I love reviews, and I especially like it when you sign in bore reviewing, so that I can reply. One anonymous reviewer asked: 'Are we supposed to like Luna? I sure don't. She's unstable and cruel.'
My answer: yes, she is. And becoming more so. As to whether you like her, that's up to you. How Harry will respond to this is still an open question.
START
Harry had just snapped the Death Eater's wand (along with maybe a finger) when he felt the distinctive whirling of an activated portkey. He clutched tighter to the Death Eater's robe and popped him one in the nose as they landed in a clear spot in dense forest. It looked like the Forbidden Forest, but it could have been Siberia, for all Harry knew.
"Where are we?" he demanded. The Death eater had landed on his rear, and was holding one hand to his nose. When he didn't reply, Harry again demanded, "where did you portkey us?" 'Luna's all alone back there!' Harry was starting to panic. The idea that his girlfriend was facing off against a squad of Death Eaters all on her own scared him spitless. 'And it won't occur to her to retreat.'
*Hero*Hero*
Adam came back out with a cup of mulled butterbeer for Luna, only to find the teen gone. From his height, he could see over the heads of the Aurors trying to bring order to the chaos that had descended onto Hogsmead, but the blond girl was nowhere to be seen.
*Hero*Hero*
"Hello Vincent, do you want a cake?"
Crabbe had just walked out of the Slytherin dorms when he was confronted by Luna. He was somewhat puzzled - she was standing in the doorway of a classroom, holding out a cake to him, smiling, but her face was dirty and tear stained, and her hair looked like a cauldron had just exploded in her face.
Something in the back of his head screamed 'Danger'. She wiggled the cake. It was chocolate, straight from Honeydukes. Unfortunately for him, Vincent wasn't known as the smartest Slytherin. He stepped forward and took hold of the platter.
Luna let him have the platter and stepped back into the classroom. As Vincent's other hand closed on a piece, she wiggled her wand, and a gap opened in the cake and the opening lunged for Crabbe's hand, biting down.
"Ow. What are you doing?"
"Turn about is fair play. I imagine that a little piggy like you has eaten many, MANY cakes."
The cake squeezed tighter on his fist. Vincent tried to push it off with his free hand, but the cake swallowed that hand too.
Luna slammed the classroom door closed and cast Muffliato. "So it is only natural that the cake would want some revenge."
"OWW!"
"Tell me where my Harry is, or I let the cake eat you." Luna smiled down at the fat boy as he crouched down, desperately trying to scrape off the vicious chocolate confection.
"I don't know where Harry is."
"Your father was part of the group of Death Eaters that attacked Hogsmead just a little bit ago. They took Harry. So you will tell me where they took him."
"How do you know my father was there?"
"I tipped up his mask. I know what he looks like."
Vincent's heart plummeted, "he was captured?"
"Don't be silly," Luna cocked her head as if examining an odd creature, "I killed him. Just like I will kill you if you don't give me back my Harry."
*Hero*Hero*
Harry was just getting up from knocking unconscious the Death Eater when there was a series of pops a few feet away, and three more Death Eaters apparated in. By pure luck, none were facing him. Harry swished his wand at himself and mouthed "Wingardium Leviosa", leaping at the same time. One of the Death Eaters turned at the slight sound, but he was still disoriented from apparating in, so all he noticed was one of the vines over the clearing shake as Harry brushed by it.
"There is something here!" A fat Death Eater yelped.
"Lawrence is out cold - something attacked him." a second Death Eater knelt down next to the unconscious man that Harry had incapacitated, "wasn't he wrestling with a student before we apparated?"
"Finate Incatatem!" the fat one cast in all directions. "Nobody is dissillusioned."
"Maybe it's just a wild animal?" asked the third hopefully.
"Wands out. I don't know what it is, or much care. it could be dangerous. Rhodian, you Levicorpus Lawrence to the mansion."
Harry watched from his perch up in the tree. He was balanced precariously where he had landed. He didn't dare move, else he might attract lethal attention. 'Please leave. Please leave,' he chanted silently. His legs were starting to feel numb from crouching. He still had no idea where he was, but he figured he could resolve that problem AFTER the Death Eaters left. Which they were in the process of doing when his foot slipped.
"It's up there!" pointed the shorter Death Eater, turning towards the sound.
"Reducto" Harry blasted the ground below him, spraying dirt and snow over the Death Eaters. As they staggered back and covered their eyes, Harry dropped back to the ground on the other side of the tree and immediately rolled under a bush.
Several Reductos smashed into the tree he had been hiding in, blasting off branches. Harry covered his head with an arm to protect himself from the debris.
"Did we get him? asked a Death eater.
"I don't see a body." the fat Death Eater circled around to Harry's side of the tree, still looking up at the (now blasted) tree.
"Accio tree" Harry whispered. The spell tried to bring the tree to Harry. Since that wasn't physically possible, Harry was flung forward toward the tree. He would have slammed face first into it, except for two facts: One: he tucked his shoulder in, and two: the fat Death Eater was in the way. Harry slammed his shoulder straight into the back of the Fat Death Eater, who collapsed with a gasp.
"Thorfinn?" asked one of the remaining Death Eaters. He cautiously circled the tree. Before he came into sight, Harry again cast Accio, pulling himself straight up into the tree top.
"He's up in the tree still!" yelled the short Death eater, raising his wand.
"Lumos!" Harry closed his eyes, releasing a blinding flash of light right in shorty's face. The short Death Eater staggered back as the flash momentarily blinded him. Harry ran out along the branch he was standing on. As it bowed under his weight, he Accio'ed the neighboring pine. Once there, he pivoted on the tiny foothold he landed on and cast an Expelliarmus at the closest Death Eater. The spell missed.
That Death Eater spun around, yelling "Cover me". As the short Death eater started casting curses at the tree Harry was hiding in, the one that had asked for covering fire cast a levitation spell, to gain a better vantage point. Harry hunkered down as spells whizzed by on either side of him. As the Death Eater flew up, Harry calmly cast "Stupefy" and dropped off his branch. And a good thing he did - the Death Eater providing covering fire cast a flame spell at where Harry had been a moment ago. Harry barely managed to catch himself on a lower branch, landing hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He scrambled up onto it as the tree smoldered and smoked above him.
"Can you see him? gasped the fat Death Eater, in obvious pain.
"No, he's too fast. I think he has flying magic."
"Impossible. No student could master something that advanced."
"Well, maybe he has a broom."
*Hero*Hero*
"Finate Incatatem!" Nott spat out as he he stepped into the classroom. "What on earth are you doing to Crabbe?" he demanded, raising his wand towards Luna.
"She's insane! She was threatening to kill me, and she says she killed my dad!" Crabbe yelled in a panic, wiping cake bits off of his arms. There were also cakey bite marks on his head.
Nott's eyes narrowed just as Luna borrowed one of Harry's favorite tricks, casting "Lumos" and running out the door, knocking Nott off balance. He almost grabbed her robe as she ran past, but the hem tore loose in his hand.
Luna ran until she reached the Ravenclaw tower. She raced up to the girls dorms, past a pair of befuddled second years and into the bathroom, coloriportusing the door behind her.
She hid in one of the stalls, crouching on top of the toilet seat, hugging her knees as silent sobs wracked her body.
*Hero*Hero*
"Look out!" the Death Eater flung himself out of the way as another Reducto blew the dirt where had been standing up in a spray.
"Rhodian! Thorfinn! Where are you guys?"
"I'm here. Rhodian's out - he got stupefied in mid air." Thorfinn gasped out.
Harry quietly circled the Death Eaters, grateful that the idiots continued to call out to each other. Death Eaters were pretty tough dualists one on one, but they had absolutely NO skill at group fighting, and actually fought worse when they were together - each one assumed that the others were doing the thinking for the group. 'Maybe I should just make a run for it?' Harry mused. But no - he didn't know where to run to, and if he wandered blindly, he might run into the Death Eaters again when he didn't have the advantaged. 'I better get them while they are still panicked' Harry eyed where Thorfinn was hiding. He was the fat one, and he was still at the base of the tree, though he had circled to the other side. Most likely Harry had hit him hard enough that he wasn't up to walking yet. Or maybe it was just because he was fat.
'Can I drop the tree on him?' Harry ran through the spells he knew, but nothing came to mind. 'I wish Luna was here. She'd make the tree go 'Lord of the Rings' on his fat ass'. He looked around - the other dark wizard was under cover, behind some sort of bushy, plant-y thing (it wasn't magical, so it wasn't covered in the Hogwarts curriculum).
An idea popped into his head "om shuri mari mamari mari shushari sowaka" he started the omyodo chant. As small pieces of paper appeared to form the Japanese shield spell, he flicked them out in a mass towards the tree.
"Lookout - he's charging you!" the short Death Eater stood up from behind a bush, a flash of green leaving his wand. "What?" he stopped, puzzled now that he had a clear view of the 'attacker'. Before he could say anything further, Harry's stupefy knocked him out.
*Hero*Hero*
Slowly, Luna calmed down and tried to put her thoughts into order. "I need to get help. but who? If only I had some Hinkypunks. or one of Harry's DA.".
She considered if it was feasible to transfigure a passing student into a Hinkypunk. 'I will have better luck with the DA.' Despite being a member, she knew that the rest of the DA weren't really her friends. But they were Harry's. She unlocked the bathroom and tentatively ventured out. Seeing nobody around, she straightened her robes and drew herself up, regaining her usual appearance of confident nonchalance. Just then, professor Flitwick burst into the common room, "Children! There has been an attack on Hogsmead. I want all of you to stay here, and if any other student arrives instruct them to remain as well."
"Oh." Luna gasped, 'I could ask a professor for help.' the idea had not occurred to her until just then. "Professor! Professor! Harry has been kidnapped!"
Flitwick stopped and turned, "What? When did this happen?'
"It happened during the attack - we were defending ourselves against the Death Eaters. Harry was fighting with one of them at close range, and then they both portkeyed away."
Flitwick ran out the door, "We must tell the Aurors right away. I hope it's not too late - Portkey signatures fade fast, and they might not be able to trace it.
*Hero*Hero*
Harry backed away on all fours from the tree where the injured Death Eater was holed up. It seemed pretty certain now that Harry must have injured his back when he hit him. Harry had considered his options, but unfortunately, with his repertoire of spells, he couldn't think of anything that had a chance of working other than a frontal assault. And that was just stupid. Which was the reason Harry would never, ever put Ron Weasley in charge of anything, be it a the DA or a quidditch team. 'When it comes to tactical thinking, Ron's as bad Goyle.'
But with the last Death Eater immobile, retreat was a viable option. Once Harry had put a hillock between himself and his opponent, Harry finally stood up. 'Now where the hell am I?' He started walking.
*Hero*Hero*
"That's a lucky break" The lead Auror talked as his assistant cast a spell, "There is no way to trace an Apparition, but portkeys can be tracked. I am surprised the Death Eaters were sloppy enough to use one." He was a tall, good looking man with a large broach holding on a half cloak. He obviously thought himself quite stylish.
"Most of them apparated away, but the one that Harry was fighting with might not have had the time to do so." Flitwick replied. They were standing outside the ruined bakery as the Aurors worked.
"Got it! Let's go."
"Wait, I'll go with you!" Luna stepped forward.
The Auror looked incredulously at the teenaged girl, "No, you will not!" He snapped. "Your job is to stay here, where I don't have to worry about you getting spelled." He gave Luna a glare, just to drive the message home.
When the blond was suitably cowed, he cast "Apparatum!"
If Luna hadn't been scared of getting splinched, she would have thrown herself onto him as he disappeared. But that sort of thing only worked with Portkeys.
It felt like a several hours, but it was only a tense fifteen minutes before the Aurors returned. Luna and professor Flitwick had moved aside so that the proprietor of the bakery could start making repairs. When the Aurors popped back in, it was with an unconscious man in Death Eater robes. "We didn't find Harry. I am sorry, miss" The Auror didn't look particularly upset, "There was nobody else there. Though if it is any conciliation, it looks like Harry put up a fight before they got him." He smiled charmingly.
Luna had to fight down the urge to transfigure his broach into a wolverine that would claw his face off. Or a cobra. Or a wombat.
*Hero*Hero*
"So, what are we going to do?" Ron asked. The DA was all gathered for an emergency session in the Room of Requirement by his request.
"Do? About what?" Asked Hannah.
"About getting Harry back." Luna nodded at Ron's pronouncement.
"And how do you propose doing that?" asked Simon.
"We could.."
"Could what? We don't have any leads, and even if we did, what would we do, storm into the Death Eater's hideout in a frontal assault, take them all out and rescue Harry?"
"We wouldn't have to take them ALL out." Ron replied sheepishly. "We would just have to hold them off long enough to get Harry."
Simon rolled his eyes as Hannah put a hand on Ron's arm, and said gently, "Ron, sweety, you really are a good friend to Harry, and I really respect that, but I don't think there is anything we can do right now."
"We could use the spell that Daddy and I came up with to find Crumpled Horn Snorkacks" Luna added, slightly desperately.
"And is Harry a Snorkack?" asked Goyle.
"No" she pulled her knees up and hid behind them dejectedly. If even Goyle was finding flaws in her plans, it was a bad sign.
"But we have to get Harry.."
"Get Harry what?" asked Harry, walking into the room.
"Harry!" Luna threw herself out of her chair so fast that nobody saw her cross the intervening space.
"Where were you? How did you get back?" Ron fired off questions.
'Mmrph!" Harry attempted to reply, but discovered that Luna was glued to his lips, and that he wouldn't be able to talk until Luna came up for air. And honestly, he didn't mind: Luna hadn't been this affectionate in a very long time. He held up a hand for Ron to wait.
The rest of the of the DA went from surprised at seeing Harry, to excited to have him back, to slightly embarrassed, as Luna showed no signs of letting go.
"Um, Luna? I think Harry needs to breath." Neville volunteered tentatively.
At which point the blond stepped quickly away.
"Right. Nothing much to tell. I got away from the Death Eaters, then I walked. It was dark by the time I found a road. After that, I called the Knight Bus, and got to Hogsmead." He shrugged, as if to say it was no big deal.
Harry looked around the group. "But these attacks are getting out of control. There's a new one every week. Something needs to be done, before anymore people we know get killed."
There were nods from the whole group, "Yeah, but what can we do about it?"
"I'll get back to you in a couple of days. I have been working something for a couple of months. Most of it, the dangerous parts, will be done by me and a couple of others, but I will need you guys to help. Are you good with that?" Harry looked around the rooms. Most of the students gave their approval. "Good, then we should start training on the parts that you guys will be doing." Harry was just about to sit down when Luna grabbed his arm
"Harry, we need to talk."
*Hero*Hero*
It was finally here. 'The Talk'.
Luna lead Harry out into the corridor. They hadn't gone more than ten feet away from the entrance to the Room when Luna turned.
"Harry, I think you should see other girls."
"What?" Harry froze, in shock. "I thought.. You seemed happy just now. When you were kissing me."
Luna looked down at her hands as she fiddled with her fingers, her voice almost a whisper "I AM happy. But that's not the point. I don't think I am the right girl for you, Harry. That's why I think..." which was as far as she got before Harry stepped in and kissed her gently on the lips. He could feel her start to relax before she pushed him away,
"You aren't making this any easier."
"And I don't plan to. Is that what you have been worrying about since winter break?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Um, yeah, because.."
"I don't care." Harry interrupted, "I love you for who you are."
"Love..?" Luna asked in a small voice.
Harry nodded. He had to put his entire will to pull the next words out of his mouth, but he knew he had to, "Yeah. I love you."
Luna buried her face in Harry's shoulder. Harry was just about to put his arms around her when she pushed away. "Good bye, Harry" and she turned to walk away.