Disclaimer: I do not, have not, will never, and will have never owned Harry Potter.
A/N: This short makes more sense if you have read my story Harry Potter and the Stay at St. Mungo's, but can be enjoyed independently. It is a little side story that didn't really fit in to the story flow, but I thought was interesting.
Harry knocked softly on the door to Hermione's study. "Hey, Hermione, do you have some time to talk?"
Hermione looked up from the hunched position where she had been working on Arithmancy calculations for the last few hours. "Sure, Harry. I could use a break anyway," she said as she stretched her back, a loud pop causing her to wince. "What's on your mind?"
Harry pulled the other chair in the room across from Hermione. "I know that, in the past, you've had a hard time believing in the magical creatures that Luna talks about. However, there's something I need to tell you that I hope will change your mind on the matter: I can see them, too."
Hermione looked deeply in Harry's eyes, looking for any signs of deceit. "Since when? I know that in our fifth year, you weren't able to see them or you would have said something immediately. What changed?"
Harry looked down at his hands and took a deep breath. He paused briefly before letting out while he looked back up at Hermione. "I've been able to see them ever since I died that night to the Killing Curse."
A thoughtful frown crossed Hermione's face. "I'm not sure why that would cause you to see things that you couldn't see before. It also doesn't explain why Luna can see these things. Are you sure that you are seeing the same things?"
"As sure as we can be," Harry answered with a nod. "I've drawn the creatures that I have seen and they match what Luna sees in the same places or around the same people."
"So, is this something that Luna just has naturally?" Hermione wondered out loud.
A grimace from Harry quickly caught Hermione's attention. "We had the same thought, and we don't think so. We talked to Xeno about Luna's past and found out that there was one time where Luna lived through a situation where she should have died when she was younger—she doesn't even remember the event. Apparently the family was out at a lake during the winter to do some ice skating. However, Luna and a group of kids skated out beyond the designated safe zone. While she was out there, the ice cracked. The others all managed to make it to safety, but Luna fell into the lake."
Hermione gasped, "Oh, no!"
"None of the adults were aware of this happening until the kids came crying back, babbling about a girl that fell into the lake. All the parents where in a frenzy, checking for who's child had fallen in. The realization that it was Luna was almost too much for her parents to bear. They hurried out towards the broken ice looking desperately for their daughter before they finally caught sight of her under the ice. She wasn't moving. That day, Luna's mom risked the Statute of Secrecy to get her daughter out of the lake. Thankfully, they were able to get her out of the water before any of the other parents were in position to see how they pulled her out. Unfortunately, she wasn't breathing, was ice cold, and didn't have a pulse. They thought they had lost her.
"Thankfully, an EMT was there with her family. While another family rushed to call 999, the EMT started CPR on Luna. As though by a miracle, the EMT and hospital managed to bring Luna back to life that day. Xeno told us that ever since, Luna has seen things that no one else can."
The pair sat together in a moment of silent thanks for the emergency worker that had saved their friend's life.
Hermione began to reflect on what she had been told. "So, because you both were effectively dead, but didn't stay that way, you're now able to see these creatures. As situations like this aren't unheard of in the muggle world, it stands to reason that you have to also be magical in order to see the creatures…" She trailed off still deep in thought while Harry continued to watch her work through her thoughts. "I still have a hard time believing that these creatures are causing the effect. Take wrackspurts. I can't believe that they cause confusion and fuzzy thinking, or in large enough quantities, comas."
"And that is part of the reason we are having this talk, Hermione." Harry replied gently. "If you look at it from Luna's point of view, it makes perfect sense that she would see them as the cause." Harry held up a hand to stop Hermione's impending interruption. "Because she can see a wrackspurt hovering around someone's head, she knows that their mental faculties are impaired in some way. She knows this before they ever say anything. Once that impairment goes away, before the person can say anything, the wrackspurt has already disappeared. So, from an observational perspective, it looks like the wrackspurt is the cause rather than a symptom."
"I guess that makes sense…" Hermione allowed, while still thinking about the situation.
"All I ask is that you think about it Hermione, but rather than thinking about them as a cause, think of them as an effect. What Luna and I are seeing is just the different effects on the magical field surrounding someone or an area. I think that if you do this, you can find some common ground to talk about these things with Luna, even though you can't see what we can." As he was saying this, Harry reached across between them and brushed a stray hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
Hermione glanced up at Harry's gentle touch, the confusion in her eyes gone. "I can do that, Harry. Thanks for talking to me about this."
"Any time, Hermione. Family looks out for each other. I'll leave you to your Arithmancy." Harry smiled as he stood up and walked out of the room. As he shut the door behind him, Luna appeared at his side.
"She didn't notice that you drove off that wrackspurt when you tucked that hair behind her ear, did she?"
"No. I don't think she did. But we both love her, anyway."