Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. The proper people have the proper rights over the proper things, and I do not, which is also proper.

Protection From Nargles

Part 6 - Boots

January, 1996.

The first clue Luna saw was that when she emerged from the shower she found her slippers missing. Or more precisely, did not find them. As they were missing. All of her other clothes were there where she left them, as were her butterbeer cork necklace and her dirigible plum earrings (her favourite pair), but not the slippers.

An ordinary person might have simply thought they misremembered – that they had forgot that the slippers were left in her dorm room, rather than in the shower room. Luna Lovegood was many things, but ordinary was not one of them. She seldom misremembered things, except when there were Wrackspurts about. And Luna did not feel the presence of Wrackspurts there in the Ravenclaw girls shower room.

She had no proof of this, of course – you couldn't see Wrackspurts unaided, although her Daddy had told her The Quibbler was working on a special insert that would make the little creatures visible – but she knew the clues of a Wrackspurt infestation. The forgetfulness, the slight numbness, as if one had downed half a dozen butterbeers, the hairs on the arm feeling tingly – she felt none of those.

No, her slippers were gone.

Two possibilities remained. They had left on their own, or they were taken. Luna was relatively certain the slippers hadn't left on their own. Her Daddy had bought them for her over the summer, and while she had not expressly requested that he get her non-self-ambulatory slippers, he was usually pretty good about these things.

Now, in the more likely event they were taken, the question emerged as to who the culprit was. The obvious choice was Nargles. They had taken her things before, and she had a period in the fall where they had taken all of her footwear. She smiled thinking of that period, for while her feet were quite cold for the few weeks she had to walk around in bare feet, that was when she had her first real conversation with Harry Potter, bonding at the thestral nest. That was when she first thought she had made a new friend in the black-haired young man.

But this was not the time to think of Harry. There was a mystery afoot.

If her slippers had disappeared at home, she would have had no hesitation blaming the mischievous little sprites. They would hide things all the time – shoes and socks being a favourite target – but most things would turn up in the end. The thing to remember about Nargles was that their mischief was not malice. Their aim was a laugh, or a bit of fun. While the Nargles' sense of humour may be different from most humans, they generally did not to hurt.

There was also the fact that she had left her butterbeer cork necklace next to her slippers. Nargles hated cork, and butterbeer corks in particular. Adding to that the anti-Nargle charm that Luna placed on the necklace, and she considered it highly unlikely that the Nargles would have come anywhere near her slippers.

Nargles left very little in the way of evidence when they struck. All one really had to go one when determining whether they were behind something was intuition, and to Luna, this simply did not feel like it was the work of Nargles.

Luna considered herself something of an expert on the subject.

So that left one possibility. This was confirmed when she had dried off, got dressed, wandered downstairs in her socks to her dorm room, opened her trunk, and saw that all of her footwear, every piece of winter clothing she owned, and the Gryffindor scarf Harry had given her three days previously were all gone.

Luna frowned. No, it definitely was not Nargles.

As Luna wandered towards the Great Hall for Sunday dinner, her mind was still occupied by her missing clothing and footwear. Unless she was incorrect in discounting the Nargle theory – perhaps they were expecting a particularly cold winter? - or unless her classmates had just as much need for winter clothing, it was obvious to her that the disappearance of her things was directly related to the revelation that Harry was taking her to Hogsmeade next weekend.

A smile grew on her normally dreamy face as she thought of that.

Her fourth year at Hogwarts had been radically different than the previous three. Until this year she had only one real friend at school, Ginevra Weasley. Ginny had been a childhood playmate – they were thrown together mainly due to them being the only young girls among the small magical population of Ottery St. Catchpole. After Luna witnessed the death of her mother in a spellcrafting experiment gone wrong, the nine-year-old girl spent most of her time with her grieving father, whose life had been shattered by the death of his beloved wife. Once the girls began their schooling at Hogwarts, two years of minimal contact and having been sorted into different houses had taken their toll on their formerly close friendship. Ginny's possession by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hadn't helped. While they had reconnected somewhat in their second and third years, Ginny and Luna were no longer particularly close. Luna had even overheard Ginny use her hated nickname 'Loony' from time to time, although the red-haired girl had the good manners to never do that when she thought Luna was within earshot, and Ginny never said it teasingly or maliciously.

Still, Ginny was always kind to Luna, and never avoided her. That alone had made her Luna's only real friend until this year, when she introduced her to Harry Potter.

Luna's first meeting with Harry on the Hogwarts Express had been interesting. The boy was clearly suffering a severe Wrackspurt infestation at the time. She also saw that he had had no idea how to react to her, but he had at least been respectful, and eagerly read the copy of The Quibbler that Luna had given him (until she took it back at Hermione's disdainful words). What really struck Luna, however, was that he could see the thestrals. Looking back, the fact that they both saw the winged skeletal horses had given them something to bond over, and had shown Harry that perhaps she was not as 'loony' as almost everyone else believed.

Harry quickly became a true friend as they met repeatedly over the course of the fall term. The respect and understanding he showed to her was a novel experience for the young Ravenclaw – so different from the usual mockery and scorn Luna received from most people. It was refreshing to have someone take her seriously, even if she hadn't quite convinced him that Nargles and Wrackspurts were real.

Yet, she thought with another smile.

Through Harry she had joined Dumbledore's Army, which had proved to be one of the best educational experiences she had had at Hogwarts. Practising with her fellow D.A. members (Dumbledore's Soldiers? she thought) made it far easier to learn spells than any amount of classroom work, even though she excelled in the classroom. She also thought that her performances in the Room of Requirement were earning her some respect as well. And Harry had turned out to be an excellent teacher. She hoped he would consider teaching as a profession after he graduated – he was better than any Defence teacher she had had, with the possible exception of Professor Lupin. Teaching would also keep Harry from becoming a minion of the Rotfangs, the likely fate of all those who joined the Auror Office.

And if it weren't for the D.A., she never would had that moment with Harry under the mistletoe.

Almost unconsciously, she found herself humming her mother's tune again.

She looked at her now bandage-free right hand. In a very real way, she had Professor Umbridge to thank for her current happiness. She almost had the urge to tell the woman that, if she didn't think she would get another detention for it. Watching Umbridge's reaction might almost be worth it, though.

Almost.

Prior to finding herself under the mistletoe, Luna had never had any good experiences with romance. In her second year, her roommates Melanie Maxwell and Deirdre Cholmondeley tried to convince her that David Ridgway, a Ravenclaw boy two years ahead of her, thought she was pretty, and trusting as Luna was, she took them at their word. She tried sitting next to David at lunch a few times, until he shouted at her "Stop hanging around me, loser!" while Melanie and Deirdre pointed and Luna and laughed.

That had been unpleasant.

A worse experience happened the following year. Third-years like Luna did not get to attend the Yule Ball unless they had a date with someone in the fourth or higher year, and so most of them went away for the Christmas holidays, Luna included. When she returned from holidays, Arcas McNeil, a handsome Hufflepuff boy she had a few classes with, and who had been reasonably pleasant to her in the past, came up to her and told her he brought a gift for her from his Christmas trip to visit relatives in Nova Scotia. Luna's heart and hopes had risen at this – no one had ever given her a gift at Hogwarts. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an eleven-sided golden coin. On the one side it had an effigy of the Queen, like the Muggle coins in Britain that she had sometimes seen. On the back was a bird, and the label "CANADA – DOLLAR". Then she looked closer at the bird, and her heart fell.

"Ha ha! A loonie for Loony!" Arcas laughed cruelly. Luna successfully fought back tears, but it was a near run thing.

Luna had thought she had had enough of boys after that. Until she met Harry.

As their friendship grew over the fall term, she certainly noticed that the young man was handsome and unfailingly kind to her, but she was certain he could never think of crazy old Loony Lovegood as anything more than a friend, so she purposely tried to put any romantic musings that might arise out of her head. She was generally quite successful at that, and was certainly happy enough with the time she spent with Harry not to want to risk changing things.

And then they met under the mistletoe.

Luna smiled remembering that night five weeks previous. She had never kissed a boy before, and she honestly hadn't really known if she ever would, given how people treated her. She was certain when she pointed out the festive plant above their heads that Harry would find some reason to avoid it, although she expected him to find a polite way to do so. When he stayed under the mistletoe speaking to her, even after she warned him about the Nargles, moving in towards him was perhaps the bravest thing she had done in years. If he had reacted poorly, it might have done irreparable harm to a friendship that Luna had truly begun to cherish.

But he did not. Their kiss was perfect, as far as Luna was concerned. She smiled again.

One of the unfortunate things about having few friends was that Luna had no one to talk to about the situation with Harry to get another girl's perspective. Talking about Harry with Ginny might be difficult, as the red-haired girl had had a crush on the 'Boy-Who-Lived' since long before she had ever met him. Luna thought that Ginny might have grown out of the crush by now, though – she had accepted Neville Longbottom's invitation to the Yule Ball last year long before Harry had asked anyone, and Ginny was now seeing Michael Corner. As far as Luna could tell, Ginny and Michael were getting along very well. Luna hoped this meant Ginny was over Harry, but talking about it with her would still awkward, even for someone with Luna's high tolerance for awkwardness.

Perhaps she and Hermione Granger would become friends. Luna hoped that with their conversation two days previous, they might start down that road. The older brunette was terribly close-minded, far more than someone who had been introduced to a whole new world a few years previously should be, as far as Luna was concerned, but she was bright and caring. And Harry thought the world of her, which was endorsement enough for Luna.

It was times like this that made her miss her mother the most. Over Christmas she had gone to her mother's grave site at Lovegood Tower, as she often did when she was home, and told her mother all about the boy she discovered she had feelings for. Talking to her mother always made Luna feel better, but she longed for some motherly advice.

Her only surviving relative was her father, who she loved dearly, but did not want to talk to about romance. When her father saw her making the butterbeer cork charm for Harry, she tried to simply tell him it was for a friend of hers. Skilled interviewer that Xenophilius Lovegood was, however, he soon pried out of Luna that the friend was a boy, and Harry Potter to boot. Luna didn't tell her father about the kiss, but did tell him that she was fond of Harry, and that he was open-minded and very kind. Her father simply smiled, said he was sure that Harry would like the charm and appreciate being protected from the Nargles, and that he hoped to meet her new friend one day.

The last few weeks had been wonderful for Luna, other than her detention with Professor Umbridge. Harry made her feel appreciated and valued, and honestly paid attention when she spoke about things that other people laughed at her for. Their pudding night in the Room of Requirement had been the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her, and now Harry had asked her to Hogsmeade. An actual date, with the boy she liked!

Things were truly looking up for Luna.

But nothing ever ran smoothly for her. She had feared that others would be upset that crazy Loony Lovegood had the temerity to befriend the famous Boy-Who-Lived, and once it became known that Harry had asked her out, she knew there would be repercussions. Harry having dessert with her at the Ravenclaw table on Friday had resulted in no small amount of murmuring from her housemates, and the warm hug he gave her at lunch yesterday only served to increase that. By suppertime the day before Luna could see scattered groups of Ravenclaws muttering amongst themselves and looking repeatedly in her direction, where as usual she was sitting on her own, separated from the other Ravenclaws.

Then, just as Luna had been finishing the cupcake she was having for dessert, Ginny had come marching over to where Luna was sitting, looked her straight in the eye, and forcefully said, "Luna Amalthea Lovegood! I thought we were friends!" She had a stern look on her face as she said this.

The students nearest to Luna at the Ravenclaw table turned to watch the after-dinner theatre which was unfolding before them, some laughing at her middle name. Among those watching were her roommates Melanie, Deirdre, and Morgana Dempster.

Luna looked sheepish at Ginny, but spoke in her dreamy voice. "Hello, Ginny. Of course we're friends. Why would you think otherwise?"

"I had to find out from Ron that Harry asked you to Hogsmeade! Why didn't you tell me? That's great news, isn't it? Aren't you excited?" Ginny had broken into a large girlish grin by the last question.

Melanie and Deirdre looked shocked at this revelation, and eagerly started spreading this news further down the Ravenclaw table. Morgana gave Luna a slight smile and turned back to her food.

Luna had got up from the table and motioned Ginny to follow her, as she hadn't wanted to have this conversation in front of all of Ravenclaw. As Ginny walked along side her, she said, "I didn't want to upset you. I know you had a crush on Harry..."

Ginny interrupted her. "I did have a crush on Harry, but I've moved on. He certainly never asked me out," she said, slightly enviously. "Besides, I'm with Michael now." Ginny looked at Luna appraisingly. "You didn't answer me earlier, by the way. You are excited, right?"

Luna had nodded silently at that, a large smile slowly appearing on her face. "I've never been on a date before, you know," she said quietly.

Ginny put her hand on Luna's shoulder. "It'll be wonderful. My first date was magical," she said wistfully.

Luna raised her eyebrow at the red-haired girl. "Yule Ball?" Ginny nodded. "I thought you said Neville wasn't a good dancer? Not that I'd have minded..."

Ginny laughed. "Neville had two left feet, but he made me feel like the centre of the universe that night. It was wonderful."

"Does Michael make you feel the same way?"

Ginny's face had fallen almost imperceptibly. "He tries. Sometimes..." Then she had brightened up. "But we were talking about you and Harry. I didn't even know you really knew him."

Luna then told Ginny about how she and Harry had gotten close over the last few months, about their kiss under the mistletoe, and about their meetings since then. Ginny was practically squealing with glee at the end of it.

"He keeps the Nargle charm you gave him on him? Oh, that's so romantic, Luna! You have nothing to worry about – he's going to show you a wonderful time!" Ginny reassured her.

Talking with Ginny had made Luna feel far less nervous about the upcoming weekend, and had put her in an excellent mood which persisted right up until a few minutes ago when she emerged from the shower.

Luna ceased her reminiscing and entered the Great Hall. She wandered over to her usual spot at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Before she sat down, she went to where her roommates were sitting, eating their supper. As Luna approached Melanie Maxwell looked over at her and snorted, "Nice socks" at her. Deirdre Cholmondeley stifled a laugh at that.

"Thank you," Luna said nonchalantly. "I like them too. They're very warm." Morgana let loose a chuckle at that, but stopped and looked down very intently at her food upon seeing Melanie's glare at her. "Unfortunately, all of my footwear and winter clothing seems to have mysteriously disappeared. If you come across any of it, please let me know," Luna said while smiling her usual serene smile.

"Oh, we will, Loony, don't worry," said Deirdre insincerely, as Luna went to grab her supper and sit on her own. Morgana steadfastly avoided looking at Luna.

Luna looked over at the Gryffindor table and waved at Harry and his friends. Harry grinned back and waved enthusiastically, Ron gave a brief slight wave, and Hermione turned around and smiled a little smile at her. Luna then dug into her roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with relish.

As she was finishing up her Yorkshire pudding, one of the upper-year boys sitting near her said tauntingly, "Here comes Loony's loverboy," and then proceeded to laugh at his own wit, as Harry came over to see her. He sat down and grinned as he watched Luna demolish the remainder of her Yorkshire pudding.

"Is there any kind of pudding you don't like, Luna?" he said playfully.

"None that I've had yet," she said with a full mouth, politely holding her hand in front of it. After she swallowed, she looked at Harry and said evenly, "Although if Minister Fudge was serving goblin pudding, I'd probably decline it."

Harry laughed, and they chatted amiably for a few minutes before Melanie and Deirdre wandered past the duo on their way out of the Great Hall, and Deirdre said, "Hi Harry, what do you think of Loony's socks?", giggled, and walked away before Harry could respond.

Harry looked under the table, saw Luna's socked feet, and frowned. Luna looked down at the table, and not meeting Harry's eyes, said sadly, "All my footwear and winter clothing has disappeared. The scarf you gave me, too."

"Nargles?"

She shook her head, still not meeting his gaze. "Not this time." Very quietly, she said, "If I don't get them back, I'll have to cancel our date, Harry. I don't want you to miss out on a Hogsmeade weekend."

"Luna, look at me," he said. When she raised her head to look at him, he took her hands in his, and said, "If you don't get them back, we'll have our date here at the castle. I don't care if we miss Hogsmeade so long as I get to spend the day with you."

Luna beamed at him for this.

"Do you know who did it?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Not for certain."

Harry said with anger in his voice, "We should still do something about it. I should talk with Professor Flitwick..."

She squeezed his hands which were still holding hers, and interrupted him. "Thank you, Harry, but please don't. It would only make things worse. I'm sure my things will be returned to me... eventually. They usually are."

Harry frowned. "If you're sure..."

"I am."

Harry looked pensive. Luna tilted her head, and poked him him the chest. "You're planning something, Harry Potter," she said accusingly.

"Who, me?" he tried to say innocently. Then he smiled at her, and said, "I never did answer... um... who was that?"

"Deirdre Cholmondeley. One of my roommates," Luna said in a pointedly neutral tone.

"I never answered Deirdre's question." Luna raised an eyebrow at this. "About your socks, I mean. They're cute. Are those fuzzy purple creatures Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?"

She smiled widely at him. "Yes, they are! I knitted them myself. I got the pattern from Mummy, but I made some changes. I've been trying to convince Daddy to put a knitting column in The Quibbler, so people can knit Snorkack socks and Aquavirius Maggot sweaters and such. I haven't won him over, yet."

Harry grinned. "I'm sure you'll wear him down. What's an Aquavirius Maggot?"

"It looks like a pale brain," Luna explained. "They live in swamps and feed on plimpies. They're very rare – there hasn't been a confirmed sighting in Britain in over a century, you know. There was one sighting on the Isle of Man two years ago, but it turned out to be simply a very large mushroom. Still, Daddy expects one to turn up eventually."

"Are you sure you'd want to put one on a sweater? It doesn't sound very cute."

Luna considered this. "Maybe you're right. It would look better on a knit cap."

Harry didn't respond to that suggestion, and instead said, "Well, I have to go and see Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick." Luna opened her mouth to speak, but Harry went on. "It's for a project – don't worry, I won't tell Professor Flitwick about your boots and coats if you don't want me to." He lowered his voice and looked around to make sure no one was paying attention. "We'll likely have a D.A. meeting tomorrow at 5 o'clock. If I don't see you here tomorrow, I'll see you there, right?" Luna nodded. "Great! Have a good night, Luna. I hope you find your stuff," he said as he got up.

"Good night, Harry," she said as he left.

Talking with Harry made Luna feel better. Her spirits were up as she returned to the Ravenclaw common room and reviewed her Transfiguration text. She was in such a good mood, she completely ignored the exasperated looks and whispers directed her way as she studied.

When she awoke the next morning, all of her socks had disappeared as well.

Luna knew from experience that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was not particularly accommodating to the barefoot. The draughty castle was cold at the best of times, and as far as Luna's bare feet were concerned, January was not the best of times. Still, the theft of her footwear was not going to stop Luna from going about her day, regardless of the cold and the comments of her schoolmates.

Luna was late for breakfast, and didn't see Harry, but as she was leaving the Great Hall, Hermione and Ginny caught up with her and asked why she was barefoot. Luna told them what happened, and Ginny asked, "Do you think this is because Harry asked you out to Hogsmeade?" Luna nodded sadly at that and the brunette and redhead scowled.

"You should put an anti-theft charm on your stuff, Luna," Hermione said helpfully.

"I tried that last year," Luna told her. "Someone filled my trunk with magic-resistant cement instead. I had to dig my things out with a hammer and chisel."

Hermione looked shocked at this – obviously she had no idea of what Luna had to put up with from her housemates. Ginny said, "I hope whoever did that didn't get the cement from Fred and George."

"Oh, I doubt it," Luna said cheerfully. "The twins' pranks can be somewhat cruel, but they've never targeted me. They seem to go after Slytherins, mostly. And Ronald, of course."

"Well, you have to do something to get your stuff back. You don't want to miss your date with Harry," Ginny said.

"I'm sure they'll turn up – when the Nargles take my things, they always turn up eventually. I'm sure it will be the same this time," she said. "Besides, Harry said that if they don't, we'll do something here."

Hermione looked surprised at that. "Harry said that? Hmmm... Still, you should do something. You don't want to miss Hogsmeade."

"I'm sure it will work out. Things usually do."

Hermione and Ginny looked unconvinced about this as they walked away.

The day was a long one for Luna. In Potions, Professor Snape noticed her bare feet, muttered that Hogwarts was not a commune (to the general bewilderment of most of the class, Luna included), and docked Ravenclaw five points for Luna's lack of proper footwear.

Fortunately, there was a D.A. meeting that day, which gave Luna something to look forward to. Being in the D.A. made her feel like her skills were noticed by people, and almost like she was somewhat respected. She hoped there would be some duelling practice – she enjoyed it most of the time, depending on who her sparring partner was.

She arrived at the Room of Requirement early. Harry, who was the only other one there when she arrived, smiled widely at her as she entered the Room. He then looked down, saw her feet,and frowned. "Your socks now, too?"

She slowly nodded.

"We've got to do something about this, Luna. You shouldn't have to put up with these thefts."

"Please don't do anything rash, Harry. I don't even know who did this."

"I won't, Luna. It'll be low-key, trust me. Hearts-and-minds," he said cryptically.

The other D.A. members slowly trickled into room. Once everyone had arrived, Harry got in front of them all and began to speak. "Today we're going to work on our Confundus Charms, Stunning Spells, and Shield Charms by pairing off and duelling. In the next few weeks, though, I want to start in on Patronus Charms. Now, a Patronus is a very powerful, very useful spell. I've had to use it a few times to fend of Dementors," (there were a few gasps at this), "and it can save your life, so it's important to get it right."

He continued, "The thing to remember about a Patronus is that it's powered by your memories. You'll need to think of a happy, powerful memory. And that can be very hard if you're not happy. One thing I want everyone to remember is that everyone in the D.A., everyone in this room, is on the same side. We are all a team, and we may all very well be fighting side-by-side at some point if we're all very unlucky. You don't want the person next to you in battle, the person you're relying on, to let you down, or to not be at their most powerful.

"So I want all of you, all of us, to do everything we can to make things pleasant and happy for one another. And at the very least, don't do anything to make any of us unhappy or make our lives worse. An unhappy member of the D.A. is a less powerful member, and someone who won't be protecting you as well as they can. So please keep this in mind."

Harry looked at Luna with a questioning look in his eyes as he finished this. She smiled slightly and nodded just enough for him to notice. He broke into a grin.

"O.K., so let's do the Confundus now. Marietta, I'll cast a Protego, and you try to Confundo me. In one, two..."

After the meeting, Luna walked over to where Harry stood. "That was a very nice speech about Patronuses, Harry," she said.

"Hopefully it will have some effect."

"Maybe. I don't know if the people who took my things are in the D.A., though."

"No, but other Ravenclaws are. If I got through to Cho and Marietta, or even Michael, they may have some pull with your other housemates. It was worth a try," he said, somewhat less confidently.

Luna smiles and squeezed his hand. "Yes, it was." Her face now had a more serious expression. "Could you get Dobby to talk to me? I have an idea, but I need to ask him a favour."

"Luna, Dobby's not my servant, he's a friend. I'm sure he'd be willing to help out. Just call his name." She looked sceptical. "You'll see. DOBBY!" he called.

Almost immediately, the house elf popped into the Room of Requirement. "Yes, Harry Potter, sir. How can Dobby help?"

"Dobby, you remember my friend Luna, right?"

"Yes, of course! Did Harry Potter's Miss Luna enjoy the pudding?" he said happily.

She smiled at the elf. "Yes, Dobby, it was wonderful. Thank you for that."

"It was no trouble at all, Miss Luna, for a friend of Harry Potter's."

Harry spoke up. "Dobby, Luna had something she needs to ask you. Would you be able to help her just as if you were helping me? I'd be very grateful."

"Dobby would be most happy to help any friend of Harry Potter sir's," he said.

"Good. I have to go work on something, now. I'll see you both later?"

Luna smiled and said yes. Dobby nodded his head vigorously. Harry then left the room.

Luna then asked Dobby to return her missing things to her trunk if he ran across them, and gave the elf a brief description of everything. After a cheerful, "yes, anything for Harry Potter's Miss Luna", he popped out of the Room, and Luna left as well, thinking how she enjoyed what the elf called her.

Things did not improve for Luna the next day. On Tuesdays she had Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Lucretia Marquand shouted out at the beginning of class, "Loony's still barefoot!" Professor Umbridge didn't give her a chance to explain, and didn't punish Lucretia for disrupting class, but instead deducted five points from Ravenclaw, "for not wearing Ministry-approved footwear", and sentenced Luna to an hour of detention that evening. Just when my hand has finally healed, she thought sadly.

Professor Umbridge did not sentence her to write lines, however. When Luna went to her office for detention, still without any shoes and socks, the toad-like teacher told her to go outside the castle and melt icicles from the castle walls for an hour using her wand. "And don't cast any warming charms on yourself, dear," she said insincerely. "Maybe this will teach you to wear shoes to class."

And so Luna had to walk outside in the cold of January, barefoot and without a jacket, firing warming spells at the icicles, but none at herself. She had to concede that Professor Umbridge's sadism was at least imaginative and varied. Her upper body was cold enough in the night wind, but he feet were beginning to turn blue after a few minutes. As she melted the icicles away, she got the idea to cast warming spell at the ground where she was standing. Her feet were still extremely uncomfortable, but no longer in danger of frostbite.

When Luna returned after her hour outside, Professor Umbridge seemed almost angered that Luna wasn't in more pain than she was. She checked Luna's feet for evidence that the girl had applied warming spells to them, and once she determined none had been used on her person, she made Luna wait until Argus Filch confirmed that a large number of the icicles had been melted off the castle exterior. She then begrudgingly dismissed Luna, who went back to the Ravenclaw dorms to soak her feet.

By Wednesday evening, Luna had to put real effort into maintaining her serene disposition. She wasn't about to let her housemates see that she was upset, but the week was wearing her down. Professor Flitwick took her aside after Charms class and asked where her shoes were, to which Luna replied that she had lost them. All of them. The diminutive charms professor did not look convinced, and told Luna that if there was anything he could do, or anything she needed to talk about, his door was open to her. She thanked him sincerely, but she did not want to get her Head of House involved in the situation, for fear it would only make things worse.

Other than waving at Harry over supper, she hadn't seen him since the D.A. meeting. She had spoken with Ginny briefly after dinner, and the Gryffindor girl looked upset but unsurprised that Luna was still going around barefoot. Luna decided to go to the library to spend the rest of the evening, hoping she could find an open desk in the History of Magic section, so that she could avoid her fellow students. On her walk to the library, she unexpectedly found herself flanked on both sides by the Weasley twins.

"Hello, Fred. Hello, George," she said dreamily.

"So I was talking to my brother Fred..." began one of them.

"And Fred was talking to me," said the other.

"And I said to Fred, 'George, isn't that our Ginny's friend Luna Lovegood walking down the hallway?'"

"And I said, 'George, I think that is Harry Potter's friend Luna'. And then I said 'But she doesn't appear to be wearing any shoes'."

"And I said, 'Perhaps our neighbour Miss Lovegood is going back to nature, and wants to feel the grass between her toes'."

"And I thought that was a fine idea. But I pointed out to Gred that there is no grass this time of year."

"And then I said to Forge that you would be unlikely to want to feel the stone floors of the castle between your toes..."

"Especially if you were trying to get back to nature..."

Luna couldn't help put smile at the banter of the two twins.

One of the seventh-years continued. "So I said to George, 'Fred, I think Luna may be the victim of a prank'."

"And I said to Fred, 'I think you're right George'. And I told him I was offended by this."

"So I asked George why he was offended..."

"And I told George that be poor Luna's feet must be very cold without any shoes..."

"And then Fred said to me that he was offended that someone would consider that a worthy prank..."

"Rather than a pathetic and juvenile one."

"But I pointed out that we were sometimes juvenile."

"And he said that there is 'fun-loving' juvenile and 'sad and pathetic' juvenile."

"And while we may sometimes be the former..."

"...this was clearly the latter."

"So I said to George, 'Gred, perhaps Miss Lovegood would help us show these incompetent pranksters what a true prank looks like."

"And I said to Fred, 'George, perhaps she would'."

"So we're here to ask..."

"... if you want these pseudo-pranksters..."

"... to find out what an actual prank feels like."

They looked at her questioningly.

Luna turned to the boy to her left. "Thank you, Fred, but I don't know exactly who did this."

"I'm George" said the boy.

"No, he's George," she said, pointing to his brother. "You're Fred."

"How can you tell?"

Luna shrugged. "It's obvious."

"Huh," said Fred.

"Hmmm..." said George.

"Anyway, I don't know who did it, thank you both for asking. It's very sweet of you," she said and smiled at them.

"Well, if you do find out, let us know," said George.

"It's one thing to prank a friend of our sisters..."

"... but another thing entirely to do it so unimaginatively."

"An insult to our professional standards!" exclaimed Fred.

"Bringing a bad name to pranksters everywhere," decried George.

They laughed and wandered off, giving a friendly salute to Luna as they left.

Luna felt much happier after that.

After the library, she returned to her dorm room, and found her all of her shoes, boots, slippers, and socks piled on her bed, with a folded slip of parchment on them. She opened the parchment, and saw someone had written "SORRY" on it in large block letters. Luna didn't recognize the handwriting, but she didn't care. She at least had her footwear back.

She was startled by a tap on the shoulder, and turned around to see Morgana Dempster looking at her. "I see you got your stuff back," she said quietly.

"Some of it," Luna said, looking directly into the small dark-haired girl's eyes.

"It wasn't me," Morgana said defensively.

"I didn't think so. Do you know who it was?"

Morgana shook her head, but looked away from Luna as she said it.

"Oh well," said Luna, turning away. She didn't really care who did it, so long as it stopped.

"You're really lucky, you know," Morgana said. At Luna's questioning look, she explained, "You can tell Harry really likes you. The way he talks to you, I mean." As Luna continued to look at her, Morgana continued, "I wish some boy would look at me the way he looks at you. You like him too, right?"

Luna nodded shyly.

"I thought so, but you're harder to read."

Luna thought that after nearly four years of sharing a room, Morgana should know her by now, but she didn't express that thought.

"Anyway, I hope you have a good time this weekend. You'll have to tell us about it..."

As the dark-haired girl said that, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Morgana stopped talking and turned away from Luna, which made the blonde frown slightly. Luna thought Morgana could turn out to be a good friend, if only she wasn't so concerned about what the other Ravenclaw girls thought of her.

Deirdre and Melanie entered the dorm the girls shared, and looked at Luna with a mixture of guilt and anger, but they didn't say anything to Luna that night, and they didn't comment on the return of her footwear.

Luna was feeling better on Thursday. Her returned possessions stayed returned, and Harry came over to say hello to her in the Great Hall after lunch. He smiled when he saw her wearing socks and shoes again. "They're back!"

Luna smiled at him. "Not my winter wear yet, but I'm sure they'll turn up," she said cheerfully. "I really hope I get back the scarf you gave me. I wanted to wear it on Saturday, you know."

"Yeah, me too."

"So your speech worked! You should go into public speaking, Harry. You'd be good at it," she said sincerely.

Harry frowned at that. "Ugh. No way."

"You do well at the meetings. You're good at it, Harry, just like you're good at teaching. You really should think about it."

"Maybe." Harry seemed unconvinced.

Luna asked him how his project was going.

"Pretty well, I think. Professor Flitwick's giving me the advice I need to get it right, so it should work out."

"I didn't see you as the type to go for extra credit," she said. "What is it you're doing?"

Harry smiled widely. "You'll see. If you're lucky." At Luna's questioning look, he laughed and said, "Payback."

Luna smiled at him. He said goodbye, got up, and touched her shoulder on his way out of the Great Hall.

When Luna got dressed the next morning, she looked in her trunk and saw all of her winter clothing had been placed it, along with the Gryffindor scarf Harry gave her. There was a note on top, saying "For Harry Potter's Miss Luna". When she was alone in the room, she called "Mr. Dobby", and when popped into the room, she threw her arms around him, gave him a tight hug, and thanked him profusely.

The house elf was clearly not used to being hugged, or being called "Mister", and stammered out, "Dobby is glad to make you happy, Miss Luna", and looked almost embarrassed before he popped out of the room when she let him go.

It was a very cheerful Luna who went to the Great Hall for breakfast. She piled bangers and mash onto her plate and cheerfully dug in to her breakfast, when the morning owls came in. Luna was surprised to have an owl drop a small box in front of her, and gave the owl a large piece of sausage in gratitude. Opening the box, she saw a letter from her father.

Dear Moonbeam,

I hope all is going well for you at Hogwarts. I envy you, being able to spend all day learning and finding out new and amazing things, and not having to worry about things like subscriber issues and unreliable suppliers, but I suppose you have your own deadlines and problems to worry about!

I've been getting the articles for March's Snorkack issue together. I think that one may be our best issue yet.

As per your last owl, I have enclosed your copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard to give to your friend Harry. I hope he enjoys it as much as you did, and make sure he pays particular attention to the Tale of the Three Brothers. I'd like to hear what he thinks of it, should I ever get a chance to meet the boy.

I've also enclosed the October 1990 issue of The Quibbler for your friend Hermione. It gladdens my heart to know your mother's last published article is still being enjoyed by seekers of knowledge, and I hope Hermione enjoys it as much as your dear mother enjoyed writing it. She may find the rest of the issue interesting as well – I wrote a particularly good article in that one about the cruel disciplinary measures then then-newly-appointed Minister Fudge was using to keep his Heliopaths in line. You'll have to tell me what she thinks.

Speaking of Hermione, I got an owl from her and Ginny Weasley saying that all your winter clothing disappeared! I do hope you're taking the appropriate precautions against Nargles, my little treasure. You know how they can be. I have enclosed a jacket, woollen hat, gloves, and boots for you, in case those naughty Nargles don't give your things back. They all have notice-me-not charms on them that will activate when you're not wearing them, so hopefully the Nargles and other mischievous creatures won't be able to take them! I had the charms attuned so that you would be able to see them at all times, of course.

Hermione and Ginny mentioned you're having a Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow, and that's why you needed some winter clothes. I hope you have fun with your friends, and don't overdo it on the Honeydukes chocolates. You know how eating too much of them at once will attract the Jamboling Rimesprites.

Send your old man an owl when you get the chance.

Love,

Daddy

Luna looked in the box, and saw the items her father had mentioned in his letter, all in their miniaturized form. She looked over at the Gryffindor table to try and catch Ginny's and Hermione's glances, but neither of them were there.

She ran into them after supper that evening, and gave Hermione a tight hug in gratitude (which the brunette was obviously not expecting, and returned tentatively) and then did the same to Ginny.

"Daddy said you wrote to him," Luna said to the two Gryffindors.

"We didn't want you to miss your first date," said Ginny smilingly. "It was actually Hermione's idea."

Luna looked at Hermione in gratitude. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "I got the rest of my things back this morning, but thank you all the same. That was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me."

"You're welcome," Hermione said to the blonde girl, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, and Daddy sent you this," Luna said, handing her the back issue of The Quibbler which came that morning.

Ginny covered her mouth to suppress a giggle as she saw what Luna gave Hermione.

Hermione thanked Luna, and explained to Ginny, "It has an article on runes that sounded interesting. Luna's mother wrote it."

Ginny no longer had to suppress a laugh, until Luna went on. "It also has an article on Cornelius Fudge's Heliopath army that you should read, Hermione. Maybe you can borrow it later, Ginny," she said helpfully.

Ginny went red, choking a little at Hermione's expression.

Hermione tactfully changed the subject. "So are you all ready for your date, Luna?"

"Yes, I think so, now that I have all my things back."

"Would you like our help getting ready?" Ginny asked.

"No, I think I can dress myself. But thank you anyway," Luna said cheerfully.

Ginny frowned a little. "That's not what I meant. Do you need any make-up tips, any help with your hair, or jewellery, that kind of thing?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on wearing make-up. I don't actually own any."

"I have something you can borrow, Luna. I got it for Christmas, but I'll let you use it. It's a charmed lipstick that responds to your mood and skin and lip colour to adjust to how you're feeling, and what you want. So if you're happy and just having fun with friends, it looks simple and subdued, and if you're smouldering with an intent to seduce, for example, it might show as a deep, vibrant, sexy red." Ginny had a wide smile as she said that.

"Ginny! I don't think Luna needs that on a first date!" Hermione said, somewhat scandalized.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying it will go like that for Luna tomorrow. Unless you really want it to, that is," she said teasingly at the Ravenclaw girl. Luna blushed at that. "It's just fun, and I know how Luna likes charmed jewellery and stuff. I just thought she might want to try it."

"It sounds lovely, thank you," Luna said to her friend, as Ginny shot a See? look at Hermione.

"What are you doing with your hair?" Hermione asked.

"I thought I'd wear it like this," Luna said, pointing to her usual free-flowing, slightly tangled style.

"You might want to try something different, for fun," Hermione said quickly. "Boys like it when you change things up a little. I know Viktor liked it when I changed my hair for our date."

"That was a ball," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "This is Hogsmeade."

"I'm not saying Luna should spend hours at a hairdresser," Hermione said at Ginny. Turning to Luna, she suggested, "How about a nice, loose ponytail, gathered at the back of your neck? Your hair would look good like that, being as long as it is. You could even throw it over the front of your shoulder for a bit of panache."

Ginny considered this intently. "That might work. What do you say?" she asked Luna.

"That sounds nice and easy. You think Harry will like it?"

Hermione said to her, "I think he'd like anything you do with your hair, to be honest."

Luna blushed again.

"So what about jewellery?" Ginny asked. "Do you have any special necklaces, other than that one?" she asked, pointing at Luna's butterbeer one.

"I was going to wear this one, and my chili pepper earrings that Harry said he liked. They have a warming charm, you know."

Ginny asked, "Do you have anything else?"

Hermione jumped in, "You should wear the necklace you're wearing, Luna. Trust me, I know Harry likes it," she said as Ginny raised her eyebrow questioningly. "He says is one of the things that makes you you."

Luna smiled. "Good. I was planning to anyway – I wouldn't want Nargles ruining my date."

Hermione was very proud that she didn't roll her eyes at that.

The Ravenclaw girl continued, "Anyway, thank you for your suggestions. It's nice, talking about something like this with other girls. I didn't think anyone would ever want to talk about anything like that with me, what with everyone thinking I'm so strange."

Hermione didn't know how to react to that. Ginny, who had more experience with Luna, said, "It's fun. How often do we get to help someone with their first date?"

"Well, I should get my weekend studying done. See you both tomorrow!"

"Bye, Luna," the two Gryffindors girls said, as they went back to their common room.

Luna hummed happily all the way back to the Ravenclaw common room, daydreaming happily of what tomorrow would bring.