Luna's year

"Oh dear, this is most unnerving," said Professor Flitwick, glancing up over his half-moon spectacles at Luna, her letter held in his tiny hands. "I can certainly understand your concern over this, Miss Lovegood."

Hermione glanced at Luna, who was sitting quietly in the chair next to hers. Luna had been in an almost zombie-like state since leaving the infirmary; it had been all Hermione could do to convince Luna to accompany her to Flitwick's office, a heavily cluttered though rather ornate room, located next to McGonagall's in the teacher's wing.

Overflowing bookcases lined the near wall, guarded by tall stacks of jumbled tomes piled high on the floor, the entire collection giving a decent run to the school library for its sheer volume of printed works. There were a multitude of unusual magical devices scattered throughout the room which Hermione could not for the life of her recognize; the overall impression she'd gathered was similar to the Headmaster's office, though in some serious need of organizing.

The walls were decorated with a good number of paintings, Hermione recognizing the portrait of Glanmore Peakes, standing atop a large rock protruding from the sea, broadsword in hand and looking particularly heroic. Another caught her eye; a resplendent painting of a dryad, who'd been observing them with much interest since their arrival.

The diminutive Charms teacher looked at Luna with concern. She in turn was staring blankly at a small bronze sculpture of a wizard riding a Pegasus atop his ancient oak desk, and hadn't shown any reaction thus far. Hermione wondered if she was even aware of the conversation...

"As I understand it, he left for Germany the week before the Christmas holidays?" asked Flitwick, removing his spectacles and depositing them next to his ink well.

Hermione nodded. "Yes," she affirmed, shifting slightly in the oversized plush armchair, which might have been large enough for Hagrid's use.

"Well, I will bring this to Professor Dumbledore's attention immediately," said Flitwick in his squeaky voice. "He will do doubt owl the Ministry to begin an investigation into your father's disappearance, Miss Lovegood. Rest assured, everything will be done to locate him forthwith."

He gazed at the young Ravenclaw, a look of sadness drawing upon his wizened features as it evidently occurred to him that his words weren't getting through.

Hermione reached out and gently took Luna's hand in hers, Luna's gaze slowly drifting down to their intertwined fingers. She blinked once and seemed to emerge slightly from her delirium.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Flitwick sighed. Hermione could see he clearly cared much for the young Ravenclaw; she knew through Ginny that Flitwick had been made aware of the ill-treatment Luna received from her fellow housemates virtually every day, but every intervention had only caused the situation to worsen, despite his best intentions. Luna, to her credit, always seemed unaffected by it all, though the disappearance of her father was beyond anything she'd suffered at the hands of her schoolmates; it was clearly taking a toll.

"Miss Lovegood," said Flitwick, "I will speak to the other teachers and arrange for you to be excused from classes for the rest of today, at least. If you like, I can arrange to have some relatives floo into Hogsmeade; you can spend the day with them there. I think it will do you well to have family to...Miss Lovegood?"

She slowly raised her large silver eyes to his, opening her mouth to speak but was apparently having a difficult time articulating her thoughts at the moment. Hermione gently squeezed her hand.

"Luna, I think Professor Flitwick's idea is really good, I think having family around would - oh no, what did I say?"

Luna's shoulders were trembling slightly, as though fighting an impossibly difficult battle to keep her emotions from overcoming her.

"I'd...rather stay here," she whispered.

"Okay," said Hermione gently. "That's okay, Luna...Professor," she said, turning to Flitwick, "could I...could Harry and I be excused from classes today also? I don't think she should be alone right now..."

"You, Miss Granger? Excused from classes?" the little teacher looked positively stunned at hearing the bookish Hermione Granger utter such words, though he took only a minute to consider. "Goodness...I...well, yes, of course. Under the circumstances, I'm sure my colleagues will raise no objections."

He turned to Luna. "Miss Lovegood, I believe your father published the Quibbler tabloid, did he not?"

Hermione winced at Flitwick's use of the past tense in the mentioning of Luna's father. While he undoubtedly did it subconsciously, she feared it was driving home the wrong message to the young Ravenclaw.

"Yes," answered Hermione quickly. "Yes he does." She put a strong emphasis on the last word, tilting her head slightly towards Luna.

Flitwick looked at her curiously, seemingly befuddled by Hermione's odd intonation for a moment before he grasped her meaning. "Oh! Yes, of course, Miss Granger! I'm sure he - yes, well, I will advise his office that he will be...delayed from his trip and to plan accordingly. Now if you'll excuse me - "

He dropped down from his chair, for a few moments only the top of his pointed cap being visible behind his desk until he'd made his way around to them. "I'll bring this matter to the Headmaster's attention and inform the staff. Please feel free to remain here as long as you like."

"Thank you, professor," said Hermione gratefully as Flitwick came to the stand next to the large plush chair Luna was occupying, looking up at her with obvious concern.

"Don't worry, Miss Lovegood," he said, patting her hand reassuringly. "He's only disappeared, after all, anything could - er, well, that is to say, he could be anywhere - oh, dear, that didn't come out right, either, well, I'm sure that everything will turn out..."

Looking rather helpless, his tiny shoulders sagged as he turned and left the office, closing the door quietly behind him.

Luna was staring blankly at Flitwick's vacated chair. Someone from afar might have mistaken it for her typical dreaminess; though with the mistiness gathering in her silver eyes, Hermione knew full well that her friend was running through a terrible gamut of emotions.

They sat together in silence for a while, holding hands while Hermione waited patiently for Luna to emerge from her near trance-like state. After some time her Ravenclaw friend stirred slightly, still gazing at the desk before her.

"...Daddy..." she whispered.

Hermione gave a reassuring squeeze of her hand. "Please don't worry, Luna," she said, a lump in her throat making her voice sound a bit odd. "Professor Dumbledore will have the Order out looking for him, I'm sure...he'll turn up, don't you fret..."

Luna gave no reaction to Hermione's words, her misty eyes glazing over as she continued to stare at some distant, imaginary horizon.

"...I can't lose him, Hermione..."

Hermione's heart sank. She felt utterly useless at the moment; there was no plan percolating in her head, the brilliant ideas that typically came to mind in times of crisis were being frustratingly stubborn in making an appearance.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" she suggested gently. "We can go outside, if you like. We can go look for...for Snorkack tracks, or - "

Hermione trailed off. She knew there was nothing she could say to make Luna feel at all better, and she doubted if she was even grasping her words. But she couldn't leave her like this...

"Luna," she said gently, "is there anything at all..." she trailed off again as her own emotions threatened to overcome her. The last thing she wanted to do was to burst into tears here, lest it convey a message of hopelessness to her friend.

Luna slowly turned to look at her, her silver eyes watery. "A walk would be nice, actually," she said in a quivering voice. "But...there haven't been any sightings around here for ages...that's why Daddy and I go to Sweden...you know..."

Hermione's spirits lifted slightly at the sight of Luna's smile, pained though it so obviously was...

* * *

Harry wrapped his coat tightly around him before opening the door and emerging into the chilly night air, thankful that the wind had at last died down since midday. He gazed around the top of the Astronomy tower before his eyes finally settled on a small cloaked figure partly hidden behind one of the covered telescopes, sitting between two of the large stone battlements. Her back was to him, the familiar long, dirty blonde hair drifting down to mingle with the dry, powdery snow that blanketed the tower rooftop.

He'd been searching the castle for Luna all day; no one had seen her since she'd returned to the Ravenclaw tower after a long walk with Hermione just before lunch. He'd even gone to check to see if she'd gone into the forest, though the absence of fresh tracks in the snow confirmed she hadn't. He'd been fortunate to run into Sir Nick while making his way to the owlery; the Gryffindor House ghost mentioned he'd seen Luna heading up the staircase to the Astronomy tower in the early afternoon. Harry had made his way up the spiral staircase half-expecting to find her long gone by now.

He'd gotten the news about Luna's father from Ginny that morning shortly after breakfast; she'd ran straight from her charms class after having been notified by Professor Flitwick.

After Hermione had returned at lunch he and Ginny had peppered her with questions, though there frustratingly few she could answer; all that was known for certain was that Luna's father had disappeared, after having been led away on apparently false pretenses.

Harry was silently grateful that Hermione had been able to provide Luna with some reassuring company, but he'd nevertheless found himself increasingly worrying about her as his search had progressed without success through the late afternoon and evening, to the great irritation of the caretaker Filch, who'd been advised by the head of Ravenclaw House that Harry had an exemption to be out of classes for the day and essentially had the run of the castle.

He slowly drew closer, the powdery snow crunching softly under his boots. He was amazed she was still here, as the temperature hadn't climbed above freezing all day long, and had certainly dropped even lower by now.

He walked around the snow-dusted telescope and then saw how she'd managed to keep herself from freezing; her wand was tucked away behind her left ear, its tip a glowing hue of azure, evidently a milder version of Hermione's portable fire charm.

Harry moved closer and peered over her shoulder, stopping in his tracks as spied a tiny, glowing ochre fairy hovering just in front of Luna, stretched out on her stomach as though lying in summer grasses, tiny arms folded beneath her chin, quietly staring at the young Ravenclaw with a look of worriment. Harry couldn't tell if they were communicating or not, though no audible words were to be heard.

He froze, but the fairy had noticed his approach. She quickly fluttered up in alarm, Luna snapping her head round to him as her tiny friend disappeared out of sight into the darkness.

"Harry?"

"Er...sorry about that," he said, as he came to stand next to her. "Sir Nick said you might be up here, I didn't know you had...company."

Luna stared up at him for a few moments before turning her gaze back to the distant forest. "That was Esmy," she said. "It was a bit odd, really...she's never come to the castle before."

"I'm sorry I chased her off," he said regretfully. "I didn't know she was there until it was too late."

Luna turned back to gaze up at him. "You're out past curfew, you know."

Harry almost laughed. Curfew was the last thing on his mind right now. "Yeah I know," he said. "So are you, looks like we're both rebels tonight. Anyway, I was...worried."

She continued to stare up at him, her expression blank.

"Aren't you going to come in?" asked Harry. "You've been out here for hours, according to Sir Nick."

"Oh, no," answered Luna quietly. "No, I think I'll stay out here for a while. I won't be able to sleep much tonight anyway."

Harry hesitated. Her presence out here would tend to indicate a desire to be alone, but he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"Well, in that case...may I?" he asked, indicating the space next to her.

"Oh...yes," she said, moving over a little to make room for him as he took the little space left over next to her. It was a rather tight fit, as the space between the battlements had never really been conceived as a form of seating arrangement. He became immediately aware of his feet dangling in the air, with nothing beneath them other than a precipitous drop to the grounds far below. Though he was quite used to heights when playing Quidditch, he had his broom to rely on in those situations. Strangely, a slight sense of vertigo overtook him when he tried to peer down over the edge; he quickly resolved against repeating the attempt.

They sat in silence for a time, Harry thinking that nothing he was likely to say would bring comfort to the girl; telling Luna everything would be all right would not be very convincing, especially as they knew so little about what had happened. In all honesty, things looked rather bleak at the moment, so far as her father was concerned, knowing full well that his disappearance was no accident.

He took a deep breath. "Luna," he said with every ounce of sincerity within him, "I just want you to know, no matter what happens...I'm here for you...we all are."

She was still gazing out into the darkness, showing no signs of having heard him, and for a moment Harry wondered if his words had fallen on deaf ears.

"Thank you," she whispered finally, though her gaze didn't waver from an imaginary point in the distance.

Harry was beginning to feel most inadequate. He was starting to wonder if Luna might not prefer to be alone, and that his presence might actually be more of a burden than a help; she did come and shut herself away out here for a reason, after all.

He waited a while longer, before deciding that, loath as he was to leave her here by herself during such a time, it would probably be easier on her if he left her to her own thoughts...

He shifted his weight as he gripped the top edge of the battlement to his left in careful preparation for rising from his precarious perch. "Well, I'd better - "

Luna's hand flew out in a shot, grabbing hold of his right arm tightly, startling him.

"Please don't go," she whispered, still staring straight ahead into the distance.

He quickly settled back down onto his improvised seat. "I'm not," he said. "I'm right here."

He felt her grip relax a little, though she did not release his arm. Harry was stunned that Luna had reacted so strongly; she'd always been a rather independent sort, preferring to just drift in and out of social occasions at her leisure. But the news of her father had clearly shaken her, and despite her isolation on the tower she plainly wanted him to stay.

They continued to sit in silence for a while, at one time Harry catching sight of what appeared to be a Thestral rising up out of the woods in the distance. It circled lazily above the trees a few times, then just as quickly disappeared back down into the forest.

"It's odd, you know," said Luna quietly, "how she knew..."

Harry looked at her. "Um, how who knew?" he asked, breaking out of his daze.

"Esmy," said Luna. "She just appeared out of the woods. They never come to the castle, you know."

Harry wondered at that. But he'd witnessed Luna's interaction with the fairies firsthand; it had seemed to him that there was some sort of inexplicable connection there, quite apart from Luna's ability to understand their musical, chiming language. He wondered if that particular fairy had been able to somehow sense Luna's distress, even over such a distance.

They both stared out into the starry night sky in silence. Harry noticed that Luna's gaze was fixed on one particular stellar constellation, though he could not for the life of him remember what it was called. When he finally spoke, he found that his voice sounded strangely distant.

"What, er, constellation is that?" he asked softly.

She was quiet for a few moments, before finally answering. "It's the Ram," she whispered.

Harry looked again. Try as he might, he couldn't make out the form of it. Nothing about it suggested even a remote ram-like shape to him. Then again, astronomy wasn't exactly his strongest subject, and Luna did have a particular ability to see things rather clearly...

"Is it? I mean, what does it - "

"It's Daddy's sign," she said softly. "I was hoping...well..." she trailed off.

Harry's heart sank. He'd never seen her at a loss for words.

"Harry," she began again, "I'm rather worried..."

She swallowed deeply before suddenly turned her gaze to him, her eyes misty with anguish. "If I lose Daddy...I don't know what I'll do...I just can't...when I lost Mum it was so..."

Her voice was shaking; she closed her mouth as though mistrusting herself to say anything more without breaking down. Harry felt a pang in his chest; Luna was reaching out to him. She was lost, for possibly one of the few times in her life she was looking for solace...

"Luna," he said gently, his own emotions threatening to come to the surface, "I think, maybe, you're forgetting something..."

She stared at him intently with her large, glittering silver eyes, a mix of sadness and confusion crossing her moonlit features. Her mouth was open slightly, though she did not speak.

Harry hesitated. He so desperately didn't want to say the wrong thing here. Luna was very fragile at the moment...but he also knew he was right...

"Don't take this the wrong way," he said cautiously, "but I think that, maybe, you've lost faith..."

He looked at her anxiously, looking for any hint of a reaction. An unfathomable expression crossed her face briefly, though it lasted for just an instant.

She slowly shook her head, "I...I would never lose faith in Daddy," she said hoarsely. "How...can you..."

"Not that way," amended Harry quickly. "I didn't mean it in that sense. I meant it's like you've lost faith in him being alive..."

She blinked. Harry could see her eyes flooding with just about every emotion under the stars.

"You've always been one to make these great leaps of faith, but now you aren't, when it matters most...you believe in the existence of the Snorkack, right?

She was gaping at him now, seemingly at a complete and utter loss for words.

"Remember, last year?" he pressed on. "When you said you knew you'd see your mother again? Did you really believe in what you were saying?"

She let out a sharp breath. "I did," she said.

"Even though...she'd died six years ago," he said delicately.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Luna, you're one of the strongest people I know," said Harry. "I mean...well, I can't put it into words right now, but...it seems to me that you're worrying so much about your father being dead, that you've forgotten he might still be alive! The only thing we know for sure is that he's not where he's supposed to be!"

Luna's eyes widened dramatically, Harry bracing himself for an incoming slap.

Luna's hands moved, but not to strike him; rather, they covered her mouth in apparent shock, her eyes staring at him with a look of horror.

"Luna? Are...are you okay?" he asked tentatively.

"I have," she said, her eyes still wide, "haven't I?"

"Er...?"

"Harry," she continued, slowly lowering her hands to her lap, "you're absolutely right. I did lose faith, didn't I? Everything Mum ever taught me...I've been dwelling on the worst possible outcome, blinded by it, really..."

Harry's spirits lifted slightly, and not because he had avoided getting slapped in the face.

"I can't imagine, how can I have been so...oh, I've been such a twit..." she prattled, scolding herself.

"No you haven't," interjected Harry. "Everyone reacts badly every once in a while, only it's so unlike you."

She was looking up at him with a look of what could best be described as awe, but not in the same sense that Colin or others looked at Harry as an almost larger-than-life character; it was more look of realization.

She stared at him silently for a while, and when she finally spoke, her voice was noticeably calmer. "You know, Harry," she said, "I think you'd make a rather good Healer."

Harry blinked. "Huh? Me?"

She nodded. "Hermione was telling me that everything would be all right," she said, "but I just didn't hear..."

"Well," said Harry, "Hermione can be kind of lecturing, sometimes."

"No, it wasn't that," said Luna. "I love Hermione dearly, she's such a good friend, after all. But, well, our brains just don't mesh very well, sadly. But I'm determined to try, regardless. But what you said..."

She looked at him, a faint smile forming over her features.

"...and of course, I know Daddy," she continued. "He's extremely clever...he likely saw what was going on the moment he arrived, I'd wager a cranberry muffin on it! I think whoever tried to trick him haven't been able to catch him, and that he's trying to find a floo hub somewhere to get back - "

"Well, it's possible," said Harry, trying to picture how one would go about locating the local floo network in a foreign country. "I guess floo hubs aren't exactly advertised, are they?"

"No, surely not!" exclaimed Luna, her voice becoming stronger. "And what's more, Daddy's German is quite atrocious; I remember once when he tried to give directions to an elderly German Muggle couple in Ottery St. Catchpole - he said something quite horrifying, judging from their reaction - but then, he's never been to Germany before, so that's not very surprising, really. And besides, Daddy's told me all about the first war twenty years ago; he never hides his victims, does he? That Voldemort fellow, I mean? He always leaves them out for everyone to find - "

She trailed off, looking at him as though he'd suddenly apparated out of thin air. "What?" he asked, glancing quickly behind him to make sure she hadn't actually seen someone standing there. "What is it?"

She kept staring at him, her expression quite indecipherable, until finally, she slowly reached out and straightened a part of his collar that was awkwardly folded in against his robes. "Well...I was just thinking of what Daddy told me once, when they found your parents that day."

"Oh," he said, surprised that she probably knew more about that incident than he himself did. "I really don't remember much, except for a flash of green light. And even then, it's pretty hazy."

"I know," she said. "That's why you couldn't see the Thestrals at first, because you couldn't remember."

Harry nodded. "I suppose," he said, "It's just as well I can't remember any of it," he looked at Luna with an even stronger appreciation for what she'd gone through. "When your mother...how did you..."

"Well, it was quite dreadful, actually," she said. "I had to send Percival to get Daddy. He was working at the Quibbler's head office in Diagon Alley at the time. Then I ran as fast as I could to the neighbours, but none of them were around, they'd all gone to that big Christmas fair just outside St. Catchpole. I was rather upset when I got back home to find Daddy there crying over her...I still think about it, sometimes."

Harry was aghast. He couldn't imagine a more horrifying sight for a little nine year-old girl to behold -

"That's...that's terrible," he stammered.

She smiled faintly at him. Her eyes then lit up as she gazed up at him. "Harry, what was your Mum's name? I know your father's was James - "

"You do?" asked Harry, surprised. "How'd you know?"

"Well, that's easy," she said. "There are a bunch of Quidditch cups in the trophy room with his name on them, you know. You've seen them by now, haven't you?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, suddenly feeling stupid. "I forgot."

She stared at him expectantly, Harry taking several moments before realizing he hadn't answered her question.

"Oh! Her name was Lily," he said finally, seeing Luna's eyes light up.

She turned her eyes back towards the heavens, her familiar dreaminess slowly returning. "It's rather amazing, isn't it?" she voiced airily.

"Uh, what's that?"

"The Moon, look," she said, brushing her head up against his and pointing at the glowing orb with an extended finger along his line of sight, as though he were hopelessly nearsighted, even with glasses.

"Er, yeah, there it is, all right," said Harry, somewhat befuddled by abrupt change in subject. "I never really thought of it as 'amazing', though. Guess I've just gotten used to seeing it up there."

"That's not really what I meant," she said, her voice slightly mirthful, Harry noted with satisfaction. "I was thinking about how amazing it is that people have actually been there. I'd love to go see, but apparently only Muggles have gone...no wizards ever have, you know."

"Oh, yeah," said Harry. To him, having lived over half his life in the Muggle world, the Moon landings were rather 'old hat'.

"They never said if they saw any Elysian Snoogs while they were up there, though..."

"Huh? Snoogs?"

Luna nodded knowingly. "They're the only creatures indigenous to the Moon, you know. I imagine the Muggles didn't see any; I'm sure it would have been in the news if they had."

"Heh...well, I wouldn't doubt it. Snoogs... yeah..."

"You know, when Daddy published the story in the Muggle History section of the Quibbler a few years back a lot of people didn't believe him, but of course they were mostly isolationists. They never have anything to do with Muggle society anyway. Still, though," she said pensively, "I'd love to go visit there one day. Knowing Muggles though, it's probably very expensive."

Harry laughed. "Yeah," he said, "it would be pretty expensive. And I don't think they're taking tourists any time soon. But save your galleons!"

For an instant Harry was struck by the particular beauty of the scene before him. Luna was bathed in a bewitching combination of willowy light from her stellar namesake and the soft azure glow from her wand, giving her a decidedly mystical appearance. She was lovely, he realized, the thought striking him rather awkwardly.

But then, Hermione had seemed to hint that he felt - no, of course she was dreaming, he mused, quickly dismissing such thoughts from his mind. Sure, he was protective of Luna. As he was of all his friends. It was because of him they'd all been put in the line of fire, after all. And he'd never reacted to Luna the way he had with Cho, who had always managed to make his heart flutter; which was not to say Luna wasn't pretty, as she was, in her own, slightly rustic way. But there was none of the intestinal contortions going on inside him when Luna was around. His relationship with her was much more comfortable, just like that with Hermione, or Ron.

But then...he'd erupted so violently the previous night. He'd even felt rather embarrassed about it afterwards, realizing in hindsight how much he'd overreacted. But no, it was just Hermione's mothering instinct that was causing her to perceive things incorrectly. He wondered what Ron would think of such a theory; Think she's gone off the deep end?, Harry would ask.

Too right she has, nutters, even, Ron would likely reply.

But then he looked at Luna again, and found himself staring...

"Oh look," said Luna dreamily, interrupting his train of thought. "There's another Thestral."

Harry turned his gaze out to the treetops but could see nothing out of the ordinary; it took several seconds for him to finally catch sight of, slowly beating its wings and silhouetted against the brilliant moon. It was much higher in the sky that the earlier one had been. He wondered what made them rise up in the sky in seemingly random fashion like that. They couldn't be hunting, could they? They were much too big to live off bugs, and at any rate it was midwinter, there were no flying insects to be found. Bats, perhaps? Hopefully not owls!

"Thanks, Harry," Luna said softly beside him, after they'd watched the winged form in silence for a while. "I do feel rather better..."

Harry sincerely hoped that her father was alive, not just for his sake but also the sickening thought of how hard it would be on Luna if he wasn't. He'd managed, quite unexpectedly, to bring her hope; and for now, she clung tightly to it. But if her father was truly gone...

"I think it's coming this way," said Luna dreamily, causing Harry to turn his attention back to the flying Thestral in the distance.

Watching it for a while, he realized it was flying in a straight line, quite an unusual path for a Thestral, who normally flew in great, lazy circles. Luna was right, it was growing larger, apparently making straight for them. The more he watched, the more a sense of unease began to grow within him. Thestrals never came to the castle on their own, only when Hagrid summoned them to pull the school carriages.

Harry began to shift uncomfortably. He squinted, adjusting his glasses to get the sharpest view possible. His sense of caution slowly gave way to foreboding...this was no Thestral, he realized. It was much larger, thicker in body than the skeletal flying horses, with rather reptilian wings, different from the bat-like appendages which adorned Hagrid's beasts.

And there was no longer any doubt; it was definitely heading straight for them. And what was more, he realized with dread, it was carrying a rider -

They had to get out of here, now, he realized.

He quickly jumped to his feet, realizing in horror and much too late, that this was no chair he was sitting on -

"AAARRRGGHH!!!" he screamed instinctively, as he tumbled over the edge of the tower.

He felt a sudden, painful jerk oh his arm and shoulder as he stopped a few feet below the tower's roofline; he glimpsed something blue and glowing brushing his hair and falling past his eyes. He looked up.

Luna was holding onto one of his coat sleeves in desperation, lying on her stomach and herself perilously close to falling over, long strands of stray dirty blonde hair falling into his face, tickling him.

He felt himself drop a little in his robes, his free arm held at his side being the only thing keeping him from slipping straight out of his coat to the ground below. He felt himself drop a couple of inches, looking up in horror and realizing that Luna was slowly being dragged slowly over the edge, her knuckles white with strain as she maintained an iron-like grip on his sleeve. He had to act quickly.

He raised his free arm to try and get to his wand, though the moment he did so he felt his shoulder slip partly out his sleeve and he slid further down into his coat, thrusting his arm back down hastily lest he slip straight out. There was no way he could get to his wand like this -

He glanced up. Luna was grimacing with the effort of supporting his weight, but it was a losing battle; she was simply too light, the forces of gravity were hard at work now, and the laws of physics couldn't be rewritten without his wand. Or hers, he realized, as he saw it was no longer stowed behind her ear. He tucked his chin against his chest and looked down; sure enough, a soft blueish light was emanating forlornly from the ground a hundred or so feet below him.

He felt them slip another few inches over the edge. He heard some fabric tear above him, looking up to see his sleeve slowly ripping apart just below Luna's grip.

"Luna, let go!" he said, realizing that if she didn't she'd fall over with him in a matter of seconds.

"Give me your other hand, Harry, I can't hold you!!!" cried Luna, desperately trying to regain her grip on his shredding sleeve.

He felt another lurch as Luna slipped further over the edge. "No!!" he yelled. "You can't hold both - Luna, LET GO!!!"

But she ignored his request, instead lurching forward to try and grip his sleeve below the widening tear, but in so doing her waist slipped over the edge of the tower and he fell sharply further. He stopped about a foot lower, but he could feel himself slipping down lower, little by little, as Luna was being dragged over inexorably with him.

He tried to shake his arm violently in a desperate bid to work himself loose, to no avail. He then raised his free hand but kept it out of Luna's reach, feeling himself slipping out of his coat until he felt Luna's shaking hands gripping themselves tightly around his hand; her grip was slipping against his cold skin...he could see her struggling to keep her legs splayed between the stone battlements to keep from slipping further, but it was hopeless; he could see it, why couldn't she??

"LUNA, PLEASE!!" he cried. "YOU CAN'T HOLD BOTH OF US! LET GO!"

She shook her head, her long pale hair now falling down all about him, stray strands brushing against his face, feeling rather ticklish in spite of his desperate situation. He shook his arm again, feeling her grip slip from his wrist, only to clench even tighter around his fingers, rather painfully...he had only to shake his arm again...

He glanced down at the ground far below, and for an instant recalled Luna's retelling of her spectacular fall at the tender age of six, while trying to imitate the flight of a Nightingale. She'd broken thirty-two bones that day and very nearly perished; he wondered if he would be able to break that record...

They slipped again, further over the edge.

He shook.

"HARRY, NO!!!" she cried.

Then he heard it. A terrifying, reptilian screech from very near them. He twisted his head around as he felt himself slip another few inches - Luna was at the very end of her tether now -

His eyes widened as he saw the huge flying beast flap its wings one last time before settling into a glide, scaly talons on both feet bared menacingly as it bore down on them -