A/N: This oneshot was written for the Harry/Luna April Fools Collection (check out the other submissions by looking in the FFN community or the AO3 collection). Thanks to the STS discord for organizing this event and thanks to Ajax, Nauze, and Taliesin19 for betaing ❤
"And that, my friends, is why I'll never touch paper goblins with a ten-foot pole ever again."
"That is absolutely disgusting, Ron!" Hermione said, crossing her arms and leaning away from him
Harry shook his head in amusement. "Yeah, that's wild."
"Oh-ho, let me tell you," Ron said. "It was a whirlwin—"
Raucous laughter broke across the hallway, turning the Trio's heads to the scene. Amidst the group that had formed, out came a Ravenclaw girl, her books clutched within her arms and her eyes-wide-open in fright. Or surprise. Harry couldn't tell.
Everyone's eyes followed her, the group from whence she came trailing behind her, with unending taunts. They backed out as soon as they saw Harry, however, because he normally would've gone after them. Yet, this time, he was so surprised to see that they, too, were Ravenclaws, that they'd left his sight before he could process the whole situation properly.
That was odd. He never thought Ravenclaw to be the one to bully their own. Not so bombastically, at least. It reminded him of a time when he most felt alone. When he didn't belong in school, in his family, anywhere.
All the other bystanders slowly dissipated and went about their way, as if to just leave the girl alone, even right after seeing what had happened.
But Harry knew firsthand that being alone didn't hurt anywhere near as bad as knowing his own, old family—the Dursleys—led the charge towards his exclusion. Being hidden, being chased. Being bullied.
He knew he needed to do something about it. If not for his sake, then for the girl's. Sirius and Remus did the same for him the minute they found out his situation with the Dursleys. It was up to him to pay it forward.
Harry watched as the girl walked towards them, head down. He looked at the hallway where the bullies disappeared into.
It's up to me to pay it forward, he told himself.
But alas, his courage failed him that day.
So he simply just tried to speak to her.
"Hey, err…you alright?" Harry asked as the girl ignored him and continued, walking past them. He watched her, scratching his head.
"That's Loony—" Hermione coughed. "Luna. Luna Lovegood."
"Mental, that one," Ron added, earning him a shoulder-slap from Hermione. ("You're the one who called her a loony!")
Harry suddenly found Ron and Hermione's bickering annoying for some reason.
"You guys go on ahead for lunch without me," he blurted. "I'm just gonna grab my, er, snitch. For the Quidditch."
Hermione and Ron looked at each other and voiced in unison: "For the Quidditch?"
"Must be some Quidditch," Ron joked, and even Hermione laughed. "Alright, mate, see ya later!"
Harry shrugged and turned around to where he'd last seen Luna Lovegood go.
It didn't take long for him to find her sitting alone at the bottom of a staircase, eating lunch. He would've felt bad for her had she not been looking at her sandwich as if it was the first time she'd seen one. She looked up at him with the same shocked expression from earlier as he approached her.
What am I doing here again? Harry thought to himself.
It took for her to look back down at her lunch for him to realise they'd been staring at each other for some time.
"Er, hey," he said. "Luna, right?"
"Hmm?" She looked up once again.
"Luna Lovegood?"
"Yes, why?" she replied, tilting her head sideways.
Asking the right questions, she was.
"I just wanted to…talk, I guess." Harry's head was hurting already and he hadn't even introduced himself yet. "I'm Harry, by the way."
"Harry Potter, I know you." She smiled. "You want some lunch?" she offered, extending another slice of sandwich to him.
"No, thank you, I have my own," he said as he took it from her. He looked at what he'd just done and realised he needed to die at this very moment. Laughing nervously, he gave it back to her.
"You sure you don't want any? It's only chomping cabbage, sopophorous beans, dirigible plum, pungous onion, and some lettuce. Completely vegan if you don't include the mayonnaise."
Harry understood nothing of what she listed besides lettuce and mayonnaise, so he cautiously stuck to his decision to decline.
"Erm," he felt like he needed to say something. "Well, at least one of us is eating healthy."
Luna grinned as though she was laughing silently.
"You don't look unhealthy yourself," she said, looking him up and down.
"Oh, I don't?"
"No."
Harry grinned back.
"You're odd, though." She blinked slowly and deliberately as she said that.
Harry himself blinked confusedly in return. "Huh?"
She nodded, the one with the perpetually shocked face, what with her protuberant eyes and her pale, raised eyebrows. She was calling him odd.
She continued eating her lunch, unfazed and with a seemingly sempiternal smile on her lips.
Remember what you came here for.
"Hey, about those idiots earlier…" Harry said.
"Oh, that was all in good fun. They find my eccentric appearance peculiar, so they look for ways to make it amusing."
"Well," he said, sitting down on the stairs, next to her. "I guess we'll be eccentric together, then."
"Hm, I'm definitely sure I said you're odd," Luna said, "not eccentric."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Is…there a difference?"
"Not really. But let's just say eccentric is more of a euphemism—a flattering one at that. Odd, well. That just means you're odd."
Harry was beginning to see why the other Ravenclaws didn't take too kindly to her. Nevertheless, it wouldn't deter him from his desire to befriend her. Odd, that.
"What's so odd about me, then?"
"Your head is swarming with Nargles," she explained. "A lot more than I've ever seen from anyone else. It's quite alarming."
Harry looked around his head and grew more frantic when he couldn't find anything surrounding it.
"Oh, you won't be able to see them. Not yet, at least," she said. "Besides, they're quite harmless. They're really only annoying and they make you moody at times."
At that, Harry exhaled nervously, nodding. "Guess I'll just get it checked later, then."
"Not much you can do about it right now. I've found going bald and standing outside under the sun to be the only way to get rid of them," she said, craning her head to take a peek outside the window beside them. "But considering the winter weather and your unfortunately nice hair, I would highly advise against that."
"Er, thanks?" Harry said, scratching his head. "Have you…ever done that yourself?"
"Shave my head to expel the Nargles? Oh, yes, many times, but that's beside the point. You have a lot of Nargles running around your head right now, and my only solution won't work." She rested her chin on her knuckles as if in deep thought.
Harry blinked a few more times and then shrugged. "Guess I'll just have to live with them, then."
"You don't believe me."
"No, no, they've just really gotten into me. Making me think I'm fine when I'm not really fine."
Luna laughed, out loud this time. "Well, then. In that case, you've got a bad case of the Lovegood disease."
"Named after you?"
"My great grandfather, actually. He was the first one I know about who had the ability to see them."
"Of course," he nodded.
After a brief moment of silence, Luna stood up and faced Harry. "You said you had your own lunch, but seeing how you don't have it with you right now, I insist you try this. They're quite good for you."
She took Harry's hands and placed the spare slice of sandwich in them. Without another word, she skipped away, disappearing at the turn of the hall.
Harry looked down at Luna's sandwich in his hands and took a sniff. The scent reminded him of Hagrid's Hut.
None of the Ravenclaws seemed to have bothered Luna the days following their conversation—not that Harry was watching her. More so that, now he was aware of her existence, it became impossible not to notice her presence. When she wasn't being harassed by her housemates, she usually sat alone at the Great Hall during mealtimes. A few times she was accompanied by Ginny and her friends, but that group sat at different tables almost every day.
Truly, it was a lonely sight, but from looking at Luna's expression, she didn't seem to mind. There was a serene aura about her when she wasn't being surrounded by people. Her eyes were more puffy than protuberant, like she'd just woken up from a nice, deep sleep. He noticed she didn't move as much compared to when he was talking to her. She was far calmer, more confident in her movements.
Hermione leaned next to him and placed her head beside his, peering at Luna's direction. Harry turned to his friend, leaning away.
"Why don't you invite her to come sit with us?" Hermione went back to eating her breakfast.
Harry watched as Luna smiled at someone he didn't know.
"You think she'd mind?" Harry asked. "Maybe she prefers to be alone."
Hermione looked at him sternly. "We won't know until you've asked her."
"Fine, I'll ask her when I get the chance," Harry said, hands raised to his sides.
"Harry and Luna, sitting on a tree," Ron started singing.
"You're actually a child," Harry chuckled.
"You fancy her, mate?" Ron asked.
Harry brought his eyes back to Luna, who was now reading a book. Judging from its shape and size, it wasn't school-related.
"Dunno. She's just…" Harry shook his head.
In all honesty, Harry had no words to describe what he thought of her. She was like an arithmancy equation that he didn't know the variables of, or a snitch he just couldn't seem to catch, slipping through his fingers when he thought he had purchase, no matter how hard he tried.
"Look at him," Ron whispered loudly to Hermione, "staring at her. He's a goner."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not into her if that's what you mean. Not my type."
"By all means, keep pining for Cho. Cedric has got to appreciate all the attention you give her."
Harry sulked.
"I agree with Ron, Harry," Hermione said. "Frankly, we're glad you're starting to see someone like that, besides Cho. As odd Luna might be…well, your Cho crush was starting to concern us."
"Sure, let's all just talk about my sad love life," Harry said and then mumbled to himself, "It's not like you two aren't being idiots with each other."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione placed her hands on the table.
"Who? Her?" Ron looked at Hermione. "Ew."
"Ew?" Hermione flayed a hand at Ron. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Harry sipped his tea. "What did I say?"
After classes that day, Harry separated from the rest of the Gryffindors and made his way to the Ravenclaw Tower. Hopefully, he'd catch Luna before she entered the common room.
"They've gotten worse, you know," Luna said out of nowhere. "The Nargles."
Harry whirled around to see Luna looking around for something.
"H-hey," he said, stumbling.
"Hey," she replied, not ceasing her search.
"Are you looking for something?"
"Things have been going missing from my dormitory but I really need my wand," she said. "We're in Hogwarts to learn magic, after all."
"Someone stole your wand?" Harry said incredulously.
"I'm sure I'll find it somewhere," she said looking at him for the first time. Or, rather, in his direction. "There it is!"
Harry looked behind him to see a wand taped to the wall. Luna skipped over and took it, smiling at him.
"Thanks for helping me find it."
"Er, you're welcome," Harry said.
He still didn't understand why people would do this to her. It was so unbelievably unfunny.
Was it supposed to be a prank? If so, it was the most uninspired prank he'd seen. The Weasley twins would be insulted if they heard about it.
Plus, it's just mean.
"I really didn't think it could get any worse," Luna said to Harry.
"They shouldn't be treating you this way," Harry said. "Just give me a list of names and I'll make sure they'll never bother you again."
Luna blinked for a moment before returning to her usual composure. "I've never tried to name a Nargle before but…sure, that could be fun!"
Harry wanted to press her more about her bullies but knew what it felt like to want to keep to one's self after being targeted so much. He'd need to ease in on his prodding. She'd talk when she felt like it. Hopefully.
He watched as Luna's eyes wandered around his head, presumably looking at all the Nargles she said was surrounding him.
"I'd need your help with that," he said, "since I'm still not able to see them."
"Just give it time," she said, patting his arm and pointing above his head. "I'll call her Amanda."
Harry nodded in surprise. "A girl, nice."
"That's Erin," she pointed at another direction above his head. "And that's Odette."
"Merlin, are they all girls?" he laughed.
"Oh, no," Luna said. "I can see Luis and Xavier over there."
She moved her head as if she was following them as they swarmed around Harry's head.
She then looked at him brightly. "This is fun!"
Harry smiled widely at that. "How many are there, exactly?"
"Too many to count," Luna said, shaking her head, "especially today."
"You said they've gotten worse," Harry confirmed.
"I feel bad that you can't do anything about it," she said, stepping back. "Spring won't be coming for another month."
She had her chin resting above her knuckles again, looking deep in thought. He liked looking at her like this. He didn't know why—Hermione did it all the time but he only found it endearing on Luna.
Harry shook himself out of his musings when he realised he and Luna had been staring at each other again, both lost in their own thoughts.
This time, however, when they noticed this happened again, they didn't look away. Their focus shifted from their thoughts to each other. Luna stood in front of him, yet she never felt quite so far away. His heart slowed down and his breathing grew heavier. Never had he felt more intimate with anyone else than he did with her at this very moment.
Harry decided then and there that he wanted more of this.
Just him and Luna.
He could practically hear Ron's childish singing, and he almost rolled his eyes in front of her.
Luna pursed her lips and shook her head disappointedly, and Harry began panicking, thinking he did, in fact, roll his eyes at her.
"I've got nothing," Luna took a step back and looked at him for ideas.
"We can always look for something," he suggested, "you know, together."
"The library," Luna piped up. "We can do our research for possible alternative treatments there."
Harry had never been so excited to go to the library. Normally, the mention of the place would send him and Ron groaning and burying their faces in the sand for Hermione to pull their legs and drag them to it.
"Well, then, Miss Lovegood," he said. "I guess we have a bad case of the Lovegood disease to alleviate."
Harry and Luna ended up staying over at the library past dinner, so they decided to sneak into the kitchen to eat. Harry partially expected a protest of the legality of it from Luna, but she seemed as if she thought it was the only plausible course of action.
She did giggle at the fact that they had to tickle a painting of a pear to enter, though.
Without further prompt, they entered the empty kitchen and sacked a bunch of food. Harry knew the elves were watching but he didn't care, this was hilarious to him. They bolted out of there as if they'd just robbed a house and were running from the livid, unsuspecting owners.
Except the livid, unsuspecting owners in this case were invisible house-elves who have come to expect a robbery every other week after one of their own had willingly provided one of the robbers a key to their house.
Harry felt like an idiot, snickering to himself, but he felt much better when he heard Luna cackling beside him.
"Why are we running?" she whispered loudly.
"Because it's fun?" Harry then replied profoundly as they stopped to take a break to catch their breaths. He and Luna were bent over, panting, laughing at each other's livened faces.
"Oh, why, it is fun," she quietly squealed. "Let's do that again."
"Running?"
"Yes!" Luna said, starting her pace again. "Those legs of yours weren't made to stay idle, you know."
They ran for what seemed like an eternity, but really, it was just two hallways down as Luna led the way and Harry chased her close behind. It was a miracle no professor nor Filch heard their laughter echoing along the halls. Harry caught up to her just as she slowed down in front of an empty classroom. They were both panting but she didn't seem quite ready to stop.
"Let's take a break here," Harry suggested before she had the chance to take off again.
She nodded and promptly face-planted onto the floor. Harry would've laughed had he not done the exact same thing right after. He was in worse shape than he originally thought.
Luna took the liberty of laughing for him. It was amazing. He never thought so much laughter could come from someone normally so aloof and reserved.
Harry crawled towards their sack full of food and checked its contents. A lot of green stuff shaped like he'd never seen before. His stomach was already turning from the run, he didn't need more reason to puke.
Grabbing a chicken leg, he pushed the bag to Luna.
"Crap," she said as she prepared herself a sandwich. "I just remembered I have a Potions essay that's due tomorrow."
"Do you…er, need help?" Harry said, not quite confident he could deliver on his offer.
"I'll just ask for an extension."
Harry stopped chewing and stared at Luna. "You can do that?"
"Why, yes," she said, staring back at him. "Professor Snape is a very fair instructor, you know."
Snape and fair. Harry couldn't process the two words together so he just stared at her smug face.
"Oh, you're being sarcastic," Harry buried himself in his hands while Luna danced her head and continued to eat.
"Yes, I was being sarcastic," Luna chuckled. "No sane person would ever call Professor Snape fair."
"Some say he's pretty bad," Harry said casually, then turned serious. "I say he's terrible."
"The worst! Him teaching Potions just seals the deal." Luna said the word 'potions' with such derision, he almost felt the urge to defend it.
"Hey, did you know my mom used to be friends with him?" Harry said, recalling one of Sirius' myriad of stories about her.
Luna looked up at the ceiling to think for a bit—a lot longer than Harry thought necessary for such a question.
"No," she said. "I don't think I did. Though now that you told me that, it does explain a lot of his surly demeanour."
"Yeah, well, it didn't last long," Harry said. "Sirius said it's why Snape became a Death Eater during the war."
"That, I heard about," Luna said, then paused her eating and turned to him. "Does it not bother you? Talking about the war, I mean. With you and your family playing such a sad yet important role in how it ended."
Harry hadn't been asked this question in years, so he took some time to think about how he felt.
"My mother died in front of me and I remember nothing about it," he said, looking down. "Perhaps I'm lucky for it. Easier for me, I guess. It's why I tend to not think about such things personally."
"I'm sorry," Luna said.
"You've nothing to be sorry about, Luna. Please, continue eating your…" Harry gestured towards her food. "Whatever you call that thing."
"It's a sandwich, Harry."
"I know, and I hate it."
Luna just chuckled, shaking her head.
"This reminds me," he said. "Hermione wanted me to invite you to sit with us in the Great Hall."
Luna raised an eyebrow in interest.
"I know, right?" Harry imitated Luna's head dance. "An invitation to the cool kids' table, pretty big deal."
Luna pursed her lips. "I know you're being sarcastic but that is a big deal. Of course I'd love to sit with you."
"It's that easy?" Harry said. "Here I was, debating how I was gonna ask you the entire time."
"I do have a tight lunch schedule," Luna joked. "It's understandable."
"Better late than never."
Though, Harry soon came to think otherwise—it felt like he asked too prematurely since Luna seemed to withdraw a bit for the rest of the night.
"It's late," she said as they walked the dim, firelit staircase that led to the Ravenclaw common room. "Thanks for walking me here. You really didn't have to."
"I told you," he said, "Filch could've popped up from anywhere. Can't let you get in trouble because of me now, can I?"
"I suppose you did keep me up extremely late," she smiled, sarcastic. "Walking was an apt compensation."
"I graciously serve my penance," he replied. "What can I say? I'm a man of integrity."
Luna rolled her eyes, "High words for a man who kept me up so late."
"Like it was me who insisted we go to the library and stay there past dinner time."
"Oh," Luna scoffed. "All these semantics are only keeping me from my dear sleep for even longer."
"Semantha semantics," Harry incanted, flourishing his wand. "Make sleepy Luna go to sleep."
Luna fanned Harry away. "Looks like you need some sleep, too."
"Impressed, now, are we?"
Harry struck a confident pose, which only made Luna massage her head.
"Better to live life to express than to impress," she sang. "I say you let me sleep now."
"You're the one keeping me up by not going inside," Harry argued.
"We are inside," Luna pointed out, making Harry turn around.
Somehow, sometime, they had entered the Ravenclaw common room without him noticing. It was much spacier than Gryffindor's. Much more empty, too, though, he wasn't sure if much of it was due to the fact that everyone was asleep.
"Are you going to follow me to my dorm, too?"
"Er…heh, right," Harry said. "Sorry."
"Goodnight, Harry," she said, smiling softly. "And thank you for spending the night with me. It felt like I was with a friend."
"Are we not?" he asked.
She looked up at the sky ceiling and smiled gently, her face shining ethereally from the moonlight.
"I suppose we are," she said, looking back at him.
"See you at the Great Hall tomorrow?" he asked.
Luna nodded.
And at that, Harry left for his own dorm at the Gryffindor Tower, feeling like he blew something though he didn't know what exactly.
When Luna joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione at breakfast, she was back to her old, aloof self. Harry did notice hints of last night pop up from time to time, now that he knew what to look for. Namely, her odd and obscure answers that were clearly not meant to be taken seriously.
And she had to answer a lot of questions that morning.
Hermione crossed her arms. "And how much of The Quibbler do you believe, exactly?"
Luna looked at her salad thoughtfully. "I have a feeling you won't be satisfied no matter how I answer that question."
"What, no." Hermione uncrossed her arms. "I was just wondering."
"It's okay, people have criticized me on worse things than my atypical beliefs," Luna said, patting Hermione's hand, which was quickly pulled away.
"Nothing could be worse, if you ask me," Hermione said under her breath, but Harry heard her perfectly.
"Alright," Harry stepped in. "I think it's clear Luna was just joking about all that stuff, right?"
Harry looked at Luna, who shook her head.
"What made you think I was being insincere about anything I said?" she asked softly.
Harry chuckled and gestured at Luna to Hermione. "See?"
"I agree with Luna on this, Harry," Hermione said, keeping her eyes suspiciously on Luna. "I sensed no insincerity from any of her words."
"Hermione, you're—" Harry tried.
"I meant no disrespect," Hermione cut him off. "I'm just trying to point out that The Quibbler publishes absurd misinformation and that they shouldn't be read by impressionable students like herself."
Harry massaged his forehead. "Are we really going to get into this right now?"
"Looks like I've overstayed my welcome here," Luna said, standing up. "I'll be off for Potions now. Thanks for the company, everyone. Harry."
Harry kept his forehead in his hands.
"Tell me I'm not the only sane person here who thought that was the most awkward breakfast ever," Ron whispered.
"I agree with you, Ron," said Hermione.
"Did you seriously invite her here just so you can drill her about The Quibbler?" Harry said, standing up to leave.
"I did not drill her. And I wasn't—"
Harry ignored Hermione's rebuttal and followed Luna outside the Great Hall.
He had no idea how and why it ended like that over there. One moment they were getting to know each other and the next, Hermione wouldn't let go about the Quibbler.
Harry caught up with Luna and walked beside her.
"What was that?" Harry asked.
"Your friends didn't seem to like me very much."
"Yeah, but you were also acting weird," Harry realised how that sounded and stopped them in their tracks to explain. "I just mean—you seemed pretty normal last night and I thought…"
"You thought what?" Luna kept walking. "Because something weird definitely happened last night."
Too confused, Harry finally let her walk away.
"Just meet me at the library once you're free," Luna called behind her. "Your Nargles are currently going crazy."
Harry watched her leave, confusion still etched in his face. Was she sure she wasn't seeing wrackspurts? It seemed anyone would get them had they spent as much time with Luna as he had.
Harry had always hated Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was almost up there next to Potions. It wasn't any coincidence that he hated both professors teaching them, too. Honestly, if Potions had not existed, that class would easily take top place in Harry's hate list. The only reason it hadn't was that, a) Snape is just the worst. And b) Umbridge took a break on his 3rd Year and Remus stood in for her.
Well, it took over as number one.
All thanks to Umbridge.
Although Harry refused to break his stance on saying the word out loud, he had no qualms about hearing Fred and George say it repeatedly. The bitch!
Harry, Fred, and George were banned from the Gryffindor Quidditch team and everyone was devastated. Harry felt the worst for Angelina, though, who was captaining the team for her final year at Hogwarts. She was proving to be just as passionate about the sport as Oliver Wood was, so needless to say, she was furious.
Nonetheless, there was only one person Harry wanted to be with right now. While everyone was ranting about the injustice of their punishment, Harry slipped away unnoticed. He went straight for the library, as Luna requested.
"Don't even say anything; I already know the Nargles multiplied."
"Actually, they're looking a bit tame right now. Did you do something differently?"
"I attacked Malfoy and got myself banned from Quidditch, for one." Harry kicked the wall. "I also kicked a lot of things on my way here."
"How strange…"
"I'm sorry, Luna, I'm currently not quite in the mood for this."
"Hm," Luna hummed softly. "What are you in the mood for, then?"
Harry sighed and dropped his head back. "Do you actually believe all that stuff you say? Merlin, Luna, this is getting ridiculous."
"I don't understand. I thought you believed me."
"Do you believe in Nargles and all those other creatures?"
"Do you think I would make such things up?"
"I've got to say, it's really convenient you're the only one who gets to see it."
Luna pursed her lips and stood up, lending out a hand for Harry to do the same. She had to beckon her head before he responded.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"To the grounds where the carriages are parked, of course."
Harry didn't protest. They walked together until they reached the tall grasses, to which Luna seemingly knew the way through by heart. He had to stop and pick something up so she led the way by a few steps, and he didn't bother to catch up.
Rays of the afternoon sun shone through the grass blades in front of them, making it so Harry could only see a faint outline of her. One he could watch and listen to humming all day.
They stopped at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the carriages parked in an even spread across the clearing.
"Tell me about your mother," Luna broke the silence.
Harry took a deep breath. "Not much to say, I never got to know her."
"Does your family talk about her much?"
Harry shook his head but didn't think to say anything else.
"Well, if you had an image of her, what do you think she looked like?"
Harry chuckled. "The first image that comes to my mind? Gotta be Professor McGonagall."
He couldn't see Luna's face amidst the sun, but he knew she was waiting to listen for more.
"She'd be younger, of course. Beautiful. Sirius and Remus had always said I had her eyes. And that she was fierce, and strong…but she also always sought the good in others."
He remembered her holding him in her arms, swinging him slowly as he fell asleep, humming him a lullaby. Emerald green eyes looked at him so clearly, so vividly. And he remembered a flash of green. His mother's scream.
"Why are you asking me about her?"
Luna looked back at the carriages. "Do you still not see them?"
"The carriages?"
"The Thestrals."
Harry shook his head, having no idea what she was talking about, so Luna grabbed his hand and walked them to the front of one of the carriages.
"Only people who have seen death can see them," Luna explained. "I thought perhaps if I helped you remember her, you'd be able to see them, too. Sorry if that was out of line."
Harry shook his head no. "So you've seen someone die, then?"
Luna nodded. "My mother was quite an extraordinary witch too, you know. She'd always experimented with spells and such. Unfortunately, one ended up horribly killing her when I was nine."
"I'm sorry," Harry said, all of sudden not knowing what to say.
"It was rather traumatic, I have to say. But I know she lives on in peace, somewhere."
Although Harry had lost both his parents and could recall some things about them, he was fortunate enough to not be able to know what it was like to grieve. Luna was old enough to remember and thus, she had to carry that grief and pain for the rest of her life.
"Maybe my mother and yours are friends," he said. "You know, on that peaceful somewhere."
Luna nodded, the fading sunlight briefly hinting at her smile.
"What a lovely thought to have."
The bright orange hue of the sky was now crashing down upon them, bringing about a soft haze around Luna's dark blonde hair. She walked close to the carriage and held out her hand. Looking back at him, she motioned for him to come closer, grabbed his hand, and placed it in front of hers.
"Close your eyes," she said.
Before doing so, all he felt was air. But now, a warm hide bristled under his hands. Luna let go, leaving himself to caress the creature in front of him.
It felt so warm, so real.
So alive.
Alas, he opened his eyes and it was like it was just never there. He looked at Luna, amazed.
"People say seeing is believing," she said. "I say it's true the other way around."
Harry nodded.
"Believing is seeing."
And he believed Luna now. Wholly and truly.
They spent the rest of the day outside, strolling the grounds and talking until the sun had fully set. It was when Harry needed to cast the lighting charm for them to be able to see that they decided they needed to call it a night.
"I have something for you, by the way," Harry said, digging into his pocket. "I thought it would make a nice gift but…I realise it's stupid. Nevermind."
"Hey, you're not going to keep me from receiving gifts, now, are you?" Luna said. "After such a nice afternoon spent together, too."
Harry rolled his eyes and held the pebble he'd picked up earlier under the light of his wand.
"Er," he said, looking up at her. He shrugged and handed it to her. "Here. It reminded me of you when we walked past it earlier."
Luna smiled, looking at it. "What an odd gift for you to be reminded of me. I like it." She walked over to give him a hug.
"This is nice," Harry said over her shoulder, patting her back reluctantly.
"It really would be if Nargles weren't dancing around us this instant."
"They're back, huh?"
Luna sighed and pulled away. She looked as if she'd been wanting to say what she was about to say for a while now.
"They've been surrounding me since last night, too." Luna kept her head down, her lips pursed.
"Er," Harry blinked. "Does that mean I've infected you?"
"Maybe," Luna said, fidgeting her hands. "I wasn't sure it was possible but I guess it can happen?"
Harry frowned. "That must really bother you, huh? The fact that you can see them."
"I've been losing a lot of my patience with them, yes," she said, "but they usually go away in my case."
Something told Harry this time around wasn't a case of 'usually'. He bit his lip.
"We should check the Restricted Section," he suggested.
"You can do that?"
Harry smirked. "I have my ways."
Harry and Luna had used the Invisibility Cloak to sneak into the Restricted Section, but since no one was around this late in the night, they decided it was safe to take it off for now. They perused the books for hours that night and just as last time, they didn't find anything related to Nargles and creatures of the like.
Harry had dropped his head tiredly several times over the span of the last few minutes so it was no surprise he woke up head down on the table with a morning mouth. He snapped his head and looked around for Luna, who was nowhere to be seen beside him.
Light footsteps sounded behind the bookshelves, and that's where Harry peeked, finding Luna dancing. Slowly twirling in a circle, more like, with her hands raised on both sides as to praise the ceiling. No music played, but her face looked as if she was listening to a calming one.
His legs ached from the position it had been on when he tried to stand up, so he tripped and dropped a few books from a shelf trying to catch himself. Ignoring them for now, he stepped forward to get a better look at Luna's dance.
She looked so peaceful, so ethereal. Harry could feel her presence consume him, yet he found no reason to resist. He wanted it to happen. He was excited for it.
Then, as if the music in her head had ended, she lowered her hands and just stopped.
"What dance was that?" he asked, slightly stumbling forward.
"It helps ground me whenever I feel detached from the world," she said, sitting back down beside her pile of books. "It's like meditating, very therapeutic."
Harry shook his head clear and sat next to her. "Do you still feel detached?" he asked.
"Not quite anymore," she said. "The Nargles are starting to grow on me, actually."
Harry wouldn't be surprised if she'd already named them all.
"We should retire for the night," he said. "Ready to get under the cloak again?"
Luna shook her head. "I found I don't like being invisible."
"Oh, well," Harry said, pulling out the Marauder's Map. "We don't need to be. We can just check whether anyone's near where we're going."
"Can't we just stay here for a while." It wasn't a question, for she laid down on her back to the floor and took a deep breath. "Our Nargles are playing."
Harry smiled at the thought of that and laid down next to her.
"Describe to me what they're doing," he said, whispering as though afraid to disturb the Nargles.
Luna only hummed before silence befell upon them. Having grown used to such exchange with her, Harry simply waited, listening to his own heart beating.
"Well, there's those two over there," she finally said, pointing to the ceiling. "They've been pulling at each other for some time now, but I can't quite make out what for. I suspect it's a nunchuck."
"This one's playing by himself." Luna looked beside her. "It's funny, I thought he looked lonely at first, but it's apparent he'd been the most content out of all of those I've observed so far."
Harry raised his head to where she looked, only seeing the dim floor next to her. "That can't be right."
"Well, you'd be right," she said, looking higher up the ceiling and scanning around. "I saw a group jumping around with glee earlier. Too bad one of them bumped into another and broke his arm. Now they're all grounded."
"That's sad."
"Nargles are sad creatures in general. It's very rare to see them playing around like this."
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Maybe our Nargles like each other," he said. "Maybe…we should get together more often for them."
Luna shook her head. "It'd be better for them to just go away. Believe it or not, Nargles prefer to be free as opposed to being tied to a witch or wizard."
Harry looked around at the space around them: the ceiling, the floor, the gaps between each row on the bookshelf, and across each aisle. He imagined it brimming with peculiar creatures doing as Luna described. But the rational part of his mind regained control and he just saw a dark, empty library.
Still, he thought about all the house elves that filled the castle, whose jobs were done so secretively that most students never knew they existed while still in school. He remembered the Thestrals and the unsettling yet reassuring feeling he felt when he'd closed his eyes and touched one.
He put his hands out in the air and closed his eyes, faintly hoping to feel that feeling once again.
"Why aren't they?" he said. "Free, I mean. Why are these ones tied to us?"
"That's just the thing," she said, looking at him. "We don't know."
He could see the concern etched in Luna's face, and he knew they needed to resolve this as soon as possible.
He reached for her hand and held it reassuringly.
"We'll set them free," he said.
Luna laid her head back to the floor and she closed her own eyes.
"We should really get to our dorms for now, though."
"Let's just stay here," Luna replied. "For tonight."
Harry understood then that she was avoiding Ravenclaw Tower.
So he nodded and laid his head on the floor, too, closing his eyes. They stayed like that for the better part of the night, with Harry using his cloak as a pillow for both of them. They knew neither was asleep, especially not Harry, who was now fully aware of how close Luna had gotten beside him.
Truthfully, although she often confused him, he never felt uncomfortable with her. Even their odd conversations never felt stilted and awkward. They always ended up on the same page, even though they barely understood each other.
Some would say that that was unsound; he'd argue it was what made Luna herself.
It was what brought them lying down on the library floor that night. Talking about creatures so peculiar, so surreal, even for the Wizarding World. Making him wonder how many others out there he couldn't see.
Harry turned to Luna, whose eyes were still closed, breath silent and her chest slowly rising and falling. Her eyes fluttered open when she sensed him looking at her, somehow. She smirked and eyed him suspiciously, making Harry laugh.
"How come your family is the only one who can see the Nargles?" he asked.
Luna pursed her lips and thought for a bit. "I don't think the author thought that deep into it, to be honest."
"The author?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows.
"The person who wrote our stories," she answered. "The person writing us now."
"You think we're in a story?"
"Everything's a story, Harry," she said. "But that doesn't mean everything has to make sense right away. Sometimes, it's up to our interpretation, the readers."
They've now turned on their sides, facing each other. Luna brought a hand up to the side of Harry's face and looked down at his lips. Harry in turn moved his hands to her hips, his eyelids suddenly feeling heavy and his eyes dropping down to her lips. They were both breathing heavily through their mouths, and without another moment's notice, Harry leaned forward for his to meet hers.
Various thoughts raced through Harry's head, all of them standing out on their own, loud and clear. Luna Lovegood, this beautiful, enthralling, exceptional girl from Ravenclaw. Her wisdom drew him like no other adult had. She'd seen things he could only imagine seeing in another life. She was also vegan, apparently.
Anyway, regardless and in spite of all the other tired thoughts running around his head, he knew for sure that he liked Luna. And that her head was on his shoulder when sleep finally caught up with them.
They woke up to the loud sounds of footsteps from the hallway outside the library. Luna sat up and looked at Harry, eyes wide. Without a word, they scrambled to hide behind one of the bookshelves.
Once he was sure they were in proper cover, Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map and looked to Luna. "Do you want to open it this time?"
She nodded and he handed it to her.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she said, pressing her wand against the empty parchment, where ink spread into an intricate map of the castle.
She smiled in amazement. "Your father was an amazing wizard."
"He had a lot of help from his friends."
They looked at each other in appreciation, then shifted their focus on the page. Snape was the other person in the library. And he looked to be approaching them.
That slimy…
"Hide," Luna whispered, and they both dived for cover.
It was futile, of course. They were never going to escape from the git's predatory-bat-like senses. He realised he should have thrown each other under his Invisibility Cloak, but it was too late. They'd separated and Snape had turned to their aisle like a manic cop on a tight quota.
"I see your pathetic little shoes, Potter," the git said. "Come out."
Harry mouthed at Luna to stay right where she was before he slowly stepped out. Snape was looking at the pile of restricted books they had littered across the floor from earlier.
"Don't pretend neither of us knows you wouldn't be doing all this reading on your own," Snape said, turning to face him. "You're with Miss Granger, I presume?"
Harry gave him an innocent shrug. "Can't a kid just be curious about the world by himself, professor?"
Snape gave him an unimpressed look and shifted his gaze to something behind him. "Miss Lovegood."
Harry inwardly cursed as he watched Snape have a smile curling at the edge of his lips.
"Disappointing to find you two becoming friends, but it does make sense," Snape said. "The squirrel and the nutcase."
Harry glared at Snape. It was one thing to insult him and his friends, but Luna was way off the mark. Perhaps Harry was too tired to be thinking straight, but he pulled his wand and pointed at his professor.
Unsurprisingly, Snape was a lot quicker and had disarmed Harry before he could even think to cast a spell.
"You're a pathetic clown, Potter."
"You're a greasy git."
"You're like your father except you're worse with a wand and your insults are plainly droll."
"And you're a slimy cunt," he said. "How about that?"
"Detention, you two," Snape snarled, tossing Harry's wand and making it clatter to back his feet. "Tomorrow evening, my office."
Harry rolled his eyes as he picked it up.
"I expect you two can find your own ways to your dorms?"
"Droll my arse," Harry said under his breath as he and Luna exited the library.
Luna looked at him. "That was the strangest student-professor interaction I've ever witnessed."
"My dad and he go way back." Harry shrugged.
"You were really running your mouth there," Luna said, grinning. "I thought he was going to hex you."
Harry scoffed. "If he does that, the entire school would have his head."
"The Slytherins might think differently."
"I don't care what the Slytherins think," Harry said, to which Luna nodded slowly.
After a few more steps, she turned to look at the hallway behind them. "Is he really not going to follow us?"
"That, I'm not sure." In all honesty, he was just as surprised Snape was so lenient with him tonight. Maybe his insults got to him? He shook his head, amused. "Knowing him, he probably found a way to keep an eye on us so it'd be smart to actually retire for tonight."
"I did find it odd that he would call me a squirrel, though," Luna said.
Harry chuckled. Deciding to at least make the most of Snape's strange act of mercy for tonight, he decided to walk Luna home again.
"I'm sorry you have to go to your dorms," he said. "I know you've been trying to avoid it."
Luna didn't need to reply to confirm his thoughts. When they reached the Ravenclaw Tower, they were met with clothes strewn all over the hallway in front of the entrance.
"Are these…yours?" Harry asked.
Luna just walked over and collected her stuff.
"You can't just keep letting this happen to you."
"It's not a big deal, Harry," Luna said. "Yes, they have a problem with me but at least I can say I don't have any with them."
"That's not true and you know it. You shouldn't be treated like this, Luna. You need to stand up."
Literally. Harry had to pull her up from picking up her clothes and simply summoned all of it to his hand.
"We need to get back at them," Harry said, gesturing his hands with Luna's clothes as an argument prop.
Luna looked at the Marauder's Map peeking out of Harry's pocket and sighed, hinting a smile. "Fine. What's the plan?"
Bolstered by her agreeance, Harry clapped his hands and rubbed them together. Leaning towards her ears, he whispered:
"We prank the entire Ravenclaw house, of course."
As he leaned back to see her reaction, a small smirk played at Luna's face.
Harry had heard countless stories regarding the Marauders and their shenanigans during their years in Hogwarts. Still, he never ended up taking after them. After all, his fast friendship with Ron and Hermione came with other motivations outside of being infamous school pranksters. Besides, Fred and George had that role covered, the school didn't need any more.
After a quick mirror call with Sirius, Harry tried his best to recall the points he was given on how to think up the most effective prank towards Ravenclaw students.
What do Ravenclaws most pride themselves for? Their intelligence, their brains, their achievements. Now, what are the individuals like? Think about their personalities, what makes them tick? It was all very elaborate things Harry never thought about when it came to constructing pranks.
He always thought it would just be little things like pulling the chair out from under Ron and casting a spell so that a crow croaks whenever Hermione flipped a page on a book she was reading.
Now knowing better, he'd constructed an elaborate plan with Luna (but it was mostly him, not to brag), and noted that if they ever got caught, they could always just #balmeSirius.
They'd sneaked into the twin's dorm that night and stole a bag-full of their prototype products. He was pretty sure George had woken and sat up, watching them blatantly, but it was too dark and Harry was in too much of a hurry to confirm. The need for an explanation was for another time.
After a quick look at the contents, they'd realised they took from the same batch of Daylight Daydreams, which induced a Befuddlement charm after consumption. They made haste in casting proximity charms on the Ravenclaw table where if a student was under the charm, they'd begin to speak strictly gibberish. Those who tried to leave…well…
With the setting up of his first-ever prank complete, Harry thought he would feel a little proud of his and Luna's accomplishment, but he just felt ridiculous.
He looked at Luna as they sneaked their way back to Ravenclaw tower under the Invisibility Cloak and to retire for the night, and she didn't look any happier either.
"This is stupid," she whispered. "That was stupid, what we did there."
Not seeing any reason to back out on it now, Harry just shrugged. "They do deserve it."
"It doesn't feel right," Luna said. "It feels a little too much like revenge."
"Well, it is."
"Can't we just talk to them about it?"
"You didn't seem to want to do that before."
"Well, I didn't have a prank set up to humiliate them."
"It's not that stupid," Harry lied. "It's pretty elaborate if you ask me."
Luna just shook her head.
"Fine," he sighed, agreeing with her after all. "Let's go back."
"Ow, you stepped on my toe."
"Your hair keeps rubbing my shoulder."
"We need to get you some mints after this."
They inched back to the Great Hall, intending to scrap their prank. What slipped their mind, however, was that Ravenclaws were early birds. The table was flocking with students, ranging from sleepy to high alert. Either state didn't matter because all of them had their mouths stuffed with Daylight Daydreams and were already speaking gibberish.
Harry cringed and Luna chuckled next to him nervously. They looked at each other before pulling the Invisibility Cloak off.
"Don't—" Luna started to call to her housemates. "Uh, stay there!"
Despite her raising her voice, no one seemed to hear her.
Harry pulled her back and told her: "Just let it go. They had it coming, anyway."
"Not all of them are bullies!" she said quietly. "Some were nice to me. Like Cho Chang! And Rando Pearson!"
"They'll understand," Harry said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No, Harry, you don't understand." Luna brushed him off. "I'm not like you, I didn't save the world. People won't care if Professor Snape hexes me, and neither if my entire house hates me.
"You just said, Cho and Pearson…" Harry saw Luna's eyes glisten with tears and his voice faltered.
"I have to live alone with these people every day," she said quietly. "I don't get to just run my mouth off on them like you do."
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Hello, students," Professor Flitwick said, looking up at them and oblivious to their entire previous conversation. He offered up a piece of Daylight Daydreams. "Candies?"
"Hi, Professor Flitwick," Luna said meekly, wiping her eyes with her robes. "You guys are up early."
"Oh, didn't you hear last night?" Professor Flitwick said, popping the candy into his mouth. "We're supposed to #$%! &? !$!"
Shit, Harry thought to himself. Should've stopped him.
" $&!-#*^%?"
The little professor looked so ridiculous gesticulating as he spoke gibberish that they backed away by instinct. Naturally, the professor followed their steps.
Out of the proximity of the spell.
Fuck.
BAM!
Professor Flitwick was now sporting an oversized diaper and a pair of angelic wings behind his back.
Needless to say, they had to clean the entire castle for a whole month. Way to fight against bullying. Yay.
Snape being placed to supervise them for the entire time only made it worse. Usually, professors take turns when a student gets a prolonged punishment, but as it turned out, Snape was just as responsible with their prank. Apparently, he saw the clothes strewn about the hallway outside of the Ravenclaw common room and used it as a chance to get him and Luna into deeper trouble.
The petty cunt seriously needs help.
At least their antics drew him to enough derision that, after two weeks, he'd decided he'd had enough of supervising them and transfigured a coat stand into a scarecrow that did strangely well in resembling him.
Luna applauded Snape's transfiguration skills, Harry blamed it on his pre-existing likeness to a scarecrow.
Ron had spent the rest of Harry's free time cackling hysterically at the thought of Professor Flitwick as a Valentinic figure, all the while complaining that he wasn't a part of it. Hermione just shook her head in disapproval.
Today, they were cleaning the library, which meant many of their victims got to watch them pumping buckets, scrubbing floors, and dusting books.
Though, as if it couldn't get any worse, Harry spotted Hermione watching them from one of the tables, her eyes peeking above a book. Harry raised his arms to the sides and sighed at her as if to say "What?"
Hermione looked around and came up to them, her book left on the table.
Luna greeted her with a smile. "Nice to see you, Hermione."
"Hey, Luna," Hermione said. "I want to apologize for how I was during that breakfast we had together. Yes, we have our differences in our beliefs and so I was sceptical of you, but I didn't need to be so rude and unwelcoming."
"You weren't rude at all," Luna said. "Like you said, we have our differences in our beliefs, and people tend to not take kindly to that. You were just expressing your opinions."
"Well, I'm sorry that it ended so badly."
Luna nodded and Hermione came down to hug her, looking at Harry sheepishly. He shrugged and smiled at her old friend, glad that they were on good terms once again.
Later that night, Luna found another dusty old book covering magical diseases, but this time, it involved invisible monsters that terrorized souls. It was a reach but after a quick perusing, they found one with symptoms similar enough to Luna's diagnosis.
Various sorts of illusions and imaginary creatures, the like.
It was a faded page consisting of a fairly short list of ingredients and instructions, filled with words more akin to that of Old English, probably—and although they couldn't find the name of it, it stated that it was the one cure that removed all trace of the disease in the Wizarding World since its creation. An ancient panacea.
Harry and Luna looked at each other, impressed. One side effect included increased disease symptoms for a few days. But come on, what's a few more Nargles going to do?
Luckily for them, they had to clean the Potions' classroom that next day and they got to cooking. They made the potion as if they were professional potionists with years of experience rather than two students who absolutely hated the subject.
They completed the potions in record time and they couldn't have been prouder of themselves. Gotta say, having Scarecrow Snape watching them was a lot less intimidating than the actual one…or more. Either way, it definitely contributed to their productivity. Probably.
Anyway, amidst the excitement, they poured the solution into two cups and clicked at each other's in a self-congratulatory toast. Luna had a bright smile on her face and she was looking around above her head as if to stare the Nargles down saying bye! Not gonna miss ya!
They drank the potion together, whooping in delight despite its horrendous taste.
Harry watched as Luna's eyes grew wide, then her eyebrows furrowed. She tilted her head to the side and her mouth opened to a small 'o' as she watched the Nargles in awe.
"Amazing," she said. "They're growing in size, but they're not multiplying as I expected."
"At least we know from the side effects that it's working." Harry had never wished more that he'd been able to see them as he did now. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything at all. I'm just glad they'll be able to go free…and leave us."
"I'm glad too," Luna said. "Dad said you can never grow too fond of such creatures, especially when you're the only one who can see them. People will think you're crazy because of it."
"You're not crazy," he said. "You're the sanest person I know in this entire school."
"I like to think we're the only sane ones."
He chuckled. "Only sane people would find a random potion in an ancient book, brew it without mastery in the subject, and drink it the next day."
She smirked. "You say that like you're being sarcastic."
"Do I?" he said, pffting. "Suddenly, I'm the only sane one here."
"Har har, Harry." Luna rolled her eyes.
"Oooh," Harry raised one eyebrow. "Alliterations, how sane."
"You're dumb," she said before sighing in disbelief. "Wow. We just drank a potion from an ancient book."
Harry couldn't believe it either. He thought back to all the insane things he'd done with Luna in just the last few days, but nothing compared to what they'd just done now.
Not noticing until they were right against each other, they'd taken a step forward, closing the distance between them. Harry looked down at Luna's lips, which was opened to the same small 'o' she had from earlier. Her hands held tightly to his waist.
"I love you," he said under his breath.
He tucked a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her puffy eyes, and closed his own, leaning forward.
"What," a snarly voice said, "is the meaning of this."
They snapped their heads to Snape on the entrance, backed by his own scarecrow. Had there been a lightning strike that thundered up a storm outside, this would have been a perfect muggle horror film scene.
Snape strode past them and looked at the cauldron of their potion, then at the book containing its instructions. He turned to them sharply.
"Do you not see the risk you two have just put yourselves through?" he said, shaking the book at them. "This is a tonic for recovering drug addicts that speeds up the withdrawal process from years to a matter of days. You should be locked up in a hospital with your hands tied to a wall right now if you want what's good for you."
Snape made a beeline to the fireplace and Harry and Luna looked at each other. Horrified, they stood frozen as Snape called for the Hospital Wing and dragged them into the fire.
"I want to see you next week, but if you start to feel any sign of returning symptoms, come and see me regardless."
"Of course, Madame Pomfrey," Harry said. "Thank you."
"You'll feel weird for a few more days but the worst of it should be over now," she said.
"How's, er…" Harry looked to where Luna still laid asleep on her own hospital bed.
"She's had some unexpected allergic reactions with the potions I had in stock, but don't you worry. Professor Snape provided some ointments and the worst has come to pass for her as well. Your bodies will fully recover in no time." Madame Pomfrey looked at him as if she had more to say, but chose to end her talk there.
Harry's eyes stayed on Luna. She was breathing normally, but she seemed to have somehow lost more colour on her already pale skin. With her dirty blonde hair splayed around her head, she seemed almost ghostly.
He thought back to when they were making the potion and couldn't believe how little he'd thought things through. Drinking a potion from a some-hundred-year-old book. The faucet was pristine, yet he muddied it with its own waters by trying to clean it further with his own hands.
And he should've known Luna was allergic to many potion ingredients. What with her strict diet and aversion to the subject.
One part of him wanted to stay by her side until she woke up. He knew it'd be what he'd want.
But he also wanted to help her—to defend her, to let her know what it was like to belong. He wanted her to be his friend, to be like Ron and Hermione. He wanted her to stand up for herself, even when she thought differently about it.
He just wanted her.
And he couldn't fathom why.
One part of him wanted to stay by her side. He knew it'd be what she'd want.
But alas, his courage failed him that night.
So instead, he decided to confront the Ravenclaws.
His walk from the Hospital Wing to the Ravenclaw Tower was long and muted, and although his brief surge of anger subsided, his mind didn't stray from Luna's housemates and the lengths they took to make her life miserable.
The door smashed loudly under Harry's fist, and it didn't take long for an older student to open it.
Several gasps sounded throughout the common room, whispers of his name echoing the circular walls. It looked so different with the lights on and it being filled with others besides him and Luna—more like a bird's nest than the skydome he last saw it as.
"What's going on, Potter?" the older student asked him.
"You'll make sure to stay away from Luna from now on," Harry said.
The older student scrunched his ugly face. "Why, is that a threat?"
Harry pulled out his wand and pressed it against the older boy's neck. Everyone else grabbed for theirs, hesitantly pointing at him.
"Do you want to find out?" Harry said in a low voice.
"What are you gonna do? Hex me?" said the older student. "You know, I'm a seventh-year prefect. Make one wrong move and I doubt Granger or even Professor Dumbledore can get you out of this one."
"Some prefect you are, you can't even defend yourself with your own wand," Harry said, nodding to the wand still in the prefect's pocket. "Much less a younger student from her own house."
"Seriously, you're vastly misunderstanding things," the prefect said. "Loony Lovegood doesn't care, she knows we're all just joking around."
"It's one thing to tease your friends," Harry said. "It's another to single someone out because they're different. You don't get to play that card in this case."
"Why do you care so much, anyway?" the prefect said. "I mean, if you really just want a fight, you'd let me draw my wand."
Harry pushed the prefect away, allowing them to draw their wands at each other properly.
"That's enough," came a familiar Scottish accent.
All eyes turned to Cho. "I agree with Harry. Everyone needs to lay off of Luna," she said. "But Harry, shoving a wand at a prefect's face isn't going to do much to help your case. Nor is trapping us to our tables in the Great Hall."
I don't get to just run my mouth off on them like you do.
Luna's voice echoed in Harry's head, and his heart sank. Exhaling heavily, he slowly lowered his wand, prompting the other Ravenclaws to do the same.
"Look, we apologise if we went too far," someone whom Harry recognized as Lisa Turpin said. "We just thought it was okay because everyone else was doing it."
Everyone nodded amongst each other, though guilt was etched clearly on their faces. All of a sudden, the prefect had trouble looking up from the ground.
"It's not like she ever told us to stop," a younger student said, but she was immediately elbowed by Lisa Turpin.
"Read the room," Lisa whispered. "Besides, she probably thought we wouldn't have listened."
"We're listening now, aren't we?"
"To Luna," Harry butted in. "Not me. I'm not the one you bullied."
Everyone looked at each other uneasily and the room became incredibly quiet at once. On that note, Harry pocketed his wand and left for the Gryffindor Tower.
"Harry," Hermione said as she sat across from him and Ron in the common room lounge.
Almost a month had passed since the potions incident. Harry served the remainder of his one-month detention separately from Luna (Not that they would've stayed together otherwise, had he been given the choice. It was better that he stayed away from her—he was too stupid and made everything worse). Other than that, not much else happened besides him studying for his O.W.L.S.
And he and Ron weren't even doing a good job of it. It just so happened that they had their charms textbook opened when she decided to 'interrupt' them.
"I'm guessing you still refuse to see the Daily Prophet?" she asked Harry, flipping the newspaper open.
"Is it too much to ask not to know anything about it this time?"
"Well, it doesn't matter what's in it, Harry," she said. "What does is that Luna is probably reading these and thinking all of it is her fault."
"Ridiculous," Harry said.
"You need to talk to her," Hermione said.
"I don't think I'm ready."
"I'm telling you, mate," Ron said. "If even Hermione is telling you to talk to Luna, you should."
Rolling his eyes, Harry decided to retire to his dorm early that night.
But as the sun set and midnight came and went, he suddenly didn't feel like sleeping at all. As such, after a quick trip to the bathroom, he threw on his outer robe and snuck his way outside the castle. Alone, in the dark, he walked along the Black Lake's shore. The blue moonlight illuminated the calm waters, reflecting spectres of light along the purple grass around him.
He stopped to look up at the moon, a mere waning gibbous surrounded by the starry sky. Slowly, he lowered himself down to sit on the grass, his eyes, for some reason, remaining glued to the moon. As his hands fell to the side, he felt it graze a pebble which he picked up. It was smaller than the one he gave Luna so long ago.
It seemed as if everything in his life had shrunk within the past month, but his memory of hers stayed strong. Perhaps it grew, but how could it? They'd spent so much time together in just the little days prior and now?
Now they barely saw each other.
What happened between them? They made a potion. They drank it. And he fell in love.
He fell in love with her.
The very thought baffled him now, but he fell in love with Luna Lovegood that night. What a bizarre thought.
Harry squinted his eyes towards the other side of the lake where the shadow of a figure shone in the moonlight. It was Luna. Harry quickly stood up and stifled the urge to shout her name. Reminding himself that everyone else was asleep, he ran towards her instead.
Luna saw him, but not before skipping a pebble on to the lake.
"Harry," she said as if she'd expected him to show up all along. "What are you doing here?"
"I was gonna ask the same thing to you."
Luna looked back at the lake and her eyes grew wide, horrified. "I threw the rock you gave me. I'm very sorry, Harry. I've just been so confused and angry. Not at you, at myself. I should never have made you drink that potion. I should never have said anything about—"
Harry stepped forward and grabbed Luna's hand. She looked at him with the same protuberant eyes that once looked up at him with zeal, not shock, he learned. Showing her crazy mind working its magic. Revealing a girl so eccentric, people had to bully her to make it amusing for themselves. But Luna didn't need to be teased to make sense. Nor did anyone need to play along with her crazy thoughts to enjoy her company. She just needed to be understood.
That she was Luna Lovegood.
And he loved her for it.
"—I just missed you so much. You and that dense sarcasm of yours." Luna stepped closer so their elbows now touched.
"Do you remember when we made that potion together?" he asked.
Luna looked down and sighed, but Harry lifted her chin back up.
"Do you remember us drinking it together?" he continued.
"Yes," she said.
"And we fell in love?"
Luna looked at Harry's emerald green eyes with her own. Protuberant, puffy, her pupils misty silver like the cloudy night sky above.
"The potion…" she said.
"It worked, didn't it?" Harry said. "The Nargles went away…and with them, our feelings for each other.
Luna shook her head in realization. "We were each other's drug addiction."
Harry pursed his lips. "I wouldn't put it that way."
"But we can relapse, right?"
"Of course."
Then, as if the whole month prior never happened—or maybe it was to catch up for that whole month—Harry pulled Luna's head to his and they kissed a kiss of deep, passionate abandon.
They kissed until they couldn't breathe. And after pulling back to do so, they kissed again.
And they laughed. They laughed until they couldn't anymore, having to lay down the grass as their stomachs ached.
Luna rolled herself closer to him and leaned over his face, wearing the biggest smile.
"So my housemates stopped harassing me," she said.
"Did they, now?" he replied. "Odd, that."
"Really odd indeed."
Giggling, she brought her head down.
And they kissed some more.