Rowena's Quill

The end-of-the-year feast was in full swing when Luna walked into the Great Hall. Students were milling around out of their seats, eating, talking, and laughing. A few people froze in mid-conversation, pointed at Luna, and then resumed speaking, casting her furtive glances the whole time. Luna was used to whispers and stares, but this was much more than usual.

Ginny waved to her from the Gryffindor table, then her red head came bobbing through the crowd. "You missed Dumbledore's speech!"

"Professor Dumbledore's speech," said Luna.

"Professor Dumbledore," said Ginny. "He told everybody what we did in the Department of Mysteries, and we got fifty points each. Then he pulled out the original D.A. list and awarded ten more points to every single member for inter-house friendship."

"Even Marietta?" asked Luna.

"Yeah, even her," said Ginny, with a grimace. "But she got her just deserts. I thought she'd dive under the table with the whole school looking at her in that stupid scarf. So where were you?"

"I was talking to Harry, actually."

Ginny's eyes widened. "About Sirius?"

"Yes. He's still not feeling up to the feast, but I think he's a bit better now."

Ginny seized her into a hug. "You've done what nobody else could! He wouldn't open up to Ron or Hermione for anything."

Ginny held onto her a long time. More people pointed and stared, but Ginny ignored them. She only let go when she saw Dean Thomas signaling to her.

"I'll talk to you later, Luna. Maybe on the train home."

"That would be very nice."

But nice as it would have been, something even nicer happened. Somehow, without any prior planning, she and Neville gravitated to each other with a mutual understanding that they'd sit together.

"Have a good summer, Nev," said some sixth year Gryffindors as they passed. One of them clapped him on the back.

"Umm . . . you, too," said Neville, a little bewildered. To Luna he whispered, "Those guys haven't spoken to me once in my whole five years here." When they settled into a compartment, Neville asked, "Are the Ravenclaws treating you any better because of all this?"

"Yes," said Luna, decidedly. "Nobody called me 'Loony' at all last night, and some people even returned my missing things. They didn't really need to, you know. My things always turn up in the end."

"Oh," said Neville.

Luna grinned. It was so good to talk to Neville alone again!

"Well, even if the students know what we've done, the world still doesn't. The Prophet called us 'Harry Potter's friends.'"

"The Prophet omits important information rather often, actually."

"Yeah, I know, but what worries me is that sooner or later, they will find out. Then they'll send reporters around, and my Gran's gonna hate that."

"I don't suppose my Dad would take well to The Prophet's reporters either. Selling Harry's interview was one thing, but . . ." She giggled to herself, imagining her Dad running off potential interviewers by speaking in intricate code. Dad was so talented.

"Umm, Luna, I want to tell you something. It's sort of a secret. It's about my Mum and Dad."

Luna sat up and grew serious. Neville was going to confide in her at last.

"My parents were Aurors. They fought You-Know-Who at the height of his power, and they kept looking for him after he disappeared. Even when the rest of the world thought they could live in peace, Mum and Dad were still looking."

Luna knew she had to pretend that she didn't know any of this. "They sound like heroes," she said.

"They were . . . I mean, are. They're still alive. They . . ."

Luna waited patiently as Neville gathered his thoughts.

"You see, nobody knows exactly what they found, but they must have gotten very close to You-Know-Who because four Death Eaters tracked them down and . . . and . . . tortured them with the Cruciatus Curse."

"That's the most horrible thing I've ever heard," said Luna. It was the truth. Her mother's death was the most horrible thing she had ever seen, which was different.

Neville nodded. "They didn't give the Death Eaters the information they wanted, so the Death Eaters did stuff to their tongues so that they could never speak again. They'll never do magic again either. They're . . .they're on the closed ward at St. Mungo's. Do you know what that means?"

"It means they're insane," said Luna.

For a brief moment, Neville seemed to puff up in anger, but then he just mumbled, "Yeah."

"But perhaps not," said Luna. "Healers make mistakes, too, you know."

Neville sat up hopefully. "I knew you'd . . . I mean, the things you say sometimes, I thought maybe . . . Do you suppose there's some way to reach them, some way the Healers don't know about?"

Luna swallowed hard as she realized why Neville was asking her this. Just like everyone else, he believed she was mad. The only difference was that he thought her madness might be able to help him understand his parents better. Luna almost gave into resentment, but she could not forget what Professor Dumbledore had told her all those months ago in the Great Hall: that she was Neville's ideal confidante. She had helped Harry Potter cope with his loss, and to a lesser extent, Cho Chang. Perhaps this was similar.

"Did you know that people say that hearing voices is a sign of insanity?"

"Yes," said Neville, uncertainly.

"But you heard voices by the archway in the Department of Mysteries, didn't you?"

"Well, that's different. That's the doorway to -"

"Oh, so you know what that is. I had to explain it to Ginny and Harry."

Neville shrugged. "My Gran told me a little when my Grandad died. And then, you sort of pick things up when you've visited St. Mungo's as much as I have."

"Yes, I suppose you would," said Luna. "And I suppose you know that Ginny nearly died in our first year."

"I heard a little about it, yeah."

"You see, you're not the only one who has private information they don't want spread around school."

"Yeah, I guess," said Neville. Apparently, he had never considered that other "cooler" people might have skeletons in their closets, too.

"Well, Ginny told me about the voices she heard at the archway, " Luna pressed on. "And to her, they sounded like what she heard when she was close to death herself."

Neville nodded, but Luna could see he was confused and too polite to say so.

"Now, I'm no expert, of course, but I would guess that when a person is incapacitated the way your parents are, their minds go to a different sort of place, too, not the same as where departed souls go, but perhaps something like it."

Neville's face was a mixture of hope and doubt, just like Harry's had been. "What you say makes sense," he said hesitantly.

"Of course it does." Seeing that he might need it, Luna began to hum the lady's song. When it seemed to have worked its magic, she said, "Would you like to play Exploding Snap, or will it disturb Trevor?"

"No, it's fine," said Neville gratefully. Luna saw that he coped with these conversations much in the same way he rode thestrals. Even though he knew he had nothing to fear, he still preferred his familiar, solid world.

After about half an hour with the only noise coming from the cards, Neville said, "I had a taste of what my parents went through, you know. Bellatrix Lestrange - she was the head of the bunch that tortured them - did Cruciatus on me."

Luna gasped.

"It was only a few seconds, really. Nothing compared to what my parents went through. And even that felt -" Neville paused and shuddered. Then, with some pride in his voice, he added, "I was ready to take more. Harry was willing to give up the prophecy way too easily."

"He did it for your sake," said Luna. "And frankly, I'm glad."

"Yeah, well, me and my clumsy legs destroyed it anyway. What a way to be a hero. Just one more way for Gran to remind me that I'm not Dad."

"But you are a hero. Deep down, you know it yourself."

Not one to boast, Neville smiled and said, "I'm not much of a fighter, really. Harry did most of it. I was carrying Hermione. She must have thanked me for it a hundred times in the last few days, but anyone would have done it. I'll tell you one thing, though, if we're going to keep this up, we ought to learn some basic healing spells."

"I was thinking the very same thing when Ginny was hurt. We ought to suggest it to Harry for the D.A. next year."

"Yeah," said Neville as he played his next card. It exploded so loudly that Trevor jumped out of sight.

"Oh, Trevor, you've been so good till now," he sighed. The two of them ducked under the seats. Trevor escaped their grasp every time.

"I don't know what's gotten into him," said Neville.

"Here, Trevor, Trevor," called Luna.

While they were still on their hands and knees, Malfoy and his two thuggish friends walked into their compartment.

"So you two losers think you're all that - running with heroic Harry Potter. Let's see if you can stand up for yourselves without him."

"Protego!" shouted Neville as he and Luna leapt to their feet. But the shield charm was unnecessary. Malfoy and his friends hadn't even drawn their wands. It was all a big bluff. But nonetheless, Padma, Parvati, and Neville' roommate Seamus suddenly appeared at their door.

"Look at that, back-up has arrived. Suddenly you two weirdos are popular. But it won't last. You'll see."

"No, I don't suppose it will last," Luna agreed. "But even so, I'd rather be in my place than yours."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Draco, taking a step toward her. Neville inched toward her, too.

Luna knew that Draco would fly off the handle if she made direct reference to his father.

"Well, I can't help but feel sorry for you. Chronic bizzyanitis can't be an easy condition to live with. I read all about it in the most recent Quibbler. You show all the symptoms, actually."

"Delightful personality, isn't she?" drawled Malfoy with a backward glance at the Patil twins. "Just the sort you want to be seen with."

Suddenly, without warning, Trevor croaked loudly and jumped into Luna's hands. "Oooh, I caught him!" she cried. She passed him to Neville proudly.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Come sit with us, Nev," said Seamus.

"That all right with you, Luna?" asked Neville.

Luna stared at him, stricken. Surely he wouldn't abandon her now after all they had shared.

"Get your things, then," he said, picking up his own bag. Throwing a defiant look at the others, he walked out of the compartment with Luna following.

Luna didn't care that Malfoy and his friends were sniggering. She didn't care that the Patil twins were exchanging looks of apprehension. She didn't even care that Neville had made sure to include her more out of principle than because he took pleasure in her company. The fact was that he had such principles, and that was why she liked him so much.