"Crazy Luna?"
Ron blurted out the moment he saw her.
Hermione frowned slightly. "I don't think giving people nicknames like that is particularly fun."
"No, no, it's not me! That's just what all of Ravenclaw calls her," Ron said quickly, desperate not to give Dudley the impression he was the type to sling nicknames.
"Hey there, Ravenclaw witch," Dudley said, stepping forward with a friendly greeting.
The young witch seemed a bit dazed, almost like she was lost in her own world. It wasn't until Dudley's voice broke through that she snapped out of it, like waking from a dream.
"Hello, Mr. Dursley," she replied softly, her voice airy and dreamlike, as if she were sleepwalking.
Dudley's fame at Hogwarts rivaled Dumbledore's. You might not know every professor, but you definitely knew the head of the Discipline Committee.
Dudley noticed the girl was wearing radish-shaped earrings and a necklace made of Butterbeer corks. Combined with her peculiar vibe, she definitely stood out.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Luna. Luna Lovegood."
Lovegood—the same name as that stingy editor who never paid for articles.
"It's pretty late. Why aren't you in your dorm sleeping? What are you doing out here?" Dudley asked.
Without missing a beat, Luna replied, "I'm looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. I heard their calls. Have you seen any?"
"What's that?" Neville asked, confused. He was pretty good at Care of Magical Creatures, but he'd never heard of anything by that name. A new magical creature, maybe?
"They're creatures not yet recognized by the wizarding world," Hermione explained, her tone encyclopedic. "Supposedly, they live in Sweden." She glanced at Luna with a complicated expression. "Most wizards don't believe they exist."
"They do exist," Luna said firmly, her voice carrying the conviction of someone who'd seen them with her own eyes.
"Unproven creatures? I can't say whether they exist or not," Hermione said, shaking her head. She wasn't about to get into a debate over it. Whether they existed or not didn't matter much to her—she wasn't exactly a magical creature fanatic.
"Where are your shoes?" Dudley asked, pointing at Luna's bare feet.
Hogwarts' floors weren't exactly cozy. They didn't come with underfloor heating or temperature charms. With the weather turning chilly, the stone floors were freezing, especially at night—like stepping on permafrost. Luna's pale feet were tinged purple from the cold, curled together as if trying to keep warm.
"They keep disappearing for no reason," Luna said. "I think some house-elves hiding around Hogwarts must be taking them."
Even though her feet were trembling from the cold, her voice remained oddly cheerful.
"I don't think house-elves are the culprits," Hermione said, closing her book with a serious expression. Luna's words reminded her of her own experiences with bullying the previous year.
Another case of schoolyard bullying? Hiding someone's shoes—did they think that was funny?
"Standing barefoot on these floors for too long can harm your body, and even potions might not fully fix it," Hermione said. She slipped off her own shoes and handed them to Luna. "Your feet are about the same size as mine. Wear these for now, and you can give them back when you find yours."
Harry's eyes widened. Those were Hermione's favorite shoes—a gift from Dudley.
"Thank you," Luna said sincerely, but she politely declined. "But if I take them, your feet will get cold."
"No worries," Hermione said with a shake of her head, giving Dudley a playful pat. "I don't think I'll be the one freezing."
Luna glanced at Dudley thoughtfully but didn't refuse this time. She slipped on the shoes, and the group convinced her to head back to her dorm.
Dudley leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staying quiet. This time, he wasn't going to step in with a plan—he wanted to see how Hermione and the others would handle it.
Malfoy was the first to speak, turning to the group. "Obviously, this is another bullying incident."
"We should go with her, catch those jerks in the act, and make sure they get what they deserve," Ron said, his voice rising with a hint of… excitement?
Malfoy smirked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Brilliant idea, Weasley. It's past curfew, and you want to barge into the Ravenclaw girls' dorm in the middle of the night? Truly genius." He paused for effect. "Unless you're aiming to be known as the Wolf of Hogwarts by tomorrow."
His tone and demeanor were pure Snape—no surprise, considering he was Snape's second-favorite student.
Ron's face turned as red as his hair, looking like his head was about to catch fire. He started shouting about challenging Malfoy to a duel. Harry tried to hold him back for a moment before giving up, grabbing a small stool, and sitting down to watch the show.
Of course, no duel actually happened.
Hermione cut in. "To catch a thief, you need evidence. If they claim Luna lost her shoes herself, how do you prove otherwise?"
Without catching them red-handed, there was too much room for denial. They could just insist Luna misplaced her shoes, and what could anyone do about it?
"To punish them, you need proof," Hermione said. "Otherwise, why would anyone believe you?"
"So what do we do?" Ron asked, looking a bit lost. Maybe he'd been too naive.
Hermione gave a sly smile, brimming with confidence. "Oh, give it a couple of days, and we'll have our evidence."
---
Ravenclaw Common Room
Luna returned from her nighttime wanderings, still wearing Hermione's shoes, and climbed into bed. Since they weren't hers, she kept them on—she couldn't risk losing them, or she'd have nothing to return.
Luna might've seemed dreamy and eccentric, but she was sharper than most young witches and wizards. It was just her nature to not sweat the small stuff. But sometimes, when you let things slide, others take it as a sign of weakness, pushing further and getting worse. When you're being pushed around, you have to learn to push back.
Feeling the faint warmth from the shoes, Luna's heart warmed too.
What she didn't know was that after she drifted into a peaceful sleep, the other girls in her dorm woke up. They gathered in a huddle, whispering among themselves.
In a girls' dorm, it wasn't unusual for four people to form five or six little cliques.
This was exclusion in its own way.
"Look at that," one girl said. "Crazy Luna managed to scrounge up another pair of shoes. And they're nice."
The shoes, picked out by Dudley for Hermione, were undeniably stylish.
"They look kind of familiar…" another girl said hesitantly, but her voice was too soft to draw attention.
"She doesn't deserve them," another said, her voice thick with jealousy.
The others chimed in. "Hide them again. Let's see how many pairs she's got."
As if anyone from another dorm would bother sneaking in to steal shoes. It had to be someone in their own dorm—nobody else would care enough to keep tabs on Luna's footwear.