Chapter 29: Found at Last
"And then they went screaming, 'Professor Flitwick' all the way down the hall. I mean,
what was up with that?"
Hermione chewed on her carrots.
"Well, she said leisurely, "If they asked you if you map made mistakes and went to
Professor Flitwick about it afterwards, then I think they saw something on there that
wasn't supposed to be on there!"
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
Hermione opened her mouth, but whatever she said was drowned out by Mcgonagall's
booming voice.
"WE NEED ALL THE TEACHERS TO COME UP TO PROFESSOR
DUMBLEDORE'S STUDY IMMEDIATELY!!!! I REPEAT IMMEDIATELY!!!! WE
ALSO NEED ALL THE RAVENCLAW STUDENTS TO RETURN TO THEIR
DORMITORIES RIGHT NOW!!!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY, I REPEAT THIS IS
AN EMERGENCY!!!!! FOR THE REST OF THE STUDENTS, NOBODY IS TO
LEAVE THE SCHOOL UNTIL YOUR HEADS TELL YOU. THAT IS ALL."
Students babbled excitedly as they talked about what Mcgonagall just announced. The
Ravenclaws looked especially bewildered as they headed up the marble staircase. Harry
looked, and he was sure Cho wore a expression of great fear. What was Cho so scared
about?
Harry was about to return to eating his corn when the doors were thrust wide open. Harry
watched as Cornelius Fudge and several Aurors gush from the outside.
"Where is she?" Fudge announced. "I got the word straight away. Where is she?"
"She is not here yet Fudge."
Harry surveyed Dumbledore crossing the threshold to Fudge. His face was a cold white.
His eyes didn't hold his usual sparkle and his body was stiff and rigid.
"We need to talk in my office. Right now." Dumbledore looked through the bamboozled
mass of students.
"Right, of course. Come along Moody, Lupin." Fudge signaled to two men behind him.
Harry knew these men. Both had been his Defense against the Dark Arts teachers a few
years ago and Lupin was an old friend of his father.
Harry got out of his seat. If the Aurors were here, that meant that something was wrong,
deadly wrong.
"Lupin, Moody what are you guys doing here?"
Moody ignored Harry but Lupin faced him.
"Go back to your table Harry." He said sternly. "We will talk later."
"But Lupin -"
"No buts Harry. Go back."
Harry stared at Lupin's withdrawing back. What the fucking hell was going on???
Harry crumpled into his seat.
"There's Hagrid. Let's ask him!" Hermione pointed out suggestively.
But Hagrid wouldn't talk to them either.
"Go back 'n' eat yeh lunch." Hagrid said. "It wou' be a good thing if yeh didn't 'now.
Cmon Tonks."
Hagrid signaled another Auror, this time a female. She nodded sympathetically at the trio
before leaving with the half giant, leaving Harry more disgruntled than ever.
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Luna wiped her mouth of any trace of vomit. She had started a regular base of puking
now, leaving her thinner than ever. She had raised her shirt the other day to stare at the
ribs that pushed through her skin.
Now Luna received a feeling that she had never felt before. Sleepiness, well that wasn't
the word. She felt sleepy, but it was a different kind of fatigue that she had never
experienced before.
Luna knew it was Death, snaking its way into her. It was only a matter of time till – well
she didn't want to think about it.
Luna felt tears slide. They felt refreshing, cool on her sweltering head. It was true. She
was going to die. Her dreams, hopes, they were never going to come true. She had
always wanted children. Now that vision was gone, burnt out like a candle. Closing her
eyes for the ultimate time, Luna laid down. She hadn't even gotten to express her
feelings to Harry. Now she would never get the chance.
For the last time, Luna fell asleep, not realizing that in a matter of minutes, she would
finally leave her cage.
================================
"LUNA!!!!!!"
Frances watched in anguish and terror as Luna's body appeared in the
clutches of two Aurors.
"Please," Frances pleaded silently, "please don't let her be dead!"
Frances wrapped her arm around a bawling Lissa. Luna couldn't be dead, she just
couldn't. If Luna could handle Cho's tormenting commands, then she could handle
anything.
"Dumbledore," Mcgonagall exclaimed, "is she alive?"
Dumbledore joined the two Aurors.
"Yes," he said, "but barely. We need to get her to the hospital wing right away."
Mcgonagall nodded. Flitwick twittered with worry as they loaded the girl onto a
Stretcher.
There was not a person who wasn't feeling grim and disconsolate. Even Snape's pale
face was a hint paler than usual and Hagrid was trembling with anxiety.
Dumbledore went around the corner to a brittle fireplace.
"It is weak," he said softly, "But it will work.
After starting a fire, Dumbledore reached into his robes and pulled a sack of green
powder out. Throwing the powder into the fire, which turned a lime green, Dumbledore
stood in it, shouted "Hogwarts", and evaporated.
The two Aurors and Luna went next, closely followed by Fudge, Mcgonagall, and
Flitwick.
"Go on yeh two." Hagrid pushed the girls to the fire. "Tonks 'n' I will be right behind
yeh."
Both entered the flames.
"Hogwarts" Frances stuttered, as she was still upset about Luna and Lissa couldn't say
anything as she was in a storm of tears.
Frances closed her eyes. Wind scurried past her, zigzagging every which way. In wasn't
until Frances felt something hard slam through her feet that she opened her eyes.
=================================
"Did you hear? Cho and her friends have been expelled!"
"Really? Why??"
"Cause they confessed to kidnapping Luna Lovegood under the Veritaserum."
"No way! Really?"
"Yes it's true, shhhhh!"
Lavender and Parvati gazed at Harry, Hermione, and Ron who had just entered the
Common Room.
"Why the hell is everyone so gloomy?" Hermione cried, glancing around at all the
gloomy faces.
"You mean you haven't heard?" Neville whispered sadly. Ginny patted him tenderly.
"What do you mean, we haven't heard?" Harry asked.
Parvati burst into tears. Dean came over and cradled her in his arms.
Lavender nodded at Ginny and Neville.
"Cmon, yes even you Hermione." Neville said faintly as he started up the stairs to the
seventh year boy's dormitory. Once everyone was settled, Neville started. "Well, the
reason they, the teacher's ordered all the Ravenclaws back into their dormitory was well
because, they found Luna."
Hermione's eyes widened. Ron stared at Neville as if his ear was suddenly interesting.
Harry felt suddenly cold.
"Yes they did." Ginny gripped her hands tightly. "Well, you see, she was kidnapped.
That was why she had disappeared before the ball."
"Wait a minute." Hermione stood up. "She was at the ball. So if she disappeared, which
I highly wonder, it would have been after."
"No Hermione." Lavender whispered. "She was abducted three days before the ball.
Cause, well, they served all the Ravenclaws tea with Veritaserum and under the
Veritaserum, Cho and her goony friends confessed to the kidnapping."
Hermione gasped. Ron looked slightly faint. Harry couldn't think of anything to say.
"They also confessed," Ginny continued, "To drinking Polyjuice potion the night of the
ball in hopes you would give up on Luna Harry. So that wasn't Luna you saw that night,
it was Cho."
Hermione took a giant intake of breath. Ron wasn't so sure.
"How do they know?" he asked.
"Well for one thing, they were under Veritaserum so they had to tell the truth. Second,
the teacher's went through the girl's things and found a bottle of Polyjuice potion and
several of pale blond hairs."
Hermione looked as if she was sick. Harry felt a massive pain stink through his chest.
So it had been Cho, not Luna. He felt appalled with himself.
"So where was she?" Harry asked.
"In the Shrieking Shack." Neville said. "Frances and Lissa saw her name in there on
your Marauder's Map Harry. That's why they asked you if it made mistakes."
Harry got up. He couldn't take it anymore. Rushing out of the room, he started rushing
and did not stop until he was at the Hospital Wing.
"I need to see Luna!" Harry gasped.
Madam Pomfrey stared at him sorrowfully and clucked her tounge.
"You can't Mr. Potter." She watched Harry start to argue but didn't let him. "They just
took her to St. Mungos a few minutes ago. She was this close to dying (Madam Pomfrey
held her thumbs an inch apart). They don't know if she's going to make it Harry. She
was so terrible, that it would take a powerful miracle to have her live. She's almost dead
Harry, and she might not even make it though the night."
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(sniff) (sniff) hang on I gotta get a tissue (runs away and returns with a tissue) I hope you (sniff) enjoyed (sniff) it.