Ginny

Uh. Yesterday I did some really bad stuff. I mean real bad. You know. But today I did some good things. I don't know. You know.

Delirium, in Season of Mists

She didn't really have a crush on Harry the first time she met him. It was the twins' fault, teasing her about her Harry Potter storybook she used to beg her dad read her every night. When Ron introduced him to her, it was all she could think about. Ginny could tell that it made him uncomfortable, so she tried to avoid him. And then, she realized she really did sort of have a crush on him, and it got even worse. He was a nice person, and he didn't laugh at her, even though he was in Slytherin. That was the really strange part, because he was nothing like the people her brothers like to tell stories about.

She found herself confused, and tried to sort out her thoughts on the nice little book her mother bought for her. It even wrote back, and soon she found herself writing more and more, an urge to write down all the details of her life in the small black book. She wrote about her brothers, her mother's food, and how often Percy locked himself in his room. Ginny even admitted to the book that she wouldn't mind being sorted into Slytherin, because if someone like Harry was sorted in there, it couldn't be all that bad. And when Tom admitted that he had been sorted there as well, she thought it was silly her brothers had been so against one house.

The Hat calling out "Gryffindor" was a disappointment.

The memory loss started out slow, she would find herself outside a bathroom that was always flooded when she thought she was going towards the library. Her homework would be misplaced on another person's bed. Then Halloween came around, and she couldn't remember where she had been, and Colin Creevy was attacked. It frightened her, but Tom calmed her down.

She doesn't know how Harry figured out she was the one responsible. But when he confronted her, a foreign sensation of alarm gripped her, leaving her feeling like a stranger in her own body. For that moment, Ginny knew that Harry was dangerous, and it only got worse when he took her diary away. The anxiety gripped her body so much that she couldn't move, and it wasn't until five minutes later that she could throw away her ruined papers. She was worried Tom would tell Harry all of her secrets, but there wasn't anything she could do because he was in a different house, and she knew it would be impossible to get it back.

But then the attacks stopped, and those strange moments of memory loss stopped. It was a Charms lesson that she realized that she had Petrified Colin, and she burst out crying because it was her fault, and she couldn't say anything, and any day now they would take her away from Hogwarts. But Harry never said a word about it, although she was still afraid of him.

And then Lockhart attacked him. She didn't want to go visit him in the hospital wing, but when she tried to explain the words sort of came out in a mumble, and Ron got angry at her, and pulled her off to the side.

"He knew that you opened the Chamber, and he didn't say a word. He was Obliviated, because he didn't want anything to happen to me. I don't know what your problem is, but you need to get over it. Harry's a good guy."

Ginny was surprised Ron knew about her involvement, but she couldn't explain that she was terrified of him. It was just something she had felt from Harry that made her uneasy.

When Harry went to breakfast the morning he woke up, that was the minute she knew she was right about Harry. Obliviated people shouldn't be able to act so normal. But Ron had a point, so she didn't say anything about it anymore. Everyone was entitled to some secrets.

She was surprised when he set the Quidditch Stadium on fire. She thought he was capable of doing it, but she thought he wouldn't be so obvious.

That summer was strange though, being in the same house as him. Harry was polite as ever, but she flinched every time he picked up a knife. But eventually he noticed and began to cut everything with a fork, which led to her having horrible daydreams where he would throw the fork at her and pop out her eyeballs and eat them like an hors d'oeuvre. But one day, he pulled her into an empty room, and she found herself hoping that Mad- Eye Moody would notice that she was late for dinner.

"What is your problem?" Harry asked while he held a firm grip to her arm.

She couldn't think of anything to say, so she kept her mouth shut. The silence stretched out, and then he asked with an incredulous voice

"Are you scared of me?"

Ginny couldn't look into his eyes, and just settled for a slight nod. He trembled, and then chuckled. It was a condescending laugh, and instinct caused her to snap back at him.

"I know there's something wrong with you! Some of the others might be fooled but I'm not." She glared at him defiantly, a small part of her trembling, but sick of being afraid.

"Ginny, I'm not normal, I just try to be for everyone else's sake. Anyway, you don't need to be scared of me." He got close to her, and whispered in her ear. "After all, you're on my side." Then he took her hand and gave it a soft pat and walked off.

She looked at the door blankly, still feeling the phantom touch of his hand on hers. He hadn't denied her statement. Somehow the knot of unease and fear dissipated in her stomach. Perhaps it was his acceptance, or the reassurance that they were on the same side. And while she was still uncomfortable around him, Ginny wasn't looking over her shoulder anymore.

She thought Harry running a defense group was a horrible idea, but it was Michael's insistence that made her go to the Hog's Head. It turned out to be a great deal more fun that she thought it would be. For one think, Harry wasn't in charge, and two, they spent almost as much time bashing Umbridge as they did learning hexes. She got quite a few on Michael before she realized he wasn't trying to hurt her, and she partnered up with someone else. She thought it was irritating that he treated her like she was made of glass, when she was perfectly capable of using her wand.

McGonagall woke her up in the middle of the night a few days before Christmas break. Her mind was still fuzzy as she was led to Dumbledore's office with her brothers. Much to her surprise, Harry was there as well, although he was fully dressed. She felt self-conscious and tugged the tie of her dressing gown, but quickly forgot when she heard her father was attacked.

They were sent through the Floo to Grimmauld Place, Sirius already waiting for them at the fireplace with mugs of butterbeer. They were reassured to hear her father was found early, and not in critical danger, although he was placed in St. Mungo's until the Healer's found a way to replenish his blood do to a snake bite.

It was the next day when she found Harry in the library, huddled over a book.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ginny mumbled, trying to think of an excuse to leave without seeming rude.

"Ginny, I have a question." She shuffled her feet a bit, but stood in the doorway. "When that thing, you… let me start over. What do you remember about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Her insides turned to ice, because as much as she didn't like Harry, he had never brought up the subject before. But there was something different about him this time around. There were dark circles around his eyes, and he was slumped over his cup of tea with defeat. It was so strange for him to carry a look of exhaustion, and he looked... vulnerable. As if the human had come out from behind the mask he wore. She supposed that was what made her answer the question.

"Nothing. I don't remember anything. I remember having these giant blank spots and finding myself outside corridors I don't remember walking to. If I had known that I was the one causing it…" Ginny let the sentence drift off, the embarrassment still heavy in her heart.

Oh," Harry twiddled with the handle of the mug.

"Is that all?" Ginny asked, "I have presents to wrap."

"Uh, yeah. That's all. Thanks," Harry said, going back to his book.

Going back to her room, she flopped onto the bed and began to write a letter to Michael. It wasn't until she signed her name that the implication of his question hit her.

She spent the rest of the night wide-awake, clutching a kitchen knife fearful that Harry was possessed. But when she stumbled to breakfast the next morning, Harry was back to old self, the slump of his shoulders gone. When Ron commented how horrible she looked, her face turned red as she realized that she had once again been made a fool.

They went to visit her father at St. Mungo's on Christmas Day. The visit started out well, and erased most of the concern she had over her father's injury. However, the mood changed immediately when Percy walked in the door. Ginny stared at him, before rubbing her eyes. Oh yes, he was still there. Looking at her brothers she found similar faces of disbelief, Ron was slack-jawed, Fred looked grim faced, but George looked hopeful. Harry walked swiftly out of the room with Sirius, leaving the confrontation a family matter.

"Hello Father," Percy said softly. "I'm glad to see that you are doing well."

"I didn't think you would come," he responded in a gruff voice

"You're my father, how could I not come?" Percy asked incredulously, his face pale at her father's admission.

"You didn't seem keen on calling us family a few months ago," Ron said angrily. "You left us for your new job in the Ministry."

"It was a powerful position, Ron," Percy admonished, "I couldn't very well say no to such an offer by the Minister."

"The Minister," Ron spat out, "Never had any respect for our family! Fudge mysteriously dies over the summer, Malfoy is elected to the position, and you don't find that suspicious! I thought you were the smart one in the family! I don't know why Harry thought you would come around."

With these final words, Ron went out of the room searching for Harry, and Ginny followed him. She didn't really have anything nice to say to Percy, and thought it would be best to keep her mouth shut until her mother wasn't around. They caught Harry coming out of another door as they went up the stairs.

"I was visiting Bode, the one who was injured a few weeks ago," he answered, sensing their unasked question.

"Oh right. How's he doing?" Ron asked. Ginny was confused, how did Harry know that man?

"Oh not too bad, he's getting better. According to the nurse, he might be back to normal by the end of the year."

Ginny and Ron followed Harry and entered the long-term care wing. A nurse was going around and depositing various gifts around to patient tables. The nurse set down a potted plant, and Ron took the calendar of hippogriffs and posted it on the wall. Bode was propped up against a stack of pillows, his eyes moving back and forth. It was clear he was aware of what was going on, although the sounds coming from his mouth were not clear. Harry was poking at the potted plant when the nurse spoke.

"Oh, dear, are you leaving already, Mrs. Longbottom?" Ginny flipped around hearing the familiar name, astonished to see Neville come out from a curtain.

"Yes, that will be all for today," Mrs. Longbottom replied.

"Neville, what are you doing here?" Ron asked in surprise. Mrs. Longbottom sniffed when she heard the question.

"Friends of yours, Neville, dear?" Mrs. Longbottom asked. Neville's response was a silent nod, and Ginny got the impression that he would rather have been anywhere but here. His grandmother seemed oblivious to Neville's embarrassment, and continued speaking to them.

"You two are clearly Weasley's, your parents are fine people. And of course, I know who you are," she said, nodding at Harry.

"Do you? Well, I'm glad somebody does, I'm not to certain myself nowadays," Harry responded.

Mrs. Longbottom's face hardened. "I hope, young man, that was not poorly chosen jest at my son's mental health."

"Not at all," Harry replied. Mrs. Longbottom, catching the look of confusion on Ginny's face, and Ron's strains to see behind the curtain to answered their unasked question.

"Neville's parents were tortured to insanity by You-Know-Who's followers."

Ginny stiffened and Ron stilled, and Neville was averting their gaze. Harry seemed unperturbed, although his head tilted to one side. There was a shuffling noise of footsteps, and Alice Longbottom emerged, and holding out a wrapper to Neville. Ginny recognized it from Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. There was a shattering noise, Harry had dropped the plant was holding. Ginny gaped at him as he ran out of the room, staring at the closed door in shock, while Mrs. Longbottom sniffed.

"I'm disappointed, I thought that he would understand the value of bravery against the face of evil," she said.

"Gran, I told you Harry is in Slytherin, they have a different way of seeing things." Neville mumbled in embarrassment. Mrs. Longbottom pressed her lips together in dissatisfaction.

I don't care that he thinks differently Neville, that sort of response is unacceptable. It was a pleasure meeting you two," she said cordially to Ginny and Ron. Her brother turned to her.

"I didn't know that about his parents, and I'm not surprised he kept that to himself. It's not exactly a conversation starter." He shook his head, and caught sight of the plant. "Help me pick this up before the nurse comes back, I don't want to be blamed because Harry ruined Bode's present."

He tossed the ruined plant in a nearby waste bin, and they went back downstairs, hopeful that the yelling at Percy was over. They found the rest of the visitors gathered at the exit getting ready to leave. Mrs. Weasley's eyes were bright red, but there was a smile on her face, and the twins looked satisfied. Harry sat in a chair off to the side, Sirius next to him, glaring at any of the people who dared to look at him the wrong way.

"Where did you go Harry? It was rude of you to leave like that, Neville's Gram wasn't impressed, and you made us pick up the mess." Ron asked.

"Around, " he replied with a hoarse voice.

Ginny narrowed her eyes, uncertain what caused his dour mood to return. Fred explained what had happened in hushed tones as Bill talked loudly to his mother as they went back.

"Percy said he can't stand Malfoy, and admits he made a bad choice."

"That's all he said and you lot forgave him?" Ron cried.

"Well, no. There was quite a bit more yelling and tears, but when he admitted he pranked Malfoy with one of our fake wands, we sort of forgave him," George admitted with a shrug.

They arrived at Grimmauld Place and climbed out of the automobile. Harry waved to Mundungus as he sped away to return the vehicle to the unsuspecting owner. Ginny lingered next to him as the entered the building. He had been silent during the trip back.

Summoning her courage, she confronted him as everyone else went to put up their coats.

"Have you been possessed?" Ginny asked, encouraged by the nearby voices in the hallway.

Harry's eyes grew wide briefly, before shaking his head. "Not exactly. I'm just easily distracted right now." Harry's hands brushed over the wallpaper. "But you are sort of right, I saw what happened at the Ministry when your father was attacked. It was like I was there, only I know I was at Hogwarts. When I woke up I contacted Sirius to rescue your father. That is why I asked you about being possessed. I wanted to make sure that I was in control of myself. He knows about it, I guess they are working on a solution so it doesn't happen."

Ginny sighed in relief, if Sirius knew that Harry was seeing visions, which meant it was expected of him. None of the adults seemed to be panicking from what she could see.

"Do you know why you can… see these things?" she asked, she had never heard of such a phenomenon before unless the person was a Seer. And the idea of Harry speaking in a misty voice like Trelawny was laughable.

"I was hit by a killing curse when I was one. These sort of strange things are expected." His matter of fact tone caused her to wince. Why was she such an idiot around him?

"Oh, well..." Ginny's reply drifted off, as Harry had already begun walking away. As she looked at his back, she sighed and went towards the kitchen to find Sirius. Harry might think that he had the situation under control, but Ginny thought there was no harm in warning his godfather.

8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Luna

"Wit beyond measure is life's greatest treasure."Luna was always proud that she was sorted in Ravenclaw. Yes, she always thought she was clever before, but hearing it come from the Sorting Hat was another matter. Unfortunately, not everyone was as clever as her, not even her housemates. Some of them called her Loony Lovegood, and they took her things. It was their way of making her feel strange, and teasing her, but Luna was never really bothered by it. She had her mind, and she had her father and it was enough. She knew that she was a bit odd, but that was what happened when you saw your mother die in a potions accident. There was no use in trying to fight it.

It was upsetting sometimes, and she frequently found herself alone in class when they were supposed to be practicing in pairs. And then in her second year, she ended up partnering with Ginny Weasley. She was an outgoing of person, and she didn't seem to be bothered by pairing up with Luna in class either. They got along well enough, and Luna noticed she was one of the few people who called her by her name. But Luna was very good at reading people, and she could tell that Ginny was uncomfortable and her, so she didn't make a fuss about it.

This year on her way to Hogwarts, she shared a compartment with some Gryffindors, and when Ginny introduced her, she called Luna a friend. A small pool of joy burbled in her belly, and she felt a bit ashamed that she never thought the same thing about Ginny. And so she decided to be the best sort of friend she could be.

Her father had always warned her of the Ministry's secret plots, and when she met her new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher she found herself mystified. How could the Ministry have secret plots when it had people as obvious as Umbridge in power? And really, it wasn't hard to figure her out at all. Luna went to the meeting at the Hogshead knowing her father would approve and sat down next to an older Hufflepuff. She listened to the introduction, and was a bit disappointed that most of the people weren't as interested in fighting against the Ministry like she was. Most of them were interested in hearing Harry speak; they were shallow people like that.

She was quite surprised when he said that he wasn't really interested in starting the group, as far as she could tell, he was very anti-Ministry. She wondered why Harry was acting strangely; it was like there was another person in his body. Cedric volunteered right afterwards though, so everyone around her was happy. The excitement lasted through the day, only to shatter on the ground when they saw Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four. Luna thinks that maybe the hag was Umbridge in disguise, she was certainly acting shifty during the meeting.

But a few days later Cedric approached her with a galleon, telling her where to go for the next meeting. It is one of the few times she's ever been invited for anything, and she spent the rest of the day making necklaces out of knickknacks she's collected. She took care with the one she wanted to give to Ginny, placing a shiny button she transfigured in the very center. The meeting wasn't all that exciting though, so she keeps the necklaces in her bag for another special time.

But things were a little bit more interesting when Harry Potter came over. She has never really looked at Harry Potter before, she had a feeling that staring at him would make him very uncomfortable. So when she looked at him close up for the first time, the first thing she noticed was how much she liked his eyes. They were bright green, happy, and hopeful, and if she twisted her head just so, it looked as if there were tiny flecks of silver dotted in one. Luna wished that there were marbles that looked like his eyes, so she could wear them like earrings.

"Your eyes would be great on my ears," she mentioned to him, she was rather pleased that he didn't mind her compliment. Some people were so sensitive about that sort of thing.

Dumbledore's Army was a lot of fun. She used some old butterbeer caps and a unicorn hair and used them to make her galleon into a bracelet, and tied it on her ankle. There were times during Potions class and the coin would grow warm, and she would let out a giggle. Professor Snape would always give her a nasty look, but the rest of the lesson would always pass by so quickly that she never minded. Anyway, he always seemed like such an unhappy man, it wasn't much of a surprise that he was so lonely.

When the Quidditch match came up, she spent a lot of time on her hat, and was quite proud of hit. She considered making it a snake hat to cheer for Harry's team, but in the end she decided to root for Gryffindor because Ginny was her friend first. And it wasn't as if Harry was on the team anyway. People seemed to like her hat very much, there was a lot of talk about it in the hallways and a lot of people had big smiles to their faces when they saw it. Luna pulled the hat off her head, wondering where she would keep it. She hoped the others wouldn't take it, she was quite proud of her work this time. A large crowd that was gathering, and hearing Malfoy's voice caught her attention. He seemed quite unhappy, and judging by everyone's body language he wasn't saying nice things. Oh, now that was silly. Right now he had everything, one little Quidditch match couldn't be that important.

Malfoy flung himself backwards, and Luna frowned. That couldn't have been terribly comfortable, was it a new dance move of sorts? Perhaps she had missed something. She glanced at the other people, they didn't seem too happy either, and it appeared he said something silly as well. She shrugged and walked off, humming a tune in her head, trying to make a new dance move of her own.

At Christmastime, Luna pulled out an old issue of the Daily Prophet. Her father wouldn't normally approve of the paper being in the house, some of the things they printed were such lies, in made her a bit unhappy to see that some people believed in them. But she needed this because there was a picture of Harry on the front. Digging into her satchel, she also found a picture of Ginny that Colin had taken. Over the summer she had a wonderful idea of drawing a large mural of Crumple-horned Snorkacks in a field, where her mother was having a picnic. But every time she started, her mind would grow oddly blank, and the image in her head couldn't be drawn on the wall.

Perhaps, she thought, the image in her heart was too much for her mind.

So now she decided to draw her friends. Ginny was easy to draw, and Luna took great pleasure in drawing the lines of her hair, and the wrinkles in her robes. Harry on the other hand, was difficult, even though she had a picture of him, it didn't seem to be him. Luna tucked the pencil behind and sat on her bed, scrutinizing the photograph, trying to figure out how it was un-Harry. It was his eyes, she thought, as her fingers ran over her earrings. They looked flat, and not like a person at all. Luna frowned in concentration as she heard her father call her for dinner. Placing the paper down, she headed downstairs.

"What have you been working on Luna?" he asked her at the dinner table.

"I was drawing pictures of my friends, the ones who are fighting against the Ministry's lies," Luna replied, dipping her finger to pop a bubble in the soup. Her father made a noise of excitement.

"Fighting the Ministry! Excellent, I'm very proud of you, my Luna! And do you wish to share how you are doing this?" Luna looked up to her father's beaming face.

"Oh, not much yet. Right now it's the symbol more than anything. Harry Potter's in charge of it, although some people think it is Cedric Diggory. I find that rather odd, since Harry is the one who is telling him what to do."

"Too often people are caught up in image to see the true nature of things," he said wisely. "I think it would be wise for me to make some dirigible tea for you this afternoon, it prevents that sort of small minded thoughts from entering one's brain. And how do you find Harry Potter's mind?"

"Ooooh, I think he has a lovely mind! It's very open, maybe more than anyone in the school. And he's very clever too; he's a student and a teacher at the same time. I think it must be hard to be two people at the same time. Although," she paused placing her spoon back down on the table, "He's also very confused. It's as if he doesn't know who he is at times."

"Perhaps there is an infestation of wrackspurts at Hogwarts. I'll makes certain to pick up some gurdyroots for you, and keep an eye out for them Luna, we can't have our hero infected with them."

Listening to her father's advice, she watched out for Harry in the hallways. And one day, she thought she saw something. He was coming out of Defense class, trailing behind most of his classmates, so she called out to him.

"Harry, Harry, I think I see something…Oh!" He turned around, and looked at her in bafflement.

"Yes?" He asked with some exasperation. Luna blinked, and she saw Blaise snicker next to him. Luna shook her head, and then shook her head some more, enjoying the jingling of her earrings.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was going to warn you that you were losing your mind. But it turns out it's not even yours to begin with. You already knew that didn't you? Have a nice day." With that she trotted away.

During her visit to Hogsmeade, she had a very strange encounter on her way back from the Owl Office. Luna knelt down when she saw a grey cat come around the corner to pet it, when she heard a scuffle of boots on wood. Turning around, she found a girl about her age balanced on a nearby fence. The girl wore mismatched outfit, which was clearly visible under her transparent raincoat. She looked forlorn, so Luna walked over to her, hoping that she could cheer her up.

"Greetings," she said, giving a wave.

"Hello," the girl replied, her lip shook as a warning of oncoming tears.

"You look very unhappy, can I help you with something?" Luna hoisted herself onto the fence as well. It was uncomfortable.

"I don't think so. I don't think there's anyone that can help me, although Harry made it better sometimes, but right now it's because of Harry that I'm having this problem and… I don't know." The girl was twisting her hands, and Luna placed hers on top of them until they stilled.

"I know a Harry, he's a very nice person," Luna replied. "I wonder if we are talking about the same one, my Harry has lovely eyes."

The girl cheered up instantly with these words, grabbing both of Luna's hands and clasping them in hers. "Oh! We are! I think that we should do something to celebrate, maybe take a trip to the moon, or buy something from a catalogue or make some sort of gourmet toast and sell it to people with coattails!"

Luna shook her head. "I can't go to the moon, and I don't have any money on me. Plus, I don't think I would like to make some bread, dry it and overcharge people for it anyway." Luna quirked her head, and gave a small smile. "But we could always do a dance."

So they did.

"So what was your problem with Harry?" Luna asked when all the pirouettes and twirls had left her. The girl was laid out on the ground, her finger tracing a pattern on the earth beneath her. Luna wondered how come the girl wasn't shivering from the cold, as she looked at the girl's raincoat.

"Well… I sort of…I…I had a bad day once. And when that happens sometimes I do some bad things. And Harry found out about something I did a long time ago. And I tried to talk to him, but he ran away, I was too scared to go after him and ever since then I haven't really talked to him because he is angry at me and I MISS HIM!" The bottom of the girl's lip had begun to wobble again.

"Maybe he was surprised, people need time to get over surprises. If you talked to him today, I think he would be happy to see you."

The girl looked up, a hopeful expression on her face. "Time. I haven't been able to keep track of time for a long…um… time. Do you think I've given him enough of it? I hope he'll talk to me now."

"Well, try to think of when you saw him, and all the things that have happened since then." The girl sat up, and held out her hands, counting on her fingers.

"One; two; grey cat; snowstorm; twelve zillion, five trillion, fifty-four thousand and one sixth; fat baby." She paused, and then clapped her hands. "I saw him on Christmas!"

"It's been almost two months. I think you should be fine now."

"Okay! But I'm worried that he won't walk to talk to me and then I'll be there and I might just have to crawl and hide somewhere. Will you let me send a message through you?"

"I don't mind," Luna replied.

"Okay, come here." The girl beckoned with her finger, and Luna twisted her head to the side as the girl leaned forward to whisper in her ear. There was a ticklish sensation at Luna let out a giggle, a ringing noise sounded, and a flash of color. Luna's eyes fluttered, and she looked around in mystification. The girl had disappeared, and her only company was the grey cat sprawled out on a nearby rock. Confused but unshaken, Luna headed back to Hogwarts.

It was a few weeks before she was able to talk to Harry. She had searched for him when she came back from Hogsmeade, but he was nowhere to be found. He was missing from several of the D.A. meetings as well. He was present during meals, but Luna didn't think this was the sort of conversation that should be held in public setting. Finally, she managed to find him in an empty hallway.

"Harry, I was told to give you a message."

"What's the message?" Harry looked at her expectantly, his foot tapping on the ground, echoing down the empty hallway.

"I don't know," Luna replied, "I just know there was a message by a girl." The tapping of Harry's foot set a familiar rhythm, Luna hummed along, her earrings clinking once more in tune. Perhaps it was the sound of the universe. The song came to an end, and Luna came back to herself, it was very odd. She didn't even know that she had gone away until she came back.

"Oh, Harry! Did you see that! I think I was attacked by a wrackspurt!" she exclaimed. She felt giddy beyond belief. She knew wrackspurts were real, and she had explained to everybody that it was true, and this was wonderful, because it was proof. It didn't matter what anyone thought anymore, because it was true.

"Yeah, I saw. Although I wouldn't call it a wrackspurt," Harry said with a smile.

"Will you tell the others?" Luna asked. She rooted through her bag, trying to see if she had a gurdyroot with her.

"No." At his refusal, she looked up in disappointment. She really hoped that if Harry admitted he saw one that others would understand that they were real. But Harry hadn't finished. "If I tell them what I saw, then they wouldn't understand. We make them real because we know about them; we talk about them, not because they physically exist. Our stories make them real, but that can't be proven. That what makes them magical creatures, people who want proof will never learn to believe."

The memory of her father reading stories of fantastical magical creatures rose to her mind. Luna continued to have those beliefs to comfort her father when her mother died. Their shared beliefs kept them close, the belief of a fantastical world beyond the norm consoled her on nights when all she could think of was her mother's empty chair. But to hear these beliefs spoken out loud by another person with such clarity made her heart catch. Her eyes began to sting, and she blinked rapidly, hoping to stop the watering of her eyes. Someone like Harry wouldn't appreciate her crying, and Luna gave him a wobbly smile.

"Luna, I was wondering. Do you still have the hat you made for the Quidditch match?" Her heart twisted, many people had made fun of it, but this was Harry, so maybe he wouldn't do that.

"Yes, would you like to borrow it?" Harry looked out the window, drawing a small top hat across the condensed window.

"I was wondering if you would let me have it." A burble of excitement welled in her stomach, and a small laugh emerged from her throat so all she could do was nod her head.

"Thanks, you're amazing, you know that?" His hand brushed along hers for a moment, and Luna took good look at him. His head was tilted to the side, and a rare expression of sincerity adorned his face, and a small tendril of joy rose in her heart. She beamed, and he thanked her and said goodbye. As she watched Harry walk down the hallway, she pressed her hand to her mouth.

The smile was still there, and Luna doubted it would go away anytime soon. She realized with some astonishment, that she was quite smitten with Harry, not that it really meant anything. Harry was emotionally insecure, and Luna did not think that either of them would be very happy with a relationship. But his acceptance of her today had done something for her. Over the years it had gotten harder to stay true to who she was. Harry had accepted her though, and it was enough. She wouldn't settle for changing who she was for other people's benefits.

Walking back to Ravenclaw Tower, Luna couldn't resist doing a pirouette. A few older Hufflepuff's down the hallway snickered at her, but she didn't care.

She had a hat to find.