For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Little League Round 3.

My Team: Gryffindor

Position: Chaser 1

Prompts: (word) history

(creature) mermaid

(word) experience

Genre: Supernatural

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Luna Lovegood was many things. She was sweet, quirky, confusing, and unique.

Many people found her loony, but her friends accepted her quirks, for the most part.

However, there was one part of her, which she doubted they would accept.

Of all her friends, Harry accepted her the most, because he had grown up to accept people as who they were in their heart, not who everyone thought them to be.

Luna felt most comfortable around Harry, mainly because they were alike.

They both lost their parents when they were young. (Her father, although she loved him, forgot her existence.)

They saw things others didn't. (Although she saw way more than he did.)

They saw the darkness and the light, the shades of grey, blue, and red that existed.

However Luna saw more. She always had.

After the war, Hermione was one of the few who came back to school at the start of the year.

Harry joined them a month later saying that being an Auror was not for him. Luna agreed. She saw him more as a professor.

He and Hermione were quick to barricade themselves from everyone.

Luna understood. Harry was still haunted by the war. Many of them were.

She, however, had been haunted her whole life.

Hermione had requested that Luna room with her in the 8th year rooms.

Luna realized it was because Hermione was afraid to be alone.

Luna didn't sleep most nights simply because she would be kept awake by the screams, voices, and memories.

It wasn't just Hermione screaming. It was Harry or Dean Thomas, or Lavender Brown, or Draco Malfoy, or Susan Bones.

Most mornings she would be joined by one of the 8th years. They would sit on the couch and she would bring them tea.

Sometimes she would find them sleeping on the couch. She simply covered them with a blanket.

She felt sad for them because they had lost the most. They lost their families and friends, their innocence.

If there was one thing that Luna liked doing, it was sitting by the Great Lake. She enjoyed the peace and serenity of it.

Most days, she would try to convince one of the 8th years to join her. Most days they refused.

She enjoyed the sun and the wind in her hair, she liked listening to the mermaids sing.

There was one mermaid who she enjoyed communicating with.

This mermaid gave her little trinkets- plants, pearls or combs.

When she wasn't listening to the mermaids sing, she would be reading.

She had a fondness for reading, like Hermione.

Toward the end of October, a series of strange events occurred.

The first of which was that Luna was able to sleep peacefully for a week, without hearing screams or voices.

The second was that a book jumped out at her, literally.

It fell out of the bookshelf from the Restricted Section.

She read the title and felt a spark.

The third event was that everyone joined her by the lake one day.

She had been startled when she had looked up from her mystery book to see herself surrounded by the 8th years.

Lavender, Dean, and Seamus were laughing. Susan and Theodore Nott were talking about potions.

Draco was sleeping while Hermione, Harry, and Daphne Greengrass played chess.

Her eyes drifted onto the page of her mystery book, as she called the book that jumped out at her.

November 2nd is known as All Soul's Day. It follows Halloween and All Saint's Day. These three days are when magic in the muggle world is the strongest. Many muggles try to communicate with the departed on this day, as it believed to be the day in which the dead come down.

Her silver eyes became dark blue, and Luna panicked as a thought took shape in her head. A thought that was not her own.

Her mouth curved into a recognizable smirk.

She knew what she was going to do; she just needed to convince the small group in front of her to join her.

She bit her lip.

Harry was the logical choice but he was the most vulnerable and she didn't want to take advantage of that.

A voice made her jump and her eyes shifted to their normal silver color.

"What is your mind coming up with?"

She turned to see Draco had woken up from his nap.

"I was thinking we could do this muggle tradition to honor the dead."

Draco looked interested.

"There's more to this, but it's a secret. "

"Not sure letting it be a secret is a good idea, Lovegood."

She shrugged.

Meanwhile, a dark-haired girl gritted her teeth.

A hand on her shoulder kept her from jumping out of the tree and doing something stupid such as levitating the book.

"Bella."

"Sirius." The 17-year-old boy looked at his cousin.

"You shouldn't have done that. It's not right to possess her, even for a little bit. You should always ask for permission."

"Says the rule breaker."

When they died, they had always thought they would be the age they died at. That was wrong. When someone dies, they become the age in which they were the happiest.

For Sirius it was when he was 17. For Bellatrix, it was when she was 15.

"Can we get back to the task at hand?"

Bellatrix sighed. She wasn't supposed to go to heaven but she was given a chance to redeem herself. The children underneath her had grown up too fast and carried much guilt. It was her job to reassure them it was not their fault.

She chose the Lovegood girl because she reminded her of Pandora, the girl's mother and her best friend.

If anyone could convince a group of war heroes to communicate with the dead, it would be Lovegood.

Also because it was her job to make Lovegood realize that she had a gift and not a curse.

Luna explained her idea to the others.

They all liked the first half of the idea, the second part, not so much. They disliked secrets.

They were skeptical until Daphne Greengrass said that they could use it as extra credit for Muggle Studies.

So it was decided.

They spent the rest of the day looking up everything they could on Halloween and All Soul's Day.

On Halloween night, they all gathered around a huge table and placed pictures of the dead, people they were very close to.

The table was unusual.

There were muggles, Death Eaters, wizards, and witches on the table.

They spent the night talking about memories of the people in the pictures.

Pandora Lovegood looked down at her daughter.

"She has your gift."

"It was more of a curse."

Bellatrix looked at Luna and then at Pandora.

"History has a way of repeating itself, Bella."

"Dora, I know Potter, he will accept her. He accepted me."

Luna got up from her spot on the couch and walked to the kitchen.

"Little Luna."

She looked to see James Potter grinning at her.

"Nervous abut your grand debut?"

She laughed.

"Why am I so scared to let them know? George found out and he didn't freak out too badly."

She thought of the tears on George's face as she relayed Fred's message.

"George wasn't a very close friend. Not like my son and the others. Harry, Hermione, and Neville are good friends of yours. Dean Thomas spent three months with you. Circumstances are different."

Luna nodded and sighed.

"My heart is beating so fast."

James ran a hand through his hair.

"Is it because of my good looks? Sorry Love, I'm taken."

Lily laughed.

"James! Don't mind him, it will be alright, Luna."

James piped up. "He loves you. You are like family to him, anyway."

Shouting from another part of the common room made Lily sigh. Luna laughed.

"Sirius Black!"

Luna watched Lily pull her husband out of the chair and towards the commotion.

When she entered the room a few minutes later, they were gone and Harry was stirring.

Half an hour later, everyone was awake and eating breakfast.

Luna was listening to all the conversations around here.

All the conversations that her friends were having, not the other ones.

However, it was hard to ignore when Sirius and Bellatrix were yelling at each other.

She sighed and placed her head on the table.

"Dumb wrackspurts."

Hermione looked at Luna with concern.

"You should lie down, you don't look too good. I'll tell the professors that you're sick."

She nodded, not wanting to argue.

She went to her bed, and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the concerned voices of her friends. Or was it the ghosts?

She didn't know.

She woke up later to cold hands on her forehead, whose she wasn't sure, but lips pressed to her forehead and her eyes fluttered closed.

Remus studied the girl.

"Did this ever happen to you, Pandora?"

"No, it happened to my cousin right before she did a mass message."

"Mass message?"

"Telling tons of people what their dead loved ones have to say."

Pandora sighed, worried for her daughter.

In a few hours, Luna was going to spill her secret.

In a few hours, she would be going to heaven, they all were.

Harry was concerned about Luna, when he went to check on her, she was warm.

So he was stunned to see her come down around dinnertime.

"Luna?"

She smiled tightly, walked past everyone and sat down with her legs tucked under her in an armchair.

They all followed her.

"Luna."

"I have something to tell you all."

She bit her lips and her hands shook. She opened her mouth a few times and then closed it.

"Fuck."

Everyone was stunned; they had never heard her curse.

"Luna?"

"I can see and talk to dead people."

Everyone let this sink in.

"Like Nearly-Headless …."

"No, I mean like I can see people who aren't physical ghosts, they are more spirit like. People like Fred, and my mother, and your parents, Harry, and your aunt and cousin, Draco."

"My parents?"

"My aunt and cousins?"

"Fred?"

"People who have messages for the living. They need them to be said or done before they go to heaven."

"Heaven?"

"Or to wherever they go."

Luna saw their looks of disbelief.

"If you don't believe me, ask George, I gave him Fred's message and then Fred went to a happy place to play countless pranks on everyone."

Hermione blinked.

She had heard of mediums, but this was unusual. Then again, Luna was the poster child of unusual.

Luna continued to ramble on, wanting to get everything over with.

"Normally I wouldn't do this, but I can feel all your guilt and it is weighing me down and I know that the spirits or ghosts are anxious to see you guys are okay, or somewhat okay."

She took a deep breath.

"Susan…."

One by one her friends were reduced to tears. For some it took more than words to convince them, in those cases, the light touches to then skin confirmed everything. However, it was all the details that she knew that shocked them.

Hermione was told by Remus and Tonks that she was to be Teddy's godmother. They had chosen her over Ginny, but never got the chance to tell her.

Lily also thanked Hermione for taking care of Harry.

However, it was Harry who took the cake.

Every single ghost had a message for him- that it was not his fault that they had died. They all died fighting for what they believed in.

Sirius made Luna give a speech about family and then revealed that the will was behind the Family Tree tapestry.

There were three more messages left for Harry.

Lily touched Harry's cheek and nodded at Luna.

"Harry, Lily is touching your cheek. She says you have grown up to be a good man. She is proud of you. She is glad to have seen you grow up despite not actually being there. She says that she wishes that Petunia never raised you and that's she ashamed to see the woman her sister became. She, however, wants you to talk to Dudley because he is family. She also says to listen to Hermione, because girls always know best."

The last line earned a few laughs. Hermione blushed and Harry squeezed her hand.

"Your dad says that he is proud of how much trouble you caused and the fact that you didn't get caught. Your mother just hit him and told him that the only reason you didn't get caught was because of Hermione. He also says that he is glad that you got your mother's eyes because they are heartbreaking."

Luna took a deep breath; this was the hardest message yet.

"Bellatrix wants to tell you something."

Everyone froze and the happy atmosphere disappeared.

Luna opened her mouth and everyone shuddered as Bellatrix's voice came out of it.

Luna's pretty, silver eyes turned dark blue.

"Harry Potter. I know I have no right to speak to you but I must. Everyone says you look like James, which is true. You have the same sense of humor and the same glint in your eyes. I knew your father.

He saved me once. My husband was several years older than me and when I was a first year and he was a sixth year, he tried to force himself on me. James was a second year and he found us in a closet. I don't know how, but I woke up to find the Nurse looking over me, behind her were your dad and mom, Sirius, Remus, Andy, and my secret best friend Pandora.

I had been in bed for a week and apparently, your dad had them watch over me in shifts.

They were all Lions except for Andy who was a snake like me, yet they took care of me. I had people who loved me."

Tears slid down Luna's cheek as Bellatrix told her story.

"My family wanted me to marry Sirius to keep the line pure. I was happy, I much rather marry him than anyone else. Then Sirius left home after 6th year and I was told that I would marry him- the man who tried to rape me.

I was mad at Sirius because me left me. I hated him because he left me to my fate. He tried to explain but I didn't want to hear it.

I couldn't leave the family. I had Cissy to take care of. Andy already left and Lucius was already after Cissy. I married my rapist when I was in 6th year and he had long graduated. When he found out I was with child, he tortured me with my now signature curse-Crucio. I was told that I could never have children and he blamed me."

Luna's hand had cradled her stomach during that part of the story.

"I joined Voldemort when I married my husband. I hated them both. They tortured me until I had no sanity left. All I had in me was hatred. Hatred kept me insane."

"Luna. Bellatrix."

"Hush Potter. I'm not done. I swear. Just like James.

I am a monster. A monster and nothing I can do will change that, but for some strange reason, I have been given a second chance. I was told to tell you my story and then maybe I can finally be in peace with my baby.

That's my story.

However, I died with a bit of hope and love in my heart. Potter, you taught me that love does exist. Every time you protected , I could see the love. The Weasel wasn't your best friend, she was. She was there for you, during everything. She was always your first priority and you were hers. You taught me to have hope in love. So thank you Potter."

Then Luna/Bellatrix kissed Harry's cheek and then Bellatrix was gone and Luna slumped forward, unconscious.

Luna was quickly carried to bed and everyone sat in the room quietly talking about the experience they just had.

Harry sat with his head in Hermione's lap and he thought about everything.

"Luna's strong, like mom. She must have spent years with this secret, this gift, and must have been terrified to tell us."

"I think that after everything we have been through, talking to dead people in normal."

"Normal doesn't exist. We are witches and wizards."

Pandora touched her daughter's face.

"I have to go, Luna. I wasn't supposed to stay, but I refused to go until I knew for sure you were in safe hands. These kids, they love you. They see it as a gift, not a curse. Don't shut them out, Luna. Let them in."

Pandora kissed her daughter's forehead.

"Wake up, pretty girl."

Luna woke up with a sob in her throat and tears in her eyes.

She sat up to see the room full of people.

Her eyes focused on Harry.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

She nodded.

"How long…"

"I have been able to see them since I was a baby."

"The Wrackspurts?"

A quick grin appeared.

"Another name for ghosts."

"That makes sense."

Harry looked at her for a few seconds before he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame.

"This doesn't change anything. You are still our Luna, Love."

Luna laughed at the nickname.

Luna never called her gift a curse ever again.

The gift was that she had friends, friends who were going to stay.

Friends who didn't care that she could speak to the dead.

Leave a review!

Love you Wallflowers!