Disclaimer: I don't own this. You know that. I know that. My stuffed bear knows that.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry. Did I mention I'm sorry? I just was completely unable to write on this story. But I think it's getting better. Please forgive me? Do you have me? Everybody has a reply here, like always, and it's in order from oldest review to newest. So if you had any questions or anything, check right there because I reply to everybody. I'm thankful for all your reviews! They make me smile. I'm so sorry it's been so long. Enjoy the chapter. It's longer than the last one.
Replies—
Lord of Darkness13—Okay, I don't think there's going to be a face-to-face Voldy confrontation in this story. This is pretty much setting up mood and atmosphere at Hogwarts to try and reflect what's going on in the wizarding world and how it's affecting the students. It's not going to be all friendly and summer campy. Dumbledore's just attempting to make it that way. They might have to pretend that Dumbledore's little trick is working. But things are not improving. Everything still very bad. People will still be fighting when they got out of their current situation at the end of the chapter, but they'll just tried to be a little more quiet about it.
HYPERdingdong39—Sorry it's taken so long to update this. I've been working on other stuff though. Like my UPLARS.
Noddwyd—Thanks. We did it at camp. No, not life or death. I wouldn't trust Draco not to kill Harry, or probably vice-versa either.
Rini Sayian-jin—Thanks. I love making people laugh! I'll try and get over and read your fic. I've got finals starting in like 2 weeks though so the teachers are trying to cram last minute information into our over-stuffed brains.
Harryandginnyforever—Thanks. I don't know how many chapters there will be. I usually don't tend to know because I only have as much done as I post (hence the long time between updates). Eventually Fortress will be updated, I have no clue when. Maybe when this is done. I barely even remember what's happening in Fortress at the moment. Sorry I didn't email you. Been busy. Did I ever email you back? I'm so tired I can't even remember right now.
Kate Lupin Black—Thanks. Yeah, well I'm pretty hopeless in the kitchen, so I understand his trouble. hehe. Hope you like this chapter.
Padfootgurl—Sorry it's taken so long to update. Again. I think it should go faster now. Thanks so much. I can't think of any other Harry/Luna fics at the moment, but there might be one or two in my favorites (I can't remember). I'll check the stuff I reviewed and see if I can find something.
Hrei-siesn—Glad you're back. :-D Hope you like this.
FawkesFreak—Thanks. I've been hinting D/H? I didn't think so…at least, I wasn't trying. Just Dumbledore's attempt to make them be friends. (A failed attempt it will be). Good luck writing. I don't think there will be a Voldy scene. I've got a great line planned for the end of this story as it is so I think I'll keep. This is kind of the preparing for battle year. I think 5 is a special number and since Harry "defied Voldemort 4 times" already, I think the 5th one will be the last one.
SpiffyCool—Thanks. I'm so glad you like it. Thanks for being patient, sorry about the slow updates.
Corwin—Back together? Luna and Harry never broke up. I don't think I've got the heart to break them up. Luna and Harry are definitely together.
MissPadfoot003—Glad you like this. Thanks so much. I've taken so long to update, you're probably allowed on the computer again! Yum, cookies! Oh right, I'm supposed to be uploading this now, aren't I? Sorry the update has taken forever.
Zeromaru: Chaos Mode—Yay! I was pretty proud of that line myself. It wasn't the fact that it was a massage from a cute girl that made him mad, it was that it was "Looney" Lovegood. Plus, I think he might have been a little scared that Harry would get jealous and attack him or something.
Easilyamused—Great penname. So am I. hehe. Yeah, I agree. Draco may be an evil little git, but he's not stupid. I wrote his Sorting, and I think the Hat might have considered him for Ravenclaw for a nanosecond before he demanded Slytherin or something.
Michaela—I love Lily and James stories. They're my latest obsession. I've got 2 in the works on this site, several short stories about them I've already finished and posted here, and some more I'm working on that I haven't posted.
Jbfritz—Thanks. Sorry it's been so long between updates.
Anwyn—Thanks. I tried to keep this in JKR's style. Glad to hear it worked. Don't worry, they aren't really getting along. This is Dumbledore's failing attempt at school unity. It'll only work enough to allow them all to return to their 4 houses before the fighting comes back full-force.
Bookbug2000—I was, but I think it's coming. Stupid writer's block was making it impossible to write anything about Harry. My works in progress for Lily/James are The Fashion Choices of Miss Evans, and Switched. I've also got some short story ones about them: A Lily in the Water, Romantic Candlelight Dinner, James's Bachelor Party, 1 Week 'Til Bells Ring, James's First Time...Changing A Diapers, Dirty Diapers, and Tonks Watch. Okay, some of those are Sirius, but they're all L/J. Hope you like them.
Jake—Thanks. Oops, no missing scene just a clumsy author mistake. He shouldn't have had his wand. I'll have to go back and fix that and write-in a bucket or something.
Hufflepuff1324—Thanks. Things are starting to get better again…I think. Hope you like this chapter.
Iceflower—Danke. (I think that's the right word for thanks, isn't it?) My chemistry teacher is German and he sometimes gets mad and starts shouting at us in it. Yeah, I'm from the USA. California actually. Sorry it's taken so long for me to update.
Jennyroseangel—Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Hope you like this.
Dnd4ever—Hehe. A washing board. Wow that's…ancient. Hehe. Sorry, very hyper right now. Thanks for reviewing.
dumbass1990—Thanks.
Chapter 69: Trust
The Yoga mats had vanished the moment they were distracted enough for everyone's gaze to leave the floor and in a spot where no one had been watching a bench appeared. The bench was a few feet high and just wide enough to stand on.
"Pair up please."
Harry went to Luna. "I choose you."
"No, no, I'm going to pair you up with…Draco. Yes, Harry and Draco and Terry and Ernie."
He'd seen this coming. They'd all seen this coming. Of course the two greatest enemies would be paired up. It was inevitable.
"Stand in the pairs I assigned you with one person in front and the other in back."
Harry and Draco fought over who got to stand in the front and Harry won.
He soon wished he hadn't.
"I want the person in front to fall and the person behind to catch them. This is about trust, so don't look back when you fall. On three? One, two, three."
Harry stood as stiff as a board. There was no way he was trusting Malfoy to catch him.
"There seem to be trust issues here," Luna said thoughtfully.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Draco said sarcastically.
"Don't talk to her like that," Harry snapped.
Luna seemed unperturbed by their remarks. "We're going to try this again. If you don't fall there will be consequences and you won't like them." Her light voice held a serious threat. The lighter her voice was, the worse the threat was.
Harry knew with every ounce of his being that it was a bad idea, but he did it anyway and fell backwards when Luna said "three". Harry hit the floor.
Luna gave Draco a sharp look. "I told you to catch him."
"I had to scratch my arm. Besides he looks heavy." He nudged Harry rather sharply with his foot.
"If you pull another stunt like that you will regret it."
"Yes, I'm sure the snorkacks will get me," he said, rolling his eyes.
Terry and Ernie had decided to cooperate this time and now switched places.
"Again. One, two, three."
Harry fell backwards again, and again Malfoy didn't catch him.
Terry did catch Ernie however. The two of them had decided there was no point to arguing and it wouldn't get them out any faster. Since they passed the first trust test, they were permitted to go sit down.
It was nearly twenty minutes before Harry and Draco passed. Harry figured that Draco was trying to knock him unconscious by dropping him or failing to catch him.
It was time for the next exercise. "Now, it's time to see if after all this, I trust you," Luna said, dazedly. She climbed up on the four-foot high bench/bar. "I'm going to trust that the four of you, standing there, will catch me." Without any apparent hesitation, she fell backwards.
All four of them were gathered around the bench and in their shock, their natural reaction was to stick out their arms and catch her. Their arms caught her haphazardly, but she seemed at ease enough.
She sat up and got down. "Good. Now it's time for each of you to have a turn. Who wants to go first?"
"I'll go," volunteered Ernie.
Ernie climbed onto the bar and Harry, Luna, Terry, and Draco (reluctantly) clasped hands crisscrossed and their hands stayed together as Ernie fell back onto them with considerably more force than Luna had.
Terry was next and all went well with him.
Now it was Harry's turn.
Harry pulled Draco off to the side, "Look, as soon as we get through this we can go back to hating each other, but for now, don't mess this up and we'll get to leave sooner."
Malfoy clenched his teeth. "Deal. I can't stand much more of Loony Lovegood."
"You watch the way you talk about her."
"We'll settle that later."
Harry climbed onto the bar and felt very uneasy. Was he just going to fall backward blindly? What if they didn't hold their hands together right and dropped him? What if they dropped him on purpose? He wasn't always the easiest guy to get along with and they weren't exactly his best friends. It was too late for any doubts. He was falling backwards for the longest 2 seconds of his life before he landed on the bridge of arms. He hadn't hit the floor. He sat up and slid off.
"Good, you boys trust each other. I think we've established a good base here."
The door swung open to reveal Professor Sprout. "Come, chaps, you're the last to finish, but that's no skin off my nose. Your things have already been moved into your new dormitories. Follow me."
The five rather confused students were led to what Harry soon recognized as the third floor corridor. Inside the space where Fluffy had once upon a time ago guarded the entrance to the path to find the Sorcerer's Stone was changed. There were couches and desks set up. Tables and chairs. A few game boards. It looked like a common room. In fact, it was a common room now.
The space of the corridor that Fluffy had blocked from view when they'd come in first year branched off in two directions.
Professor Sprout explained, "Girls on the right. Boys on the left. Your class schedule will be posted on the bulletin board. These will be the living arrangements until further notice. You won't be permitted to leave this area until given permission by Dumbledore. Good behavior will be rewarded, but you can't earn any house points. Your classes will take place in this room as well."
"Where's everyone now?" asked Ernie.
"At dinner, straight through that door." She pointed at a door dead ahead that they had failed to notice. "Go in and eat."
"When do we get our wands back?" asked Draco.
"They are in that bucket by the door, but I wouldn't suggest trying to get them out. The bucket has been charmed so that you can't get your wand out of there without a teacher present and giving permission. Good evening." She left out the way they came in.
Draco, being Draco, tried unsuccessfully to open the door.
"You didn't honestly think we'd be able to get out. Did you?" scoffed Ernie.
"I'm famished," said Terry. "Let's get something to eat."
"Right," said Harry. "Where'd Luna go?" Then he saw that she was already halfway to where Professor Sprout said meals were served.
Not seeing any better option, Harry and the others followed.
As soon as they came in, they found a large circular table with the Head Boy, Head Girl, Prefects, and Quidditch captains sitting around it. Hermione glanced up from where she was eating next to Ron and saw Harry and ran to him. Ron got up and followed her.
Hermione threw her arms around him. "Harry, you're finally here! We were starting to think either you and Malfoy might have killed each other."
"Yeah, we were about to start wagering on your fate," Ron added, smiling and patting his friend on the back.
"Come eat with us," Hermione said, letting go of him.
The three of them walked over to the table and sat back down, while Luna, Terry, Ernie, and Draco all found seats of their own.
"So what's the set up here?" asked Harry.
"It's just like Dumbledore said in his office. Now that we've supposedly worked through the big issues, we're stuck together until we can really learn to get along. We'll have classes together, eat together, and share dormitories and a common room. We can't get out. We can't use our wands. We're practically prisoners," she said this all very matter-of-factly.
Ron shrugged. "It's true. There's only two dormitories. One for all the girls, and one for all the guys. We haven't had any lessons or anything yet since your group just got here. I'm not sure how those'll work out with people taking different N.E.W.T. classes and things and being different levels."
"I'm still trying to figure out how those rooms we were all locked up in worked. I think it was kind of like the room of requirement, but I know I didn't have any control," Harry said.
"I think it was a spell set up to give us what we needed, not what we wanted. Flitwick or Dumbledore must have done it. Like the room of requirement, but different."
"I think Luna was able to do things though," Harry said stubbornly. "I think she's in with Dumbledore on this whole thing. She was ordering us around, calling the shots, and putting us in timeouts."
Ron spit his drink out. "Timeouts?"
"Whenever somebody misbehaved. Honestly, she must have been in on it with Dumbledore. It can't be a coincidence that me, her, and Malfoy were all in the same room. It just can't."
As dinner ended, the group of twenty-something students migrated into the common room. Harry still didn't see how any of this was going to help. The Slytherins were still shunned by all three other houses and kept themselves apart and Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor were still being hostile toward the Slytherins.
Harry didn't see how things could possibly improve. But then again, he didn't see how things could get any worse. That is, he didn't see it until eight o'clock, when Dobby came in and said, "Sirs, and madams, Headmaster Dumbledore sir says lights out. Go to your dormitories."
"What if we're not tired?" asked Pansy, with a smirk.
"Lights out," Dobby said firmly. "Dumbledore says so!" All the lights in the common room went out, and the only remaining lights were those that led into the two dormitories.
"Goodnight, Hermione. Goodnight, Harry."
"Goodnight, Hermione. Goodnight, Ron."
"Goodnight, Harry. Goodnight, Ron." Hermione gave Harry a hug and tried to peck Ron on the cheek. In the near darkness she missed and got his mouth (which she didn't mind, of course).
Everyone shuffled off to their dorms. This would be a long night.
Hope you liked this. I swear I won't go so long between updates again. I just had now will to write and no idea what to write. I'm going to try to update all my stories equally and in order so this should be about every 4th or 5th update. Hope you like this. Thanks for your patience. Again, I'm so sorry for the long wait!