Harry looked around the inside of the Shrieking Shack. Nothing had
changed.
The chairs were still broken; everything in the bedroom was in tatters. Hermione pointed her wand at one of the chairs and said, "Reparo!" She sat down in the repaired chair. Ginny followed her example and did the same. Harry, Ron, and Neville sat down on the ruined bed.
Luna made herself comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Nobody exactly knew where to start.
Ginny broke the silence, "Okay, Luna, how much do you know?"
"Quite a bit. You'd be surprised what people will say when they don't think you pay attention."
"Well, we're paying attention. Start talking. Remember, this is the Shrieking Shack, considered the most haunted building in all Britain. No one will find it odd if you started to scream," warned Hermione, there was a threat clearly in her voice and eyes.
"It's obvious that Dumbledore knows more than the Ministry. So he's in charge, whether they'll recognize it or not. But Dumbledore's had supporters since before the Ministry decided to accept the truth." She rearranged her Butterbeer cap necklace before continuing. "I was in the hallway tying my shoe when I heard Dumbledore telling McGonagall to keep in contact with the guard and telling Professor Snape to check out a place called Borgin and Burkes. I don't know where that is but I know its not in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley." She adjusted her wand, which was in its customary spot behind her ear. She was obviously in no rush. "The three of you," her eyes turned to Ron, Harry, and then Hermione, "have been in league with him for ages. Ginny has too, I think, just not quite so deeply. Neville hasn't been directly involved until recently, I think. And the teachers have been somewhat involved too, some more than others. Snape is definitely close with Dumbledore though that's been obvious for some time now. McGonagall too. I know Dumbledore didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire two years ago, I don't think he'd put you in harm's way. That man, Hagrid, he's involved too; I'm sure of it. He has a fondness for you, Harry; but then again, doesn't everybody?" She didn't wait for an answer. "True I suppose Delano doesn't but that's because of your parents. You're really quite a controversial topic in the Ravenclaw common room, you know." This time she did stop and her eyes rested on Harry, expecting him to answer.
"I- I- I didn't know that," he said.
"Oh yes," her pale eyes seemed brighter. "When you were dating Cho last year you should have heard the discussions."
"Did you take part in these discussions?" asked Ginny, interested.
"Oh no, they didn't even know I was listening. No one pays me any attention. Some sided with you and said that Cho really was too much of a crybaby and were glad the two of you broke up." There was something of a smile playing on her lips, but it vanished quickly. "Others said that you weren't nearly sensitive enough to her. The ones that decided you weren't sensitive fancied Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory. Or were angry about Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw at Quiditch."
"Can we get back to the topic at hand?" asked Hermione, impatiently.
Harry rushed to agree, "Right. Back to what you know about Dumbledore."
Luna tilted her head, "But I thought this was the topic at hand now. If you insist, unorthodox though his methods of running Hogwarts are, Dumbledore is a genius. He agrees with me about the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. He handles everything with great skill. Rather reminds me of Professor Delano. I think they could be related. Something about her eyes. What are we going to do about the D.A.? I don't suppose you want everyone in it to know about this place."
"That might not be a bad idea," Ginny said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" asked Ron. "No little sister of mine is going to come here by herself. You could get hurt by the Whomping Willow! That tree nearly killed, Harry and I. You should go back to Gryffindor Tower right now."
"Shut-up, Ron. You and Harry were twelve and you were flying a stolen car. I'm fifteen." She sat up a little taller. "I can take care of myself quite nicely."
"Yeah, you're become more like Fred and George every day."
"There's nothing wrong with that. Better to be like them than like Percy!" she said. Her ears were turning red as she got angrier. Ron's were too.
"But you could be more like Bill or Charlie!"
"That's not exactly safe either, you know! Curse-breaking or dealing with dragons. For your information I've been testing some of Fred and George's new pranks."
"Not anymore you won't. I'm going to write to mum as soon as we get back. That's not safe. You are not going to do that anymore. Do you hear me? Ginny, are you li-" Suddenly there was no sound coming out of Ron's mouth even though it kept moving.
Ginny appeared to be trying to shout back but no sound was coming out of her either.
Luna yawned; her wand was in her hand. "We should be getting back now, shouldn't we?" She looked at Neville, Harry, and Hermione; obviously she was satisfied that no sound would be coming out of them.
"Yeah. Right," said Neville as he got to his feet.
Hermione's mouth was a tight line and resembled McGongall's when she was mad. "Come on, Ron, Ginny, I'll reverse that spell." She led them away. Neville started on the stairs behind them.
Luna moved as if to follow the rest.
"Hey, Luna? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." She stuck her wand back behind her ear.
"Why do you play dumb all the time?"
"I've never played dumb, Harry. I don't always answer questions and I'm usually quiet, but I never answer wrong on purpose or pretend not to know the answer when I do know it."
"Well, I guess that isn't what I meant," he said.
"What did you mean?"
"I meant.well why don't you act like everybody else? You're smart and nobody knows it. You're even kind of funny. But because of how you act everybody just thinks you're weird." He glanced at her. Luna's hair was as disarrayed as it always was, her Butterbeer cap necklace was just as bizarre as her radish earrings. She looked batty.
"I'm different, Harry. That's all. I walk to the beat of my own drum and what other people think or do just doesn't fit with my music."
"I'm still not really understanding you."
"I'll put it simply then: I say what I mean and I do what I want. I do what I want and I don't think about what others are going to say or think about it because frankly, their opinions don't mean anything to me."
"They don't?"
"No. It doesn't bother me that they call me Looney Lovegood because they're all twits anyway. Very narrow-minded. And so stupid. But that's why it doesn't bother me. I'm me. And I'm happy with who I am. If I died tomorrow, in the last minutes before my death I know I'd be dying happy because I'd know regrets."
Harry had to sit down again. This was kind of intense. No regrets? Everybody had regrets. He had lots of regrets. "No regrets?"
"Well, look at it this way. Every single instant of life up until right now has had some part in forming who you are. Even this conversation. Look at yourself, are you happy with who you are right now? Think about it. Because if you're happy with yourself right now then you can't possibly have any regrets. I like who I am, so I don't regret anything. Not even my mum's death. I miss her and wish I could have her with me now but do you think I'd be with my dad so much and spend so much time with him if my mum had lived."
Harry had to think about this. Crazy as it sounded, Luna was making sense. He was still thinking when she got up and left. He followed her and found that the rest of his friends had been waiting while he and she had been talking. Together the six of them went back to Hogwarts.
*********************************************************** AUTHOR'S NOTE: Luna's whole little philosophical discussion there may or not make any sense, it just happens to be one I agree with. Remember this is Luna: she doesn't have to make sense! Hehe. Alrighty, then. R&R.
The chairs were still broken; everything in the bedroom was in tatters. Hermione pointed her wand at one of the chairs and said, "Reparo!" She sat down in the repaired chair. Ginny followed her example and did the same. Harry, Ron, and Neville sat down on the ruined bed.
Luna made herself comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Nobody exactly knew where to start.
Ginny broke the silence, "Okay, Luna, how much do you know?"
"Quite a bit. You'd be surprised what people will say when they don't think you pay attention."
"Well, we're paying attention. Start talking. Remember, this is the Shrieking Shack, considered the most haunted building in all Britain. No one will find it odd if you started to scream," warned Hermione, there was a threat clearly in her voice and eyes.
"It's obvious that Dumbledore knows more than the Ministry. So he's in charge, whether they'll recognize it or not. But Dumbledore's had supporters since before the Ministry decided to accept the truth." She rearranged her Butterbeer cap necklace before continuing. "I was in the hallway tying my shoe when I heard Dumbledore telling McGonagall to keep in contact with the guard and telling Professor Snape to check out a place called Borgin and Burkes. I don't know where that is but I know its not in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley." She adjusted her wand, which was in its customary spot behind her ear. She was obviously in no rush. "The three of you," her eyes turned to Ron, Harry, and then Hermione, "have been in league with him for ages. Ginny has too, I think, just not quite so deeply. Neville hasn't been directly involved until recently, I think. And the teachers have been somewhat involved too, some more than others. Snape is definitely close with Dumbledore though that's been obvious for some time now. McGonagall too. I know Dumbledore didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire two years ago, I don't think he'd put you in harm's way. That man, Hagrid, he's involved too; I'm sure of it. He has a fondness for you, Harry; but then again, doesn't everybody?" She didn't wait for an answer. "True I suppose Delano doesn't but that's because of your parents. You're really quite a controversial topic in the Ravenclaw common room, you know." This time she did stop and her eyes rested on Harry, expecting him to answer.
"I- I- I didn't know that," he said.
"Oh yes," her pale eyes seemed brighter. "When you were dating Cho last year you should have heard the discussions."
"Did you take part in these discussions?" asked Ginny, interested.
"Oh no, they didn't even know I was listening. No one pays me any attention. Some sided with you and said that Cho really was too much of a crybaby and were glad the two of you broke up." There was something of a smile playing on her lips, but it vanished quickly. "Others said that you weren't nearly sensitive enough to her. The ones that decided you weren't sensitive fancied Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory. Or were angry about Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw at Quiditch."
"Can we get back to the topic at hand?" asked Hermione, impatiently.
Harry rushed to agree, "Right. Back to what you know about Dumbledore."
Luna tilted her head, "But I thought this was the topic at hand now. If you insist, unorthodox though his methods of running Hogwarts are, Dumbledore is a genius. He agrees with me about the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. He handles everything with great skill. Rather reminds me of Professor Delano. I think they could be related. Something about her eyes. What are we going to do about the D.A.? I don't suppose you want everyone in it to know about this place."
"That might not be a bad idea," Ginny said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" asked Ron. "No little sister of mine is going to come here by herself. You could get hurt by the Whomping Willow! That tree nearly killed, Harry and I. You should go back to Gryffindor Tower right now."
"Shut-up, Ron. You and Harry were twelve and you were flying a stolen car. I'm fifteen." She sat up a little taller. "I can take care of myself quite nicely."
"Yeah, you're become more like Fred and George every day."
"There's nothing wrong with that. Better to be like them than like Percy!" she said. Her ears were turning red as she got angrier. Ron's were too.
"But you could be more like Bill or Charlie!"
"That's not exactly safe either, you know! Curse-breaking or dealing with dragons. For your information I've been testing some of Fred and George's new pranks."
"Not anymore you won't. I'm going to write to mum as soon as we get back. That's not safe. You are not going to do that anymore. Do you hear me? Ginny, are you li-" Suddenly there was no sound coming out of Ron's mouth even though it kept moving.
Ginny appeared to be trying to shout back but no sound was coming out of her either.
Luna yawned; her wand was in her hand. "We should be getting back now, shouldn't we?" She looked at Neville, Harry, and Hermione; obviously she was satisfied that no sound would be coming out of them.
"Yeah. Right," said Neville as he got to his feet.
Hermione's mouth was a tight line and resembled McGongall's when she was mad. "Come on, Ron, Ginny, I'll reverse that spell." She led them away. Neville started on the stairs behind them.
Luna moved as if to follow the rest.
"Hey, Luna? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." She stuck her wand back behind her ear.
"Why do you play dumb all the time?"
"I've never played dumb, Harry. I don't always answer questions and I'm usually quiet, but I never answer wrong on purpose or pretend not to know the answer when I do know it."
"Well, I guess that isn't what I meant," he said.
"What did you mean?"
"I meant.well why don't you act like everybody else? You're smart and nobody knows it. You're even kind of funny. But because of how you act everybody just thinks you're weird." He glanced at her. Luna's hair was as disarrayed as it always was, her Butterbeer cap necklace was just as bizarre as her radish earrings. She looked batty.
"I'm different, Harry. That's all. I walk to the beat of my own drum and what other people think or do just doesn't fit with my music."
"I'm still not really understanding you."
"I'll put it simply then: I say what I mean and I do what I want. I do what I want and I don't think about what others are going to say or think about it because frankly, their opinions don't mean anything to me."
"They don't?"
"No. It doesn't bother me that they call me Looney Lovegood because they're all twits anyway. Very narrow-minded. And so stupid. But that's why it doesn't bother me. I'm me. And I'm happy with who I am. If I died tomorrow, in the last minutes before my death I know I'd be dying happy because I'd know regrets."
Harry had to sit down again. This was kind of intense. No regrets? Everybody had regrets. He had lots of regrets. "No regrets?"
"Well, look at it this way. Every single instant of life up until right now has had some part in forming who you are. Even this conversation. Look at yourself, are you happy with who you are right now? Think about it. Because if you're happy with yourself right now then you can't possibly have any regrets. I like who I am, so I don't regret anything. Not even my mum's death. I miss her and wish I could have her with me now but do you think I'd be with my dad so much and spend so much time with him if my mum had lived."
Harry had to think about this. Crazy as it sounded, Luna was making sense. He was still thinking when she got up and left. He followed her and found that the rest of his friends had been waiting while he and she had been talking. Together the six of them went back to Hogwarts.
*********************************************************** AUTHOR'S NOTE: Luna's whole little philosophical discussion there may or not make any sense, it just happens to be one I agree with. Remember this is Luna: she doesn't have to make sense! Hehe. Alrighty, then. R&R.