This story went through a title change some time ago.
I'm Spanish, so some expressions may sound strange for people from Latin America or other countries, but I hope you enjoy reading it and you can ask me anything.
Best regards. :)
A Distraction
It was shaping up to be a tedious Saturday at Hogwarts. The students felt trapped in a sea of boredom. Between the avalanche of assignments from Umbridge and the ever-increasing rules and decrees, they were starting to lose sight of the fun aspects of the castle. The change in the school's direction was stark, and they clung to the brief moments of freedom found in their rare trips to Hogsmeade.
That afternoon, after classes, Luna Lovegood headed to the library to work on her assignments due Monday and review for Tuesday's History of Magic exam. As she walked, she gazed dreamily at the corners of the wide corridors, looking for Nargles. She planned to shoo them away peacefully with her charm to keep them from causing further mischief in the castle. When she arrived at the library, she noticed it was crowded. She placed her large, light-orange bag on a table and began pulling out heaps of books and scrolls to get started on her work.
A while later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived.
"Hi, Luna," Harry greeted her.
"Hi, guys," she replied in her characteristic soft voice, barely lifting her gaze.
"Mind if we sit here? The place is packed," Ron asked.
"Of course," she said, making space for them at the table. Her side was cluttered with papers, books, quills, and some peculiar yellow and navy-blue stones that caught Hermione's attention.
"What are those stones for?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, well, the yellow ones are Citrines. They're said to help with mental focus, endurance, and self-esteem. The blue ones are Lapis Lazuli, the stone of wisdom and knowledge. I'm testing their effectiveness. I use them when I feel a bit tired of studying. With all these exams lately, I've been using them a lot…"
"Do they work?" Ron asked, his tone a mix of curiosity and skepticism. "Because if they do, I'm going to need loads of them for Umbridge's exams."
"Well, I'm not entirely sure if they do," Luna answered with a smile.
"With all these ridiculous exams, quizzes, and these stupid lessons, we're not actually learning anything," Hermione said bluntly, without bothering to lower her voice.
"Besides, you're still upset that Umbridge only gave you an 'Acceptable,' aren't you?" Ron teased with a smirk.
"Well, yes! She's an ignorant woman," the brunette admitted, scowling.
The group settled down to study quietly alongside Luna. Harry noticed that Malfoy and his gang of goons were also in the library, so he decided not to mention anything about Dumbledore's Army in case there were spies lurking.
After a while, Luna began packing up her things and found something in her oversized bag.
"Oh, dear! I forgot to give this assignment to Professor McGonagall. Tomorrow's the last day to hand it in—I need to hurry."
"All right, Luna. Don't forget, same time, same place this evening," Harry reminded her in a whisper.
"Yes, see you later," she said, waving as she left, making a bit of noise in the process.
"She's always off in her own world," Ron muttered.
"She left a book," Hermione pointed out, picking it up.
The book was medium-sized, finely and elegantly decorated, with a gold-embossed title on the spine: *Diary L.L.*
"It's her secret diary!" Ron exclaimed after examining it for a moment.
"How do you know?" Hermione questioned. "It doesn't *have* to be a secret. It could be a planner."
"I don't know, just a hunch. It has her initials and says 'diary.'"
"Well, we'll give it back to her later," Harry said calmly.
"Yeah, but…" Ron hesitated. "What if it has important stuff about the D.A. or us? Aren't you even a little curious about what goes on in Loony Lovegood's head?"
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded him, her tone sharp. "How could you even *think* of violating Luna's privacy? Would you like it if someone did the same to you? Besides, it's her diary, and she has every right to write whatever she wants. What makes you think she's even written about *you*?"
"Hermione's right," Harry said, more composed than she was.
"All right, all right! You're right, sorry. But why *wouldn't* she write about me—or us? I'd say we're pretty interesting to that quirky mind of hers."
"What she's written is none of our business, Ron," Harry replied. "Maybe she has, maybe she hasn't…" His eyes lingered on the book. "Although, it is a bit intriguing…" He shrugged, uneasy about the potential contents of the little diary.
"At least we found it and not someone else," Hermione noted.
"Yeah, Luna should be more careful. She should've put a lock on it or something to keep people from opening it."
"She's always off in her own world," Ron muttered again.
"But she's not naive," Hermione added, observing the diary closely. "Look, the cover seems sealed. She probably put some sort of spell on it—it's impossible to open."
"Oh, I see. *I'm* not allowed to try opening it, but *you* can," Ron exclaimed indignantly. "If I do it, it's a breach of her privacy, but if you do it, it's fine, huh?"
"Keep your voice down," Harry whispered, sounding exasperated.
"Stop saying ridiculous things!" Hermione snapped, glaring at Ron. "I wasn't trying to read it. I just thought it was strange that something so personal wasn't better protected. But clearly, it *is*."
Of course it was. Luna might have been scatterbrained, but she wasn't foolish. She *was* a Ravenclaw, after all.
"Well, don't tell me you're not even a bit curious…" Ron said in a low voice. "We might finally figure out why Luna acts so weird sometimes."
"You never listen, do you?" Hermione said. "I already told you it's impossible to open, and—"
"It would be a violation of Luna's privacy," Ron interrupted. "Yeah, I got it."
"Then let it go, Ron," Harry said firmly. "We'll keep it safe in here," he added, pointing to his bag.
What they didn't know was that a pair of gray eyes had been watching them closely from behind a nearby bookshelf.
Hmm… A diary from one of Potter's closest friends… This could be very interesting to Umbridge* Draco Malfoy thought, pretending to browse a potions book.
Later, as the Gryffindors packed up to head to their D.A. meeting, Malfoy and his goons put their plan into action.
"Crabbe, distract Scarface. Goyle, handle the other two," Malfoy ordered.
"Hey, Potter!" the two Slytherin brutes shouted.
The pair began causing a scene, harassing Harry and drawing the librarian's attention. As Harry turned to deal with them, along with Ron and Hermione, Malfoy stayed behind.
"Wingardium Leviosa" Draco whispered, making Luna's diary float into his hands. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by his cronies, he slipped out of the library unnoticed.
To be continued…