A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

Chapter 37: Connecting the Dots

"Luna, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure Harry." She replied, not at all surprised to see me. "Follow me, I know just the place."

I followed Luna from the Great Hall and after several minutes of what seemed like aimless wandering, we stopped.

"Luna, I know a place if you--"

"Shh." She tilted her head to one side as if listening. "I know you're there, Ronald."

"Bloody hell!" Came the reply as the air shimmered the revealed Ron. "How did you know that? How does she always know?"

Luna only rolled her eyes. "I'm not in Ravenclaw for nothing you know."

I shook my head, a length of silvery cloth catching my eye. "Is that – is that my cloak?"

Ron nodded and shoved it into my hands. "Keep your knickers on Harry, I was going to put it back."

"You were spying on me?"

"No," Luna cut in, "He was spying on Hermione."

"Exactly. Besides, it's not like you don't have another one."

I stared at him. "That's beside the point, Ron! You should have asked!"

"I was going to, but you'd already left for dinner!"

"I--"

"If you two are quite finished," Luna interrupted loudly, "I'd like to get a move on. I have an Astronomy test this evening, and I'd like to be prepared for it."

I shrugged and Ron muttered a half-hearted 'sorry', and we were on our way again. After countless more minutes, Luna stopped in the middle of a deserted corridor.

"Luna," I asked as she preened in a mirror, "we've been walking about for hours it seems. Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Of course." She replied. "We're going right here."

"Here?" I complained. "How in the bloody hell is the middle of the hallway a private place to talk about things?"

She finally stopped arranging her hair an turned to me. "Behind the mirror, you dunce. Honestly, for someone in the possession of the Marauder's Map, you're hopeless at spotting a secret passage. Why else would there be a mirror hanging in an unused corridor?"

I felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment. "Oh."

She grinned at me. "Eloquent as ever, I see."

"So how do we get in?" Ron asked, pulling one side of the mirror off the wall and looking behind it.

Luna slapped Ron's arm and replaced the mirror. "You don't walk behind it, you walk through it. Like this." To illustrate her point, she walked right up to the mirror and, lifting the hem of her robes, stepped right through it as though it wasn't there.

"Wicked." Ron exclaimed before following her. I shook my head and followed.

Once we were all situated on the various boulders (this was one of the ones that had caved-in) Luna turned her full attention to me.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked, smoothing out her robes and casting a few warming charms.

"I haven't heard from Rein in a while…" I started. "I wonder if you'd pass her a letter."

"Of course. But really Harry, what's up?"

"Malfoy offered me… an alliance, of sorts. I don't know what his motive is. He implied that he wasn't on Voldemort's side, but I don't know if I can trust him."

Ron snorted. "He's Malfoy Harry. Of course you can't! At least, not farther than you can throw him."

"That's what I thought. I figured I'd see what he had to offer and then make my decision once I was fairly sure of what I might be getting myself into."

Luna nodded sagely. "Sounds like a plan."

"Thing is, he knows things about me that only a privileged few know. He said that he heard it from Granger, but even if he did that doesn't mean she told him."

"He could have just overheard her talking to someone else."

"Exactly."

"What I don't get," Ron said, leaning forward, "is what that has to do with Granger. Sure she's been acting funny lately, but it's not like Voldemort would recruit her. She's a Muggleborn!"

I nodded in agreement. "True… but what if he did?"

"You're right, Ron." Luna said after a moment. "Voldemort wouldn't recruit her – she's exactly the kind of person that he's trying to get rid of. But he might use her. Or her likeness, at least."

"Wait… what do you mean, her 'likeness'?"

"I don't think that's Hermione at all. Or if it is, she's under a spell or something. It wouldn't have been hard to do – Dumbledore didn't ward her house this summer. It would have been easy for a Death Eater to get to her."

"You think she's under the Imperious?" Ron asked.

"It's the only thing I can think of that would be efficient. I see her at night for Astronomy, and I've never noticed her drinking or eating anything. I'll look again tonight, just to be sure." She offered.

I nodded. "I'll ask Snape if there have been any developments in Polyjuice or something like it."

"I'll tail her and keep an eye on the map for unfamiliar names. If she's not Hermione, the map should know."

"Right."

Luna stood. "Alright. We have a plan now. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Here." I said, handing Luna my letter for Rein. "When you have time…"

"I'll post it on my way to Astronomy."

"Thanks." I stood, heading towards the mirror. "See you in Gryffindor Ron. Don't do anything I wouldn't."

Ron was too caught up in Luna to reply.