We Aren't All That Different

Dumbledore was very friendly when Luna visited him with Ginny to tell him about her plan. He listened intently and only rarely asked questions. All in all, it was a very satisfying visit. The Headmaster seemed to like the idea of the mixed teams, as well as of the mixed tables.

Of course, he told them, there would be problems if the plan was to be put into action. Logistic ones as well as barriers in the students' and teachers' heads. But if Professor McGonagall agreed with him and if they actually decided to make the suggested changes, then they'd conquer both blockades.

Luna was still thinking about that a few days later, as she walked from her dormitory to the Great Hall to have breakfast. As usual, she had completely forgotten to tie her laces, but as of yet, they hadn't disturbed her and she didn't see the need to tie them up. She merrily ignored the funny looks people gave her as she walked along. She had woken up that morning in a good mood that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and she was determined to keep it as long as possible - especially as she'd been expecting more trouble from Madeleine and Elinor. So far, though, nothing had happened. She began to wonder what the reason for that might be. Maybe they were still plotting? No, she told herself determinedly. Not now. I won't waste my good mood for them.

A sudden loud noise made her snap out of her thoughts. What was going on? It seemed to be coming from the Great Hall, so Luna hurried over there.

The voices from the Great Hall were resounding in the corridors and students were hurrying from all directions to see what had happened. It sounded like most of the school was already in there, and they were all talking at the same time. What could have happened? Maybe there'd been an accident? Or maybe there'd been a fight between two students and the others were cheering?

The mystery was solved when she entered. At first, she couldn't see a thing, because everywhere, people were standing around in small groups.

The four long House tables had been removed and replaced by smaller tables. Luna's face broke into a grin. So Dumbledore had actually liked her plan. All over the Hall, there were round wooden tables with seats for maybe a dozen people. However, hardly anybody was sitting and having breakfast; most were talking, discussing, arguing. As Luna walked into the middle of the Hall, which suddenly looked a lot bigger, she could hear snippets of conversations.

"That's a scandal..."

" - and all without an explanation!"

"... like it, kind of -"

"...might be fun..."

"Dumbledore's an old fool..."

"What were they thinking?!"

Two manes of flaming red hair finally caught her attention and she walked over to the table where Ron and Ginny were sitting. As she came closer, she noticed that her heartbeat didn’t quicken at all, although she was coming closer and closer to Ronald. Her crush seemed to have vanished or at least faded. Funny, Luna thought. I wouldn't've thought that possible.

Harry's shock of black hair was close to the red ones, and Luna realized that she hadn't talked to him since the beginning of the new school year. Events had simply been in the way. They'd have to catch up on that, she'd have to ask him about his godfather.

"Hello," she said and sat down on one of the free chairs.

All three of them looked up, and a wide smile spread itself simultaneously on Harry's and Ginny's face, while Ronald looked slightly uncomfortable. "Hello," they all said.

"Were you talking about this?" Luna asked, indicating the whole Hall.

"What else?" Harry said. "Would you've guessed something like that?" he added after a short pause. "I mean, I'd believe Dumbledore capable of many things, but this..."

Surprised, Luna looked at Ginny. Hadn't she told them? She silently raised one eyebrow. Ginny shrugged slightly with one shoulder and made a little grimace. Luna smiled back and nodded. Obviously Ginny hadn't been sure whether it would be all right with her to tell them.

"Didn't I tell you?" Ginny said at that moment. "If it wasn't for Luna, we wouldn't have these tables now. It was all Luna's idea."

The two boys looked at her with identical disbelieving expressions. "Nah," Ron finally said and shook his head slightly. "I don't buy that."

"Well, it's true," Ginny said. "Luna's a genius! About time you noticed."

"He didn't notice I was a girl for four years, Ginny," a voice said behind Luna. "Fat chance he'll manage to understand this before we leave school."

Hermione sat down next to Luna and smiled at her warmly. "It's great to see you," she said. "We haven't talked in a while. You must tell me about your expedition to Sweden with your father some day. How're you doing in Slytherin?"

"Well," Luna started, then hesitated. Should she tell Hermione the truth? But no, she quickly decided. It wouldn't do any good. Besides, Harry and Ron would then know about it, too, and she definitely didn't want that. "It's not like I thought it would be," she said. "But it's rather nice, I'm getting along fine."

"Great to hear that," Hermione replied. "I was looking for you, anyway," she continued and gestured Luna to come a bit closer to her. "It's because of the DA. We decided to continue it and keep it secret, even though I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind. But this way, we can control who's in and who's not, and we don't have to answer to a teacher."

Luna nodded. She had already expected something like that.

"We'll have a first meeting this week," Hermione continued. "You'll get the exact date the usual way. I hope you still have your coin?"

Luna nodded again.

"Oh, and if there's somebody in Slytherin you think could join, as well." Hermione added, almost like an afterthought, "of course they're all welcome." She shot her two best friends a dark look. "No, don't say a thing," she said sternly. "You know we have to open up to people, even - or maybe especially - if they're Slytherins."

Luna considered that possibility and thought about the girls in her dormitory. Of all of them, Miranda was the only one she thought might be suitable for the DA. Maybe Rebecca, but Luna wasn't sure. She'd have to think about it.
It would definitely be good to bring in Slytherins and to show them how the Death Eaters really were. And it could never hurt to know more defensive spells than the ones they learned in classes.

"I'll think about it," she assured Hermione, before turning to look at the food in front of her. It all looked delicious, as always, but some things were missing, like fruit. She felt an inexplicable desire for a delicious red apple and a pear, and she knew she'd have to eat them or her good mood would vanish quickly. "No fruit?" she said half-loud, more or less to herself.

"No," Harry replied. "But the table over there has loads. Maybe you could ask them."

Luna looked in the direction he was pointing, and indeed, their table was loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables. Bright red and green were visible, with some yellow and orange between it. This was exactly what she had been looking for. She grabbed her plate and went over to the table, where Padma Patil was sitting with some friends and a girl who must have been her twin Parvati. She noticed there was nothing except fruit and a big tub of yoghurt on this table, so if they wanted bread or porridge or cereals, they'd have to go to other tables, as well.
Luna was quite sure Dumbledore had told the House Elves to arrange it like that to make sure people had to talk to each other. A clever idea, Luna had to admit, and felt slightly disappointed that she hadn't thought of it herself. But now it was too late anyway.

"Excuse me," she said as she stopped next to the table. "Would you mind me taking some of your fruit?"

They told her she wasn't the first one to ask that, and that she was welcome. As she bent down to pick up some carrots and apples, the blonde girl next to Parvati told her she really liked her earrings and thought they were very "creative". Luna was very glad to hear that, and as the girl asked her where she'd bought them, she informed her that she had made them herself.

"Really?" the other girl said, sounding impressed. Luna wore huge red earrings that were made out of wood covered with crochet with small patterns. "These are great. How did you make them?"

"It's not all that difficult, you know," Luna said. "It's actually very easy. So you see, you need a needle and some wool for it in colours you like. And then you need the basic wooden earrings, but those are easy to get. I think I still have some in my dormitory. And then you start with the crochet - for that, you need some practice, but after some time, it gets better and better. My first pieces of crochet looked really horrible, I can assure you. Anyway, so you start with the crochet -" She broke off as she saw the odd look on the other girl's face. "Everything all right with you?" she asked worriedly.

"Er, yeah," the other girl said. "It's just that - I hadn't thought you'd explain in so much detail."

"But you asked!" Luna said. "So I thought you were interested."

"I am," the other said. "I'm just not good with this needlework-stuff."

"Oh." That was a problem. "I could make some for you, if you want," Luna offered her, and the other's eyes lit up.

"Really? That would be so cool. I'm Lavender Brown, by the way," she said and shook Luna's hand. "You're Luna Lovegood, aren't you? I've seen a lot of your jewellery, it's so original! Do you all make it yourself? You must be very creative!"

Luna assured her she'd make her some earrings and then went away, her plate full of tasty nutritious food and her heart full of pride.

"What did Lavender want from you?" Ronald asked her when she came back. "You were talking quite long."

"Oh, she noticed my earrings and liked them so much I promised I'd make her a pair." Luna smiled happily. Only then did she notice Zacharias, who sat next to Hermione now, and his Slytherin friend, Fulke, who was sitting next to him and looking quite forlorn.

"You're Fulke, right?" she asked him and bit a huge part off her first carrot. The taste was wonderful.

"Yes," he said, looking glad to have somebody to talk to. "Zack pulled me here, I actually wanted to sit with my friends. But she," he pointed to Hermione, "said she had something to tell him, so we sat down here."

"I suppose you know them?" Luna asked, pointing at Harry and the others.

"Well - I know him, of course," he said, pointing at Harry. "Who doesn't? And I saw the others, too, we have classes together. You are Ronald Weasley, and you must be a Weasley too, with that hair." He smiled and Ginny smiled back.

"I am indeed," she said. "Ginny Weasley."

"Nice to meet you," Fulke replied. Then he looked over to Hermione. "Hermione Granger, of course. It'd be impossible to miss you out - you seem to know everything." He smiled slightly and paused for a moment. Then he added, "You know, you're really pretty up close. I never realised."

"Yes, she's pretty," Ron said, a slightly aggressive undertone in his voice. "And who're you?"

"I'm sure you know me pretty well," Fulke replied, not reacting to Ron's aggressive tone. "But in case you really did forget, I'm Fulke Litcott."

Ron's look of hostility deepened. "Shut up, you slimy bastard," he growled.

"Ron, really," Ginny said sternly. "You're being ridiculous. He didn't do anything to you, so you'd better watch your language, or I'll tell Mum. And anyway, I'm sure Fulke is a nice guy. And it's not like being Slytherin is a contagious disease. You can't catch it by sitting at the same table."

Luna found this incredibly funny and started giggling. Fulke started chuckling, as well, and that made Luna laugh even harder; she just couldn't stop. "Contagious... disease..." she coughed between giggles.

Harry and Ronald looked at Fulke and her with similar expressions of miscomprehension and that, in turn, made Ginny giggle. Hermione broke off in mid-sentence and looked at the three of them. "What's going on?" she asked Zacharias and Harry at the same time, but they both just shrugged, clueless. Hermione smiled. "Well, at least it's good to see that House unity already started at this table with joined laughter."

After a while, they calmed down again. Luna's mood was still very good, and the laughter had made it even better. She continued to eat her breakfast in silence, until finally Ronald grumbled, "Gosh, I wish we didn't have History of Magic right now."

"You tell me," Fulke said darkly. "We have Potions. Double Potions."

Sympathy was visible on Harry's face. "Oh, sorry 'bout that, mate. But, hang on - you're in Slytherin!"

"Being Slytherin doesn't automatically make Snape like you," he replied and smiled thinly.

"Oh. Didn't know that."

"Well, we have Defence now, and that's not all that pleasant, either," Ginny interrupted. "Hamilton-Jones may be a good teacher, but she's also so exhausting, it's incredible."

They all agreed with her on that. "But everybody's better than Umbridge," Ronald finally said, and again, they all agreed.

"We'd better go," Ginny said eventually. "You coming, Luna?"

They went away, waving to the others one last time. "I didn't think it'd work out so well," Ginny said when they were out of earshot. "I mean, Fulke and Ron - if you'd asked me before, I'd said they'd beat each other up, at least." She grinned mirthlessly. "I'm really surprised at the outcome. But it was a fantastic idea," she added and pressed Luna's arm.

"Don't think it was as smooth as that everywhere," Luna replied and pointed to some tables where arguments seemed to have ensued.

"Well, of course," Ginny said pensively. "It'd be naïve to think everybody would be friends immediately. There's going to be a lot of arguments in the near future. After all, people won't be able to just ignore each other now. They'll actually have to open their eyes and look for proof to back up their prejudice - and of course they won't find it.

"They'll have to talk to each other now, and imagine what's going to happen if a Slytherin has to ask a Gryffindor for something. Oh, dear." She sighed.

"It's too late to change it now, anyway," Luna said. "Did you do the homework for Defence?" she then asked. "I can't believe how much it was! We should tell Hamilton-Jones we have other classes, as well."

"Gosh, yes!" Ginny exclaimed. "It took me easily three hours until I was finished. And then I still had my History-essay to do." She rolled her eyes in mock desperation.

Chatting on like that, they made their way to the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom, where their professor was already waiting for them. She greeted them with a lecture on punctuality, decidedly ignoring their protests that the bell hadn't even rung for the first time yet.

*

Luna's good mood lasted the whole day, despite double Defence, History of Magic and double Charms, and it didn't even waver when she entered her dormitory after classes and Madeleine threw her dark looks.

"Hello," Luna said into the room, but no reply came back.

Luna had known for sure that Madeleine wouldn't say anything to her, but the others? Had Madeleine already made them side with her? But they didn't have a reason to turn on Luna!

Except, of course, that they had known Madeleine for four years, and Luna for only about a week.

Slowly, Luna looked from one to the other to see their faces. Rebecca quickly looked away when she noticed Luna watching her. Miranda smiled faintly - it wasn't much, but at least Luna knew there was one person in the room who didn't completely hate her.
Leila wasn't doing her nails, for once. Instead, she had some sort of paste on her face and some green pieces that looked like vegetables on top of that. She was lying on her back, reading a magazine. Myron Wagtail's head was on the cover and bright red letters said 'The exclusive interview! All you ever wanted to know about Myron!'

Despite her situation, Luna smiled slightly. Leila wasn't one to be concerned with any problems that weren't related to her beauty or Myron Wagtail.

Just as Luna had plopped down on her bed and had started stroking Merlin, the door burst open without anybody having knocked.

Elinor came in and smiled sweetly. "Professor McGonagall wants to see you, Luna," she announced and looked her in the eye. Her innocent smile didn't reach her eyes - the steely look in them told Luna that McGonagall didn't want to chat and have a cup of tea.

"Do you know why?" she asked the Prefect.

"Yes, but I'm sure she wants to tell you herself." The false smile was replaced by a smug expression, and Elinor exchanged glances with Madeleine, who was sitting upright on her bed, listening.

That confirmed Luna's fears. If Elinor and Madeleine both looked so pleased and McGonagall was involved, then it could only be about what the two had told the Professor some days ago. And I'm sure that wasn't exactly positive, Luna thought bitterly. She heaved a deep sigh and got up from her bed again.

"Thanks, Elinor," she said. "I'll be with her in a minute."

After a last nasty grin in Luna's direction, Elinor vanished and banged the door closed after her. Luna slowly put on her woollen socks and then her boots. Her feet were icy. She wasn't sure if that was because of the temperature or simply out of fear. Anyway, it couldn't hurt to keep them warm.

As she walked towards the door, there was complete silence in the room. Luna stared straight ahead, but she still felt three pairs of eyes on her back. She walked out into the corridor and was about to close the door behind her, when a quiet "Good luck" from Miranda made her pause. She flashed a thankful smile in Miranda's direction, then closed the door behind her.

Instead of walking towards the Common Room, she first went in the opposite direction.

The bathroom was empty, and Luna was grateful for that. Heavily, she leaned onto one of the wash-basins and stared at herself in the mirror. Her face looked pale, even in the dim light coming from the candles. The silvery colour of her eyes made it look like they were filled with tears, and dark shadows loomed under them. In addition to all that, her hair looked messy and unkempt. Luna wasn't one to care much about her hair usually, and it came as a little shock to see how tangled it was.

She wouldn't go to McGonagall looking like that. The first measure she took was to tie her hair up in a loose bun, fastening it with a ribbon she found in her pocket. Luna looked into the mirror once more. She already looked a lot better; the proper hair-do made her look more composed. Also, that way her nice new earrings were visible better than before and added a bit of colour to her pale complexion.

Luna turned on one of the expensive-looking silver taps and icy water splashed out. She held her hands under it and then brought them to her face. The coldness stung her face in a way that was both pleasant and painful. She was pleased to see her skin reddening slightly. She continued washing herself with the ice-cold liquid, then rubbed her face dry with her towel. When she looked into the mirror once more, her face had acquired a healthy-looking redness.
Pleased with herself, Luna marched out into the corridor and started the long walk towards McGonagall's office.

About fifteen minutes later, Luna reached her destination, panting heavily. She had hurried to be with the Professor soon to get it all over, and now her heart was beating hard. She put her hands to her thighs and tried breathing in and out slowly. She noticed the painting of Alpin the Angry hanging on the wall and remembered the first time she had been standing in this corridor. This time, the knight was pacing back and forth. He looked entirely lost in thought. The little kitten sat close to the fire-place at the edge of the painting and meowed quietly.

The knight looked so desperate that Luna felt sorry for him. As soon as she could speak properly again, she asked him, "Can I help you, Sir?"

The little knight jumped and whirled around, sword in hand. When he saw Luna, he relaxed slightly. "My beloved Lady Primrose from the fifth floor doesn't want to talk to me anymore, and I can't fathom why! I'm really desperate!" he wailed, looking helpless.

Luna cocked her head and thought. "Maybe you said something she didn't like?" she asked.

"No!" Alpin exclaimed immediately. After a second, he added, "Well, I told her that sometimes, war is more important than her beauty. But that's true! I just can't afford a new sword and a new ball gown for her! But that can't be the reason; I'm sure she understands that."

"I'm not so sure about that," Luna said pensively. "Maybe you should pick some flowers and then go to her and apologize for being so rude. In your eyes, it was normal, but she felt hurt because she now thinks you don't care about her as much as you do about your sword. I'm sure she'll talk to you again if you explain the situation to her and tell her she's the most important thing in the world to you."

For a few seconds, there was silence as the knight pondered this. Then his face lit up and he nodded. "That I'll do. Thank you, Miss!" He raced out of the picture, leaving the cat looking slightly clueless. Luna smiled. Helping others was a wonderful thing, it always gave her a warm feeling inside.

Turning away from the painting, she faced the door to Professor McGonagall's office. Taking a deep breath, Luna stepped towards it and knocked before she lost her courage.

"Come in!" a voice said inside, and Luna entered the room.

McGonagall was sitting at her desk. Several rolls of parchment were heaped on either side of her, and she was staring down at another one, a quill in her hand. She looked up. "Miss Lovegood. Be so kind to sit down here. I'll be ready in a second." She wrote something on the parchment in red ink and sighed. "These sixth-years destroy my last nerves," she murmured to herself.

Then she put away parchment and quill and looked at Luna, sternly. "Miss Lovegood," she said once more. "Do you know why you are here?"

"Because you wanted to talk to me?" Luna said.

"Thank you very much, Miss Lovegood, for I wouldn't have been able to figure that out myself," McGonagall said wryly. Pulling open a drawer of her desk, she took out a small piece of parchment.

"Now," she said and sighed slightly. "You may not know this, but Miss Barefoot came to see me yesterday to deliver her report about the Exchanges in Slytherin. As delighted - and surprised - as I was to hear that both Mr Smith and Mr Longbottom are adjusting well to their new environment, your case troubles me."

She leaned forward and put her fingertips together in a gesture that reminded Luna of the Headmaster. Luna stayed silent and waited for what was to come. McGonagall looked down at the parchment once more, then raised her eyes to meet Luna's.

"According to Miss Barefoot, you started misbehaving even before you entered Slytherin. When she came to the Entrance Hall to fetch you and the other Exchanges, you didn't follow the orders she gave you. Although you knew who she was, and what she was doing. You knew she was allowed to give you orders, because as a prefect, she represents the staff in our absence.

"But this is not all. Miss Barefoot had an eye-witness with her to confirm her statement. Miss Scrivenshaft told me some things about you that quite upset me." McGonagall paused to raise one eyebrow at Luna.

"She claimed that you called the other girls names," McGonagall said, counting off her fingers. "You threatened to hex them if they didn't do what you wanted them to do, and you stole things from them." She closely looked at Luna. "I must ask you now, Miss Lovegood, are these accusations true? For I wouldn't have thought you were the kind of person to do that sort of thing."

Abruptly, McGonagall got up from her chair and walked over to the window, crossing her arms behind her back. After a short pause, she asked, "Did something change? After all, it was you who suggested the Exchanges in the first place. I would have thought you to be the one of the Exchanges most willing to get used to a new environment. What happened?" She turned round to Luna again.

"I -" Luna began, helplessly. "I don't - there was no change." Her teacher looked at her interestedly, and Luna continued. "I... still think that the Exchanges were a very good idea; I'm all for it, really. But what Elinor and Madeleine told you is not true. It isn't, I swear. We had some complications, I'll admit that readily. But what Madeleine told you about my behaviour is completely unfounded and none of the things they accuse me of having done are true. I never did any of that."

"Can you prove this?" McGonagall asked.

Luna shook her head.

"Can you explain why Miss Barefoot would tell me these things?"

"I can't tell you that, Professor," said Luna. "Please understand that, as it's something very personal."

"That makes it complicated. I want to try and hear both sides before deciding, but if you don't want to tell me anything, it will be hard for me to judge fairly. It would be for your own benefit if you told me your side of the story. At the moment, it is Miss Barefoot who has the more plausible evidence. If you refuse to tell me things, I can't promise you everything will come out justly.

"While Miss Scrivenshaft has promised me that she has been telling the truth, she could well be lying. But I can't prove that if you don't cooperate. She has also assured me that your other dorm-mates and other Slytherins could support her on her statement. Miss Barefoot has also proven herself to be perfectly trustworthy and responsible during her almost seven years at Hogwarts. I hope you realise that all this speaks against you."

"I know," Luna said miserably. "But I still don't think I can tell you the reason."

"Fine," McGonagall said with a small sigh. "But there is another issue, and for this one I do have proof. There was a battle in the Slytherin Common Room recently, in which you were involved and in fact caused it, as several students confirmed independently of each other. Two students had to go to the Hospital Wing to let Madam Pomfrey treat wounds that were caused in this battle. Professor Snape questioned them and they all told him the same thing: that it was you who hurt them." A sad look settled down in her face. "Please explain."

Luna took a deep breath. How much did they tell her? she wondered. Did they mention Neville already? Well, I certainly won't. I don't want to pull him into this. He's nothing to do with it.

"I witnessed how a group of Slytherins acted brutally and unfairly against a single student," Luna finally said and hoped McGonagall wouldn't ask further.

But of course she did. "Who was this student?" McGonagall asked promptly.

"I'm really sorry, Professor, but I can't tell you this, either," Luna said, starting to feel desperate. "Because I'm afraid it would endanger him."

"You know that you may not attack your fellow students," McGonagall said seriously. "Of course this is true for them, as well, and I will have to find proof in this case. But it doesn't mean you have to imitate their behaviour, especially when you know that it is against Hogwarts' rules.

"No matter the situation, you behaved wrongly. You will have to be punished for it; I hope you realize that."

"Of course," Luna mumbled. Then she looked her professor directly in the eye, trying to make her believe. "But you don't understand the situation. This student is constantly hurt and insulted by the Slytherins; I just had to help him, or it never would've stopped. Maybe I didn't use the right means, but what should I do in your opinion? Stand by and watch him suffer? Do you think it would be the better way?"

"Of course not," McGonagall replied. "I can see your dilemma, Miss Lovegood, and I also think it is good that you care so much about others and are so willing to help them, but I tell you again: what you did was not right."

"Arguments don't help against prejudices," Luna said quietly. "And if people are fixed on torturing somebody, arguments will help even less." She felt a prickle of tears behind her eyes as memories welled up in her mind, but she quickly blinked them away.

Her teacher was silent for a moment, seeming to think. "All right," she eventually said, hesitantly. "I can see that there is a personal problem behind this, and I'll give you a chance. You go now and think about everything. Tomorrow after classes you'll come to me again and we'll have this talk again and pretend this first one didn't happen. If you can give me evidence for your claims then, I'll see what I can do for you. If you don't tell me what's going on, I have no choice but to give you detention."

She picked up her quill and pulled the next roll of parchment towards her. "Good day, Miss Lovegood," she said. As she looked up, a small smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Luna's spirits rose. McGonagall believed her! McGonagall knew she wasn't the kind of person to actually do the things Elinor and Maddy had accused her of. Everything would be good, after all.

"Good day, Professor," she replied and went to the door.

*

After this talk, Luna couldn't go back to her dormitory immediately. She needed to think about everything carefully and then make the right decision. She went out into the icy cold, walking towards the lake. There, she had found a certain rock next to a small group of trees that was very comfortable to sit on. Often when she received her new Quibbler, she would go there to read it in silence without distractions.
Slowly, she walked along a path that thousands of feet had trampled into the grass. There were wild rosebushes next to the path, but Luna didn't even look at their untamed beauty today. Not even the singing of a nearby siskin could penetrate her thoughts.

When she reached her goal, she sat down on the stone and used some twigs to magically light a fire to warm her hands. Then she rested her head against the stone, leaned back and stared up at the clear blue sky.

She wasn't so sure now whether her earlier optimism had been justified. Even if McGonagall believed her, she couldn't tell her about Neville's problems.

But what should she do? It was impossible to tell McGonagall about her problems with Elinor and Madeleine. The very idea was laughable. It had been hard enough for her to open up slightly to Ginny. How could she tell a teacher about what was going on? Even though McGonagall wasn't Snape, it still would be embarrassing enough to tell her about her personal life.

On the other hand, there was detention waiting for her if she didn't tell McGonagall everything. What could it be? Luna had never had detention before, and therefore had no idea what she should expect. Did they make you write lines? Or did it change - were there different stages of detention, depending on what you did? If so, Luna was sure she'd get a horrible detention. After all, she had attacked the Slytherins. That surely was worse than playing a prank on another student. But maybe detention was worth it. If only she knew what to expect! But did it matter?

Luna thought for a moment. No, it doesn't, she concluded. She could take detention, it probably wouldn't hurt. At least she hoped so. But what was much worse was that McGonagall had lost her trust in Luna.

After she'd had the idea about the Exchanges, Luna had felt how the professor had been warmer towards her than she had been before. She knew the older woman had approved of her and had seen her almost as an equal, because they shared an opinion about the rivalry and the Houses and the unity that should be there but wasn't.

Today, however, the professor had been as cold as she'd ever been. Had Madeleine and Elinor destroyed everything? That almost hurt Luna more than the fact that the two had told McGonagall lies in the first place. She would have been able to deal with a lie. But knowing that McGonagall didn't believe her and thought her guilty hurt a lot - especially because it wasn't true.

Other students believed lots of things about her that weren't true; she was used to that. But Luna had never before felt that a teacher had thought so highly of her as McGonagall had done in the last days. Luna had never known there was something she needed like that: approval and respect from an adult.

Luna had always told herself that she didn't need anyone's approval, that she could very well manage without it. Now, however, she'd felt how McGonagall had seen something in her that was much better than anything Luna had ever seen in herself. It had made her proud, in a way, and she was sure that without the knowledge that McGonagall thought highly of her, she probably never would've thought about the mixed tables, either, because she wouldn't have had that encouragement. She had in a way tried to prove to McGonagall that she was worth her trust.

Well, that seemed to be over now. Now, knowing what she'd lost, Luna felt an emptiness inside her that made her feel small and weak.

She sighed deeply and inhaled the cold, clear air, trying to clear her head. She needed to get her mind off these things, or she'd become all depressed. She noticed how the small clouds above her constantly changed their form. A horse one moment, a table the next. And now the little one on the left almost looked like a Hooded Hunklepink. A small smile appeared on Luna's lips as a long-forgotten memory came back to her.

During the summer holidays between her first and second year, her father had taken her on a trip to the Welsh woods, where her mother's ancestors came from. There, they'd searched for the Hooded Hunklepinks, but had only fleetingly seen one. Still, it had been a wonderful trip because they had visited a great-auntie of her Mum's who had made a wonderful apple pie for them and had told them both stories from her youth in her strongly accented English. What had been even better, though, was that she'd told them about Luna's mum as a small girl. Luna treasured these memories in her heart. They always helped her a lot when she was feeling sad.

Suddenly, Luna heard footsteps crunching on the pebbles around the lake's shore. Luna looked up and saw Harry walking towards her, but he didn't see her. His head was lowered and he walked with his hands deep in the pockets of his cloak. From time to time, he kicked the small stones and watched them bounce away with a dark look on his face. Luna waited until he was close to her, then she concentrated all her thinking on him - and indeed, he looked up as if he had felt it.

When he saw her, his face brightened a little. "Hey, Luna," he said.

"Hello, Harry," she replied and patted the stone next to her. "Want to sit with me for a moment?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

After a moment's hesitation, he said "Sure," and sat down next to her, dangling his feet.

For a few minutes, there was silence between them, but it didn't feel uncomfortable. "How do you feel?" Luna eventually asked.

Harry gave her a long look before answering. "Better," he said. "But it's still horrible."

"Yes," Luna agreed contemplatively. "I know."

Again, they were silent. This time, it was Harry who broke the silence. "I dream about it," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. "Almost every night. You know, I've had nightmares almost every night this past year. About Voldemort. But the dreams about Sirius -" he broke off, took a deep breath, then continued. "They're worse, in a way, y'know. Because they're so... emotional."

"You loved your godfather," Luna said.

"Yes," Harry said, sounding slightly surprised. "Yes, I reckon I do. Did. No, I still do. It's weird, in a way," he said, turning towards Luna. "I never really thought about that. I suppose I love a lot of people. In many different ways." He turned away again, staring off into nothing, his eyes focused on the surface of the lake.

"It's hard, isn't it? Telling people that you love them," Luna said. She thought of her Daddy. She couldn't remember a single time when he had told her that he loved her. At least not in person. In letters, he was always very generous with declarations of love. Luna sighed slightly.

"How're you doing in Slytherin?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Oh," Luna said. "Well... I reckon it's quite all right."

"Really?" Harry looked at her sceptically, but Luna didn't want to talk about her feelings now.

"What about Neville?" he asked. "I've tried talking to him, but he's never wanted to talk about it."

"If he doesn't want to talk about it, do you think I should tell you?" Luna asked back.

"I guess not," Harry admitted. "I just - I don't know. Something's bothering him, I think. And it's weird without him in the dormitory. I guess he's the kind of person where you only notice something important's missing when he's not there anymore."

"Hmmm." Luna thought for a moment. "What are you going to do about Sirius Black?" she asked.

Harry laughed bitterly. "What can I do?" he asked. "He's gone. And it's my fault. But it's all over now, I can't change anything."

"I told you," Luna said. "They're not gone. They're just beyond the veil."

"Yeah," Harry said. "I know. But somehow... dunno. I'd love to believe it, but I just can't. Sometimes, I wish I could. Sometimes I almost can believe it. But then -"

Luna wondered briefly about how Harry opened up to her so readily and spilled out his feelings. She'd thought him to be more hesitant in that aspect. Then she thought back to the talk they'd had at the end of the last school year. Maybe he felt she could understand him because she knew what it was like to lose a parent.

"Just wait, Harry," she then said, trying to put as much confidence into her voice as she could. "You have to wait. Maybe nothing will happen this year, maybe not next, maybe not even in the next five years. I've been waiting for six years and I haven't given up hope. Things haven't yet become any better - at least not as I had expected them to - but still, I know that life will turn out to be wonderful again one day. I never gave up hope and still don't, no matter what happens.

"I know that what works for me doesn't necessarily have to work for you, but you could try it."

She paused a moment, thinking. Then she continued, "I reckon there's always something, or somebody, we can rely on when everything else fails us. You mustn't give up hope, Harry. What's happened is gone, and you can't change it now. Even if you made a mistake, it's no good still thinking about it now. You can't change it anymore.

"You can't go back and make a brand new beginning - but you can start anew from here and make a brand new ending. I think that's fair enough. Don't look back too much, or it'll destroy you eventually." Quietly, she added, "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

After another small pause, she added, "You know, Harry, you're the perfect example for not giving up hope. After everything that's happened to you, you're still alive, and you can still hope. That's more than some people who experienced less than you can say about their lives. Do a Harry and fight back against the hopelessness." She looked over to him with a small smile, hoping she'd at least made him think.

For some minutes, they both sat in comfortable silence, each lost in thought.

Luna stared at the tree next to her without really seeing anything. A sudden movement startled her out of her reverie. Something was in there in the tree, and it was moving around! What was it?

When she recognised it, her mouth fell open. She'd never seen one of them, but she knew they were extremely rare. All dark thoughts were immediately forgotten. "Look, Harry!" she exclaimed and hopped to her feet. "There's a bright-nosed Sparklefagg in that tree!"

On a branch directly next to her head, there was a small bird-like creature with a bright white button nose. Luna watched in awe as it licked its ears with its long, bluish tongue. Harry mumbled something behind her that sounded quite confused. He was still sitting on the rock, obviously not sure if he should stand up.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Luna asked quietly as she eventually felt Harry standing next to her. He carefully extended a hand and then lightly touched the creature's head. When its feathers moved, sparkles in different colours flew off into the night.

"You're right," he whispered and Luna wasn't sure they were talking about the same thing. Probably Harry didn't only mean the creature, but also what she'd said earlier.

"Did you know that these Sparklefaggs are said to fulfil you your greatest wish if you manage to kiss their head?" she asked.

As Harry didn't answer, she looked over to him and saw that he was staring at the bird, oblivious to his surroundings.

"Good night, Harry," Luna said, but he didn't react.

Smiling slightly, she turned to walk away. About a minute later, a wonderful cry flew off into the night and Luna knew that it had been the bright-nosed Sparklefagg. Harry had managed to kiss it.

*

The next day started with double Potions, followed by double History of Magic and Ancient Runes. At the end of the day, Luna felt more than exhausted and yet, the worst task of the day was still to come.

Fifteen minutes after Ancient Runes had ended, she knocked on Professor McGonagall's door. Her professor opened and beckoned her to come in. "Have some tea, Miss Lovegood," she said wearily, looking as exhausted as Luna felt.

"Oh, Earl Grey," Luna said as she tasted it. "It's my favourite."

"Really?" McGonagall smiled thinly. "Mine, too." For a moment, they both sat in silence and enjoyed their tea. Then McGonagall sighed and said, "There's no use pretending. Miss Lovegood, we both know why you are here."

"You wanted to talk to me," Luna said quietly.

"Exactly, Miss Lovegood. And the reason for that is that I heard Miss Barefoot's report on the Exchanges. As you probably know, she is the Prefect responsible for all Exchanges in her House."

"Yeah, I know," Luna said. "Professor, I - I've made a decision. As much as I hate it, I just can't tell you what has been going on. I know I can't accuse myself of anything, I know I have every reason to have a clear conscience. That's enough for me. What will my detention be?"

McGonagall raised her eyebrows at Luna and considered her reply for a moment. Then she said, "Have you heard... news about Mister Longbottom recently?"

Luna wondered whether McGonagall had guessed that the student tortured by the Slytherins was Neville. Otherwise, her asking that question would be pretty weird. McGonagall probably knew about his father's death, seeing as she was his Head of House. But how did she know Luna knew about it? Or was she just taking guesses?

"Yes," Luna said shortly. "I don't want to talk about it. I know he wouldn't want me to."

McGonagall nodded, understanding. "You would have made a good Gryffindor with your bravery and sense of honour. And you would be a terrific Hufflepuff with the way you're standing up for your friends. I'll contact you about your detention." She smiled and winked slightly. It was like she was telling Luna that she knew what was going on but couldn't do anything about it. "Good day, Miss Lovegood."

"Good day, Professor." With a nod of her head, Luna went out of the door. Now that she knew for sure that McGonagall was on her side, she didn't fear detention anymore. What could there be that was worse than being in Ravenclaw with girls who hated her, and then being in Slytherin with girls plotting against her?

Although Luna knew it was irrational, her future seemed a lot brighter now.

* "Hey!" Fulke exclaimed. "What was that?" They were sitting in the Common Room, crowded around the fire.

Luna lifted her head. "What was what?" she asked, looking at the coin in her hand.

"This was really weird," Fulke said. "You and Zack and Neville all reached in your pockets at exactly the same time and pulled out a Galleon."

"I'm sure it was a coincidence," Zacharias said without looking up. He and a Slytherin girl were playing Wizarding chess and he was obviously trying to concentrate.

"Zack, I may be many things, but I'm not stupid. This was no coincidence."

Neville, who was sitting close to the group on a rug near the fire, looked up and smiled slightly. "Why don't you just tell the poor boy?" he asked before returning to his book.

"Well, why don't you tell him, if you're so eager?" Zacharias snapped back.

"Because he's your friend," said Neville. "But anyway. Fulke, listen. Last year, we founded a sort of club because we thought what Umbridge taught us wasn't enough, especially not with - with Vol- You-Know-Who out there and more active than ever. We called ourselves 'Dumbledore's Army' and met regularly to practice spells and everything. It was quite fun, and it helped a lot. We even did Patroni at one point."

Fulke's eyes grew huge. "No way," he said in awe. "A Patronus is really hard to produce!"

"Well, we managed," interjected Luna with a proud smile. "It was amazing."

"And what does that all have to do with the Galleons?" Fulke asked.

"It's our sign," Luna explained. "It glows when a new date and time for a meeting are set. That way we know when to meet again."

"When?" Fulke asked curiously, trying to get a look at Luna's coin.

"Tomorrow evening," she said. "At half past seven."

"May I come, too?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

Luna glanced at Neville, who shrugged. "Why not?" she said. "What do you think, Zacharias?"

"Hmmm." He moved his knight on the chessboard. "D'you wanna come, too?" he then asked the girl he was playing with.

"I'd love to," she said and her light brown eyes sparkled. "Check," she added and Zacharias groaned loudly.

"Who're you, anyway?" Neville asked from his place on the floor. "Don't think I've ever met you before."

"Mona Scrope," she said and smiled. The name stirred something in Luna's mind, but she didn't quite know where to place it.

Mona and Zacharias set up another game and Fulke watched them. Luna glided down from her armchair to the rug by the fire. She was a bit worried that her hair could catch fire and therefore slid slightly closer to Neville. "How are you?" she asked him seriously.

"Quite fine," he replied without looking up.

Luna sighed. "You don't have to lie to me, Neville," she said. "I know what happened, remember?"

"It's horrible," he said quietly.

Luna nodded, understanding. "Your father?"

He looked away. "Listen, I... don't want to talk about it."

"Sure," said Luna immediately. "But if you need somebody to listen to you... I'll be there for you. Whenever you need me. I know what you must be going through, and I want to help you."

"Thanks," Neville said shortly. After a short pause, he turned his head slightly and glanced at her. "I mean it," he added. "Thank you."

Luna smiled. It felt good to hear these words. "Are the others still bullying you that bad?" she then asked, pointing with her thumb vaguely over her shoulder, implying all the Slytherins who had been teasing him.

Neville took a sip from a bottle of Butterbeer he had standing next to him. He seemed to hesitate, unsure if he should answer. "Worse," he eventually said and looked at the book in front of him.

"I really can't believe this," Luna said and shook her head. "It's so unfair of them. And not justified, most of all. Did they try to force you to say that you're a squib, again?"

"Oh, that," he said with a bitter laugh. "They try that every day, I'm getting used to it. It's dull by now. It seems they really like that, although they should know by now I'll never say it. My parents both were Aurors, you know," he said and looked up at her with pride in his eyes. "Gran says they were some of the best, until - well."

"Until what?" Luna asked, curiously.

"You know it," Neville said. "Bellatrix Lestrange." He almost spat the name out.

Then sadness darkened his eyes and he looked down at the floor. "It's weird, I know, but I miss my father. I know I've never been able to talk to him, but there always was that miniature bit of hope that one day, maybe he'd recover and at least recognize me. Can you imagine how wonderful that would be? It would be - I don't know the words to describe the feeling." He stopped and swallowed another bit of Butterbeer, then carefully put his bottle back down.

"And the bullying?" Luna carefully asked further.

For some inexplicable reason, Neville blushed. Luna wondered why and hoped that he didn't think that it was his fault somehow, because that was just nonsense.

Then, however, he put on a cool expression and tried hard to look uninterested. "The usual," he said, shrugging nonchalantly like he was talking about the weather. "Hexes and stuff. Nothing I couldn't take."

Neville might try to fool himself with that answer, but Luna didn't believe one word of what he was saying. Whatever the Slytherins were doing to him, he wouldn't just shrug it off like that. Maybe it was easier for him that way, to pretend it didn't matter to him, so Luna decided not to press the matter any further. One thing, however, she didn't understand.

"But why don't you defend yourself?" she asked him, trying to keep her voice down. The others didn't have to hear about this. "You're in the DA! And last year, you were with us in the Ministry and fought the Death Eaters - more successfully than even Hermione or Ronald! You can defend yourself, why don't you do it?"

"I tried, in the beginning," he replied and sounded so hopeless that Luna felt really sorry for him. "But it only got worse after that. I try to keep my dignity, if that's possible, and otherwise try to ignore them. At least Zacharias and Fulke are okay. They don't know what's going on, though. Fulke seems to be some sort of outcast in his dormitory. And I want to keep them out of it, too." He sighed deeply. "They're all against me. Malfoy must have told them before he went. I'll be so glad when this term is finally over."

He turned around and stared gloomily into the fire. Luna was silent as well. Poor Neville, she thought. If only she could make him think of something different and ease his mind a little. But how?

"Want to play a round of Exploding Snap?" she asked, but he just shook his head.

"Want to have some sweets? I got a new package yesterday." Again, he shook his head.

"Or do you want to go outside?" Luna started a last try. "You know, I discovered there are Bright-nosed Sparklefaggs on the Hogwarts grounds. They can fulfil you your greatest wish if you kiss its head. Harry kissed it," she added.

"Thanks, Luna," Neville said quietly. "Don't think I don't appreciate your efforts, because I do. I'm just not in the mood for it right now." He got to his feet, pressed Luna's shoulder for a moment and then went away.

"I wonder what's bothering him," Fulke said as soon as Neville had gone out of the room. He threw Luna a pointed look.

"It's quite personal," she replied. "I don't think he'd want me to tell you. And your fellow Slytherins make his life here hell." And mine as well, she added inwardly.

Fulke's face fell. "Gosh, that's so unfair. But I can imagine these dunderheads doing things like that. I bet Malfoy stirred them up." He leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. "There's nobody here in Slytherin who's not afraid of him - no matter what they say. In a way, we're all under his thumb, some more, some less. Nobody dares say anything against him.

"Now that he's gone, it's interesting to see how everybody reacts. Most of us just stay indifferent; some, like Mona and me, dare open up slightly, and some become even worse than they were before. Like those who gang up on Neville. I don't know why they do it or why they're so extreme about it. Maybe they want to prove to Malfoy that they can be just as cruel - or even worse - with him not there." He shook his head. "Stupid, isn't it?"

He sighed slightly. "You know, I knew that there's something going on... the atmosphere's so icy in our dormitory, it's very hard not to notice it. I - " He stopped and scratched his head. "I've wanted to help Neville, y'know, it's just..." He trailed off.

"You were scared?" Luna offered.

He nodded silently, looking ashamed. "I know I should've done something," he then burst out. "But I'm not a bloody Gryffindor, after all!"

"Don't worry," Luna said quietly. "It's only natural to try and save oneself. No one's blaming you for that, least of all Neville. He knows what would be waiting for you, after all." After a small pause she added pensively, "I think it's very important that people like you come and join us in the DA. Isn't it peculiar that a whole House trembles just because of one single person? Somebody has to finally do something about that."

She smiled at Mona, who had just won yet another game against Zacharias and was grinning smugly. "You're both invited warmly."

"I'll be glad to come," Mona said. "Will there be any other Slytherins?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so," replied Luna. "Until now, none of us ever had a chance to talk to any of you. I thought of maybe asking Miranda to come, but I'm not sure about it."

"Miranda Pucey?" Mona asked. "She's a Prefect, I'm sure she'd be a good choice to invite. She's very responsible, you know. I know her quite well, and I'm sure she'd be helpful." A small smile flashed across her face and she added, "Maybe you could make Miranda ask Nuncio, too. He's..." She trailed off, but the gleam in her eyes told Luna everything.

"I'll ask her," Luna said. "Promise."

Mona's face lit up. "He's cute," she said. "And his shaved head makes him so... sexy."

Zacharias and Fulke burst out laughing, but Luna could understand her. The shining head did have some sort of special appeal. And now Luna also remembered where she knew Mona's name from - the boys had been talking about her when Luna had first met them.

"Well, I have to go," Luna then said and got up. "It's getting late, and I'm tired. Good night, you all."

She walked along the corridor towards her dormitory, when loud voices echoing from farther down the passage made her stop.

"What's up with you?" she heard Miranda's voice, sounding curious and slightly exasperated.

"What's up with me?" Rebecca replied, her voice shrill. "Well, I can tell you that. Didn't you notice how everything's changed in these past weeks? How everything we thought of as normal has turned upside down? Didn't you notice the change in Madeleine?"

"What're you trying to say?" asked Miranda, cautiously.

"Can't you see?" exclaimed Rebecca. "When did it all start changing? It was the evening Luna arrived! Suddenly everything was revolving around her! Madeleine didn't come and talk to me that evening, as she's done every single evening for years! Instead, she was around Luna all the time. She even went to bed when Luna did - at a ridiculously early time! I didn't go to bed that early when I was nine years old!"

"But none of this is Luna's fault," Miranda said calmly. "You talk yourself into believing something that's not true."

"Oh, what do you know about it all," Rebecca said bitterly. "She wrapped you around her finger, too. You, the Prefect, who should've known better. Seems Dumbledore made the wrong decision when he chose the Prefect. I would've acted differently, I wouldn't have Luna infect everything that easily!"

"I see... Rebecca, is it possible that this isn't about Luna, at all? This is because you can't stand not being the centre of attention anymore."

"No!" shrieked Rebecca. "You're just bitter because they all listen to me, although you're the Prefect!"

"I was," Miranda admitted readily. "But I'm over it by now. And even if I wasn't, this is not the point of this discussion. Fact is, you're trying to blame Luna for something she didn't do."

"Didn't you listen to what Madeleine's been telling us?" Rebecca asked her, her voice rising steadily. Luna, who stood stock-still in the darkness of the corridor, wondered where her dorm-mate's composedness, that she had so admired when she first met Rebecca, had vanished to.

"Of course I heard what she said. And I didn't believe a word, simply because I trust my knowledge of human nature. Luna's never struck me as the kind of person who'd steal things, or threaten Madeleine if she didn't do the homework for Luna. And did she ever threaten you in the time she's been here?"

"No, but -"

"Luna is a rather quiet girl who's not easy to come close to. I'm sure there's more behind it than is obvious at first glance. But she's not the kind of person to actually do the things Madeleine's accusing her of. And I don't trust this Elinor at all. I can only take guesses as to how she became Prefect. She never struck me as somebody I'd want to be friends with. In fact, I don't think anybody would want to be friends with her."

Rebecca was silent for a moment. "Well, I've never particularly liked Elinor, either," she admitted. "Still, I do believe that Luna's destroyed the good atmosphere we'd had in our dormitory until then."

Then, clacking sounds became audible. One of them had started walking. Suddenly, Rebecca stepped around the corner behind which Luna was standing. It was too late to hide, so Luna just stood there, trying to be as invisible as possible.
Of course, Rebecca discovered her nonetheless. For a moment, she stopped and stared at her, eyes wide open. "What - did you hear?" she then asked.

"Enough," Luna said, looking at her sadly. "If you think I intrude in your dormitory, then why don't you tell me? I sensed that there was something wrong with you. Why didn't you talk to me? Maybe we could've solved the problem together. It's sad to discover what you think of me this way - by accidentally hearing you talking behind my back."

Rebecca didn't reply. She hesitated, looking at Luna, then she walked away without replying.

Luna walked round the corner to see Miranda waiting for her with a guilty expression on her face. "Hey," she said quietly, taking Luna's hand. "Sorry."

Luna nodded, smiling sadly. "I don't blame you. In fact, I want to thank you because you were trying to defend me. You didn't have to do that - you just risked your friendship with Rebecca."

Miranda laughed bitterly. "We never were friends. She was too ambitious to ever become real friends with anyone. And I guess I've always been a bit jealous of her, too. There's nothing destroyed besides a sort of armistice. It's about time to take sides now, after being indifferent for so long."

"No, don't!" Luna immediately protested. "I just talked to Fulke Litcott, and he told me how everybody in Slytherin is under Malfoy's thumb. It would be too dangerous for you to take sides so clearly now. He's gone for only one term."

"And that from you?" Miranda looked at her, surprised. "But you were the one to initiate the mixed tables!"

Luna's mouth fell open. "But how do you -"

Miranda waved dismissively. "I know what I know," she said. "But I've been quiet for long enough. It's time to make a clear decision, and then act accordingly."

"If you really mean this, then you're very brave," Luna said admiringly. "But it's good that you think so, because I wanted to ask you something anyway." And she told Miranda about the DA.

"Wow, that sounds really cool," Miranda said when Luna finished. "I'd love to come. And Mona asked for Nuncio?" She grinned. "I knew it. They'd make such a cute couple. I'll ask him," she added. "But I can't promise anything. Alan and Lerato, you know. Pure blood and everything. I hope he has the guts to come to this meeting in spite of them."

"It would be great," Luna agreed. "But of course, if he doesn't want to take the risk, I can't blame him."

"I'm really looking forward to this DA-thing," Miranda said. "I'm sure it's informa -" A huge yawn escaped her and she immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, red creeping across her cheeks. "Sorry," she said, giggling guiltily. "I think I should go to bed, I'm really exhausted. You coming?"

Luna nodded silently, her mind occupied with this sudden change in Miranda. It made her happy to see that her struggles for House unity weren't completely useless. If only everybody would make such a clear decision.

When Luna thought back on the past few days, she had seen a lot of things - like Hufflepuffs who were acting like Slytherins or a Slytherin who was as brave as a Gryffindor.

Actually, Luna thought, we're not really all that different. There's probably a bit of every House in every single one of us. That thought somehow comforted her and as she lay in her bed, she stared at the ceiling of the room and sighed contently. This evening was the first one since she'd arrived in Slytherin that she fell asleep with a good feeling inside her.