Written for QLFC, Season 6, Finals Round 1

Team: Wigtown Wanderers

Position: Seeker

Prompt: Dynamic Timeline (every action in the past affects the future)

Words: 1460

Beta(s): Dina

AN: SeerLuna!AU

The Dichotomous Tree of Life

She didn't want to do it; she'd already screwed up enough already. But if she left things the way they were now, with Voldemort victorious and so many dead, there was no way for the Wizarding world to recover.

She didn't blame Neville and Ginny for not trusting her or Harry for telling them not to. It was her own fault for not trusting what her Sight told her. She'd known that would be the consequence of her actions, and she'd regretted it ever since. By the time Hogwarts had fallen, her spirit was already shattered because there had been no rebellion, no one left to give them any hope. When the final battle came, it had been lost before it ever started.

As best as she could trace it back, Harry's distrust of her was the linchpin of it all.

She had to go back. She had to believe in the branches. She had to make sure Harry trusted her. She had to save the world, rules be damned.

She pulled the last book she'd managed to hold onto - her family's ancient grimoire - out of her ragged bag. There was a spell, covered in warnings and tales of failure, that would theoretically take her back to a time that would make a difference. She began drawing the unfamiliar runes and trying not to stumble over the incantation, praying that this would be enough.

When she realized she was back in the past, Luna was all but running from the DA meeting. The throbbing in her head told her why. Merlin, why did this have to happen every time? She stumbled up the stairs to her dormitory, her fingers rubbing at her temples, her eyes, her neck. Sliding into bed, she thoughtlessly charmed her drapes shut and burrowed beneath her covers. Harry Potter was a wonderful friend, but he was hell on her Sight.

As a gift inherited from her grandmother Cassandra, Luna had the ability to see the future. Every Seer's gift was a little different. Some could catch glimpses of events to come without any context surrounding them; some, like Professor Trelawney, could slip into a trance and spout off prophecies; some could see relative distances into the future with absolute certainty.

Luna was particularly blessed — or cursed, as she often felt — in that she saw everything that could ever possibly happen. It was as though there were strings shooting out of everyone that showed every decision they could make and then every subsequent decision after that. Hermione had once explained to her the concept of a muggle dichotomous tree. Every decision branched off the main tree, and with every decision you made, options from the unchosen branch became unavailable. It was the exact same thing she saw with people's glowing strings - when one choice was made, the other options from that point died.

It was like living in a constant time lapse. Most of the time she could ignore it, push it to the back of her mind. However, some people, like Harry, had so many possibilities that it was impossible not to see them. That much stimulation was incredibly painful, and no pain potion had ever been able to touch it.

Even worse than the physical pain was the isolation. Her grandmother had been incredibly secretive about her gift and had impressed the same urgency upon Luna. No matter how honorable or magnanimous they may be, any person with too much knowledge of the future could change the world irrevocably. It was rarely for the better. She had to hope that her own meddling wouldn't be just as detrimental.

She needed to stop thinking; it hurt too much. Luna tugged her pillow over her head and blissfully faded into sleep.

Luna managed to make it through the next DA meeting without actually running away, but she was still the first one out the door. When Harry caught up with her the next morning after breakfast, he quietly pulled her aside with a concerned look on his face.

"Luna, I want you to know that you can be honest with me. Do you feel uncomfortable during our, ahem, practices?" he asked, glancing around for members of the Inquisitorial Squad.

"Of course not, Harry," she brushed him off, knowing that this conversation was doomed from the start. "I'm really just very tired by the time we're finished. All the stray nargles and whatnot."

Harry furrowed his brow in disbelief. "Your magic is incredibly strong the whole time, even at the very end. I don't know that I believe you. And I'm a little irritated that you'd lie to me."

Luna blushed and looked away from his hard gaze. "I can't explain this to you, Harry. Can you just trust me that this has nothing to do with you or the DA or anything anyone has done? This is one hundred percent a me problem."

"Well if you've got a problem, maybe we can fix it together," Harry urged her. "And if I can't fix it, you know we can get Hermione on it — she can solve anything. And you know that Neville and Gin and Ron and the whole lot of us would be willing to do anything to help you. And—"

"Harry," she said firmly. "There are things I can't tell you for your own good. I just need you to trust me." She watched as several of Harry's branches stopped glowing and died.

"Trust is earned, Luna," he muttered as he turned away, leaving her alone in the Entrance Hall.

She shivered. He'd told her the same thing the first time around, but at least the branches showed that holding onto Harry's friendship and trust was still an option. It wasn't the positive ending she'd hoped for, but this time it wouldn't lead to the end of the Wizarding world. Probably...

Luna groaned as she felt the Protean Charm heat her fake galleon with a new message. She scanned it and immediately flopped back against her bed in defeat. Of course this would happen as she was sleeping off one of her "episodes". At least they sent the message out to everyone this time. She would be able to stop this disaster before it started.

She raced to meet her friends, hoping against hope that this wasn't the bad idea she was expecting. As soon as she laid eyes on Harry, Luna fought not to sag to the ground in despair. Every single branch coming from Harry ended in the maiming, if not death, of at least one of their friends or the Order members.

Before she could open her mouth to protest, a new line branched off of Harry. If she stopped him now, the branches showed he'd likely never trust her again. And from the various futures she could see for Harry, she knew that her help and his trust in her were absolutely integral to the overall salvation of the Wizarding world. She bit her tongue and fought back her tears.

As Voldemort's voice echoed over the grounds one last time, Luna's eyes couldn't help but seek out Harry. A quick glance showed he was nowhere nearby. Luna continued to move about, doing what she could to help clean up from the first half of the battle, but she kept one eye on alert in case Harry showed up. She knew what he had to do, and she wanted to give him any encouragement that she could before he walked into the Forest to his death.

Despite her searching, she never found him. She had to assume he'd used the invisibility cloak. It wasn't surprising; a lot of Harry's possible futures had included it. Now she just had to wait.

After what felt like years, the castle was summoned outside to face Voldemort. Luna forced herself to walk slowly with the rest of its occupants. She knew that, though there was a distinct possibility that Harry was dead, there was a slim chance he'd survived. It all depended on Narcissa Malfoy.

As she reached the door, Luna faltered. She wasn't sure how she would react if she saw Harry's lifeless body, all the possible futures gone dim, his threads completely snapped.

She pressed on and had to suppress a sigh of relief when she saw Harry in Hagrid's arms, his future branches glowing even more brightly than before. There was a lot healing in all of their futures, but Luna thought that, of all the possible endings, this was one she could be pleased with.