Chapter 29: Harry Takes ActionChapter TextLuna woke up the day after her so-called initiation. She had mixed feelings about it. She wasn't exactly sure what that Atomic sit-up had been and she hadn't really minded the smells she had to smell, even if they were very different from anything she had smelled before. They weren't pleasant smells, but there was something about them that oddly enough made her body feel kind of hot and a little naughty. She in a way kind of liked them somehow.
She had some ideas what the smells were, but she was going pretend she didn't. It was really kind of embarrassing having done that... and a bit confusing for her. She would have much rather experienced what she thought it was with girls she actually liked and without the mystery around what happened. She wasn't even sure if it was something she was into or not, but she was curious about new things that had never crossed her mind before last night. Luna might have talked to Ginny about it all and maybe asked some questions, but Ginny was lost this year… Luna wasn't sure she could talk to Hermione or the other Hufflepuff girls about it all.
" Whatever the case. What's done is done. I'll be nice in return if my roommates are serious about this, " Luna thought to herself. She was really glad she had people she called friends in Hufflepuff at least.
"Morning," Connie said to Luna with something that was almost a real smile.
"Good Morning," Luna replied with an actual smile. She would put in some effort, but she wasn't counting on the girls to really match it.
[-] [-] [-]
Luna was surprised how things were going lately. Her roommates had actually tried it seemed at first and Luna almost believed friendship could be possible despite everything. When they kept asking her about Harry Potter, Luna figured out what they were really doing. She had said some different things about him that were still safe to say at first. As they kept asking, she only told them things anyone would know about Harry. What surprised Luna was how even after that, they were… polite at least. She hoped it would last, but wasn't sure it would.
At the moment though, Luna, like everyone else, was interested in the Dueling Club.
"I'm getting really bad feelings about this," Hermione said with a frown in the dining hall after lunch, but before needing to run off to classes.
"You were the one to pretty much hint at and imply thatperson would probably be in charge of it," Hannah said with a sigh.
Hermione frowned deeper. Hannah was right, but she didn't like it.
"You are all looking at this the wrong way," Luna said to them.
"What could possibly be the right way?" Hermione asked with almost a huff at herself.
"I thought it would be obvious," Luna stated.
"Luna," Harry started. The dirty blonde looked to him with her large eyes. "I do think of us as friends, but you have a very unique and different approach to things. What you think is obvious few others probably would," Harry said.
"Ohhh," Luna replied with almost a slight blush to her cheeks. She was happy and caught off guard when he said they were friends.
"We do like that about you," Hermione supplied thinking the smaller girl might mistake Harry's words in some way. He was pretty good with words, but Luna was well Luna.
Luna gave a nod. "I figured that, since he said we were… friends," she said giving a small smile. "Thanks for clarifying though, Hermione," Luna quickly added. She didn't want to come off as mean. She was usually rather blunt about things, but that could lead people to thinking she was being mean or something. She was still learning about this friend stuff, but she loved it.
Hermione seemed happy with that. "So, what is this right way of looking at the Dueling Club?" Hermione asked. This time she sounded more curious and less huffy.
"Obviously, Professor… Him… Will have to demonstrate with someone as a volunteer. We'll get to watch them make a bigger fool of Professor… That person… It will also be a rather amusing… what is the term muggles use? Ah Yes! It will be an amusing train wreck to watch," Luna said nodding and smiling. She wasn't sure why they didn't say Professor Lockhart's name, but she guessed it was a bit of a game or something. It was kind of fun coming up with ways to say it was Lockhart she meant, but didn't say his name.
"Usually it is something along the lines of. You can't help but watch the train wreck. It isn't usually meant to be positive. But I get where you are coming from, Luna," Harry said giving her smile.
"Oh? Thanks for telling me how it is," Luna said as she smiled back to him. Her cheeks were feeling a little warm again and the Wrackspurts were acting up as well. She pretended not to know what it all meant. Was she allowed to do that whole crush thing? Luna wasn't sure, but she felt very pleasantly warm. She didn't want to do something that would ruin the whole friends' thing though.
"I get what Luna's saying now! We should go, but mostly just to watch. Maybe learn a thing or two, if we're lucky," Hannah said.
"Hopefully whoever faces The-Professor-We-Really-Don't-Want-To-Have-To-Name," Susan said giving a giggle as the others laughed. "Hopefully. They will be competent at least, and we can learn something from them," she finished.
"We will see soon enough," Hermione said.
[-] [-] [-]
Luna noticed her roommates were now being indifferent towards her. She could live with that. It would be nice if it stayed this way at least. It was disappointing they didn't really want to be friends with her. Luna liked having friends and she would welcome more. Luna really hoped more than anything, it wouldn't get back to how it was. She didn't like that at all. She didn't think or want to accept it as easily as she did, from before she had more friends.
[-] [-] [-]
"I can't believe I'm actually saying this…" Fred started as Professor Lockhart and Professor Snape took to the demonstration stage in the middle of the hall.
"… But for once I'm rooting for Snape," George finished as Fred nodded in agreement.
Everyone had been very excited about the Dueling Club, but that excitement dropped a noticeable amount once Professor Lockhart revealed himself to be the leader of this club. Several students guessed this would happen, but there had always been that small amount of hope they were all wrong. Professor Lockhart taking the stage, threw all of that hope out the window.
The gathered students seemed to be of mixed feelings when Professor Snape was revealed to be helping Lockhart with the club. The Slytherins were absolutely delighted by this. Most of the Gryffindors could be heard groaning and Ron was outright grimacing. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were either neutral or happy about this. Many of them viewed Professor Snape as one of the more competent professors, even if he wasn't very pleasant as a person.
However, when Lockhart and Snape faced each other, most of the students were of similar sentiments as the twins. Harry and some of the other students were keen on what they would see apart from Professor Snape making Lockhart look even more a fool. They paid close attention realizing this demonstration would actually teach them a decent bit, if they focused on Professor Snape's actions.
"Now then, we will give a demonstration to start things off. Professor Snape has graciously decided to help and told me he has some experience in dueling. Don't you worry though… You will still have your Potions' Professor, even after I'm finished with him. Ha Hah!" Lockhart said with a wink to the crowd. A few girls still sighed dreamily despite what most of the students thought of the man by this point.
"Let us begin!" he clapped happily. "First, we will bow to each other," Lockhart started as he gave a flourish of a bow towards the other professor. Professor Snape seemed to barely lower his head in return. It was a bow in the loosest of definitions.
"Next, we will take our stances!" Lockhart said as the two stood opposite each other. Lockhart was using a very flamboyant stance that was probably completely open and did nothing put show off his colorful robes. Snape was standing straight with his body aligned with his wand and minimizing exposure to his opponent. Most students quickly realized who actually had the better stance of the two. It was not Lockhart.
"On the count of three, we will cast our spells," Lockhart said.
He cleared his throat and started counting down. "One. Two. Three!" he shouted.
"Expelliarmus!" Professor Snape quickly shouted without a wasted movement. A jet of scarlet colored light shot from his wand at incredible speed. The spell quickly struck Lockhart and sent him tumbling backwards as his wand shot up into the air! Lockhart was a pile on the floor right up against the back wall.
He soon stood up and regained him composure and acted as if he purposefully hit the back wall. "Ha Hah! Very good Professor Snape! The disarming charm is very handy. As you can all see… I do not have my wand," Professor Lockhart said as he raised his hands to further emphasize the point.
"Ah! Thank you, Miss Brown," he said as Lavender blushed and handed him his wand back. She quickly shrunk back into the crowd after that though and stood next to a giggling Parvati.
"That was a very good shot, Professor Snape. However… I will point out that I knew the instant you pulled back your wand what you intended to do. And a number of other mistakes!" Lockhart the Useless said with his normal chuckle.
"I'm sure," Professor Snape said in his usual voice as he narrowed his eyes on the other professor. It was clear he wasn't buying it.
"Yes. Yes. A very good spell," Lockhart said as he cleared his throat. "In fact. I think that will be the perfect first spell for everyone to try. Everyone. Pair up! You will be disarming and only disarming, your partner," Professor Lockhart said.
[-] [-] [-]
It took a little time, but everyone found a partner.
"Be careful. Millicent is likely to toss aside her wand and start pulling your hair," Pansy carefully whispered to a nervous Hermione, who ended up paired with Millicent Bulstrode of Slytherin.
"Tha-thanks…" Hermione whispered back as she gulped and gave a nervous smile. Millicent was a large girl with a jutting jaw and large hands. She looked to Hermione and seemed to smirk at her as she folded her arms.
Luna cocked her head to the side and looked at her partner. She was actually paired with a fifth-year girl from Gryffindor. She wasn't really sure if this was fair or not.
The other girl looked a little uncomfortable at Luna and seemed to feel the same way. "Wouldn't this be picking on a younger student? " the fifth year girl asked herself.
"I guess it is all fair, if we stick to just the disarming spell," Luna said with a hum of thought as she placed a finger to her pink lips. The older girl blinked a couple of times and slowly nodded. It was odd, but she felt like this Luna girl read her mind or something before answering.
[-] [-] [-]
"Bollocks…" Justin said with a frown.
"Something wrong?" Harry asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. It was kind of funny hearing Justin swear. Justin was usually very well-mannered and purposefully polite, even to his closest friend Ernie.
"I really didn't want to have to face you, Harry. Everyone knows how good you are at spells and such," Justin admitted.
"Anyone you wanted to be paired with in particular?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"I suppose Seamus. He's being extra well… Seamus… lately," Justin said in thought.
"Maybe next time. He's paired with Neville right now," Harry said taking a stance.
"True," Justin replied as he took his own stance.
The two boys stood a little distance from each other and gave one another a bow.
"On three, everyone. Remember! You are only going to be casting the Disarming Spell and no others," Professor Lockhart said.
As soon as Lockhart counted down, it was pure chaos. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if he later found out he and Justin were the only ones who bothered to cast to the correct spell at each other. Harry dodged instinctively as Justin was hit and his wand fell to the floor.
"You okay?" Harry asked as he helped the other boy up.
Justin seemed to shake himself back into sense as he sighed. "I knew I wouldn't hit you. You dodged," Justin said with a slight frown.
Harry gave a chuckle as he said, "Sorry about that. Instinct really."
"Whatever it was. It was effective," Justin said.
"Yeah. It is. I wonder why they don't really teach how to best dodge spells in defense class. I mean even the Unforgivable Spells can be dodged. If a spell doesn't hit you, it won't work," Harry said in thought.
Justin nodded in thoughtful agreement. The two then decided to look at the surrounding chaos.
[-] [-] [-]
Hermione was doing her best to stay out of Millicent's reach. The larger girl forwent using her wand and lunged at Hermione. Hermione was so busy dodging the other girl she didn't think to try a spell on her.
Seamus was covered in soot. It seemed his spell backfired on him. Justin managed to not grin too much at the sight. Neville seemed to be wondering if he needed to apologize to Seamus or not. He hadn't cast a spell yet, but maybe he was just so clumsy it seemed to affect others around him as well.
"Stop!!!" Professor Lockhart shouted to the hall.
The students actually paused in their actions.
The Defense Professor gave a sigh. "Perhaps we should show you all how to block unfriendly spells," he said. He looked over the students and then looked to Professor Snape. Professor Snape gave him a sneer as if he was daring the Defense Professor to challenge him again to demonstrate how to block spells.
"I think…" Lockhart said as he turned from Snape. "Yes. I think it would be best if Professor Snape and I got two student volunteers… That way… we can take care of any unfortunate mishaps," Lockhart said giving a wide grin as if he was covering for something.
Justin frowned as he said to Harry, "He probably just doesn't want to face Professor Snape again."
"I'm sure even a fraud like Lockhart realizes Snape is better than him at dueling," Harry replied to Justin.
Justin shook his head. "To think, I actually thought he was impressive after reading his books a little," he said. Harry gave a chuckle to that.
"Let's see here…" Lockhart said looking over the crowd.
"Might I suggest a student from my own house?" Professor Snape interjected.
"Sure," Lockhart replied.
"Draco," Professor Snape called. Draco marched up to demonstration stage and smirked at the crowd.
"Well then… Seamus?" Lockhart asked in thought.
"Bad idea… His wand likes to backfire… a lot," Snape said. "I think Mr. Finnigan likes the explosions," Professor Snape finished with a slight frown.
Seamus gave a wide grin in response as a few of his housemates laughed. Harry was instead concerned with the gleam he saw in The Twins' eyes. He had a feeling they just might take Seamus under their wing. He wasn't sure if that would be hilarious or terrifying. Maybe it would even be both.
"Mr. Longbottom then?" Lockhart asked.
Professor Snape shook his head. "The boy is a clumsy mess even in the best of times. There's no telling what will happen with him on the stage," Professor Snape said.
Neville looked sheepish to everyone and gulped as he tried to meld into the nearby wall.
"How about... Ron Weasley?" Professor Lockhart asked.
Professor Snape grinned to that. Draco grinned widely from by his side. "I think that will be an excellent idea," Professor Snape said.
"Do you have any reservations? Mr. Weasley?" Professor Lockhart asked the youngest Weasley son.
Ron grinned in response. "I don't mind. It would be nice to put the Stuck-up Snake in his place," Ron said as he stepped forward confidently.
Harry and a number of others groaned to this. Most of the students knew this was a bad idea, especially the second years. Ron and Draco never mixed well with each. Putting them together was asking for nothing more than an extra helping, or five, of trouble.
The students watched as Lockhart seemed to be attempting to instruct Ron on some complicated maneuver to block spells. It was so complicated that even Professor Lockhart couldn't get it right. He ended up dropping his wand with an "Oops! Seems my wand is a little excited. Ha Hah..."
Ron gave a slow nod as Lockhart explained what was supposed to have happened instead.
Everyone had a feeling Draco would be winning this round with ease. Fortunately for Ron, everyone, including most of the Slytherins, decided it was Professor Lockhart's fault the second year Gryffindor would be utterly defeated by his arch-rival in this duel and weren't going to hold it against the Weasley boy.
To start things off, neither boy bowed to the other when Lockhart instructed them to do so. "Let's just skip that part… Shall we?" Lockhart said giving a wain smile. He was starting to think this might be a bad idea.
Then the spells started to fly…
When dust settled, Draco was the winner.
"You know…" Justin started. "I actually think Ron did pretty well. He did manage to hit Draco with a couple of spells," he said. Harry nodded in agreement.
"Well… I think… we've had enough for today," Lockhart said as he looked over the hall with a wince. He was going to have to do a lot of repair work. Professor Dumbledore insisted on this or Lockhart wouldn't have been able to hold this meeting for the Dueling Club. He was starting to think maybe this should be the only meeting for the club.
Professor Lockhart was many things. Many great things, if you asked him. However, he was not a fan of cleaning up. He was even less of a fan of cleaning up other people's messes. At least, not when there isn't fame or fortune to be had for doing so.
Saving a town from an incompetent mayor was grand! Cleaning up after a bunch of students finished their club activities, was not grand in the least bit and far too tedious. Gilderoy Lockhart didn't have the time for it. He had fan mail to answer! Luckily, he would have a helper from Ravenclaw during their detention to help, starting next week.
[-] [-] [-]
While everyone was busy talking about the failure that was known as the Dueling Club, Harry's mind was elsewhere. He couldn't just standby anymore. He needed to do something about Luna. About Slytherin's Heir. Something about anything going on at Hogwarts. He was trying to stay out of it all, especially because of the warning Dobby gave him. Harry wasn't about to leave Hogwarts, but he was being careful. It didn't matter the house elf was terrible about giving warnings, Harry did give it credence. He couldn't keep doing that now though.
It was because of this Harry found himself carefully wandering the halls at night just past curfew. Hermione would probably be upset with him, but she actually called it a night early. He was able to slip out of bed and their room unnoticed. Luckily, tomorrow was the weekend so they didn't have classes. Harry hoped that would be enough time for him to make it up to Hermione, if he needed to do so.
Harry walked the halls carefully and quietly. He was fully alert and looking around the mostly quiet halls. Most of the portraits had called it a night as well by this point. Harry found that odd when he thought about it. Why would a portrait, even a magic one, need sleep? Was it a habit carried over from their lives? It was something to contemplate at a later time.
The magical street knight decided to begin his own investigation where it all started. He would then go where he learned Colin Creevey was attacked. Harry did have to do a little sleuthing to get that information.
The dark haired boy managed to get this information thanks to a quick look at the incident report back before he and Draco were released. It seemed even if Dumbledore wanted to keep things under wraps, he still wanted the truth recorded in detail. Perhaps, he was going to use it as a means to get more money once this was all over. Harry didn't know. Maybe it was just more information the headmaster wanted to collect.
Harry soon found his way to the scene of the first attack. It wasn't too hard given how infamous the place was and the fact the words couldn't be washed away no matter what Filch tried. Harry looked over the scene trying to concentrate on anything. It was long after the attack, but maybe there was still something everyone overlooked. This heir only wanted to remain unnoticed to an extent. That was an easy deduction given they left a message on the walls that couldn't be removed. They weren't fully covering their tracks or working completely in secret for whatever reason.
Harry wondered if the water being on the floor that night meant anything apart from Myrtle flooding the restrooms again. Harry couldn't really figure anything out from just thinking on it though. He hoped the spell he found while preparing for this trip would prove as useful as he thought it would be.
"Fleetprinto," Harry said after waving his wand over the area.
Soon there were sets of glowing footprints of different intensity he could see. This spell was an old tracking spell most people probably didn't care for, since it was a Hufflepuff who created it. It was hard to explain fully how the spell worked, but essentially it picked up trapped magic or energy echoes from previous foot traffic. There were limits to how far back prints could come from though. It would usually be a mess to use it in such a place as well.
However, Filch kept pretty much all students away from here. He wasn't here as often anymore, but people still avoided it. After Colin's attack, people felt as if the place was bad luck. There were rumors Colin took a picture of the wall the day before he was attacked and that was what made him the first human target.
This was exactly why Harry found it interesting to get such a reading from here as he looked at a very bright set of footprints. It seemed someone, he had no idea who, was frequenting the place and even the bathroom. "I wonder if ghosts leave footprints, " Harry thought. That could explain it.
Myrtle came here a lot and it was known as her restroom and most girls avoided it. He would have to test the ghost footprint theory later. It still seemed it would be odd for her to be traveling exactly as a living human would though. He figured she would just float through the wall to get inside. She hated being a ghost, but didn't seem to have problems using the advantages a ghost had. At least, that is what Harry figured from what he knew of her.
Harry wished the spell could be used more specifically. He could try following the footprints in the opposite direction, but as soon as he hit an area with large foot traffic it would be all but impossible to follow the trail. "Still it might be a good idea to look around the area a little past just the bathroom, " Harry thought as he recalled that night again.
He started to slowly walk as he tried to figure out how the beast, whatever it was, entered and exited what Harry thought was the nearby wall. It sounded like it was in the walls that night at least. For Mrs. Norris to be attacked, the creature would have to enter the hallway briefly, unless the cat was attacked somewhere else and moved here. Harry didn't think that was the case though. He heard that voice sound disappointed at the attack's result that night. It seemed Friar Puck just missed the creature and Slytherin's Heir before he floated up to see what happened.
"That would mean… " Harry thought as his eyes widened. It was actually possible the friar did just miss the culprit. Perhaps they just missed the heir right after he finished setting up the message on the wall. It would be possible to slip away and hide somewhere before blending in with the crowd. Everyone was solely focused on the wall and the entire student body showed up to the area that night.
Harry looked at the only place someone could hide in the situation, even briefly. "But… Do I even dare enter a girls' restroom?" he asked himself. Harry stared at the door. What could he even gain here? Myrtle would be the only possible witness and he didn't know if she was in or not. She might not have even been paying attention to what happened that night, apart from her own crying.
The messy haired boy decided the girls' restroom was a dead end, unless he convinced one of the girls to lead him inside. He moved on to the next spot. He could try his tracking spell there, but he wasn't sure it would give any workable results. It was out of the way, but still a place that got more foot traffic. There could still be something worth looking into at that location, he decided.
[-] [-] [-]
Unfortunately, Harry's plan soon changed. He barely dodged a couple of Prefects patrolling together. It was Ron's older brother Percy and a girl from Ravenclaw with long curvy blonde hair. The two were both paying attention to their duties and each other.
If Harry was one for gossip, he was sure this would be extra juicy. Percy Weasley possibly having a girlfriend? The strictest of Prefects who made a habit of getting on couples' cases for indecent behavior? And he was here, kissing a girl while on patrol?! That was something Lavender would do almost anything to learn. As matters currently stood, Harry hoped they wouldn't get too distracted with each other and move a little faster.
It took a few minutes and while the two did sneak kisses with each other, they thankfully didn't go any further. Percy decided they needed to pick up the pace and pay more attention. The girl, Penelope Harry thought her name was, blinked for a few breathless moments as her cheeks were full of color before she looked disappointed as Percy continued forwards. "Best of luck, Percy. Something more will need to happen between you two or she might end it, " Harry thought as he started to move again.
When Harry was close to his destination, he heard the sound of someone crying. It wasn't too loud and it seemed as if the girl was trying to hold back. He was mildly curious, but wasn't sure if he should help her. He wasn't even sure who it was, really. He was here with a goal in mind and shouldn't deviate from his plan.
That soon changed.
"Stupid me… I said I would keep it on me at all times!" the girl scolded herself between sniffs.
Harry recognized her voice instantly. It was Luna. Harry frowned and made his way over to her. He wanted to figure out what happened to Colin, but this was more important.
"Luna?" Harry asked quietly as he rounded the corner.
Luna looked up in surprise and her eyes widened. She then blushed, since she was in only a towel. Harry looked to the side so she wouldn't feel as uncomfortable. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a voice very unlike her usual dreaminess.
"That's not important now. What happened, Luna?" Harry asked. He carefully looked towards her with one eye. It would be too awkward to not look at her while talking. She was covered, even if only by a damp towel ending above her knees. Harry wished this happened under much different circumstances. It would be nice to see a girl in just a towel with slightly damp hair otherwise, but this didn't seem like a good time for such encounters.
Luna looked to the side. "The house elves are extra diligent tonight it seems. And I forgot my wand, but I could have sworn I had it with me before I took my shower. My roommates also seemed to have forgotten I wasn't in bed yet and locked the door before soundproofing it," she said.
Harry sighed and leaned against a nearby wall to keep some distance from her. He didn't want her feeling anymore embarrassed than she probably did by standing too close to her. He wasn't going to just leave her though. "Does this happen often?" he asked knowingly.
Luna seemed to freeze up for a moment before she gave a weak shake and answered even more weakly, "No… I mean… I am forgetful…"
Harry frowned. "You really shouldn't lie like that, especially to a friend," he said.
Luna froze again. She then sighed. "It has happened before, but it has been a while and the last couple of times I had my wand with me. I could just get back inside those times," she said.
"How come you haven't told Professor Flitwick or a Prefect?" Harry asked.
Luna seemed to try and shrink in on herself. She was still careful with her movements. She really didn't want to accidentally show Harry something private in this situation.
"Professor Flitwick takes things seriously, but he has to catch them in the act or have evidence. The Prefects… mostly look the other way. It doesn't get violent, so they don't seem to think intervention is needed," she said in a small voice.
Harry then figured out a plan on how to help Luna. It was a bit of a rushed job and a long shot, but it could work. If it did, it would be very effective. "Where is Professor Flitwick right now?" he asked.
Luna looked to him curiously. "He's in his office again," she answered.
"I know what they say about such topics, but how close is Ravenclaw from here? Just give me a general idea," Harry said looking her right in the eyes. He was too determined for his eyes to wander in this situation.
"Not far at all," she said curiously with her head cocked to the side a little. If it was any other time, Harry would think about how cute Luna looked like that.
"If Professor Flitwick were to come this far, would he most likely return to his office or head on to his private quarters in Ravenclaw?" Harry asked.
Luna studied Harry. It seemed more like she was distracted. The Wrackspurts were very active now. This was a very important encounter they were telling her.
"He would head to his private quarters. At this time at least. It is late and the weekend. He might have accidentally fallen asleep at his desk though. He does that from time to time and that makes things even worse in this regard," Luna said.
Harry nodded to himself. "Luna. I want you to go back to your dorm and pound on the door and scream at it. Yell at them to let you in," he said.
"What good would it do?" she asked.
"Just do this and keep at it until the time is right to stop. You'll get it soon enough," Harry said as he stood up and made his way to Professor Flitwick's office. The locations of the professors' offices weren't a secret. Each professor at Hogwarts had assigned office hours and some even had unofficial office hours they told their students about.
"Okay…" Luna answered as she headed back. She didn't get it, but the Wrackspurts were really excited. She figured that meant she should do as Harry asked.
[-] [-] [-]
Professor Flitwick had once again fallen asleep in his office. This actually happened with many of the professors. Though admittedly, he probably did this the most often of them. He was well liked by his students for his classes and his teaching methods. This all required he spend a good amount of extra time planning his lessons and his office was the place for that. It wasn't uncommon for him to get carried away and lose track of time before falling asleep.
The tiny professor soon snapped awake and blinked for a couple of seconds. He looked around and noticed his office door seemed to be shutting slowly. The tiny man did a quick spell to make sure nothing was out of place. Content with the results, he was about to fall asleep again when he heard something outside in the halls. It wasn't anything too alarming, but it was something he felt he needed to investigate.
Professor Flitwick got up and made his way out of his office. He quickly cast a few spells to close, lock and secure his office. He was being careful in case this was a distraction to get him away from his office. Some pranking student, probably a Weasley with an identical twin, could use this as a chance to sneak inside it.
"Hello?" the tiny man called in a vain attempt to get an answer. It was possible if he startled whatever, or more likely whoever, made the noise they would give themselves away. Nothing happened this time though.
He walked further down the hallway. He then heard the sound coming further down a different hallway. He frowned in thought and cast a spell he muttered under his breath. It would let him know if there was anything with less than good intentions near him. It was an over precaution he would admit, but he had just been startled out of his sleep.
"Negative," he told himself. He walked over to where the sound was coming from again. This was a curious situation and he would admit he appreciated the mystery. He was a Ravenclaw after all.
Professor Flitwick soon realized he was being led through the castle by the sounds. He also realized he was being led closer to his own house. It was all very curious indeed. The sound was also growing quieter and quieter. He was starting to wonder if maybe there was some truth to the rumors about Hogwarts speaking to staff or students on occasion.
Eventually the sound completely diminished. Professor Flitwick was both disappointed and a little relieved. It was too bad he didn't find the solution, but it was nice that the mystery lived on. He could continue to explore it and come up with new theories later. Professor Flitwick gave a yawn and a stretch.
"Guess I'll just head to my private quarters. It will be nice to sleep in my real bed for a change, " he thought to himself. He had been spending more nights in his office lately. When that happened, he usually only got a transfigured bed for sleeping at the best of times. Other times he just fell asleep in his chair at his desk.
[-] [-] [-]
Harry gave a grin of accomplishment as he watched Professor Flitwick head towards Ravenclaw. It had worked! He was taking a bit of a gamble here. Professor Flitwick could have just fallen right back asleep, or taken more action in response to his leading. He hadn't expected to use this Street Knight skill while at Hogwarts, even though he gave it a magical twist. Whatever the case, he had a feeling things would work out for Luna now.
He didn't think Professor Flitwick was a bad Head of House or anything. The little man was just getting a little too caught up in his instructional duties and his Head House duties suffered a little. That wouldn't be a problem if the Prefects did their jobs in Ravenclaw. Harry believed they were the ones at fault here along with Luna's roommates for what was happening to her.
Harry gave a stretch and decided he best head back now. He stayed out later than he intended tonight anyways. "Hope it all works out for you, Luna, " he thought despite his beliefs it would be fine.
[-] [-] [-]
Professor Flitwick frowned once he entered Ravenclaw Tower. He first thought everyone was in bed as they should be, but then heard a girl yelling at her door. As he approached the source of yelling, he heard her banging on the door as well. He frowned deeper. This was not looking good. It seemed he would have to speak with his Prefects after this, along with the girl's roommates.
"Let me in! Please! It's cold out here in just my towel!" Luna shouted in vain. She hated this. She felt stupid too. How could this accomplish anything? She banged on the door again.
"Miss Lovegood? What is going on here?" Professor Flitwick asked with an edge in his voice.
"Professor?" Luna asked in shock. She then said, "I've been locked out. I was taking a shower and when I finished my clothes were gone and my wand too…"
Professor Flitwick looked angry now. It was terrifying to see the little man so angry. He came up to the door and cast a spell on it. Soon they could hear the conversation from the other side.
"I can't believe Loony actually thought we would be her friends. She's too weird. The fact she even agreed to an Atomic Sit-up in the first place should have let her know we wouldn't be friendly to her," Sally said with a chuckle to the others.
"Yeah. We were only nice thinking she might get us some news on Harry Potter, but she didn't tell us anything we couldn't easily figure out on our own," Gertrude said with a giggle.
"She should be more grateful to us, we weren't too mean to her. I mean it isn't like we well… farted on her or something while she did the sit-up. Sometimes my cousins said they would do that with someone they weren't too friendly with when getting them into the Sports Club," Teresa said with a laugh.
"I can't believe you stole her wand again," Connie said in disbelief after she giggled a little.
"The loony bint makes it too easy. She even really believes the house elves are the ones taking her clothes. They wouldn't do that. They are diligent, but they get laundry from our hampers or floors in here," Teresa replied with a smirk.
"You know this how?" Sally asked with an amused raised eyebrow.
"I've tested it. With her underwear before. I tossed them into a corner of the common room. They stayed there for a couple of days. Probably until the elves came to clean the common room more thoroughly," she replied with a dark giggle.
"I'm pretty sure Harry Potter only dares talk to her because he sees her as a charity case. Really… Does she think anyone believes her about them enjoying a Deathday party?" Connie said with a shake of her head after a moment as the others laughed.
Just then the door to their room burst open with force. It even shattered before it was magicked back together. None of the girls noticed it get repaired. They were all way too frightened when they saw Professor Flitwick standing there next to Luna, who was in what looked like a transfigured bathrobe. The look in the tiny man's eyes reminded them that their Professor, while usually calm and easy going, had a goblin's ferocity and was a renowned International Duelist Champion. He was not one to test.
"I thought it was clear what my stance on bullying was. It seems I need to re-educate my Prefects on these matters and remind them to enforce the rules for all students. I would ask you each to explain yourselves for locking Miss Lovegood outside, but I overheard enough to gather what happened. You will each be getting a week of detentions and I will be taking 30 points each from Ravenclaw," he said.
"But professor—" Sally started before she was silenced by the man.
"I was not finished. Miss Lassiter, I will be taking an extra 30 points for being the one in charge of the bullying. And you…" Professor Flitwick turned towards Teresa. "While I appreciate the sharing of knowledge, especially in regards to muggle traditions, I do not consider making someone do an atomic sit up such an exchange," he said.
She gasped and her eyes grew in worry.
"Yes. I know what that is. The fact you dare think it funny to do such a thing sets a bad example and gives more fuel to those who agree with certain beliefs regarding muggle-borns. I will be taking an additional 20 points from you. I also expect all five of you to write apologies to Miss Lovegood for your actions. I want a minimum of ten inches. I will be reading them first before passing them on to Miss Lovegood. So don't try anything," he said.
Professor Flitwick shook his head. "I honestly expected much more from Ravenclaws. We are not the house of bullying and being nasty to each other. We are the house of wisdom and learning," he said.
"Now. I expect you all to go to bed and sleep. You will receive details regarding your detentions tomorrow," he said. The man then waved his wand a few times and left the room. He would know if they tried anything with Luna again. He doubted they would, but it was a possibility. He would make a point to further stress he was not okay with his students bullying each other, and he knew where to draw the line between joking and being mean.
Luna carefully and quickly put on her pajamas and went to bed. She grabbed her wand and used magic to shut her curtains tight. She then took in a deep breath and cheered into her pillow! Finally! It would be over. Harry did it! He even did it in a way no one would think he or Luna were responsible for what happened. Luna felt like she would finally no longer have to worry about the bullying, or at least not as badly and from her own roommates. The Wrackspurts seemed to be celebrating as well.
Luna had a feeling her roommates wouldn't bother with her at all after this. She would much rather they act like she wasn't there, but behave themselves, than for things to stay how they were. She had friends she could talk to instead. Maybe even more in certain cases. She blushed at her silly dreaming and cheered into her pillow one last time before trying to fall asleep.
[-] [-] [-]
Harry gave a mighty yawn as he was about to sit down for breakfast.
"Stop yawning so much," Hermione said a little testily.
Harry yawned again and said, "I can't help it. I'm really tired."
"That's what happens when stay up so late... even if it is the weekend," Hermione said in a huff. She really missed Harry sleeping next to her last night. She hadn't admitted it to him, though. It was too embarrassing and frankly a little worrying for her. It was just for one night.
Before Harry could reply, a dirty blonde streak shot straight for him. Harry was surprised to get a Luna hug like this. He wasn't complaining though.
"Thank you so much!" Luna said to him as she happily buried her face in his robes.
Harry smiled to her and returned her hug. "I guess this means it worked out," Harry said.
Luna gave him a bright big grin as she looked up to him. She actually had tears of happiness in her large silver eyes. She buried her face in his robes again. She wasn't about to let go yet. She didn't care anymore that she was full on crushing on him. She didn't care if she was allowed to crush or not. She was too happy to worry about anything like that.
"I feel like I missed something," Hermione said. She then quietly added, "And probably should apologize for how I've been acting this morning."
Harry and Luna didn't hear that last part though. Harry looked to Luna seriously and said, "If they start again, you better tell me. No more of those lies either."
Luna gave a happy sniff and nodded her understanding. "I'm really glad it's the weekend," Luna said.
"Why is that?" Harry asked.
Luna grinned and hugged him again. "I'm not letting go any time soon," she said.
Harry gave a chuckle and stroked her hair. It was softer than it looked.
Hermione was trying to be patient. She also hated that she now realized even more than before Luna would be one of Harry's wives. She couldn't really be upset or threatened by the girl. Luna was strange, but Hermione would admit she was cute. Hermione also realized she had developed a soft spot for the girl. She still wanted answers. This was clearly something important.
Harry looked to her and said, "Part of the reason I was so late last night, is because I found a way to help Luna and not have it traced back to us. Wouldn't want the bullies to have a new target to blame."
"You did?" Hermione asked. She was impressed. It was something that bothered them all, but they weren't sure how to best help their young friend.
"He did!" Luna answered. She held him a little tighter. It was going to be hard letting go of him for even a little bit today.
"I'll tell you everything later," Harry said to Hermione.
"I'd like that… But only if Luna doesn't mind me hearing it," Hermione said while looking at the small girl.
Luna was in thought for a moment. The Wrackspurts were telling her this was the right thing. She didn't need them telling her that, but they were being very distracting. She nodded to Hermione. "I'll come as well to better explain it," she said.
Hermione came over and hugged Luna too. "I'm glad about that, but more importantly. I'm glad things are going to be better for you now," she said.
Luna had to admit she liked Hermione's hugs too. She never really hugged other girls much. Luna never really had many people to hug apart from her parents and sometimes Ginny, but the red haired girl was usually bashful about such things. Friends really were wonderful though, even when they were so different from each other.
Chapter 30: The Attack Before Christmas Break!Chapter Text"What do you think of this Heir business, Draco?" Harry asked one day as they both just finished an assignment.
"I'm not sure what to make of it. It seems too brazen of someone, if you ask me. And I don't mean just because they're attacking students now," Draco said.
"What exactly do you mean then?" Harry asked.
"To call themselves an heir to a founder? Yeah. That is not something you should claim lightly. Wizarding Society as a whole take family names and positions seriously, regardless of their thoughts on muggle borns. To say you're the heir of a founder… Let alone daring to say you're Slytherin's Heir? That is not something someone would do as just a joke," Draco said.
"I'm guessing there isn't anyone in Slytherin with strong enough ties to claim they're an heir?" Harry asked.
Draco shook his head. "It is possible there are a number of students descended from Slytherin here… Maybe even yourself… But none that can call themselves his heir. Someone of that level of status in Slytherin would be known, if not extremely proud of the title," Draco said.
The two lapsed into silence for a moment before Draco then gave a chuckle.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Nothing. I was just wondering if Crabbe and Goyle would be asking me about it again tonight," Draco said.
"I take it they've asked you a lot," Harry said.
Draco nodded. "Oh yes they have. I've lost count of how many times. I would be annoyed, but it's Crabbe and Goyle," he said.
"How are things with them? What do they think of our talking to each other? I've noticed they aren't usually around when we have our discussions," Harry said.
"They're Crabbe and Goyle. They're fine with it. I was concerned a bit at first. I've started to question some things, but I wasn't sure where they stood on certain issues," Draco said.
"Where do they stand?" Harry asked.
"Wherever I do. That's exactly what they said," Draco replied. He then shook his head in disbelief as he added, "I'm not sure if they're that dedicated to me, or if they usually just leave such decisions to others."
Harry gave a laugh. "Truly a perplexing question," he said. Draco chuckled to that.
"I wondered what they would think about it. Especially given the way our first meeting went," Harry said after a moment.
"You mean during first year on the train going to Hogwarts?" Draco asked.
"Yeah," Harry answered simply.
"If anything… You gained their respect by not backing down and they could tell you weren't just blowing hot air," Draco replied.
He then gave a stretch. "The reason I don't usually involve them in our discussions, is because they would serve no purpose. They can be useful in other ways in other places during such talks," Draco said.
Harry nodded in understanding. "Things do seem to be good between you three during classes and such at least. It is also good to have people play to their strengths," Harry said.
"Very true. Pansy also likes the space we have when Crabbe and Goyle aren't around," Draco added.
"So… How about that Dueling Club?" Harry asked with a grin.
Draco smirked to that. "As useless as I figured it would be. Though it was entertaining," he said.
"Is that before or after your duel with Ron?" Harry asked.
"The first part was entertaining too. But the best part was getting to put Ron in his place," Draco said still smirking. Harry gave a chuckle and shook his head. "What did you think of it?" Draco then asked.
Harry was in thought for a moment. "As odd as the expression was… Luna was right to call it a very entertaining train wreck. I will admit I did learn a couple of things from the first demonstration though," Harry said.
"Entertaining train wreck?" Draco asked curiously.
"Yep," Harry answered giving a chuckle.
Draco shook his head. He only knew Luna in passing, but that seemed like something she would say. Draco wasn't sure what to make of Harry's close friendship with the strange girl. He just took a neutral stance on it. Maybe it was another case of Harry seeing something no one else did. Her being kind of cute, even if odd, probably helped matters too. If she wasn't talking about strange creatures so often, she could be very popular.
Draco did wonder though if there was more than just friendship there. Harry was pretty much as close to dating as you one could be with Hermione without making it official. Why was Harry surrounding himself with other girls as well? Harry wasn't the type to always look for opportunities in dating regards. He was very much a Hufflepuff in that way, but there was no way he and Luna were just friends. They were too close for that.
There was one reason, one obscure reason, Draco could think for it. However, he was pretty sure Harry was only going to be head of one family. He didn't have a need for two wives. "But if he did…" Draco thought. That would be something. Harry was going to be very powerful politically as it was. If he was heir and later head for two ancient and noble houses? That would be enough to rock the British wizarding world to its core.
"How exactly did you learn anything from even that?" Draco asked after a moment. He was using mulling over the odd expression as a means to pause and think for a moment.
"Professor Snape taught us a decent stance, even if he only showed it. We also learned a new spell. Professor Snape didn't waste any wand movements and while they were quick… they were still visible and easy to read," Harry said.
"That is true. I already knew that stance of his, so I guess I didn't pick up on that," Draco said. He would have to correct that mistake. It was easy to get caught up in what you knew and think some of the things you see as regular were the same for others.
"There's also one more thing," Harry said grinning.
"What was that?" Draco asked.
"Professor Lockhart can do a great imitation of a ball being thrown against a wall," Harry said.
Draco then laughed to that as Harry did as well. They were thinking about all the rolling Lockhart did after being hit by Professor Snape's spell before he hit the back wall. The man did do a pretty remarkable job, for anyone else at least, in acting unaffected by that.
[-] [-] [-]
Luna gave a sad hum as she read the letter from her dad. She loved her daddy, but he could be really annoying at times. He just sent her a letter saying he won't be home for Christmas this year and she should probably sign up to stay at Hogwarts. That might have been fun if the circumstances were right, but that wasn't the case this year.
Ginny was as distant as ever and her family were worried about her. They were taking her home for the break and Luna really hoped it would help her friend. She didn't know what to do. Harry and Hermione were spending part of the break together again. Susan and Hannah were visiting their families once more. Luna still wouldn't have minded staying at Hogwarts for the holiday on her own, if she didn't realize recently how much she actually hated being alone.
She had been very attached to her friends in Hufflepuff after her roommates ended their bullying. She knew she would be spending all the time she could around Harry and Hermione that weekend, but she kept doing that afterwards as well. She would probably be seen as clingy, but Harry and the others didn't seem to care if she was. They even seemed to kind of think it adorable.
Luna wasn't sure if that was good or not. Was she adorable, adorable? Or was it little kid adorable? She didn't want them thinking that. She was just a year behind them. She was new to this crush thing, but was pretty sure you didn't want any crushes you had seeing you as a little kid. If they thought her adorable, adorable… that was probably really good.
"Maybe I'll see what the ghosts do for Christmas… Maybe there will be secret passageways only open for Christmas break, " Luna thought to herself. Something like that would usually cheer her up. It would be exciting for her! This time though? She sighed at the thought. It was just her trying to cover up how she would be missing her friends.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he happened to pass by at just that moment. Luna blushed a little bit at being caught sighing.
"Nothing…" she tried.
"Really? That was kind of a big sigh for you," Hermione asked.
Luna thought what to do here. She decided to hand them the letter. It would be easier.
"That's terrible…" Hermione said as she finished reading it.
"Leads are important. And usually daddy would just take me with him," Luna said.
"It still sucks," Harry said.
Luna could only nod to that. She wanted to meet her daddy again for the holidays. She missed him and wanted to tell him all about her friends. He would be so genuinely happy to hear that. Her father hadn't really been genuinely happy, since her mom died. Hearing his daughter was having a good year at Hogwarts and made friends would be a great Christmas present for him, Luna thought.
Harry looked to Hermione in question. She blinked in thought a couple of times and gave him a nod.
"If you wanted…" Harry started, getting Luna's attention. "You could come and spend Christmas with us," he said.
Luna's eyes widened, but she dared not smile. "Really?" she asked in a breathless voice.
"We'd love it! You could even spend the second half of Christmas with my parents and me," Hermione said with a smile.
There were two reasons she said that. One was really shamefully petty. A really small and nasty part of Hermione didn't want Luna spending Christmas with Harry alone. Fortunately, this mattered to her in an amount equal to how petty it was.
The second reason, and most important and bigger reason, was because she never had a friend sleepover at her house. Hermione loved the idea of that! She couldn't have Harry do that yet, and she didn't really count her time at Hogwarts as a sleepover. It also meant Luna wouldn't have to be alone at Hogwarts for the holidays. Hermione knew how lonely something like that would seem after having friends. She had always been fine being alone, but that was before she had friends and knew how important they were.
Luna smiled to that. She grinned widely to that. "I'd like that," she said.
Hermione then made a happy noise and hugged Luna tightly. "It will be so much fun! I have to tell my parents!" she said.
"Will they understand?" Harry asked.
"I'll tell them Luna's father suddenly had a business trip pop up on him," she said.
Luna nodded. "It is the truth," she said.
"It's settled then. I'll arrange things with Boss. If for some reason Hermione's parents oppose the idea, you can stay with me the whole time," Harry said.
Luna blushed deeply to that. She really liked that idea. She felt she liked it too much. She wasn't sure what she would do being alone with Harry for that long. The silver eyed girl was actually hoping she ended up spending the second half of the holidays with Hermione and her family, oddly enough. That wasn't as… troublesome for her. She really liked Hermione and even thought her pretty, but she wasn't as dangerous for Luna's heart and feelings as Harry was. It was a good dangerous, but still dangerous.
"Great!" Hermione said. She then gave the younger girl a smile and said, "I'm pretty sure they'll be happy to have you stay with us, Luna. They'd like meeting another witch in training I think."
Luna smiled. "This might actually turn out to be one of the best Christmases I've had in a while," she said while feeling warm in her heart. She wouldn't be alone for Christmas. She would be with friends!
"I know I'm looking forward to it," Harry said with a grin.
Luna looked to him with her large eyes as she said, "You really like the idea of having two lovely witches with you." They both missed the hint of mischievousness in her voice.
Harry blushed and Hermione gasped at him a little. She then giggled and said, "I think Luna and I will have a lot of fun with you."
Harry grinned and said, "Doesn't change the fact I'll have two lovely witches with me this Christmas."
Hermione blushed and Luna did as well. They looked to each other and then to Harry. Luna's heart beat faster as strange and new ideas filled her mind. There were also some less strange ones as well, such as the three of them enjoying Christmas Celebrations together. She had to admit Harry was fast on his feet so to say. He took their teasing in stride and returned it.
To cover her sudden awkwardness, Luna spoke up. "I can't wait to see how muggles celebrate Christmas," she said smiling to Harry and Hermione in turn.
Hermione smiled as she said, "We'll make sure you get to experience plenty of a muggle styled Christmas." She felt that would be a great way to keep Luna from feeling lonely, since her dad wasn't spending Christmas with her. She really couldn't believe that. That was terrible and incredibly irresponsible for a parent to suddenly leave and tell their child not to come home for Christmas.
[-] [-] [-]
Luna found herself extra cheerful as the Holiday Break approached. She was really looking forward to it, despite not going home. Harry had since told her about where he lived. He told her about the Rust District. He told her about his past and how he no longer lived with his Aunt and Uncle. She really liked the idea about The Rust District. It sounded so very interesting. And she would get to see all of it over the break!
The first year Ravenclaw girl was so happy she actually found herself skipping a time or two in the hallways. She was even humming Christmas Carols. The dirty blonde also looked forward to meeting Hermione's parents. She wondered what they were like. Hermione said they weren't really that interesting, but warned they might ask her a lot of questions.
Luna thought it would fun to explain things about magic to muggles. Hermione gave her a few pointers on how to approach explaining things to them. She also asked Luna not to say much about Harry and her. Luna didn't get that, but decided to follow Hermione's example there. Besides, there was so much more to talk about than Harmony, as Hannah called them. Though that would be a great topic.
The young girl soon saw Harry, Hannah, Susan, and Ernie coming out of the library together. "Hermione isn't with you all?" Luna couldn't help but ask instead of a proper greeting.
Hannah hid a giggle behind her hand. "She was… But it's Hermione and that is a library. She's gotten better about it all, but she is still hard to tear away from books," she said.
"I haven't said it to her, but I've wondered why she isn't in Ravenclaw. She's really smart and she loves learning. That is pure Ravenclaw all the way," Luna said.
"You'll have to ask her yourself one day," Harry said.
"So, what were you all doing in there?" Luna asked.
"We were studying a bit, but then we started talking about the heir. Justin's been worried lately," Ernie said.
"Most muggleborns are to an extent, even if they act like they aren't," Susan said.
"True. I've told him to try and play it safe and keep a low profile. No reason to be taking unnecessary risks, so close to the Holiday Break. He's never really had much reason to keep it to himself he's a muggleborn before though, so I worry. He loves talking about it and we all usually love hearing all about it," Ernie said.
"He shouldn't really be ashamed of being a muggleborn," Luna said.
"Not saying he should be. He's great for talking about the muggle world and magic world as well. He's great at explaining things to us and drinks up all we tell him about the magical world. Just been saying that ain't something you should go around spreading with this heir business afoot," Ernie said. He then frowned. He really was worried for his best friend.
The group walked together a little and then ran into Hagrid. He was hard to miss being so large and wearing that coat of his. "Hagrid?" Harry asked.
"Ah Harry, Hannah, Susan… You must be Luna Lovegood. You look a lot like your mother…" Hagrid said sounding saddened at the end, even though Luna gave a warm smile. He then turned and looked to Ernie and said, "You look like your father, but got your mother's hair, Ernie."
Ernie smiled to that and asked, "What brings you inside, Hagrid?" He hadn't really talked to the giant of a man before, but his parents told him he was a friendly sort and was great to listen to when he talked about something.
"Sad business, I'm afraid. Something's been killing the roosters. Needing to ask Dumbledore to place a charm around the coop ta keep it safe and ward off whatever it is," Hagrid said with a frown.
"Sorry to hear that… What would be attacking the roosters?" Ernie asked.
"It's either foxes or a Blood-Sucking Bugbear, near as I can tell," Hagrid replied.
"I hope you get what you need from Dumbledore," Harry said.
"I be hoping as well. Be seeing you all around," the large man said as he left the students with a farewell wave.
[-] [-] [-]
The group walked a little further and around a corner. The five students then came to a dead stop. "Ahhh!" Hannah screamed after a moment as she grabbed Susan tightly. Susan was staring with wide eyes as tears formed in them and she sniffed.
"What happened?!" Ernie asked in breathless voice. "I was just saying…" he said in shock. He took in a breath and let it out as he clenched a fist and shut his eyes tight trying to fight back tears. "Why didn't he listen…" Ernie muttered.
Luna stared as well. She was no longer in a cheery mood. She was also glad she wasn't staying at school over the Holiday Break. The small blonde girl grabbed Harry's arm and squeezed tightly. She scooted in as close as she could and shivered. She may be glad she wasn't staying here, but she really hated that her dad was leaving her for the Holidays now. "Why couldn't he have gone on a trip later? " Luna thought in worry. She wanted to hug him tightly and make sure he wouldn't disappear as well.
In front of them, there were two motionless figures. One was a dark grey almost black semi-transparent figure floating off the ground eerily. It was Nearly Headless Nick. Next to him, was a smaller figure. This one was Justin. He looked frozen in terror. He pretty much was. He was petrified just like Colin and Mrs. Norris.
Harry frowned at the scene. He almost wished he was staying at Hogwarts this Christmas Break. He would have the full run of the Castle and no distractions. He could start getting to the bottom of this business. He would have to really work hard on figuring this out once he returned. He had no doubts Dumbledore would again prioritize controlling the information over actually doing something to stop the attacks. He didn't get how the man could just leave it like this when he clearly knew what was going on.
"What do we have here?" an annoying voice asked as Peeves came floating through a hall. He then froze in shock himself. He then took in a deep breath.
"You better not make a joke of this," Harry muttered darkly to the poltergeist.
Peeves actually seemed a bit worried at those words It was almost like he believed Harry was serious. He then shouted, "Attack! Attack! No Ghost! No Wizard! No Student is Safe! Attack! Attack! Run for your lives! The Heir is Back!" He then shot off through the halls continuing to shout.
It wasn't long until a number of students nearby and a few professors arrived. Everyone started to whisper among themselves. They were mostly worried about Sir Nick. They didn't know what could do that to a ghost.
"What is going on here?" a strict voice called.
It was Professor McGonagall.
"We just came from the library and were talking to Hagrid before we found them," Ernie said.
"Just like he said. There was another attack and we just found them," Harry added.
Professor McGonagall looked over the two figures. She and Professor Flitwick started to discuss what to do. They easily floated Justin to the Hospital Wing, but they weren't sure what to do about Nearly Headless Nick.
Everyone started gossiping about the double attack. "And so close to Christmas…" a fifth year girl said to her friends in worry.
"Ye notice how Potter was at the scene of two attacks?" Seamus said in a hushed whisper to Dean that was purposefully loud enough to be over heard by Harry passing by.
"What are you playing at, Seamus? Another one of your true tales?" Harry asked dangerously. He did not like being accused of attacking Justin. He was angry the problem hadn't been solved, despite Dumbledore seemingly knowing who was responsible for the attacks and the chamber.
"I'm just saying. Might fishy, that is," Seamus said staring at Harry without backing down.
"Justin is a fellow Hufflepuff and a friend," Harry said.
"There ain't no way it was Harry. The two of them have always gotten along well. Plus, like Harry said… Justin is a fellow Hufflepuff," Ernie defended him.
Dean nodded in agreement with the two. "Why would he have attacked Colin? How could he have attacked him? Surely you remember the bludger attacks? Harry and Draco were both in the Hospital Wing after that," Dean said.
Seamus raised his hands in surrender.
"You have a big fat mouth, Seamus. You should be careful. One day it will get you in trouble," Harry said.
"Is that threat?" Seamus asked.
"Just stating a fact. Can't believe you have the nerve to suggest I would attack a friend. Most of the time your tall tales can be mildly amusing. This is not one of those times," Harry said coldly.
Seamus swallowed nervously. "Alright… I get it. Sorry for saying it," he said in a poor attempt to apologize.
Harry shook his head and left with the others. Luna stared at Seamus in disappointment for a moment longer. The Irish boy gave a shiver. She didn't say a word, but her stare alone was enough to get to him. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. He would admit he did have a big fat mouth.
[-] [-] [-]
For the remainder of the school year, no one shut up about the heir and the chamber. The Hufflepuffs seemed a little subdued, since Justin was attacked. The badgers also seemed to be purposefully sticking closer together, regardless of if they were pure blood, half blood, or muggle born. Surprisingly, Lavender seemed a little down as well and she was glad to have Parvati to cheer her up.
Theories around the school grew wilder and wilder as to what Slytherin's beast was. Many started guessing who the heir could be, but no one really had solid guesses. Harry's name was briefly mentioned, but mostly to point out how absurd it was to say he was Slytherin's heir.
When the Holiday Break finally came, the student body couldn't have been more relieved. Almost everyone was leaving this year. With the beast and heir running around, no one wanted to stay in the castle with most of the people gone. Everyone figured that would mean the heir would have free run of the castle and could attack students whenever they wanted. With so few people here, students feared you would get attacked and no one would find you until after the break.
Luna was even more glad she was going to have Christmas with Harry and Hermione. Not only would the school halls be extra lonely, they would be extra dangerous if she stayed. She did feel a little guilty though. She might not have decided to bother her dad with the details of her holiday break. A spiteful part of her felt angry about what he did. If her dad decided going on a trip to search for some creature without her was the best idea for Christmas, he didn't need to know what her plans were. It wasn't like it would be hard for an owl to find her anyways. She wasn't even sure by this point if he would even send her a letter Christmas Day.
"I'm being silly…" she thought to herself at that. She would just have to see on Christmas Day if he did or didn't. Surely, he wouldn't be that forgetful… She hoped.
Despite it all, the feast the night before everyone would leave saw the school in high Christmas Spirits. Many were making up for the scare they had this year with levity and Christmas Joy. They also really appreciated the Christmas decorations around Hogwarts. If one paid enough attention, they would realize there was also a sense of relief underlying the change in mood. There was no way the heir would get anyone while they were at home with their families.
[-] [-] [-]
"Is it always like this for non-first years?" Luna asked from where she was sitting in a carriage going to Hogsmeade Station.
"Nope. We rode from the train to Hogwarts in magical carriages without anything pulling them," Hermione answered.
"Last Christmas it was like this though. With the reindeer and everything. I think they do that to give everyone a Christmas feel," Harry said.
"I like it. I can't wait until next year where I also get to ride one of those magical carriages," Luna said happily.
Harry was in quiet thought on the matter. He didn't know much about what happened to Luna's mom, but he did pick up she died not too many years ago at least. It was the way Luna usually danced around her mom or quickly moved the topic to her dad. He decided he would wait, but it was possible Luna might also see the thestrals. It wasn't anything to mention now though and ruin the good mood.
Luna was actually eagerly sitting on her knees on top of her seat looking out the carriage window. She really liked seeing Hogwarts covered in snow like this. It was very Christmasy and she liked that. She really didn't like being outside in the cold to look though. Inside a warm carriage, was much better.
Luna gave a nod to herself as she smiled and said, "Hogwarts really is very Postcard Pretty like this."
[-] [-] [-]
The train finally pulled into the station and Luna all but ran out to the platform. She was excited and also wanted to do this quickly, since she wouldn't be meeting her daddy. She constantly asked questions about what all they would do during the break on the train.
As soon as Harry and Hermione finally got off the train, which felt like forever to Luna, she grabbed both their hands and dragged them through the barrier. Harry barely was able to grab their overladen cart with all of the trunks. Hermione luckily managed to get a better hold on Hedwig's cage too.
There were so many people in the station proper. It was decorated up for Christmas as well with lights and hollies and all kinds of things. Luna stopped and stared in awe at the Christmas lights. Wizards usually used magical candles for light decorations. She was also amazed at the large tree reaching up to the high ceiling. It was probably even taller than the biggest tree in Hogwarts' Main Hall.
Hermione grinned as she decided she would get her parents to take her and Luna on a tour around London to several of the best and biggest Christmas trees. She hadn't done that in a while. She was sure it would be a lot of fun with Luna and the younger girl seemed to really like Christmas decorations.
"I always tell daddy we should do more decorating for Christmas," Luna said. She gave a slight frown as she thought of her mom. Her mom was always the one to decorate for Christmas. After her death, their house had been on the dreary side by comparison the last couple of Christmases. Luna was wondering if that was why her dad decided he needed to go on his business trip this year.
"I see them Harry!" Hermione said and shook Luna from her sad thoughts. Luna looked around and saw Hermione waving to a couple of people. One of them was a girl who looked to be a couple of years older with bright blonde curly hair and a big smile. The other person was an older man of decent height with salt and pepper hair.
"Davey! Professor?" Harry greeted them.
"Hello Harry! Hello Hermione!" Davey said cheerfully.
"Harry. Hermione. I'm here because Boss is busy making sure this is an even better Christmas and he said he'd be damned if he let anyone interfere with that," the Professor said as he gave Harry a firm hand shake.
Davey was busy giving Hermione a friendly hug.
"This is Luna Lovegood," Harry quickly introduced the girl.
"Hello. I'm sorry about intruding like this…" Luna started.
Davey smiled and gave her a big hug. "Don't you worry about that, Luna. I love your name," Davey said.
Luna blushed as Davey hugged her. It was really warm and she was also a little caught off guard that the Wrackspurts seemed to really like her. Luna thought they liked Harry, but they seemed to like Davey even more. It was something curious.
Davey then gave a giggle as she stood back up and turned to Harry. "You brought home another girl this year. I think your starting to form a pattern," she said.
Harry was blushing as Hermione giggled after greeting the Professor herself. Luna grinned happily. She really liked this atmosphere already. It was really warm and friendly.
Harry then smiled and shrugged his shoulders at Davey. "You did warn me," he said causing Davey to blink a few times before she burst out laughing again. She didn't expect Harry to throw her teasing about him collecting girls before he started school back at her like that.
"I wonder if you'll bring another one home next Christmas then," she whispered to him before snickering. Harry blushed. He should have known better with Davey.
[-] [-] [-]
"Welcome to the Rust District," Harry said with a fond smile to Luna.
Luna was looking around at everything she could. It was such an amazing place she could already tell. The way it was decorated up for Christmas was wonderful too. She found all of the muggle things in the shop windows as they walked really curious. She only wished she had at least twenty more eyes to take it all in.
She even found the Warehouse area amazing as well. It was so cool the way it was set up. The noise of people laughing and talking together happily made her feel like she was in Felix Summerbee's famous pub. He was the one who created the Cheering Charm and made his pub at the time the most cheerful place in all the land. Sadly, it suddenly disappeared a couple of generations after his death. No one knew why.
Luna's dad suspected it was elves. The legendary Jubilee Elves that were always a cheerful lot. He said they were so impressed with his pub and work they took it with them when many of the magical creatures and peoples of yore went into hiding around magical Britain. He also told her if a Witch or Wizard managed to get in contact with them and earn their respect and trust, they would be whisked away to where the pub stood now in their realm, wherever that was.
Luna actually believed that story, or at least she wanted to believe it. She really liked it. She just wished they knew how to get the attention of Jubilee Elves. She supposed it made sense no one knew, or if they did, they didn't share the knowledge. Something like that was more or less sacred now.
It felt way too quickly for Luna before they were outside of where they would be staying for the Holiday Break. "Enjoy the tour?" Davey asked as she grinned from the kitchen area as she cooked for them.
"There wasn't enough time," Luna said with a cute pout.
Davey chuckled as she said, "Then it is a good thing you are staying for a while."
Luna smiled to that and nodded. "What I did see is amazing!" she said. Luna then went off as she talked about everything she already saw. Davey listened as she cooked away and hummed Christmas songs to herself.
Hermione added in her own thoughts every so often and explained some general muggle things to Luna. Harry provided more context given it was his home area and the Rust District was unique for the muggle world. Luna was really enjoying her holiday break already.
"Oh yeah. Remind me after supper to give you a package that arrived for you, Harry," Davey said. She then asked, "Who wants to set the table?"
Surprisingly it was Luna who eagerly volunteered. She smiled happily as she set the table for everyone. It would just be the four of them tonight. Luna was really looking forward to a home-cooked meal for once.
She hadn't had one in about two years. Her daddy always got carried away with the Quibbler and Luna hadn't really learned much about cooking yet. They usually had sandwiches and other easy to put together meals that didn't require much work. They even sometimes had cereal for supper. They did go out from time to time and Luna always had leftovers after that.
Having a home-cooked meal like this, was really nice Luna thought. She felt all warm inside. This was definitely something she needed. The last time Luna had a proper Christmas was before her mother died. As much as she loved her dad, things had been really off in their home since then.
[-] [-] [-]
Harry looked over the package Davey told him about after supper. It was small and there was a letter with it. Harry did what came naturally and opened the letter first.
Dear Heir Potter,
This is not customary of Gringotts' but I figured you would like this as an early Christmas present. We came across it while going through your family's vault. It is much more a task than we first thought it would be, but we are hard at work on it. I will keep you updated. Enjoy.
Sincerely,
Goldbite (Potter Family Accountant)
Harry opened the package after that. He stared in awe. It was a small leather-bound book with a dark brown cover. Across the top of the book in gold script letters, was a name, "Lily J. Evans".
Harry sat down on his bed and opened his mother's diary. He started reading with earnest. He would have to be careful he didn't stay up all night reading it. He had a lot of things he wanted to do with Luna and Hermione tomorrow.
[-] [-] [-]
"Luna?!" Hermione said with a gasp as she sat on her bed in the room she was sharing with the younger girl.
"What?" Luna asked innocently.
"Y-Y-You can't be wearing that…" Hermione said with a blush.
Luna frowned as she looked down at her favorite nightgown. "What's wrong with it? I've always loved this nightgown," she said.
"N-n-nightgown?! More like nightie…" Hermione said as she looked over the other girl. Luna twirled around trying to see if something was wrong with it.
The Ravenclaw girl was wearing a very sheer, almost transparent nightgown. The only reason her modesty was preserved was because she wore a pair of pink panties with it. Her growing chest was barely covered by what looked fake feathers. The rest of it was sheer and didn't at all hide her light colored skin, slim waist with just a little curve and smooth flat stomach. It was far too mature in Hermione's mind.
"I don't get the problem. We're just sleeping. When I'm at home, I usually sleep naked. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't appreciate that though," Luna said.
Hermione blushed again. "Just don't go sneaking into Harry's room dressed like that," she said.
"Why would I?" Luna asked in confusion. She may be crushing on Harry, but she was pretty sure sleeping with a boy was kind of a big step.
"Just. Don't do it," Hermione said again as she sighed and plopped down on her bed. She might as well get used to it. When they would be visiting her house, the two of them would be in the same bed. It wouldn't be a sleepover if they weren't.
[-] [-] [-]
"You seem a little tired, but in a really good mood. I'm guessing the package was something really good?" Davey asked as she served a yawning Harry his breakfast after the girls.
"It was. It was a diary from my mom during her school years," Harry said with a tried grin. He gave a yawn and added, "I might have stayed up too late into the night reading it."
"That's really good to hear!" Hermione said.
"Hermione's right. Don't forget you have company though," Davey said.
"That's why I plan to read it in the evenings or at nights only. Just need to be more careful," Harry said.
"Anyways. I was planning to take Luna to see the arcade," Harry said after a few bites.
"Are you sure…" Hermione started. "If you want to read more of your mom's diary… We won't stop you. Will we? Luna?"
Luna was a little torn here. She wanted to Harry to take all the time he needed, but she also really didn't want to spend her whole Christmas sitting around while Hermione and Harry read books.
Luckily, she didn't need to say anything. Harry shook his head. "Like I said. I'll read after we finish for the day," he said. Harry then turned to Luna and grinned as he said, "I wouldn't want to miss your reaction to seeing an arcade."
Luna smiled warmly to that and blush a little in happiness. She liked that they wanted to do things like this with her. "I look forward to pretty much anything you have planned," she said.
[-] [-] [-]
The next few days were amazing for Luna. She couldn't believe the things muggles had. It was amazing! She didn't get how it was Hermione couldn't believe most of the things she had talked about over the year considering all the stuff muggles had.
Pictures that moved for over an hour, almost two, and going to all kinds of places? Colorful screens playing music and sounds that let you control what happened on them? These fixed motorbike things that leaned with you and moved a person on the screen according to what you did? Multiple people able to play these video game things at the same time? How could Wrackspurts, Nargles, and Crumpled Horn Snorkaks seemed unrealistic by comparison?
Whatever the case, this holiday break was amazing. Luna also quickly came to love the Rust District and the people she met. It was pretty quickly, probably too quickly if you asked most people, but Luna had kind of come to see Davey as the older sister she never had. Maybe she just really wanted someone like that in her life or something and the older blonde happened to fit the bill. It didn't help that Davey seemed to adore her as a little sister in return. Luna wasn't sure if Hermione or Davey were more huggy as a person.
Luna also loved how cheerful Davey was. Luna volunteered to help out whenever she could. She loved setting the table and listening to Davey hum Christmas carols while she prepared their meals. There was also one night while they were relaxing that Luna asked the older girl brush her hair. Davey was more than happy and hummed again while she did so. That made Luna remember how her mother used to do the same when she was alive. She felt cared for in a way she hadn't since then.
Something else that was a lot of fun were the snippets Harry talked about from his mother's diary. "You know how Hagrid said my mom couldn't stand my dad at first?" Harry started one night.
Hermione nodded. Luna was listening very intently from where she sat in front of the fireplace with her recently combed and brushed hair, while she wore a thick and wonderfully woolly bathrobe at the moment. Hermione would have freaked out if she wore just her pajamas in this setting, even if they were really comfy. Luna still didn't get what the problem was there. Seriously, she wasn't about to go strutting around in front of Harry or something.
"It's different seeing it in her own words. It is kind interesting though. It seems my mom read back through it sometime much later. She added notes in the margins about how she was surprisingly blind to his feelings towards her, especially back then. Hagrid did say my dad pretty much liked her from the start," Harry said with a fond smile.
Hermione smiled to that. "To me that shows you're more wonderful than your dad was. You aren't as obtuse about such things," she said. She had few doubts about his feelings towards her and they were just in their second year.
Harry chuckled to that. "I also find it interesting that he and his friends called themselves The Marauders, but they really were impressive, even if they were pranksters. They learned to be animagi in their fifth year without anyone knowing or helping them," Harry said.
"Wow…" Luna said in awe. It was not an easy feat to become an animagus. It was even more difficult to do it on your own.
"That's impressive... but so very dangerous! They should have never done something like that so young," Hermione said.
"Kind of like how a bunch of first years went after the Sorcerer's Stone to protect it from Voldemort?" Harry asked in amusement.
Hermione blushed. "That was different. We had a good reason," she said.
"True," Harry said. He turned a little serious and said, "They also had a good reason for what they did, even if becoming animagi was foolish."
"What was it?" Luna asked.
"Turns out their friend, Remus Lupin, was a werewolf. They learned to be animagi so they could be with him during his transformations," Harry said.
"They were friends with a werewolf?!" Hermione asked in shock.
"Yep. He was also the best student out of their group and later became Prefect," Harry said.
"I don't know… That all sounds too dangerous to me," Hermione said.
"It makes sense," Luna said nodding in thought.
"How?" Hermione asked her.
"Werewolves are dangerous to humans when their transformed. They're not a danger to most animals tough. Just like how Werewolves usually aren't a danger to humans when they aren't transformed. Well… no more dangerous than your average witch or wizard. Daddy hates how they're treated by other people," Luna said.
"I'll agree with your dad on that," Harry said. He knew a little how they were treated. He hated it. They would be right at home in the Rust District, if it was a magical place after going through that.
"I'm surprised they were friends with a werewolf. You hear about them, but I have yet to meet one. It is sort of like they're just a story in a way. A true story, but still a story," Hermione said.
"That's because they usually keep it to themselves so people won't hate them for no reason," Luna explained.
"That is terrible," Hermione said. The others nodded in agreement. "What animals were your dad and his friends? Did your mother know and write about it?" she asked.
"She did in her later entries. Apparently, my dad thought they had the perfect combination. He was a large Forest Buck. Sirius was a large black dog some mistook for a Grim at times. He had fun with that as a way to get back at people. Peter Pettigrew was a rat. He needed help with getting his form right at first," Harry said. He wondered what it would be like to be an animagus. He wondered what animal he would be.
"My dad and Sirius were able to keep the transformed Lupin in line with ease, so they never lost track of him. Peter's rat form allowed him to help them get in and out of where Lupin was usually locked up during transformations. Being able to have his friends there with him during that time made it bearable he always told them, according to what my mom wrote," Harry finished.
"That actually makes it sound more endearing than dangerous now," Hermione said with a smile. To have friends that would go that far for you? That was rare. She wasn't an expert on friends, but even she knew that. She did feel her friends would be like that. Luna nodded with her in agreement.
They talked a little longer until Harry checked the time and said, "Well. It's about time we got ready. Davey will be upset if we aren't ready to walk right out the door when she comes to pick us up for caroling."
"I can't wait! I never got to do that before, even though we would always sing them together," Luna said. Davey was so excited about taking them all caroling. It being Luna's first time, she went all out and picked an outfit for the young girl. She would have done the same for Hermione, but for some reason the Hufflepuff girl didn't want Davey measuring her to make the outfit fit just right. Hermione could be perplexing at times like that to Luna, but she still really liked her.
[-] [-] [-]
Luna was grinning from ear to ear in her Christmas elf outfit. It even had ears to match. Davey had one as well with different colors. Hermione did have a Christmasy outfit of her own, but it wasn't as great as Luna was sure Davey's choice would have been for the other girl. Harry was well dressed in warm clothes wearing a Santa Hat and Christmas vest to round out their group.
The Ravenclaw girl decided Davey was right about Christmas Caroling being the best thing ever. She loved it. The people they sang for loved it as well. Some gave them each a cookie or a small cup of Hot Chocolate in thanks.
Luna decided that should be the currency for a Christmas Carolers. Cookies and Hot Chocolate were the greatest of Christmas treats. They made her want to sing even more. She would dance too, if given the chance, but she was pretty sure that might be too much for the others.
They just finished singing another song and were laughing in good nature with each other as an elderly couple joked a little while thanking them.
"That's the best singing I've ever heard!" said the older man smiling to them.
"I'm surprised heard a single word," his wife said.
"Huh?! What was that?" the man asked.
"I said… nevermind. Do you want some hot cider?" she asked him.
"Of course, I do! Tis' the season," he replied grinning to her.
"Talk about selective hearing…" she mumbled.
"That just means whatever I do hear is worth it," he replied as he chuckled and winked at the kids getting them to laugh. His wife shook her head but laughed as well and smiled to him before thanking them again and wishing them a merry Christmas.
The group rounded a corner when they heard someone call out to them. Well. He only called out to Harry.
"Harry?" a man asked in shock from nearby.
"You know Harry?" a female asked.
"I do…" the man replied.
Harry turned and looked over to man. He didn't recognize him. At the same time, he felt an odd sense of familiarity to him. It was like something from his past he couldn't clearly remember. He would listen to the man though. Harry did recognize the man's female companion, so that was a good start.
Whatever was happening, it seemed his Christmas would be a bit more interesting…