That night, the night before Slughorn's party after the celebrations of Harry winning. Harry found himself alone again. It was different this time, this time the heavy feeling in Harry's chest wasn't so dense. At least not today, for today Harry was better. He had wandered from the common room in his invisibility cloak, hoping to find some peace outside.
The moon hung in the sky heavily. It was a full moon tonight, though beautiful it hurt. A full moon like the moon that hung in the sky as his godfather protected Harry and his friends. Another reminder in the sea that reminded him of what he lost.
For once in a long time, he felt content to just sit there and stare off into nothing. That nothing became something as a feminine frame crossed his field of view. Of course it was Luna, it was always Luna.
"I knew I'd find you here." She whispered as she sat down next to him. He about opened his mouth to ask her how she knew, before she silenced him with a smile. Luna and her strange premonitions.
"For now, you are okay." Luna stated. She said it so quietly that Harry wondered if he imagined her saying it. He didn't. That's when Harry remembered Slughorn's party, and he blushed at the idea that popped into his head.
"You're reminding me of a rose." Luna said airily with a faint grin on her face. Harry's blush intensified.
"Don't tease me!" Harry hissed, turning slightly away from Luna. The tops of his pale ears must've been red.
"Oh, I'm not. Roses are wonderful." She uttered simply, that turned Harry from red to maroon. She really wasn't helping his flustered state.
"Luna, will you attend Slughorn's party with me?" Harry burst out, stumbling over some of his words as he whipped his head around to face Luna again.
"A party?" She questioned putting a finger to her lip. A mouth that looked rather kissable under the moonlight. Harry's eyes drifted from her lips back up to her eyes, waiting for her response.
"What would I wear?" She bemoaned her brows furrowing. Harry's frustration grew. She wasn't answering the question.
"Luna! Yes, or no?" She stared at him like he was slow.
"I thought the answer was obvious." Her head tilted slightly as she spoke, like a curious cat. Harry felt like a dumb mouse.
"No, it isn't." Harry stressed, running a hand through his already messy hair.
"The answer is yes, silly. Of course, it's yes." She laughed and Harry couldn't help the shit eating grin that appeared on his face. If Harry hadn't just fought a long and exhausting Quidditch match, he would've jumped for joy.
There wasn't much else to say after that, so they both sat in acompanionablesilence for a long time, watching clouds in the sky cover stars as they made their way.
Harry awoke to the sun rising above the horizon. He hadn't even remembered drifting off to sleep. He had cuddled into Luna's warmth during the cold night, and he was glad she was still asleep.
He barely recalled a dream. A dream of two swans, one black one white. One corrupt one pure. They swirled around each other for ages, each step of their peculiar dance leading them closer to one another. At the end of the dance, they were just about to embrace each other, when something pulled the black swan down into the lake. The white swan honked and cried and tried to save the black swan, but to no avail. Nothing could've saved that black swan, that's all Harry was sure about in this world.
Harry shook Luna awake. They needed to get out of here before their absences were noticed. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and noticed the sun setting. She frowned then glanced at Harry.
"Let's head back before we're caught." Luna silently agreed with Harry and they both stood and brushed themselves off. As sneakily as they left, they returned to their separate dormitories.
Even as Harry returned to his room and laid on his bed, he realized he couldn't fall asleep. That was the best night of sleep he'd gotten in a long time. Except for that strange dream, all was well.
Harry spent the rest of his day consumed with the thought of seeing Luna that night. It felt creepy but he couldn't help it. He lo-liked her a lot. He hadn't noticed the eyes of a certain someone on him, a certain Hermione Granger. That was until she decided to make her move of course. Hermione cornered Harry in the common room when it was mostly unoccupied.
"Harry!" She huffed and he reflexively cringed, subconsciously tying that tone to when Hermione was mad at him. She had every right to be mad at him. He punched her not boyfriend-boyfriend. He turned around to face her, fully expecting to be cursed at, punched, or hexed. Instead, he was met with a concerned and motherly face.
"Hermione?" He questioned confused. Why after the week she'd been giving him the silent treatment did she decide to talk to him now. It made no sense to Harry and put him on edge. But she looked as vulnerable as he felt.
"I just want to talk to you, Harry. I need to know what's going on with you." Hermione begged, but suddenly Harry felt claustrophobic. For just a moment, just a second, he let himself imagine a world where he could get this shit off his chest. But it was bigger than him, bigger than he could describe. He wouldn't know where to start, where to end.
"No." He shook his head, backing away from Hermione slowly. She took a step towards him and all of a sudden all he wanted to do was get away.
"No? Harry, what do you mean no?" Harry rapidly fled the scene, while he didn't run, he could walk faster than Hermione, so he walked straight up the steps of the boy's dormitory.
"Harry!" She called after him, trying to keep up with him but failing miserably. Though he felt shitty about it, he just couldn't be reminded of those pesky feelings right now. He finally had the upper hand, he finally had control back. He couldn't afford to lose it.
He spent the rest of the day camping out in his shared room, too afraid to leave it. He dressed in his best clothes in preparation as the day slipped way to night. The same suit that he'd worn to the Yule Ball, a little too small, but the only nice thing he owned. He could thank malnutrition for not growing that much over that time frame.
Once the time came, he slipped from the Gryffindor side, heading down to where Slughorn organized the party. He glanced at a clock and with a curse he realized he was running late. That's when he started running, letting down Luna wasn't an option for Harry.
He was huffing and puffing by the time he found the party. Right on time Slughorn threw open his office doors and smiled down at the out of breath Harry.
"Ah! Well now, it's Harry Potter fashionably late." Cries Slughorn joyfully. Harry ignores Slughorn and enters the room, enchanted to look like a whimsical tent. Much more spacious than an office has any right to be.
That's when Harry's eyes glanced away from the scenery and found a new wonderous target. Luna Lovegood sitting all alone. She was a sight for sore eyes. She dressed in this deep dark blue sparkly dress. It hugged her thin but shapely frame and drew Harry's eyes to her hidden curves. It was just enough revealing to draw intrigue but still remain elegant and modest. To put it simply, she looked beautiful. Her hair cascaded down the open back of the dress in a half up style. What dangled from her ears wasn't something silly or strange, but rather bronze gemstones that twinkled in the right lighting.
Harry couldn't take his eyes off her and was surprised when nobody seemed to notice the goddess amidst themselves. He walked to her; slightly nervous that she was a figment of his wild imagination. She didn't seem to notice him until he was upon her, and even then, she was still lost in her own world. He leaned down and had his lips inches from her ear, making the excuse in his head that it would've been too loud for her to hear him otherwise. He smelt roses.
"You look gorgeoustonight, Luna." He murmured and she nearly jumped from her skin. She glared at him and held her heart through her dress.
"Harry!" She complained shaking her head as he chuckled mischievously. He sat across from her. He just stared at her as she eyed the tablecloth. She had a bit of kohl lining her eyes and mascara enhancing her eyelashes. A light gloss lingered on her lips. Lips he so desired to claim.
"Do you mean what you said?" She asked nervously a slight tint to her cheeks.
"About you being gorgeous? Of course, Luna." Harry said one hundred percent truthfully. Though Harry was doing a lot of lying as of late, he didn't feel the need to ever lie to Luna.
Harry talked to many people that night, and while he could describe the color of Luna's eyes in vivid detail, he couldn't tell you any of their names. Though Slughorn dragged him away from his peaceful introvert corner with Luna many times, Harry kept returning. Eventually, Slughorn seemed to take the hint and leave Harry alone. Harry spotted Hermione, but she didn't notice him, thank Merlin. She was with that sleazeball Cormac and Harry wondered why, but it's not like he was privy to know.
Harry was expecting a peaceful end to the night, he was not expecting Filch to drag Draco Malfoy in by his robes. This stopped everyone in their tracks. Malfoy looked as bad as Harry did, and that was saying something. Pale skin, messy hair, eyebags. Harry felt a pang of out of place sympathy go through him.
Malfoy made some stupid excuse about wanting to sneak into the party that got him off scot-free, but Harry knew something else was wrong. As Malfoy walked out, Harry felt the overwhelming urge to follow him.
Harry excused himself, which Luna didn't seem to mind and tagged along after Malfoy. He snuck around as best he could, years of snooping around Hogwarts aided his mission. That's when Malfoy stopped retreating to his dormitory and was pulled astray by a hand. Harry sneaked closer, curious as to who could've grabbed Malfoy into the abandoned room.
"I can help you." The familiar voice of Snape hissed. Malfoy scoffed at this answer and muttered something Harry couldn't catch.
"You think this gives me glory? I'd let you have it if you weren't failing so miserably." Snape replies. The room goes quiet after that, and Harry senses his cue to leave. As he walks back to the party he's left with many questions and few answers. What was Malfoy up to?