A/N: I'm back! Finally! you know, i honestly thought that i had already updated this story...it wasn't until i told my sister about it that i found out otherwise. So, to all you lovely readers who have been waiting for this chapter, i am deeply sorry. But enough of that. Read on!
Chapter 2: First Day
It only took a couple of moments for the darkness to begin receding. The actual process, however, took a bit longer, as first the area around her gathered light, and then the light began adjusting itself so that her surroundings came into focus. The length of time this took was perfect, since she was able to observe her surroundings for a while before everything came into clear focus and she was actually physically there, instead of just mentally, magically, or whatever the heck it was.
The place where Luna was appearing - or was she materializing? - was somewhere Harry had visited on several occasions, namely Dumbledore's office. Though she had heard Harry speak about the office a few times, Luna was still impressed by the amount of strange silver objects that were in various places around the room. In fact, it was do to her fascination with the mysterious constructs that she only realized that Dumbledore himself was sitting behind his desk - frozen for the moment - mere seconds before focus came and time caught up to the old professor.
To say that Albus was shocked when the young blond girl suddenly appeared a few feet in front of his desk would be a vast understatement. The poor wizard had just popped another lemon drop into his mouth, and when he saw her appear the candy was immediately pushed down his throat by the sudden rush of wind created by his rather uncharacteristic gasp. Of course, the lemon drop being new and perfectly solid, the candy got stuck in his throat, causing him to choke, and so greatly was he frazzled that he didn't even think to charm it out.
Luna, on the other hand, was a little amused, and a bit proud, to be one of the few people to have ever seen Albus Dumbledore get his words caught in his throat, and was even more proud of the fact that she was the person to have caused it. After all, it was rare that anyone would see any break in the great man's composure at all, much less such a complete lack of dignity. Chuckling to herself, Luna pulled out her wand and pointed it at the Headmaster's throat, and immediately the lemon drop popped out, causing Dumbledore to cough quite violently at the sudden removal.
"A bit surprised, are we?" Luna asked, a smile spread across her face. "I never would have thought that the great Professor Dumbledore would be surprised by anything."
That, of course, caused him to gather himself together as fast and as well as he could. However, before Albus could completely gather his wits and gain control of the situation, Luna neatly stepped in and plucked it so far out of his grasp that he would never be able to retrieve it throughout the entire conversation.
"I suppose you are wondering who I am, how I got in here, and what I want." she said with a sweet smile. "My name is Luna Lovegood, how I got here is unimportant and currently none of your business, and I need to be able to enter this school as a seventh year Gryffindor so that I can conduct... certain investigations."
"Investigations? What-"
"Yes, investigations." Luna cut him off quickly. She was a little uncomfortable talking this way, but figured that the less Dumbledore knew the better. At this point, at least. She had no clue if he would believe her, and couldn't risk having him shut her down before she could get started. "I am trying to find someone, and I am certain they are here. So I need you to make it official that I will be going to this school. Write a document or something, whatever it takes." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, looking so calm and unconcerned that Luna started tapping her foot.
"Why would your investigations-" he started to ask in a calm voice, before once again being cut off.
"This is not the time for an interrogation! I have other things to do, so hurry up and make it official, and if you want I'll explain a few things sometime after school starts. Just know that I won't tell you everything, and I will not take veritiserum." When Dumbledore didn't seem to be doing anything, Luna pulled out her wand. "I need some type of proof for this. I don't want to harm you, but what I am doing is very important and I will use any means necessary to accomplish it. And before you start getting all prideful and thinking that a kid like me could not possibly do anything to you, remember the fact that I got through all your wards on this room. I know magic that you have never dreamed of." Dumbledore looked steadily at her for a few more seconds, then sighed in defeat and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. He wrote quickly and quietly, dribbled wax at the bottom, stamped it, rolled the parchment up, tapped it so that it sealed perfectly, and handed it to her. She smiled at him, and then time froze and the blackness returned.
Dumbledore, of course, gave a little start at the sudden and soundless disappearance, then shook his head, muttered to himself, and started scribbling out a message to the Minister of Magic. He'd have to warn the teachers. Whatever the strange girl was here for, it was bound to be an interesting year.
~o~Fixing Time~o~
When the light began gathering once more, Luna was surprised to notice that she was appearing at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, instead of Diagon Alley like she had expected. This surprise was increased when she looked down at her feet and noticed something that wasn't out of focus at all and really had no place in this time. She tilted her head, then squatted down and opened the trunk that looked exactly like the one she had originally taken to Hogwarts. Sure enough, everything inside the trunk was something that she owned in her own time, even the pure black school cloaks.
I suppose this potion is able to pull other things out of time if I have need of them. She had no real clue as to how a potion would be able to affect something that didn't even touch it, but it was the only thing that made sense. It also explained why she was in her seventeen year old body, instead of her twenty-two year old one.
"Um, hello? Are you ok?" The female voice jerked Luna out of her thoughts. She tilted her head up to see who had spoken, and met very familiar emerald green eyes. She paused for a second, and then her gaze zoomed out to include the entire face and she nearly fell laughing. The girl's face changed from worried to confused quickly, and she started to take a step back before Luna waved at her to stay.
"I'm sorry, it's just that your eyes reminded me so much of someone's that I know that for a moment I thought you were him, even though I knew from your voice you were a girl. Then I pictured him with your voice and it cracked me up." Luna explained as she quickly closed her truck and stood up. The redhead quirked an eyebrow and looked at her funny, but Luna just smiled and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Luna Lovegood."
"Lily Evans." The other girl replied, taking Luna's hand and shaking it. "So, did you have a problem, or something?"
"No, not really. Just checking to make sure I have everything." Lily tilted her head, a small grin appearing on her face.
"A bit late for that, isn't it?"
"Well, I suppose." Luna laughed. "Still, I'm a bit nervous, this is my first day and all, and since I'm just coming for my seventh year and not going through the process normally..."
"Wait, what!?" Lily exclaimed, jumping a little from surprise. "Is that possible?"
"Apparently so." Luna replied, digging into her pocket. "This is a letter that the headmaster wrote for me, explaining everything. You may read it, if you like." Lily looked at the proffered scroll and shook her head.
"I think I'll take your word for it." Luna shrugged and returned the scroll to her pocket. "So how are they deciding which house you'll be in? Are they making you go up during the sorting with the first years?"
"No, thank goodness." Luna replied, shuddering at the very thought. "I'd stick out like a very sore thumb. No, it's already been decided that I'll be in Gryffindor."
"Gryffindor, eh?" Lily grinned and wrapped her arm around Luna's shoulders. "That's the house I'm in! I knew there was something I liked about you. Come on, I'll introduce you to some of your soon to be roommates!" Luna nodded and allowed Lily to guide her down the platform, making sure to grab her trunk as they left.
They didn't get very far down the platform before they were ambushed by a group of four boys. Lily had been in the middle of speaking about the teachers and how they reacted to different types of behavior when a black-haired blur charged in from the side and stopped right in front of her. Lily groaned, muttered something along the lines of "after Black always comes Potter," then crossed her arms and glared daggers at the young man before her. Sirius, being Sirius, merely grinned in the face of fiery-haired wrath, before suddenly reaching out and giving her a light push, just enough for her to stumble backwards...right into the arms of one James Potter.
"Get off me!" she snarled immediately, whirling around and pushing James away. Ignoring his indignant "Hey!", she glared fiercely at the two of them, hands balled into fists, but before she could open her mouth to berate them she got cut off by a voice from behind her.
"Trying to catch them on fire with your eyes, are we?" Lily turned slowly to face Lupin, a feeling of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. If he was joining in on it, she had very little chance of getting away with just reprimanding the other two knuckle heads and hurrying off. To make matters worse, Peter appeared at that moment and, with his typical ability to scan an entire scene for possible mischief making opportunities, noticed Luna standing off to the side staring at James.
"Hey, who's the new girl?" Luna jolted out of her revere as everyone turned towards her. A small blush appeared on her face, but disappeared fast when she noticed Lily close her eyes and mutter a silent prayer, Sirius and James get predatory grins, and Remus cock his head to the side with a small smile, as though he knew what was about to happen and was planning on fully enjoying it. Which, to be fair, he probably did.
Sirius acted first. Slipping around Lily, he walked right up to Luna and looped an arm around her shoulders. "What's a pretty lady like you doing wandering around by yourself?"
Poor Luna looked like a deer in headlights as she tried to answer the question, but all she was able to get out was "I-I'm n-not-" before James came up on the other side. This time the arm was looped around her waist.
"Obviously she's lost, Padfoot." he said sagely, nodding his head in sympathy. "She needs some mature male guidance to understand how to find her way."
"Well, if you happen to find any, we would love to know." Lily said sarcastically, but everyone merely ignored her.
"Then she's lucky that we found her!" Sirius declared, pumping his free arm with a determined look upon his face. "We'll take good care of her, and make sure that she has everything she needs! Right, Prongs?"
"Too true, Padfoot, too true." James responded. Sweeping his arm out in front of him as though to gesture to a boundless horizon, he continued. "With two fine gentlemen like us to guide her, she'll-"
"Become immensely corrupted and get dragged down into that horrendous pit that we have taken to calling 'Marauder Sanity'." Everyone turned to face the newcomer. Lily sighed in relief when she recognized who it was, while the boys sighed in defeat. Luna just stood there quivering with a faraway look in her eyes.
"Alice, thank goodness! Somebody came to save us after all!"
"Well, we had agreed to meet at the end like ten minutes ago. Since it's not like you to be late, I figured something must have waylaid you. And you being you, it almost had to be the Marauders." Alice smiled first at Lily, then grinned at the Marauders when she saw the almost offended looks on their faces.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius let out indignantly. Alice just laughed, before shaking her head and walking up to the three who were still linked by the boys' arms.
"You mind letting go?" she asked, gesturing at their arms. "I think you've traumatized the poor girl enough for one day." Grumbling, the two boys removed their arms and backed away. Alice waved her hand in front of Luna's face, causing her eyes to blink and slide back into focus. Alice smiled sweetly at the girl, before stepping back. "Don't mind the idiots," she said, waving a hand at the four boys. "They mean well, they just get a little carried away at times." Alice shot Lily a grin when she heard the red-head snort at the comment, before returning her eyes to Luna and offering her hand. "I'm Alice, by the way. Alice Stiles."
"Luna Lovegood."
"Well, now that you met, we really should return to the others." Lily said, joining the two and ushering them on towards the back of the train, glad for a good excuse to get away from the Marauders.
Luna smiled softly to herself. Whatever else happened, she was sure that it would at least be an interesting year.
~o~Fixing Time~o~
The ride to Hogwarts was mostly uneventful. Luna was introduced to the rest of the girls that would be in her dorm, Mary Natasha Margaret Smith, Suzann Meredeth Indigo Luise Emerson, and Ingrid Nora Kepplinger. They were nice girls, and before they arrived Luna felt as if she knew as much about them as if they had actually been at Hogwarts together for all seven years. Most of the ride was spent merely chatting about whatever was on their minds. It was a refreshing experience for Luna, who had never been able to have a normal train ride during her original years at Hogwarts.
As they approached the school, the girls changed into their school robes, then spent the last little bit helping each other apply make up and paint their nails, enjoying the fresh breeze coming from the open window and laughing at the goofy designs they put on each other. The experience was a new one for Luna, who had never really paid any attention to her looks before, and had never had any close girl friends to enjoy the experience with before anyway.
For the first time since she first came to the castle, Luna found herself disappointed at having to attend the Start of Term Feast, so great was the time that she had been having. She kept this to herself, though, and was still able to have an enjoyable experience.
After the feast, Luna followed her new friends up to the Gryffindor common room. It was quite a bit different from the Ravenclaw common room, from how they entered to how the room was furnished, and Luna decided immediately that she preferred the one she was in now. It felt more homey than the more intellectual one had, and Luna felt an immediate sense of belonging.
Though she was exhausted enough to go up to her dorm and try to sleep immediately, Luna found that sleep eluded her. Long after the others had dropped off into the blissful expanse of their dreams, she was stuck in the woeful cage of her mind, still trying to comprehend everything that had happened in the short time frame of a single day. Eventually, tired of not being able to sleep, she slipped out of bed, crept across the room, and padded softly down into the now empty common room. Whenever sleep had eluded her when she was in Ravenclaw, Luna would go into the common room, pick a random book from the shelves, and read it until she was able to sleep. However, as there was a lack of books here, that option was unavailable, and so she settled for doing a little wandering and getting a better look at the room. It wasn't long before she heard some soft music drifting into the room, and was shocked when she realized that it was coming from the hallway. She hesitated, then gathered her courage, nudged the portrait open, and crawled through. Following her ears, she soon located a nearby landing a little higher on the staircase, one that had a balcony leading to the outside of the tower. She wandered up, careful to keep quiet, until she could see what was causing the music.
Sirius Black was sitting on the railing with one leg dangling over the side, a black flute raised to his lips. He was swaying slightly as he played a peaceful melody, and Luna realized that she was swaying to it as well. She felt a smile fall on her face as she continued up the stairs and onto the landing.
As she walked out onto the balcony, Sirius lowered the flute and turned to face her, a small grin on his face. "Seems I'm no longer the only one who has trouble sleeping."
"I suppose not." Luna replied, as she walked over and leaned on the railing. "You seemed very unconcerned with someone coming up behind you. What if I had been a teacher?"
Sirius chuckled. "By that point, there would really be no way to get out of it, so trying would be pointless. Besides, I've found that they rarely patrol this close to the common room."
"Oh really? How often do you come out here, then?"
"Whenever I can't sleep." Sirius grinned when Luna raised an eyebrow, but the only elaboration he would give was, "You'll just have to come out and see."
Luna shrugged, then turned her face to the sky. It was a beautiful night, with the half moon shining bright and the stars twinkling merrily in their constellations. They stayed like that for several moments, enjoying the peace, before Sirius stirred once again.
"I hope we didn't really scare you that badly, earlier. It wasn't our intention. We were just trying to have a bit of fun, but, as Alice said, sometimes we get a bit carried away."
Luna turned to him and smiled. "I figured. I was mostly just confused on what I should do. I've never had any boys treat me like that before."
"Really?" Sirius asked incredulously. "That's hard to imagine. I wasn't joking when I called you good looking. I would have thought there would be boys who tried to hit on you before."
Luna's smile brightened at the compliment. "Thanks, but I know I'm not really that great on the eyes. Besides, I've been known to be a bit of an oddball, so that probably put off what guys might have wanted to try."
Sirius sighed at her comment about her looks, but decided to let it drop. "You don't seem like that much of an oddball to me."
Luna laughed, her voice ringing softly on the night air. "You haven't gotten to really know me yet, Mr. Black. I've got a few quirks about me."
"All the better." Sirius grinned, a twinkle in his eye when it met Luna's interested look. "I find that those who have quirks, and willingly take full possession of them, are some of the funnest to be around. Most people are boring, and that's mostly because they try to hide who they really are in order to become 'cool'. The need for acceptance kills off all individuality, makes them a clone of the person next to them." His face and look took on a more solemn tone. "I've had enough of that with my family. They wanted mindless followers, keeping with the old traditions instead of trying to make them better. So I try to surround myself with those who can think for themselves, make something for themselves." He shrugged, a thoughtful look coming over his face, which disappeared when Luna flicked him.
"You seem too much like a happy go lucky person for such depressing thoughts." She responded to his questioning look. "You should think of something happier. Like that start of term prank that you and your friends are undoubtedly planning, if my sources are accurate."
Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Are you actually encouraging us to play a prank?"
"Hmmm..." Lune replied, tapping her chin in mock thought. "I suppose I am. Does that really surprise you so much?"
"Well, you did seem to become fast friends with Lily, and she is quite the stickler on pranks..."
"The others don't seem that uptight."
Sirius laughed. "They're not. Even so, they've never encouraged us either."
Luna smirked. "I wonder if I could change that. What would you say if I could convince at least some of the girls into a prank war?"
Sirius looked at her as though she was crazy. "You honestly think you could do that?"
"I think so. Indigo, at least, seemed like she might get a kick out of it, and Mary didn't seem that far behind her. Might even be able to get Alice and Nora on board, though I dare say Lily is a lost cause. So what do you say? If I can get them to agree too it, do you think the other Marauders would?"
Sirius grinned. "If I know those three at all, and I'm pretty sure I do, then they will probably be ecstatic."
"All right then." Luna said, offering her hand out. Sirius took it, and the two shook. "A prank war it is. Just make sure not to take things too overboard."
"No promises." Sirius responded with a wide grin. He then turned and started walking down the stairs. "I daresay I'm ready for bed now. Coming?"
Luna leaned back against the railing and once more turned her face to the sky. "I think I'll stay out here for a little while longer."
A/N: And thus, this chapter comes to a close. This chapter was fun to write. I got a real kick out of the character interactions, especially since i didn't really have any specific plan for most of it. it just kinda happened. well, please leave a review!