Harry Potter and Grief's Wisdom

Poetheather

A/N: This is to let you know that a ship has shown up in later chapters, as I can't deny that is where the characters are taking me. For those of you not interested in this particular ship, this is to let you know that the ship isn't the do all be all part of the story. There is actual plot going on, like for reals. As for shipping, it seems to be drifting towards Lunar Harmony. They may get sneaky and shift towards one of those two, but from what I can tell it is both Luna and Hermione. Enjoy.

This is a work of fiction using the characters created by J.K. Rowling. They are not used with her permission. All actions follow the events of book five of the series. Any similarity between any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional. If you happen to find your life reflected in this piece I'll be impressed and perhaps a little scared.

Chap. 6

"Master Harry?"

With a snort, Harry woke up and glanced over to look at the blurry figure near him. It was short and a touch greyish, at least he thought it was. The faint amount of light from outside gave the room some illumination. He reached over and grabbed his glasses, hands groping some. Once on the house elf snapped into focus and Harry frowned in confusion. "Dobby?"

"Yes Master Harry Potter sir, I brings you a letter from Miss Luna. Since she is your friend I brought it to you right away. She's very nice. I like her."

Covering his mouth to mask his yawn some, Harry nodded a little and said, "She really is nice isn't she."

"Here is the letter Master Harry Potter sir." Dobby handed over a somewhat thick envelope and waited, looking rather attentive.

With a bit of a chuckle, Harry shook his head, amused at how the House Elf was acting. "Thank you Dobby. You really are the best house elf ever. Your help has been great. Oh… I have a few more letters for you to take, but that can wait till the morning. Have you had any problems so far?"

"No sir, Dobby hasn't had any problems." His head shook making his ears flop a little.

"That's good to hear. I don't want you hurt or anything while you are doing this." Harry really tried to make that clear to the excitable House Elf who was overly prone to going too far with things.

Dobby sniffled a few times, his voice heavy with emotion, saying, "Master Harry Potter is a great and powerful wizard who cares for poor Dobby. Dobby doesn't deserve this kindness."

Not wanting a repeat of his second year misadventures at home, Harry said, "Well, you're my friend and I appreciate all you are doing for me. You totally deserve this."

Dobby nodded his head, his ears only flapping slightly this time. "Thank you Harry Potter. I will take care of these letters at once."

With a pop he disappeared before Harry was able to say anything, or making it clear that it could be done in the morning. That House Elf would be the death of him.

That thought hit him hard. Harry frowned and tried to move past the image or Sirius falling into the Veil, of seeing Hermione lying there unnaturally still. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The book talked about breathing slowly and deeply as a way to relax and get past these things. He let it out slowly and repeated that again. It was shaky and rough and oddly enough was helping. He wiped the wetness around his eyes away. No, he wasn't going to think about that right now. There were other things he needed to think about right now.

Looking at the envelope Harry tried to decide if he was going to read it right now or not. What exactly had Luna wanted to say to him and with so many pages? Slipping a finger under the flap, he opened the letter and pulled out a copy of the Quibbler and the letter, which was not as large as he had feared. There was another sheet of paper with some paint on it. He stared at it trying to make some sense of it. Unable to figure that out he put it down and turned to the letter that he really hoped would make more sense.

Dear Harry,

The Blibbering Humdingers told me you might be a bit lonely and grumpy over the summer and that made me sad. Because of that and that I wanted to perhaps make you smile I have tried to send you several things but the owl always came back confused. I blame Dabberblimps for that problem. They are known to interfere with Owl Post and other things, causing things to go awry. It's a very good thing your friend Dobby arrived in one piece because I was getting worried that there could be a great migration of Dabberblimps going on strong enough to disrupt the Owl Post.

Anyway, what I was going to tell you before isn't as important as what I am going to tell you now. I hope you are having a nice summer regardless of the end of the school year and what the Blibbering Humdingers are saying. You know, reading is good for you and I am sure that the books you are going through right now will be very helpful in the future. You would be surprised what good wisdom can be hidden within the pages of a book. Just remember to smile as well, because besides making you feel better it annoys bad people.

I miss you, well you and Hermione more than anyone else, because when you were around or I guess that would be both of you, it was very much like having friends and I do so love that feeling. It was something I haven't felt in a long time. Oh, I also wanted to let you know I am painting something. Here is a splotch of one of the colors so you can get an idea of what it looks like. I hope you like it.

Luna Lovegood

The gold splotch of paint that filled the center of the parchment looked rather odd and he just shook his head. Luna really was something else, what he had no idea. There really was no way to describe how she saw the world because he would have to understand it some in order to define it. He needed to get her to understand that he really was her friend. Hermione might not be her friend considering how they seemed to be at odds all the time. That she had joined them at the Ministry had been a bit of a surprise. It might have simply been because she had been there when it all went down but Neville, Ron, and Ginny weren't surprises. The blond Ravenclaw had been an unexpected but immensely useful addition to the group. Her idea to use the Thestrals to get to London had been brilliant. They had been at a loss and then she had just suggested that they fly. Even Hermione had been impressed by that.

He would need to write her back that was for sure. If he didn't she might doubt his overtures of friendship and if anyone needed friends more than he did it was Luna. From what he knew her life at Hogwarts was more in line with what he had guessed his would be before first year. No, she was someone that Harry would ensure knew she had friends. He just hadn't figured how to make that happen yet. His yawn surprised him as it stretched the corners of his mouth almost painfully. Perhaps he should get some more sleep before he worried about something like ensuring she had friends and writing her back.

When he woke up, Harry looked around the room blearily and his eyes lit on the letter. That brought the thoughts from last night back to the forefront. He yawned and sat up, stretching out his tight back and shoulders. Maybe he should reply to her after his run? That would be something and allow him time to fully clear out the cobwebs. Thinking well right after he got up was not one of his skills. Hermione was the only one he knew that seemed to wakeup clear headed and ready to face the day. At least he wasn't as bad as Ron who needed an army to wake him and his brain was lucky to engage before lunch. If anyone was not a morning person it was his first friend.

Pulling on the clothes he was running in and an oversized button up of Dudley's to work as a light jacket he tried to think of what he needed. He just sort of stared at his dresser, nothing registering. Yeah, he was not awake yet but his eyes did spot something he was missing. He strapped on his wand holster and grabbed his hat, settling it on his head. Might as well get used to wearing them so it would become almost reflex to have them ready and worn. That was a very Moody sort of position but it made sense. Maybe the twins could make these with different styles of hats? He would ask them the next time he saw them since he was an investor and all.

Since he still woke early thanks to growing up with the Dursley's banging on his cupboard in plenty of time for him to make breakfast for Vernon before he had to head off to work he knew that perhaps only his Aunt was awake at this hour. A glance to the digital clock sitting lopsided on his dresser told him that there was enough time for him to go on his run, change, and then make it downstairs to help with the meal. His relatives really did try to exploit him as much as possible when he was here over the summer. Generally he let them get away with it but this summer he had too much going on to care or even put up with too much. Basically he did a little more than the minimum needed to keep them off his back. It was honestly about the only interaction that he could handle with them. Maybe the talking to they had been given when he returned to King's Cross had had some effect. Maybe.

He exited the house and stretched, doing what he could to warm up his muscles. That reminded him that he wanted to get a book on exercise as he could use some actual knowledge about this rather than what little he had been able to surmise. With a sigh, thinking about the fact that he had never used the library this much, he took off down the road, eyes tracking everywhere trying to keep up constant vigilance. It wouldn't do to have his freedom if he did something stupid like allowing a Death Eater to sneak up and kill him. Wouldn't Dumbledore be right there to point out that he had told Harry so? The odds weren't very likely that a Death Eater attack in Little Whinging would happen but then again the odds were against Dementors coming there as well and look how that turned out.

He increased his pace a little and he huffed on down the street, running in the near quiet of the subdivision where Privet Dr. was located. He pulled up the baggy shorts he had inherited and that seriously interfered with the swing of his arms. He thought he had tied his belt tight enough. Yeah, he needed to get better clothes for this if he was going to continue. These shoes didn't really protect his feet all that much as he pounded down the pavement. There were so many things to do and he was stuck here trying to make his stupid clothes work. The problem as he figured was scheduling. He honestly didn't want to abuse Dobby by using him as a messenger or anything and since there seemed to be a bit of an issue with his owl post he didn't want to put Hedwig at risk. He had to do something but he was still at a bit of a loss.

He reached the turn around point and increased his pace again, trying as fast as he could to Privet Drive. He was panting a great deal and his body felt damp, rivulets of sweat moved down him, soaking his shirt. Suddenly he stumbled as one of his shoes simply gave up, the tape giving way, and the shoe tearing in half. As he stood there, holding the two pieces in his hands he came to the conclusion that it was unsalvageable. Grumbling in annoyance, Harry made his way back to the house frowning severely. This was ridiculous.

Once he was showered, he changed clothes and tried to fix his shoe. It wasn't working well as the tape could only do so much. He totally needed to go shopping sooner rather than later. Problem was, he had no idea where to go or what to get. He needed assistance. "Dobby?"

The elf popped in, wringing his hands in anticipation, looking up at him with wide eyes, "Yes Harry Potter sir?"

"I know this is a bit of an imposition but can you take some letters to Luna and Hermione for me?" The more assistance he got from Dobby the more he felt like the wrath of Hermione would descend on him. S.P.E.W. was no joke to her and this was nearly enough reason to receive a stern talking to.

"Dobby would be happy to do this for the great Harry Potter."

Harry sighed and nodded, well aware that this might be the best he could get. If he always asked politely for help, despite knowing that Dobby would never refuse him, then maybe he wouldn't get in as much trouble for House Elf welfare. He scribbled a quick note to Hermione about his desperate need for shopping and begging for her help. He wrote a longer response to Luna's letter and asked if she would like to go shopping with him as well. It was at least a stronger overture towards friendship. He really had no clue what to do when clothes shopping but was fairly certain it wasn't completely like a visit to Madam Malkins. Getting as much assistance as possible would be a good plan. Besides, there would be a few positives to having both girls helping him.

Using some spell-o-tape he had borrowed from Ron, Harry tried to tape up his shoe. It worked fairly well as a quick and dirty fix but Harry was certain he needed better shoes if he was going to continue running. He headed downstairs to help with the cooking, as he was somewhat okay with cooking the Dursleys breakfast, since it was a skill that he was happy with knowing.

After the meal he started on his chores, knocking them out quickly as he was very familiar with how to do everything the way that Aunt Petunia wanted. Once that was completed he went upstairs to his room to get away from the Dursleys. There were books he needed to read and the quiet would help with that. Walking into his room he was a bit surprised to see Dobby waiting on him with two letters in his hands. The door was quickly closed behind him, hoping to ensure that his relatives didn't see the House Elf. "Thank you Dobby."

"You're welcome Harry Potter sir. I was happy to help." Dobby nodded his head, making his ears bounce some. It really took some effort to refrain from laughing.

Opening the letters was a great distraction and he saw that both girls were good with doing it. Luna even mentioned that she was going to contact Hermione. This was good as it would let her get directions to her house as well. Since tomorrow was Saturday then perhaps that would the best day to go shopping. No Dursleys and clothes that might actually fit him? This really could be fun.