We Aren't All That Different

Neville sat at the far end of the Slytherin Table, carefully avoiding looking anybody in the eye. He didn't want to give them a reason to mock and hurt him. That was the last thing he needed in the morning - especially after his first night in Slytherin. A bunch of nasty comments and teasing had been waiting for him when he had entered his dormitory. Of course, he had expected no less, but it still was horrible when he reminded himself that he'd have to endure this for the rest of the term.

He had been surprised that nothing else had followed this welcome, except several threats and some minor hexes, but they hadn't been as bad as he had expected them to be. All in all, it had been a "good" evening under the given circumstances - well, apart from the fact that he hadn't been able to fall asleep until very late in the night - or had it been very early in the morning? - because somebody in his new dormitory had snored so loudly and continually that every thought of sleeping had vanished very quickly.

He poured himself some cereal and started eating, leafing through his Daily Prophet. Without much interest he read an article about some witch from Bristol who had gone berserk and had jinxed several young people who had laughed too loud for her taste in front of her house.

He sighed and shot a wistful look in the direction of the Gryffindor table. This exchange was the dumbest idea ever, he thought miserably.

He wanted back to Gryffindor. Desperately.

At that moment, somebody plopped down on the bench next to him. Surprised, he looked up to see who in Slytherin would care enough for him to actually sit with him.

He was even more surprised when he saw Luna, who at the moment was picking some dust from the sleeve of her robe.

It seemed she had felt him looking at her her, because she looked up at him and smiled. Her eerie silvery eyes shone with glee.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully. "I hope you slept well?"

"Not really," he said curtly and turned back to his cereals. His joy upon seeing her had vanished quickly and had left the uncertainty he always felt when he was near her. Her eyes frightened him, although he couldn't say why, and her behaviour was simply weird. He didn't understand her.

"That's a pity," she said and looked thoughtful for a moment. "But I did, at least."

Neville wondered if that was supposed to make him feel better in any way. But he wasn't the kind of person to actually ask questions like this, so he stayed silent.

Luna helped herself to some porridge and then said completely out of the blue, "Last night I dreamed that I was flying again."

Neville's head swivelled round and he looked at her in surprise, but she continued to eat her porridge without reacting to his stare.

He shook his head. What a peculiar girl.

It seemed she wasn't inclined to say anything soon, and a silence that felt extremely uncomfortable to Neville descended over the two of them. He wanted to say something, just for the sake of breaking it.

He hesitated, then he said, "I've never dreamt I was flying." He had spoken very quietly, half hoping she hadn't heard him. Luna continued eating her porridge without reacting, so he thought she really hadn't.

But eventually, she said, "It's actually very easy, you know. Like swimming. Only in the air." Her tone was relaxed and she didn't look at him, but still he had the distinct feeling she was trying to tell him something, although he wasn't sure what it was.

"Oh, dear," Luna suddenly said. "I forgot my book bag again. I really have a brain like a sieve." With a small sigh, she got up. "Have a nice day, Neville," she said. "You should try it, you'll like it," she added, and then she was gone.

Try what? He was confused. This was one of the moments that reminded him why exactly he found Luna Lovegood odd and bizarre. Try what? He wondered again. Having a nice day? Surely not. Not in Slytherin.

Maybe - maybe she had meant flying. Or, rather, flying in dreams. Neville could fly on a broom, of course, but he had never been flying without a broom - not even in a dream. Besides, he didn't like flying at all. In fact, it terrified him. He didn't like heights, and he'd never forgotten his first disastrous flying lesson. He tried to imagine how flying without a broom would look, and the picture of Luna revolving around the Astronomy Tower, making strange movements with her arms, popped up in his head.

Like swimming. Only in the air, her voice echoed in his mind and he shook his head to stop it.

What a way to start my first day in Slytherin, he thought and turned back to his cereal.

*

Luna entered the Defence against the Dark Arts-classroom and looked around. She had come here by herself, which wasn't all that easy, because Madeleine - Maddy - had monopolized her since she woke up that morning.

Only a few tables were already occupied and she was about to settle down at one at the back of the room when she noticed Ginny sitting at a table in the second row, directly next to the window.

Ginny smiled at her and waved. For a moment Luna was surprised to see her there, because she usually had her classes with the Hufflepuffs, but after a moment of confusion she remembered she was in Slytherin now. If that meant having more classes with Ginny, then the Exchange finally had a positive effect.

"Hello, Ginny," she said when she had walked over to her.

"Do you want to sit with me?" Ginny asked her with a merry smile and Luna nodded. She couldn't say anything because she was so happy. Ginny really seemed to be pleased to have her sitting next to her. It felt good to have somebody who liked to sit next to her.

Ginny immediately launched herself into a tirade of gossip, but Luna didn't listen. Ginny had no idea how important it was to her to have somebody inviting her to sit next to her. What a wonderful life Ginny must have as a popular person. A quiet sigh escaped her lips, then she willed herself to listen to Ginny's story.

"Ron and Hermione had another fight this morning," Ginny blabbed. "It's really getting on my nerves - and on Harry's as well, judging from his face. He looks gloomier every day. I don't get it - why can't they just admit that they like each other, kiss and go out so the bickering stops?" Ginny groaned and pinched her eyebrow in exasperation.

"I mean, really. Everybody knows they belong together - except them!" Ginny rolled her eyes. "I just don't understand why they can't admit it. Don't you think it's obvious?"

Luna considered the question. It hurt to hear that Ron had obviously found himself a girlfriend, even though they weren't a couple yet. She admitted to herself that she had a crush on Ron - it was hard not to like him, with his always laughing eyes and his wonderful mouth. She could look at him for hours without getting bored. She was sure it would feel wonderful to be safely held in his strong arms and feel his warm breath on her skin.

"Luna?" Ginny asked cautiously and Luna snapped out of her reverie.

"What?" she asked. "Oh. Oh, yes, it's obvious, of course."

That satisfied Ginny and she continued to complain about Ron and Hermione's bickering. Luna went back to dreaming of Ron. Still, she noticed it didn't hurt as much as it should to hear of him being in love with somebody who wasn't her. There should be a huge gap in her heart, a big dream breaking down, shattering. But it wasn't there.

Suddenly she felt somebody's eyes on her back and turned to see who it was. Madeleine was standing in the doorway and staring at her with huge eyes and a disbelieving expression on her face. She looked shocked and fairly sad. Luna felt a merry jolt of her heart as she saw that this sadness had been caused because Madeleine couldn't sit next to her. Immediately, she regretted the feeling of happiness she had felt, because Madeleine was sad because of her. It wasn't good to make other people sad; but still, she couldn't suppress her glee at knowing that two people wanted to sit next to her, even though that meant that one of them had to be miserable.

Seldom had she felt so many feelings in such a short span of time - first happy, then really, really sad, and then happy again - although she knew she should feel bad.

Madeleine sat down next to Miranda in the first row and shot Luna a last, accusing glance. Then she turned to her neighbour and started talking to her. Miranda's pigtails hopped up and down as she nodded and listened to Madeleine. Maddy, Luna corrected herself. She just couldn't get used to this nickname.

The door that led to the teacher's room opened and Professor Hamilton-Jones stepped in. The conversations ceased. All eyes were upon the woman who stood nonchalantly next to her desk.

"Good day, class," their teacher greeted them with a loud voice that told Luna she was used to giving out orders. The class murmured in response and Hamilton-Jones sat down on her desk.

"I corrected the tests you did during the last lesson," she said loudly. "Nonsense. All of it. There's not a single person in this class who managed an O. I'm highly disappointed in you. I think you're the worst class I have this year. Never before have I seen so many people with so little knowledge about Defence against the Dark Arts."

With a loud swooshing sound she took a folder from her desktop and opened it. "Defensive spells - two people managed to answer all questions correctly. Attacking spells - a whole four. Beasts - five out of twenty. And seven don't have a clue what the difference between the Frankenstein and a Werewolf is. This is a shame. Last but not least: giants. I may announce to you that none has managed to answer all questions correctly."

She closed the folder loudly. "You will never achieve an OWL in Defence if you don't start learning hard immediately. It seems that not one of you has realised as of yet how important the ability to defend yourself against all Dark forces is these days. Have your parents not told you anything about the First War and how it was then? Do none of you realise how many deaths there already were, and how many are still to come?

"I know you thought your first week under my regime was really hard, and don't think I didn't hear you complain. 'Who does this woman think she is?' Let me tell you something - that was nothing. Nothing compared to the things that are waiting for you in my classes during this year. Your OWLs are waiting at the end of this year, and you need to be prepared. But, what's way more important - and I'm not getting tired of reminding you of this - is the ability to resist the Dark forces, to fight them, to win against them.

"Therefore, and I'm sure all of you agree with me on that, my subject - the Defence against the Dark Arts - is one of, if not the most important subject you have."

Her eyes swept over the classroom and fixed themselves on somebody behind Luna. "You don't agree, Miss - ?" Hamilton-Jones asked.

"Laurence," Rebecca's voice resounded, clearly audible from the back of the classroom.

"Very well, Miss Laurence," the professor said. "You don't agree with me that being able to defend yourself against dark forces is a very... crucial subject in the current climate?"

"No," came the quick reply. "Well, I mean - leaving aside the fact that I still can't really believe You-Know-Who's back - I ask you, who would want to attack me? I'm a fifteen-year-old girl, for crying in the cauldron! I didn't do anything to anyone. Besides, I'm in Slytherin. Now, who should want to do something - anything - to me? A Death Eater? Why should he? I'm sorry, but I really don't buy that."

"Fine," Hamilton-Jones retorted. "Then let's have a little discussion about Death Eaters and the danger they are. I won't say anything on the subject just yet - let's see what your classmates think about this, Miss Laurence."

For a moment there was silence as she looked at them encouragingly and nobody dared to speak up. Luna and Ginny exchanged a quick look and Ginny thrust her hand in the air.

"Go ahead," the professor nodded in her direction. "And your name is- ?"

"Ginny Weasley," Ginny said and then half turned in her chair to look at Rebecca. "Are you serious when you say you don't think Death Eaters would attack you?"

Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Let me tell you something. You-Know-Who's back, and I will swear on everything that is holy and sacred that that is the truth. If you don't believe me, then have a little conversation with a friend of mine - maybe you know him. His name is Harry Potter. He can tell you what You-Know-Who can do to a fourteen-year-old.

"And if that doesn't convince you, here's something else. Together with said Harry Potter and some other students - " here she shot Luna a look " - I went to the Ministry of Magic last year; why doesn't matter now. Just believe me this: there were Death Eaters. And they were more than willing to hurt and hex every single one of us and use the Unforgivables on us. They would have killed us, had they had the opportunity. I could have been dead if it wasn't for Luna; she carried me and my brother out of danger while still fighting the Death Eaters.

"If I recall correctly, you're a half-blood, aren't you? Don't be so blind to think they'd spare you because you are in Slytherin. You are scum to them, just like every other half-blood or muggleborn. They will come after you and your family sooner or later, and you will be grateful then if you are able to defend yourself and the ones you love."

There was silence when Ginny had finished speaking, then their professor quietly said, "Thank you, Miss Weasley. I couldn't have said it better myself." She took a deep breath and said, "Do you want to add something, Miss Laurence?"

No reply came, and Hamilton-Jones continued to speak.

"Now, after this impressive little speech from Miss Weasley, I want to remind you once more about something essential for proper Defence: you should only attack when it is absolutely necessary; don't do this for fun. Just because you can cast a spell, doesn't mean you should. As you all know, there are strict laws against unnecessary hexing. You must use these hexes only when you, your friends or family are in danger, not to show your friends how 'cool' you are. And no, I'm not getting tired of telling you that again and again. Understood?"

A wry smile passed over her face, then she asked, "Any questions?"

Miranda raised her hand and asked, "Professor, is it true you were involved in developing the Wolfsbane Potion?"

"Yes," their teacher said curtly with a slight nod. "However, this is another branch of magic we're not likely to discuss in this class. If you have any questions concerning the potion, I'm sure Professor Snape will be happy to enlighten you. Any other questions?"

As nobody seemed to have any more questions, Hamilton-Jones clapped her hands once and got up from her table.

"I'll give you back your tests, then. Whatever little knowledge about the Dark Arts you have is here on these parchments."

She started walking up and down between their tables, slapping the tests on the desktops. When she had reached Luna and Ginny, she stopped. "Congratulations," she said dryly. "Together, you two would have achieved an O. You're the best in the class. Still, it wasn't enough for more than an A for each of you. But I do expect better from you in the future." With an approving nod, she went away, back to her table.

There she looked down on them sternly.

"After your lousy written performance, I do hope that at least you're remotely good at practical Defence. Be assured that I'll be most disappointed if you don't perform well. And, one more thing to keep in mind - the more I'm disappointed, the more homework you'll get. Written and practical.

"If there are no questions, put your books away and get up. Take your wands out."

As they all stood up, she sent the tables and chairs along the walls with a flick of her wand.

"Please pair up. We're going to practice Expelliarmus. Can anyone explain how this spell works?"

Luna paired up with Ginny, ignoring Madeleine's looks in her back, and smiled at her partner. They had practiced that spell in the DA last year, and they knew they wouldn't have any problems.

*

The last lesson they had that day was History of Magic and, as expected, Binns lectured on about the giant wars. It was a boring lesson, especially because Luna had already heard it all word for word three days ago.

When Binns mentioned Gifford Ollerton, the famous giant-killer, she looked over to Madeleine, who sat in the first row again, next to Miranda. However, Madeleine didn't seem to remember the past evening and how Luna had told her about Ollerton and the giants. It was like she hadn't helped her at all; she didn't turn and smile at Luna, she didn't even appear to hear what Binns told them, she simply continued to sit with her head on the table, either sleeping or at least dozing.

Luna felt hurt. Why had she done it, then? Why had she explained it all to her, two, three, four times and never got tired of it? Why had she neglected her own homework for Madeleine if now she pretended it hadn't happened at all?

She would have to talk to her later, in the dormitory. She'd ask Madeleine why she had asked her to help her in the first place when she didn't want to know it at all.

It probably wasn't the smartest move she could make on her second evening in Slytherin, but the conflict seemed to be inevitable. After all, it hadn't been her who had started it all.

Luna was really outraged. She liked to help, as long as her help was being appreciated. When she was supposed to help people and they didn't even acknowledge her troubles or even thank her, it made her mad. Except, of course, when she was to help her Daddy. He had never thanked her for anything she had done for him, but he didn't have to. He needed her, and he was so absorbed in his work for The Quibbler that he didn't have the time to thank her every time she did something for him. That was natural.

Luna sighed.

She couldn't concentrate on Binns' lecture today - it was so dull. Luna was interested in the magical history - she had read several books about it, actually - but the way Binns taught it, it was no surprise none of the students were interested.

The topic of the giant wars was gripping, and there was a lot of planning, and cunning methods behind it - something that should be very interesting for Slytherins. However, most of them just dozed through the lessons. Except Miranda, of course, who was busy scribbling down notes on her parchment. She reminded Luna of Hermione.

The thought of Hermione brought her to thinking about Neville. He had seemed so forlorn this morning and he had stared over to the Gryffindor Table so miserably that she had decided to sit with him, instead of getting to know the Slytherin boys. That could wait; she'd be in classes with them for the whole term.

But Neville had looked so sad that she had tried to cheer him up. She wasn't sure if it had worked, though. She had tried to tell him subtly to try and ease his mind a bit and see life more pleasantly, but she wasn't sure whether he had understood her.

If the Exchanges in the other Houses were just as sad and miserable as Neville, the Exchange wouldn't advance anything. They'd all wish they could be in their old House again and see their friends more often, instead of trying to get to know their new dorm-mates better.

It would probably help if they were able to sit with their friends during lunch-time, so they could talk to each other easily. But, of course, the House tables were rather hindering for that. It would be way better to have smaller tables where everybody could sit. Smaller tables, where students who belonged to different Houses but were still friends could easily talk to each other.

Luna considered this thought for a moment. It sounded good, but she wasn't entirely sure. And, of course, if it was acceptable, there was still the problem of the Headmaster and the staff. Would they approve of it? And would they be willing to get new tables and abolish an order that had probably been in place for centuries?

She had to get another opinion. "Ginny," she whispered.

Ginny didn't react - she was drowsily scribbling on her piece of parchment, drawing little flowers and a smiling sun.

"Ginny," Luna whispered again, more urgently this time. Ginny still didn't react.

Without further ado, Luna rammed her elbow into Ginny's ribs.

"OW!" Ginny yelled and students turned to look at them. Ginny blushed and gestured them to look away again. Binns seemed to be the only one who hadn't noticed a thing.

"What the hell was that for?" Ginny asked her, heatedly. Her brown eyes sparkled with fury, and she was clutching her right side. In that instant, she looked so much like Ronald that Luna couldn't speak for a moment and gasped. It was clear now, even more than usual, that the two of them were related.

"Luna!" Ginny hissed angrily. "Did you hear me? What did you hurt me for?"

"Ronald?" Luna said, a little dazed. She heard Ginny's voice, but her face looked like Ronald's. He was so close to her...

"Luna!" Ginny had grabbed her arm and shook it. "Are you all right? What's up with Ron? Did something happen?" Her voice started to sound a little panicky.

"No, no..." Luna replied. Slowly Ronald's face morphed back into Ginny's and she could think clearly again.

"Are you sure? Are you all right? Is Ron all right? What's up?"

"I don't know. For a moment, there wasn't your face in your face. I mean, there was your face, but it didn't look like your face."

Ginny looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes," Luna said. "It's just that - for a moment I thought I saw Ronald's face instead of yours."

The look on Ginny's face softened. "You like him, right?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," Luna said. "He's so... alive. He's full of life and of laughter. I don't know what I'm feeling - but it feels good, in a way. Different from everything I've ever felt, but good."

The corners of Ginny's mouth curled up. "Oh Luna, that's so cute. Do you want me to talk to him for you?"

"No!" Luna said, shocked. "Don't! And anyway... I don't think he likes me."

"Oh, you can't say-" Ginny said, but suddenly Luna remembered what she had originally wanted to say.

"I wanted to tell you something," she interrupted Ginny. "I was thinking of Neville. Did you ever look at his eyes closely? They're so huge and warm. And so sad."

"I thought you liked Ron," Ginny said.

"Yes, of course I do, but that's not the point. I sat next to him this morning and he was staring over to Gryffindor Table and looked so sad and forlorn. It really hurt me to see that. He always has this aura of sadness around him, but this morning it was really strong. I tried to cheer him up, but I don't think it worked.

"I know he wants back to Gryffindor and thinks this Exchange is nonsense. But I think I have a solution. Imagine he could still sit with Harry and Ronald and his other friends, have lunch with them and just get to know what's happening while he's away. Don't you think he'd be much happier in Slytherin? When he knows that he can always talk to his friends and eat with them?"

"Probably," Ginny said cautiously. "What do you want to say? Come on, don't make it that exciting!"

Luna turned around and looked at Professor Binns, but she probably could have danced rumba on her table and he wouldn't have noticed. Their classmates were mostly dozing away, and two Slytherin boys were playing Hangman on a sheet of parchment.

"I think," she whispered and bent over to Ginny, "we should ask for permission for mixed tables."

"What?" Ginny said.

"Mixed tables. The House Tables should be abolished completely, they aren't necessary anyway. These smaller tables at the Yule Ball, two years ago - that's what we need. Tables where people are free to sit with whoever they want, independent of their House, and just talk to anybody who sits with them. If people want to, they can change their table every day. This would be so good for house unity."

For a moment, Ginny was silent. Then, she said, "Luna - this is simply brilliant."

"Do you think so?" she asked, blushing.

"Yes, absolutely. You should so go to McGonagall and tell her this. She did say we should come to her with ideas, didn't she? This is really good. I like this idea better and better the more I think about it. We should go to McGonagall immediately after this lesson."

"No, I don't have time today," Luna said. "But I'll go see her as soon as possible. You can come, too, if you want."

*

Luna walked from Ravenclaw Tower towards the Entrance Hall. She had forgotten that she was now in Slytherin, and had walked straight to her old House. Only when she had stood in front of the oak door had she realized that that was not the place she was supposed to go to.

As she stepped into the Entrance Hall, she almost fell over two schoolbags that lay on the ground. She looked around to find their owners and saw a group of people close to the corridor that led to the Hufflepuff dormitories.

"I'll give you 'Muggle scum', you filthy Death Eater!" a boy shouted at this moment. "Don't you dare insult him again!"

"No, Owen!" a girl said, obviously trying to calm him down. "He's not worth your energy."

Luna cautiously walked closer to the group. They were standing in a circle, surrounding something. Luna took another step forward, now close enough to see their faces. In the middle of the group blond hair was clearly visible. That had to be Draco Malfoy. Of course, she thought, shaking her head. I should've known Malfoy wouldn't get along with the Hufflepuffs. The only people he gets along with are a couple of Slytherins. Pretty much everyone else despises him - and I'm quite sure the feeling is mutual.

For the first time, Luna noticed how small Malfoy was. Had he stood next to her, they'd both had been about the same height. It must have been his two companions that had made him look so tall before, then.

A boy with light brown hair and thick black eyebrows stared down at Malfoy. He was breathing hard; it seemed he was Owen who had threatened the Slytherin Prefect just a minute ago. Suddenly a grin spread on his face, and it didn't look too nice.

"So, ferret face," he said nastily. "Have you bounced today already?" He took his wand out of his pocket.

"You don't really think you can impress me with that." Malfoy's voice was cold and sounded superior, despite the situation he was currently in.

"No," the other said thoughtfully. "But then, I reckon you're used to bouncing around already." The others laughed, and he added, "I fear I'll have to think of something else, then."

At that moment, Tessa Dugan stepped forward. Luna's heart made a little somersault as she remembered Tessa's betrayal at the very beginning of this school year.

"You know, Malfoy," she said sweetly. "That was very bad behaviour. And we'd like to punish you. That'll teach you not to insult any of us again. Any suggestions?" she asked, half turning to her friends.

They, however, didn't look as comfortable as Tessa and Owen did. Several of them were looking around again and again, obviously fearing some teacher passing by and catching them. Some were stepping from foot to foot, but didn't seem to dare walk away. It was probably their loyalty to their fellow Hufflepuffs keeping them there, and they probably also wanted to see Malfoy punished. But apparently they didn't like the way Tessa and Owen handled things - Hufflepuffs were supposed to be fair. On the other hand, they were supposed to be loyal. Luna was sure they were in some sort of inner conflict.

Before any of them could say anything, Luna stepped forward into the circle. As she realized what she had done, it was too late. She had acted without thinking, and now she'd have to do something to get out of there again.

"Don't, Tessa. He's one, and you're a dozen. That's not fair!" She paused for a moment, realizing she was defending Draco Malfoy, who had just been about to get the revenge he deserved thoroughly.

"As one of you just said - he's not worth it. If you do this now, you sink to his own level on unfairness. Do you really want to be like a dumb bullying Slytherin who goes after people who are weaker than him just for fun? What happened to Hufflepuff fairness? I understand that you want to avenge your friend, but this is not the right way. And I'm sure you know it; but probably Malfoy angered you so much that you were in a rage. Think clearly and see what you're about to do - you're acting like Slytherins!

"Just ignore him and don't listen to his stupid comments anymore. He just wants to provoke you. Don't give him the satisfaction of actually reacting to them, that's just what he wants. He'll stop when he notices nobody listens to him."

"And who're you to tell us that?" a girl asked suspiciously.

"Aren't you Loony Lovegood?" another asked.

"May I introduce myself, my name is Luna Lovegood," Luna said. "And now I'm going to follow my own advice and not listen to your thoughtless comment."

She shot Tessa, who hadn't said a word, a long look, then she turned around and walked away. She left a group of Hufflepuffs and one Slytherin who were all very thoughtful as to why she had defended Malfoy although she, too, would have every reason to hate him.

*

When Luna came back to her dormitory - this time the correct one - her head was heavy and she felt tired. The incident with Malfoy and the Hufflepuffs had not been planned and now she wasn't sure whether she had done the right thing. Besides, she had had History of Magic before that, which would have been enough to make her feel exhausted and worn out all by itself. She sighed deeply as she thought back to the lesson.

Just like every year, she had started by working hard and forcing herself to take notes and not daydream.

And just like every year, it all had gone down the drain within two weeks of her return to Hogwarts.

During the first five minutes, she had still listened to Binns eagerly - although she had heard it all before, in her Ravenclaw History of Magic-lesson. But listening to him had become harder by the minute - she had caught herself day-dreaming more and more often.

Professor Binns seems to put all his efforts into making his lessons as boring as possible, Luna thought as she picked her way along the dimly-lit corridor leading to the Slytherin dormitories.

Luna sighed and opened the door. It took her eyes a while to adjust to the sudden darkness. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but the dormitory was even darker than the corridor. She shook her head. Those Slytherins were a peculiar folk.

Leila was already in the dormitory, kneeling on her bed. She seemed to be doing something to the wall behind her bed. When the door closed itself behind Luna, she turned to look who'd come in.

"Oh, hi," she said in disinterested tones when she spotted Luna. Then she turned back to the wall.

"Hello," Luna said. "What are you doing there?"

"I got the new Witch Weekly Teen today," Leila replied without bothering to turn round and look at Luna again. "And they have a new poster of Myron Wagtail! I had to hang it up immediately. Done!" she added happily.

Proudly she stepped back from the poster, which was taped to the wall with Spellotape. Luna stepped closer and looked at it with interest. A man in his twenties was beaming down at her and waving with a bright smile. He was shaved, and his dark brown hair was styled with what seemed to be a lot of hair-gel. In fact, Luna thought she could detect some make-up on his face, but she wasn't sure. He had put sunglasses in his hair, obviously trying hard to look cool.

He looked kind of nice, Luna thought, something teenagers and their mothers would both like, but he wasn't her taste. She liked the 'wild' men more than mummy's boys - long hair and a rough charisma was what made her knees wobbly.

"Nice," Luna said and looked at Leila. "And - who is he?"

Leila stared at her in disbelief. "This is Myron Wagtail," she said.

"Yes, I gathered that," Luna replied. "But who is he? Why do you have a poster of him - well, several posters of him - hanging on your wall?"

"Myron is the lead singer of the Weird Sisters." Leila still sounded a little dumbfounded. "Every single girl dreams of him - he's so cute. And, just imagine that, even my mother likes him, although she doesn't like the music. But she has a poster of him inside her kitchen cupboard, where Pa won't see it."

She giggled quietly, and for a moment her face was open and friendly. Usually her features showed only plain indifference to everything that happened around her. Now there was actual feeling, and her black eyes were lit up.

"Your Pa doesn't go into the kitchen often, then?" Luna asked her, hoping to get a bit closer to her.

Leila looked at her with huge eyes. "No, why should he? That's Mama's part of the house. He's a man, he shouldn't go there." Her expression darkened. "Except to fetch his alcohol, of course."

"Does your father like red wine, as well? My daddy can't get enough of it," Luna, who hadn't noticed Leila's change of mood, said excitedly. "Though I think it doesn't taste good."

But Leila had noticed she had let something slip she didn't want to, and her face was stony again. "I don't know why that should be any of your business," she said coolly and turned back to her poster.

At that moment, the door opened again and Madeleine and Miranda stepped in, talking animatedly. Madeleine's face went cold when she saw Luna. Luna felt a small pang in her heart - she had thought she had found a new friend in Madeleine - Maddy - but obviously she had been wrong.

Beside her, Leila gave a dreamy little sigh. Then she turned towards her two dorm-mates. "Did you know Luna has no idea who Myron Wagtail is?" she asked, shaking her head.

Madeleine turned away, wordless, and went over to her bed. Miranda, however, stared at Luna. "You don't know Myron Wagtail? But - that's impossible! Everybody knows him! Even my granny knows him! She thinks he's cute..."

"Well, I don't know him," Luna said defiantly. "I'm not like everybody else. So what?" She raised her chin as she thought about what her Daddy had always told her, Don't try to be like the others, he'd said. Try being yourself - that's the most important thing there is. The others don't matter.

"No, one really can't say you are," Leila muttered mockingly.

Luna forced herself to ignore it. The others don't matter, she told herself firmly. The others don't matter.

"I didn't know you were into music at all," she said to Miranda instead. "You seemed to me like the kind of girl who's more into studying, not listening to pop music."

"Well, yes," Miranda admitted. "That's true - theoretically. But Myron - he's simply so cute. I can't resist him. I don't really like the music, to be honest, but - well. I like him." She blushed a little and Luna wondered what it was about this Wagtail that made everyone so open when they talked about him.

First Leila, telling her something about her; now Miranda - blushing! Luna hadn't thought it possible for Miranda to blush. She always seemed so controlled.

"Do you still have to do your Defence-essay?" Luna asked Miranda quickly, deciding to use the opportunity to try to get closer to her and learn more about her.

"Yes," Miranda said and her eyes flickered over to Madeleine. "But I promised Madeleine to do it with her, and - um, well, she doesn't want to do it together with you."

"Oh," Luna said, disappointed. "I guess I'll have to do it alone, then. Although I'm sure it would have been nice if we did it together."

After a moment's hesitation, Miranda nodded in agreement. "It would at least have been interesting," she said.

"I'm sure it would have been," Luna said quietly. "Then what about History of Magic?" she asked again, full of hope.

"Well..." Miranda said, indecisive.

"I'm already nearly through with it!" Luna said, eagerly. "We could help each other. You know, I'm sure you know way more about giant wars than I do. I saw you taking notes."

Miranda sighed deeply, then nodded slightly. "All right, why not," she said. "Let's try it."

"That's great," Luna said. "Thank you. We'll do it together, then."

"Now?" Miranda thought for a moment. "Why not. Madeleine's busy reading her new Witch Weekly, anyway. Let's go, then." She grabbed her knapsack. "You coming?" she asked, looking at Luna, who still hadn't taken her own bag.

"In a minute," Luna replied. "I still have something to do."

Miranda just shrugged and went out. The door closed itself and Luna took a deep breath. It was now or never.

Luna didn't like conflicts - she had had enough of them in her life to make her sick of them. Still, she wouldn't shun this one.

She was well aware that this talk might be the end of her - until now surprisingly pleasant - stay in Slytherin.

It was well possible that the other girls would favour Madeleine, and Slytherin would begin to be like Ravenclaw had been. They'd start hiding her things and making mean comments - behind her back or directly to her face.

And Luna would try to ignore them and push the negative feelings out of her mind once more.

But it wasn't fair of Madeleine to first use her to get information about their classes in advance and then not even thank her. Luna would have been content with a simple "Thank you", because it would have shown her that Maddy appreciated her help. But there had been no reaction at all.

Luna couldn't stand people who just used others and then dumped them when they didn't need them anymore. This behaviour was against everything her parents had told her. They had both always told her that honesty and friendship were the most important values there were. She would not betray one of the few things she still had left of her beloved Mum.

For a moment, she closed her eyes, gathering courage.

"Maddy!" she called.