22

Minerva McGonagall rushed down the corridors and several flights of stairs to the oldest section of Hogwarts that had been abandoned for some time. If this was truly where Ms. Lovegood was being kept then it meant someone else had obviously been exploring the older parts of the school despite being told that those parts were off-limits. She wouldn't stop until her student was found and she knew Harriet wouldn't either. That girl would tear down the castle to find Luna. The fire in her eyes and the amount of love they had for each other made her think back on her youth. She shook her head clear of those thoughts for the moment, instead concentrating on the task at hand as they reached the area of the unused dungeons. Sure enough it looked like someone had been tracking through the dust to get in and out of here.

As they continued the dungeons grew darker and the path split to the right and left. "Lumos!" they commanded and the ends of their wands lit up and gave them more light to see by despite the torches on the wall. Professor McGonagall looked down and noticed that the path to the right remained untouched while the dust on the left path had been disturbed recently. "It looks like they went this way Potter," McGonagall informed while pointing out the recently disturbed dust.

Harriet rushed past McGonagall and down the hallway. "Be careful Potter! You never know what could be down there," McGonagall cried after her. While Professor McGonagall was right to worry about the possibility of traps, Draco hadn't thought about that because he never suspected anyone to look down here. Harriet cast Homenum Revelio. One life sign was detected at almost the far end of the spell. Harriet's heart beat faster as she pushed herself to move faster down the hall almost tripping over some loose rubble.

Luna stood up and moved to the bars as she heard noise and footsteps coming down the dungeon hallway. Shortly thereafter she saw a bright light charging down the hallway towards her. The bright light dimmed and she could see the face of Harriet Potter on the other side with tears in her eyes. Harriet pointed her wand at the cell door and shouted "Alohomora!" The lock on the door clicked open as Harriet flung the door open and charged in to embrace her girlfriend in a passionate kiss. Moments later they heard a coughing noise as Professor McGonagall had appeared at the cell and tried to get their attention. "Ms. Lovegood, it's good to see you. Are you injured?"

"No Headmistress."

"Very well. Then I suggest we head back to my office to discuss this turn of events."

Harriet picked up Luna's bag for her and threw it over shoulder as the two of them followed Professor McGonagall out of the ruined dungeons and back to her office. Once back in her office, the two of them sat down hand-in-hand as the headmistress sat down behind the desk.

"Now Ms. Lovegood, can you tell me what happened?"

Luna recalled the events of that morning from being awoken early to waking up in the cell and contacting Harriet to the moment they arrived.

"That is certainly an interesting series of events my dear. It's a good thing you two have those notebooks. It's a brilliant idea by the way. However can you tell me who might have done this?"

Luna shook her head no. "I'm afraid not Headmistress. Whoever it was came from behind me and they weren't there when I woke up."

"Any guesses?"

"No. I don't want to guess and get someone in trouble without knowing for sure."

"Very well I understand. Any idea why this might have happened," Professor McGonagall inquired.

"Well I'm not sure really…." Luna said as she trailed off. She looked at Harriet and Harriet returned the look before nodding.

"I have a theory Professor but I don't have any actual evidence. I can only give you my guess based on a series of events but like I said I can't prove it at this time," stated Harriet.

"Very well Ms. Potter. I'll hear your theory. It may give us a chance to keep an eye out and prevent something like this happening again."

"Well after my accident this year some really strange things have been happening with Draco Malfoy…" Harriet proceeded to explain to the headmistress all the events of the year from staring at the Great Hall, to picking on Luna and inquiring about them, trying to get her date him and all the crazy gifts on Christmas. The Headmistress took in the series of events and nodded. "I can see why you'd think that Potter," replied Professor McGonagall, "However since we don't have any proof of today's events we can't do anything. If he continues to be an issue, let me know. Are there any other issues or concerns that either of you have at this time?"

"Actually there are Headmistress. This attack on Luna may not be restricted to this one time once the person behind this realizes they've failed. I am genuinely concerned about her safety and as such I request that we be given a room together. I've got my own room in Gryffindor tower and if that is not acceptable then I'm sure other accommodations can be found such as the Room of Requirement. Furthermore, nobody can use me as an excuse to lure her out if I am there with her. I've defeated Voldemort and been through more than any other student at this school in terms of danger. I will protect her."

The Headmistress saw the fire burning in Harriet's eyes and knew that if she fought this it was going to be a hell of a battle. However at this time she also recognized that Harriet was right in her feelings and the reasons she had given. Even so, this sort of thing was unprecedented at Hogwarts and she would have to go about it in the right way to avoid anarchy and confusion among both staff and students.

"Your request is reasonable Ms. Potter and I agree with your logic behind it however it may take me a few hours to get everything figured out. Ms. Lovegood's father is also going to have to be made aware of the situation and give his consent due to her age. It could cause problems otherwise. I'm also going to need time to talk with the staff and make the arrangements. Is that acceptable?"

Harriet breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Yes Headmistress. Thank you for hearing my concern."

"You're welcome Ms. Potter. Now if wouldn't mind waiting outside I believe that Ms. Lovegood and I have a floo call to make."

Harriet looked at Luna who smiled and nodded. Harriet gave Luna a gentle kiss on the forehead and whispered "good luck" before heading outside and sitting guard at the top of the stairs.