Luna was humming happily as she checked on her Trollingwood. The little tree had grown two inches since she planted it back at the beginning of September. They had also planted Gillyweed and the Blue Stickle Lily whose stem was tined with invisible spines that were used in Invisbility potions. Herbology was starting to get interesting, especially as it went hand in hand with Care of Magical Creatures towards her goal of being a Naturalist.
The class was nearly over. Professor Sprout and Neville were wandering around answering last minute questions and offering suggestions to those who were still sticking themselves on the spines of their lily. The students had been applying a black dye to the spines so that they were no longer invisible and wouldn't stick themselves.
Neville paused by Luna's plants to examine them. She was counting a thumbtip length down and a pinkie-nail length to the left side which is how she was able to track each of the invisible spines without poking herself. When she found a spine, she would apply the black dye with her wand tip.
"How'd you know to do that Luna?" Neville asked as she found another spine. Her classmates were sucking on sore thumbs that had been pricked one too many times.
"Stickle Lily spines are always the same distance from each other and descend down the stem like the steps of a ladder," Luna smiled at Neville as her spine appeared on the stem. "It was in the book that you showed me; Wilderness in the Wetlands," she reminded him. "I finished reading it and I meant to bring it to class but I forgot."
"That's okay. You can return it later," Neville assured. He watched her work for a few minutes and she finally tilted her head back to look up at him asking, "Everything alright?" One of her brows quirked in worry at his continued presence hovering over her.
Neville colored slightly and then stammered, "Y-yeah." He quickly proceeded to another student workstation to check on their progress.
-HP-
How did he end up in Gryffindor? Here he was again, avoiding the girl he loved. Neville had wanted to ask her about the poem while he had been at her workstation but he could feel the eyes of her classmates on him and had chickened out. Some hero he was. Cut off a snake's head? Sure, easy peasy lemon squeezy. Tell a girl you're madly in love with her? He'd almost rather be tossed off the Black Pool pier to be drowned by his Uncle Algie again. It was less fearsome.
Neville watched Luna carefully cleaned her hands off with her wand. She started to pack her books into her bag and tuck her wand behind her ear. He swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and walked forward quickly calling her name before she left the greenhouse.
"Yes?" Luna had slung her bag across her torso, adjusting the strap so it lay on her shoulder properly.
He found the lump of fear he swallowed had been replaced suddenly by dry mouth as he opened his mouth fishing for a reason why he had suddenly stopped her. He would feel idiotic just bringing the poem up when she hadn't even asked him about it at all. Why hadn't she asked him about it? Had she received it?
"Neville?" she said his name as a question and he felt even most stupid as he realized he hadn't spoken in nearly half a minute.
When he finally did speak, he blurted out, "How about we meet tomorrow night at the lake?"
"What?" Luna cocked her head to the side.
"To..uh..," Neville was fishing in his head for a reason when it came to him, "So you can uh..return the book and we can uh..look for aquatic plants in the Black Lake." He wanted to check his brain for stupidity the moments the words were out. Could that have been as lame as it sounded?
"Oh," Luna looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "Actually no I can't. I'm meeting Harry and Professor Bokree tomorrow night for a lesson."
Neville felt his heart sink in disappointment along with a little bit of curious jealousy. What were Luna and Harry doing in a lesson together? They weren't even in the same year.
"How about Sunday afternoon?" Luna asked, his spirits suddenly soaring again at her suggestion. "I'm free then."
Neville's heart was screaming "YES!" but he managed to keep himself under control as he nodded his head. When he could trust himself to speak without giving away the surge of excitement he had just felt he breathed out, "That would be fine." He had managed to play it cool that time.
"Neville you're not coming down with a fever are you?" Luna queried as she reached out a hand towards his forehead, "You're awfully red in the face."
Oh how the body betrayed the mind. Neville knew the red in his face was from his excitement, but he covered by saying, "Maybe a first year gave me fever fudge. They like that prank on teachers the best along with puking pastilles."
Luna grinned at him and said, "That's why you don't accept anything from a student that you have to eat or drink. Even Umbridge figured that one out eventually."
Neville found himself grinning at the memories of that too. "I'll see you Sunday Luna," he told her.
"No, tomorrow in class silly, Then on Sunday," Luna reminded him with a small laugh and she headed out of the greenhouse.
As the next class came in, Neville felt a surge of energy and he felt like he could take on anything, do anything or say anything and it would be great, like someone had given him liquid luck. And he continued to feel that way until he tripped over his shoelaces, which had become untied by themselves again, while walking between the workstations. Because life's like that.
-HP-
Friday night Luna found her way to the third floor and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She joined Harry and Professor Bokree there, knocking on the doorway as she entered the classroom.
"Hello there Miss Lovegood," Professor Bokree was looking down at a book on his desk and did not see her immediately. "We were just wondering where you..Merlin's hair!" His exclamation came as he lifted his eyes to view his sixth year student. Luna Lovegood's hair had always been a dirty blonde color but at this moment in time it was a bright easter egg pink. The straggly strands looked like she had dipped them into a bucket of baby pink paint.
Harry was gawking at Luna too. Luna just smiled at both of them and said, "Good evening." She was already used to the staring, and tonight at dinner it had been even worse, but it was all good fun.
When Harry, who had skipped dinner and therefore missed the commotion in the Great Hall, had finally regained his senses (the pink had overwhelmed him) he asked, "Luna what happened to your hair?"
"We were changing hair colors in Transfiguration," Luna explained. "I asked my housemate Edgar to change my hair to red, but it kind of got stuck somewhere in the middle we think." She picked up a pink strand and smiled, "I kind of like it. Professor McGonagall offered to fix it for me but I think I'll leave it for now, just for fun."
Professor Bokree's shock wore off and he suddenly chuckled. "That actually might make this interesting." He clapped Harry on the back saying, "You told me you've already had a go at Occlumency before . Let's see how you do with the distraction."
Luna set her bookbag down and pulled her wand from behind her ear. Professor Bokree came over to her and said, "Now Miss Lovegood, I'm going to have to teach you the Legilimens spell but also I have some fairly careful instructions. The mind is a delicate thing and you both will be connected unless Mr. Potter is successful at resisting..."
Luna listened very carefully as Professor Bokree explained the spell and also the dangers posed to both her and Harry if it was not done successfully. She had already read in their textbook what he was talking about, but nodded her head at each explanation of the dangers they were opening themselves up to.
"If you two are ready," Professor Bokree stood back after his lecture on being careful during this lesson.
Luna took a breath and raised her wand at Harry. "I want to know more about your godfather Harry," she told him."
"What?" He looked confused for a moment, his own wand hesitant.
"Legilimens!" It was not fair of her to have distracted him in such a manner, but Luna used it to her advantage. As she focused like Professor Bokree had told her, she attempted to push into Harry's mind and gain access to his memories, his thoughts, his very consciousness.
He resisted, better than she was pushing at it. The practice with Professor Snape had gained him enough control to keep Luna out but their practice was interrupted as Professor Bokree said, "Stop! Stop!"
Luna let her wand down, the spell disappating.
"Miss Lovegood, you need to be looking directly into his eyes when you do this. He's got some experience although not much from what I've gathered." Professor Bokree urged her forward saying, "Stand in front of him. There you are. Point your wand. Look into his eyes when you do this."
Luna stood directly in front of Harry, a bit uncomfortably close. He looked down at her from behind his glasses and her silver gaze met his. She took a step back but Professor Bokree told her to stay where she was.
"Now..enforce the words, push your mind into his, really give it a go!" Professor Bokree emphasized his words with a fist swung up into the air in front of him. "You're not just reading hs mind Miss Lovegood. You are in fact pushing your thoughts onto his."
Luna looked up into Harry's eyes. She took a few steadying breaths. She tilted her wand up where it was pointed to just under his chin. "Legilimens." She whispered the spell, focusing solely on Harry.
She broke through this time and she could feel the surprise from both him and herself as their minds connected. She saw fragmented images, he was trying to block them from her and what she saw lasted only moments at a time; Feelings of despair as he looked at Fred's dead body, Tonks and Lupin as well. Joy when he had found Ginny still alive after the battle, but she politely skirted around that memory out of respect for their privacy. She remembered that Professor Bokree said she was to enforce her will upon Harry and so she pushed a little more, seeking his memories of Sirius Black, willing him to give up his memories to her mind.
For one moment she saw Harry walking through Kings Cross Station in London with a shaggy brute of a black dog by his side. A happy feeling bloomed within Harry and she felt it as if she were just as ecstatic as he was, to be walking openly beside Sirius. And then the image was gone, shut down by Harry who was blocking her. A sharp pain entered her brain and Luna's consciousness withdrew from Harry's.
As her vision cleared, becoming more aware of her surroundings Luna heard Professor Bokree congratulating Harry saying, "That was good! You managed to make her retreat! Well done Mr. Potter." As an afterthought he added, "Miss Lovegood are you alright?"
Luna lifted a hand to her head saying, "I think so."
"That was well done for your first time," she heard the Professor say.
"Are you alright Luna?" Harry's gaze dropped down to look at her in concern.
She nodded her head though the heel of her hand was still pressed to her head. It felt like someone had taken a sharp burning iron and pressed it directly into the middle of her forehead.
"I'm sorry," Harry winced as he looked at her and said, "It's my fault. I was thinking how a knight would use his shield to protect himself and his sword to make his enemy retreat and then I thought about stabbing a sword, and my thoughts must have just..." his voice trailed off.
Luna snorted and then started to laugh softly. At Harry's mystified look she shared her private joke. "I used to have this image of you as a white knight coming to rescue everyone," she explained. She lowered her hand from her head and winced still. Harry chuckled at her admission.
"Miss Lovegood do you need a rest or can you try again?" Professor Bokree asked her. "Mr. Potter needs to practice at least three times tonight to catch up with the class who did it today."
Luna glanced at Harry and said, "Give me another minute and I'll try again."
By the time they were done, Luna had figured out that Sirius Black was an animagus from Harry's memories. She also knew that he had been a decent man, but had an arrogance and immaturity that displayed itself at times. She pondered on how she was going to capture those traits in the portrait she was planning with Hermoine and Ginny. She'd already gotten memories from the Weasley's who had written her what they knew of Sirius, but seeing it firsthand in Harry's mind had been alot better.
There was just one image she wished she could 'burn from her brain' as Hermoine had put it. Moaning Myrtle harassing Harry in the prefects bathroom while he was fourteen. Luna rubbed her eyeballs, contemplating giving Myrtle a good talking to about leaving people alone.
"We'll practice again next week," Professor Bokree told them. "See you next Friday evening. Luna read up on Occlumency as Harry will be trying to invade your mind."
"Yes Sir," Luna said as she shouldered her bag.
-HP-