Two days later, Luna did indeed find out just how dedicated Harry was to his studies. She had just crept into the Gryffindor Common Room after creating a doppelganger of herself in her dormitory, and she turned around, shocked by a sudden sound behind her. She turned to see a sight that made her smile lovingly at the sleeping man. Harry was sprawled out on the couch, the centre table crammed to overflowing with large, leather tomes and scribbled notes, and a small, leather volume clasped in his hand. She walked over to Harry and wandlessly summoned a blanked to place over him, already noticing that he had cast a not-notice-me charm around himself, before settling down in a chair opposite the sleeping Wizard and beginning to read through his extensive collection of notes.
It was just after midnight that Harry awoke, and he smiled at the sight of the silver-eyed blonde absorbed in the seven-scroll essay he had written on the methods he had adapted for use with Arithmancy. With a thought, a steaming cup of hot cocoa materialised in front of the woman, and he watched in amusement as her nose tWitched at the smell, before it finally broke her concentration enough to make her look up. When she saw the cup, she turned her head and smiled thankfully at Harry. After taking a sip of her drink, she motioned to his essay. "This is incredible Harry – it's almost criminal to keep it to yourself, even though I know why."
Harry nodded and sat up before conjuring himself a cup of hot chocolate. "I will share it, in time." He smiled at her. "I don't intend to simply live on my family fortune like I understand Malfoy does; I want us to live comfortably – but on our own merits." Luna felt her love for Harry grow when he said that, and she leant over – pecking him quickly on the cheek to tell him so. Harry smiled warmly for a moment, but soon glanced cheekily at her. "Thank you for that – I was afraid I would start suffering withdrawal if I didn't get my fix soon." She swatted him lightly on his arm, giggling lightly before the two began studying in earnest – only calling it quits when they looked up at the clock, the hour hand of which was pointing towards the three. With a wave of his hand, all of the books and notes packed themselves neatly up, and begun marching up the stairs to his bedroom.
As the two followed one of the Dark Arts books up the stairs, Luna questioned him. "Why do you still use your arm with wandless magic?" He smiled at her, having anticipated the question sooner or later, and paused in the middle of the staircase. "It's comforting – I remember Lupin doing it when he was teaching me to cast the Patronus charm." He smiled fondly at the memory before turning back to Luna. "And because you can do things like this. He flung his hand out towards the fireplace, and Luna flinched; expecting a wall of flame or something just as destructive to come rushing out any moment.
It didn't, and she frowned at Harry – who was smiling slightly. "It didn't work."
He nodded his head and smiled lecherously at her. "Oh yes it did." It was at that moment that Luna felt a cool breeze around her nether regions, and she squealed loudly before rushing up the stairs and disappearing into Harry's dormitory. Said Wizard chuckled lightly to himself, and walked slowly up the stairs, giving Luna time to change before he joined her. When he reached the curtains to his bed however, he found that they wouldn't budge an inch. He frowned slightly and tugged harder at the red velvet, but to no avail. "Luna, can you please let me in?"
The reply he received was not what he was hoping for – a muffled 'no' permeating the thick fabric. Harry sighed deeply – he knew that she mightn't have appreciated the spell, but he hadn't meant any harm by it; he had only wanted to demonstrate the usefulness of deception. He leant against the curtain and sighed; happy he had placed his dorm-mates under a stasis charm before entering the room. "Luna, I'm sorry if I went a little too far. I didn't mean to upset you – it was just the first thing to pop into my head at the time." Silence followed his words, but a moment later he felt the wards around the bed drop, and he warily pulled them aside and stepped into their room. A few candles illuminated the space, and his eyes almost immediately fell to the golden-haired Ravenclaw who was already lying in the bed, her back turned to him. Silently the young Wizard changed into a t-shirt and his boxers before pulling the covers aside and resting his back against the headboard. "Luna, why did it upset you so much? I really didn't think you would react like you did."
The woman next to him didn't answer for some time, but Harry patiently waited; knowing that she would answer when she was ready. When she did, she spoke quietly, her back still to Harry. "You're the first friend I've ever had Harry. I once attended a muggle school, but I was made fun of and my father took me out when he heard about the insults and bullying." Her shoulders slumped as she relived the memories, and Harry had to forcefully stop himself from reaching over and pulling her into a hug – she needed to get this off her chest. "But it didn't stop; it got worse. Dad would send me on errands to the local magic village when I was ten; to pick up some food, some paper, or delivering messages to the townsfolk." She shook slightly, and Harry realized with a start that she was silently sobbing. He placed a hand reassuringly on her bare shoulder and she slowly stopped shuddering. "They did such horrible things Harry; such mean and hateful things – I never thought people could be so cruel, but they were. A lot of the older children by that time already had their wands, and the town was surrounded by a set of wards that disrupted the Ministries monitoring of underage magic which allowed them to freely use their powers."
Harry had already guessed at what was to come, and he pushed back the inevitable swell of anger. "At first it was just little things, like turning a piece of ground to ice so that I would slip, or stealing my purse so that I had no money, but it turned so horrible so quickly. Some of the first years who were attending Wizarding schools began to get quite serious with the spells they used – I was once set on fire, but a man nearby put me out before I was burned." Harry gritted his teeth in a silent rage, but continued to give Luna his support, and listen.
"They started stealing my clothes after that – I once ran home in only my underwear, crying all the way – but it was one time in January that was the worst. I was twelve at the time, and dad had sent me into Ottery St Catchpole to get some supplies that he needed to finish the daft of that month's Quibbler. I dressed up as warm as I could because of the snow outside, and then began walking. I arrived about an hour later without much fuss, entered the local stationary store, brought the items that dad needed, and then began walking back.
"I was half-way through the village when it happened. Immediately all of my clothes were banished from my body, and I was covered in ice cold water – but not before somebody cast a slicing hex at my back." Harry's eyes flicked downwards to her clothed back, and she nodded at his unasked question – not even needing to turn around to feel his uneasy inquiry. Hesitantly he lifted the hem of her turquoise night-dress, and gasped when he uncovered the scar that had been hidden. A vicious, ragged scar ran from her lower back, and continued diagonally all the way up to her shoulder blade – easily visible, even against her pale skin. Slowly, and gently, Harry ran his fingers over the healed gash, and she continued. "I was so scared Harry, I ran as fast as I could from the village. I was crying so hard, and I was so shaken that I got lost – and the cold begun to sink into me." Harry dropped his hand from her back and tenderly pulled the silk back over her bare skin, before shuffling closer and stoking her hair – prompting her to continue – even though he was risking his temper.
"The next thing I knew, I was at St Mungo's Hospital. When I woke up I was told that I had suffered from severe blood loss and hypothermia. I was lucky to be alive. Daddy told me that the baker from the village had been collecting some grain from his supplier when he saw the blood in the snow, and he had apparated me immediately to the hospital when he found me." She lowered her head to her pillow sadly. "I've never been to the village ever again."
Harry sat there for quite some time. At first there was only anger, and the want to apparate immediately to the small village and curse the people that had caused Luna such pain and torment – but the ferocity soon changed into a deeper, more controlled anger – much the same as the hate he held for the Headmaster. Harry knew that Luna wouldn't want him to use violence unless it was against Voldemort or his followers, but he knew he had to do something about it – and so he made a mental note to think about it later.
Eventually, the maelstrom of emotion in Harry stilled, and all that was left was concern and love for the young Witch lying beside him. He gently wrapped his arm around her waist and rolled her over to face him, his heart aching at the pain he saw in her eyes. He spoke gently, not wanting to raise his voice at the hurt Ravenclaw. "I'm so sorry Luna, if I had've known I would never have done something to bring back that memory." Even before he spoke, Luna had forgiven him, and let him know with a gentle brush of her lips against his cheek. He gave her a tender look, and pulled her to him. "I know you've been through some terrible things Luna, and I'm always here to listen." He looked into her clear, silver eyes and saw the trust there, trust that he wanted to replicate.
After a few moments, he began speaking – and Luna looked up, shocked, at the words that came from his mouth. "I lived in a cupboard until I was fourteen…" Over the next five hours, Harry told Luna everything he had hidden from everybody he had ever known without the slightest bit of hesitation. Luna felt much the same emotions Harry had when she heard of his abusive caregivers, if they could be called that, and growled in anger when Harry explained that Dumbledore had purposely put him there to scar him.
"He failed miserably however," Harry smiled. Luna looked up at her boyfriend with no small amount of confusion, but when he leant down and placed a tender kiss on her lips it all became clear. "He couldn't stop me from loving you."
A/N: In this scene I have included a word dubbed by jbern in his story: Bungle in the Jungle: A Harry Potter Adventure. Spellchaining is the word, and I thank jbern very much for allowing me to use his creation!
Harry and Luna were both fighting viciously against their tutors – on complete opposite ends of the field mind you. Harry was furiously spellchaining; casting spells one after another in a sequence that flowed together in a rhythm, repeated over and over, allowing the young Wizard to cast the spells at an extraordinary rate – and the fact that the mantra had reached the yelling stage in Harry's head meant that Armando had collapsed under the barrage in a matter of seconds.
Luna was doing quite the opposite from Harry, and was fighting to defend herself from her mentor's spellchaining efforts, forcing more power into her shields and dashing behind cover that she had summoned out of nowhere. As Harry helped Armando to his feet, he looked proudly over at his girlfriend holding her ground against the experienced ex-Headmistress. After a moment's observation, he turned to Armando seriously. "I need your help."
Over the next ten minutes, Harry outlined his plan to the old Wizard – and at the end of it all Armando stood still, brooding. After a few minutes he turned to Harry. "As your mentor for fighting the darkness, I would highly recommend that you don't follow through with this endeavour." Harry opened his mouth complain, but was interrupted by Armando's raised hand. "As your friend however, I heartily agree that it would be something that would help both your and Luna's emotional scars – and I believe that such healing would be beneficial to the two of you during your fights." He smiled warmly at Harry. "I would love to help Harry."
Both Dilys and Armando had decided early on that they would teach the two students separately; Luna would be taught defence, and Harry offence. The logic behind this was that if they were to get attacked tomorrow, Luna would be able to cover Harry's back far better than he would himself if he was learning both of the disciplines at the same time. Conversely, with Harry being trained specifically in the offensive arts, he would be the spearhead for their attacks. This arrangement would remain until their mentors deemed them ready to swap, and Harry would learn defence with Dilys while Armando would teach Luna the specifics of offence. Due to Harry's power, immense knowledge of the dark arts and duelling, and lightning fast reflexes from Quidditch, Armando had already decided that Harry was ready to move onto defence, and what the young Wizard had asked him for help with was the perfect opportunity to begin on the new subject.
Harry had even gone so far as to bypass his magic limiting spell when casting an illusion over his side of the field, and so Luna was none the wiser regarding Harry's plan and Armando's secret training. Over the next month Harry attended classes, was best friends with Hermione and the traitor, blatantly flirted with Ginny, and acted as obedient as a five year old. The reality was far from the illusion he cast. Already Dilys and Armando had agreed Harry could easily pass his NEWT subjects with a 100% score, and Luna had been ecstatic to learn that they held her in exactly the same stead, and so Harry had devised a spell which allowed both him and his girlfriend to listen to their mentors during class time, while projecting the illusion that they were working diligently in the classes which they so happily ignored. Since discussing his plan with Armando however, Harry had been increasing his time with the portrait of the Headmaster to incredible hours – to the point where the elderly tutor had to refuse teaching the young Wizard until he got a good night's sleep.
It turned out that Harry slept for a sound forty two hours – something which had Luna very worried, but Harry laid her fears to rest by telling her that he had been feeling a bit under the weather, and that the training must have been affecting him more than he thought with the illness. Immediately afterwards however, Harry resumed his intense training with Armando, although he did make sure to set aside enough hours for sleep to the ex-Headmaster's immense relief. Eventually the term had come to an end, and the four weeks' worth of holidays would begin as soon as they stepped off the train the following afternoon. Harry had finally decided that he was as ready as he would ever be, and made sure to spend the entire day with Luna under the most powerful not-notice-me charm they could conjure together. Fawkes had followed – with their permission – from a discreet distance to make sure that their wards stayed strong enough to trick even the meddling Headmaster himself.
The couple's relationship had progressed over the months they had been together, but not in the normal fashion. They had already been sleeping in the same bed for quite some time, and they enjoyed their tender, and sometimes quite passionate kissing sessions, but physically nothing had progressed past that point – something which the pair had wordlessly established a mere month ago; they both realized that there was no need to rush. What had progressed however was their trust in one another. Luna fully opened herself up to Harry, confiding her deepest fears and secrets to him – all of which not another living soul knew about. Harry had done exactly the same, and found it to be the most wonderful feeling to release all the pain and anguish he had kept pent up for his entire life. Slowly their scars had begun to heal, but they both knew that there was a long way to go before they would be completely free of their inner demons.
The pair was currently sitting alone in the astronomy tower watching the setting sun - every other person who had approached having felt the unusual urge to go and eat a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Luna had her head comfortably resting on Harry's chest, and the raven-haired boy was gently stroking her silky hair. The comfortable silence that had settled over the pair was suddenly broken by the silver-eyed Witch – Harry looking down in surprise when he heard her voice. "I won't be able to do it Harry." The anguish in her eyes tore at Harry's heart, but he firmly held onto his resolve as she continued. "I won't be able to go even a week without you Harry; you're as much a part of me as my soul."
Harry gently stroked her soft cheek with the back of his finger and smiled sadly at her. "I'll miss you too Luna – you're everything to me as well; but I'll always be a word away: you know that."
When she replied, her voice was desperate. "But I need you beside me Harry; I need you; all of you!"
Harry pulled her into a hug and whispered tenderly into her ear. "You're strong Luna. Trust me when I say that it is nearly tearing my heart from my chest right now, but we will always be together – past death; for eternity." He pulled back and placed a loving kiss on her forehead before meeting her wet eyes. "I will be beside you Luna – forever." He stroked her cheek once again. "Never forget that Luna; never."
Their separation was nearly unbearable – even with what Harry knew. Fawkes had given them the last ten minutes of the trip in private – completely securing one of the cabins from any intrusion – where both of them cried and hugged each other while whispering just how much they loved one another. The moment Harry saw Luna disappear with her father was horrible. The second before they disappeared, Harry had caught the look in her eyes, and he had fallen to his knees at the complete and utter anguish he saw there. When Ginny ran over to see what the problem was, and why he was crying, he muttered something about Sirius and received understanding nods from the entire Weasely clan before leaving with the Dursleys.
Tears leaked from his eyes the whole way to the car, and both Vernon and Dudley were about to comment quite rudely on the spectacle – but violently stopped themselves short when they saw Harry's green eyes pulsing with light. For the entire trip back from the train station not a word was said, and the silence continued all the way into the house, and only disappeared when Harry's door had closed behind him.
The silence ended for Harry as well, who was saved by a quick silencing charm from the Phoenix at the window. He yelled almost inhumanly, his pain, anger and elf-hate spilling over along with his magic – he had vowed to himself never to hurt Luna like he just had – he had never hated somebody so much in his entire life, and that person was himself. After half an hour his magical tirade ended with the young Wizard crumpled on the carpet, crying and slamming his fists into the floor – the shaking Dursleys downstairs collapsing in relief when they felt the hateful magic cease. Fawkes apparated soundlessly inside the room, and gently approached his master – well aware of the fragile state he was in. "Harry, stop this now – I beg you."
"I hurt her."
"No, you didn't. Dumbledore hurt her by not allowing you to be together – stop this now Harry; she would hate to see you like this."
The Phoenix's last words struck a nerve with Harry, and he slowly stood up and brushed himself off before quickly waving his hand and repairing his ruined room instantly. He stood, quiet for a moment, before turning to the Phoenix and smiling thankfully. "You're right Fawkes – I'm sorry if I had you worried."
The fiery bird shook his head. "There is nothing to forgive Harry; I know the agony that you feel – I am your Familiar after all." Harry nodded gratefully at the Phoenix, and the bird cocked his head in amusement. "I do feel compelled to remind you however, that the faster you start on those spells and wards, the faster your plan can be put into motion."
Fawkes had never seen a Wizard or Witch so determined in his entire life, and that was saying something. Harry worked himself for nearly twenty-four hours straight before collapsing from exhaustion, sleeping for ten hours, and then working for ten more before collapsing onto his bed for a quick two hour nap which he forced Fawkes to wake him from. Wards in place, Harry spoke the activation phrase, and immediately a life-like Harry appeared over the other side of the room. The clone of Harry grinned at him. "Well get your bloody skates on Potter, and give those muggles hell on the way out!"
Harry was more than pleased to oblige. He unlocked his door, and then proceeded to do something he had never before dared to do. Harry stomped, loudly, down the stairs. Almost immediately, Vernon appeared in the hallway and, having seeming to have forgotten the fear the young Wizard had instilled in him a mere twenty three hours previously, turned a fascinating puce colour and began yelling. "What the hell do you think you're doing Boy?"
Harry coolly looked at his furious uncle and replied. "I believe that I am thumping down the stairs. I was attempting to imitate Dudley sneaking, and I thought I did quite well."
Vernon clearly didn't take that statement very well, and Harry saw the look of immense glee on Dudley's face as he realized that Harry was promptly going to be splattered against the wall. Petunia was glaring at him with unbridled hatred – Harry assumed for his hurtful comments towards her 'little Dudders' and his weight, and was watching Vernon advance on Harry with a look that clearly said that she thought justice was being served. By this point, Vernon was one step away from Harry, and had raised his hand to hit the young man. Harry watched, amused, as his Uncle's arm swung downwards and coolly looked the shocked man in the face when his hand came to an abrupt halt mere millimetres away from his nose. "Bad doggy, no biscuit."
With a flick of his fingers, a blinding red stunner impacted against the fat man's chest and sent him careering down the hallway, before the wall at the end stopped his forward momentum with a rather loud crunch and he crumpled to the floor. Petunia screamed and rushed over to her fallen husband, while Dudley simply stood, stupefied, at the sight he had just witnessed. Harry walked down the last of the stairs and subtley cast Enervate at the unconscious slob, who shot up like a hot poker had been shoved somewhere rather unpleasant.
Harry's nonchalant attitude turned colder, and, ignoring the silent yells of all three of his relatives, spoke. "Silencing charm." Their mouths all snapped shut, and Harry raised his hand to point at the lounge. "Everyone in there now." The three muggles angrily pulled themselves from the floor – or at least Petunia and Vernon did – and glared at Harry as they filed into the small room. Harry motioned to the couch and then sat down in one of the armchairs, an act which clearly caused his two eldest relatives to grit their teeth in frustration. Harry sat, silent for a few moments before motioning to Vernon and releasing him from the silencing charm. "I assume you have something to say Uncle Vernon?"
"You little brat! How dare you attack me; we give you a roof over your head and this is how you repay us?"
"It's hardly much of a roof Uncle Vernon; it leaks frequently."
The puce faced man spluttered for a moment. "That's beside the point Boy! You attacked me!"
Harry raised his eyebrow. "Well Uncle Vernon, I didn't realize that defending myself was illegal – but I think that child abuse just might be…"
Vernon's face had bypassed puce, and had turned a fascinating shade of purple – which secretly impressed the young Wizard. "You dare accuse me of that you Freak?"
"Yes Uncle Vernon, I do."
Once again he spluttered for a few moments, and, seeing that he wasn't going to contribute anything much else to the conversation, Harry recast the silencing spell – instead freeing Petunia; he found the triumphant look in her eyes most intriguing. "You stupid Boy," she spat, "You used magic! You'll be expelled from that little Freak school you go to, and you'll never see your freakish friends ever again!"
Harry slowly sat back in his chair, not an ounce of emotion on his face – watching in amusement as Petunia's, Vernon's and Dudley's eye lit up at the prospect of more misery in his life. "I don't think that's actually going to happen Aunt Petunia."
The evil woman's smirk fell, and she snarled her next question at her nephew. "Why not?"
"Well you see, the Ministry can only detect magic that passes through wands…and I haven't used my wand for the past three days." Their open mouths clearly spelled out their feelings on the matter, and he leant forwards in his chair, not missing their flinches at his movement. "I used wandless magic, and trust me when I saw that I can do far, far worse." The fear in his relatives eyes plainly showed their understanding, and Harry allowed a friendly smile to spread across his face. "Good! I'm glad we understand one another. Now, for the rest of the time I'm here, this is how things are going to work: none of you will speak to me unless spoken to. I will do no chores whatsoever, and I expect to be fed three times a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner. Essentially, you don't bother me, I don't bother you."
Harry frowned at a stray thought, remembering the Order's members watching his house. "On second thought, Uncle Vernon, I know you like yelling at me, and I want you to continue doing so – but nothing physical," he warned. "Dudley, I want you and your gang to continue pestering me, I swear on my life that there will be no repercussions for either of you. Are we all in agreement with the arrangements?" At their terrified nods, Harry smiled and stood from his seat. "Excellent. I look forward to living with you." And with a soundless flash, Harry was gone. Petunia found it in herself to faint at the sight.
