Luna's year

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!"

"GGGAAAAHHHHH!!!" shrieked Harry, arms and legs flailing wildly in all directions, bedsheets thrown asunder. He slipped over the side of his bed and fell rather unceremoniously to the floor, the sudden scream in his ear having drawn him abruptly from his slumber.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position, his shaking hands scrambling for his glasses up atop his night stand. He hastily donned the spindly spectacles and looked up at his tormentor.

He found himself staring up at the dark-clad figure of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, standing off to the side of his bed. The old Auror was gazing down at him with his hands in his pockets, shaking his head reproachfully.

"What was THAT for???" shot Harry through heaving breaths, his heart racing.

"If I'd been You-Know-Who, ye'd be dead by now!" growled Moody. "You kids have to take yer security more seriously!"

"If you were You-Know-Who, you wouldn't have been YELLING IN MY EAR!!" countered Harry angrily.

"Eh...fair point," said Moody, his magic eye roving around the dormitory. "Still, though, I shouldn't have snuck in here so easily. I'm tellin' you, all anyone has to do is hide near that painting there, and just wait for somebody to come by!"

"I don't care!" barked Harry, picking himself up from the floor and throwing the blankets back on the bed. "I don't want to have to be on my guard while I'm sleeping! What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Eh, got a meetin' with Dumbledore an' Lupin this morning," said Moody. "Figured I'd check up on ye while I'm here. Glad I did, too, the security leaves a lot - "

"Look," interrupted Harry as he opened his trunk to retrieve his robes, "don't get me wrong, it's good to see you, but I usually prefer to wake up on my own, all right? I don't need to have someone testing my every move just in case a Death Eater managed to sneak in here!"

"Best to be prepared for anything!" said Moody gruffly, walking around the dormitory, his wooden leg thumping thickly against the floor. "People never take security seriously 'till it's too late, lad, mark my words. You can easily set up a few charms to - "

"Okay, okay," said Harry. "I'll think about the charms, all right? Can I just - " He held up his robes, in the hopes that Moody would get the picture and leave him be.

"Harry? You coming down anytime soon?" asked Ron as he ran up through the hole in the floor where the staircase emerged, breathing heavily after sprinting up five floors, "I wanna get some breakfast before - hey, what are you doing in here?"

"Oy," growled Moody, pointing his thumb at Ron over his shoulder, "Walked right by this one downstairs and he never even clued in on me. I'm tellin' you, you boys are just asking for trouble. Anyway, I'm off, meetin's due to start soon." With that, the old Auror limped past Ron and made his way noisily down the stairs.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron, "How'd he get in here anyway?"

"He's checking out security," said Harry impatiently, trying to put some semblance of order in his bedsheets. "Almost gave me a heart attack too. I never want to wake up like that again."

"Oh...well anyway," said Ron, "are you coming down anytime soon? I was waiting up for you before going - "

"You go ahead," said Harry, sitting on the corner of the bed and pulling on his socks, "I'll be down in a bit."

"Righto," said Ron, proceeding down the stairs to the Common Room. He paused a moment to gather the essay he hadn't finished the previous night before making his way to the Great Hall.

The place was getting quite busy, yet he couldn't see any sign of Hermione or Ginny anywhere. Instead, the surprising sight of Neville and Luna sitting opposite each other at the Gryffindor table drew his attention. His hapless housemate quickly spotted Ron and gave him a look akin to someone desperately in need of rescue.

Ron quickly gathered himself some breakfast at the high table and marched down to join Neville, who gave a tangible sigh of relief.

"Morning Ron," said Neville gratefully.

"Hello, Ronald," said Luna dreamily, daintily dissecting a blueberry cupcake.

"Er, hi Luna," replied Ron, "Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital wing? When did you get out?"

"Oh, just this morning," she said vaguely. "I really wanted to find out what happened last night, but I haven't been able to find Ginny or Hermione yet."

She paused in the middle of dissecting the remnants of her small muffin for a moment, her large silver eyes popping up to meet his. "Would you know? The last thing I remember is being carried through the air with Harry, I can't recall anything after that."

Ron hastily bit off a large chunk of toast and made as though his overstuffed mouth was what prevented him from answering; he needed to think of something fast. He didn't yet know if they were supposed to tell Luna about Hermione's plan, and he didn't want to be the one to make that gaffe and suffer Hermione's wrath afterwards.

He chewed slowly on his toast, Luna staring at him intently all the while. Finally he decided on a course which he hoped would spare him any lecturing afterwards.

"Yeah," he said finally, wiping his mouth, "Remus Lupin showed up last night; he saved you guys from falling off the tower, apparently." There, no lie, he told himself.

"Minister Lupin is here?" asked Luna, her eyes brightening.

"Uh-huh," said Ron, taking another bite of toast.

"Thank you," said Luna airily, dropping the remnants of her paltry breakfast onto her plate before rising from the table. Ron and Neville watched her go, both heaving sighs of relief as she left the Great Hall.

"Holy smoke, I thought she'd never leave," said Neville. "Why does she have to stare like that? Honestly, I thought I had paint on my nose or something!"

"I hear you," said Ron. "I don't think she does it on purpose, but it drives me up the wall too."

"Either way," said Neville, cutting his pancake into manageable morsels, "she gives me the heebie-jeebies, I'm telling you."

"Well anyway," said Ron, unexpectedly finding himself wanting to change this particular subject, "I didn't want to spill the beans while she was here. That was close, Hermione would have strung me up from one of the Quidditch hoops."

"What beans?" asked Neville, glancing at him curiously as he poured syrup over his crepe.

Ron glanced around furtively, in case anyone was eavesdropping. "Keep this to yourself for now," he said in a low voice, "Hermione worked out a plan last night. We're going to get the date for Hogsmeade weekend moved up and use Malfoy as bait."

Neville's eyes widened as he very nearly spilled syrup on his lap. "Eh? Malfoy? Bait for what?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange," said Ron, pouring himself a goblet of apple juice, "We're going to trade her for Luna's dad. There's still some details we have to work out - "

"Lestrange!" exclaimed Neville, his face reddening, "I want in on that!"

"Shh, keep it down, will you?" said Ron, knowing full well Neville's deep-rooted hatred for the Death Eater. "Mum's the word, at least until we've talked about it more with the others."

Neville seemed to relax slightly, before a look of confusion crossed his face. "I don't get it. Trade Lestrange? Luna's dad? I'm missing something here, aren't I?"

"Um, yeah," said Ron, speaking through a mouthful of toast. "I found out last night. You-Know-Who's holding Luna's dad hostage. In exchange for her wand, seems like."

"Whoa," said Neville, looking shocked. "And here I am complaining about how weird she is. Does she know?"

"I dunno...I don't think so," said Ron. "Not the hostage part, anyway."

Neville was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, it was with a strangely serious tone, "You're going to just hand her over? Lestrange, I mean? Just like that?"

"Well, yeah," said Ron. "That's the plan, anyway. Why?"

Neville seemed to be struggling for words. "Oh...nothing." He said finally.

Ron had a pretty good idea what was going through Neville's head right now. The thought of capturing Lestrange, only to let her go, must be eating away at him...Harry had voiced similar concerns about the Order and the Ministry's possible reluctance at releasing her.

"Well, good morning," said Hermione as arrived and took a seat next to Ron, breakfast plate in hand. "Who was sitting here?" she asked, pushing aside Luna's unfinished cupcake.

"Morning," said Neville, somewhat sombrely.

"Luna was there," answered Ron, "She just left a couple of minutes ago. I think she went looking for you guys."

"Oh!" said Hermione, her expression brightening, "Madam Pomfrey gave her release then? How is she?"

"Well, she looked all right," said Ron, "Was driving Neville here a bit - " He'd been about to say 'nutters', but caught himself in time; the memory of the Longbottoms in St. Mungo's flooding back to him, " - er, up the wall."

Ginny joined them with her breakfast plate, taking a seat next to Neville.

"Oh, don't worry," said Hermione. "There's not a mean bone in her body, Neville."

"You're not still scared of her?" asked Ginny, elbowing Neville in the ribs, "Are you?"

"No I'm not," said Neville rather unconvincingly. "She's just...you know..."

"Well anyway, she's had a really rough go of it lately," said Ginny. "Did you hear what happened to her dad?"

"Just now," Neville nodded towards Ron. "Can I come with you guys to Hogsmeade? I'd really like to help."

"Thank you, Neville," said Hermione sincerely. "I'd really hate to think what would happen if this doesn't work - "

Harry joined them a few minutes later, settling down at the table next to Hermione, looking somewhat disheveled and worried. "Anyone see Luna? I went to check up on her but she's not in the hospital wing..."

"Yeah, she was just here a few minutes ago," said Ron. "She looked fine though."

Harry glanced down to the Great Hall's entrance, wondering if he could find her before classes started. It was unlikely, given the size of the school, he realized. She was probably in the Ravenclaw tower by now anyway, he thought. Though he could always wait outside -

He was interrupted in his deliberation, however, by Hermione touching his arm to get his attention.

"Listen, Harry, I was thinking," she said, "about moving up the date for Hogsmeade weekend - "

"Let me take care of that," said Harry. "I don't want to tip Dumbledore off to what we're planning. I'll figure out a way to ask him without telling him about the plan, don't worry."

Hermione looked mortified. She and Ginny exchanged nervous glances, although Ron and Neville seemed less disturbed by Harry's declaration.

"What?" asked Harry, seeing Hermione's reaction. "We can't tell him, Hermione. Or any of the teachers."

"But Harry," said Hermione, "with Dumbledore there it would make it so much easier, not to mention safer...I really think we should involve him, and the Order too."

"I agree," said Ginny quickly.

"We can't," said Harry firmly. "Look, do you really think he'd let us use another student as bait? Even if it is a Slytherin?"

Hermione swallowed hard. "I don't...Harry, we can really use his help on this..."

"Hermione's right, Harry," said Ginny seriously. "Look what happened last year."

Harry flushed, barely keeping his temper in check. It was Dumbledore's insistence on keeping Harry in the dark that had caused so much grief last year, so far as he was concerned. No one had prodded the Headmaster to reveal anything to Harry then, so why should Harry be forthcoming now? Especially since it could jeopardize getting Luna's father back, something he was determined not to risk.

"All right look," he said more abruptly than he'd intended, "First of all, he'll never let us use Malfoy as bait, and second, what makes you think he'd be willing to hand Lestrange back over to Voldemort?"

"How do you know he wouldn't?" countered Ginny just as forcefully. "Dumbledore wouldn't throw away someone's life like that, Harry."

"It's not just Dumbledore," Harry riposted. "It's the Order and the Ministry too. Just think of what they could do if they got their hands on Lestrange, with everything she knows. They'd never be willing to give her up, not even for Luna's dad!"

"But Dumbledore's the head of the Order, Harry," pleaded Hermione. "He'll have the final word, and we're not dealing with Cornelius Fudge anymore either, they'll listen - "

"Will they?" asked Harry sharply. "No, I'm not taking that chance. If we tell them about the plan to them and they decide to keep Lestrange for themselves then we've just killed Luna's dad. No, we're keeping under our hats."

Hermione and Ginny looked at each with unfathomable stares.

"Well, I'm going regardless," declared Neville, lifting Harry's spirits slightly.

"I'm with you too," confirmed Ron. "Anyway, how hard can it be? It's six against one."

"She won't be alone, Ron," countered Hermione. "For all we know, we're the ones who'll be outnumbered!"

"Look," Harry interrupted, as their voices had been rising to a dangerously audible level, "I was serious last night. I know it's taking going to be riskier by not telling Dumbledore, I won't argue that. That's why I'd feel a lot better doing this on my own."

"No," said Hermione firmly, shaking her head. She took a deep breath. "No...if you're determined to do this, Harry, then we're all with you...but please think about what I said, at least?"

"Are you going to tell Luna about any of this?" asked Ginny.

"I...well, I don't know," replied Harry after a moment's reflection. "Do you think we should?"

"Well I'd sure feel better if she were there covering my back," voiced Ginny.

"Harry, I think it's best she knows," said Hermione. "It's her father, after all. She'd want to know."

"Yeah, maybe," said Harry pensively. "But I don't want to put that kind of pressure on her right now. We can just tell her that we're trying to capture Lestrange for the Order or something."

"Will she buy that?" asked Ron dubiously.

"She's no idiot, Harry, she'll smell a fish," said Ginny.

"Why don't we just ask her to come with us, without really saying anything?" suggested Ron. "It'll just be like a regular Hogsmeade weekend, from her point of view."

"You mean keep her completely in the dark?" asked Hermione. "No, Ron..."

"Well, let's think on it," said Harry, just then catching sight of a large eagle owl swooping down through the rafters, coming to land on the Slytherin table in front of Malfoy.

"Well, I'm stuffed," said Ron, pushing his plate away from him.

A tawny brown owl suddenly appeared and landed in front of Hermione, Ginny hastily withdrawing her plate from under its beak. Hermione unwrapped the twine holding her copy of the Daily Prophet, glancing around for a treat, her eyes falling on Ron's untouched cupcake. She snatched it up and presented it to the bird, who promptly snapped it up in its beak and flew off.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ron, "That was mine!"

"You just finished saying you were stuffed!" said Hermione, scowling at him as she carefully unfolded the newspaper in front of her.

"Yeah, well, I was gonna make room - " said Ron, watching the departing owl reproachfully. "Oh, fine, then. Go ahead, hope you hate blueberries - "

"Hey, that's the owl!" said Ginny, as the large owl in front of Malfoy lifted off from the Slytherin table and left through one of the openings in the rafters.

"Eh? What owl?" asked Harry.

"That's the owl we used a couple of nights ago, Luna and me," explained Ginny. "I should have figured it belonged to him. It knew his address, after all."

"Where's he buggering off to?" remarked Ron as Harry caught sight of Draco Malfoy hurrying out the Great Hall, parchment in hand.

* * *

Ginny sighed softly as she leaned back in her chair and gazed about the classroom. Aside from the incessant droning of the Professor Binns, the low collective murmuring of the students, and the trickling splatter of freezing rain against the high arched windows, the room was quiet enough for slumber. She was in no mood for nodding off at the moment, however.

She lowered her head and continued her doodle, only managing to make a few random scribbles before her mind drifted back to what had irritating her. It was no use; she had to address it or it would drive her mad before long. She straightened up in her chair and raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Moonglow?" said Binns after considerable delay, apparently caught off-guard at the unusual sight of a raised hand in his class.

"She's Moonglow," said Ginny, tilting her head towards Luna. "I'm Wiseacker."

"Wiseacker...yes...yes, of course, Miss Wiseacker..." the ghostly teacher intoned dully, as Ginny leaned closer to Luna and rolled her eyes.

"Can't even get our wrong names right," she whispered.

She straightened up and continued in a normal tone. "I was just wondering professor, about my essay; is it possible that you might have, er, graded it incorrectly?"

Binns blinked at her repeatedly, as though waiting for her to carry on. It eventually dawned on him that she'd finished her question, as he slowly stirred from his self-imposed stasis.

"Well...now...let me see..." he said, rummaging through a disorganized pile of parchments on his desk. He muttering her incorrect name to himself repeatedly until he finally pulled out the sheet he'd been looking for.

"...yes, here it is...was it graded an 'A', Miss Wiseacker?"

"Yes it was," said Ginny, nodding vigorously.

"That is the correct grade," the Professor droned, putting the sheet back atop his pile and turning back to the blackboard. "Continuing, the Muggle King during this time was unconcerned with the simultaneous rebellion of the Goblinfolk to the West, quite unwisely as it turned out, as this would later prove to be disadvantageous once he attempted to petition other kingdoms - "

"I can't believe this," Ginny whispered to Luna, "He's going to stick me with an 'Acceptable'!"

"It was rather good, wasn't it?" Luna whispered back as she daintily folded a corner on an origami figure she'd been working on for much of the class. "You should've gotten an 'O' too, I should think."

"I know! It's the same essay!" said Ginny in a low voice. "Word for word! How can he score them so differently?" She thought for a moment. "It's almost as if...you don't think he's onto us, do you?"

Luna paused from her paper craft for a moment and smiled dreamily at Ginny. "I wouldn't think so," she said dreamily. "Maybe it's the handwriting."

Ugh, thought Ginny, might just be, at that. Her handwriting was rather coarse at the best of times, a marked contrast to Luna's flowing script. And given the fact that she'd had to transcribe the last few paragraphs of the essay out in the hall in a matter of minutes, its penmanship left much to be desired. Besides, she'd worked on essays with Luna countless times; she was quite convinced that Binns wouldn't notice if everyone in class handed in the exact same paper.

Well, she thought, slouching back in her chair in resignation, it's not the end of the world. At least it's not a T...

Ginny looked over at her friend, wondering how her friend was feeling at this time. She seemed to be her usual dreamy self, but Ginny knew she'd been badly shaken the day before.

She glanced up at the front of the class, where their ghostly teacher was prattling on incessantly, quite unaware, or perhaps uninterested, that the students were practically ignoring him. Indeed, as Binns' practice was to simply read the text directly from the books, anyone could simply read them on their own time and not be any worse off. This allowed them to use History of Magic class to concentrate on other matters, either homework, gossip, or in Luna's case, origami.

"What's that supposed to be, anyway?" asked Ginny, watching Luna's third attempt at creating some unknown figure.

"Oh...well..." said Luna, turning over the half completed paper form in her hands, "It's supposed to be a hippogriff, actually. It's rather difficult though, with all the wings and legs."

She put the paper figure back on her desk and made a few adjustments. "You know, I overheard Padma Patil this morning," she said dreamily, "Word's gotten out that Minister Lupin arrived at school last night on Buckbeak. Anyway, she said all hippogriffs are vicious man-eating monsters; I don't think that's true, though, really. Buckbeak was always quite nice with us in Professor Hagrid's class."

"The only person he ever attacked was Malfoy," said Ginny, "That doesn't make him vicious. It makes him smart."

Luna smiled dreamily to herself, then seemed to mull over something in her head for a few moments. "Did you know," she said dreamily, "all generalisations are inherently false? Including this one? It's true, isn't it?"

Ginny let her head fall to the desk with a soft thump. She barely managed to contain a strong urge to laugh, though several giggles nevertheless escaped her lips. She was relieved to see a glimmer of Luna's quirkiness again, especially after all that had transpired lately.

"Oh, Luna," said Ginny after her fit of the giggles had died away, "where on Earth do you come up with these things?"

Luna was putting the finishing touches on her origami creation. "Oh, well it's something I read once," she said vaguely, delicately folding over a wingtip. "It does make perfect sense when you think about it, though, doesn't it?"

Ginny was interrupted from answering by the bell signalling the end of class. They quickly gathered their books and scooted eagerly out the door, Ginny noting that Binns was still prattling on as they left.

"I'll just go bring these to the dormitory," said Ginny, holding up her schoolbooks. "I'll meet you for lunch in just a bit, all right?"

Luna nodded her acquiescence and proceeded to the Ravenclaw tower, having emerged a few minutes later after leaving her books in the dormitory. She'd barely stepped out into the hall when she glimpsed Harry walking down the hall towards her.

"Hello Harry," she said dreamily. "How are...oh...well, you look positively ill!"

"Er...I do?" asked Harry, taken aback. True, his stomach had been twisting and turning since he'd finally decided, with more than a few misgivings, to tell Luna about her father and Hermione's subsequent plan, but he hadn't expected it to show up in his face.

Luna nodded vigorously. "You're white as a sheet, you know," she said seriously, tilting her head and gazing up at him. "Are you a gryppophobiac?"

Harry gaped at her. "A gryp - what??"

"Harry!"

Harry turned at the sound of the voice, seeing Remus Lupin making his way down the corridor towards them, drawing curious stares from several Ravenclaws who were heading in the opposite direction for lunch.

"Harry, could I - oh, hello, Luna," he said upon seeing the young Ravenclaw. Luna smiled dreamily back at him.

"Sorry to interrupt...Harry, do you have a moment?" he asked. "I have to get back to the office by tomorrow, and I'd like to see you about something before I go. I've been putting it off too long as it is, really."

Harry glanced at Luna. "Er...well..."

"It's okay, I told Ginny I'd meet her for lunch, anyway. I'll see you later, Harry," said Luna serenely before making her way down the hall and disappearing around the corner, Harry being both sorry and relieved to see her go all at once.

"Did you tell her?" asked Lupin.

"I was about to," replied Harry. "I'm not really looking forward to it, though."

"It's for the best, Harry. She came to see me this morning, did you know? I didn't tell her anything, of course," added Lupin quickly at Harry's worried expression. "Except, naturally, that the Ministry and the Order will do everything to get her dad back, which we will. It was nice to see her again though. I still remember her from my stint here; she does leave quite an impression, doesn't she? Goodness how time flies - "

"Uh, well, I didn't know her back then," said Harry self-consciously, as he and Lupin started walking back down the hall.

"Did you know," said Lupin, "when I resigned from the school she and her father wanted to run a story denouncing the Ministry for its anti-lycanthrope policies? And she was just this tiny little second-year at the time, for heaven's sake. She's got quite the convictions; I'd hate to face off against her in a debating club."

Harry allowed himself a grin. He tried to imagine Luna in just such a situation. It would be an interesting debate, to be sure.

"Well, anyway, Harry," said Lupin, "I wanted to talk to you...about Sirius."

Harry said nothing, staring at the floor and suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

Lupin seemed to sense his change in mood. "Look, I know it's a sensitive subject - "

"No, it's not that," said Harry, "It's...just..."

"Yeah," said Lupin sadly, "I know. I haven't been able to talk about it either."

Harry suddenly felt very selfish. It hadn't occurred to him during all this time that Remus Lupin had known Sirius much longer than Harry had, indeed most of his life. They'd been practically brothers in spirit...if anything, he must have felt Sirius' loss at least as strongly as Harry.

"But actually, it's his estate that I wanted to talk to you about, Harry," continued Lupin as they rounded the corner. "You're his principal beneficiary, you know."

"M-me?" Harry stuttered. "But...I'm not part of the family - "

"Just because you're not in the Black family tree doesn't mean you weren't family to him, Harry," said Lupin. He added a moment later, with a hint of a smile, "Come to think of it, his own name wasn't even there anymore, if I remember correctly. Not that it bothered him any, of course."

"But I don't need any money," Harry protested. "I...it wouldn't be right..."

"Don't worry," said Lupin. "Sirius wanted you to have it. To tell the truth, he wasn't all that keen on having all that Black family silver, either. Besides, you can always give it away later, if that will make you feel any better. But it's Grimmauld Place that really matters, really. We've had a real devil of a time trying to keep that place up and running lately."

"What?" said Harry, suddenly recalling what Phineas Nigellus had told him the pervious day. "How do you mean?"

"Well, you remember Mrs. Black, right?" asked Lupin. "Well, with no rightful heir in the place she's taken to shrieking almost constantly. Calling us all invaders and what not. She's even taken to turning off the lights and locking doors now. I think the worst is how she opens the door right when we're in the wash closet; getting to be a real nuisance, really...even worse than before, if you can believe it."

"Can't you get rid of her somehow?"

"No, we tried everything," said Lupin. "She's part of that house, it seems. Anyway, Dumbledore theorized that once you took official possession of the place, she might 'quieten down' a bit, so to speak."

"Uh, well," said Harry, "what would I have to do? I don't have to live there or anything, do I?" The thought of living in Sirius' old house filled him with dread. He'd once actually contemplated it while Sirius was alive, but now that he was gone...

"No, no, not if you don't want to," Lupin assured him. "You just have to be in the house when we have the magistrate transfer the title over to you, that's all. We can go over there tonight, after classes, if you're up to it."

"Uh..."

"We don't have to do this if you're not ready," said Lupin. "We can wait until some other - "

"No, no," said Harry hastily, "I didn't mean it like that, it's just...no, of course I'll go."

* * *

"Luna, wait!"

Luna had been just about to enter the Great Hall when he caught her attention. She turned around and waited for him to catch up to her.

"Hi, Harry," she said dreamily, "Are you well?"

"Er...yeah," said Harry, wondering if she was aware of the meaning of that common Muggle expression. "Could...hey, what happened to you?"

"Hmm?" said Luna, staring back at him innocently with her enormous silvery eyes. Her tattered sleeves, terribly dishevelled hair and dirt smudges on her face and hands contradicted starkly with her perfectly serene demeanor. She looked for all the world as if she'd been dragged through a pumpkin patch by a team of horses.

"Look!" said Harry, holding up one strip of shredded sleeve in front of her as some passing students openly ogled her. "Something happened! Are you okay?"

"Oh...this?" she said after examining herself, "Well, I went and helped Professor Sprout repot her Venomous Tentaculas, actually. I had trouble with a few of them, especially as I couldn't use magic, but I managed well enough. Anyway, how come you're not at supper?"

"I was waiting..." Harry began, but couldn't bring himself to simply ignore Luna's rather harrowed appearance. "Wait a second, I don't get it; why couldn't you use magic? Was Sprout telling you not to?"

Luna smiled slightly at him. "No," she said slowly, "It's because you've got my wand. Minister Lupin told me you had it."

Harry closed his eyes and slapped his forehead with his palm. "I can't believe I forgot that," he said plaintively. He opened his eyes again to see Luna still smiling at him. "Why didn't you say something at lunch?"

"Well, I wasn't worried, really," said Luna conversationally, a curious sight as she resembled something closely akin to a tornado victim. "It wasn't like you were going to hide it on me. And anyway, my satchel turned up today, so I knew my wand would too eventually. Things just have a way of working out."

Harry felt his stomach tighten painfully. Luna had recovered her spirit so well, he hated to be the one to have to tell her about Voldemort's threat. But he also knew that he would never forgive himself if he passed the responsibility on to someone else.

He was about to broach the subject when his eyes fell upon a most unwelcome sight - Pansy Parkinson at the head of a small group of Slytherin girls heading in his direction, Luna's calamitous appearance drawing her gaze immediately. Harry glared at her, hoping that it would suffice to warn her off.

It did not, to his dismay. "Well, well, what have we here?" said Parkinson snidely, pausing before them, her little troupe of housemates fanning out to either side of her. "A little inter-house snogging in the halls, perhaps?"

"Hey!" Harry shot out hotly, "Just bugger off!"

She snickered at him. "Careful, Potter," she said, pointing to her prefect's badge, "wouldn't want to cost Gryffindor any house points, now, would you?"

Her eyes turned to Luna, drifting up and down the young Ravenclaw with exaggerated disgust. "Goodness, but you're a mess. Even more so than usual, if that's possible!" Her accompanying troupe giggled malevolently.

"Look, I told you - " Harry said loudly, taking a step towards her, his face flushing with anger.

She gave him a look of incomprehension. "What are you getting so upset about? I'm just pointing out the obvious for you, Potter. Even you could do a lot better than that," she said, indicating Luna with a depreciative nod before setting off into the Great Hall, accomplices at her heels, glancing back at them disparagingly.

"Luna, I'm so sorry," said Harry, turning back to her apologetically, only to find her staring up at him blankly, her pale eyes unblinking. "That was...er...are you okay?"

She smiled at him. "Oh, come on," she said. "You're not getting upset because of what she said, are you?"

Harry blinked. "Well, yeah!" he exclaimed. "I mean she's such a...a...a 'gitette', I - "

Luna let out a burst of laughter that rang down the long hall, prompting students coming down for their evening supper to stare at her even more blatantly. Her unrestrained laughter combined with her rather trounced appearance seemed to be convincing many that she'd gone completely mad.

"Er...Luna?"

She stumbled back, mirth making her legs wobbly as she clutched her sides. "Git...gitette!!" she managed to blurt out in between fits of raucous laughter.

Harry would have laughed along with her, though he was caught between Luna's flight of hilarity and the knowledge of her father's possible fate. As it was, he could only look at her and wait for her laughter to subside. Which it eventually did, to his relief.

"Gitette!" giggled Luna breathlessly, wiping away tears of laughter.

Harry couldn't bring himself to tell her about her father now, after all that. She was laughing for the first time since she'd known of his disappearance, he couldn't take that away from her just yet...

A thought occurred to him.

"Say I just had an idea," he began, Luna still giddily staring up at him. "Would you, um, like to come with me? I have to go to Grimmauld Place to take possession...Remus Lupin asked me if I could go tonight after classes."

Luna's giddiness died away as though shut off by a tap. Harry was amazed at how quickly her demeanor could change; and yet, in Luna it was somehow all quite natural.

"Sure Harry, if you like," she said. "That was your Godfather's place, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I told Remus that I'd go settle the estate tonight. Sirius left me everything, including the house."

"Oh...of course I'll come, Harry," she said quietly. "You've never been back there since last year, have you?"

"No," said Harry. "And to be honest, it kind of gives me the creeps. He hated that place; he only lived there because it was the headquarters for the Order and it was the safest place to hide."

Luna nodded solemnly, her large silver eyes clear and focused. "When would we leave?" she asked.

"Er, well, Remus said anytime after classes, so we can go grab a bite to eat and meet him straight after."

"All right," said Luna serenely. "Well, I suppose I really should go wash up a bit before supper. Save me a seat, Harry!"

"I will. And thanks Luna," said Harry. "Really."

He turned to go, but Luna stayed rooted to the spot. Harry had the distinct feeling she was waiting for something. Had she misunderstood something?

"Um, we'll meet in the Great Hall in a bit...for supper..."

She was still gazed serenely at him. Perhaps he'd omitted some bit of information?

"...and we'll go see Remus after that...in Dumbledore's office..."

She smiled at him and slowly shook her head, before finally leaving for the Ravenclaw tower.

It was only as Harry was talking his seat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall that it hit him - he still had Luna's wand!

* * *

Harry had made a point to give Luna's wand back to her the moment she'd arrived in the Great Hall, lest he forget again. They ate sparingly, talking about the last day's events; Hermione in particular seemed to take particular heart in Luna's better spirits.

Soon after supper they made their way down to the entrance to Dumbledore's office, facing the large stone gargoyle which marked the entrance.

"Argyle socks," whispered Harry, in case Mad-Eye Moody happened to be lurking about, checking on security.

They rose the spiral steps until they came to the large double doors, which opened as soon as he'd knocked; clearly he was expected.

He was greeted by the sight of professor Dumbledore sitting at his desk, clad in a magnificent lavender robe speckled with silver constellations. Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt were all sitting around the Headmaster's desk, looking over at him.

"Ah, Harry," greeted Dumbledore, "please come in. And Miss Lovegood, it is most pleasurable to see you again."

She smiled dreamily at the headmaster and followed Harry into the office. As they approached, Dumbledore moved over to retrieve an old kettle from a cupboard nestled amongst the bookcases behind his desk.

"Hi, Luna," said Tonks. "Did Harry tell you, er - "

Tonks glanced at Harry, clearly wondering wether he'd told Luna yet about her father. He subtly shook his head in the negative.

"...um...tell you...about Grimmauld Place?" Tonks finished awkwardly, though Luna gave no sign of suspecting anything amiss.

"Yes," said Luna serenely, "he asked me to come."

She leaned close to Tonks, and spoke in a whisper that was barely lower than her normally dreamy voice. "I think this estate business makes him very uncomfortable, actually."

Harry looked at her and couldn't help but smile. Luna's attempt at clandestine behaviour was hopelessly obvious; Moody was looking at her critically, evidently concluding the young Ravenclaw definitely needed substantial training in the art of subterfuge.

"Professor," said Harry as Dumbledore put the kettle on his desk, "Um, I was wondering, would it be possible to move up the date for next Hogsmeade weekend?"

Dumbledore gazed at him sagely. "Actually, Harry," he said, "I was thinking of doing exactly that. Was there a particular date you had in mind?"

"Er, well, as soon as possible," said Harry, feeling slightly uneasy. If the Headmaster pressed him on it, would Harry be able to lie to him?

"If it's not too much trouble." He added hastily.

Dumbledore glanced at Lupin before turning his clear blue eyes back on Harry. "Well, I'm sure we can manage something," he said. "May I ask as to the reason behind your request, Harry?"

"Er," Harry glanced around desperately, his eyes falling on Moody. "Security!" he exclaimed a bit too abruptly, he thought. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Luna turn her pale gaze upon him.

"Ah," growled Moody from his chair beside the desk. "Bright boy. Learns fast when you tell him. Never let 'em see a pattern! Always keep 'em guessing!"

"Harry," said Dumbledore quietly, "is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

Harry swallowed hard. Though Dumbledore showed so sign of displeasure, Harry had the discomforting sensation that the Headmaster could see right through him. But no, he couldn't risk letting him know about the plan. A dark part of him also took satisfaction with the notion of withholding information from Dumbledore, though Harry quickly pushed the fleeting thought from his consciousness.

"No," he said finally. "Nothing."

Dumbledore gazed at him serenely before finally nodding. He turned to the kettle and raised his wand, tapping it lightly.

"Portus," he said, the kettle trembling slightly and giving off a blueish hue for a few seconds before quickly settling back to its original, unremarkable, state.

"Well, gather around," said Lupin.

Tonks, Lupin, Luna and Harry gathered around the desk. Harry noticed that Moody and Shacklebolt showed no signs of moving; clearly this entire thing had been carefully planned beforehand.

"Ready, now," said Lupin, as they all placed their hands in the ready position. "Right...three...two...one...now."

Harry touched the kettle and instantly felt himself being jerked forward. The surroundings around him changed from Dumbledore's office to a myriad collection of swirling colours, Harry feeling the wind blowing through his hair wildly - all the while being quite aware of Luna's presence at his side, though he could not see her -

He fell on the floor near the entrance of Grimmauld Place, the kettle hitting the floor with a metallic clang somewhere behind him. The others were scattered nearby, Lupin being the only one who'd managed to keep his balance by grabbing onto a sconce in the wall.

"That thing is getting rougher every time," said Tonks as she picked herself up from the floor, looking to the kettle with irritation. "We should ask Dumbledore to have a look at that."

Harry glanced about. Though the place was now quite habitable, it still had the gloomy atmosphere that had embedded itself in his consciousness the moment he'd first set foot in the place. The knowledge that it was Sirius' one time home, and then virtually his second prison, did nothing to alleviate his discomfort.

"All right," said Lupin once they'd all regained their bearings, looking at Luna. "We have to keep very quiet in the hall upstairs. I'll explain why when we get to the kitchen."

"All right," said Luna dreamily. They set off up the short flight of stairs, Harry recognizing straight away the familiar hallway with the staircase on the left leading up to the old bedroom he'd shared with Ron the previous year. They quietly walked along, being very mindful not to speak. Luna was gazing around curiously, pausing to gaze at each portrait on the wall, falling further and further behind the group.

When they'd reached the doors to the kitchen, Harry turned around to wait for Luna, instantly horrified to see her leaning forward, curiously peeking behind the bedraggled velvet curtains that concealed Mrs. Black's portrait.

"Luna, No!"

"AAARRGGHH!!!" shrieked Mrs. Black. Luna quickly snapped her head back and let go of the curtain, though it nevertheless flew open a split second afterwards.

"FREAK! HALF-BREED CHILD!!! DAUGHTER OF FILTH!! CREATURE OF FOULNESS!! AN ABOMINATION!! THE BLOOD TRAITOR HAS ALLOWED AN ABOMINATION INTO THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE - "

Harry rushed down and grabbed Luna's arm to drag her away, as she'd been staring transfixed at the portrait without showing any signs of leaving.

"Luna, come on - " he said as he desperately pulled her away, Tonks and Lupin passing by him.

"Get to the kitchen, Harry," yelled Lupin, his voice barely discernible over Mrs. Black's screeching, "We'll handle it!"

"Well, that was rather rude," said Luna through the shrieking in the background as Harry pulled open the door to the kitchen. He went to motion Luna inside but caught himself at the sight of the figure that appeared in the doorway.

A tall and rather attractive blonde-haired woman, her face vaguely familiar, stood before him. She gazed down at him with a reticent air, her tangible aloofness sending him chills. His eyes were drawn downwards, however, to the tiny figure hiding behind the stranger; it was peering around her to look at him, its ancient face and long, pointy ears unmistakable.

"Oooo..." it said, its eyes widening in horror.

"YOU!!" yelled Harry, the sight of Kreacher instantly filling him with murderous rage. He whipped out his wand and pointed the trembling tip at the treacherous elf -