Chapter 25: Fame and Friendship
Thursday 24th November 1994.
It wasn't for several hours after the event that Nym finally managed to drag Harry aside without well-wishers or Family getting in the way.
Even the Tournament stooges had taken a bunch of their time to bluster around telling them that the eggs contained a clue they needed to solve for the next task. When at last they'd managed to get alone, the only place she could find nearby to be alone was a broom cupboard.
As she closed the door, Harry looked at her with his eyebrow raised and a teasing smirk. "Nym…?"
"Shut it, nothing like that. I need to talk to you about the task." Harry nodded and sat on an overturned bucket. "Did you do it? On purpose, I mean."
Harry looked somewhat confused at her question. "Of course."
"I don't think it's fair. I know my magic did it too, but that was life or death. I'd be ash if it hadn't. But it's not fair on Fleur and Krum. If we have to retrieve something again, or a race...It'd feel like cheating, popping right to the finish line. Agreed?"
Nym sat heavily as she finished and stared at her cousin. It had been warring with her Hufflepuff nature ever since she'd stepped out of the enclosure. The two of them not only had an unfair advantage over their competitors, but they had both used it in the task. Even if it had been entirely subconscious in her case.
"I didn't think of it like that. I just saw the golden egg and figured why put myself in range of a very upset mother just defending her eggs? But I guess you're right. It's not really fair." Harry said, scratching the hair around his ponytail as he often did when he was thinking hard about something.
"We both know there is no regular magical equivalent to Snapping or Popping." He continued. "Well, apart from Apparating, and legally I can't do that yet anyway. And it's easily warded against." Harry sighed and Nym watched him consider the facts. "If I'm going to be a Hufflepuff while I'm here, I have to do it right. Loyalty, hard work and fair play."
Nym looked relieved and her shoulders sank. She'd been so concerned about how she was going to convince Harry to agree that she had nothing now that he had. "So… how do we do it? I mean, it saved my life in there. I don't want to stop that, I'm not dying for fairness."
"We can just agree not to, I guess. I don't want to be a cheat." Harry said with a shrug.
She considered his option for a moment. Her usage had been unintentional, and while Harry's had not, he understood the principle she was trying to uphold. She extended her hand to the boy and smiled. "Alright then. No intentional use of elf magic during the tasks then, unless we're in imminent danger. Agreed?"
Harry matched her grin and took her hand. The pair shook once before a spike of energy shot up both their arms and they pulled back in shock. "Ow!"
"What the hell was that?" Nym asked angrily.
Harry ducked his head somewhat sheepishly. "I didn't think of that. Because it is so instinctual, Elf magic can be very literal. I don't think it's a choice anymore. I doubt that our elven magic will work during the events even if we tried. Unless it's life or death for us."
Nym looked at her hand concerned. But she had to concede, this was exactly what she'd decided was required, now she just had no chance to go back on that. "Well, in for a knut, in for a galleon, I guess. Shall we go back to the common room and let Hufflepuff get their party on? It does pay to be right near the kitchens."
Harry looked at her with an expression she only saw when he was planning something. "Yes." He said with finality.
ϟ
Ginny Weasley hugged her pillow tightly to her chest as she sobbed.
Dreams of almost a decade lay in ruin before the rest of her presumably long life. That morning she had been ecstatic, for the man of her dreams had finally arrived in her world earlier that very week. He'd sauntered into the Great Hall like a young Greek god, looking even more incredible than she'd imagined from her books.
His eyes were more beautiful than even her imagination could conjure up and his unruly hair looked like he'd just ruffled it before stepping in the door, despite the binding holding it swept back in a regal ponytail.
The first splinter of disappointment had struck when the boy hadn't come to her house as everyone expected. Surely the child of Lily and James Potter was a Gryffindor, and yet he was now housed with the Puffs instead.
A nice enough group from her experience, but housed far away from the Tower she called home. But Ginny wasn't concerned, he was still the closest she'd ever been to him.
She had spied him about the school, studying beside the girl he was always talking to and walking with. Ginny would hide amongst the shelves in the library and watch their quiet study sessions as they worked on odd subjects she didn't understand.
Their work ethic and studiousness had been impressive. Her twin brothers had made a ruckus in the corner of the library and neither one had flinched as the serious form of Madam Pince descended on the chaos and tossed Fred and George out on their butts.
But the girl that she had assumed was an adopted sister was now the one responsible for her shattered heart lying in pieces at her feet. Ginny's entire future had evaporated the moment the boy of her dreams had stepped foot onto the stands and the bushy-haired girl had latched onto him and kissed him fiercely.
The shock had kept her from reacting in the moment as everything she had ever hoped for dissolved out from under her. Several of the other girls she knew had hopes for Harry still seemed to be deluding themselves, that they maybe had a chance, but Ginny was close enough to the event to see the look in both their eyes.
She had only seen that look on four people before. Her own parents in those few moments that they managed to sneak for themselves, away from their seven children, and her friend Luna's parents before the worst had happened.
A deep and abiding love that conquered all and came out stronger.
Perhaps, come morning, she would move past her shattered future and see what this new world would mean for little Ginny Weasley, but right now she tightened her grip on her pillow and mourned the now obviously inevitable death of Ginevra Potter.
ϟ
Hermione watched as her arm rose and fell gently, the swell of the chest around which it was draped comforted her after the day's adrenaline-fueled events.
Harry slumbered softly in her arms and she smiled at the stray strands of his unruly hair that had escaped the lighter binding he often wore to bed.
She'd been utterly terrified watching first Nym and then Harry face down their dragons. Nym had come close to being incinerated a few times, but her magic had kept her safe when the girl herself failed to do so.
Fleur had given her hope that dragons weren't quite as dangerous a bunch as people said they were, but Krum's athletic dance with his dragon had shown just how aggressive they could be as well. Especially when their nest was threatened.
While she'd felt intense relief that left her in hysterics upon feeling Harry subvert the challenge with elven magic, when he stepped toward a giant lizard perched over its nest, her heart had stopped.
Though she'd only understood some of Harry's side of the conversation that had transpired, thanks to his many hours spent teaching her to understand the odd hissing language that allowed him to speak to snakes and other reptiles, it wasn't until she had him back safe in her arms that Hermione was able to relax again.
Hermione flushed in the dark as she remembered the intense kiss they had shared, and the embarrassment that followed at having outed her own relationship to not only the school, but the watching world as well.
She had done her best to ignore the countless sets of eyes staring at her back as she looked into his joyful eyes.
While she knew Harry would have gladly kept it a secret for her as long as was required, he was obviously very proud to publicly call her his girlfriend. And had loudly done so for the remainder of the day.
He'd even used it to butter her up when he'd returned from his secret chat with Nym.
Hermione rolled her eyes again as she turned to her side, back to the stubborn idiot behind her. Today they had learned the level of danger this tournament put him in, and a few hours after they had both stood eye to eye with a dragon, her pair of loyal idiots had sworn not to use their elven abilities in the events.
She huffed into the cool night air as a pair of arms encircled her and a face buried in her hair once more.
Harry was still fast asleep but had followed her movement as he slumbered. She couldn't keep the frustration fueled as a smile covered her face. While it had been that way for years now, any time they slept in the same bed, it still warmed her heart to know he subconsciously sought her warmth and presence.
She wanted to be mad at him for his foolishness, but after several hours of stewing, she knew there was no point. Her own testing of their additional abilities had once resulted in a similar vow.
Hermione had unknowingly promised not to use her additional powers for a week to her parents after a stubborn argument and she'd had to be ferried everywhere by Nemea as her elven powers failed to work.
While her regular magic was completely unaffected in the slightest, the nuisance of being unable to pop at will showed the pair just how reliant they had become on the ability. Especially for access to the hidden Manor that Harry called home.
Sirius had of course taken advantage of the mistake, but she had given as good as she got that entire week, and the Marauder had a new respect for her prowess afterwards.
So, Hermione knew that Harry would still be able to tackle the coming tasks. He would not even be at a disadvantage compared to the competition. Even with his younger age. As his study partner for years now, she knew that he was far too skilled for that.
But she was still slightly miffed that they had just done it without consulting her first.
Hermione sighed heavily into her pillow. That wasn't the kind of friend or girlfriend she wanted to be. Harry was allowed to make his own choices, even stupid ones. But today had reinforced the terror she felt at the prospect of losing him.
In the past decade, they had spent far more time together than apart. Except for the few exceptions where one of them had been grounded, they'd barely gone an entire day without seeing the other the entire time they had been friends. Losing Harry would probably break her entire being in two.
The arm at her waist tightened and she shuffled back, deeper into its grasp. Harry's favourite saying echoed in her mind, that worrying solved nothing. She would sleep now, enjoying the time she could get alone with the light of her life. In the morning, she would tackle the problem, not by fretting pointlessly, but in her own inimitable manner.
Hogwarts's famous library would be getting a workout between now and February.
ϟ
Friday 25th November 1994.
Cedric began howling with laughter as Nym blushed red even with her natural ability.
The sixth-year girl sank lower in her seat and jabbed her male friend in the stomach hard, ending his laughter immediately. "Shut it!" She hissed through clenched teeth.
Harry looked at the pair in confusion as he took a place across the lunch table before Cedric caught his eye and chucked his copy of the Daily Prophet to the boy.
The front page was a giant picture of Nym leaning on him in the tent before the task then suddenly switched to a picture of his kiss with Hermione. Underneath was a massive headline: Boy-Who-Lived: Confused in Love?
Harry raised an eyebrow at Nym as Hermione took the paper and began to read. The meta squeezed her eyes for a moment and her composure returned in full, with one glaring exception: a bright pink pig snout.
"Our lost hero's long-anticipated public return was marred yesterday by the frivolous actions of these girls. One of whom had the gall to kiss the stunned boy before the entire gathered crowd. The gall?" Hermione queried, her eyes shifting to Harry's.
He grinned softly at her and kissed her cheek, no longer afraid to show affection in public after Hermione's own headline-worthy effort the day before. "All the gall." He winked.
His girlfriend smiled in return as she refocused on the paper, a light pink dusting her cheeks. "It is the attention of his competitor, Miss Tanks, however, that has this reporter concerned." Nym glared at Cedric as he chuckled at the words. "Is the elder girl serious in her amorous approach? Their time in the tent already shows a familiarity beyond appropriate, and your intrepid reporter viewed the pair entering a Hogwarts broom cupboard during the post-task excitement. I'm certain many of our lovely readers recall the kinds of things the cupboards of the school conceal from public view, and I shall be keeping a close watch on the halls of Hogwarts, lest our hero be led astray by…"
Hermione cut off as a crack rent the air above the table. Harry smiled at the bright green and pink tie-dye toga on the wee elf now standing on the table amidst the platters of food, glaring about the room looking for something amiss.
"Rom!" Nym hissed. "Off the table! There's food everywhere."
"Rom cannot Miss Nym. Rom will protect his mistress."
"Protect her from what?" Harry's voice had an edge that few present had experienced before.
"Nasty letters. They've been coming all morning, Master. Some of them exploded!"
"Exploded?" Hermione questioned.
The elf nodded as Nemea appeared on the floor behind Hermione. "Some shouty and loud, others flinging yucky filth everywhere. Tybalt nearly got some in the face when the first one popped. Pops is very angry."
"He's not the only one," Harry growled, several of the nearby puffs slipping further down the bench when they caught sight of his eyes. "Can you deal with them safely? I don't want any of you getting hurt."
Rom grinned broadly. "Yes, Master Harry. We's very good at dealing with nasty mails."
The tension in Harry's shoulders lessened slightly at the elf's odd statement. They'd tried to correct him, but he was sure the elf did it at Nym's request, purely to give the girl a laugh. But the matter still bothered him. "Do you know who they are from?"
Nemea climbed awkwardly onto the bench between Harry and Hermione and stood looking between the teens. "Many people, they all say nasty things about Mistress and Miss Nymmie. Such vile things." The elf leaned in closer to Harry's ear and whispered. "Your parents are very angry."
"Do I need to go home? We can help you deal with it all."
Nemea smiled at him and shook her head, her broad ears flapping about. "Pops said no, 'Master is supposed to be learning today. He already had no classes yesterday, and he won't be using this as a way to get out of studying.' Is potions next. And Miss Andi is very excited to hear how it goes."
Harry stared briefly into the elf's enormous brown eyes, eyes that matched his girlfriend near exactly, and yet were so different at the same time. He nodded his acceptance, glad he had such a supportive family around him. He'd hate to imagine what his life would be like if he'd had to tackle it alone.
A soft hand caressed his back, drawing his mind from the hole it had begun to tumble down, and Harry glanced at Hermione, her eyes catching his own from around the wee elf.
He nodded to her and turned back to his lunch. He knew once his family set their minds to something, there was no changing it. Getting around it, maybe; but changing it, no. He did get his stubbornness from them after all. They would deal with the letters, and his elfin friends would keep watch on the girls and keep them safe at the school.
"I can't believe they're being so thick about all this. I've been happily telling anyone who will listen that Hermione is my girlfriend, and," Harry scowled at his next thought, "I'm sorry Nym, but I don't do the whole cousin thing. You'll have to find someone else."
Nym managed to look amused and shocked in equal measure and Harry knew she was hamming it up now. "But Harry, I love you."
"Oh, don't. Clearly this lot," Hermione indicated the newspaper again, "do not understand sarcasm. Or the dangers of inbreeding. Sirius has shown us the family tree. It's no wonder he's such a loon. His parents were just as closely related as you two."
Nym laughed at the girl looking a lot less embarrassed than when they had entered. "Some of these purebloods find cousins to be relationship goals, Hermione. The more they do it, the worse the damage gets and the less they see a problem with it. Hopefully, they'll breed themselves out of existence and we can all move on without them."
They all chuckled over their meals at the idea, even when things went a little bit wrong, life was pretty good for Harry Potter.
ϟ
Hermione found Susan to be a delight to talk to.
The small girl was a bundle of energy, always up to talk about anything, and a sponge for information, much like herself. They had already spent a few nights up late discussing their respective worlds and now she led the way through the dungeons, her rust-coloured braid swinging merrily behind her as she walked in the springy fashion Hermione had only seen the bubbly girl pull off.
"Here we go. I can't wait to see how you fare in here, Hermione." Susan offered as she swung the door open and the trio stepped inside.
Hermione gave a light chuckle as she looked about before she glanced back at the girl beside her. "Good one."
Susan returned her gaze with confusion. "What?"
"Nice trick. I like a good laugh. Brewing potions in a dank unlit basement. Very amusing."
"What do you mean?" Susan glanced about, several of the students already in the classroom were also taking note of the exchange.
"Oh, you're serious. A theoretical classroom then?"
Susan shook her head slightly. "Theoretical potions? All we do is brew."
"All we do is…" Hermione was now stunned. She refocused her gaze on the other students who were all nodding their agreement with Susan. She glanced at Harry who shrugged, a knowing look on his face.
Hermione observed the room closely. There were no windows; wait, no there were two, right by the ceiling in the furthest corner of the room, but the dull green colour beyond them indicated they were looking out not into the open air, but the depths of the nearby lake.
Her eyes noted the moisture gathering on the roof indicating some of that nearby lake water was seeping in, several of these points being over desks where some of the students were seated.
"Is there a problem here." A sallow voice called from the shadows, followed by a pale face melting from the darkness.
Hermione stared at the man as he approached, many stories making a lot more sense to her now. "No, no problem. Harry and I were just leaving."
The stoic face of the man changed immediately to a scowl that might have also been described by some as a smile. "Leaving? You have a class to attend, Miss Granger. Take a seat."
"No, thank you. I like my hands actually. Come on Harry."
"Where do you think you are going?" The voice was tinged now with something Hermione couldn't quite place.
"Somewhere to study that won't have our cauldron explode in our faces. The fact that Hogwarts claims to be the greatest school around is severely hampered by this being your potions facility. Completely moronic."
"How dare you?" The man stepped forward, pale hands showing from under his robes, one holding a wand in its grip. "I am a teacher of this school and you will show me the proper respect."
Hermione raised her eyebrow in response.
"Respect is earned, and if you hold classes in this abomination of a room, you deserve none. The roof is leaking contaminated lake water directly over several of the stations. At least half of the ingredient jars in that wonky cupboard are cracked and I can see twelve different ones from here that are stored side-by-side with compounds they react violently with." The students closest to the cupboard stepped away frightfully. "Not to mention that the complete lack of adequate lighting makes mistakes practically a given."
The scowl on Snape's face was menacing, and yet Hermione did not back down from him in the slightest.
"My potions tutor would have my hide if I were stupid enough to brew a potion in this room. That's only if I managed to survive the catastrophic intermingling of the moisture in the air or the improperly kept ingredients.
"So, goodbye, Professor Snape. We shan't be returning. Come on, Harry. We can work on that maths assignment until we can arrange proper potions tutoring again. At least that won't be a complete waste of our time."
Ignoring the vein popping over the angry teacher's eye, Hermione spun on her heel and grasped Harry's hand, pulling the boy from the room as he was so close to bursting out laughing that he could barely function. A blasting sound echoed out from the room behind them and Hermione heard Nemea's voice.
"Don't you dare, nasty boy. I'm wise to you. Leave my mistress alone! Snivelly!"
Harry's efforts broke down at this point and as a scream of POOOTTTTTTEEERRR! rang out from the classroom, Hermione popped the pair away from the dank corridor.
ϟ
Saturday 26th November 1994.
Harry smiled as he wandered the random stone hallways.
Today he was a rather unusual sight, darting through them alone for the first time since his arrival. Normally he'd have stuck close to Hermione, but his girlfriend was currently in a meeting with the Deputy Headmistress and had asked to do so alone, so he'd taken the opportunity to explore.
As much as he had loved his home studying, Harry had been a little saddened he'd not had the chance to visit the famed Hogwarts before.
Years of stories from his family had painted its halls in such a light, that he had craved to see them someday. And now he had that chance, he wasn't about to waste it, as short as it may be.
Many times he found the castle leading him to dead ends and unused classrooms, making him wonder just how large a population this school could truly house. It also led him to wonder why the two visiting schools insisted on holding their lessons in their transportation rather than one of the many empty rooms tailor-made for teaching.
He'd even found his way through some of the more memorable secret passages he'd managed to locate from his parents' stories.
The one he ducked into now being his favourite story. The entryway concealed neatly behind a suit of armour kept it from view unless you ducked behind the suit.
Inside was a slowly curved incline that wrapped around and out of view as it rose upwards. Its position at the base of Ravenclaw Tower suggested where its upper reaches might have come out, but that was not why Harry was so happy to have found this one.
His father had told him the story of its discovery. He was out after hours, as he often was and had come across the Gryffindor prefect.
The prefect had just sent a few amorous Ravens back to their dormitory when he came up behind her. Taking her hand, he had whisked her behind the suit and unintentionally discovered the passage.
At first, she had been upset, but the reason Harry found this passage special is that it was where his parents had shared their first kiss.
James had finally gotten a yes to his long-winded attempts to date Lily Evans only the day before, and after a swimming day at Hogsmeade, the pair had agreed to continue dating. But it was in this very place seventeen years before, that his parents' relationship had truly begun.
A happy tear rolled down his cheek as Harry ran his fingers over the stone. His father had described the passage as magical. Its late discovery had been why it had never made it onto the Map, but his father had been glad it wasn't, as it gave him and Lily one place they could disappear to where not even the other Marauders could find them.
This became their spot in a castle filled with hideaways and romantic locations.
"I miss you, dad. Mum." He whispered softly to the empty space. As much as he adored the portraits, he knew deep down that they weren't truly his parents. Standing in this spot, even though he only knew about it thanks to those portraits, made him feel a closeness to his parents he'd never truly experienced before. "I love you."
A warm breeze gently tickled over his skin and Harry smiled in response.
His attention was drawn from the tenderness of the moment by a harsh laugh from beyond the opening. Focusing his attention in that direction, Harry moved towards the entrance and listened as he heard several footsteps and the sound of someone being knocked to the ground amid renewed laughter.
"Come on, Loony. Tell us something else funny. I need a good laugh today." A harsh boy's voice echoed down the hall.
Harry frowned and stepped right up behind the suit of armour, a position that allowed him to see several people standing in the corridor looking down at a small sniffling blonde girl on the floor. Oddly, the girl was wearing two left shoes.
Anger filled him at the sight and Harry snapped his fingers, creating several small noises with no source to distract the standing quartet.
"What's that? How'd you do that?" One of the girls squeaked, glaring at the girl on the floor.
She moved to stomp on the defenceless girl and Harry snapped his fingers again, sending the aggressor tumbling through the air to fall into a heap on the far side of the now giggling girl on the floor.
"Think that's funny, do you? Teach her a lesson, Eddie." The taller boy snarled.
A third snap had both boys' robes twist tighter about their bodies and hurled the two against the sides of the corridor. The prone girl smiled brightly and a peal of tinkling laughter filled the corridor.
The remaining bully standing over her was too busy looking at her cohorts to seem to care.
"Peeves?" The blonde asked the air, seeming far happier than when Harry had come upon the scene.
The comment fixed the last girl's attention back onto her prey. "The poltergeist? Nice try Loony, but you don't fool me. Most Ravenclaws are clever, unlike you, you freak."
The girl pulled her wand and gave it a swish through the air. But before she could incant a spell, Harry swiped both hands through the air and four wands soared free from hands and robes, clattering heavily against the wall nearby.
The girl looked at her hands in shock before scouring the corridor for the cause. The two boys had managed to wriggle free of their robes and were standing once more.
Eddie, who was nearest their wands, tried in vain to remove them from the wall. Harry pushed his hand and the wood began to sink tip-first into the wall. "Marcus. Mandy. Help, they're going in the wall!"
"What do you mean?" Marcus asked, stomping over the still-prone girl on the floor and knocking her about. "Get 'em out. Bel, stop shaking, get up and make her stop."
Mandy advanced on the girl on the floor and Harry'd had enough. He stepped into the corridor and cleared his throat. "Morning all."
Five sets of eyes turned on him, one with relief. "What do you want, Potter? Out showboating around the castle?" Marcus growled, giving up on retrieving the few centimetres of his wand that remained outside the stone.
"Just taking a walk, and wondering why my friend was on the floor." The blonde's eyes widened in surprise as Mandy began to laugh.
"Friend? You're friends with Loony. Yeah right."
"Lost cause then, that one. Some of us had high hopes when you arrived. Now I can see why you're in the duffers." Marcus said, advancing on Harry, cracking his knuckles.
Harry tilted his head at the older boy. "I was led to believe Ravenclaws were meant to be intelligent. You lot are really challenging that assumption. How about you run along."
"Not til Loony gives our wands back," Eddie growled, stepping towards the frightened girl.
Harry sighed and with a flick, his wand was in his hand. Two quick waves and all four bullies were now pressed tightly against a thick pane of glass he had conjured across the entire hallway behind the wee blonde. "Really challenging it. Who picks a fistfight with an armed opponent?"
Harry knelt beside the girl and offered his hand. "Are you ok? My name is Harry."
She looked up at him with wide silvery eyes. Harry felt like he was being assessed before she took his hand. "Luna."
"A pleasure." He replied as he helped her up. "Are you ok?"
Her eyes flicked from his own to the pile of bodies standing and pressing against the glass in confusion, then to their wands half-buried in the stone wall, then back to Harry. She nodded. "Yes, thank you."
"Good." He smiled brightly, and Luna mirrored him. "Now, for you lot." He turned to the bullies who were now all standing once more.
Marcus wasted no time in charging at him and Harry lazily moved his head at the right moment to allow the punch to miss him completely, Marcus overextended into the move and tumbled over as he hit nothing.
"Again with that? How did this one get into Ravenclaw?" He asked Luna, who was looking happier and happier with every passing moment.
With another flick of Harry's wand, Marcus slid back across the rough stone floor until he thudded heavily against the glass. The others scattered aside as his body landed between them and they all glanced up at Harry warily. The two girls turned and immediately began banging on the glass, but Harry was sure it would hold. It was about a foot thick and no banging by hand would crack it.
"I think you all should apologize to Luna. I don't like people messing with my friends."
Eddie stared at him, finally looking like the situation was sinking in. "What is this?" he asked, slapping his hand against the glass. "How'd you put it across the whole corridor?"
"Not as much fun when you're the one trapped and helpless, is it, Eddie?" Harry questioned as he took a step closer. "Maybe you can tell me why Luna is forced to wear two left shoes. I have a feeling you all know."
"I don't think it was their fault. The nargles like to abscond with my things from time to time. I ran out of butterbeer corks last week and they struck again."
Harry looked at the girl, she was smiling and seemed completely sure of her words. He glanced back at the four by the glass and saw the guilt in their eyes, and he immediately realized the truth.
"So…" He advanced on them again and the four cowered back against the glass once more. "Any of you know how I might get the nargles to return Luna's things?"
The look in Harry's eye had all four shuddering with fear. Few things angered him more than bullying, and these ones had apparently not contented themselves with merely roughing Luna up. "Anyone?"
"Please, let us go." Bel whimpered.
"We won't do it again." Mandy simpered.
"I'll… see what I can do," Eddie mumbled, his eyes flicking from Harry to Luna and back.
"Good." Harry flicked his wand and the glass vanished, leaving the four to tumble back onto the floor once more. "I'd hate to see what happens if they'd failed to return them by the time I escort Luna back to her dormitory."
All four shuffled backwards, trying to get as far from Harry as they could. Most had managed to get back to their feet by the time they'd reached the corner of the passageway, and without looking back they all took off down the adjoining corridor at a run.
Harry turned back to Luna who was looking at him with an odd expression. "You're somewhat of an enigma, Harry Potter. If I knew where my sum-solving ink was, I could try and work it out I suppose."
Harry smiled at the girl. "I like you, Luna." He offered his arm to the wee girl. "Shall we head to your dorms? I have a feeling there might be a nice surprise waiting for you there."
Luna tilted her head and gave him an analyzing look before she nodded and tucked her arm into his own. "Did you have a nice conversation with the dragon the other day?"
Harry chuckled slightly at the complete non sequitur as he led her into the sloping passage behind the suit of armour. "It was hard actually. Snakes I've no problem with, every one of them I have met loves a good chat. But that was the first dragon I've met. I think they're similar enough that parseltongue works, but she was from a set of islands with a very heavy accent. Turns out even parseltongue can have accents. I could barely understand a word she said."
Luna giggled at the comment. "The mighty brought low then. Having to make do like the rest of us. Mummy says it's good to be proven wrong every now and again."
"Agreed."
"This is a nice passage. I never knew it was here. Is that how you appeared from nowhere? I thought maybe you could do it at will as your cousin did in her task."
Harry stopped and looked at the blonde. While she appeared to have a dreamy expression, he realized her silvery eyes saw more than most appeared to give her credit for. "I can actually, but it's a secret." Luna nodded and zipped her lips. "As for this passage, I heard about it from… well from my parents. I'll tell you another secret if you like."
Luna looked about before she nodded. "This passage is where they shared their first kiss. You could kind of say this is the place where my life first truly began. If not for this passageway, I might not be here right now."
Luna glanced at the passage and a look of awe filled her eyes. "I think that makes this my favourite place in the castle then."
Harry smiled in return as they continued up the slope. "Me too."
"I'm sorry you lost them. I lost my daddy a few years ago. He died trying to save my mummy from one of her experiments. But…" Harry allowed her a moment to gather her thoughts, not wanting to interrupt, but he tucked her arm a bit tighter into his own, "he only did it because I said I was worried. I'd had a really bad feeling all week and I thought something might happen to mummy. He managed to keep her safe, but he…"
"Yeah. It doesn't get easier. I have a portrait of them at home that I can talk to, but it still hurts every day. Being in here… it's the closest I've felt to them in a long time, even if I can talk to them every day."
Luna nodded softly beside him. After a moment of silence, she spoke. "Is that why you snuggle up to Hermione Granger all the time?"
Harry laughed at the blonde's lack of a filter. "Yes, that's one of the many reasons. I'm sure she'll like being your friend too if you'd like her to." Luna smiled and nodded again as they reached the end of the passage. It had looped around and around the tower, and Harry found himself wondering just how far up they had come.
The pair stepped out through a similar hidden entrance to the bottom and Harry found them at the end of a short corridor that curved to the left. "Wow, that's handy. I love it even more now." Luna mumbled as she walked forward, Harry following behind.
A moment later they arrived at a door without any handle or knob. Its wide blank surface was only broken up by a single bronze knocker shaped like an eagle emerging from the wood, the large bronze ring clutched in its talons.
"Good day, Simon." Luna smiled as she gave the knocker a single rap against the door.
Harry watched as the eagle came to life and looked at the girl before it. It glanced aside at him before its beak opened and it spoke. "What can fill a room but takes up no space?"
Luna tilted her head and smiled at the knocker. "Light. Bye, Simon."
The knocker nodded once before returning to stillness and the door swung inwards. Harry followed the girl into the room and was impressed at how airy and open it was. Being housed higher up the castle certainly had its benefits.
A quick glance through the large windows showed a wonderful view out over the lake and distant mountains. The domed ceiling full of stars looked slightly odd during the day but instilled the room with a calm that he assumed the studious Ravenclaws likely enjoyed.
"Hello, Harry. Touring the other common rooms are you?"
Harry glanced towards the voice and saw Padma sitting on a nearby couch. "Just helping Luna back here. We had a nice chat. This is very nice." He indicated the room around them.
"It's lovely, so much nicer than the rowdy Gryffindor common room." Harry gave her a curious glance. "My sister Parvati sometimes brings me in there. The decor is nice, but there is always someone making a ruckus. At least when I visit. Usually the Weasley Twins."
Harry nodded in understanding. He could see why that would be annoying to deal with day in and day out. While he did enjoy the warmth of the Hufflepuff common room, the Ravenclaw one had a sense of peace to it that the other seemed to lack when occupied.
A peace that was abruptly interrupted by four sets of thundering footsteps coming from the entry to the dormitories.
Two boys and two girls came to a stop several metres from Harry and dropped a pair of bags and a pile of odd bits and pieces on the floor. As they stood once more, several pops sounded out as Pops, Tybalt, Romulus, Nemea, and Mipsy all appeared just behind Harry.
The four bullies looked at the elves with shock before, with a glance at Harry, they quickly made for the exit to the common room and were gone without a word. He turned to a surprised Luna who was gathering her things from the floor.
"Helps to have eyes everywhere. Looks like that lot might be helping keep down your difficulties with nargles from now on, Luna."
Padma looked at him confused as the elves glared about for a moment before they too disappeared, but Luna dropped the right shoe in her hand and lunged at Harry, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Thank you."
"You're always welcome, Luna. Friends look out for one another. You can come to me anytime with anything, even if it's just to talk. And I'm sure Padma would be happy to keep an eye out for you in here. Won't you?"
Padma crooked her neck as she looked at Harry before nodding. "It was nice meeting you, Luna. But I have got an appointment with a very snuggly girlfriend to attend." Luna released him from her grip but her smile remained. "See you both at dinner."
With one last glance around the open room, Harry headed for the exit and his picnic lunch with Hermione.