*



Hermione met up with Ron and Harry in the common room and they descended together towards the great hall for their morning breakfast.

Upon entering the Hall however, Harry seemed distracted and every time Ron tried to question him about recent events he seemed to be peering around the room, generally aiming his stare towards the Ravenclaw house table.

“Who are you looking for Harry?” asked Ron

“Luna.”

“What do you want with her?” asked Hermione, looking mildly surprised.

“I need to thank her for something; look, sit down and I will explain everything.”

They all managed to sit at the far end of the table so as to not be overheard. Harry then went on to tell Ron and Hermione about what had happened the night before. About Lucius Malfoy and Rookwood and the cell with Alastor. The legilimens battle with Karis, Voldemort and himself, and the scenario with Draco. He did however leave out the time he and Karis spent talking about his parents and Sirius, he wanted to keep that private.

“We have to tell Albus and the Order about Snape!” shot Ron, growing angrier by the second! “I hate him, how could he do that to us!”

“Wait Ron.” said Hermione, holding her hand up. “He has to make them still believe he is a DeathEater, maybe he is doing it on orders from Albus, have you ever thought of that?”


“No Hermione, because Albus wouldn’t have wanted Lucius and Rookwood set free, it was hard enough catching them in the first place. Plus the Order and the Ministry have been keeping close watch.” Harry paused and stared at a blank spot on the wall. “How Snape did it I don’t know, but I’m going to find out!”

“Are you going to tell Karis?” asked Ron

“No, not yet!”

“Why?”

“Because Ron, I am going to find out for myself the truth, if I can manage it with Draco….”

“Don’t you dare Harry, you will be expelled!” shot a horrified Hermione.

Harry got up from the table and started to walk across the great hall. “Where are you going?” asked Hermione with a raised voice, but he ignored her and carried on walking.

He saw across the room the person he was looking for, Luna was standing by the Ravenclaw table, he could see she was looking for a place to sit down, but many were staring at her and laughing, while putting their hand on the chair next to them to prevent her from taking a seat.

To Harry she seemed very agitated. “Will someone please tell me where it is?” she asked a small group of people.

There were a few giggles from the table, and Harry noticed Luna was growing red in the face.

Harry approached her while the mocking few stared on. “Are you alright Luna?”

Luna looked up, her expression changed immediately from agitated to surprised. “Oh, Hi Harry, everything is fine, well I say everything, some idiot has hidden my bag again!” she then turned to look at the small group who were muttering and laughing to themselves.

Harry found himself growing incredibly hot, colour started to rush to his cheeks.

“Hey” Harry shouted over to them. They turned and looked. “Yeah that’s right, you bunch of morons who have nothing better to do with their time except pick on a girl. Give her the bloody bag back!”

They erupted into laughter and Luna grabbed Harry by the arm, and put her mouth up to his ear. “Don’t worry Harry, they are not worth it, I’ve had worse things happen.”

Harry looked down at her; he held a feeling of pity inside his stomach for her. “That is not the point Luna, its wrong, and I don’t think you deserve any of it!”

She smiled up at him and he gave her a warm smile back, they both momentarily forgot they were being watched from all areas of the hall, there seemed to now be a silence hanging around them, and even the group of pranksters had gone quiet.

Harry looked up and realised they were being watched, he looked at the picture and realised what everyone must be thinking, Luna was holding on to Harry’s arm and had her head resting on his shoulder. Luna noticed this too and quickly let go and took a step away from him.

“Now.” she said, looking at the group. “Where the hell is my bag?”

“Why don’t you ask your boyfriend to find it for you Loony?” said a short dark haired boy with small beady brown eyes.

“How about you shut your mouth shorty before I close it for you!” retorted Luna.

Harry let out a small laugh at her brash behaviour, he was rather enjoying this, he knew Luna could stick up for herself, he saw her do it with Draco.

“Right, that’s it!” she said shaking her head, but still keeping her tone and manner calm. “What was that spell again Harry to turn a student into a ferret, I swear Mad-Eye Moody told me it once.”

“Oh yeah.” Harry replied nodding. “Wait, yeah I remember, it’s..”

“WAIT, WAIT, ALRIGHT.” came the voice of the same second year boy. “It’s in the boys toilets on the second floor.” He then slowly put his head down while his friends looked at him in dissapointment.

“What’s your name kid?” asked Harry, staring at him with contempt.

“Simon.”

“Simon what?”

“Attwell.”

“Listen here Simon Attwell, you pull a stunt like you did today, then ferrets will be the last thing you need to worry about, you get me?!”

He nodded quickly with enthusiasm, and Harry took Luna by the arm and together they left the Great Hall to head for the second floor.

They walked quickly and Harry noticed that Luna no longer held a dreamy vague expression, but carried a smile that was beaming from ear to ear.


“What are you so happy about?” Harry asked, quite amused.


“Oh, just that someone came to my aid for once. That was really sweet what you did Harry, you’re the only person who has ever really stuck up for me, and I just wanted to say Thanks.”

“Hey, no problem.” He replied with a wink. “Oh, and I should also be thanking you!”

“Why’s that?” asked Luna, looking bewildered.

“Well, I know what happened between you and Draco and I just want to say Thanks for not telling him about what we did at the Department of Mysteries. Thank you for keeping your promise and I am really sorry he put you through that.”

Luna put her head down and kept quiet. “Are you alright Luna?” Harry was feeling quite concerned for her.

Again she didn’t answer and Harry put his arm on her shoulder as they stopped walking. He couldn’t see her face so slowly he put three fingers under her chin and lifted her head gently. Luna had silent tears streaming down her face.

Harry felt awkward, he hated seeing girls cry, he never knew how to handle the situation, it always reminded him of his time with Cho last year.

“Hey, I’m sorry, was it something I said? asked Harry with quiet concern.

Luna shook her head and pulled out a tissue from her pocket and loudly blew her nose. Harry still felt uncomfortable and looked around to see if there were any witnesses. He was relieved to find the hall was empty.

“No, it’s not you Harry, it’s just… Well, you know it gets quite hard for me here, and with you just being here and helping me, well it really means a lot.” She paused for a few seconds and then continued. “I have never had any friends before, so of course I kept my promise to you.”

In that moment Harry really felt sorry for Luna, but deep down he also felt very proud of her because of her honesty, she never held back anything, especially on how she was feeling, and he thought that took a lot of guts.


“Hey, come here.” He said, holding his arms out, and gradually she entered into his warm embrace and there he held her tightly while her silent tears slowly ran into his bright red Quidditch robes.