Chapter 4: Friday Evening
At dinner on Friday evening, Luna and Parvati sat at their own house tables. Luna sat between Padma and Cho. They made sure they were well away from Latisha and Felicity. Most of the conversations at both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables were about the next day's inter house Quidditch match. Felicity and Latisha were mainly concerned with how they would make sure they would have seats in the front row. Padma and Cho made sure Luna enjoyed her Friday dinner in friendly, reassuring company. Hermione had again suggested that the group of friends make their way to the room of requirement in twos and threes by different routes as on Wednesday. This was so they would not attract unwelcome attention.
Ginny went with Hermione directly to the room of requirement. Neville went with Luna via the greenhouses. Cho joined Ron and Harry on their brief visit to Hagrid, while Padma and Parvati walked to the Quidditch pitch and back.
Ginny helped Hermione set up the room. As on Wednesday, Hermione arranged a slightly larger round table and sufficient chairs for the group. There were two more than on Wednesday as Neville and Luna were to be put in the picture. On this occasion, there were no Quidditch balls or piles of cushions. They had just about finished when Neville and Luna arrived. The couple embraced and kissed warmly before being invited to sit down.
"You two seem to get on really well with each other." commented Ginny. "If I'm not mistaken, I'd say you are in love."
"I'm beginning to think we are." said a smiling Luna, "He's so sweet, gentle and understanding."
"I've got to know the real Luna." said Neville, "She's so special."
Luna cuddled Neville.
"It's lovely to see you smiling again." said Hermione.
At this point the Patil twins walked in and took two more seats. Some minutes later, Cho came into the room and explained that Ron and Harry were a couple of minutes behind her. Once all were assembled, Hermione started. For the benefit of Luna and Neville, she explained what the group had decided to do at the Quidditch match.
"Do you think you can control such a crazy thing as a bludger?" asked Luna
"I assure you she can." said Ron, "She let one loose in here on Wednesday night. I was the stand-in for Latisha. It was frightening!"
"Right." said Hermione, "Luna, have you recovered enough to commentate?"
"Yes." said Luna, "As long as I have a peaceful night."
"Padma, Cho." said Hermione, "I'm sure you can keep Luna happy. Incidentally, have you had any more occasions to warn Latisha?"
"I've had to tell her to 'expect the unexpected' three times since lunch." said Cho, "She doesn't seem to be taking the hint."
"Have they any idea what you're on about?" asked Harry.
"No." said Cho, "When I first said that at Breakfast, they looked at each other in utter bewilderment."
"That's good." Said Hermione, "The 'unexpected' should happen tomorrow. It's my guess that Latisha and Felicity will take their usual positions directly opposite Luna. They usually do."
"That's so they can put her off her commentary." said Ginny, "I've seen them try it several times. They usually do it during the later stages of the Match."
"Right!" said Hermione, "I'll take a seat three rows above and behind Luna. As she is commentating, she will be on our side of the pitch, since Gryffindor is the 'home' team tomorrow. Neville, you can sit with Luna in the commentary box. Ron, Harry; you two can sit either side of me. Padma, Cho; your best position should be near enough to our targets to keep an eye on them, but not too near. Two or three rows back should be good. Parvati, would you like to watch the match with your sister, or with your house?"
"I'll stay with Gryffindor." said Parvati.
"You can sit in front of me." said Hermione, "We'll all go early, so that we can get the seats we want."
"As I said on Wednesday evening," said Ron, "You do love organising people."
"And as I also said on Wednesday evening," said Hermione, "I'm good at it. Are there any questions?"
"What do we do if either seeker catches the snitch before you take control of the bludger?" asked Ron.
"That's very unlikely." said Hermione, "No inter house Quidditch match has ever lasted less than an hour."
"What will happen if the bludger actually hits Felicity or Latisha?" asked Harry. "We don't actually want to injure them."
"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," said Hermione, "But I don't think that's likely."
"Why not?" asked Luna.
"Bludgers are charmed so they don't hit spectators." said Hermione, "Very few people know that. On Wednesday evening, I didn't actually stop that bludger in front of Ron. He fell backwards to avoid it. All I did when it stopped was to hold it in place until he got up again."
"So, if a bludger heads directly towards the crowd," said Ginny, "It would divert or stop before it hit anyone?"
"In a word, yes." said Hermione, "If I make a bludger go straight at, for example, Latisha, it will stop about a foot in front of her and then resume its part in the match. That means I will only have to guide bludgers for short periods during the match."
"That's good." said Harry, "That reduces the risk of being detected."
"Anyway," said Hermione, "I think we all know what we are going to do tomorrow. Padma and Cho can keep Luna happy tonight. Luna, would you like to have breakfast with Neville tomorrow morning?"
"I'd love to," said Luna, "Neville would you like to have breakfast with me at the Ravenclaw table?"
"OK!" said Neville, cautiously.
"I'll be with you." said Cho, to reassure Neville.
"Right, that's settled." said Hermione "We can make our separate ways back to the dormitories. Oh yes, Latisha and Felicity are likely to react when things start to happen. It might be quite entertaining, but try not to laugh openly. I'm hoping their fellow Ravenclaws will enjoy a little schadenfreude."
"Shardenwhat?" asked Ron, puzzled.
"Schadenfreude." said Hermione, "It's a German word meaning 'taking pleasure from another's misfortune'."
As on Wednesday evening, the group made their way out of the room of requirement in twos and threes. Padma, Cho and Luna went together to the Ravenclaw dormitory and spent the rest of the evening together in the common room. They gave no hint to Latisha and Felicity that anything out of the ordinary had been planned. Luna, Padma and Cho took seats in a quiet corner of the room. They were unlikely to be overheard as most of the talk in the room consisted of lively discussions about the forthcoming Quidditch match. Now she was more her usual self, and realised that Padma and Cho could be trusted, Luna calmly and quietly explained to her two friends just why the reference to her mother's death had upset her so much. She did shed a few more tears when she described the moment it happened. Cho put her arm across Luna's shoulders to console her.
"How do feel after telling us about that?" asked Padma, gently.
"I feel completely calm." said Luna, "I needed to share that with someone but, until now, I haven't been able to trust anyone enough to talk to them about it. Thank you for listening so patiently."
"You really needed to let it out." said Cho, "Your story is safe with us. We're your friends. I think you'll sleep well tonight."
"I will." said Luna, "I feel so relieved. Thank you."
"There's no need to thank us." said Padma, "That's what good friends are for. Let's go upstairs."
The three girls went up to their sleeping quarters and went to bed. Luna did indeed have a peaceful and refreshing sleep that night. Having shared her story with trusted friends, she felt at peace with her demons. Her vivid visions of her mother's explosive demise did not recur. Now she finally realised she had a network of good friends, she began to return to her normal bright cheerful self.
The Gryffindors returned singly or in twos to their common room. As in the Ravenclaw common room, most of the discussions concerned Quidditch and the imminent match against Ravenclaw. These lasted until everyone had gone to bed.
a/n: This is a short chapter, I know, but I feel it is important and separate from the preceding and following chapters.