Disclaimer: Yes, hello chaps, my name is J.K. Rowling, I live in Scotland
and this is the official 6th book. *coughcough* Honestly, if I was J.K.
Rowling, why would I be posting the much awaited 6th book on a fanfic
website?
A/N: Reviews! YAY! My apologies for not posting this sooner, I got a case of the worse writer's block I've ever had for about like 2 or 3 months, but I'm happy to say I'll be returning to writing this. Anywho, onto the fic!
Chapter 4
Luna's Return
Early that Friday, Harry was awoken from another dream of the red- robed man by the ringing of a doorbell, then even more so by the screeching of Mrs. Black.
"FILTHY MUDBLOODS! TRAITORS! TURNCOATS!"
Ron was apparently awoken as well, because he heard him curse from across the room, "You're not supposed to ring the doorbell, dammit!"
Ron and Harry snuck out to the top of the steps to see who it was, because by now every regular visitor knew not to ring the doorbell. Mrs. Weasley bolted up from the kitchen in the basement, and rather groggily, Lupin and Tonks came out of somewhere and tried to pacify Mrs. Black's painting.
Mrs. Weasley opened the door, trying to ignore the screeching in the background, and the fact the sun was barley up. "Er...good morning." She opened the door and in walked a tall, thin man, hiding crazy blonde hair under a large, pointed hat, and somebody to his side that Harry couldn't see. "I don't mean to be rude, sir," Mrs. Weasley continued, "But exactly...er...who are you?"
"Oh! I suppose Dumbledore didn't mention me to you," replied the man. Harry saw the kid beside him wander off into the house. "Well, I met with Dumbledore back in June and I'm supposed to be joining the Order. I'd show you the little paper thing he gave me with the address on it but it randomly crumbled up and burnt." Ron and Harry were leaning far over the railing to attempt to see who the man was, but could only see his back. "Anywho, my name is-"
"Hello, Ronald."
By far, through the Chamber of Secrets, practicing for the Triwizard Tournament, playing quidditch, or even at the Ministry of Magic last year, Harry had never seen Ron jump higher. Ron let out a light, startled shriek. Luna Lovegood, complete with wand behind her ear and butterbeer cap necklace, was standing behind the group. "Are you okay, Ronald?"
"Er...he's fine," Harry said quickly, trying to keep Ron from saying something stupid, "So...how was your summer, Luna?"
"Oh, it was great," Luna said, not with much emotion, though, as she always spoke, "We didn't get a picture of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, but we did find some footprints. We have pictures of them, you want to see?"
"Er...that's okay, we need to get some breakfast. Why don't you head upstairs and unpack your things. I imagine you'll be in the room with Ginny and Hermione."
As Harry and Ron climbed down the stairs towards the kitchen, they could here Hermione call "YOU?!?" from upstairs, then shortly, an argument ensued between Hermione and Luna, and soon Ginny too, and then, as they headed down the stairs into the basement, Ernie exclaiming "What's all that racket?!"
As if it hadn't been miserable enough before Luna arrived, after her arrival, things were even worse. It seemed as though Hermione and Luna were arguing every 5 minutes, when Ron didn't have his head shoved into the fire, he was off in some remote part of the house, making excuses for hiding from Luna.
Harry had thought that perhaps Luna had just been misunderstood, but he was now positive she was insane. Her arrival in a room was always announced by her near constant humming of "Weasley Is Our King", and seemed to keep asking about "Stubby Plank", which made Harry feel horrible each time.
However, after Hermione finished Ginny's potion, Harry often found himself sitting alone in a remote part of the house with Ginny. Harry really only saw Ginny as his best friends little sister up until this point, but as he began to be around her more, he really considered her a friend.
Harry found himself more able to talk to Ginny than anyone else, even Lupin. Ginny just sort of had a calming presence, and she was surprisingly good with words. It wasn't really startling that Ginny was friends with Luna; Ginny was very understanding.
Harry found himself alone in a far off room on the 3rd floor late one night with Ginny. The only light in the room was the full moon shining through the window (Remus had apparated away from the headquarters earlier that day to avoid running rampant in the streets of London).
"It's not your fault Harry," Ginny said to him, "I mean, your dream was right about dad, why wouldn't have it been right about Sirius?"
"I should have ignored the damn dreams like Dumbledore said..." Harry muttered.
"And you had that dream right in the middle of your O.W.L.s, didn't you? If you randomly fall asleep in the middle of the day like that, and have a dream like that, why wouldn't you have believed it? I would have done the same thing in your position."
"BUT YOU'RE NOT IN MY POSITION! YOU'RE NOT THE BOY WHO LIVED! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH CONSTANT INSANE DREAMS!"
The thing that amazed Harry about Ginny was that no matter how much Harry yelled, Ginny stayed calm. "I know I'm not. I can't begin to imagine what it's like. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, that kind of pressure."
"You know," Harry said slowly, "Maybe you should just take your family and run. Everyone I get closed to ends up dieing anyways."
"Where do you expect us to run to? We can't escape you-know-who, no matter where we go. And I think the rest of my family will agree with me when I say that I would rather die fighting for peace then hiding like an animal. That's what Sirius did, you know. He fought for his beliefs, and he died for them."
"That veil at the Ministry...what is it anyway?"
"I'm not sure. Dad doesn't even know. You saw some of those crazy things at the Department of Mysteries, who knows what it is? For all we know, he might not even be dead."
"IF HE'S NOT DEAD HOW COME LUPIN SAID HE WAS DEAD?! HOW COME HE DIDN'T GET BACK UP WHEN HE FELL OVER?!? HOW COME BELLATRIX LESTRANGE WAS LAUGHING?!?"
"Even if he is dead, so what? He's probably happy. He'd be with your father again. And your mother."
"SIRIUS DOESN'T WANT TO BE WITH MY FATHER! SIRIUS WANTS TO BE HERE! SIRIUS WANTS TO FIGHT VOLDEMORT!"
"Sirius wants peace. He has it now, wherever he is."
"SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT WE'D ALL BE BETTER OFF DEAD?!?"
"No, peace in life would be much more enjoyable then peace in death. Sirius fought to have peace in life, but at least he got the next best thing. Trust me Harry, when you-know-who is gone for good, you won't be the boy who lived anymore. You will just be Harry Potter, the boy who went to Hogwarts, who played quidditch, who became an auror, who married a beautiful girl, who raised a wonderful family, just like anybody else."
Harry paused for a moment, thinking. The door opened up and Luna entered the room. "I heard somebody yelling. Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, "Sorry if I woke you up."
Luna sat down in a chair near Ginny. "I wasn't asleep. I was outside, looking at the stars. It's a clear night, you know. So, what are you two doing up this late in a completely dark room together? Snogging each other?"
Harry gave a feeble, fake laugh, though he could have sworn he heard Ginny mutter "I wish". "No, I was just talking to Ginny about...things."
"Sirius?" Harry noticed that he had finally at least convinced Luna that his name wasn't Stubby Plank.
"Yeah..."
"When people die, Harry," Luna started, "It's actually a wonderful thing. It's sort of like being born, except you're born into a world of complete peace. I bet they have everything you could possibly want in the world of the dead. I bet your father and Sirius are playing quidditch right now. And I bet my mom and your mom are watching them. Death is the last, eternal hurrah."
Normally, Harry would have thought Luna was crazy, but it sort of made sense. "Someday, Harry," Luna continued, "You'll die. And then you'll be able to play quidditch with Sirius and your father, and your mother and my mother would watch you. I wonder who was the better seeker, you or your father?"
"I bet it's Harry. If I'm correct, his dad wasn't the first 1st year on their house quidditch team in 100 years." Ginny said, smiling. Harry couldn't help from smiling himself.
There was a peaceful silence in the room for a few minutes, until Harry spoke again. "So, Luna, what made your dad decide to join the Order?"
"Our adventure to the Ministry, last summer, of course! My father was really understanding about it. He even wrote an article in The Quibbler about it. It was the cover story in the July edition, didn't you see it?"
"Er...I'm afraid not. I can't get wizarding papers at the Dursleys."
"The Dursleys?"
"That's where I stay over the summer, with my aunt and uncle. Their muggles, so they can't get that kind of thing." Harry was amazed with himself that he spoke two sentences about the Dursleys without saying anything bad about them.
"Oh, that's a shame. It was a really good article. I drew the picture for the cover, especially for that article. The picture had you, and Ronald, and Hermione, and Neville, and Ginny, and me with our wands, and we had the death eaters tied up. And in the background, it showed Dumbledore standing over you-know-who, who was lying on the ground."
"You...you drew you-know-who?"
"Of course, he was there too."
"But aren't you...afraid of him? Like every other wizard and witch?"
"Only as much as I am afraid of Dumbledore."
As comforting as Luna can be, Harry thought, She'll still always be Luna. She's still crazy. A nice person, but crazy.
A/N: Crappy hinted romance! YAY! Gah, my friend always does that and I'm starting to do it...I hope when someone calls me weird I don't start replying "With a capital P!" Oh well, for all of you diehard Pitt Panthers fans out there, I have one thing to say: How 'bout them cowboys?! *insane laughter* I've been following my friend around saying that for like 2 weeks...Ok, I'm running on to much, I'll shut up now. As always, it's getting better.
Next Chapter: Chapter 5 For The Good Of The Order
A/N: Reviews! YAY! My apologies for not posting this sooner, I got a case of the worse writer's block I've ever had for about like 2 or 3 months, but I'm happy to say I'll be returning to writing this. Anywho, onto the fic!
Chapter 4
Luna's Return
Early that Friday, Harry was awoken from another dream of the red- robed man by the ringing of a doorbell, then even more so by the screeching of Mrs. Black.
"FILTHY MUDBLOODS! TRAITORS! TURNCOATS!"
Ron was apparently awoken as well, because he heard him curse from across the room, "You're not supposed to ring the doorbell, dammit!"
Ron and Harry snuck out to the top of the steps to see who it was, because by now every regular visitor knew not to ring the doorbell. Mrs. Weasley bolted up from the kitchen in the basement, and rather groggily, Lupin and Tonks came out of somewhere and tried to pacify Mrs. Black's painting.
Mrs. Weasley opened the door, trying to ignore the screeching in the background, and the fact the sun was barley up. "Er...good morning." She opened the door and in walked a tall, thin man, hiding crazy blonde hair under a large, pointed hat, and somebody to his side that Harry couldn't see. "I don't mean to be rude, sir," Mrs. Weasley continued, "But exactly...er...who are you?"
"Oh! I suppose Dumbledore didn't mention me to you," replied the man. Harry saw the kid beside him wander off into the house. "Well, I met with Dumbledore back in June and I'm supposed to be joining the Order. I'd show you the little paper thing he gave me with the address on it but it randomly crumbled up and burnt." Ron and Harry were leaning far over the railing to attempt to see who the man was, but could only see his back. "Anywho, my name is-"
"Hello, Ronald."
By far, through the Chamber of Secrets, practicing for the Triwizard Tournament, playing quidditch, or even at the Ministry of Magic last year, Harry had never seen Ron jump higher. Ron let out a light, startled shriek. Luna Lovegood, complete with wand behind her ear and butterbeer cap necklace, was standing behind the group. "Are you okay, Ronald?"
"Er...he's fine," Harry said quickly, trying to keep Ron from saying something stupid, "So...how was your summer, Luna?"
"Oh, it was great," Luna said, not with much emotion, though, as she always spoke, "We didn't get a picture of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, but we did find some footprints. We have pictures of them, you want to see?"
"Er...that's okay, we need to get some breakfast. Why don't you head upstairs and unpack your things. I imagine you'll be in the room with Ginny and Hermione."
As Harry and Ron climbed down the stairs towards the kitchen, they could here Hermione call "YOU?!?" from upstairs, then shortly, an argument ensued between Hermione and Luna, and soon Ginny too, and then, as they headed down the stairs into the basement, Ernie exclaiming "What's all that racket?!"
As if it hadn't been miserable enough before Luna arrived, after her arrival, things were even worse. It seemed as though Hermione and Luna were arguing every 5 minutes, when Ron didn't have his head shoved into the fire, he was off in some remote part of the house, making excuses for hiding from Luna.
Harry had thought that perhaps Luna had just been misunderstood, but he was now positive she was insane. Her arrival in a room was always announced by her near constant humming of "Weasley Is Our King", and seemed to keep asking about "Stubby Plank", which made Harry feel horrible each time.
However, after Hermione finished Ginny's potion, Harry often found himself sitting alone in a remote part of the house with Ginny. Harry really only saw Ginny as his best friends little sister up until this point, but as he began to be around her more, he really considered her a friend.
Harry found himself more able to talk to Ginny than anyone else, even Lupin. Ginny just sort of had a calming presence, and she was surprisingly good with words. It wasn't really startling that Ginny was friends with Luna; Ginny was very understanding.
Harry found himself alone in a far off room on the 3rd floor late one night with Ginny. The only light in the room was the full moon shining through the window (Remus had apparated away from the headquarters earlier that day to avoid running rampant in the streets of London).
"It's not your fault Harry," Ginny said to him, "I mean, your dream was right about dad, why wouldn't have it been right about Sirius?"
"I should have ignored the damn dreams like Dumbledore said..." Harry muttered.
"And you had that dream right in the middle of your O.W.L.s, didn't you? If you randomly fall asleep in the middle of the day like that, and have a dream like that, why wouldn't you have believed it? I would have done the same thing in your position."
"BUT YOU'RE NOT IN MY POSITION! YOU'RE NOT THE BOY WHO LIVED! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH CONSTANT INSANE DREAMS!"
The thing that amazed Harry about Ginny was that no matter how much Harry yelled, Ginny stayed calm. "I know I'm not. I can't begin to imagine what it's like. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, that kind of pressure."
"You know," Harry said slowly, "Maybe you should just take your family and run. Everyone I get closed to ends up dieing anyways."
"Where do you expect us to run to? We can't escape you-know-who, no matter where we go. And I think the rest of my family will agree with me when I say that I would rather die fighting for peace then hiding like an animal. That's what Sirius did, you know. He fought for his beliefs, and he died for them."
"That veil at the Ministry...what is it anyway?"
"I'm not sure. Dad doesn't even know. You saw some of those crazy things at the Department of Mysteries, who knows what it is? For all we know, he might not even be dead."
"IF HE'S NOT DEAD HOW COME LUPIN SAID HE WAS DEAD?! HOW COME HE DIDN'T GET BACK UP WHEN HE FELL OVER?!? HOW COME BELLATRIX LESTRANGE WAS LAUGHING?!?"
"Even if he is dead, so what? He's probably happy. He'd be with your father again. And your mother."
"SIRIUS DOESN'T WANT TO BE WITH MY FATHER! SIRIUS WANTS TO BE HERE! SIRIUS WANTS TO FIGHT VOLDEMORT!"
"Sirius wants peace. He has it now, wherever he is."
"SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT WE'D ALL BE BETTER OFF DEAD?!?"
"No, peace in life would be much more enjoyable then peace in death. Sirius fought to have peace in life, but at least he got the next best thing. Trust me Harry, when you-know-who is gone for good, you won't be the boy who lived anymore. You will just be Harry Potter, the boy who went to Hogwarts, who played quidditch, who became an auror, who married a beautiful girl, who raised a wonderful family, just like anybody else."
Harry paused for a moment, thinking. The door opened up and Luna entered the room. "I heard somebody yelling. Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, "Sorry if I woke you up."
Luna sat down in a chair near Ginny. "I wasn't asleep. I was outside, looking at the stars. It's a clear night, you know. So, what are you two doing up this late in a completely dark room together? Snogging each other?"
Harry gave a feeble, fake laugh, though he could have sworn he heard Ginny mutter "I wish". "No, I was just talking to Ginny about...things."
"Sirius?" Harry noticed that he had finally at least convinced Luna that his name wasn't Stubby Plank.
"Yeah..."
"When people die, Harry," Luna started, "It's actually a wonderful thing. It's sort of like being born, except you're born into a world of complete peace. I bet they have everything you could possibly want in the world of the dead. I bet your father and Sirius are playing quidditch right now. And I bet my mom and your mom are watching them. Death is the last, eternal hurrah."
Normally, Harry would have thought Luna was crazy, but it sort of made sense. "Someday, Harry," Luna continued, "You'll die. And then you'll be able to play quidditch with Sirius and your father, and your mother and my mother would watch you. I wonder who was the better seeker, you or your father?"
"I bet it's Harry. If I'm correct, his dad wasn't the first 1st year on their house quidditch team in 100 years." Ginny said, smiling. Harry couldn't help from smiling himself.
There was a peaceful silence in the room for a few minutes, until Harry spoke again. "So, Luna, what made your dad decide to join the Order?"
"Our adventure to the Ministry, last summer, of course! My father was really understanding about it. He even wrote an article in The Quibbler about it. It was the cover story in the July edition, didn't you see it?"
"Er...I'm afraid not. I can't get wizarding papers at the Dursleys."
"The Dursleys?"
"That's where I stay over the summer, with my aunt and uncle. Their muggles, so they can't get that kind of thing." Harry was amazed with himself that he spoke two sentences about the Dursleys without saying anything bad about them.
"Oh, that's a shame. It was a really good article. I drew the picture for the cover, especially for that article. The picture had you, and Ronald, and Hermione, and Neville, and Ginny, and me with our wands, and we had the death eaters tied up. And in the background, it showed Dumbledore standing over you-know-who, who was lying on the ground."
"You...you drew you-know-who?"
"Of course, he was there too."
"But aren't you...afraid of him? Like every other wizard and witch?"
"Only as much as I am afraid of Dumbledore."
As comforting as Luna can be, Harry thought, She'll still always be Luna. She's still crazy. A nice person, but crazy.
A/N: Crappy hinted romance! YAY! Gah, my friend always does that and I'm starting to do it...I hope when someone calls me weird I don't start replying "With a capital P!" Oh well, for all of you diehard Pitt Panthers fans out there, I have one thing to say: How 'bout them cowboys?! *insane laughter* I've been following my friend around saying that for like 2 weeks...Ok, I'm running on to much, I'll shut up now. As always, it's getting better.
Next Chapter: Chapter 5 For The Good Of The Order