Strange Thoughts and Feelings

Strange Thoughts and Feelings

Luna Lovegood sat on the edge of the Ravenclaw table in the deserted Great Hall, swinging her legs. It was Christmas break, and there were few students at Hogwarts. Normally Luna would be at home, decorating the huge fir tree with crystal beads and butterbeer caps and popcorn. But her dad had written about paper business - not The Quibbler, but another job he was taking - and he hated to leave her but he might be gone quite a while and it would be boring, anyway. She wondered how her daddy was bearing those old men who where undoubtedly stuffy and no fun at all. Luna sucked on a peppermint and read through the latest article, the one on Hairless Pink Kneazles.

There were footsteps in the distance, growing closer and closer. Luna looked up, gazing at the boy in front of her. "Oh, hello, Harry," she murmured.

Harry stopped. "Hey." He drummed his fingers on the table. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Luna popped the peppermint out of her mouth. She stared at him, unblinking. He really was a nice boy, she thought. "I'd like that. If you sat here."

He nodded and took a seat. Some kind of pie appeared in front of him. Luna didn't know what kind. She never really cared for the pies, although she supposed they must be good, because Hogwarts food was very good. But she much preferred the tarts and puddings for desserts. Harry looked like he was enjoying his pie, though, she observed, even if he did look a bit distracted.

"You're thinking about someone," she said.

"Yeah. I... I don't know how much longer I'll be here. At Hogwarts, I mean. I have stuff to do." It sounded to Luna like he had something in his throat. "But... Dumbledore... Dumbledore did all he could to protect us, and I feel like I should help with that as long as I can."

"I've always felt safe around you, Harry." The irony of that statement was lost on her. "I'll do all I can to help you, too. You can't do everything alone." She tilted her head. "That's not all you're thinking about."

Harry laughed. "How do you always know what I'm feeling?" He looked down at his pie, and Luna could see different emotions flickering across his face. He was breathing evenly and quietly. Luna waited patiently, tracing a picture of a Unihorned Hippocampus. Suddenly Harry glanced back up at her. "I... I've had my ideas about some people changed."

"It must be very strange, finding out you're wrong about someone." Her eyes were half-closed and she had a small, dreamy smile on her lips. "Although you might feel some emotion, you can't tell why it's there." She lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "Even you, Harry Potter, can't see everything," tapping his head. "And you can't hate someone you don't know. Don't you think?" Luna propped her chin in her hands, watching him.

"I think," he replied, smiling at her, "that you're right. And I have to trust the people that I do know, don't I?"

Luna nodded. "Hatred ever kills, love never dies." She saw something out of the corner of one grey eye. She cocked her head upwards. It was a lush clump of mistletoe, bright white berries nestled in deep green. "Look. Mistletoe. I've always wondered where they go off to when it's not Yule season..." she said in a distant voice. Then she looked at Harry. "Still wary of nargles?"

Harry breathed in and reached out, brushing a strand of her dark blonde hair behind a radish-adorned ear. "No," he whispered, "I don't think I am," and leaned in to kiss her. And Luna thought that he was a really nice boy, with lips the perfect combination of soft and rough, and that his hair felt quite nice in her hands. She was sure she liked him. And as Harry laughed when she placed her butterbeer necklace around his neck, she thought, yes, he likes me, too.