Harry and the others whooped with delight as they raced through the forest on the backs of the centaurs. The magical creatures seemed to travel faster than the wind, yet their gait was so smooth they could've been gliding on water. As he gripped the lead centaur's unruly red mane and breathed in the smell of fresh pine sprigs, Harry couldn't wipe the smile off his face. It was spectacular, rivaling even his ride on a dragon last year.
They arrived at Hogwarts much too soon, forcing Harry to once again face reality and the problems that came with. Thanks to the centaurs they had made it back before curfew, but there was still the issue of Luna. She needed to go to the medical wing, but he knew that Madam Pomfrey would have questions about how she had gotten injured in the first place.
"Can't we just say that she, like, bumped into something?" Parvati suggested. "With Ginny's spells it doesn't look that bad from the outside."
Hermione shook her head. "Madam Pomfrey's a master at medicine and healing magic. She'll be able to tell right away that it's more serious than it looks, and that someone already treated her."
The faces of the group, which had been hopeful a moment before, fell. "No one's going to believe that she injured herself that badly from just 'bumping' into something by accident," Ron said dismally.
"Are you sure about that?" Malfoy spoke up. "This is Loony Lovegood we're talking about."
"Her name is Luna," Neville corrected him tensely. "And what do you know about her anyway?"
Draco opened his mouth to reply, but Harry put his hand up to stop him.
"Malfoy has a point," he said, remembering how Luna had told him that one time she had been distracted reading a book and walked right off the top of the old clock tower. She would've plummeted to her death if her robe hadn't caught on a protruding ledge. And that was just one of many remarkable stories she had. "Look," he said, "Luna's great, but you have to admit that she can be clumsy at times. I think that if anyone can pull this off, it would be her. It's at least worth a try."
"I'll bring her to the medical wing," Cho said. "Since I'm also a Ravenclaw."
"Ginny should go, too," Hermione put in. "They may want to know who performed the healing spells, and if they want to see proof of it for themselves, she's the only one who can do it. Ah, but…," she paused for a moment and looked at Ginny uncertainly, "if they find out that you used such high-level spells, you may get in trouble for it."
"It's alright," Ginny said without hesitation. "It's much better than the entire group getting caught."
Harry smiled at her, their eyes meeting for a second before Ginny quickly looked away. "Alright," he said, glancing at the clock. "Curfew's in ten minutes, so the rest of us will go back to our rooms so that no one gets suspicious. Good luck, you two."
Harry and Ron made it back to their room without trouble, but Harry knew they couldn't relax yet. While Ron snored loudly in the bed next to his, he lay awake, listening carefully for approaching footsteps. He expected Umbridge to come in at any moment and kick him out of Hogwarts, but hours passed, and the halls remained quiet.
As soon as it was light out, he dressed hastily and tiptoed to the common room. It wasn't long until Ginny, who was an early riser, came out of her room.
"Ginny!" he practically pounced on her in his eagerness. "How did it go?"
"Everything went well," she smiled. "Madam Pomfrey believed us, and she said that Luna will be fine after a few days' rest."
"That's great, but what about you?" he asked. "Did you get in trouble?"
Ginny lowered her eyes. "Just a bit, but Madam Pomfrey said that since the spell worked, she wouldn't tell anyone about it this time. But she did warn me that I shouldn't use such spells without proper training in the future."
"I see." To Harry, such a mild scolding was inconsequential, but he knew that for Ginny it had likely been hard to bear. "Thanks a lot for doing this, Ginny. I'm sorry that you had to get in trouble for it."
"Don't be sorry, Harry," she said earnestly. "I said I would do it, and I don't regret it. I'm glad I could help the rest of the group."
Harry grinned. "I still can't believe that it worked. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually grateful that Luna's so clumsy!"