UPDATE: The worst error in the entire story is in this chapter. I had completely forgotten Justin Finch-Fletchey was muggle-born, hence, he could never be at Hogwarts during Voldemort's regime. I sought to replace him with Terry Boot, but the outcome is somehow different from the original version. Please, forgive me.

9. Her Grace

Neville slowly woke up from what seemed to be the most peaceful sleep he had in years. When he opened his eyes, he remembered why: a petite angel snoozed serenely upon him, her head resting on his chest. He could barely believe it was actually happening. The last thing he wanted in the world was to wake her up, but he didn't resist lightly smoothing her shiny silvery hair.

While he stood beholding her silent slumber, he was startled by a high-pitched sound coming from the window. He spun his neck in its direction, careful not to wake her up, just in time to spot a cat leaping into the room from the ledge. Before he could process what was happening, the little animal transformed into an elder woman, one he knew very well: no other than Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.

"I can hardly believe what my eyes are telling me, Longbottom!" furiously, she scolded him. "As much as I can transform into a cat, I didn't expect you to use my school as a cathouse!"

"A cathouse, professor? I'm sorry, but this is utterly disrespectful to Luna!"

"The only thing disrespectful to Mrs Scamander is you, Longbottom!" she snapped. "A professor of Hogwarts...! Sleeping with the mother of a student...! In his office...! Outrageous! Didn't you harm this poor woman enough in the past?"

"I beg your pardon, professor. Could you raise your voice a little louder?" he retorted, sarcastically. "I think Professor Sinistra may not have heard you up in the Astronomy Tower."

"You've got nerve, Longbottom," contradicted, she lowered her voice tone. "Unfortunately, this won't suffice to keep you in your position. You are hereby removed as Head of Gryffindor house." Before he could object, she continued. "It will be discussed if you may keep teaching here at all."

"Professor, I didn't mean for it to happen..."

"Save your apologies for later, Longbottom," she interrupted him. "Will you wake Mrs Scamander up?"

Neville surveyed her closely, realizing that she was sleeping soundly even with all the racket that was going on. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she still laid motionless upon him. "Luna... wake up..." he wheezed to her ear. "Moonlight..." he called again. Nevertheless, she kept unresponsive. "Luna, please..." he gently stroked her, but nothing happened. "Luna!" he shouted, shaking her vigorously. "Wake up!" he called, getting really worried when she didn't reply. "Professor, what's happening!? She doesn't wake up!" he bellowed desperately whilst rocking her back and forth.

"Step aside, Longbottom!" Professor McGonagall commanded, drawing her wand. However, Neville kept holding on strongly to Luna. "Get away from her at once, Longbottom!"

This time, he obliged, placing her carefully lying on the couch. The moment he stepped away from her, McGonagall harshly pointed her wand at him, shouting, "Depulso!" which pushed him to the opposite corner of the room. Thus, she neared Luna, drawing complex figures in the air with her wand, muttering a non-stop series of enchantments Neville had never heard of. After some time, Luna began regaining consciousness.

"Thank Merlin!" when Neville was about to run in Luna's direction, McGonagall once more cast Depulso on him. "Stop doing that, Minerva!"

"Keep. Away. From. Her." Professor McGonagall roared, still casting complex spells on Luna, though non-verbally now. Shaking violently, Luna strived to lift herself from the couch. "Lie down, Lovegood. You're under the effect of serious dark magic."

"What!?" Neville screamed, utterly shocked. "Dark magic!?"

"Longbottom, if you wish to make yourself helpful, bring me Poppy, Filius and Horace with the most powerful potion he has. Then send an owl to St Mungo's..."

"No," with immense difficulty, Luna hoarsely mumbled. "Don't... tell..." she trembled hectically, "people..."

"You're in grave danger, Lovegood! I can't help you by myself!" Professor McGonagall retorted, exasperated. "Bring me Filius, then, Longbottom. Is it alright for you, dear?" she switched to an attempt at a soothing tone, unsuccessful at concealing her concern.

"Neville..." her eyes sought him. "Don't..."

"Filius won't tell anything," McGonagall was on the verge of losing her temper, struggling to keep her voice tone calm. "You are as if his own daughter to him..."

"I need..." she croaked. "Narcissa..."

"Who!?" this time, it was McGonagall who was shocked.

"Malfoy... Narcissa Malfoy..."

"You need Narcissa Malfoy? Of all people!?"

"I'll get her, Luna," Neville raised his voice, decidedly, pulling out his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" a bright white hare emerged from its tip. Even with all the pain, discomfort and shivering, Luna couldn't help but be taken aback by the sight of her exact patronus being conjured by him, after all this time. "Bring me Scorpius Malfoy!" he commanded, and the hare of light hopped away.

"So, what's the plan?" Parvati asked Ginny, while everybody else listened attentively.

"Right... so, our situation: Seamus's been trapped in the dungeons for two days. From what we know, he hasn't been fed. We need to rescue him before he starves," she paused, looking keenly into the eyes of each D.A. member present there. "Hannah and Ernie are scouting the surroundings of the dungeons, Padma and Anthony are spying on the Carrows, on the excuse to be prowling. Luna and Neville will try to gather information on Filch's whereabouts, maybe Malfoy's as well, on the excuse to be dating. Besides that... er..." Ginny stammered, unsure of what to say next. "We have no plan yet. We need to wait for them to get back with information, so we can discuss our possibilities."

Moments after she had finished talking, the door of the Room of Requirement opened, with Padma and Anthony walking through it.

"Shall we abort the mission?" Anthony asked as he entered the room. "We have information that Seamus may be about to be released. Hannah and Ernie are strategically located near the dungeons to make sure the information is reliable."

"Of course the information is reliable!" Padma hissed. "Are you doubting Her Grace!?"

"I'm not doubting her... it's just... we didn't hear it directly from her, did we?"

"Who is the actual source of this information?" Ginny asked. "Also, who is 'Her Grace'?"

"'Her Grace' is the respectful treatment one should give to the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw," Padma explained. "In the case an opportunity to talk to her presents itself."

"Though it hardly happens," Michael Corner meddled in.

"Right," agreed Padma. "Also, the information comes from Luna. She's the one who talked to Her Grace."

"Oh..." shyly, Lavender joined the conversation. "I see... huh, Ginny, I know you don't like anybody saying it, but you... er... have to recognize Luna's imagination is a little too fertile. Don't you think this story is a little farfetched? Most people never have the chance to talk to Ravenclaw, then suddenly Luna, of all people, does?"

"It's not farfetched," Padma retorted. "Everyone in Ravenclaw knows Her Grace is always available to Luna." She stared witheringly at Anthony. "She's a descendent of one of Ravenclaw's most prized students. Her ancestors have been in Ravenclaw for centuries since then. She even has an original portrait of Her Grace in her house!"

"I know, but..." Anthony spoke.

"If the information comes from Luna, it's 100% reliable," gravely, Ginny cut him off. "I don't want to hear another w..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Hannah and Ernie arrived.

"Seamus is alright. McGonagall's got him. From what we've heard, they're heading to the kitchens so he can eat something," Hannah announced as she walked into the room. "I figure she'll escort him to his house after that."

Upon hearing that, everyone in the room burst into cheering. Lavender leapt joyfully into Parvati's arms, what became a group hug when Padma involved both of them in her arms. Ginny, for her part, jabbed the air, determined, while the rest of them celebrated chanting or shouting.

"Luna and Neville shall be arriving anytime with further information," Ernie told them. "They expect to see Seamus passing by the Entrance Hall soon."

"We deserve to celebrate!" Terry Boot summoned a pack of cold bottles of butterbeer and distributed them to everyone. "Cheers!"

"Bad idea," said Ginny, refusing the bottle she was given. "We need to be completely sober to get out of here, we may be questioned by the Carrows..."

"Oh, don't be a buzzkill, Ginny," said Hannah, approaching the group and grabbing a bottle for herself. "It's not even totally dark outside yet, not to mention we didn't really do anything wrong, did we?" She gulped eagerly from her bottle as if she hadn't drank anything for days. "Cheers!"

Then, the door spread open a third time. Everybody spun their necks to check on it, but, at first, no one walked into the room. Then, Luna passed through the door, with her head down, seeking to conceal her reddened cheeks; on her trail, Neville entered the room, closing the door behind him. When he caught up with her, she muttered shyly, "Thanks."

"Oh, Merlin!" Lavender, having already sipped half of her butterbeer, squeaked. "He's opened the door for her!"

"I can't believe it!" Parvati giggled, cheesily. "They are indeed the cutest!"

"What are you doing, Ginny?" Neville asked, utterly embarrassed, trying to conceal his face from the girls' looks. "Why on earth are you drinking?"

"My bad," Terry said, apologetically. "It was indeed a bad idea, Ginny."

"I wish I had a chivalrous boyfriend like you do, Luna!" Padma screeched, still hugging Lavender and her sister, their heads as close to each other's as if they were a single Runespoor. "Neville treats you as if he were a prince charming!" The other two giggled lively at the remark.

"Padma, this is non-sense... it was just a door..." every giggle made Neville even redder. "Don't overreact, I'm not..."

"Luna agrees, doesn't she?" Padma interrupted him, wearing a wide silly smile. "Neville treats you like a princess, right?"

Whereas Neville fought hard to conceal his ashamed expression, Luna, looking as casually dreamy as always, turned her face to Padma, assenting, "Certainly. Neville is indeed a prince charming." Having heard that, the three girls squealed their lungs out, while Ginny tapped her own forehead, frustrated that Luna didn't have the good sense to cut their foolishness off. Luna, for her part, discreetly tried to peek at Neville's reaction, but he had backed off from the group, hiding himself behind Anthony and Ernie.

"Hey," politely, Ernie sought to draw attention to himself. "Is the meeting over, then? Do you have more information on Seamus?"

"Oh, right," Neville answered, eager to change the subject. "We couldn't speak to him very much, but he's got his wand back and I've managed to give him my D.A. coin. He will message us when he arrives at the Gryffindor Tower." People cheered again. "So, do you want to discuss anything else or...?"

"I think we're as good as over," Michael Corner opined. "Let's leave before it gets late. Evacuation plan?"

"Oh, Luna, just tell us everything!" Lavender shrieked, her arm over the blonde's neck, the Patil twins still close by, giggling non-stop. "How does he call you when you're alone? If he's your prince charming, you should be his princess, right?"

"I'll propose an evacuation plan!" short-tempered, Ginny raised her voice above all the fuss the girls were making. "I leave on my own first, then Hannah and Ernie may go 15 minutes later. Lavender and Parvati can leave when they're over obsessing with Luna and Neville, who can leave after they're done being the object of the girls' obsession. Terry, Michael, Anthony, you'll have to wait until Padma gets back to normal." Ginny looked daggers at the three girls whilst saying that, though they were too absorbed in their appreciation of Luna and Neville to care. "I'm off," heading to the door, she waved exaggeratedly, her D.A. coin clutched in her hand. "To anyone paying attention, I'll message you when I arrive. If I spot anything strange, I'll let you know..." she, thus, opened the door and left.

"Tell us, tell us!" Padma urged. "Tell us, Neville, how do you call Luna when you're alone?"

"How do I... well..." he babbled. "I call her... Luna."

"This is unacceptable!" Parvati exclaimed.

"Hey, Padma!" Anthony sought to catch her attention. "I'll just leave with Michael and Terry after the Hufflepuffers are gone, do you mind? You can go later with Luna and Neville."

"Oh, I'd love that! More than anything else in the world, actually!" she snapped cynically at him. "I'd take any chances I can have to avoid spending more time with a guy who has never opened a single door for me in seven years!"

"Oh, Merlin..." he bowed his head as his cheeks turned pink.

"Anthony, maybe you lot should leave before us," Ernie suggested, glancing awkwardly at Padma and the other girls.

"Excellent idea," he and Michael distanced themselves from the group, nearing the door. Michael pulled his D.A. coin out of his robes. "Thanks, guys. Won't you come, Terry?"

"Oh, you guys may go," Terry waved them goodbye. "Ernie, I need to borrow that book from you, the one that is in your dormitory. May I accompany you and Hannah?"

"Sure," Ernie nodded.

"So," Lavender continued. "You need to pick a pet name for Luna, Neville."

"What...? I...! I'm not good with that, Lavender!"

"We'll help you out!" said Parvati, excitedly, pushing butterbeer bottles into their hands. "What are the things you like the most? Besides Luna, of course... think of something you like as much as you like her!"

"Er..."

"We could try something with 'moon'," Padma suggested. "You know... since that's what Luna actually means."

"Huh..." Neville thought hard. "I really like plants. That's it. I definitely like plants almost as much as I like Luna."

"Oh my, that's so cute!" Lavender jumped up and down, her eyes fixed on Luna, who couldn't help but smile when she heard Neville say he liked her better than plants. "My name comes from a flower, d'you know? Maybe you could try something among these lines. Is there a flower you consider to be as beautiful as she is?"

"As beautiful as Luna?" he thought back on every flower he knew, which was saying something, for he was a walking encyclopedia on plants. At that point, he had almost forgotten his embarrassment and was pretty carried away with it. "No," he stated, resolutely, bringing butterflies to Luna's stomach again. "We could go with 'moonflower', but, sincerely... not beautiful enough..." he said, to the girls' further delight.

"Then... think about something you can't do without!" Parvati suggested.

"Well... I don't know... but plants definitely can't do without water... sunlight... mineral salts..." he enumerated. "What do you think of 'sunlight'? Sunlight is essential to almost every living thing on earth."

If possible, the girls' fuss reached the highest point of the night.

"So, Luna," Padma gleamed at Luna. "Did you like it?"

"I..." she blushed, for what seemed the 50th time that evening. "I think I did."

"Maybe 'moonlight'?" Neville suggested. "We could combine sunlight and the moon... thus, moonlight."

"That's perfect!" Lavender clapped, lively. "It means Luna brought you light even in these dark times! It's genius!"

"It sounds good, indeed," Padma pondered. "Though the moon is not self-luminous, it only reflects the light that comes from the sun. Wouldn't you rather be the sun than the moon, Luna?"

"I don't think so. Actually, very intense light, such as the sunlight, brings discomfort to my eyes," she explained. "The back of my eye is as light as my skin, it's really vulnerable to the sunlight, it has almost no protection against it," everyone, even Hannah and Ernie, listened attentively as she spoke. "I like 'moonlight' better... since my parents have also thought I should be the moon."

"Then it's settled!" Lavender raised her bottle of butterbeer up in the air. "'We've come up with a very charming pet name! Cheers!" the twins raised their bottles as well.

"Do you remember how Ron used to call you, Lavender? Lav-Lav. Galloping gargoyles...!" Parvati scratched the back of her head. "Horrible. I sincerely..."

"Don't even start...!" Lavender cut her off, sharply.

"Oh, Ronald Weasley is a nightmare!" Padma, for her part, cut Lavender off. "I think he is the complete opposite of a gentleman. Godric Gryffindor would be disgusted if he knew someone like that was in his house... Neville, on the other side, would make him proud. A man of Gryffindor's calibre, pure chivalry incarnate, with everything he's done... we only have to recall how he was a distinct gentleman to Her Grace...!"

"When you say 'Her Grace', you mean Ravenclaw...?" Hannah asked, draughting on her third butterbeer, mildly interested, slightly swaying back and forth.

"Exactly," Padma nodded at her.

"What did he do to Ravenclaw?" Neville asked, even more interested than Hannah. "I mean, Gryffindor."

"Don't you tell me that you don't know!?" asked Padma, seeming offended. "I was just speaking high of you, then you want me to believe you haven't read 'Hogwarts: A History?"

"Well, to be honest, no," Neville answered. "Hermione was kind of a walking 'Hogwarts: A History', so we could always count on her to fill us in."

"I happen to be a walking 'Hogwarts: A History' myself!" Ernie theatrically walked to the centre of the gathering. "I'm a soon-to-be historian of magic at your service. It would be my pleasure to tell you this fascinating..."

"Oh, Paracelsus! Here we go again...!" Terry seized Ernie by the arm. "No one can ever afford to let Ernie begin with his lectures..."

"Let go of me, Terry! Let me tell everyone the fabulous tale of..."

"Hannah, where are you!? Help me!" exasperated, Terry called as Ernie resisted. "Let's go before it's too late! I really need that book...! If we let Ernie get started, we won't be out of here until dawn...!"

"Let Ernie be, Terry..." said Hannah, taking another sip of butterbeer, smiling goofily. "I don't want to go as well, I'm here with my friends!" She passed both her arms around the twins' necks. "Another round, please!" she bellowed, raising her bottle in the air.

"No, no...!" Terry panicked. "The only thing worse than Ernie's endless lectures is letting Hannah get carried away with alcohol...! This is all my fault!" he wiped some sweat out of his face. "Ernie, snap out of it and let's get back to her house before Hannah has the idea of asking the room for a bottle of firewhisky...!"

"Excellent idea!" Hannah chucked her empty bottle of butterbeer at a trash can. "Neville, since you're the..." she hiccupped, "you're the one who knows how to work this room, could you?"

"Of course..."

"Neville," Luna discreetly wheezed to his ear, bringing chills to the hair in the back of his neck. "Not a good idea. The Carrows."

"...you should go with Terry, Hannah," he amended. "You should bring some butterbeer with you, then you can drink when you're safe and sound in your common room."

"Wonderfull," Terry said, pocketing some bottles. "Will you both come, then?" he seized both of his friends' arms.

"If you don't mind, keep the corks for me,' Luna said. "They're very useful, you know? They keep the nargles away from our heads." Whereas Ernie and Terry drove her around, Hannah shoved four butterbeer corks into Luna's hand, waving goodbye to everyone right after.

"I'm only going because we can't afford to be caught carrying a passed out Hannah around," Ernie complained as they headed to the door. "I hate when you both want to control whether I can talk about history or not...! By the way, the Room can't produce any kind of food, including beverages..." the sound of his voice began to fade as they moved away and eventually left the room.

"Do want to tell it, Luna?" Padma resumed their conversation. "Since you know Her Grace much better than me, maybe you'd like to be the one to tell Neville her story."

"I'm actually not that fond of this story. It's tremendously sad," she chanted, ethereally, sipping a tiny gulp from her butterbeer. "However, I can tell you if you'd like."

"Tell us the fabulous tale, Luna," Lavender requested, opening new bottles of butterbeer for Parvati and her.

"This is not a tale, these are facts," Luna's eyes bulged the way they did when she was keenly interested in something. "I'll tell you, then.

"In the founders' time, the world was much more conservative and chauvinistic than it is today. Therefore, having any kind of romantic relationship before marriage was usually seen as an unforgivable sin. However, being Ravenclaw the free spirit she was, she fell in love ardently with an unknown man, and she let herself be loved by him.

"This man wasn't Gryffindor, was he?" Parvati questioned, casually.

"Seriously! Don't you lot read!?" Padma hissed, sounding much like Hermione. "My own sister! What a shame! It wasn't Gryffindor, obviously!"

"No one knows who the man was," Luna clarified, serenely, in her usual dreamy tone. "You'll understand in due time. May I go on?"

"At some point, she got pregnant with the only child she ever had, Helena Ravenclaw. When the news reached everyone's ears, people wanted, as was the custom at the time, to lynch and stone her.

"Shut up! People wanted to do what!?" taken aback, Neville spilt butterbeer all over himself. "They wanted to lynch Ravenclaw?!"

"This is horrible!" Lavender squealed, horrified. "That was the custom at that time!?"

"However," Luna continued. "Being lynched wasn't in Ravenclaw's plans. She hid herself somewhere in this castle...

"Where?" curiously, Pavarti asked. "In the Headmaster's Office?"

"No one knows," her sister answered, patiently.

"You don't know," Lavender emphasized. "Luna may know. Isn't she Ravenclaw's favourite student?"

"I have no idea," Luna replied. "This is not exactly Her Grace's favourite topic of conversation. I don't usually bring that up when I speak to her."

"She may have hidden in here, in the Room of Requirement," Neville conjectured. "This place would be perfect. I bet she could have designed this room herself."

"You're completely right, Neville," admired, Luna turned her keen gaze to him. "It all fits together. She surely hid herself where we currently are, the Room of Requirement. You are truly clever."

"I agree she could have hidden in here, but it could also have been anywhere else in the castle," still resembling Hermione, Padma replied, striving not to offend Luna, keeping her voice tone the most friendly that she could. "We should be careful not to take hypothesis for facts, right?"

Wishing to protect Luna from getting into an argument, Neville tenderly placed his left hand gently on her right shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "Go on, Luna," he gazed at her, reassuringly. She let herself be carried away for some moments by the unearthly sensation that his touch brought to her chest, then she composed herself and went on.

"As I was saying, she hid herself somewhere in this castle, maybe, though not certainly" Luna stressed, "in the Room of Requirement. What is known for sure is that the place was heavily protected. She remained isolated for the entire time she was pregnant with her daughter, terrified someone would curse her or do anything to harm her unborn child, as it was custom to do with women pregnant with bastard children at that time."

"Apparently, being hideous was the custom at that time," Lavender snapped.

"Unfortunately, we can't speak much of our time either," Luna commented, aloofly. "Let's not forget we're standing up against powerful people who believe pure-bloods are superior to anyone else. May I go on?"

"The other founders, of course, wanted to help her. Her best friend, Helga Hufflepuff, was the only one who knew where she was hidden, and the only one who would come to visit during her isolation.

"Gryffindor, of course, wanted to be of help too. He volunteered to take on all of Ravenclaw's students while she was incapable of teaching class. She was most grateful, though he didn't think that was enough. Besides that, Gryffindor offered Ravenclaw to take her child as his own, and proposed to her, for, if she married, people would stop harassing her.

"Oh, this is so beautiful!" Parvati covered her mouth with her two hands. "Gryffindor was really the best!"

"I didn't know they had married!" Lavender shrieked. "This is the best love story ever!"

"They didn't marry, did they?" Neville retorted, sceptically. "If they had, the Gray Lady would likely be called Helena Gryffindor."

"They didn't," Padma said. "As much as she was touched by his kindness, she said no, for she hoped the man she loved would once come back to take her and her child as his own, though it never happened." Lavender and Parvati both sighed, dispiritedly.

"Slytherin, for his part," Luna went on, "also offered his helping hand." Neville snorted, scornfully. "Being one of the most gifted dark wizards of all time, he assured Ravenclaw no dark magic could ever harm her or her unborn child if she let him cast the strongest protective dark charms he knew on her. He guaranteed her his dark magic was so powerful that it could instantly kill anyone who merely thought about harming her unborn child.

"Why am I not surprised?" Neville remarked, jocularly.

"She also thanked him but refused his proposition. She was afraid of Slytherin's dark magic and reluctant to carry so extreme dark powers within her. However, she told him she would like to read the notes on his research with dark magic. Then, once she had studied that kind of magic carefully, she decided to perform a protective dark charm on her unborn daughter herself.

"What!?" Neville cried, in complete shock. "Ravenclaw's messed with dark arts!?"

"Then, when she was weeks away from giving birth, the man she loved came back. She got off her hiding place and hurried open-heartedly to his arms. However, he didn't come back for her. Scared of everyone who heatedly wanted to lynch the fornicators, he sought to kill her, so she couldn't tell anyone his secret, that is, that he was the father of her child. When he finally revealed his hostility towards her, the protective curse didn't work at all, for Ravenclaw's heart was pure and full of love, including love for him. Even if the man wasn't nearly as strong of a wizard as she was of a witch, he managed to subdue her, since she was in a very weakened and fragile state." Lavender, Parvati and Padma stood solemnly silent, all of them with tears in their eyes. Neville didn't cry, but he looked down, barely believing Ravenclaw's life had been so tragic.

"When she was about to be killed, she pleaded for her and her child's life, promising she'd never tell anyone his secret. She confessed her love for him, telling him that, even if he had left her, she still loved him, and she would never do anything that could interfere negatively with his affairs. With his heart full of regret, the man spared her life, requesting solely that she made an Unbreakable Vow to never reveal to anyone who was the father of her child.

"So, that's the story. In the end, Ravenclaw spent her entire life alone, never again having found love besides that of her daughter. Nonetheless, when the girl grew up, she became envious of her mother's intelligence, fame and beauty, so she stole her most prized possession, a magical diadem capable of enhancing one's wit, the legendary and long-lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, and fled away, no one knows where to.

"Ravenclaw has never lived through old age, for she was still young when she fell ill. Her last wish was to see her beloved daughter once more before she passed, so she sent a man who had always been in love with her, who we know as the Bloody Baron, to find her. However, when he found her, she refused to go, so he stabbed her to death with a knife. Then, consumed with remorse, he killed himself. When Ravenclaw received the news of the premature death of her daughter, her condition worsened to the point she didn't last long. She never knew her daughter had not passed and instead had come back as a ghost. Some say she roams searching for her daughter's soul in the other world until this day.

For a while, silence reigned. Then, Neville decided to be the one to break it. "Wow..." though he was not sure what to say. "It was... I'm speechless..."

"Some people say all that happened to her was some kind of punishment for having meddled with dark magic," Padma told them, tearing a little. "Some kind of karma, you know?"

"Seriously?" Lavender asked. "What do you think about it?"

"Well, I think I'm not the best person to give an opinion on this matter," Padma answered. "I sincerely believe it's true."

"We take karma seriously," Parvati joined. "We're Hindu, after all. Actually, the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the ending of the story was karma. I thought of it even before you mentioned it, sis."

"So, what do you think, Luna?" Lavender turned to the blonde. "Since you know Ravenclaw's portrait so well..."

"If you think Padma's opinion is biased, you'll think mine is even more. Am I not the most discredited person in Hogwarts? Loony Lovegood?"

"Not to me, Luna," Neville gazed tenderly at her, to which she smiled. "Tell us what you think."

"Well, I can tell you Helena's opinion," everybody turned to Luna, surveying her with much interest. "She doesn't think everything that has happened with her mother and her was due to the curse. On the contrary, she hardly believes a curse that wasn't even successful in its purpose could cause any further harm. She's sure her mother utterly failed at the attempt of performing dark magic. That's also what Professor Flitwick thinks," she added, as the others kept mesmerized by her speech. "He thinks that this hypothesis doesn't go together with the most advanced theory of spells. He finds the idea that the curse thrived non-sense."

"That makes sense," Neville said. "What do you think, though?"

"Oh, I firmly believe it did," she said, her eyes slightly bugling from the excitement with this one-of-a-kind opportunity to speak her mind without being ridiculed. "It's just too much disgrace put together to be a coincidence. I believe in karma as much as you both do, must I add," she smiled at the twins. "Perhaps I may call it by another name... luck, fate..." she took another sip of her butterbeer. "Furthermore, even though she avoids this subject, Her Grace has, more than once, implied her real soul is damned. Unlike her daughter, I guess she endorses this theory."

"Is that so?" Padma seemed surprised. "Wow, that's news to me. I'm so sorry for Her Grace."

"Poor Ravenclaw," Neville commented. "She didn't mean any harm, did she? She only wanted to protect her child..."

"Agreed," Parvati said. "I hope her soul finds peace somehow."

"I have a question," Lavender raised her hand as if attending a very interesting class. "Do the ghost and the portrait go along with each other?"

"Oh, no," Luna said. "When it concerns Hogwarts' issues, they work together. However, whenever one of them brings their own issues, they get into very heated arguments. They always end up even more hurt with each other."

"Doesn't the Grey Lady regret what she's done?" Neville asked. "I mean, she stole the... what is it called again?"

"You mean the Diadem? Well, the problem is that Her Grace wants to convince Helena to... how do I put that...? Pass to the other side," Luna told them. "But she harshly disagrees with that. It's way hard for a ghost to let go of its resentments."

"I didn't even know that was possible!" Neville exclaimed. "For a ghost to... pass away."

"It seems to me like good old Luna stuff rather than something Ravenclaw would say," Lavender said, having Neville gazing daggers at her shortly after. "Oh, he's protective over her!" she gleamed at them, while Parvati giggled.

"I have never heard about any ghosts who passed either," Padma elaborated on the subject. "Though Her Grace recurrently brings that up with Helena indeed. It's no secret. Most Ravenclaws have witnessed at least one of their arguments since various of Her Grace's portraits are in our house." She explained. "Also, I've heard a bit from Helena herself. I haven't talked much to Her Grace, but Helena and I are very close. I imagine my duties as Prefect would be way harsher without her help. I always make a point to be there when she needs to get stuff out of her chest..."

"I see..." Lavender looked embarrassed. "Huh, sorry, Luna..."

"I think that's why Her Grace is so fond of Luna and the other descendants of her students," Padma continued. "Since she doesn't have a good relationship with her daughter, I think she must feel rather lonely. Luna's family isn't the only one she takes in high regard. For instance, the Ollivander family is also known for being in Ravenclaw since the founders' time. Her Grace is also always available to them. I've heard Mr Ollivander has closed his shop, I hope he is alright..."

"I didn't know your family was of so ancient wizarding ancestry, Luna," Lavender brought up. "Ollivander is a Sacred Twenty-Eight family! Is your family as ancient as theirs?"

"If by that you mean the 'Lovegood' name, not even close," she aloofly pointed. "The name was invented out of nowhere not long ago, around the end of the 19th century. One of our ancestors was facing harassment for being a witch, thus, she changed her family's last name at random. She had already lost her father's name, she had changed it when she married her deceased husband, but even her husband's name got lost, for she changed her son's name as well."

"Of course," Neville smirked, playfully. "It wouldn't be your family if it didn't have a unique story behind it."

"My ancestors have had uncountable names through the years. We can't keep track of them all, because we don't have anything like a family tree. Her Grace, for instance, calls each of us Wilhelmson, the last name of the student she valued so much, Wendelin Wilhelmson."

"You mean Wendelin the Weird?!" asked Lavender, excited as she usually was in Professor Trelawney's class. "She's world-famous! She's even got her own Chocolate Frog Card!"

"They are not the same Wendelin," Luna clarified. "Though Wendelin the Weird is our ancestor too. We don't know exactly how far she is related to Wilhelmson, but it's likely she's her granddaughter." Lavender and Parvati seemed astonished. "Wilhelmson's daughter inherited her last name, because, just like Her Grace, she had a bastard child. However, since the second Wilhelmson never had male children, the name has been for long dead."

"Anyhow, you don't think your grandmother would oppose you marrying Luna, do you?" Lavender asked, gazing at Neville. "Since you're the only male left in a Sacred Twenty-Eight family, she may end up being very selective, she may want to search all over her bloodline..."

"What!?" being slightly inebriated, upon hearing that, he almost lost his balance. Mindlessly, he passed one of his arms around Luna's neck. "I'd be with Luna even if she were a goblin! To hell with what grandma thinks!" Neville pulled her close, protectively, to which she reacted by resting her head on his chest, letting herself be carried away by her feelings yet another time.

Parvati and Lavender beheld the scene as if it were the ending of the most romantic piece of theatre they had ever seen, tears pooled in their eyes. Nonetheless, foreseeing the time when they'd burst into applause and would want to congratulate the actors, Padma took both girls by their hands and drove them onwards to the door of the Room of Requirement.

"It seems we are three third wheels here," she told Lavender and her sister, almost reaching the door. "I'll escort you to Gryffindor Tower, then I'll get back to get Luna and Neville..."

"No, Padma! Wait!" Luna abruptly parted ways with Neville. "Erm... take Neville with you. I don't want you to waste a walk. I'll just wait here for you to pick me up, then."

"Oh, no, it's no trouble at all," she looked over her shoulder and discreetly blinked at Luna. "I'll walk you both later with pleasure."

"Luna is right. I'd better go with you girls," Neville stepped forward. "Thanks in advance for escorting us, Padma. It'll really come in handy if the Carrows make an appearance."

When they were already out of the room, on their way to Gryffindor Tower, Parvati broke the silence and asked, "Why didn't you want to be alone with Luna, Neville?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Lavender answered before Neville could, which he was extremely glad for, given that he had no idea what to answer without revealing his relationship with Luna was a mere act. "She felt nervous about being alone with him in a private place such as the Room of Requirement." Neville had to force all the muscles of his body to behave normally as he listened to that, for his real impetus was to fall flat on the floor just the way he did in his first year when Hermione jinxed him with Petrificus Totalus. "Neville was just being a gentleman and going along with it." Lavender swung her neck to face him, but Neville didn't dare to face her back. "It's alright, Neville. It doesn't mean she doesn't like you. It's a normal lady thing to be nervous about sex." Neville let out a little squeak when he heard that word. Thankfully, the girls were somewhat inebriated and didn't notice. "I advise you to go slow with her."

"Completely understandable," Parvati said, nonchalantly. "You're the first guy she dates, right?"

"I should have thought that," Padma said, apologetically. "You both seem so comfortable around each other that I didn't even think about it. You should talk about it, you know? You should let her know you don't intend to do anything she isn't ready to do."

"Huh, er, well..." Neville mumbled, his face indistinguishable from the red round the rem of his Gryffindor robes. Never in his life could he have imagined fake dating Luna would lead him to hear advice about sex from Lavender Brown and Padma Patil. He was praying dearly to Merlin in his mind for Ginny to be awake because he needed badly to speak to someone who was aware of the entire situation. "Er... I really wasn't thinking about trying anything like that with her. Anyway, thanks for the tips, girls."

"Scorpius! What a good surprise! Shouldn't you be in Hogwarts?"

"Granddad, is grandma home?" Scorpius asked, anxiously, as he stepped into the luxurious tapestry in the living room of the Malfoy Manor, leaping out of the fireplace. "It's urgent. I need to talk to her right now."

"Cissy!" Lucius Malfoy bellowed, calling his wife. "Come here as soon as you can! Scorpius is here!" before Narcissa had the chance to show up, green fire rose on the fireplace a second time, revealing McGonagall carrying a miserable Luna by the shoulder. "Professor McGonagall? To what do I owe the honour? And..." he surveyed Luna closely. "Huh? Lovegood, is it you?"

"Mr Malfoy, she's under the effect of severe dark magic. She's been calling for Mrs Malfoy all along, could you find her for me, please?"

Lucius pulled his wand out of his fancy black robes. "Cissy! It's an emergency!" he repeated his call, this time even louder. At the same time, Scorpius rushed inside the mansion, crying his lungs out for his grandmother. "I may be of help, professor. Let me take a look." He put his wand lightly to Luna's shoulder, murmuring an incantation. Then he pulled it out of there, apparently making some effort to, for this time it seemed that there was some invisible resistance attracting the wand back to Luna's body. "I've drawn some of the curse's power to myself. It's just palliative care, though."

"Is something wrong?" Narcissa joined the room, seeming worried. "Luna?" the moment her eyes lay on the shivering woman, she dashed in her direction, taking her in her arms carefully. Luna, for her part, tossed herself reliantly into the arms of the woman, much to the dismay of the professor. "What did he do to you this time, dear?" she softly stroked her hair.

"Other... man..." Luna wheezed, falteringly. "Don't... tell. Help... me... Cissy..."

"Let's bring you to a room," with Luna reeling over her, she drove her inside. "Lucius, please, could you take my things for me? Professor McGonagall, please, follow me."

"Could you answer me since when are you in first name terms with Mrs Scamander, Mrs Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall asked as she entered a room behind Narcissa. "Also, since when does she call you 'Cissy'?"

"Luna is my cousin," Narcissa carefully laid Luna in a huge bed. "I've been taking care of her since it began. Please, take a seat." Narcissa indicated a chair in the corner of the room, in which McGonagall, thus, seated. "Drink this," Narcissa gently poured a glass of potion into Luna's mouth. "It will help. Try to have some rest."

Once Luna had drunk her potion, Narcissa silently began scanning her with dark detectors, then with her wand. All along, Luna lay in the bed without doing anything but tremble.

"Can you break the curse, Mrs Malfoy?" McGonagall asked.

"I could easily do it if not for her permanent dark magical wound."

"Excuse me?"

"Luna has a permanent dark wound on her back. She isn't even capable of standing straight properly. As you're aware, professor, the kind of magic I perform is, well, dark magic. My ways to break the curse, I'm afraid, instead of breaking the course, would only fuel her dark wound further."

"Then we need to head to St Mungo's at once!"

"No..." Luna rustled. "He... can't... know..." she contorted herself, in pain. "Can't... tell..."

"I can keep her alive until it wears off," Narcissa said, taking one of Luna's hands. "The healers would likely do the same thing. They wouldn't want to break the curse right away." She shoved one more potion into Luna's hands. "Drink it, dear. This will kill some of your pain. Don't you happen to carry with you the Powder you've invented? It could make the effect wear off quicker."

"Handbag," Luna struggled to speak. "Dream... less...?"

"Don't force yourself to talk," said Narcissa, searching in Luna's handbag. "I'm afraid I can't give you a Dreamless Sleep Potion. I need you awake to keep track of the evolution of the symptoms. I'm sorry." She pulled a little bag of powder from the bag and went back to Luna's bedside, holding it next to her nose for her to sniff. "Thanks for bringing her to me, professor. You may rest assured she will be well taken care of."

For some moments, quietness lingered in the room, the only thing happening being Narcissa checking Luna's temperature with the back of her hand against Luna's temple. Then, McGonagall decided to break the silence. "Exactly when did you begin to take care of Mrs Scamander, Mrs Malfoy?"

"Since the first time she was cursed."

"Back then? When she was held hostage in this house?"

"No. Cursed by her husband..." Narcissa neared McGonagall and muttered, hoping that quietly enough for Luna not to hear. "Let's not talk about it for now. I don't want to distress her." Another time, an awkward silence reigned, until Narcissa brusquely turned to McGonagall. "I don't think I can break the curse with dark magic, though I think we have the person more likely to break this curse in this room."

"Are you talking about me, Mrs Malfoy?"

"The habit of mother teaching daughter protection against this kind of magic has fallen into disuse, professor, but it wasn't so when you were a young lady. I doubt there's anyone else capable of producing pure magic enough who might know how to break old-fashioned curses such as this one."

"I'm afraid..." McGonagall bowed her head, discouraged. "I have already tried everything within my abilities when I first found her. Besides making her regain consciousness, my attempt was in vain."

"I'd hardly say that. You might have saved her life," Narcissa murmured whilst preparing yet another solution for Luna to drink. "She's lucky you were the one to find her." Professor McGonagall sought to maintain her serious composure, though she couldn't help but blush a little. "As you must know better than me, professor, dark magic fuels dark wounds, whilst pure magic is drained by it, unless it is even stronger than the wound. It won't be easy to break this curse." Narcissa sighed. "I reckon you'll have more luck with it after its effects wear off."

"Of course. I'll have another try later."

Something, thus, interrupted their conversation. Abruptly, the door to the room was spread wide open. Narcissa and McGonagall, startled, whipped their necks into its direction, and even Luna sought to peek at it. A blonde man stood by it, though it wasn't Scorpius, nor Lucius.

"Draco, I'm busy right now," Narcissa said, once she saw it was her son. "Whatever it is, it will have to wait."

"I know you are, mom," he answered. "So am I. Granger's sent me here."

"Granger?" McGonagall stood from her chair, walking in his direction, staring quizzically at him. "Are you working in the Ministry now, Mr Malfoy?"

"Just like my mother, I eventually run errands for the Ministry," he explained. "Professor, mom, I'll have to ask you both to escort Mrs Scamander to St Mungo's."

Trying helplessly to sit up on the bed, Luna sought Narcissa's hand, holding on firmly to it. "Don't..." she pleaded, tearing. "No one... may... know..." her chest frantically bounced up and down as she breathed with humungous difficulty.

"I am not going to let anyone but me take care of her, Draco," Narcissa stated, gravely, squeezing the woman's hand soothingly. "Please, tell the Minister that, whatever she needs, I am not available."

"The Minister needs you three, mom, not only you. Granger's asking as a personal favour for you to publicly check yourself in St Mungo's," he stared Luna as he said that. "She hopes to catch a criminal by these means."

Luna winced as she strived to move and return Draco's stare. The sound she struggled to produce was barely distinguishable from a short breath, "Who...?"

"Rolf Scamander."