A/N:

Title: Paranoia

Team: Tutshill Tornados

Position: Chaser 1

Reserve: no

Optional Prompts: Luna Lovegood, absence, and door.

Ginny Weasley was eating breakfast with Neville Longbottom one late November Saturday morning in Hogwarts in the Great Hall. The slight chill in the air was negated by the heat of breakfast food radiating throughout. People were gossiping about the Triwizard Tournament and who was taking who to the Yule Ball, even though it was still almost a month away. Neville eventually turned to Ginny after a couple of minutes of eating.

"Thanks for going to the ball with me," he said sheepishly.

"I'm glad you invited me," said Ginny with a sweet smile. Truthfully, she desired to go with Harry, but seeing as how he didn't seem interested in her, she decided to go with Neville. It was also cool being one of the only third years who would go to the Yule Ball, something she would brag about to her friends for years to come. Plus, Neville could be cool at times too.

"Hello, Ginevra," came a girly voice from behind them. A blonde third year Ravenclaw had just shown up behind them at the table. Her wand was tucked away behind her left year.

"Er, hey Luna," said Ginny. "Neville, have you two met before?"

"Luna Lovegood," said Luna, doing a little curtsy in her long, black Hogwarts robes. "Pleased to meet you, Neville."

"Nice to meet you too," said Neville.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation about the ball, and I must say, I see red flags all over this event. I would strongly recommend that you don't go. I mean, doesn't it seem fishy that only fourth years and older are allowed?"

"No, not really," said Ginny. "I mean…it's a ball, right? What eleven-year-old would want to go to a ball, especially an eleven-year-old boy?"

"Yes, but don't you know about why they chose the fourth years as the cut off point for students?" said Luna. "Doesn't that seem like a little much of a coincidence?"

"Er, no? I don't know," said Ginny. Neville put his head down and continued with his bacon, remaining passive.

"It's been all over the Quibbler lately!" said Luna, now a concerned look on her face.

"Er, I haven't picked up the latest edition," said Ginny truthfully.

"The number four is associated with death! Professor Trelawney said a student will meet a terrible, terrible fate at the end of the year, and I think it's going to be at this ball!" said Luna, looking frightful.

"I think Trelawney might be mistaken on this one," said Ginny, but not in a rude way.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," said Luna with a worried look. "What about your friend, Harry Potter?" said Luna. "Isn't he in mortal danger now that he's in this tournament and something bad could happen to him at this ball?"

"Yeah, but he's Harry, right?" said Neville, finally speaking up. "Bad stuff always seems to happen to him." Ginny blushed at the mention of Harry's name.

"Oh dear, oh dear, if you don't get it, then…" began Luna. "So much is at stake…so many things could go wrong…"

"Why don't you talk to Professor Trelawney again?" suggested Neville. "Maybe she could tell you more about this prophecy of death?"

"Yes, I…. that's a great idea! Thanks, Neville!" said Luna hurriedly. She skipped away for the North Tower. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief when she left.

"Is she…okay?" asked Neville hesitantly.

"I guess…" said Ginny, giggling slightly. "But her dad is the editor of the Quibbler, I've heard. Her dad is infamous for his conspiracy theories, and, for better or for worse, Luna believes all of it."

"What about the number four though?" said Neville. "What's that got to do with the Yule Ball?"

"Nothing," said Ginny.

"That's what I was thinking," said Neville, chuckling.

Meanwhile, Luna dashed off to North Tower and looked to see if Professor Trelawney was in her study. She arrived at the room adjacent to the attic area where classes were normally held which was presumably Trelawney's office. The door was littered with decorations and written prophecies from friends and fellow seers. Luna knocked on the door and waited patiently. The door opened and with it came a mist that exited the room.

"Welcome my child," said Professor Trelawney in a dramatic voice, gazing into the middle distance after seeing who it was. "Are you here for a session of enlightenment?"

"Yes, may I come in, Professor?" asked Luna.

"Of course, my dear," said Trelawney. Luna walked in and sat on a particularly squishy armchair adjacent to Trelawney's desk.

"I really do admire your door," said Luna after sitting down, "However, I must say that the prophecy on your door about your success might be in question because my dad interviewed a Seer for the Quibbler, and he said that Seers will have more and more difficulties as the 21st century approaches."

"The disbelievers will continue to multiply as the following century is born…" said Professor Trelawney with a hint of sadness.

Luna was enthralled at her powers of perception. "My friends told me to ask you about the death prophecy you made earlier this year."

"Er, is that so?" said Trelawney trying to remember what she was talking about.

"Yes," said Luna. "Do you…do you have any idea approximately when during the year it will happen? I have an idea but…"

"Ahh….Oh! Yes…yes of course…of course…hmmm…let me remember…" said Trelawney, closing her eyes in concentration.

She went and grabbed a teacup from a store of moldy teacups. Luna couldn't help but notice the smell of mold that wafted in the room from this.

"Ahh yes…well it should be as the year dies, yes yes…" Professor Trelawney began as she examined the teacup.

"That's what I thought. That's all I needed to know…thank you Professor!" said Luna brightly as she stood up to leave. "And by the way, my dad says that mold can be dangerous because Nargles breed in it and can crawl up your nose and make you sick."

"Oh," said Trelawney, a puzzled look on her face. "But, my dear, I must keep them moldy or else the prophecies won't be as distinctly clear."

But it was too late. Luna had already dashed off. Professor Trelawney was beginning to become irritated with Luna Lovegood. Although she appreciated the attention, this was the third time this week Luna had come asking for a prediction or advice on something. It was time to act and act quickly before this got out of hand.

A few days passed, and December rolled around, bringing with it a fresh coat of snow on the ground.

"Oh, no," said Luna, her eyes wide as she looked at the snow from her window in Ravenclaw tower.

"First snow means the hatching of the Blibbering Humdinger eggs which can only mean one thing…an infestation which has a chance of spreading the Plague of Halicarnassus! I've got to see Professor Trelawney about this to see if she has anything to predict." Luna hurriedly put on her Hogwarts robes even though it was still ninety minutes until her first class and headed to North Tower.

When she arrived, however, Trelawney was nowhere to be found. Luna began panicking until she noticed a note was on the door to her office.

To whom it may concern,

The Inner Eye has revealed to me that it is dangerous for me to counsel at this time. I do apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Yours truly,

Sybil Trelawney

"Rubbish…" said Luna, pouting as she contemplated what to do next. "This is too important, I can't stand idly by. People's lives are at stake."

She took out her wand and muttered, "Alohamora," opening the door to Trelawney's room. However, Trelawney was strangely absent and there was a deafening silence that accompanied the room due to her absence.

"Professor?" called Luna to the empty room. Nobody was there though. Suddenly, there was a sound like a snap and the door behind Luna slammed shut and locked itself.

"Huh?" said Luna, wide-eyed. She tried to open the door and muttered alohamora again, but it was no use. She was locked inside of Trelawney's office alone.

"Rotten luck so far this morning," said Luna. "It's because it's Wednesday, the fourth day of the week. Wednesdays are always bad." After a minute of nervousness and irritation, Luna decided she might as well make good use of her time and Trelawney's absence to do some investigating on her own.

"Lumos," she muttered, and walked over to Trelawney's private library. She perused a variety of books using only the light of her wand to read in the dark room, including Prophecies That Have Most Assuredly Come True, Five Reasons Less than Five Percent of Wizardkind have the Inner Eye, The Life and Times of Cassandra Trelawney, and Don't Throw Away your Mum's Old Teacup.

Luna was fascinated with the books. However, after looking for a while, she became discouraged.

"There's nothing in here about Blibbering Humdingers or predictions about the Rotfang Conspiracy…" she said sadly. "I was so sure…"

After more laborious perusing, she heard a clicking noise and the door to Trelawney's office flew open.

"Professor!" said Luna, frightened. "I…I came looking for you, and…I'm so sorry. The door just slammed shut behind me!"

"Tried the old Alohamora trick, did you?" said Trelawney, but to Luna's relief, she was smiling. She had a cup of pumpkin juice in her hand. "Don't worry, my dear. it's a security measure to make sure students don't steal any of my belongings."

"Oh," said Luna. "That makes sense. But Professor! I was so worried because the Blibbering Humdingers should be hatching any day now and…"

"Luna," said Trelawney in a comforting voice that still commanded attention. "I sense that you are troubled about many things. It is not always healthy to worry, you know."

Luna looked puzzled. "But, professor, there's so much at stake. Someone is going to die at the Yule Ball! I just know it! Fourth years and older only? Four Triwizard Champions? Professor, surely you of all the brilliant professors at Hogwarts knows about the dangers of the number four!"

"My dear Luna, I was not clear enough in my prediction. The death I predicted was for the end of the school year, not the end of the calendar year," said Trelawney. "I should've made that distinction. I do apologize."

"What?" said Luna, still confused.

"And as for the number four, yes, it is considered an omen of death, but even then, it is very imprecise, and not all cases of the number four are unlucky, of course. Just like the four houses of Hogwarts are not necessarily unlucky by nature. And there are four seasons in a year and four seasons in the life of a person, those being infanthood, childhood, adulthood, and seniorhood."

"But…but…the Blibbering Humdinger eggs…" said Luna.

"As fascinated as I am with your ability to sense things that others cannot, I must say I have never received a revelation as to the existence of these fantastic creatures. However, that doesn't mean they don't exist," said Professor Trelawney. "I just can't predict anything about them."

"But…I was so sure you would have something to say…" said Luna sadly, her lip poking out and trembling slightly.

"My darling, I wish I did, but, as you well know, the Inner Eye has a way of its own that we cannot understand. I do not want to predict anything that I do not believe to be true. That is one thing you must know, and you are already learning it."

"What's that?" said Luna.

Professor Trelawney sighed. "You must learn to hear things that you don't necessarily understand and learn how to interpret them. I've heard many Seers in my life who were not true in their predictions but only told people what they wanted to hear to make extra galleons. I have had a harder life because I have not gone down this path. However, by sticking to my principles, I have a clear conscious and know that I'm trying to predict the truth, even if most of my students think I'm a little crazy."

"But I don't think you're crazy at all," said Luna. "I think you're brilliant."

"My dear, I do enjoy your presence, and your aura is bright. You have a bright future, but I must tell you not to worry about the Yule Ball because I haven't seen any visions regarding that event. Also, I only want you to consult me on matters if you truly believe they are super important. I will do most predictions that I believe are true in class for the most part."

"Yes, professor," said Luna. "I'm sorry."

"Not at all dear. It's quite all right. Between you and me, you are the most brilliant student I've had for some time and I look forward to the day when I can have you as a N.E.W.T. student. You will be a very great help to me when making predictions in class using oracle bones, I believe."

"Thanks, professor," said Luna brightly.

"Oh, and, Luna?" said Trelawney as Luna was leaving the room.

"Yes?" she said.

"Could you be a darling and shut the door and take that note off that I put up there?" she asked.

"Of course," she said brightly.

She shut the door and made her way to her first class for the day.

"Of course, I've still had an unlucky morning," she mumbled to herself as she stowed her wand behind her left ear.