Where's A Nargle When You Need One?

Where's A Nargle When You Need One?

**

Harry Potter was sitting in a quiet corner of the Gryffindor common room, studying his Standard book of Spells: Grade Seven, when Ron Weasley approached him, looking rather nervous. Harry looked up and smiled.

"So, where have you been today?"

Ron blushed rather profusely. "I was with Hermione. We were talking, and well, Harry, I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to tell you. Harry, Hermione and I are going out now."

"Good job!" said Harry. "I was wondering when you two were going to get it together. It really was getting very obvious you know, and it WAS rather inevitable."

Ron's jaw dropped. "You don't mind?"

"Why should I mind?" asked Harry, shutting his book.

Ron glanced around, making sure no one else was listening. "I thought that you might not like it that Hermione...that is, that she was with me now. I thought maybe that you feel bad that you don't have...anyone." Ron finished rather lamely.

Harry laughed. "Ron, I love you like a brother, and I love Hermione like a sister. I have no reason to mind that you two are together. I was expecting it."

"I just thought for awhile that you liked Hermione yourself," Ron admitted.

Harry looked slightly frustrated. "I'm getting a little tired of telling people Hermione is not my girlfriend. I certainly shouldn't have to tell you. Besides," admitted Harry honestly, "I think I like someone else."

Ron was stunned. "You like someone else?" He looked suspicious. "You haven't heard from Cho Chang, have you?"

Harry laughed. "No, I have not heard from Cho Chang. I haven't even thought about her in ages. Why would you ask that?"

"You did like her for an awfully long time."

"Well, yeah, until I found out what she was really like. I was pretty stupid about her, really."

"She was very pretty," said Ron cautiously.

"Yes, she was, and she was a good seeker. But she wasn't the right girl for me. I didn't know anything about her when I liked her, or believe me, I wouldn't have liked her so much. She's the kind of girl who just isn't happy unless she has a boyfriend, and I don't do well as a prop."

Ron thought hard. "You aren't getting back together with Parvati, are you?"

Harry laughed again. "Parvati wouldn't have me, even if I wanted her, which I don't. She'll never forgive me for ignoring her at the Yule ball fourth year. She's way too high maintenance for me."

Ron looked triumphant. "Ginny!"

"What!" Harry looked at Ron as if he'd gone mad, but Ron was too happy to notice.

"It's Ginny! She's always liked you, and now you're ready to like her back! Wait until Mum hears! She's going to be so pleased!"

"No, she's not! Sorry to disappoint you AND your mother, but Ginny and I haven't said two words to each other all term."

"But why?" wailed Ron.

"Because Ginny only liked the idea of me. It was like me and Cho. The reality was a bit too much for her, I think." Harry looked down at the table and sighed. "Ron, I really did think about it, but it would never have worked. Ginny was a great girl, and she's turning into an amazing woman. It would have been great if I really could have been your brother, but honestly, whenever I see Ginny, I see her the way she was the day I met her. She's always going to be that little girl running after the train, laughing and crying. I just can't think of her in a personal way. I can't give Ginny what she needs and she can't give me what I need. We'd always be fighting for the crutches, so to speak. I need someone who can deal with all the drama around me and not get flustered."

"Who do you think can do that, then?" blurted out Ron.

Harry looked thoughtful, then said softly, "Luna Lovegood."

"Looney Luna? Harry, give me a break! You could have almost any girl you wanted. Why would you pick Looney Lovegood?"

"Don't call her that, anymore," said Harry crossly.

"It's just that she's so different!" exclaimed Ron.

"And I'm different to almost everyone around me. No matter how much I want to just be myself, people always look at me differently. It's not like that with Luna. I'm not the boy who survived Voldemort to Luna. I'm not the key to a prophecy. I'm just me. I'm just Harry. And I like that. It feels comfortable. Besides, we have a lot in common."

"Like what? She's a Ravenclaw!"

"That means she's smart." Said Harry calmly. "She's smarter than she looks, and too smart to settle for believing what she sees on the surface. She sees possibilities, Ron. She's really deep, Ron, and I have a lot of issues that have to be explored in depth. When I saw the thestrals, I though for a minute I was going mad. Luna very calmly reassured me. She heard the voices beyond the veil, and she knows what it's like to lose someone she loved."

"What do you do?" asked Ron hotly. "Sit around and discuss your mother's last words with each other? Honestly, Harry, that wouldn't be a very romantic date, in my opinion!"

"Luna is the only person who can make me think outside the box," said Harry firmly. "When I get too focused on myself, she can bring me out of it. You can't. Hermione can't. Even Dumbledore can't. You all tried when Sirius died. I couldn't think about anyone but myself. I couldn't see anyone else's problems but my own. And then I saw Luna, and everything cleared up. I admit, I felt sorry for her for a moment instead of for myself, and I shouldn't have done that, but at least I was feeling something again that wasn't focused on me."

"She's not that good looking, mate."

"She is to me," said Harry, "Because what I see is what I need. She was loyal to me because it was the right thing to do. Not because we had a history together, like I have with you and Hermione. She stood beside me, not because she had a personal interest in what was happening like Neville, but because I needed her and she had something to give. She gave me everything she had, Ron. She always does. When Luna and I are together, I feel...peace. It's the only peace I get. She's honest, and she's kind, and she loves me. She loves me for me."

Ron looked stunned. "She's told you that?"

Harry shook his head. "She doesn't have to. I see it in everything she says and does."

"Have you told her that you need her? Or that you love her?"

"No," Harry admitted, "I haven't."

"Then you've really got nothing, Harry! Don't you see that?"

"I've got everything. I just haven't claimed it yet. But you're right. I should. It's time."

And Harry got up. Ron watched him walk toward the portrait hole, and shook his head, muttering to himself.

"Where's a nargle when you need one?"

The end.