Michael Brown

"Luna, can I ask you a question?" I asked with a thoughtful expression on my face. We were currently near the Hogwarts lake, waiting for our late breakfast to be ready. I was lying on the fresh grass at the moment, looking at the blue sky and listening to the leaves of a nearby tree rustling in the morning breeze. The enchanted fishing rod I brought was gently swaying in the wind, once in a while catching a fish and bringing it to the crackling bonfire. All this created a rather peaceful atmosphere, though I couldn't enjoy it because there was a certain question that kept nagging at my mind.

"Of course, Michael. What do you want to ask?" Luna, who was currently lying next to me and reading some book about magical creatures, raised her eyes from her reading and asked, looking at me with anticipation.

"Don't you think that everything ended rather anticlimactically?" I asked, not quite sure how to phrase my question.

"What do you mean?" asked Luna, quite confused by my vague question. I couldn't blame her for that, as I myself had trouble explaining what I meant.

"We fought Lockhart in February, right?" I asked, receiving a nod in response. Seeing this, I continued "Don't you think it's weird? I mean, we still have almost three months of school, and the peak of our school year has already happened. It's just ... weird, right? What are we supposed to do now? Isn't the 'main quest' already over?"

For some reason it bothered me quite a bit. Shouldn't the fight with Lockhart and the conversation with Tom have taken place in June? It was the culmination of the whole year, so it was quite weird that we would have to spend another three months at Hogwarts after that. It was certainly realistic, but for some reason it felt very unsatisfying. Luna looked as if she gave my question some thought, as she fell silent and furrowed her brow. After seemingly coming to some conclusion, she looked at me again.

"But... isn't our main quest learning about magic?" she replied, looking as if she didn't quite understand my problem. What was she talking about? Seeing my confusion, she continued "We both came to Hogwarts to learn, not to fight evil wizards. So while the battle against Professor Lockhart was important, the peak of our year should be the final exams, don't you agree?"

That's…

Was that how it worked? Learning new things was of course important, even Tom seemed to think so. But wasn't saying that learning was the most important aspect of a Hogwarts education going a little too far? After all, wouldn't that mean that the main purpose of attending Hogwarts was... to study? What a bizarre thought.

"I... need some time to process this theory. I hope it's not a problem," I said hesitantly. Luna was quite a brilliant girl, but some of her theories were a bit radical. It would not be wise to accept them without giving them some thought.

"It's not a problem" she replied easily, fortunately not offended by my decision. We spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence, each of us relaxing in our own way, before Luna turned to me again, looking more thoughtful than usual. "Actually, can I ask you a question as well, Michael?"

"Of course" I replied, somehow interested.

"Do you think Professor Lockhart really is the heir of Slytherin?" she asked, making me flinch in surprise upon hearing her words. When I looked at her, trying to understand the reason for her unexpected question, I saw her patiently waiting for my answer, her face betraying no possible motives for her inquiry.

I looked at her in silence, utterly clueless as to how to react. How did she know? Why did she ask me about it? Did she suspect that I had something to do with the real Heir? What was I supposed to do? These questions flew through my mind at rapid speed, making it impossible for me to focus. I spent almost a minute thinking about a possible answer, debating possible excuses and justifications, trying to find a way to mislead Luna.

But then I looked into Luna's eyes. Instead of a calculating look or a piercing glare, all I saw were her usual innocent eyes, devoid of any deception, looking at me with genuine interest. At that moment I understood.

I trusted Luna.

It was a rather strange feeling, almost impossible to identify after more than a decade of caution, but it was there. It was certainly different from Tom, where my trust was based on logical assumptions about his true nature and the Ministry's level of depravity. In the case of Luna, there was no logical reason to trust her. She was a fairly popular character from Harry Potter, so the odds that she was a Ministry agent were incredibly high. Her previous interactions could have been used to extract valuable information from me and track my movements. And yet, despite all this, I was sure she wouldn't have done that to me. It may not have been the smartest approach, especially now that I was working with Tom, but I couldn't bring myself to distrust Luna. I don't think I even wanted to. I looked around to see if we were alone. After making sure that no one else was around, I spoke up.

"No, he isn't" I finally answered, my voice surprisingly calm despite the nervousness I felt inside. Luna seemed to actually be quite surprised by my response, as her eyes were wide open after hearing my answer. She was silent for a few seconds, apparently thinking about something, before asking another question, for some reason less confident than before.

"Do you know who the real Heir is?" She said.

"...Yes," I replied, afraid of her reaction. Would she understand? Would she walk away? Would she tell the Ministry about my knowledge and cause them to arrest and interrogate me, making me spend the rest of my life in prison? I hesitantly raised my eyes, trying to gauge her reaction, but I became still when I saw the smile on her face. It was not her usual serene smile, but a warm, kind smile directed at me.

"I understand." She replied simply, her voice containing no judgment or disapproval. I was already about to ask her what she meant, but then she said something completely unexpected "I don't think I need to know more"

"W-what? why?" I asked, completely baffled by her decision. Didn't she want to know Heir's identity? I was sure Tom would understand if I told Luna about him. If there was any person in the world I would feel comfortable telling about the real Heir of Slytherin, it was her.

"Because it's obviously a secret and I don't want to force you to reveal it. I don't know what to think about petrifications, but I know you. You wouldn't help a bad person," said Luna, giving me a beautiful, warm smile, "I trust you, Michael"

It took me a few seconds to understand what she said, but when I did, my heart was filled with long-forgotten warmth, making me smile in response.

It was a surprisingly good feeling to trust someone and be trusted in response.

A bit short, a bit sappy and not very humorous chapter, but I think it was necessary to show that Michael and Luna are able to trust each other after a year of knowing each other. Whether Luna trusting Michael is a good thing is of course another matter.

Next up, final exams.