Chapter 5 – "Wraith"
He stared at her grave. It was so plain compared to all the other Malfoy graves. It was like everyone except him had been ashamed of her. He loved her. Draco bent down and ran his fingers over her name. Trisana Malfoy was the only person who truly understood him. She had died two years before going to Hogwarts, but he knew she would have been in Slytherin. That was why he put a green rose on her tombstone every time he visited. However, this time the rose was different - it sparkled. After further inspecting, he realised it was made of a pale green stone. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was jade. He stood there admiring its beauty until it grew dark, and realising that it was time to take his leave, he turned around. It wasn't until that moment Draco realised why it was so dark. The graveyard was usually lit by another tombstone. He had studied it too, curious as to how it continued to glow and the planets were always in the same position as the real heavenly bodies they represented. Someone had told him that the daughter of the woman who was buried there had done it. For some reason, he couldn't recall the name of either witch. It bothered him. He knew it was important. The soft light that usually graced the area was so dim that he could barely see his hand in front of his face.
"Ow!" Draco had pricked his finger on the stone rose. He went to set the wondrous blossom on Trisana's grave, but fell to the ground himself as dizziness overtook him. He must have hit his head on his cousin's grave, because when he began to come to he felt his skull aching and temples throbbing. He groaned. What he wouldn't give to be back at Hogwarts in the Hospital wing…
Then it dawned on him. He was in the Hospital wing. The sky outside a nearby window was a light grey, because the sun was rising. He pulled the stiff white covers over his head and was about to be reclaimed by his dreams when someone yanked them off him. In a flash, he summoned up his indignation and self-righteousness and opened his eyes, about to tell whomever it was off for disturbing him when he found a pair of calm blue eyes studying him intently. Oh Merlin, why was Dumbledore here?
Draco racked his brain trying to think of what he did, and realised the last thing he could remember was arguing with that weird Ravenclaw. If she had hexed him into this bed, he'd tell his father. But then, his father was in Azkaban. Damnit! Why did his father have to be a bloody Death Eater? It made things bloody inconvenient, especially when Draco was trying to lord his father's power over the other students.
"Good morning, Draco," Dumbledore said as he took a seat in a chair next to his bed. He placed his long fingertips together in front of his face and began once again to study the younger wizard.
The Headmaster's gaze made Draco felt like his soul was completely exposed, which was how he felt whenever Lovegood looked at him with those abnormally protuberant and pale eyes of hers. Dumbledore's attention made him want to squirm, but the pain in his head was blinding so he stayed put.
"I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will be along shortly to shoo me away and give you a potion to clear your head. You had a rather nasty cut on the back of your skull. I was wondering if you could help me with something first, do you know who this belongs to?"
Draco looked up and saw Dumbledore holding a stone rose in his hand. He recognized it, but couldn't say where he had seen it before. His feeling of forgetting crucial information was strangely familiar He reached for the stem, careful not to snag his hand on one of the thorns, which he knew were sharp, but couldn't say how he knew. It looked like the type of rose he'd put on Trisana's grave except that it was stone. Malachite? No… jade, definitely.
"I've seen it before," he said as much to himself as to Dumbledore. The pain from his wound grew, and he dropped the rose onto the bed as he reached up to hold his head.
"It was found lying next to the two of you in Mr. Filch's office, so if it's not yours, then it must be Miss Lovegood's. Very well. Lie down and rest, Mr. Malfoy," the other wizard told him as he stood up. Draco looked up, his eyes watering. That had been the first time someone other than a servant had called him Mister Malfoy. The Headmaster must have had some respect for him, even after everything Lucius had done.
Over the next few days, most of the students broke into whispers and gave him a wide berth as he walked past them or entered a room. It had been the same when they thought him to be the heir of Slytherin back in his second year. It had been amusing and pleasing at first, as he was finally receiving the respect and instilling the fear that a Malfoy should. However, after about three days though got a little lonely - everyone but Crabbe and Goyle believed he had attacked that Lovegood girl! What's more, the only reason Crabbe and Goyle didn't believe it was simply because they were too thick to notice. Bloody morons.
He couldn't remember anything but bickering with Lovegood that night, and told Snape as much when he questioned him as his Head of House. Draco knew that the Potions Master secretly approved of hexing people from other Houses, but unfortunately sent a letter to his mother anyway, detailing what he may or may not have done to the Ravenclaw. He let everyone believe their assumptions about him, because it let him get caught up on the homework he hadn't been able to do while in detention.
Luna heard her mother humming. She twirled around, and saw the older woman beckoning to her. Luna followed her through the Triwizard maze like usual. Whenever she had dreamt of this before, it looked like everything was in a haze, but this time everything was crystal clear. Luna stepped forward to follow Diana, and to her amazement, the veil got closer instead of farther away. She took another step and another until she was close enough to hear the whispers again. She reached out her hand to brace herself on the side column holding up the veil, when a gust of wind knocked her back. The Ravenclaw crouched down; twigs and leaves from the hedges that made up the maze were flying everywhere, blinding her. She glanced up to where the veil had been mere moments before, only to find that it had vanished. Luna shivered, her bare skin whipped by the icy air. She tried to run out of the maze, but sharp flying debris shredded her nightgown. She crawled into a corner and huddled there, trying to shelter herself.
She felt someone's eyes on her. She knew it was pointless to try to yell to the other person (wherever they were); the wind would just carry her voice away. Instead, she waited patiently until she could see the outline of the other person. He or she began to speak.
"I don't know why I got stuck here with her, I'm missing Charms Club."
Luna slowly opened her eyes, partially due to how heavy they felt, and partially due to the brilliant afternoon sun streaming in through a nearby window. Odd… she didn't remember there being so many beds in the dorm room, and why were none of the blankets blue? She thought thickly, as her eyes adjusted.
The Ravenclaw turned her attention to the person sitting in a chair next to her bed, engrossed in Young Witch, her legs crossed and the top foot tapping impatiently. Her long dark plait was visible dangling down the back of the chair.
Had Luna not been so sore, she would have quirked an eyebrow. How and why had Padma Patil been coerced into watching over her? She could tell the other girl didn't want to be there, even through her grogginess.
"Wha donyu eaveem fine?"
"Pardon? I was reading about the lead singer from the Weird Sisters and…" Padma trailed off, after realising who it was that had spoken. She lowered the magazine and Luna saw the slightly stunned look on her face.
"You're awake?"
"As far as I know."
In a blink, Padma had dashed off for Madam Pomfrey and the matron of the Hospital Wing came bustling over to check her vitals. After doing that, she forced Luna to choke down a thick potion that slowly slid down her parched throat. Immediately after swallowing it, much of her aching subsided and she managed to sit up.
"That potion will make you fall asleep in about ten minutes, so your friend here will only be allowed to stay until then," she announced before leaving.
Padma grabbed her magazine and checked the time with a frown on her face.
"Don't worry, you'll still be able to go to Charms Club," Luna told her, trying to be reassuring. Instead, Padma looked a little sheepish and sat down.
"It's alright; they'll just be bickering about what cosmetic charm to try next. Anyway, you probably want to know what happened. What can you remember from Sunday night?"
Luna racked her brain. "Sitting in the Library with Harry and Ron…"
Padma leaned in and whispered, "So is it true you're dating Ron now?"
"No. I turned him down," she replied, trying not to sound miserable.
The older girl leaned back in her seat, looking thoughtful. "Wish I had done that. Almost ruined my Yule Ball, that prat did."
"So why were you watching over me?" Luna asked, trying not to sound thankless.
"Members of the D.A. were taking it in turns. So, is it true that he wanted to go out with you just to make Hermione jealous?" Padma inquired, turning the subject over to something Luna didn't want to discuss with anyone.
"I don't know. Why am I here? What happened?"
"Well, you had detention with Malfoy, and all we know is that Filch had you doing cleaning in his office, and when he came back to check on you, both of you were out cold on the floor. Malfoy woke up a few hours later, but claimed he didn't know what happened. We've been all waiting for you to wake up so you could tell us what happened with Ron… I mean Malfoy. So what did happen?"
"I'm not sure. I just remember being on my way to the detention."
"So did Ron get someone to ask you out?"
"No. He asked me himself," Luna replied. The sparkle of curiosity and interest in Padma's cinnamon eyes died. He had been so romantic and eloquent with his question too…
"She's meeting Vicky in Hogsmeade next week. I overheard her tell Ginny. Why she wants to see that Bulgarian git is beyond me."
"Why were you eavesdropping on their conversation?"
"I wasn't. I was trying to
concentrate on my homework, for once. They were sitting nearby and
the common room was quiet. Ugh! Practically everyone goes to
Hogsmeade with dates now."
"Luna… are you going to Hogsmeade next week end?"
"Yes, why?"
"Would
you like to go with me?"
"No, thank you Ronald."
"I thought you liked me."
"I do, but I'd rather go with you if it was because you genuinely wanted to spend time with me. I don't want to go with you because you just want to get back at Hermione. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find another book…"
Luna shook her head, which began to swim. Before she could tell Padma that the ten minutes were up and she was about to fall asleep, she was already out like a flash.
As it turned out, Luna had to stay in the Hospital Wing until Friday afternoon, having spent almost five days there. She hadn't seen many people since she had first awoken. Thankfully, the last class of the day was still going on, so she headed to Ravenclaw Tower before the halls would be packed with people who would no longer ignore her. It was so much easier when nobody paid her any attention than when people went out of their way to avoid or harass her. The walk took her a while, as her muscles and bones protested to being used after such a nice rest. Once she finally reached the suit of armour that marked the entrance to the dorm, she told it the password. Thankfully, it hadn't been changed since the weekend. The armour sank down in the floor (along with the piece of wall behind it), allowing her passage into a corridor that had not been visible moments before.
As she came near, the torches lit themselves. After a couple twists and turns, Luna came to a short, spiral staircase. Finally, she walked into a room even taller than the Great Hall. An underwater scene had been charmed onto the ceiling. Dolphins were doing a sort of underwater ballet in one corner of it. Two walls in the room were charmed to be an oceanic blue, while the others were lined with thousands of books. The chairs were a darker shade of blue, and the tables a nicely finished dark wood, all of which were useful and practical A bronze statue of an eagle on a rocky crag was centred in the room. There were several corridors branching off of the common room. Luna drifted over to a bookshelf, pulled out a large tome, and hid behind it in one of the chairs. She knew better than to take refuge in her dorm room, as her classmates would be back soon and they'd somehow manage to corner her and make her spill every bit of gossip and personal information out of her. At least in the common room she could attempt an escape if necessary. Before she could lose herself in the book's pages, a wave of loneliness washed over her, and she held her eyes open wide to stop the tears from coursing down her cheeks. She knew it made her look like her eyes were bugging out when she did so, but she didn't care. She wouldn't let them see her cry ever again.
Luna pulled the list of things she had to get for her father's birthday out of her nightstand, and walked serenely down to the village of Hogsmeade. She was only vaguely aware of the other students pointing at her. The first stop on her list was Scrivenshaft's shop for Ever-Inked Quills.
After she had everything on her list, Luna headed to the Three Broomsticks to join the other member of the D.A. She somehow managed to manoeuvre through the crowded pub with five large parcels, two bags, and a gilly water (probably because everyone went quite still when she came through the door. She set down all her purchases without dropping, breaking, exploding or spilling anything. Thankfully, Harry had told the D.A. not to pester her with questions about her accident (or whatever it was). Unfortunately, that didn't stop other people from opening their gobs.
"What's the matter Weasley, don't want to help your sick girlfriend?" some loud student asked Ron. Ron's reaction was to go from pink, to red, to a nasty shade of puce in two seconds flat. A certain bushy brunette pursed her lips.
"I'm not ill, and he's not my boyfriend," Luna announced quietly.
"Not unless you put him under one of those Entrancing Charms you were reading up on, Lovegood. Why don't you just go back to Longbottom, I'm sure he'll have you even if no one else will. It's not like either of you have any reason to be choosy," Pansy Parkinson replied.
"Shut up, Pansy!" Neville and Ginny said in unison.
Pansy was about to reply, when Draco placed a hand on her shoulder to shush her.
"You'd just love it if all of us Slytherins permanently put a cork in it, wouldn't you? You claim you want inter-House unity, but I don't see any Slytherins in your little group. It's all Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. You're all talk, aren't you? Especially you, Granger. You and your incredibly annoying whinging on about House Elves and slavery, but I don't see you making a fuss about obtaining your education at the school which has more House Elves than any other British dwelling. You're a bunch of hypocrites," he declared so everyone could hear him.
Luna knew what he had just said about the members of the D.A. not wanting Slytherins to join was absolutely true. Perhaps when he had fallen and hit his head, he had some sense knocked into him. But then, Madam Pomfrey would be able to notice something as drastic as that. That thought caused her to giggle, and the gilly water that she had been in the process of swallowing came back up her throat. Bringing a serviette up to her mouth to cover her coughing and sputtering, she tried her best not to draw any more attention to herself.
Even through her wincing eyes, she saw Draco study her intensely for a few moments. What emotion was in his eyes? Guilt? Concern? Disgust? Before she could truly decipher his expression, he stood up, put on his cloak and left the pub. She was surprised that the argument between him and Ron hadn't continued. Harry and Hermione managed to force Ron back into his chair instead of running after Draco, and gradually conversations started up again around the room as she retreated behind a book on Nargles.
She overhead someone say that Draco should be locked up alongside his father in Azkaban, but she thought that wasn't right. He hadn't done anything horrible enough to be placed there. She couldn't remember what happened in their last detention together, and apparently neither could he, so what was to say that he did anything? Luna had a gut feeling that Draco hadn't done anything to hurt her so badly that she would be unconscious for four days.
Generally speaking, she enjoyed being in such a crowded and busy space. She could learn what everyone was up to, while everyone thought she had her head in the clouds and her nose in a book or magazine. She listened to several conversations at once, and closed her eyes so she could hear them better.
"…You know how hard it is to make a decent love potion nowadays? I'm going to complain to the ministry that Ashwinder eggs be put back on the Tradable Goods List…" one middle-aged witch told her friend at the bar. Luna recognized her as owning a dating service that was regularly advertised in Witch Weekly, and let a dreamy smile drift across her face.
"…I heard that some Hufflepuff last year went into hysterics because of the O.W.L.s. I'm not planning on sleeping. Maybe there's a potion that'll keep me awake for the whole two weeks…"
"…Zacharias told me someone in Slytherin said Malfoy used a Confundus Charm and a Hallucination Hex on her. Pity she couldn't have stayed in the Hospital Wing longer. It was nice not having that lunatic in class all week..."
Luna knew who the speaker was without even looking. It was Michael Corner. In a flash, she was back at the last Hogwarts Quidditch match she had been at.
Ginny had just caught the snitch right in front of Cho's face. Luna had felt immense disappointment. Ravenclaw hadn't won against Gryffindor since she had come to Hogwarts. If anyone had to win, she was glad it was Ron. He deserved some recognition for once. She watched him being held up by his Housemates, all singing their own version of "Weasley Is Our King" pass by her. It was only then that she noticed a row going on near one of the exits to the stands.
"I'm terribly sorry that I played a good game of Quidditch! I apologize for my brother, because he managed to save some goals today! I'll just call Madam Hooch over and ask for a rematch, shall I?" she overheard the youngest Weasley yelling at someone.
"Stop acting so juvenile, I just don't think you should gloat about it…"
"Why don't you get off your high horse for once? I wasn't gloating! I was excited because I finally showed my family that Charlie and the twins weren't the only ones good at Quidditch! I never once said that Gryffindor was better than Ravenclaw or anything like that!"
"Humph. Couldn't you have at least gone easy on Cho? She's had a rough time this last year!" Michael spat back at his girlfriend.
"Rough? Since when is dating a Hogwarts champion, then having him die, then going after Harry the next chance she got, snogging him, then dumping him the second he disagrees with her rough? Shouldn't you say that Ron and I have had a rough year, with out dad being in St. Mungo's and everything?"
"I was wondering when you were going to mention him. Saint Potter, can't possibly top him in anyway in your eyes. As for your father being hospitalised, I know that was just an excuse that you used so you could spend Christmas with Potter, instead of your boyfriend. Why don't you just go and snog Potter like I know you're dying to?"
"Why don't you just go and snog Cho, like I know you're dying to?" Ginny replied with a dangerous snarl in her voice.
"Someone's got to comfort her," he replied coldly before leaving.
Luna heard a scream of frustrations, then observed a broomstick hurtle out onto the pitch apparently from being thrown in anger. She made a mental note to never give Ginny Weasley any reason to become cross at her, as she rose from her seat in the Quidditch stands and began to make her way back to the castle.
Luna took a sip of her drink, and glanced at Ginny. The other girl was giving her ex-boyfriend the look of death. Not quite sure whether it was lingering resentment from the fight she had witnessed, or renewed rage at what he had just said, her heart felt lighter than it had all day at the thought of someone other than her father becoming angry on her behalf.
Hermione clanked a spoon on her butter beer mug and stood up, taking people's attention away from the nasty remarks being made. Luna listened to her drone on, and looked over all the people who had arrived. On the other side of Hermione, Ron was silently fuming next to an equally furious looking Ginny. Dean Thomas, Ginny's new boyfriend, appeared to be completely engrossed in a drawing. Next to him, Seamus Finnigan was admiring the view, and not Dean's doodle. Neville, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Eloise Midgeon, Terry Boot, and Katie Bell were intently listening. Padma, Parvati Patil, and Lavendar Brown took turns reading Young Witch and listening. Zacharias Smith was still there, although she had no clue as to why he'd continue to be a part of a group in which he couldn't stand anyone. There were several more additions, of people she knew by face and not name (mostly because they were younger than her). As Luna looked around at the members of the D.A., she noticed once again that there were indeed no Slytherins. Maybe Draco was right, and they were all hypocrites.
Draco hadn't noticed the Loon at breakfast that morning, as he had been busy reading a note from his mum. He had noticed her on the main street of Hogsmeade, when she had almost walked right into him, her nose nearly touching the piece of parchment she was holding. He didn't know what frustrated him more: the fact that she hadn't even acknowledged his presence, that as a witch from a relatively well-off family she purchased robes from Gladrags (the shop that she entered after ignoring him), or that she wasn't paranoid and afraid of him like she should be if he had hexed her so badly.
He was listening to Nott go on about the Ministry's investigation of some attack on Muggles. Nott wasn't giving them any information that wasn't in the Prophet, and Draco found it extremely boring. He let his mind wander, not caring about the conversation at his table.
He saw Lovegood and her tottering pile of parcels, which almost toppled over when she opened the door to the Three Broomsticks. Pansy, sitting next to him, also found the talk at table to be quite dull, and followed his gaze. He watched her eyes narrow as she too watched as the Ravenclaw plopped her things down at a table, and none of the so-called chivalrous Gryffindors offered to help her. In fact, he noticed a certain Weasley pointedly ignoring Lovegood, and Granger looking irate.
"What's the matter Weasley, don't want to help your sick girlfriend?" some loud student asked Weasley. Weasley's reaction was to turn an even more hideous shade of red than his hair, which was saying something.
"I'm not ill, and he's not my boyfriend." Lovegood announced quietly.
"Not unless you put him under one of those Entrancing Charms you were reading up on, Lovegood. Why don't you just go back to Longbottom, I'm sure he'll have you even if no one else will. It's not like either of you have any reason to be choosy." Pansy replied.
"Shut up, Pansy!" Longbottom and the female Weasley said in unison.
Ugh! They had no sense of decorum, did they? Pansy was about to reply, when Draco placed a hand on her shoulder to shush her. He didn't want her to stoop to their level. He puffed himself up as much as possible before replying himself.
"You'd all just love it if all of us Slytherins just put a cork in it, wouldn't you? You claim you want inter-House unity, but I don't see any Slytherins in your little group. It's all Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. You're all talk, aren't you? Especially you, Granger. You and your incredibly annoying whinging on about House Elves and slavery, but I don't see you making a fuss about obtaining your education at the school which has more House Elves than any other British dwelling. You're a bunch of hypocrites," he declared so everyone could hear him.
He saw Lovegood look distant for a moment, whilst sipping on her drink, and then she began to giggle for some bizarre reason. She brought a serviette up to her mouth to cover her coughing and sputtering. At least she knew to act like a lady… Lovegood's eyes met his for a moment, and he could tell she was in pain. Was it because of what he had done a few days before, or was it something else? Why should he care about her? Why was he taking such an interest in her? Not wanting to stay there any longer, he got up and left the pub.
The cold air bombarded his exposed face and hands once he walked outside. He had left his gloves and scarf up at the castle, and regretted it now. Winter had come early, and he hated it. Everything was so lifeless and frigid.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
He heard the sound of someone walking up to him in the newly fallen snow.
"Why didn't you ask me to come with you? I wanted to get away from Theodore; he's such a bore. I had to sit through five more minutes of him hashing out old news. Why don't we go to Honeydukes? They've got a sale on Strawberry Crème Chocolates," Pansy said, all in one breath.
Draco hated chocolate and fruit together. "No, I think I'll just go back to the castle. I forgot my gloves and scarf."
"Oh! Why didn't you say something? Here, you can have mine, I'm too warm anyway," Pansy told him, beginning to unwrap her ungodly green scarf from around her neck. He'd rather freeze to death than be caught dead wearing that hideous thing.
"That's alright, why don't you go and get some chocolate? I'll go back and find those books we need for McGonagall's essay. We can eat the chocolate and do the essay. It'd make it a bit more bearable." Damnit! Why'd he say he'd eat them? Perhaps eating nasty sweets was better than wearing that scarf. At least afterwards he'd be able to cleanse his palette from the sweets.
Pansy agreed to his plan, and set off bouncily to Honeydukes. He rolled his eyes. She was way too perky when he was around. He knew quite well that it was all an act for him. She could continue on with the act for all he cared, as it wouldn't get her anywhere. She just made herself way too available, which was always nice if he wanted a quick snog every now and then, but wasn't something he particularly liked.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
He whipped around to tell Pansy off for not going to Honeydukes, when he saw a certain dreamy Ravenclaw happily crunching the snow as she made her way over to him. She had her parcels floating ahead of her.
"I thought you'd send her off. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I've finally realised that we're both like Thestrals."
He blinked. Huh? "Pardon me?"
"We're like Thestrals. People either see us for who we are, or not. If not, then we may as well be invisible. If they do see us, they view it as a horrible thing. We really can't win," she told him.
"Can't you compare me to something or someone pleasant? First it was that Dwarf singer, now a Thestral. What next? A Blast-Ended Skrewt?" Draco asked her, and she broke into a fit of giggles again, and hid behind a copy of The Quibbler. People were supposed to look you in the eye if you were talking. He reached over and ripped the magazine from her grasp, and impatiently waited until she sobered. She clutched her sides and breathed raggedly.
"You're absolutely crazy," he informed her.
Sobering slightly, Lovegood gasped, "I'm just as sane as you are, Draco." She paused momentarily before continuing, "Join us."
The Crazy Club? Then he realised who "us" was. She wanted him to join Dumbledore's Army. His initial reaction was to scoff at her, but then he thought something that was intriguing. He could hex any of the golden trio, or the Gryffindors. legitimately in this club or whatever it was, and none of them could say anything about it. He smirked to himself.
"You know Lovegood; I think I will join your little club just as long as I don't have to wear a 'Potter for President' badge."
She smiled, and said, "I knew that someone just had to ask, and a Slytherin would join us. You can prove to them that you're not all evil gits."
"I thought you changed your mind, and I was a git."
Her smile got even dreamier, "I still think you're a git, but a likeable one. As for being evil, you haven't done enough horrible things to truly be considered that… I don't remember what happened in our last detention, but I also don't believe that you were the one that hurt me," she informed him as she tried to reach her magazine, which he kept just above her outstretched arm.
At her last words, he froze. Did she just say he was a likeable git? What was wrong with her? They had been arguing every time they saw each other, actually duelled in the corridor, and he had apparently almost killed her six days before. Her brain must have been damaged somehow…
"I have not gone batty. Madam Pomfrey checked me thoroughly; my thought processes haven't been changed in any way."
Draco was about to tell her he thought otherwise, when she stepped forward, gave his hand a squeeze, whispered "you're welcome" in his ear before drifting up the path to the castle. He stood there, perplexed. What should he be thanking her for? He looked down at the hand she had squeezed, and saw that a pair of exquisite gloves was on his hands. At least she had some taste. Then he realised he was still holding The Quibbler, and decided he needed to change her reading material. At least it wasn't that magazine for immature witches, Young Witch. He went into a shop and bought the latest copy of Witch Weekly, and decided to give it to her the next time he saw her, not realising what had just occurred.
A/N I: Thanks to my beta, jesabelle as always.
A/N II: Why Luna passed out will be explained in the next chapter. Please let me know if everything was explained well in this chapter (like what went on after Luna passed out), or if there were parts of OoC-ness.
A/N III: Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews... Sorry this chapter is seven months late. I had to deal with a major writers block, 33 re-writes, and technical difficulties (losing what I had written when I switched computers). The next one will be easy and fun to write, so hopefully I'll get that one out more promptly than this one.
A/N IV: I will continue to write this fic after I get HBP, so I'll just update it with all the new info as it will start from the same place in time.