Sitting On A Tree

Sitting on a tree

Harry always liked the silence. He liked deep silences best, when he could hear a drop of water falling on the floor. Some people say that it is rather disturbing, the lack of any noise, but not Harry. That was why he was so pleased as he was wandering around the Hogwarts grounds. Everything was silent; almost everybody had gone home to enjoy the holidays, even Ron and Hermione, who went to the Burrow. But this time Harry decided to stay, for no special reason. He just wanted to be alone.

Loneliness seems to suit me much better now, he thought, although he enjoyed the company of his friends a lot too.

When Harry finally stopped, he found himself far from the castle and in front of a huge tree. He wasn't very fond of trees lately, probably because of the weird dream he had. He was always falling from a tree that he could never remember climbing in the first place. He lay down on the cold grass, under the shadow of the tree, willing himself to forget about the stupid dream.

A few minutes had passed when Harry noticed a far sound breaking the silence. It was a female voice, he realised after listening carefully, and it was singing. He couldn't quite figure out what the voice was singing, or who it belonged to, but he could hear the words "Weasley" and "king." He didn't have to think too much then, to discover who the owner was.

'Luna, is that you?' he asked, sitting up straight and looking around to find her.

'Yes, I'm up here,' Luna answered calmly.

'Up where - oh my God,' Harry said, staring at her in disbelief. 'Luna, get down, you might get hurt!'

She was up the same tree that Harry was under, sitting with her legs hanging on each side of a large branch.

'How?'

'Jeez, I don't know... falling!' he answered sarcastically.

'I won't fall,' she said very seriously.

'You don't know that.'

'You could catch me if I fall, Harry.' Luna was talking to him, although she was looking at the sky.

'Don't play with your luck.' With that he started to leave, but something made him stop. He didn't feel right leaving Luna up there. 'Okay, get down Luna, I'm serious.'

She sighed a little. 'It's so beautiful up here. You can almost touch the clouds.'

'Yeah, that means you're too far from the ground, so get down!' Harry said, starting to get really annoyed.

'And if you listen closely, there's this soft music playing in this sky. It's not the wind, I can tell you. It goes beyond that,' Luna continued, obviously ignoring Harry's attempts to make her get down from the tree.

Harry sighed. She wouldn't get down so he assumed that the only way to bring her back to the ground was going up himself. He started to climb the tree, ignoring the fact that he didn't like to climb trees. He didn't like to climb anything, actually. It was much more comfortable to stay under the tree, enjoying its shadow and protection, than go up it, risking falling at any moment. Harry shivered when he thought about his dream again. Luna didn't seem to think like that. While climbing, Harry paused for a moment to look at Luna. Either she didn't realise how high she was on that branch or she didn't care. She looked peaceful and dreamy, even more so than she already was and she didn't seem willing to get down very soon.

Harry finally got up on the same branch as Luna, and sat in a very uncomfortable position, staring at her.

'Okay, time to get down.'

'Open your legs,' Luna said, staring back at him.

'What?' Harry asked, completely taken aback by her words.

'Open your legs,' she repeated. "Then you can sit more comfortably. You look tense.'

Why would I be tense? Harry thought. Maybe because I am, God knows how many feet from the ground, about to make my weird dream come true in the middle of a very weird looking tree. Oh, and with Luna.

'I didn't come here to be comfortable. I came here to get you down.'

'You don't like trees, do you?' Luna asked, watching him with a quizzical expression.

'I like trees. I just don't fancy being on them,' he answered, a bit defensive.

Luna just continued to watch him. Without saying a word, she leaned over him enough to put one hand on his knee. In a fast but soft move, she pulled his knee to the side, making him sit in the same position that she was. Harry lost his balance a little, but Luna managed to keep him steady. She leaned back against the branch and stared at the sky again, as if she hadn't done anything. Harry was still staring at her, wondering why she didn't seem to care at all about the fact that the situation was really bothering him and that he was there to get her down.

'Luna, would you--'

'It's quite ironic that you're so afraid of being on trees,' she started, as if she didn't hear Harry, 'when you fly into higher distances when you're on your broom'.

'That's different,' Harry quickly answered. Luna merely looked at him, a look that clearly asked what was different about that, which made Harry feel that he had to continue. But he realized he didn't know what was different. True, he could control his broom, but the tree didn't have to be "controlled," it just stood there, harmless and quiet. Perhaps it was the adrenaline that rushed through his body and the fact that he was moving all the time when he was flying. Yes, that was it. 'I'm standing still and it's weird. When I'm flying, I can go wherever I want.'

'But you can go wherever you want just standing still,' she said, a little smile appearing on her lips.

'How?'

'Close your eyes.'

'What?'

'Just close your eyes.'

Harry closed his eyes, feeling very stupid for doing so.

'Where are you?' Luna asked, with her usual dreamy tone.

'What do you mean where am I? I'm here, in front--'

'Okay, where do you want to be?'

Anywhere but here, Harry thought.

'I don't know...in a peaceful, silent place, where no one bothers me.'

'Good. Think about that then,' she said, and although Harry still had his eyes closed, he knew she was still watching him.

Can't do any harm, he thought, allowing himself to think about that place. It was quiet and beautiful and there was nature everywhere. It was silent except for the sound of a voice, singing vaguely, a voice that suited the silence very well, making Harry feel relaxed.

After what seemed like a long time, Harry decided to open his eyes, only to see Luna staring at him and smiling.

'What did you see?' she asked.

Here, he thought, frowning due to this realization.

'The place I wanted to see,' he answered, still frowning a bit.

'That's good,' Luna said airily and she turned to watch the sky.

They remained silent. Harry wasn't anxious to get down or to get Luna down anymore, he just wanted to be there, quiet. Truth be told, it wasn't the most comfortable thing to be sitting on a branch a considerable distance from the ground, but as weird as it sounded, it felt safe. Harry thought about the irony of finding safety there and smiled to himself.

'Do you come here often, Luna?' he asked, breaking the pleasant silence.

Luna didn't answer as she continued to watch the sky, and Harry wondered if she had even listened to his question. He was about to ask her again when she turned her gaze to him.

'Yes, I do. Some days I come here five, even six times.'

'Any special reason?' Harry asked, although he had a little idea of what could be her answer.

'The place itself,' she said, as if it was the most obvious thing. 'It's probably one of the most peaceful and beautiful places in of all Hogwarts.'

Harry nodded and searched for something to say. He went that far to enjoy some moments of silent, but now the idea of talking to Luna seemed to be more interesting.

'Every time Dad is feeling sad, he climbs the tree in our backyard and sits there for as long as he likes. I started to do the same and it does make me feel better,' Luna said, sounding more dreamy than usual.

Harry stared at her, wondering if this was only one of the many habits that she might have inherited from her father, who seemed to be a rather unusual person, just like her. After a moment of silence, he realized the meaning of what she had just said.

'Luna,' he started softly, 'what happened... on the day you came here six times?'

She look at him and gave him a sad smile, a smile that made Harry feel his heart getting slightly heavy. She turned her gaze to the sky again and made no reply. He didn't ask her again.

The sunset was beautiful, Harry noticed, looking through the leaves surrounding him. He looked up and saw the amazing mixture of colours on the sky.

'You can't avoid them forever, you know,' Luna said, taking him out of his reverie.

'What? Who?' Harry asked, surprised by her observation.

'Ronald and Hermione,' she answered serenely, 'they're your friends, and they just want to help you.'

'I don't need help!' Harry said, sounding bitter. Of all people, he wasn't expecting Luna to think he actually needed help. 'People should stop treating me like I'm about to break down at any second. I'm fine!'

Luna didn't seem convinced by his words, but she simply looked at him with no expression, which made Harry feel very uncomfortable.

'I don't need help,' he said again, trying to look confident. 'I don't.'

'When will you start to practice again?'

'What?' Harry asked, wondering if she had actually heard his words.

'I reckon it must have been considerably difficult for you, to be deprived of doing something you enjoy so much. Now that you can play again, I believe it will be quite good for your mind,' she said, as if she was explaining something to him.

'Yeah, I miss Quidditch,' he said, suddenly remembering that he would be able to play again this year, now that Umbridge was history, and the thought made him feel better. 'At least one thing I'm good at.'

'You're good at many things, Harry,' Luna said, turning very serious. 'You are talented and kind and you should never underestimate yourself.'

Harry, to his immense surprise, blushed and then smiled sheepishly at her. 'Thanks,' was all he managed to say.

Luna smiled back, and with no warning, she leaned over him a bit, motioning to get down from the tree.

'Oh, so now you're leaving?' Harry asked playfully.

Luna seemed to have missed the playful tone and stared at him while she was getting down. 'I would love to stay, but I promised Ginny I would meet her before dinner.'

'Oh, okay,' he said, preparing himself to get down.

'You should stay, Harry. It is very pleasant here at this time,' she said, still getting down but not staring at him anymore.

Harry considered this. It was indeed a very pleasant place, but he didn't feel too tempted to stay there without Luna's company. 'No, it's fine, I'm going too.'

At this point, Luna had already reached the ground and she was looking up, waiting for him. Harry climbed down after her, but near the bottom he lost his balance a bit, which was enough to make him fall the rest of the way. He almost fell on his back, but Luna was quick enough to catch him. She stopped him by putting her hands on each side of his waist and leaning back a bit so as not to lose her own balance.

Harry felt a sudden wave of heat on the exact place where Luna was touching him. He turned to face her, her hands still placed on his waist. He felt himself blushing. Again.

Great, now you're just like Hermione blushing around Ron for no reason at all, he thought.

'Are you all right?' Luna asked, apparently unaware that she was still touching him.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' he said, avoiding her eyes. 'You're fast.'

She simply smiled and finally moved her hands from his waist.

'I guess you would be a good Seeker,' Harry said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

'You're much bigger than a Snitch, Harry.'

Harry laughed at her joke and kept his eyes on her. For a few moments they only stood still, looking at each other.

'You know, I think you're right. I guess I should stay a little longer. Down here, because it's safer.'

Luna shook her head a little, grinning. 'I knew you were scared.'

'I wasn't!' he said defensively. 'It's just... well, I don't like being up there alone.'

'We can do it again, if you like. I had a very lovely time.'

'Yeah, me too. Plus, someone told me you're here every day,' he joked.

'I know, Harry, I was the one who told you,' Luna said, obviously missing the joke.

Harry smiled inwardly. 'I know, Luna.'

She stared at him for a while, as if she was studying his expression. 'Now I really must go, Harry. See you at dinner.' And with that, she turned and headed back to the castle.

Harry watched her go for a moment and then leaned back against the tree, staring at the sky. That day, he found out that being on trees wasn't that bad. It only depends who you are on them with.