Harry Potter and the Dawn of a New Age

Harry Potter and the Dawn of a New Age (7)

By fbline

Chapter Seven: Dreams and Realizations

During the weeks that followed, Harry was still the subject of much whispering from passers by and laughter and sneering from Slytherins. Luna was also subjected to scorn, but she was used to it by now. The only real change was that there were some females who were now jealous of her, having believed that Harry was quite unattainable previously. It was a terrible shock for them to imagine someone like Luna snagging him. Hermione also got some evil looks from girls thinking she had broken Harry's heart by cheating on him with Ron, but this time she was smart enough to have her letters screened first before opening them. Female students also gave Ron some dirty looks, while several male students gave him high-fives and claps on the back for bagging one of the best looking girls in the school. After a week of not reacting to the public scrutiny, the rampant gossip about them dried up and moved onto the next item, which was a vicious rumor that involved Pansy Parkinson, Malcolm Baddock, and a previously underused study room in the back of the library.

Harry didn't have any time to enjoy the stop of the assault on his private life, however. Classes were as busy as ever, and the trio was spending the bulk of their time together studying and doing homework. Filch had continued letting Harry do most of the practical examples, but still managed to give them all a two foot essay to do on the best modes of defense against various creatures. Harry couldn't help but grin when one of the creatures on the list was a Hungarian Horntail. Snape was also his usual self, assigning the class to successfully brew a pepper-up potion, as well as an essay on the necessary ingredients for the potion, and why the combination of them causes the drinker's bodily temperature to increase ten fold. In Transfiguration, McGonagall had now progressed to having them transfigure a dog or cat into a chimp. She had also assigned them all to write an essay on Darwin's theory of evolution, and how it was laughable due to its exclusion of magic. Herbology wasn't too bad. Professor Sprout had them all recording the reverse growth of their respective pots of shrinking violets. And, in Charms, Professor Flitwick had them all working on the permanent sticking charm, as well as an essay on why the use of it was often a very bad idea.

By the end of another week, Harry felt as if the clock was going at double speed. On Saturday, a day that most other students welcomed as a day to catch up with their homework, Harry was to be found once again knocking on Professor Snape's office door for another Occlumency lesson.

"Come in, Potter. Well, let's get straight to it. I have essays to grade and I need plenty of time to find all the glaring faults in them. I still firmly believe that Mr. Longbottom must have sold his soul to the devil in order to pass his O.W.L. last year. So, prepare yourself now, on the count of three...one...two...three...Legillimens!

Instantly the all too familiar feeling of his mind being intruded upon washed over Harry. A continuous stream of memories flashed over him until it landed upon the one of him and Ron rolling around on the front lawn of the Burrow fighting.

"Potter, what memory is this? Are you and Mr. Weasley actually fighting one another? What's wrong, did he hog the bathroom mirror that morning?"

Harry snapped back to reality with the usual feeling of being off balance. This time he was able to remain upright instead of falling down.

"No, we were fighting over...someone."

Snape gave an evil smirk.

"Really? So, puberty has come at last for the boy wonder and his sidekick. What vapid girl has come between the dynamic duo? Let me guess, is it one of those new so called Chasers on the Gryffindor house team? I had wondered what they had done to earn their position."

Harry's face reddened as he gritted his teeth in anger.

"We were fighting over Hermione, actually."

Snape's evil smirk vanished as he took on a much more serious look.

"What did I tell you about Miss Granger, Potter? Am I going to need to take more...severe methods to get you to understand that you shouldn't entertain any romantic notions about her? Do you want her to get hurt because of you?"

Harry was now shaking with rage.

"We were fighting because Ron had the wrong idea about something. He thought that Hermione and I were involved when he walked in on her, Ginny, Luna, and I changing out of our bathing suits this summer."

Snape's face continued to look stony, although Harry could have sworn that a corner of his mouth twitched a bit. Knowing Snape, Harry quickly dismissed this idea as a trick of the light.

"I see. Your love life seems nearly as erratic as your grades, Potter. Now, if you think you can pull yourself away from thinking lurid thoughts about your groupies, I suggest you try to focus on Occlumency for a change. Clear your mind now. One...two...three...Legillimens!

This pattern continued for another forty-five minutes until Harry was able to keep his senses enough to force Snape out of his mind entirely.

"Very good, Potter. To my great astonishment you do seem to be progressing. I guess it is true that a blind niffler will occasionally still find a galleon. We will continue this next time. Until then, do try to save your efforts for learning, and not for leering. That is all for now, close the door on the way out.

Harry quickly scooped up his cloak and books and made his way up to McGonagall's office. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could swear that something was different about the way that Snape was acting this year towards him. He'd have to keep an eye on him. Arriving at McGonagall's door, he knocked and was told to enter.

Remembering what McGonagall had said before, Harry didn't automatically walk in and sit down as he had done last time. Instead, he noticed that her chair was turned away from him, with the top of her hat the only thing visible. Taking a moment to look over the parts of the room he could take in, he tossed his Transfiguration book into the room before him. Before the book could even start its fall to the floor it was frozen in mid air. A laugh could then be heard from behind the large oaken door.

"Very good, Potter. I'm glad to see that your text book had finally come in handy for you."

Harry tentatively looked around the door and saw Professor McGonagall standing there with her wand pointed at the floating book.

"I had a feeling that you might try something. How did I do?"

Professor McGonagall smiled at him, a rare even indeed.

"Not bad, Potter. I can see that you've been working on your Awareness. Step two is Instinct. A Death Eater will very rarely wait until you have decided what you are going to do. No matter how much planning goes into any battle, decisions must be made as situations change. For example, if you are fighting alongside someone and they are injured, what would you do? Would you try to aid them, or would you continue fighting? You must learn to trust your instincts, Potter. But, be careful not to let emotion cloud your judgment. I know that you have a tendency to follow your heart over your head, but for an Auror, that is a sure way to get yourself killed. Next time we meet, I'll be testing you on a few potential combat situations and we'll see how you do with them. Now, normally I would assign you some homework, but I know that you need to get ready for Quidditch practice so I'll let you go. Just make sure you're ready for the first match, Potter. I would very much like to keep the Quidditch cup here in my office where it belongs."

Harry forced a smile as he rose and left the room. One thing she had said stuck in his mind; he did allow emotion to cloud his judgment at times...well, a lot of the time. Running off to the Ministry last year had gotten Sirius killed and nearly caused him to lose Hermione. As an Auror, it would be up to him to save lives, not endanger them. He would have to work on relying on logic more and his heart less.

That evening's Quidditch practice didn't do too much to brighten his mood. Ron and Ginny continued to impress, but the rest of the team was still having problems adjusting. The Creevy brothers were decent enough at smacking bludgers around, but they needed to overcome their tendency to also go after the quaffle as well. Lavender and Parvarti were also what you might term, "works in progress." They were both improving, but Harry couldn't help but wish that they'd pay more attention to watching the quaffle, and less to watching he and Ron. Ginny wasn't helping the situation either. Every time she went by Harry she would give a loud wolf whistle, or give him a slap on the rear. By the end of each practice, Harry wondered if there was a way he could have his lifetime ban reinstated.

The first Sunday in November dawned cold but uncharacteristically sunny. As the trio completed their breakfast, the dreamy voice of Luna floated over to them.

"Hello, friends! Harry, I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk around the lake since it's a lovely sunny day outside."

Harry had dreaded the prospect of spending the day cooped up studying and nodded immediately.

"Sure, Luna. We certainly won't have many more sunny days like this for a while."

Ron looked slightly put out, but Hermione was pleased to see that he didn't look as angry as he had before the Hogsmeade weekend. She then grabbed up her school bag and got up from the table.

"Well, you two have fun. I've got some stuff to catch up on. Ron, why don't you come with me to the library? I can help you with that Charms essay. I'm fairly happy with my seventh draft of it. That reminds me, I'll have to order another ream of parchment from Flourish and Blott's. Come on, Ron."

Slinging his own bag over his shoulder, Ron fell into step behind Hermione and made his way to the library, leaving Harry and Luna alone together. The two of them just stood there looking at one another for a few moments before Luna finally gave Harry a sweet smile and took his hand in hers to lead him towards the front doors.

"Come on, Harry. The fresh air will do us both good."

The pair of them leisurely made their way down to the lake and sat upon a large rock with their faces pointing towards the sun. When the breeze blew it was a little chilly, but when it wasn't the sun made the temperature quite comfortable. Harry noticed the change in Luna immediately. The farther away from the confines of the castle, the more she seemed to be at ease with her surroundings. By the time they had found their places by the lake, she was positively glowing with her golden blonde hair shimmering in the winter sun. Sensing Harry's eyes upon her, Luna turned her head to look back at him.

"What are you looking at, Harry?"

Harry blushed slightly as he moved his eyes back to looking out at the lake.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I know I don't like it when people stare at me."

Luna smiled at him and scooted closer so that they were now touching shoulder to shoulder.

"That's ok, Harry. You weren't staring at me for the same reason most people do. I am curious though, why were you staring at me?"

Harry blushed even deeper now. He thought he might as well tell her the truth, since she would almost certainly know if he was lying anyway.

"Uh...I was...I was trying to see your eyes so I could see what color they were right now. I think they're really...pretty."

Luna giggled as she moved again so that they were now directly across from one another, their knees now touching.

"Well, Harry, what color are they?"

Harry raised his downcast eyes and stared into Luna's own. Ever since he had taken a good look at them at his birthday party they had fascinated him.

"It's hard to describe them. They remind me of the mosaic on the wall of the prefect's bathroom. It's like your eyes are made up of a million different pieces of different colored glass. There's green, blue, brown, gold, amethyst, and a bunch of other colors I've never seen before. They're the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

Harry had originally planned on answering with a simple one-word answer to Luna's question, but for some reason he'd let his emotions take over. He couldn't imagine that McGonagall would be very happy with him for doing it, but, on the other hand, Luna seemed to appreciate the answer very much.

"Harry, that's the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me. You are, without a doubt, the sweetest boy in the world."

Harry cast his eyes downward again. The blush crept back into his face and his heart sped up dramatically.

"I was just telling the truth."

Luna felt as if she might cry. She again wondered how someone as young as Harry could be so kind and compassionate.

"Harry, I haven't brought this up since the Hog's Head, but I have to say something now. I don't have very many friends, Harry, and I've never had anyone in my life that I considered...special, but I do now. I need to know something, Harry. Am I someone special to you as well?"

Harry shut his eyes. It wasn't that he was surprised by what Luna was asking, he'd asked himself the same thing a million times, unfortunately, and he kept coming to the same conclusion.

"Luna, you have to understand something about me. Growing up, I was treated like dirt by my relatives. I was never told once that I was loved. In fact, the only time I heard the word love was addressed to me was when my uncle would tell me that he'd, 'love to beat the devil out of me'. I made my first friend when I was eleven, and I didn't have my first kiss until last year, and I'm not even sure it counted as a proper kiss. My life doesn't even seem to really be mine to control. It's like my life has already been plotted out for me and I'm just going through the motions. I do care about you, Luna. I care about you a lot. When I'm around you, I feel a lot more comfortable with myself. The problem is, this is a whole new world for me. I've spent the bulk of my life being told I'm worthless, so I have a really hard time believing that anyone could ever really care about me. You're very important to me, Luna. Please know that. I guess I just need some time. Is that ok?"

Harry looked up at Luna with a worried expression on his face. He allowed himself a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still smiling at him.

"Of course, Harry. You're worth the wait."

Meanwhile

"Hermione, why don't you just let me look at what you've got? I'll change a few things around and Flitwick will never know the difference. Please?

Ron made a move to grab hold of the long roll of parchment that Hermione was writing on but she quickly pulled it away from him.

"Ron, I'm not going to do your homework for you! You need to do it for yourself for once."

Ron's face darkened as he looked down at his three or four inches worth of work on his essay, and then over at the five to six feet that Hermione had managed to produce.

"Hermione, look at yourself! Flitwick only wanted two feet at the most, and you've got at least three times that much. Are you trying for the record for the longest essay ever?"

Hermione ceased her writing only long enough to give a piercing look at Ron and then resumed her work.

"Ron, it's none of your business how long my essay is."

"Hey, it's no fuzz off my niffler. I was just thinking of all the bowtruckles that will be homeless because of you. Come on, just let me have a quick peek at your essay."

Ron again made a try for Hermione's parchment but received similar results as before.

"Ron, quit! I'm done with the stupid essay, ok? I'll help you all you want, but I am not going to do it for you."

Ron's face reddened a bit in a combination of frustration and anger.

"Fine! I'm going over and getting a book I need. I'll be right back."

As Ron walked over to the Charms section of the library, he couldn't help but feel a bit angry with Hermione. If she really was done with her essay, why not just let him take a look at it? Harry would let him see his, wouldn't he? Isn't that what friends are for, to help one another? And if she was done with her essay, what the bloody hell was she working so hard on now? He knew that she was done with al her other assignments for the week, not to mention the rest of the month, so what was it? Getting the book he needed, he began the walk back to their table, still grumbling to himself in anger and frustration. It was when he turned the corner and his eyes fell upon her that his complaining stopped. He'd had these moments before, but this one was especially strong.

It must have been the sun shining in through the window that made her chestnut hair look like the leaves of autumn that struck him. It may have been the fact the he would have gladly sold his soul to trade places with the quill that she was absent-mindedly chewing on. He had dreamed many times of the feeling of her lips upon his and cursed the light of day when he awoke. It may have been how the generous curvature of her body surpassed anything that the people at Nimbus or Clean Sweep had ever come up with. Whatever it was, Ron stood transfixed by Hermione's beauty. Beautiful Hermione. Gorgeous Hermione. Sexy Hermione. His best friend, Hermione. Damn. Most people would say that a certain four letter "f" word was one of the worst things you could say, but Ron could think of another "f" word that was much worse: "Friend."

For all the good you say it does

It feels no better when you've had your say

You may believe it just because

The words get colder when you've gone away

I thought I understood

What I was to you...

I don't want to feel this way

I don't want to say I'm just a friend

I don't want to wait around here

'Cos you don't want to feel no pain again

We just lie about it...

As we become shadows of ourselves

Some may fear committed lives

I sure am one of them without you

Does it come to you as some surprise?

I laid the ground beneath to doubt you

Was it ever girl?

Something you could hold...

I don't want to feel this way

I don't want to say I'm just a friend

I don't want to wait around here

'Cos you don't want to feel no pain again

We just lie about it...

As we become shadows of ourselves

I don't want to look away

I don't want to be the one denied

It ain't no fault of mine

If someone, somewhere told you lies

But we don't talk about it

We just become shadows of ourselves.

That evening, Ron and Harry were both a little more quiet than usual while they got ready for bed. Both of them had a lot on their mind, and since they were the last two still awake, the silence in the room was nearly tangible. Not being able to stand it any loner, Harry finally gave out an exasperated sigh and ran his hands through his hair.

"God, what a day. I tell you Ron; I'd give up my S in Defense any day to have any idea at all about girls. I don't know what it is. Every time I'm around Luna, I can feel my entire body relax, but then she'll ask me about my feelings, and all of a sudden it's like someone cast an obliviate spell on me. I know that she really likes me because she's told me so, but I just don't understand what I feel, or what I'm supposed to feel. I'm so used to being treated like shit by my relatives, or being scared to death that Voldemort is going to pop up suddenly and kill me at any moment, that I just never got the hang of the whole 'love' thing, you know what I mean?"

Ron nodded.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Mind you, I don't understand what you've got to complain about; at least you've got a bird that wants to go out with you. I sure wish I did."

Harry gave Ron a sympathetic smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"Ron, I know how you feel about Hermione, but you have to move on. It's nothing about you it's about her. She's concentrating hard on her studies, and that's where her head is. Besides, there are plenty of other girls out there. What about Lavender or Parvarti? Both of them spend as much time watching you as they do the quaffle, why not ask one of them out? Or what about Susan Bones? She's pretty, and I don't think she's dating anyone. You don't have to marry them; you could just go out and enjoy yourself. What do you think?"

Ron shook his head and sighed.

"Sorry, Harry, but all three of those girls have the same problem."

"Off-center noses?"

"No, stupid. Their problem is that they aren't Hermione."

"Ron, that covers everyone except Hermione. If you don't give anyone else a chance, then you aren't going to end up dating anybody."

"You should talk. I don't see you dating anyone, even with Luna begging to give it away."

Harry's face reddened slightly. He was glad that it was dark so that Ron couldn't see it.

"That's different, Ron. I have too much going on in my life to date right now. When would Luna and I have time together? I'm either in class, Occlumency lessons, Auror lessons, the library, or the Quidditch pitch. I barely have time to eat and sleep as it is. Besides, it's not like I don't want to date her. I'm not some kind of non-sexual being. That's why this is all so frustrating for me. I think I may like Luna the same way she does me, but I can't really do anything about it."

Ron's eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Harry, mate, are you sure you feel that way about her, or do you want to feel that way because it would be convenient? I mean, remember when I was so set on you dating Ginny? I really wanted the two of you to get together because I knew you'd be good to her, and because you're my best friend. I didn't think about how you'd feel about it. I know you like Luna, and I think she's...well...she's a unique person, but think about it. If you date her, you'll be talked about even more than you already are. You know how the rumor mill is around here. And what about Luna herself? You have to admit, she acts pretty weird most of the time."

Harry felt himself get a little angry with Ron for talking that way about Luna. Where did he get off talking about her like that? He then realized that he hadn't said anything that he himself hadn't thought of in the past about her as well. Luna did act weird, that was who she was.

"I now she does, Ron. The thing is, I like that about her. She gets talked about because she doesn't conform to whatever image she's supposed to. I've never met another girl like her, and I really admire her strength off character. It would be a lot easier on her if she'd just fall back in line and try to fit in, but she doesn't want that. She's like a golden thread amongst straw."

Ron laughed.

"A golden thread amongst straw? Mate, I think you need to spend less time in the library with Hermione."

Harry couldn't help but grin himself.

"Shut up, Ron. You know what I meant. She's really special. I don't know. I think I need some sleep."

Ron yawned and puffed up his down pillows.

"That's the smartest thing you've said all night. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Ron."

Harry continued to lie there as he tried to clear his mind. Try as he might, Luna's face would not leave his minds eye. As he drifted off to sleep, he mind continued to focus on her wide enigmatic eyes and sweet girlish laugh that he loved to hear.

"Harry, I'm tired of waiting for you. I've decided to go out with Ronald."

"What? Luna, you can't! What about us?"

"What about us, Harry? You had your chance and blew it. Ronald told me that you'd given him permission to ask me out, so he did. We're going to get married! Isn't that wonderful? We would have sent you an invitation, but it's for couples only and, well, you can't love anyone, so that pretty much leaves you out."

"What? Wait, I never gave Ron permission to ask you out! I told him to ask a girl out, but I didn't mean you! Ron how could you to this to me?"

"Tough luck, mate. You know what they say, all's fair in love and war. Shame you and Hermione won't be able to make it to the wedding. Ginny and Neville will fill in for you. Hope you and Hermione find someone someday. Let me know how that whole Voldemort thing turns out. So long, Harry."

"Ron! Luna! Wait! You can't leave me! Hermione, help me!"

"Sorry, Harry. It looks like we both missed out one chance at love. It's a shame that we can't be together."

"What? Why can't we be together? Hermione, where are you? Why are you all leaving me? Please, what did I do? Please, come back to me! I can't make it without you all! Luna! Please, give me another chance! Luna!"

"Well, you certainly are your father's son, Harry. If I had a Knut for every time that James got things ass about face with Lily, well, you'd have even more money in the Black vault."

"Sirius! Oh my god, it really is you! But how...why are you...what's the...are you back from the dead?"

"Nope."

"Oh, so, am I dead?"

"Nope."

"Uh, can you give me a hint then?"

"Ok, Harry. I'm coming into your dreams to give you some advice. It's sort of the same idea as how Voldemort was able to get into your head last year. There aren't many people who have this ability, but you're one of them. I'd explain more about it, but my time is short and I wanted to talk to you about something else. You need help, and I'm just the man to give it to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Harry, do you know who Madam Rosemerta is?"

"Of course, she's the barkeep at the Three Broomsticks. What about her?"

"Do you think she's pretty?"

"Yeah, everyone does. She's a little old for me, but I bet she was really something in her prime."

"Aha, exactly my point. When I was in my sixth year she was in her prime. She was every boy's fantasy at Hogwarts. Well, to make a long story short, I never paid for a single butterbeer. She liked your dad too, but he was too shy to say anything to her. He was shy around Lily too, most of the time. Other times he would try and act the fool around her, and that wasn't any better. Remus and I nearly went spare trying to get him to really talk to her. He finally managed to in seventh year and, well, you know the rest. You're in the same boat, Harry. Luna really cares about you, and all you can do is hem and haw around like an idiot. Where's your Gryffindor courage boy?"

"I know, I know. It's just that I don't know how to act around her when it's just the two of us. What do I know about love? And what about Voldemort? Luna is the kindest and sweetest person I know. What if she got hurt because of me? I'd never be able to live with myself if that ever happened."

"Do you honestly think that Voldemort only plans on killing the people you care about? Don't be daft, Harry. He's after anyone and everyone that gets in his way. You have to follow your heart sometimes, son. You get a lot of strength from your emotions, and you'll need all the strength you can get. So, my advice to you is to tell Luna how you feel. From what I've observed, I don't think you'll need to work very hard to convince her to go out with you. And don't get all formal and uptight about it. You would have thought your dad was writing out the treaty of Versailles when he was starting to date Lily. Remus and I had to give him a hard time of course. I told him the same thing I told you just follow your heart. To thank me he made me best man at the wedding. What do you say, Harry? Are you ready to let yourself love and be loved for a change?"

"Ok Sirius, I'll do it! I'll tell Luna how I really feel. You're right, not telling her isn't going to keep her safe, and it will only make both of us miserable. Thank you, Sirius. So, have you caught up with mum and dad yet?"

"To tell you the truth, I haven't seen them yet. I can't explain to you what it's like here. There are so many fascinating people to talk to. I just got done talking with Janis Joplin and Edgar Allen Poe. They were getting a party organized for their birthday in January. Well, my time is just about up. I'll be keeping an eye on you, and if I get a chance I'll pop up again sometime. Remember what I told you; follow your heart. Now, give your old godfather a hug goodbye."

Harry awoke suddenly to the sound of an extra loud snore from Ron and found himself hugging one of his goose down pillows. A smile formed on his lips as he gave thanks to Sirius for his advice and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

Sunday morning found the group doing what they usually did when they had a free moment- studying. Harry and Ron were both working on their Transfiguration homework, which consisted of trying to transfigure a chicken back into an egg and vice versa in an effort to explain which came first. In the wizarding world they couldn't figure out why Muggles didn't seem to know the answer to such a basic question. Neville was working on an essay for Potions that explained the uses of Mandrake plants, and how the different genders of the plant affected the potions outcome. Male Mandrakes were most often used in the cure of petrifaction, while female Mandrakes were most often used to cure magically induced impotency. In his own essay, Ron summarized this difference by stating that, "one makes you softer, and the other makes you harder." Upon reading it, Hermione had made him start over again. Ginny, being a fifth year and preparing for her O.W.L.'s was currently working on remembering the dates of all the various goblin uprisings, warlock registration acts, and witch rights protests for History of Magic. Hermione was helping her out by quizzing her, but she was also continuing to write in the now extremely long scroll of parchment that Ron had seen her working on all week. On many occasions he had tried to sneak a peek at what it was she was working on so intently, but each time he received the same cold stare and frown. Whatever the assignment was, she wasn't sharing it with anyone, which was unusual. This of course only made Ron want to see it that much more. When Harry yawned and stretched for the third time in fifteen minutes, Hermione welcomed the chance to change the subject from Ron's constant questions about what she was writing.

"Are you all right, Harry? You seem pretty tired. You didn't have another nightmare last night, did you?"

Harry rubbed his eyes and smiled.

"No, nothing like that. I did have a pretty interesting dream, but it didn't have anything to do with Voldemort. It was actually fairly...helpful."

Ginny grinned.

"Helpful in what way?"

"Well, you know...something for future reference."

"Something about sex?"

Harry nearly snapped his quill, Ron dropped his ink bottle on the ground, and Neville, who had been in the process of blowing a bubble, spit his wad of Drooble's against the wall.

"It was not about sex! Well, not really. You were all in it with me in fact. You remember what you were talking about last night before we went to bed, Ron?"

Ron nodded and gave his own devilish grin.

"Yeah, you were going on and on about Luna being a 'gold thread amongst straw'. I thought I was going to have to use one of Dobby's socks as a hanky."

Ron and Ginny got a chuckle out of this as Harry's face reddened slightly. Hermione looked up from her parchment and gave them both a disapproving glare.

"Oh stop it you two. I think that's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon Ron, it doesn't mean that all boys do. And as for you Ginny, would you laugh if a boy said that about you? I bet you wouldn't. I know I wouldn't. Harry, you're very sweet. Have you told Luna how you feel? What else happened in your dream?"

The color lightened a bit in Harry's face as Ron and Ginny stifled their laughter in order to placate Hermione.

"No, I haven't actually told Luna in so many words how I feel yet. The dream was so real. It started off with Luna telling me that she was tired of waiting around for me, and that she had decided to get married to someone else."

Ron laughed again at this, earning another glare from Hermione.

"Luna, getting married? HA! What poor bastard was she hitching her star up to?"

"You."

Ron dropped his second bottle of ink to the ground."

"Me? That would have been a nightmare!"

Hermione gave another exasperated sigh.

"Be quiet, Ron. Go ahead, Harry."

"Right. Anyway, she told me that since I'd told you that you should ask someone out that you had asked her and she said yes. She said you two had meant to send me an invitation, but that is was for couples only. She told me that since I couldn't love anyone that left me out. After that, Ron, you came in and told me that all was fair in love and war, and that it was a shame Hermione and I couldn't come to the wedding. Then you said that Neville and Ginny were going to fill in for us, and that you hoped that Hermione and I found someone someday. Oh, and you also wanted me to let you know how the whole 'Voldemort thing' turned out. After that is when Hermione came in. I tried asking you for help, Hermione, but you said we had both missed our one chance for true love, and that it was a shame the two of us couldn't get together. I asked you what you meant, but you were already gone. I looked around and discovered that I was completely alone and I was screaming for all of you not to leave me, and that's when Sirius turned up. He told me that I was acting just like me dad did when he was first dating my mum. Sirius told me that he had been quite the ladies man when he was at school and that he had helped my dad out, and that he would help me out as well. He said my dad didn't know how to act around girls either and that he and Remus had to help him ask her out. He told me that it was obvious that Luna really cares about me and that I should stop acting like an idiot. I told him about my fear of causing her to get hurt because of being close to me, but he made me realize that Voldemort isn't just going after the people I care about, but everybody that stands against him. He told me to tell Luna how I really feel, and that I should follow my heart. I woke up right after that and I've been thinking about what he'd said ever since. I've come to my decision now, I'm going to tell Luna how I feel and ask her to be my girlfriend. I really do care about her, and I'm tired of letting fear run my life. I'm going to talk to her today."

There was a moment or two of stunned silence before Ron finally laughed.

"I can't believe it, Harry and Luna. If you had told me last year when we saw her on the train that the two of you would get together, I would have said you need a trip to St. Mungo's. Hogwarts most eligible bachelor is off the market. Parvarti and Lavender will be crushed. Oh! And what about Cho? They stole her bloody clothes last year; imagine what they'll do when they find out about the two of you! Catfight alert! If we're lucky, there might be some clothes ripped!"

Ginny rolled her eyes and stood up closely followed by Neville, as usual.

"To quote our brother, Ron, 'you wish'. Come one, Neville, let's go see if that copy of Lady Chatterley has been brought back to the library yet."

Neville and Ginny left through the portrait hole and Ron was too distracted by Hermione continuing to write on her ever lengthening roll of parchment to note his sister's mention of soft porn reading material. Looking up from her parchment, she gave Ron another reproachful look and gave Harry's hand a squeeze.

"I think Sirius is right, Harry. If you really do care about Luna, then you should tell her. We all have to live our lives, and that certainly includes you. I know that she really cares about you, and that you'll take care of each other. I'll try no to be too jealous of her, but I have to admit that the idea of losing one of 'my boys' is kind of frightening."

Harry returned Hermione's squeeze and smiled at her.

"Hey, you will never lose me, ever. Besides, how do you think I'm going to feel when you get a steady Eddy? It's going to be worse for you since you'll have Ron and I both breathing down the poor blokes necks, right Ron?"

Ron had been too busy trying to sneak a look a Hermione's parchment to pay attention to what either of them had said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right. Hermione, do you still have those notes on short distance Apparation? I'm having a hard time explaining how to prevent splinching."

Hermione's face broke into a grin at the idea of Ron asking for her help, as opposed to begging her to do the assignment for him, which was his usual procedure.

"Yes, of course I do. I'll just nip up to my room and get it. I've got one copy of the notes in my 'A' file for Apparation, and one copy in the 'S' file for splinching. I won't be a tick."

Hermione then shot up and sped over to the stairs of the girl's dorms. Waiting just long enough to see her chestnut hair whip around the corner, Ron jumped up from his own seat and walked around to get a better look at the parchment that had been bothering him for days. Harry looked up from his own paper at the sudden motion and made a grab for the parchment but wasn't quick enough.

"Ron, put that back! That's Hermione's property. She'll hex you into tomorrow if she's sees you looking at it."

Ron's eyes darted back and forth over the paper until his eyes slowed down towards the end and his face changed from a look of curiosity to one of dejection.

"Keep your hair on. I had to know what it was, and now I know. I should have known, really. I guess this explains things. I don't see why she had to lie about being too busy with school. God, I am so bloody stupid!"

Harry looked at his best friend with a look of both curiosity and concern.

"What are you talking about? What did she lie about? What's..."

Before Harry could ask anything else about Ron's sudden mood change, Hermione reappeared with a stack of papers and the same delighted smile on her face.

"Here we are, Ron. Now, about the short distance Apparation, you need to keep in mind that..."

Instead of sitting back down to continue working on his essay, Ron remained standing and began packing up his own parchments and books causing Hermione to trail off and look at him in confusion.

"Sorry, Hermione, I'll have to work more on this later. I'm not feeling very well. I think I'll just run up and get back in bed. I'll talk to you both later."

Ron then grabbed up his filled bag and hastily made his way up the stairs to the boy's dorms. Harry and Hermione both sat opened mouthed and watched him go. Hermione shook her head and put her notes away.

"What was that about? He was fine a few seconds ago."

Harry shook his head, he wasn't about to tell Hermione what Ron had done.

"I don't know. I'll just go up and check on him, I'll be right back."

Harry then walked over and climbed the stairs to the boy's dorms. He hadn't exactly lied to Hermione, he knew that it was the contents of whatever Ron had read that had made him act so strangely, but he didn't know what it was that he had read. Once outside his dorms door, Harry waited a little while to give Ron and chance to pretend to be asleep if he wanted to, a courtesy that the two of them had been giving one another since their first year. When he opened to door he very much expected Ron to be in bed with his curtains drawn, instead, he was in front of the window beside his bed looking out across the grounds. Harry wasn't quite sure how to approach his friend now, not knowing exactly what he would be facing.

"Ron, mate, what's up?"

Ron continued to look out of the window without the slightest indication that Harry had said anything. It was a few long seconds before he spoke in a voice that was dull and void of emotion, a voice very much unlike his usual one.

"I should have listened to you, Harry. I should never have read Hermione's letter. But no, I had to look, didn't I? I never know when to just let things be."

Harry came over and sat on his own bed as he looked at Ron's profile as he friend continued to stare out of the window. Harry couldn't have sworn to it, but it looked as if Ron's eyes had tears welled up in them. He'd never seen Ron this way and it frightened him a little.

"Ron, what are you talking about? What did you read that's got you so upset?"

Another very pregnant pause followed before Ron spoke up again, sounding slightly more emotional than he had before.

"I'm sorry I thought you were the one to blame, Harry. I don't know, maybe it would have been better if it had been you; I think I could accept it better if it was. I can't believe she could lie to me like she has been all this time. Why couldn't she just tell me? Why did she have to give me that load of shit about studying and not wanting to be in a serious relationship? It's been two years now, couldn't she have found the time to tell me? Did she think she could just keep lying to me? Did she ever plan on telling me about him, about them?"

Harry noticed that Ron was getting more upset as he talked. He knew that once Ron started to get wound up he could work himself into a real lather, just like his mother.

"Ron, you're scaring me now. What is it you think Hermione is lying to you about? Who was the letter to? What did it say that has you so angry?"

Ron took a deep breath and blew it out through his mouth. Harry had seen Mr. Weasley do the same thing when he was under stress. Turning away from the window he looked at Harry right in the eyes, the emotion in his eyes made Harry even more frightened.

"I read the last few lines of the letter. She was saying that she missed him, and that she was really glad that she could tell him everything, and that he could tell her everything. At that point I just thought it was a letter to her dad, but then I continued to read, and that's when I noticed it wasn't like that at all. She said she'd never known a man like him before, and that she was lucky to have him in her life. Then she said that...she said that she loved him. She said that she wished he could be with her. That's when I looked at the very top and saw his name. I felt like I was right back to where I was two years ago all over again. I thought he was a thing of the past, but he's been in her heart this whole time. God, I am so damn stupid!"

"Ron, who is it? Who is Hermione in love with?"

Ron sat on his bed and faced away from Harry.

"It's Krum. She's still in love with Viktor Krum."