was curious as to what Luna was up to, so he didn't resist and followed her instructions.
"That's better!" Luna exclaimed, looking pleased as she compared her height to Ivan's.
Ivan sat on the floor in a daze, looking up at Luna, thinking that this perspective was strange.
"Have you ever heard of the tree?" Luna asked suddenly.
Yvonne shook her head.
"It is usually very tall, very large, and very beautiful, with golden-red leaves on the branches, which steal all the sunlight and cast a large shadow, making it impossible to find another tree nearby."
Luna spoke faintly, her ethereal voice echoing in the corridor as she walked to the window. The rays of the setting sun fell on her long, pale-blond hair, making it shine a beautiful golden red.
Yvonne gazed up at Luna, lost in her own thoughts. She was like a beautiful tree, blocking out the sun, and Yvonne had to stay in her shadow.
"Are you trying to say that Hermione is uncomfortable with the fact that I'm being nice?" Yvonne asked hesitantly.
Luna did not reply. She seemed lost in her own world, reaching out as if to catch a ray of sunlight.
Yvonne left Luna alone, thinking back to what had happened.
He suddenly recalled Hermione's words to him two weeks ago, when Harry and Ron were at odds.
[No, you're wrong. Sometimes I envy you… I wish you weren't so good…]
Yvonne had thought Hermione was joking, but it seemed there was more to it than that.
"You're putting too much pressure on her…" Luna's disembodied voice rose again. "She's like a stalking fairy, circling the tree, but there are so many of them, she thinks she's nothing."
"The Traceless Fairy? What's that?" Yvonne asked, confused by Luna's antics.
"They're funny little pixies, about half the size of a human hand, with transparent wings that give off a faint fluorescent light. Every night, a lot of Vanishing Fairies come out of the bushes and circle the tree…" Luna was very pleased with Ivan.
Ivan scratched his head. He had once searched through books on magical creatures suitable for Hemolysis, but had never found a Traceless Fairy.
This is presumably also a creature of Luna's imagination, as she has many strange ideas, as if she were living in a fairy tale book.
Ivan, of course, was not stupid enough to argue with Luna about the existence of the Traceless Fairy, as he had also heard the innuendo in her words.
"You'd have lots and lots of Traitors, and without me, you'd have gone to other friends to practice magic and talk to them about it…" Luna whispered.
"No, it doesn't!" Yvonne said earnestly, contradicting Luna. "Because there's only one Luna at Hogwarts, and no one else!"
"Thank you!" Luna beamed, her eyes narrowing, her voice light and singsong. "Then she will want you to tell her that there is only one Hermione at Hogwarts, and that she is the most special of them all!"
Ivan was stunned. After a while, his face turned red and he stammered, "Do we have to do this? Isn't it too…"
Yvonne didn't go on. He could certainly see Luna's point, but wouldn't that be a confession?
Ivan cringed at the mere thought.
"But girls care about that!" Luna added, staring at Ivan. "Do you like her?"
Yvonne hesitated, but she already knew the answer.
He was fond of Hermione, of course, having been fond of her in his previous life, though whether it was love he did not know.
Because he was equally fond of every brilliant character in the original timeline — he knew their hearts, knew everything about them, had heard their stories…
And Hermione was so close to him than to any of the others that Ivan could not quite make sense of the mixed emotions.
"Would you be upset if she accepted an invitation to the Christmas Ball?"
Luna's disembodied voice reached Ivan's ears again.
Yvonne closed her eyes and tried to think of such a scene, her expression becoming strained, then calm.
He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Luna, his words firm. "I think I understand … Thank you, Luna!"
Luna merely smiled and did not reply.
After thinking it through, Ivan's confusion was swept away, but he did not rush off to find Hermione, as it would be rude to Luna, and he needed some time to prepare his surprise.
So he spent the rest of his time wandering around the castle with Luna, talking about the little things in life and listening to the little witch's strange ideas.
He enjoyed talking to Luna, as he could never guess what would come out of the little witch's mouth.
"By the way, are you going to the Christmas Ball this year?" Yvonne asked curiously.
"But who would ask me to be their date?" Luna asked wistfully.
Yvonne remembered that Luna was in her third year and would not be able to attend unless invited.
It's just that, generally speaking, pretty girls in the lower grades are very popular, and Ivan was surprised that Luna was not invited.
On second thought, Ivan could see why.
Luna would have been delighted to wear a strange gown, a beautiful garland, or a hat she had knitted herself to be the "focus" of the ball — but not everyone could bear the attention as she did.
With this in mind, Ivan looked at Luna apologetically, but he had already decided to invite Hermione and could not invite anyone else.
"I don't like balls, it's too much fun…" Luna shook her head, perhaps sensing Ivan's thoughts, then went on mysteriously, "I'm not going home for Christmas, I have more important things to do…"