Luna's year

Harry emerged into the main hallway, find it strangely bare now that the decorations had vanished overnight; even the large fir tree, which had graced the main entrance for the last few weeks, had disappeared; the house elves had obviously been busy.

He strolled along in rather high spirits, having just come off one of the most pleasant Christmas holidays in memory; he loved the Burrow, the house just radiated warmth, and the Weasleys were his family in spirit, if not in body. The highlight of his holidays had been Luna's sudden and poignant rendering of Silent Night, when they'd all gathered around the hearth on Christmas Eve after supper. Luna's dreamy voice had lent itself astonishingly well to singing in acapella, having moved Ginny and Mrs. Weasley to tears. Even Harry, not normally one to be emotionally stirred by song, had felt a lump in his throat. Though the words were unchanged from the traditional verses, there was something almost haunting about Luna's rendition, as though the song held a special significance to her...

And yet, despite all the merriment of the last few days, the discussion about Tonks was still troubling him; try as he might, he couldn't quite put it out of his mind.

He made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, noting it was mostly empty at this early hour, though Hermione was already busily reading the Daily Prophet at the Gryffindor table. Harry went down and filled his plate at the High Table and made his way back to take a seat opposite her.

"Morning," he said at the same instant realizing he'd forgotten to bring a pitcher of milk. He glanced into Hermione's; sure enough, it held its usual orange juice.

"Hi Harry," said Hermione, glancing up from her paper and smiling at him. "Sleep well?"

"Pretty well, I guess," he replied. "Can I borrow some of your orange juice?"

"Sure, Harry, help yourself," Hermione said. "You can keep it too, I don't want it back."

"Thanks," chuckled Harry, realizing his words had lent themselves to a peculiar mental image of him replenishing the pitcher in unconventional fashion. "Listen, I've been meaning to talk to you - "

Hermione dropped her paper to the table and gave him her undivided attention. "You're talking about Tonks, right?"

"Uh, yeah," said Harry, "How'd you know?"

"Ginny told me all about it last night. Don't worry," she said, seeing his reaction, "No one overheard. But...I'm really worried too, Harry."

He nodded. "It keeps bugging me...I've been thinking a lot about that over the holidays...I keep wondering if we somehow blew her cover..."

"Well, I can't really see how though, Harry," said Hermione, though she still exhibited a worried countenance. "When she morphed back into herself there wasn't anyone else there except us...right?"

Harry had already considered that, though it alleviated his discomfort but little. He was absent-mindedly buttering his toast when a thought occurred to him.

"We neve really searched the rest of that house, did we? What if..."

"...there was someone we missed," finished Hermione. "I thought of that too, Harry, but if there was, wouldn't they have come to help the others?"

Harry sighed, taking a bite from his toast before realising it was completely devoid of jam.

"I don't know, Hermione," he said heavily once he'd swallowed the rather plain tasting morsel, "I don't know what to think anymore. I keep telling myself that Tonks wouldn't have changed back if she knew someone was watching, but still..."

Hermione looked at him with concern. She seemed to be contemplating something...

"What?" Harry said, seeing her glance at him repeatedly.

"Well, it's just a thought but..." she said slowly, "You know, I was wondering if that book that Malfoy has might be able to tell us something."

Harry blinked. He'd completely forgotten about Malfoy. "Yeah!" he said, slapping the table with his hand. "I'll give my right eye there's something in there worth getting our hands on!"

"Harry, don't go off half cocked, now," she cautioned. "Remember what Professor Dumbledore said, we don't want Malfoy to know we're keeping an eye on him."

"I know!" replied Harry, more harshly than he'd intended, his sharp irritation quickly subsiding at the sight of her pained expression. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Hermione...it's just that, well, I hate to think that we're sitting around doing nothing, especially if Malfoy might be involved..."

"I know," said Hermione. "But we have to be careful. I mean even if we managed to get the book somehow he'd notice it was missing, wouldn't he?"

Harry thought carefully. "Couldn't we replace it with another book that looks just like it?" He suggested. "I mean Ron's had a good look at it twice now, maybe he can pick one from the library..."

"He barely saw runes on the cover, Harry," said Hermione carefully. "We don't really know what they look like or what they mean...and besides, we still don't know what's inside, do we? The moment Malfoy would open the copy he'd be sure to notice there's nothing in there."

Harry grimaced. There had to be something they could do...

Hermione seemed to sense his frustration. "Well," she said hesitatingly, "There might be a way..."

Harry looked up, a hopeful glint in his eyes. Hermione was one to come up with the most brilliant plans, after all.

"What?" he asked expectantly, his toast all but forgotten now.

"Well, it's just an idea, but...the disillusionment charm you taught at the DA class last month," she said, "It just may come in handy for a plan I had in mind."

Harry grinned. "Spill it!"

"Well, hang on," she said cautiously, "There's a couple of potential hiccups that I haven't worked out yet, and if we - oh fine, stop hopping up and down like that, here: we can use that charm and your invisibility cloak to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room, and if we're really careful, we could get a look at the book, copy down what we find, and leave it there."

"Hermione, that's a great idea!" exclaimed Harry. "I'll do it tonight!"

"Just a second," she said, quickly, "First we'll have to get the Slytherin password...but that shouldn't be much of a problem, all we'd have to do is hide nearby and wait for someone to go through."

"Uh, Hermione," said Harry uncertainly. "You keep saying 'we'; I can do this myself, I'd feel better if you didn't get involved. If anything happened - "

"Oh, Harry, don't be silly," said Hermione, waving her hand dismissively. "The other problem - "

"I'm serious," Harry interrupted. "I don't want to do something stupid like I did back at the Shack..."

His shoulders sagged as he looked at her, "I really should've listened to you...if I did then we could've avoided all that..."

"Harry," said Hermione said, leaning forward, concern reflecting from her eyes, "Don't think like that. It's so easy to look at things in hindsight. You could just as easily have been right, you know. And besides, to be honest, I'm just as curious about that book as you are."

"Well...okay," said Harry after several moments consideration, "So...what's this 'hiccup' you talked about"?

"Well, I'm sure he's not going to leave that book just lying around, Harry," said Hermione, lowering her voice. "He's likely got it locked away somewhere."

"Well, that's fine," said Harry. "You've got your lock-breaker charm, don't you?"

Hermione ogled him, rapping him lightly on the head with her knuckles. "Harry, hello," she said jokingly, "I have to pronounce the charm, remember? That could be tricky if there are people around!"

She has a point, he thought. "Well, let's just cross that bridge when we get to it. We can't anticipate everything anyway," he added quickly, seeing Hermione's dubious expression. He took a gulp of orange juice.

"You know, in a way though, I'm hoping we don't find anything..." he mused.

Hermione stared at him. "Harry?"

"Well...if we do," he said, "And if something's happened to Tonks..."

"Don't blame yourself," said Hermione firmly. "The book might not have anything to do with her disappearance for all we know, and besides that, Tonks might be just fine, like Mr. Weasley said..."

Though her words were consoling, her worried gaze told Harry she shared his apprehension.

He took another bite from his now cold toast.

Blast it, he thought, no jam again!

* * *

Harry was making his way up the staircase to the library in the hopes of checking out some books on ancient runes. He'd determined to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room that night, which only gave him a few hours to read up on the subject.

He strolled down the corridor he caught sight of Luna perched up on the half-wall that ran intermittently down the corridor in between the large flower pots, feet dangling, wand tucked away in its traditional spot behind her left ear.

All this was not unusual, as it had long been one of Luna's favourite reading places during wintertime. However, the presence of the Grey Lady sitting alongside her, seemingly engrossed in reading the latest issue of The Quibbler spread open across their laps, was a most peculiar sight. Luna also had one of Hermione's S.P.E.W. badges clipped to her Ravenclaw tie, he noted.

"Hi Luna," smiled Harry as he passed by, Luna waving happily back at him from her perch as he entered the library.

Harry nearly bumped into Pansy Parkinson on her way out. "Oh, s'cuse me," he muttered instinctively, quickly regretting having done so at the sight of her nasty scowl.

He made for the row of subject matters near Madam Pince's counter, squeezing around a young Hufflepuff who was busily searching through the 'W's. Opening the first drawer in the 'R's, Harry pulled it out to the end and started flipping through the cards, finally coming to one promisingly labelled 'Runes'. He pulled it out, noting the ten books listed.

He grabbed a quill from the top of the cabinet, writing the titles down on one of the notepads provided. As he went to return the card back in its drawer however, he noticed a second card, entitled 'Runes - continued'. He pulled it out. Another ten books! He thought.

He glanced back to the drawer, noting a third card in the Runes subject heading. His heart sank. He quickly flipped back, counting a total of eight cards, totalling nearly eighty seventy books in all.

I can't do this! he thought. Not even Hermione could read all this stuff in an afternoon...

He sighed, putting the cards back in their place and closing the drawer. Maybe he could bring along a parchment that night and draw the runes, he could research it at his leisure then...

He emerged back into the hallway, glancing up to see Luna and the Grey Lady still perched up on the half-wall, contentedly perusing through The Quibbler, which, he noticed, was upside down once more.

He'd proceeded about halfway down the hall when a thought occurred to him. He kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. He turned around and strolled back to where the Ravenclaw was sitting.

"Um...hi Luna," he said as he approached cautiously, glancing nervously at the Grey Lady. For some strange reason he couldn't quite put his finger on, he always became uneasy around the Ravenclaw House ghost. Which was strange in itself, as he'd never heard her utter so much as a word, nor had she never been mean or unpleasant to him. She even seemed to be on very good terms with Sir Nick.

And yet, he was still rather uncomfortable as she gazed at him silently; her misty, translucent eyes echoing some ancient, horrible tragedy in a past life...something about her just gave Harry the willies.

"Hello, Harry," said Luna dreamily. "That was rather quick, were you looking for someone?"

"Well, I wasn't before," he answered. "But I guess I am now. I need to, um, talk to you about something," he said, eyeing the Grey Lady who continued to gaze at him expressionlessly.

"All right," said Luna serenely, handing over The Quibbler to her ghostly companion, then simply proceeded to stare at him with her large silvery eyes.

"Um," muttered Harry hesitantly, "It's kind of...this really isn't the best place..."

"Well, all right, then," said Luna, slipping daintily to the floor. She glanced back up at the Ravenclaw ghost. "I have to go...you can keep it, if you like," she said, indicating the magazine.

The silvery apparition smiled quietly at her and floated off down the corridor, Quibbler in hand. Luna turned back to Harry, staring at him expectantly.

"She er...she reads The Quibbler?" he asked.

"Certainly," said Luna, as though the question were preposterous."Even ghosts like to keep up with the latest events, you know. Actually, there's a very interesting story in this month's issue about Norwegian Pigmy Yetis. Did you know they're not herbivores after all? I suppose it was a rather nasty way for the naturalists to find that out though. Anyway," she said, her large eyes fixed upon him, "You wanted to talk about something, Harry?"

"Yeah, let's get out of the stream of traffic here," said Harry, eyeing the students coming to and fro near the library. He led her to a deserted classroom further down the hall, closing the door behind him.

He turned back to Luna, who was staring at him, her head tilted slightly, hands clasped together behind her back.

"Luna, you're pretty good with runes, aren't you?" he asked.

She smiled dreamily. "I think so," she said. "There's a rune puzzle in every issue of The Quibbler, you know. I've been doing them for years. They're really not that difficult once you get the hang of them," she looked intently into his eyes. "Why, are you having problems with an assignment? I'd be happy to help."

Harry chuckled. "No, no, it's not an assignment," he said. He considered her for a moment.

"Luna, can you keep a secret?" and immediately regretted asking the question. If there was someone he could trust, that person was standing right before him.

Her expression became serious. She stared at him intently for several moments, then, quite unexpectedly closed her eyes.

"Um...Luna?" Harry asked after a period of silence had passed.

A few moments later her large eyes popped open. "Okay," she said airily, "I've promised I won't tell."

Harry briefly considered asking her what that little ritual was about but thought better of it.

"Okay, we've come up with a plan," he said conspirationally. "We're going to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room tonight and get a look at that book Malfoy keeps. There are runes on the cover according to Ron...if I draw you a picture of them, can you help us figure them out?"

"Oh no, of course not," said Luna, to Harry's astonishment. "I'll just come with you. I've never seen the Slytherin Common Room, actually."

Harry laughed inwardly. He should have known better, he thought to himself. "Luna," he said, "I don't want you to get in trouble, if we get caught - "

"You're worried about your friend Tonks, aren't you?" she asked suddenly. "That's what this is all about, isn't it?"

Harry blinked. Was he such an open book? "Er...well...yeah, actually," he said. "If anything's happened to her, it's all because I went charging into the Shack for no reason...it might all be my fault," he added dispiritedly.

Luna moved closer, her large silver eyes staring up into his. "This is more than that, I think," she said softly, tilting her head slightly to one side. "You still blame yourself for what happened to your Godfather, don't you? You're afraid it might happen again..."

Harry reeled. How on Earth could she know that, he thought. His feelings of self-recrimination had barely abated since the summer, only hidden under the surface, while he'd silently tortured himself for having fallen into Voldemort's trap, the consequences of which he reminded himself every day...yet he had never spoken about such things to anyone before...

He stared back at her, flabbergasted into speechlessness...his mouth kept opening and closing silently, no words daring to form...

She continued to stare at him, her silvery eyes still and serene, reflecting a sadness he himself felt.

"You won't ever forget, Harry," she said quietly, "But you really should forgive..."

"Luna..." he choked, at a loss for words. They both stared at each other for a few moments, Luna smiling slightly before slowly stepping around him and walking to the door. She turned back to him before leaving. "I'll meet you outside Gryffindor Tower tonight, Harry," she said quietly, pausing to look at him for a moment before disappearing, gently closing the door behind her.

Harry staggered over to a chair and sat down heavily, burying his face in his hands...

* * *

"G'nite, Seamus," said Harry, watching him climb up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. He waited until he was sure Seamus was out of earshot before turning to Ron, who was looking to capture his queen. "Ready?"

"Now?" asked Ron, looking at the chessboard. "I've got mate in two, can't we just - "

"Come on, Ron," admonished Hermione, setting her book down and rising from the plush chair near the hearth, "Let's get going before somebody comes back."

"Crap," said Ron, looking at Harry's exposed queen. "All right, let me just - " he reached down under the sofa and pulled out Harry's invisibility cloak.

"Okay, gather round," he said, as Harry and Hermione huddled around him. He pulled the cloak over top of them.

"Uh...problem," said Harry, looking down at his feet. The cloak was a good six inches off the ground.

"Eh, we'll have to crouch," said Ron.

They did, though it quickly became apparent as they shuffled awkwardly through the short tunnel leading to the Fat Lady's portrait that it was going to be quite a challenge to manage a trek in such circumstances.

Ron pushed open the portrait and quickly discovered he couldn't extend his foot far enough to reach the floor over the sill due to the tightness of the cloak.

"Arrghh!" he said as Harry pushed on him from behind. "Not so fast! I can't - "

He quickly lost his balance and fell forward, dragging his companions along behind him, all three of them tumbling slowly and awkwardly to the floor beneath the Fat Lady's open portrait.

"Eek!"

"OW!"

Harry heard a shriek of mirth erupt from somewhere ahead of him, twisting his head up to see Luna standing just a few feet away, one hand holding her tummy and another pointing at them.

"Luna!" whispered Hermione loudly, "We're supposed to be sneaking!"

Luna quickly clasped her mouth with both hands, though her watery eyes and trembling shoulders made it evident it was all she could manage to contain her laughter.

"Ron!" said Hermione, "Will you - get off - "

"Look...Ron...get..." said Harry as he finally managed to pull the cloak off them, freeing himself. "This isn't going to work," he said, sitting up and scratching his head as he gazed at the cloak. "I think we've outgrown it."

"No kidding," said Ron, picking himself up and shooting Luna an irritated glance, "I could hardly move in there!"

"Okay, look," said Hermione, drawing her wand, "I'll disillusion Luna and me, you two can get under the cloak...the two of you alone should fit." She walked over to the still mirthful Luna.

"Occulo praestigiae," she said, lightly tapping Luna on the head, watching with satisfaction as the Ravenclaw quickly take on the colours of the wall behind her. She then did the same trick on herself, until all Harry could see was a very faint outline of the two of them, which would be completely unnoticeable if he hadn't been aware of their presence.

He pushed himself up, taking hold of the cloak and drawing it over Ron and himself. He glanced at his feet; with only two of them in the cloak, their feet were adequately concealed.

"Okay, let's go," he whispered.

They made their way down the main hall, Harry stopping at the archway to see if there was anyone around. Invisible they might be, but he felt it bestr not to take any unnecessary chances.

Just at that moment he felt someone bump heavily into him from behind, almost making him lose his balance. "Sorry!" he heard Hermione whisper, "It's hard to know where you are!"

"Take my hand," he heard Luna's voice from behind him. "I can see them quite well," she said, still sounding rather cheerful after their little accident earlier.

The hall was devoid of life. "Okay, let's go," said Harry, as he and Ron shuffled along quietly.

"How come she can see us?" whispered Ron next to him as they made their way across the long hall.

"Um...I'll explain later," said Harry. He didn't want to risk being overheard; the slightest noises carried well in the large empty hall. It seemed to him that every step they took generated an unnerving amount of noise.

They managed to reach the Slytherin Tower without being discovered. The bare patch of wall which concealed the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room was unmarked in any way, and it was only through recollection of his second year's infiltration that Harry knew its approximate location.

"I think it was here," he said, running his hand along the sandstone wall, trying to detect the tiny break in the surface that would identify the location of the secret door. He turned to Ron. "Okay, what was the password again?"

Ron stared at the wall and blinked. "Blimey," he said.

"No..." said Harry, "Don't tell me you forgot..."

"Well it was hours ago!" protested Ron. He'd been hiding out in the shadows nearby late that afternoon, concealed by a disillusionment charm, waiting for someone to come by so he could obtain the Slytherin password...and now he'd gone and forgotten it.

"Oh, honestly, it was 'Mortalis Aspis'," said Hermione from behind them. "Can't you two remember anything??"

At that the wall suddenly slid open to reveal the short, narrow corridor that led to the Slytherin Common Room. Harry turned around and put his finger to his lips, hoping that Luna, at least, could see him. He and Ron climbed over the slight step and shuffled along quietly, emerging into the sombre room beyond. A fire was crackling near two large black divans, though the place appeared thankfully deserted.

"Okay, Ron,", said Harry, "You and Luna wait here. Keep an eye out in case anyone comes through that door. Hermione and I will go up and find that book."

Ron got out from under the cloak.

"Oh, there you are," said Hermione, tapping him on the head with her wand. "Occulo praestigiae," she said, Ron quickly assuming the colouration of his surroundings. She then tapped her own head and rematerialised, before joining Harry under the cloak.

"Hopefully we won't be too long," said Harry, just before he and Hermione quietly made their way up the spiral staircase.

Ron listened to them shuffle off; he wondered where Luna might have drifted off to...being disillusioned, she was no more visible than he was, though she, apparently, could see him without difficulty. The thought unnerved him.

He walked over to the fireplace, staring up at the ornate green chandeliers hanging overhead.

"It's nice, isn't it?" he heard Luna whisper form somewhere near him. "It's prettier than I'd imagined it to be."

Ron looked around, trying to pinpoint her location. She sounded very close by. "Err...what's that?" he said.

"This room," she said quietly, "I've never seen it before."

"Oh...yeah, I suppose," he said. Where is she, he thought furiously. She didn't seem to be moving, otherwise he might be able to pick up traces of her outline. It was most disconcerting to hear her disembodied voice floating around him; the only comfort he could draw on was that he couldn't see if she was staring at him.

* * *

Harry glanced around. No one stirred. He emerged quietly into the sixth floor Slytherin boys' dormitory.

The room was arranged much as his own, with five beds arranged around the circular room, though here they all pointed towards the centre of the tower as opposed to hugging the walls as they did in his own dormitory.

Malfoy and the others were sound asleep, a fact he noted with intense relief. He motioned Hermione to a large trunk at the foot of Malfoy's bed.

"Must be in there," he whispered very quietly. He bent down and tried raising the lid, though it remained firmly shut. He looked to Hermione. "Ready?" he whispered.

She nodded and crouched down next to him, pointing the tip of her wand at the lock. "Alohomora," she whispered, a soft reddish glow emanating briefly before dissipating. The lock snapped open with an alarmingly loud click.

"Hmph," muttered Malfoy, tossing in his bed.

Harry held his breath. This wasn't the time to get caught. His anxiety subsided slightly as he saw Malfoy roll over onto his stomach and lay still.

He crouched down beside Hermione, grasping both sides of the lid. He lifted.

He was immediately greeted by a loud piercing shriek that reverberated throughout the small circular room, echoing in his ears. Hermione let out an involuntary "eek!" as Harry slammed the lid shut. The shrieking came to an abrupt stop.

"Wha - " Malfoy jerked awake and sat up quickly, his blonde hair dishevelled. He looked around wildly.

"What's - who's there?!" he said, as Crabbe and Goyle and two other Slytherins Harry couldn't recognize emerged from their slumber, looking around in a daze.

Harry and Hermione froze. They were concealed by the cloak, but it couldn't make them intangible...

"What was that?" muttered Goyle, groggily pushing himself up on his elbows.

"It sounded like the alarm," said Malfoy, looking at the trunk intently.

Don't come here, Harry thought, see, the lid is closed...

The other Slytherins were all curiously gazing at the chest, their eyes right where Harry and Hermione were currently crouched. Though Harry knew they were invisible to them, their concentrated stares right in his direction was extremely unsettling, and he remained quite still...the last thing he wanted to do now was to make some involuntary noise; even a slight shuffling of his robes could be disastrous.

"I think you were having a nightmare," said Crabbe irritably, flopping back down on his pillow. "False alarm."

"I wasn't!" insisted Malfoy.

"Don't yell out so loud next time," Goyle shot back wearily, rolling over onto his side.

"I - " stammered Malfoy angrily. He gazed at the chest. He threw his blankets off and crawled forward in his bed until he was staring down at the large trunk. Harry leaned back as much as he dared without losing his balance, grabbing the sides of the chest for balance; Malfoy's head was just inches away from his.

The Slytherin prefect reached down with one hand, grabbed the front handle and yanked up, but Harry's desperately tight grip on the lid held and it didn't move. Seemingly satisfied, Malfoy crawled back into bed and drew his sheets up. Harry dared himself to breathe again. Hermione had remained impossibly still during the entire time, her brown eyes wide with trepidation.

They waited several minutes until they were sure the Slytherins were comfortably ensconced in their slumber. "What do we do now?" whispered Harry, at a loss. He didn't dare open the trunk up again.

"It must be a spell," Hermione whispered back. "I might be able to cancel it...Finite Incantatum," she whispered softly, a small golden light emerging from her wand and covering the trunk before slowly dissipating.

"Will that work?" whispered Harry, nervous about pushing his luck a second time...he seriously doubted Malfoy could be fooled again.

Hermione looked at him, a sheepish expression on her face. "I hope so..."

He held his breath as he grasped the handle again. He opened the lid just a crack. Nothing. So far so good, he thought.

He opened it another inch. All remained quiet. He slowly opened it up the rest of the way, heaving a sigh of relief as the lid opened with only a slight creak.

They peered inside the chest. It was difficult to see only by the moonlight streaming through the window, but they didn't dare illuminate their wands. Harry slowly felt his way around with one hand, rummaging through lots of loose parchments and wooly objects that felt like rolled-up socks. Finally his fingers drifted across a hard, leathery surface, slowly pulling it up through the rest of the debris.

He held it up to the moonlight, just making out very faint symbols on the dark cover. He turned it to Hermione, who nodded silently. He slowly closed the chest, deciding to leave it unlocked for now; after they'd had a good look at it he'd bring it right back.

* * *

"What are they doing?" whispered Ron angrily. This was all taking much longer than he'd anticipated.

" 'With time the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown'," whispered Luna softly from somewhere very near.

"What?" said Ron, disconcerted and still trying to ascertain her location. He was beginning to wish she'd reappear...he'd take the endless staring any day in preference to this...

He heard Luna softly humming 'Weasley is Our King', the melody seeming to float around him in circles. Why couldn't he see her moving around???

He backed away, slowly making his way towards the staircase, intending to march up and see what was keeping Harry and Hermione, when he was startled by the sight of both of them throwing off the invisibility cloak right in front of him.

"Ron? Luna?" whispered Harry, looking around. Ron tapped the top of his head with his wand and became visible, startling Harry and Hermione in turn.

"Okay, here it is," said Harry, holding up the blackened book and making his way to the small study table in the far alcove. Luna had also reappeared in the meantime and had joining them, eyeing the book curiously.

"Can you make this out?" asked Harry asked, turning the tome around so that Luna could see the runes right side up.

She stared at the symbols intently for several long moments. "These are very old," she said softly, "Norse, I'd gather...no...Germanic, more likely. Well, either way, they're just two letters: G G," she said, looking back up at Harry.

"G G...that's it?" mused Harry. No, it couldn't be, he thought, after several moments, looking to Ron and Hermione. "Do you think...'Godric Gryffindor'?"

"What would Malfoy be doing with something like that??" asked Ron, sounding just as confused as Harry was.

"It would make at least some sense if it was Salazar Slytherin's," said Hermione. "Let's see if there's anything written inside, Harry, it might provide better clues."

Harry flipped the cover open, coming to the first page. But instead of cryptic handwriting or printed words, the entire first page seemed to be shimmering, as though a dense gray fog was swirling through it...not entirely unlike Dumbledore's pensieve, Harry thought, though he had the distinct feeling this was something rather different.

"You know what that could be?" said Luna eagerly, as Harry lightly ran his fingers across the page. "No don't - "

Poof!!

Harry was immediately plunged into darkness, becoming suddenly aware of strange, dank smells permeating the heavy air surrounding him. He had the distinct feeling he was somehow outdoors; the humidity being quite palpable. He slowly looked up, seeing the quarter moon shining through a thick, spidery canopy of branches above. He turned around on the spot; there was no table, no book, no one, nothing except for a small circle of stones on the ground around his feet, and what appeared to be an overgrown path leading off into the darkness...

This isn't even near Hogwarts, he realized; there were mists rising from a moor all around him, vines and roots intertwining with the branches of ancient, decaying trees, and in any event the temperature was all wrong. While it wasn't exactly warm, it was certainly a good deal warmer than at school, where Hogwarts was still covered in ice and snow...

How do I get back? he thought, his mind racing.