The Rising of the Six: Ring of Hope

by Diabolikal Luna

Luna Lovegood is about to start her sixth year at Hogwarts but a mysterious letter brings her to Hogwarts a day early along with Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. This is the story of the war and the six wa

Chapter 1: Meetings

Blood. The blood that runs through our veins is the most powerful key that we hold. It streams through our bodies, stale and cold. It alienates our insides, shining blue like water until it shows itself to be red like fire, combining with the world around us. It controls us and decides whether we live or die. It is what we are passed from our parents and what we give to our children. It is life.

Blood is where the magic sails. You cannot extract it from a single, unwilling soul. It is a gift. Even the most powerful and ancient beings cannot take what is not theirs. It is thought to be one of the most important currencies of our time. Sometimes though-- in order to survive--, it must be harvested across the land, as times have become dark and lifeless.

Yesterday, the sun did not rise. Muggles explained the phenomenon with science, a means of magic without any pure realisation. They blamed it on an eclipse of the sun—the passing of the moon over the sky during daylight. In reality, this was not so but you can hardly wipe the memory of the world.

You may have heard of a boy, a rather special boy in fact. A lone boy who survived the terror that murdered his family. That terror, the one who must not be named, has finally recuperated enough strength to allow his presence, to be known to the world. It is widely known of how Harry Potter escaped his death that fearful night all those years ago but now the time has come for the childish games to end and the grown-up battles to begin.

The sun is high in the sky now but the world has been darkened with dread and even when amongst the people you hold closest to you, you cannot help but feel slightly weary of their presence. The one girl, that was sitting on her own waiting for the rest of her companions, moved slightly, as for that moment in time, seemed to last longer than the creation of the earth itself.

The girl was Luna Lovegood, a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect, who had just returned from an exhibition to the Alps. She had waist-long, dirty-blonde hair and large, silver eyes that you could believe were miniature moons. She was average in height but she slouched slightly, making her seem a tad shorter than she actually was. She pulled a couple of letters from her pocket and checked the date on the board behind her. It was the thirtieth of August.

The train station was almost deserted except for Luna, who was sat on a cold, wooden bench. Luckily, the day was warm, even if everything did seem dull and grey. The girl began to straighten the letter out on the trunk in front of her and a rat ran from under her sleeve and into a pocket in her cloak. She smiled weakly and her eyes scanned the letter.

Dear Miss. Lovegood,

I hope this letter reaches you intact, as it is of great importance that only your eyes must read the words on its surface. I understand that you have already received your letter for attending Hogwarts this year and it may seem silly to call you forward a day earlier but times have changed and words must be discussed.

I ask you with the greatest respect, not to tell a soul about this letter or indeed, the things that are to come—as in this day and age, we can trust very few people. All I can say now, is please, please, arrive at platform nine and three quarters on the thirtieth of august at one PM. You alone have not been contacted—five others shall join you.

I have contacted your father. He believes that you are arriving a day early to settle agreements with your prefect duties. I hope this helps but if questions are asked, you must stick to this story. We cannot risk a leak in the wizarding world.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Luna reread the letter until she had assured herself that she had not made a mistake. Reluctantly, she returned the letter and some loose parchment to her pocket. Falling back into the bench, she wondered who these other five people could be. Students she presumed.

She sat restlessly for a good seven or perhaps eleven minutes, until she heard two people talking amongst themselves. Luna peered across at the pillar, also known as the barrier between the muggle and wizarding world. Two red headed teenagers were pulling their trolleys through onto the platform; Luna relaxed slightly, as she got up to greet them.

"Luna," exclaimed one of them and as she turned around, Luna was pulled into a ferocious hug from her best friend, Ginny Weasley.

Ginny, who had always been shorter than Luna, was now a good centimetre or two taller. She had shoulder length, red hair and dark eyes that most boys could get lost in. The second person, who had arrived with Ginny, was her older brother, Ron Weasley. Perhaps the tallest person to start his seventh year, Ron had a mass of red hair and freckles that covered his face.

"Hello, Gin. Ron," she smiled happily as Ginny released her from her grip. Luna spoke as though her voice was from a dream world. It was quiet and pure. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you this year," Luna offered them an apology, "but Daddy took me to the Alps to search for Gobble-de-gooks," she said pleasantly.

Ginny chewed onto her cheeks, it was just like Luna to believe in such a thing. "And did you find any?" she tried to ask curiously.

"Well—we thought we did but it turned out to be a turkey on a Muggle Farm," Luna informed them without a hint of disappointment.

"Well, Luna," Ron began, looking at the girl as if she should be in a straight jacket and be being carted of to St. Mungos. "Don't worry about it. Seriously," he added.

There was a moment of pause, whilst the tree teenagers scanned each other for changes that had occurred in their friends over the summer. Luna was taking mental notes and using her photographic memory to observe the changes in Ron. The first thing that she noticed, was that there seemed to be less freckles on his nose.

"Have you any idea why we are here?" Ginny asked suddenly and Luna broke her eyes away from Ron. "I mean—you are here to go to Hogwarts?" she added foolishly.

"Oh, yes," Luna said happily. "I got a letter from Dumbledore stating that I was to arrive a day early," she looked at them apprehensively.

"Us too," Ron mumbled.

Ginny and Ron pulled their trunks over beside Luna's and the three of them took a seat on the bench. Ron had found himself sat between the two girls and he looked as though it was an unfortunate mistake. Ginny whispered something into Ron's ear and annoyed, he got up and walked towards the barrier. Ginny took out her own letter and sighed, rubbing her thump over the embossed wax.

"I wonder who the other three are, Luna?" she looked at the lights on the platform as they changed from green to red. "Looks like the trains about to pull in," she added.

Luna nodded and watched the scarlet transportation approach. "Well, as long as they are nice—I don't think we need to worry," she replied softly.

"And what if they're not nice?" Ginny asked rhetorically.

Luna fidgeted slightly at this question. She would usually just blank the people that didn't like her out of her mind. Ginny appeared to be the type of person who wanted everyone to like her. Luna felt as though she were almost opposite—satisfied if just one person spoke to her.

"So. Harry didn't stay with you this summer?" Luna asked with a meek smile, attempting to change the topic. "He usually does, does he not?" she added.

"Yes but he went to Hermione's this year," Ginny replied with a slight spit on her tongue, "apparently her parents thought it would be nice for him to have some change," Luna giggled at the paranoid look on Ginny's face.

"Don't worry about it," Luna said serenely. "Hermione's parents are dentists!" she exclaimed and the two girls burst out into a fit of unnatural laughter.

Their moments of joy however, were interrupted by the loud noise made by the scarlet steam train that was slowing down, as it pulled into the station. However-- at that very moment—Ron shouted to the two girls, too alert them that someone else had arrived. Seconds later he was by their side with his wand out.

All three of the students could hear the rattling of luggage trolleys, as what appeared to be two people, began to emerge from the barrier between platforms nine and ten. There was a short commotion involving who appeared to be Crookshanks—Hermione's ginger cat—and Hedwig—Harry's snowy owl, as they rushed through the barrier before their hosts. Ron lowered his wand.

"And what did you plan on doing with that, Ron," a feminine voice said, as she passed through the barrier. "Harry—Ron thinks that he is going to fight us off with his knowledge of spells," the girl turned behind her and helped a second trolley through the barrier.

"It's nice to see you too, Hermione," Ron said to the girl sullenly, as he noticed the Head Girl badge, gleaming in the light. "It's nice to see that you loosened up over the summer," he added mockingly and Luna giggled.

Hermione Granger was also in her seventh year and now, apparently had the role of head girl. She had large brown eyes and long wavy, brown hair. The large, ginger cat followed behind her, as she pushed the trolley over too the three waiting students.

Before she could speak, the person behind the second trolley made his presence known. He was tall, not as much so as Ron but the body of messy, black hair on the top of his head made up for that. The boy had bewitching, emerald eyes and a lopsided smile. Balanced on his forehead, was the mark of Harry Potter.

"Harry!" Ron said happily as he ran over to his mate, trying not to show a hint of jealousy. "Have fun?" he asked curiously. Luna raised her eyebrow; unsure of what Ron had been hoping too be told.

The five students now began to greet each other properly, passing on words of friendship and holiday spirit. The short gathering improved the atmosphere, which was full of mystery and curiosity. Eventually, they began to filter out their noise and an eerie silence began to hover over them.

Luna stared at the barrier for a moment, looking as though she were counting the ebony bricks one by one. "I wonder who else is coming?" she stated aloud but nobody made any effort to answer her question.

"So," Hermione began as Luna had finished speaking, "who knows why we are here?" she was obviously hoping that someone may have a clue to what was happening or received more information than herself and perhaps Harry.

"None of us—we all know exactly the same," Ron answered and she seemed disappointed.

"Well—we should probably get our stuff onto the train," Ginny started but she was interrupted as someone shouted from the barrier. Everyone turned to look, as a third boy approached from the pillar.

"Wait for me!" the tall mousy boy shouted in the direction of the five waiting students and Luna couldn't help smiling.

"Is that, Neville?" Ginny whispered into Luna's ear. No sooner had she asked the question though, the boy stumbled over his trolley and lifted himself up so that they could see his face.

Neville Longbottom was known for his keen knowledge in Herbology and his lack of sense in potions. He was a boy that often found himself being ridiculed during classes and also social time. He had watery eyes and his hair was a variety of tinted browns.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late—couldn't find Trevor," he added.

"Don't you use that excuse every year?" Hermione asked him cautiously.

"Well," Neville paused briefly, "it usually is," something in his voice sounded deceiving, yet only Luna seemed to have noticed, as the other students had averted their eyes onto the train.

"Come on," Ginny rushed. "We really should get on the train. It's supposed to leave in five minutes," she began to haul her trunk and Luna picked up the other end.

Between them, it took less than six minutes to transfer the trunks into the third carriage of the train. There had been quite a struggle with Harry's trunk, as it was for some strange reason, wider than the others. It had also taken them a long time and a lot of effort to move Hermione's, as it was somewhat heavier than the rest were.

Eventually, the six students were sat down in the compartment and were waiting for the train to begin its voyage to Hogwarts. They had been settled for what seemed a silent lifetime, before the train gave a quick blast of its horn and began to move out of the station at a steady rate.

Luna stared out of the window, breathing a warm mist onto the cold glass. Everyone else seemed to be adjusting themselves in the seats so that they were comfortable. Luna continued to watch the outside world as the train began to gather speed and eventually, someone spoke.

They were still pretty much in an urban surrounding. As London became slightly distanced from them, the train rattled passed factories and industrial areas. Luna sighed. She much preferred to watch the countryside, as there was the chance she would catch sight of a Gulping Plimpsie.

"So then," Hermione began, breaking the dreaded silence. "Did everyone have a good summer?"

Harry raised his eyebrow and added to her question. "Even though Voldemort," strangely, none of them flinched at the sound of his name, "is out to murder everyone that isn't; evil, power hungry or a Malfoy?"

Luna could not help a little giggle escape her throat. "Well," she began. "I went," but Ron stopped her.

"Okay," he said suddenly and Luna looked quite taken aback, "I think we know what we really want to talk about," he began.

"Can we?" Ginny spoke. "Here I mean—is it safe?"

Neville nodded. "I think so. Dumbledore's going to have known that we'd have wanted to discuss it and bound to have realised we would among ourselves."

"Okay then. Well firstly," it was Hermione who was now speaking. "Why us six?" there was a mumbling of agreement but Luna just rolled her eyes.

"Well. Someone as smart as you should have realised that by now. Sometimes things aren't as hard as a game of chess," she added.

"All right, brainy-box," Hermione scowled, she was never one to be put down, "you tell us if you're so smart," she added and it was an instant mistake.

"Well, your fifth year-- our forth-- who went into the Ministry of Magic?" she asked dreamily.

"She's got you there, Hermione," Neville pointed out but he silenced himself after Hermione shot him a piercing glare.

"We six," Harry said loudly, apparently remembering exactly what had happened. That was the day he had lost his godfather, Sirius Black.

"Okay, change of subject," Ginny said quickly, noticing the sullen look on Harry's face. "What's that got to do with now—I mean, it's a connection but can we base our theory on it?"

"Actually," Hermione began, looking as though she had a lump of raw fish under her nose, "I think Luna's right," she finished, obviously annoyed that she had had to admit being topped.

"Great." Harry stated bluntly. "Now I've got to bring you five down with me," he continued his sentence under his breath.

"What?" Neville asked curiously.

"Nothing—just forget it," he peered into the lenses of his glasses.

Neville nodded. "Gotcha, Harry," he said stupidly.

"Well, we can guarantee one thing," Ron began. "Dumbledore wants us to do something and it's not going to be all fun and games," he added.

"Ronald Weasley," Ginny said suddenly, making him jump. "I think that is positively the most intelligent thing I have ever heard you say!"

The others burst out laughing and eventually Ron gave a little moan and a, "hey."

There was an awkward, yet pleasant silence, whilst the six students pondered in their own thoughts and memories. Neville's toad, Trevor, croaked and Ginny let of a small sigh. Ron was watching a small lump on Luna's neck—under her cloak—shuffle slightly and Hermione and Harry were whispering to each other.

Luna turned to look out the window and Harry pulled Ron and Hermione to the other side of the carriage to talk to him. Ginny-- observing the trio-- went and sat opposite Luna. It was obvious that nobody wanted to further the conversation, on why they were all here together.

Oblivious that Ginny had moved to seat herself beside her, Luna continued to stare out of the window. There were now acres of rolling fields outside of the train and Luna's hopes of spotting a Gulping Plimpsie had risen dramatically. As the train passed a field of bright-yellow flowers, Ginny nudged her slightly.

"Luna," Ginny began, she seemed sure that Luna was unaware of her presence and was correct in thinking so.

"Mmm," Luna replied, tipping her head slightly. Ginny's gaze followed Luna's and she giggled slightly when she saw who Luna was now looking at. "Sorry—I was somewhere else again."

"That's funny—I didn't see you move," Ginny pointed out and they both smiled. "I was wondering. If, say—and I know this is ridiculous—we ended up battling you-know-who," Luna nodded to show she understood where the question was leading, "would you say yes? I mean, would you do it?"

Luna's eyes rolled out of focus for a second. "Ginny—we already have," she said soundly.

"Yeah," Ginny stated eventually, apparently taking a moment to think. "I guess we did. That day when we decided we wanted to be a part of all this. The day we went down into the ministry. That was the day we made our decision," she spoke as if it were a surprise, "I guess."

"But that's not what it will be—right?" Luna said in a hushed voice. "I mean, Dumbledore is going to defeat him," Luna said quickly.

Ginny shook her head. "I don't think so."

Luna's face looked puzzled. "Then who?"

Ginny looked in the direction of Harry. She sighed slightly. "I just know it."

"Why Harry? I mean—I know they have that whole past thing going on but," Luna need not say any more. She had really answered her own question by mistake. It made perfect sense.

"That's not the worst part," Ginny interrupted Luna's thoughts once again.

"How can it not be?" Luna asked, her face showing a hint of worry.

"He knows."

Ginny turned her face away and closed her eyes for a moment and Luna new exactly where she was trying to escape too. A place where there was no pain, anguish or suffering. A place where everyone had the right to live but used it in a fair and just way—a place where there was no death or hatred. A place where you could just be alone.

In all honesty, she couldn't really understand why it was such a problem that Harry knew he had to kill Voldemort. In her eyes, it appeared to be the best solution in the world; after all, Harry was probably the strongest wizard she had ever befriended and he deserved to get a chance to destroy the man who had killed or ordered the death, of so many he loved.

The trolley lady who usually brought them a usual stash of cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs, never arrived and although they waited to almost two in the afternoon, the women never made her presence known. Luna found this slightly strange. Every year the same, plump woman, sold them the tasty treats that were available on the train.

"Well, she's certainly not coming," Ron stated bluntly as half-past the hour approached.

"I do hope nothing's happened to her," Luna stated in a concerned voice. It was well known that witches and wizards were disappearing all over the country—as well as muggles—and the reappearing, usually dead, a few weeks later.

"They probably don't bother when there is less than a certain amount of people on the train," Hermione said hopefully. "We'll just have to share what we do have.

There wasn't a lot of food to go around, yet the six students managed to salver up food to feed everyone. Both Ron and Ginny had enough sandwiches for each of them, to have at least one—two in Ron's case—and both Harry and Luna had found some random chocolate frogs and other sweet treats from the previous year.

They didn't really speak as they ate their rations and Luna decided to go back to her previous pastime, of watching the clouds and fields pass. Buildings were now sparse and fields were of greater size. The train passed one lonesome warehouse and Luna eventually gave up on the hope that she would see a Gulping Plimpsie. Instead, she allowed the time to pass by staring at Ron.

The Hogwarts Express continued to rumble along the rackety line and the six students barely spoke a word to each other. It appeared that they all wanted to be alone in their thoughts and Neville practically slept the rest of the journey away. It was only as daylight began to fade and the lights in the train turned on, that Luna was approached by Ginny again.

By this time, the Hogwarts Express was coming too a steady stop and the students had already changed into their Hogwarts uniforms, not really sure that they had to because term had not officially started yet. Ginny scanned Luna for a second and then spoke.

"Luna," Ginny began. "I'm sorry—I have to ask but don't be mad," she added.

"Why would I be?" Luna asked unsurely, as Ginny stared at her neck.

"You have a lump on your shoulder," she began, unable to suppress her giggles, "a moving, large lump."

"Oh," Luna stated suddenly. "Did I forget to tell you?" Ginny nodded and looked slightly worried about what she was about to find out. Luna pulled a rat from under her cloak and Ginny sighed with relief.

"This is Byron."

"He's adorable," Ginny squealed, giving Luna absolutely no time to tell her friend anything about her new pet. The small, silver-ticked yellow rat, sneezed and clambered back into the safety of Luna's neck.

"I know—a witch sold him to me whilst I was trekking," she began. "Daddy wasn't too happy but he's so lovely and adorable and," she was silenced.

"I get it," Ginny added with a smile.

"I guess we leave the trunks here," Harry said suddenly, the train now at a stop. "I mean—we aren't really going to be able to get these up to the castle," he added.

"We'll have too," Ginny mumbled. "Ron—Lu's got a rat," she shouted over to her brother as he got out of the train. Ron flinched for a moment and then continued to step out.

The students piled out of the carriage, stretching their backs and legs as they walked across the ground. Luna turned her head in the direction of the castle and smiled, it was hard to think that she was starting her sixth year at the school, almost unbelievable.

Hagrid—who usually gathered the students at the start of each New Year—was nowhere to be seen. Watching Harry's face form into a state of disappointment, Luna continued to walk between Ginny and Ron as they made their ways down a wide, short path.

"Look, over there," Neville stated, as he unnecessarily pointed at what he had seen.

"I guess that's our ride," Harry decided.

"All aboard the thestral express," Luna added dreamily.

On the road, was one lonesome, horse-less carriage. Of course, it wasn't horse-less to Luna—she could see the large, winged creature as she clambered into its carriage. Harry patted the beast and he too, stepped into the vehicle, shortly followed by Ginny, Ron, Neville and finally, Hermione.

"It's good to be back," Hermione smiled as she spoke. The thestral began to pull the carriage forward and she looked back towards the train. "Home away from home."

"I'm not sure I want to be back this year," Neville mumbled under his breath.

"Why not?" Ginny exclaimed. "Hogwarts is the best place on earth."

"I'm not sure it is anymore. Things just seem to get worse and worse," he said sadly, "and now, for some strange reason, we are all involved in it."

"I'm always involved—somehow," Harry moaned. "Sorry guys," he added.

"For what, mate?" Ron asked.

"For whatever trouble I've got you into now," he stated.

"It's not always you," Hermione said casually, "stop being so paranoid."

"What comes will come and whatever we may try to do to stop it, will fail. So we shall have to live in hope that what comes, will not be the end," Luna said serenely.

"Okay," Neville spoke slowly, whilst peering at Luna.

"Here, here," Ron smiled and looked as though he would do anything to stop her from giving another solution to their problems.

The carriage continued along the road until it reached the gates of Hogwarts. At this point, it came to a steady halt and the thestral waited for its passengers to leave. Nobody had really spoken since Ron had commented. Ginny had pointed out the whomping willow and Luna had greatly emphasised the fact that she had seen a strange light coming from the forest—so everyone was glad that the trip was over.

"Well—here goes nothing," Hermione sighed, as she opened the door and was the first to drop out from the carriage.

The other passengers got out from their coach, leaving Luna to get out last. She looked up at the walls that had protected her for most of the life she could remember and she smiled. The castle looked lonely with just a few, sparse lights and it seemed strange to think that for two months a year, the castle was nearly empty.

"Ah, good. You're here," an elderly wizard spoke from behind her and Luna nearly jumped out of her skin. The five other students laughed, as Luna let out a huge sigh of relief. She looked up at the man who had spoken. "Afraid of your own head master. Shame, shame," he tutted. "I don't blame you though."

Professor Albus Dumbledore, had been Head Master of Hogwarts for as long as anyone alive could remember. He wore spectacles in the shape of half moons and his eyes were grey and old. His beard reached his waist and his robes made him appear grand and superior.

"Hello, Professor," Hermione greeted kindly.

"Miss Granger," he turned to see his smiling, seventh year Head Girl. "Nice too see that you are wearing the badge. Now—I believe you must all be very hungry," he paused.

"Hungry for information," Harry informed him.

Dumbledore chuckled and didn't appear to be angry in the slightest. "Yes, yes. You were never one to want a break," he sighed. "Follow me. We do have a lot to discuss," he added.

The six students followed Dumbledore across the grounds. They seemed quite baron in the dark and extremely unfamiliar. There had been no point in them using their wands, as it was literally meters too the door but Luna regretted the lack of light, as she stood in something that she dared not examine.

The Professor led them into the school. Nobody spoke as the Head Master led them all down the familiar hallway that ended at the Great Hall. It was a route they were only too proud to memorise. One table-- the Professors table-- had been set out with food. Hermione muttered something under her breath but only Ron seemed to have heard.

"Sit down, everyone. Pour yourselves drinks—get something to eat and let me speak," Dumbledore instructed them.

They couldn't deny that and so they did as they were told. Luna sat on the edge of the table; nearest the pumpkin juice and Ginny beside her and next too Ginny sat Harry. Opposite Harry, sat Hermione, beside her was Neville and then, finally, Ron. As Ron shovelled chips onto his plate, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Well. I'm not exactly sure where to start. I've learnt my lesson once before by concealing things," he nodded in the direction of Harry. "You will remember that just over a year ago, the six of you journeyed into a place that not many people have ever ventured too," he waited for them nod in agreement. "And you will know that a prophecy was damaged," he rubbed his eyes and sat at the table. "You may perhaps know what that prophecy said or perhaps not—it is not for me to tell but the person who it belongs too, will speak in time," Dumbledore shot Harry a sideways glance and Luna stared up towards the bewitched ceiling. "That very same day, you changed the path of the future," Hermione looked as though she wanted to say something but Dumbledore raised his hand, "and a new prophecy was started."

Hermione could not keep herself silent a moment longer and Luna wondered if she needed the toilet. "Professor," Hermione began. "How can you change the path of the future if it hasn't been written?"

"A wise question for which I do not hold the answer," he sighed honestly. "Magic works in mysterious ways, Miss Granger and where you were, was a mysterious place," he ran his hand through his beard. "The prophecy involved you six and it was as some would say, short and deep," Luna stirred from her imagination and looked towards Dumbledore. "Six who ventured into no mans land, must once again unite. To battle at what they first could not defeat and save the world from stealth. The power of these six combined, will stop the world from falling into a shadow from which it will not return," Dumbledore sighed sadly and six pairs of eyes stared at him, Luna's unblinking.

"Oh, great," Neville moaned sarcastically. "Serves me right, I guess," he stammered.

"Professor," Luna's voice echoed above the rest. "Is that all it said?"

"I am afraid so," he muttered sadly.

"Then what do we do?" Harry asked, wondering if this prophecy would have any effect on his own.

"We prepare you, we protect you and we keep you out of harms way, until whatever time comes, comes," Dumbledore said and Luna was reminded of what she had said in the carriage. "Which is why, different arrangements have been made, as you are not all in the same year—or house."

There was an awkward silence. Luna's fork clattered on her plate and Ron seemed to be chewing very loudly. Neville was wringing an area of the tablecloth in his hands and Harry was watching Dumbledore. Ginny was munching on a piece of corn on the cob and Hermione appeared to be considering something.

"This isn't going to effect my Head Girl duties, is it?" Hermione croaked.

"Or our prefect duties?" Ginny added for herself and Luna.

"I hope not but I am afraid that I can not speak a word for how it will effect you," he was interrupted once again by Hermione.

"And our exams?"

"Trust me, Miss Granger. If the prophecy is not fulfilled, you will have no use for grades. Listen too me," he waited until he had pure attention, "if you do not fulfil this prophecy, the world as we know will die and fall into another age of darkness. It's happened before so it is perfectly capable of happening again. People will remember you for your heroism. Not your outstanding grades in transfiguration," he seemed quite sad but for a mixture of reasons.

"Then what are these arrangements?" Harry asked and there was a murmur of unsettled agreement.

"Are you all finished?" Dumbledore looked around and all six of the students stood at once. "Follow me," Dumbledore stood up himself and began to leave the Great Hall.

He led his six students down a corridor and neither of them dared to speak at the risk of saying something stupid. It was one of the most common routes in the school—leading to the Hall of Stairs at the end. However, Dumbledore lead them somewhere to the right and they passed their usual stairs.

They continued to follow Dumbledore up two flights of stairs that had been further down the hallway and then along another corridor, which appeared too reach a dead end. Dumbledore clapped his hands and a picture appeared from nowhere. It was a picture of twin boys.

"Mercy Backup," Dumbledore said and the twins bowed as the portrait swung open. "In we go," he gestured for them to follow him in.

They were in what appeared to be a small common room. A couple of bookcases, tapestries and chairs made the room seem quite homely. There were bright rugs on the boarded floors and there was one door at the back of the room. To the east and west of the room, were flights of stone stairs. Dumbledore waited until they had all passed through the portrait hole.

"Too the left, is the girls room and too the right," he waved his hand in the general directions, "is the boys room," he finished. "That back room will only unlock when I come in—do not even attempt to open it, understood?" they nodded in agreement. "You of course still have access to your own houses but this is where you shall now sleep," he continued. "Your lessons will commence as usual and when asked why you have your own tower," Luna's eyes widened for a moment, "you are to say that you are on the new Hogwarts council—agreed?" he looked around, his eyes sparkling with interest. "Now. Your luggage has been taken up too your rooms. I bid you all to have a very good night and if you have any questions," he paused, "please do not hesitate too see me in the morning," Dumbledore emphasised the last word and left via the portrait space with no commotion.

Luna allowed her eyes to scan the room and take in every little detail she could find. It was such a change for her and she wondered why Dumbledore would do this. Surely it would be more sensible not to separate them from the rest of the school and have no cover-up story. She wasn't complaining though, she liked it this way a lot more.

"Well," Neville began, "this is odd."

"We're leaving Seamus and Dean on their own," Ron added with a snigger. Luna noticed that Harry was climbing up the right-hand stairs and Ron followed her glance. "Where are you off too, Harry?"

"Bed," Harry mumbled.

"Yeah—me too," Ginny yawned slightly. "Are you coming, Luna?" she asked.

"Yep."

The two girls ventured up the stairs--three stories of them-- until they reached the room at the top. Three beds, each with its own table and wardrobe and one of the girls' trunks at the foot, occupied the room. There was a single door, which led into a bathroom, and each bed had a window and pull-round curtains.

"How on earth will we adapt?" Ginny joked, as she bounced onto what she presumed was her bed.

Luna sat upon what was too be her bed and Byron clambered down her arm and curled up on the pillow. Luna yawned and Ginny disappeared into the toilet. She changed whilst Ginny was in the second room and snuggled into the covers on her bed. Not meaning to, Luna fell asleep as soon as her head reached the pillow. Her dreams full of colour, imagination and Ron.

Chapter 2: Problems

The suns rays were streaming through the stained glass windows that were positioned at the top of the walls in the girl's dormitory. The light made a stream of decorative patterns across the tapestries and portraits and the multicoloured jewels, looked like sprinkled fairy dust.

It was a beautiful September morning. Through the opened windows, birds could be heard singing in the nearby forbidden forest and as it was only the first day of the new month, the trees still held their luscious, green leaves. The sun was low in the sky, yet it's beams lit up the whole of Hogwarts in the late dawn.

A moment of tranquillity hovered over the castle and lingered for a moment or two, as time so often does. At that moment in the history of life, it was hard to think that there was a single trouble in the world. Not a care to be found. The world appeared to be at peace with itself.

The silence was disturbed. A young bird that had been feasting on worms on the soft grass, took flight as it squawked and flapped its wings in an anguished panic. A large ginger cat—with its tail bristled and claws sunk down into the soft earth—moaned a meow and gathered itself to take the long walk of shame, as his prey flew into the horizon and passed one of the dormitories windows.

However, this appeared not to affect the three girls who were sleeping in the room at the time. The shadow of the flying bird, blocked out some of the glistening colours on the walls and the oldest of the three females, sniffed slightly in her sleep, steadily sleeping the morning away.

Luna Lovegood, was usually an early riser. She had had to be one because of the risk of loosing her possessions. Whilst she was asleep, the other Ravenclaws in her year would take her belongings and hide them in the most unsatisfactory of places. By getting up first, she could ensure that she could see everything that was happening. Today was no exception.

Luna rolled over on her side and allowed her body weight to shift to the edge of the bed. She scanned the room nervously, momentarily forgetting what had happened to herself and her friends the previous day. A sudden wave of excitement rattled her insides and her eyes shifted too the right, so that she could check to see if her best friend had awoken.

Apparently, Ginny had not yet woken up and Luna felt a quick surge of disappointment. However, she decided not to wake her sleeping friend, as she had often heard from various members of the Weasley family, that Ginny was a lot like Ron and didn't take kindly, to being woken up in the mornings.

Luna turned to the left and she noticed the patterns of light above her bed. The corners of the young girls mouth twitched slightly and she smiled. Her bed was the closest to the stairs that took the girls down to their common room. Ginny's was obviously to the right and Hermione's was at the other end of the room, closest to the bathroom.

Eventually, the blonde-haired girl swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up in her pyjamas, yawning slightly as she brushed sleep away from her eyes. She ventured over to her trunk that was soundly positioned beneath her window and selected some clothes to change into.

Luna then disappeared into the bathroom. For several minutes, there came a variety of strange noises from the side-room and after about seven minutes, the young girl reappeared, fully dressed and preened to her usual self. She threw her bedclothes onto her bed and once again, checked to see if her friend was awake.

As if her will power had worked, Ginny was sitting up against the back of her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Good morning," Luna said quietly, as she did not want to disturb Hermione.

Ginny finished soothing her eyes and turned to look at Luna, slightly puzzled. "Oh, yes," she said to herself finally, "morning, Luna."

Luna nodded and followed Ginny's gaze over to Hermione's bed. The oldest girl shuffled to the side slightly and for a short moment, Luna wondered whether she had awoken. Hermione did not open her eyes however and Ginny had pulled herself out of bed in the meantime.

Watching her friend disappear into the bathroom, Luna walked across to the window and stared through the flimsy glass, as she watched the silent waters of the lake. From the centre of the water, erupted a large ripple that filtered out as it met the shingle around the edge of the lake.

After a few minutes, Luna's attention was drawn to the door that Ginny had disappeared behind. Ginny beckoned Luna to join her with a wave of her hand and Luna averted her gaze too elsewhere.

"We have the school all to ourselves," Ginny smiled, as the two girls left the room and walked down the three flights of stairs that took them to their common room.

Luna was walking in front of Ginny and her hand glided down the ebony railing. "Not for long," she informed her friend, "a school is not meant to be empty," she added.

Oblivious to Luna, Ginny raised her left eyebrow and apparently had decided that it wasn't worth making a closing statement. As Luna reached the final step, she turned her body around so that she could walk straight into the common room. It was strange not to see her house colours—everything was plain and reminded her of what she had imagined the staff room to look like.

However, Luna was not the first to arrive in the common room. The first thing that she noticed, as she scraped her feet along the wooden floorboards, was Ron. Of course, Luna could spot Ron off a mile away, especially if she was purposely looking for him and unknown to the others, she usually was.

Ginny's eyes seemed to follow Luna's, as the blonde-haired girl stared across at Ron, as if waiting for something. He was standing with his back turned to them and apparently, talking to someone who must have been extremely small.

Eventually, Ginny spoke. "Morning, Ron," she said cheerfully, her eyes glistening with humour as Luna continued to watch the boy with growing interest. "You know—it's not sane to talk to yourself."

By this point, Ron had turned to face the two girls and seemed very unhappy about being called insane. He pointed to the floor area behind himself and stepped to the side for a moment. Standing at his heels, was a small, potato-resembled creature—also known as the house elf called Dobby.

"Begging you a good morning, Misses," the short creature ringed his hands around an overly large jumper that Luna recognised to be one of Ron's old Weasley sweaters. "He was just talking to me—he's not mad, really Misses," he added. "Weazey was just thanking me, Misses."

Luna was about to speak but Ginny piped up first. "I'll be the judge of that," she mumbled and Ron glared at her. "What was he thanking you for?" she asked and Luna could see that she was slightly disturbed by the prospect.

Luna didn't speak as Dobby left the room, giving Ginny no answer and crawling over the portrait hole with unnecessary effort. She smiled meekly in the general direction of Ron and looked around the room too see if there were any more surprise guests waiting for them.

Luna eventually decided that the coast was clear and that there were no more surprise visitors in the common room. Ginny averted her gaze towards the stairs to the boys dormitory and noticing that Ginny had turned her head, Luna's eyes followed.

Harry had now officially awoken, although by the looks of him, Luna wondered whether it had been a mistake that he had gotten up. Harry's hair looked like it had been messily combed through with a fork and his eyes were red and gave the impression that he had not slept well.

Despite his appearance, Luna decided that it would be best not to mention that he looked poorly and instead, simply said, "good morning, Harry."

Apparently, Harry's voice was not affected by his early morning appearance. "All right, Luna," he stated with a smile, "Ginny, Ron," she watched as he nodded to each of his friends.

Luna wondered over to a couch and plonked her body down upon it. She watched the other three students curiously, as the blonde waited for some kind of statement as to what they should do with their day. Ron looked towards the portrait hole where Dobby had left previously and then turned towards Luna, watching her for a moment but speaking to Ginny.

"What do you think we do for breakfast?" he asked, turning his gaze back towards his sister. Luna continued to watch him and Ron seemed slightly nerved by the way she observed him.

"Same as normal, I guess," Luna heard Ginny reply. "I suppose we just join our normal tables," she added.

"Oh no," Luna began. The previous evening, she had observed that a separate table had been put aside, beside the Professors table and she had presumed that this had been put there for them to use in the future. "I think we have our own table."

"Great. They really don't want us with the other students, do they?" Ginny rolled her eyes but seemed slightly annoyed that Dumbledore was doing what he was doing. "I mean, how hard could it be to drag us out of a lesson now and then? This promotes us more than sticking to normal behaviour would."

Harry turned to face Ginny. "I guess he really wants the other students to think that we're really are on this council thing. I just hope that nobody figures it out," he added.

"Figures what out?" Ron questioned and Ginny looked as though she regretted that he was her brother. Luna continued to observe, that was what she was best at.

"That there is no bloody council, Ron," he seemed quite amused at his friend's statement and not really surprised that he hadn't understood.

Ron wiped the back of his neck with his hand, "oh yeah. There's no need to swear," Ron added.

Ginny snorted. "That's rich coming from you."

"I think that if anyone actually starts anything about all this, Dumbledore will have a backup plan," Luna quickly turned her head sharply so that she could see who had spoken. Hermione was walking into the room from the stairs, fully dressed and looking as clean and smart as usual. "I personally think that a school council would be a very good idea."

"Yeah," Ron stated, "and we all know who would be first to sign her name up," he rolled his eyes and Harry chuckled.

"Well. I don't know about you three but I'm in need of some breakfast," Ginny began to speak as she walked over to Luna. "Care to join me, Lu?" she added.

"Yes—some food would be rather nice," Luna said, after thinking about what else she could do for a moment. "Do you think we should wait for Neville?" she added, noticing that Ron was already advancing towards the portrait hole.

Luna stood up and Ron paused briefly. Hermione watched them all for a second and Harry disappeared into the boy's dormitory for a brief period of time. Uncertain of what he was doing, Luna walked over and stood on Ginny's left.

They waited for a moment or two and Harry returned from the stairs, this time accompanied with Neville. He looked like he had been awake for quite some time and was a lot tidier than Harry.

"Hello, everyone!" he said, smiling bemusedly.

Luna allowed herself to be dragged through the portrait hole by Ginny, before she could reply to Neville's words. For a couple of seconds, she wondered whether she was going to get her right arm back but once firmly on the other side of the portrait, Ginny loosened her grasp.

"You were taking far too long, Luna—you don't need to give everyone a good morning call," she added with a smile.

"Oh—well, you know," she began and Ginny shook her head to announce that she had no clue what Luna was talking about, "I'm just not used to being with people who I actually like to see in the morning," she informed her friend.

"Aw, Luna. That's actually quite sweet," Luna turned around to face Hermione, closely followed by Harry Ron and Neville, as the four older students had now caught them up.

Luna decided that she had no decent answer to Hermione's statement and so instead, continued to walk down the hallways wordless, beside Ginny. She found it strange that Hermione had made such an effort to be nice to her, as they didn't get on as well as some.

It was a direct journey from their tower to the Great Hall and because Luna had been at the school for quite some years, she knew the way well. They passed a few suits of armour and moved out of the way of a group or travelling ghosts, as they continued down the halls.

It was still easy to get lost in Hogwarts though—when you lingered away from usual routes. The school was always coming up with new ways to tease the students inside its walls and new passageways seemed to appear out of thin air at the most inappropriate of times.

The six students found themselves standing in front of the inside door that led into the Great Hall. Ron opened the door and held it open for the others. When Luna began to walk through the door, he let it loosen from his grip.

Luna wasn't concerned by this gesture, as she had been the last person through the door and wouldn't usually expect a person to hold the door for the last person to come through. As she saw the inside of the room, she realised that her assumptions of their own table were correct.

Neville and Ron were the firsts to get to the table and Luna was unsurprised by this. She and Ginny drifted over to the far side of the table—closely followed by Hermione and Harry—it was only when they saw the spread of food, did they realise how late in the day it actually was.

Luna sat down and was quickly joined by Ginny, who appeared to be watching her ready-seated brother, claim most of the food for himself. Luna giggled sweetly, as she helped herself to a bowl of cornflakes, drenching them in pumpkin juice.

"I wonder where all of the Professors are?" Neville said after a short amount of time.

"Probably getting ready for the other students to arrive and preparing their lessons for tomorrow," Ginny informed him and Hermione nodded in agreement.

Luna was now watching Ron, her eyes following a trickle of fat—from the sausage that he had bitten onto—roll from the corner of his mouth to the bottom of his chin. His hand suddenly brushed against his mouth violently, in a savage attempt to rid himself of the moisture and Luna was reminded of an animal.

"Slob," Luna heard Hermione mutter under her breath, as she lightly buttered herself a piece of toast. "Ron. Please, use a napkin," she pointed to one of the red serviettes.

After about twenty minutes and several unimportant, as well as relatively uninteresting conversations, Luna looked up at the large clock positioned over the teacher's table. It was just about one in the afternoon now and previous years, she remembered how they usually arrived at Hogwarts, for about five.

The tedious thoughts of what she and her friends would be doing for the remainder of the day, attacked her pleasant thoughts of watching Ron eat. Luna's attention then focused on a new person, who was striding through a side door and rapidly approaching them from the opposite side of the room.

"Good day, to you all," the person spoke as she got closer to the table.

For a moment, Luna had thought that it was Tonks—an Auror who often helped Harry, however, as the women got close enough to the table to see her properly, she realised that the lady was too old to be the outgoing Auror. The six students watched her interestedly and she certainly wasn't a person that Luna recognised.

She was fairly tall, perhaps not model height but certainly close and she appeared to be in her mid forties. Her eyes were pale, yet observant and her ears were slightly larger than perhaps an average human's should normally be. Her hair was brown and wound up into a tight bun under the pointed hat that she wore. She was smart, tidy and apparently aware of whom the six students that she was addressing were.

Ron finished his drink and wiped his mouth, this time with a napkin that Hermione had forced into his chest. "Umm, hi," the redhead announced and Hermione seemed totally troubled by his lack of efficiency.

The woman ignored a loose strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes and watched him curiously for a moment. "Yes, well—what was I expecting?" she asked them rhetorically, "I'm Professor Danielle Adder—I will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts and hopefully, longer than a year," she informed them, apparently slightly concerned about the schools history of Defence teachers.

"Have you ever taught before?" Hermione asked the teacher with a smile, apparently fascinated how Professors could just suddenly start teaching.

"No actually—but I was offered this position quite some many years ago but I decided to continue my Auror training," she seemed slightly bewildered by the question and was perhaps unsure that she should be addressing a student this way. "Don't worry, Miss—"

"—Granger," Hermione informed Adder.

"Miss Granger—I am perfectly suited for this job," she added.

"Oh, well," Hermione's cheeks began to redden slightly, "I wasn't suggesting that you weren't. I was just interested," she added and Luna's focussed turned back towards Neville, who had but his hand over his mouth to stop himself from making an apparent noise.

"Naturally—just remember, Miss Granger, that curiosity killed the cat," she smiled, "however, it was jealousy," she faced Harry for a moment but then turned back towards the Head Girl, "that killed the dog," her voice fluctuated for a moment but she rubbed her hands together. "Now—I know all about you six, lovely people," she mocked, "and I will be joining you and Dumbledore when it is required," Adder informed them simply. "So, you don't need to hide anything from me—or Snape and McGonagall. However, the other professors are not completely aware of what is going on, so if you could keep it all hush hush, that would be good."

Luna nodded, as did the others seated around her. None of them looked completely satisfied or aware of what was being said, as the clock in the room chimed for quarter past the hour. Ginny jumped slightly because of the quiet tension that had built and Hermione scratched her nose.

Luna looked upwards so that she could see what the sky was like outside. The bewitched ceiling in the Great Hall, was a masterpiece of its own rights. It was somehow charmed so that it resembled whatever the sky outside looked like. Today, there were very few clouds in the sky but the sun seemed rather low.

"I only arrived this morning," Professor Adder began after a short pause of nothingness, something about her tone of voice seemed untrustworthy, "I was hoping that the four seventh years would join me up in my office," Ginny rose her hand for a second, "it's just, you've been here longer and I could do with a few gaps filling and a couple of cases unpacking," she added with a wink.

Harry looked up at her suspiciously and Luna turned to face Ginny. "All right, Professor," he said and Luna could hear something in his tone of voice that reaped with opportunity.

Luna wasn't really bothered about not being part of a conversation with this new Professor. If things were meant to be known, then a person would find them out, if not, it just wasn't worth bothering to argue over something that was a loosing battle. Ginny didn't seem overly pleased by the prospect but sighed to show that she understood.

The four seventh years stood up but Ron turned to his sister. "See you later," he muttered and both Luna and Ginny nodded. "As long as she doesn't curse the pants off us," he whispered jockingly.

The four students and the Defence teacher left the room with no disturbance. For a moment, Ginny looked as though she was about to complain or at least make a point that the Professor was ageist or concealing something. However, Luna was relieved when Ginny's face relaxed and she stood up, stretching her arms.

"How about we go for a walk around the lake?" Ginny asked Luna, who turned to her friend smiling and twiddling the raindrop earrings that she was wearing.

Luna didn't really need to think about the proposal, although she made out that she was anyway. "Yes, that's a rather good idea," she began, "how long do you reckon it will occupy us for?" she questioned jokingly.

"Oh, I don't know," Ginny mumbled in the same, teasing voice. "A while," it was more of a hope than a statement.

Luna made Ginny wait for a moment or two, as she picked herself up from her chair and walked beside her friend, who was now already waiting for her at the far end of their table. Ginny seemed to be quite impatient these days and for the most of it, Luna found it quite entertaining.

It didn't take the two girls long, to walk down the cobbled hallway and make their ways out into the desirable courtyard that the students usually congregated in when visiting Hogsmede. They didn't really speak as they walked the short distance—over dieing grass—to the edge of the lake. Luna occupied herself by staring at the plants that were sparsely dotted around the school and a statue or two that were now behind her.

Once they reached the shores of the lake, they took a right and began to walk around its outside. Luna had begun to wonder if Ginny was ever going to speak again or if they had been cursed to a term of silence.

Ginny eventually broke the silence and Luna was slightly relieved, as she had begun to feel awkward. "Where's Byron?" Ginny asked, referring to Luna's rat.

"Oh," Luna thought about it for a moment and giggled slightly, when she realised that herself and Ginny were walking in complete unison. "I left him asleep on the pillow—don't worry," she added quickly, "I leave him places all the time. He's very smart," she informed her friend.

"Of course he is," Ginny exclaimed with a smile. "Mum said that she'll get me an owl for Christmas!" she informed Luna excitedly, "I can't wait. It gets a bit annoying having to borrow a school owl or Pigwidgeon all the time," she added.

"Oh—but Pig is really sweet," Luna replied, not looking at Ginny but the giant squid, who had emerged from beneath the water too see who was walking around his domain.

"I know," Ginny sighed, "Ron's never forgiven me for naming him," she announced, somewhat sadly, "but he's so poor when it comes to making decisions."

Luna wasn't really sure whether Ginny was searching for an answer to this statement and so, she just nodded her head in response. That way, if Ginny had wanted a reply, she had sufficiently done so and if Ginny hadn't wanted a reply, it was done discretely.

They continued to walk around the lake, scanning the parkland of Hogwarts as their feet wearily stepped down on the grass. Luna had forgotten how large the lake actually was but it probably felt bigger, as they were walking around it at such a greatly reduced speed.

The sun was high in the sky now and as Luna and Ginny turned around the final part of the lake, they both had to bring their hands up to their eyes to shield themselves from the suns sheering glow. Luna giggled as they both made this action and the two girls sped their walking pace up, so that they could hurry back to face the opposite direction.

"Let's go and sit in the courtyard for a bit," Luna suggested, as she and her friend slowed down their pace as the sun faded behind a cloud for a moment or two.

"All right," Ginny finally spoke up, although they were nearer to the courtyard then she had expected, "we must have wasted away some time," she added.

The two students had now retreated from their walk and were once again walking across the cobbled stones in the courtyard. Luna led them towards a wooden and stone bench and was surprised to see that it had been cleared of all graffiti. Most of the benches at Hogwarts were charmed so that the artistic ventures of students did not soak through but this particular bench, was almost always covered in some kind of message or statement.

They sat quietly for a while, allowing the pleasant drift of air to invade their skin. Neither of them seemed to be able to think of anything important to say and so they enjoyed the peace in what appeared to be a silent treaty. A blackbird flew past them and landed on a nearby mulberry tree. Luna watched it for a moment and time seemed to slip through her mind.

Someone had crept up behind the two girls whilst they had been in silence. Luckily for Luna, she had seen the shadow of the person form from beneath the sun, unfortunately, Ginny had had her eyes closed and jumped violently as the new arrival spoke.

"I've been looking for you two for ages," Luna turned around smoothly and observed the figure that resembled Neville, regretfully.

Ginny clasped her chest somewhat dramatically. "Neville," she allowed the shock to evaporate away from herself and her slightly stammered breathing, calmed to normal. "You scared me," she finalised.

"Sorry," he mumbled and Luna suddenly noted that Neville had appeared too be rather over-confidant to how he had been previous years. "That new Professor—Adder," he added, apparently worried that they may have already forgotten, "said that the students are going to be arriving earlier this year—apparently the poor things had to catch the train at nine, instead of eleven," he informed them.

"So," Ginny began but then looked up towards the clock that towered over where they sat. "That gives us about an hour?" she questioned although it had sounded more like a statement.

Neville seemed to be trying to work something out or trying to remember something, "yeah," he said finally, "that sounds about right."

Ginny shook her fist in the air for a moment as a sign of triumph. "We survived the boredom," she began and Luna wondered what on earth she was talking about. The tone in Ginny's voice had almost turned sickly. "Say, Neville," she cooed and the older boys feet shuffled nervously. "What did you four talk to that Professor about?"

Luna chuckled, realising that Ginny had taken Neville to be an easy target and his eyes darted about nervously. "Well," he began, "wait—I see what you are trying to do," Ginny tipped her head, "well, I can't say. All I am supposed to say is that it's nothing to do with you!" he completed his sentence with a bounce in his voice.

"Thanks, Neville," Ginny answered and stood up at the same time. Neville stared at her curiously, obviously not understanding, "you've just confirmed my suspicions that there's something being hidden from myself and Luna. Trust me—we'll find out soon enough," she informed him.

Luna felt a sharp pain in her side as Ginny elbowed her purposely. "What?" she began smoothly, watching Ginny's eyes dart about as her friend tried to send her a wordless message. "Oh, yes. We'll find out," Luna understood eventually.

Neville snorted and Luna found it highly unattractive. "Well, we'll see," he laughed slightly, yet his words were stammered to some extent. "Anyway—we have to be sitting at our table before the rest of the students arrive. Dumbledore is expecting some problems but hopefully nothing that can't be sorted," he added.

"Are you just repeating everything that Hermione has said?" Ginny asked, hiding her amusement behind her wrist. "You sound like you're quoting her."

Neville blushed and turned his attention on Luna. "Well, she is normally the one who comes up with all the answers," he added.

"And questions," Luna continued in her dreamy tone but their was a sense of spite to be heard in her voice as well.

"Anyway," Neville continued, annunciating the word profoundly. "The others wondered if you wanted to come back and go together. I think Hermione is getting a bit fed up of Ron going on about chess tournaments."

Luna had now stood up and joined them, three words had stood out in Neville's sentence and they had each caught her attention for a different reason—mostly Ron but she didn't let it show.

"I think it would be a good idea," Ginny informed Neville and Luna watched her curiously, realising that she seemed to be quite nervous, an expression that she was not used to seeing on her friends face. "If it's okay with you, Luna," she added.

"Oh, no," Luna snapped back into the conversation and drew herself away from her own thoughts. "I think it's a good idea as well," she wasn't really bothered in all honesty. She'd just go with the flow.

Ginny seemed to perk up at this motion. The three students seemed to have worn away their words and began to walk back through the castle to their personal common room. They passed the ghost of the Bloody Baron as they walked past the Great Hall but he seemed to ignore their presence.

Luna watched a statue of armour move three foot to the right, as they walked down one of the eastern flights of stairs to their suite. As they reached the portrait of the twins, Luna vaguely heard Neville mutter the same password as the previous night and continued to follow her two friends into the common room.

Someone spoke instantly, as they passed through and the portrait swung closed behind them. "You found them then," Hermione stated as Neville sat down, leaving Luna and Ginny to find their own chairs, positioned near where Ron was sitting. "I wonder if you two could help me settle a disagreement with Ron?" she asked, her voice was bitter with annoyance, most likely towards her friend.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked somewhat nervously, as she and Ginny turned to rest on the back of the chair so they could see.

"Ronald thinks that chess, is a sport," Hermione informed them, "Unless your wrist gets a fine workout, I don't see how that is so and by watching Ron play, even that doesn't seem to happen," she announced.

"Well, in a way it is a sport," Ginny defended her brother but looked nervous at trying to prove Hermione wrong.

"Well, actually," Luna crowed, apparently totally oblivious to the fact Hermione had wanted them to side with her, "chess is a sport really—it uses strategy, courage and strength. I know it's not like you become part of the game," Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged glances for a moment, "but most people claim it to be a sport."

Ron appeared slightly troubled that Luna had defended him and Hermione threw herself backwards into a chair, apparently admitting defeat. She didn't seem to want an argument with Luna and it was probably not worth the effort. Harry who had been sitting opposite Ron, apparently partnering him in his game, seemed slightly amused.

For the next half an hour or so, the six students seemed to be lost in their own activities. Neville was reading—what most people would consider to be—a large and heavy book about Herbology. Ron and Harry were continuing their chess match and Hermione was also bent over a book, only hers was the new edition of Hogwarts a History. Luna and Ginny were each holding up a page of The Quibbler and seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly.

Luna looked up for a moment and noticed that Hermione had now rested her book on the side of an armchair. They were already dressed in their Hogwarts uniforms and both Ginny and Luna had been wearing theirs all day.

Hermione wondered towards her and spoke clearly to them all, Ron moaned as she disrupted his match. "I think we should all be getting down to the hall now. We have cut it a bit slim," she added.

There was a general mumble of agreement and even Ron motioned to the magical pieces of his chess set that the game was over. Luna rolled up The Quibbler and tucked it between the cushions of the couch that she and Ginny had been sharing.

After less than a minute, the six students were hurrying down the now familiar route that led them from their rooms to the Great Hall. They could hear an assortment of voices from close by and Luna wondered for a moment or two, whether they had left it too late.

Once in the Great Hall, they all appeared relieved to see that they had not left it too late and that the voices were those of the students waiting outside, obviously ecstatic to be back in the comfort of Hogwarts. However, just as they were sitting themselves down, the doors to the outside world opened and the other students began piling into the hall. Several Professors were also seating themselves.

Luna scanned the Professors table from her seat beside Ginny. She was doing her best to ignore the confusing looks that all the second years and higher were giving them and found herself occupying herself, by watching Professor Snape. He was staring at Professor Adder but to her surprise, it wasn't a look of loathing.

Eventually, Dumbledore entered the Great Hall and the waves of voices seemed to stop as he sat himself down at the main table. Finding it hard to turn her head to see what was happening, Luna suddenly realised that there were a lot of faces staring in her general direction. Perhaps it wasn't a good place for their table to be positioned at?

Dumbledore seemed to be taking something into consideration for a moment. "Let the sorting begin," he spoke clearly, obviously deciding to make all of his announcements later.

"That's funny," Hermione whispered and although she was sitting opposite Luna, the blonde could hear her quite well, "I'd have thought, Dumbledore would have announced us first—the first years aren't going to know that this council thing is new."

Luna took in Hermione's words for a moment but the images in her head were distributed because or the snake-like formation of students that Professor McGonagall was leading into the hall. The common three-legged stool that was always used for the sorting, was tucked under her left arm and a roll of parchment was tightly clasped in her right hand. In front of her, the Sorting Hat levitated.

Professor McGonagall paced the stool down on an empty patch of stonework and placed the tatty hat she had been levitating, on top of it. She stepped back for a moment and a thin line of material appeared at its brim.

The voice of the hat crackled. "Short and sweet. Dull and neat. Don't lift a finger, for a treat. Up and down. In and out. Back to front and inside out. Gryffindor to Slytherin-- a friendship renewed. Ravenclaw to Hufflepuff—a fortunate clue. Jealousy and anguish. Admittance and defeat. This tired old sorting hat, is standing on his last three feet."

There was an eerie silence. The older students seemed nerved and dumbstruck by the Sorting Hat's words. Luna wasn't sure what to make of it, yet she was sure that the whispering Hermione was decoding the materials words to her friends.

The Sorting Ceremony was always the same. The first years would nervously clamber up on the stool and place the Sorting Hat on his or her head. The student would then scuttle over to his or her new house to a loud, gracious applause and there, they would spend their next seven years at Hogwarts.

The sorting was shorter than it had been previous years and Luna noticed that there seemed to be fewer students this year than ever had been seen before. She didn't seem to see this as a problem though and as she looked around, nobody seemed too worried about it either—if they had even noticed at all.

Now over, Professor McGonagall cleared the Sorting Hat and stool from the floor and put them to the side. Dumbledore stood up once again and clapped his hands to receive silence, after the increasing build-up of noise and wait for McGonagall to take her seat.

"Welcome, welcome," he began, waving his hands down in the direction of the floor, "to another year at Hogwarts," he smiled, "I never get tired of saying that!" some of the other students laughed lightly, including Hermione and Harry. "As you can see, there has been a slight change in the order of students," Luna noticed him wink discretely in their direction. "This year sees the birth of the very first, Hogwart's council," Dumbledore waited for the chatter of interest to die down. "These six students," he waved his hands in what Luna considered to be her direction, "will take your comments and pass them on to myself, so that we can make your school an even better place—if that's possible," he chuckled.

Various students began to speak amongst themselves and there seemed to be an overall, disapproving feel to their verbal chatter. Some of the Professors seemed nervous, yet Dumbledore remained calmly stood above everyone. Luna watched as he once again, waited for silence.

"If anyone has a problem with the new arrangements—they are to see me after or during the feast," he continued, "the six students in front of me, have their own sleeping arrangements now and have permission to leave class if the necessary measures apply," he looked at the council table sternly. "Now. I would like to welcome Professor Danielle Adder to the faculty and she will be taking up the position of Defence teacher this year," the students applauded her welcomingly, as she stood and waved to various clusters of them. "Let the feast begin!" he clicked his fingers and the usual assortment of food that appeared every year, graced the tables.

"Well. That was certainly peculiar," Luna informed the rest of the students sitting at her table, in an attempt to break the unnatural silence. She began to spoon herself some chips and baked beans into a bowl.

Luna's statement received no answer, as Hermione had noticed another problem. "Oh, gosh—look who's talking," she began nervously, "to Dumbledore," she finished. "Oh, no," Hermione's face went from slightly relaxed to rigid and pale, "he's got the badge. No wonder Dumbledore wouldn't tell me who was Head Boy."

Luna flicked her head backwards to see what Hermione was making such a fuss about. "Don't worry," she said, a little to kindly, "it's not like you'll have to spend any time with him," she added.

"That's not what worries me," Hermione shook her head jerkily. "Think about it. He's going to think that he's supposed to be on this council thing and knowing him, he'll try and get just about every Slytherin on it," she informed them and Luna realised that it did make a lot of sense.

Harry began to point to a small group of Hufflepuff' students that were gathering close by. "They don't seem too happy, either," he informed the group sat at his table.

At this point, Dumbledore had stood up and was steadily closing in on their table. Draco was gliding his feet behind the Head Master and Luna wondered if she could slip away without being noticed.

Five heads then turned to view their Head Master's and it was obvious that Dumbledore had been prepared for the young Malfoy's revolt. Without an introduction and fully aware that his students were listening, he spoke, "Mr Malfoy here, wishes to join the Council—I said that he had to put it past you six. May I add that seven is a very lucky number," he looked about, "as is eleven."

Hermione glared at Draco for a moment and looked around at her friends and then back up at Dumbledore, nominating herself to speak. "I don't know, Professor," her voice drawled slightly, "I thought you had picked the final members?"

Dumbledore seemed slightly taken aback by Hermione's comment but just chuckled lightly. "Well, you see," he began, "I had intended on inviting Mr Malfoy to join as well as a second Slytherin, two Hufflepuff's and a Ravenclaw but I felt it would be best just to start with you six, however, I see it has sparked problems," Luna saw the glint in his eyes and realised that he was a good liar.

"Well, Professor—if that was your intention," Hermione stammered with defeat.

"The House Elves are preparing a second common room and dormitories as we speak," Dumbledore informed her.

"Professor," Draco's deep voice interrupted, "don't we share the same quarters?"

"No, Mr Malfoy—your Common Room will be just across the hall from the rest of them," Luna wondered why Draco was so worried, surely he didn't want to share the same place as five Gryffindors? "Now, may I suggest these students," Dumbledore began to count on his fingers and it was apparent he was coming up with names from the top of his head. "Terry Boot, Susan Bones, Pansy Parkinson and Hannah Abbott," in honesty, it sounded like they were being told to choose them.

Hermione nodded, as did the others, too weary and worried to say anything themselves. "Yes, Professor," she replied, slightly sulkily.

"Good, good," Dumbledore clasped his hands together. Ron, Neville and Ginny had not taken their eyes off Draco, who was smirking profoundly. "As from tomorrow," the Head Master turned to face Draco, "a second table shall be placed here and I shall take you and the others to your new dormitory after the feast," he paused, "now, I must tell the others of the good news. A weekly meeting day will be decided soon," he told Draco, who wondered back to his own table as Dumbledore departed.

"This sucks," Ron moaned and even Hermione nodded with agreement.

"It could be worse," Ginny muttered, "at least we don't have to share a room. I liked how we had it," she added.

"Yeah. But now we actually have to do that stupid council thing," Ron argued and Luna noticed Hermione kick him under the table to keep him quiet.

"Don't speak about that around here," Hermione hissed and Neville flinched slightly. "Luna, Ginny—go back to the common room before Dumbledore announces that the feast is over—as prefects, you really don't want to have to talk about this whilst taking the first years to their dorms," she added.

Luna felt that it was a fair judgement to make and realised that she had actually finished her meal whilst listening to the conversations around her. Both she and Ginny stood up and began to leave the Great Hall with little fuss.

As they walked down the hallway-- thankful not to have been stopped by any of the Professors-- they quickened their pace. "I was beginning to think that was going to turn out to be a nightmare," Ginny moaned.

"It did," Luna stated bluntly. "Other than us two, they're all seventh years," Luna observed.

"I reckon Dumbledore has bitten off way more than he can chew," Ginny stated and there was panic in both of the girl's voices.

"Mercy Backup," Luna said as they reached their portrait, clapping as they spoke, "gosh—can you hear that noise from opposite?" Both Ginny and Luna turned away from the entrance of their common room for a moment. An assortment of strange noises were trailing from the walls opposite, "was that door there before?"

"Must be the new dormitories," Ginny muttered, "come on—let's get inside quick. We'll wait for the others. I don't think they will be long," Ginny stated as Luna tried to piece her sentences together.

The portrait hole swung shut, just seconds after the two students had stepped through. Ginny pulled Luna over to the sofa that they had been sitting on earlier and sat down, sighing slightly. Following her lead, Luna sat beside her friend, fixing her eyes on the door that they had been told they could not enter.

"Oh. Hurry up, Hermione," Ginny moaned and Luna could tell that she was hoping the intelligent seventh year, would have some positive input about their situation.

Luna giggled. "Time doesn't go quicker just because you want it to," she informed her friend. Ginny rolled her eyes and ignored Luna's comment, obviously used to her friend's strange statements.

Their wait was not in vein and a few—what appeared to be very long minutes—later, the other four students that shared their chambers, arrived back in the common room. The second Ginny had heard the portrait snap back, she had almost thrown herself at the hole.

"Well. Now we have a problem," Hermione stated, ignoring Ginny who was standing beside her and Luna who was watching, intrigued.

"She's been saying that the whole way here," Neville moaned. "I'll see you lot in the morning," he added and then climbed the flight of stairs to the boy's dormitories.

"Hermione," Ron began, "I think you need to calm down. It's not the end of the world," he added placidly.

"And you did say that a council would be a good idea," Luna spoke from her seat and Hermione turned on her, ignoring Ginny who was still trying to speak.

"You have no idea, do you?" Hermione argued and Luna felt that that was slightly unfair. "We are really going to have our work cut-out for us this year," she informed her younger peer.

"Hermione, I think the teachers are going to be a little considerate to that matter," Harry added.

"Oh, sure," Hermione's voice reeked with sarcasm, "I can see it now. Snape's really going to like that one," she mimicked a students voice, "Professor—I couldn't quite fill a two foot roll of parchment because I was really busy with my Head duties, Council duties and the fact I'm supposed to be getting extra defence lessons," she kicked her foot down slightly.

"Look. Dumbledore will sort something," Harry's own temper seemed to be rising. "What's up with you?"

Hermione relaxed slightly. "Nothing. I'm sorry—I'm just going to go to bed. It's been a stressful day," she added in her defence.

Hermione's pace seemed quicker than usual, as she trudged up the opposite stairs to those that Neville had climbed earlier. Luna watched her for a moment and then turned back to the remaining students in the common room. They all seemed slightly confused to why Hermione had been upset. None of them seemed really happy about the arrangements—especially Luna—but there wasn't anything they could really do about it.

Luna's gaze turned on Ron and he appeared to be considering another game of chess with Harry. Ginny was looking slightly putout by the fact that Hermione had ignored her and Harry was informing Ron that he did not want to play another game of chess.

The room seemed warmer than normal and Luna allowed her eyes to drift across to the fireplace. It was unlit, yet something about it made her feel warm and welcome. She stood for a moment and wondered over towards one of the long, door-shaped windows. Luna scanned the navy sky for a while and watched as a few shapes fluttered past. She presumed them to be bats and stepped away.

"Ginny—I'm going up to bed," Luna stated, watching her friend who now had her nose stuck into the issue of The Quibbler they had been reading earlier.

"Alright—you don't mind if I read this, do you?" Ginny gestured to the magazine and Luna shook her head.

Luna slowly walked up the stairs to her dormitory and was relieved to find that Hermione was in bed already, with the curtains pulled firmly around the skeleton of her single bed. Luna tiptoed over to her own bed and stared down at the pillow.

"Just where I left you," she whispered to the tiny rat that was curled into a large ball on her pillow.

Luna disappeared into the bathroom for a couple of minutes and later re-emerged, wiping her tongue over her teeth. She stepped back over to her own bed and pulled the duvet back to reveal her nightclothes. Byron shifted slightly, as a wave of cold air wafted over him.

Luna pulled the curtains around her bed and changed into her pyjamas. She placed her wand safely on the bed stand beside her and allowed her day clothes to fall to the floor in a small heap.

Luna sunk down into the heavy mattress of the bed and stroked Byron for a moment or two. His fur was warm to touch and almost therapeutic. She smiled and wondered whether Ginny would come up soon. However, she never did find out what time Ginny came to bed, as Luna had softly fallen into a dreamland.

Chapter 3: Eventful Happenings

The sixth year potions classroom, had far from a happy feel to it. The usually smartly kept cupboards and shelves had been stocked messily, with absolutely no care at all and the walls seemed to be stained with some kind of discoloured residue.

There was a fowl, rotten smell in the cold, damp air. Very almost like the distinct smell of an aging Gurdyroot. The whole chamber seemed very lonely, baron and derelict, almost like an abandoned dungeon that had previously been used as a torture chamber.

The only light in the room was synthetic. Not a single window allowed the suns beams to brighten up the darkened interior of the rather chilling and depressing classroom. The impressive collection of candles that were lighting the room, smelt vaguely smoky and the wax that slid down their main bodies, dripped onto the grey stone floor.

There were eight, fairly old desks, all positioned in pairs and sparsely dotted around the dungeon. They all looked rather worse for wear and had obviously been recycled for many years. Most of the desks looked as though someone had chiselled away at them with a very strong quill and there were ashy marks where many a potion had gone dreadfully wrong.

At the front of the classroom sat one superior desk. Unlike the eight student desks, this individual table almost had a brand new shine to it. It was about two meters in length and another in width. Crafted from what appeared to be highly expensive, darkened wood, the desk was exceptionally tidy. A pile of potion books were resting on the left hand side of the table and various quills and artefacts were dotted elsewhere.

Behind the Professors desk, was a large chalkboard that took up the whole of the back wall. It had already been written on and as it stood, strange little images of how to prepare certain ingredients were moving about in aid for nobody.

The room was eerily quiet. A cauldron at the back of the room began to swing with rhythm, as it pounded against the stone-worked walls behind it. A large, honey-yellow rat, scuttled from somewhere beneath the cauldron and rushed towards a solid, wooden and iron door.

The large door was thrown backwards manically, as the Professor of potions stomped heavily on the stones beneath him. The startled rat let out a deafening screech of worry, as it turned violently and fled for safety under an old, mould-infested box.

Professor Snape's black robes swept across the floor as he steadied his pace slightly. His hair was now charcoal-grey in colour and chopped into rigid, long layers. His eyes were shadowy and capable of making young children cry and his face was plain and distracted.

As he ventured over to his desk, he swept several loose pieces of parchment from it with his hand and whipped out his wand from an inside pocket. Staring at the student desks in his room, he pointed his wand at one of the pairs and without muttering a word; one of the desks burst into flames and remained on the floor as nothing more than a pile of smouldering ash.

He scanned a small piece of parchment for a second and seemed to be growling, as he grunted at it in obvious disapproval. In no way, was he a calm Professor and as he sunk down onto his seat, something from beneath his buttocks, let out a strange and loud, whirring noise.

The Professor jumped up in utter shock and bewilderment. Placed on his seat, was a strange rubber device, which bore the logo of the highly recognisable, Weasley products. Now angrier than ever, Professor Snape used his wand to levitate the entity and drop it into a nearby cauldron. He smirked slightly and sat back down into his chair.

From outside in the hallway, came the voices of several, unhappy students. One of the voices was highly distinctive and obviously belonged to Ginny Weasley. As the small cluster of students reached their knew classroom, Professor Snape quickly crossed his arms and glared at the door.

Luna and Ginny were hovering outside the dungeon and Luna was worrying that they were becoming dangerously close to being late. Neither of the girls had intended on taking potions this year but after speaking to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, they had both been advised to take the subject.

Stepping out of the way of five other students, both Luna and Ginny remained in the safety of the hallway. They were both in full-school uniform and equally distressed about the class they were about to take. Potions was never a good subject, especially if it was the first lesson of the year.

"We must be mad," Ginny mumbled to her friend, as the door into the classroom shut slightly.

"Well," Luna considered for a moment, "most people already think I am," she informed Ginny serenely, whilst adjusting the bright-purple earrings that she was wearing.

Luna didn't notice that Ginny was staring at her blankly and continued to fiddle with the pear-shaped objects that were dangling out of her ears. She seemed oblivious that Ginny was mumbling to herself.

"You could have just said no," Luna pointed out to her friend, "you didn't have to take it," she added "I wasn't very happy about it myself but I really want to work with magical creatures. Flitwick said the chance of me getting a scholarship without it, was very low," when she finished speaking, Luna took her wand from her pocket and tucked it behind her ear.

"And McGonagall said I had to have potions if I wanted to become a Medic-Witch," she sighed slightly, "then again, she does tend to dramatise things a bit," Luna watched her friends sullen expression.

From inside the classroom, Luna could hear that Snape had begun to address his class. She suddenly felt rather sick and she knew that the potions Professor would pounce on them the second they stepped inside the classroom. She gestured towards the door with her hand and Ginny nodded.

No sooner had Luna opened the door wide enough for herself and Ginny to walk through, did Snape begin his usual routine of making every student he saw, feel small, helpless and miserable.

"And my two missing students finally decide to grace us with their presence," he appeared to be taking sheer pleasure out of embarrassing them. "Take those empty seats," he had looked as though he was considering splitting them up but gestured them to the only spare, double-desk. "Ten points from Ravenclaw and another ten from Gryffindor. Don't take me for being stupid. You may lower your voices but they're both so unnaturally high, a Kneasle could have heard you."

Luna noticed that Ginny was rather red in the cheeks now but was managing to conceal it from the other students extremely well. Unsure of what she would need for the lesson, Luna decided that it would be best just to keep quiet and hopefully not draw attention to herself. Apparently, Ginny had also decided to take this approach, as she had her eyes focussed on the blackboard.

Snape began to pace in front of his desk, staring at the students expectantly. For a second, Luna's eyes met his and he frowned at her. Luna simply smiled absentmindedly and continued to wait for instructions from her Professor.

A short roll of parchment suddenly appeared on Snape's desk. This didn't seem to startle any of the students, as they were used to having their registers sent this way. The professor picked up the roll of parchment and a quill from his desk.

Obviously perfectly capable of seeing who was in his classroom, Professor Snape began to call out the names on the list one by one. "Colin Creevey?" he said, voice drawling with boredom.

"Here, Sir," spoke the boy who had been left sat on his own. Luna vaguely knew Colin Creevey, although he was better acquainted with Ginny, as they were both Gryffindors. He was a tall boy, with blonde-brown hair and a rather daunting smile. Luna had often referred to him as Creepy Colin Creevey, as it had been him who had started calling her Loony Luna Lovegood.

"Drew Harper?" Snape said this boy's name with a bit of interest in his voice and as the boy replied, Luna understood why. Drew was a Slytherin, one that she didn't really recognise. He was tall, dark and was leaning on his desk with his elbows.

"Here, Professor," he said clearly and fondly.

"Suck-up," Ginny whispered into Luna's ear and Luna had to stifle her giggling by covering her mouth with her hand. Luckily, Snape seemed too distracted to notice.

"Chris Hunter?" Snape still spoke in a fond tone and Luna realised that the person must have been in Professor Snape's chosen house—his own—Slytherin.

"Morning, Professor," spoke the boy who was sitting beside Drew. He was slightly shorter and certainly not a born leader. As Luna watched him for a moment, she wondered whether there had been some kind of mistake when he was sorted. His eyes were an alert grey and his hair was dark brown.

Ginny shook her head in some kind of disgust and Snape continued to call the register. "Luna Lovegood?" he seemed to almost spit her name.

"Here, Professor," she replied cheerfully, failing to notice how heavy he had scratched the quill, as he had marked her name.

"Daron Nunal?" the loathing tone was back in Snape's voice, as Luna turned to give her fellow Ravenclaw a quick nod of the head.

"Present, Professor," Daron said as he adjusted his glasses. He was normal height for his age and had a fine head of curly, black hair. He hadn't seemed to have noticed Luna's gesture and his brown eyes darted in the direction of the person sitting beside him.

"Bethany Paine?" Snape's voice was now completely bored in tone.

"Yes, Sir," spoke the only other girl in the potions class. Bethany was extremely tall and had very broad shoulders. In comparison to Daron—who she was sitting beside—she was just slightly shorter than him. Her hair was pure blonde but streaked with red and her eyes were a pale olive. Luna had only ever seen her and never spoken to the girl and as she scanned her robes, discovered that she was in Hufflepuff.

"Ginny Weasley?"

"Here, Professor," Ginny replied instantly.

Professor Snape rolled up the parchment and it disappeared from his hands as he tapped it with his wand. He tossed the relatively distressed quill back onto his desk and began to stride around the room.

"Advanced potions is probably the hardest subject that you will ever face and if I feel that anyone is having particular problems with the course, I will waste none of my time keeping you here," he paused and Luna continued to watch. "In my classes, in preparation for you exams, you will be taught about and make, a variety of potions that you have most likely never heard of before. Some of these potions will be highly dangerous and have disastrous affects to your well being," he continued, "so anyone who has problems with controlling their desire to eat strangely coloured things, should leave now because I can assure you now, that I will not rush you up to the hospital wing."

The seven students in the classroom were mostly quiet. Luna was now occupying herself by staring at one of the few swinging cauldrons and making her own little rhythm from it inside her head. Ginny was trembling slightly, listening to the Professor intensively and Bethany let out an echoing sneeze.

Professor Snape continued to mumble on about how dangerous various potions would be and how he would not tolerate accidents and careless mistakes. Luna had felt that both phrases meant exactly the same but nodded just the same. Snape then pointed to his blackboard and Luna felt that she probably needed to start listening properly again.

Professor Snape's wand jabbed at the board and a few sparse words appeared. "I waste no time starting my classes and as you will learn; in your two N.E.W.T years, introductions to lessons are kept as short as possible," he stated, "and the first lesson I teach during Advanced Potions, is Velox Sol Solis," the Professors words had finally received Luna's full attention and she watched intrigued. "Five points to the student who can tell me what this potion is more commonly known as."

Apparently checking to make sure that the Professor wasn't watching her, Ginny whispered into Luna's ear. "Wow, the universe must be on hold. Snape just offered points," she muttered.

"Yeah," Luna made just as a cautious point in checking that he wasn't watching. "Half the amount that he took from each of us," Luna still didn't seem very impressed by what appeared to be a generous offer.

"Nobody?" Professor Snape's voice was deep and looming.

Daron raised his hand in the air almost timidly and the Professor nodded his head to suggest that he could answer. "It means quick sun or sometimes, quick light," the Ravenclaw informed his teacher.

"Very well," Professor Snape said reluctantly, "five points to Ravenclaw for producing such a smart student," Luna could hear the sarcasm in his voice but passed it by. "Velox Sol Solis is usually bottled and carried by wizards and witches who are travelling far or to dark places. By breaking the glass and spilling the potion onto the floor, a person can light up a darkened area for an amount of time. Depending on the strength and accuracy of the potion, depends on how affective it is," he continued to inform his students. "Copy the notes from the board and then in your pairs, prepare your ingredients and make the potion."

Luna reached down into her brown, sack-like bag and rummaged about for a moment or two. From inside the bag, she produced a small pot of black ink, a bright green quill and several loose pieces of parchment. Ginny had obviously done the same but in a quicker amount of time, as in her hand she held a speckled quill that had already been touched with ink.

Luna couldn't remember seeing Ginny write so eagerly and quickly. Luna decided that her reasons for doing so were neutral. Luna was not so ambitious with her attempts to do so but they both seemed to be trying to impress Professor Snape, in the hope that it would come to their advantage in later lessons.

As Luna copied the notes for the Velox Sol Solis potion, she couldn't help wondering why Snape seemed more relaxed than usual. Although he was still acting in his same bad tempered, sarcastic self, the potions professor seemed slightly absent from the world around him.

Luna's quill continued to scratch against the parchment as she proceeded to copy the notes, precisely as Professor Snape had written them out. Her writing was rather loopy but in an interesting and legible way. Ginny turned her parchment over and Luna reapplied ink to her quill.

After another minute or two, Luna noted that Professor Snape was hovering over a rather distressed Colin. Apparently, he wasn't to be trusted to work the potion on his own and the potions teacher had recruited himself to be his partner.

Ginny rested her quill on the edge of the table and Luna noted a strange glint in her eye as she waited for her to finish writing. The other two groups of students were now talking and had begun to find and prepare the ingredients that they needed.

Luna put her own quill down and tightened the bottle of ink. "Poor, Colin," Ginny spoke to her, still in whisper, "although I must admit—rather him than me," it had not sounded selfish and there was a distinct tone of pity in Ginny's voice.

"Well," Luna tried to think of a positive view on Colin's circumstances. "He won't have any excuse to fail."

Ginny nodded and smiled. "I'll get the ingredients if you can go fetch a cauldron," her friend suggested.

Luna just nodded and stood up. Pushing her chair under the table—as students were strictly not to stand while making potions—Luna wondered over to where the spare spell-cooking pots were kept.

There were only a few to choose from but Luna examined each one until she was perfectly satisfied that she had made the right choice. Fetching the large, metallic boiling pot and bringing it back to their work surface, Luna placed it over the heat and lit the flames with her wand but not before Ginny had poured some water in.

With little conversation because of the fear that they would get in trouble, Luna helped Ginny prepare the required ingredients for their potion. The notes were simple to follow and there seemed to be no specific amounts of the ingredients used.

There were five ingredients to the potion and they all had to be put in, in a specific order. The first ingredient was powdered fireflies; Luna had coughed slightly after adding this ingredient. Ginny was next to add an ingredient and in she slipped in the shavings of a Gurdyroot. The potion hissed and turned orange.

This, according to the notes, was correct and as Ginny began to stir the potion, Luna added the three final ingredients; the puss of a Crabinch, the tail of a newt and a good bottle of Hope Ale Cordial. The potion was now glowing a florescent pink.

"It looks right," Ginny said as she continued to stir the potion in no particular way, "it's says it should be this colour," Luna watched as her friend stared from the potion to her notes, "and that the consistency should be thick and creamy."

Luna couldn't deny that the potion didn't look incorrect. "I'll go and get the glass tears to put them in," she told her friend, standing up and moving towards the Professor's desk. As she reached for the tear shaped bottles that they were to put the potion in, she scanned Colin's potion and noted that it looked identical to hers and Ginny's.

Colin seemed too paranoid by Professor Snape to care that Luna had just walked past and continued to stir at his own potion rather vigorously. Luna quickly retrieved four of the glass tears and hurried back to Ginny before their potion was ruined.

Spilling very little of the potion, Luna and Ginny were able to ladle the brew into the glass containers. Looking slightly worried about what their teacher would think of their efforts, Ginny cleaned the cauldron with a simple flick of her wand. Luna swiftly put the cauldron back at the edge of the room and then sat back at her desk.

"This should be interesting," Ginny said somewhat doubtfully, "even if it's a perfect potion, he'll probably still find some way to mark it as wrong."

Luna tried not to think about Ginny's statement and simply replied with a pleasant nod of her head. The four tasters of their potion were laid in front of them neatly and they waited for any sign of what they needed to do next.

Eventually Snape, who had been sitting awfully close to Colin and muttering things in a barely audible language—stood up and called his class into silence. His eyes scanned his students and Luna followed their gaze.

The two Slytherin's seemed to be in a right mess. Their potion was hissing mercilessly and was spitting out a stone-grey potion onto their desk. Luckily it didn't seem to be doing any harm.

Professor Snape inspected the cauldron. "A good attempt, boys," he said fondly, "your homework is to explain what you did wrong," his voice was still dry and he ridded their potion with his wand. "Half a sheet of parchment should be suffice," he added, before leaving their desk.

"Favouritism," Luna heard Ginny mumble under her breath but decided to ignore the comment.

The potions professor was now standing over Daron and Bethany's potion. There was a short smile balanced on his face as he made the ruined potion disappear. "You will come back for a privet session," the Professor said, "and I will take you through the making of this potion until you get it right or at least passable," his voice fluctuated slightly, "I shall arrange a time with you after class."

Neither the Hufflepuff nor the Ravenclaw said anything and as Snape walked over to Colin, Luna decided that he was probably giving him some kind of homework assignment. Why so secretive though? Perhaps he was going to be Professor Snape's favoured student for the year. As strange as it sounded, Luna couldn't help but like the idea.

Ginny nudged Luna in the side. "And by privet session he really means detention," Luna agreed with her friends statement with a simple nod of her head, "Oh great. He's coming over."

Ginny remained quietly seated and Luna allowed herself to sit up straighter. She watched timidly as their tutor picked up one of the glass containers and began to look it over. Rolling it over in his hands, he suddenly through the glass violently at the blackboard.

There was a bright flash of light that eventually cleared into a visible haze. It lasted less than a minute but Luna had been sure she had seen a small look on Professor Snape's face that resembled a look that he was impressed.

"That," Snape began, "was a good example of what this potion is capable of. "You were a little light on the powdered fireflies and would barely have passed but it is at least a worthwhile first attempt. You may keep the rest of your potion," Snape appeared to be being far to generous, "as you do not yet have copies of Advanced Potion Making—which you must get copies of-- and because your potion was a minimal success," he paused and Luna noticed Ginny's look of worry, "you are both excused from homework this lesson, however," he continued, "I will expect you to do triple next lesson," he smiled meekly and tuned on his heels. "Class dismissed—Miss Paine, Mr Nunal. We need to arrange you session."

There was a shuffle of chairs scrapping against the stone floor, as five of the students—including Luna—gathered their belongings and advanced to the nearest exist of the room. Ginny urged Luna forward, as the blonde-haired girl, swung her bag over her shoulder and followed behind Colin as he left quickly.

Luna could tell that Ginny wanted to speak openly to her but felt it would be best if they wee as far away from the dungeon as appeared to be safe. Neither of the Slytherins even looked at her, as they crossed Luna's path once securely in the hallway.

As Drew passed Luna, he purposely knocked into her bag and it swung from her shoulder. "Well," Luna said as she adjusted the strap so it hung over her back once again, "that certainly was rude!" she exclaimed.

They were now walking towards their Common Room. Now that Luna was in her NEWT years, she had free periods in which she would be expected to study and spend her time wisely. The corridors were noisy and full of life, as younger students hurried to their next lessons.

Ginny nodded. "What do you expect from a Slytherin. Gosh—the day I see a Slytherin helping a Gryffindor, the sun will probably stop shining," she joked seriously. "You know, the only reason that Snape let us off with the potion was because he couldn't find anything to fault it by," she informed her friend who was listening intensively.

Luna had to admit that Ginny's assumptions were very probable. After Colin's, their potion had been by far the best and the Professor had even used theirs as a demonstration when he easily could have used his own. Luna continued to drift forward silently as she weaved her way through a cluster of nervous looking first years.

The hallways were all to familiar now but Luna always made a point of watching her surroundings. You could never quite tell when a step would shift from under your feet or a house elf would accidentally slam into your legs. It didn't matter how many times she watched the magical portraits or stared at the shining suites of armour because every time she did so, they seemed to tell a new story.

The two girls continued on their way to the end of the hallway that played host to the Common Room and quarters. Luna noticed that the hallway seemed to have stretched somewhat and as they reached their final destination, she could see that a new portrait was now swinging in front of the door that they had seen being created the previous night.

Checking that nobody was around, Ginny clapped her hands and stated quietly, "Mercy Backup."

The portrait swung forward and Luna followed her friend into their deserted Common Room. She presumed that their seventh year friends were still in lessons and dropped her bag beside her favoured chair. There was a brief gust of wind as the portrait closed once again and Luna sat herself down in the ruby coloured chair.

She watched as Ginny dropped her own bag onto the table beside the back wall and waited for her friend to join her. Luna had never really had any previous experience with friends. The closest she had ever had to becoming socially aware, was during the DA sessions that Harry had held in her fifth year. That had been the closest she had ever had to having friends.

It was strange to be sitting there in complete quiet with a person who actually called her by her birth name. A friend who actually chose to be in her presence. Luna felt the sofa dip down slightly and smiled as Ginny had joined her, holding a rather heavy-looking novel.

"It feels good having a free lesson, doesn't it?" Ginny asked Luna as she shuffled through the pages of her book, "have you ever read The Vermin Trilogy?" Ginny continued before Luna had even been able to breath in.

Luna stared at her friend curiously. "Yes it does—especially straight after potions," she agreed, staring at the plain, leather-bound cover of Ginny's book. "Now I haven't … should I have?" she added quickly.

Ginny chuckled delightedly. "You should do but I don't think you'd like it. Mother wouldn't be too happy if she knew I have. It's rather naughty," she smirked slightly and Luna could tell that Ginny had fumbled through the pages many times.

"Should you be reading it then?" Luna asked curiously, just happy to have the company.

"Well," Ginny appeared to be taking a minute to think about Luna's words, "let's just say that if they had a copy in the school library, it would be in the restricted section," she smiled somewhat secretively and Luna decided that this was probably a bit too unique for her.

Contrary to her own thoughts and hoping to keep Ginny happy, Luna said, "maybe I'll look out for it."

"Oh yes—you'd love it," Luna wasn't so sure about Ginny's statement, "you can borrow my copy when I've finished it again. I've just gotten to the part where Evette," Ginny cut herself off, "oh!" she exclaimed dramatically, "I'd better not tell you if you're going to read it."

Luna nodded appreciatively and allowed her friend to loose herself in the pages of her chosen book. She allowed her own thoughts to wonder upon more pressing matters, such as how naughty Ginny's book actually was and what exactly the character had been about to do.

Luna was fiddling with her Butter-beer cork necklace when Ginny finally put her book down and she couldn't believe that she had occupied herself with nothing but questions and thoughts for the last hour. As she turned to face the window, Luna could see that the sun was now at its highest for the peak of the day.

"Shall we go to lunch?" Luna asked her friend, who was shoving her book between two large volumes of potion making in the bookcase beside the window.

Ginny faced her and nodded. "Yes—we'd better take our bags with us," she added, "we don't want to be late afterwards. What lesson have you got this afternoon?"

Luna rummaged about in her robes pockets for a moment and finally produced the timetable that she had been issued with earlier that day. It hardly looked new anymore and in just three hours, the parchment appeared to be an ancient keepsake.

Luna scanned the lessons and she cheered excitedly, "Divination!"

"Oh, no," Ginny stated instantly. "I have Ancient Runes," Luna noticed that Ginny seemed rather forlorn about the subject differences and Luna really appreciated it.

Luna smiled. "It's only one lesson," she reminded her friend—just let me find my Divination book. I brought it down earlier this morning."

Ginny nodded in response to Luna's statement and helped her friend search through a pile of books that had been neatly stacked—presumably by a house elf—against the stairs to their dormitory. They hardly stacked them back up at all, as Luna finally produced the book she had been looking for.

Ginny picked up her bag and Luna shoved her newly acquired book into her own satchel. Stepping over one or two of the books they had rummaged through, the two girls left the now untidy selection of books on the floor behind themselves and began to move out of the Common Room. As Luna reached the portrait hole, she held it open for Ginny and then passed through herself.

They continued to walk down the main hallway from their Common Room to the Great Hall and exchanged very few words. The lunch bell had rung some ten minutes ago and although the hallways seemed quite lonely of people, there were one or two late-comers making their ways down to the Great Hall.

Luna waved absent-mindedly to a portrait of a girl who was sitting with her pet Springer Spaniel and ignored the rude comment made by a younger student.

As the two girls approached the Great Hall they were stopped by Hermione as she slid at a quickened pace around the adjacent corridor. The doors were ajar and Luna could see the many happy students enjoying their lunches as Hermione greeted Ginny and herself.

Hermione swept a loose strand of fringe from her forehead and then adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag. "Hello, you two," she said with a friendly smile as the three of them ventured into the hall, "how's your day been so far?" she asked enthusiastically. "I just had my first Ancient Runes class," Hermione continued to inform Luna and Ginny.

The three girls walked towards the Professors table, as it was the closest feature to their own table. As promised, Dumbledore had indeed had a second table arranged for the five extra students to sit at if they so desired. The table looked identical and was adjacent to the one that Luna was heading for. Only Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were sitting at it and they both ignored Hermione, Luna and Ginny's approaching steps.

Sitting at the original council table were Ron and Harry and both of them appeared to have come from the same lesson. Ron was eating some brightly coloured jellybeans and Harry was biting firmly onto a ham baguette.

As they seated themselves, Luna took her usual seat opposite Ron and beside Ginny and went about answering Hermione's question. "Well," she considered for a moment, pulling a plate of sandwiches towards herself, "we had quite an eventful potions class. Professor—"

"You took potions?" Ron interrupted her and Luna could see that his tongue was an assortment of vivid colours. He then turned to look at his sister, "after everything you said?"

Ginny was helping herself to a baked potato with cheese. "Well, yes," her voice fluctuated slightly. "I was recommended to do so," she added quickly and didn't look her brother in the eye.

Hermione smiled and she too was helping herself to a sandwich from the same plate as Luna. "I think it's wonderful that you were not to scared to do so. Most of our year dropped out," she added, "I of course didn't have enough lesson slots—"

"That's not stopped you before," Harry informed Hermione whilst prodding his spoon into a crème caramel.

"Well, no," Hermione's cheeks appeared to tint slightly, "I don't really need potions and Ancient Runes is a much better use of my time. Anyway," her word was lengthy, "it could prove useful," she finalised.

Luna had been nibbling the crust off of her cheese and pickle sandwich. She was dissecting the layers of it extremely slowly and eating it piece by piece. A little blob of pickle had rested on her bottom lip and she licked it off with her tongue.

Ron grunted somewhat disdainfully. "The day that happens, I'll kiss Luna," everyone chuckled except for Luna who seemed to have totally missed the point and was looking up somewhat hopefully.

Luna watched Ron eat another handful of jellybeans for a moment and decided that she would ignore the comment, as the others seemed to have found in rather entertaining. Instead, she looked up at the enchanted ceiling for a moment.

It was a rather dismal day. The sky was lined with clouds and there were very few birds taking flight in the windy sky. The sun was shielded by clouds and the whole outside world looked still and dull, almost like the silence before a storm.

Luna helped herself to a handful of jellybeans from the large bowl that Ron had in front of him but he said nothing. The first one that she inspected was red with tiny orange spots. She popped it into her mouth and smiled as a flowery taste tickled her tongue.

"Wonder where Neville is?" Ron said, as he scratched his nose and nibbled the end off a blue jellybean before dropping it onto the floor, "ugh," he moaned unenthusiastically, "blueberry cream."

"Probably in the greenhouses," Luna said airily as she chewed the end of a carrot stick, "we often went down there together last year," she added, "we both like it and it meant we could keep away from the crowds," she added serenely.

There was a general chatter of agreement and for a split second, Luna had thought Harry had shot her a look of sympathy. She wasn't given the chance to take a second look though because he, Ron and Hermione all seemed to have the same theory that they should probably be getting to their next class.

Luna noticed Ron scoop a few of the sweets into his jacket pocket and Hermione who appeared to also have noticed, rolled her eyes. Ron didn't seem to notice her gesture and instead looked at her in slight bewilderment.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts," she told Ron before he had had a chance to ask the question. Ron opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, "yes," Hermione continued, "we are together. You knew that."

The three seventh years left Luna and Ginny sitting at the table with a feeble goodbye from each of them. For a moment Luna was left in slight disappointment but a tug on the sleeve of her robes, alerted her back into the real world.

Ginny had a troubled look on her face and Luna realised that the students were beginning to filter out. "You better get going too, Luna," she began with concern, "it always takes ages to get the Trelawney's tower," she added. Ginny stood from her seat and glanced around the room. She scooped her bag up from the floor and brushed it off with her hand. "I'll see you later—meet me in the common room," she added.

Ginny wondered off for her next lesson and Luna was left sitting at the table on her own. Divination was one of her favourite subjects and she was in no mood to be late for it. She pushed her chair backwards and stood up, retrieving her bag at the same time.

As Luna turned around to walk to her next class, she accidentally bumped into a girl who was obviously leaving at the same time. The girl steadied herself to her feet and Luna apologised as she picked up a small book she had dropped. For a moment, the girl looked as though she was ready to mouth off but suddenly she smiled and gave Luna a welcoming pat on the shoulder.

Luna smiled back but was slightly taken aback. "Long time no see," the girl said and as Luna began to walk, she followed. The girl appeared to be friendly and polite on first glance and she had an assortment of muggle badges covering a strange looking bag. She appeared to be about sixteen.

"Hello, Emily," Luna replied friendly, as she had met the sixth year Hufflepuff in Divination class in her third year, "are you off to Trelawney next?"

"Yup!" the girl said excitedly. She was slightly plump with a round face and rosy cheeks. She had long brown hair that was straight and loosely tied back and her eyes were a treacle shade of brown. She was slightly short for her age but everything about her seemed kind. A Slytherin walked past her with his head held high in the air and she seemed slightly intimidated by him.

As they had been talking, Luna and Emily had managed to almost walk their way to the North Tower that their Divination class was to be held in, without even thinking about it. The corridor that they were now walking up appeared to be ramped and gradually picking up height.

Luna didn't speak to the girl that she was walking with, instead, she watched the gaps in the walls where stones were becoming loose and there were slight touches of the outside world. Emily didn't seem to find this gesture rude and instead just chuckled.

The door at the end of the corridor swung forward for them, as though it could tell that there was a person coming and the two girls hurried into the small room that was hidden behind it. They had to climb many stone steps all in circular formation, before they reached the highest part.

"We must be later than I thought," Emily said with slight worry, as the trapdoor opened and some ladders dropped down for them to climb.

"Don't worry," Luna said kindly, "You go up first," she pointed to the ladders unnecessarily and the girl nodded with thanks.

Luna could hear eager chatting from the room above and she followed behind Emily once the girl had made it through the trapdoor. The ladders magically raised themselves after Luna had passed through the hole and the door shut itself firmly.

The classroom was just the same as Luna remembered it from the previous years. The dozen or so students that were taking the subject, were all seated in twos and threes around sunken tables and were comfortably sat upon faded beanbags. The several bookcases and cupboards that were tightly pressed against the walls were crammed with crystal balls and brightly patterned china, as well as other interesting objects, including a few bottles of 'do-it-yourself' pensive solutions.

Luna sat herself beside Emily and pulled out her new Divination book from her bag. Professor Trelawney had not taken her heavily glassed eyes off of the two girls since their arrival and Luna smiled cheerfully as the Professor swept forward to observe them.

"My dears," Professor Trelawney began and as she got closer to them, Luna caught a waft of Fire Whiskey from her clothes, "you are several minutes late and I have already called the register," Luna was about to speak but wasn't given the chance, "not to worry though. I knew that you were on your way and marked you present," she added and the two girls nodded with their thanks.

Luna gave Emily an encouraging smile as their Professor pulled her blue shawl tightly around herself and reached out to read the palm of Emily's hand. Her crystal-like fingernails scanned the fine lines on the young girls hand and the Professor sighed sadly.

"Oh, you poor girl, Emily," she said sadly, after allowing her to have her hand back, "I am afraid that your life line has greatly decreased over the summer," she shook her head and Emily's eyes widened with terror.

Professor Trelawney's long, red skirt, skimmed the ground as she moved around the table to stand beside Luna. She looked down upon her student and closed her eyes for a moment. Luna just watched intrigued, as the Professor appeared to be taking her time.

She began to wonder whether she should offer the Professor her hand but instead looked across at her fidgety friend who was sitting opposite her. Luna went to feel for her wand, as it had slipped through her hair somewhat and tucked it back between the dent between her ear and head.

Professor Trelawney opened her eyes again and Luna suddenly realised that all the other students in the class had probably been watching for quite some time. She tucked her feet under the table and waited for whatever advice her Professor was about to offer or to take note of any warning she may have discovered.

"You have a source of magic in your blood that most in this class would be envious for," Professor Trelawney's voice was in whisper, "I don't understand why I never noticed before," she began to glide away from the blonde-haired girl and Luna chose to ignore the muttering amongst her peers. "On a side note," the Professor added, turning around once more, "be aware of a small black and white monkey."

The class appeared to burst into a fit of laughter—all except for Emily that was, as she was far too busy studying the line that ran horizontally across the inside of her right hand and then onto the top. Luna just kept her large, silver eyes focussed on the Professor and ignored the entertainment her classmates seemed to be getting from her warning.

Professor Trelawney appeared to be highly uninterested about the jeering of her gifts and continued to move herself to the front of the classroom. She sat herself in front of a clean chalkboard and her body sank into a large, puffy armchair. She accidentally knocked a glass bottle with her feet and her cheeks reddened as she covered the drink bottle with the long table clothe of her desk.

Luna was skimming the pages of her textbook whilst her Professor began to discuss the topics they would be covering over the next two years. She had the book flat on the table and her eyes looked up for a moment to see what the other students around her were doing. She could only see two people that she had been with previously that day and they were Colin and Daron. The other students were quite a mixed bunch and none of them she knew to well.

Professor Trelawney appeared to have finished her preparation talk and Luna felt that she should probably take notice of what was about to be said. The room was gradually getting warmer and she loosened her tie as she scratched the curve of her neck.

"Now," the Professor said in her usual hushed voice. "I would like to see what you all know and remember from your previous classes. As this is an advanced class, you all took the subject previously and I will be slightly disappointed to see any lack of enthusiasm for remembering what I taught you," she seemed to be breathing more heavily than usual, "if you would just brush up on your tealeaf reading and crystal ball observing please," she informed her class, "don't these double afternoon sessions go so very quickly?" she added and Luna heard someone from the back of the room shout 'no.' The Professor ignored the comment. "Pairs please. You know where the equipment is."

Luna wondered over to the desk where Professor Trelawney had readily laid out some teapots and mugs. She picked up a tray and transferred a blue, steaming pot of tea and two gleaming cups onto it. Luckily she had been sitting closest to the table and had managed to avoid the sudden rabble that the other students were causing.

"I take it we're partners then?" Emily smiled as Luna poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her carefully.

"Yes," Luna blinked, "I thought so but if you want to go with someone else, I don't mind," she added. Luna was used to people avoiding her and purposely moving from her way.

"Honestly, Luna," she began, "I'd much rather work with you than that rabble," she said quietly and Luna laughed with thanks.

Luna poured herself a cup of tea and added no sugar to her cup. She knew that this affected the results and she sighed as a Slytherin who she was pretty sure was called Mia Phish, added about seven scoops of sugar into her own cup. Emily seemed to have caught on to what Luna was looking at and made sure there was a distance between herself and the sugar-craved Slytherin.

The two girls did the correct hand movements as they drank their beverages and Luna wondered for a moment if she had miscounted how many times she had swirled the liquid to the left. She drained the drink so that only the leaves were left dredged in the bottom of the cup.

"Swap?" Emily questioned and Luna nodded.

The two girls exchanged teacups and Luna scanned her friend's cup with growing interest. She kept a close eye on it as she fumbled the pages of her textbook for a list of attributes. She scanned the words until she had found the page that she was looking for. Luna looked up and waited for Emily to finish scanning her own leaves.

A couple of moments later, Emily turned her head up and looked across at Luna. "Okay—you go first," she said excitedly, "The last time I had my tea leaves read, Colin told me he could see the grim because Trelawney was walking past," she rolled her eyes and appeared to think that Luna would make a good job at reading her leaves.

"All right," she said with a smile, her lips parting slightly. "I see a shovel and that means that you are clumsy," Luna looked from the cup to Emily, who nodded her head in response, "I also see a book with a wand on top. This means that you'd like to be a teacher, oh," she stated before Emily had a chance to respond, "there is also the faint outline of a broken pen and that means you're self-conscience," Luna added, still looking at the cup.

"Uncanny," Emily muttered under her breath and Luna put the pottery down on the table. "Okay, let me have a whack at yours," she added and Luna smiled. "Okay. The first thing that I see is a time turner—that means you want to change something that happened in your past," Luna thought about it for a moment but couldn't think of anything in particular. "I can see a monkey and that means you are in love with someone who thinks of you as just a friend," Luna blinked and Emily added kindly, "at the moment that is. You also have a lot of backwards words, which refers to an irregularity in your blood and a small unravelling bow—that means you going to discover something."

"That's not too bad," Luna exclaimed with a smile, "and neither was yours," she added.

Emily had started to put the pottery back on the tray that Luna had brought it over with and with a short tap of her wand, the tray and the used items were transferred from their table to the desk that they had originally come from. Luna gave a spontaneous clap to show that she was impressed and the usually shy Emily blushed slightly.

For the remainder of the lesson, Luna found herself staring into a large, foggy crystal ball. Both herself and Emily had personally been passed one by the Divination Professor but neither of them seemed to be having any luck when it came to actually seeing anything.

Emily was watching the crystal ball directly from above. Her eyes were half closed and slightly tired with tears of boredom. Luna had rested her head firmly on the table and her eyes were just staring into the glass expectantly. The noise levels in the tower had started to pick up because the lesson was coming to an end.

Luna couldn't help noticing that Professor Trelawney was not quite her usual self. Usually she would be rushing around the classroom, helping students make their readings and telling them things that were to happen. She began to wonder if it was just because they were in a higher year but as she turned to face the Professor, Luna noticed that her skin was slightly discoloured and her eyes bloodshot.

Someone knocked their crystal ball from off of their table and this seemed to snap Professor Trelawney back into reality. Luna lifted her head up and Emily rubbed her eyes slightly. There was a clatter of noise as Emily clumsily retrieved the crystal ball and gave it to the Professor.

"Thank you," Professor Trelawney said, as she took the crystal ball from Emily and placed it onto her desk without even inspecting it for damage or interesting theories. "Class," she drummed on her desk for silence yet most eyes were focused on her anyway, "class," she repeated, "I am saddened to inform you that our afternoon has finally come to an end. For homework, I would like you to research the fine art of Irisomecy. If anyone has any problems please don't hesitate to come and see me—it is due in during your next lesson. Leave your tools where they are," she finished just as a large bell issued the end of afternoon classes. "Class dismissed."

"I'll see you next lesson," Emily said as she jumped up from her seat quickly and crammed her textbook into her bag, "I have to meet someone," she informed her before joining the crowd of students queuing to leave through the trap door.

Luna nodded politely as Emily left her and she opened her own sack-like bag to put her Divination book away. The class was beginning to filter out and Luna watched her Professor as she disappeared into her back room. She then focussed her attention back onto the trapdoor and noticed that Emily was finally going through.

She swung her bag over her back and the beanbag she had been sitting on crackled as she stood up. Luna was now the only person in the classroom and she began to wonder over to the exit. As she began to climb down the steps, she took notice of a strange drinking noise from the back room.

Luna shook her head sadly as she held on to the handles of the stairs and climbed down to the floor level. No sooner had her feet touched the wooden floors, did the stairs rise up again and the trapdoor close. She felt a sudden urge of sadness when she thought of her Professor up there but knew there was nothing that she was entitled to do.

Luna had told Ginny that she would meet her back in the Common Room and so began to make her way back down the corridor. Luna began to slow her walking pace down as several portraits began to smile as she passed. Luna then stopped beside one of the portraits and looked over her shoulder for a moment.

The portrait was completely made up of scenery. It was a stormy ocean scene, painted in dark colours with a large pirate ship tackling savage waves. Luna pressed her fingers behind the painting and clipped a catch behind it. The picture swung forward to reveal a secret tunnel.

Luna checked once more that nobody was looking and then through her bag into the passageway carefully. She then clambered into the tunnel herself carefully and pulled the portrait closed once more. The tunnel was hardly big enough for a person to stand in and so Luna crawled down it on her hands and knees.

Although the tunnel appeared be in a complete straight line, it was actually gradually falling to the second floor of the school. Luna was using no late to see where she was going as she had been using this particular passageway for three years.

As Luna reached the end of the tunnel, her forehead pressed against a flat piece of wall. She knocked on the back of the portrait in a particular pattern and then kept back so that she wouldn't fall forward. She pushed her bag out of the now open hole and was pleased to see that nobody was around.

As Luna turned around and wrapped the strap of her bag back over her shoulder, she turned around and saluted the stern looking man in the portrait that had let her out. He was dressed in green robes and wore a flattened wizard's hat. He saluted her back and Luna began to walk down the remainder of the corridor.

Luna was barely meters away from her destination but no sooner did she turn to the right, did her best friend approach her. Ginny was standing beside the portrait that opened into their Common Room. Her hands were pressed firmly on her hips, her lips were pressed together and her cheeks were red with anger.

"Do you know how insensitive those prats we have to share a room with are?" Ginny asked Luna before she had even been able to gather words into her own mouth. "I swear they have no decorum at all."

Luna followed Ginny down the remainder of the hallway and the regular password and clapping of the hands was performed by Ginny so that they could get into the Common Room. It was very hard to calm Ginny when her temper was high so Luna felt that it was best to let her do it in her own way.

As she followed Ginny through the portrait hole, she asked her friends, "what did they do?"

"They had a meeting about the Council without us. All of them. We were the only two that weren't present," the temper in Ginny's voice seemed to lower slightly and Luna felt slightly relieved as the picture swung closed. "They have it all figured out. We're going to have meetings on a Thursday afternoon because both the sixth years and seventh years have a free period," Ginny stropped over to the sofa and sank down on it.

Luna watched her curiously. "Ginny. I really don't understand what you're so worried about. They only discussed a day."

"That's not the point. It's the principle, Luna. Haven't you noticed how they ignore us and always put us second?" she asked, her voice now steadily calming.

Luna had never been bothered about being second rate, usually she would settle for fifth or even sixth. "I do understand what you are saying," Luna informed her friend timidly, "but I don't think they mean anything by it. Who told you?"

"Hermione," Ginny informed her sullenly and the spoke quickly, "I know what you mean, Luna but you have to admit, it is slightly unfair," she added.

Luna sat beside Ginny on the couch. "What else did she discuss?"

Ginny breathed in deeply. "I don't know," her voice dipped in tone, "she wouldn't tell me and do you want to know what's even funnier? I saw that Emily Smith girl with Terry Boot and when I asked him how the meeting went, he just looked at me as if I was completely insane!"

Luna had to agree that what Ginny had stumbled upon was strange and slightly unrealistic. Ginny seemed to be cooling off and Luna was pleased that her temper wasn't lasting long. If she had been more like her brother, it could have lasted for days and that wasn't something she would look forward to.

Ginny refused to talk to the older students at all that evening, as she had insisted to Luna that not only were they keeping the two younger students out of the blue but they were also lying to them.

Luna had ventured down to the Great Hall at about seven in the evening after wondering whether she should complete her Divination homework or not. Ginny had refused to accompany her and so the young blonde had brought her friend back a large slice of cake from the dinner plates.

The rest of the evening drifted away with very little happening in the terms of interest and excitement. Luna could hardly believe that the first school day of their stay at Hogwarts had passed and although it was out of her nature, she couldn't help worrying about her friend. She seemed more upset than angry, as her friend sat in the furthest seat from her brother and Harry.

Luna was stroking a rather timid looking Byron as the evening came to a close and he was tenderly wrapped around her neck with his tail hooked around her nose. Neville, Harry and Hermione had all already gone up to bed and as Luna sat in the curve of the sofa, she patted Byron on the head but didn't allow her eyes to drop lower than Ron's as she watched him play exploding snap on his own.