Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews!
Mela&risi: you'll find out more about Harry's dreams eventually.
Flora: Yes, Luna is a Seer. As for your other questions, I can't answer them right now, but you'll find out ...
Jeanne2: I agree, Pansy is rude. And here's a whole chapter about Luna for you. As for your comment about Voldemort, I can't say anything about that ...
actionmaster: Yes, poor John is being kept in the dark for an awfully long time here. He'll be back in a few chapters' time.
Artemis1860, Hakkai – Gojyo – Goku – Sanzo, alecatqand all the others who mentioned Pansy: You'll be seeing more of Pansy soon.
Chapter 15
North Tower
Harry stared at the letter. 'What the – ?' he said out loud. Go to London to have drinks with Pansy Parkinson – there was no way he was going to ruin his Saturday by doing that. He crumpled up the letter and threw it in the wastepaper basket. Then he suddenly remembered what Luna had said the night before at Dinner. She had asked him when he was going to London ... What exactly had Luna seen in the Orb? Harry shook his head and decided that he was going to have a talk with Luna right after breakfast.
Harry had decided that on weekends, he wouldn't go down to the Great Hall for breakfast, but stay in his rooms and eat with Lily instead. On weekdays Lily had both breakfast and lunch with the Macmillans in Hogsmeade. Harry went to wake her up, and conjured up a meal for them on the table in their little living room.
After breakfast Harry suggested that they walk up to North Tower to meet the Divination teacher, and Lily was immediately excited at the prospect and wanted to leave at once. Before they left, Harry took Pansy's letter out of the wastepaper basket, smoothed it out, and put it in his pocket.
It took almost ten minutes to get from the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's rooms to North Tower, but Lily didn't seem to mind. She had only been on a quick tour of the castle so far, and still found the moving stairs, the talking paintings and the ghosts very exciting. When they had climbed the last few spiralling steps and reached the landing with the circular trap door, both Harry and Lily were panting. The brass plaque on the door still read 'Sybill Trelawney, Divination teacher.'
'Luna?' Harry called.
There was a short pause, and Harry was just about to call again, when the trap door opened and a silvery ladder descended at their feet, just as it had years ago, when Harry had his first Divination lesson. Lily looked very impressed, and she and Harry both climbed the ladder up to the classroom.
The room was still crammed with tables, chintz armchairs and pouffes, as it had been in Trelawney's days, but there were no crystal balls and teacups on the shelves, no perfumed fire and no red scarves covering the lamps. All the windows were open, and Luna was standing at one of them, tearing down the curtains. When she heard them enter the room, she turned around.
'Hello, Harry,' she said, smiling dreamily.
'Hello.' Harry looked around the room. 'You've been busy already, I see.'
'Yes.' Luna threw the curtains on the floor, where there was already a big heap of old fabric. 'I've still got lots more to do though. You'll have to come back and have a look again when I'm done, too.'
'We'd love to,' said Harry, looking at Lily, whose eyes were darting excitedly in every direction. 'This is my daughter, Lily. Lily, this is Professor Lovegood, an old friend of mine.'
Luna smiled at Lily, who said politely, 'Nice to meet you, Professor Lovegood.'
'Nice to meet you too,' said Luna, looking appraisingly at Lily. 'You have your father's eyes.'
'Yes,' said Lily. 'Does that mean something particular? In Divination, I mean.'
Luna shrugged. 'It might ... then again it might not. One can never be certain in Divination. Of anything.' She looked around searchingly, wrinkling her nose. 'What's that smell? I thought I'd finally got rid of all the fumes left by Trelawney.'
Harry and Lily sniffed too.
'It seems to be coming from you, Dad,' said Lily.
'Oh ...' Harry said guiltily. He pulled out Pansy's letter. 'It must be this ...'
'What is it?' said Lily.
'Er ... just something I wanted to discuss with Professor Lovegood,' Harry said evasively. 'Lily, why don't you ...' He hesitated.
'In the other room there's a big box full of crystal balls, teacups, playing cards and all sorts of strange things,' said Luna. 'If you want, Lily, you can go and have a look at it. If there's anything you like, you can keep it.'
'All right.' Lily left the classroom.
'Are you sure that's wise, letting a nine-year-old have all those things?' said Harry, looking doubtfully at Luna.
'It's only Trelawney's old stuff,' Luna said dismissively. 'It's completely harmless. What did you want to talk about?'
'Oh, right,' said Harry. He was about to hand the letter to Luna, then suddenly changed his mind. 'What, you mean you don't know already? I thought you'd have seen that in the Orb ages ago,' he said with a smile.
Luna sighed and sat down in one of the armchairs. 'As I said,' she said patiently, with the air of someone who had had to explain this countless times before, 'Divination is a very imprecise branch of Magic. I can't just look into the Orb and see everything that's going to happen to a person. It would be pretty boring if I could. So, no, I have no idea why you're here.'
Harry sat down on the pouffe next to Luna's armchair and thrust the letter at her. She eyed through it quickly. Harry had expected her to laugh, or at least smile, but her dreamy expression didn't change at all.
'Are you going?' she said after a while.
'You tell me,' Harry said irritably.
'As I said – ' Luna began, but Harry interrupted her.
'Yes, yes, Divination is a very imprecise branch of Magic, I know. But youhaveseen something about me going to London, haven't you? If you already know I'm going, there's no point in our discussing whether I should or not.'
Luna was quiet for a moment, but Harry was startled to see that her dreamy expression had suddenly been replaced by a closed, guarded one. He had never seen Luna look like that.
'What I may or may not have seen in the Orb is of no importance here,' she said finally. 'It would be very dangerous if you let your decisions be influenced by what I had seen in the Orb. Besides, the fact that I have seen something doesn't mean that it is definitely going to happen. The future is very complex and frequently prone to change. Hence, as Tonks likes to refer to it, all the "rubbish" I come out with. In my early career as a Seer I sometimes made the mistake of thinking that all my predictions would come true – I was a bit gullible. But now I know better.'
Harry looked at Luna, whose expression was still inscrutable. It reminded him of someone, but he wasn't quite sure who. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. And you're right, of course. It's just that ... I've had so much on my mind lately, and now Pansy wants me to take her out for drinks on top of everything ...'
'That's quite all right,' said Luna. 'I can't say I'd be very pleased if I got a similar letter ...'
'So, do you think I should go?'
Luna thought for a while. 'Well, she doesn't know that it's you, Harry, so as far as she's concerned you don't know anything about her. She'll probably be pretty insulted if you turn her down.'
Harry sighed. 'Yeah, you've got a point there. So I guess I'll have to go, then.'
'You could just buy her a quick drink, and then say that you're busy and have to go,' Luna suggested.
Harry nodded and looked at his watch. 'What about Lily – I don't just want to leave her alone in the castle ...'
'I'll be happy to take her,' Luna said. 'I'm sure we'll think of something fun to do. It'll give me an excuse to postpone the cleaning.'
'Thanks a lot, Luna.' Harry got up. 'Well, I'd better get going. I'll be as quick as I can.'
'Oh, take your time,' said Luna. 'I mean, while you're in London you might as well take the opportunity of doing something else after you've got rid of Pansy. You know, do some shopping or something.'
'Well, if you're sure you don't mind I might just take a quick look in Flourish & Blotts,' said Harry.
He went to say Goodbye to Lily, who was still digging her way through the box of Trelawney's old things, and didn't in the least mind being left with Luna. Then he started climbing down the silvery ladder again.
As he took one last glance at Luna, who was still sitting in the armchair, Harry suddenly remembered who she had reminded him of earlier. It was Snape. That closed, inscrutable expression – that was how Snape had always looked. He stopped and looked up at her again, quickly, but Luna was wearing her usual, dreamy expression again.
'Goodbye, Harry,' she said, smiling.
'Goodbye,' said Harry, frowning slightly. For a fleeting moment he felt as though he was leaving his child in danger, but then he shook his head. This was Luna Lovegood – she wasn't dangerous.
Mela&risi: you'll find out more about Harry's dreams eventually.
Flora: Yes, Luna is a Seer. As for your other questions, I can't answer them right now, but you'll find out ...
Jeanne2: I agree, Pansy is rude. And here's a whole chapter about Luna for you. As for your comment about Voldemort, I can't say anything about that ...
actionmaster: Yes, poor John is being kept in the dark for an awfully long time here. He'll be back in a few chapters' time.
Artemis1860, Hakkai – Gojyo – Goku – Sanzo, alecatqand all the others who mentioned Pansy: You'll be seeing more of Pansy soon.
Chapter 15
North Tower
Harry stared at the letter. 'What the – ?' he said out loud. Go to London to have drinks with Pansy Parkinson – there was no way he was going to ruin his Saturday by doing that. He crumpled up the letter and threw it in the wastepaper basket. Then he suddenly remembered what Luna had said the night before at Dinner. She had asked him when he was going to London ... What exactly had Luna seen in the Orb? Harry shook his head and decided that he was going to have a talk with Luna right after breakfast.
Harry had decided that on weekends, he wouldn't go down to the Great Hall for breakfast, but stay in his rooms and eat with Lily instead. On weekdays Lily had both breakfast and lunch with the Macmillans in Hogsmeade. Harry went to wake her up, and conjured up a meal for them on the table in their little living room.
After breakfast Harry suggested that they walk up to North Tower to meet the Divination teacher, and Lily was immediately excited at the prospect and wanted to leave at once. Before they left, Harry took Pansy's letter out of the wastepaper basket, smoothed it out, and put it in his pocket.
It took almost ten minutes to get from the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's rooms to North Tower, but Lily didn't seem to mind. She had only been on a quick tour of the castle so far, and still found the moving stairs, the talking paintings and the ghosts very exciting. When they had climbed the last few spiralling steps and reached the landing with the circular trap door, both Harry and Lily were panting. The brass plaque on the door still read 'Sybill Trelawney, Divination teacher.'
'Luna?' Harry called.
There was a short pause, and Harry was just about to call again, when the trap door opened and a silvery ladder descended at their feet, just as it had years ago, when Harry had his first Divination lesson. Lily looked very impressed, and she and Harry both climbed the ladder up to the classroom.
The room was still crammed with tables, chintz armchairs and pouffes, as it had been in Trelawney's days, but there were no crystal balls and teacups on the shelves, no perfumed fire and no red scarves covering the lamps. All the windows were open, and Luna was standing at one of them, tearing down the curtains. When she heard them enter the room, she turned around.
'Hello, Harry,' she said, smiling dreamily.
'Hello.' Harry looked around the room. 'You've been busy already, I see.'
'Yes.' Luna threw the curtains on the floor, where there was already a big heap of old fabric. 'I've still got lots more to do though. You'll have to come back and have a look again when I'm done, too.'
'We'd love to,' said Harry, looking at Lily, whose eyes were darting excitedly in every direction. 'This is my daughter, Lily. Lily, this is Professor Lovegood, an old friend of mine.'
Luna smiled at Lily, who said politely, 'Nice to meet you, Professor Lovegood.'
'Nice to meet you too,' said Luna, looking appraisingly at Lily. 'You have your father's eyes.'
'Yes,' said Lily. 'Does that mean something particular? In Divination, I mean.'
Luna shrugged. 'It might ... then again it might not. One can never be certain in Divination. Of anything.' She looked around searchingly, wrinkling her nose. 'What's that smell? I thought I'd finally got rid of all the fumes left by Trelawney.'
Harry and Lily sniffed too.
'It seems to be coming from you, Dad,' said Lily.
'Oh ...' Harry said guiltily. He pulled out Pansy's letter. 'It must be this ...'
'What is it?' said Lily.
'Er ... just something I wanted to discuss with Professor Lovegood,' Harry said evasively. 'Lily, why don't you ...' He hesitated.
'In the other room there's a big box full of crystal balls, teacups, playing cards and all sorts of strange things,' said Luna. 'If you want, Lily, you can go and have a look at it. If there's anything you like, you can keep it.'
'All right.' Lily left the classroom.
'Are you sure that's wise, letting a nine-year-old have all those things?' said Harry, looking doubtfully at Luna.
'It's only Trelawney's old stuff,' Luna said dismissively. 'It's completely harmless. What did you want to talk about?'
'Oh, right,' said Harry. He was about to hand the letter to Luna, then suddenly changed his mind. 'What, you mean you don't know already? I thought you'd have seen that in the Orb ages ago,' he said with a smile.
Luna sighed and sat down in one of the armchairs. 'As I said,' she said patiently, with the air of someone who had had to explain this countless times before, 'Divination is a very imprecise branch of Magic. I can't just look into the Orb and see everything that's going to happen to a person. It would be pretty boring if I could. So, no, I have no idea why you're here.'
Harry sat down on the pouffe next to Luna's armchair and thrust the letter at her. She eyed through it quickly. Harry had expected her to laugh, or at least smile, but her dreamy expression didn't change at all.
'Are you going?' she said after a while.
'You tell me,' Harry said irritably.
'As I said – ' Luna began, but Harry interrupted her.
'Yes, yes, Divination is a very imprecise branch of Magic, I know. But youhaveseen something about me going to London, haven't you? If you already know I'm going, there's no point in our discussing whether I should or not.'
Luna was quiet for a moment, but Harry was startled to see that her dreamy expression had suddenly been replaced by a closed, guarded one. He had never seen Luna look like that.
'What I may or may not have seen in the Orb is of no importance here,' she said finally. 'It would be very dangerous if you let your decisions be influenced by what I had seen in the Orb. Besides, the fact that I have seen something doesn't mean that it is definitely going to happen. The future is very complex and frequently prone to change. Hence, as Tonks likes to refer to it, all the "rubbish" I come out with. In my early career as a Seer I sometimes made the mistake of thinking that all my predictions would come true – I was a bit gullible. But now I know better.'
Harry looked at Luna, whose expression was still inscrutable. It reminded him of someone, but he wasn't quite sure who. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. And you're right, of course. It's just that ... I've had so much on my mind lately, and now Pansy wants me to take her out for drinks on top of everything ...'
'That's quite all right,' said Luna. 'I can't say I'd be very pleased if I got a similar letter ...'
'So, do you think I should go?'
Luna thought for a while. 'Well, she doesn't know that it's you, Harry, so as far as she's concerned you don't know anything about her. She'll probably be pretty insulted if you turn her down.'
Harry sighed. 'Yeah, you've got a point there. So I guess I'll have to go, then.'
'You could just buy her a quick drink, and then say that you're busy and have to go,' Luna suggested.
Harry nodded and looked at his watch. 'What about Lily – I don't just want to leave her alone in the castle ...'
'I'll be happy to take her,' Luna said. 'I'm sure we'll think of something fun to do. It'll give me an excuse to postpone the cleaning.'
'Thanks a lot, Luna.' Harry got up. 'Well, I'd better get going. I'll be as quick as I can.'
'Oh, take your time,' said Luna. 'I mean, while you're in London you might as well take the opportunity of doing something else after you've got rid of Pansy. You know, do some shopping or something.'
'Well, if you're sure you don't mind I might just take a quick look in Flourish & Blotts,' said Harry.
He went to say Goodbye to Lily, who was still digging her way through the box of Trelawney's old things, and didn't in the least mind being left with Luna. Then he started climbing down the silvery ladder again.
As he took one last glance at Luna, who was still sitting in the armchair, Harry suddenly remembered who she had reminded him of earlier. It was Snape. That closed, inscrutable expression – that was how Snape had always looked. He stopped and looked up at her again, quickly, but Luna was wearing her usual, dreamy expression again.
'Goodbye, Harry,' she said, smiling.
'Goodbye,' said Harry, frowning slightly. For a fleeting moment he felt as though he was leaving his child in danger, but then he shook his head. This was Luna Lovegood – she wasn't dangerous.
