Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot. The original concepts belong to JKR and Warner Brothers. Any concepts brought from other fictions are either coincidental or will be used in their own way, and no plagiarism is meant.

A/n: Thank you to the multiple comments that I have seen about grammar. I appreciate it, truly. I generally go off of what Google Docs or Word (Depends on the computer I use for the chapters) shows me for grammar. It misses things, I know, but I can only correct some much. With that said, in my limited time, I won't be able to go back to previous chapters and correct the mistakes unless it is something detrimental to the clarity or readability of the story. Still, thank you all for the comments, they do help me find things in future chapters.

Chapter 20: The Strange Blonde Girl

May 21st, 1994

Hogwarts

Harry had to admit, the past few months had gone pretty well. Spring break had been a blast, he felt far better than he had most of the year with the full rest and lack of use of the time turner, and spending the week on a beach in Greece had been more than enjoyable. The sun had been pleasant, the sea relaxing, and he could honestly say, it had been a well needed vacation.

The women had been a sight to be held as well. Much as Sirius' teasing had been annoyingly effective at making him blush. The fact that he was mentally eighteen made Sirius' suggestions that much more inappropriate when he was sure no one would hear them other than Harry.

That wasn't to say that he did nothing with his time away from school. True to his word, Sirius began teaching him about wards as well as proper manners as a 'pureblood snob' to quote his godfather. Both were things he needed to know, the first because he had no idea about what was guarding the ring, while the second was due to his status. The second matter little at school but it mattered a lot if he encountered another noble family outside of his education, something that Harry admitted had never happened before.

Sirius was as happy with his time with Harry as Harry was with him. He couldn't stop making comments about how far Harry had progressed in dueling after they went a few rounds in the basement at Grimmauld Place, where they stayed the night the train returned. According to Sirius, he was capable of matching most aurors already, and was close to beating Sirius in an all-out duel. It was nice to hear Sirius praise him like that, but it also made Harry wonder if Flitwick was becoming suspicious. So far though, nothing had led him to truly believe that.

Since his return though, and thanks to Sirius' help, Harry had acquired the necessary books for sixth and seventh year Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions. All of which he was working on reading and memorizing, focusing on the uses of the knowledge within them to the things he had found on the founder's bookshelves.

Little else had occurred though since he returned. Hermione, the day after break ended, pulled him aside, hugging him before telling him that she had turned in the time turner. She hadn't realized how tired she was becoming nor how stressed she had been, and with the discovery she could sit any O.W.L. in her fifth year, or later within the Ministry, she wasn't overly concerned about sitting in Muggle Studies anymore, and she wasn't going to stay in Trelawney's class.

Really, the bigger thing that happened was that he had become closer friends with Susan and Hannah. The former, he discovered, actually wanted to be a Runes Mistress, and was hoping to work for the Department of Mysteries in the future. Harry's own memories of the department came into his mind, and it wasn't easy to suppress them, but he held his mask in place so she didn't notice as she talked about their requirements and how one gets a job within the department.

Hannah seemed more normal than her best friend. As an above-average student, she was hoping to get into a position as a healer for either humans or magical creatures. She preferred the latter, but the former was acceptable too in her mind. She loved animals, and often volunteered to help Hagrid outside of class with the more tame animals. Her favorite animals were the two Griffins that Hogwarts had, as well as the group of Diricawls that lived in the forbidden forest.

Harry had to stifle a laugh at the fact the dodo birds weren't extinct yet. Hermione, however, wasn't as successful. Hannah-

"Hello Harry Potter." A dreamy voice said.

Harry jerked. He had no idea how Luna had crept up next to him so silently, but the girl had legitimately startled him. It took him a moment to regain his thought processes and address the Ravenclaw, pretending he didn't know her, "Hello. I don't believe we have met before."

"We have, but it didn't happen until later the first time… well, the first time for you." Harry's eyes widened, "Either way, I know we are still friends, but I knew we couldn't talk yet."

"Well then, Miss Lovegood, are you doing okay?" Harry asked, dropping the act of stupidity. Her face broke into a big smile, and she was quick to sit by his side where there was plenty of space.

"I am glad you remember me." She swayed her head and shoulders some as she looked over the lake. "And I am doing okay. How are you, and how is Stubby Boardman?"

He had been resting after his morning run, and sitting on a large flat rock near the edge of the Black lake. It was comfortable, especially with the warmer air blowing off the lake and cooling him off.

"Sirius is doing rather well, and so am I. In fact, I am far better than I was." Harry answered honestly. "Have you found your stuff yet?"

"Not yet, but the Nargles are bound to give most of them back eventually." She shrugged, her voice rather melancholy.

Harry frowned for a moment as he thought about it, before his mind started connecting more dots than it had before. Nargles were bullies, thieves really, and sometimes didn't return her belongings to her, coupled by the fact she claimed that many of the Ravenclaws suffered from infestations of the creatures, well… it wasn't a huge leap to realize that she was being rather harshly bullied. He knew, in the past… or future, she had been locked out of the tower once or twice in the winter, and her shoes had been missing during the colder months of her fifth and his sixth year.

It was harmful to her health and her mental state, and that it was done to someone as harmless as Luna, it angered him… Well, harmless now, he knew she was rather talented with some odd spells later on and she had fought well in the Department of Mysteries.

"I will do my best to ensure they are all returned, alright?" Harry offered the girl. Her eyes focused for a moment before she nodded, her dreamy smile returning once more.

"Thank you, Harry Potter. Perhaps this will be for the best."

"What will?" Harry asked after a moment.

"You coming back." She whispered, leaning towards him. "He may have died if you had gone back to when you died, but things never would have truly been right."

"Oh." He sagged his shoulders. He had wondered about that once, wondering if he had returned to moments after he died, would he have killed Voldemort? Would the magical world recover to its former glory? Who all else would they have to lose to get the victory?

A harrowing line of thoughts, and one that only made him think that more people that mattered to him would have died.

"Do not worry." She said softly but firmly, "You have the potential to save many of those that would have died before. Do not waste it, Harry Potter."

With that, she smiled, hugging him quickly before shooting to her feet, "I'm going to see the Thestrals. I hope we get to talk again soon."

"I hope so too!" He shouted as the girl skipped away. Had he been more focused on the present, he would have thought to go with her to see the winged creatures, but he hadn't. Her words had vastly confused him.

Break…

"I want a list of ten ways that charms can be used to block a spell tomorrow when you arrive." Flitwick finished.

He had been on a rather lengthy rant about the defensive use of Charms in a fight, and Harry had no doubt that the several reasons he had given in his lecture were not to be on the list, but his mind was partially distracted. "Professor?"

"Yes?" the professor asked.

"I had a question, and I don't mean any offense when I ask if it is possible that a Ravenclaw student is being bullied without your knowledge?" Harry asked slowly. He wasn't afraid of the part-goblin, not really, but he didn't want to insult a rather good ally.

Judging by the darkening of his expression though, Harry thought he did… at least, until he spoke.

"I do hope that is a hypothetical question." Flitwick's voice was deeper than normal, holding a slight growl like goblins did to it, "And I certainly hope that you would have mentioned it to me the moment you discovered someone in my house was being bullied."

"Well… I am-"

"Who?" Flitwick hadn't allowed Harry to finish his sentence, where his question would have been answered.

"Luna Lovegood. However-" Harry held his hand up, stopping the professor from cutting in or simply leaving. "- Luna is under the impression it is Nargles, something which many Ravenclaws are infested with. She believes that it is them taking her belongings, as well as possibly doing other things. I have no proof that it is her housemates, but I believe that asking the elves to search and document the location of her belongings that have been stolen would be a good place to start."

Flitwick seemed rightfully angry. Harry was rather surprised, but then again, he knew that no one ever willingly picked on Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs. Ravenclaws stood together so long as it was morally and logically correct, while Hufflepuffs defended their own fiercely. Gryffindors only did it for those that deserved standing up for in the individual's eyes, regardless of house, while Harry had never seen Slytherins stand up for one another unless it was beneficial to them.

"Explain your idea, Harry." Flitwick's tone seemed forcefully calm, so Harry did. Ten minutes later, the part-goblin was grinning at him rather wickedly, and Harry could only take comfort in the fact that he was innocent of the crimes against the girl.

It meant he was safe.

May 28th, 1994

Ravenclaw Tower

"Is everyone here, Mister Davis?" Flitwick asked calmly.

He was rather excited for today, even though he was angry at his students and their stupidity. Besides, he had been patient enough, and with the Potter Heir's plan, he was rather hopeful that many would lie to him today.

"Yes sir. Everyone is gathered like you asked for." The Prefect replied dutifully.

"Good. Everyone! Be silent and listen to me." His voice bounced against the walls of the tower, the clipped tone clear for all to hear, "It has come to my attention that there is a student here who has been bullied by their own housemates. Their homework has been destroyed by fellow Ravenclaws, their belongings taken, insults spoking frequently, and even their person's assaulted."

Muttering broke out, along with some shifting of discomfort, eyes diverting, and one girl who stood, staring without her normal dreamy expression, in confusion. Flitwick gave her a small nod, before continuing.

"I am offering anyone who comes forward to confess their wrongdoings an easy punishment, a week's detention. To come forward though means to confess everything you did to the person so everyone can hear you. And I will know if you hold something back. You will have thirty seconds to step forward and be silent. I will ask you to speak once the time is up. Starting now."

There was about ten seconds where no one moved, before a boy, a fourth year, stepped forward, and so did a girl close to him. At twenty five seconds, another girl stepped forward, a fifth year. No others moved forward though, and Flitwick sighed in disappointment. He expected better. He expected honesty.

"Speak, Belby."

"I sometimes have mocked Lovegood for the creatures she talks about… I am sorry Miss Lovegood. I should have been kinder." Belby's words were rushed, but sincere and honest.

"One week's detention with McGonagall. She expects you at six tomorrow." Flitwick said sternly. "Gardner."

"I've done the same." She admitted, "And tripped her a few times. I too, owe Miss Lovegood an apology."

"Serve yours with Filch, same time tomorrow. And you, Johanna?"

"The same as Gardner. I am sorry, Miss Lovegood." The fifth year replied quietly.

"Detention for two weeks, Miss Johanna. I know about the homework of hers that you destroyed as well." Flitwick snapped. "See Professor Snape starting tomorrow at six."

"Now, the list of students, step forward…" He held his hand out as the elf appeared, passing him a sheet of parchment. He frowned as he looked at the list, "Merlin… thirty seven of you have shamed this house…"

Morning…

"May I have your attention, please?" Flitwick's voice rolled over the Great Hall, grabbing everyone's attention.

"As many of you may have noticed, My house is looking rather despondent today. This is due to the discovery of nearly forty of my members bullying their own quite harshly. Though it has not been just my own house that has done this. The other heads of houses will call upon a few of their students later on as well. Changes to the prefects are the demotion of both of my sixth year prefects for participating in the 'fun' as a few students claimed it to be" Flitwick said angrily, ignoring Dumbledore's open mouth, apparently horrified at the discovery.

"I will not tolerate any further bullying of my students, even from their own. Should anyone choose to so much as mock Miss Lovegood, they will also be volunteering themselves to duel with me. Does everyone understand?" He asked sharply.

There was a decent number of accepting words and nods, and Harry could only watch as the professor folded down in his chair. He wasn't overly surprised. Flitwick had told him this would be coming, but apparently it was worse than even he had ever known, judging by the lack of gems in the Ravenclaw Glass.

Harry met the professor's eyes, and the man nodded. He knew it was taken care of now.

Break…

It wasn't mentioned until the end of their session, but Flitwick sat him down. "Thank you for alerting me about this."

"Of course, professor. I doubted there were any real rules on bullying, but I doubted you would allow her belongings to continue to be taken." Harry replied.

"As sad as it is, there aren't any rules against words being spoken, only the direct harm to a person. It is why, while it pained me, that I could not step in last year over what was happening to you after it was revealed you were a parselmouth."

Flitwick's tone was laced with disapproval, and it made him feel marginally better about that year, and also about most of his fourth year.

"Miss Lovegood has all of her stuff back, and she has begun seeing a mind healer today. I believe that while her creatures are possibly real, she is also disconnecting from reality. Her father agrees that it would be good for her, but he could never afford it. Mind Healers are not cheap after all."

"If costs are a problem, let me know. I have gold to spare." Harry interrupted. Luna had been a good friend, and Harry, grudgingly, could respect her father's actions in an attempt to keep her safe. He wouldn't hold it against the man or his daughter.

"I will keep that in mind. As it is, Hogwarts will be covering the costs for a full year. I was insistent upon this after watching her break down at having a picture of her mother back." Flitwick said, grimacing, "Still. You deserve credit. Fifty points for watching out for a student in need."

"Won't that tell someone who ratted on them?" Harry asked curiously. He wouldn't deny it regardless, but he was curious.

"Eh. No one bothers to check the book tied to the monitoring of points unless Snape steps too far out of line. Besides, with Ravenclaw losing 370 points, the attention will be elsewhere." Flitwick shrugged. "I shouldn't tell you, but three stepped forward, two earning one week of detention and the other earning two. The rest have lost their ability to become Prefects, will not earn access to the Restricted section without my permission, and will not be allowed to Hogsmeade next year. Not to forget three weeks of detention."

"Did Dumbledore not try to argue against the harsh punishment?"

"He did. Ten of them would have been suspended until the week of finals if I had my say about it." Flitwick grumbled. "Those ten had knocked her out, took her away from the common room, and using their combined strength, charmed the knocker on the Ravenclaw door to not understand Miss Lovegood. And they did it in the fall and winter as the castle grew colder, not ensuring she even had a warm jumper."

Harry's expression darkened for a moment. He had never known about that before. And she had been only a second year at the time. Warming charms weren't taught until fourth year.

"He stood behind the rest of the punishments though. He believed they were more than earned. All of the students also got letters sent home detailing their actions and their punishments." Flitwick finished. "Dumbledore was rather angry, but stood behind my method of taking care of the problem."

"Thank you."

"No. Thank you. I had been remiss in watching my claws." Flitwick returned, "Now, I believe the subject of our conversation is waiting outside of the door for you, so go and have a talk with her. I will see you in class."

"No assignment?" There was typically a short essay or question he wanted answered, so not being told one confused him.

"Not today. Consider it an additional reward for looking out for my charges."

Harry nodded, making his way into the hallway where, sure enough, Luna was waiting. Her gaze lacked the normal dreaminess, her eyes more focused on the present as her eyes found him. Her eyes were slightly red, and her hair and clothes slightly rumpled, but it didn't stop her from immediately pulling him into a hug. "Thank you."

"Of course, Luna. The nargles will not bother you again, I don't think." Harry patted her back.

"Bullies. The mind healer just a bit ago said they were bullies, not nargles." Luna corrected. "Though Sarah knows I have a bit of the sight and she says I see magic, not mythical creatures, much like my father."

"See, not so insane as everyone believes." Harry smiled at the girl. He would admit his surprise at her having both the Sight and what was once called Mage sight, though he didn't find any references to it in the Library when he looked one day last semester.

"Just wrong." She shrugged indifferently, "It was a hard four hours with her today though. For the first session, it was a lot…"

"Well you have friends now, so hopefully we can make it easier." He watched a smile break out on her face.

"Even so, I need to rewrite my transfiguration essay. It was the last one the bullies destroyed before my Head of House stepped in." She said airly, a slightly distant look coming back to her face, "Until tomorrow, Harry."

"Later, Luna." He waved as she turned and skipped away.

'Another change.' Harry huffed. He was still uncertain about the effects of destroying the Diadem, something which Sirius believed had tied the curse to the Defense Position. Sirius' motive was to keep Remus as the Defense Professor, but Harry wondered if it would matter much.

'Still, it should not be left laying around.' Harry thought, lest Riddle catch onto what was happening to his anchors. The diary, himself, the locket, the cup, and soon, the diadem would be destroyed. The ring was the last challenge for the objects and one that would likely require Dumbledore's help in taking care of. The snake, too, was its own problem, but if everything played out right, it would be dead at the end of next year.

All that would matter after that would be killing Tom and dismantling his Death Eaters. Not an easy task, to be sure, but one that would be necessary.