CW: ghosts, discussions of prejudice

:FIFTY:

The next few weeks seemed to fly by for Harry. Between classes and quidditch practice, Harry felt like he was constantly being pulled a million different directions. Hermione and Ron were his constant homework companions, while the team provided him with laughter and camaraderie. But by far his favorite moments lately were the ones he spent with Luna.

She met with him on Sunday afternoons, taking him to explore various parts of the castle and the grounds, coexisting with him in the library or the Great Hall, and sitting with him while they talked to Helena Ravenclaw. The ghostly lady hadn't shared anything yet, but had stopped disappearing when they showed up at least. Now she would float in the area with them, listening to Luna talk and tolerating Harry's presence.

Part of Harry was frustrated by this lack of progress, patience was not his strong suit, after all. But honestly, Harry loved the time he spent with Luna. Sure she was different, there was no denying that, and most of the time he had no idea what she was talking about. But she didn't need to be understood, and she didn't expect anything from Harry at all. There was a freedom in being with her that Harry didn't realize he needed until he started spending time with her. Harry could understand why Ginny liked her so much.

"So," Luna asked one day while they were walking around in the Forbidden Forest. "What's it like, having a werewolf for a dad?"

Harry spluttered in surprise. "Uh...what?"

"Oh, I wasn't supposed to know." Luna observed, her eyes turning from him back to the clearing they were heading towards.

"No," Harry rushed to reassure her. "It's not that, I mean, it's a public record. It's just…"

"You don't want other people to know." She stated simply. "I understand that."

"I'm not ashamed of him." Harry said, a little defensively. "But...well, people have me under a microscope. And if they found out a werewolf was raising me, they might try to take me away from him."

Harry felt the panic rising even as he shared this with Luna. Even the thought of Remus being taken from him made all of his childhood fears rush to the forefront. But before he could get lost in them, he felt Luna's hand in his own.

"It's alright, Harry." She smiled up at him. "I won't tell anyone."

Harry took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. "Thanks, Luna."

They reached the clearing and sat down together on the forest floor. Luna still hadn't let go of Harry's hand, so he found himself playing with their intertwined hands as he talked.

"I love my Papa," Harry said quietly into the woods. "He rescued me when I was almost four, rescued my whole family really."

Harry sighed.

"But sometimes he forgets to take care of himself. I think, if it weren't for me and Sirius, he'd be in a really low place. He was bitten when he was just a kid, it wasn't his fault, but he always acts like he's some sort of monster because of it."

"That makes sense." Luna cocked her head to the side, watching as a Thestral came out into the clearing and towards them. "People tend to see monsters in all the wrong places."

Harry nodded, reaching out for the Thestral with his free hand as it laid down by them both. Luna didn't say anything further, so they just sat together and took in the silent comfort of the Forest. It felt strange for Harry, being so content in a place that used to scare him so much.

"Luna?" He asked eventually, speaking so quietly that only the faint inclination of her head let Harry know he'd been heard.

"...do you think I'm a monster?"

Luna turned her head to look at him appraisingly. He felt briefly uncomfortable under her gaze, but at this point it had happened several times, so he didn't blush too badly.

"No." She said definitively. "But you do have wrackspurts all around your head."

Harry chuckled slightly. "What are wrackspurts?"

And so Harry relaxed as Luna lectured him on wrackspurts for the next half an hour. She even had an addition of the Quibbler, her father's magazine, with pictures of what wrackspurts looked like. You can't normally see them, she'd explained, because they're invisible. In his mind, Harry could just hear Hermione screaming.

Eventually the sun began to set, so they headed back out of the forest and into the castle. This was the best time to find Helena, as she liked to watch the dusk by one of the castle's windows overlooking the lake. It was when she felt the most at peace and was the most willing to tolerate the presence of others.

"Maybe you can try talking to her today." Luna said cheerfully, swinging their hands together as they walked back into the castle.

"We'll see." Harry said nervously. "She's just starting to like me, I don't want to spoil it."

People cast them strange looks as they walked through the castle, but Harry was too absorbed in their conversation to care. Whenever he was with Luna, Harry felt like he was inside a little bubble. And Luna never drew attention to anything other people did, because she was more interested in the magic all around herself and the strange things no one else seemed to notice.

Luna smirked slightly at Harry, but didn't push. It was a large reason why Harry liked her. Apparently, Helena also liked that about her as she floated to meet them. Harry was surprised to see Helena smiling as she greeted them. It was a small smile, but still. Harry had never seen Helena do that before.

"Hello, children." She said softly.

"Hello, Helena." Luna smiled up at her.

"Harry." Helena acknowledged him. "I'm surprised to see you here still. Most leave once the novelty has worn off."

"You're not a novelty, Helena." Harry said immediately.

"But you do want something." She said shrewdly.

Well. She wasn't the ghost of Ravenclaw for nothing.

Harry swallowed nervously, looking at Luna for reassurance before speaking. And then he launched into an explanation about his family and the diadem. Helena listened to him without commenting until he had finished.

"There was a boy…" She said quietly. "A boy like you, now I think about it."

"He came to me, flattered me with pretty words, and promised to destroy the diadem."

Harry brow furrowed in confusion, so Helena explained all of the darkness in her past. Her desire to be more clever than her mother, how she was killed by the Bloody Baron, and where she'd hidden the diadem.

"So…" Harry said slowly. "Is the diadem still in Albania then?"

But Helena just shook her head sadly.

"It's in the place where all things are hidden." She whispered. "If you have to ask, you'll never know. If you know, you need only ask."

And she turned from the window, vanishing down the hallway.

Notes:

More of our lovely Luna! And we got to meet Helena much earlier than cannon, so that's fun.

Happy Reading!