Luna's year

Harry was stuffed. He'd already eaten several helpings of Madam Pomfrey's medicinal chocolate along with several helpings of Ginny's Honeydukes treats that evening when Luna arrived bearing a batch of her chocolate Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. He'd taken one out of politeness, being quite full by then, but he was quickly taken aback after sampling its exquisite taste, quickly helping himself to seconds and more.

Now he felt totally gorged. He lay back against the headrest and gazed around the infirmary; Ron was sprawled out on a chair near the foot of his bed, head tilted back and sound asleep, though that hadn't stopped Ginny from painting dark circles around his eyes with some softened chocolate, nor Neville from tying his shoelaces together.

Luna, meanwhile, was showing Hermione how to make origami figurines with sheets from The Quibbler.

Madam Pomfrey had no trouble bringing Ron back to health, though it had been a trickier matter with Harry, hit as he was by a partly blocked killing curse. She'd told him earlier that she would keep him under observation overnight, though she fully expected him to be fully recovered by next morning.

Harry put his arms back behind his head and lay back on his pillow, staring up at the vaulted ceiling. His feelings of rage and helplessness had begun to subside, the presence of his friends having had a positive effect, especially that of Luna's.

He looked over at her, the same strange feeling he'd felt in the forest that day lingering still. She'd manage to partly deflect the Killing Curse from Harry, though doing so had left her completely unprotected. As it turned out, she had guessed the intended target correctly, but still...he was struck at how very close he'd come to losing someone who he'd come to consider a friend.

He smiled at the sight of her and Hermione getting along so well; there was a time not so long ago when all they'd seemed to do was argue. Indeed, it was the only time that Harry ever saw Luna agitated, especially when her father's magazine or her beliefs were criticized. While he seriously doubted Hermione would ever come to share Luna's viewpoints on such things as the Snorkack, she'd shown herself more open-minded to Luna as a person, at least.

He was becoming acutely aware that slumber was beckoning him urgently. The effects of the day's encounter had drained him. He tried to stifle a yawn but only partly succeeded, quickly putting his hand in front of his mouth.

Hermione had taken notice. "Oh, it is getting late, look," she said, glancing at the clock on the far. It was already well past nine. She stood up from her chair.

"No, it's okay," said Harry. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Harry, you need your sleep. I really hadn't noticed the time go by, honestly." She and Luna began putting away their things, while Ginny and Neville quickly moved away from Ron. "I'll come by tomorrow morning before Madam Pomfrey lets you out, okay?"

Truth be told, he couldn't wait to fall asleep and hopefully put the day's events behind him. "Okay," he smiled weakly.

Luna put the remaining cranberry-stained pages of The Quibbler back in order and put it on Harry's nightstand. "Here you go," she said dreamily, "I'm done with it, if you should feel like reading. There's an excellent article on the Snivelling Gibberall this month, actually."

He smiled at her. "Thanks," he said. He seriously doubted he would wake up in the middle of the night and want to read about Gibberalls, whatever they were, but he appreciated the thought nonetheless.

Hermione went to wake up Ron at the foot of the bed and drew back at the sight of him.

"Oh no," she said, putting a hand over her mouth upon sighting the chocolate rings around his eyes. She looked at Ginny, who was trying desperately to keep herself from giggling out loud. "Oh, Ginny, that's awful," she said, although her voice was nevertheless betraying her obvious amusement.

Luna walked past and looked down at Ron. She stopped for a moment and stared at his face...

Then like a thunderbolt she burst out laughing, pointing at his painted face, jolting Ron jolting by the sound of her laughter.

Ron was looking quickly in every direction. "Wha - ? Eh? What?"

His eyes quickly focused on Luna, who was now doubling over with mirth. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and frowned at her. "What's she laughing at?" he asked, though with everyone concentrating so hard at keeping a straight face he received no reply. "Well c'mon!" he said, looking around. "What's so funny?"

Luna put a hand on Harry's bed to keep from falling over, the sound of her laughter drawing Madam Pomfrey from her desk at the far end of the infirmary.

Seeing Luna pointing at him, Ron quickly ran his hand through his hair, feeling nothing out of the ordinary. He glared at Luna, who was having trouble keeping her balance even with Harry's bed for support. "Something's wrong with her," he said to Hermione while rolling his eyes.

Hermione nodded sagely, but Ron obviously detected something in her expression as he did a suspicious double take.

"Well, it's past curfew Ron," she said, trying her best to sound serious. "We're going to let Harry get some sleep. Why don't you escort Ginny and Neville, I'll take Luna back to Ravenclaw tower, so she doesn't get into trouble with Filch."

Ron took another irritated look at Luna before rising from his chair. "Right," he said, looking at Harry. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, mate."

He took one step towards the door and immediately fell over Neville's chair and crashed, slow motion style, making a desperate but vain attempt to grab onto the bed. At that, Luna's laughter became breathless, her silver eyes swimming in tears, her arms clutching her sides as she very nearly dropped to her knees in mirth.

Ron rolled over into a sitting position and furiously untied his laces. Getting to his feet just as Madam Pomfrey arrived, he glared at his friends, who could no longer contain themselves, laughing out loud with Luna. "Wasn't funny!" he declared angrily before turning and heading towards the door.

"C'mon, you two," he barked, holding the door open as Ginny and Neville scampered, giggling, after him.

"Miss Lovegood!" said Madam Pomfrey, her face severe. "Please try to control - oh for heaven's sake, she's not even listening to me." She turned to Hermione, "Can't you quieten her down, Miss Granger?"

Hermione grabbed a hold of Luna's arm and pulled her towards the door, which was made doubly difficult by the fact that Luna was still in hysterics and gasping for air, her legs wobbly as she staggered valiantly along. Harry could hear Hermione giggling all the way, the two of them looking for all the world like two drunks staggering home after having had one too many rum and ales.

"Hmph, really," grumped Madam Pomfrey as she watched the door close behind them. She turned to Harry. "It's time you got some rest, Mr. Potter," she said, taking the chairs back and putting them along the wall before returning to her desk.

He couldn't argue there, though he was still chuckling at the mental image of Luna's fit of hysterics. For someone so serene, she certainly had an explosive sense of humour. Harry took off his glasses and put them next to The Quibbler on his nightstand. He stared at the blurred ceiling for a few moments, before reaching over to turn off the light, when suddenly he felt his hand hit something moving.

"Gah!" he said, jerking his hand back. He squinted at the figure peering over the side of his bed. "Dobby?" he asked, reaching over the elf for his glasses.

"Dobby heard that Harry Potter was attacked this morning, sir," the little elf said, his huge tennis ball eyes staring up at Harry, who was fumbling to put his glasses back on. "Dobby had to come to make sure Harry Potter was all right."

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dobby," said Harry, glancing over at Madam Pomfrey. "Keep your voice down though, visiting hours are over."

"Oh, yes," Dobby whispered, moving closer. "It was a terrible thing that happened in the forest, sir, terrible indeed."

"Yeah it was," agreed Harry. A thought came to him. "Listen Dobby," he began, looking over again to make sure Madam Pomfrey wasn't detecting their conversation. "You elves clean the castle at night, don't you?"

"Oh yes, Harry Potter, we clean when everyone is asleep," said Dobby proudly. "It is the mark of a good House Elf who can clean up without being noticed."

"Right," said Harry, his idea taking shape. "Can you do me a favour Dobby?"

"Of course, Harry Potter!" the little elf beamed. "An honour it would be!"

"Okay," whispered Harry, "I know you clean our tower, but can you ask the other elves, the ones who clean the Ravenclaw tower? I need them to look for a necklace made up of butterbeer caps, it got stolen from a friend of mine and I'd really like for her to get it back."

"Butterbeer cap necklace," repeated Dobby, rubbing his chin with his hand. "Dobby thinks he's seen it, Harry Potter!"

"Really?" asked Harry, daring to hope. "Think you can get it back?"

"Oh, yes," Dobby nodded. "Normally we dot not take things, but if Harry Potter says the necklace has been stolen, then Dobby believes him." His eyes widened suddenly. "Dobby remembers where!"

He snapped his fingers and in a moment dissipated into thin air.

"Dobby!" whispered Harry, not knowing if the little elf could still hear him. "Don't get caught!"

He waited for an answer, though none came. Well, he thought, I'm sure he knows what he's doing.

He removed his glasses once more. Reaching over and shutting off the light, he lay back on his bed, trying to clear his mind. But several thoughts were stubbornly refusing to be cast aside so easily.

* * *

Harry awoke slowly, becoming faintly aware of the morning's waning hours from the bright glow through his eyelids. Opening one eye, he spied beams of sunlight streaming through the infirmary's windows, illuminating tiny particles of dust floating in the air like so many dancing fairies. He opened the other eye and squinted, waiting to become used to the late morning brightness.

"Harry?"

He turned his head and saw Hermione's blurry outline, sitting on a chair at his bedside. She leaned over, handing him his glasses.

"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked.

Harry stretched his arms over his head. "Okay, I guess," he said. He thought back to the night before. "Hey, how's Ron?"

"Oh, he's fine now," answered Hermione, smiling slightly. "He knew something was up when he got to the Common Room and everyone there started to laugh. He figured it was Ginny."

Harry sat up and piled up his pillows behind his back, when his hand came into contact with a strange object. His fingers groped beneath the pillows, feeling a bunch of hard, loosely bound pieces. Pulling it out, he held it up in front of him for inspection. His spirits lifted; it was Luna's necklace.

Hermione stared at it, looking stunned. "Harry! How'd you get that? You didn't leave the Hospital Wing in the middle of the night, did you?"

"No, no," Harry assured her, "I asked Dobby to look for it last night, he must have brought it here while I was sleeping." He smiled at Hermione. "This is going to make someone really happy."

She smiled back at him, but Harry thought he saw a trace of sadness in her eyes.

"Hermione, you okay?"

She nodded. "Oh yes, I'm fine," she said, sighing. "Harry, I didn't want to tell you this yesterday, after everything that happened..."

"What is it?" asked Harry, curiosity and concern ebbing together.

Hermione looked at him. "It's just that...well...I was so wrong about Luna, Harry," she said sadly. "You know, I used to think she was just so, well, absurd, really, or loony, as Ron would say..."

"Well, I wouldn't fret about it too much," said Harry. "I mean, we all pretty much thought that way last year, at least at first, anyway. But you're getting along fine with her now, aren't you?"

"Well, yes," she conceded. "You know, when I was lying there yesterday, I could still hear everything going on...she did really well against Lestrange, Harry. She fought her to a standoff, really..."

Harry shifted his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "I've been thinking about that too," he said, the spell she'd cast upon him still vivid in his mind.

Hermione leaned closer. "Harry...it doesn't strike you as a little odd?"

"What?" he asked. "That spell? "

"No," said Hermione, shaking her head. "Although I have to admit I'd like to know more about that too...but actually, I was wondering how she seemed to know Lestrange was there, didn't you notice? Yet Dumbledore said she'd been hiding under a disillusionment charm, didn't he?"

Harry said nothing. Luna had told him about her ability to see things as they are, but he'd also promised her he wouldn't discuss the matter with others. He felt uncomfortable about having to keep a secret from Hermione, who he trusted implicitly, but a promise was a promise. He stood up and changed the subject.

"Listen," he said, "I'm going to ask Madam Pomfrey if I can get out of here. There's still half a weekend left and I don't want to spend it in - "

"Harry," pressed Hermione, "How could Luna see her?"

Harry held his breath. He was determined not to go back on his word, but the last thing he wanted now was for Hermione to get some idea in her head...

He looked at Hermione, who was gazing at him expectantly. If he didn't tell her, she might go off and ask Luna directly, or worse, what if she made mention of it to others? Well, he thought, better she finds out now...

He slowly sat back down. "Okay, look," he began, "You have to promise me not to tell anyone what I'm going to tell you, okay?"

Hermione nodded. "I promise, Harry," she said softly.

"Good," he said. "Because I told her I wouldn't tell anyone. But you were bound to find out anyway, the way you were going..."

He took a deep breath. "Okay," he said, "Remember that night I went down to try and help her sneak by Filch?"

Hermione nodded. "After she came back from the forest, I remember."

"Yeah, well, that wasn't all," he said. "She could see me through my cloak."

Hermione's brown eyes widened. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," he answered. "In fact, I think she didn't even knew I had the cloak on until she got really close; she almost blew my cover right in front of Filch."

Hermione looked lost in thought. "But...Harry...how?" she frowned.

"Well I'm not sure exactly," said Harry. "But I asked her about it yesterday. She told me that she can see things for what they are, and that her mother could, too...that's why she could see Lestrange."

Hermione sank back in her chair. "Wow." she said simply, stunned. "That's really odd, Harry."

"So now you know," he said. "You're not going to think she's weird or anything, are you?"

She looked at him with a shocked expression. "Harry," she said, in a hurtful voice, "I wouldn't think that...it's one thing to have that ability, quite another to believe in Snorkacks. Anyway, if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't even be here today."

Harry's expression softened. "Me either, actually," he said softly. "I've been thinking about that since last night."

He thought carefully. Should he tell Luna about Hermione's inquiry? He'd promised her he wouldn't tell anyone, but the thought of hiding anything from Luna wasn't appealing.

He looked down at her necklace. "Well," he said, "I'm going to go bring this back to her. It's the least I can do."

"Okay," said Hermione as he made his way to Madam Pomfrey's desk.

* * *

By now the whole school knew about their encounter with Lestrange. But as the morning wore on, Harry noted that for some reason everyone seemed under the impression that he'd been the one who'd fought her off, as though he'd been the only one involved.

If only, Harry thought to himself. He would've wanted nothing more than a chance to get back at Lestrange. Instead he'd been nearly killed, Ron had been stunned and Hermione paralysed, and Luna had been the one who'd finally driven her off. But no matter how hard he tried to set the record straight, everyone seemed to think he was joking. It was he who'd defeated the most feared Death Eater in Voldemort's camp, as far as they were concerned, and nothing he said seemed to dissuade them from their perceptions. The mere mention of Luna's name only brought laughs and comments of "Yeah, Right!" or "Good one, Harry!"

He'd wandered around the school looking for Luna, but there had been no sign of her anywhere. He was heading back to the Gryffindor tower to see if Ron was still there when he came across the notice board in the hall near the Fat Lady. A couple of Gryffindor second years were pointing at the board and talking excitedly. Harry glanced over as he walked by, stopping in his tracks at what his eyes had glimpsed.

There, on the board, was what appeared to be the cover of a newsletter, entitled 'The Hogwarts Express' in an elaborate Victorian font. Moving closer, he reread the headline to ensure his eyes hadn't deceived him:

HARRY POTTER SAVES HOGWARTS

DUELS DEATH EATER

"What?!" he exclaimed out loud, making the two girls in front of him jump.

"Hey, you're him!" one of them said gleefully.

His temper rose quickly, not bothering to acknowledge the girls. He reached over them and ripped the poster from the wall, quickly skimming through the article. No wonder everyone's thinking I did it, he thought. Why's Colin making all this up?

It was past eleven o'clock. Lunch would be served in the Great Hall shortly, but he wasn't in any mood now for chitchat. He decided instead to go for a walk outside, hoping it would take his mind off his frustration. He marched off in the direction of the main hall.

"Hey, we weren't finished reading that!" one of the girls protested loudly behind him as he stalked away, the article clenched angrily in his hand.

He was steaming, not even looking at the people he passed in the halls who were trying to congratulate him on his great 'victory'. I'm going to throttle Colin, he told himself.

He marched through the main hall and out into the courtyard, starting to cross the large sun-drenched enclosure when he spotted Luna sitting on the short stone wall beside one of the large sandstone pillars, seemingly engrossed in a book, her feet dangling playfully over the edge. His black mood immediately began to lift as he felt into his coat pocket for her butterbeer cap necklace.

"Hi Luna," he said, "Mind if I join you?"

She looked up, her familiar dreamy expression gazing back at him. "Oh, hello," she said as she shifted closer to the pillar to make room for him, although it was hardly necessary; there was plenty of room next to her for two people Harry's size.

He sat down next to her, Luna taking her wand out from behind her ear and marking her page with it before closing the book. She set the tome aside.

"How are you getting along?" she asked, her huge silver eyes striking at this distance, pale and vibrant under the intense sunshine. Though the sun was shining down right into them, Luna's eyes were wide open in their perpetually surprised state, and she showed no signs of squinting.

"Oh, I'm fine," answered Harry. "But how are you doing?"

She stared at him for a moment before replying. "I'm quite well," she said. "I've been reading a wonderful book called Magical Menagerie, actually. There's lots of very interesting tidbits about rare artifacts and magical creatures; I think I'll get Daddy a copy for his birthday." She tilted her head slightly to one side. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah," he said, looking around the nearly deserted courtyard. Apart from a couple of Hufflepuffs near the gate entrance, they were the only students outside. His gaze fell momentarily on a handful of sparrows pecking around in the grass. "Isn't it kind of cold to be reading outside?"

"Oh, I don't mind," she said conversationally. "It's nice when it's colder like this. It's quiet and I can get more reading done this way, actually."

Harry nodded. He reached into his coat pocket.

"Listen," he said, "I asked Dobby to keep an eye open for this, he brought it to me last night - " he held out the butterbeer cap necklace.

Luna stared at it, her even wider than usual, her mouth slightly open. For just a moment Harry thought he saw a look of wonder cross Luna's face. "My necklace," she said softly, delicately taking the piece in her hands.

"Uh-huh," said Harry, genuinely happy to see her bewildered expression. "I remembered you saying it was a present for your mum."

"It was," she nodded, staring oddly at the necklace in her hands as if scarcely believing it was there. "I'm...rather attached to it actually." She looked back at him. "Thank you, Harry."

"You're welcome," he said, pointing at the necklace. "Maybe you should hide that somewhere when you go to bed."

"Oh, I do," she said. "It's the only thing I do hide, actually. But they likely know all my hiding places by now."

Harry's temper flared up again. "Luna, why don't you tell Professor Flitwick about that? I'm sure he'd put a stop to all this..."

She stared at Harry for several moments. "Well, it doesn't do any harm, really," she said. "This is the only thing I'm really attached to."

She put the necklace around her neck. "Anyway," she said, "I'm sorry about yesterday."

Harry blinked. "Sorry? What on Earth for?"

"I wish I could have done better against that Lestrange lady yesterday," she said sadly. "I tried, but she was much too fast...I was quite lucky to disarm her really." Her pale eyes locked on Harry's. "I haven't forgotten about how you feel about her."

Harry had no doubt she hadn't. "Luna," he said at last, "You did great, don't think any different. Hermione told me if it wasn't for you, we probably wouldn't even be here..."

Luna was staring at him very intently. "Well, I'm rather glad I was, then."

A thought occurred to him. "I was wondering...are you like, immune to the Killing Curse?"

She tilted her head again in that pixieish expression of hers.

"No," she said, "I thought you were the only one immune to that..."

Harry shuddered. He still vividly remembered the day he'd lost that immunity, the same day Cedric had been killed, the day Voldemort had used Harry's own blood to return to corporeal form...

"You're upset about something," said Luna after several moments of silence.

He looked at her. "Yeah," he said finally, smoothing out Colin's poster he'd torn from the notice board before handing it to her. She held it up to her face, reading.

She lowered the parchment and looked at him. "Oh, come on," she said. "This is upsetting you?"

"Well, yeah!" said Harry. "It's not the way it happened! I don't know where Colin got his information from, but he's making me out to be some sort of hero, when you're the one that..."

Luna smiled at him, folding the crumpled paper neatly and handing it back to him. "It doesn't matter who did what, you know," she said sagely. "We all came back and that's what matters, really."

Harry sighed. He supposed he couldn't argue with that, but still...Luna obviously wasn't one to be burdened by ego, that much was certain.

"Luna, there's something else," said Harry, his stomach twisting. "I...had to tell Hermione about your being able to see...well, see through things. She was going to figure it out, and I didn't want her to think..."

"Oh, Hermione's fine," said Luna dreamily. "It's not really a secret, it's just that I find that it's better if people don't know."

He blinked. He'd expected some sort of reaction, but not this one. "You're...not mad?" he asked.

She stared at him; her typically surprised look even more prominent than usual. She remained silent, her pale silver eyes continuing their intense gaze as though frozen in time.

"Um...are you okay?" Harry said at last.

Luna finally blinked. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry," she said vaguely. Her pale eyes seemed distant, even nostalgic, as though recalling something from her past.

Harry suddenly felt the same intense sadness he'd experienced when she had first told him of her disappearing belongings the year before. Had Luna become so resigned to being ridiculed and mistreated that had become unaccustomed to being treated with common decency?

He couldn't think of anything to say, yet somehow he didn't feel at all uncomfortable just sitting quietly with her...he recalled the last time he'd been sitting quietly with a girl was his nerve-wracking and disastrous experience with Cho at Madame Puddifoot's the year before. But this was...well, nice, he thought.

His contemplations were interrupted by the distant sound of the school bell sounding the half hour.

"Oh, it's lunchtime," said Luna dreamily, sliding down gracefully from the stone wall. "Would you like to go grab a bite? I think I'll go get some pudding before it's all gone."

Harry smiled, as he slid off the short wall to join her. "Yeah, let's go," he said, his irritation of a short time before now noticeably absent.