AN: "The science show!"

"Piano!"

-SMASH!-

"Whose idea was this?"

(Behind the scenes)

"Oh, sorry, this guy suggested I 'do it' [points at a man covered by a hooded black cloak, he laughs in a cold, twisted voice and says, 'It was a trap, heh heh heh!']

Harry sat on a bench near a bus stop about a quarter mile from what was his house and was staring at the ground. His elbows were on his knees, and he was panting. He had just sprinted from his former home. He was having the worst birthday ever. He knew that his Aunt and Uncle were fading back into their habits, but he didn't know that they would forget his birthday altogether. Then it turned out that Vernon was being interviewed for something about his drilling business. He was then told to keep quiet in his room and pretend that he didn't exist. They didn't even mention that it was his birthday. Not even Dudley, though he would have probably just given him his present in secret at the end of the day because of his parent's behavior towards Harry.

Then, a house elf named Dobby showed up, told him that he couldn't go back to school, and when he refused, smashed a pudding on the visitor's head! Well, it's rather hilarious how Harry had tried to save it. Harry accidentally made it look just like he was the one floating the pudding and hitting the visitor. Not long after that, the visitors were sent home and he was interrogated, Dudley being the only one who didn't seem surprised. Vernon and Petunia noticed all of this and put the pieces together quite fast. The school he went to was a front for a magic school, Harry had told Dudley everything, therefore; not only was Harry not normal, but he had corrupted Dudley. Dudley had insisted that he didn't know anything, but all doubts were obliterated when an owl flew into the room, dropped a letter and left and the letter started talking to Harry about Hogwarts, a Ministry of Magic, underage sorcery, and giving a warning of expulsion.

The first words out of Vernon's mouth was, "You get out of my house, you vile excuse for a human!" And, well, in that instant Harry knew that he wasn't welcome to the only blood relative's house, meaning that the protections were now off, meaning that he had to run for his life to Hogwarts. First he had to get to Neville's house, but he didn't know how to apparate, so he needed to get to the leaky cauldron, which he could do by bus.

Suddenly, an owl landed on his shoulder without making a sound, digging into his shoulder, holding out a letter in its beak, and dropping it onto the floor in front of him, hooting as he left. The letter literally spoke to him, saying in the voice of Albus Dumbledore,

"Harry Potter, I've heard from several of my silver instruments that the bonds have broken and I am coming over immediately. Stay exactly where you are and I will find you. Do not do anything that the Ministry can pin on you, like doing magic in front of a muggle. Most of all, stay safe, Harry. Sincerely and with worry, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Harry smiled at the letter. Moments later, he heard a 'SNAP!' in the distance, indicating that Dumbledore had arrived. Good. Seconds later, Harry heard a twig snap behind him, and then felt pain engulf his chest and left shoulder as something had clamped down on it. Screaming in pain, Harry looked down at his left shoulder for a split second to see the upper-half of a wolfish jaw biting down into his shoulder, and he was quickly flung from his bench. He landed, quite numbly, on the floor. For some reason, he felt, well, he actually sensed barely anything. His vision was blurring, although that could be because his glasses fell off when he was flung, he could barely feel the bite on his shoulder, he heard a muffled yelling and the sound of flames accompanied by a howling and a bright red light in the top right corner of his vision. He couldn't move. Something about the bite made his body refuse to move. Slowly, Harry realized that he was fading out, and just like that his vision turned black and he drifted into a sleepless rest.

-oOoOo-

Harry woke as slowly as he fell asleep. The first thing he noticed was the smell powerful smell of alcohol mixed with blood. He noticed that he was on a bed and tightly wrapped in a sheet and blanket. Despite this, he felt very cold and began shivering the moment he woke up. It was a feverish shiver, and even though he felt like he was standing in the snow, his breath was hot on his hands. Opening his eyes, he noticed that they weren't blurred anymore, and that everything was much brighter than usual. He saw his glasses on the table and realized that they were now useless. His muscles ached and so did his left shoulder and chest. He was very pale. He was also very hungry. The red flag that popped up in his head wasn't the aches or the paleness. It was the steak on the table next to him. It was bloody, hell it was practically bleeding. He wouldn't be surprised if this steak had only recently been cut off of the animal it belonged to. And it smelled sooo goood! Harry, being hungry as he was, picked it up and began to eat, with table manners, of course. He had the plate under the stake, though it never came with a knife and fork for some reason. Then again, he was so hungry he probably didn't have the patience to use a knife and fork. He was halfway through his stake before he realized what he was doing.

"Why am I eating raw steak?" He said to himself, attempting to shake off the cloud that seemed to encircle his mind, slowing his thoughts. "Why does it taste so good?" He said, digging further into his predicament. But, as Harry had no experience with what was happening to him, his next question didn't tell him exactly what he wanted, "What bit me last night?" He didn't know, so he gnawed on his steak for thought, allowing it to escape him how weird what he was doing really was. The fat actually tasted pretty good, even though he used to hate the fat. Then again he used to hate bloody steak as well. Oh, well.

Harry let his thoughts wander to different things, and the cloud slowly lifted. As he regained his higher brain functions, he looked around, finishing off the last of his stake, taking in every detail. No one else was in the room. He seemed to be in a hospital of sorts, although there were none of the machines he was familiar with. Maybe he was in a wizarding hospital? The table to his right was the one with his steak and glasses. The table to his left had a book on it, called, My Personal Experience With Lycanthropy: A Guide to Overcoming the Beast Within, By Remus Lupin.

Having nothing else to do, he picked up the book and began to read it. The introduction, he felt, was irrelevant, or at least unneeded. It told the reader that they needn't give much credence to what the world thought about their curse, whatever that curse was. He had known this for quite some time, as he could speak parselmouth, had a dragon, a giant snake, and a three-headed dog as companions, and was capable of doing a lot of damage with Unaided Magic, all of which put a powerful stigma around his reputation. What really caught his interest was the next section, which was 'how to tell if you are a werewolf before the full moon.' It basically described his current situation. Remember being bitten by something that left him alone afterward, couldn't sense much of anything after was bitten, passed out and woke up a day or more later and was aching and feverish when he woke. He had a newfound taste for raw meat as well, and had heightened senses. He was also particularly sensitive to smells, sounds, and light. Well, that explained why these strange things were happening to him. So, he was a werewolf. What does that mean for him? He read the next section, conveniently titled 'what being a werewolf means.'

In my personal experience, being a werewolf is very scary. We are rated as 'five X' beasts by the Ministry of Magic and are viewed by the public eye as monsters. Most of us are extremely poor because of the stigma around us and can hardly find a job as a result. Because of this, many of us are forced to steal and scrounge what we need to sustain ourselves, further justifying the stigma around us. Apart from the typical social conditions you now need to be aware of, there are also several physical effects that come with being, and changing into, a werewolf. The full moon triggers our change. Up to a week before the change, you will become noticeably weaker and paler. Though for most people in Europe this won't matter, as most of us are as pale as we can get. During the change, you will not be able to slow down or control your actions or even the change itself. When you are in wolf form, you will not be able to consciously decide whether or not you will attack or even who you attack.

Because of this, you need to be able to hide from people during the full moon. Animals are no problem; werewolves do not attack animals of any kind, just humans. Animagi do not count as human if they are in animal form. A werewolf, when incapable of hurting humans because they are trapped, frequently hurt themselves in frustration. An animal or Animagi companion can make things much less stressful, stopping you from hurting yourself in wolf form. It is also recommended that you take the wolfsbane potion, which allows you to keep your human mind during the transformation.

So, just to recap; Hide yourself every full moon, bring an animal or Animagi to make things easier, and drink a wolfsbane potion if you can get your hands on it. Now, the thing with werewolves that many people fail to realize is that the rejection they face in common society has forced us werewolves to make our own society. This society, though nameless, is made up entirely of werewolves with their own culture and behavior. They are rather basic, as far as courtesy goes. You don't need to know special hand gestures or bowing techniques, but you do need to know the pecking order.

There are several 'packs' of werewolves. There are three classes. The Alphas; the leader of a pack. These werewolves are particularly powerful because of their presence among other werewolves and their magical and martial skill. Any werewolf can automatically sense whether or not another is 'Alpha Material', either by smell, or a strange feeling we get when we are around them. Alphas are werewolves that feel, and frequently are, extremely dangerous. If you are an Alpha, you are very likely to earn respect if you handle yourself correctly, and will often be challenged by other Alphas in certain masculine contests, usually focused around physical or magical ability.

Then there are the Betas, or the normal werewolves. These werewolves have no special abilities and no special rights among the packs. There are also the Omegas. There are very few of these. The Omegas are viewed as outsiders and weaklings, incapable of being a true werewolf. Calling another werewolf an Omega, whether or not they truly are, is an extreme insult and is never taken lightly. Most Omegas were werewolves who were sensed as Alpha Material, challenged an Alpha for the privilege of leading their pack, and then lost without dying. Finally there are the Pack-less. These individuals can sometimes be treated worse than Omegas, but only very rarely, and definitely not if you are Alpha Material.

To challenge an Alpha, you need to attend a pack gathering, which is what all of the packs do the night before the full moon. Then, before the meeting between the Alphas begins, any Betas or Pack-less werewolves will be given the chance to challenge any Alpha. Then, if you challenge an Alpha, the next night on the full moon you and that Alpha will fight in wolf form, usually to the death. If you lose and survive, you are granted the status of an Omega. If the Alpha loses, the Alpha is granted the status of beta. Whoever wins either gains or retains the status of Alpha. As for how to treat other members, that is something that I can't tell you. It really can't be explained without there being many exceptions and it would be much easier for you to figure it out for yourself.

Harry thought that it was a very informative read. He didn't even know werewolves existed before now. Now he had to live according to the disease. His mind flashed to the Room of Requirement. That room would be good help for him in the years to come, both as a hideout and as a place to find out how to cure the thing. After all, Harry found a few books in there that said 'By RoR' on the cover and spine. Maybe it could give him a cure, or at least something that could help him permanently gain control of his mind during changes for the rest of his life, or maybe it could do that and allow him to control when he changes, like an animagus. Come to think of it, despite the apparent losses that he just suffered (let's be honest, it's not like he just lost out on living a normal life or anything) he might actually be able to help werewolves around the world by finding the cure, or at least a way to handle it.

A young nurse walked in with a nervous look on her face. She was looking at him as if he could attack at any moment. Harry spoke first,

"You look like you are afraid of me."

"No, I'm not." She said, no panic showing in her voice, though (and this sounds weird) he could smell a salty smell coming off of her, fear perhaps. He could tell she was new here. She grabbed the plate he had and then motioned to the book, "Do you like the book?"

"Yes. I've never heard about werewolves before, and now I am one. Funny how that turns out, huh?" Harry said while smiling faintly, giving off a tired humor. The nurse looked much calmer after finding out that he wasn't a psychopath just because he was bitten by a werewolf. He spoke again, "You have no reason to be afraid of me. Even if I wanted to attack you, which I don't by the way, I am not in the right physical condition to be able to do that."

"How do you feel?" She asked, switching into 'nurse mode.'

"My bones and muscles ache, I feel like I have a fever. I have a terrible headache, but that's only because all of the new things I am sensing. My eyes don't need glasses anymore, I can hear much better than I used to, and I can smell, and this sounds pretty weird, don't think anything of it, your fear. Honestly, I could just smell myself as well, because I am afraid of what my future holds. I feel scared and alone." Harry said, hoping that the personal, albeit false (he was still trying to completely grasp his situation), touch at the end would prevent her from completely losing it, not that he would blame her. It did calm her down,

"Yep, classical signs of a werewolf bite. You're going to be feeling pretty weak for the next couple of days. Your family is standing outside the door. I've told them to talk in whispers because of your symptoms. Do you know where you are?"

"No. Hey, what was that about a family?" He said, glad she could control her fear.

"You are at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The family we were talking about was the Longbottoms. We have an Augusta and Neville Longbottom here to see you. Your name is James Longbottom, yes? We have been told that you were a distant cousin and that the only two members of your family that could see you were them."

Harry was amazed. Perhaps Dumbledore had put him here under a false name and identity to avoid the press. Genius. "Um….Yes, I am James. Neville and Augusta came? I didn't know they cared." He said, playing the part of someone who just found out that some distant relation knew and cared about them.

"Shall I invite them in?"

"Of course, of course." He said. She went to the door and said quietly, but not quiet enough for him not to hear.

"Ok, you can go in, just keep your voices down and don't be a pain in the ass. He's been through a traumatic experience and needs to stay calm." After thinking about this, he wondered if it was banned to talk this way in a hospital for that very same reason. Speaking up, he said,

"You know, my newfound hearing allows me to hear your whispers." He said. That wasn't entirely fair, though. His newfound hearing, if he focused hard enough, allowed him to hear their heartbeats from the other room. Neville and Augusta came in quietly, the nurse didn't come back. Neville spoke in a whisper that Harry could hear as if he were talking normally,

"How are you doing, Harry?"

"Pretty good. I just ate my first raw stake. I got halfway through it before realizing how strange that really was. I then read this book and found out that I was a werewolf. Do you think they'll let me keep it?"

Neville spoke up, "I actually got that for you, Harry. It's a best seller in Knockturn Alley. Grandma had to take me, though. Got worried about how I'd get kidnapped for ransom or preyed on by a vampire. I said that what we trained to do would stop anything like that from happening, but she insisted."

Harry just weakly smiled and shivered again, "Thank you, Neville. What of you Augusta? How are things with my favorite Grandmother?"

"Things are going well. I want you to know that your Aunt and Uncle have been obliviated and now believe that Dudley got so flying pist at Vernon being rejected that he threw the pudding, and that the next day you left with Professor Snape as usual. Dudley, however, knows the true story. In essence, the protections are now fully functional again, as they now welcome you to the family."

"Did they ever consider that there are going to be at least two whole full moons for every time I'm there for the summer?"

This made them look uncomfortable. "Err….Probably not," said Neville. "Anyway, we'll be taking you home with us, Harry, as usual."

"How will you be able to contain my wolf form?" asked Harry, curious now.

Augusta spoke at this, "Secret padded room in cellar. Some of my family members believed that lycanthropy was a gift. That is, until they found out the tragedies of it, then they just locked themselves in that padded room." Then she rolled up her sleeves, revealing several ugly scars that looked like a mixture of bites and scratches. After that, she took off one of her rings and then her face instantly had scratches on them as well. She put it back on and the scratches went away. "Trust me, Harry. I am not unfamiliar with what you are about to go through. Those scars are from the last one. The healing rate should have cleared them by now, but I am not what I once was. This first one is always the toughest; you should always have a companion with you on your first. You risk bleeding out if you don't."

Harry shivered again, mostly because of the fever, but there was also an element of panic in it as well. It just hit him, on an emotional level, what was going on. Augusta sniffed the air, saying, "You don't need to be afraid, Harry. It isn't much of a change at all. The wizarding world already thinks you are an evil person; all this does is more of the same. The change, at least the first, is all you need to worry about, and I'll be there for you, Harry. It'll be good for me to have some company after all of these years as well."

For some reason, the idea of being in a padded cell with Augusta's wolf form didn't bode well with him. "Do werewolves attack each other, Augusta?"

"No, they actually calm each other. Maybe this time I won't have any scratches." She said, hopefully."

"How many padded cells do you have?"

"Only one, but it is big enough to fit six werewolves in there at a time, back in the day, and werewolves need to roam. The pads, however, remove any chance of sunlight coming in, so we installed some lights in the roof that we can turn on and off with a switch in between some pads. We can also unlock and open the door ourselves, but the lock only functions with human intelligence and limbs, so the wolf can't get out."

"Hey, that one night that you went missing last year-"

"Yes, I was in the cellar. I'm surprised you remembered that night."

"I remember most everything. Why couldn't I hear you?"

"The room is soundproofed. Don't want the kids flipping out over howling and shrieking in the cellar."

"Well, that doesn't make me feel any better."

"Well, you just wait for your first transformation before you make up your mind! Alone it could kill you, you could easily bleed out! But, with another werewolf, even just one, it's quite a rush." She said, staring off into the distance, as if reliving her first transformation.

Neville broke her out of the trance by saying, "Harry, we need to take you home. Do you think you could stand up?" Harry pulled the blankets off of him and stood up. The temperature around him dropped even further and he began shivering again. It was hard for him to stand but he did stand.

"Yes, I think I can."

Augusta spoke this time, "Good. Let's get out of here, then." They headed downstairs and simply left by floo powder. At the Longbottom home, Harry read the rest of the book written by the mysterious werewolf Lupin. He had gotten home and found this year's books already in his room. He was surprised to see that all of them except for one were by someone named Gilderoy Lockhart. Strange. He asked Augusta about it and she just scowled at the books. Apparently Lockhart wasn't a very good person somehow.

The month passed quickly. He finally knew why Neville was always so quiet yet was placed in Gryffindor. His grandmother demanded the quiet, as her hearing was almost as good as Harry's. Augusta gave Harry a simple silver ring with a long-term illusion on it to cover anything that may occur during the first transformation. Before Harry knew it, the time had come for his first full moon.

The pain of growing until their clothes wouldn't fit wasn't exactly pleasant. Because of this, Augusta had an enchanted cloak that would disappear when she changed and would come back when she changed back. Harry got Augusta's deceased husband's cloak. It smelled like it hadn't been used in years, which could be very close to the truth. It still had his scent on it, Augusta said, and he would have to agree. Something about the cloak reminded him of pine and dirt, though the smell was stale. Augusta smelled the old cloak with a near-euphoria.

"I can remember our adventures like it was only last night." She said. "It's a really good thing our property is out in the middle of nowhere. But, with Neville…."

Well, they got into the padded room and waited for the change. It came quickly. Augusta timed it just right, because it had only been two minutes before it started, The lights were off, but Harry could feel the change happening. The most painful part was the teeth. They lengthened and got sharper, particularly the canines. He wasn't able to know what he did while he was doing it and he completely forgot about it afterward as well, even though the book told him he would remember. Whatever happened in there was a complete mystery to him, but Augusta seemed to be proud of him in some strange way. Harry didn't get scratched or bitten at all, though, so he was happy. Augusta said that she did, but wouldn't tell him where, only saying that he had a strong grip, whatever that meant. Neville looked suspicious at this, asking how her 'internal clock' was doing. She said that it was running on all cylinders. Neville's face turned a strange mix of red and green. He refused to speak of the matter at all when asked. For a few days after, Harry smelled a new smell lingering around the house. Whatever that smell came from, it made him strangely restless, and he could barely go to sleep because of it. Asking Neville of the smell only made him turn extremely green and red, though, after recovering from whatever happened to him to make him that way, he said that he couldn't smell it and didn't know what he was talking about.

Soon, it faded from Harry's mind as he thought forward to Hogwarts. He was going to see Fluffy, Thana, and Norberta again. He got the strange impulse to howl when he was thinking of it one morning. Eventually, the time came to leave for the Hogwarts express. He, Neville, and Augusta got there by floo powder, greeted by a giant crowd of people. Harry found Hermione and sat across from her. Neville sat next to her. The three said hello to each other and then just watched as the scenery flew by. Some seconds after the train left, a girl with white/blonde hair and a pale complexion wandered past their compartment, smelling the air. Neville said,

"Well that was strange." This caught Harry's attention,

"What was strange?"

"A girl, probably first-year, just wandered across the hallway, smelling the air for something." And that's when she did it again, only she stopped just before she walked out of sight. She turned around and looked straight into the room, smelling the air only briefly. Harry did this as well, but didn't detect anything out of the ordinary. Then she spoke up, something that Harry seemed to impulsively remember by heart.

Her tone was that of someone that thought many things at the same time. Her voice was soft and calm, hardly varying in pitch. She seemed positive and carried a small smile on her mouth, even when she spoke. Her eyes were very wide, like they were trying to take in the entire world around her. In this way, she said, "Um….May I sit here? All of the other seats are taken."

Harry immediately said, "Sure!" and indicated the spot next to him with his finger. She sat calmly as if in a trance, putting all of her stuff on the brackets above her. Then he asked, "What's your name?"

"Luna Lovegood. What house are you going to be in, Harry?"

"How did you know my name?"

"The scar on your forehead it's about as revealing as a nametag." She said, smiling at him. Luna spoke, "You still haven't told me what house you're in, Harry."

"R-Ravenclaw." He said. For some strange reason, he hoped that she got inside Ravenclaw. For some reason, she was strangely appealing to him.

Hermione then spoke up. "Hey, where's Ron?"

"Ron Weasley?" asked Luna.

Harry spoke up, "OK, now how do you know about Ron?"

Luna answered, "I heard several people in red hair wondering where a particular member of their family went, namely Ron. If my father is correct, the group with the red hair is Weasleys. Something about Ron never coming through the gateway. I do hope he got on the train." Then, Luna's hand got too close to Harry's, brushing it only slightly. She blushed, as did Harry, and said, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to how close we were." Then, She got out a parchment, wrote something on it that was too small for Harry to read at that distance, got her owl out of her cage, gave the owl the rolled up parchment by tying it to its leg, said, "Send this to Xenophilius Lovegood," and threw it out the window.

Neville asked, "Why did you send that letter now?"

"Because the longer we wait, the longer it will take for the owl to get home, since we are moving away from home at an alarming rate. This way, the letter gets home faster, and father will want to know what I know as soon as possible."

Harry asked, "And what is that?"

"Not something that concerns you in this moment, but it could. If it does, I'll tell you." She said, settling into a staring contest with the scenery outside. Harry, noticing this, said,

"Luna, would you like to switch places with me?"

"Why?"

"I noticed that you were staring out the window, and I thought that you might want to get closer so that you could see better."

"No, thank you." She said, smiling sweetly. The rest of the ride continued without incident, and actually got pretty boring until the sweets cart came by. Luckily, Harry kept a stash of his Gringotts money in the Neville home, so he was able to buy everyone snacks, preferring one big lollipop for himself as usual. Luna seemed particularly happy at his thoughtfulness, ordering several chocolate frogs, preferring dark chocolate. Instead of eating them right off the bat, she played with them a little, putting them on her head and letting them jump off and all kinds of other silly things. This really amused Harry, and it didn't take long until he completely ignored the scenery passing by, instead wanting to watch Luna do something else. She was full of character, and probably the most interesting person he had ever met, so interesting that she just might give Dumbledore a run for his money. Hermione seemed to agree, though she didn't like how Luna took her father's words of strange creatures and conspiracies for granted.

Eventually, the train got to Hogwarts, and everyone got off. Harry, Neville, Hermione, and Luna all left together. Luna separated from them because she was a first-year and needed to be sorted. As Harry watched her go, he saw her owl land on her shoulder, handing her a letter. She took it off to read it and the owl flew to the castle. It appears she was right about the letter. When they got to the area they were supposed to get to, Harry saw carriages, each led by a black, winged, and extremely bony horse.

"What is that?" Harry said, looking at the horse.

Hermione said, "What are you looking at, Harry?"

"Oh, you know. The bony, black, winged horse in front of us."

Neville said, "Um….Hermione, do you see any horses around?"

"No." Hermione said, looking closely at where Harry was pointing and seeing nothing. "Harry, are you sure you are not hallucinating?"

"I'm sure. It looks as real as you and me. Nothing strange about it except it's a big, black, winged, and bony horse. It also has a black, turtle-like beak."

"Hmm….Maybe you should ask a teacher about it, Harry." Hermione said, looking rather amused.

Neville said, "You know, Harry, you remind me of Luna." Harry blushed, not knowing if he should take that as a compliment. They got on the carriage and it sped off towards the castle. Suddenly, Harry saw a Flying Ford Anglia above them as he looked into the sky, pulled into a daydream. Pointing, he said,

"Hey guys. Tell me I'm not hallucinating that." They all looked and were astonished.

Neville spoke first, in a whisper, "Is that a Ford Anglia?"

Hermione answered, "It sure looks like it."

Then, Harry put the pieces together, saying, "How did Ron get a flying Ford Anglia?"

They both looked at him with strange expressions, "Harry, how did you know that Ron is the one in that car?" asked Hermione.

"Well, he's the only one that was missing, wasn't he? Maybe he took that thing to school. I sure hope he wasn't seen by anyone else."

It got quiet for a moment, and then Neville spoke up, "You know, Harry, you act a lot like Luna." This made Harry blush for the third time that day.

Harry spoke playfully, giving in to his more childish instincts, "Do not!"

They said simultaneously, "Do, too!" Again, Harry's first instinct was to take this as a compliment, though he was embarrassed by that fact. Because of this, he had a small grin stuck on his face for the entire ride, fueling their jabs about Luna. Eventually they got to the castle and were led to the tables. Neville went to Gryffindor table and Harry and Hermione went to Ravenclaw table. All of the staff except Quirrell was there. In Quirrell's place sat a man that looked to Harry to be Snape's brother. He had dark hair that was so short that it looked buzz cut. He wondered what he would be teaching them this year.

Then, all of the first-years walked in, led by McGonagall. Harry quickly caught Luna's eye. She smiled at him and, for the briefest of moments, seemed to reveal in her complexion that she was focusing on nothing but him. What he saw there was alien to him. No one had ever looked at him like that. Hermione saw it, too, saying that it was weird. McGonagall began introducing the concept of the sorting hat, and then was interrupted by a Severus Snape, who spoke to her in a whisper that only one other person could hear, namely Harry.

"We have a situation involving your house. I need you and Dumbledore immediately."

"Are you sure this can't -"

"I'm sure."

Then, he walked up to Dumbledore saying, "We have a situation involving the international decree of secrecy and one of our students. I need you and McGonagall immediately."

With a grim expression, he said, "Very well, Severus." And both he and McGonagall followed him out. Moments of silence followed, and then professor Flitwick resumed the sorting. 'Lovegood, Luna' got 'RAVENCLAW!' After about a millisecond of having the hat on, then immediately went over to Harry and Hermione and sat next to Harry, saying, "I got Ravenclaw, too!"

Harry asked, "What were you thinking when you put the hat on?"

"I was thinking of the hat yelling Ravenclaw."

"I was thinking the same thing when I went."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want to be influenced by those in Slytherin, I didn't want to be a typical Gryffindor, I wasn't very loyal too much, and I loved to question and seek truth. Why did you pick Ravenclaw?"

"That's not something that I could tell you. At least not yet, Harry." Luna said, being, once again, focused on only him when he thought he had her pinned as someone that always had multiple things on their mind at the same time. Like him.

Dumbledore returned and delivered announcements, the feast began, and then it ended. After the feast, Dumbledore walked down to Harry, saying, "Follow me, Harry. You too, Luna." Harry was extremely curious as to what was going on, thinking that it could have something to do with him being a werewolf. Or worse, that he was seen to have been bitten, and Dumbledore was seen to have set the werewolf on fire with magic, meaning that his loss of vigilance let the secret of the wizarding world get out. His stomach clenched for a second, then he thought of the Flying Ford Angela and he thought to himself, 'How often do you see a flying car?'

Well, the car was a much more obvious problem, meaning that he wasn't likely in trouble, but by the tone of Dumbledore's voice, there was something serious going on. Luna showed no signs of knowing what it was, now lost in daydreaming of the ceiling of the Great Hall. Speaking of daydreams, Harry quickly digressed to a curious thought, wondering how wizards have avoided detection for so long. Sure, we have our wards and our invisibility and our muggle clothes, but a kid getting hold of something magical and flippantly using it in public would happen frequently enough to-."

"Lemon Drop," said Dumbledore, interrupting his thought. Harry took control of his senses and observed a Gargoyle spinning upward, seemingly producing a staircase, upon which he now stood, being led up by the headmaster. Upon getting to the top of the staircase, Dumbledore opened a door that appeared in front of him and the three of them walked through. This is when Luna came out of her own daydream and began to look around at what had apparently been Dumbledore's office. Harry, however, was focused on the strange man that he saw.

He wore pure white suit jacket, shoes, and slacks, while his suit shirt, shoelaces, and socks were canary yellow. Something that stood out among the mix was his eyes and tie, both of which were the brightest blue, almost white. His eyes were doing tricks on him, showing him a white tie and then a sky-blue tie, each time the man's eyes representing the other of those two colors. With all of these colors together, as well as his hair, which was a pure, vibrant white, he appeared to be some sort of angelic figure. Luna's clothes were the standard black of Hogwarts cloaks, which, when mixed with Luna's own almost white hair and bright-white skin, brought on a stark contrast that made the black blacker and the white whiter. Her eyes were blue as well, but much darker blue than the man before them, reminding Harry of a deep blue ocean. He noticed that she was staring at him, which reminded him that he was staring at her, which made him immediately blush, (for the fourth time. Or was it the fifth time? Whatever.) And look away. Dumbledore seemed to brighten at this, a smile appearing on his face.

"Well, this might not be as uncomfortable for you as I first thought Harry." Dumbledore said. This grabbed Harry's attention and he was now listening.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"What I am about to tell you might be emotionally racking, and you might reject the idea at first [At the mention of the word 'reject', Luna flinched and her constant smile seemed to fade somewhat. The man in white seemed to give Luna a worried expression.] But I want you to be considerate of Luna's feelings, Harry."

Harry, now expecting the worst, asked, "Um, what is this all about, professor?"

But Dumbledore wasn't interested on immediately saying what he had to say, turning to the man in white, "This, Harry, is Luna's father, Xen-"

"Xenophilius, hello." Harry interrupted, shaking the man's hand. He had a firm grip, but he held a worried, almost tense look in his eye. And something else….Was that a threat? A protective gleam? A mix of both? Whatever it was, Harry now felt responsible and guilty of failing. At what, he didn't know, but he felt it. Perhaps the man was trying to communicate a sense of finality, that what is to be said today is not to be taken lightly or brandished in a joking way. His eyes instilled seriousness into Harry that Dumbledore hadn't yet. He hoped that he didn't fail Xenophilius. Especially because this was Luna's father and Luna was a very interesting person that he wished to be with more often. His expression changed to curiosity upon the shake ending, though the tense attitude still showed through his visage.

"You know of me?" He asked, glancing at Luna briefly.

"Only your name. Luna sent you a letter from our compartment on the train. The urgency she did it with told me that you needed to know as soon as possible, and when I walked in here I knew that you could be Xenophilius Lovegood, which I now know you are." At this, the tense expression on his face seemed to fade slightly, and then came back again. Whatever was going on in his head must be really worrying him, and he got the sense that it was Luna on the line. Maybe her future. Maybe her life. What Harry had to do with it all bewildered him, and then he considered something that made him blush once again. Xenophilius spoke

"You remind me so much of Luna." He said, smiling slightly.

"That'll be the third time that's been said to me today." Xenophilius laughed at this. Harry continued, smiling slightly and staying calm. Something about the Lovegoods made him want to act like them. Maybe he wasn't acting at all, "My first instinct is to take it as a complement."

Luna smiled at this, saying, "Thank you, Harry." And smiling as he was smiling. Dumbledore had a very amused expression on his face. That is when he chose to speak,

"Anyway, Harry, back on topic. What do you know about veela?"

"Only what I read about in my third book for Unaided Magic. They make incredibly powerful bonds with their Bondmate, who they identify, but don't choose, through a system of sight, smell, and touch. It can frequently end in a happy and prosperous marriage, something that I sometimes fantasize about having when I'm thinking and alone. Admittedly, I think about it frequently, how I could raise a family and have someone that understands me with me till the day I die without fear of betrayal or abandonment. Someone that I can share my deepest darkest secrets with and who would know that they could trust me just as completely, telling me all of theirs in turn….Well, I think much deeper about this but I will spare you the finer details. Besides, since I am no veela and don't know very many veela, it's very likely that those are just going to continue to be daydreams rather than reality." He said this in a dreamy tone while looking at the ceiling, reminding everyone else in the room of Luna Lovegood. As he said this, he sensed Dumbledore, Xenophilius, and especially Luna release the tension that had been building up within them. This grabbed his attention, asking, "Wait….what did I say to release the tension?"

Dumbledore spilled the beans, a vibrant smile on his face and a glimmer in his eye, "Harry, Luna is a veela. You are her Bondmate."

This made Harry's eyes widen. Struck with the sudden realization that someone's life depended on him accepting them, He began to panic, trying to determine the consequences of Luna and her father discovering that he was a werewolf. What if she rejects him? Could he hide it? No, spending her entire life with him will reveal all of his secrets, besides, this one kept secret will spoil the whole thing. Apparently he had stayed silent too long, because the room had grown tense again and a slight look of horror gripped Luna's visage. Harry spoke to relieve tension.

"Luna, the only thing keeping me from accepting the bond right here and now is fear that you would regret it later. Is there anything about your understanding of me that would cause you to reject me if it changed?"

Her look of horror was immediately replaced with pure joy and the tension was released from the room once more. Then, her joy was replaced with a dreamy stare at the wall as she began thinking again. "Um….Are you real?"

"Yes."

"Dead?"

"No."

"Relatively human?"

"..."

"Harry?" Harry's heart plummeted when 'human' came from her mouth. No, he was not, and a pain gripped his heart.

"No."

"Well, what are you, then?"

"I'm a werewolf, Luna. I'm so sorry." At this point, he was pretty emotionless. A device he used to protect himself from pain. He had gotten used to using it all his life. Norberta, whose bond with Harry had come out of hibernation mid-conversation, sent across soothing feelings.

"Harry, just because you have a disease doesn't mean that you aren't human. Besides, even if you do become less human in the future, it would only serve to make you a much more interesting person." That, as well as Norberta's support, helped Harry's emotions start to wake up again. Reexamining her list, He realized that she was being sarcastic. Rejuvenated, a smile appeared on his face and he said,

"I'm so glad you think that, Luna," and pulled her into a gentle, yet firm hug that communicated, 'I accept your bond.' This triggered Harry to see a thin blue mist settle on them, which then slowly thickened into blue tendril's that connected their minds. Harry was the only one that could see this, but both of them could certainly feel it. It felt like a warmth. The good kind of warmth you get from coming inside on a cold day, except it was different. It affected their hearts and minds, and even their very souls, as if the very core of their being desperately needed this and they had gone cold without it, only to become warm and alive again when they find it. The hug was long and both ended up happily breathing the other's scent, Harry more than Luna, before Dumbledore broke it up. Xenophilius, however, had no intention of breaking anything up and looked almost murderous when Dumbledore did, as he was trained in spirit magic and saw the bond stop forming as soon as they pulled apart and paid attention to Dumbledore.

"Ok, you two, you need to know a little more before you begin to spend time together-"

Xenophilius cut in, "Dumbledore, I don't think you should be interrupting their bonding time. The bond has stopped forming."

"Um….Try holding hands." They gladly did, settling into their new instincts easily, blushing and smiling as they did it. Immediately, the bond began forming again and Xenophilius went back to his normal self, telling Dumbledore that it had worked. Dumbledore resumed. "Well, still some more to know. Firstly, you are both not going to be sleeping in your Ravenclaw dormitories. Instead, we will be giving you two separate bedrooms connected by a common room. This will serve to keep others away from you when the bond is forming. Your things have already been moved into that common room. If you have any wishes or requests concerning the state or quality of the material within the common room or the common room itself please let me know. I will make any changes, wanted or needed, as long as it is welcome. We will show you there shortly.

"Also, while the bond is settling you will not have to attend classes. I have been required to give you up to a month without investigation, and then any extensions will require you to be examined by someone trained in Spirit Magic for every day it is extended. While you are not attending classes, each professor will be required to write a summary of all that was taught every day and will give you your homework and summaries at the end of every day. They will go to your common room to give this to you. Luna, you are going to be the one to handle as much of the social interaction as possible, a reason I am sure your father has told you, but I'll say it for Harry's benefit. Veela are extremely protective of their Bondmate while the bond is settling and have very strong instincts to attack what they think are threatening said Bondmate at said time. Any intrusion on their Bondmates personal space could easily be seen as an attack by the deeply ingrained instincts of the bonded veela. Considering that a veela's natural form of attack is to throw fireballs, I'd rather not risk getting a member of the faculty or student body being burnt to a crisp. Do you think you two can handle that?"

"Yes." They both said with enthusiasm. And so, Dumbledore personally escorted them to their common room.

What do you think of that one? Too sudden? Not exactly realistic? Perfect? Exciting? Tell me. Also, what do you want to happen in the future. I must know!