Author's Note

Whew, Chapter 2. This took me quite some time to write. I hope that this would be an improvement from the first. So if you reading through this, pleae R&R. And thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter TT.

Chapter 2

Harry awoke in the dead of the night, drenched in sweat. Apparently he had a bad feeling about the mysterious door. Again. It's been costing him valuable sleeping time. But this time, just this time, the dream felt like it was more than a dream, it was... lucid. He sat up on his bed and grappled in the dark, hoping to find his glasses lying somewhere around the bedside table. Once he made sure his glasses was perched soundly on his nose, he dashed out the common room, through the portrait hole and into the corridors. He covered himself with the invisiblity cloak and silently made his way to where he had last seen the door.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he muttered under his breath.

He scanned the Marauder's Map for any signs of Filch or any teacher that could have suddenly decided to have a leisurely stroll in this god forsaken hour. Filch was at the Astronomy Tower, and no teachers could be seen on the map, except the ones sleeping soundly in their beds. Harry decided it was worth the risk, and ran as fast he could. His footsteps as well as his entire foot was clearly heard and visible due to the swaying movement of the cloak as he ran.

Harry had seen it before, and the dream only proved to clarify it. Along the corridor, a left turn, another left, a right. The path was more long and winding than he had thought. He continued along, ignoring the disapproving looks and murmurs of the pictures, whose inhabitants ran from frame to frame just to see what the cloaked figure (whose feet was obviously showing) was up to.

"Making such noises at this hour, tsk tsk, what would Dumbledore think," said a rather plump woman in a square frame.

"Not pleased, I'm sure" said another, obviously flustered.

He was almost there. Harry pressed on forward, not even caring that he was indeed, panting rather loudly. And then, he saw it. The door that he thought he imagined. It was a rather large door, with carvings of something dark, yet it was hard to make out what it was. The glowing darkness around it made Harry feel uneasy. He stopped to catch his breath. "Mischief managed," he said, and kept the Marauders Map in his rear pocket. As he approached the door, it began to fade, like it was evaporating into thin air. His walk broke into a run as he desperately tried to reach the door.

His hands reached out, but it was no use. The door was gone. His shaking hands rubbed the bare concrete, hoping to find something that would bring the door back. He stayed like this for the next minute, but to no avail, it was evident that his palms were still touching concrete. He slammed his fist against the wall in fury. Which did nothing except causing him to wince in pain. Then something caught his eye. A faint symbol on the wall. The first look at it upright convinced him that it was a radish.

A radish? He couldn't help but ask himself the same question over and over again, as he examined the symbol from various directions. He was hoping that something more important than a radish would be associated to the door. After several attempts, with one being levitating himself upside down with Wingardium Leviosa (where he fell head first to the floor), he finally decided that it couldn't be any clearer. It was a radish. He felt lame as that thought crossed his mind.

Suddenly, an idea struck him! Perhaps it was similiar to the Room of Requirement? He gained hope upon that thought and positioned himself in front of the wall again. "I need to see what's inside," he uttered aloud in his mind. He frowned as the concrete remained motionless. Maybe he needed to be more specific, or had a better motive. Nevertheless, he tried again. "I seek what's inside these doors." The wall did not budge at all, just like his first attempt. Finally feeling that the door would not appear for him tonight, he walk dejectedly back to the common room. He would first have to figure out what was with that radish, and Harry couldn't shrug off the feeling that it was oddly familiar.

The sun shone brightly in the early morning. Harry woke up, feeling troubled. He surveyed the room. It was messy, books were sprawled on the floor, much to which Ron pleaded guilty for. Neville's bedside was dorned with quidditch poster and a weird looking plant, which was placed at the nearest window. Sometimes Harry could not understand his obession with herbology. Ron's bed was empty. He figured that Ron and Hermione should be in the common room. He wanted to tell them about what happened last night, and he was sure they would be as eager as he was. He slipped on his robe and hurried down the stairs, where he stumbled upon his two best friends.

"Harry!" said Hermione. "We were just about to wake you,"

"Um... thanks," he mumbled. "Listen, I've got something really important I have to tell you both."

They decided that the library was the most quiet and secluded place to discuss. They talked in whispers as Harry told them about the door and more importantly, the radish symbol. They were between gasps and awe as Harry spoke. When the teacher told them off for making too much of noise for the third time, Hermione was frustrated.

"Oh for," she grumbled. She whipped out her wand and silenly muttered, "Muffliato,"

"Nice one," Ron said, with a grin on his face.

This allowed Harry to continue with more ease. He finished what was to be said after a while, making sure not to leave out any details. They all sat motionless, exchanging looks of confusion. And Harry was sure exactly what they are thinking of.

"Why a radish?" Hermione was first to ask.

Harry and Ron both shrugged their shoulders. They too were wondering, much to Harry's relief. Hermione was on to something though, and Harry, determined not to be out witted, wondered where on earth had he seen that radish before.

"Of course... Luna!" Harry delared in triumph.

"Luna?" they both look puzzled.

"I've just seen her yesterday, and she was wearing radish earrings,"

They both looked at him as though he were mad. "Who would actually wear such a thing?" Ron blurted out between laughter.

Harry glared at him. He knew it was Ron's nature, and that he shouldn't blame him for that. But he had started to grow a liking for Luna since yesterday. She might had been a bit loopy around the edges, but she had cheered him up when he was down. Something his friends failed to do.

"Harry, are you sure?" Hermioned asked reassuringly.

He dashed out the library without answering her. As he asked around for the whereabouts of Luna, Harry began to think deeper. Had he really seen Luna wearing it, or was it just merely a pair of normal earrings? Or had he imagined it? There were so many questions unanswered, yet he continued his search for Luna. Why? He asked himself constantly. Was he concerned about the door that had haunted him every night? That was partly what he thought. Yet, He wondered whether it could be because he was concerned about Luna's well being. Having a small affliation to a mysterious door was not exactly a symbol of safety. Or ultimately, could it be, his stomach did a back flip at that moment, just because he had wanted to see Luna. Hear her talking to him, laughing. Listen to her comforting words.

Impossible. He tried his hardest to push that thought away. He was doing it out of curiousity. He reminded himself. For the door. The door that started all of this.

Finally, he had found her. She was sitting under the big tree, beside the lake. The tall grass amounted up to her shoulders. The gusty winds blew her hair, which usually laid still, covering her neck and shoulders. She sat in a way that she hugged her knees tightly, her head resting on her kneecaps. With her eyes looking up at the sky, it seemed to Harry that she was studying the various shapes and patterns of the clouds. Leaves took flight upon the wind as they circled around her. It was a mesmerising sight.

She beckoned Harry to have a seat when he approached her, her right hand patting the soft ground beside her. "How did you find me?" asked Luna, who turned to face Harry, smiling.

"I asked," he said simply.

"You know, not many people would do that," she said. "I mean, it was usually the other way round... They usually avoid me,"

"I don't see why they should," Harry replied. "You-you're cool, Luna" He slapped himself mentally as he said that. What was he thinking? And more importantly, had he meant it? Sure he felt pity for Luna back there. But there was something that attracted him more. The blissful ignorance that she displayed. So serene, and unaware of what other people think of her.

"Thanks!" she squealed in delight, as she snuggled closer to her knees, hugging them tighter. She edged closer to Harry, and pointed her hand towards a cloud up in the big blue sky. "That cloud sort of resembles you, doesn't it, Harry?

He glanced up at the cloud. Perhaps that cloud did resemble him, but only a little, and in a weird sort of way. "I guess so," he mumbled.

"I like that cloud," she said happily.

Harry's heart skipped a beat upon hearing those words. Had Luna said that she liked him, or perhaps it was the cloud she was referring to? It was Luna, and that made it all the more unpredictable. Suddenly, Harry remembered what he had to do. He peeked a glance at her face, which was his first since he sat down. Part of him wanted answers, yet another part of him wished that Luna wasn't involved in this. Much to his relief though, there were no earrings, but only her wand which she tucked behind her ears for safekeeping.

A sudden downpour greeted the both them, unexpectedly. It was cold. but Harry felt as warm as ever. Luna tugged and helded on to his hands as she dragged him out of the rain and back into castles. They both arrived wet and soaked.

"You had better dry yourself, Harry," she said concerningly. "Fleasles are so contageous these days."

"Yeah sure," though he wondered what in the world were fleasles. "Bye,"

As they parted ways, Harry couldn't help but smile broadly. Everything was going in the right direction. Or so he thought...

Meanwhile, in the Ravenclaw Common Room, a fellow Ravenclaw was asking Luna. "What happened to your earrings, Luna?"

"Missing, I guess. Much like some of my possessions," she said. "Oh, don't worry though, I've already put up a notice about it," she added with a cheerful tone.