Archive of Our Own

Right when the first humid winds of spring start rustling the grasses of the Scottish highlands, Harry is always stricken by a bout of wanderlust. March of 1993 was no different. However, this year, Harry finally decided to give in to the urge by exploring the castle in the evenings. In the last couple of years, the castle had never felt safe enough for him to wander around alone: his first year, there was the stress of Quirrel and the general unfamiliarity of the school to contend with, and in his second year, the petrifications made even being inside the castle a risky affair. But now, the only thing he had to worry about were the dementors, who gave the castle a nice wide berth… or at least that’s what they were told the dementors were doing.

Either way, Harry was determined to finally give the castle a proper tour. It was the middle of the semester, so things had settled into a nice, manageable pace, and with a little bit of preparation, he was able to enact his little plan. Every evening, he got his homework done by nine, after which he performed his usual nightly rituals, rearranged his pillows and blanket so it looked like he was sitting in bed with the curtains closed, and then wrapped himself up in his invisibility cloak. All of his roommates were usually still in the common room racking their brains over the homework or perhaps in the bathroom, so his antics went unnoticed. From there, it was a simple matter of sneaking out of the Gryffindor dorms and into the castle proper.

The first night out was, to him, absolutely perfect. The air was still cool, but when he stood by a south-facing window, he occasionally caught a whiff of green on the breeze, the smells he subconsciously associated with growth and the end of winter. He didn’t venture too far, instead just doing a lap around the castle’s third floor perimeter, looking out the windows at the silent grounds of the school. He only stopped on the eastern side of the building, looking out at the waxing moon, which was already well above the horizon. Its pale light illuminated the hallway well, and he took a few moments to appreciate the beautiful, silver peace of the image before moving on. Once he got back to the Gryffindor dorm, his friends were still sitting in the common room, so he simply snuck back up to his bed and slipped through the canopy and between the sheets. He spent the rest of his alone-time practicing whatever spells he had learned recently that he found interesting (at the expense of his stack of old essays, which he used as a target for his spells).

He repeated this a few times before he finally began venturing further and staying out longer. A week later, he finally trekked all the way up the fifth floor, planning to use the higher vantage point to get a better view of the Forbidden Forest. However, his plans were immediately cut short when he spotted a certain flighty blonde girl standing barefoot and clad in only a sleeveless silk nightgown, looking out the window. There was a moment of cognitive dissonance at the sight of a person out and about this close to curfew, when he had not seen anyone else in the past week of evening expeditions, but that was quickly overtaken by confusion at her outfit. It would have made sense two or three months down the line, when the weather was nice and warm, but at the moment, the evening air barely broke fifteen degrees Celsius, and it certainly wasn’t the weather for such light clothing. Harry himself had donned a light cloak over his pajamas for the sake of warmth. If anything, it looked like the girl had prepared for bed, not for a nighttime stroll…

In the end, it only took a moment of deliberation before Harry stepped forward, intentionally shuffling his feet a bit to give Luna Lovegood a bit of a warning. When she slowly turned her head around, he popped his head out of the cloak and looked at her with an innocent expression.

“Hullo Luna. Fancy meeting you here. Enjoying the view?” he asked, giving her a small smile.

“Oh, Harry. Um… yes. I’m looking for Moonlight Springgans. They only like to come out when the moon is full,” she said, smiling back at him.

“Well then, mind if I join you? I’ve never seen a Moonlight Spriggan before. Are they anything like the Spriggan fairies I learned about in Care of Magical Creatures last month?” Harry sidled up next to her casually.

“ Spring gans, Harry,” she corrected absently, “And yes, they are related. Spriggans are terrible pranksters, and long ago, a group of them angered the wrong sort of people, and they were transformed into curly, spring-like creatures that bounce around endlessly. Thus were the Springgans born.”

Harry nodded slowly, as if that explanation had made perfect sense. By now they had come to a tacit agreement not to ask questions about what they were doing out at this time, but both of them were looking at the other out of the sides of their eyes. Luna was looking at him because he was still just a floating head, but Harry was looking at her since he was still trying to figure out why she was wearing so little. Glancing down, he was startled to see that Luna’s fingers, which were folded neatly in front of her, were actually turning slightly blue at the tips, and when he took a closer look at her face, he realized that her cheeks were actually much paler than usual, with the exception of her high cheekbones, which sported smudges of red. In short, Luna looked like she was freezing her hair off of her head!

“Luna, did you know that your fingers are turning blue?” he asked gently, moving a little closer. Luna stiffened a bit, almost imperceptibly, and hid her hands quickly.

“Oh. That’s the doing of… of Nargles.”

“Nargles. Those are the thieving ones, right? Did they steal all of your warmth, then, and leave you cold and shivering?”

Luna shot him a glance, one of mixed delight at his recognition of the term, confusion at what he meant by questioning her about this, and exasperation at the fact that he wouldn’t drop the topic. After a moment, she just hung her head with a light sigh, then spoke in a slightly resigned tone: “Yes. Yes, they did. They took my shoes away, then took my warm pajamas away, then put me out here… and it’s cold and I’m tired! ”

Luna quickly hid her face, trying to discreetly wipe a tear from her eye. However, she had said enough, and Harry was able to fill in the gaps. He had been a victim of bullying himself, after all, so he was able to recognize the clues easily. A moment later, a warm, soft cloth draped itself over Luna’s shoulders, and she flinched a bit before realizing that it was Harry’s cloak, the lightweight one he had put on beneath the invisibility cloak. She instinctively pulled the cloak closed and buttoned it at her throat, then turned around, sniffling a little while watching as Harry slowly folded his invisibility cloak up and tucked it away.

“Thank you,” she said, shuffling her feet awkwardly.

“No problem. Now, if I remember correctly… Thermus Regulus ,” he said, pointing his wand down toward the ground. A moment later, the stone floor beneath them warmed up, as if it had been baking in the summer sun all day, and Luna’s bare feet were given a proper reprieve. Nodding with satisfaction, he tucked his wand away and then looked back at Luna.

“So, Luna,” he said, his voice softening by a fraction from its previously casual and noncommittal tone, “would you like to talk about all the things your housemates… I mean, the Nargles have done to you? You certainly don’t have to, of course, I just want to let you know that I’ll listen… and that I’ll understand.”

Luna looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. She shifted her weight again, looking down at the floor silently and watching the folds of cloth pool around her feet and move as she leaned back and forth. Only once they had both lapsed into silence for nearly five minutes did she finally speak, and only in a quiet voice.

“It started… Well, it started pretty much as soon as I got to school, I suppose. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not… not very good at talking. Probably all the Wrackspurts in my ears.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh while furtively glancing at Harry to gauge his reaction, and when he only gave her an encouraging nod, she continued. “I’m just… I don’t know. Yeah, that’s the thing right there. I just don’t know what people want from me, I guess. Mummy used to help me with that. She’d help me figure out what people mean when they say stuff, and help me say the right thing in return. But then she…” She trailed off with a small sniffle, and Harry grimaced. Reaching over, he offered Luna his hand, and she gratefully took it, pulling it into the cloak and holding it with both of her hands. After taking a moment to collect herself, she kept talking.

“You get the idea. Everyone thinks I’m Loony Luna Lovegood, the stupid girl who wanders in circles talking about made up stuff and wears butterbeer caps around her neck and puts radishes in her ears.” She paused again after the last one and brought one of her hands up to her earlobe, which was currently sporting a small silver stud earring. In a soft, almost helpless voice, she said, “You know, that last one wasn’t even my choice. One night, when we were eating dinner, I tried to make conversation by saying that I liked radishes. That night, three girls… I mean, three Nargles pinned me down and shoved shrunken radishes into my ear piercings, and then put sticking charms on so I couldn’t take them out. It… really hurt. In the end, I had to use dittany to heal the wounds, which took my piercings away completely, and I had to get my ears re-pierced.”

She stopped for a moment, ducking her head to hide the tears that had welled up again, then said, “You should go, Harry. I’m sorry for putting all of this on you. You don’t want to hear this anyway.” She tried to let go of his hand, but he didn’t let go of hers.

“Luna. I do want to hear this, so long as you want me to hear it,” he said firmly, “And, more importantly, I want to help you. I know what you feel like right now, Luna. It’s the way I felt for the first ten years of my life. I felt like there was no escape, and that the only thing I could do was duck my head and take it. Back then, no one reached out to help me… so I want to help you now. So please, Luna. Let me help you.”

Luna looked up at him with her big, luminous eyes, which were shiny with tears, then dove into Harry’s chest, wrapping her thin arms around his torso in a tight hug. He returned the hug, placing his hands on the small of her back and simply holding her until she was ready to let go. In the back of his head, he wondered at how his night had changed so quickly, but those thoughts were quickly overcome with the conviction that this was exactly what he was supposed to be doing right now. The annual wanderlust, his choice of finally answering the urge, his decision to come to this floor on this day while wearing an extra cloak… his life had always been driven by the ethereal force of destiny, but this time, he felt rather alright about it. He had saved the country twice already, but trying to save Luna meant much more to him in this moment.

After a minute, Luna pulled away with a slight blush, now a bit calmer. She didn’t fully let go of him, though, only letting her left hand drop while bringing her right hand down to Harry’s elbow. Harry also partially let go of her, letting his right hand drop and leaving his left hand on her hip. Luna played with his sleeve absently for a few seconds, then took a deep breath.

“Thank you again, Harry. This was… I needed that. I can feel the Wrackspurts leaving,” she said, her voice faltering for a second at the end. She looked nervously up at Harry, and Harry could see in her eyes a vulnerable insecurity, as if she, for the first time, actually cared about someone’s reaction to the strange things she said.

Harry simply smiled warmly back at her and said, “That’s great! I’m glad that I could help. Now that your butterbeer cap necklace is gone, you don’t have much protection against Wrackspurts, so I’m happy that I was able to chase them away, at least for now. If giving you hugs helps chase away Wrackspurts, then I suppose that’s a lovely added bonus, isn’t it?”

Luna’s face immediately brightened when Harry didn’t dismiss her outright and she gave his elbow a grateful squeeze, but her face fell again at the mention of the butterbeer cap necklace. Frowning, she looked down and said, “Huh. Fun fact about that necklace. Those caps aren’t just random butterbeer caps. They’re from my mother. Every year on my birthday, we would share a butterbeer and then string the cap onto a necklace. Or at least, we did … back when she was still alive.”

Luna was silent for a few moments, then took another deep breath and glanced out the window at the rising moon, then back at Harry. Reaching up, she unclasped the button holding the cloak closed and let the cloak fall, catching it as it reached her waist, then folded it loosely and handed it back to Harry. Looking up, she made eye contact with him for a moment, then glanced away quickly.

“You should go now, Harry. The… Nargles will let me back in right after curfew, which will be soon. I don’t want you to get in trouble, so hurry back to your tower, okay?” she said, pushing the bundled up cloak into his hands. He took it with a bit of hesitation and tucked it under his arm.

“Alright, if you want me to go, then I’ll go. I’ve been taking a walk around the castle every night, so I’ll come back tomorrow. Of course, if you’re not stuck out here again, that would be ideal, but-”

“Got it. They usually don’t do this to me every day, so don’t worry.”

“It’s a bit hard not to worry about you at this point, but I’ll try. Have a good night, Luna, and sweet dreams.”

With that, he donned his cloak, then wrapped himself in the invisibility cloak and vanished into thin air. His footsteps slowly receded down the hallway, and Luna watched and waited. Once the sound of his walking had disappeared and she heard nothing more for a couple minutes, she sighed and sat down on the warm stones, wrapping her arms around her legs and putting her chin on her knees.

Unbeknownst to her, Harry hadn’t actually left. Once he reached the end of the hallway, he stopped and turned around, leaning against the wall and watching over Luna. He didn’t intend to leave until he saw her go back into the dorm. Five minutes turned into fifteen, which turned into thirty, which slowly turned into a full hour. The moon was high in the sky at this point, and the silver light peeking through the windows was now only enough to illuminate the back of Luna’s head, which rested against the wall beneath the windowsill. It was now nearly eleven, and the statue that guarded the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room showed no signs of budging, so Harry sighed softly to himself and stood up straight again. Coming down the hall, he made sure to walk lightly  so he could approach Luna without startling her.

In the end, he didn’t even have to worry. Luna had fallen asleep, huddled under the window, and even once he reached her side, she didn’t awaken. Crouching down, he brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and he sighed softly once again. He reached down and lightly shook her shoulder, finally rousing her from her uncomfortable slumber, and murmured, “You’re a terrible liar, Luna. Come with me. I’ll take you into the Gryffindor room, and you can sleep on the couch. The fire is always on, so you can warm yourself up.”

Luna, to her credit, had the presence of mind to be confused at why Harry was there again. However, in her sleep-addled and cold-slowed brain, the only conclusion that she was able to draw was that she was still dreaming, so she obediently got up and held Harry’s hand as he led her down to the third floor entrance. The Fat Lady simply snorted when Harry whispered the password, then swung open without fuss, and Harry slipped in with Luna in tow. Once the warmth of the common room hit her, she finally woke up a bit more and looked around in utter confusion.

“Harry? What… what’s going on? Where…” she mumbled, blinking owlishly.

“Hush, Luna,” he said, “This is the Gryffindor common room. I went back to check on you and you were still trapped outside of Ravenclaw tower, so I had to take matters into my own hands. Don’t worry, everyone’s asleep. You can sleep on the couch. It’s very comfy, I’ve taken many naps on it, so I should know.”

Luna was fully awake now, and looked at Harry with surprise and confusion. However, she knew better than to argue now, when she was already in the common room, so she just let Harry continue to lead her toward the fireplace and then to a nice plush couch next to it. She sat down on the couch, and Harry sat next to her, and she just stared into the fire, still a bit disoriented. Once her brain and body thawed, though, she leaned over and rested her head on Harry’s shoulder. They still hadn’t let go of each other’s hands, though right now it was more so just Harry’s hand on top of hers.

“Harry… why are you doing this for me?” she eventually asked, breaking the seal on the quiet ambience.

Harry just shrugged a little as he said, “Well, of course I would. If I found a girl shivering in the cold, then the least I could do would be to offer her some help. Now, if that girl were also my friend, then naturally I would help her as much as possible. And if that girl were also one of my favorite people in the world, then there’s not much that I wouldn’t do to try to help.”

Luna was silent again, but Harry could feel her shift a bit, scooting closer to him. Letting out a slow breath, she whispered, “That’s not fair. If you say that much, then I really can’t help it, you know?”

With that, she sat up, grabbed a throw pillow from the other side of the couch, and tossed it into Harry’s lap, then flopped down. Snuggling into Harry’s lap, she looked up at him petulantly and said, “Well, if you say that you want to help me that much, then I suppose you don’t mind being my pillow, do you?”

“Never, Luna. Sweet dreams,” he replied, brushing her hair out of her face and giving her a smile. Luna returned the smile, then closed her eyes. A few minutes later, Harry heard her breathing grow slow and even, and he let out a shaky breath, letting his head fall back against the back of the couch. He brought his hand up to his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat, and took a few deep breaths to try to calm down.

Within a few moments, his extra-calm facade had fully melted away. He had put on a brave face to help Luna relax, but in reality, his heart had been pounding the whole time, wondering if he was doing the right thing, or if he was making Luna uncomfortable. He remembered that, back when he was stuck with the Dursleys and being tormented by them every day, he had felt lost, and had always hoped that someone he could trust would come and guide him, show him a way out. That was why he loved Hagrid so much; Hagrid was the man who had saved him, and in a way that was much more tangible to him than the ways people like Dumbledore protected him from afar.

Now, he wanted to be that person for Luna. He hadn’t lied when he said that Luna was one of his favorite people in the world, but that only made him more nervous over his own actions. He wanted to help her, but he also knew that there wasn’t much he could do himself. This time, though, it was different from the strange situations in the last couple of years, where the professors were unhelpful due to their ignorance or simple inaction. Perhaps this time around, he could actually ask for assistance in saving his friend.

Once he had made his decision, he closed his eyes and dozed a bit, enjoying the warmth of the fire, the irregular crackling of the burning wood, and the comfortable weight of Luna’s head in his lap. He eventually woke up when dawn brought sunlight into the common room, and once the fog of sleep had faded from his mind, he glanced down to check on Luna. Over the course of the night, she had slowly snuggled more and more against him, and now her face was buried in Harry’s stomach, her hands tangled in the hem of his shirt. Harry smiled almost involuntarily and began playing with her hair a little bit, twirling a strand between his fingers and combing through a few locks, untangling them and brushing them away from her face.

Luna began to respond to his touch after a couple minutes, rolling over a bit and leaning into his hand on the back of her head. She hummed softly in the back of her throat, then stretched like a cat, arching her back before opening her eyes slowly and looking up at Harry. Smiling sleepily, she shifted a bit and then reached up to touch Harry’s face.

“Good morning, Harry,” she said, “Did you sleep alright? Sorry for trapping you down here, I must have had a lot of extra Wrackspurts in my ears last night.”

“Good morning. I slept just fine, don’t worry. I wasn’t going to leave you alone down here anyway, and it was a wonderful honor to act as your pillow,” he said, smiling wryly, “Either way, I should be the one apologizing. I dragged you here and made you sleep on a couch without properly talking it through with you.”

Luna just laughed softly and shook her head. “Do you see me complaining, Harry?” she asked, sitting up, “You’re a wonderfully comfortable pillow, and the couch was very warm. I haven’t slept that well in ages.”

Harry gave her a grateful smile and reached out to take her hand. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Luna… I want to talk to you about something. I’m sure that by now you can see how much I care about you, so you must understand that I really want to protect you from the Nargles… no, your housemates .”

Luna flinched a bit, her grip on Harry’s hand tightening, but after a moment, she loosened her grip and nodded. She said, “You’re right. I know that you’re right. But… I’m still scared. If I say anything, then they’ll just be even meaner to me, won’t they? I tried to ask the prefects for help last year, but they just joined in and hurt me more.”

This time, it was Harry’s turn to squeeze Luna’s hand. Once he was able to quash the flicker of anger in the pit of his stomach, he rubbed the back of her hand lightly and said, “That’s why you have to take things to the top right away. People like that… they won’t listen or learn if you try to take things slow. You have to deal with it in one fell swoop, or else they’ll just come back. In that way, bullies are a lot like insects.”

Luna was emboldened by Harry’s obvious confidence, and she sat up a bit straighter as well. Nodding firmly, she laced her fingers with Harry’s and gave his hand another squeeze, this time out of appreciation instead of fear, then said, “Okay. I trust you, Harry. Just tell me what we’re doing.”

“Of course. Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan,” he said, “Right now, it’s just after dawn, so Professor McGonagall should be awake by now. She usually has tea and breakfast in her office while grading essays until her first class at ten, which means we can go talk to her right now. That way, we can get ahead of the Nargles waiting in Ravenclaw tower. When do they usually let you back in?”

“Usually a little after nine. That’s when most of them wake up, and it gives me just enough time to change my clothes and gather my stuff before my first class. It does mean I usually don’t get any breakfast, but that’s beside the point.”

“I think that’s very much the point, but that’s alright. That means we’ve got about two hours before they discover that you’re gone, which is plenty of time. Here’s the plan, then. I’ll go upstairs and fetch my spare slippers and another cloak for you to wear, and then we will walk down to Professor McGonagall’s office over by the Transfiguration classroom. We can talk to her about all the stuff you told me last night, or as much as you are willing to talk about, and she can handle it from there. She’s the head of Gryffindor, and loyalty is very important to her. Learning that you’ve been hurt by your own housemates will most certainly make her quite upset.”

Luna nodded, and the plan was set. Harry went to get the cloak and slippers, and Luna reluctantly let go of his hand to let him do so. Once he was back, she quickly donned the cloak and put her feet into the slippers, then held her hand up toward Harry, who soon realized what she wanted and took her hand, helping her to her feet before lacing his fingers with hers again and leading her toward the door. Luna happily trotted along behind him, running the pad of her thumb over the back of Harry’s hand while they walked. Harry absently mirrored her actions, tracing a vein on the back of her thin hand as they proceeded through the halls toward the classroom section of the castle. As they crossed the stone bridge connecting the two buildings, Harry felt Luna stop, and he turned to look at her.

“Is something up?”

“Look, Harry. Look at the sunrise.” She pointed east, toward the horizon, at the sun rising over the rolling plains and dying the sky with beautiful streaks of color. Harry did look at the sun for a bit, appreciating the beauty of the scene, but when he glanced over at Luna’s face, he was immediately captivated by what he considered to be an infinitely more beautiful sight: Luna’s silvery eyes reflected the pale pinks and purples and oranges of the dawn, making her eyes look like they were practically glowing with color. Eventually, Luna looked away from the sunrise, ready to keep walking, but frowned when she found Harry standing still and staring at her.

“Is there a Blibbering Humdinger on my head? What are you looking at?” she asked, patting the top of her head in confusion. Harry shook his head silently.

“No, Luna. I was just looking at you,” he said, gently pulling her hand away from her head, “You really do live up to your name, you know? Your eyes… just like the moon, they reflect the beauty of the sun, but magnify it a thousandfold.”

Luna’s eyes widened, and a pink blush filled her face. Stepping forward, she buried her face in Harry’s shoulder and mumbled, “Not fair… You’re just not fair at all…” She gave him a few weak punches in the side in mock indignation, but she didn’t let go of Harry’s hand either, instead holding it even tighter. Harry let her smack him as much as she wanted, an amused smile on his face, and when she had finally calmed down and recovered her composure, he gave her hand a light squeeze. She stepped away, looking up at him with a small pout and a petulant glare in her eyes, then huffed and continued down the hall, dragging Harry along. By the time they reached the end of the hallway, though, she had fully “forgiven” Harry and returned to his side, wrapping her arms around Harry’s arm and resting her cheek on his shoulder as they walked.

It was like this that they arrived at Professor McGonagall’s office, which was located next to the Transfiguration lecture hall. Luna let go of Harry’s arm as they approached, returning to just holding his hand and clasping it between both hands, nervously playing with his fingers while looking at the door. Harry glanced back and gave her hands a quick, reassuring squeeze, then looked over at the door and lightly knocked on it. A moment later, the door swung open, and Professor McGonagall, who held her wand in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, peered inquisitively out of her office from her position behind her desk.

“Mister Potter? Miss Lovegood? Might I ask why you two are here… and at such an unusually early hour for two students like you?” she asked, beckoning for them to enter. Harry led Luna in, shutting the door behind him, then turned to face Professor McGonagall.

“Good morning, Professor McGonagall,” he said, “Don’t worry, we are not here because we are in trouble, nor is the castle going to collapse. We are here for the sake of Luna.” Turning a bit, he looked over at Luna. Raising his eyebrows, he whispered, “Are you okay to talk?”

Luna’s eyes looked a little unfocused, her natural shyness and anxiety making her dissociate a little bit. However, she took solace in Harry’s presence and the warmth of his hand in hers, and was able to bring herself back to reality. Grounding herself by giving Harry’s hand a squeeze, she took a deep breath and nodded. Looking over at Professor McGonagall, she cleared her throat uncomfortably and began talking.

Over the next twenty minutes and with the help of Harry’s gentle prompting and support, Luna described the bullying and pain that her housemates had put her through. She talked about how, ever since her mother died a few years prior, she had been struggling with grief and loss, which led to her feelings of isolation and anxiety. She explained how she tried to use terms like Wrackspurts and Nargles to help conceptualize her intrusive and unwanted thoughts as well as dehumanize her tormentors to help her cope with the physical and emotional pain of being bullied. She described the various things that she had suffered: her clothes had been stolen piece by piece (only returned at the end of the year), her homework and schoolwork was regularly sabotaged or damaged, she was locked out of the tower on freezing cold nights as often as twice a week, she had been physically hurt or humiliated several times with the radish earrings incident being only one of the more visible examples… the list went on. She capped off her tale by explaining the events of the previous night and how they ended up in her office like this.

By the end of her narrative, Luna had teared up a bit and her breathing was a bit ragged with repressed emotion. While she was talking, Professor McGonagall silently prepared two more cups of tea and then slid them across her desk toward the two children, then flicked her wand and transfigured the two wooden chairs in front of them into plush armchairs. Once Luna was finished, Harry guided her into a chair, then sat in the other one himself, and after they had gotten comfortable, Professor McGonagall spoke up.

“Well, Miss Lovegood, I am truly sorry to hear that,” she said, “It has been a great injustice to you that we have not learned of the torment you have gone through, and please believe me when I say that, had I known, I would have immediately taken steps to protect you. Now that I am aware, though, I can provide you with a few different options.”

Flicking her wand at the bookcase behind her, she summoned a thick book and began rifling through it. Once she found the section that she was looking for, she put the tome down on the table and showed Harry and Luna a certain page, which was labeled, “Exceptions In the Case of Intrahouse Conflict.”

“This right here is the important part,” she said, “Basically, bullying between people from different houses is dealt with through the usual pattern of detention, house points, suspension, and so on. However, when a student is being threatened by their own housemates, then that is altogether different, since that means their House does not provide safety or protection from danger as it should. In such a case, they can apply for asylum in a different House until the disciplinary proceedings are complete.” She glanced down at the way Luna clung to Harry’s hand, and a wry smile passed over her thin lips as she said, “I suppose you will be applying for asylum in my house?”

Luna saw where Professor McGonagall was looking and blushed, but still meekly nodded. Professor McGonagall nodded approvingly at her honesty and nudged the cup of tea on the table, smiling as she said, “Drink some tea, Miss Lovegood, and relax. I will take care of everything. If even half of what you say can be verified, then you can be sure that the punishment will be quite severe, and given the breadth of the things you have told me about, I can bring this to the attention of the Headmaster, who can investigate this in detail. Do not worry, Miss Lovegood, justice will be served.”

Luna nodded again, reaching out and taking the cup of tea. Just as she took a sip, though, Professor McGonagall turned her attention to Harry. Looking over the top of her glasses at him, she gave him a stern look and pursed her lips.

“Now, Mister Potter, you have a bit of explaining to do,” she said, “Might I ask what you were doing by the Ravenclaw tower so late last night?” Luna’s head shot up in response, a burst of panicked concern flashing through her eyes, but Harry just squeezed her hand, wordlessly reassuring her.

“Well, most of it was coincidence,” he said, “For the last few days, I’ve been walking around the castle in the evenings, usually between the hours of nine and ten. I’m always back in the tower before curfew, so I haven’t been breaking any rules. Last night, though, I decided to take my nightly walk on the fifth floor, and I came across Luna standing outside of Ravenclaw tower. We struck up a conversation, and when curfew got closer, Luna told me that her housemates would let her back in soon, and to go back. However, I felt like something was wrong, so I hid at the other end of the hall and kept an eye on her. Over an hour passed and she was still shivering in the corner, so… well, you know the rest of the story.”

Professor McGonagall nodded along, then leaned back in her chair, a neutral expression on her face. After a few moments, she said, “Well, rules are rules. Fifty points from Gryffindor for being out of the tower after curfew.” Luna made another noise of protest, but before she could say anything, Professor McGonagall continued, “And then two hundred points to Gryffindor for embodying the core values of loyalty and chivalry, as well as going above and beyond to aid a friend.”

This stopped Luna’s protest in its tracks, and she blinked owlishly at Professor McGonagall in surprise. She gave her yet another wry smile and said, “Sometimes, Miss Lovegood, you must bend the rules in order to fight against those who break the rules. In such cases, the rewards will naturally outweigh the drawbacks.”

Harry gave her a grateful smile, which Professor McGonagall responded to with a noncommittal sniff. Taking another sip of her tea, she plucked a blank piece of parchment from a stack on her desk, scribbled a quick note on it, then tapped it with her wand. The ink dried immediately, and it then folded up into a cat before flying off, zipping down the hall. Luna watched it go with rapt interest, and Harry watched Luna’s reaction with equal reverie.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, and they both snapped back to attention, both of them blushing, and she sighed good-naturedly as she said, “I have sent a note to Headmaster Dumbledore, telling him to come and to bring Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey along. Once they are here, we can discuss the details of how the investigation will go, what the punishment will be for the people involved, and your application for asylum in my House. In the meantime, have some biscuits and tea, I’m sure you’re both quite hungry.”

Harry took the initiative to take a biscuit to take the pressure off of Luna, plucking a round biscuit from the platter on Professor McGonagall’s desk and dunking it in his warm cup of tea. Luna mirrored him, minus the dipping in the tea, and then nibbled on the biscuit while leaning back in her chair. Harry passed the time by chatting with Professor McGonagall about Transfiguration, asking her questions about the previous night’s homework and discussing the parts of the last lesson he hadn’t understood. The whole time, Luna had her eyes fixed on Harry’s profile, her gaze tracing the outline of his features one by one as she ate her biscuit. Every now and then, Harry glanced back and checked on her, offering her smiles and squeezing her hand each time, and every time Luna gave him a small smile and a hand squeeze in return. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall pretended to be looking at something else every time.

Just as Luna finished her second biscuit and was starting on her third, the door opened and Headmaster Dumbledore came in, followed by Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey. Luna jumped a bit, causing her to almost tumble out of her chair, and it was only because Harry was holding her hand that she didn’t fully fall on her face.

“Ah! Miss Lovegood, Mister Potter,” Dumbledore said, “I apologize for startling you two, I came as soon as I saw Minerva’s note. The urgency of the matter was not lost on me. I’ve brought Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey as you requested.” While talking, Dumbledore closed the door of the office behind Madam Pomfrey, then flicked his wrist and conjured a couple more chairs in the corner so that all of them could sit.

With so many people in the office, the room started feeling a little cramped, so Luna began feeling a little pressured and claustrophobic. Before she could really get in her head about it, though, Harry clasped her hand in both of his and started massaging the back of her thin hand with both of his thumbs. This quickly grounded her and drew her back to reality, and she gave him a grateful smile.

Once she found her voice again, Luna began to reiterate all of the things she had told Professor McGonagall, this time a bit more smoothly now that she had verbalized it once already. By the end of it, Dumbledore’s brow had creased into a stern expression and Flitwick was wholly crestfallen, both lapsing into thoughtful silence. Opposite to them, though, Pomfrey had grown increasingly fretful and concerned over the course of Luna’s description, and by the end of it, she looked like she was itching to jump out of her seat and whisk Luna to the infirmary. It was only deference to Dumbledore’s authority that prevented her from moving.

“Miss Lovegood… I have truly failed you, it seems,” Professor Flitwick said, finally breaking the silence, “I know it must have been hard to step forward and tell us about all of this, so I do not blame you in any way for not having brought this to my attention until now. It was my job to see the signs, and I am sorry that I did not.” Luna shook her head quickly, but Professor Flitwick put his hand up to stop her. Before he could say more, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

“That’s enough for now, Filius,” he said, “We will discuss that later. Right now, the priority must be Miss Lovegood’s own safety, and I believe Minerva’s suggestion of letting her apply for asylum in another House has merit. Miss Lovegood, what is your opinion on the matter?” He turned his attention to Luna, his face smoothing a bit and giving her an encouraging smile.

“I… I think it sounds like a good idea,” she said quietly, “I have friends and - and people I know I can trust in Gryffindor.” She glanced over her shoulder at Harry, then back at Dumbledore, a slightly determined expression on her face. “I want to apply for asylum from Gryffindor on the grounds of being unsafe in the House of Ravenclaw, until such time as it is safe for me to return.”

“Granted,” he immediately replied, “Starting tonight, you shall sleep in the Gryffindor tower, in the second year girl’s dormitory. Your belongings will be moved there by noon. Head of Gryffindor McGonagall will give you the details necessary for your new life there.”

“Now, onto our second order of business: the matter of the investigation itself. There should be plenty of material evidence: we can cast locating spells to find out where your stolen belongings are, and tonight, Madam Pomfrey can give you a medical scan to obtain a list of your past injuries and maladies. I will interview your housemates in my office under the effect of a Truth Ward, which should speed up the proceedings quite a bit. With luck, we will be done with the investigation within a couple weeks.”

“The next question, though, is the most difficult. How should we handle punishment? Detention and suspension can only keep them away from Luna for so long, and based on what Miss Lovegood has told us, we may only have grounds to expel a small number of people, if that. In the end, that is the difficulty of intrahouse bullying, especially when the bullying is at this level.”

Everyone lapsed into silence again, and in the end, it was Harry who spoke first. In an uncertain voice, he said, “Um, Headmaster Dumbledore, excuse me if I am wrong, but the House system is designed to provide students with an environment where they can be comfortable and are surrounded by like-minded people right?”

“Quite right, Harry. That is precisely the reason why we are having so much trouble,” he responded, looking a bit confused as to why Harry brought this up.

“Well, if Luna is more comfortable and more well accepted in a different House, then wouldn’t it be possible for her to transfer fully into that House?” he asked, his voice growing a little stronger, “Luna has already said that she has more friends outside of Ravenclaw than inside of Ravenclaw. I can also personally attest to the fact that she can find plenty of familiar and like-minded people in other houses. My friend Hermione Granger is just as smart as any Ravenclaw, I know my roommate Seamus Finnegan loves Magizoology… and outside of my own house, I know Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot of Hufflepuff are-”

“Understood, Harry,” Dumbledore said, a twinkle returning to his eye, “You need not continue. Your point indeed has a great deal of merit. It has been several decades since a student has been Re-Sorted into another house, but this type of incident is quite rare as well. Miss Lovegood, what do you think?”

Luna took a few seconds to respond, completely floored by the suggestion. Once she registered that Dumbledore was asking her a question, she nodded quickly. She said, “That sounds good! I think that’s a great idea. I don’t mind moving to Gryffindor house.”

“Aha, and you wish to switch to Gryffindor house,” he chuckled. Luna blushed and stole a peek at Harry, who happened to glance at her at the same time, and both of them quickly looked away from each other. A brief chuckle went around the room, which the professors made poor attempts to hide by clearing their throats or sniffing, and the two children only blushed harder.

“Ahem, let’s not dally any longer,” Professor McGonagall said, changing the subject, “I believe Mister Potter and Miss Lovegood should want some breakfast before their classes. Mister Potter, you may return to your dorm to change and then go to breakfast first. Miss Lovegood, please stay for a bit longer, so that I can give you a proper introduction and, pending your potential Re-Sorting, extend a warm welcome to my House. I also have some spare student robes in my office that you may borrow. Transfiguration tends to generate a few material casualties now and then, you see, and it’s always good to be prepared.”

The rest of them recognized the implicit dismissal, and they all rose to their feet. Dumbledore led Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey out first, and Harry paused for a moment before leaving. Turning, he looked back at Luna and Professor McGonagall, gave both of them a nod of farewell, then slipped out the door.

Harry got back to the dorm just as everyone was starting to get up, and was able to slip into the usual morning mess of people showering, brushing their teeth, and figuring out their clothes. Thus, Harry was able to brush his teeth and change without anyone really noticing his previous night’s absence. While tying his tie, he made sure to wake Ron up and get him out of bed, then told him he would meet him in the Great Hall before he went back downstairs. As he stepped out of the tower, though, he hesitated to go straight to the Great Hall, and after a few moments of consideration, he bit the bullet and turned the other way, heading back toward Professor McGonagall’s office.

Just as he was rounding the corner to her office, though, he almost ran right into Luna, who was rounding the corner in the other direction. They both yelped and stepped back, and Professor McGonagall, who was walking behind Luna, smoothly stepped out of her way.

“Mister Potter. Here to pick up Miss Lovegood?” she asked, humor evident in her voice, “Even though I said that I would escort her to breakfast?”

“Um… Yes, professor,” he said honestly, “I just felt like I… uh, should.” He cleared his throat awkwardly at the lame way he ended his sentence, but Luna just giggled and stepped forward, extending her hand again.

“Well, Harry, I appreciate it. Seems like the Wrackspurts were working in my favor this time!” she said. Harry gave her a happy smile and took her hand, then finally took a proper look at her new appearance.

Luna had clearly freshened up a bit in Professor McGonagall’s office, no doubt thanks to the professor’s broad range of “preparations,” and had her hair in a loose braid, which fit with her open robes. Notably, Luna was wearing Gryffindor colors, including a loose red-and-gold tie and gold embroidery on her cuffs and the hem of her robes. The sleeves were ever-so-slightly too long for the short girl, and as they fell away from her hand when she lifted it up to offer to Harry, she revealed that her nails had been painted red.

As Harry held her hand, she wiggled her fingers a little bit and said, “Did you see my nails? Professor McGonagall helped me paint them. They’re such a lovely shade of red, exactly the color of a Crimson Furred Snipfang.”

“I did see them! They’re lovely. I thought they were rather close to Gryffindor red, but then again, my eyes aren’t really the most discerning.”

“Quite alright, the difference is rather small. I don’t blame you for not being able to tell the difference. The difference is that Gryffindor Red is a bit brighter, while the color of a Crimson Furred Snipfang is a bit darker, since the color comes from their diet of rubies and garnets, and normal rocks tend to get mixed in.”

“I see, I see…”

They maintained this lively conversation the whole way down to the Great Hall, oblivious to Professor McGonagall walking a bit quicker and passing them. By the time they reached the Great Hall, they were debating whether Gryffindor gold was just a shinier version of Hufflepuff yellow, with Harry trying to convince a laughing Luna that all gold was just shiny yellow. Just as they approached, though, there came a scoff from the side, and the two of them looked over to see Draco Malfoy sneering at them. Harry could only mentally groan, steeling himself for a bout of Malfoy’s usual inane insults.

“Hah! Seems like you’ve finally gone off the deep end, Potter!” he crowed, “Hanging with Loony now? You’re-”

Before he could get any further, though, Harry had already whipped his wand out and snapped out a quick Petrificalus Totalus . Draco’s taunts were cut short by a surprised squeak as his body stiffened like a board before toppling back and onto Crabbe’s shoulder. His goons supported him while fumbling for their own wands and trying to recall the counter-curse, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“Not today, Malfoy. I’ll ignore your stupid insults toward me all you want, but you had better watch your mouth when it comes to my friends. Count this as your first warning,” he said harshly as he tucked his wand away. Tugging on Luna’s hand, he pulled her toward the Great Hall door.

However, this much was enough to make Luna anxious again. Harry had been so kind and helpful to her; the thought that just being beside him would draw taunts and insults was terrifying to her. Just like Harry, she was willing to turn the other cheek to a certain extent when it came to her own reputation, but affecting Harry’s reputation was absolutely taboo to her. When Harry tried to lead her into the Great Hall, she let go of his hand and lightly shook her head.

Harry turned his head and looked inquisitively at her, then glanced back at Malfoy before realizing what she was probably thinking. His face softening a bit, he asked, “Are you worried about my image or something? Do you think that walking with me would cause problems for me?”

When Luna silently nodded, Harry gave her a reassuring smile and reached his hand out toward her. “My reputation is hardly pristine anyway, Luna,” he said, “People constantly call me crazy, a liar, an attention seeking bastard… if anything, having a cute girl like you by my side is more likely to garner jealousy than mockery.”

Luna blushed at the compliment and shyly took his hand, stepping back up to his side and elbowing him lightly in the side. Harry grunted and pouted at her.

“Still not being fair?”

“Not fair at all, Harry. Not fair in the least.”

With that, they crossed the threshold into the Great Hall, and Harry led Luna to the Gryffindor table. Breakfast was approaching its peak, so no one gave them a second glance. Everyone was too absorbed in their own food or conversations to give two underclassmen more than a cursory thought, and no one even noticed that it was Luna walking with Harry. Eventually, Harry found Ron and Hermione, and was happy to see that they had saved some space for him between them.

“Ron, scoot down a bit, wouldja? We’ve got a guest,” he said, smacking his arm. Ron slid down, dragging his plate with him, and glanced up with his mouth full of eggs and sausage. Swallowing thickly, he blinked up at Harry and Luna.

“Well ‘ello mate, you’re just in time for the second serving of sausage,” he mumbled, “What’s Loony-”

“ Don’t ,” he interrupted, “Don’t call her that, Ron.”

Ron looked surprised, but then glanced down and spotted their joined hands. His head snapped back up, his eyes wide with surprise, but then nodded with a knowing look on his face and turned back to his breakfast without complaint. Hermione, meanwhile, had glanced up from her book to say a quick hello before going back to nibbling on a piece of toast, but was much more observant than Ron and noticed Luna’s attire as well. She held her tongue until Luna and Harry sat down, at which point she leaned over to look at Luna.

“Hello, Luna,” she said, “I like your new robes. Is there… a story to them?” Luna smiled at Hermione’s brief attempt at tact before jumping into her real intentions, and replied while preparing herself a plate of food.

“Well, the whole story is a bit long, but let it suffice to say that I will be joining you and your house for the foreseeable future,” she said airily, “And I must say, I think the red and gold suits my complexion much better than blue and bronze.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t know much about complexion or anything like that, but I’m glad you like the colors. It does make your hair look great,” Hermione said, choosing to take Luna’s words at face value. She could sense that this was indeed a topic not suited for a breakfast table, so she just changed the topic and was soon complaining about how the increasing humidity made ink dry far too slowly, making writing essays a terrible hassle.

While Luna and Hermione talked about anti-smudge and ink-drying spells, Harry was instead watching the activity at the Head Table. Dumbledore was in his usual spot in the middle, with Professor Flitwick on his left and Professor McGonagall on his right. The three of them were whispering rapidly to each other, and Harry ate slowly while occasionally trying to read their lips, which was made much more difficult by Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore’s thick mustaches.

As the breakfast hour began to draw to a close, Dumbledore stood up, a neutral expression on his face. However, compared to his usual expression consisting of a smile and brightly twinkling eyes, this was a gravely serious face. Upon him clearing his throat, everyone quieted down and turned their attention to the front.

“Students of Hogwarts, this morning, it came to my attention that there has been a great travesty going on in this school for over a year, perpetrated by the students of this school against one of their own,” he said solemnly, “In the interest of protecting the safety and privacy of the people involved, the details will not be discussed, but let it be known that Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw House has been officially granted asylum in Gryffindor house and shall be treated as a member of Gryffindor house until further notice. Furthermore, Ravenclaw House will be placed under a temporary suspension from all school activities, pending investigation.”

In the space of a second, the room went from deathly silent into an absolute uproar. Half of the room tried to crane their heads toward the Gryffindor table and find Luna, and the other half were looking over at Ravenclaw table. At the Ravenclaw table, the chaos was many times worse. Most of them had a look of indignant confusion on their faces, but a small minority had guilty or fearful expressions instead, which the populace certainly did not miss. The rumor mill in Hogwarts was working overtime, and before the professors were able to calm everyone down, the news had spread all throughout the room that there were a few people at the Ravenclaw table who most certainly knew what was going on.

Meanwhile, as soon as Harry saw Dumbledore stand up, he reached into his bag and pulled out his invisibility cloak. By now, he was well aware of the way Dumbledore made public announcements during meals, so he came well prepared. While everyone was distracted by Dumbledore’s solemn speech, he quickly moved closer to Luna and swung the cloak around her shoulders, wrapping her up and turning her mostly invisible. Leaning in close, he whispered in her ear, “Pull the cloak closed and move closer to me so there isn’t a big gap between me and Hermione. Don’t take it off until we’re out of the Great Hall, okay?”

Luna’s breathing audibly quickened, but Harry didn’t know if it was out of anxiety or something else. However, she gave a barely-visible nod and pulled the cloak closed in front of her, fully vanishing from sight. Beneath the table, though, a small hand with painted red nails peeked out of thin air, and Harry smiled a little as he reached down and held Luna’s hand, letting her slide closer so their legs were pressed together. On Luna’s other side, Hermione had seen what Harry was doing and picked up on the hints, sliding down a bit to narrow the gap between her and Harry further while taking Luna’s plate of breakfast and pulling it in front of herself. Just like that, Luna seemed to vanish completely, and when everyone around them tried to look for Luna, there was no trace of her to be found.

A few minutes later, breakfast hour ended and classes were due to begin soon, so everyone reluctantly began to leave. Harry and his friends intentionally took their time packing up, with Ron able to pick up on the hints Harry gave him and pretending to take a few minutes to polish off his breakfast… though he might have actually just wanted a couple extra sausages. Just as they were preparing to go, though, Professor McGonagall came up to them and gave the spot next to Harry on the bench a knowing look.

“Mister Potter,” she said, “a moment of your time, please. If you happen to see your new housemate, Miss Lovegood, then please tell her that she has been excused from class for the rest of today, and should report to the infirmary, as Madam Pomfrey has finished her preparations. Tell her also that her new schedule will be prepared and delivered to her in the infirmary after lunch.”

Harry nodded solemnly, and Professor McGonagall gave him a curt nod in response, dismissing him. She then tipped her head a bit and glanced at the table behind them, then under the table, where Harry’s hand was.

“Mister Potter, it seems like you’re found yourself an extra hand. Perhaps a visit to the lost and found might be in order? And Miss Granger, I see that your appetite this morning seems quite healthy,” she said, a hint of humor evident in her thin-lipped smile. Harry had to hold back a snort of laughter of his own, and just gave her another affirmative nod. Professor McGonagall sniffed noncommittally and then turned away, returning to the head table.

Once she was gone, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stood up, and Harry helped Luna to her feet as well. The four of them left the Great Hall quickly, then hurried to the library, the nearest place where they could expect to find a quiet and relatively private corner to talk. Hermione led them to her favorite study cubby in the back of the Muggle Studies section, and Luna finally popped her head out of the cloak, letting out a sigh of relief. Harry took his invisibility cloak back and tucked it away, and the four of them sat down in the cubby.

“Alright mate, spill the beans,” Ron said, “What’s going on between you and… Luna?”

Harry shot him a warning glare, which he accepted with a gesture of surrender, then leaned back with a sigh. Glancing at Luna, he asked, “Well, Luna, it’s up to you how much you want to share. Of course, if you’re tired of telling the story, then I can tell it for you.”

“No, it’s alright,” she said, reaching down and patting his hand, “I’ll just give you guys the short version. Basically, I’ve been very, very badly bullied by my housemates for the entire time that I’ve been at Hogwarts. I’ve been physically hurt, emotionally tormented, academically sabotaged, you name it and I’ve experienced it. Last night, Harry was apparently taking a walk when he found me outside of the Ravenclaw common room. My roommates stole my shoes and pajamas awhile ago, so I was only wearing a light nightgown and not much else, so I was very cold by the time Harry found me. He gave me his spare cloak and cast some heating charms on the ground so my feet wouldn’t be cold, then talked with me.”

“Honestly, that last bit was the most helpful to me. It’s… it’s been quite awhile since anyone’s really listened and talked to me. Most people just brush me off as crazy or silly, and it’s hard to get anyone to take me seriously. I’ll spare you guys the details, but let it suffice to say that Harry is the first person besides my parents to care about me enough to remember anything about Wrackspurts for more than a few hours.” She wrapped her arms around Harry’s arm and leaned against him, resting her cheek on his shoulder, and Harry couldn’t restrain a smile as he brought his other hand over and put it on top of Luna’s.

“I’ll tell you guys the rest,” Harry said, “When it got close to curfew, Luna tried to get me to go back to my dorm by saying that she’d be let in soon. I didn’t fully believe that she wasn’t just trying to placate me, so I hung around from down the hall while hiding under my invisibility cloak, and it was very good that I did. Her housemates certainly didn’t let her back in when curfew hit, nor was there any sign of them doing so over an hour later, and by then I had seen enough. I brought Luna back to Gryffindor Tower and let her sleep on the couch, and when morning came, I brought her to Professor McGonagall’s office. We reported all of this to her, then to Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey, and… well, I can’t say much about most of the details and proceedings, but I can indeed confirm that Luna is officially a Lion until either she or someone else decides otherwise.”

“And I won’t! Won’t decide otherwise, that is,” Luna quickly interjected, “I certainly don’t want to go back to Ravenclaw.”

Ron and Hermione listened quietly to the entire story, and when they finished, both of them had complicated expressions. Ron was the first to move. Leaning forward, he bowed his head regretfully.

“Um, Luna,” he started, “I guess I should say sorry for calling you Loony. I won’t do it again. A-and it’s not just because you’re in my house now! And it’s not because you’re dating my best mate now either.”

“R-ron! It’s not like that!” Luna squeaked, flushing bright red.

“Luna’s right, we’re not ready for that,” Harry said, equally red but slightly calmer, “Right now, everything’s all over the place, and there are bigger fish to fry. Of course, in the future… Anyway, that’s our business, and ours alone.”

Luna made a weak noise in the back of her throat, and she buried her face in Harry’s shoulder, too embarrassed to face Ron and Hermione, who shared a look and then shrugged helplessly.

“Well anyway, welcome to Gryffindor House, Luna,” Hermione said, returning the subject back to what it was before, “Since you’re a second year and I’m a third year, my dorm is just a floor above yours, so if you ever need anything you can come find me.”

“I’ll also ask Ginny to help you out if you want,” Ron added, hoping to redeem himself. Luna gave him a small nod, and he smiled in relief.

Before the conversation could continue, though, Hermione checked the time and realized that their first class was about to begin in a few minutes, so they had to leave. Luckily, their first class of the day was History of Magic and Professor Binns never noticed late arrivals. So, as they left the library, Harry decided to walk Luna up to the infirmary while Hermione dragged a reluctant Ron to History of Magic.

As they walked, Harry intentionally led Luna down the lesser-walked halls, claiming that it was to avoid prying eyes, but they both knew it was so they could have a little bit more time together. While they were heading down the final stretch, Luna spoke, her voice soft and tentative.

“Harry… Did you mean what you said in the library?” she asked, “About things maybe, um, changing between us in the future?” She stopped walking, and since their hands were linked, Harry stopped too. He turned to face her properly, pursing his lips as he considered how to respond.

“Well the short answer is yes, I was serious,” he replied, choosing his words carefully, “I care about you. I really, truly do. But, in the end, I know far too well that sometimes personal feelings can’t be my first priority, and I know how it can get in the way of a lot of other things. I was blinded by my prejudice against Professor Snape in my first year and missed the fact that Professor Quirrel was the one trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone. I believed Professor Lockhart to be a total fool and utterly useless at anything besides lying, and that led to me nearly getting Obliviated into a total idiot. This time, I don’t want to make those kinds of mistakes, not when they’re so preventable. That’s why I will wait this time. I will wait until you are safe, and I will do anything to make sure that that time comes as soon as possible.”

“Besides that, I also know the danger of hero worship far too well. You might not like to hear it, but gratitude and adoration and love and affection are all the same feeling at first; the difference lies in how that feeling matures and develops. I will be fully honest with you, until I am sure that what you are feeling is not merely gratitude toward the person who helped you, I don’t know if a relationship is a good idea.”

Luna was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. She said, “I understand. You’re right, it’s not fun to hear that, but… all I know is that when you say you care about me, my heart jumps in my chest, and when you talk about even the possibility of a relationship between us, I can feel my face start to smile. I don’t know if that’s just my brain playing more tricks on me, and this is just a weird form of gratitude toward you, but I can confidently say that I am very thankful to you, and that I am glad that I can be your friend.”

She dropped his hand, then stepped forward and hugged Harry tightly for a few seconds, then backed off while bringing her hands up to Harry’s jaw and looking up at his face, making eye contact with him. Her big silver eyes were much calmer now, and it seemed like she had made a decision in her heart. Getting up on her tip-toes, she kissed Harry on the cheek, then stepped away.

“For now, count that as my promise to get over my gratitude and show you, prove to you, that what I feel for you is much more than just a bit of hero worship, and much more than just friendship,” she said, all uncertainty and airiness out of her voice for once. Harry was still reeling from the feeling of her lips on his cheek, and it took him a long moment to recover his words. Sighing heavily, he reached out and took her hand, then brought it up to her mouth and kissed the back of her hand.

“Now who’s being unfair?”

They walked the rest of the way to the infirmary hand in hand, and Harry dropped Luna off with a smile and a promise to visit during lunch. Madam Pomfrey shooed him away before they could say more, and Luna gave him a wave farewell as he retreated from Madam Pomfrey’s domain, which he returned as he walked away. The rest of the morning felt like it passed both very quickly and very slowly for Harry, and by the time lunch rolled around, Harry was itching to get out of class and go see Luna again. He had to admit: he really had it bad for the girl.

Once Charms was over and Harry immediately shot to his feet, Ron and Hermione both shot him a pair of amused looks. Ron reached out and punched him in his thigh, grinning knowingly up at him.

“Go on, mate, hurry up,” he said, “Don’t keep Luna waiting, or she’ll lose interest in you.”

Harry scowled at him, then reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, Ron. I’ll see you later. You too Hermione. Make sure to save me a seat at the table!” he said while slinging his bag over his shoulder. Hurrying out of the room, he made his way as quickly as possible toward the infirmary.

When he entered, Luna’s head snapped up, looking toward the door. Her face lit up when she saw that it was Harry, and she raised her arms up toward him, beckoning him in for an embrace. Harry didn’t hesitate to accept her invitation, hurrying to her bedside and leaning into her arms.

“Hello Harry! Is it already lunchtime? It’s hard to tell what time it is when Madam Pomfrey keeps poking and prodding at me,” she said as Harry leaned in for the hug. They gave each other a squeeze, and then Harry backed off, sitting instead in the chair by her bedside and holding her hand. They chatted for a while about what each of them had been up to that morning, not so much since they didn’t know what the other had been up to, but more so because they each liked to hear the other person talking.

Just as Luna was regaling Harry with an exaggerated tale of the tests Madam Pomfrey had performed on her, a pair of girls came through the infirmary doors, looking around furtively. Harry glanced back at the girls, and he immediately clocked the blue trim on their robes, and the mirthful smile on his face instantly vanished. Unfortunately, before he could do anything to hide Luna, the girls spotted her, and he watched as a mixture of resentment and contempt flickered across their faces.

“ Loony-fucking-Lovegood . What did you do ?!” one of the girls hissed as they both stomped forward. Both of them seemed totally focused on Luna and were ignoring Harry, who was still sitting by Luna’s bedside, and as they got closer, Luna paled and shrank into the corner of her bed. However, before anything more could be said or done, Harry leapt to his feet and got in the girls’ path, blocking them from getting any closer to Luna’s bed.

“One more step and I will hex both of you into the ground,” he snapped, drawing his wand without hesitation, “I believe the entirety of Ravenclaw house was put under lockdown, was it not? Might I ask why you two not only broke the rules and snuck out, but are also attempting to approach Miss Luna Lovegood, who has been explicitly removed from your House already?”

“Get out of my way,” one of the girls yelled, warily eyeing Harry’s drawn wand, “You don’t have anything to do with this.”

“And that’s where you’re wrong,” he quickly shot back, “Unlike you guys, us lions are quite loyal and protective of our own, and right now, Luna is a member of Gryffindor house. Besides that, she’s my friend, and I certainly can’t let two people who obviously mean her harm get anywhere near her.”

The girls scowled again and the second girl opened her mouth to say something. However, before she could do more than take a breath in, the door behind them burst open and Madam Pomfrey burst in, Professor Flitwick on her heels.

“Miss Belladonna! Miss Velouria! What are you two doing here?!” Professor Flitwick cried, his voice carrying a surprising amount of weight as it lacked his usual squeaky timbre. Combined with his angry face, which was creased with grim fury, his heritage as the descendant of a goblin warrior as well as his own past as a champion duelist began to shine through, and he cut a very intimidating figure. With a sharp wave of his wand, both of the students were placed in partial body-binds and then immediately levitated, and Professor Flitwick took the two girls out of the room. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Professor Flitwick launched into an angry tirade, and by the time the door fully shut, he had already begun enumerating both the rules the girls had broken as well as the consequences of those infractions.

Inside the infirmary, though, things had calmed down. Madam Pomfrey bustled over to Luna’s side, flicking her wand toward the cabinets around the room and summoning over a handful of items. A moment later, Luna had a second pillow under her head, a hot water bottle in her hands, and a cold compress on her forehead, looking thoroughly fussed over and a little disoriented at how fast it occurred. Before Madam Pomfrey could add a second hot water bottle, though, Luna was able to convince her that she was alright with what she had already given her, and she reluctantly backed off, giving Harry a chance to slip back to Luna’s bedside.

“Well, that went better than I expected,” Harry sighed, “I didn’t expect them to come back so quickly. Made things a lot easier that way, though.” He placed his hand on the bed, and Luna quickly reached down and took it, lacing her fingers carefully with his and squeezing it tightly.

“That was me,” she said, holding up a small device, “Madam Pomfrey gave me this thing. She said it was a ‘pager,’ and that she and Professor Flitwick would come running if I pressed the red circle.” She indicated the red button on one side, leaning a bit closer to give Harry a proper look. As she moved closer, though, she quickly looked around to see if Madam Pomfrey was looking, then leaned fully in and kissed Harry on the cheek again, this time lingering for longer.

“By the way, Harry,” she whispered in his ear, “You’re making it really hard for me to get over my ‘gratitude,’ given the way you keep saving me over and over again. At this rate, we’ll never get anywhere.”

Harry didn’t stand a chance and immediately melted, leaning bonelessly against the side of the bed as he waited for the tingles in his face and butterflies in his tummy to abate. Once he recovered enough to have control over his body again, he looked over at Luna, his pupils massively dilated from the leftover dopamine still pumping through his brain after the rush of euphoria Luna’s kiss and whisper had induced.

“If that’s the kind of reward I can expect every time I help you out, then…” he murmured, his speech a bit unclear. Luna just giggled and squeezed Harry’s hand, smiling sweetly at him, then leaned back against her pillows with a satisfied sigh.

“Don’t get used to it, Harry. The thing about saving people is, once you solve a problem, it often stays solved,” she said. Harry laughed at this, shaking his head and shrugging helplessly.

“Tell that to my stupid life. Things never tend to stay ‘solved’ when it comes to me,” he said, sighing dramatically. Luna giggled again, and Harry started laughing too. They spent the next few minutes continuing to talk and occasionally flirt, and when the lunch hour was halfway over and Harry had to leave in order to get some food for himself, he was very reluctant to leave. It was only with the knowledge that he had a free period after lunch that he finally managed to convince himself to leave, and he left Luna with a promise to return with Ron and Hermione as soon as he was done with lunch.

Indeed, forty minutes later, he came back with Ron and Hermione in tow, and Ron brought Ginny with him. It also happened that Professor McGonagall had come to check on Luna after hearing about the Ravenclaw girls sneaking in and had convinced Madam Pomfrey that Luna was ready to be discharged, so by the time Harry’s group arrived, Luna was already putting her cloak on. She smiled warmly when Harry arrived, and once Madam Pomfrey let her go, she happily left with them, heading to the quad to chat before the others had their afternoon classes.

Once they found a sunny spot by the Great Lake, they settled down in a loose circle, and Harry was the first to speak. “Alright Luna, I suppose this can count as an impromptu welcome party for you,” he said, reaching into his bag and producing a small selection of snacks and sweets, “These are the last of my Honeydukes sweets, but they’ll have to do.” He began passing them around, then lifted a chocolate frog up in a toast. The other mirrored him, and then began digging in.

While they ate, Ginny slid closer to Luna and said, “So, Luna, it would seem that you’ve been saved by Harry too. We should form a Girls-Saved-by-Harry club, I’m sure Mrs. Norris and Hermione would love to join.” Hermione swatted at Ginny in protest, but Ginny just dodged and laughed. Luna laughed too, and she moved closer to Ginny as well.

“Actually, I wanted to talk about something,” Harry said, “I told you guys about how a couple Ravenclaws snuck into the infirmary and were threatening Luna, right? It was lucky that I was visiting at the same time and could buy enough time for Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick to get there, but as much as I want to spend every waking moment with Luna, I can’t.”

“So you want me and my friends to protect her in your place,” Ginny interjected. Harry nodded, and Ginny shrugged carelessly as she said, “I was planning on doing something like that anyway. You hardly have to ask a lion to protect their pride.”

Harry gave her a grateful smile, which Ginny returned casually. Luna glanced back and forth between them a few times, then quickly scooted over to Harry’s side and hugged his arm possessively. Ginny looked surprised for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“Luna! It’s not like that!” she giggled, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna try to steal Harry from you. He’s too much like Ron, it’d be like trying to date my own brother.” She screwed up her nose at the thought, and it was Ron’s turn to swat at her in protest. Luna relaxed a bit at Ginny’s explanation, but she didn’t let go of Harry, instead using this as an excuse to stay next to her crush. She leaned her head against Harry’s shoulder, watching the others talk and play with a happy and content smile on her face.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Harry and his friends finished their classes without complication, and Luna spent the afternoon in meetings with Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, ironing out the details of how the rest of her year would go. Harry ended his day in Transfiguration class, and when the class ended and he left the classroom, he was surprised to find Luna waiting for him in the hall.

“Hello, Harry. I’m here to pick you up,” she said, giving him her usual dreamy smile, which Harry returned with a bright grin as he took her hand. She was pulled into the middle of Harry’s group of friends as they went down to dinner, and she chatted with them the whole way down. Once they reached the Great Hall, they selected a spot about a third of the way down the table, under a cluster of floating candles, and settled in. Just as Luna was getting comfortable while also trying to discreetly get as close to Harry as she could, though, another Gryffindor approached. Luna looked up as she got closer and immediately paled, grabbing for Harry’s hand. He quickly looked up as well and spotted Parvati Patil coming over. From there, it only took a moment of thought to figure out why Luna had reacted so poorly: her identical twin sister, Padma, was in Ravenclaw and might well have been one of Luna’s tormentors.

“Hello Parvati, can we help you?” Harry said slowly, his tone neutral and slightly suspicious. Parvati stopped a few feet away, having noticed Luna’s nervous actions, and bowed her head a bit.

“I just wanted to apologize to Luna on behalf of my sister,” she said hesitantly, “I grabbed her after breakfast this morning and asked her what was going on, and she told me about… about how mean they had been to you. About how mean she had been to you.” Her voice trembled at the end, and she bowed her head further and said, “I know it might be hard to forgive her, but… please.”

“Parvati, it’s okay. You don’t need to bow your head like that for your sister,” Luna said softly, “You weren’t the one who h-hurt me. Padma will get whatever punishment the Headmaster and the professors decide she deserves, and that will be the end of it. Padma… she wasn’t the worst of the bunch anyway, so… it’s okay.” Luna spoke haltingly and hesitantly, obviously uncomfortable and unsure, but she managed to summon the courage to get the words out in the end.

Parvati nodded, a bit of sadness and relief mixed in her expression, then headed back to the other end of the table to join the rest of her own friends. As she walked away, Luna let out a sigh of relief and leaned on Harry’s shoulder for support. Harry slipped his arm around her waist and placed his hand on her hip, pulling her in a bit closer and holding her loosely, and she snuggled against him a bit, feeling much better. By the time the food started appearing, she had fully recovered, so she loaded her plate up with food and began eating.

While Luna was quietly eating, Harry was looking around the room. The Ravenclaw table was, naturally, completely empty, but Parvati coming over had reminded him that there were many friends and siblings of Ravenclaw students who might still be in the room. Before he could work himself into a paranoid frenzy, though, Ron put a hand on his shoulder and shook him a bit.

“Mate, take it easy,” he said quietly, “It’s fine. We’ve got this. Nothing’s gonna happen to Luna, I promise.” Harry let out a shaky, uncertain breath, but nodded to Ron gratefully before trying to focus on his food. He was still nervous and jumpy, but he managed to pick at his food a bit, and Luna’s affectionate smiles helped a lot. By the end of the meal, Harry had fully relaxed and was having fun, and when dessert came out, he happily split a warm piece of pie with Luna, each of them taking turns cutting into it with a fork. On the side, Ron and Hermione were rolling their eyes and miming throwing up, but both of them were happy for Harry, so they didn’t mock him too much.

Dinner ended without anything special happening, and when they were done eating, they all trooped back to Gryffindor Tower to work on homework and chat. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny claimed an empty corner and began to work; Harry, Ron, and Hermione worked through their Charms problem set while Ginny caught Luna up on where the second-year Gryffindors were in the curriculum. Luna’s presence by his side surprisingly didn’t distract Harry very much, and instead kept him more on task, so he managed to finish his homework much quicker than usual and spent the rest of the time peeking at the Transfiguration essay Luna had just finished writing and was drying in the middle of the table.

The two second year girls had less homework than the three third years did, since they didn’t have to worry about homework from electives, so Luna finished her work a little bit before Harry. Upon each of them realizing that the other was done, they gave their friends some random excuses before escaping, leaving them to revise their work while they hurried off alone.

“So, would you like to join me on my walk tonight, Luna?” Harry asked, the smile on his face making it clear what he thought Luna’s answer would be. However, the mischievous and playful glint in Luna’s eyes told him that it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Hm… I’m not sure,” she said in a slightly sing-song tone, “Tonight, the Moonlight Springgans won’t be out and about, nor will the Lunalight Dancers be performing. I think I’ll have a quiet night in my bed instead.” She intentionally played up the innocently naughty act, glancing up the stairs at the dorm entrances.

Although Harry knew on some level that Luna was joking, he still felt a twinge of disappointment, and it showed on his face. Luna’s act melted very quickly in the face of Harry’s crestfallen pout, and she shook her head.

“Oh, I just can’t win against that cute pout you do,” she sighed, hanging her head, “Of course I’ll walk with you. Need you even ask?” She cupped his cheek and brushed the pad of her thumb across his cheekbone, an affectionate smile on her face. He leaned into her hand with a soft sigh, an equally affectionate smile spreading across his face, then brought his hand up to her hand on his face and gently pulled it away.

“Let’s not waste any time, then. I’ll drop my bag off, and then we can go,” he said, pulling his invisibility cloak out of his bag and handing it to Luna before running up to his dorm. After tossing his bag haphazardly on his bed, he hurried back down to the bottom of the stairs where Luna was waiting. Luna poked her head out of the invisibility cloak and waved him over, then pulled him into the cloak once he approached. Together, they snuck through the common room, the general hubbub of everyone talking on the various couches just barely enough to cover up their footsteps, and they practically spilled out from behind the Fat Lady painting, trying to hold their giggles back as they tumbled over the threshold.

They spent the next thirty minutes in relative silence, just holding hands and walking with the cloak pulled tightly around their shoulders. Although both of them were still young and small, they still had to squeeze together quite a bit to fit under the cloak… though they certainly didn’t mind the situation. They pulled the hood of the cloak down so they could breathe more easily, so it was just two floating heads walking around, but neither of them really cared too much about being caught. The purpose of the cloak was just to provide a sense of privacy, where the principle of the matter was more important than the actual level of privacy they had.

After a little while, they reached the other side of the building, where the Astronomy tower was located, and Harry glanced over at Luna, who looked back at him at the same time. They shared a laugh as they realized that they had thought the same thing at the same time, and wordlessly moved to enter the tower. A few minutes and many stairs later, they reached the top of the tower and exited into the open air. The weather lately had been overcast, so there hadn’t been many Astronomy practicals for a couple weeks, and the observation platform was completely empty. Harry and Luna had the whole place to themselves.

Shedding the cloak, Harry folded it up and tucked it under his arm. Luna stretched a bit, extending her arms over her head and arching her back like a cat, then shivered and shuffled closer to Harry.

“Mmh… it’s still cold out. Warm me up, Harry,” she said, putting her arms around Harry’s waist. The boy obeyed without hesitation, hugging Luna and pulling her so that his back was against the wind and Luna was shielded from it by his torso. Without others’ eyes on them, both of them indulged their mutual desire for physical intimacy that just holding hands or brief hugs couldn’t satisfy, and they simultaneously let out soft exhales of contentment.

Luna was the first to break the cozy silence, softly saying, “I’ve been thinking about what you said this morning, about gratitude and love and stuff. I know that just one day isn’t enough to fully process my feelings and know the difference and all that… but I tried to talk to Ginny about it, since you also saved her life last year, and I thought she might understand. She was really helpful, and she helped me understand my feelings better… and showed me just how deep my feelings are.” Pulling away a bit, she looked up and made eye contact with him, her silver eyes full of determination.

“Harry, I feel a lot more than just generally positive toward you,” she said firmly, her voice growing in confidence, “I feel jealous and possessive of you, I feel my heartbeat quicken and my stomach leap when I see you, I feel my eyes drawn toward you whenever I’m with you, I feel my mind turn to thoughts of you whenever we’re apart… It’s much more than the things Ginny talked about. Ginny said that, after you saved her, she indeed saw you in a warm light, but that her general thoughts and desires didn’t change much from before you saved her life. It’s… it’s very different for me. I just can’t stop thinking about you… I can’t stop wanting you.”

This was as far as Luna could go before her embarrassment overtook her courage, and she broke eye contact, blushing so brightly that it was visible even under the dim starlight. Harry was silent for a long moment, and just when Luna began to worry that she had crossed a line, he pulled her into another tight hug.

“Goddammit, Luna, what am I to say to that?” he whispered in her ear, “It’s been hard enough trying to focus in class long enough to figure out what the professors are saying, given the fact that I haven’t stopped thinking about you at all for the last twenty four hours.” He moved back a bit and cupped her jaw, tipping her face up so she would face him, then looked deep in her eyes, green and silver mixing again. Their faces were mere centimeters apart, their breath mixing between their mouths, and Harry maintained this for a few seconds before letting out a shuddering breath.

“I can’t help it anymore, Luna. You’re just too perfect, too beautiful and smart and thoughtful and… and perfect . I want to… I just… May I kiss you?” His voice grew steadily more fervent, culminating in an almost desperate question, charged with unmistakable and unrestrained desire.

Rather than answer with words, Luna leaned right in and pressed her lips against Harry’s, kissing him hard. The kiss was shallow and clumsy, Harry and Luna’s youth and inexperience keeping the gesture almost chaste, but at the same time, it was filled with the infinite passion and heat that only a first kiss could hold. The kiss was a promise, a vow of commitment and love that transcended words and cemented their bond. Under the light of the half-covered full moon, Harry and Luna made the decision to join their lives as one forevermore.