Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and all respective companies.
Luna had seen it, only for a fleeting second. After all, she was being chased by a death eater at the time, but she had seen it as clear as her hand in front of her face. Among the seemingly millions of glowing orbs in the Department of Mysteries, there was one, situated four shelves up, second form the aisle that read L. Lovegood at the top.
Luna was the only L. Lovegood she knew of, even in her own family, the only one to have a first name beginning with L. She chose to not tell anyone of its existence, mainly because she had know idea what it was about, just that it had something to do with her. It could have been something as mundane as "Luna Lovegood will eat chocolate cake on the 13th September", or something much more sinister. Luna rather hoped it predicted her discovery of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack at some point in her life. She had seen the mystery orb at the end of her fourth year, whilst fighting alongside the DA at the Ministry of Magic. The orb and the secrets it contained soon left her mind, and didn't re-enter until over two years later, at a seemingly random moment.
Luna was sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, staring out the window, as rain dripped down it, the dismal dullness behind it. She was on her way to Hogwarts for her seventh and final year. She was a little sad that many of her friends were not returning with her. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville had gone their separate ways, being a year older than her. She was sure she would see them again, but certainly not while she was at school.
And she still had Ginny. The red-haired girl and her had become good friends over the years, even though Ginny had been initially reluctant to associate with her, not wanting to be known as "that friend of Loony Lovegood's". She was sitting in the seat across with Luna, alongside a mixed group of other students, from different houses and years, who had seemingly only sat in this compartment because their weren't any others with room left.
Luna began to wonder what this year would be like. The school was still recovering from the battle at the end of her sixth year, but was in surprisingly good shape considering it had only been a few months, owing to the fact many of the teachers had elected to stay over the summer to help with repairs. Added to these thoughts was the now annual discussion of who would be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Once again, the outgoing teacher had only lasted a year. Not many students were complaining however, they were all glad to see the back of the Carrows, Luna included, though she wasn't a person to ever actively hate someone.
Luna recognised a mountain as the train sped on, the landmark informing her she was about two-thirds through the journey. Having already finished the latest edition of the Quibbler, there was nothing to do except stare out of the window and think. It was then the orb with her name slipped into her mind for the first time in years. She began to think again of what it predicted, if anything. Perhaps whatever it was had already happened? Maybe it simply predicted Luna would be kidnapped by Death Eaters, or that she would be involved in the final battle with Voldermort. Deep down, Luna didn't really want to know. She had always taken an attitude of "what will be will be", and never wanted to know anything about her fate, but she couldn't resist a little speculation.
While she mused on this, the train began to slow down at a surprising rate. They were still nowhere near Hogsmeade, and Luna thought there may have been a problem with the track. In all her years of travelling on the train, there had never been any delays or problems with any of the journeys. She only got a moment though, before it al happened in a matter of seconds. Before she knew what was going on, Luna was flat on her back, the rain stinging her face fro above. There was a little blood dripping from her cheek, and she was freezing. Standing up, shivering, Luna saw what had been her carriage, lying on its side, smoke billowing from the middle of it. Looking down further, it was a similar story, carriages twisted and broken. The Hogwarts Express had crashed.
Luna checked herself over properly, finding to her amazement she had escaped with only a few scratches, despite being thrown from the train. The trackside was already crowded with students who had escaped the wreckage. Those who could apparate were disappearing to get help, and the driver was running up and down to try to assist anyway he could.
"I've been driving this train for thirty years!" he yelled to no-one in particular, "Never seen anything like this!" The driver seemed at a loss to what had caused the disaster, and Luna simply stared for a moment at the carnage before her.
"Ginny!" she yelled out, realising her best friend wasn't anywhere to be seen. She hurried along her carriage, counting the compartments, until she found the one that had been hers. Luckily, it was largely in tact, and Luna was able to climb up through the window she'd been thrown out of. It took a moment for her to see properly, the air filled with dust and soot. She spotted an unmistakable mess of red hair a little in front of her, and reached out to find Ginny, slumped in her seat, still breathing, but unconscious. She pulled her up as best she could, and coughing, exited back out of the carriage, collapsing onto the ground spluttering as soon as she did. A shadow appeared in front of her.
"Luna, you need to come with me."
Luna looked up into the face of one of the last people she expected to see at this scene. Hermione Granger.
"Hermione, what…" she began to say.
"No time," Hermione cut in, lifting Ginny from the ground, and grabbing Luna's arm. The blond girl felt herself spinning away from the wreckage site.
Notes: This is the first fanfic I've submitted, reviews are greatly appreciated.