Card the moon

Chapter 25 – Time to stop

…

Patience is a virtue, so long as you don't have to wait for it.

…

TIME was not in the tower when he went looking for it that morning. Nor was it there in the afternoon when he went to check, leaving the youma bouncing around the hall like a pinball. It wasn't there after dinner either, before curfew when he had Dobby pop in to see.

It was now nearing midnight. He circled the tower on magical wings, waiting. Given such time to think he couldn't help but wonder if it had moved. Would it reappear in the same place every time? Did it have to?

There was a nice symmetry to be sure, but it was hardly safe if you didn't wish to be found, which he assumed the card did not want. Was that wrong? Had he spooked it with the ritual.

"Ugh!" he groaned, spiraling, swooping then rising fast to clear his head. "Hate the waiting."

The flying made it less tedious, but he could only go so far. It was hardly ten minutes to midnight, he had to be ready. If it was going to appear it would have to be… "Now."

In the short time he hadn't been looking the old man with the hourglass had appeared. "Time to go to work."

He picked up some altitude then stooped, catching wind at the last second and shooting straight at the manifested card like an arrow.

He was nearly on it when he felt the glance. The weight of time bore down on him, his movement becoming like that of a tortoise wading through thick pudding, the kind with bananas.

He watched the last grain fall, and for the second time Harry Potter witnessed time reset.

"Harry Potter sirs, is time to get up."

"Bollocks!"

…

"Tell it again, come on."

Harry glared at the smirking plushy, "It's not funny."

"It is to me," and just to prove it, he broke out laughing hysterically.

"Oh, shut up Squeaky!" Harry grumbled, but to no avail. Even Squeaky could not break through his mirth.

"I'm very happy you found him," said Luna, pretending to ignore the cackling plushy.

"Yeah, well," Harry grumped, "he's all yours then. Just catch him so we can be done with this day."

"It has rather worn out its welcome, hasn't it?"

…

"Harry Potter sirs, is time to get up."

"Ugh!"

…

"I thought you had this?"

"Things didn't go quite how I wanted them to," said Luna.

"Yeah! So shut up. It's not like you could do any better."

"We'll just see about that."

He wasn't about to sit around and wait for them to figure it out. He'd already worked out a counter to what had happened the last time. He should never have expected to take TIME in the first round.

Round two would be his, after he slogged through yet another uneventful repeat.

Right on time, he appeared, and as before the glance came, but Harry was ready. "LOOP," put him back out of range of the cards spell but left him still coming fast.

He was practically on him when the old man dodged—something. Whatever it was zipped past its target and right into Harry. He had just enough time to categorize the sensation as something on the electric end of the pain spectrum, before it was replaced by a less extreme but more familiar pain.

"Harry Potter sirs. Is time to get up."

He pulled his pillow over his head and screamed.

…

"Just what the heck did you think you were doing?"

"Better than you that's for sure."

"I almost had him."

"You weren't even close."

"Closer than you."

"Yeah, you wish."

"You wanna go pipsqueak!"

"Who you callin pipsqueak, longshanks!"

"Can I say something?"

The two uber macho mans paused in their attempts to inflict serious bodily harm, barely avoiding a synchronized shout of "WHAT!" Good thing too. Lovegood's are prolific pouters and the shaming of such a face is more than either was prepared for.

"I think, what we have here, is an opportunity to collaborate."

" "A what?" "

"We should work together."

" "No way am I working with him… Stop copying me… I'm warning you!" "

The two would have gone back to fighting if Luna hadn't interspersed herself between them, "How bout, you work with me, and Kero can supervise."

"Supervise!"

"Well," Harry hedged, still too worked up to be less obstinate.

Then Luna put her chin on his chest and looked up at him with her big, startled eyes, "Please."

"… fine."

"Yay."

The plushy scowled but Harry was too full of feelings to pay him any mind.

"We'll get it this time for sure," Luna bubbled, "no problem."

…

"Harry Potter sirs. Time to get up."

"… problem."

…

"It's hopeless."

"I thought we did very well."

Harry stared at the smiling girl, unable to comprehend. Wracking his brain for something to say, the system overheated, and he threw up his hands in disgust. "I give up!" Flopping to the floor he leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and waited for the system to cool down.

He ignored the sound of shuffling, the brush against his arm, the weight that settled on his shoulder. "You're frustrated," said Luna.

Harry grunted his acknowledgement, unable to locate enough give a damn for words. Luna seemed to sense this, snuggled up closer and waited for him to find some.

"I don't understand how you can be so optimistic about all this?" he finally said.

"I'm not," she replied. "It is very frustrating."

"Then why do you seem so happy?"

She snuggled closer, "Because you're here."

If he hadn't been sitting already that remark would have put him on the floor. "Really? That's, um…" what was it? He was getting the head fuzz again that made his brain completely useless. How was he supposed to deal with this?

"It's nice to be doing things with people you like."

The hall suddenly felt much warmer, was it getting warmer, gosh it was warm. "I uh, spose you like doing things with your friends."

"I don't really have any friends."

The room cooled off quickly, "What do you mean?"

"I don't think anyone in my house really likes me. I don't think anyone in the school really likes me."

"I like you," the most honest words, spoken without ever needing to think about them.

She looked at him, a glisten shining from her big startled eyes that sent his tonsils to his tongue. She didn't say, I like you too. Nothing so cliché. There was no need for words. They both understood, at least, Harry was beginning to understand.

"Harry?"

"Uh," come on brain, BRAIN, "yes?" that a boy.

"I think I know how we can catch TIME."

…

Midnight approached, exactly ten minutes to. The old man with the hourglass stared at the grinning girl awaiting his arrival. He raised his hand, but hers was faster.

"Finite," she cried, and the world was chaos.

Washbasins, sherry bottles, junk, trash, and bric-a-brac of every kind rained down on the unsuspecting TIME. Dazed and confused he fled away from it all and the crazy grinning girl responsible.

"THUNDER!"

From under his invisibility cloak Harry invoked his card, catching the fleeing card in an electric trap, providing the card captor all the time she needed.

"Return to you power, confined. TIME!"

THUNDER retreat to his own card as TIME was rendered to a glowing swirl, then back to his own form of card. He floated momentarily in midair before sailing into—Harry's hand.

"Uh—that was unexpected."

"Do you think I scared him?" she wondered aloud.

Looking at the mess of junk Dobby had found for them, "Maybe Luna. Maybe."

"Oh poo."

…

"Harry Potter sirs."

Half awake, Harry smiled. His arm. The tugging was on his arm. Had he ever felt anything so wonderful.

"Dobby, I could kiss you."

The elf smiled, though maybe not for the reason Harry thought, "Dobby be thinking you's lady friend would be most jealous."

"Lady frie…" he halted mid-word, registering a weight laying on his left arm he couldn't identify.

Handed his glasses, Harry stared in horror, and several other emotions of equal potency, at the little blonde mop of hair poking out from beneath the blanket.

"Oh boy," were all the words he managed to get out before the brain fuzz made speaking too herculean a task.

And from his arm, the card captor did mumble, "Nargles on parade," before burrowing in deeper. Just because other people were awake didn't mean she had to be.