This story was written for Rosa Clearwater's Staying Up All Night challenge. After watching "The Deathly Hallows" I fell in love with the HP series again. And the result is... well, here you are, a short one-shot about one night.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, unfortunately.

Harry was standing in Slughorn's office, dressed in his dress robe. He wasn't really sure how he had got there, but it was most probably one of the famous Slug Club dinners.

The room was decorated in the winter theme, with mistletoe and snowflakes everywhere, so it must have been a Christmas party. But wait… Wasn't it April already? Harry shrugged his shoulders and looked around.

Suddenly he noticed Ginny walking towards him. His heart made a somersault. He wanted to say something smart and funny, but before he could even open his mouth, Ginny put her finger on his lips and leaned over…

BANG!

The lightning struck somewhere near. Harry jumped and nearly fell to the floor. Cursing under his breath, he covered his head with a pillow and shut his eyes. Can't that stupid lightning wait just a little while? He needed only thirty more seconds, maybe even less…

He tried to fall asleep again, but with no success. After fifteen minutes of turning in his sheets and listening to the rain, Harry sighed and got out of bed. Stupid storm.

He poured himself a glass of water, looking out of the window. It was raining heavily. The school grounds were totally dark, every now and then lit by the lightning.

Suddenly something on the grounds caught his attention. He noticed a faint light, maybe a lantern. Someone was down there, despite the heavy rain. Harry frowned. Who could that be?

He took the Marauders Map from his trunk. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he whispered, trying not to wake the rest.

To his surprise, the small black dot on the grounds was Luna Lovegood. Harry raised his eyebrows. What was she doing there, in the middle of the night? He quickly took out his Invisibility Cloak and, as quietly as he could, left the dormitory.

He nearly bumped into Filch twice, but managed to get to the Entrance Hall unnoticed. Fortunately, the main door wasn't locked. He pushed it and sneaked outside. His clothes got wet immediately.

He saw Luna, standing just a few feet away. He took off the Invisibility Cloak, not wanting to scare her.

Harry came closer and noticed that Luna was dancing. The small lantern, standing on the grass, wasn't giving too much light, what made the whole scene look… strange.

"Hey, Luna," he said, standing next to her.

"Harry!" Luna smiled widely. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" she asked, as if her presence there was totally normal.

"I saw the light and wanted to check what's going on. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just attracting golden half-winged thingles," she said casually. "This is the best time to do it."

Harry had already got used to Luna's strange ideas and was sure that the reason for her staying up all night would be something like that. He was completely wet, though, and really didn't want to get caught by Filch.

"Um, but it's raining, you know. You're soaked," he pointed at her wet robe and hair.

Luna shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't matter. A few drops of water won't kill me, I'm not a gridmer. I have to do it tonight."

"Harry didn't risk asking what gridmers are. He had known Luna long enough. "Maybe tomorrow the weather will be better…" he suggested.

"No!" Luna shook her head vigorously. "It has to be tonight! Thingles come only once a year and it's very important to me and my father. You know, it's my birthday today," she added.

Harry blushed a bit. Fortunately it was dark and Luna didn't noticed that. Of course he didn't know. "Really? Happy birthday. Um, I don't have a present for you…"

"Oh, it doesn't matter," she smiled, and then explained, "Thingles are very friendly, but very shy. And if I try to contact them on my birthday, they'll be more willing to come."

"I see. But why do you have to do it in the middle of the night?" asked Harry. He was shivering in his wet clothes already and Luna was definitely far more chilled.

"Oh, it's simple. In Latin "Luna" means "moon". Night is the best time for my magic and my skills. I can cast more powerful spells then, you know, that kind of stuff." She looked in the cloudy sky and then said, "I've been trying to summon thingles every year, but they have never come."

Harry suspected why, but didn't say that aloud. Instead, he asked, "Why is it so important to contact them?"

"They can send messages to the dead. We want to contact my mother. Before she died, she invented a tickling potion, but she didn't have time to tell us what the secret ingredient was. Me and my father have never managed to discover it, so we want to ask her."

Harry thought that if he could contact his parents, he would tell them many things, but potion causing tickles was definitely not on his list. But, well, it was Luna, so he wasn't very surprised.

"Maybe you can help me?" Luna asked suddenly. "It's easy, you just have to dance, I'll show you the moves…"

She twisted gracefully, waving her arms in the air. "If two people do that, thingles are more likely to come. I have never asked anyone to join me, they all think I'm crazy."

Harry felt embarrassed. "I'd love to," he said. Sometimes Luna was just too honest. She said it so casually, as if she didn't care at all. He felt sorry for her. She was really nice, just a bit… eccentric.

Luna started dancing again, and Harry joined her after a while. He wasn't very good at it. To be honest, actually, he was hopeless. His dance was even worse than his occlumency. He only hoped that thingles would appreciate his efforts.

After about five minutes it suddenly stopped raining and the sky cleared up a bit.

"See?" Luna smiled widely. "It's a good sign."

At that very moment the castle door opened and they saw a person literally running towards them. In the faint light of the lamp she was carrying, Harry recognized professor McGonagall. He groaned. "Now that is a very bad sign."

"What, for Merlin's sake, is going on here?" McGonagall asked angrily. "Miss Lovegood, it's the middle of the night!"

"I am sorry, Professor," Luna replied cheerfully "We're trying to attract thingles."

McGonagall's face expression was a mixture of surprise and amusement, but she said nothing. Then she noticed Harry. "Potter! What are you doing here?"

"Um, well, I'm helping Luna. Two dancers are always better than one, aren't they?"

"Oh yes," Luna smiled, and suddenly suggested, "Would you like to join us, Professor? Thingles will feel very honored if you do."

Harry just couldn't help laughing. He quickly pretended that it was a cough, but got the impression that professor McGonagall was doing her best not to laugh too.

"I don't understand a word, but it doesn't matter. Go to bed, both of you."

"But, Professor," Luna said imploringly. "It's our only chance to talk to thingles! If you scare them, they will never, ever come back."

Harry noticed that Luna was almost crying. He quickly hastened to her assistance. "Please, Professor. You see how important it is for Luna," he said. "And it's her birthday today. Please," he repeated.

Professor McGonagall was caught off guard. But before she could come up with a sensible response, Luna jumped and clapped her hands. "Oh, look! They're coming! Thingles are flying to us!" She pointed at something in the dark sky.

At first Harry didn't see anything. After a few seconds, he noticed several light spots coming closer to them. He smiled with amazement. Thingles looked like crossovers of fireflies and golden butterflies and, he had to admit it, were really pretty.

They surrounded Luna's head. She looked as if she was wearing a golden crown. Harry glanced at professor McGonagall and smiled. She was completely shocked. "Impossible," she murmured. "Just impossible." To be honest, Harry too had to pinch himself to check if he really was wide awake.

Luna was happier than ever. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she sang. "I knew you would come some day. Now, can you contact my mother and deliver her a message?"

Thingles' lights dimmed, and then brightened again. Harry took it as a yes.

"Wonderful! So please find her and ask her about the secret ingredient to her tickling potion."

Harry looked at professor McGonagall again and smiled. Seeing her so surprised was definitely worth even getting a detention. It was the first time he'd seen her just speechless.

"And-" Luna stammered. "And tell her I love her and I still miss her."

Harry's throat went dry. Now that was something he definitely would tell his parents. Luna had strange ideas, but inside she was just like him – lonely, missing her mother. He understood her. And maybe the tickling potion was just an excuse to send that one important message.

Thingles blinked again and flew away. "Thank you!" Luna shouted and turned to Harry. He noticed tears gleaming in her eyes, but she was smiling. She took a deep breath. "Okay, I think we can go back now."

"Don't you want to wait for an answer?"

"Oh, no, it's not necessary," she explained. "My mother will come to me in my dream and answer my question."

"Really? Maybe I should try it too..." he said, thinking about his own mother's eyes and her pretty smile.

"Of course! I can help you if you want!" said Luna enthusiastically. "But we have to wait till your birthday."

They started walking towards the castle, as the first rays of sunlight appeared. Harry turned back and saw that professor McGonagall was still standing in her place. "Um, Professor, are you going with us?" he called to her.

McGonagall started and waved to them impatiently. "Of course, of course. I'll join you in a while," she said, but didn't move.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and entered the castle with Luna. They parted in the Entrance Hall. "Goodnight, Harry," said Luna cheerfully. "Or rather good morning."

"Yeah." Harry grinned. "Thanks for an interesting night."

"Thanks for your help. It wouldn't have worked without you," answered Luna and climbed the stairs.

Harry watched for a while and then headed towards the Griffindor tower. Fat Lady wouldn't be very happy if woke her up, but he had no choice. He thought about Luna, her weird ideas and how they actually turned out to be true sometimes. And then he thought about professor McGonagall's face when she'd seen thingles, and laughed aloud.

Oh yes, he would definitely remember that night for a long time...

So here it is! Let me know what do you think about it. I really, really love reviews! They absolutely make my day. Please don't keep me waiting :)