Harry and Luna Against the High Inquisitor

By: Arpad Hrunta

Fandom: harry potter

Summary: Harry and Luna are in a new relationship, but have to deal with the machinations of High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge. A tale of romance, unfair detentions, media relations, and charms. Sequel to "Protection from Nargles". HPLL, RWLB. In progress... and now finally updated (Dec. 2014)

Fic type: Books/Harry Potter

Pairings/Main char.: [Harry P., Luna L.] [Ron W., Lavender B.]

Published: 2012-01-09

Last updated: 2014-12-10

Words count: 117,253

Chapters count: 16

Converted using www.FF2EBOOK.com
Date: 2017-09-19

1. Prelude

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. It should be intuitively obvious that I have no rights to Harry Potter or anything associated with it, but on the off chance it is not, the reader should know that I in fact have no such rights.

Harry and Luna Against The High Inquisitor

Prelude

January 31, 1996.

Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Under-Secretary to the Minister of Magic, High Inquisitor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, was enjoying supper at the Head Table in the Great Hall. Lamb chops, roast potatoes, and fiddleheads – a good wholesome meal for her, and for the students as well.

She took a lot around at the students in question. By and large, they were a group with the potential to be good, loyal wizards and witches, faithful to the Ministry and to the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, the greatest Minister of Magic in the last century, as far as she was concerned. The majority of the students listened to their teachers, and (more importantly) listened to and obeyed her. She found the students in Slytherin house especially easy to handle.

There were always the proverbial bad apples, though. Her eyes drifted to Griffyndor table. The Weasley family, for example, did not know to keep their heads down and shut up. No surprise, really, given their father Arthur, who despite his working for the Ministry, was always making waves. He was unlikely to ever advance out of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office – not if she had anything to say about it, by Merlin!

The youngest Weasley boy's hanger-on, Hermione Granger, was another one she had her eye on. All the other Professors called her the 'brightest witch of her age', but Dolores saw right through that act! The Granger girl was nothing but a lippy troublemaker – again, no surprise; what else could one expect from a Muggleborn? She likely knew nothing of wizarding culture, wizarding society – she certainly didn't know to respect her elders! - and her teachers (that nosey Minerva McGonagall especially – Dolores didn't like her when she was her teacher, and didn't like her now when she was her "colleague") had the temerity to suggest that the Granger girl was headed to high office in the Ministry! Not on Dolores Umbridge's watch, she wasn't.

Longbottom, Jordan, Finnigan, those irritating Creeveys – Gryffindor was full of troublemakers, far more than she had to deal with in any other house. But the worst of them was Harry Potter.

She scanned the Gryffindor table to find Potter. He wasn't there at all. Looking around the Hall, she spotted him at the Ravenclaw table, sitting opposite and chatting with Luna Lovegood, the daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, the crackpot editor and publisher of The Quibbler. If Xeno Lovegood were to stick to his reports of imaginary creatures and hidden rune spells, that would be one thing; he would be merely be a harmless crank with a printing press. But he couldn't stop himself from printing all manner of scandalous lies about Minister Fudge, and wouldn't stop repeating the lies of Dumbledore and the Potter boy. She had suggested many times to the Minister that they do something about Lovegood's seditious libel machine, but Cornelius hadn't brought himself to do that. Yet. She knew she could bring him around eventually.

From what she could tell, the daughter was as crazed as her father was – even the other students noticed that, and called her "Loony". No surprise that she had taken up with Potter.

Potter. The little twit had some nerve. Everyone said he was the "Saviour of the Wizarding World", but she knew better. Some saviour. Spreading such lies as he did – You-Know-Who being back. Really! If he had returned, the Minister would certainly know about it, and the Minister had assured her that he hadn't. That really did make it open-and-shut, as far as she was concerned. Potter was just trying to prolong his fame. After all, without a Dark Lord, they didn't need a saviour, now, did they? No, Potter was simply a liar, trying to make himself necessary to an easily hoodwinked populace. He was a nuisance, and a large one at that, but he'd be easily handled if he wasn't in the pocket of Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore. She hadn't thought much of him when she was in Hogwarts, and she didn't think much of him now. So he had defeated Gellert Grindelwald. So what? That didn't make him fit to lead Wizarding Britain, which is what she was certain he wanted to do. Why else would he oppose the Minister? Why else would he have become Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards? Why else would he so strenuously claim that You-Know-Who was back, and back up Potter's story completely? It was obviously the same reason as Potter – he wanted to be seen as indispensable, rather than what he was, a senile old fool who should shut up and retire.

Those two were the reason she was here in the first place.

Dolores never thought she would be back at Hogwarts after she graduated thirty-five years ago. She enjoyed her time there well enough – although she had a hard time making friends, even in notoriously friendly Hufflepuff house, what friends she did make were very loyal, and she was loyal to them. Classes had been interesting enough, although she knew she would never be an academic, and wanted to be done her time in school to get out there into the real world, and achieve her true goal – to be Minister of Magic!

Unfortunately, the real world dealt a series of cruel blows to her ambitions. She certainly got a job working in the Ministry quickly enough – a nice post in the Department of Magical Transportation. However, she soon found that she was not well liked, and was not considered by her superiors to have much leadership potential. They noted that she was considered "sound", though, and that she was exceedingly loyal to the Ministry (she hadn't been sorted into Hufflepuff for nothing, after all!), and she had a bright future in the Ministry. But they told her she was unlikely to ever make Minister.

Dolores had been hurt by that. All her dreams, crushed in an instant. She never had much use for romance (she was well aware she was considered unattractive), had no wish to raise a family (children were such horrid little beasts!), didn't want to work in the private sector selling trinkets or serving butterbeer – all she had ever wanted to do was to work in the Ministry, and work her way up to being Minister. But that wasn't likely to happen.

So she decided that if she couldn't be the woman in charge, she could be the woman behind the Minister. She decided to tie her fortunes to someone likely to rise to the top, and she chose Cornelius Fudge – amiable and ambitious, and a man who appreciated her loyalty and her talents. When she made it clear that she would support him, no matter what, she rose as he rose. She was now the Senior Under-Secretary to the Minister, one step away from her new dream job – Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Magic, the head of the Magical Civil Service. All she had to do to get it was to make certain that when Pendleton Straube, the current Permanent Secretary, retired in two years' time, that Cornelius Fudge was still the Minister. He had promised the job to her, after all.

All that stood in her way was Dumbledore's and Potter's campaign to destabilize the Ministry by spreading their lies. Well, that's why she was here – to keep an eye on them, and if possible, to remove them. By any means she could. She had already tried more permanent means with Potter, and that hadn't worked, but she was confident she could deal with them from here. She was slowly removing Dumbledore's influence at Hogwarts, and would find a way soon enough to remove them both.

She watched as Potter and the Lovegood girl got up from the Ravenclaw table, and walked out of the Great Hall, holding hands. How utterly inappropriate! They were going off to their second night of detention tending the thestral nest. They somehow managed to survive one evening with those vicious creatures – maybe the second evening would be different. It would save her some work if it did.

On the likely chance the two troublemakers survived, however, Dolores had a plan. Potter's relationship with Lovegood would be his undoing. Dolores could use her to get at him, and him to get at her, each a lever against the other. Maybe she could even get at Xeno Lovegood this way. Once she had dealt with Potter, Dumbledore would be next.

Who knows? Maybe by the end of the term, she could be rid of Potter, Dumbledore, and The Quibbler, all at once! They she could leave this benighted place, get back to London, and be firmly ensconced in the Permanent Secretary's office within two years.

Wouldn't that be grand?

(Author's note: I'm looking for a beta-reader for this. If anyone would like to do so, please send me a personal message. Thanks!)

2. 1: Spin

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. It should be intuitively obvious that I have no rights to Harry Potter or anything associated with it, but on the off chance it is not, the reader should know that I in fact have no such rights.

Chapter 1 - Spin

February 1, 1996.

Harry Potter didn't need to keep wearing the bandages he routinely acquired after Umbridge detentions for as long as he used to anymore, due to the large amount of scar tissue that had built up. In a way, he was glad his most recent detention had him write something other than the usual "I must not tell lies" - there was a chance he would end the year with just an ugly scar on the back of his right hand rather than a legible one.

He flexed his hand open and closed as he sat facing the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, reviewing his Charms notes with Ron. He paid far more attention in Charms this last month than normal, for Luna Lovegood and he had been exchanging small charms with one another during their month-long courtship, and he wanted to make something for her birthday. He already had the perfect gift already – a book on rare magical creatures written by her great-great-great aunt – but he knew she would love a hand-made gift as well. She really liked the warming anklet he made for her out of fire lilies – perhaps something similar would work.

He and Ron had been revising for a while when their best friend Hermione sat down with them. "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes – you two studying without me prodding you," she said, the small smile on her face belying her tone.

"Harry wants to stay on top of his new favourite class," Ron said with a smirk.

"Well, there's not exactly much to learn in Defence Against the Dark Arts these days," Harry said, looking at his scarred hand.

"You don't have keep letting her bait you, Harry. She's horrible and evil but she's no fool. If you keep responding to her like that, you're just playing into her hands," Hermione said.

"Well, what else can I do? Let her insult Luna and her dad's paper like that?"

"Harry, how does letting yourself get carved up in her detentions really help Luna?"

Harry thought about that. "It shows that she's not alone. That someone cares."

Hermione smiled at him. "I think your being her boyfriend shows that far better than earning endless detentions does. And I would imagine it's far more pleasant."

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess. The only thing keeping me going through Defence is the hope that the position really is cursed, and that she'll be gone at the end of the year."

She rolled her eyes. "We can't rely on a superstition to get rid of the woman, Harry."

"It's not a superstition!" interrupted Ron. "There hasn't been one Defence professor who stayed more than a year since Mum and Dad were students here. I think it's pretty clear there's some kind of curse on the job."

Hermione said, "That's not evidence, Ron, that's coincidence. And anyway, even if the trend does continue, that doesn't mean she won't get some other position here."

Ron shook his head. "No way. Dumbledore would never allow it."

"He may not have a choice, Ron. Remember, he didn't hire her in the first place. That's assuming he's even still here next year."

"Dumbledore isn't going anywhere."

"We hope."

"So what do we do then?" asked Harry. "We can't just hex her until she leaves. Or do anything stronger. Dumbledore may not like her, but he won't let students turn on a professor like that. We'd all be expelled for sure."

"I have a plan," Hermione said with a smile (a rather vicious one at that, Harry thought). "Not to get rid of her – we're in no position to do that at this point. But if we're ever going to be in that position, we need to get the public to see that you're not making everything up about You-Know-Who being back."

Harry said, "That makes sense. So what's the plan?"

"Can you stick around the Room of Requirement after tomorrow's D.A. meeting?"

"I was going to hang out with Luna, but o.k."

"Good, I've asked her to stay as well."

"What about me?" asked Ron. "Do I get to come?"

"This stage of my plan doesn't really involve you, Ron," said Hermione, but seeing the annoyed expression on his face, added, "but you're welcome to stick around."

"Great," said the redheaded boy. "Just for your plan, though. I don't need to watch loverboy here snog his girl."

That earned him a swat with Harry's Charms notes, which led to a few minutes of the two Gryffindor boys playfully smacking each other with their notes, to the general amusement of most of the common room. Hermione shook her head at the spectacle, and began revising her Arithmancy lessons for the day.

February 2, 1996.

It had been a good meeting that day, Harry thought. Today's meeting of Dumbledore's Army focused on Shield Charms and the dodging of spells. Harry was dismayed at how few D.A. members had thought of simple dodging as a way to protect themselves. After being stung by some powerful Stinging Hexes, most learned that getting out of the way was just as good a way of avoiding getting hit as a Shield Charm, if one could manage it. Real life was not a formal duel, and they needed to learn that. He was unsurprised to learn that most of the best dodgers were Quidditch players, as well as Dean Thomas, who played football during the summer months, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, who played rugby. Harry himself had years of trying to dodge his cousin Dudley's gang to aid his Quidditch reflexes.

Harry had sparred with Luna that day, and while she was not particularly adept at dodging his hexes at first, she quickly improved. Her Shield Charms were generally excellent, and her Stinging Hexes were powerful and quick, being hard to dodge, and nearly bursting through his shields on two attempts.

The look of pride on her face when she finally stung him was quite endearing, while at the same time being scary enough for him to never want to make her mad.

His other friends also did well. Neville was getting far more effective every meeting, as Cho Chang learned today to her detriment. Hermione was excellent as always, although George Weasley held his own against her. Ginny Weasley once again proved her power with hexes, and Harry hoped for her sake that her boyfriend Michael Corner didn't hold being stung by her multiple times.

Lavender Brown was Ron's duelling partner, and when she went easy on him at the beginning, Harry went over and encouraged her to think of him as a vicious opponent rather than as friendly Ron Weasley. She was more effective after that, and she had a productive duelling session with the youngest Weasley boy, although she did apologize to him afterwards for some of the hexes getting through. Ron's complexion got redder at this, although whether it was for someone who had as weak a duelling reputation as Lavender stinging him, or due to the ongoing attention of his pretty dark blond housemate, Harry was unable to say.

He went and wrapped his arm around Luna's waist, earning a quick kiss from the blonde girl, as they waited for everyone else, save Ron and Hermione, to exit the room.

"Hello Hermione. Hello Ronald – you're awfully red," she said conversationally.

"Er, I may have overexerted myself today. That Lavender is tougher than she seems," he said, with a hint of admiration in his voice.

Luna nodded. "Yes, I believe that. She seems so cheerful and bubbly, you wouldn't think she could hurt anyone. I get underestimated myself all the time, you know. People think I'm odd." She stage whispered last comment this as she leaned in closer to Ron, oblivious to the discomfort her bluntness was giving him. "Makes it easier to get that first hex in, though. Against most people that is." She gave Harry a smile at that.

"So," Ron said to Hermione, "Your plan?"

The bushy-haired brunette nodded to her friend. "Right. I spoke about this to Luna yesterday, but she wanted you here, Harry, before she agreed to anything." Harry raised an eyebrow at Luna, who smiled vaguely at him. Hermione continued, "As long as the Daily Prophet keeps spewing its lies, no one is going to believe Harry and Dumbledore, and they've made it clear they're not giving up this story. So we need to look at alternative media which could get our message out there. Put our own spin on things."

"Spin?" Ron asked.

"Our own slant on the situation," Hermione said.

"But we don't have a slant. We have the truth."

"Exactly, but no one is putting the true spin on the true facts. And that's where Luna comes in."

"The Quibbler," Harry said.

Hermione smiled. "Exactly. The Quibbler supports you to begin with, and Luna has some pull with the publisher, I imagine," she said wryly.

"But they've been publishing stories supporting me since the summer," Harry pointed out.

"I've been looking over the last few issues, thanks to Luna," (the blonde smiled at Hermione at this point) "and those were all editorials or opinion columns. I was thinking we could try and pitch Luna's father a feature interview. With you, Harry."

"But I told Hermione I wasn't going to talk to Daddy until we got your approval," Luna said.

Harry gently squeezed his girlfriend's waist at that, eliciting a small giggle from her. "Thank you. Do you think he'll agree?"

"I think so," she said cheerfully. "It might not be published for a while – the March issue that's coming out in a few weeks has the features on Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and the Lizard People that I was telling you about," (Ron mouthed "Lizard People?" to Hermione, who shook her head, as if to say, "Don't ask.") "but there's nothing as important scheduled for April, as far as I know. Maybe he'll print it then."

"I don't think we'd want to wait two months," Ron said.

"A month and a half," Hermione corrected automatically. "Magazines print issues in the month before they're dated. Usually, at least. I don't know if The Quibbler does."

"It does," Luna said. "I think I could convince Daddy to print something like that. It wouldn't be that hard. Stories about Harry are always good copy."

Harry groaned.

"I know you hate all that 'Boy-Who-Lived' stuff, Harry, but it's true. We may as well take advantage of it," Hermione said.

"I guess."

"Well, even so, would it really work? I mean, no offence Luna, but a lot of people think your Dad's magazine is something of a joke," Ron said.

"Now hang on..." Harry began, only to be interrupted by his friend.

"I'm serious, Harry. If you want people to take you seriously, we can't have an interview where you're asked nothing but questions about Crumple-Horned Snorgles."

"Snorkacks," Luna interjected cheerfully.

"Er, right. Sorry. But I'm serious about this. We don't want people to think this is just another weird Quibbler story."

Luna's voice rose slightly. "Daddy's stories are not 'weird'. Do you only believe what the Prophet says?"

Ron's voice began to rise as well. "You know I don't, Luna. But we're only going to get one shot at this. You know Umbridge is not going to let Harry get away with speaking to the papers a second time. Do we really want to waste our attack on a story people might not believe?"

"They might not believe it anyway," Harry said quickly, before Ron and Luna's conversation got heated. "I'm now the 'Boy-Who-Lied', according to the Prophet."

"But they'll read it just the same," Hermione said. "And then they'll see how Harry's telling the truth, because V-V-Voldemort being back explains everything that's been going on, unlike the tripe the Ministry is trying to feed people."

"Okay. So if Luna's Dad agrees to print some huge interview with me, who do we get to do it?"

"Rita Skeeter owes me," Hermione said. "She'd do it."

"That troll? After everything she said about you last year? She's a total liar," Ron said.

"But she's well known, and people believe her," Hermione pointed out.

No one said anything for a few moments, until Luna spoke up. "I think Ron's right. She's not very credible. I don't think Daddy would want her bringing down the reputation of The Quibbler."

"Who do you suggest then?" Hermione said defensively.

"Daddy, of course."

"What?"

Getting that annoyed tone in her voice she seemed to reserve for Hermione, Luna said, "I'll have you know Dad is a very skilled interviewer, thank-you-very-much. He's been a journalist for nearly thirty years, and he's done hundreds of interviews over the years, for The Quibbler, the Owl-Scryer, the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror, and he'd be perfect to interview Harry."

Hermione looked surprised. "Wait, the Express and the Mirror? The Muggle papers?"

Luna nodded. "After graduation, he worked as a Muggle journalist for a few years. They had him interviewing members of the Muggle Wizengamot -"

"'Parliament'," Hermione interrupted automatically.

"- for a while. He quite enjoyed it. He said they were far more interesting than members of our Wizengamot, who won't give him the time of day, usually."

Hermione considered this. "Huh. I didn't know that about your Dad. You think he'd want to do the interview?"

"Oh yes," Luna said happily. "He's wanted to talk to Harry since Christmas. I'm sure he'd jump at the opportunity to interview Harry, especially now that we're together."

Ron laughed uproariously at that. "Oh, shut up," Harry said to his friend, not unkindly. "I'd really prefer to be interviewed by Luna's dad than Rita Skeeter."

"So when do I ask Daddy to do this?"

"How about next Hogsmeade weekend. We'll meet at the Three Broomsticks," Hermione suggested.

"No, too public. How about the Hog's Head?" Harry suggested.

Hermione said, "Remember how well that worked last time? We'll get a private room in the back of the Three Broomsticks for the interview."

Harry nodded. "Okay, that works. So long as it's private."

Smirking, Ron said, "You just don't want Luna's Dad intimidating you in front of other students."

"Oh, I don't think Daddy would intimidate Harry, Ronald. That's not how you conduct an interview," Luna said airily.

Ron grinned wider, and said, "That's not quite what I meant, Luna. Anyway, should you ask him? Don't you think Umbridge is reviewing your owl post now that you two are together?" Ron asked. "Maybe I could message him. Or Ginny could."

"Ginny would work," Hermione agreed. "Or I could. He got that letter we wrote last week."

"I'll send it to him. Daddy and I have our ways of communicating surreptitiously. If we don't hear back from him in a week, we'll assume my owl's been intercepted. I think Hermione should send the follow-up letter in that case, Ron – she's already owled my father once. It wouldn't seem as odd as you owling him," Luna said.

"Sounds like we have a plan," Ron said happily. "Let's get down to dinner before all the steak-and-kidney pie is gone, Hermione."

Hermione shook her head and smiled. "Don't stay up here too late, you two," she said to Harry and Luna, following Ron out of the room.

After his friends were gone, Harry leaned in for a kiss from Luna. When then finished, Harry concentrated on a comfy couch. Once the Room provided one, they cuddled up in it. Sighing contentedly, she asked him how his day was.

"All right, I guess. Divination with Firenze is completely different from Trelawney's class."

Luna nodded. "I know. It's interesting how he teaches the centaur principles of divination by astronomy. I think he should get together with Professor Sinistra to teach a joint class at some point. I do miss Professor Trelawney sometimes, though. She wasn't very good, but her classes were entertaining."

Harry snorted. "She wasn't predicting your death on a yearly basis."

"No, but thankfully she's never really predicted anything successfully to begin with. I wouldn't want to worry about losing you so soon, you know," she said quietly.

Harry kissed her forehead and said, "Lavender Brown swears Trelawney predicted the death of her pet bunny in third year."

Luna laughed, and said, "I stand corrected."

"I also had Umbridge today."

"Oh yes, I forgot that. You haven't mentioned detention yet. Did it go all right?"

"Fortunately she just had us copy more of the textbook today. I swear, it's the most useless class ever. She doesn't even bother to quiz us."

Luna laughed. "Do you want her to?"

"At least she'd be pretending to teach," he said, exasperated. "I swear, my whole class is going to fail their O.W.L.s."

"Not those in the D.A. Of course, they have a real teacher." She looked at him admiringly as he said that.

Blushing at the complement, he asked, "Do you really think your Dad would want to interview me?"

She looked at him unblinkingly. "Harry, you're the only boy I've ever mentioned to him. I'm going to disguise our interview proposal in a letter telling him all about my new boyfriend. And he's going to see you wearing the charm I made you as a necklace. I think the only thing that would stop him from interviewing you would be if he heard about Cornelius Fudge breeding Crumple-Horned Snorkacks to hunt down goblins."

Harry smiled. "Do they do that?"

"Oh no, Harry," she said patiently. "Snorkacks are gentle and peaceful creatures. Unless you try and uncrumple their horns. But I doubt Fudge knows that."

"Unless the Lizard People told him."

She fixed her gaze upon him again. "Now you're just being silly." Before he could defend himself, she added, "I don't think there are any Snorkacks where they come from. They're quite rare, you know."

He laughed at that, and she smiled one of her slight smiles at him. "We should get down to the Great Hall," he said.

She cuddled into him more closely. "Five more minutes, Harry. I'm so comfortable."

He wasn't going to argue with that logic.

February 4, 1996

Harry had managed to convince Hermione that after a full weekend of studying he deserved the late afternoon off, if only to clear his mind from from the mind-numbing History of Magic revision of that morning. Honestly, in a world with Merlin, Morgan le Fay, Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, and Gellert Grindelwald, why he had to study and endless series of indecisive goblin rebellions was beyond him. He had learned more history from Arminius Esterhazy's Memoirs of the Late War Against Grindelwald, the book he had bought the weekend before, than Professor Binns had managed to teach him in four-and-half years. Unlike the disengaged ghost he had as a teacher, Esterhazy made history come alive.

Harry had rendezvoused with Luna outside the Transfiguration classroom, and spent the better part of two hours just wandering the halls with her holding her hand and chatting with the blond Ravenclaw. They were drawing fewer looks than they had just a week ago – it seemed the Hogwarts population had accepted that they were together, and were waiting for the next bit of juicy gossip to occur.

They still got dirty looks from some Slytherins and some Ravenclaws, but no one said anything to them today. Luna's shy roommate, Morgana Dempster even gave them a wide smile and a friendly wave. Even if the girl didn't have the courage to publicly show she actually liked Luna for fear of her other roommates' reaction, according to Luna she was less reticent to be friendly to her in private than before. That was a start, at least – Harry fervently hoped that Luna would be able to make some true friends in her house, the way he had in Gryffindor.

They made their way to the Owlery. Luna had her letter to her father, telling him about the first month of school, and all about her new boyfriend. Being the boyfriend in question, Harry was curious about what exactly she said, but when he asked, Luna merely smiled enigmatically and said she told her father the truth about Harry, and it was all good.

Naturally, he worried regardless.

More interestingly, Luna confirmed to Harry that she had hidden their interview request to Mr. Lovegood in the letter somehow. She didn't give him the details ("family secret," she said), but assured him that her father would be able to read it, and more importantly, that anyone intercepting it wouldn't even know the hidden message existed.

Luna herself was surprised that Harry was sending Remus Lupin a letter from the school. Harry had sent a letter by owl post to their former Defence professor from Hogsmeade on their date last weekend, precisely because Harry suspected that Umbridge was monitoring his owl post. When Luna asked why Harry was sending another letter, he smiled and said he got the idea from Memoirs of the Late War.

Arminius Esterhazy spent some time in the Intelligence Division of the Joint North American Magical Expeditionary Force during the Grindelwald War, and came to the conclusion that if the enemy saw no messages were being sent when they expected them to be, they would search for hidden communications. However, if open communications were sent anyway, with the expectations the enemy might intercept them, there was a far greater chance that an enemy would not look for any hidden messages.

Harry's theory was that by sending letters via Hedwig to Remus Lupin, whom Umbridge must have known was a friend of his parents, it would make her less likely to look for other means of communication, and possibly keep her from finding his use of the Hogsmeade Owl Post. So Harry wrote a short letter for Hedwig to take to Remus, telling him about his new girlfriend and how happy he was. Luna was quite impressed by this subterfuge, and Harry was glad the Esterhazy book was already provided him one interesting stratagem.

Harry introduced Hedwig to Luna, who petted the Snowy Owl and fed her some owl treats. Luna seemed quite taken with the bird, and Harry was glad to see that Hedwig liked Luna and responded affectionately to the young blonde. After a short while talking to his owl, he gave her the letter to Remus, and Luna gave her the letter to her father. They gave her some owl treats for the road, and let her fly.

They sat on the stairs from the Owlery for a few minutes, holding hands, just enjoying each other's company.

"Oh, I forgot to mention before, I'm going to be spending the Easter break at the Burrow," Harry said.

Luna's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful! Do you think Mrs. Weasley would let me come visit you? Or maybe you could come visit my house! I can make you my fresh-water plimpie soup – Daddy says it's delicious, but he has to say that – and show you all around like I told you. Oooh! And maybe we could get together with Ginny and Ron and all go into the village for ice cream or tea! It's a Muggle village – I'm sure you've been there with Ron - but it can be lots of fun."

Harry's smile grew increasingly wide as he listened to Luna. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and he found himself really looking forward to the Easter break. "I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will let you come visit. I know I want to come to your house if your father will let me. I've actually never been into Ottery St. Catchpole, so that sounds like a fun idea."

"Will Hermione be there?"

He shook his head. "She and her family are going to Spain that week."

"I've never been to Spain. It's on our list for an expedition at some point, though." She then whispered to him, "Daddy has a contact who says she saw the nesting fields of the Hungarian Monopodal Truffners there. Don't tell anyone." She looked excited as she said this.

"I won't," he said sincerely. "Wouldn't they nest in Hungary, though?"

"Oh no," she said, shaking her head. "They're very devious, you know. That's why their nesting fields have never been found."

He smiled at her. "Well, I hope you get to go. I've never been anywhere, other than London, Surrey, the Burrow, and here. Oh, and a really mad trip to the sea just before I turned eleven when my uncle was trying to avoid my Hogwarts letters."

She laughed. "Obviously that didn't work."

"No, they just kept coming, and eventually Hagrid showed up."

"Well, I've been in England and Scotland, obviously, and Ireland to visit some cousins, France when Mummy wanted me to go to Beauxbatons, Belgium – they have the most lovely chocolate there, you know – and we all went to the States when I was three, but I don't remember that at all." Her voice took on a sing-song quality as she listed the places she had been. "We're hoping to go on an expedition to Sweden this summer. Looking for Snorkacks, you see."

"I bet that will be fun."

"Oh, I'm sure it will. Daddy wants to 'rough it'. Sleep in a tent, use as little magic as possible, cook over a fire, that kind of thing. He thinks using as little magic as possible will help flush out the Snorkacks."

"Do you think that will work?"

"I hope so. I've never been camping without magic before, so it should be fun even if we don't find them. I hope we look somewhere near a river or a lake – I like going swimming."

"I've never been camping at all," he said. "Or swimming. It sounds like a lot of fun for a vacation. You'll have to tell me all about it when you go."

Harry noticed that Luna got a far away look in her eyes for a moment, and then she looked shyly down at her lap. "Well, maybe..."

"Hem, hem," interrupted a voice that could only be from one person.

Harry and Luna stood on the stairs, not letting go of each other's hands, in front of a short, ugly woman with an unpleasant expression who resembled nothing so much an anthropomorphic toad in hot pink fuzzy robes.

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," said Luna dreamily.

"Miss Lovegood, Mr. Potter," Umbridge said in her sickly sweet voice, looking down pointedly at their interlaced fingers. "What are you doing?"

"We were sending a few letters by my owl, Professor," Harry said with a hint of defiance.

"And to whom were you sending letters?"

"I don't think that's..."

"My father," interrupted Luna, with a quick look at Harry.

"And you Mr. Potter?"

"I sent a letter to Professor Lupin."

Umbridge scowled. "Remus Lupin is no longer a professor at this or any institution, and is not qualified to teach anything whatsoever."

"Professor Lupin was the best Defence professor we ever had!" said Harry.

Luna squeezed his hand in support.

"And why were you writing a letter to a werewolf, Mr. Potter?" Umbridge pressed.

"It's private."

She scoffed. "I am the High Inquisitor of this school. There is nothing private from me, Mr. Potter."

He sighed. "Professor Lupin is a family friend, Professor Umbridge, and I wanted to tell him all about my new girlfriend." He squeezed Luna's hand lightly, and looked at her tenderly.

Umbridge scowled again. Harry was certain she caught the difference between the respectful inflection he gave Remus' title, and the far less reverent one he gave hers.

Luna added cheerfully, "That's why I wrote Daddy as well."

"And why were you sitting here on the stairs?"

"Oh, we were just chatting, Professor, about Hungarian Monopodal Truffners and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," Luna said in her airy voice.

"Hmph. Well, you shouldn't be loitering on the staircases. Five points from Gryffindor and five points from Ravenclaw. Now run along to the Great Hall. Supper will be served momentarily."

"Yes, Professor," they said resignedly in unison, and began the walk down the staircase.

"Oh, and Mr. Potter?" said Umbridge in her falsely friendly voice.

They turned around and looked at the High Inquisitor.

"Someone with your reputation and record with the courts should be very careful about to whom he writes. Sending messages to a Dark creature such as a werewolf. I wonder what the public would think? Oh well, I'm off to inspect the Owlery. Security, you see; something sorely lacking, apparently, with all of the incidents in the last few years. Dead professors, dead students, petrifications... what kind of institution is Dumbledore running here?"

Harry began to seethe, and Umbridge said, "Off you go, you two. Or I shall have to give you yet another detention." She smirked as she went up to the Owlery, leaving a frustrated Gryffindor and an apprehensive Ravenclaw behind her.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Luna wrapped Harry in a hug, trying to comfort him and make him forget their encounter with the High Inquisitor.

She was only partially successful.

[A/N: Special thanks to MandibleBones for beta-reading this and helping make it a more readable and less grammatically infelicitous chapter.]

3. 2: Hearts Afire

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. It should be intuitively obvious that I have no rights to Harry Potter or anything associated with it, but on the off chance it is not, the reader should know that I in fact have no such rights.

Chapter 2 – Hearts Afire

February 12, 1996.

Another staff meeting, thought Dolores Umbridge as she took her seat in the makeshift meeting room on the first floor of Hogwarts castle. They had alternated meetings between the Headmaster's office and the staff lounge until Dumbledore replaced that useless fraud Trelawney as Divination professor with that filthy half-breed Firenze. Really, as if a half-horse was fit to teach the witches and wizards of tomorrow! It was simply more evidence of Dumbledore's senility, as far as she was concerned.

Dolores was the last to arrive at the meeting, as there was no reason that the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts should wait for any other teacher. Looking around the room, she saw the same looks of boredom on the faces of most of the staff. It was obvious from the first meeting before the Welcome Feast back in September that no one really enjoyed these biweekly meetings, and everyone tried to make them go as quickly as possible, but Dolores had begun to find them useful in gauging staff opinion on the state of the school, and in seeing who was really loyal to the Ministry, and who was merely pretending to be so.

Dolores placed Dumbledore firmly in the latter camp, and suspected that if he made any overt moves against the Ministry, or if the Ministry were to remove him, McGonagall would back him up. Firenze was certainly Dumbledore's man, given his hiring by the Headmaster and Dolores' obvious dislike of the centaur. Hagrid was undoubtedly in Dumbledore's camp, although his periodic replacement, Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, was unlikely to do anything to jeopardize her career if the Ministry were to remove Dumbledore. Babbling, Sprout, Sinistra and Vector were the same, which made all four of them potentially reliable as far as she was concerned. Pomfrey and Pince were too concerned with their own narrow departments to be involved in school politics. Filch could almost certainly be counted upon to support the Ministry in any dispute. Flitwick was very amiable and well thought-of by the Board of Governors, but Dolores didn't know which way he would go if there was an overt break with Dumbledore, and the Charms professor was friendly enough with the old coot. His part-goblin ancestry probably made him unreliable in any event. Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor, was probably unreliable due to her outspoken criticism of attitudes she claimed Wizarding society held towards Muggles and Muggle-borns, even though Dolores thought Burbage, as a pureblood herself, should have been above such concerns.

The real wild card on the staff was Severus Snape. Dumbledore trusted him implicitly, but everything Dolores knew about him told her that Snape was unsympathetic to most of the current Headmaster's beliefs and aims. According to everything she had heard, he was certainly no fan of Harry Potter, correctly describing the little troublemaker as an arrogant mediocrity enamoured with his own celebrity. But Snape had expressed no opinions of any kind on the Ministry, and had been a Death Eater back when You-Know-Who was alive. She simply had no idea where Snape's loyalties lay, if indeed he had any to anyone or anything other than himself.

Of course, if he was loyal only to himself, that could be useful in its own way...

The meeting began as pointlessly as usual, with Dumbledore muttering platitudes about how privileged they were to shape the minds of the wizards and witches of tomorrow. The professors then had their usual discussion going over budget targets, whether there were any procurement or supply issues, and how that half-breed was fitting in as the new Divination professor. Discussion then turned to the upcoming Valentine's Day feast.

"I don't see why we're bothering with a feast," she said. "Valentine's Day simply distracts hormonal children from what they should be focusing on – their education and future in our society."

"I quite agree," said Snape.

It was obvious the rest of the staff did not, however. "Valentine's Day is always a excellent feast!" objected Flitwick. "It's fun for the whole school ‒ "

"Not for those students who focus on their classwork instead of their classmates," interrupted Snape.

The diminutive Charms professor ignored the interruption. " ‒ it's the only regular feast of the winter term, and it give enterprising students a chance to make charmed Valentines for their sweethearts. It's a wonderful holiday."

"It's a pointless distraction," Dolores reiterated.

"It's simply a harmless feast," McGonagall said. "It gives students the opportunity to express young love. Surely you see that, Dolores. It's not like they get many other chances."

"I still think we should have a Valentine's Dance this weekend," added Burbage. "You know the children would love that. Look at how much they enjoyed the Yule Ball last year."

"And look at the number of detentions I had to give to overly amorous students that night," said Snape, who was seated beside her.

"Oh, Severus, you're not helping," said Burbage quietly. The Potions Master merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think I've made it quite clear we will not be having any dances this year, Professor Burbage. It is well within my power as High Inquisitor to cancel the Valentine's Day feast," Dolores pointedly added.

"The Valentine's Day feast is a Hogwarts tradition that goes back well before my days as a student," said Dumbledore. "Thousands of married couples in our world look back on their Valentine's Days at Hogwarts as moments that brought them together. I hardly think that suspending that tradition would be looked upon kindly by the public, Dolores, and they would likely let Minister Fudge know that."

Damn, thought Dolores. The old coot is probably right. The Minister wouldn't want me to do anything that will have people sending him Howlers – there's already too many of those coming in as it is.

"Still," she pressed on, "Professor Snape raises an excellent point. Dances and activities that encourage romance among the students serve mainly to increase discipline problems."

"I hardly think that's fair," said Sprout.

"I can show you the detention statistics if you wish, Pomona. Class disruptions are the most common source of detentions – this includes incomplete homework – while spells cast in the hallways are the second. The third, however, is couples caught behaving inappropriately. "

Flitwick said, "And detentions for that kind of thing have skyrocketed this year. In previous years there were comparatively few detentions given for overly romantic students."

Dolores scoffed. "Simply proof of the lax standards prevalent before the Ministry appointed me."

"I don't think that's quite true, Dolores. Stories of students caught in flagrante delicto in the broom closets are greatly exaggerated in number, no matter how irritating to Argus those rare cases may be," Flitwick said, nodding to Filch. "Simple kisses in the hallways are now offences worthy of detention by your rules. That alone accounts for the increased numbers of detentions this year."

"It's hardly 'simple kisses'. In the last two weeks, Zachary Stonetower and Ramona Cale, and Jeremy White and Serena Shaughnessey were each given detention for being overly amorous in the hallways, and you yourself, Filius, gave Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood a detention for groping one another in the hallways," she said with a smirk.

Dumbledore's eyebrows raised at that, while Flitwick retorted, "They were hardly groping one another. It was a simple kiss that last year simply would have earned them a request to move along."

"That's not what the other girls present said. The poor girls were traumatized by the shocking display in front of them."

The short professor's voice raised in response. "Poppycock. Those 'poor girls' were taunting Miss Lovegood when Mr. Potter stepped in to defend his girlfriend and show how he felt about her. While it may not have been the ideal time and place for him to do so, the only trauma those girls felt was from someone standing up to them."

"You will pardon me, Filius, if I choose to believe three fine students over a seriously unbalanced girl and a fantasist who is a terrible student to boot," she said in a falsely sweet manner she hoped would irritate the bothersome little man.

"Miss Lovegood is not 'unbalanced' in the slightest, Dolores. She is a bright, imaginative young witch who is consistently one of the best students in her year. And Mr. Potter, while not as dedicated to his studies as we might wish, has shown tremendous enthusiasm lately in Charms, and can't be described as terrible by any stretch of the imagination. Isn't that right, Minerva?"

Before the Transfiguration professor could speak, Snape let out a derisive scoff, which made Dolores smile and McGonagall to scowl (which made Dolores smile even wider). "I quite agree, Filius. While Mr. Potter could stand to apply himself more, he has always been a fine student and an upstanding young man. And until your revisions to the curriculum, Dolores, he always excelled at Defence Against the Dark Arts," McGonagall said with a pointed look at her.

"Then why does he have to take Remedial Potions twice a week with Severus?" Dolores shot back.

Before anyone could respond, Dumbledore interrupted. "Edifying as this discussion is, I think we simply need to accept that some students will perhaps be overly affectionate at times, and that while they should be disciplined, this is simply a fact of teaching teenagers. Unless, of course, the Ministry wants to ban student relationships, and given how many couples in our society met at Hogwarts, I don't think that would be an adequate solution to the demographic problems the Ministry's Statistics Department routinely raises. Unless and until you have some contrary directions from Minister Fudge, Dolores, let's move on, shall we?"

Dolores glared at the old Headmaster, but didn't object.

Not for the first time, Ronald Weasley found himself envious of his best friend.

For a while in the previous year, after Harry was named the fourth Triwizard Champion, Ron was extremely jealous of him – it wasn't enough that he had the fame, the money and the popularity, he had to try and get the glory of being a Champion. Looking back, he was ashamed that he could assume that Harry actually wanted any of that, and worse, that Ron had let his jealousy nearly tear himself apart from his best friend, and lose out on his companionship and all the fun they had, and would hopefully continue to have. He actively strove after that not to let the occasional jealous feelings he had interfere, and he'd been very successful. He hoped.

No, the envy Ron was feeling was different than that all-consuming jealousy of last year. Ron was envious of Harry's new relationship with Luna Lovegood.

It wasn't that he wanted the blond Ravenclaw girl for himself. While Luna's strange personality and bizarre habits had grown on him in the last few weeks, the girl was far too weird for Ron. He had stopped calling her 'Loony', out of a genuine wish to try and connect with the girl for his friend's sake, and even stopped thinking of her as such, but there was a reason she was called that by her classmates beyond mere childish cruelty, as far as Ron was concerned. She could be amusing, she was pleasant, if far too blunt (and he got more than enough of that Hermione!), but not someone Ron could see himself being attracted to.

But Harry was clearly over the moon about the girl. That quite frankly baffled him – beyond her oddness, she wasn't what Ron considered physically attractive, what with the bulging eyes and stringy hair, and those weird earrings and butterbeer cork necklace, although his friend obviously disagreed, seeing as he was wearing a similar necklace himself these days. Harry was far happier over the last month than Ron had seen him since before You-Know-Who returned, and Luna's dreamy nature seemed to rub off on him after their time together. He smiled more, he laughed more, and he brooded far less than he had before Luna entered his life. That alone made Ron approve of the relationship between the strange girl and his friend, and he was genuinely happy for Harry.

He did miss all the time they used to spend together, although with Ron's prefect duties, Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape, and the D.A., there hadn't been nearly as much time for the two friends as there had been in the past. Harry spending so much time with Luna cut into that. It was hard to begrudge him that time, though, given how happy she made him. And the snogging, of course.

Ron was envious because Harry had a girl in his life, one who made him happy, and Ron did not. Harry had someone, and Ron was sure that Hermione's friendship with Viktor Krum was more intense than she let him know. The twins had their girlfriends. Even his little sister Ginny had a boyfriend, albeit that prat Michael Corner. And Ron had no one.

He'd only been one date before, with Padma Patil to the Yule Ball. That had gone far worse than he had hoped. He actually expected that he and Hermione would end up at the Ball together, but she went and got asked by Krum, which Ron had not expected at all. So he and Harry took the Patil twins, which should have been lots of fun – two best mates double dating two twins? That should have been wonderful. Ron had a terrible time, though, and at least he wasn't alone in that – none of the other three enjoyed themselves either.

Ron's reasons were different, though. Hermione looked amazing that night – it's like she was a whole new girl. A new woman, even. Viktor certainly noticed it, and Ron had kicked himself for not noticing it earlier. Oh, his mother would make comments about how pretty Hermione was, and what a nice girl she was, and what a great witch she would become, and Ron always nodded his head politely and went back to his food, but he really noticed his Muggle-born friend that night.

He kept noticing her after that. Not just how she looked, but her laugh, and her smile, and the way she carried herself. She really was something else. But she always carried that book Krum got her, and the two continued to exchange letters, and she was planning on seeing him at Easter in Spain, and would likely be hanging out with the Bulgarian Quidditch star on the beaches, wearing some cute little bikini, maybe a nice blue one like her Yule Ball gown, all laughing and looking just so...

Best not think about that, thought Ron to himself.

Anyway, there was no possible way Ron could compete with a guy like Krum. He was a famous handsome Quidditch star, for Merlin's sake, and what was Ron? A decent keeper, to be sure, sort-of handsome, and a good friend to her, but she was always pointing out how lazy he was, or that he spent too much time goofing around, or that he wasn't serious, or that he was entirely too concerned with food. She clearly didn't think he was anything compared to the likes of Krum. So amazing as Hermione was, and nice as it was to think that someday she might really see the real Ron... that wasn't really in the cards for now.

After seeing how happy Harry was, Ron wanted some of that kind of happiness for himself. And with Hermione's crack a few weeks ago about how out of place Ron would be at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shoppe, well, it had become a matter of honour now, hadn't it?

Ron had noticed how Lavender Brown was paying far more attention to him lately, and how she perked right up at the last Hogsmeade trip when Ron told her that he wasn't on a date with Hermione. He'd never thought a lot about Lavender, other than asking her for help with his Divination homework occasionally, but he'd been paying attention since then. She'd certainly made herself hard to avoid lately!

He found that Lavender was a smiling, giggly girl who loved gossip and fashion and girly things like that. She always seemed to be having a good time at whatever she did, and although her best friend Parvati Patil would give him dirty looks occasionally on behalf of her sister Padma, Lavender never did. She'd begun greeting him with a breathy "Hi, Ron!" every time she saw him, and as they were year-mates and housemates, that was a lot.

She had also turned out to be a decent duellist, much to his surprise.

He also couldn't help but notice how she'd blossomed in the last year. He'd noticed she looked cute enough at the Yule Ball last year, but this year she was far more striking. All that perfectly curled dark blonde hair, full lips always breaking into a smile, sparkling blue eyes, and a lush figure that really made him take notice of her... and she certainly was noticeable. She'd made it quite clear she had noticed him, too.

So if Hermione wasn't an option, why not go for the girl who was?

Ron made up his mind then and there that he would ask Lavender to Hogsmeade for this weekend. Everyone else seemed to be happy. Why not him?

February 14, 1996

For the first time in his life, Harry Potter actually paid attention to Valentine's Day. There would be a feast in the evening, where sweethearts would eat together, but breakfast in the Great Hall was the traditional time for exchanging of Valentine's Day cards and gifts. Harry and his friends had come down early for breakfast that morning, along with most of the rest of the school if seemed. He carried the charmed card he had made for Luna with a heart-shaped box of Honeydukes chocolates. Harry looked over at his friend Ron, who looked uncharacteristically nervous as they entered the Great Hall, although when he asked what was going on, the red-haired boy refused to say.

Harry saw Luna sitting in her usual place, alone at the end of the Ravenclaw table, and made a beeline straight for her. Sitting down in front of her, he held her hands for a moment and smiled at her. He wished he could have given her a good morning kiss, but Umbridge had strictly forbidden that in the Great Hall, although he understood that rule was to be relaxed somewhat during the evening feast.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he said to his girlfriend.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Harry," she said with a wide smile. "I got you this." She handed him a blood-red heart-shaped card with "To My Harry" written on it in Luna's angular script. As he looked at it, the ink changed colour from black, to lemon yellow, to light pink, to an almost fluorescent orange, and back again. Little purple hearts would appear on the card and fade out at random. The colours clashed outrageously in that Luna Lovegood way, and it almost hurt his eyes to look at it for too long.

Harry thought it was one of the nicest things he had ever seen.

"I hope you like it. I've never made a Valentine for anyone before," she said shyly. Further down the table, her roommates Dierdre Cholmondeley and Melanie Maxwell, who had obviously been eavesdropping, let out little snorts at that.

Harry shot them a look that he hoped said "Mind your own business," and turned back to Luna and said, "It's wonderful. I like how the colours keep changing." He pulled out his own card, and the red box of Honeydukes wrapped in a pink ribbon. "These are for you."

She looked at the card first. It was a simple red heart with "To the Prettiest Girl in Hogwarts" written on it in white block letters. She blushed brightly looking at it, and then opened it up. Chimes started playing a tune that took her a moment to recognize, but when she did, her usually wide eyes grew even bigger. She looked straight at Harry, unblinking, and whispered in a surprised voice, "That's my mother's tune!"

The black-haired boy grinned. "Good, I was hoping I got it right! Do you like it?"

She nodded vigorously. "It's wonderful, Harry, thank you so much!" She reached over and squeezed his hands again. She then looked at the inside of the card again. Harry had handwritten in it, "To Luna on our first Valentine's Day," and signed it in his scratchy scrawl. "Was it difficult to charm?" she asked.

"No, once I had the tune worked out, it was quite easy. I've had that tune stuck in my head since we had our date by the lake a few weeks ago. I actually got the idea from my Uncle Vernon, of all people."

The blonde looked even more surprised than she usually did. "You told your uncle about me?"

Harry laughed. "No, although I can imagine his reaction when he finds out I have a girlfriend who's a witch. No, the last Valentine's Day I was with the Dursleys, Vernon got my aunt some gaudy card that when opened, played some really tinny-sounding song. Petunia thought it was so romantic. They may hate me, but they do love one another."

"How do Muggles charm a card?" she asked.

"It's not charmed, there's some microchip – that's a piece of electronics - ," he said by way of explanation, although he saw it didn't really help Luna understand, "that reacts when the card is opened. I used the same principle with your card. Do you like it?"

She beamed at him. "It's wonderful, Harry. It's the first Valentine I've ever got from anyone other than my parents."

"These are for you, too," he said, giving her the package of chocolates.

She opened them up excitedly, and said, "These are lovely! Do you know if there are any pumpkin creams in here? They're my favourites."

"They're the crescent-moon-shaped ones." Seeing her smile, he said, "I actually didn't plan that. That's just how they came. I've never had a pumpkin cream. They're good?"

Luna nodded. "They're even better than orange creams, although they look the same. Maybe I'll give you one later."

"Later?"

"I don't want to spoil your breakfast, Harry," she said playfully.

"Speaking of which, I should go and eat. Stop by the Gryffindor table on your way out?"

She nodded, and grabbed herself some pancakes as the Harry left and the morning owl post arrived.

Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor table, where he was surprised to see Lavender Brown stand up and give Ron, who was standing next to her, a tight hug and say, "Yes!" rather loudly, as Ron turned a bright shade of red.

Harry sat down next to Hermione and helped himself to some waffles. They were cut into the shape of hearts, and the combined with the red berries and whipped cream he piled on them, they looked very appropriate for the holiday. He looked at his brunette friend, and the small pile of valentines in front of her. "You've got quite the haul today. Any secret admirers?"

"No, just from friends," Hermione said. "You, Ron, Neville and Colin Creevey each gave me a nice card."

Harry pointed to a large professional-looking card written in what he guessed was Bulgarian. "And that one?"

"That's from Viktor. It says 'Be My Valentine'. I think. My Bulgarian's still not very good."

"It looks like it says more than that," Harry said.

"Oh, you're a linguist now?"

"No, but I can count, and that's a lot more than three words."

"Every language is different, Harry."

"So why does it look like there's two sentences there?" he asked, grinning.

Knowing she'd been caught, Hermione threw up her hands, and said under her breath, "Fine. If I'm translating it right, it says, 'To the fairest rose in England. Be My Valentine'."

"Always a charmer, that Viktor," said Ron, who had sat down opposite Harry somewhere in the middle of his best friends' conversation. He had a slight frown on his face as he said that.

"Well, he's not the only one, apparently," Hermione said, gesturing down to table towards Lavender, who was proudly showing Parvati and sixth-year Ramona Cale a bright pink card with "BE MINE" written across it. She pointed down the table towards Ron and held the card to her heart.

"What?" Ron said, looking at his friends. "I asked her to Hogsmeade with me for the weekend."

"Cool," said Harry.

"Lavender, Ron? Really?" Hermione said.

"There's nothing wrong with Lavender," Ron said defensively. "She's nice, and good at Divination, and fun."

"Easy on the eyes, too," Harry added. "Not as much as Luna, mind you…"

That got him an eye roll from his friends.

"I just didn't think she'd be your type," Hermione said. "I thought you were into more serious girls." When she saw her friends' eyes on her, she added weakly. "You know, like when you took Padma Patil to the ball."

Ron groaned. "Don't remind me. Just because Lavender's fun, doesn't mean she's not serious enough – at least her hexes are. Anyway, it's just a date. We'll see how it goes and if we get on together."

"Be sure to try Madam Puddifoot's. Luna and I liked it a lot," Harry added helpfully.

"I plan on it," Ron said with a pointed look at Hermione.

"I do hope you have fun, Ron," Hermione said sincerely.

"Me too."

"And thank you for the valentine. It was surprisingly sweet," she said, holding up the small white card upon which Ron had written, "To Hermione. What would we do without you? Happy Valentine's Day, Ron".

The redhead gave his friend a small smile.

Luna dropped by the three friends shortly thereafter. "Daddy sent me a valentine too!" she said eagerly, giving it to Harry.

He looked at the card, which showed a nasty-looking rust-red creature standing upright, with sharp fangs emerging from a vicious looking maw, and four arms each tipped with a set of nasty claws. Below the creature was a smaller looking version on the same running between its legs.

"What the hell is that?" asked Ron.

"They're Umgubular Slashkilters," Luna said patiently.

"Why would your dad put them on a valentine?"

"In addition to being ravenous predators – that's why Minister Fudge keeps them around, you know – they also have very close family units. The father Slashkilters help the mothers raise the children. You must not pay much attention in Care of Magical Creatures, Ron."

Before Ron could respond, or Hermione could give her opinion on the matter, Harry interrupted. "They don't teach us about Slashkilters in fifth year, Luna," he said.

Luna took that in stride. "I'm sorry, Ron, I thought they would have taught you that already. Maybe next year. Anyway, that's why Daddy always sends me a Slashkilter valentine. Open it up and read it, Harry."

He did, somewhat apprehensively, as he feared the inside would show a Slashkilter feasting on a Snorkack corpse, or something equally strange. It did not. On a plain background, Xenophilius Lovegood had written,

Happy Valentine's Day, Moonbeam, although it sounds like I'm not your only valentine this year! Thank you for the letter and the surprising news. I look forward to questioning your boyfriend extensively when I next see him, to check out his story and make sure he's right for you. Truth will out, after all.

Love always, Daddy

Harry looked at Luna. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

She nodded happily. "We're on for Saturday." She held out the box of chocolates to Harry. "Pumpkin cream?"

He tried one of the moon-shaped chocolates. Like so many magical candies, it was an odd flavour that seemed very strange at first, but the more the taste lingered, the better it became.

Just like Luna, he thought.

Luna Lovegood arrived early to her History of Magic lecture right after lunch that day. Like most students, she thought Professor Binns' class to usually be a pointless waste of time, but she wanted to get a good mark in the class, so unlike many students, she tried to pay attention. Today's lecture was going to continue Binns' lecture series about the West Country Goblin Revolt of 1685, which Luna found herself strangely interested in, partly because the goblins had timed their revolt with a Muggle revolt that was happening at the same place and time, which Luna thought was quite an ingenious move on the goblins' part, but mostly because it took place where she lived, and was curious whether anything happened around Ottery St. Catchpole. So she organized her parchments, quill and inkwell, and got ready for class.

While waiting, she dug out the valentine and chocolates Harry had given her that morning. She smiled looking at the red cardboard heart, opening it to hear one more time the chimes it played. She was quite impressed that Harry had remembered the tune she liked to hum, and was filled with a familiar warm feeling looking at the first real valentine anyone had given her. She once again marvelled at how her life was going recently.

Popping a chocolate in her mouth (crystalline pineapple cordial, she thought), she thought ahead to Saturday's interview. She hoped Harry and Daddy would get along well. She didn't think her father was the overprotective type, but from talking to Ginny, who had told her about the evil looks her brothers had given her boyfriend Michael Corner, she knew that family members could be surprising that way. Still, she didn't really see Harry being intimidated by her father, and considering the respect Harry showed her, and to her beliefs which he sometimes didn't share, she thought her father would be impressed by the young man.

She didn't want to think about what would happen if Daddy didn't like Harry. Not only would that be a severe blow to her personally, it might colour the interview irreparably. She popped another chocolate into her mouth (almond cluster this time), and noticed disappointedly that there were only two left.

Students began to trickle into the class. History of Magic was one of the two that the fourth-year Ravenclaws shared with Slytherin house (Defence Against the Dark Arts being the other), and children in green-and-silver ties began to take their seats along with ones in blue-and-bronze. Georgina Vector gave Luna a curt nod as she entered, which Luna returned with one of her dreamy smiles, and sat down a few rows behind her. As the classroom filled, no one sat next to Luna as usual, but Duane Chase, a blond Slytherin boy, took his usual seat two chairs across from her. They hadn't spoken more than four sentences to one another since the start of the year. He got out his supplies, and then looked over to the valentine and chocolates Harry had given her.

"Who would get you chocolates, Loony?" he said derisively, the very act of talking to her surprising Luna.

"Oh, those are from my boyfriend, Harry Potter. He got me this lovely valentine, too." She held the box over towards the Slytherin boy. "Would you like one? The only ones left are chocolate caramels, and I'm not too fond of them, I'm afraid."

Duane looked sceptically at her. "How do I know you haven't done something to them?"

She shrugged. "You don't, I suppose. Just like I don't know nothing was done to them before Harry gave them to me. I simply trust that he wouldn't do anything like that. If you don't want one, that's o.k.," she said, pulling the box back.

"I'll have one," he said quickly, grabbing a chocolate. He gingerly popped it into his mouth, and after a couple of chews, muttered "thanks" to Luna.

"Oh, you're quite welcome," she said. "They taste nice, but I don't like the way they stick to my teeth."

She heard a strange squealing sound from behind her, as Duane pointed and said, "Uh Loony, your card..."

Luna spun her head 'round, and saw the lovely valentine that Harry had made her being burned by flames, the charm that made the tune making an eerie wailing sound as it was consumed. She quickly extinguished the flames with her wand, but by that point the card had been half-destroyed by the fire, the printing on the charred front of the card now reading "ettiest... gwarts".

Luna looked around the classroom and was unsurprised to see her primary tormentors this year, the Slytherin gang of Lucretia Marquand, Jocasta Drake, and Anne Venders, pointing and giggling at her. Jocasta had a particularly nasty smirk on her face.

It was a very subdued Luna Lovegood who sat beside Harry at the Gryffindor table for the Valentine's Day feast, a fact that Harry immediately picked up on as he slid his arm around her waist. "What's the matter?" he asked, taking her hands.

Luna told him all about what had happened before History of Magic, and watched as his expression grew increasingly upset.

"So you think it was Jocasta who burned your valentine?" he asked.

Luna nodded. Lavender Brown, who was sitting opposite Luna and beside Ron, nodded as well, and said, "Well, that makes sense." When Luna raised her eyebrow at the other blonde, Lavender went on excitedly, "Well, you see, I heard from Parvati, who heard from Susan Bones, who heard from Priscilla Kempe (she's a fourth-year Hufflepuff – you probably know her, Luna) that Jocasta Drake has a major crush on Duane Chase, and was hoping he'd want to sit with her at tonight's feast. Well, seeing him taking one of Luna's chocolates probably made her green with envy, seeing as Prissy says that Chase doesn't pay much attention to Drake at all." Seeing the looks on Luna, Ron, Harry, and Hermione, who was seated on the other side of Harry, Lavender asked, "Didn't you guys know that?"

"No, I didn't. It explains a lot, though," Luna said.

Lavender shrugged. "I pay attention to things."

"It doesn't excuse what that little viper did, though," said Harry vehemently. "We have to do something about it – she can't get away with it."

Ron spoke up. "You, me and Ginny – she'd be glad to help – can corner Drake and her little friends and then - "

"No hexings, Ron!" Hermione interrupted.

"Why? They deserve it for what they did to Luna here. They can't get away with doing that to one of ours."

"I'm not a Gryffindor," Luna pointed out.

"No," Ron said, "you're not, but it's like Harry said in the meeting" (he whispered that phrase) "a few weeks ago. We're all on the same side in the you-know-what. And you're one of ours."

Luna smiled a wide smile at him.

"And I bet Ginny's Bat-Bogey Hex would work wonders on Drake."

"Hermione's right, though," Luna said. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before, you know."

Luna had noticed that sometimes people reacted uncomfortably when she spoke about how others treated her. The others at the table had that reaction now.

Harry spoke quietly to her. "I hoped they'd back off once we were together, but obvious they won't. We need to do something, Luna."

She shook her head. "Thank you for wanting to defend me, Harry, but I'm sure hexing her will only make things worse. And you can't do anything that might earn you a detention on the weekend."

"Big plans, you two?" Lavender said excitedly.

"Yeah," Harry said quickly. "But it's not something I can talk about." Seeing the questioning look on Lavender's face, he said, "It's Luna's birthday next week, and I wanted to treat her in this weekend." Turning back to Luna, Harry said, "I don't have to hex her. I can just talk to her. I'll think of something."

"Don't say anything that can get you in trouble," Hermione warned.

The teens began eating the feast prepared for them, heaping roast lamb, turkey, potatoes and turnips on their plates, and making small conversation among themselves. Luna said to Lavender, "I didn't think you normally ate with Harry and his friends."

The blond Gryffindor blushed slightly. "Ron asked me to Hogsmeade and gave me the most lovely valentine today," she said breathlessly, "so I thought I'd eat with him today." She looked at him adoringly.

"That's nice," she said. "I don't normally eat here either, you know, although I stop by more these days. It's quite pleasant eating here, and I don't feel that I'm intruding too much."

Luna saw she had made everyone uncomfortable again. "You don't intrude at all, Luna," Harry said softly. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement at that.

"It's too bad you're not going to use magic on Jocasta Drake, Harry," Lavender added, earning her an unpleasant look from Hermione. "You wouldn't even have to hex her. I know if I were trying to attract a boy, what I'd fear most is someone using a modified cosmetic charm to ruin my complexion, or make me turn blue or something."

Luna watched Harry's eyes light up. "That's it! Thanks, Lavender. That's a great idea."

"Please don't use that on her, Harry," Luna pleaded.

"I won't unless I absolutely have to. I promise I'm only going to go talk to her," he said sincerely.

"I don't want you to use it at all," she said, trying to look stern. "Sometimes we're going to have to use magic in fights, Harry, but I don't want you to go hexing other students just because they're mean to me."

"She destroyed the card I made you!"

She fixed him with long, unblinking stare.

"Fine. I won't use it," he said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Or ask anyone else to."

"I promise," he said.

Luna then looked at Ron, and knew that while Harry wouldn't ask Ron to do hex anyone on his behalf, Ron might very well take the initiative on his own. Realizing that while she had little influence over what Ron did, Harry would follow her wishes, she gave Harry a warm hug, and whispered, "Thank you, I know how hard that must be," in his ear.

When dessert arrived, in the form of pink and red heart-shaped cupcakes, Harry said, "I'm sorry about your card, Luna. Were the chocolates good, at least?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "They were delicious. The pumpkin creams were the best, of course."

"We'll have to get some more on the weekend. And I'll make you a new card. Fireproofed, this time."

She laughed, and squeezed his hand once more.

February 15, 1996

As the last class of the day ended, Harry Potter marched determinedly through the hallways, trying to intercept the fourth-year Slytherins and Gryffindors as they left the Divination tower. When he saw them exiting the classroom, he smiled at Ginny Weasley, who was talking animatedly with some of her classmates until she saw the look on Harry's face. He and Ron had told Ginny what happened earlier that day after she returned to the common room, having spent the feast with Michael Corner at the Ravenclaw table. Ginny was appalled but unsurprised at what happened, and seeing Harry about to talk to Jocasta Drake, decided to loiter in the hallway in case he needed back up.

Lucretia, Jocasta and Anne exited the Divination tower chatting among themselves and laughing to one another, no doubt over some misfortune that had befallen someone. They saw him and their backs stiffened apprehensively.

"Your little freak girlfriend doesn't have Divination with us, Potter," said Lucretia, a pretty brunette, in a mock-helpful tone. "She's probably out looking for wrecksprods or some other nonsense."

"Quiet," he said severely. "I'm here to talk to Jocasta."

Jocasta Drake, a short thin girl with shoulder-length hair almost as black as Harry's, smirked and said, "Tired of Loony already, eh? Well, you're not my type. Anyone who'd fall for Loony's love potions isn't someone I'm interested in."

"Get real," he said dismissively. "I know what you did to the valentine I gave Luna, Drake."

Her features froze into determined visage. "I don't know what you're talking about, Potter."

"You set it on fire."

The black-haired Slytherin laughed. "Prove it."

"Luna and I like to give one another charmed gifts," he said, seemingly changing the topic. "I charmed that valentine to play a tune when opened."

"You want a medal for that, Potter? Tell it to Flitwick."

He continued. "You can put other charms on things. Did you know that you can put defensive charms on objects? There are charms that, for example, will countercharm someone who attacks or destroys an object. Almost any countercharm can be placed. Like say, one that will turn the attackers' hair green and skin orange." He now showed a nasty grin to Jocasta. "You can set a delay on it, too, of say, three days. You can even make it so the countercharm is very hard to dispel, requiring a lengthy hospital stay. And you can put your own dispelling trigger in it, which will get rid of the countercharm. Say, an apology by the countercharmed person."

"You didn't."

He shrugged. "Have you been reading what the papers say about me? They say I'm unbalanced. Mad, even. I wonder what someone like the Prophet writes about would do to someone he could prove harmed his girlfriend? I bet it wouldn't be pleasant." He then laughed, a little madly. "Good thing the Prophet's got the story wrong, eh? Still, if you find the person who set Luna's card on fire, tell them if they don't want to turn green and orange, and then have that fellow the papers write about reacting poorly, they might want to apologize to Luna. They could even do it privately. That's all it would take to dispel the countercharm."

He waved at the Slytherin trio. "I'm off to find my girlfriend now. Say hi to Duane for me, will you Jocasta? I hope he likes green hair..."

As he left the worried-looking girls behind him, muttering fearfully to one another, Ginny began walking beside him. "Did your plan work?" the red-haired girl asked.

He shrugged. "I hope so. If it doesn't, I'm going to have to figure something else out. I'm not breaking my promise to Luna."

"Let's hope it works then." Ginny looked at Harry, and sighed wistfully. "Luna's very lucky, by the way. I don't know if Michael would stick his neck out for me."

Harry shrugged. "If he wouldn't, he may not be the right guy for you, Ginny. You're worth sticking your neck out for. If Michael doesn't see that, there's plenty of good, brave, unattached guys out there who do. Some may be right under your nose."

They walked on in silence, as Ginny contemplated what Harry said.

February 16, 1996.

Luna was waiting for Harry when he left the Great Hall after dinner. "Walk with me?" she asked sweetly.

He took her hand, and they walked the hallways of the castle for a few minutes.

"Jocasta apologized to me after Defence today," Luna said abruptly.

"Oh?"

"Yes. It was a quiet, half-hearted apology, and I'm sure she'll be back to being horrible tomorrow, but she apologized."

Harry smiled. "Good, I'm glad."

"She then said the strangest thing. She said, 'and tell your crazy boyfriend my hair better not turn green!' What do you suppose she meant by that?" She looked at Harry meaningfully.

"Oh, I dunno, she's probably just paranoid or something."

Luna continued to look at him. "Yes, that must be it. You didn't cast any spells on her, did you?"

He stopped and looked deeply into Luna's eyes. "I promised you I wouldn't. You trust me?"

She nodded. "I do. More than I ever thought I would trust anyone, really." Harry blushed intensely at that. "Anyway, whatever you said, thank you. People rarely apologize when they're mean to me. It's quite refreshing."

"Is that still happening?"

"Oh, not as much. None of my things have gone missing in a few weeks. And my roommates haven't said anything terribly mean to me lately. Deirdre and Melanie still send Morgana nasty looks when she tries to talk to me, but it's been quite uneventful, really," she said.

"I hope your Dad likes me," Harry said after a few minutes of silence.

"He will."

"If this thing works, I may actually miss the Prophet saying I'm crazy."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"When talking to Jocasta, it came in handy."

"Yes, it can, can't it?" she said dreamily, holding him close as they walked towards the Ravenclaw common room entrance.

[A/N: Thanks to MandibleBones for betareading.]

4. 3: Meet the Press, Meet the Parent

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. In the highly unlikely event that I actually owned any of the Harry Potter intellectual property, I wouldn't be posting stories to this website, as I wouldn't be a fan, and thus wouldn't meet the entry criteria, now, would I? Draw your own conclusions from that.

Chapter 3 – Meet the Press, Meet the Parent

February 17, 1996.

Saturday morning at nine o'clock was never terribly busy at the Three Broomsticks, not even on a Hogsmeade weekend. The pub was not known for its breakfasts – discerning diners went down to the Hog's Head, where the fare was just what most Britons, magical or not, expected in the morning. Madame Rosmerta, however, liked experimental breakfasts.

Her most recent experiment, lime and bacon crepes, was not judged by most to be a successful one.

That's why Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger found a relatively empty pub that morning, and had no trouble attracting the proprietress' attention. They were quickly ushered into the back room.

The trio had walked to Hogsmeade, having skipped breakfast. They avoided the carriages, both to allow them to go over what Harry was going to say in the interview and what he was not, and to avoid the other students. Despite not taking the carriages, Luna insisted on petting a few of the thestrals on the way ("They get so lonely, you know," she said) to Harry's amusement and Hermione's befuddlement, as the brunette was unable to see the skeletal winged horses.

Entering the back room, Luna rushed forward to hug the sole occupant on the room, a tall man with shoulder-length hair which was nearly, but not quite, platinum blond, with a pleasant but distant look on his face, wearing navy blue robes which Harry would describe as "business-casual" (for the Wizarding world, at least) and wearing a matching Homburg hat with a dark blue band. He was wearing a strange silver pendant, which had a triangle inscribed with a circle, bisected with a vertical line. Despite a far more relaxed expression than he wore in the Hufflepuff '69 class photograph at Hogwarts, Harry knew the man could only be Xenophilius Lovegood, publisher and editor of The Quibbler and father of his girlfriend.

"Hello, Moonbeam," said Mr. Lovegood lovingly as he kissed the top of his daughter's head.

"Hi, Daddy," she answered, holding him close for a few moments longer.

Harry found himself envious – though Luna had a tough life at school, and had lost her mother at a tragically early age, he could see the love for one another that father and daughter radiated.

Luna looked up at her father. "You wore your lucky hat, I see. I thought you were trying to remain inconspicuous."

Mr. Lovegood smiled down at his daughter. "I've had this hat since my first job at the Daily Mirror. I've never conducted an interview without it. But I did disillusion my press badge." He pointed his wand at his hat, murmured "Finite," and Harry watched as a rather garish lemon-yellow press badge, which switched between reading "The Quibbler" and "Press" in neon purple letters, appeared in Mr. Lovegood's hat badge. Mr. Lovegood turned to Harry and Hermione, and said, "I used a less conspicuous badge at the Mirror, obviously." He looked down at his daughter. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Luna released her father. "This is Hermione Granger, a friend of mine in Gryffindor, a year ahead of me. This whole thing was her idea."

Mr. Lovegood shook Hermione's hand. "Xenophilius Lovegood, Miss Granger. Did you enjoy the article I sent you?" he said, referring to the issue of The Quibbler he had sent her containing Luna's mother's last published article.

"Yes, Mr. Lovegood, I did. It was very interesting – I liked your wife's theory that using ligatures in Glagolitic runes amplified the magical properties of the two individual runes that were combined. I hadn't considered that," she said sincerely.

Mr. Lovegood smiled widely. "My Astrid had a unique way of looking at the world," he said, his eyes looking off into the distance at nothing in particular. "Her first article on runes was published in The Quibbler when she was still at Hogwarts. I like to think that her father owning the magazine had only a little to do with that." He smiled at the memory.

"I'd like to read any articles of hers you could send me, sir," the brunette said, earning her looks of appreciation from both Luna and her father.

"I'll send you some as soon as I get back home," Mr. Lovegood said. "If you ever have any theories of your own, feel free to send them along and I'll look at printing them. The Quibbler doesn't pay its contributors, usually, but it's widely read among the open-minded and those interested in new ideas."

"I may take you up on that," she said.

Luna smiled at her father. "And this," she said, taking Harry's hand, "is my boyfriend, Harry Potter."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Harry said, stepping forward with his hand extended. "Luna's told me a lot about you."

Mr. Lovegood looked at Harry, appraising him, and shook Harry's hand. "And Luna's told me a lot about you, too, Mr. Potter. She corrected some of the more fanciful tales one hears about you. And augmented some others, I should say."

Harry looked somewhat sheepish. Luna gave him a shy smile.

"Well, Mr. Potter and I should get down to business. The interview should be about an hour and a half, so you girls should come back in about two hours. So I can see if I approve of the new boy in your life," Mr. Lovegood said with a smile to his daughter, his tone far cheerier than the words he said.

Luna grabbed Harry's hand, an act which drew a raised eyebrow from her father. "Okay. Bye Daddy, bye Harry! Let's go, Hermione."

Hermione said goodbye to the two men as Luna led her out of the back room.

Mr. Lovegood motioned for Harry to sit down. "Would you like me to order some breakfast, Mr. Potter? The lime and bacon crepes sound just strange enough to be worth trying, although I'm sure if you don't like them, Madame Rosmerta can get you some porridge."

"The crepes sound fine, sir. And you can call me Harry."

"Maybe after the interview. I'd like to keep things professional until we're finished."

Mr. Lovegood left the room momentarily to order their breakfast. When he returned, he sat down opposite Harry. "I also ordered us some tea. Irish Breakfast – I hope you don't mind. I would have ordered us a Gurdyroot Infusion – it opens the mind, you see, makes the thoughts more imaginative, more interesting – but Madame Rosmerta says people don't like the taste, so she doesn't stock it. Silly woman, but it's her pub, I suppose," he said, shaking his head.

He proceeded to unravel a roll of parchment, and set a quill on it that stood upright on its own.

"Is that a Quick-Quotes Quill?" Harry asked. "I saw Rita Skeeter use one last year."

Mr. Lovegood shook his head. "No, it's just a simple Ever-Inkful Dictaquill. I tried using one of those Quick-Quotes Quills when they were first for sale, as they're supposed to compose stories on their own, but they just make things up. I didn't want to sacrifice The Quibbler's reputation like the Prophet is willing to sacrifice theirs."

Harry found himself wondering if, like his daughter often seemed, Mr. Lovegood was unaware of the reputation his magazine had out in the Wizarding world. He kept quiet.

"By the way, that Rita Skeeter is an odious woman. Did you know she was in my year at Hogwarts? Slytherin - no surprise there, I'll bet! Thick as thieves with Bellatrix Black until fifth year. You know, I actually found Bellatrix the less obnoxious of the pair of them."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that.

"When she found out I wanted to be a journalist, she pretended to befriend me to find all about me. So she could badmouth me to the papers, you see, so they'd hire her instead of me. She was livid when I was offered a position with both the Owl-Scryer and the Daily Prophet, and only the Diagon Alley Diviner would hire her. She was even more upset when I turned them both down and went into the Muggle world to work for the Daily Mirror."

"I've never heard of the Owl-Scryer and the Diviner," Harry said.

"They both went under in the '70s. The offices of the Owl-Scryer were destroyed in a mysterious fire not long after I quit in late 1973. The Aurors officially ruled out arson, but most former employees, like me, thought Death Eaters were behind it – the Owl-Scryer took a firm anti-You-Know-Who line. The Diviner was bought out by the Prophet shortly thereafter, giving them a monopoly on the daily news. I've thought about taking The Quibbler daily to compete, but I prefer running a monthly – far less stress, you see. I still have all my hair, and if I was running a daily, I'd be so distracted the Nargles would steal it all away!" Mr. Lovegood laughed at his own joke.

"You know, Skeeter actually had the temerity to ask me for a job after the Prophet sacked her last year? Said she could make The Quibbler 'successful'. We do quite well without printing her kind of swill, let me tell you. And how could I look my Luna in the eyes if I hired a woman like that?"

Madame Rosmerta brought in their crepes and tea. Harry found his breakfast barely edible, although the tea was excellent. Mr. Lovegood, on the other hand, devoured the crepes. "Extraordinary. Needs some gillyweed extract, though." Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he looked at Harry and said, "Now let's get down to business, Mr. Potter."

Out in the main room of the Three Broomsticks, Hermione and Luna were also having the crepes. Their reaction to the bacon-and-lime concoctions mirrored Harry and Mr. Lovegood's, respectively. Hermione found herself ordering an extra glass of pumpkin juice to wash the unusual breakfast pastries down her protesting throat.

"What did you think of Daddy?" Luna asked.

"He's nice. You can really tell you two are related," Hermione answered judiciously.

Luna smiled. "Thank you. Daddy's wonderful. I was devastated when Mummy passed, but Daddy was so strong, and so caring through it all. I don't know what I would have done without him."

"I wish Harry had someone like that after his parents were killed." Hermione lowered her voice to a whisper. "Has he told you much about his home life?"

Luna nodded glumly. "A little bit. Mostly that his 'family' hates magic, hates him, and never lets him forget that."

"That's basically what he's told us. Ron and the twins had to break him out his room before second year because they locked him in his room for the summer. Can you imagine that? Being locked it a room for a whole summer?"

"I know. That must be horrible. The worst I ever had was being locked overnight in a broom closet on the third floor by some of the other Ravenclaws when I was a first-year. Before they taught us the Unlocking Charm, of course. That was bad enough – I can't imagine being locked in a room for a month!"

Harry had told Hermione about how Luna did this, describing traumatic events in the most casual way possible, and Hermione found it as disconcerting as he had at the beginning. She knew people called the eccentric blonde names, made fun of her, and stole her possessions, but hearing about her confinement alone in a presumably dark broom closet overnight surprised the older girl.

"That's horrible, Luna!"

"I know. Just Harry and his owl, being fed through a cat door – he told me all about it. I can't believe he still has to keep going back there."

Hermione frowned at Luna missing her attempt at sympathy, but moved past it. "The Weasleys keep offering to let him spend the whole summer with them. My parents have offered as well. But Professor Dumbledore keeps insisting he go back to Surrey," she said with a frown.

"I'm thinking of asking Harry to come with Daddy and me on our expedition this summer," Luna said quietly. "I'm hoping we can go searching for Snorkacks in Sweden, but if not we may be looking for Sodorian Lolligogs in the Outer Hebrides. Don't tell Harry that yet, please – I'd like it to be a surprise if we can arrange it. Maybe the Headmaster will agree to that, because it's educational."

Hermione smiled a little at the thought of Dumbledore finding one of Luna's hunts for non-existent creatures 'educational', then came to the realization that the Headmaster was strange enough that he actually might.

"Anyway," Luna continued, "At least Harry knows he has people who really care for him now. You, all the Weasleys, his godfather, Professor Lupin, Professor Dumbledore... me. He knows he's not alone anymore."

"I hope so. I hope the interview goes well," Hermione said.

"Oh, I think it will. Harry's prepared, and Daddy's taking this seriously – you saw he was wearing his interview hat. I just hope Daddy approves of him dating me. It would be rather awkward if he didn't."

"I'm sure he'll like Harry," Hermione tried to reassure to the younger girl. "Not that I know what it's like introducing a boyfriend my parents," she said, frowning.

"Harry said you'll be meeting Viktor when you're in Spain at Easter. You can find out then," Luna said with a smile.

"Viktor's not really a boyfriend, Luna. Just a boy who's a friend. Who I went to a dance with." She saw the playful look on the blonde's face, and said, exasperated, "You know what I mean. It's not really a parallel situation at all. Don't worry, Harry's a great guy, and your father will see that immediately."

Tiring of the subject, Hermione said enthusiastically, "Well, I'm tired of sitting here. Let's go to the bookstore!" Luna got up and followed her.

Harry told Mr. Lovegood what happened since the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament – the return of Voldemort, the murder of Cedric Diggory, the involvement of Peter Pettigrew, and Barty Crouch Jr. being condemned to the Dementor's Kiss before he could be properly interrogated. He told of his fight with Dementors in Little Whinging, and his subsequent trial and exoneration, the lies of the Daily Prophet,the increasing disappearances and murders, and most recently the breakout from Azkaban, which Harry said was due to Voldemort and the Death Eaters, rather than the Ministry's scapegoat, Sirius Black. Mr. Lovegood's questions so far had been relatively generic, or to draw out further detail from Harry as to what happened. He seemed particularly focused on the farce of a trial to which the Wizengamot had subjected Harry.

"Why do you think the Ministry held a full trial for your actions in the park?" Mr. Lovegood asked.

"Fear, basically," Harry answered. "I think most of the actions of the Ministry since the return of Voldemort have been a result of fear. I understand why they would be concerned about my use of the Patronus Charm in front of my cousin and in a Muggle neighbourhood – the Statute of Secrecy and all that. But there's provisions where magic can be used in cases of extreme need, and I would argue that saving my cousin from having his soul devoured by a creature he couldn't even see counts as extreme need."

Harry noted that unlike most wizards, Mr. Lovegood didn't react at all when he said 'Voldemort', even if the older man used the usual circumlocutions for the Dark Lord when he spoke.

"But the Ministry didn't believe you. Why?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I don't know if they didn't believe me, or if they didn't want to believe me. If Dementors were loose in the home counties, that means that the Ministry doesn't have full control over them, which is a scary thought for most people. I'm one of those people – I've encountered them multiple times now, so I should know. People who aren't in Azkaban aren't supposed to ever encounter a Dementor. I don't think the Ministry wanted to consider the possibility that they may not have full control over them."

"But why a full trial?"

"I honestly think the Ministry is trying to shut me up. They don't want Voldemort to be back, and certain elements in the Ministry think that if they ignore the problem, it will go away, like a..."

"Like a Russet Marshyoller," Mr. Lovegood said sagely.

"What's that?"

"They close their eyes when predators are near, thinking if they can't see the predator, the predator can't see them. They're very rare, for obvious reasons. Most people don't even think they exist! Can you believe that?"

Harry laughed. "I hadn't heard of them – I'll have to ask Luna more about the Marshyollers. I was thinking of ostriches sticking their heads in the sand."

"Oh, that's just a myth," Mr. Lovegood said, waving his hand dismissively.

Harry smiled. "Anyway, I think that they think that if I stop talking about it, and Professor Dumbledore stops talking about it, that the problem will go away and that maybe Voldemort really won't be back after all. Like if no one believes he's back, he's not really back. It's completely mental, when you think about it."

Mr. Lovegood tapped the Ever-Inkful Dictaquill with his wand, and it ceased writing.

"It's actually not, Mr. Potter. You're aware of the role of intent in magic?"

The boy nodded. "Our professors tell us that intent, more than anything else, is the motive force of the magic we produce."

Mr. Lovegood nodded. "Exactly. There's a theory – the Intent Theory of Reality – that states that all of our world is the way it is because we intend it to be so. That our belief in something and intent to make it real actually does make it real."

"So we have magic because we believe we do?"

Mr. Lovegood grinned. "That's it exactly, Harry. And proponents of this theory believe that the reason Muggles do not is because they don't believe in it."

Harry thought about this. "So Muggle-borns like Hermione have magic because unlike most other Muggles, they believe in it?"

"According to the theory. I don't believe it myself, but I would be very surprised if the Department of Mysteries hadn't investigated it."

"Off the record?" Harry waited for Mr. Lovegood to nod. "I think that's far too rational an explanation for the actions of the Ministry this past year. I prefer the Marshyoller theory."

Mr. Lovegood erupted into a hearty laugh.

Harry continued. "And I don't think Voldemort believes it either, otherwise he would be out there proving he's back. I don't think he'd run the risk of his own non-existence if he thought that theory was real. Plus, if the Intent Theory of Reality were true, by doing things like publicizing the Rotfang Conspiracy, you'd actually be bringing them into existence. And I don't think you'd run that risk."

Mr. Lovegood smiled again. "You have a very agile mind, Mr. Potter. I'm quite impressed."

Harry was inwardly quite pleased at this compliment from his girlfriend's father.

Mr. Lovegood tapped his quill with his wand again, and it was ready to resume writing. "So, a few more questions. You've accused many prominent members of society of being present in the graveyard when You-Know-Who returned. Some of those people successfully exonerated themselves in the eyes of the law after the war ended in 1981. What do you say to those who would accuse you of dragging the names of respectable people through the mud?"

Harry thought for a moment. Hermione and Luna had discussed this with him, and he told Mr. Lovegood what the three of them came up with. "The people I've listed are Death Eaters. They know it. I know it. However, I will apologize in person and in public to anyone I have listed who publicly repudiates Voldemort in the pages of The Quibbler, the Daily Prophet, or on the Wizarding Wireless Network. If they say they're not with Voldemort, let them say so out loud, for everyone, including him, to hear. But given how the ones I have encountered previously act, and what they raise their children to believe, I stand by my accusations, and I would be shocked if any of them did repudiate their master."

"What is your opinion of Minister Fudge?"

Harry sighed. He wanted to say the man was an idiot who employed a sadist to torture children, but Hermione advised him not to be more inflammatory than he truly needed to be. So Harry diplomatically said, "In many ways I feel for him. I know he is well thought of by many people, and I imagine he's quite unhappy with Voldemort reappearing on his watch, when the problem was supposed to be dealt with a decade ago."

"Dealt with by you."

Harry shook his head. "I'd rather not talk about that, Mr. Lovegood. I was one year old. Everything they say about that night is exaggerated."

"I'll strike that from the interview, Mr. Potter. Go on."

"So I understand his hesitation. But ultimately, he is the Minister, and I think his fear of public panic is making him act in ways that cause far more harm to the public. The time to prepare against Voldemort is now, when he's still weak, when he's skulking about like a rat, afraid to show himself. It's not the time to pretend everything is fine, and lie to the public about me, about Albus Dumbledore, about Voldemort, about the breakout in Azkaban. Cornelius Fudge doesn't want to be the Minister on whose watch Voldemort returned. But if he keeps acting like this, he's going to be seen as the Minister who was asleep at his desk while Magical Britain burned."

Mr. Lovegood nodded. "What's your opinion on some of the other claims sources have made about Fudge? His heliopath army, his breeding of Umgubular Slashkilters, and his torture of goblins?"

Harry knew this question would come. "I really can't say, Mr. Lovegood. I have no informed opinion of the subject. I will say that I've seen enough of his actions and inaction on my own to know that unless he changes course, worse things than the breakout from Azkaban are likely to happen."

"One last question. What do you say to readers of the Prophet who've been reading about you in that paper?"

"Open your eyes. Think for yourself. For fourteen years, they made me out to be some kind of spectacular hero, when really I'm just a normal kid who had something horrible happen to his family. They've spent the last year making me out to be some unstable liar, when again I'm just a normal kid who had some horrible things happen to him. As far as I can tell, the last thing the Prophet printed about me that was accurate was my birth notice back in 1980."

That got another hearty laugh from Mr. Lovegood.

The unimaginatively-named "Hogsmeade Books" was Hermione's favourite store in the wizarding village by far. She spent many hours on Hogsmeade weekends poring through the stacks, looking for some new and interesting book to read in what little spare time she had. Harry and Ron would come into the store with her, more out of a sense of loyalty than anything else, but after a few minutes they would often wander elsewhere in the village, leaving her on her own to reverently go through the shelves.

That's why it was a new experience to spend a long period of time in a bookstore with a friend.

Hermione pondered that for a moment. Luna had become a friend of sorts over the last month. The strange blond girl often made her shake her head in bafflement at the bizarre ways she thought, and Hermione found large doses of Luna often made her head spin, but she had begun to enjoy spending time with her just the same. It helped that the two young women shared a thirst for knowledge, although their definitions of what actually counted as knowledge sometimes differed radically.

Hermione was honest enough to admit to herself that if it weren't for their connection through Harry, they likely wouldn't speak at all, and she would view Luna as merely Ginny's spacey friend. She did wonder what her reaction would be to Luna had she been sorted into Ravenclaw herself, like the Sorting Hat had suggested on her first day. Would she have befriended the younger girl? Ignored her? Or joined in the bullying like the majority of Luna's housemates? I likely would have ignored her, Hermione thought honestly.

Hermione was looking through the small "Muggle" section of the bookstore, which she regularly did to get a sense of what the wizarding populace thought of their non-magical counterparts. The simple answer was "not much," given the scarcity of recent books about Muggles. What the Great War of the Muggles Means to You, by a Roland Knockbuckle was one of the more recent books on the shelf, which billed itself as a "Wizard's Guide to the Current War." Knockbuckle, while probably not a pureblood supremacist, was certainly an alarmist, and thought that the mutual exchanges of poison gas on the Western Front and the bombing of London by Zeppelins were likely a prelude to a Muggle assault on the wizards of Europe. He said the tactics used in the war showed that Muggles were vicious, inventive, and far more capable and ruthless than wizards normally gave them credit for. Hermione smiled at that compliment, backhanded though it was. She wondered what Knockbuckle would have made of that war's sequel two decades later, and noted that he called for enterprising wizards to develop spells to combat the ever-increasing weapons of the Muggles.

More typical were some other titles on the shelf. The Amusing Sports of the Muggles by Tybalt Chesterfield was one of them, portraying Muggles as simple and quaint, and focusing on things like tug-of-war, the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, the Eton Wall Game, and Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire. Another was Twenty Years as a Muggle by Jürgen Eckert, written in 1796. There was also Muggles: The Gathering Hordes, a pureblood supremacist screed by one Hypolite Malfoy, undoubtedly an ancestor of Draco, who predicted that unless radical and violent measures were taken, "the fecund Muggles will destroy us all by sheer numbers by 1830 at the latest." By the dust on the cover, Hermione was sure the book had been on the shelves at least that long.

One book truly caught her eye, though – The Magic of the Muggles, a guide to recent advances in all fields of science. As the book was published in 1972, that wasn't exactly recent as far as Hermione was concerned, but for a wizarding publication on Muggles it was downright current. The author, a Vespasian Artaxerxes Smith, seemed particularly impressed by the American and Soviet space programs, and organ transplants. He suggested that enterprising young wizards attend Muggle universities after their graduation from school, so that they could learn the secrets of the Muggles, and called for a modification of the International Statute of Secrecy to allow greater use of Muggle devices, citing the precedent of Wizarding Wireless. Hermione noted that his biography said he was Slytherin, class of 1942, which made him a near-contemporary of Voldemort. She found herself wondering if V.A. Smith survived the last war, given his views.

Her thought were interrupted by a dreamy voice, saying, "Find anything interesting?"

Hermione held up the Smith book for Luna to see. "This may be interesting – the Muggle world from a magical perspective."

"Oh, I quite agree. Daddy sometimes talks about what life was like for him when he was a reporter for the Muggle papers. It sounds fascinating. Probably not to you, though – you're used to things like telephones, and microships and the like."

"Microships?"

"Harry was telling me about them at Valentine's Day. They're used to make singing cards."

Hermione looked at Luna questioning for a bit, and them realization dawned upon her. "Oh, you mean microchips!"

"Yes, that's it. Daddy never mentioned them. I guess no one ever gave him a Valentine's Day card when he was living with the Muggles."

Hermione shook her head. "There weren't very common back then. They're used for a lot more than greeting cards, Luna. They're the backbone of the Western world's economy these days. Microchips and computers and electronics."

"Do you own any of those?" the Ravenclaw asked.

"Yes, just like many Muggles. My parents each have a computer at the office, and one at home which I get to use during the summer. It's useful for writing, and organizing information, and communicating. I think it would be enormously helpful here at school, actually, if I could get it to work in the castle. Of course, the boys would likely just play video games on it."

Luna said, "I never really get out into the Muggle world. I go to the village, occasionally, but there's nothing like that there."

"Maybe Harry can show you at some point."

Luna brightened. "I do hope so – that would be ever so much fun! Anyway, if you do buy that book, I wouldn't mind taking a look at it. To see what the Muggles have come up with, you know. They may even have a way of detecting Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and not even know it! Harry says they can take pictures from outer space, and have goggles that can see in the dark, and things like that," Luna said in her sing-song voice.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Hermione asked.

Luna shook her head sadly. "No, unfortunately. There was a wonderful book last time I was here that was written by a relative of mine, all about the magical creatures you keep telling me don't exist. I was hoping to show it to you, but the clerk said someone bought it already, and she doesn't know if they'll get another copy anytime soon. I doubt they will – it's quite an extraordinary book."

Hermione tried to look sympathetic towards her friend. Harry told her all about the book – Rare Arcane Faunae of Western Europe, by Livia Lovegood, and how he bought it for his girlfriend as a surprise birthday gift. On the one hand, Hermione really didn't think Harry should encourage Luna's strange beliefs as much as he did. On the other hand, it was definitely the kind of book Luna would love, if her sad reaction to the book being gone was any indication.

"Maybe Hogwarts has a copy," Hermione said, trying to encourage Luna.

"I checked. Madam Pince says the library did have a copy, but it's in the Restricted Section. I tried to get access, but Professor Umbridge is making every request go through her, and she said no."

That was unsurprising, Hermione thought. The Restricted Section contained books about all kinds of rare and powerful magics – in addition to books about Nargles, apparently. Professor Umbridge was unlikely to let any student access any book that might possibly contain powerful magic if she could avoid it in any way, as she was convinced the students would try and organize against the Ministry. And her. Thinking about the D.A., Hermione knew that the High Inquisitor's fears were becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Hopefully you'll find another copy," she said sympathetically.

"Oh, I doubt it," Luna said sadly. "I can see why that book would be snatched up easily. It's hard to come by reliable information about Nargles and Ice Brownies, you know."

Hermione thought it was probably also hard to come by reliable information about the Easter Bunny for exactly the same reasons. She chose not to articulate this to Luna, going to the clerk and buying The Magic of the Muggles instead.

As the exited the store, they passed Padma Patil. Luna gave a little wave to her housemate, who rolled her eyes and gave Luna a curt nod. After Padma was behind them, Hermione heard Luna utter a very faint sigh.

A few minutes later, as the two were wandering the village waiting for the town clock to strike eleven, Luna asked, "Do you ever think of going back to the Muggle world once you're done Hogwarts?"

It was Hermione's turn to sigh. "Sometimes. I don't know if I'd go back permanently, but I've been keeping up with my Muggle studies — "

"I didn't know you were in Professor Burbage's class," Luna interrupted.

"I meant Muggle school subjects, like chemistry, mathematics, English literature, that kind of thing. I haven't taken Muggle Studies with Professor Burbage since third year. As I was trying to say, I've been keeping up with my Muggle subjects in my spare time and over the summer in case I want to go to university."

"That's a lot of extra studying," Luna said. "I'm surprised you get any sleep at all! I'll bet the Somnivorous Sprites can't get enough of you."

Hermione knew she shouldn't get sucked in, but couldn't help herself. "Sleep-eating sprites?"

Luna nodded vigorously. "Yes, that's it. If someone isn't getting enough sleep, the Somnivorous Sprites will hover around them, eating all the extra sleep they're not taking. Unfortunately, they're very predatory, and will often keep bothering a person even once they try to start getting more sleep. They're real pests – that's why the Draught of Dreamless Sleep is such a popular potion, you know. It puts you out like a candle, so the Somnivorous Sprites won't get you."

"Here I thought it was just to help you sleep through nightmares," Hermione said wryly.

"Oh, it has multiple uses."

"I'll remember that," the bushy-haired brunette said indulgently. "My mother thinks I should go to Cambridge, her alma mater, to keep my options open for the future, and not just limit myself to the magical world. Up until this year, I wasn't really considering it – I was just doing the Muggle classes because I found them fascinating. Now with Professor Umbridge and the return of You-Know-Who, Cambridge doesn't seem like such a bad idea. I wouldn't be the only one – Dean Thomas is thinking of going to art school, and I heard Justin Finch-Fletchley talk about going to either Oxford, Cambridge or the London School of Economics."

"That might be nice if you had a Hogwarts classmate at university," Luna said happily.

"Oh, I don't think I'd stay in the Muggle world even if I did go, but university is very tempting, especially since there's no real schooling after Hogwarts."

"There's apprenticeships," Luna said helpfully.

"Great. Just what I want – indentured servitude. No thank you."

Luna shrugged. "It's not that bad. You just need to apprentice to a good Master or Mistress. I imagine apprenticing to Professor Flitwick would be a tremendous experience, for example. You just need to avoid the bad ones."

"Can you imagine apprenticing to Professor Snape?" Hermione laughed.

"It wouldn't be so bad. At least there would be lots of Draught of Dreamless Sleep available. You'd likely need it after working with him."

Harry watched Mr. Lovegood tap his Ever-Inkful Dictaquill, roll up the parchment upon which it had taken notes, and pack them up.

"Excellent interview, Mr. Potter. Very informative. I dare say you'll rattle many cages with this," said Mr. Lovegood approvingly.

"When will you publish it, sir?" Harry asked.

"I had planned on publishing this in the April issue of The Quibbler, but I may put it out as a special edition before that."

"Will I get to see a copy before it goes to press?"

"I wouldn't give you editorial control in any event, you understand," said Mr. Lovegood. When Harry nodded, he continues, "Normally I'd send you an advance copy, but with what Luna tells me about how the owl post is being intercepted at Hogwarts these days, I don't think that's a good idea. We don't want to tip our hand any more than necessary."

"I understand, sir."

"Good. You told your story well, and gave interesting answers to my questions, so I think it will likely go to press with minimal editing. I'll change your mentions of the Dark Lord's name to 'You-Know-Who', of course – most readers are far more squeamish than you, and we don't want to offend potential supporters any more than we have to.

"Now, is your offer to call you 'Harry' still on the table?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Mr. Lovegood then leaned forward towards him, smiling at him. "The traditional question at this point is, 'What exactly are your intentions towards my fourteen-year-old daughter', Harry?"

Harry also expected this question. At least it didn't come at the point of a wand or a shotgun. Nevertheless, he swallowed nervously. "My intentions at this point are to date her and spend time with her, sir. I really like Luna, and want to be part of her life."

"And in the future?"

"Sir, I'm only fifteen, and Luna isn't fifteen for another few days. We've only been together for a short while. I'm not really thinking too far in the future at this point. I just want to enjoy life, and be there for Luna and with her," he said honestly.

"Fair enough. Just remember, you're still young. Enjoy being teenagers, as much as you can with things the way they are," Mr. Lovegood said with a look at the bag containing the text of the interview. "But there's no need to rush into anything. I remember what it was like to be a teenager, and what teenagers like to do. Don't rush into adulthood faster than you have to." Mr. Lovegood's eyes narrowed. "And speaking as a father, do not rush my sweet innocent daughter into adulthood. I may not have had the adventures you've had, Harry, but I would do anything for my daughter. Absolutely anything."

Harry nodded, nervously. "I understand completely, sir."

Mr. Lovegood broke into a pleasant smile again. "Good. I'm glad you understand. You seem like a fine young man, but I had to get that off my chest. A man doesn't get too many opportunities to play the 'overprotective father' card, you know. Luna speaks extremely highly of you, by the way."

"I'm glad to hear that, sir."

"When she started mentioning you in her letters, I was somewhat surprised. The only classmate of hers she had ever talked about before that was Ginny Weasley. I'm afraid Luna doesn't have many friends, Harry. I sometimes wonder if I should have sent her to Beauxbatons like Astrid wanted," Mr. Lovegood said, his face clouded.

"I'm rather glad you didn't," Harry said quietly.

The older man smiled at him. "As I was saying, when your name started showing up, it was surprising. Your story is universally known, Harry, and when my daughter started routinely mentioning the boy of legend, and how he took the time to talk to her, and treat her kindly, well, I wondered if Luna was simply star-struck."

Harry laughed. "Trust me, she was the opposite of star-struck, sir. One of the great things about Luna is she doesn't treat me with all that Boy-Who-Lived stuff. Not even when she first met me on the train in September."

"Luna's usually far too sensible a girl for that," Mr. Lovegood said, "but it happens. Once I spoke with her at Christmas, though, I could see that wasn't the case, and it sounded like you truly appreciated my Luna and all of her unique qualities."

"I truly do, sir. She's like no one I'm ever met," Harry said.

"She's a lot like her mother. Luna gets her love of magical creatures from me, but her tenacity, her imaginative approach to problems, her sense of wonder – that all came from my Astrid. Have you ever seen a picture of her?"

"Just her class photo," Harry said. "Luna said the only picture she brought of her mum disappeared."

Mr. Lovegood's face clouded. "Yes. She refused to bring any more. Would you like to see one?" He reached into his robes, and pulled out a worn magical photograph which had obviously been handled many times.

Harry took the picture from him. It showed Mr. Lovegood with a pretty woman, in her early thirties with golden-blond hair, who was obviously Luna's mother. An eight-year-old Luna, looking pretty much as she did now, except her hair was done in a long braid, stood between her parents, who had their arms around each others' backs. Mr. Lovegood was whispering something in Mrs. Lovegood's ear, who blushed prettily and swatted his arm. Luna looked contented – like she didn't have a care in the world. She likely didn't at that point, he thought. The happy family in the photo was posing in front of a beautiful white sunlit castle, and in the background Harry could see teenagers walking by in Beauxbatons uniforms. The picture was obviously taken during the family's trip to scout out the French school so Luna could attend.

"That's a lovely picture," Harry said returning the photograph.

"I have a larger print framed in our drawing room, but I like to keep a copy on me," Mr. Lovegood said, obviously trying to hold in his emotions. "Astrid was my universe. She's the reason I stayed in the magical world, rather than go back to the Muggle papers – I had an opportunity to be a correspondent for the Guardian, and go to South America, but I couldn't leave Astrid." He went quiet for a few moments, looking at the photo and reminiscing.

"As I was saying," he said, continuing his previous thought, "I was glad to find Luna had another friend who appreciated her, unlike most of the closed-minded children at that school. Finding out that friend was a young man with whom she was quite taken, well, let's just say my keen reporter's instinct was not shocked to hear you became her boyfriend.

"So I can see you obviously care for my daughter. What else should I know about Harry Potter, the young man?"

"Well, most of it you know already. My parents were a few years behind your wife at Hogwarts, and were killed by Voldemort. I live with my Aunt and Uncle, who hate magic and resent my presence. My best friends are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and they've been beside me through thick and thin these last five years. My favourite class used to be Defence Against the Dark Arts, and is now probably Charms and Care of Magical Creatures. I used to be a seeker for Gryffindor until I was unfairly banned from it. I want to be an Auror when I'm done school."

"Even with the Rotfang Conspiracy?" Mr. Lovegood asked, concerned.

"I don't think I believe in the Rotfangs, sir, not until I see more information. But even so, I think that being aware of them makes me less likely to fall for them, should they exist."

Mr. Lovegood nodded. "Fair enough."

"Anyway, my 'fame' is probably exaggerated. I've been lucky more than anything, and I wouldn't be anywhere without the support of my friends."

"Can I be frank with you, Harry?"

"Yes sir," he said, concerned.

"You strike me as a kind, thoughtful, brave young man. As I said, I can see you care for Luna, she says you treat her wonderfully, and I see you're wearing one of her anti-Nargle charms, which shows me you're proud to be seen with her. All those are wonderful qualities."

Here it comes, Harry thought.

"What worries me as a father is all the danger you attract. You seem to be singularly unlucky in having Dark Lords, Dementors, basilisks, and bureaucrats come after you. And while I know you have done your best to protect yourself and those around you, my worry is that Luna being with you will automatically make her more of a target. My first instinct is to tell her to get as far away from you as she can."

It felt to Harry like the bottom was falling out of his world. Luna adored her father. If he advised her to stay away from him, Luna very well might.

"However," Mr. Lovegood went on, "I've seen how happy she is. At Christmas she spoke about school with a joy I hadn't seen in any of her other years, and that's due largely to you. She's clearly quite smitten by you, and from what I've seen, you're a fine young man worthy of my daughter's company. I also know from experience that Luna will do what she thinks is right even if I advise her otherwise. Let me tell you sometime about the time she tried to nurse a wounded griffon back to health when she was eight!

"What I'm trying to say, is that even if I was inclined to warn her away from you, which I am not, I don't think it would do any good anyway. She clearly views your fight as her fight. What I ask of you, Harry, is to protect her. Make sure nothing happens to her. She's all I have left."

"I will, sir," Harry said solemnly.

"Excellent. I'll spare you the usual threats of 'if you hurt her' and whatnot, as I suspect you'd treat yourself worse than I ever could. There's one other thing I did want to talk to you about, though. Did you read The Tale of the Three Brothers?"

"I did. It was a good story, but I'm curious why you wanted to talk to me about it."

"Luna said you'd never heard of the Elder Wand before," Mr. Lovegood said.

"That's right. Luna mentioned it in connection with a story you're doing on the Lizard People."

Mr. Lovegood smiled. "That's right. That issue's being delivered this week – you should pick up a copy. The story's very good. The reason I brought that up is that the Elder Wand is one of the artifacts mentioned in the story. They're no mere fairy tale, Harry – they're real. They're called the Deathly Hallows, after their maker. This symbol," he pointed to his pendant, "is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. The triangle represents the Cloak of Invisibility, the circle the Resurrection Stone, and the line the Elder Wand. Those of us who seek knowledge of them wear it so that we can identify one another on the quest."

"So you're looking for them?" Harry asked.

"Not to possess them, Harry. I have no use for an unbeatable wand. While an infallible Cloak of Invisibility would be useful in ferreting out stories, I'm an editor now, rather than a reporter. I suppose it might be useful when we try and find rare creatures, but a regular invisibility cloak would work just as well, I should think. The only real difference is the true Cloak of Invisibility has lasted for centuries, while regular ones last less than twenty years. And while I would dearly love to see Astrid again, I'm mindful of what happened to the second brother. I know I'll see her again in the fullness of time."

"Sir?"

"When I pass myself, Harry. We'll all be reunited with our loved ones. I know I'll see her again, and she'll be waiting for me when I go. But I don't want to leave Luna before I have to."

Mr. Lovegood continued, "No, for me it's more of a treasure hunt, than anything, where the fun is in the hunt. That why I wear this. So other believers in the Hallows will know I'm one of them, and we can talk about what we've found. They do say that he who possesses all three Hallows will become the Master of Death, but I have no idea what that means. Neither does anyone else, really – it's never happened, so far as we know."

"Is that why you wanted me to know? To let you know if I find anything?"

Mr. Lovegood smiled. "Exactly. Let me know if you come across anything. You're the type of young man around whom things happen, and you probably have a better chance of running into some information on them than I do. It won't be easy – there hasn't been a sighting of any of the Hallows in over a century. It's well known that Grindelwald was looking for them – he used their symbol as his own. It's made doing research on the Continent quite difficult, let me tell you! We don't think Grindelwald discovered any of them, though his libraries might have information on them, if they were ever found."

Harry found he had a lot to think about. Especially about the Cloak of Invisibility. He would have to talk to Hermione and Luna about this. "Are any of the other stories in The Tales of Beedle the Bard true?" he asked.

"That's quite the question, Harry. What is truth? If you're asking if they're full historical records, then no, probably not. They're more myths and legends. But myths and legends can be true, too, depending on how you look at them. Think of the myths you learned as a Muggle-raised child. Now look at your wand. Myth and truth are not mutually exclusive. That's what The Quibbler is all about, after all."

Not long afterwards, Hermione and Luna joined Harry and Mr. Lovegood in the back room. Luna went for another long hug from her father, asking, "How did it go?"

"It was an excellent interview, Moonbeam. I think we may print a special edition in a few weeks devoted to it." He glanced at Harry. "I had a nice long chat with Harry afterwards, as well."

Harry saw Luna wait with anticipation, and watched as Luna and her father fought not the be the first one to break the silence. Apparently her father was as susceptible as everyone else to Luna's unblinking stare, though, and eventually the man broke. "You're no fun. I think he's a fine young man. I approve."

Luna hugged her father tighter. Harry heard her whisper "Thank you" to him.

"Well, I should get back home, I think. Can you two give me a few minutes with my daughter to say goodbye?" Mr. Lovegood asked Harry and Hermione.

"Before we do, Mr. Lovegood, did you really work for the Mirror and the Express?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I worked the crime beat for the Mirror in 1969-70, and then the politics desk at the Express for a couple of years after that. I mainly interviewed politicians – aldermen, Members of Parliament, that kind of thing. I went by the byline of 'Phil Lovegood' – not many Muggles are named Xenophilius, after all!"

"Did you ever interview anyone I might have heard of?"

He shook his head. "Probably not. They were mostly unimportant politicians. The most memorable ones I ever interviewed were Enoch Powell and Roy Jenkins. I doubt someone your age would have ever heard of them."

Hermione grinned. "I've heard of both, actually. My mother has met Lord Jenkins on several occasions, actually – she ran for Parliament under him when I was three."

"Good heavens! Small world. Did she win?"

Hermione shook her head. "She came in third."

"Probably better for you – you wouldn't have seen much of her if she had. Miss Granger, it was a pleasure to meet you. Harry, the same – and thank you for the interview. I suspect I shall see you again, so until next time." Mr. Lovegood tipped his hat, and Harry and Hermione left the back room.

"So how did it go?" she asked eagerly.

"I think it went well."

"Were the questions all Quibblery?"

Harry laughed at that word. "Only a few. Most were pretty sensible. He's a decent interviewer."

"And he likes you. I told you you had nothing to worry about!" she said in a slightly smug manner.

"Thank Merlin," he said, relieved. "So what did you two do?"

"Oh, we talked, had breakfast, went to the book store. I can tell that book is going to be a hit with her, by the way, seeing how she reacted when it wasn't there. It was fun. She's a lot to take all at once, but I had a good time."

Harry could tell Hermione was sincere on that. "So what are you going to do next? We were planning on hitting Madame Puddifoot's. We were going to go on our own, but you can come along, I suppose..."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's not really a place for a third wheel. Don't worry, Harry, I won't interrupt your 'special' time together. The last thing I want to do is watch you two snog. Or watch anyone else snog..."

Before Harry could comment on that last statement, Hermione said, "We're going to all hit the Three Broomsticks again around four, if you two want to come. Neville said he'd go, and Ginny promised she'd sit with us this time, and Ron and Lavender will be there, I'm sure, unless he's driven her off in tears by that point."

"Come on, Hermione."

"Well, you remember how well it went with Padma."

"And you remember how well it went with me and Parvati. I'm sure Ron has learned how to treat a girl."

Hermione's face showed that she was somewhat sceptical of this.

Luna then emerged, wiping her eyes. "It's always hard to say goodbye," she said sadly. She hugged Harry and gave him a quick kiss. "Daddy says you were a compelling interview subject. He also said he knows you'll treat me right."

"Was he good at Divination?" Harry said playfully.

"No, but he doesn't have to be. I see it too. Now lets go get some more of those little cakes at the Tea Shoppe."

[A/N: Thanks once again to MandibleBones for betareading this, making some valuable suggestions, and stopping me from inadvertently stating that a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada was a Death Eater. Edited very minorly on 3/4/2012 to incorporate a suggestion by jediprankster.]

5. 4: A Lazy Hogsmeade Afternoon

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. In the highly unlikely event that I actually owned any of the Harry Potter intellectual property, I wouldn't be posting stories to this website, as I wouldn't be a fan, and thus wouldn't meet the entry criteria, now, would I? Draw your own conclusions from that.

Chapter 4 – A Lazy Hogsmeade Afternoon

February 17, 1996.

Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood walked hand-in-hand from the Hogsmeade Post Office to Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shoppe. It was late morning on a warm Saturday, with clear skies and the sun shining down upon the small Scottish wizarding village. The snow was slowly melting, and the streets were covered in slush, making walking around less pleasant than it had been during the previous Hogsmeade weekend. The slush gave many of the Hogwarts students wandering the village cold, wet feet, which were easily fixed with the frequent application of drying charms.

Harry Potter didn't really notice this, as he was busy looking at his girlfriend. She wore her lime-and-cherry winter jacket, light purple jeans, and bright red boots, and carried her white canvas bag. She had her chili-pepper earrings with the warming charm and her butterbeer cork necklace (he himself wore a matching one). Her wand, rather than resting in its usual position behind her left ear, was thrust through the large loose bun into which she had wrapped her waist-length hair, holding it secure. He also knew she wore the fire lily anklet he had made for her before their last trip into the village underneath her boots.

While he was in the Post Office, she had also applied the magical lipstick she wore during their last outing to Hogsmeade, which changed colour (And taste, Harry remembered fondly) depending on the feelings and desire of the wearer. It was currently a light pink. Harry hoped it might darken as the day wore on.

With the warming-charmed jewellery and heavy winter clothing she was wearing, Harry figured that she was probably boiling in the warm sun. Wearing the crimson-and-gold scarf he gave her probably didn't help. When he suggested that she put the scarf or the anklet into her canvas bag to cool down, she smiled her vague smile at him and said she liked wearing the things he had given her, even if they did warm her up. "That's what cooling charms are for, you know," she said.

He thought it would be rather strange casting cooling charms in February, but if she wanted to wear his scarf, he certainly wasn't going to argue the point.

Hermione Granger had not accompanied the young couple to the Post Office after his interview with Luna's father earlier that morning, saying she didn't want to get in their way and would see them back at the Three Broomsticks pub later. That left Harry and Luna to make a quick stop at the Post Office, where Harry picked up a letter from Remus Lupin.

On the way to the Tea Shoppe, they ran into Ronald Weasley and Lavender Brown, heading away from the romantic restaurant. Lavender was talking in a very animated manner to the tall red-haired boy, and touching him both frequently and flirtatiously on the upper arm. Harry thought Ron looked happy but somewhat nervous around Lavender, although he was doing his best to not show it. When talking with Harry the night before about his upcoming date, Ron was very nervous. He worried he would bore her or not live up to her standards, muttering "Why on earth did I ask her out, Harry? She'll have a terrible time! Look at how things went at the Yule Ball – Padma still won't talk to me!" It took some doing for Harry to allay Ron's fears, pointing out how Lavender obviously thought he was charming, and that he should just relax and enjoy the day with her.

"Just treat her nicely, talk with her, and if she suggests you do something, do it," Harry had suggested. "Don't worry about the Yule Ball. You've learned from it, just like I did. I know you'll do fine."

Back in the present, Harry and Luna shouted a greeting to Ron and Lavender, who came up to them. "Hi guys!" said Lavender cheerfully. "How's your date going?"

"It's been pretty uneventful so far. Harry had a meeting, so I spent the morning with Hermione," Luna answered.

"What kind of meeting?" asked Lavender, who wore a concerned look on her face.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it," Harry answered. "Nothing bad though."

"Oh good," she said, relieved. "I was worried you had another detention with her." Harry's repeated detentions with Professor Umbridge were a well-known point of gossip within Gryffindor Tower.

"What did you think of Madame Puddifoot's?" Harry asked his friend, smiling.

"It's, er, very pink," Ron said. "Madame Puddifoot went all out for Valentine's Day. Even the sandwiches were cut into heart-shapes."

"It was just lovely," Lavender giggled. "Such a romantic place! And Ron even let me have the last sandwich!"

Ron blushed as she said that, but Lavender patted him tenderly.

"Such restraint," Harry teased his friend.

"Oh, shut up, you," Ron whispered.

"It really does look superb. You'll love it today, I'm sure," she said directly to Luna.

"Oh, I do hope so," Luna said. "It was very nice last time."

"Hey, Lavender, I'm just going to talk to Harry for a minute. I'll only be a minute, all right?" Ron said.

"That's okay. Luna and I will just exchange stories about you two!" Lavender said, giggling again.

Harry and Ron walk a few yards away, out of earshot of their companions.

"She seems to be having fun," Harry observed.

"Yeah, I think she is."

"Are you?"

Ron paused, and said, "I am, actually. Lavender talks a lot – I've heard all about her family, and the town in Suffolk she's from – but she let me talk, too. She's not shy about letting me know what she likes, which is quite helpful. And I think I've heard more gossip this morning than I'd heard in the last four years! I'll have to tell you what she's heard about Malfoy."

Harry smiled at his friend. "I told you, nothing to worry about."

"So speaking of that, how'd it go with Luna's dad?"

"Pretty good, I guess. He seems to like me, and said he approved of Luna dating me."

"That's great! And the interview?"

Harry smiled. "Really well. I told him all about Voldemort and the Ministry cover-up, and he asked a lot of very good questions. I think it will help a lot."

"Did you tell him all about that bitch Umbridge?" Ron said, a nasty tone entering his voice.

Harry shook his head. "No, I didn't mention her. Hermione thought if we brought her into it, it would do more harm than good, as she'd just make my life a living hell."

"Like she isn't doing that already! You can't even play Quidditch anymore!"

"That's not as important as making sure I come across as sane and sympathetic, I think. If I start complaining about my teachers to the press, I'll just look like some whiny kid. Even if that teacher is pure evil," Harry said.

Ron thought about this. "I suppose it would also take away from telling them about You-Know-Who."

"That too. If we got Umbridge removed without convincing people Voldemort was back, the Ministry would probably just put someone worse it her place."

"Who could be worse?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"Things can always get worse, Ron. Imagine 'High Inquisitor Lucius Malfoy'."

Ron visibly shuddered. "Don't even joke about that! I should get back to Lavender."

"Good idea. You don't want her to think you're ignoring her."

"I learned that lesson last year," he said with a groan.

Harry and Ron went back to their dates, to see them chatting pleasantly.

"Oh good, you're back," Luna said as she walked over to Harry and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Harry saw that Lavender had an "isn't that sweet" look on her face as Luna did so.

"I was telling Lavender that she and Ron should go skating before the pond melts," Luna continued. "It's hard to swim in skates, after all."

Harry gave her a smile for that.

"I'm not very good on skates," Ron said.

"I am. You can just take my hand and follow my lead," Lavender said, her face lighting up with a smile as she did precisely that, and led him towards the pond. "Bye guys!" she said over her shoulder at them. Ron just gave them a wave.

"Did you have a good talk with Lavender?" Harry asked.

"Yes, she was very nice and friendly. She used to just ignore me, or giggle at my jewellery," Luna said. Seeing the look on Harry's face, she added, "Oh, she was never unpleasant about it. I think she just thought my fashion sense was very strange."

"Your fashion sense is wonderful."

"Thank you. I think so, too – I think it's fun. Hers is fun too, I suppose, in a conventional manner."

"Some people can't handle originality, I guess," Harry said.

"Good think you're not one of them," she said, squeezing his hand.

There was a queue outside of Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shoppe – it was obviously a very popular place on the first Hogsmeade Weekend after Valentine's Day. As the queue slowly shrank, Harry and Luna remained the last ones in line, until they heard a familiar sneering voice.

"Oh, look, Pansy, it's Scarhead and..."

Harry whirled around, a hard look on his features. "Stow it, Malfoy. Look, I'm on a date here, and it looks like you are too, seeing as your goons aren't with you and Parkinson. So we can do this usual game we do, or we can save the insults 'til we're back at the castle, and concentrate on our companions, okay?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Fine, Potter, but only because I'd rather focus on Pansy than you and Lovegood here."

"Good enough for me." Harry then turned back to Luna, who squeezed his hand again and gave him another kiss on the cheek. Harry heard a faint "Ugh" from Pansy, but chose to ignore it.

The four of them stood in uncomfortable silence, waiting for the queue to move. Eventually Pansy broke the silence, asking if Draco was ready for next Sunday's Quidditch match against Ravenclaw.

"Of course," he said arrogantly. "I expect we'll crush them brutally. Of course, if they're lucky, I'll catch the snitch early before we run up the score too much."

Harry scoffed at this.

"Something to say, Potter?" Draco asked. "Not that I should listen to someone who doesn't even play anymore."

"It's hardly Harry's fault that he's been temporarily suspended from Quidditch," Luna pointed out.

"Banned for life, you mean, Loony," Pansy said with a laugh.

Luna stared unblinkingly at Pansy until the dark-haired Slytherin girl looked away. "We'll see, but I suspect I'm more right than you are."

"Don't discount Cho, Malfoy," Harry said. "She's really agile, and has a good eye. She'll have the snitch in her hand before you've even seen a flash of gold."

Pansy laughed. "Oooh, I'd be careful, Loony. Sounds like Potty's thinking of trading up."

Harry opened his mouth to tell her off, but caught the look on Luna's face as she put her am around his waist. So he simply looked Pansy square in the eye and said, "Trading up from Luna would be impossible."

"You're as crazy as she is, Potter," Pansy said.

"Exactly," Harry agreed. "Which is, not at all. Anyway, Malfoy, we'll be at the game, watching Ravenclaw beat the robes off of you."

"Oooh, you'll get to see my new hat!" Luna said excitedly.

"I didn't know you were making a new one," Harry said.

"Well, I'm modifying my old eagle hat. It was inanimate before. I've fixed that now," she said proudly. "And I've added a new secret feature!"

"What is it?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret. You'll see next weekend."

Before Draco or Pansy could comment, Harry and Luna were ushered into the packed tea shoppe. They were taken to a table near the back, passing along the way Dumbledore's Army members Susan Bones and Anthony Goldstein, who were sharing a table and chatting quietly, and Luna's roommate Deirdre Cholmondeley and her Hufflepuff boyfriend who Harry didn't recognize. Susan and Anthony gave Harry and Luna a friendly wave, but Deirdre only gave them a very slight nod. Luna turned to Harry as they passed her, and said, "That was very friendly for her."

Harry found that Ron wasn't kidding about the decor. Madam Puddifoot had put up an explosion of red, pink, and white hearts, there were roses and red-and-pink tablecloths on every table, and soft romantic violin music was playing throughout the shop. Cherubs floated from table to table, sporadically throwing confetti at the occupants. If Harry thought on his last date with Luna that couples in the shop were amorous, they were even more so this time. About half the tables had couples already kissing, and a fair number of the rest seemed to either be well on their way there, or recovering from it. Harry vaguely wondered if there was something in the tea that day.

After ordering some of the house tea (Have to test it for foreign substances, Harry thought with a smile), they sat down. They were once again seated near Cho Chang and Roger Davies, who were engaged in an intense, intimate conversation. After his encounter with Malfoy and Parkinson, he wanted to go over and encourage Cho to give the Slytherins hell next weekend, but he didn't want to interrupt the Ravenclaw couple.

Luna caught his glance over at Cho and Roger's table. "Thinking about the Quidditch match?" she asked lightly.

Harry nodded. "I really hope she catches the snitch before Malfoy." He turned towards Luna, held her hands, and said, "You know Parkinson was just trying to get under your skin."

"I know. I don't think you want to dump me for Cho. Even though she is very pretty."

"She is, but I only have eyes for you," he said honestly, drawing a blush from Luna. "No, I'm more living vicariously through her. I owe the Slytherin Quidditch team a crushing, and as long as That Woman has me banned, I just have to hope everyone else can beat them."

"You really miss it," she observed as she stroked the back of one of Harry's hands with her thumb.

"I do. I never really got to play any sports or games growing up, unless you count 'Harry Hunting' as one. Dudley made sure I never got picked for football, or any pick-up cricket matches. Quidditch is the only sport I ever really played. It's a lot of fun." He ran the hand Luna wasn't stroking through his hair. "I miss it. It helped that I was really good at it."

"I've never played, myself."

"Not even with Ginny as a kid?"

Luna shook her head. "Ginny didn't play when we were really young. I wouldn't mind playing at some point, though."

"Well, we'll have to change that. Maybe at Easter we can play a pick-up game if I can borrow a broom from someone. I'm sure the Weasleys would love it."

"That sounds fun, even though I'll be the only new player. You can borrow Daddy's old broom, I'm sure. It's not your Firebolt, but it flies. Usually. Oh! And then maybe we can play cricket, seeing as you've never played. Is that the game where everyone ends up covered in mud and falling over one another?"

It took Harry a moment to figure out what Luna was referring to. "No, that's rugby. Cricket is the one with the bowler, a small red ball, a batsman, and two wickets."

"I don't think I've seen that one. Where does the cricket come in? Does someone have to catch one, like the Golden Snitch?"

Harry laughed. "No, there's no actual crickets in it."

"How odd."

"I used to think it was an odd sport until I started playing Quidditch. Now a five day long test match doesn't seem so strange after hearing stories of Quidditch games going on for weeks. Most sports are weird when you really think about them, though, because of all the rules. Except football – that's pretty simple. Kick the ball in the net."

"I know that one. The children in the village like to play that one."

Harry smiled. "Tons of people love it. Dudley tried to convince Uncle Vernon to take him to the football World Cup a few years back, but Uncle Vernon didn't want to take the trip to the States once England failed to qualify. He was so angry when the Weasleys invited me to the Quidditch World Cup until he realized it was a magical sport!" Harry smiled at the memory.

The tea arrived, and they ordered an assorted plate of the heart-shaped sandwiches Ron mentioned. Harry poured Luna and himself each some tea into the teacups, which were pink porcelain with hearts painted on them that changed from red to silver to white and back again. He then pulled out his wand and muttered "Ingredientia revelio" as he waved it over his tea. He got a clear mental picture of water, tea leaves, confetti from the cherubs (which broke down into sugar and beet juice), and (surprisingly) cinnamon, but nothing more unusual.

Luna was looking at him with her head tilted to the side. "I don't know that spell. You wanted to know the ingredients?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah, it's actually called the Ingredient Revealing Charm. Hermione taught it to me. She said it's a good thing she can't do magic outside of school, or she'd be casting it over all here food to see just how much of her food contains things like monosodium glutamate and Red Dye #2. Muggles sometimes put a lot of chemicals in their processed foods," he explained, seeing her expression.

"Do they use them like spices?"

"Almost. More like flavour enhancers and preservatives."

"It sounds very strange," she said.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe, but a lot of processed food can taste really good. It helps sometimes to not know what's in it."

"Like sausages, I suppose. Although with that spell, if you're ever invited to eat with Minister Fudge, you could find out which foods he's made out of goblins, and avoid them."

Harry smiled. "Yes, exactly."

"Why did you cast that? Are you worried Draco is poisoning your tea?"

Harry blushed a little. "I was actually looking for aphrodisiacs or something like that. Doesn't everyone seem a lot more, well, kissy than last time?"

"It is the Valentine's Day weekend, you know. It's almost certainly the atmosphere in here. And the bites of the Kruger's Vanishing Mites."

"You haven't mentioned them before, Luna."

"Oh, haven't I? That must be because they only come out in February, so it wouldn't have come up before now. Hiram Kruger ‒ he was the wizarding entomologist from Switzerland who discovered the Rhenish subspecies of the Aquavirius Maggot ‒ hypothesized their existence about a century ago, but no one's found one yet, although they must be terribly common, I would think. They're attracted to people who have strong romantic feelings, and their bites make people less inhibited with those they have feelings for. The other name for the Kruger's Vanishing Mite is the love bug."

Harry burst out laughing at that. Luna's expression went from smiling to hurt, so Harry rushed to explain.

"I'm not laughing at you. The name's the same as a character from a movie Dudley liked to watch when he was a kid – 'Herbie the Love Bug'. It was about a weird little car with its own personality. Kind of like the Weasley's flying car, actually."

"Oh yes, I remember the commotion from my Sorting Ceremony. Was this 'Herbie' a Volkswagen Beetle?"

"Yes, actually, it was," he said, surprised. "I didn't think you knew cars."

"Daddy bought one when he was working at the Express. He and Mummy took their honeymoon in it, driving across Western Europe, so I saw a lot of pictures of it when I was growing up. They called it their 'little bug'. Unfortunately they sold it when I was three – I think it would have been fun to drive."

"Huh. Do you think our anti-Nargle charms work against the love bugs?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I hope not," she answered with an enigmatic smile and a wide-eyed expression.

Harry took the hint and leaned in for a deep kiss with his girlfriend, which left her charmed lipstick red in colour and strawberry in flavour. The were interrupted by the delivery of the sandwiches, which promptly got confetti on them from an overenthusiastic cherub. Fortunately, the confetti turned out to be edible and fairly neutral in flavour, and didn't interfere with the flavor of the watercress.

"I've thought about doing Quidditch commentary, you know," Luna said between mouthfuls of her sandwich.

This was news to Harry.

"Lee Jordan is graduating this year, and they'll need a new commentator. I don't know if I'd be as good as him, but I think it might be fun to try."

"Have you ever practiced sport commentary?"

"No, but I've been to every Quidditch match since my first year," she said. "I've also listened to some matches on the Wizarding Wireless with Daddy, and I know all the rules. It couldn't hurt to try out, don't you think?"

"No, it couldn't. You'd have to find lots of interesting things to say, but given all the sport commentary I've heard – my uncle and cousin would watch football matches on the telly, and I'd get to overhear them while I did my chores – that's quite the low hurdle. Lee is actually surprisingly good as far as these things go," Harry said.

"I think I could be interesting," Luna said seriously.

"Of that I have no doubt," he said with a smile and a squeeze of her hand. "How about the next match, you practice to me? Then I can give you pointers on what I think, and how you're doing?"

She smiled brightly at him. "That's a wonderful idea, Harry! If you could help me do this, I'd really be in your debt."

"Anything for you. I'm looking forward to it."

"Of course, once you're allowed back on a broom, I'd have to be scrupulously fair. No favouritism, even for my boyfriend," she said seriously.

"Oh, of course. You'd have to be as even-handed as Lee is."

"I think I can do better than that."

They ate a few more of the little sandwiches, during which Luna said, "Are you going to read Professor Lupin's letter?"

"You don't mind?" he asked. See her shake her head, we pulled the letter out of his jacket.

Dear Harry,

Not much news to report on my end since last I wrote. I've been reading in the Prophet how everyone is full of praise for the wonderful job your Defence professor is doing at "cleaning up the school." I can tell you that's not entirely true, based on the people I've talked to, so please don't feel you're completely alone. You're not.

I wish I were still at Hogwarts teaching you all. That year was one of the happiest of my life, and I hope that some day the Ministry will repeal the anti-werewolf legislation and I can teach again. I'm not holding my breath.

Congratulations on your new relationship, of course. You sounded very happy in your last letter, which was gratifying to hear – I know this hasn't been the best year for you otherwise. When I received your last letter from when you were on your date (and I hope you cleared it with Luna before you took time out to write to me!) our friend Snuffles was grinning with glee, crowing about how you were taking after him. I was then subjected to a repeat performance once your most recent letter came confirming your relationship.

I'm probably not the best person to be giving romantic advice, and despite Snuffles' delusions, neither is he, so just treat her with respect and caring and you'll be fine. Our friend also says he has some secret tips and pointers for you from his days at Hogwarts. There is no grain of salt large enough for you to take his advice with.

Speaking of which, he's rather put out you haven't spoken to him through the mirror, especially given all the happy news. I'm rather surprised myself. You should do so – it would make him very happy to hear from you. He's cooped up here all alone, and I know it wears on him.

I will, of course, be sending a greatly condensed version of this letter to you at Hogwarts by my owl for appearance's sake.

Give my best to Luna and your other friends,

Remus

When he was done reading, he looked up and saw a look of concern on Luna's face.

"What's the matter, Harry?" she asked, reaching out to gently take his hand in hers.

"Sirius," he whispered. "He's upset I haven't contacted him." He handed her the letter.

She quickly read it, folded it and handed it back to him. "I didn't know you had a way to talk to him. You've never mentioned a mirror."

He sighed. "That's because I didn't know what it was. He handed me a package at the end of the Christmas holidays, and said I should use it to let him know if Snape was giving me a hard time. It must be the mirror he's written about."

"Well, that's very sensible, since she began intercepting the Hogwarts owl post. Why haven't you opened it?"

"I didn't want him to put himself in danger because of me," he said, looking intently at her. "They have a 'kiss-on-sight' order out on him. He's safe where he is. If he exposed himself because he thought he was helping me, I don't know how I'd live with myself."

Luna looked intently at him. "You're very sweet, Harry, thinking about others' safety. It's one of the things I really like about you. There's a touch of arrogance in there, though, thinking you can make others' decisions better than they can." He started to protest, but she squeezed his hand. "Please let me finish," she asked quietly. "Sirius is a grown man. He's not going to put himself in danger needlessly. You have to trust him to make his own decisions. He obviously wants to talk to you – unless you don't want to talk to him, I think you should use the mirror."

"But if he gets hurt..."

"If he gets hurt, it's his own decision. We can't control other people's lives, Harry. We have so little control over our own, really, that it's madness to think you can control others'."

He smiled. "Well, I wouldn't want to be mad."

She smiled sweetly back at him. "Despite what people think of me, I wouldn't either. If you truly don't want to talk to Sirius, that's one thing, but if you do, don't stop yourself because you think it's best for him."

Harry considered this. "Okay. I do want to talk to him, and tell him about you."

"You could always introduce me to him. After all, you met Daddy. I'd love to meet your family, even through a mirror, and he sounds far more pleasant than your Aunt and Uncle."

"Oh, he is. Okay, I'll check it out tonight. Then we'll see if it works for you, too."

A server came and took the sandwich plate away, and a short time later brought out a small heart-shaped cake covered in red icing. Two forks accompanied it.

Harry took a bite. "This is really unusual. I don't think I've had this kind of cake. It's like chocolate mixed with something else I can't identify."

Luna smiled coyly. "I'll give you a hint. You make not have tasted it, but you've seen it. Recently."

Harry thought for a moment while he had another bite. "Dirigible plum?" he asked tentatively.

Luna laughed and clapped. "Yes, that's it exactly! I bet we're two of the only people in here who know what we're eating. What do you think?"

"Not bad. Sweet in an unusual way. It works with the chocolate."

"You should try my dirigible plum preserves. I'll have to give you some at Easter when you come over to visit. Daddy says they're delicious on rye toast."

"I'd love to try them." He finished his half of the cake, and left the remainder for Luna. "So your dad liked me?"

"He did. He liked interviewing you, and said he had a good talk with you about the Deathly Hallows. He thought you were intelligent and unconventional."

"I meant if he liked me as your boyfriend."

Luna smiled. "So did I. 'Intelligent and unconventional' are traits he thinks are highly important for someone to be good enough to date me. And you wearing that," she pointed to his butterbeer cork necklace, "won you extra points with him. It shows you have an open mind, and understand the threat Nargles pose. Did you like Daddy?"

"I did. He wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I liked him. I was worried he would forbid you from seeing me for a bit there, though."

"Because of You-Know-Who?"

He nodded.

"He's a threat to all of us. Daddy knows that – it's why he's going to publish your interview. I think he'd prefer it if you didn't have a Dark Lord after you, of course, but then, we all would, wouldn't we? I'm not going to let him dictate who I spend my time with. You-Know-Who, I mean, not Daddy. I wouldn't let Daddy either, but I'd at least hear Daddy out. I don't think I'd pay too much attention to what You-Know-Who said. Not that he pays any attention to me, of course!" she said with a laugh.

Harry smiled a tight smile, but didn't laugh. Not even inwardly. 'Please let it stay that way,' he prayed silently.

Neville Longbottom left the Hog's Head pub feeling quite satisfied. The place had a bad reputation, but served an excellent ploughman's. You just had to not pay attention to the other patrons to enjoy it.

None of his other classmates seemed to like the Hog's Head, but Neville didn't mind. He was used to being alone. He was the odd man out in his year in Gryffindor. Everyone else had a best friend (or friends) they were were rarely seen without – Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, Edie Jessup and Kelly Grey, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, and of course, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Of all of his yearmates, he was closest with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but he wasn't really part of their group.

So he spent most of his Hogsmeade weekends on his own, enjoying being out of the castle, and wandering around on his own. He was planning on joining his classmates at the Three Broomsticks at the end of the afternoon, but until then he had nothing but free time, checking out the various shops and doing some people-watching. Occasionally he'd spend a bit of time with some of his friends – today he ran into Hannah Abbott, who he thought was quite pretty. Unfortunately for Neville, a tall, handsome sixth-year Hufflepuff boy who she called "Henry" obviously thought the same thing, seeing as he never left her side, so Neville only spent a few minutes with the two of them before he went on his way.

Neville sighed at the thought. He'd had a bit of a crush on Hannah ever since Dumbledore's Army's meetings began in the autumn. He got along well with her, and although they were both naturally shy people, that didn't get in the way of them talking. He had thought of asking her out, but seeing the way she smiled at Huge Handsome Hufflepuff Henry, he wouldn't be doing that anytime soon.

The other girl he liked was Ginny Weasley. He had asked Ginny to the Yule Ball last year after Hermione, the first girl he had asked, told him she already had a date. Neville hadn't been looking for romance with either girl – he simply wanted a dancing partner, and knew from all the etiquette lessons his Gran had him take that he was expected to have a date to the ball. He asked Hermione because she had been his first friend at Hogwarts, but wasn't put out when she told him she had a date already. He then asked Ginny because she was always very nice to him, and smiled all the time, which in Neville's mind meant she would hopefully have a good time with him. He was pleased to find out he was right.

He was surprised, however, at how good a time he had with her. She had been a charming date, full of laughter, and he found her easy to talk to, which for someone as shy as Neville was no small feat. She was also a good dancer, much better than he was, but she had the good grace to not wince too visibly when he stepped on her feet, and to put him at ease when he stammered an apology. He saw none of the nervous girl Harry had described to him.

It was easy to fall for her after that. Unfortunately for Neville, she ended up dating Michael Corner of Ravenclaw House by the end of the year. This bothered him far more than Huge Handsome Hufflepuff Henry glomming on to Hannah did.

Neville's mistake was mentioning to his Gran over the summer that he had a really good time with Ginny at the ball. At first, Gran waxed eloquently about what a fine family the Weasleys were, and how his parents thought so highly of Arthur and Molly Weasley, and that they would be so pleased he had chosen to date their daughter. Neville then had to tell Gran that she was dating someone else, and foolishly mentioned that he kept stepping on her toes. That led to seven weeks of dancing lessons, which Neville ended up enjoying much to his surprise, and a comment by Gran that if Neville was having that much trouble meeting a nice girl at Hogwarts, she would have to introduce him to some of the granddaughters of her friends. She mentioned an Esmeralda Van Couwenhoven, and while she spoke only Dutch and was twenty-nine, she was a charming young woman, was obviously well-equipped for child-bearing, and in any event Neville wouldn't even notice her limp after a while.

"You have responsibilities, Neville Longbottom," she had said. "You are the last of your family. If you can't manage to meet someone at a school with 140 young girls, we will have to make alternate arrangements."

And people wondered why he feared his grandmother.

Trying to put that out of his mind, he decided to stop at Honeydukes for some sweets before he spent most of the afternoon at Dalcastle Flowers and Herbs, the village florists. Neville was a regular there, and the staff looked forward to his visits.

He was surprised to find Hermione Granger in the candy shop on her own.

"Hello, Hermione," he said as he walked up next to her.

"Oh, hi, Neville. How's your day been?"

"Not bad. I just had the ploughman's at the Hog's Head. It's really good – have you ever had it?"

"Not at the Hog's Head. Once or twice a couple of summers ago, though, back in London. I didn't much care for it – it seemed to me to be the ingredients for a lunch rather than an actual meal."

"That's why I like it – I can eat it how I want."

They looked silently at the candy on the shelves.

"I wish this place had some Muggle sweets," Hermione said.

"They have lemon drops."

"I mean things like Crunchie bars, or Mackintosh's Toffee, or things like that. I only ever get wizarding sweets here at Hogwarts, and Mum and Dad don't let me have Muggle sweets at home. Because they're dentists," she said, as if that explained everything (which to Neville it did not).

She picked up a package of Toothflossing Stringmints, and moved towards the counter.

"Is that all you're getting?" Neville asked.

"Yes. I always feel guilty when I buy a lot of candy. At least I can justify these ones to my parents."

"You don't have to have a lot. Here, I'll get a small box of chocolates, and we can hang out and split it."

"I was actually planning on heading back to the castle," Hermione said. "At least until later."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind having someone to hang out with," he said, trying not to sound needy.

Hermione considered this, and said, "Sure, why not? I wouldn't want you to have to eat that all by yourself."

Neville smiled and paid for the chocolates.

"Dibs on any strawberry creams," Hermione said, smiling at him.

"Sure. So how was your morning? I didn't see you at breakfast."

"Oh I came into Hogsmeade early with Harry and Luna."

Neville raised an eyebrow. "What did you three do?"

"Oh, this and that. I hung out with Luna, mostly."

Neville caught the tone in her voice when she said, "this and that," suggesting he not ask to clarify those words. He asked, "Are you and Luna friends now?"

"I think so. She's very different, but pleasantly so. Harry really likes her, so I really should get to know her, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I do. I don't think she's going anywhere. Harry's happier than I've seen him in a long time. Lucky guy," he said.

Hermione looked at him as she popped a chocolate in her mouth. "Neville, you don't..."

"No," he said, cutting her off. "Oh no. I just mean he's lucky to have someone who makes him so happy, that's all. I wish I had that."

They wandered around Hogsmeade in silence for a while after that, sharing the box of chocolates. At one point they passed a pair of younger Slytherin girls, one of whom was desperately asking the other, "Are you sure my hair isn't green?" Neville and Hermione eventually bought hot chocolates from a kiosk and sat down on a bench. Hermione let out a sigh.

"What's the matter?" Neville asked, concerned.

"Oh, nothing," she said. Neville just looked at her. "Oh, all right. It's just I normally spend most of my free time with Harry and Ron, and now they've got better things to do." Neville stiffened, and Hermione reached out to pat his arm. "That sounds bad, Neville. I'm sorry. I like your company a lot. It's just they're my best friends. We've done everything together for four-and-a-half years, and now I feel left behind somewhat. Harry's always busy with Luna, and now Ron's off doing God-knows-what with Lavender. I don't want to be a fifth wheel, but I don't want them to forget about me."

Neville looked at her compassionately. "I don't think you need to worry about that. Who could forget Hermione Granger?" When he saw her give him a little smile, he went on, "And you said you and Luna are friends, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"It's not Luna that bothers me."

"Oh?"

She sighed again. "Lavender doesn't like me much. We've been roommates for four-and-a-half years, and I don't think we've ever had more than five real conversations. She thinks I'm boring and conceited, and I know she won't want to spend her time with Ron hanging out with me."

"You're not boring and conceited at all. And who's to say it will work out with Ron and her? They're just on a first date."

Hermione looked directly at Neville, and spoke in a voice like she was addressing a child. "She looks at him like he's her hero. You've seen her batting her eyes at him and practically draping herself all over him."

"I don't think that's what..."

"And I know Ron will fall for her charms."

"Well, she is pretty," Neville conceded.

"Neville, I'm roommates with the girl, and I've seen her in all manner of clothes," she said firmly. "'Pretty' is an understatement."

"Hermione, are you jealous?" Neville asked gingerly.

"What? No. Maybe. Not like you think, though. I'm not jealous of Lavender."

Neville kept his own counsel while Hermione continued.

"It's just, my two best friends are boys. I'm not saying I wanted to date either of them, but I sort of thought when they discovered girls, seeing as we're so close, that at least one of them might have a crush on me." She sighed. "I know that sounds horribly conceited. Like I want to break their hearts or something. I really don't... Oh, you must think I'm a terrible person!" she said in despair.

"No, not at all," he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

"It's just - is it too much to ask that someone in this bloody school notices I'm a girl?"

Neville resisted the urge to point out her language. "Believe me, people know you're a girl. Look at Viktor last year."

She smiled a shy little smile. "Yes, Viktor noticed I was a girl. But no one at Hogwarts seems to."

"Hey, I asked you to the Ball, if you remember."

She gave Neville a smile. "Yes, you did. I know. But I don't think it was because you fancied me, was it?"

"No, I just thought you might be a fun partner. But I knew you were a girl. And honestly, after you showed up in that dress, everyone knew you were a girl – well, a young woman."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not going to name names," Neville said, "but boys were talking about you. They were really talking about you. You opened a lot of eyes that night."

Refusing to concede the point, she pressed on. "They why has no one ever asked me out, other than you, Viktor Krum, and some goofy Muggle boy I met in the produce aisle in Tesco last year?"

Neville didn't ask her to clarify what she meant by that. "You honestly don't know?" Seeing her shake her head, he said, "You're tremendously intimidating, Hermione. You're the smartest one in our year, you seem to know everything, and you're very magically powerful. You speak your mind and don't suffer fools. And even if someone mustered up the courage to get beyond that, last year the papers were saying you were with the 'Boy-Who-Lived', and then you're dating World Cup Quidditch hero Viktor Krum."

"I wasn't dating Harry," she said.

"I know, but you were Viktor's date, and you're often carrying that book he gave you. Those Bulgarian squiggles on the front are like a big sign warning boys off. Most boys, even ones who would like to ask you out, are just completely intimidated by you and the company you keep."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "You don't find me intimidating, do you?"

"Hermione, you could crush me like a bug with your magic. That's scary. But you'll always be the girl who helped me find my toad on the train that day," he said with a smile. "Anyway, I wish I had your problems. Girls aren't intimidated by me. They just don't want to date the school Squib."

"You're not a Squib, Neville. Anyone who's seen you in meetings this year knows that. You've really improved."

"Thanks. I still don't see girls lining up for me."

"Maybe you need to take the initiative. Be bold."

"Yeah, I suppose I'll have to, if I don't want my Gran involved."

He then told her about his Gran threatening to set him up with Esmeralda Van Couwenhoven, causing Hermione to laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, Neville. But isn't twenty-nine a bit old for you?"

"Gran must not think so. But then look at the dance instructor she got me. She was fifty-eight!"

Hermione laughed some more.

Harry and Luna entered the Three Broomsticks and were directed to the same table at the back that they met their at the last Hogsmeade weekend. Ron and Lavender were sitting at the back of the table beside one another. They were playing Wizard's Chess, and Harry noted they were sitting very close.

Harry ordered a butterbeer for himself and a gillywater with a cocktail onion for Luna as they sat down opposite the other two.

"Hey guys," Ron said. "I'm just showing Lav how to play. She's never played chess!" he said incredulously.

"Gobstones is the game in my family," she said.

"'Lav'?" Harry said with a smile.

"Yeah. 'Lav'. She doesn't call me 'Ronald', after all."

"So what did you two lovebirds do?" Lavender asked with a smile.

"Oh, not much," Luna said. "We went to Madame Puddifoot's, wandered around, bought some sweets. Harry took me skating. We went to the bookstore, and then came here."

Ron looked pointedly at Harry at the mention of the bookstore. Harry gave a very slight nod. Lavender giggled noticeably at Harry's nod. Harry rolled his eyes. Luna twirled her onion in her gillywater.

"Thanks for keeping a secret, Ron," Harry thought, looking alternately at his friend and Lavender.

"We went skating, too," Lavender excitedly said to Luna. "Thanks for the suggestion! Ron didn't do too badly, either." She affectionately patted Ron's arm as she said this.

"Only fell down seven times," the red-haired boy said.

"And he didn't pull me down once!" Lavender said.

"We ran into those oafs Crabbe and Goyle, though. They were doing that 'charging' thing Hermione talked about on a couple of second-year Hufflepuffs. I took five points from Slytherin for it," Ron said with undisguised glee.

"Snape'll probably cancel that," Harry said.

"Of course," Ron said dismissively. "Still, I got their goat. It counts as a victory to me."

"We ran into Malfoy and Parkinson just after we saw you," Harry said. "Had some words, but that's it."

"Stupid wannabe-Death-Eater git," Ron said.

Hermione and Neville arrived at that point, butterbeers in hand. They greeted the seated foursome, and Lavender said enthusiastically, "Hey, you two. Were you two together?"

"No," said Hermione, "we were just hanging out. I was feeling a little blue, but Neville here cheered me up."

"Oh," Lavender said, looking somewhat disappointed.

"What was the matter, Hermione? You okay?" Ron asked.

"I'm fine, Ron," she said smiling at her friend. "Nothing serious, just some anxiety."

"Okay," Ron said hesitantly.

"Ron took me to a fortune teller!" Lavender said, causing Hermione to roll her eyes.

"I didn't know there was a fortune teller in the village," said Luna.

"Neither did we," said Ron. "I heard a couple of Hufflepuffs mention it when we were at the Quidditch shop, and I figured Lav might like to try it."

"So what did she say?" Hermione asked.

"It was a he, actually," Lavender corrected. "He said I would 'find happiness in my life's work' and be 'cherished by those most important to me'." Her eyes flicked briefly towards Ron as she said this.

"How very vague," said Hermione.

"Oh, I don't think he has the Sight like Professor Trelawney does. Not everyone can be a true Seer, after all," Lavender said. "But I hope there's some truth in what he said."

"What did he predict for you, Ronald?" asked Luna.

"He said I would 'face a time of adversity' but 'show my mettle' and 'triumph over my opponents'."

"Oooooh, now that's a good one," Luna said, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked.

"Well, predictions and prophecies, true or not come in a few types. There are the ultra-specific ones, such as 'Harry Potter of Gryffindor House will ride a Snorkack next Tuesday night at quarter past eight'." Ron guffawed at that, but Luna continued on. "There are ones which say basically the same thing, but more cryptically, like 'The hirsute claysmith will be carried by the mysterious monoceros after the eighth chime', which says exactly the same thing, but sounds like a riddle. There are the extremely vague ones which are almost completely useless, like 'The boy will ride the beast at night'. Same thing, again, but so lacking in details it could mean anything. Then there are the self-fulfilling ones, like if Harry tried to avoid Snorkacks because of that prediction, and in trying to hide from them, found a herd of them. The best ones are vague enough to be interpreted in many ways but specific enough to be worth interpreting. Like, say, 'the man most loved and most feared will tame the unbelieved as the crescent rises'. If could mean what I said before ‒ "

"Or it could be about an angry baker disciplining a lying employee while making croissants," Hermione said.

Luna smiled widely. "Exactly! Very vague, but potentially interesting, and fun to study. The prediction about Ron could be anything, but has some interesting specifics. It could be about him succeeding after a hard test, or winning a particularly tough duel against Draco Malfoy ‒ "

"Or it could be complete rubbish, like most Divination," Hermione interjected.

"Divination is not rubbish!" Lavender said indignantly. "You don't believe in it just because you did poorly at it back in third year."

"I did not do poorly! I don't believe in it because it's not repeatable. It's at best vague guesswork and reinterpreting facts, usually in hindsight, to fit some insubstantial framework."

"Just because you don't have the Sight doesn't mean no one else does. If it wasn't real, why would Professor Dumbledore keep having it taught?"

"Just because Dumbledore does something doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea," said Hermione. "He does keep Snape employed, after all."

Lavender ignored that point, and turned to Ron, Harry and Luna. "Well, you guys know Divination's true, right?"

Harry and Ron looked at one another, but were saved by Luna. "I think it can be. I wouldn't study it if I thought it was useless. That would just be silly. But I think it's all subject to interpretation. You need a skilled Seer or diviner, and you need someone who can interpret it. And then you face the possibility that sometimes the best predictions don't come true at all."

"Because they can be meant to warn, and if someone takes them seriously and acts, then the prediction won't come true," Lavender said.

Luna nodded and smiled, happy that someone understood what she was saying so quickly. "Exactly. It's more of an art, like painting, than a science, like studying Snorkacks."

Harry squeezed Luna's hand, and said, "For the record, I'm not actually planning on riding any Snorkacks on Tuesday evening," which earned him a laugh from his friends.

"We'll see," Luna said cryptically as she smiled back at him. "I could be a Seer, you know."

There was a pause as the six students sipped their respective drinks.

"I have to go to the loo," Lavender said. "Come with, Luna?"

"Oh, I'm fi..." Luna began, but stopped when she saw Lavender looking insistently at her. "Okay..."

The two blondes went off to the washroom, as Ron just shrugged. "Why do women always go the washroom in groups?"

"Apparently I'm not in a position to say," Hermione said, sounding a little put out.

"Classy move, by the way, taking Lavender to a fortune teller," Harry said to Ron.

"Yeah, well I asked her out, so it's my responsibility to make sure she has a good time."

"That's very mature," Hermione said, a hint of admiration in her voice. "Who told you that?"

"Hey!" Ron said indignantly. As his friends smirked at him, he said, "Oh, fine. Let's just say not all of George's advice is meant to humiliate me. Lav liked the tea shoppe and the fortune teller, and it wasn't too humiliating when we went to the make-up shop."

Harry laughed sympathetically at his friend, while Neville said, "I bet she'll reward you for that."

Ron blushed. "Yeah, well..."

He was saved from further teasing when Ginny and Michael Corner joined them. The youngest Weasley greeted them cheerfully, while Michael gave a more subdued "Hey," to the assembled Gryffindors.

"Ron, you didn't drive Lavender away already, did you?" Ginny said, a note of disapproval in her voice.

"Is this Pick On Ron Day or something?" he asked.

"Isn't every day?" Ginny answered, smiling sweetly at her brother.

"I'll have you know Lavender is in the loo with Luna. I think she's having a good time with me," he said.

"Oh, she is," said the girl in question, as she giggled and looked conspiratorially at Luna, and squeezed in next to Ron.

"Are you going to go to the Quidditch match next weekend?" Luna asked Ginny.

"Yes, I'll be sitting with Michael, watching the competition," she said, patting her boyfriend's arm, and smiling sweetly at him.

"Luna's going to be wearing her Quidditch hat," Harry said.

"Not that bloody lion hat again, I hope," said Michael.

"What's wrong with the lion hat?" Harry asked pointedly, as the other Gryffindors (and Luna) looked at Michael.

"Well, Loony shouldn't be cheering for another house. She's a Ravenclaw!"

"I cheer for Ravenclaw when they're not playing Gryffindor," Ginny said, all humour gone from her voice.

"That's different..."

"And I only cheer for Gryffindor when they're not playing our team, Michael," Luna said in the tone she reserved for when she was upset. "And I'll have you know I'll be wearing my eagle hat, to help support our house."

"Like that'll help," Michael muttered.

"Well, I'm looking forward to it. If it's anything like that lion hat, it'll be great," Harry said, with a sharp look at the Ravenclaw boy.

"At least we can all agree we want Slytherin to lose," Neville said.

Everyone could raise a glass to that.

Michael seemed to realize he had made a social blunder, because he tried his best to be friendly and cheerful after that, but the atmosphere at the table was tense among the eight students. Harry and Luna didn't stay at the pub after their second drink. Luna collected Harry's butterbeer corks, and waved goodbye to their friends. They stopped to speak briefly to Colin Creevey as they left, and waved at Morgana Dempster as they passed her on the way to the carriages. They were lucky to get one to themselves, and enjoyed the short journey back to Hogsmeade.

"That was very tense at the end," Luna said. "I don't think Michael realized he was offending a table full of Gryffindors."

"And a fellow Ravenclaw," Harry said, wrapping his arm around her.

"I don't think my opinion matters much to him," she said evenly. "But you'd think Ginny's would. Maybe he didn't realize he wasn't offending her."

"For a Ravenclaw, he's not very thoughtful. Are you always supposed to be thinking?"

"That's the ideal. Not everyone does all of the time."

"You do," he said giving her waist a squeeze.

"Oh, I do, but I sometimes let my mind wander, you know, just to see where it goes, and if I can catch up to it. Usually it ends up someplace interesting."

"Does it ever drift to me?"

She looked at him intensely. "That's one of the most interesting places it goes."

They enjoyed a passionate black-cherry flavoured kiss most of the way back to the castle.

Before they arrived, Harry asked, "So what did Lavender want to talk about?"

"How do you know we talked?"

"Isn't that what you girls do when you go in groups?"

"Well, yes, I suppose, but you're not supposed to know that," she said.

"It's not a secret."

"Oh. That's too bad," Luna said, disappointed. "Lavender just wanted to talk about her date with Ron. She had lots of fun, and hopes they do it again. You saw how she kept touching his arm to reassure him, right? She said he was very nervous. She thought it was cute." She leaned in and whispered, "They kissed, you know."

"I thought so. Ron sort-of vaguely hinted at it."

"She was quite happy."

"I didn't know you two were so close. Hermione seemed a little put out she didn't get to go. Not too much, mind you."

"I think Lavender thought Hermione wouldn't be interested. They don't talk much, I guess."

"Neither do you and Lavender," he pointed out.

"No, but I think she needed to talk to someone. She seemed just about to burst, and I think that might have ruined Ron's day. I would certainly make it a messier one!"

Harry laughed. As they left the carriage, Harry said, "Meet me in the Room of Requirement at two o'clock tomorrow, okay? I want to give you your birthday gifts then."

"Gifts, Harry? You didn't have to get me anything, let alone more than one."

"I know, but you'll like them. I'm going to head up to my bed after supper, to try that mirror out. And I may bring it tomorrow."

"That would be nice. We could have your godfather play us a song!"

Harry shook his head and smiled. "I don't think so, he's not Stubby Boardman."

"But you've never asked him, have you? He may surprise you."

"Maybe. You're not seriously expecting me to ride a Snorkack on Tuesday, are you?"

She smiled. "No. I suspect you wouldn't even know how to saddle one. But on the off chance you do, well, no one's ever going to forget I predicted it, will they?"

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and skipped off quickly towards the Great Hall, leaving Harry to try and catch up.

[A/N: Thanks as always to MandibleBones for betareading. Thanks as well to Chandagnac for the suggestion to have Luna tell Harry he should use Sirius' mirror, and jediprankster for a prompting part of Harry and Ron's talk about Umbridge.]

6. 5: Collective Corrective

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. In the highly unlikely event that I actually owned any of the Harry Potter intellectual property, I wouldn't be posting stories to this website, as I wouldn't be a fan, and thus wouldn't meet the entry criteria, now, would I? Draw your own conclusions from that.

Chapter 5 – Collective Corrective

February 18, 1996.

Sunday breakfast in the Great Hall was a morning-long affair, with students coming to eat in drips and drabs. Hogsmeade weekends, there were even fewer than usual, as many students would skip breakfast in the castle for the variety of the village. When Harry Potter and Ron Weasley arrived for breakfast at nine o'clock, the Gryffindor table was relatively sparsely attended, but Hermione Granger was waiting for them as they sat in their usual spot next to her.

Hermione smiled warmly at her friends, happy that they rose early enough to get in a good morning of preparation for their Ordinary Wizarding Level tests. She was disappointed that they wouldn't be spending the whole day studying, but Harry told her that he needed to meet Luna Lovegood to help celebrate his girlfriend's birthday, and Ron said he had agreed go skating again with Lavender Brown that afternoon. Hermione herself was going to spend the whole day revising, as she was worried that the O.W.L. tests were only a few months away.

Luna's fifteenth birthday actually fell on the next evening, but Harry had scheduled a meeting of Dumbledore's Army that night. By unspoken agreement, no meetings were held on Hogsmeade weekends, mostly to encourage attendance. Harry had thought of postponing the meeting so he could properly celebrate Luna's birthday, but he decided that she likely wouldn't want him to reschedule the meeting just for her.

As Harry was mentally reviewing his afternoon plans for Luna, a barn owl that Harry recognized as "Curry," Xenophilius Lovegood's owl, flew in with the morning owls. He dropped a package in Hermione's porridge, and flew off without even landing. Hermione frowned, wiped the porridge off the package, and said, "It's from Mr. Lovegood. It must be some back issues of The Quibbler." She opened the package, and read the note attached.

Dear Miss Granger,

Here are some more issues with articles by my Astrid. Her first was published when she was a seventh-year. I hope you enjoy them.

- X.L.

Hermione took the first one, shook her head with a slight smile, opened it up and began reading.

Harry looked at the cover, dated January 1974, and noted that The Quibbler was a black-and-white publication twenty years ago. The cover had no illustration, just the name of the magazine in a fancy cursive font that seemed to shimmer the longer he looked at it. The cover listed its main articles in large block printing: "INSIDE: DEATH EATERS SLAUGHTER SNORKACKS!" and "TRANSATLANTIC SHOCKER! OBLIVIATORS TO BLAME FOR 18 1/2 MINUTE GAP?"

He was oddly happy that The Quibbler seemed to be the same kind of magazine then as it was now, and even if he had no idea what the second article listed on the cover was about, it certainly appeared to be in the magazine's house style. Luna had mentioned that The Quibbler was originally owned by her mother's father, and Mr. Lovegood had obviously not changed the magazine's tone after he took it over.

Thinking of Mr. Lovegood brought Harry's thoughts to his godfather, Sirius Black. As he promised Luna, after last night's supper he had retired to his four-poster bed, drawn the curtains, cast a privacy charm, and dug out the package Sirius had given him just before the start of the term. He had read Sirius' note, activated the mirror by speaking his name, and shortly afterwards, Sirius' face appeared in the mirror.

Sirius was both overjoyed to hear from Harry and disappointed that Harry hadn't contacted him sooner. When Harry explained his reasoning, that he didn't want to say anything that would cause Sirius to leave the safety of his family home, Sirius pointed out that by not contacting him at all Harry had made him more worried. Remus twice had to talk Sirius out of scouting Hogsmeade on the students' trips into the village to make sure Harry was safe.

Harry admitted he hadn't thought of that.

After that mild chastisement, they had a wonderful conversation. There was very little news on Sirius' end ‒ "Nothing new happens when I'm cooped up here," he said somewhat bitterly – so Harry told him all about his life, both the unpleasant parts – the ongoing difficulty of learning Occulmency with Snape and life under that bloody Umbridge toad – and the rather more pleasant news of his relationship with Luna. He showed his godfather the white-noise charcoal sketch Luna had made for him, and the picture Colin Creevey took of the two of them together at Hogsmeade three weeks previous, both of which Harry had pinned up on the wall above his bed.

Sirius had pressed him for details of what Luna was like, and what they had done, and then proceeded to give advice to Harry on how to treat a young witch. Harry was inclined to ignore some of Sirius' advice, such as "Try and keep a bit of mystery about you. Witches go for the whole 'man-of-secrets-and-intrigue' thing." Other advice was better, such as, "You're going to argue. It's a fact of life, and they happen. There's nothing wrong with it. Just make sure that you don't let things fester. Don't go to bed angry at her."

Sirius then got a rakish glint in his eyes, and smirking at Harry, he asked, "So has anyone given you 'The Talk'?"

"Oh no," Harry groaned. "Please, Sirius, I'm begging you, no."

"Seriously, has anyone? That great clod Dursley ever tell you about the facts of life?"

Uncle Vernon had actually attempted it, unfortunately for Harry. His uncle's version of 'The Talk' was to shout, purple-faced, at Harry, "For God's sake don't even think about doing it, boy! If you get some tart pregnant, I will tear you apart limb from limb! Not than any decent girl would ever look at the likes of you, but who knows what kind of degenerates they have at that freak school of yours? I will not have another baby dropped on my doorstep!"

Harry groaned internally at the memory, and simply told Sirius that he hadn't.

After making sure Harry knew the basic mechanics, to Harry's great embarrassment (which would have been worse were he actually unaware), and trying to teach him the Contraceptive Charm to Harry's further mortification, Sirius then proceeded to advise him that he was far too young to be doing that kind of thing, especially with an even younger girl. "But honestly, Harry, that doesn't stop people. It certainly didn't stop me when I was your age, but you're probably somewhat more responsible than I was. You certainly seem to be treating her more seriously than I did with girls when I was in school. I know I never would have worn a necklace like that one in public for any of the girls I knew. Whatever you do, be careful, and be considerate. Let her set the pace. You're still a kid, Harry – a kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders, but a kid. Don't forget that."

Sirius then undercut this rather sensible advice by telling Harry about some of his liaisons in his own Hogwarts days (mercifully free of details, Harry thought), with a final comment that the Marauder's Map was good for finding unoccupied classrooms, "for doing things like holding hands, I'm sure," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

It was all academic for Harry at this point in his life. He liked Luna, he liked Luna a lot, and certainly he enjoyed kissing her, but he certainly didn't think he was ready for anything more than that. Not yet, certainly. He told Sirius as much, and his godfather's reaction was, "Good. But better you know and not do anything than do something and not know."

Fortunately, Sirius had let the subject go after that.

Thinking about the facts of life brought him to thinking about young witches which naturally brought him back to thinking about Luna. Seven hours until her birthday. Seven hours of studying.

Seven hours of Potions and History of Magic.

Damn.

At ten minutes before two, Luna left the Library to head towards the seventh-floor corridor with the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy. She had been doing some research for Ancient Runes on rune-anchored wards in post-Roman Britain, but information in the Hogwarts Library on the subject was woefully minimal. She suspected she could find what she wanted in the Restricted Section, but knew that Professor Umbridge would block any request she made to access it. The High Inquisitor was reticent to let students access the Restricted Sections at the best of times (which were few and far between), but she seemed to have a particular dislike of Luna since her relationship with Harry began.

Luna recalled her mother had a book on runic wards, but she was not about to owl her father to send it to her. Other than the lovely Valentine Harry had made for her, none of her possessions had disappeared or been destroyed in almost a month, but she wasn't about to risky any of her mother's books in the castle.

A month without her possessions disappearing was a record for Luna since she started at Hogwarts. The Nargles were obviously kept away by her butterbeer cork necklace, and Harry wearing his necklace must have multiplied the charm's effect against the mischievous little sprites. But that only partly explained the lack of disappearances.

Luna surmised that the her relationship with Harry was the other reason her stuff had stayed in her possession. Not just the speech Harry gave to the D.A. those weeks ago, but the mere fact of dating Harry seemed to give an aura of protection over Luna.

In a way, she felt vaguely uncomfortable about that. She wasn't dating Harry so his reputation would protect her, and while it was certainly a welcome side effect, made her wonder whether people would doubt her motives. Not that she really cared what most people thought, of course, but she certainly wasn't with Harry because of what he could do for her. Well, other than making her smile. And laugh. And feel valued. And appreciated. And how she felt when he held her hand, or when he kissed her.

The truth was, since she and Harry got together, she felt like less of an outcast. Maybe it was because she was Harry Potter's girlfriend, maybe it was the fact that she was anyone's girlfriend at all, or maybe it was just that she felt more confident with Harry in her life, but she had far more people talking to her than she had before the Christmas break. She was still the subject of random cruelties, was still called "Loony" by almost everybody, and most of her classmates spoke derisively to her when they spoke to her at all, but she was friendly with not just Ginny and Harry, but Harry's friends as well, and Lavender Brown had been particularly pleasant to her lately.

Even her roommate Morgana Dempster had a decent conversation with her last night in their dormitory. Morgana told her how she felt lonely in Ravenclaw (although not quite as much as Luna herself), and didn't think their roommates Deirdre and Melanie really liked her much at all. That didn't surprise Luna – she found them both to be unpleasant girls, and suspected they only let Morgana hang out with her to make Luna herself feel even more ostracized. Morgana's strongest subject was Muggle Studies – her father was a muggleborn – but often felt she wasn't meeting Ravenclaw standards in Charms, which distressed her as the Ravenclaw head of house, Professor Flitwick, taught that class. Morgana also commented how lucky Luna was to have such a sweet boyfriend. Of course, Morgana fell silent as soon as Deirdre and Melanie entered the room, but she still wished her a pleasant good night, even with the other girls giving her a glare.

Luna had hope for Morgana after that.

The simple truth was that Luna was happier than she ever had been. That seemed strange to say with Voldemort back, Minister Fudge squeezing the goblins and colluding with the Lizard People, and Professor Umbridge terrorizing the school, but it was true. Harry had been a wonderful friend and an even better boyfriend, the bullying had lessened, the Nargles were avoiding her, and more people were being nice to her. And she was meeting Harry for her birthday!

Luna's birthdays at Hogwarts had been lonely affairs, as her father would wait until she was home at Easter to celebrate with her. In her first year, she told her roommates when her birthday was, and Deirdre and Melanie's response was a cruel, "So what?" On her birthday itself, her picture of her mother hugging her tightly disappeared. She didn't mention her birthday to anyone else in the years after that, until Harry saw the inscription in the copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard which her parents had given her for her sixth birthday. For three lonely years, her birthday was completely unacknowledged. Ginny would always remember sometime in early March that her birthday had passed, apologize, wish her a belated Happy Birthday, and give her a warm hug, but on her birthday, nothing. And she was okay with that – it was better than her first birthday at Hogwarts.

This year promised to be different, though. Harry had said he was going to give her her birthday gifts. Just a kiss and a whispered "Happy Birthday" would have made Luna's day, but multiple gifts were unprecedented. She thought it likely he would give her some kind of charm, but had no idea what else he would give her. Whatever it was, she was sure it would be wonderful.

Thinking of gifts made her realize she hadn't made him a charm in a while, so she thought as she skipped though the castle about what to make him. Maybe some kind of charmed comb, she thought. He was always complaining about his unruly hair, although to be honest, Luna thought its very unruliness was quite dashing. Maybe something else, then, she thought with a smile.

And so she found herself on the seventh floor, pacing back and forth three times in front of the portrait, thinking I want to see what Harry has for me. The door appeared. Luna entered.

She found the Room of Requirement had been arranged to look like a cozy den, with an overstuffed sofa and a coffee table in front of a brick fireplace with a warm fire burning within. There was a chocolate cake on the coffee table, with what looked to be fifteen sparklers on it, and standing beside it, wearing a purple conical party hat, was Harry, who came over, gave her an inviting kiss and a warm hug.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered into her ear, and Luna smiled widely to herself as she felt Harry inhale deeply with his head buried in her hair.

"Thank you," she answered sweetly, as he placed a purple hat on her head and led her by the hand over to the sofa.

"I made the cake last night, although Dobby got the ingredients for me. I hope you like devil's food," he said, removing the sparklers and cutting her a large piece.

"I don't think I've ever had it. It's a very strange name," she said, as she put a large forkful into her mouth. Despite the ominous name, she found it was delicious and rich. "That's lovely!" she said, trying to cover her mouth with her hand.

"I'm glad you like it," he said, his voice full of pride at her compliment. "One good thing about living with my aunt and uncle is that I learned to be a decent cook. Or else," he added, his face clouding for a moment. Shaking it off, he continued. "I'm surprised you haven't had devil's food before. It's very popular among the Muggles."

"Well, it's just wonderful. The chocolate icing is lovely too. Very rich. I didn't expect you to make a cake, you know."

"Nothing's too good for you," he smiled, cutting himself a piece, and pouring them each a glass of pumpkin juice.

Luna ate slowly, savouring the flavours of the cake, and just enjoying the moment. She knew Harry could cook, having learned out of necessity, but she didn't expect this. She couldn't stop smiling, even after she finished.

Harry finished his piece before she did. She declined another piece at the moment, and Harry smiled and pulled out a small package, wrapped in shimmering red wrapping paper, from behind the sofa.

She slowly unwrapped the present, making sure not to tear the paper.

"You're supposed to just rip it open," he said playfully.

"This paper is too nice to destroy. Besides, I'm prolonging the anticipation," she said playfully.

Inside was a small box. She opened it and looked inside, seeing a pair of silver crescent moon earrings.

"These are beautiful!" she said, removing the dirigible plum earrings she wore and inserting the new ones. They dangled from her ears, and Harry held up a small mirror to show her. They sparkled brightly.

"They look good on you. I got them in Hogsmeade, but I charmed them myself," he said.

"What do they do?"

"I was hoping to make that a surprise, but I couldn't figure out a way to show you without looking like a jerk. They're charmed against the Trip Jinx. Here, if you walk around the room, I'll show you."

She got up, and slowly began to walk around. It took all of her willpower to not go with her Dumbledore's Army training and react defensively when Harry drew his wand on her and softly incanted, "Caespita."

Luna knew that Harry was proficient with that spell, as she had seen him use is many times in D.A. meetings, but the spell had absolutely no effect of her. Her eyes lit up as she ran towards him and kissed him. "That's very impressive!" she exclaimed.

"I got the idea when I saw Lucretia trip you a month ago. I tried enchanting other protective charms on it, but I could only ever get them to hold two, so I put an anti-theft one on them too. It should stop anyone from taking them. It may even work against the Nargles," he said with a slight smile.

"Thank you for this, Harry. This and the cake are the first birthday gifts I've even got from anyone other than my family. I'll always treasure them," she said, hugging him tightly again.

"The moons were the most interesting-looking ones the store had. Sorry if they're a little trite. You must own tons of moon-theme things."

She laughed, still hugging him. "I actually don't. I have a moon-and-stars themed bedspread, but that's it."

"You changed your shampoo," he said softly into her ear. "It smells like peaches."

"I was wondering if you'd notice," she whispered to him.

"It's really nice."

After a few minutes, she let go and they sat down together. Harry said, "And now for your second gift," as he reached behind the sofa.

"I thought the cake was the second gift," Luna said, surprised.

"No, that's just traditional. This," he said, pulling out another shimmering red package, "is your second gift."

Luna took the package from him. It was large, rectangular, and heavy, just like a book. Realization hit her. "Harry, is this..."

"Open it," he said eagerly.

Luna again carefully unwrapped the package, revealing an old, expensive-looking, plainly bound leather tome. Turning the book to its spine, as she expected, was printed "Rare Arcane Faunae of Western Europe – Livia Lovegood."

"My great-great-great-aunt's book..." she whispered reverently. Turning her large eyes to her boyfriend, she whispered, "But I told Daddy, and he said it was gone."

"I bought it that day in the bookstore," he explained. "I told your father, and asked him to tell you it was gone if you asked. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh, Harry, it was. I didn't... you didn't have to... oh, thank you so much!" she said, fiercely wrapping him in another hug. "You really didn't have to, you know. I would have been happy with just the afternoon with you."

"I know, but I couldn't bear the look on your face when you put it back on the shelf, that day. I had to get it for you."

"Oh, I love it," she said, opening it up. On the inside cover, in Harry's scratchy scrawl, was written, "Happy 15th birthday to a rare arcane treasure herself. - From Harry."

She opened the book, and went through it slowly, lingering over the moving painted plates of creatures such as Nargles, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, Kelwedges, Heliopaths, Kruger's Vanishing Mites, and many creatures she had never heard of, watching the reactions of the animated illustrations as they played on the various pages.

"No one has ever done anything like this for me, Harry. Thank you so much! I'll have to send this off to Daddy at once, so nothing happens to it."

"That shouldn't be necessary. The book apparently has fire- and water-resistance charms on it already, and I put an anti-theft charm on it myself last night. No one can touch it, or move it by magic, without getting a shock, like touching an electric fence," he said. When he saw her look of confusion, he explained, "It's like a Muggle ward. They run electricity through a fence to shock anyone, or any animal, touching it. They can range from merely slightly painful to quite lethal. This," he said, pointing to the book, "is somewhere in between."

"How does that work?"

"To let someone take it, you have to touch your wand and think of them. It's keyed to only respond to your wishes, although I can touch it without taking a shock, because I charmed it, and otherwise I wouldn't have been able to give it to you," he said with a smirk.

"You're so wonderful to me," she said, her large eyes misting up. Wiping them, she composed herself, and said in her normal dreamy tones, "You must have had a busy night last night, what with baking the cake, and charming this. Did you get a chance to talk to your godfather?"

Harry's eyes lit up. "I did. You were right – I was being a prat. It was great talking to him. He wanted to meet so, so I brought the mirror in case you were okay with that. We don't have to if..."

"I'd love to meet him, Harry. Was that the mirror you showed me before?"

He nodded, and pulled it out. It looked like a normal mirror, until Harry looked at it and said, "Sirius Black." After a moment, Harry's reflection was replaced with the image of a gaunt looking man with long, black hair, a haunted look in his silver eyes, and a waxy complexion. The man's face immediately grew into a jaunty grin, which looked warm and inviting, despite his yellowing teeth, and changed the whole nature of his face by its mere presence.

"Harry!" Sirius Black said warmly. "How did it go?"

"Great," Harry said. "It's still going, now." He held the mirror further away from him, and scooted right next to Luna. "Luna Lovegood, this is my godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Luna. My girlfriend," he said, his voice so full of pride it made Luna blush.

"Hello, Mister Black."

"You must call me Sirius," he said with a smirk, "or I'll have to call you Mistress Lovegood, and then Harry will feel left out."

"I could call him Mr. Potter," she pointed out.

"And hold me responsible for all that formality? No, I don't think so, Miss Lovegood" he said.

She smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Sirius."

"And you, Luna. Merlin, Remus wasn't kidding."

"Oh?" asked Harry.

"You are the spitting image of Astrid Beauchamp, Luna," Sirius said. Luna noted that unlike most people, he correctly pronounced her mother's maiden name bee-chum. "I imagine you must hear that a lot."

"No I don't, but thank you for saying it."

"I was very sorry when Harry told me about your mother, Luna. I hadn't seen her since she graduated, but she was a fine witch."

"You knew her?" Luna said, excited. She'd talked to very few people about her mother who actually knew her, other than her father and Professor Flitwick.

"I did, in a way – she used to give me detentions during my first three years at Hogwarts. Rather a lot of them, in fact. James – that's Harry's father – used to say I waited until Astrid was around to goof off."

"Did you?" Harry asked, teasingly.

"Of course not. That's a foul lie. I goofed off all the time!" Sirius laughed. "The fact that I did it conspicuously in front of Astrid, well, that's probably just coincidence," he said with a wink at Luna. Turning to her, he said, "She was very smart, very diligent, and very imaginative. Especially in her detentions! Harry tells me you're the same – minus the detentions, of course."

"Well, Harry hasn't misbehaved around me. Yet," she said with a smile.

"Oooh, I like her, Harry," he laughed.

"Me too," Harry said.

"Can I ask you a question?" Luna said.

"Go ahead."

"Are you Stubby Boardman?"

Sirius laughed lightly. "Harry told me you might ask that. Remus showed me that article in The Quibbler. Unfortunately, Luna, I am not a rock star. I'm not Stubby Boardman, I'm afraid to say. I don't play the guitar," he said seriously, in a manner that made Luna feel he wasn't mocking her at all.

"He doesn't even play air guitar," Harry said. Both Luna and Sirius had looks of confusion on their face, when Harry explained, "It's a Muggle thing."

"Like a pipe organ?" she asked.

Harry laughed. "No, not quite." He handed the mirror to Luna, asking her to aim it at him, while he proceeded to stand up and dramatically mime playing an electric guitar for about half a minute, finishing with a vigorous strumming of his imaginary instrument. He was so energetic that Luna couldn't help but break out into one of those belly laughs that completely incapacitated her for a minute of so.

"And that is air guitar," Harry said, reddening a bit and obviously feeling a little embarrassed over his performance.

He sat next to Luna again, and they looked into the mirror where Sirius was still laughing at Harry's antics. "No, I can definitely say I don't play air guitar." Wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes, Sirius looked at Luna and said, "You're obviously very good for Harry. I haven't seen him this carefree in a while."

"I think we're good for each other, actually," she said, giving her boyfriend a peck on the cheek.

Sirius laughed again. "Well, I'm obviously interrupting your plans. Luna, it was a complete pleasure to meet you, and I hope you have a happy birthday. If those twits at the Ministry ever clear my name, my cousin Dora said she's going to hunt down Stubby Boardman and get a picture of me with him. I'll be sure to send you one. In the mean time, Harry, do keep in touch, won't you?"

"I will," Harry said sincerely.

"Good. You two have fun, now," he said with a last wink, and his image faded from the mirror until it just showed Harry and Luna again.

"He seems very nice," Luna said.

"He's great. I wish I could hang out with him openly one of these days."

"The Ministry won't admit the truth until their faces are rubbed in it, you know," she said sombrely. "Sometimes not even then."

"I know. If I have to, some day I'm going to catch Wormtail myself and drag him kicking and screaming to London," he said, a hard look on his face.

"We will catch him. I'm not going to let you go off on your own, Harry," she said, full of determination.

Harry smiled, wrapped his arm around Luna and squeezed. "So, did you like all this?"

"It's wonderful. I haven't had anyone celebrate my birthday since I came to Hogwarts."

He ran his hand through his hair. "I thought about having a party. Bringing along Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Neville... even Lavender and Morgana. But I wanted to have you to myself this afternoon. Selfish, I know," he said.

"I don't think you're selfish at all," Luna said. "I quite like this."

"Maybe we'll do a party next year," Harry said.

Luna smiled to herself when Harry said that. He was actively contemplating being with her a year from that. That pleased Luna greatly, and if she was a little honest, it scared her a little how natural a possibility it seemed. As she leaned her head into Harry's shoulders, she realized she quite liked the thought.

She noted that the sofa would be almost the perfect length for them to recline in each others arms. She could picture it so easily. But she wasn't quite ready for that yet.

They had two hours left until supper. She was content to sit on the sofa and be held by him, her head on his shoulder, exchanging the occasional kiss and talking quietly about nothing terribly important. That was good enough. For now.

February 19, 1996

Harry was all smiles as he entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. The weekend had been perfect – the interview went well, Luna's father liked him, they had fun in the village, and Luna liked her early birthday gifts yesterday. He just had to make it through his classes, and they would have a D.A. meeting today. Some quiet time with Luna afterwards, back to the common room to hang with his other friends, and the school week would be twenty-percent completed. Easy peasy.

He took his seat beside Ron, across the aisle from Hermione. He was going to keep his head down. He wasn't going to say anything to Umbridge, no matter how much she provoked him. He was going to sail through this class.

He saw Umbridge looking directly at him. She had a tight smile on her ugly face, and an evil glint in her beady eyes.

This was not good.

She had them copy pages 300-312 of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard. Harry was fine with that – pointless but doable. Umbridge walked up and down the aisles between the desks, watching the students write, making sure they were bored, and then she stopped in front of Harry's desk.

He looked up.

"Mr. Potter. Can you tell me what Mr. Slinkhard said was the most important tactic about avoiding the Sun-blemished Jinx?" she said in her falsely sweet voice.

Harry could not. The "Sun-blemished Jinx" apparently had the effect of giving the "victim" a slight, almost imperceptible tan. It was the most powerful spell they had studied in depth all year.

"I'm afraid I don't, Professor."

"Oh, come now," she said sarcastically. "We only studied it last week. Surely someone as gifted as the 'Boy-Who-Lived' knows what Mr. Slinkhard recommended."

Harry couldn't help himself. "Wear a hat?"

"Hardly, Mr. Potter. Tell me, how do you propose to defend yourself if you don't even know that?"

"I thought we weren't ever go to be in a position where we would need to defend ourselves, Professor. Isn't that what you told us back in September?"

"That's why you learn the theory," she said sweetly. "So what do you do if someone tries to use the Sun-blemished Jinx on you?"

He knew he was going to get detention no matter what at this point. He may as well have some fun. "Save ten quid and cancel my tanning appointment?"

Dean was unable to stop himself from laughing. Even Hermione let out a quick laugh before she caught herself.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter, for your inattention to your studies and your cheek. Five from Gryffindor for you, Mr. Thomas. And Mr. Potter? Detention with me for the next two nights."

Harry groaned.

At the end class, Umbridge said sweetly, "Mr. Potter? Stay behind a moment."

After the other student had left to go to lunch, she said, "Sit down, which I finish making these notes."

And he sat. For fifty-five minutes.

"Now, Mr. Potter, I want you to come to my office immediately after your last class today."

"But I won't have had anything to eat since breakfast," he said.

"Well, you should have thought of that, shouldn't you have?" she said with her false sweetness. "Don't worry, Mr. Potter, I will have one of the elves bring you some toast and gruel. I know how important it is for young people to have a full stomach for the lessons to, shall we say, sink in. Or do you have somewhere else you need to be?"

"Bloody hell bloody hell bloody hell. She knows about the D.A.," he thought.

Umbridge looked right at him, a feral expression on her face. "Your poor girlfriend will think you've forgotten her birthday, won't she? Hopefully it doesn't break her heart. Maybe next time you will study, answer the question, and otherwise be quiet. Now get out of here. I'll see you at five."

February 20, 1996.

Harry entered the Great Hall early that morning, haven woken up hungry. After thin gruel and burnt toast during his Umbridgian detention last night, he was happy to get a real meal, so he loaded his plate up with bangers, mash, pancakes, and eggs, and hungrily scarfed them down in a manner that would make Ron proud. That Woman had him carve "I will answer questions correctly" into his right hand with that horrible Blood Quill for five hours last night. He had to miss the D.A. meeting, but asked Hermione to lead it rather than cancel it. If Umbridge thought a tanning spell was important, his classmates needed every training session they could get.

He felt worse about not being able to wish Luna a Happy Birthday. He was glad he gave her her gifts on Sunday, but it still would have been nice.

Umbridge's parting shot at him during lunch filled him with dread. Now more than ever he was convinced the High Inquisitor had Luna as a target, to get at Harry. The thought filled him with dread.

As if on cue, his girlfriend walked up and sat opposite him at the Gryffindor table.

"Hello, Harry," she said softly. "Are you all right from last night? Hermione told me what happened."

"I am. I probably made it worse for myself by making a joke, to be honest, but she was going to give me a detention anyway. I'm sorry I missed your birthday."

"You didn't miss it at all, silly, or have you forgotten Sunday already?" she said.

"I would have liked to have wished you a Happy Birthday on your birthday."

"Oh, that's quite alright. You did more than enough. Besides, Ginny gave me my birthday hug on the right day this year, and a few of the other Gryffindors wished me a happy birthday as well – Hermione, Ron, Neville, Lavender, Colin... even Cho Chang did after the others did, which she never has before. It was like having friends," she said in her far away voice.

"You do have friends, Luna. And you have me."

"Did you ask them all to do that?" she said, staring at him.

"No, not at all. I did mention giving you your birthday gifts on Sunday in the common room, though, so maybe that inspired them."

"Well, it was lovely all the same."

"How'd Hermione do yesterday?"

"She's o.k. She's not as good a teacher as you, but she tried. She actually had us performing the Trip Jinx at each other yesterday. Did you ask her to?" she said, giving him a little smile.

"No, that's pure coincidence."

"Well, I took these off, just to make it fair," she said, pointing to her silver moon earrings.

"Who did you spar with?"

"George Weasley, actually. He's very imaginative."

The boy in question stuck his head next to Harry's, having obviously heard his name. "Don't let this one fool you, Harry. I'm imaginative, yeah, but Luna's no slouch either."

Harry grinned. "Believe me, I know that."

George looked at Luna. "If you keep it up, my brother and I may have an internship for you when you graduate. I bet you could prank with the best of them."

"Oh, I'm not really into pranks," Luna said quietly.

George dramatically put his hand over his chest. "You wound me, madam!"

"Pranks are a touchy subject," Harry said.

"Oh, I understand why," George said sympathetically to Luna. "But I'll leave you with this thought: Revenge is a dish best served cold, and for, say, six galleons a week? We're always looking for summer help as well."

"Thank you, but I think I'm okay for now."

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me, neighbour," George said with a smile as he went to find his brother.

Harry popped a banger in his mouth. "You know, if you work for them, that would make you my employee, in a way," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh yes, I forgot you were an investor. Well, now I definitely can't. People will say the Wrackspurts have got you, and I took advantage," she said seriously.

"Or that the Kruger's Vanishing Mites did."

"Yes, or them," she smiled. "I'm going to go have breakfast. See you at supper?"

"No, I got another night of detention. Tomorrow, hopefully."

She squeezed his hands, and skipped over to the Ravenclaw table, causing many of her fellow eagles to scowl at her or whisper among themselves.

Harry glanced at the staff table, where he saw Umbridge looking darkly at Luna as the blond girl skipped across the Great Hall. She then looked right at Harry and smiled at him.

It wasn't a pleasant smile. Not at all.

Just after his last class, Harry made his way up to the waiting area outside Umbridge's office. He was shocked to find Luna there, waiting as well.

Looking around to be sure no one was coming, he gave her a quick hug, and whispered, "Why are you here?"

She sighed, and whispered back. "Apparently my earrings were 'too sparkly', and were disrupting the class."

"That's total crap. Did anyone actually say that?"

"No, but I took them off immediately after that, just in case. I didn't want her to confiscate them," she said sadly.

"She would have got shocked if she did," Harry said.

"That probably would have made things worse," she said, dejected.

"Yeah. I'd rather neither of us were here, but at least we're together."

"Hem-hem," said Umbridge, opening the door to her office. "Indeed you are here together. Come in."

Harry saw Umbridge had the usual chair-and desk for her victim, facing the desk of Umbridge herself, but she also had a hard-looking wooden chair facing the student desk.

"Miss Lovegood, you sit at the desk. Mr. Potter, you face Miss Lovegood."

Once the two sweethearts took their seats, apprehensive looks on both their faces, Umbridge looked at the both of them. "You two troublemakers don't seem to learn. Usually my methods have quick results, but only if they're taken to heart. They don't seem to be having an impression on you. So I've been forced to come up with something more suitable for the both of you.

"After watching you two in the Great Hall, I've decided it would be cruel to separate you. You will henceforth serve your detentions together. Today is Mr. Potter's detention. Tomorrow will be Miss Lovegood's. Mr. Potter can't seem to keep his eyes off you, Miss Lovegood, so he will watch you while pick up the quill, and write 'Harry must answer questions correctly,' keeping your eyes on your paper. If either of you looks away from where you're supposed to, it will be another day of this."

Harry was horrified, but knew protesting would only make things worse. It was one thing having to carve his own hand up. That was nasty but bearable. Knowing that Luna was subject to the same punishment was worse. Having to watch her do it on his account...

His heart broke, as she began to write with her left hand, and the scratches began to appear on her right. And he had to watch, as the minutes ticked away on Umbridge's clock. He knew the evil toad was watching him, and if he didn't keep his eyes on Luna torturing herself, she'd be subject to more of it.

After an hour, the tears were streaming down both their faces. After two, there were very little left in Harry, but they continued to flow down Luna's. After three, Harry was filled with more hatred than he had ever experienced.

When the quarter hour chime struck at eight-fifteen, Harry idly thought how he would give anything to be riding a Snorkack like Luna predicted, with her riding with him, rather than be here.

At eight-thirty, Umbridge finally spoke up. "I think that's enough for Mr. Potter. You may leave. Miss Lovegood, a half-hour more for you, I think."

"I'll stay too, Professor," Harry said, hoarsely.

Umbridge looked at him with her evil face, and grinned devilishly. "If you stay, Mr. Potter, I will simply keep Miss Lovegood until half an hour after you finally leave. I suggest you go now."

Defeated, he did. He whispered, "I'm sorry," as he passed Luna, and saw the deep red cuts in her right hand.

He was too angry to go to his dorm. He thought about getting his Invisibility Cloak and waiting for Luna, but figured he would probably get her in even more trouble if he did so tonight. So he made his way someplace he hadn't been in a while – the Deputy Headmistress' office.

"It's very late, Mr. Potter," Minerva McGonagall said after he knocked on the door to her quarters. "Can this wait until tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you Professor, but I need your help as my head of house."

She sighed. "Come in, Mr. Potter," she said, motioning him to a chair. "Good heavens, you look dreadful!" she said once she got a good look at him. "Can I get you some tea?"

"Yes, thank you," he said, and sat quietly and had some tea until his nerves calmed down.

"I assume this is about our High Inquisitor," Professor McGonagall said after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, Professor. I had detention with her yesterday and today."

"'Lines', I assume?"

He nodded.

"I do sympathize, Mr. Potter, I really do, but she considers using that Blood Quill analogous to the old corporal punishments we used up until the late 'sixties. Headmaster Dumbledore stopped authorizing the use of them, but they were never taken off the school bylaws. It turns out that was a mistake on our part," she said ruefully. "The Headmaster has tried to bring this up to the Minister, but Fudge doesn't listen to him anymore. The best advice I can give you is what I told you before. Try to keep your head down."

"I know, Professor. I don't like it – "

"None of us do, Mr. Potter."

" ‒ but I understand. It's gone beyond that, though." He then explained what his punishment that night entailed, as he watched his Professor's face pass through shock and horror to anger and wrath.

"That... Woman!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "It's one thing to practice corporal punishment, however Dark it may be. But to inflict it on another student for the supposed wrongdoings of another! This is the first time, you say?"

He nodded. "And we're doing it in reverse tomorrow."

"Unfortunately, I'm probably not going to be able to stop that, Mr. Potter, but believe me I will be speaking to the Headmaster about this. Do you know if Miss Lovegood has spoken to Professor Flitwick?"

Sighing, he said, "No, and I don't know if she will. She's very reluctant to bring her problems to him."

"Well, she should talk with him. You might need to speak with him yourself to get him to talk to her. It will be better if he can advocate on one of his student's behalf the way I'm going to advocate on yours. The nerve of That Woman! The barbarity!" She visibly tried to calm herself. "I need another cup of tea. Would you like another?" At his nod, she went and made another pot, pouring two cups. Harry tried not to notice her pull out a flask and pour a generous dram of amber liquid into her teacup.

"Here you go. Thank you for coming to me, Harry. I'll do what I can about this. Unfortunately, she's been given extraordinary powers by the Minister, so this may be an uphill battle. I'll fight it, though, and I know Filius and Albus will as well."

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

They drank their tea, and Harry noticed his professor's cheeks get a little red as they did so.

"Are you feeling better, Mr. Potter?"

"A bit. Having to watch her do that to Luna, though..."

She put her hand on Harry's shoulder. "I know. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you. Don't let it affect you more than it has to, though, Harry. The way you've been this past month – happy, attentive... it's been a breath of fresh air. Don't let her take that away from you. Miss Lovegood's been good for you. I'm not the only one to have noticed that." She turned, grabbed a piece of parchment, and scribbled an after-hours pass on it. "Here, take this. I don't want you to get another detention."

He muttered his thanks and took the long walk back to his common room.

February 22, 1996.

Luna Lovegood sat at the Ravenclaw table, picking at her supper. She defiantly wore her birthday earrings, as she did all the time now, except in Defence and during detentions. Her expression was an unusual (for her) mix of sadness and anger, which was so uncharacteristic for her that none of the other Ravenclaws had teased her at all for the last three days. Morgana had even stuck her head into Luna's four-poster bed this morning and whispered some words of sympathy for her, which Luna very much appreciated.

She was not hungry, though, and moved her vegetables back and forth across her plate, and made little designs in her mashed turnips. She looked up to see Harry Potter sitting across from her.

As bad as it was to have to use Professor Umbridge's Blood Quill on Tuesday, it was worse for Luna on Wednesday to watch as Harry wrote 'Loony must not disrupt class' over and over for four hours. It was supposed to be only three, but Harry had objected to writing 'Loony' instead of 'Luna', and so Professor Umbridge tacked on another hour to his punishment. If Harry felt watching her like she felt watching him... well, that probably meant he was feeling as angry and sad as she was.

His face showed only sympathy and caring, though. He took her bandaged right hand in his bandaged right hand. "I wasn't hungry either," he said, pointing to her food.

"Professor Flitwick spoke with me today," she said suddenly, and then she stared at him and said, "but I'm sure you know that."

"I had to tell him, Luna," he said pleadingly. "Professor McGonagall said it was the best way to get the others to listen, if he acted as your head of house."

"I know. I'm not mad at you. I don't like losing Ravenclaw points, and then having to talk to him about it."

"No one blames you, Luna," he said softly.

She looked piercingly at him. "I don't think that's true at all, Harry."

"No one important, then."

She giggled in spite of herself. "Fair enough." She looked at the staff table, where Professors Flitwick and McGonagall were staring daggers at Professor Umbridge, who either didn't notice or didn't care. Or more likely, both. "At least they're listening."

"Yeah. Hopefully it'll do some good." He leaned in and whispered to her, "Look, I'm no hungrier than you are. What say I meet you in an hour in front of your common room with my Cloak and we go down to the lake. We can just sit, cuddle, and watch the stars?"

She smiled a wide genuine smile at him. "I'd like that." Seeing the dessert, though, she exclaimed, "Oooh, pudding!" and grabbed a bowl of the banana pudding being served. She took two spoons, giving one to Harry.

The night was already getting better.

Unlike his student, Filius Flitwick's emotions were in no way mollified by banana pudding. He knew about that cow Umbridge's "detentions," of course, although his protests had no effect. The only consolation was that his Ravenclaws tended to get very few detentions.

When Harry Potter spoke to him after Wednesday's class, he thought it was to tell him how the anti-Trip Jinx charm worked. He was pleased to see how Mr. Potter had taken to charms once he saw a practical purpose for them, and was always glad to help an enthusiastic student. That Harry was helping to draw Luna Lovegood out of her shell was just icing on the cake for Filius.

He knew the young girl felt isolated among her fellow Ravenclaws, but also knew from many years of experience that it was virtually impossible to make adolescents act in a decent manner if they were bound and determined not to. All he could do was to be there if she came to him. Unfortunately, Miss Lovegood had a very strong self-reliant streak, which while normally a valuable trait, did not serve her well in her refusal to seek help.

Finding out that the real purpose of Harry staying behind was to enlighten him as to that cow's medieval style of discipline was horrifying, but he was glad Harry did so. He didn't know if Luna ever would have taken the initiative to talk to him otherwise, although she told him everything with a minimal amount of prodding when he spoke with her today.

He was about to storm out of the classroom when he saw Minerva waiting for him, and giving him a moment to collect himself, they went up to speak to Albus together. Thankfully, the Headmaster let him rant at him for a good long while, with Minerva interjecting occasionally. Minerva was far more collected, having had two days to digest this information. Albus listened, told them his plan, and poured them all three fingers of firewhiskey. Not Ogden's – some rotgut firewhiskey from Tennessee. The harshness was exactly what Filius needed.

He stared at Umbridge, and felt his right hand get itchy. Yes, the old duelling instincts were still there. It hopefully wouldn't come to that. Last resort, though...

A folded piece of paper floated down to table in front of him, as it did to all the professors. It read:

At the request of Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, I am calling an extraordinary staff meeting for Saturday at 10 a.m. All professors are expected to attend. Minutes of the meeting will be forwarded to the Minister, the head of the Department of Magical Education, the Board of Governors, and possibly other interested parties.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Order of Merlin First Class, et cetera.

Filius smiled. He looked over at Umbridge. She was not smiling. Not in the slightest.

His grin got wider. Maybe some banana pudding would be nice after all.

[A.N. Thanks as always to MandibleBones for proofreading. Upon reading the reference in the last chapter to 'High Inquisitor Lucius Malfoy', he wrote the following omake.]

"Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon, Profes-"

"No. Stop that simpering twaddle this instant."

"But Profess-"

"No. Stop."

"Yes, Professor."

"Now, I need you to split into three groups. Purebloods to my left: you will be learning... special things."

"That's my father!"

"Quiet, Draco. You mustn't boast. Half-Bloods in the center, you'll be learning the Stunning Charm; since you're the only people who bother to work in the DMLE, you'll probably need it eventually."

"Shouldn't we learn shields first?"

"No, this is more entertaining, Mr. Finnegan."

"For who?"

"'For whom', Mr. Finnegan. More entertaining for me. And five points from Gryffindor."

"Aww..."

"Finally, Mud... Muggleborns to my right. You'll be learning cleaning charms, since that is likely the only job you'll find after Hogwarts."

*grumble grumble*

"What was that, Miss Granger?"

"I said, at least we're learning SOMETHING, Professor. Umbridge thought we'd stage a revolution with Scourgify or something."

"... I cannot believe I'm siding with a Muggleborn, but That Woman was an imbecile."

*Class cheers*

7. 6: Confrontations

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. In the highly unlikely event that I actually owned any of the Harry Potter intellectual property, I wouldn't be posting stories to this website, as I wouldn't be a fan, and thus wouldn't meet the entry criteria, now, would I? Draw your own conclusions from that.

Chapter 6 – Confrontations

February 24, 1996.

A fuming Dolores Umbridge sat in her office, pacing nervously back and forth across her office. She looked at the two chairs in her office, facing one another, where Potter and the Lovegood brat had sat three nights before. She thought her new form of discipline would leave the two troublemakers sufficiently cowed and fearful for each others' safety to keep them quiet and keep their heads down. She thought that the professors at Hogwarts were so fearful for their job security after the sacking of that fraud Trelawney that they would give her the freedom to reform the school and to gather sufficient evidence to act against Dumbledore. She thought she had made it clear that discipline was her province, and that the calling of staff meetings was her prerogative.

She didn't think any of the flobberworms running this decrepit school would have the strength to stand up to her. Now it was ten minutes to the "extraordinary meeting" Dumbledore had summoned. At least she knew who was behind it. McGonagall and Flitwick. That was a surprise – she thought McGonagall was so tied to the impotent Dumbledore that she wouldn't do anything without his say-so, and despite some arguments she had with the Charms professor, she had been certain that his agreeable personality showed fundamental pliability. McGonagall wouldn't meet her eye for the past few days, but Flitwick... she'd seen looks of hatred on many faces before, from outmanoeuvred rivals to those little wretches she had to discipline, but none with an intensity the little man gave her.

She shuddered involuntarily, thinking about it.

Dolores had to beat this little rebellion down. Let them know the Minister backed her completely. Watch them fold like a house of cards.

Three minutes to ten. If she headed to the conference room now, she should be a few minutes late. That would show them all who was in charge.

She didn't expect when she got there at five after ten that the meeting would have started already. She heard McGonagall's voice as she entered the classroom saying, "... and then she made them repeat the whole thing the next day with their positions reversed! We must do something about ‒ "

"Hem-hem," she interrupted. "Why has this meeting started without me?"

"Because it started five minutes ago, at ten o'clock. Just like the memo said," Flitwick said.

"Now, now, Filius," said Dumbledore, obviously (and falsely, as far as Dolores could tell) playing the mediator. The Headmaster turned to her and said, "Now that we're all here, let's restart the meeting. Filius and Minerva requested this meeting to discuss your most recent disciplinary initiative."

"Educational Decree Number Twenty-Five gives the High Inquisitor the right to make decisions about punishments to students. I have done so. If that's all, Albus, we can adjourn the meeting and ‒ "

"No," interrupted McGonagall. "Let's get this on the record, as we'll be sending the minutes of this meeting to the Minister."

Dolores shook her head. "All official communications with the Minister pass through my office, and I won't be passing these on."

Ignoring her, McGonagall went on. "On Monday, February 19, 1996, Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Dolores Umbridge gave Harry Potter, a fifth-year Gryffindor, two nights detention for being unprepared in class and talking back to a professor." Dolores started to object, but McGonagall raised her palm towards her. "I am not objecting to your reasons for granting this detention, Dolores. His detention consisted of writing 'I will answer questions correctly' with Professor Umbridge's Blood Quill for five hours. The effects of this Blood Quill are to use the blood of the writer as the ink, and to carve what is written in the writer's non-dominant hand."

"The use of that instrument has been approved by ‒ "

"Let me finish. On Tuesday, February 20, Professor Umbridge gave Luna Lovegood, a fourth-year Ravenclaw, a one day detention – "

"Because her earrings were too sparkly!" said Flitwick, indignantly, as other teachers muttered among themselves at this.

"Please, Filius," McGonagall said. "Professor Umbridge gave the detention because Miss Lovegood's earrings were 'too sparkly'. Professor Umbridge then made Mr. Potter, for his detention, watch as Miss Lovegood wrote 'Harry must answer questions correctly' for three hours with her Blood Quill. The next night, for Miss Lovegood's detention, she was made to watch as Mr. Potter wrote 'Loony must not disrupt class' with the Blood Quill for four hours. Do dispute any of this, Professor Umbridge?"

"Mr. Potter was once again showing no respect for me or this ‒ "

"Dolores, we need a yes or no," Dumbledore said gently.

Dolores sighed dramatically. "It's basically correct, yes. I gave another detention to Mr. Potter, a serial troublemaker, for disrupting my class, and I gave detention to Miss Lovegood, his routine accomplice. Previous correction methods being ineffective, I had to try other means. I hope it will be successful, as I don't enjoy punishing students, but with their past recidivism, I fear I will have to."

Flitwick snorted derisively.

"Do you have a problem, Filius?" she said as sweetly as she could muster.

"I have several. First of all referring to a student by a cruel nickname is entirely inappropriate. The girl's name is Luna. Calling her 'Loony' is uncalled for."

There were murmurings of agreement from most of the professors. Flitwick continued. "Secondly, describing Mr. Potter as a serial troublemaker is disingenuous."

Snape entered the conversation. "More like an understatement. The boy is a menace, causing problems in whatever he does. He's as arrogant and entitled as his father, with not one tenth of the ability he thinks he has..."

"Please Severus, show some objectivity," McGonagall said.

"Objectivity? I disagree with the methods Dolores uses, but other than Argus and me, she's the only one who sees through the boy's facade. He uses his celebrity to avoid the consequences which would befall any other student ‒ "

"It doesn't sound like he's avoiding any consequences to me, Severus," Charity Burbage said, earning her a scowl from Dolores.

Snape shot Burbage a look of annoyance, and continued, "Any other student, for example, would have been expelled for flying an automobile to Hogwarts, but if Potter and Weasley do it, well, that's perfectly acceptable then, isn't it? He constantly shows nothing but disrespect ‒ "

"That's enough, Severus," Dumbledore said gently.

"You see, Filius? I'm certainly not alone in noticing Mr. Potter's character," Dolores said.

"You're both so biased you don't even realize it," Flitwick said, shaking his head. "Next, to describe Miss Lovegood as a routine accomplice, or recidivist, is completely inaccurate. She's an attentive, well-behaved student. She has had only four detentions this year, three of which were by you ‒ "

"And one of which was by you, for letting Mr. Potter grope her in full view of ‒ "

"They were simply kissing! And the others? You call her father a liar, and punish her when she defends him."

"He prints slander and lies," Dolores said, her temper beginning to flare.

"Hardly. You can't blame a student for standing up for her father. You then punish her for being barefoot in class ‒ "

"Violating the dress code."

"But not by choice. Her footwear was stolen."

"Yes, by members of your own house, I believe?" Dolores smiled.

"I never claimed to be perfect, or that my Ravenclaws were perfect," Flitwick said sadly.

"No, indeed they are not. I think we can see where she is learning her insolence and bad behaviour, hmmm? In any event, I did not know her shoes were stolen when I punished her. I simply thought she was showing her usual disregard for school rules and conventions."

"It seems to me we could use a bit more flouting of conventions, especially these days."

Dolores grinned now. "And that attitude is precisely why the Minister appointed me. Hogwarts is going downhill. It has been for years. Lax enforcement of standards, ineffective security, bizarre hiring practices – a werewolf? A ghost?"

Everyone looked at Cuthbert Binns at that point, who was snoring. Bathsheda Babbling tossed a rolled-up ball of parchment through his incorporeal form, which woke the ghost up. Dolores could hardly tell the difference.

"The staff is not on today's agenda," said Dumbledore.

"Perhaps it should be," Dolores said with a look around the table, trying to look each professor in the eye, and show them who they really answered to.

"Then schedule your own meeting," Flitwick said, losing patience. "And this latest detention. Sparkly earrings?"

"They were disrupting my class, and distracting the other students."

"They distracted no one in mine," he pointed out.

"Nor mine," added McGonagall.

"Anyone else's?" Flitwick asked. "Bathsheda? Firenze? Pomona? Septima? Aurora? Cuthbert?"

"Who are we talking about?" said the ghost groggily, as the others denied any disruptions in their classes.

Flitwick ignored him. "This is the kind of ludicrous 'offence' we expect from Severus..."

"Watch yourself, Filius," Snape said very slowly and deliberately.

"Oh come, on, Severus. You take away points for students breathing too heavily, for smiling too much, and other such nonsense, and believe me I will be addressing this bias of yours another day when we have less pressing matters to deal with." Flitwick turned back to Dolores. "But Severus only takes away house points. He issues detentions for more concrete reasons. And his detentions don't actively harm the students. If you took points away from Miss Lovegood for wearing earrings which were no more shiny than those worn by any other student, I would have written you a note just like I do to Severus multiple times a week, but we wouldn't be here today."

"Miss Lovegood is disruptive. She is non-conformist. She needs to fit in with the other students. She is enabling Potter in his rebellion, if not actively encouraging it. I stand by my detentions. They were entirely appropriate."

"A Blood Quill? Really?" Filius had raised his voice more.

Dolores was not about to be drawn into a shouting match. "It has been approved by the Minister, as we have talked about before. It is no different from the lash, or the strap, both of which were in use when I was a student here. Indeed, it is less disruptive, and more appropriate for this school than either of those, due to its magical nature."

"Dark magic," said McGonagall.

"The Ministry is who classifies an object as Dark. My Blood Quill is currently classified as not Dark," Dolores said.

"How convenient for you that it was reclassified this past autumn," Flitwick said. "Dark or not, it is excessive. It is torture. There is a reason we got rid of corporal punishment at Hogwarts at the end of the 'sixties."

"And look where it go you," Dolores pointed out.

"Yes, look where it got us. A school that until this year was full of happy students ‒ "

"Undisciplined rabble," said Dolores.

" ‒ who enjoyed their studies and made this old castle come alive."

"Corporal punishment has never been officially condemned by the Department of Magical Education or the Wizengamot."

"It didn't need to be! We weren't using it!"

Dolores shrugged as Flitwick continued. "And it obviously doesn't work, given how many times you've used it on Mr. Potter."

"Perhaps expulsion would be a better punishment?" she said, smiling.

"It would not," said Dumbledore, pointedly.

"In any event, it is an excessive punishment, especially for a falsely-claimed dress code offence! But then, to use collective punishment..." Flitwick just shook his head in disgust.

"Taking away house points is collective punishment," Dolores pointed out.

"Taking away house points does not mutilate children!" Flitwick roared. "It does not scar them! It does not force a young man or woman to watch while someone they care about deeply is carved up like a Christmas goose in front of them for something they supposedly did!"

"A few scratches on the hand is hardly being 'carved up'," Dolores pointed out.

"Oh? Fine. Demonstrate it. Write anything at all for five minutes in front of us with that thing and I will apologize unreservedly."

"I am not going to dignify that with a response."

"Coward." Flitwick spat.

"Filius!" exclaimed Pomona Sprout, shocked.

"What did you say?" Dolores asked Flitwick, with all the sweetness gone from her voice.

"You heard me."

"Need I remind you that as High Inquisitor I can fire you for any reason, let alone such sedition?"

Filius looked at her with utter contempt. "One: You are not the government. One cannot commit sedition against you. Two: It is not sedition to state a fact. You are a coward. You use punishments on children you are afraid to use on yourself for one sixtieth of the time you made Mr. Potter use that Blood Quill on himself on Monday alone. Three: Go ahead. Fire me. Good luck explaining to the public, many of whom are Ravenclaw alumni, why you fired the most capable Charms professor this school has seen this century, because believe me, I will be explaining it to them at great length. Four: If you do, I shudder to think of the hack you would replace me with, given the quality of current Ministry appointees in this school."

Dolores composed herself after sputtering through that series of insults. "You forget yourself, Flitwick. If you lose your job, who will look after your Ravenclaws?"

Flitwick's eyes grew wide. "Are you threatening my students, Umbridge?"

"Professor Umbridge," Dumbledore corrected.

Flitwick turned to Dumbledore. "'Professor' is a term for a teacher. Umbridge has shown herself unworthy of the title. Were she not the Minister's appointee, she would be less qualified to teach Defence than any second-year student in the castle."

"Filius," Dumbledore said.

"No, seriously, Albus. What's she going to do, fire me? I'll just rejoin the professional duelling circuit." He turned to Dolores. "I was quite good, you know. One hundred sixty-four wins, eighteen losses, twenty draws. Although as a 'qualified' instructor in Defence Against the Dark Arts, I'm sure you could defeat me, right, Dolores? And believe me, should I find myself no longer bound by my oaths as a professor of this school, I should very much like to meet you on the podium. Or anywhere else, really."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No more than you were threatening my students."

"Amusing as this posturing is, can we please get on with this?" Snape drawled.

"Severus is right," Dumbledore said. "Minerva, Filius, this is your meeting. What do you want to see happen?"

"What I want to see happen can only be granted by a jury of our High Inquisitor's peers," the Charms professor said darkly.

"Other than that?" Dumbledore sighed.

"I want Madam Umbridge to destroy the Blood Quill and swear a Wizard's Oath on her magic not to use it ever again for any purpose."

Dolores said, "That Quill is a family heirloom. I will not destroy it. And Ministry employees are forbidden from swearing a Wizard's Oath."

"Then resign from the Ministry."

Dolores put her hands on the table. "I've had quite enough of this. Let's have a vote on whether we submit these minutes to the Minister. I will pay very close attention to how everyone votes."

"If the minutes are not submitted to the Minister, Filius and I will take them to the press," said McGonagall.

"Professors are not allowed to inform the public of confidential minutes," Dolores objected.

"Show me where it says that anywhere," said McGonagall.

"And as I pointed out, I would be perfectly fine with doing so as a private duellist. I mean, citizen," Flitwick smiled.

"The Prophet would never print it."

"No, but there are other media. The Quibbler, for example. I imagine Xenophilius Lovegood would be very interested in what I had to say. There's also Wizarding Wireless Network. There's The Irish Floo. And Le Monde Magique, Die Kristallkugel, the New York Town Scryer..."

"You would betray this country?" Dolores asked, shocked.

"It is no betrayal to speak to interested journalist, whatever their nationality, to point out injustices. And torture of children."

"Stop saying that!"

"Stop doing it." Flitwick stood up, although given his height this was less intimidating than he intended. "High Inquisitor. These minutes will go to the Minister. You will cease using the Blood Quill. You will cease using collective punishment. You will not target any students, including Mr. Potter and Miss Lovegood, for reprisals for my actions. You will apologize to the two of them. If you do not, I will go to every outlet I just mentioned, and tell them all that you have done. I will tell them why I resigned. I will tell them exactly what is being done to education in this school, and I will tell them who is responsible."

Damn, she thought. Think quickly, he has you over a barrel. She made a point of seeming to consider the matter, then said, "Professor Flitwick, I think we've blown this out of proportion. I was merely trying to enforce discipline. If I have exceeded the expected standards, you must remember I'm still new. I used a method specifically approved by the Minister, but I can see this is causing more problems than I intended. I will talk to the Minister about it and seek his advice, and you're right. I think these minutes should be sent to the Minister, so he can see exactly what has been said today." She smiled at that.

"And my other demands?"

With her voice full of sugar, she said, "Well of course I would never target students for our minor quarrel. And I will not use what you call 'collective punishment' if it is so offensive. But I will not apologize to the students. It would undermine my position as a professor. Surely you understand that."

"I think that sounds reasonable, Filius," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, I suppose it does."

"Excellent! I'm glad we could resolve this difficult matter," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

If Dolores was fuming before the meeting, she was positively volcanic after it. Humiliate me, will he, the little runt? She added him her mental 'Enemies List', which read as follows: Dumbledore, Potter, Lovegood Senior, Lovegood Junior, and now Flitwick.

She would talk to Cornelius, but feared she would have to give in to Flitwick. For now.

Things would change, though. She'd make sure of that.

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk in his office, looking at his Deputy and his Charms Master. He popped a lemon drop into his, the sour-yet-oh-so-delicious taste delaying his tongue while he collected his thoughts. "That meeting went far differently than we had planned," he said, disappointment evident in his voice.

"Really, Filius, threatening to duel the woman? How did that help?" Minerva asked.

Filius looked at his colleague. "It got her to back down, didn't it?"

Albus sighed. "I think raising the possibility of going to the press, like we had discussed, did that. You made an enemy today, Filius. A rather dangerous one, I fear."

"I made an enemy simply by calling the meeting, Albus. It's useful to us that Umbridge knows that not every card is in her hand, I think, and if she thinks there are no physical consequences to her assaulting my students, we'll, now she knows otherwise," the diminutive man said, idly twirling his wand.

"This is about more than Miss Lovegood, Filius," Minerva said.

"Every child at this school takes at least five years of Charms. They are all my students. Maybe if I had been here when Umbridge was in school I might have had some influence."

Albus watched Minerva shake her head. "I doubt it would have helped," the Scotswoman said. "Albus and I were both here when she was a student, and we had no idea she'd turn out like this. She always struck me as a pleasant enough girl," she sighed.

"I do thank you for taking most of this on yourself, Filius, and keeping it away from me," Albus said.

Filius shrugged. "Someone has to visibly stand up for the students. I'm sorry, Albus and Minerva, that came out wrong. I mean someone expendable."

"You're not expendable, Filius," Albus said.

"No, but we need you two to keep the school running. Heaven help us if the Ministry found a way to sideline either of you – who knows who they would replace you with. I don't want to be fired either – I love teaching – but it wouldn't be the end of Hogwarts as we know it."

"I just hope there are no unforeseen consequences," Albus said.

"There are always unforeseen consequences," Filius said dismissively. "I'm sure it will work out."

"I've never seen you so angry, Filius," Minerva said. "You're normally so calm. I'm glad you took the lead."

The smaller man smiled. "If you, had Minerva, Umbridge would probably be just a pool of sludge on the floor by now."

"And Minerva would be on her way to Azkaban, if that happened," Albus warned.

"We'd find you a good barrister to explain why it was entirely justifiable," Filius smiled. "I mean, to prey on students like that!"

"And one of the most vulnerable ones at that."

"Don't let her fool you, Minerva. There's a core of iron in Miss Lovegood. Something that's been strengthened greatly by your boy there, Albus."

"He's hardly 'my boy'," Albus said.

"Poppycock. You're a mentor to the boy, Albus. Your words are gospel to him. He's a fine young man, and both of you two are part of that. Now," he said, rubbing his hands together, "After a good morning's work like that, I feel like a congratulatory drink. I have a lovely Beaujolais in my office – I'll be back in a moment."

"It's eleven o'clock in the morning!" Minerva said, obviously trying (and failing) to sound scandalized.

"I'm in such a sunny mood, it's like I'm on Summer Time early. That makes it noon. I'll go get that bottle," Filius said, departing with a smile.

"I fear any reprieve we get will be only temporary," Albus said to Minerva as Filius left.

"I know. I think I need that wine myself."

When Luna told him that Professor Flitwick had called a staff meeting for ten o'clock, Harry decided that was a perfect time for a short meeting of Dumbledore's Army. Amid much grumbling at having to be up on a weekend morning, Harry instructed his fellow students in the Reductor Curse and the Blasting Curse. He was still quite angry over the week's detentions, and being basically helpless while Luna was forced to use the Blood Quill, knowing that if he said or did anything, things would only get worse for his girlfriend. With that hanging over his head, teaching people to shatter or explode objects was cathartic for the young man.

After fifty minutes of watching targets being blasted to bits, he called the meeting to a close. Wanting to end on a happier note, he said at the end, "A month ago I promised we would work on the Patronus Charm. Next session, that's just what we'll do. As I mentioned then, you will need a powerful, happy memory. It can be anything, really. A treasured memory of your family, a success in school, that time you saved the day in Quidditch, that first kiss with someone special..." His eyes over flicked to Luna as he said this, which cause her to blush bright red and some of the others to giggle (like Lavender) or chortle (like Seamus). "It can be anything, really, as long as it's happy and powerful. So think of your happiest memory, and have it ready for next time."

Fred put up his hand. "O Glorious Leader, what should someone do if they are unlucky enough to have no happiest memory?"

Harry laughed. "I suggest that person go out and make one, then."

George piped up. "If any poor soul finds himself in such a position, I'd remind them they can contact my esteemed brother or me for some merry-making ideas."

"And merry-making paraphernalia, from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, bringing you laughs for low-low prices!" added Fred.

"Special discount for members of the D.A.!" shouted George.

"I hope they're paying you for this advertising, Harry," Ginny said with a smirk.

"We'll talk later," Harry stage whispered to Fred, which caused him and his twin to laugh.

Everyone but Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Luna and Harry left. "Let's go down and get an early start on lunch," Ron suggested.

"Actually, I was just going to clean up here with Luna," Harry said, as the blond girl grabbed his hand with hers and smiled at Ron.

"We'll help out, that way you're done sooner. Right guys?" Ron said eagerly.

Before Harry could respond, Lavender grabbed Ron's arm. "How about you and I go get lunch, and then you can grab your broom and show me how well you fly?" she asked, giving Ron an intense look that had the red-haired boy blushing brightly in mere seconds.

"Er, sure. Bye guys!" Ron allowed himself to be led out by Lavender, who looked over her shoulder at Luna just before they exited the Room of Requirement, gave her a wink, and said, "See you at supper!"

"You're eating with Lavender?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yes, she invited me to sit with her today. I thought it might be fun. None of the other girls ever ask me to eat with them. Other than Ginny of course," said Luna cheerfully.

Hermione frowned a little. "You can always sit with us, Luna. Even if Harry isn't there."

"Oh, I know," Luna said. "It's nice to be asked, though."

Harry looked at Hermione, flicked his eyes in Luna's direction, and looked back at Hermione.

"Oh. Right. I'll go to the library, then. Bye, you two." Hermione said.

"Lunch at one?" Harry asked.

Hermione gave him a genuine smile. "Sure, I'll see you then, Harry," she said, as she left.

"That was very nice of you, Harry, thinking of Hermione like that."

He shrugged. "She's one of my best friends. She's been a little mopy lately, and I haven't been spending much time with just her."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it. I do hope she doesn't resent me for taking up so much of your time," Luna said.

"I don't think she does. But I get to spend time with who I want. And right now, I'd like to spend time with you."

"Good." She gave him a quick peck. "Could you bring that sofa from last weekend back? I'd like to get off my feet, if you don't mind."

Harry concentrated and it appeared. "Feet bothering you?" When Luna nodded, he said, blushing, "I can give you a f-f-foot rub, if you'd like."

She smiled. "That would be lovely, Harry, Thank you." They sat, and she propped her feet in his lap. "It's very personal, you know, rubbing someone's feet."

"You're my girlfriend. We're supposed to be 'personal'."

She laughed. "I know. I just wanted to point that out. You're cute when you get flustered."

He mock-scowled at her, and took off her red sneakers. "Well, there's your problem. No socks. If you didn't want to wear socks, you should have worn sandals or something," he said as he began to rub her bare feet.

"That feels nice," she sighed dreamily as he ministered to her feet.

Harry studied Luna's face. "You didn't have a choice, did you? Are all your socks missing again?"

"Not all of them. I got back from detention Wednesday and all my clean ones were gone. My two dirty pairs were still there – they're all in the laundry this weekend."

Anger rose within Harry. "Nargles?"

Luna shook her head sadly. "I don't think so. One of the wings on my eagle hat was broken off as well, but I managed to repair it. I did see that someone tried to move my new book from you as well. My roommate Melanie Maxwell spent that night in the Hospital Wing. No one will tell me why, but I think I know."

"I do too. I'm glad I put that anti-theft charm on it. I cannot believe they would do that to you, after two days detention with That Woman. They must know what she does!"

"I can believe it," Luna said sadly. "It's really nothing new. I'll just have to learn that anti-theft charm of yours, and use it on my other stuff."

Harry frowned as he continued to rub her feet. "I think I'll have a talk with Melanie and Deirdre today."

"You don't need to do that, Harry. I'll just use the anti-theft charm on the rest of my things, and it won't be a problem anymore."

"No, those people will just find some other way to torment you. We have to do something about it."

"Harry, I'd really rather you didn't."

Harry stopped rubbing her feet and looked her straight in the eyes. "Luna, I had to watch you get tortured by that bloody Umbridge woman this week. I couldn't do anything, and I was so angry it hurt. I can do something about these two. I need to do something. For myself as much as to protect you. You shouldn't have to put up with that, and it's like piece of my heart dies when you're sad. Please let me do something."

She thought about this. "No hexing?"

"No hexing," he said solemnly. "For now."

"Or jinxing. Or cursing."

"Okay."

"And none of the twins' products."

Harry sighed. "For now. Just words. For now."

It was Luna's turn to sigh. "All right. I don't like you putting yourself in trouble due to me, Harry. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt or worse on my account."

"And I can't live with myself watching you be tormented like this."

Luna laughed. "We're like a pair of Hesperian Grindlefish. The males have a compulsion to turn themselves blue to attract the females, but the females can't see the colour blue."

"I don't think we're as bad as that," he said, lightly tracing a finger over her left insole.

She giggled and jerked her foot. "No, we're not. I was just making a point."

"I've never heard of Hesperian Grindlefish. You're probably not surprised at that," he said with a smirk.

"No, I'm not. Their numbers are very low, for obvious reasons."

He laughed, and traced another finger lightly over the top of her right foot. She laughed and jerked away again. "Why Miss Lovegood, I do believe you're ticklish."

"I am not!" she protested, as he grabbed her left foot and began to softly tickle it. She gave a light shriek, and tried to pull her foot away, although not very insistently, and shrieked some more as he tickled her a little more, before he pulled her up and planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

After a while of sitting on the couch in one another's arms, she said, "You're very good at the foot rubs, you know. I may have to keep you."

"I hope you do."

"Although if you keep tickling me, I may need to reconsider." She made of point of appearing to mull the matter over in her head. "No, I don't think I will. Reconsider, that is."

"Good," he laughed.

"I should go to the library myself," Luna said, putting on her shoes. "What are you going to say to Deirdre and Melanie?"

"I haven't worked it out. Something direct, I think. I used subtlety on Jocasta. Time to mix things up a little. You'll tell me if things disappear again, or if they're mean to you?"

She nodded.

"Thank you for letting me do this, Luna."

"Only you, Harry, would thank a girl for the opportunity to act chivalrous." She gave him another kiss. "See you at supper."

In the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Umbridge's day was not getting better. This was due to her being dressed down by the Minister himself, Cornelius Fudge.

"Is this memo true? Did you really do this?" he asked incredulously.

"You told me to keep Hogwarts under control, Minister."

"I meant keeping standards up and stopping Dumbledore from mobilizing the students, Dolores! Not torturing them!"

She was really getting tired of that word. "It is not torture, Minister! It is corporal punishment, that you yourself authorized."

"As a method of last resort! Not as a routine punishment. Merlin's beard, Dolores, do you realize what the public reaction would be if this got out? If they found out what you were doing? I would be hounded out of office, unless I threw you to the wolves."

"Surely it wouldn't come to that, Cornelius," she said.

"It bloody well would! You're not a parent, Dolores, and you're not elected to anything, but I'm both, and I can tell you that it is political death to be thought of as acting against children, unless you have a very good reason."

"Such as?"

"Such as a crisis of some sort. Honestly, Dolores, what were you thinking?" He threw up his hands in despair. "And this action against Harry Potter. Do you know what it would do to me, to the Ministry, if this got out?"

"Surely with the revelations in the Daily Prophet about the little wretch..."

"Six months of bad publicity doesn't easily counteract fourteen years of the same paper making the boy out to the saviour of us all. Here," he said, pulling a piece of parchment out of his desk. "The editor of the Prophet gave this to me. It's a summary, by month, of the numbers they get in letters to the editor about Harry Potter."

She looked at the January numbers. "I don't see the problem, Cornelius, his support is below forty percent for last month."

"And only a quarter buy the Prophet's line. And this is from Prophet readers, mind you. Thirty-five percent are undecided. And January was the first time the letters to the editor in favour of Potter numbered less than fifty percent."

"Thank heavens for that!" Dolores said.

"Indeed. If Flitwick were to go public, those undecideds would flip right over to Potter's side. And then where would we be? Where would you be?"

"There are ways of silencing Flitwick."

The Minister looked aghast. "You aren't suggesting..."

"You wanted me to silence Potter."

"By appealing to his better nature! Or patriotism! Or bribery even, that always works. Or even by detentions, but normal ones. Menial, mind-numbing tasks, over and over. Not this! And collective punishment? Do you know what the public would say?"

"I've only applied it against Potter – "

"Forty percent, Dolores. Still."

Dolores was undaunted. " – and his little girlfriend, the crackpot."

"Whose father owns a magazine!"

"Yes. The Quibbler."

The Minister began to work himself into a lather. "I don't care if it's a local flier with a circulation of eight wizards and a house elf, Dolores. Have you never heard of media relations? The man owns a printing press. You do not punish his daughter with a Blood Quill, let alone as part of this scheme of yours, if the man owns a printing press! And forcing someone to watch their sweetheart get punished on their behalf?"

"They're only schoolchildren. They're not married."

"Even worse! 'Ministry Appointee Attacks Young Love!' I'm sure that headline would get no readers." He stopped, counted to thirty, and calmed down. "Here's what you will do. You will agree to Flitwick's conditions, except the apology. You're absolutely right on that. You will not use that Blood Quill on anyone. You will leave Potter and the Lovegood girl alone unless they are acting in a way which would result in them getting a detention from the other professors – and not just Snape. You will not use collective punishment. You will do this until this all blows over."

"Have I lost your confidence, Minister?" she asked sadly.

He smiled. "No, Dolores. You've always supported me. I haven't forgotten that. I realize you're acting under an excess of zeal, but you have to look at the larger picture."

"I thought the larger picture was stopping Dumbledore from displacing you."

"There's no point stopping Dumbledore if you just cause the Wizengamot to vote Non-Confidence in me anyway."

"So I should just let Dumbledore organize against you?" she asked.

"No, obviously not. But you cannot do what you have been doing under present circumstances. Understand?"

She nodded glumly. "Yes, Minister."

As she made her way back to her office in the Ministry, to floo back to her office at Hogwarts, she mulled over the Ministers words. Knuckling under to Flitwick, Dumbledore and Potter was a blow, to be sure. But hopefully it would only be temporary. "Under present circumstances," the Minister had said. "Until this all blows over."

He mentioned a crisis. Dolores would just have to provide one.

Saturday supper at the Gryffindor table was a protracted affair, with students drifting in and out to eat at no fixed schedule. So it was unusual to see Harry sitting together with all his dorm-mates. They had met in the Gryffindor common room an hour before when Harry was telling Ron about Luna's latest bullying incident. Ron was as usual eager to enact some justice, and was somewhat surprised when Harry agreed. Ron was disappointed but not surprised that Luna had asked Harry not to use any hexes or the like again, but when Harry told Ron his plan, he was quite happy to help.

When Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan walked in and heard Harry and Ron whispering, they quickly agreed to act as a sort of moral back-up to the other two boys. Neville was an easy sell as well. "We stick together in the D.A.," Neville said, which earned him back slaps from Dean and Seamus, and a "Damn right" by Ron.

They all went down to eat together, and that's where they found themselves, telling jokes and stories and eating roast lamb while Harry kept his eye on the Ravenclaw table. It wasn't uncommon for Harry to be looking at that table, but with Luna sitting further down the Gryffindor table with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, he would normally be expected to have his eyes closer to home.

Not tonight, though.

He did glance over at his girlfriend periodically. Luna seemed as comfortable as she always did, talking at length about whatever was on her mind, but Harry was a little surprised to see Lavender as cheerful as she was. The dark blond girl always had a pleasant and bubbly disposition, but Harry expected her to be more taken aback by Luna's train of thought, like everyone else seemed to be. He was pleased to see Lavender talking just as animatedly as Luna was, and only looking surprised or bewildered infrequently. Parvati looked far less animated than Lavender, but Harry could tell she was being nice to his girlfriend.

Ron leaned over to Harry, and said, "You realize they're talking about us. Probably swapping embarrassing stories and rumours."

"I wonder who Parvati's talking about," Neville said.

"Probably Harry, telling Luna all about their time at the ball," Ron laughed.

Dean stifled a chortle.

"Oh come on," Harry said. "It wasn't that bad, it was a year ago, and I apologized to her."

"It's not that," he said.

"Shut it," Seamus whispered, not looking over at the three girls.

Dean ignored his best friend, and said "Our own son of Erin here apparently got his hands on some firewhiskey last Sunday in Hogsmeade – "

"Shut it," Seamus repeated more forcefully.

" – and after a few generous shots, asked our housemate over there who the Indian goddess of beauty was. When she asked why, he said 'She must be named for you'."

The other boys laughed at Seamus, who was muttering dark threats under his breath at his friend, although Harry said, "That's actually pretty smooth, Seamus. What did she say?"

Seamus said, "It turns out Parvati's named for an entirely different goddess."

"That's it?"

Dean piped up, "Seamus didn't stick around after she said that. He hasn't been able to look at her since."

"It's embarrassing, it is," the Irish boy said. "I just wanted her to know I thought she looked pretty, that's all. Nothing major, I'm not crushing on her or anything."

"Sure, sure," Ron said. "I completely believe you."

"Has she said anything since?" Neville asked as he slathered more mint jelly onto his plate.

"No," Seamus said.

"She does keep looking at you though," Dean said. "Probably wants to know if it was the drink that made you say it."

"It wasn't. It just made me more poetic. Anyway, why are we talking about that when there's real gossip to be had. How are things with Lavender, Ron?" Seamus asked.

"Later," Ron whispered.

"I'm holding you too that, mate," Seamus said.

Harry looked over to the Ravenclaw table. "Let's go now, Ron," as he got up.

Ron shoved a last forkful of mashed turnips into his mouth, and followed his friend.

They sat down in front of Luna's roommates Deirdre Cholmondeley and Melanie Maxwell. "Hello Deirdre, Melanie," he said coldly. Somewhat more warmly, he said, "Hello, Morgana," to Luna's other roommate, Morgana Dempster, who was sitting next to Melanie.

"Loony's over there, Harry," said Melanie.

"Oh I know," Harry said. "We need you have a chat, you two and I."

"Why's Ron here?"

"Friends back each other up," Ron said.

"Ron and I are roommates and friends," Harry said. "It's nice to be friends with your roommates. Luna wouldn't know, of course," he said with a hard look at Deirdre and Melanie. "Most of her socks disappeared. Again."

"Probably Nargles," Melanie said as Deirdre laughed.

"No, not Nargles this time. But then we both know that, don't we?" he said, his voice growing more menacing.

"We didn't – "

"Ah, but you did. And I hear you spent Wednesday night, the same night my girlfriend got an undeserved detention, mind you, under Madam Pomfrey's care. That must have been rather a shock, don't you think?"

Melanie's face paled. Deirdre said, "I don't know what Loony's been telling you, but we haven't done – "

"Save it," Harry said harshly. "Here's how it's going to work. Roommates are supposed to look out for one another. Luna has been denied that thanks to you two. This stops now. Anything goes missing from her dorm, I'm blaming who has access – you. Any of her stuff gets destroyed, unless I have solid proof otherwise, I'm blaming you. I hear of any bullying of my girlfriend by any Ravenclaws, I'm assuming you two are behind it."

"You can't do that!" said Melanie.

"But I can. I know who's been causing the most problems over the last four years, and I'm staring right at them. No more."

Deirdre said, "Or what? What are you going to do?"

"Maybe you should ask Jocasta Drake," Harry said coolly.

"Or maybe ask the basilisk lying in the Chamber of Secrets," Ron added threateningly.

"That's just a rumour," said Melanie. "Isn't it?"

"Ask my sister how much of a rumour it is," Ron said.

"Now, Ron, it wouldn't come to that. I think these two just need a jolt in the right direction, right Melanie?"

Just then, Cho Chang walked up to them, her Prefect badge shining bright. "Hi Harry. Is everything all right?"

"We're just chatting with Luna's roomies here."

"Talking Quidditch," Ron added.

"Yeah. I was saying how much we all hope Ravenclaw wipes the field with Slytherin tomorrow, and Melanie was sure you'd catch the snitch before Slytherin scores five goals. Isn't that right, Melanie?" Harry looked pointedly at the auburn-haired Ravenclaw girl.

"Er, yeah, five goals," she said.

"I said I wouldn't be surprised if you did it in three, Cho, but that's because I've played against you, and I know how good you are," Harry said.

"Thanks," she smiled, blushing a little.

"We're all pulling for you to crush those snake bastards," Ron added.

"I'll be sitting with Luna in the Ravenclaw stands, actually," Harry said. "She'll have her eagle hat on. I heard it got broken" he said darkly, looking at Deirdre and Melanie, "but it's fixed now. So no worries, eh?"

"Okay. Thanks for the support, guys."

"Hey, a team that plays fair with a talented seeker, or seven thugs with some poncy git as seeker? It's a no-brainer," said Ron.

"Knock-'em dead, Cho," Harry said sincerely.

"Thanks," Cho said again, moving on.

Harry turned back to Deirdre and Melanie. "So we're agreed? Anything happens to Luna or her things, anything at all, and I blame you. And me and Ron here will come after you."

"And if something should happen to us, our friends," Ron said, turning and pointing to Neville, Seamus and Dean, who waved but had severe expressions on their face, "will take our place."

"It won't be pleasant for you," Harry added.

"We can't be responsible for all of Ravenclaw!" said Melanie.

"Oh, but I think you can. You're popular girls. You have influence. Use it."

"Or you might regret it," said Ron.

"You can't make us like her," Deirdre said.

"She doesn't need you to. She has actual friends. She doesn't need bullies though," Harry said. "She doesn't like them."

"Who does?" asked Ron.

"Exactly. Ladies, this has been a pleasure. I hope you take what I said to heart. Oh, and don't try and turn on Morgana, either, just because you need a new person to step on. I'm sure I'll hear of it. It won't be pleasant for you if I do."

Morgana, who had said nothing in this encounter, looked relieved when Harry said that. He could tell she anticipated taking Luna's place as the dorm's designated victim.

"Ron, I think there's treacle tart. Let's go, shall we?"

"You bet, I'm starving, Harry."

"Remember what I said, ladies."

The two girls said nothing to that.

"Later, Maxwell, Cholmondeley," Ron said with a feral grin, pronouncing Deirdre's last name as it was spelt.

"It's pronounced chumley!" whined Deirdre.

The red-haired Gryffindor waved his hand dismissively as they walked away. "That was fun, Harry. Fancy a chat with Malfoy?"

"It won't be so easy with him, I think," Harry said.

"We'll come up with something. You weren't kidding about there being treacle tart, were you?"

Harry smiled. "Absolutely not. But let's eat it with some company." Luna looked at him, questioning, and he nodded. A warm smile appeared on her face as the two boys moved towards her and Lavender.

He couldn't do anything about Umbridge ‒ yet ‒ but at least he felt like he did something worthwhile for Luna.

[A/N: Thanks as always to MandibleBones for his betareading.]

8. 7: Quidditch Day at Hogwarts

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. In the highly unlikely event that I actually owned any of the Harry Potter intellectual property, I wouldn't be posting stories to this website, as I wouldn't be a fan, and thus wouldn't meet the entry criteria, now, would I? Draw your own conclusions from that.

Chapter 7 – Quidditch Day at Hogwarts

February 25, 1996

He was in the Great Hall. The house tables had been arranged in a square, and all the students were sitting at the outside of the square, looking towards the space in the centre, in which he stood. All the professors were at the staff table, looking into the space as well. All save one.

Umbridge was standing in the centre space, in front of Luna, who was sitting at a desk, Blood Quill in hand. Luna was writing "I am being punished because of Harry" with the Quill, the words being carved into her hand as she did. Tears poured down her cheeks as she pleaded for anyone to stop Umbridge. The only reaction she drew from the students and professors was laughter, and taunts of "Look at Loony cry!"

He tried to draw his wand but his arms wouldn't move.

Umbridge snatched the Quill from Luna's hand. "Time to practice your Defence, Miss Lovegood. Use what I taught you in class," she said, smiling falsely at Luna as she raised her wand. Luna frantically reached behind her ear, looking for her wand, but saw it was in Umbridge's other hand. "Looking for this? Too bad. Crucio!"

Luna screamed and writhed under the power of the curse, and screamed and writhed some more, and screamed and writhed again as Umbridge continued to hold the curse. "Why wasn't anyone doing anything? Why can't I move? Have I been Imperiused?" Harry thought.

Finally, as Luna began to lose breath from screaming so much, Harry was able to raise his wand, point it at Umbridge, and shout, "Expelliarmus!" Instead of Umbridge's wand being thrown from her, however, silk flowers emerged from the end of his wand. He saw he held not his familiar holly-and-phoenix-feather wand, but instead held a plastic black wand tipped in white.

All the assembled students and professors laughed uproariously at Harry. Umbridge was laughing so hard, she stopped holding the Cruciatus Curse on Luna, who slumped over from the chair and curled up on the floor in the fetal position. Harry looked at the staff table and saw Snape smirking at him while Professor McGonagall shook her head in disappointment. Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and said, "I think it should be clear why I've been avoiding you, Harry. You're obviously not a real wizard. I'd order your wand snapped, but really, what would be the point? You are hereby expelled from Hogwarts. High Inquisitor, you may escort Mr. Potter to the gates."

And that's when Harry knew he was dreaming. He tried to end the dream, but he couldn't.

"Oh, Headmaster, I think our new Minister will want to deal with Mr. Potter himself. Here he comes!"

"Come on, wake up, wake up, wake up!" Harry thought.

Into the Great Hall walked the Minister, wearing a pinstriped suit and sporting a lime green bowler. But it wasn't Cornelius Fudge who wore that attire, it was ‒

"Voldemort," whispered Harry, as he continued to try and end the dream, trying and failing to use the techniques he learned in Occlumency.

Voldemort grinned as he approached Harry. He looked at Luna's still-sobbing form, and said, "Interesting. A new special friend, boy?"

Still trying to end the dream, Harry looked at Luna, trying to will her to stay on the floor, and not draw any further attention to herself.

"Pay attention to me!" shouted Voldemort. "Perhaps you have too many distractions." He raised his wand, pointed it at Luna, and began to incant, "Avada ke ‒ "

As Voldemort spoke, Harry dove in front of her, and Voldemort pulled up his wand before he finished the Killing Curse. "Very interesting. I think you're right, Potter. That would be wrong. Too slow." He pointed his wand at Harry. "Imperio!"

Harry felt himself lose control of his body. Of its own volition, his hand drew his wand, and he noted it was no longer the stage magician's wand of earlier in the dream, but his own holly-and-phoenix-feather wand. "Use the Cruciatus curse on her, boy. You know you can't fight me."

As his wand raised, Harry summoned all his will to resist, all his feelings for Luna, and struggled against the control of the Dark Lord. He would not allow himself to be forced to do that to Luna. The balance of power over Harry's body went back and forth between Voldemort and Harry. Harry felt himself become exhausted, but a look over at Voldemort in a brief moment when Harry was in control showed that Voldemort was weakening as well. Eventually Harry was able to lower his wand completely, and throw off the Imperius Curse. He span towards Voldemort, raised his wand, and trying to focus his will as best he could, and applying what he learned from Snape, screamed "Get out of my head!" and forced Voldemort out of his mind.

And found himself laying in his four-poster bed in the dormitory, screaming as Ron Weasley shook him, shouting, "Wake up! Wake up, Harry!"

He opened his eyes and breathing heavily, managed to say to Ron, "I'm awake. It's over."

"Bloody hell, Harry, you were screaming like it was the end of the world," his friend said.

"Is he all right?" asked Neville from outside.

Ron stuck his head out of the curtains of Harry's bed. "Yeah. Go back to sleep."

"How long was I screaming?" asked Harry.

"Just about a minute. You all right, mate?"

Harry shook his head. "No," he said, throwing on a bathrobe, and getting out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

"Down to the common room to sit by the fire."

"Hold up, I'll come with you," Ron said, grabbing his own bathrobe.

They went downstairs, and sat by the fire. Harry didn't say anything for a long while, and Ron didn't break the silence. Eventually Harry gave his friend a summary of his dream.

"Was it just a nightmare, or was he in your mind, d'you think?" Ron asked.

Harry pondered this. "It wasn't a vision into Voldemort's mind, I can definitely say that. It started off as a nightmare, I'm sure. I don't know if Voldemort was there, or if it was just a nightmare of him, though. I hope it was just a nightmare... I really do."

"You should tell Snape."

"What?"

"Well, it'd be better to talk to Dumbledore, sure, but that's not happening yet, is it?"

"No, but Snape?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "He's not exactly trustworthy, sure, but he'd be able to tell you if Voldemort was actually there in your mind, or whether it was a dream."

Harry shook his head. "I don't want him to know about this. I don't trust him with this."

"Well, from what you've said, he's likely to be able to pick it out of your mind anyway. I just think it's a good idea. And you did use Occlumency to force him out if Voldemort was in there!"

"If I was good at Occlumency, he wouldn't have been able to get in in the first place," Harry said.

"That's assuming it wasn't just a nightmare." Ron stoked the fire. "What do you think it means?"

"The nightmare? Are you channelling Trelawney? Or Lavender?"

Ron blushed. "I'm just asking. Call it practicing for our Divination O.W.L.s."

"Well, I think the meaning's rather obvious, unfortunately. Bloody Umbridge..."

"Lav says there's always deeper meanings in dreams. If she were here she'd probably have something interesting to say."

Harry shook his head again. "I don't want you telling her about it, Ron. How's it going with you two, anyway? I'd rather hear about that than talk about this damned nightmare."

"Lav's a lot of fun, actually. It's weird, I've known her for nearly five years, but I've never really known her at all. All I really knew was that she's really hot, she liked Divination, her rabbit died when she was in third year, and Seamus said she was a good dancer and a good kisser."

"So, is she?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't know. We've never danced." When Harry laughed, Ron said, "Well, I don't really have anyone to compare to, but yeah, I'd have to say I like kissing her a lot."

Harry nodded his head, glad for the distraction from thinking about his dream.

"Not that we've had much of a chance, mind you. Bloody Umbridge. "

Harry frowned, not wanting to be reminded of the woman. "Believe me, I know. So other than her being a good kisser, do you like Lavender?"

"I do. I didn't know if I would, actually. I didn't know if we'd have much to talk about, really, but with Umbridge's bloody rules against kissing and whatnot, we've found we actually do. She comes across as all into, you know, girly stuff. Make-up and clothes and gossip. And she does like all of those things. But there's more to her than just that. She's a wicked gobstones player, for one thing. I haven't beaten her yet. Not even close!" Ron said, almost admiringly. "She's told me about her family out in Dunwich. Her dad makes gobstones for a living, you know – he made her an absolutely brilliant set. I've never seen any so nice. Her mum handles the business end of things for him. She has a brother who works as a sound man at WWN. And she's not kidding about Divination. She wants to go into it professionally when she graduates. Do palm readings or something like that."

"Have you let her read your palm, then?"

"Yeah. She said I'll live a long life, have lots of kids – "

"No surprise there, Mr. Weasley," Harry laughed.

"Yeah, I know!" Ron chuckled as well. "And apparently my long life is going to be a fortunate and passionate one."

"Maybe that's why she likes you."

"Yeah, that's another thing. She actually really seems to like me."

Harry looked at his friend with a serious expression. "Don't sound so surprised, Ron."

Ron sighed. "It's hard not be, Harry. I mean, I'm the sixth of seven children. The last Weasley boy. I know my family loves me, even Percy, the stupid git, but... people forget me, you know? I'm not much of a student. I've never been good with girls. It's just surprising Lavender Brown, of all people, likes me. I thought after Padma, last year, my reputation would be so shot that I'd have to wait until I graduated to meet someone like that. But you know, Lav didn't laugh at me once when she showed me how to skate. I was bad, Harry, really awful. But she didn't stop helping me."

Harry smiled for his friend. "That's really cool. You gonna ask her to be your girlfriend?"

"I think so. I'm having lots of fun. Part of me thinks, why change things, but..."

"But you like her."

Ron blushed. "Yeah."

"Well, it's great, I think," Harry said. "If she makes you happy, you should go for it."

"Maybe I'll ask her before the Quidditch match." Ron looked at his friend. "You feeling better?"

"As good as I'm going to, I think. I don't think I'm going to head back to bed. Chess, then breakfast?"

Ron nodded, and set up the board.

After lunch, Harry met up with Luna outside the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. She was reading The Quibbler, the cover of which read: "INSIDE: FUDGE CONSPIRES WITH LIZARD PEOPLE!" and "SNORKACKS' SECRETS REVEALED!" in a huge block font. The illustration on the front showed a grotesque caricature of the Minister in an enormous lime green bowler whispering to an huge dark green lizard that looked to Harry like a smaller version of Godzilla. Upon seeing him, Luna folded up her magazine and put it in her large white canvas bag.

He gave her a quick kiss (after checking to make certain there were no prefects around them), and took in her appearance. As promised, she was wearing her Ravenclaw eagle hat for that afternoon's Quidditch match. He had no idea what he was expecting it to look like, but as usual Luna's creativity outdid his expectations. Her hat looked liked a large stuffed golden eagle perched precariously on her head in such a way that the claws seemed to be digging into her skull. The eagle had a feral and angry look on its face, with bright red eyes that seemed to follow Harry whichever way he looked. In the eagle's impressive beak was a green and silver snake with eyes wide open in terror.

"That's a really interesting hat, Luna," Harry said.

"Thank you. I got the idea from the Mexican flag, you know," she said. "They have an eagle with a snake in its beak. Of course, my eagle doesn't look exactly like theirs. My head would need to be a cactus for that to be true, and I wouldn't want that, I don't think."

Harry laughed. "No, I don't think so either."

"Exactly. You wouldn't want to kiss me in that case!"

Harry laughed again. "So your lion hat roars. Does this one do anything?"

She smiled widely and tapped her wand to the eagle. It let out a loud screech and chomped on the snake, while flapping its wings vigorously. The screech startled the other students in the hallways, some of whom shot dirty looks at Luna, a few of whom pointed and laughed derisively, though one, a boy who Harry thought was a seventh-year, shouted "Go Eagles!" and clapped, earning him a few dirty looks as well.

"I bet the Mexican flag doesn't do that!" said Harry.

Luna looked at him as she did occasionally when she thought he was being naïve, and said, "Of course it does, silly. It would be awfully boring if it just sat there, you know."

Harry chose not to explore that. He took her hand and they began walking towards the Quidditch pitch, and he said, "Your hat's really cool. You can't even tell the wing was ever broken."

"Thank you. I put a lot of effort into making it, and more into repairing it. I had hoped that people would have at least left it alone, to let me show support for Ravenclaw at games, but..."

"I just don't understand people. At least that one guy liked it."

She nodded. "Zachary Stonetower. He tried out for Seeker a couple of times, but just wasn't as good as Cho, unfortunately."

"Is he one of the nice ones?"

She thought about that. "I wouldn't say that, but he's not bad. He doesn't like my lion hat, for example, and he gets upset when I lose house points, but he always says 'Good job, Lovegood' when I earn them. He treats everyone that way – he's very into house spirit. At least he's fair, so I don't mind that at all."

"Yeah. So was that the new Quibbler?"

"Mmm-hmm," she said, nodding. "I got it on Friday. You can borrow it if you like, although you really should get your own subscription."

He grinned. "What, I don't get free ones?"

"Oh no," she said seriously. "No one does. Not even me. It's a business, you know. I earn mine by helping Daddy in the summer. I'm sure Daddy will give you the 'Friends and Family' rate, though."

"I'll send Hedwig to him after then game, then."

"You'll get the special edition with your interview in it, though. It should be coming out next Saturday evening."

"Weird time for a magazine delivery, don't you think?"

"Daddy has his reasons," she said, giving him an enigmatic smile.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the stands. Harry's mind was still on his nightmare from the night before, and his brooding was only interrupted by the occasional stroke of Luna's thumb across the back of his hand, and the intermittent yelling of passers-by. There were a few sarcastic shouts of "Nice hat, Loony!" which the two of them ignored, and a genuine shout of "Cool hat!" when they passed the Creevey boys.

They took their seats in the Ravenclaw stands with Ginny and Michael Corner. Michael rolled his eyes at Luna's hat, but exchanged greetings with them all the same. Luna pulled a blanket out of her bag, and covered Harry and herself. Ginny complemented Luna on her hat, asking what it did, and she demonstrated it, once again startling those around them.

"Are you going to be doing that all afternoon?" Michael asked testily.

"Only when we score," Luna said.

"Wonderful."

Harry shot a look of annoyance at Michael. He wondered what hidden depths there were in this boy to attract Ginny Weasley, who Harry was certain could do much better than someone who showed such disdain for one of her oldest friends.

"Are you ready to critique my commentary?" Luna asked Harry.

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'd forgotten that. Sure, I'd love too."

Ginny looked interested. "You want to do Quidditch commentary?"

Luna smiled at her friend. "I'd like to try, I think. Lee Jordan will be graduating, and they'll have to have someone to replace him. Harry agreed to help me and tell me what he thinks."

Michael rolled his eyes again. "You're not going to talk all through the game, are you?"

"Michael!" Ginny said, swatting his arm.

Harry was ready to say some choice words to Michael when Luna answered, "It is rather crowded here, isn't it? Maybe I should just whisper my commentary to you, Harry?"

"That will work. I might be easier for you if its just me listening for your first commentary, too."

"I suppose. I do want you to be critical though."

"I'll be honest, I promise," he said sincerely.

Harry looked over at the Gryffindor section and saw Ron and Lavender sitting close together. Lavender was cuddled up to him, whispering in his ear, and Ron had his arm around the dark blond girl. Harry waved at his friend, and Ron and Lavender waved back, as Ron gave a thumb up to Harry. Harry turned to Luna, and said, "Looks like Ron asked Lavender to be his girlfriend."

"That's nice. Lavender must be quite happy, I'm sure – she was hoping he would take her hints."

Ginny laughed. "He's rather thick sometimes, but I don't think even Ron could miss the signals she was sending."

"Did you have fun eating with Lavender last night?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes. Lavender was very nice – she's been quite nice to me lately, you know. Not that she was ever mean at all, but she and Parvati did occasionally laugh at my clothes or jewellery. Not in a cruel way – Lavender laughs at a lot of things. But they were both very pleasant last night. I don't think Parvati and I will end up as friends, but Lavender and I may," Luna said, a large smile on her face.

"I wouldn't have expected that," Harry said. "You're so different."

Luna shrugged. "I'm different from everyone, really. I wouldn't like to think that should stop anyone from being friends with me. Although it really has, up until this year." Harry put his arm around her upon hearing that. "But we both like Divination. And I think she feels that if she's going out with your best friend, we'll spend lots of time together anyway, so we should be friends. It's nice."

Harry stole quick kiss from her and pointed at the pitch. "Look, the game's about to start." The Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams took flight, and Harry said to Luna, "Just tune out Lee, and describe what you see to me."

Leaning in, she began. "Welcome to Hogwarts, for the match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw is led by Roger Davies, the team Captain and Chaser. He's very popular, and the Ravenclaw girls think he's very handsome, but I don't think he's nearly as handsome as my boyfriend Harry Potter. Harry's the Gryffindor Seeker, and hopefully he'll be able to play again, although if he doesn't play against Ravenclaw, that will probably be good for us. Not so much for him, though."

Harry smiled at this.

"Ravenclaw's Seeker is Cho Chang, who's Roger's girlfriend, I think, at least Harry and I keep running into them at Madam Puddifoot's, and they're always kissing. Cho's very pretty, and she's one of the prefects, although she never stops people from taking my things. Maybe she doesn't notice, but that wouldn't make her a very good Seeker, now would it?

"Oh, it looks like Slytherin has the quaffle, so I guess the game has already started. Whoops! Graham Montague has the quaffle – he's the Slytherin Captain. He's a Chaser, and he must be very good to be the captain. I don't know him, but he looks like an angry boy. That may be his game face, though.

"Oh, apparently he scored. Ten – nothing Slytherin. Grant Page – he's the Ravenclaw Keeper, and not a particularly nice boy – looks very upset. I do hope the wrackspurts don't get to him today. I've tried telling him how to avoid them, but he doesn't want to listen, I'm afraid. Not very open-minded at times, but he does well in History of Magic, I hear.

"It looks like I missed another Slytherin goal. Twenty – nothing Slytherin. Grant looks very unhappy. I do hope he does better, or he won't be pleasant in the common room.

"Cho is flying high above the pitch, doing a figure-eight. Or maybe an infinity symbol – that would be more appropriate, I think. She's probably looking for the snitch. Draco Malfoy – he's the Slytherin Seeker – is also looking for it, but he appears to be keeping an eye on Cho. He's probably just trying to see what if she's seen the snitch herself, but he could be admiring her – she is very pretty. Roger probably wouldn't like that, but Draco likely wouldn't care, I don't think. He's not a very considerate boy. Pansy Parkinson also wouldn't like that either. I don't like Pansy – she's always very mean to me – but she doesn't deserve that. So hopefully Draco's just looking for the snitch, and not for Cho."

"Uh, Luna, you should probably report the score," Harry whispered.

"Oh, yes, it appears Slytherin and Ravenclaw have each scored. Oooh, I forgot my hat!" She tapped her hat with the wand, and the eagle screeched. Ginny smiled, but Michael just shook his head. "It's thirty – ten for Slytherin. Not a good start for Ravenclaw, I'm afraid. It won't be fun in the common room if this keeps up.

"Oh, it looks like Roger just missed being hit by a bludger. He's dropped the quaffle, and Adrian Pucey snatched it out of the air. That was very quick of him – it was really a nice play, you know. You don't often see such finesse from Slytherin – at least I haven't, and I've been to all the games. But I might have not been paying attention all the time. I get distracted, you know.

"Adrian's passed the quaffle to Graham, who throws it at the right goal hoop. And Grant tries to reach the quaffle but just misses. Forty – ten Slytherin. I do hope Grant isn't suffering from Loser's Lurgy – it's going around, I hear. Maybe I'll make him a charm before the Gryffindor game, although I may have some trouble finding quince flowers. Maybe Professor Sprout can help me.

"Oh, it looks like Ravenclaw have scored again." She tapped her hat again, causing another screech. "Forty – twenty Slytherin. And Gregory Goyle has been hit by a bludger! I would think that would hurt, but Gregory's such a large boy that it may not have. He must be very tough, otherwise Draco probably wouldn't use him as a bodyguard. The other Slytherin beater, Vincent Crabbe, has the same job. Most people don't have any bodyguards, but Draco has two. I do hope Draco's nice to them – he's so rude to everyone that they probably have to stop a lot of people who would like to get at Draco. It must be a thankless job."

Harry laughed at that.

"The weather is very nice today. Very sunny and dry. It's a good thing I didn't wear my chili pepper earrings today, or I'd be boiling under this hat! Oh, speaking of which..." Another tap of her wand, another screech.

"Enough with the hat," said a loud voice behind them. Harry turned around and shot the boy who said it a sharp look, and then turned his ear back to Luna.

Luna continued in that vein for a while, although Harry found himself distracted by thoughts of his nightmare again. He was only brought back to paying attention when she tapped her hat again, the eagle's screech startling him.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Luna asked, seeing him jump.

"Yeah, sorry," he said sheepishly. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I hope you're okay."

He nodded. "I'll be fine. Go ahead."

She began whispering in his ear again. "It's seventy – forty for Slytherin. Cho's still watching for the Golden Snitch, and Draco's still keeping an eye on her. Poor Pansy. Adrian has the quaffle, but William Chambers runs into him, knocking it loose! William used to go out with Marietta Edgecombe, but he broke up with her after Christmas. She's been moping around since then. William's usually very nice, so I do wonder why they broke up.

"And now Roger has the quaffle! He moves to throw it to William – no, that was a feint! Very good. And he throws the quaffle towards the left goal hoop, but Bletchley gets there in time – but it bounces off him and into the hoop! Seventy – fifty for Slytherin." And she made her hat screech again.

"Will you stop with that bloody hat, Loony!" said the boy behind him.

Harry wheeled around to face the boy. "Listen, you..."

"David Ridgway," said Luna quietly.

"Listen, David. Luna's just trying to support the team, all right?"

"What do you care? You're a Gryffindor."

Harry leaned towards David, and said, "I want to see those Slytherin bastards crushed. They play dirty, they cheapen the game, and they got me banned from Quidditch. But more importantly, I care because she cares. So just let her support the team and support her house, okay?"

David looked unhappy, but nodded. When Harry turned around, he heard David mutter, "Bloody nutcases." Harry started to turn around, but Luna put her hand on his arm, and said, "Let's just enjoy the game."

She resumed her commentary, but Harry again found himself thinking about the nightmare. Was it merely a dream, or had Voldemort accessed his mind? Did he know about Luna? Had Harry put Luna in danger by going out with her? Harry had no doubt that Voldemort would have no qualms about striking at him through his girlfriend.

Perhaps Ron was right, and Harry should talk about this with Snape. He didn't particularly want to open up to his Potions and Occlumency professor any more than he had to, which Harry knew was absurd given Snape's use of Legilimency against him. But it was one thing for Snape to see what Harry saw, it was another to actually discuss it with him. He was sure Snape would berate him for not sufficiently clearing his mind, and he would likely be subjected to another litany of how pathetic Harry was, and how evil his father was, and all of the baggage that Snape was unable to let go of. But he had to know, so unpleasant as the prospect was, he would talk to Snape at his next "Remedial Potions" lesson.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Luna say, "Am I doing this poorly, Harry? You're frowning."

"What? No. I'm sorry, Luna, my mind's just elsewhere."

"What's the matter?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"I had a really awful nightmare last night," he said. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."

She tenderly put her arm around him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "No. Not yet, Luna."

"That's okay, Harry. When you're ready, I'll be here to listen. For anything, you know." He hugged her fiercely. "The thing you have to remember is that it's just a dream. It's not real – well, not more than any other dream, I suppose."

I hope you're right, though Harry.

"I don't have to continue my commentary, if you want. We can just watch the game," she said.

"Are you disappointed?"

"No, it's okay." She patted his hand.

The Slytherin chasers kept the lead against Ravenclaw for the rest of the match. The Golden Snitch didn't appear until Slytherin had run up a score of one hundred ninety to one hundred forty. Draco Malfoy and Cho Chang engaged in a high speed and acrobatic chase for the winged golden ball, with Cho narrowly avoiding a well-aimed bludger from Vincent Crabbe. Unfortunately for Draco, he was in such close quarters with Cho that the bludger hit the twigs at the end of his broom, causing him to lose steering control, and forcing Draco to the ground in a hard and bumpy landing. As Cho caught the snitch, giving Ravenclaw a one-hundred-point victory, Draco was led off to the hospital wing, with Pansy Parkinson sobbing profusely while following him, and Vincent Crabbe shouting desperate apologies to his teammate.

Luna tapped her hat repeatedly upon Ravenclaw's victory, resulting in a series of celebratory screeches which had Harry whooping along. In their victory, none of the other students in the Ravenclaw stands said anything negative to Luna about her hat, although positive comments in the stands were limited to Harry himself, Ginny, Zachary Stonetower (who came up, stuck his head between Harry and Luna, and shouted "Ravenclaw rules! Yeah!" repeatedly, insisting that Luna activate her hat one more time for his benefit), and Luna's roommate Morgana Dempster, who said she was glad Luna was able to fix her hat.

Harry and Luna bade goodbye to Ginny and Michael, and headed towards the Black Lake. Along the way they passed Luna's other roommates, Deirdre and Melanie, who both scowled at Harry and pointedly ignored Luna's presence entirely.

"I do hope Draco's all right," Luna said.

"I'm sure he's fine," Harry said, his voice full of disdain. "He's a diver." Looking at Luna, he explained, "He's the kind of player who fakes injuries to try and draw penalties to the other team. That whole sodding team is full of divers and cheats. The only one with a lick of sportsmanship is Pucey."

"Draco did look quite shaken up."

Harry shook his head. "He always does. He faked being really badly hurt by Hagrid's hippogriff, Buckbeak, two years ago, just so his Death Eater daddy could have his Death Eater mate MacNair execute Buckbeak and try and make Hagrid lose his job. Buckbeak wouldn't have even nicked him to the extent he did if Draco wasn't so bloody arrogant that he can't show any respect to anyone or anything." He turned to Luna. "You shouldn't waste any sympathy on Malfoy, anyway, with the way he treats you."

Luna shrugged. "It strikes me that if I was mean to people, just because they were mean to me, I'd almost deserve to be treated that way. Besides, I'd rather smile at someone than frown at them."

"Huh. I hadn't thought of it that way. Although I do like it when you smile," he said, smiling widely at her, which earned him a warm one in return. "Anyway, I don't want to talk about Malfoy anymore."

"All right. What did you think of my commentary?"

"I liked it. Sorry about drifting off there. I thought it was delightful."

"Thank you, Harry. You're very sweet. But try to be objective. What would someone who isn't my boyfriend think?"

He thought about it for a moment while they sat down huddled next to one another on the bench by the lake where they had their first planned outing at a month ago. "It was very personal and very stream-of-consciousness. That's not a bad thing at all, but you could stand to describe the action a bit more. Don't be stingy with your thoughts on things, but you have to remember that your job is to describe the action on the pitch as much as to comment on it. Ideally you want someone who is listening but not actively watching to know what's going on."

"Okay. That makes sense. Any specific pointers?" she asked.

"Make sure you describe every goal. Oh, and you may want to describe the players by their last names. Not everyone will know the first names of the players."

She frowned. "That seems so rude. The only people who seem to call you 'Potter' are people who don't like you. And I know I don't like to just be called 'Lovegood', although I suppose its better than being called 'Loony'."

"It's all about context. In sports, that's how you're addressed often. When Oliver Wood used to call me 'Potter', he wasn't trying to be mean. And neither is Lee. People will know what you mean.

"Other than that," he continued, "I thought you did a pretty good job for the first time around. You should try again at the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff game in two weeks, although we'll have to sit in the Gryffindor stands."

"That would be nice. We can cheer on Ginny – I bet she'll be a great Seeker. Not as good as you, of course," she amended, kissing him.

They sat and watched the lake silently, their arms around each other, for a few minutes.

"How are Deirdre and Melanie treating you?" Harry asked.

"They're completely ignoring me. Morgana too. I don't mind at all, but its harder on her." Seeing the look on his face, she said, "She told me what you said and why you did so. She understands you were trying to help her. She's not used to being completely ostracized, though."

"I'll have to apologize to her. I didn't expect them to just cut her off."

"I think she's glad you thought of her at all," Luna said.

"I don't like bullies. I know what its like to be bullied, and what it's like to have no one notice when you're bullied."

"That's one of the reasons we get along so well, I think," Luna said. "We both know what that's like. My socks had mysteriously reappeared on my bed by the time I got to bed last night, by the way. Thank you." She gave him a kiss and a warm embrace.

They took their time getting back to the castle that afternoon.

[A/N: Thanks as always to MandibleBones for betareading and his valuable suggestions. This one took me far longer to write than I intended, and the resulting chapter was much larger than my normal ones. I have therefore split it in two, and the next part will be up in a day or two.]

9. 8: Taking a Leap

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

Chapter 8 – Taking a Leap

February 26, 1996.

"Pathetic," spat Professor Snape. "Seven weeks of this, and you still can't block me from your mind for more than two minutes. Why the Headmaster has me wasting my time teaching someone so unwilling to learn, I'll never know."

Harry was sweating profusely and his head was throbbing as he endured another "Remedial Potions" lesson in which he tried to lean Occlumency from Snape. Snape's teaching method consisted largely of him berating Harry and invading his mind, with precious little instruction on how to block his thoughts or eject Snape or others from his mind.

Catching his breath, Harry said, "Well, maybe if you actually instructed me instead of – "

"Legilimens!" said Snape.

Harry felt Snape trying to enter his mind, probing it for thoughts and memories. Initially, he felt Snape probe through Harry's resentment of Snape's lack of instruction in particular, but as he felt the Potions professor try and go beyond that thought into other negative thoughts or emotions, Harry resisted. He tried blanking his mind, but felt in Snape's less than gentle probing and pushing in his head against the nothingness Harry was trying to maintain.

In response, Harry tried to focus his thoughts on one thing. The first thing that came to his mind as that touchstone was Snape's greasy hair. He focused his mind, concentrating on its long black oiliness and the comments other students made about it. He felt in his mind the frantic stabbing feeling of Snape's legilimency probe, and the anger he felt at this being the central image in Harry's mind. He resisted the attack for what felt like an eternity, but Snape forced a different memory to emerge in Harry's mind. The first day of potions class, and Harry's resentment of Snape picking on him, a boy he had never met simply for his so-called 'celebrity'.

Snape eventually succeeded in breaking Harry's resistance, and forcibly went from that memory to another related memory, the betrayal that Harry felt at Ron abandoning him when his name emerged from the Goblet of Fire. Ron's anger and accusations that Harry was trading off his celebrity, and trying to aggrandize himself at the expense of those around him. Harry's resentment that his best friend would think of him that way.

Harry's mind was dragged against its will to another more recent memory, the Daily Prophet referring to him as the 'Boy-Who-Lied'. The anger he felt that no one of importance, save Dumbledore, believed him that Voldemort had returned and killed Cedric – the loneliness as his fame was turned against him, his warnings of danger made to seem like the ravings of a madman.

Harry was aware what Snape was doing – sifting through his negative memories and thoughts, trying to expose the weaknesses the young man felt. Trying to take control of the battle of wills, when he felt Snape try and move to another negative memory, Harry resisted, and instead thought of the first kiss he shared with Luna.

Despite Snape's attempts to move to another memory, Harry lingered on this one – standing under the mistletoe with Luna, their quiet conversation, the awkward pauses, Luna pointing out the mistletoe and stepping forward to meet him, his moving to meet her lips, the beautiful, tender contact... Harry could linger in this memory forever. He often did.

He continued to resist Snape's mental probes until he broke contact. Opening his eyes, Harry looked at Snape, and saw a disgusted look on the older man's face.

"You were unable to resist me entering you mind at all this time, Potter," he said, contempt dripping out of his words.

"You didn't give me any warning!" Harry said, knowing it was the wrong thing.

"You think the Dark Lord gives warnings? Why should I? You need to be prepared! You let me enter your mind with no resistance, and I was able to sift through a number of memories and thoughts of yours unimpeded."

"I held you at the beginning."

Snape scoffed. "That was your idea of resistance?"

"And I stopped you at the end from exploring further."

"Yes. You did. By exposing a memory highlighting your feelings, another weakness! You need to eject an intruder, not give him another weapon!" Snape said. "We're done for today. If you don't start improving, I fear there is little point in continuing. You may as well send the Dark Lord an owl telling him exactly how to torment you if that happens."

Harry frowned.

"Have you had any more visions of the Dark Lord?" Snape asked scornfully.

Harry was just slightly too slow to answer, and Snape sneered at him. "Weren't going to tell me, were you? Shortsighted idiot. Tell me, what did you see?" As Harry hesitated, Snape said, "You can tell me, or I can go searching in your mind for it myself. I'd rather not suffer through any more of your 'romantic' interludes if I can avoid it, so out with it."

Harry explained the dream in full detail to his teacher. "It sounds like a nightmare more than a true vision of the Dark Lord. It doesn't matter either way," Snape said.

"Doesn't matter? If it was a vision, then Vold - " Harry stopped upon seeing Snape's warning expression. "Then he knows about Luna."

"Of course he knows about her, you stupid boy."

"How?"

"For one thing, I told him."

"Why would you do that?" Harry shouted.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, and do not raise your voice to me again, Potter. Think. I am a spy for the Dark Lord here at Hogwarts, at the same time I am a spy against him for the Headmaster. If I am to stay in the Dark Lord's 'good graces' I have to provide information. Your nauseating relationship with Miss Lovegood was a harmless piece of information."

"Harmless? How can you say that! You've endangered Luna!" Harry said, his voice full of despair.

"Do you really think I'm the only person reporting to him about your actions, Potter? He has other people here, you know – children of Death Eaters – "

"Malfoy," Harry practically spat.

"Among others. I'm sure there are informants I'm not aware of. If I didn't tell the Dark Lord about this piece of information, which is common knowledge at the school and has been remarked about in staff meetings, he'd think I was protecting you. He'd certainly doubt my value as a spy."

That made sense to Harry. Unfortunately.

Almost gleefully, Snape continued, "And if anyone has endangered Miss Lovegood, it's you. I told you about what happens to fools who wear their hearts on their sleeves. By engaging in so public a dalliance with her, you have brought her to his attention as much as your friends Weasley and Granger. Or did you think he would ignore something that even the High Inquisitor has taken note of?

"If you want to protect her, learn Occlumency! Discipline your mind! Try and live up to the inexplicable faith the Headmaster has in your abilities, apply yourself, be something other than a lazy, entitled dunderhead, and learn! Or you'll endanger her as much as you're endangering the rest of us. Maybe more so," he said with an evil smirk.

Ashen faced, Harry left the dungeons to head back to Gryffindor tower.

While Harry was suffering through lessons with Professor Snape, Luna was sitting at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall, reviewing her Divination assignment for Professor Firenze. She was trying to analyze a moving astronomical chart of central Germany for spring 1945 which she got from Professor Sinistra. The moving chart showed the planets' motion across the background of starts for that the spring. Professor Firenze had given each student in the class a separate date for which they were to analyze the positions of the planets and stars and show if and how they predicted a major event for that time.

Lavender Brown was sitting opposite Luna, having received a similar, if slightly more advanced, assignment from the centaur, and studying the same star chart.

"I get that we're supposed to look for signs of Grindelwald's defeat by Dumbledore, but Professor Firenze wanted us to see if we could see something else for extra credit," Lavender said with a sigh. "The one Parvati got looked easier – October 1981. Everyone knows what happened then."

"He didn't give us fourth-years the extra credit assignment," Luna said. "It must be because you're in fifth year."

"This assignment is hard," Lavender said. "It's Divination, Astronomy, and History of Magic rolled into one."

"I think it's very challenging," Luna said with a hint of admiration. "We should be given more of these interdisciplinary assignments. It would make school make more sense, you know?"

Lavender smirked at her. Luna stared unblinkingly at the older girl for a moment before Lavender broke and said, "You're such a Ravenclaw," with a laugh.

"Thank you," Luna said with a small smile.

"So I see how Mars is growing dimmer, and that means that Grindelwald will be defeated, but I can't figure out what else I'm supposed to be looking for," Lavender said.

"Look here," Luna said, pointing to Lavender's chart. "As Mars is fading, look at how prominent Jupiter is growing."

"Right near Gemini," Lavender agreed. "But what does it mean?"

"You know that Grindelwald had a Muggle ally, who was engaged in a great war of his own, right?"

"I thought he hated Muggles," Lavender said.

"Everything I've read says he thought they were inferior, but I'm sure he found some to be useful tools. His Muggle ally was defeated by his Muggle enemies at roughly the same time the Headmaster defeated Grindelwald. The Muggles who defeated Grindelwald's ally then split Germany between them."

"So that explains Gemini!" Lavender said. "How do you know this? I didn't know you liked Muggle history."

Luna pulled out Harry's copy of Memoirs of the Late War Against Grindelwald by Arminius Esterhazy. "I borrowed this from Harry when I got my assignment. Mr. Esterhazy was an officer in the Grindelwald War. One of his duties was as an intelligence officer, and he sometimes worked with the Muggle armies from North America, which were in Europe at that time. He covers the Muggle war as well. It's very fascinating, although apparently it was far more gruesome and murderous than the war against Grindelwald."

"Thanks for your help, Luna. Now I think I know enough to write my assignment, so let's chat!" she said, anticipation upon her smiling face.

As Luna folded up her map, Zacharias Smith came up to Lavender and asked, "What are you doing with Loony, Lav? Dating Weasley, and now this? I thought you were cool."

Lavender narrowed her eyes at Zacharias, and said, "You don't get to call me 'Lav', Zacharias. I'm studying with my friend. And I'm cooler than you'll ever be, so go away and leave us alone."

"Whatever," the Hufflepuff boy said, leaving the two girls.

When Zacharias had left and the girls had folded their maps, Lavender said to Luna, "Zach and I went on a date to Hogsmeade last May. It didn't work out. Turns out he's a jerk," she said disdainfully. She leaned in to Luna and whispered, "I don't think he's over me." She then giggled, "Too bad for him I'm with Ron. He's better than Zach any day of the week."

"Are you and Ron going out now?"

Lavender smiled widely and sighed. "We are. He's so wonderful – charming and funny, and so tall and handsome. I love all that orange hair, too – it's so dreamy. And his kisses – " she sighed loudly. "He asked me out yesterday at the match. Of course, I knew he would – I saw it in my tea leaves that morning. But I tried to act surprised – boys love that."

"I'm very happy for you. Harry said Ron was very distracted yesterday and this morning, so I thought it was either that or wrackspurts," Luna said.

Lavender laughed. "Well, I hope it was thinking of me. I know I couldn't stop thinking about my Won-Won." Seeing Luna's expression, Lavender blushed. "It's my pet name for him. Like his for me is 'Lav'. You and Harry must have pet names for one another."

Luna shook her head. "We don't, really. Harry's not very fond of nicknames, you know. He keeps getting ones he doesn't want. I get the same thing. I just like that he's always called me 'Luna' rather than 'Loony', like most people do."

"I'm sorry I used to call you that," Lavender said. "I wasn't trying to be mean. It's just what everyone called you."

"Oh, I know. Most people aren't trying to be mean when they call me that. They just do so thoughtlessly."

Lavender frowned. "I am sorry."

"That's okay," Luna said, patting the other girl's hand. "Do you often read the tea leaves about Ron?"

"I try not to use divination too much, although I did look at his palm. That gave me a lot of hope, but it was really just an excuse to hold his hand." Lavender giggled again. "Too much divination would take the surprise away, but sometimes the signs come even when I'm not looking for them. Like in my tea yesterday – it was so obvious I couldn't ignore it.

"Anyway," Lavender said, leaning in to Luna again, "We have to double date next Hogsmeade weekend. That will be so fun!"

"I've never been on a double date before."

"The only thing better than being on a date with the right boy is doing so with a friend and her boyfriend. When Zach and I went to Hogsmeade last year, we went with Parvati and that cute Beauxbatons boy Rodrigo. Zach and I didn't get along, but the date was fun."

"That sounds fun. I know Harry would like it."

Lavender smiled. "Maybe Hermione and Neville can come with us, too! I bet the boys would like that."

"I don't think they're dating," Luna said.

"Not yet," Lavender said with a conspiratorial wink. "Neville just needs a push in the right direction, even if he doesn't know it. Hermione would be happier with someone here than with someone halfway across Europe, I think. I know it would give Parvati and me something to talk to her about other than schoolwork."

"I don't know how compatible they would be. I think they're just friends, you know."

"For now. But so were you and Harry, and look how that turned out!"

It was Luna's turn to blush.

"They'll get together, I just know it. Even if they don't know it yet. They're always together in Potions class, aren't they?" Lavender said.

Luna didn't have the heart to point out that by that logic Hermione and Ron would have got together years before. Or Hermione and Harry.

Lavender spoke for a few minutes about other gossip she'd heard, including a rumour that Zachary Stonetower and Ramona Cale were caught in a broom closet together in an advanced state of undress. "Of course I don't believe that," Lavender said, "Ramona's not like that, but she did get detention for kissing him in the hallways a month ago, and she blushes every time she sees him, so there might be some truth in it." She also asked Luna about her lipstick – "I heard what Ginny said about it, it sounds like lots of fun!" she said gleefully.

Luna was really enjoying the conversation. Other than Ginny, no one had ever treated her as "one of the girls", and even if she was nowhere near as interested in gossip and makeup as Lavender, it was fun to talk to her about it all, surprising as it was to her.

"You called me a friend twice tonight," Luna pointed out. "Most people don't do that."

Lavender was taken aback by this. "Oh dear, I've been too blunt again," Luna thought.

"I thought we were becoming friends," said the Gryffindor girl.

Luna smiled. "I hoped so too. Most people don't want to be my friend, though. They think I'm very odd."

Lavender laughed a little. "Well, you are odd, I suppose, but in a fun way. And most people don't take me seriously at all! They'd laugh when I said what I said about the tea leaves, or just humour me because I know all the gossip. Or because of these," she said, pointing to her chest, "if they're boys. I know Hermione thinks I'm about as substantial as meringue," she said with a frown. "But you didn't – you take me seriously. The only other people around here who do are Parvati and Ron. So I hope we can be friends, and not just because of Ron and Harry."

Luna smiled again. "I'd like that."

"That's wonderful," Lavender beamed. "And as my friend, you have to let me braid your hair sometime. I know you like the 'wild-and-free' look, but you should try a new hairstyle once in a while. I'm sure Harry would like it. And you can tell me all about wrackspurts and the lot when I do, all right?"

Luna couldn't help but smile at her new friend.

February 27, 1996

"You could have been gentler to Harry," Albus Dumbledore pointed out to Severus Snape when the Potions professor gave him a briefing about Harry's Occlumency lesson.

"He's not trying, Albus. He needs to put some effort into this rather than coasting through life on his fame."

"I hardly think he's doing that, Severus," Albus said gently, not wanting to get into this conversation yet again. "He may simply not respond to your teaching style."

"Get another teacher for the brat, then."

"You know I can't," Albus pointed out.

"Then he needs to apply himself. We don't have time to mollycoddle him. If he's as essential as you think, he needs to prepare. The Dark Lord certainly is."

"Do you know what he's planning?"

Severus shook his head. "Not yet. He's continuing to probe Potter's mind, though. I have no doubt about that."

Albus sighed. This was far too much for one fifteen year-old boy to have to deal with. Not for the first time, he wished he could take away the burdens that had been placed upon Harry. He thought Harry would probably be able to bear those burdens in the end, but he feared the cost to him.

"You could have at least been gentler about his friendship with Miss Lovegood."

"I don't have time to concern myself with nauseating pubescent romances," Severus snapped.

Albus took of his glasses and rubbed his temples. "Severus, our first loves affect all of us to an unimaginable degree. You of all people should know that." Albus thought fleetingly of a long-ago summer in Godric's Hollow before focusing on the present. "Let Harry enjoy his youth. Let him have his time with Miss Lovegood."

"The Dark Lord will not let Potter enjoy his youth, Albus. You know that. He needs to know what he may be doing to her."

"I know. I've already asked someone to talk to Xenophilius Lovegood about improving his wards."

"That's it? You'd sacrifice her just to let Potter have his tawdry pleasures?"

"Severus!" Albus snapped. "You know I wouldn't, and you know that's not what Harry's like. You've been in his mind. You need to be objective. But I'm not going to stop two fine young people from enjoying their life. Don't underestimate the power of love, Severus. It will save us all."

"An adolescent infatuation is hardly 'love', Albus. He's fifteen. What can Potter possibly know about love?"

Albus merely raised a single eyebrow at Severus.

February 28, 1996.

It was nearly midnight as Harry descended the staircase into the Gryffindor common room. He was unable to sleep, and hoped to find to peace by the fireplace before he was exhausted enough to return to bed. His four roommates were fast asleep, so he thought he might have the common room to himself.

He did not.

Hermione Granger was sitting by the fire, reading a book. Naturally, Harry thought with a smile, and sat down next to his friend. "You're up late," he said, playfully shoving her.

"I could say the same for you," she said, shoving right back. "Can't sleep?"

He shook his head.

"Any more nightmares?" she asked, concerned. He hadn't told Hermione the details of his nightmare, just that he had had one and that he didn't know whether Voldemort had entered his mind.

"No, thankfully. Just thinking."

"Good," she said, smiling. "You can always stand to do more of that." When he didn't react, she said, "That's a joke, Harry."

"I know."

"What's troubling you?"

It all came pouring out of him. The details of the nightmare. What Snape had said. His worries that Voldemort would target Luna specifically simply to get at Harry.

"I worry that being with me is putting her life in danger, Hermione," he said, sadness colouring his words.

"Oh Harry," she said, giving him a hug.

"I have to talk to her," he said sadly. "I can't put her in danger."

"I think Luna's well aware of the danger, Harry. She's quite bright."

"I know she is, but I don't want anything to happen to her because of me. Can you imagine what Voldemort would do to her, just because she's with me?"

"So what do you plan on doing? Breaking up with her?"

"If that's what it takes to keep her safe, then... I don't want to, Hermione. There's not much I want to do less. But I... I care for her to much to have anything happen to her."

Hermione shook her head. "You're not thinking this through, Harry. If Voldemort can read your mind like you fear, don't you think he'll know your breakup is a sham? That you still... care for her? You don't think other people will notice, too? You're not subtle, Harry. Your looks will give you away. Hers will give her away. She'll still be a target.

"Then I'll have to – "

"To what? Fool everyone? Go around calling her 'Loony'? Publicly tear off that necklace? Be as mean to her as everyone else is? That girl adores you, Harry. You can't do that to her – go from treating her like a princess to treating her like a troll. You wouldn't be able to even if you tried – I know you, Harry. You're too good a person, and you couldn't do that to someone you... care for as much as you do her."

Defeated, Harry said, "So what do I do? Let her be a target?"

Hermione said softly, "Yes. She's a target, just the same as Ron and me. I'm sure she knows this, just as we do. You have to let her make her own decisions – you can't make them for her, or assume you know best. That's not how you treat someone you care for." She looked at him. "But you know this." Earnestly, she said, "You are not a bad person for loving her. Don't let You-Know-Who make you think you are."

He thought about this. "Thanks, Hermione. Thanks for putting things in perspective. I'm glad I spoke with you before doing anything rash."

She smiled. "What are friends for, if not to kick you on the bottom when you need it? Besides, I don't think Luna would let you break-up with her if you didn't truly want to. She'd probably blame it on Nargles or something."

"Wrackspurts," Harry said automatically. "They're the ones that make your brain go fuzzy."

Hermione laughed. "Wrackspurts, then. But I have to go to bed, Harry, or I'll be absolutely useless tomorrow."

"Me too. Meeting at seven tomorrow?" he said.

"Okay. Good night, Harry," she said as she climbed the girls staircase.

"Good night, Hermione."

Harry didn't return to his room immediately, however. He was glad he spoke to Hermione – he had seriously thought he would have to break up with Luna to protect her, until Hermione pointed out how useless that would be. But one thing she said stuck in his mind: "You are not a bad person for loving her."

Did he love Luna? His relationship was so new that it seemed too much, too quick, to even consider rationally. He'd only known Luna for half a year, after all. He liked her, he adored her, he couldn't imagine his life without her. But did he love her?

He knew that longed to see her dreamy smile, or hear her gentle laugh (or her uproarious laugh when something truly tickled her). He could get lost in her wide silver eyes. He loved looking at her expressive face, with its smooth pale skin, extraordinarily pale eyebrows, and and pretty pink lips. He smiled remembering the feel of those lips when they kissed, her tongue against his, her low subdued sighs when he ran his fingers through her wild dirty blonde hair or stroked her soft hand, or how warm her small soft body when they held one another, and how that made him feel.

His feelings for Luna went far beyond the physical, though. Her enthusiasm when talking about mysterious magical creatures. How she was nearly unflappable. Her raw intelligence, and the surprising paths she channelled that intelligence along. Her deadpan sense of humour. How she was always willing to forgive the cruelties of others towards her, and how she didn't let the bullying of others phase her. As someone who knew bullying all too well, that quality stood out among all the other things he admired about her.

How she supported him. How she cared for him. How she believed in him, no matter what, even when they were complete strangers.

He thought of how he would do anything to protect her, even consider breaking up with her, just to keep her safe. How relieved he was that Hermione was able to show him how foolish that notion was. How even when he feared it was necessary, the thought of a life without Luna struck him as the most horrible thing he could imagine.

How seeing her in the Great Hall, even when they didn't have a chance to speak, brightened his day and made the predations of Voldemort, Umbridge or Snape that much more bearable.

Maybe his relationship with her was deeper than he had thought possible.

Maybe he did love her.

February 29, 1996.

Harry was in the Room of Requirement with the rest of Dumbledore's Army, instructing his fellow students on the basics of the Patronus Charm. Some were able to produce non-corporeal Patronuses, but most were only able to produce slight wisps of white vapour.

"Don't get discouraged," Harry said. "This is extremely difficult magic. They don't even teach it at Hogwarts. If may take multiple sessions to get it right. That's no reflection on you. Remember – a powerful, happy memory. That's good, Dennis – you're doing well. Keep it up, and you'll be there in no time."

He went around the room, encouraging his students, giving pointers where need be, and trying to let them know they were doing well. None were able to produce a corporeal one, until, with a strong shout of "Expecto Patronum," Cho Chang cast a large, graceful swan that flew around the room. Her face bore a look of absolute delight as the swan flew circles around her friend Marietta.

"That's it! Wonderful work, Cho. What were you thinking of?" he asked.

"Catching the snitch on Sunday right out from Malfoy's nose," she said with a smile.

He laughed. "That's brilliant. See, everyone, that's the kind of strong memory you need to focus on. You all can do this. We'll try for a few minutes more, then practice more next time. You're all doing great."

He went over to Luna, who was able to produce a bright and powerful non-corporeal Patronus, but while it began to form into something solid, it wasn't quite able to coalesce.

"You're doing fantastic," he said, coming up behind her, putting his left and on hers, and guiding her wand movements. "You have it exactly, you just need a little more practice."

"Oooh, teacher's pet!" said Seamus, eliciting much laughter from the group.

"I should hope so," said Luna, causing more laughter and a blush from Harry as he moved on.

"That's much better, Lavender," Harry said moving about the room. "Good wand movements, Katie, you're doing good. Neville, I'm not hearing the happiness in your voice. A powerful, happy memory – like the time you put Gryffindor over the top to win the House Cup, something like that. All right, let's wrap it – "

He was interrupted by a forceful "Expecto Patronum!" from Hermione, and then saw a silvery otter playing about on its back, swimming through the air around Hermione before she directed it to Ron.

"See?" Harry said happily. "You all can do this. You've come so far, I know you'll all be even better next time. Good night, everyone, thanks for all your hard work. Maybe make some even happier memories just to be sure!"

The class filtered out of the Room in drips and drabs, until just Harry and Luna were left. The Room brought forth a love seat, and the two of them cuddled into it.

"That was a lovely lesson, Harry. You did a good job of stopping people from becoming frustrated, I think," Luna said.

"I'm glad you think so," said Harry. "It's a really difficult charm, and people need to stay positive to cast it. You did really good at it tonight."

"I couldn't cast a corporeal Patronus," she pointed out.

"Not yet, but you were really close. I'm sure you'll get there next time – you and a some of the others as well."

"You're in a happier mood today," she said.

"Hermione helped me work some things out. Sorry about the other day. My nightmare – it was of you being tortured by Umbridge. I tried to stop her, but I lost my magic. Then Voldemort was the new Minister, and tried to use the Killing Curse on you, and then used the Imperius Curse on me to try and get me to use the Cruciatus Curse on you. That's when I woke up." His voice had gotten increasing heavy with emotion as he related his dream.

Luna wrapped him in a tight hug. "That sounds horrible, Harry. I can see why you were so upset – you must feel so guilty. Not that there's any reason to, you know, but I do understand. Dreams and nightmares can seem so real. I know mine are sometimes so real it takes a long time to convince myself that they aren't once I wake up."

Harry thought that given Luna's bounteous imagination, her nightmares must be especially horrific. "You can talk to me when you have nightmares, too, you know," he said gently.

"Oh, I know. It's just hard – I'm sure you know that," she said dreamily.

"I still dream all the time of being stuck in that bloody closet. Five years later, and it still happens like clockwork. But this – I'm not sure it was a dream, Luna. I think Voldemort was actually there in my mind. And then I spoke to Snape about it."

"That must have been very difficult," she said, squeezing him in her arms again.

"He thinks it's just a dream. At least, that's what he says. But he says Voldemort knows about you."

To Harry's surprise, Luna just nodded. "I'd be surprised if he didn't, Harry. You-Know-Who is very smart, and he seems to have an unhealthy fixation on you. He should probably go and see a mind healer to help him work through his issues, but I suspect he'd be an unpleasant patient. I know I wouldn't want to work with him."

Very calmly, Harry said, "You're not worried?"

"Oh, I didn't say that, Harry. Of course I'm worried. But I suspected this would happen when we first became friends. And I'm not going to let my worry stop me from living my life the way I want, and with the people I want in my life," Luna explained.

He gave her a quick kiss. "You're taking this far better than I expected," he said.

She shrugged. "You-Know-Who wants to kill us all, or make our lives not worth living. Our going out doesn't really change that. You're worth any danger from V-Voldemort, you know."

"I love you," he said, without even thinking.

Her eyes grew extremely wide, and she stared at him for a few seconds, before giving him a beaming smile, pulling him tightly against her, and whispering in her ear, "Oh, Harry, I love you too. I love you too." She then practically attacked his lips with a fiercely passionate kiss, which blissfully went on and on until it did not.

"I hoped you did, I hoped you did so much," she said when she finally pulled free from him, "but I didn't want to pressure you. Oh, I'm so happy, Harry, it's like all the wrackspurts in the world have gone away!" She kissed him again, and said, "Happy anniversary, by the way. Well, monthiversary. Mensiversary?"

Harry was confused, and Luna obviously saw this, as she said, "It's been a month since you asked me to be your girlfriend. Well, thirty days. There's no February 30th. Well, not anymore. For humans, anyway. The Heliopaths have forty days in February, Daddy says. Apparently they find March unlucky, so they only have nine days in March. April has forty for them, too. Not that I've ever seen a Heliopath calendar, but I imagine we can ask the Minister. He probably has one, although he might not admit it to us."

Harry smiled warmly as Luna rambled on. This was one of those things he really loved about Luna – how caught up in her explanations she got.

"Anyway, my point is, Happy Mensiversary," she said, handing him a small package wrapped in sparkly purple paper that she withdrew from her canvas bag.

"I didn't get you anything," he said sheepishly.

"That's okay, in the last month you've gotten me chocolates, a lovely cake, a book, and these earrings," she said, shaking her head back and forth, showing off the silver crescent moon earrings he gave her for her birthday, and lightly whipping his face with strands of her long hair. "So open it up!"

She tapped her fingers together eagerly as he ripped open the package to find a dirigible plum. "I had Daddy send it to me! And I cast a preserving charm and a cheering charm on it, so whenever you need to feel happy, just hold it in your hand for ten seconds. I didn't want to make it so you would get accidentally cheered when you didn't want to. You can just keep it in your pocket for when you need it."

He beamed at her, holding it in his hand, and said, "It's wonderful. You're wonderful. Thank you so much."

"See, it's working!" Luna said happily.

"I actually don't know if it is, I'm pretty happy anyway."

"Oh, I'm sure it's helping. It's a very powerful charm, you know. But I know what you mean. I'm so happy tonight, Harry, I could just ‒ " She then whipped out her wand, and said "Expecto Patronum" quietly but forcefully. The two of them watched as a white translucent hare formed from the Patronus mist, and cavorted around the room, running circles around to two of them, their faces shining with delight as they watched.

"You were right, Harry," she said. "I just needed a very powerful happy memory."

[A/N: Thanks once again to MandibleBones for his always excellent betareading.]

10. 9: Published!

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

Chapter 9 – Published!

March 2, 1996

It was five minutes after five o'clock, Saturday afternoon.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger entered the Great Hall, having been asked by Luna to meet her just after the clock struck five. Luna told them to expect delivery of the special issue of The Quibbler that they had been anticipating – the one publishing Harry's interview with Mr. Lovegood from Valentine's Day weekend. So much had happened since then that it seemed like months had passed, when it had only been two weeks.

Harry and Hermione entered to find Luna waiting for them, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Oh good! I was worried you'd be late." She grabbed Harry's hand, as Hermione followed them, and pulled him over to the Gryffindor table where Ron, Lavender and Ginny were already sitting.

"They're about to arrive," Luna said, excited. Seeing looks of confusion on Lavender's and Ginny's faces, she explained. "The new edition of The Quibbler. They're being delivered all across Britain right now."

"But I thought the last issue just came out a week ago," Ginny asked.

"This one's a special edition," said Ron.

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on?" Lavender asked, looking around at the other five.

"No, I'm in the dark, too," Ginny said.

Luna just smiled, and said in a sing-song voice, "Just a minute or two, now..."

It was actually closer to three minutes later that a Great Horned Owl carrying a small package flew over the six of them and unceremoniously dropped a small wrapped package in front of Luna before landing in front of her. She dug a few owl treats out of her robes, gave them to the owl, and gently stroked its head for a few moments before fastening a note to its foot and whispering, "Give my love to Daddy." The owl softly hooted at Luna, and took off.

"Was that Roti?" Harry asked his girlfriend.

Luna nodded. "Mummy got him from America – she fell in love with Great Horned Owls when we went to the States. She thought they were very majestic. Daddy likes that they're large enough to carry large packages." She looked at the package in question, and said "Daddy sent a note." She opened it and read.

Dear Moonbeam,

Here is your copy of the special edition. I've included Harry's with yours, and the four extras you requested. Hopefully we'll have more deliveries to Hogwarts shortly!

I trust Harry will be happy with the interview. You can tell him I got his owl, and his subscription will begin with the April issue. I was very glad to hear you liked his birthday gift to you – I felt bad misleading you about the book, but it was worth it to hear you liked the surprise so much.

You can tell your friend Ginny that her brother Bill says hello. He was by for a few days this week – he's certainly grown up from the young man I remember!

Love always,

Daddy

"You subscribed!" Luna said, giving Harry's hand a squeeze.

"Well, I didn't want to keep borrowing yours," he said a little sheepishly, seeing Ron's grin at him.

"Oh, Ginny, Daddy said Bill says 'Hello'. Apparently he's been by my house this week," Luna said.

"Why'd Bill go to your place?" Ron asked.

"Daddy didn't say. I imagine he was just being neighbourly."

Hermione couldn't contain herself any longer. "Are you going to open them up?"

"Of course," Luna said. "But it's like when you get a gift. Don't you read the card first?"

"Never," Ron said, shaking his head, which caused Lavender to laugh and Hermione to roll her eyes.

Luna opened the package to reveal six copies of The Quibbler. She gave one to Harry, took one for herself, and kept the remaining four folded up. The cover showed a candid picture of Harry that he recognized as having been taken shortly before the start of the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, although Harry didn't recall having seen this picture before. Harry was looking back and forth in the picture, looking grimly determined upon the Task ahead of him. Printed on the cover it the magazine's usual screaming block letters was: "EXCLUSIVE! HARRY POTTER IN HIS OWN WORDS: HIS ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW!"

"Are you going to give us each one?" Ginny asked.

"I wanted to circulate these among each of the houses, but I suppose you can read them first," Luna said, passing the remaining copies out.

Harry opened his issue, which was much thinner than normal – just eight pages. It appeared to be devoid of advertising, and had only two articles: Harry's interview with Mr. Lovegood, and an editorial at the end. The interior of the special edition was devoid of pictures, but had select quotations from the interview printed in a larger, bolder typeface. A quick perusal of the interview showed that it was basically a verbatim transcript of his discussion with Mr. Lovegood, apart from the "off-the-record" moments, and a number of "ums-and-ahs" that Luna's father had mercifully removed. Mr. Lovegood's questions came off as professional and serious, rather different than the magazine's usual light-hearted tone.

The interview itself looked far more coherent than Harry remembered it to be. He could see where the phrasing or approach he used was suggested by Hermione or Luna, but for the most part, the thoughts were purely his. The interview laid out the background of Voldemort's return, the true story of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the Ministry's head-in-the-sand approach (or, Harry smiled thinking of Mr. Lovegood's metaphor, their "Russet Marshyoller" approach) since then, and the whitewashing of the recent Azbakan breakout. He was especially proud of the section where he named Death Eaters who were there in the graveyard at Voldemort's beckoning, and how he offered to apologize if anyone he mentioned publicly repudiated Voldemort.

Harry did not expect anyone to take him up on that offer.

Having read quickly through the interview, he turned to Mr. Lovegood's editorial.

WAKE UP!

On October 31st, 1981, an infant's parents were brutally murdered by the most powerful Dark wizard these islands had ever seen. This was sadly a common occurrence during that decade-long conflict, but this murder was different: having slain the parents, the Dark wizard in question attempted to kill the infant, but by some unknown mechanism, was himself slain by the child. The Dark wizard, of course, was He Who Must Not Be Named, and the infant was Harry Potter.

Young Mister Potter was hailed as a brave hero and feted by our nation, its Ministry, its press, and its people. All was well! Harry Potter had saved the day. With the evil one vanquished, we turned our back upon the horrors of the seventies, and blissfully forgot. His minions went unprosecuted, or were hastily pardoned by a nation that didn't want to dwell on the past. Some Death Eaters were in Azkaban, and that was good enough for the Ministry, and good enough for us. No more worries to interrupt our sleep!

So when the same Harry Potter who was lauded as our saviour for a decade and a half returned from the last task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, telling of the return of He Who Must Not Be Named, it is not surprising that we would rather turn over and go back to bed than deal with the problem. Easier for the Ministry to rush Barty Crouch Jr. to the Dementor's Kiss than to properly interrogate him. Easier for the Ministry's propagandists to cast Harry Potter, our hero of the previous fourteen years, as a delusional liar. Easier for all of us to go on sleepwalking than to wake up.

But He Who Must Not Be Named is no mere nightmare. He is real. He is back. Harry Potter, his greatest enemy, saw him with his own eyes, as you have read in his interview. Albus Dumbledore, the most respected wizard of the century, until this last year's character assassination, agrees. Who do we choose to believe: the victor over Grindelwald and the victor over He Who Must Not Be Named, or Cornelius Fudge, whose greatest victory was being selected as Minister for lack of any other viable candidate?

The Ministry tells us the Azkaban breakout was entirely due to Sirius Black. Leaving aside the fact that it was on this Minister's watch that the alledged Death Eater escaped in 1993, would Black really risk recapture to set the other Death Eater's free, rather than spend his time on some tropical island far from the reach of the British Ministry? And if the Ministry does happen to be correct, and Black has broken out his erstwhile Death Eater comrades, does that not imply they are planning something large? Does is not raise concerns about for Whom they maybe working?

The Minister may try and avoid the pressing questions raised by Mr. Potter, but unlike him, thinking Britons cannot. Cornelius Fudge must show himself worthy of the office he holds and take action about He Who Must Not Be Named's return, and his jackals at the "Daily Prophet" must cease these attacked against a brave and honest young man, or Fudge must be removed by the Wizengamot.

If they do not wake up, the rest of us may find ourselves in a very real nightmare from which waking up make prove impossible for us all.

This was a far more lucid editorial than Harry had expected from The Quibbler. Harry supposed that when dealing with serious news, Mr. Lovegood liked to take a serious tone, while when dealing with The Quibbler's usual subjects of conspiracies, 'fringe' news, and cryptomagizoology, he took a more whimsical and lighthearted tone.

Harry closed the magazine and looked at his friends. Hermione and Luna had already finished. Ginny was intermittently looking at him while reading the interview, while Lavender gasped occasionally.

"What do you think?" Luna asked.

"I'm surprised how sensible I sound. I wonder how much editing your dad had to do to it. I thought the editorial was really good."

"I thought so too," added Hermione. "You came off great in the interview, and the editorial made Harry's point really well."

"Well, Daddy has been doing this for nearly thirty years," Luna pointed out, obviously proud of her father.

Ginny looked at Harry. "I didn't realize..." she began. "I mean, I knew what happened, but... I mean... how do you even cope with all that? Cedric murdered in front of you? Being tied up in front of the man who murdered your parents? It's one thing to know you went through this, but to read it in your own words..."

Lavender said, "I'm so sorry I didn't know whether to believe you or not at the beginning of the year, and that I took Seamus' doubts seriously."

"You weren't the only one, Lavender," Harry said.

"I know, but..." she tapered off.

"This is going to change a lot of minds, mate," Ron said.

"Assuming anyone reads it and takes me seriously," Harry said.

"Oh, they will," Luna said confidently. "That's why I asked Daddy for four extra copies. Ginny, could you circulate one around Gryffindor?" When her red-haired friend nodded, Luna said, "I think I'll give Hannah Abbott one to spread around Hufflepuff. Harry, could you ask Cho to do the same in Ravenclaw? Most of the other Ravenclaws don't listen to me very much, although Morgana is these days, but they do listen to Cho, and she'll listen if you ask her, I think."

Harry frowned at the continued lack of respect Luna's housemates showed her, but he agreed to talk to Cho.

Luna went on, "I don't know who to go to in Slytherin. I'd give it to Millie..."

Ron scoffed. "Bulstrode? She'd likely just rip it up and punch you for your troubles."

"Oh, I don't think Millie would punch me – she's never been particularly mean to me – but you're probably right about ripping it up, Ron. Are there any Slytherins any of you are close to?"

"Why even bother with the bloody snakes? They're never going to believe Harry," Ron said, his voice full of scorn.

Luna shrugged. "You have to give them a chance, Ron. You never know unless you try. Maybe I'll try and talk to Georgina Vector."

"Uh, Luna, love," Harry gently pointed out, not noticing the looks of surprise on the faces of the others at the table at his choice of endearment, "Georgina called me a 'deviant', remember? Is she really going to believe anything about me?"

As Ron laughed at the word "deviant," Luna said, "I suppose, but she's not really mean to me, and I know she doesn't like Lucretia or Jocasta, so she may help. As I said, it's worth a try."

"Unless she goes running to Umbridge," Hermione pointed out.

Harry said, "I think Umbridge will find out soon enough anyway. The Ministry will likely get a hold of her in a few hours, I would think."

Luna shook her head. "They won't contact her until Monday. That's why Daddy waited until just after the end of work on Saturday to have them delivered. No one will be working at the Ministry until Monday, except Aurors and Unspeakables. Certainly not the Minister or the decision-makers. They don't want to give up their weekends, you know."

"That's quite cynical for you," Hermione pointed out. "How can you be sure?"

"Oh, I don't think it's cynical at all. Just realistic," Luna said. "Daddy's been paying attention for years. He's not the only one – You-Know-Who always made his major moves on Saturdays nights or Sundays to keep the Ministry flatfooted, and to gain a day before the Ministry could react. Daddy's simply using the same tactic." She wrapped her arm around Harry's waist, gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, and said quietly, "Hallowe'en in 1981 was a Saturday, you know."

Harry gave her a quick kiss back, and no one said anything for a few minutes.

Colin and Dennis Creevey came into the Great Hall, and Ginny got Colin's attention and waved him over to them. As the brothers approached, Colin caught sight of the cover of The Quibbler. "That's my photo!" he said to Luna. "Your dad printed it! I sent him some of my photos right after you said I should in January. I didn't think he actually would."

"Mr. Lovegood gave you proper credit, too," Hermione pointed out, showing Colin the attribution on page two, which caused the younger boy to blush with sheepish pride.

Colin and Dennis read the article quickly, and Colin said to Harry, "It's great you're getting the word out, Harry. Dennis and I have been telling everyone we know, but now everyone will believe you!"

"Not everyone reads The Quibbler," Harry said.

"When they see your face on the cover they will," Colin disagreed. "You're a hero. Everyone will listen to you."

Bristling slightly at that word, Harry said, "They haven't so far."

"But you haven't gone to the media before. They've just heard the Prophet's lies. Now that you've spoken out, they'll have to pay attention to what you say, and when they do, people will see the truth," Colin said.

"Thanks, Colin."

"Dennis, go owl The Quibbler and order an issue for Mum and Dad. They'll want to read this," Colin said to his brother. As the younger Creevey ran off, Colin said, "We've told them all about you Harry. They'll want to read this."

Harry nodded, and grabbed a copy. "I'm going to go talk to Cho," he said.

"I'll take one to Hannah," Hermione said.

"And I'll try and get to Georgina, but I think I'll do it after supper," said Luna.

"Will you eat with us, Luna?" Ginny asked.

Luna smiled warmly at her oldest friend. "I'd love to, thank you." Turning to her boyfriend, she smiled sweetly and said, "Hurry back, Harry!"

He squeezed her hand in response as he left.

March 3, 1996

Harry and Luna left the Great Hall together after lunch, intending to go for a walk on the castle grounds. They had eaten lunch at their own respective tables today, partly because it was good to connect with their houses, partly because they planned on spending a few hours together in the afternoon, but mostly to gauge the response of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw to the interview.

Gryffindor overwhelmingly believed Harry. He wasn't surprised by this, given the strength of Dumbledore's Army in his house, but he was gratified all the same. Seamus once again apologized for any doubts he had had, although Harry had long since forgiven him. The least positive response was from sixth-year Cormac McLaggen, who simply said it was "interesting, I suppose, but it's in The Quibbler. It's not exactly the Daily Prophet, is it?"

Harry response was simply, "No, it isn't. You can tell, because this interview, unlike anything in the Prophet, is the truth."

McLaggen just scoffed at that.

Luna reported that the reaction in Ravenclaw was more mixed. Many of the children of the oldest families refused to believe it at all. Some others refused to believe it because of how much they disliked Luna – Melanie and Deirdre being foremost among them. There were a few outright positive reactions, mostly from members of the D.A., with Cho Chang and Michael Corner being the most positive. Michael had even come up to her after reading it, and said, "That was a good interview your father did, Loony. Good stuff." Most were somewhere in the middle, although most leaned one way or the other. Zachary Stonetower was sceptical but inclined to believe Harry, for example, while Marietta Edgecombe was far more doubtful. Philip Yell spoke for most of the undecideds, however, when Luna heard him say to his roommate Thomas Fairweather, "Well, it make sense, I suppose, what Harry's saying, but on the other hand, it's Loony's dad's magazine. Who knows what to believe?"

Philip did not say anything directly to Luna, however. "Some people are just slow to change," she said to Harry about Philip.

When Harry asked how Morgana reacted, Luna smiled. "She said she believed every word. We actually talked about it late into the night, until Melanie started throwing her socks at us, yelling for us to shut up." Seeing the look of anger come across Harry's face, she touched his arm gently, and said, "It was nearly one in the morning. We were up quite late. You don't need to have another 'chat' with her. They've both ignored me otherwise, which is better than it used to be." She leaned in close, and said, "I think they've been attracting all the wrackspurts in the room, these days. It would explain a lot. I'd help them, but they never want to listen to me."

Harry gave his girlfriend's hand a gentle squeeze as he smiled at Luna being Luna, something that he loved about her.

Hermione had made Hannah their contact in Hufflepuff. From what the blonde girl had reported, reaction was broadly similar to that of Ravenclaw, although it leaned more towards Harry than against him, with D.A. members once again being the most positive. Apparently Hannah's new boyfriend Henry Hartman had made an impromptu speech in the common room in favour of Harry, saying that all the Hufflepuffs should support Harry, because "You-Know-Who killed Cedric. Cedric was one of us. Cedric would have wanted us to support Harry, and we can't let his death be for nought," which got a very positive response from the other Hufflepuffs.

During lunch, Harry noticed Mr. Lovegood's barn owl, Curry, drop a message in front of Luna. Apparently her father had so many orders for the special edition that The Quibbler had to make a second printing. Harry had noticed a lot more copies floating around Hogwarts than the four Luna had circulated.

"That's the first time Daddy's had to do that since the issue on the rash of Blibbering Humdinger sightings in the Isles of Scilly back in 1984!" she said excitedly. "Apparently there's been so many owls flying around my house that it's starting to attract hungry kneazles."

As they left the Great Hall and headed towards the castle gates, Draco Malfoy and Gregory Goyle marched up to them. "You've got some nerve, Potter," he spat.

"Of course he does, Draco," Luna said, smiling. "He's a Gryffindor. If he didn't have some nerve, the Sorting Hat wouldn't have put him there."

"That's not... I meant... Look, silence your little twit girlfriend, Potter!" Draco said, flustered.

"Watch it, Malfoy," Harry said, reaching for his wand.

"You watch it, Scarhead. How dare you? How dare you call my father a Death Eater, and how dare you get this loony's nutty father to print it?"

"I'm surprised you read the interview, Malfoy."

"I didn't. I wouldn't touch that filthy rag with that oaf gamekeeper's umbrella. Someone told me about it," Draco said smugly.

"Who? We know Goyle here didn't read it for you, as it was a little more advanced than 'See Spot Run'."

None of the three purebloods in the hallway understood the reference, and Draco said, "That doesn't matter."

"You father admitted to being a Death Eater, Malfoy," Harry said.

"He was under..."

"...the Imperius Curse," Harry joined in with Draco.

"He was!"

"Then all he has to do is repudiate Voldemort," Harry emphasized as Draco winced, "publicly, say he doesn't support him, has never supported him, and would never support murderous slime such as him. And I will apologize to your father. In print and in person. I'll even apologize to you, right in the Great Hall at supper, if your father renounces Voldemort and you do too. And seeing as you keep saying he's not back, it shouldn't be a problem for him, or you, should it?"

Draco was fuming. "When my father hears about this..."

"What? He'll suck up further to Voldemort like the lickspittle Death Eater he is? Just like you do?"

"You'll be sorry, Potter. You'll pay for that. You and her."

Harry laughed. "You keep saying that. What, is your father going to slip me another one of Voldemort's cursed diaries? We haven't forgotten what you did to Ginny, and I haven't forgotten that your Death Eater daddy was there in that graveyard, grovelling in front of Voldemort like the worm he his, over Cedric's body!"

"You're lucky we met here Potter, or they'd be mopping you and Loony up with a sponge," Draco said as Goyle cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"You mean when you don't outnumber me? Typical. Where is Crabbe, anyway? Detention for beating up a first-year?" Harry said.

"Oh, no, Harry," Luna said in her dreamy voice. "I heard it was a second-year."

Draco turned to Luna. "At least we know now why Potter's with you. It's obviously not for your looks or brains, not that Potty could do any better than you, but its because your father has a printing press. How does it feel to be used for your father's magazine, Loony? Although I suppose you're happy anyone's using you for anything."

Luna tilted her head and looked wide-eyed at Draco. "I feel sorry for you, Draco. What a childhood you must have had, to be so cynical. Daddy printed Harry's story because it was the truth. He would have done so even if we weren't together."

Draco scoffed. "He's using you, and you're so pathetic you don't even realize it." He smirked. "But I bet that's not all he's using you for, is he, Loony, you slag?" Draco and Goyle both laughed at that.

Harry had heard a lot of terrible things from Draco Malfoy over the years, but this topped them all. Harry felt anger and rage at Draco welling up inside of him. He growled, "Shut your damn mouth, you..." as he furiously advanced toward Draco.

Luna moved quickly, struggling to hold him back. It was a losing battle for her until she said calmly to Harry, "It's okay, Harry. It's okay. Ignore him. We know it's a lie." Shaking her head at Draco, she said, "You really don't understand love, Draco. Poor Pansy."

Ignoring the reference to Pansy, Draco laughed at Luna, and Goyle joined in. "Love?" Draco said derisively. "What could you know about that? Who would ever love the likes of you?"

Harry stepped right up to Draco, and said in a low, calm, threatening voice, "Who wouldn't? Go away, Malfoy. Go whine some more to Daddy."

Fuming, Draco turned around. Harry got in one parting shot as he left, "I see you got over your 'injury' pretty quickly. I'm surprised you're not still faking it in the Hospital Wing." Seeing Draco's response, he commented to Luna, "Huh. I didn't know a Malfoy would be one to use the two-finger salute."

Luna put her arm around his waist. "That was probably unnecessary, Harry. Draco's only going to get angrier."

Harry shook his head. "How could things get worse with him? He dishes this crap out all the time, to me, to my friends, to you, to everyone. He can take some of it back."

"I hope so," she said. "Thank you for defending me." She looked around and gave him a quick kiss.

"Thank you for defending me, love."

"I like it when you call me that," she said, doing her best to look smoulderingly at him.

He smouldered right back at her. "I hoped you would. Now let's get out of here and go for that walk." He tightly wrapped his own arm around her waist and they left the castle.

Dolores Umbridge was not having a good day. She woke that morning to find that that rag The Quibbler had devoted an entire special edition to the scurrilous lies of the Potter brat. Bad enough that Potter had managed to give an interview to Xenophilius Lovegood somehow – she hadn't been aware that the lunatic editor had been anywhere near Hogwarts, and she was certain Potter hadn't gone beyond Hogsmeade since New Year's. Bad enough that the issue was apparently flying off the shelves, making it less likely that any pressure could be successfully brought against newsstands and bookstores for selling the magazine. No, Lovegood had to choose this moment to write a coherent, normal issue! Not a mention of his fake creatures at all!

This would make it even harder to discredit the interview. Oh, she'd make sure it was discredited, but it wouldn't be as easy as in a normal issue of The Quibbler.

The worst part of it all was that the Minister wasn't available. He usually spent weekends either at home, or his beach house near Saint-Tropez in the French Riviera, but she wasn't able to reach him by Floo anywhere, and he hadn't returned her owl. They needed to plan strategy, to deal with this, to get the Prophet onside, but how could they do that when he was unavailable! She was at her post every day and every night, and it irritated her that he didn't show the same dedication. She was suffering through life at this benighted school this for him, after all!

She wanted to punish Potter, and his little girlfriend, Lovegood's daughter, make them pay for the lies Potter told in her father's rag, but the Minister had specifically forbidden her from using her Blood Quill on anyone, or indeed from punishing the two little wretches unless it was for something the other professors would punish them. Her hands were tied at the moment, and she didn't think this qualified as the "crisis" that the Minister had referred to at their last meeting.

In addition to punishing Potter and Lovegood, she wanted to make possession of that bloody rag grounds for expulsion, but while the Minister had given her power to correct the school rules at her desire, this did not extend to expelling the students. Any Educational Decree giving grounds for expulsion had to be approved by the Minister.

But he wasn't available!

Dolores was descending into a spiral of frustration when she heard a knock at the door of her office, and a tentative, "Professor?" from a young girl's voice.

This surprised Dolores, as students didn't usually voluntarily enter her domain, which is how she preferred it. What was the old Latin phrase? Ah yes, oderint dum metuant. "Let them hate, so long as they fear."

There was a reason Latin was part of the "classics."

While the sentiment usually suited Dolores just fine, sometimes conversations with the students could be useful. Just in case, she put on her sweetest voice, and said, "Come in, dear."

Dolores recognized the small black-haired girl who entered as one of the fourth-year Slytherins. Jocasta Drake, that was it. Obedient girl. This should be almost bearable.

"Don't be shy, Miss Drake. Have a seat. Can I get you some tea?" she said sweetly.

"Thank you, Professor. With honey, if you have it," Jocasta said.

Dolores handed the girl a china teacup. "What brings you here, dear? Shouldn't you be studying with your friends?"

"I'm sorry for bothering you, Professor, but I thought you should see this," the girl said, handing Dolores a copy of The Quibbler. "A bunch of the students are reading this. Harry Potter is spreading lies again. He's saying horrible things about the Minister. I thought you should know," she added meekly.

"I already do, dear, but thank you for bringing that to my attention. The Minister and I are aware of this, this fabrication, and we are dealing with it," she lied.

Jocasta seemed relieved. "Thank you, Professor. I didn't think Potter and Loony would get away with spreading such lies." The antipathy she laced Lovegood's nickname with surprised and gladdened Dolores.

"They won't dear, but thank you for bringing it to me. I'm still new here, and it's good to know who one's friends are. And I'm glad the Minister and I have a loyal friend in you, Miss Drake."

"Oh, you do!" the girl said enthusiastically. "There's loads of us, I mean, many of us, in Slytherin house especially, who are loyal, and don't believe a word those two say."

"I'm glad to hear that, Miss Drake. And I'm very glad at the initiative you've shown. There may be some opportunities in the near future for bright, loyal students such as yourself to truly show their support for the Ministry. Would that be something you're interested in?"

Jocasta nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, Professor, it would be!"

"Good. We'll talk again, soon. I dare say you have a bright future ahead of you, dear. Here, have a biscuit, and off you go to your friends. I'd like to know of any other loyal students you know who would be interested in such an opportunity, as well. Do you think you could find out who would want to take advantage of such a chance?"

"I do, Professor. Thank you, Professor!" she said.

"Off you go, dear. I'll see you in class on Tuesday." Dolores smiled as Jocasta left her office. Yes, Miss Drake didn't like Lovegood at all. This could be useful.

Dolores' resulting smile was wide and genuine. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

March 4, 1996.

At noon, a new notice appeared in the Great Hall, and all over the castle.

EDUCATIONAL DECREE No. 27

Any student found possessing, reading, or listening to any banned media (see Schedule) will be expelled.

Below it was attached another sheet.

SCHEDULE TO E.D.27

List of banned media:

The Quibbler

"Damn Umbridge," muttered Ron, seeing this.

"Ronald!" Hermione said.

"I can't believe she'd do this," he said.

Harry shook his head. "I was expecting this – it's typical for her. Banning The Quibbler – I bet she's wanted to do this all along."

"It's worse than that, Harry," Hermione said. "I think it's only the beginning – otherwise she wouldn't have added the Schedule to it." Seeing the expressions on her friends' faces, she explained, "Now she can just add to the list. At will."

Ron groaned. "Great. Goodbye Quidditch papers!"

"Imagine how Seamus and Dean feel. She'll probably ban all their lad's mags !" Harry added with a smirk.

"Or their other mags," Ron said, but upon seeing Hermione's expression, added, "that they've talked about but have never, ever shown Harry or me."

"You're a prefect!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing up her hands.

"So? I know for a fact Luna's Dad has sent you Quibblers. Should I turn you in?"

"That's different and you know it, Ron. Umbridge is stifling freedom of the press. Those other publications shouldn't be in a school dorm. They're offensive," she pointed out.

"Uh-huh. And I suppose your roommates never had magazines showing a bunch of handsome muscly guys posing shirtless?" Ron asked.

"Not that they ever showed me, they didn't."

"Probably worried you'd just get them taken away," Ron said.

"Uh, Ron, it doesn't bother you that Lavender might have some magazines like that?" Harry asked.

"Nah. She had to make do with something before she had the real thing," he said with a jaunty grin.

"Ronald!" Hermione looked scandalized.

"Anyway, I've already stopped by my dorm to transfigure the cover of my Quibbler to something else," Harry said.

"Yeah, I was wondering why you had a copy of Herbology Today on your bed," Ron said.

"I transfigured mine, too," Hermione added. "I imagine lots of people will."

"Luna will have a lot of transfiguration to do. I bet we'll see a bunch of people's copies in the rubbish, though," Harry said.

"Maybe, but they'll still have read them," Ron pointed out. "I'll meet you for lunch in a moment. I'm just going to warn, er, talk to Dean and Seamus."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her retreating friend.

There were times Cornelius Fudge thought it would have been better to leave Dolores Umbridge in London. By and large, she had done sterling work up in Scotland. Dumbledore was on the defensive. The Ministry was having more of a say in the school curriculum. One useless teacher was gone, and more were likely on the way, including that oaf Hagrid, who Cornelius was still convinced had something to do with that dreadful Chamber of Secrets business three years ago. He was getting regular reports on what was going on at Hogwarts without having to rely on Lucius Malfoy who, while always a reliable supporter of the Ministry, still had a certain taint about his reputation, even after fifteen years.

His eyes flicked to the magazine on his desk.

But this was the second fire in a just over a week that was directly linked to Dolores' actions. First the business with the Blood Quill – he still honestly didn't know what Dolores was thinking! – and now this hassle.

The women in question was cooling her heels in the atrium to his office. Even his most reliable supporters still needed to be shown who was in charge every now and then, especially in times like this.

He tapped a small box on his desk with his wand. "Send her in, Trudy," he spoke into the box.

"Yes, Minister," came the voice of his secretary.

Moments later, Dolores strode into his office, not showing an ounce of contrition on her face.

"How was your weekend, Dolores?" he asked. As she began to answer, he cut her off. "Mine was lovely. Euphemia and I went to the beach house, had some lovely mussels we bought in the village. The mayor of Petite-Genais-en-Draguignan, that's the local magical village, brought his wife over along with a lovely bottle of wine, and we played bridge all Sunday. Then what do I come back to? This." Cornelius pointed to the special edition of The Quibbler which lay on his desk.

"Lovegood has finally given us the reason we need to shut his treasonous hate machine down, Minister!" she said happily. "If this isn't sedition, I don't know what is. We should have shut it down years ago, Minister."

Cornelius covered his eyes with his hand. "Have you ever heard of a safety valve, Dolores? The Quibbler gives our opponents a place to voice their opinion. It conveniently does this in a forum that is extremely barmy and has no reputation for truth. It's quite handy for us to have all of our opponents associated with Lovegood's quackery – it concentrates them and discredits them, all at once. Why on earth would I want to shut it down?"

"But what he prints, Minister! Insulting, treacherous lunacy!" she sputtered.

"Exactly. Lunacy. If the people who oppose the Ministry's agenda are associated with a publication that says I bake goblins into pies, well, they're hardly credible, now, are they?"

"But what Potter said, Minister..."

"Yes. What Potter said. Do you still think using a Blood Quill on him was a good idea? Do you still think using it on his girlfriend, Miss Lovegood," he said, tapping the magazine, "as punishment to Potter, was a good idea?"

"We have no proof this is related to that, Minister," Dolores began.

"Oh, come now. A week ago, you're in my office telling me how it was a good idea to use that damned Quill on Potter and Lovegood, and now I'm reading about him practically calling me a shortsighted weakling, and you think they're unrelated?"

"He could have spoken to Xenophilius Lovegood before that incident," she said.

"But not likely before you started giving her detention."

"He didn't accuse me of anything in the article," she said in her defence.

"Because he was too busy talking about me! Spreading rumours! Panicking the public!"

Dolores didn't answer that.

"So now I have to do damage control. Again."

"It's still only The Quibbler, Minister."

"Yes, but have you actually read this issue? There's not one mention of bizarre conspiracies or imaginary animals. It sounds credible. It sounds plausible, even though we know it's complete rubbish. The editorial practically calls for a non-confidence vote. It comes across like something in the Prophet," he said.

"The Prophet would never print an interview with Potter," Dolores pointed out.

"The editor of the Prophet would have given his wand for an interview with him just nine months ago."

"You did allow me to ban that rag at Hogwarts, Minister. I still say we should ban The Quibbler throughout Britain, or cut off newsprint supplies, or something similar. That might drive Lovegood out of Britain, or at least back to the Muggles, and we wouldn't have to deal with him again," she said, hopefully.

"Safety valve. Remember?" Cornelius responded.

"You could sue him personally for libel," she said. "Send him to Azkaban."

"You're assuming we would win in court, Dolores, which is not guaranteed. Remember Potter's trial? In any event, I do not want to make a martyr of Xenophilius Lovegood, which is what sending him to Azkaban for criminal libel would do. And I do not want to sue him civilly, because I don't want to drive his magazine underground where it would be harder to monitor. Again, that's even if we won. If we sued him and didn't win, we'd just look like idiots."

"Can I at least expel Potter for talking to a reporter?"

"After we begged him to do so last year? I don't think so. I said don't want a martyr. If he gets expelled, it needs to be for something legitimate, not some ex post facto nonsense."

"We should at least ban speaking to reporters or being quoted in the media, so we don't have to worry about it again."

Cornelius thought about this. "That's not a bad idea. We'll make a new Educational Decree. But I'll promulgate it on Wednesday afternoon, I think."

"Minister?"

"Lucius Malfoy was in to see me earlier. As you can imagine, he's quite livid about being called a supporter of Lord Thingy by Potter. His son had an interesting idea. Make sure you make young Mr. Malfoy as available as he needs to be for the next few days, will you?"

"Yes, Minister."

Dolores Umbridge was livid. That was practically a dressing down! The nerve of that man.

She might have to consider distancing herself from Fudge, finding another high flyer to support.

She still thought driving the Lovegoods out of Britain, or out of the Wizarding world entirely, was a good idea, but Fudge didn't want a martyr, much less two.

Wait.

She smiled. There was one way to skin a kneazle. She'd contact Fudge in a few days – she'd need his approval for this. She rather thought he would give it.

[A/N: "Oderint dum metuant" is attributed to Caligula, although I first encountered it in the classic Harry Turtledove story "The Last Article"."Petite-Genais-en-Draguignan" means, roughly, "the people of Draguignan, who aren't bothered very much." Or so I think (and so my beta reader, the inestimable MandibleBones, confirms). Grade 13 French was a long time ago!

Edited on June 3, 2012, to fix some typos and incorporate a suggestion from JJ Rust, whose works you should be checking out it you haven't already.]

11. 10: Carrot and Sticks

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

This chapter makes brief mention of unwarranted incarceration in a mental institution. Be advised.

Chapter 10 – Carrot and Sticks

March 6, 1996

Harry Potter was surprised there hadn't been more consequences to his interview in The Quibbler when entered the Great Hall on his own early Wednesday morning. He thought Umbridge would have passed this decree sooner than she had, but he found the reactions of the High Inquisitor this week somewhat baffling. Other than a reminder to the student body at supper on Monday evening that anyone caught with a copy of any issue of The Quibbler would be expelled from Hogwarts summarily, she hadn't mentioned the incident. She hadn't taunted him or insulted him in Defence Against the Dark Arts on Monday, she hadn't given him detention, just treated him with cold indifference, which was fine by Harry. Apparently she had treated Luna the same way during her Defence class on Tuesday.

Harry expected detention, "lines" with the Blood Quill, being threatened with expulsion. Not simply looks of disdain. The whole thing had gone better than he expected.

He quickly wolfed down some bangers, mash, and cold toast, before hurrying off to the library to finish his Astronomy essay on the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter two summers previous. He smiled thinking of how he had heard some of the more bigoted Slytherins griping about how Professor Sinistra made heavy use of pictures from Muggle space probes and orbiting telescopes in teaching about the comet. Harry thought about how Hermione had been talking in the common room yesterday about all kinds of things Muggle technology could do which Wizards simply couldn't replicate, like exploration of outer space, or movement of large numbers of people quickly over vast distances, which had Neville and Parvati listening intently, and Dean agreeing loudly with Hermione.

Ron and Lavender hadn't been paying attention during Hermione's speech, though, being too busy cuddling and comparing the lines on their palms.

And so Harry paid no attention to the owls flying into the Great Hall as he was leaving it, and didn't see that his face was once again on the front page of the Daily Prophet, next to a blurry photo of Luna Lovegood.

People were snickering at Luna as she ate breakfast that morning alone at the Ravenclaw table, but she didn't mind. She was used to it. She had come in later than she normally did, as she knew she wouldn't be seeing Harry in the Great Hall that morning. Her mind was not on some of her fellow students pointing and laughing at her – that was a usual occurrence for the young woman – as she dipped her bangers and bacon in a small bowl of maple syrup before popping each one in her mouth and savouring the combinations of flavours.

She spent the walk to her Potions class humming her mother's tune and skipping happily down the hallway, thinking about her father, her boyfriend Harry, her friend Ginny, her new friend Lavender Brown, and how much better her life had been this year. She thought about how she had to spend a few hours on Monday transfiguring all of her Quibblers to look like issues of Teen Witch Monthly, and how Lavender had let her borrow her own copies of the popular girls' magazine to make them look authentic. Lavender had also made a few comments about how she thought Luna might enjoy some of the articles about how young witch could keep their boyfriends "coming back for more," with a comment about how Luna probably didn't need the tips, seeing as how "over the moon" Harry was about her. Lavender collapsed into giggles at her own double entendre, and Luna smiled genuinely at Lavender – it was a much nicer to have a friend have fun with her name by making a racy pun than how students usually made fun of her name.

She didn't pay attention to the looks of the fourth-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as she took her seat in Potions, next to her roommate Morgana Dempster. She didn't pay attention to the laughing of her other roommates, Deirdre Cholmondeley and Melanie Maxwell, or Deirdre's boyfriend Arcas McNeil stage-whispering to Deirdre "I don't know how you can stand rooming with that nutter" loud enough to ensure the whole class heard.

She was only snapped out of her reverie when Prissy Kempe of Hufflepuff came up to her and asked, "It's a lie, isn't it? You really wouldn't do that to Harry... would you?"

Luna began to tell the girl that she had didn't know what she was talking about, when Morgana tugged on the sleeve of her robes, and said urgently, "Luna, have you seen this morning's Prophet?" in a worried tone.

"Oh, I never read the Prophet. It's always full of lies about Harry," Luna said cheerfully. "I'm sure today's is no different."

"I really think you should read it," Morgana said urgently, pulling a copy out of her book bag and handing it to Luna.

Under the masthead and were two pictures which together took up almost half the space above the fold: one was a picture of Harry looking stunned and harassed, which Luna suspected it was taken just after his acquittal from his "trial" for defending his cousin from Dementors, and one was an very blurry photo of Luna running out of Greenhouse Two, covered in dirt. Luna recognized the picture as having just been taken on Monday afternoon, as she was late getting for Transfiguration after a long Herbology lesson. Underneath the photos was the headline: "The Boy-Who-Lied: Bewitched?" with a direction to see inside on page six.

She had just began turning to the story when Professor Snape strode into the room, robes billowing behind him. He looked at Luna, and said derisively, "Five points from Ravenclaw. You can read about your exploits on your own time, Miss Lovegood."

After the resulting laughter of half the Ravenclaws and about a third of the Hufflepuffs, Snape continued. "As I'm sure you're aware, Miss Lovegood, potions are in the news today. Love potions, specifically. Tell me, Miss Lovegood, what is the most powerful known love potion?"

Luna felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had thought this rumour had went away a month ago, but obviously the Prophet had picked it up, undoubtedly as some Ministry-orchestrated retaliation against Harry for his interview with her father. She could feel the eyes of all the other students upon her, waiting for her to answer: some hoping she would be unable to answer Snape, and look stupid; others hoping she would, and "prove" the Prophet right.

At heart, though, Luna was a Ravenclaw, and one who enjoyed the study of potions enough to be well read in the subject beyond her classwork. "Amortentia, Professor," she answered in her usual dreamy tones.

"Correct, Miss Lovegood. I'm sure we all expected no less from you," Snape said to the chuckles of the students who had laughed previously. "And what else can you tell us about Amortentia?"

Luna could feel all eyes upon her. This wouldn't overly bother her – she was used to being laughed at, and while it hurt to be an object of ridicule, if that was the price that must be paid to be true to herself, she would gladly pay that toll. She also no longer worried that Harry would believe the renewed rumours – he had told her he loved her, and she knew he trusted her – nor did she worry about the opinions of her new friends. She didn't want to be the cause of people who might be swayed into believing Harry ridiculing him instead, but ultimately she believed "truth will out." Therefore, despite knowing that Snape would ridicule her further, and her classmates might believe what apparently was written in the Prophet,she answered her potions professor.

"Even though it's called a 'love' potion, Professor, it doesn't create true feelings of love. Amortentia will cause the drinker to be infatuated with the brewer, although it does wear off after time. It smells like whatever the person smelling it finds most attractive," she answered.

For a fleeting moment, Snape actually looked impressed, but that look quickly went away. "One point to Ravenclaw. That is very advanced potions knowledge, Miss Lovegood – you would not normally be studying Amortentia until your sixth year. That raises the question of why you would know such things, of course," he said slyly.

"Oh, I find it's always important to know as much as you can about potions. Wouldn't you agree, Professor?" she said.

"Yes," he said with a cruel grin. "I'm sure we all agree that that is the reason you know all about the topic."

Much of the class erupted in laughter again. At least Morgana was frowning at Snape.

"Now open your books. Tell me, Miss Maxwell, what are the uses of Dittany?"

Potions didn't really improve for Luna after that. Professor Snape made the occasional snide comment, and when her Calming Draught turned out excellent, he said, "Satisfactory. Not as newsworthy as your other recent endeavours, but satisfactory," to the laughter of some of the other students.

Luna had half a mind to avoid the Great Hall completely at lunch and read the Prophet in an empty classroom, but was unwilling to be driven into hiding by the news story. She wanted to show support for Harry, as well, and after reading it, she knew she would probably need his support herself.

As she entered the Great Hall, much of the constant lunchtime din died down as most heads turned toward Luna. She noticed in particular the smugly triumphant look on Draco Malfoy's face. She was going to take her normal seat alone at the end of the Ravenclaw table, when she saw Harry stand up from the Gryffindor table, walk briskly over to her, and take her hand in his.

"Come sit with me, love" he said, much louder than normal, but still tenderly. She could see the anger and frustration on his face, but his eyes radiated warmth as he looked at her. She allowed him to lead her to the seat right next to him.

"... piece of rubbish," Ron was saying to Hermione as they sat down. "Hey, Luna. How can they print this filth? Small wonder that arse is quoted all through this, spreading his sh..."

"RONALD!" Hermione interrupted. "Hello, Luna," she said sympathetically. "I didn't think they'd stoop to character assassination against you when I suggested Harry give an interview."

"It's not your fault, Hermione," Ron said. "It's mostly that git Malfoy."

"Well, I did warn Harry..." Hermione said.

Harry interrupted her with a "Now just a minute..." before Hermione put up her hand.

"It's not your fault at all, Harry, that's not what I'm saying. But it's not surprising what he did after your encounter in the halls."

"He called Luna a... I'm not even going to repeat it," Harry said angrily. "He's lucky I didn't knock his block off. He's lucky Luna stopped me. And this is how he repays her, the little git. It's one thing to go after me – I expect it. I did name his damned father, after all. But to go after Luna, who never did anything to anyone..."

"My father did publish the story," Luna pointed out.

"That's no excuse. I should go over and challenge that bastard to the duel he weaselled out of in first year," Harry said.

"No, Harry!" Hermione practically shouted, drawing looks from the few people who hadn't been keeping an eye on Harry and Luna. Blushing, she lowered her voice, and said, "We're trying to keep you from getting expelled. That would just give Umbridge the excuse we need." The older girl turned to Luna. "How do you think we should respond?"

"I haven't even read the story yet," she said.

"Story? Huh. More like a fairy tale," Harry said.

Luna opened the Prophet to page six and grabbed a roast beef sandwich to eat as she read. She consumed it, and two others, absentmindedly as she read the story, idly thinking that they really needed more horseradish and dirigible plum jelly to make the sandwiches truly tasty. She tried to tune Ron and Hermione's conversation out as she tried to read, but leaned into Harry, who had put his arm around her shoulders.

BOY-WHO-LIED: BEWITCHED?

by Holden Thorpe

Many readers have watched with dismay as Harry Potter, 15, the so-called 'Boy-Who-Lived', has descended from model young wizard into a fable-spinning alarmist and libeller, and wonder what could have caused such a slide? A thirst for further fame? A need to be the centre of attention? Too much dependence on senile old mentors?

A classmate of Mister Potter's provided an alternate theory. "Potter's always thought differently from how proper wizards should," said Draco Malfoy, son of aristocrat philanthropist Lucius Malfoy. "But until this year he always managed to fool everyone else and pretend to be a proper wizard himself. His new girlfriend is just as abnormal as he is, though, and I think she's encouraging his worst tendencies."

The young witch in question is Luna Lovegood, 15, a fellow student of Mr. Potter's at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Miss Lovegood is the daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, the eccentric publisher of the fringe magazine "The Quibbler", and the late Astrid Lovegood, who perished in a self-inflicted spellcrafting accident when Miss Lovegood was nine years old. Classmates describe Miss Lovegood as a homely, dim girl, with negligible fashion sense, who wears vegetables and rubbish as jewellery. Classmates say she is completely focused on the imaginary creatures and conspiracies her father features in his magazine, and goes by the nickname "Loony".

How Miss Lovegood managed to attract Mr. Potter, the object of many young witches' hopes, has been a matter of some speculation, but many of her classmates suspect she ensnared the young man using love potions. "How else would she be able to attract Potter?" said one of her classmates who spoke to us anonymously. "He's crazy himself, but he's famous and rich. Loony's not much to look at, doesn't have any friends, and everyone knows she's crazy. And he's started wearing the same kind of weird cork necklace she does. Has to be love potions."

This classmate's opinion appears to be widespread. "I think Loony's potions are making him even crazier," said another classmate of Miss Lovegood. "He threatened me, he's threatened her roommates who were trying to encourage Loony to stop being so weird, and now he's attacking the Ministry," she said, referring to some unsubstantiated allegations Mr. Potter made in another publication recently. "I just hope he can tear himself away from Loony and get the help he obviously needs. Maybe St. Mungo's can help him."

On the other hand, Draco Malfoy scoffed at the idea that Miss Lovegood's bewitching of Mr. Potter by use love potions was the cause of the last year's changes in Mr. Potter's personality. "I don't think he's changed at all," Mr. Malfoy said. "He's never been quite right, not since his first day at Hogwarts. But since Loony entered his life, he's not even trying to appear normal any more. His girlfriend is as strange as he is, and its like they feed off each other. Now he's accusing decent citizens of being criminals. I shudder to think what lies he'll come up with next."

Luna had a frown on her face as she finished reading the story. Harry squeezed shoulders tenderly when he saw she was finished.

"Why does everyone always leap to that conclusion?" Luna quietly asked no one in particular. "Why don't they think there could be a rational reason, like that we just get along, or that we've been bit by Kruger's Vanishing Mites? And why the snide reference to my mother?"

Hermione and Ron shared a look and a shrug at the reference to the mites, while Harry squeezed Luna's shoulders again and said, "I don't know love, I just don't. It makes me so angry. If those... those slime-balls at the Prophet had gone after me, fine, fair game, I'm their target. I don't like it, but I'm used to it. But to ignore all the points I made, and just go after you... I bet this is Draco's revenge for me exposing his precious father. The bloody git won't, can't, stand up to me, so he does this."

"He doesn't actually say I'm feeding you potions, Harry," Luna pointed out.

"No, he just calls you abnormal and strange. And that one," Harry said, pointing to the second-last paragraph, "sounds like Jocasta."

"Told you we should have hexed the little viper," Ron said.

"It wouldn't have made a difference, Ronald," Luna said, her voice full of resignation. "Whether you had hexed her, or whether Harry had never spoken with her at all. She still would have done this."

Harry sighed. "You think? I'm sorry if I made this worse," he said, his voice full of shame.

His girlfriend squeezed his hand. "Don't be. You were just standing up for me."

"Like a knight in shining armour," said Lavender as she squeezed in between Ron and Hermione, earning Lavender an annoyed look from Hermione. The dark blonde ignored that, and in a sultry voice, whispered in her boyfriend's ear, "Hi, Ron," which caused him to blush intensely, and grin even more intensely. Turning to Luna, Lavender said, "See, that's how you know that article is just a big lie," Lavender said to Luna. "Love potions wouldn't make someone act as brave and chivalrous as Harry does to you."

As Harry went quiet, an annoyed Hermione said, "That's not true. Love potions can make one obsessive and quick to defend the person dosing them." Seeing the looks on the others' faces, she clarified, "I know that article's a pack of lies, but let's be accurate here."

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Sure, a love potion would make someone want to hex anyone insulting or threatening whoever gave it to them, but they wouldn't listen to reason like Harry did on Valentine's Day. They would have gone off half-cocked and started a fight."

"And how do you know so much about the topic?" Hermione asked, more curious than anything.

"Same as you," Lavender said with a not-quite-genuine smile. "I read about it. Teen Witch Monthly had an article last year on how to tell if a rival was feeding your crush love potions. It was very informative."

"I'm sure," Hermione said dismissively.

"I'll have you know it's a great magazine, Hermione Granger. And they said some very nice things about you last year after the Yule Ball, unlike the Prophet," Lavender said indignantly.

"What did they say, Lavender?" Luna asked.

"They were talking about some of the dresses people were wearing, and they had a special feature on the dates of the Champions," Lavender said. Looking back at Hermione, she said, "They thought your dress was especially pretty, and called you 'smart and vivacious'. Maybe they'll do a profile of you, Luna!" she said excitedly. "After all, you're newsworthy now!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Luna said.

"Oh, it'll be much better than this," Lavender said, gesturing dismissively at the Prophet. "They're always positive and respectful in their portrayals of people."

"Like HELLO!" Harry said. Lavender, Luna, and Ron had no idea what he was referring to, so he explained, "It's a magazine my Aunt reads. It prints stories and lots of glossy pictures of movie stars, the Royal Family, and other celebrities. Nothing but positive and happy stories, right Hermione?" Hermione, having seen copies in her parents' dental office waiting room, nodded in response.

"That does sound like Teen Witch Monthly, Harry," Lavender said. "During the Yule Ball, they wrote nothing but good things about Hermione, Parvati and Cho. They even talked about how pretty that French girl – "

"Fleur," added Ron.

"Yes. Her." Lavender's eyes momentarily flashed with what Luna though was jealousy. "How pretty and talented she was, although they didn't like foreign witches stealing all our 'Quidditch hunks'. I'm sure if they profile you, Luna, they tell everyone how interesting and fun you are."

Luna smiled at Lavender for that.

"You should sue those liars," Ron said. "For slander or desecration or whatever."

"Defamation, Ron. And it's libel if it's printed," Hermione explained, to which Ron shrugged. "And I don't know if it would be a good idea. Lawsuits are expensive, there's no way to be sure you'd win, and – "

"But they're lying," Harry said.

"Yes, but if you read it, most of the insults are quotes for unnamed sources," Luna pointed out. "The Prophet isn't directly accusing me, they're just reporting rumours."

"Draco's named," Ron pointed out.

"I don't think Dumbledore would react well to students suing one another," Hermione said. "And you might have a hard time proving damages in any case." Harry gave her a look, and Hermione explained, "Well, if I was the Prophet's lawyer, I'd point out there's no real loss of reputation, and say that people here at Hogwarts already think Luna's crazy."

"Now wait just a minute..." Harry said, angrily, before Hermione cut him off.

"You know I don't think that, but they could argue that easily. Everyone calls Luna 'Loony' after all. Do you really want to waste money on an expensive lawsuit you really might not win? Or if you do win, all you get is an order for an apology that they'll print at the back underneath classified advertisements for used cauldrons?"

"So what do we do?" Harry asked.

"Let the interview speak for itself. I know people are still reading it, even here. Maybe write a letter to the editor," Hermione said.

"Would they even print it?" Lavender asked.

"Doesn't matter," Harry said. "I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. Attacking Luna like that..."

"You should get Madame Pomfrey to test you for love potions, too, mate. Show those jerks what a lie that is," Ron said.

"No."

"But Harry, that's actually quite a good idea of Ron's," Hermione said.

"Actually? What, like I can't come up with any decent suggestions?" Ron said to his friend.

"You know that's not how I meant it," Hermione said.

"It's how you said it," Lavender answered, defending her boyfriend.

Hermione just gave Lavender an irritated look.

Harry explained to then, "If I did that, when the test came back negative, Malfoy, the Prophet and those liars will just claim the test was botched, or that Luna's using undetectable love potions, or some swill like that. Besides, if I got tested I'd bet you Galleons to Knuts that some people would say that it proved how I didn't believe Luna at all. Getting a clean bill of health from Madam Pomphrey wouldn't make a lick of difference to people who believe this stuff, and it would make it seem that I'm not really sure myself. And I am sure. I know how I fell for Luna, and while pudding and tea were involved, love potions weren't. I'm just going to write a letter to the editor, and see if they have the ba... guts to print it."

Luna squeezed Harry's hand and smiled widely at him, which resulted in them holding hands and staring into each other's eyes for a short while. Lavender sighed at this romantic display, and Hermione rolled her eyes at Lavender but gave a little smile at her friend Harry. Ron used the lull in the conversation to grab another roast beef sandwich.

As this was occurring, they heard a banging in the Great Hall. Argus Filch was posting another education decree.

The five of them went over to read it.

EDUCATIONAL DECREE No. 28

Any student communicating with a journalist or similar person for any purpose related to the publication or broadcast of any story, article, feature, or interview, without the express written permission of the High Inquisitor, will be expelled immediately.

"There's goes the letter to the editor idea," Ron said.

Luna watched as Harry cast his gaze to the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy was looking directly at Harry, laughing.

As her mixed Gryffindor-Ravenclaw double Charms class ended, Luna saw Ginny Weasley waiting for her at the doorway. Luna often chatted with Ginny before lunch – she usually sat with Colin Creevey at the desk ahead of Luna – but Ginny barely made it to class on time that day. As Luna walked over to greet her friend, Professor Flitwick said, "Miss Lovegood, could you stay after class for a moment? Miss Weasley, if you could shut the door, I won't keep Miss Lovegood long."

After Ginny had left, the diminutive charms professor spoke. "Miss Lovegood – Luna – how are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing very well, Professor," Luna answered cheerfully. "I thought class was very interesting today, and I had the most lovely conversation this morning with the Grey Lady. Did you know she says she'd never seen a Heliopath, Professor? You think someone that old and wise would have, wouldn't you? I suppose she has been a ghost here in the castle for nine hundred years, and the wards likely keep them out, it does make some sense, but I thought Heliopaths used to be quite common here in Scotland."

"I'm glad to hear that, but that wasn't what I was talking about. I meant about this," he said, pulling out the latest issue of the Prophet. "I imagine it must be difficult for you with the paper saying... well, what it's saying."

"Oh, it's all right, Professor. It's not true, you know. What they're saying."

Professor Flitwick smiled. "I have no doubt about that. I've seen how Mr. Potter has been the last few months, and well... let's just say I know that as a Charms Master I can tell the difference between someone who has been magically charmed and someone who is just naturally charmed, and Mr. Potter certainly is not the former. What I meant was, has anyone been mistreating you because of what the paper says?"

"No more so than usual, Professor."

Professor Flitwick looked at her sympathetically. "You do know that you can come to me when you're having problems, don't you Luna? As your Head of House, I'm here to aid my students in any way I can."

"I do, Professor. Thank you. There's been no extra bother. It's just the Prophet getting back at Harry for the interview he did with my father. Did you read it?"

Professor Flitwick sighed. "Decree Twenty-Six says I'm not supposed to give any information to students not related to what I teach. So I can't talk about that. As your Head of House, I will say that I am proud to see that one of my students is keeping company with someone whom I have observed to be honest and credible, especially regarding recent events."

He looked at her pointedly, and Luna smiled serenely back at her Charms professor. It was nice to have a teacher who was good at making himself understood, he thought.

"One other question and I'll let you go. Have you been getting any unusual detentions since we last spoke?"

"No, Professor, I haven't. I make sure to wear these earrings," she said, flicking on of her dirigible plum earrings, "to class these days, though."

"That's very prudent of you. Well, off you go to see your friend. Remember you can come speak to me at any time if there are any problems."

"I know, Professor. Thank you."

Luna left the class and saw Ginny waiting down the hall, talking with a Gryffindor girl with curly black hair, who was a year below her. Luna went over to her red-haired friend, who greeted her with a big hug.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you earlier," Ginny said. "I didn't find out about the Prophet until just before class. Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Ginny. They're just lies, you know," Luna said.

As Ginny ended the hug, Luna heard a familiar sneering voice say, "Is there anyone you won't use love potions on, Loony?"

Luna looked around to see Lucretia Marquand looking haughtily at her, with Jocasta Drake and Anne Venders laughing beside her.

"Piss off, Marquand," Ginny said, which caused the dark-haired Gryffindor to gasp and Lucretia to smirk more.

"Maybe someone should tell the Prophet of this latest development, eh Jocasta?" Lucretia said.

"Oh I don't think you should do that, Lucretia," Luna pointed out calmly. "You could get expelled, you know. Although I can understand that you'd be jealous that Jocasta was quoted in the Prophet, even if it was anonymously."

"That wasn't me... You can't prove..." Jocasta sputtered.

"Anyway, if you did talk to the papers, you should find a more credible topic," Luna continued. "Something not quite so fictional."

The normally silent Anne broke out laughing at that point. "Really, Loony? You're calling something fictional? I suppose you'd know, seeing the lies your father makes up."

"Daddy doesn't lie," Luna said, her voice losing its usual dreaminess and taking the more steely tone Luna used whenever anyone disparaged her father or The Quibbler.

Jocasta scoffed. "Right. Look, Loony, we all know they only reason you could get anyone to even look at you must be love potions. Even a twit like Potter would normally hate a lunatic like you unless you were dosing him. I told you," she said, her voice taking on a sing-song tone, "he's going to despise you when it wears off!"

The curly-haired Gryffindor spoke up at this point. "Love potions don't work that way, Jocasta."

Jocasta turned to the Gryffindor. "Who asked your opinion? Who are you, anyway?"

"Romilda Vane," she said. "Everyone knows that a love potion will only work on someone who likes the person giving them in the first place. That's why they're legal – it just intensifies the feelings a little. Like dressing up pretty, or something like that."

"I don't think that's actually true," Luna said.

"Of course, you would know," Jocasta said, laughing again.

"It is true," Romilda insisted. "That's why when you slipped Duane Chase a love potion, it had no effect, at least from what I heard," Romilda said, grinning. "He completely dislikes you, so it wouldn't work on him."

"Shut up! That's a filthy lie!" Jocasta shouted, causing all the other students in the hall to look at her, and Anne to shush her. "Duane does not dislike me! And I did not give him a love potion!"

"Sure," Romilda dismissed her confidently. "I totally believe you. You Slytherins would never do anything like that."

"Shut up, you stupid little cow!"

Romilda shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. See, that's why they didn't work for you when you dosed Duane. It's like when someone puts make-up on, or tries to pretty herself up. She needs something to work with. And you don't have anything."

Jocasta started sputtering again, and Lucretia said, "I think we've wasted enough time on you idiots. Loved the story, Loony. Enjoy Potter now, as when the potions wear off, he'll never talk to you again. And you," she said directly to Romilda, "watch yourself, Curly."

Romilda just laughed at her as the three Slytherins left. She turned to Luna and Ginny and said, "I can't believe all these idiots making such a big deal of this. What's wrong with love potions? It just helps get a boy to notice you – nothing wrong with that. Mother gave Father some Chocolate Frogs she sprinkled with her own brew when they were in seventh year, because he was too shy to ask her out on his own. Father thanks her for it every day with a big kiss!"

"Thank you for trying to help, Romilda, but I actually didn't use an potions on Harry," Luna said.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Luna, don't worry. He obviously liked you in the first place – he probably wouldn't have done anything if you hadn't made that first move. Same as my father," Romilda said with a smile.

"But I didn't."

"Of course," Romilda said indulgently, patting the older girl on the arm. "And my hair is naturally this curly. I don't use spells at all." She gave the blond girl a wink, and walked away.

"I don't think that actually helped," Luna said to Ginny.

Ginny sighed. "Probably not. Romilda's... interesting, though. I pity the poor boy she gets her claws into. He won't know what hit him."

"I don't know – he may like it. She seems very spirited. Some boys like that, you know," Luna said.

Ginny laughed at that.

March 8, 1996.

Another surprisingly subdued Defence Against the Dark Arts class neared its end for Harry Potter, mostly consisting of reading and copying sections from Defensive Magical Theory, by Wilbert Slinkhard. The key point of today's lesson was that if confronted by someone who wishes to harm you, Slinkhard recommended hiding and contacting the Aurors to let them handle the situation. While not necessarily bad advice, it was hardly going to help if Harry found himself surrounded by Death Eaters or Dementors. Harry thought that was probably considered a positive thing in Umbridge's eyes.

He was certain that Umbridge would make some snide reference to the article in the Prophet, like Snape had during his potions class. Normally she never missed an opportunity to insult or berate Harry, so this left him somewhat confused, although almost pleasantly so. He had to speak to her anyway.

"Alright children, we're done for today," Umbridge said at the end in her falsely sweet voice. "Study hard, and be good. Mr. Potter, if you could stay a moment," she added, giving what Harry assumed was her version of a friendly smile, which made him shudder just the same.

Hermione and Ron gave him sympathetic looks as they filed out of the office. Harry pulled out a piece of parchment from his backpack as he approached the High Inquisitor.

"I won't keep you long, Mr. Potter. I'd like to have a meeting with you after supper. Please be in my office at seven o'clock. I have some matters I'd like to discuss with you and Miss Lovegood."

Harry braced himself. "Is it another detention, Professor?"

"No, Mr. Potter, it's not."

"Is it about the article in the Prophet, as I need to talk to you..."

"It's not about any of the recent articles. Well, not directly. We'll talk at seven – I'll see you then. We'll have some tea, and chat – just the three of us. Goodbye," she said, dismissing him.

Harry met up with Luna in the Great Hall after they ate, and they walked slowly to Umbridge's office.

"Did she tell you what this is about?" Harry asked his girlfriend.

She shook her head. "I doesn't sound like it will involve a Blood Quill, though, so that will be nice."

Harry gave a bitter laugh. "Like anything involving her could be 'nice'. How was your day?"

"Oooh, not bad. Divination was interesting – I think Professor Firenze is a much better teacher than Professor Trelawney was, but I do miss her sometimes. Especially all the incense and spices in the air in her classroom – that was always a nice change. Lavender says she gets very lonely up in her tower – she visits her regularly, you know. Apparently no one talks to her much. I know what that's like," she said, in the calm, straightforward manner she always used when talking about unpleasant things.

He gave her a warm hug. "Maybe we should go visit her. No one's predicted my imminent death in a while – I almost miss it," Harry said with a smile.

"I really wish you wouldn't joke about that, Harry," Luna said seriously. "I don't like to think about that. I don't know what I'd do."

"Sorry. Well, you won't have to worry about it as long as I have any say in the matter."

"Good," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "And I think it would be nice for us to visit Professor Trelawney. We can always use more friends and allies."

"Good thinking," Harry said, to which Luna took a little bow and laughed. "You've got the dirigible plum earrings on."

"I don't want to irritate her by wearing the ones you gave me. And if she wants to talk about anything interesting, the dirigible plums will help my mind to be nice and open to what she has to say."

"You're always open-minded, even without them," he pointed out. "It's one of the things I love about you."

She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Harry," she said, softly. "But every little bit helps, especially when it's someone I might not normally want to listen to."

They reached Umbridge's office, and waited until it was precisely seven o'clock to knock.

"Come in," said Umbridge through to door.

The High Inquisitor's office committed its usually kitschy assault on Harry's eyes, with pink everywhere, and wizarding pictures of cats of various breeds lining the walls. In place of the desk and chairs from his previous detention sessions, there sat two large, hot pink, overstuffed chairs, with an end table between them.

"Come, sit down," Umbridge said, pointing to the chairs.

Harry and Luna did, and watched as Umbridge poured three cups of pink tea from her teapot, put four pink sugar cubes in each of them, and handed Luna and Harry a cup and saucer each. The two teens waited until their professor sipped her tea before trying theirs, which Harry thought was far too cloyingly sweet to be truly potable. A glance showed that Luna felt similarly.

"I suppose you're both wondering why I asked you to speak with me," Umbridge began.

"Oh, probably about the interview Daddy published, I would think," Luna said.

Umbridge's smile stayed rigid. "Yes. That, and some other things. You've put this school in a bit of a quandary, Mr. Potter. Instead of people noticing the academic achievements of Hogwarts' students, they're focusing on the outrageous claims of its students, and on the personal lives of its students. This will not do. That's not to mention that the Ministry has had to waste valuable time on this issue, time that could be better spent improving the lives of British wizards."

As Harry began to speak, she put up her hand. "Please don't interrupt, Mr. Potter. I normally don't explain my actions to students – I am your teacher, after all – but since you two are at the centre of this, I thought we should talk. There will be no more interviews, no more outrageous claims in the papers. Is that understood?"

"Have you told Malfoy the same thing, after the lies he told about Luna?" Harry asked.

"No. It was not necessary. Everyone should be aware there are to be no more interviews from anyone after the most recent Educational Decree. I want no more of these stories in the papers with students making outlandish statements about You-Know-Who, or talking about student romances in the papers."

"I told the truth. Malfoy libelled Luna!" Harry said.

"Mr. Malfoy claims its the other way around, but that's neither here nor there. This stops now. No talking to the papers. For anyone."

Harry sighed, and handed Umbridge a sheet of parchment. "I want to write a letter to the Prophet, correcting all the lies..."

"No," Umbridge said firmly.

"You won't even read it?"

"No. I said this ends now. If I let you respond, I have to let Mr. Malfoy respond to you, and where does it end? Students embarrassing the school further instead of concentrating on their studies. I'm finally turning this school around, and I will not have you embarrassing Hogwarts in the papers. I have already told one reporter that any accusations of students dosing one another is certainly untrue. This school is a safe haven for students – "

Harry scoffed.

"Something to say, Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked at Luna, and saw the look in her eyes asking him to be careful.

"It's not always been a safe haven, Professor. Students get hurt. Students get bullied. Luna's getting taunted all the time..."

"People who don't conform will stand out, Mr. Potter. It's only natural that other students try to encourage them to be like the rest," Umbridge said.

"We're all supposed to be the same, then?"

"Of course not, otherwise we wouldn't have the houses. But if Miss Lovegood isn't being a good Ravenclaw, shouldn't her housemates let her know?"

"Luna's a fine Ravenclaw!" Harry practically shouted, until Luna touched his arm gently. More calmly, he continued, "She's one of the smartest people I know, she's inquisitive, open-minded, analytical..."

"Her housemates obviously don't think so," Umbridge pointed out, and turned to Luna. "Do they, dear? Tell me, are you happy at Hogwarts?"

"Are you threatening..." Harry began.

"I was speaking to Miss Lovegood. I'm honestly curious, are you happy here? Your housemates don't seem to like you, you don't fit in, you don't have many friends..."

"Oh, I have some friends now," Luna said cheerfully. "And I have Harry."

Umbridge gave a half-smile, half-grimace. "Yes. You have Harry. A word of advice, dear – ardour fades. The 'wonderful' boy you think you're seeing now may one day move on, and if you've placed all your hopes on him, then where will you be? Believe me, it's something to think about.

"But other than Harry, do you truly like it here? Wouldn't you rather be somewhere else?"

"What are you saying?" Harry interrupted.

"And you, Mr. Potter. You made an excellent point about this school not being a safe haven. I've been reading the school records of the last five years. You've been attacked by a teacher, hired by Dumbledore, who was trying to steal a priceless artifact that Dumbledore thought he should hide at a school. You fought a basilisk which Dumbledore either knew about or should have known about, which previously attacked your fellow students, including one of your best friends. You've been stalked by an escaped convict who betrayed your parents, been attacked by a werewolf purporting to be a teacher, once again hired by Dumbledore, and attacked by another criminal pretending to be another teacher, who was an old friend of Dumbledore, and Dumbledore didn't even notice!

"While I know that what happened last year is not what you told Miss Lovegood's father, obviously something traumatic did happen to you, which has caused you to do all this telling of stories, acting out, and earning detentions. Be honest, Mr. Potter. Are you happy here? Wouldn't you rather be somewhere else?"

"Are you talking about expelling me?" Harry asked.

"No. That would not be the Ministry's preferred option." Umbridge leaned towards him. "Let's be honest, Mr. Potter. You honestly believe that You-Know-Who is alive, correct? That is the truth as you see it."

"It's what actually happened," Harry said.

"As you see it. So if you honestly believe that he is back, you can't be lying, can you? We know he's not, and up until now I've assumed that you knew, deep down, that he's not, but I see that's not the case. You're not lying, you're deluded." She held up a hand again before Harry could even protest. "I don't mean maliciously. And you," she said, turning to Luna, "you honestly believe him, too. Not just because he's your paramour, but in your heart of hearts. Correct?"

"Of course he's telling the truth," Luna said. "I believed that even before I met Harry."

"So. You both honestly believe this. But we in the Ministry know he's not back. And the Ministry cannot have you panicking the public by spreading what we know to be falsehoods. So if you will not stop telling what you believe..."

"We won't," Harry said, grabbing Luna's hand.

"Quite," Umbridge said with a frown. "If you won't, a few options present themselves. Expulsion from Hogwarts – I'm not so naïve as to think that neither of you has a copy of The Quibbler, but I also doubt I'd actually find one in your possession. There are also certain public relations costs to be paid by expelling students, which we are willing to pay if necessary, but if we can come to a happier solution, so much the better.

"A less happy solution, although probably the best for you both long term, is treatment. You're both suffering from delusions. You can be cured, you know. St. Mungo's has an excellent mental health ward, and they can help you see these delusions for the untruths they are. It may take years, maybe even longer, but they can make you better," she said with a very menacing grin.

Harry tried not to show how worried he was. He'd been to that ward over Christmas, and saw how they treated Neville's parents and Gilderoy Lockhart. If that was how they treated normal patients, how would Harry and Luna fare? Harry recalled hearing an item on BBC News that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were watching a few summers ago while he was dusting the drawing room about how the old Soviet Union used psychiatric hospitals as an place to lock up dissidents. Harry had no delusions that Umbridge wouldn't do the same if she could.

He feared that it would be all too easy to make a case for the committal of him and Luna. Not everyone would accept it, but enough would – the Prophet had been laying the groundwork for nearly a year now, Luna had unfairly been called 'Loony' for nearly four years, and her father had been viewed as eccentric for decades.

Seeing that Harry wasn't going to respond, Umbridge continued. "That's not our preferred option, though. What I propose is that you two transfer to another school overseas. While Hogwarts will be a fine school again, it is not the only magical school our there. You could transfer to one of the schools in North America – Salem Witches' Institute in America has an excellent reputation, as do the Zion School of Magical Arts and Sciences, the Stoco Academy in Canada, and many others. In Australia, the Antipodean Academy of Arcana is well thought of. There are more as well, all over the world.

"The Ministry would expedite the transfer of both of you after the end of this term. It would pay your tuition, and give you each a small living allowance until you graduate. In exchange, you will both conduct yourself as model students at Hogwarts until the end of the year. You will cease spreading your beliefs about You-Know-Who. You will not return to Britain during your holidays – we'd quite frankly prefer it if you didn't return at all."

"You expect Luna to just leave her father for three years?" Harry asked.

"I notice you didn't object to leaving your family," Umbridge said with a small smile. "No, of course not. Nothing would prevent Mr. Lovegood from joining his daughter in whichever country you chose. I'm sure we could find someone willing to purchase his magazine for a fair price."

"We do have relatives in Ireland," Luna said. "It's quite lovely there, Harry – I'm sure you'd love it."

"Not Ireland!" Umbridge said emphatically. "Nowhere in Europe. You can go anywhere else, but not there." She leaned forward. "Harry. Luna. I'm giving you, the Ministry is giving you, a chance to start over. To begin again afresh, somewhere else, somewhere you don't have people thinking you're a liar or crazy, somewhere you don't have any of the baggage you have here. Not many people get this opportunity. I understand it's a hard decision to make. Take your time. Think about it. Are you going to see your father at Easter, Miss Lovegood?"

Luna nodded.

"Good. Talk it over with him. Give me an answer after the Easter break. Now go enjoy your evening."

Harry and Luna looked at one another apprehensively, and rose from their seats.

"Oh, and children? Think very carefully. I've told you some of the alternatives. They're far less pleasant. Off you go."

[A/N: Thanks as usual to MandibleBones for his betareading services and valuable editorial suggestions. This one took far longer than I intended – in-laws and rodeos (watching, not participating) and life and what-not. I did manage to write a couple one-shots in the interim, though, so at least there's that!]

12. 11: Reactions

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

Chapter 11 – Reactions

March 8, 1996

Harry and Luna left Dolores Umbridge's office silently, walking back towards the Great Hall. It was still early evening, and the weekend stretched before the young couple. There was a meeting of Dumbledore's Army the next morning, the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match on Sunday, and Harry had committed himself to studying for his O.W.L.s for the rest of his weekend. At the moment, though, he needed to think about the proposal Umbridge had made, and the underlying threats as well.

"I need some fresh air," he declared. "Want to go for a walk on the grounds?"

Luna smiled sweetly at him. "I'd like that."

About ten minutes later, he met her in front of the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. Harry was under his Invisibility Cloak, and motioned to Luna, who wore robes over her winter wear as she often did when they went on these late-night walks. As was their usual habit, she joined him under the Cloak, and they went to an alcove where she removed her robes and cast a Reducing Charm, putting them in her pocket.

It was still cold in Scotland in March, so Luna wore her lime green and cherry red winter jacket, Harry's Gryffindor scarf, and her red-orange-yellow stocking cap with the rainbow pom-pom. She had on her chili pepper earrings for warmth, and the fire lily anklet Harry had made her for their first date in Hogsmeade. As always, Harry's wardrobe was far more subdued, being largely brown in colour.

"I think we need to get you a more colourful wardrobe," Luna observed as they left the castle, huddled close together under the Cloak. "Maybe at Easter we can go into the village and I can help you pick out something."

"What if I like brown?"

"You haven't tried anything else, you know. You could be much happier in checks and polka-dots," she pointed out.

Harry laughed a little, and said, "Why don't we do that in Hogsmeade next weekend?"

"Lavender wants us to go on a double date with her and Ron," Luna said. "It sounded like fun – I've never been on a double date before, you know – so I said we would. I hope that's okay. I didn't ask what you wanted."

"No, that's cool. I hope we'll have some time on our own," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Luna's waist.

"So we can do some kissing, you mean," she said matter-of-factly.

"Well, not just that," he said. "But yes."

"Good. Me too," she said with a little smile.

"Assuming That Woman hasn't managed to expel us before then," Harry said darkly.

"I think she'll probably give us some time to think about her proposal before she starts trying to do that," Luna said.

"Unless it's part of her plan to lull us into letting our guard down," he said. "I don't trust her. She admitted she wanted us to just shut up about Voldemort, and that she was considering expelling us."

"Oh, I don't trust her either," Luna said. "I just think if she was going to make us an offer, it would be sensible for her to let us consider it."

"Since when is she ever sensible?" Harry said bitterly. "Can you believe her, suggesting we be sent to St. Mungo's for 'delusions'?"

Luna nodded sadly. "She's not the first person at this school to suggest I be sent there for 'treatment'."

"Surely the first teacher, though?"

Luna nodded. "Oh yes. It's always been other students so far."

Harry frowned, especially at that 'so far'. "You know, I think we have to think ahead on this. We should go to Madame Pomfrey tomorrow and get her to give us a complete check-up, so there's at least some evidence that Umbridge is just lying completely."

"Do you really think that would make a difference to her, Harry? She'd probably get some healer in the pay of the Ministry to make a false report. I'm sure there's some corrupt healer willing to lie for some of the galleons that Minister Fudge has squeezed from the goblins," Luna said seriously.

He shrugged as they reached the shores of the Black Lake, and took of the Invisibility Cloak, as they were out of sight of the castle. It wasn't after curfew yet, but it would be soon. They walked hand-in-hand along the shore of the lake, where the ice cover was thinning but hadn't melted yet. They walked carefully, making sure to avoid any icy patches so they didn't slip into the lake.

"It couldn't hurt," Harry said. "And I think Ron was right – while we do this, I'll get her to confirm there's no love potions in my system. Not that I believe any of that rot," he added hastily.

"I know you don't," she said, trying to reassure him.

"Maybe it'll shut some people up, though. We could have Madame Pomfrey send the results to your dad, just in case."

Luna brightened up. "That's a good idea. I'll have to write him and tell him about what Professor Umbridge has said. I'll do it 'in the clear', as she'll expect me to tell Daddy about it."

"One of these days you'll have to tell me how you actually communicate with your father."

"Perhaps," she said with a sly smile.

"Have you told him about her? What she's done to you?"

"No," she said quietly. "I didn't want to worry him."

He pulled her close. "I think you should tell him everything she's done. He needs to know, and if something happens..."

Luna looked conflicted. After a few moments of silence, she said, "All right, Harry. I'll tell him not to publish it, though. I don't want Professor Umbridge to use that as an excuse to expel us."

"I think we have to accept that that's what she's aiming at, Luna," Harry said seriously.

"No, she wants to get rid of us," Luna pointed out. "That's not the same thing. If we're expelled, they won't likely try and transfer us to another school, the way she offered."

Harry frowned. "I don't see much of a difference between the two."

"It's a huge difference, Harry. For one thing, being expelled means it's unlikely we'll be able to go to another school at all. I'd have to be home schooled, and I don't think Daddy's equipped to do that himself. He's brilliant, but there's a reason he's not a teacher. And I can't imagine your 'family' will want to help you get the education you need. If we get transferred, at least we'll get an education."

"I guess," he said, unconvinced.

"And that's assuming they don't snap our wands and ban us from practising magic."

Harry hadn't thought of that, but he remembered Hagrid's fate after Tom Riddle framed him for opening the Chamber of Secrets and the death of Moaning Myrtle. "Do you think they'd do that?"

"I don't think it would make great press: 'Ministry Bans Boy-Who-Lived From Magic!'. But they rarely do the sensible thing." Luna smiled at Harry and said, "There are ways around it, of course. They're not entirely legal, but certainly not unheard of. There are black market wands – not all wands come from Ollivander – or we could get a legal one in another country. Ireland and France are only a boat ride away, you know."

"Actually, France is now a train ride away. They built a tunnel under the sea."

Luna's eyes widened. "Really! How odd. How do the Muggles breathe when it's underwater?"

Harry then had to explain the Chunnel to Luna, who found the topic fascinating and a touch frightening. When he was done, he got back to the topic at hand. "Anyway, we may have to ask your father to publish what you tell him, if Umbridge doesn't stop. I'd be ready to run the risk of expulsion if that happens. I can take the fall, if necessary."

"I don't think she'd believe you acted alone, you know. She's very suspicious."

"Yeah. I guess. He should still know what's going on, just in case." He sighed heavily. "What did you think about her proposal?"

"To transfer us abroad? Well, I have always wanted to see more of the world, and a cultural exchange is always beneficial. It's a shame she wouldn't let us go to Beauxbatons, though – I would have liked to try it for a year, so I could say to Mummy once I pass on that I did. Of course, you don't speak French, so you'd have a harder time," she said.

"I could pick it up," he said.

"Probably not enough to be able to do your schooling in it within six months. Although at least you'd know someone if you went." Harry looked confused, so Luna continued. "Fleur Delacour."

"Oh, yeah. Fleur graduated, by the way. Apparently she's in London, working at Gringotts," he said.

"Oh, too bad. You can never have enough friends, you know."

"That's what I'd miss most of all if we went. What would I say to Ron and Hermione?"

"They'd understand, I would hope," Luna said. "If we do go, that is. It's too bad that I've just started to make some friends here, though."

"I know. I don't think Ron and Hermione really would understand if I left them here with Umbridge, especially with Voldemort running around."

"Well, it's not like she's giving them repeated detentions. And the Headmaster is here to take care of You-Know-Who."

"For now," Harry said darkly. "You know, six months ago, I wouldn't have left Hogwarts for the world. I mean, Umbridge wasn't wrong about all the things she pointed out – this is far more dangerous than my old school, where the only danger was getting beat up by Dudley and his gang. But still, I love Hogwarts. Now, well, it's been Umbridge, getting banned from Quidditch, I haven't spoke with Dumbledore in half a year... it's not the same. I have you, and my friends, and that's what's keeping me here.

"And it's not like the Ministry's ever done a bloody thing to make me want to stay here. Four years of that 'Boy-Who-Lived' rot, then the Prophet turns on me last year... Plus I'd get away from my bloody family. And get you away from all those idiots who torment you."

"Do you want to take her up on her offer, then?" Luna asked.

"I'd rather she leave than we leave," he said. "But I can't imagine never seeing Ron or Hermione."

"They could visit."

"Hermione could. Her parents are fairly well off; dentists generally do quite well. Ron, though... But how about you?"

Luna thought. "I'd really rather stay here, honestly. I like Hogwarts. I could do without the teasing, but there's no guarantee that wouldn't happen anywhere else."

"So I guess we stay then," Harry said.

"We have to consider what she'll do if we don't agree, Harry. Expulsion would be bad – St. Mungo's would be worse. I'm not mad, I know that, but sometimes it seems like you're the only person other than me who realizes it. I don't want anyone poking around in my mind trying to change my beliefs," she said in her airy manner.

Harry, who three times a week had to endure someone he didn't particularly want poking around in his mind, couldn't hep but concur.

"I don't know what to do," he said.

"Neither do I, honestly, but she's given us until after Easter. But it might be nice to think about where we would go if we did choose to. I think Australia might be nice," she said with a smile.

"Like the sun, do you?" he teased.

"Oh no, not at all. I sunburn terribly easily – I'm very fair, you know," she said, running her hand through her tangled hair. "When I was five I got sunburned so bad I had to spend a week in bed. It was very painful. All the skin peeling was almost as bad."

"So why Australia?"

"Because of all the animals, silly," she said with a smile. "I want to see if they're really real. Platypuses, kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils, Tasmanian Tigers... they all seem so implausible. I have to see them with my own eyes."

This was one of those times Harry had to work to suppress a smile. He loved that Luna was certain that her father was close to discovering Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, that the Minister of Magic had an army of Heliopaths, but that kangaroos were implausible. So instead of saying anything, he kissed her, which she returned passionately.

"I think the Tasmanian Tiger is extinct," he pointed out.

"That's just what they want you to think," she said with a smile. "But if we go to Australia, I'm sure you, me and Daddy will find some."

"I get to go on your expeditions if we go?" he asked.

She looked directly at him. "I hope you can come on our next expedition even if we stay," Luna said.

An expedition with the girl he loved instead of months with the Dursleys? There was absolutely no question in Harry's mind.

Filius Flitwick hesitated only momentarily before knocking sharply on the door.

"Enter," came the bored, snide tones of Severus Snape through the door.

"Oh. It's you," the Potions Professor said as Filius entered his office. Severus went back to marking student parchments.

Filius didn't bother sitting down. "I'll get right to the point Severus. I heard about how you taunted Luna Lovegood in class the other day about that article in the Prophet."

"She came whining to you, did she?" Severus said unpleasantly.

"No, Miss Lovegood never complains to me about anything, actually. She's very stoic. Unfortunately so, really," Filius said with a frown. "I heard about it from one of her classmates laughing about it. Another one confirmed it to me. It's completely unacceptable."

Severus stood up in front of Filius. "You presume to tell me how to teach my class?"

"If you were teaching, no. I wouldn't. I do presume to demand that you not unfairly taunt one of my students."

Severus sneered. "Potions were in the news. It was a good opportunity to discuss the effects of love potions."

"I see. I assume you used this opportunity in all your classes? Or just in Miss Lovegood's? And the opportunity was enhanced by trying to embarrass the poor girl?"

"So you would have me give her special treatment? Just because she's dallying with Potter?" Severus spat the last word.

"No, I expect you treat students with respect, and not add insult to the very real injury that the Prophet tried to give her," Filius said.

Severus just scoffed.

"Furthermore, if anyone's giving her special treatment because of her relationship with Mr. Potter, it's you, Severus."

"Watch yourself," Severus warned.

"I'm serious. You're a stern teacher. I understand that. I question its pedagogical value, but it's your style, and if you applied it consistently, I wouldn't be here. But to kick a student when she's down, to single her out for humiliation, to question her morals like that... it's beneath even you, Severus," Filius said.

Severus took another step towards the diminutive Charms professor.

"Be very careful what you say, Filius."

"Oh, indeed I shall, Severus. You consistently give Harry Potter and his friends a far more difficult time than any other students, even other Gryffindors, and we both know why, Severus."

"I've had enough of this. Get out now, before I get angry," Severus seethed.

Filius ignored him. "You think you're immune from consequences, just because Albus has some bizarre loyalty to you."

"Gone whining to him already, have you?" Severus smirked.

"I complained, yes. I didn't expect any result, and my expectations were met, sadly. But Severus, you forget that I remember when you were a student, and what that was like for you. So if I hear of you humiliating and attacking the morals of any of my students again, I am going to use some of your adventures with James Potter and his friends as examples for my class, and like you are so eager to do, I will name names." Filius smiled jovially. "As I recall, they were sometimes quite imaginative with their charms work. And I imagine those stories would be very popular amongst the students."

"I would think very carefully before doing that," Severus said severely.

Filius shrugged, "You seem to think humiliating people works as a teaching method. Sauce for the goose, Severus. But I suspect it won't come to that after our little chat."

Severus quickly withdrew his wand. Filius did, just as quickly, smiling at his colleague and adversary. They stood facing each other, wands at the ready. It was just like old times, almost.

"Unlike our High Inquisitor, Filius, I would not back down from a duel. Nor hesitate to initiate one," Severus said coldly.

"Believe me, Severus, I would love to duel you. Not only would it be cathartic, I can't think of anyone who would be a better opponent at the castle, other than Albus, of course. But if we were to duel, don't you think it would be best done as a demonstration for the Defence class?"

Severus scoffed as they both very slowly lowered their wands. "We haven't had a duelling club, or a duelling demonstration, since Lockhart's idiocy."

"A shame, that."

"Indeed. Although I doubt our current Defence instructor would permit such a demonstration," Severus sneered.

"Well, she won't last forever. Hopefully. And from what my Ravenclaws tell me, they'll need a competent instructor to repair the damage," Filius said.

Interest flashed in Severus' eyes. "My Slytherins tell me the same thing."

"I honestly have no idea why Albus insists on going outside the school when I can think of three highly qualified potential instructors here. Of course, Albus is busy as headmaster. I love teaching Charms far too much to give it up. That leaves you," Filius said. "The only outsider remotely as qualified in the last few years was Alastor Moody, and, well..."

Severus looked at Filius appraisingly. "You would support me should I apply for the Defence position?"

"If you don't give me a reason not to, yes. The students need to defend themselves, as both you and I know that Albus is right, and that He is back. You're qualified, skilled, and quite frankly I think your teaching methods would work better there than in Potions. It works for the Auror trainees, after all," Filius said with a shrug. "And then we can start a duelling club again, and show the students what a duel is really like."

Severus was lost in contemplation.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your work, Severus. Do keep what I said in mind. While I won't hesitate to, well, what we spoke about, I honestly do think you'd be an excellent Defence professor. Have a good night."

Severus scowled at Filius as he left the Potions professor's office, but Filius smiled all the same. Threats were important. They had to be made. But after decades of teaching, Filius knew that the true way to appeal to a Slytherin was to help them get what they wanted.

March 9, 1996

It was not the best D.A. meeting.

Part of this was due to the early hour – eight o'clock was not a time many students wanted to be up on a Saturday morning, but it was the time that worked for them. Some people's minds were on other things – Ginny, Ron and Zacharias Smith were focused on the Quidditch game the next day, O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s were fast approaching, and Luna and Harry were preoccupied with their talk with Umbridge the night before, as well as story in the Prophet earlier in the week.

The result was a distracted, disjointed session which wasn't helped at all by Harry's impatience and overall foul mood. It was probably a good thing he wasn't trying Patronus Charms this session, and had been focusing on reviewing Reductor Curses.

"You're not focusing, Susan," Harry said to Susan Bones. "It's like any curse, you have to mean it. Aim at that dummy's chest... there... now try again. And mean it this time."

"Red..." Susan began quietly, but seeing the look in Harry's eyes, concentrated and shouted, "REDUCTO!" The resulting blast disintegrated the dummy.

"Good. Finally. That's how you do it. Think of the object, or person, you want blasted to bits, picture it, mean it, aim, cast. Good job, Susan. Yes, what is it, Zacharias?" Harry said impatiently when the Hufflepuff boy began clearing his throat. Smith had been annoying him recently, questioning Harry's instruction methods, and Ron had told him what he had said at the beginning of last week to Luna and Lavender.

"Shouldn't we be aiming at the head?" he said smugly.

"You may not want to kill someone – you may just want to wound them. A Reductor to the chest is less likely to be lethal than a Reductor to the head, even if it is pretty damaging. And even if you don't care about its lethality, unless you're a really good shot, you want to aim at the largest target possible. If you've got perfect aim, then by all means, aim for the head..." Harry stepped towards Zacharias, and said, "But if you don't, like most of us in a high pressure situation, and you miss, that may not turn out well for you at all. But I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem for you."

Colin Creevey piped up, "If you are a good shot, you could aim for the wand, right Harry?"

Everyone stopped talking immediately, as all eyes turned towards the young Gryffindor. Some of the purebloods had shocked looked on their faces, and someone in the back muttered, "Muggleborns" under her breath.

"What? Like in a Western, where the cowboys would shoot the gun out the villain's hand," Colin elaborated.

"What's a Western?" muttered Zacharias, while Justin Finch-Fletchley said, "Sounds like a good idea to me," earning him a sharp look from his friend.

"Colin," Ginny explained patiently, "you never aim for the wand. It's just not done. It's like the worst thing you could do to a wizard or witch. That's why they snap your wand when they expel you."

"Yeah, it's almost a crime against magic itself," said Angelina Johnson.

"But why?" asked Dennis Creevey, supporting his brother. "It's just a tool. If your wand breaks, or gets broken, you just get a new wand. Ron did."

"Yeah, but Ron's wand wasn't broken deliberately," Ginny said. "That's how you make a mortal enemy."

"If Dennis is casting Reductors at someone, he probably has a mortal enemy already," Luna pointed out.

Ginny shook her head at her friend. "You just don't do that. Not even Malfoy would do that."

Harry was not as sure of Ginny about that.

"Custom and tradition aside, Colin, a wand is a very small target, and in a hectic situation your not likely to get as good a shot at a wand as you would at someone's chest. You could aim for the hand, I suppose," Harry said, looking around, and not seeing any shocked looks, continued. "It's got the same issue though – small target. If your aim is good, you could do that, but I'd recommend focusing on the torso. Larger target.

"I've read reference to a spell that specifically targets wands," Harry said, again causing shocked looks among some of the pureblooded students. "They used it in the Grindelwald war. But I've never read or heard of anyone using it since. Hermione?"

"I've not seen any description of it in anything I've read," Hermione said. "No hint of the incantation either. It's like it's been totally suppressed."

"You think they'd do that for the Killing Curse, too," Neville said.

"Yeah, but I could see needing to use the Killing Curse. Say, on a spider or something," Ron said, with a dark look at his brothers, who smirked at him. "I'd never cast a wand-breaking curse."

Harry shrugged. "If I knew it, I would. Not in a duel of course, but in a fight? A potentially lethal one? Definitely. A Death Eater without a wand is just some unarmed criminal in a mask."

By the looks of his D.A. mates, he wasn't going to convince them that easily, and he didn't really feel like continuing the meeting. "Anyway, let's break it up. 'Til next time," Harry said.

Harry did not like seeing the looks some people gave Colin and Dennis as they left the Room of Requirement, and went over to the Muggleborn brothers to let them know that despite what everyone thought, their idea was sound in principle, but he reiterated that in practice it would be easier to just aim for the chest. Heartened by having Harry Potter's support, they were cheerier when they left the Room than they were when the meeting ended.

There were a few stragglers. Luna, of course, Hermione and Ron, and Cho Chang. Cho came up to Harry and asked to speak with him for a few minutes. "In private, please," she said, with a look at the other three.

Harry had been planning to have his usual relaxation time with Luna after the meeting, and was about to ask Cho to talk another time, when Luna said, "That's all right, Harry. I'll meet you at lunch." She gave him a goodbye kiss on the lips, and left with Ron and Hermione, giving Cho a small smile and a wave as she left.

If Luna's kissing of him lasted a little longer than it otherwise would have, well, Harry wasn't complaining.

After his friends left, he turned his attention to Cho. She was looking more worried and distraught than he had seen her since the end of last year. Harry noted that the frown she wore did not suit her at all, especially compared to the smile that the pretty girl normally wore.

Harry was a little uncomfortable. He had spent no time alone with Cho since he asked her to the Yule Ball a year previous. Other than the occasional short chat, usually in the presence of Hermione, Ron, or Luna, he hadn't really spoken with her at all since the beginning of the year, when he still had a crush on her and thought she might possibly be beginning to like him as well. Now that he was with Luna, he was worried he would have no idea how to talk to Cho, not that he was really very good at it before. He slightly resented Cho asking to speak with him alone – he didn't think Luna was the jealous type, but she did kiss him for longer than normal as she left.

Without consciously realizing it, he touched the butterbeer cork necklace he wore, and smiled ever so slightly.

"What's up, Cho?" he asked, hopefully nonchalantly. "Say, where's Marietta?" he asked, referring to her best friend who wasn't at today's meeting.

Cho's sad expressed changed into a somewhat guilty one. "She's not feeling well. I don't know if she'll make the next meeting."

"I hope she get's better soon. She's pretty good."

"After what the papers said this week, I don't know if she'll be coming back." Cho looked directly at Harry. "Is it true?"

"Oh, not you too," he said heatedly. "Look, the Prophet's had it in for me ever since the Tournament, and they're making up lies about Luna..."

"I don't mean the Prophet," Cho interrupted. "I meant The Quibbler."

"Oh," he said, abashed.

She sniffled. "Is that what happened, Harry? With V-V-V- You-Know-Who? And Cedric?"

She was on the verge of tears now.

"Of course it's true. Every word," Harry said sincerely.

"Did... did he suffer?"

"No, it was quick. It was over for Cedric in a..." Harry was about to say 'flash'. "It was over quickly."

Cho was beginning to cry. Harry had relatively little experience with crying girls – just Luna the one time in the hallway in front of the old class pictures two months ago, and while hugging Luna consoled her, he certainly wasn't going to do that to Cho. So he tried to help by patting her arm sympathetically.

It didn't reduce the tears.

"Why? Why did it have to happen, Harry? Cedric was good, and kind, and never hurt anyone!" She looked at Harry through her tears, and said, "I don't mean... you are too, of course, but You-Know-Who had a history with you. Cedric was completely innocent!" She sobbed some more.

In between the unintentional slights against him, Harry felt for the girl. He hadn't wanted to talk about what happened with anyone, other than Hermione, Ron, and Luna, until the interview. He hadn't really thought how Cho must have been suffering, having her boyfriend alive at one moment, then dead the next, with the media not accepting Harry's explanation, and sometimes insinuating that Harry himself had something to do with Cedric's death.

"I don't know, Cho. Cedric was a great guy, and if there was any justice he would still be with us. But I swear what I told The Quibbler was the truth, Cho, every word of it."

That seemed to calm her down somewhat.

"Did he mention me? Before he... he died?" she asked softly.

Harry shook his head. "It was so quick, he didn't have time to – "

She started sobbing again. "Roger... Roger doesn't understand why I... why I keep crying. I think he's going to dump me." She sniffled again. "You understand, though. You know... how I'm feeling."

Harry didn't like the implications of where this was going. He didn't think Cho was deliberately leading the conversation there, but was wary all the same.

"I'm sure Roger wants to be there for you. Maybe, er, maybe if you talk to him..."

She sniffed again. "Maybe. I should have talked to you sooner, but I didn't want to bother you. And Loo-, uh, Luna." She looked at him directly again. "We were all very surprised when you got together with her. None of us thought she was your type. We thought you liked..."

Harry raised an eyebrow as he waited for her to finish her thought.

"... well, sporty girls," she finished.

"I love Luna. And I don't have a type, by the way."

"I didn't mean to upset you," she said placatingly.

"Sorry. Just all this bloody crap from the Prophet about her... she puts up with enough stuff day-to-day without that. People taking her stuff, her housemates teasing her. Bad enough people call her Loony," he said bitterly.

"I try to stop what I see," Cho said.

"It seems to me the Ravenclaw prefects don't see enough."

"We can't be everywhere, Harry. And it's not like she tells us when people are mean to her," she said defensively. "And I'm not one of the ones calling her 'Loony Love-Potions'."

Harry's eyes widened. "Who's calling her that? Deirdre and Melanie?"

"I'm not telling you, Harry. It's a Ravenclaw matter. We're dealing with it. I tell people not to call her that when I hear it."

"If it's them..."

"What did you do to them? I swear they blanch every time your name is mentioned."

"I didn't do anything," Harry said.

There was no trace of Cho's previous sobbing now. "Well, don't do anything to them. They may not be nice, but they're Ravenclaws, Harry – "

"So's Luna."

Cho didn't pause. " – so we will take care of it. I should go." She began to leave, but before she reached the door, she turned back. "Luna can talk to me, Harry. I know she's not one to complain, but I can't do anything about things I don't know about. Let her know, okay?"

"Okay."

"And thank you for telling me about Cedric. I miss him so much. Roger's great, but..."

Harry smiled slightly. "Yeah. I know. I miss him too."

Cho gave Harry a slight smile herself. "Yeah. Bye, Harry." She left the Room.

Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair, and left the Room as well.

March 11, 1996

The rest of the weekend went well enough for Harry. Madame Pomfrey gave Harry and Luna a full physical and psychological evaluation. They requested copies for their own records, and sent a copy to Mr. Lovegood. Of course, she found that there there were no potions affecting Harry. Ron was quite happy when Harry told him he had taken his advice.

Hermione, on the other hand, was getting more frantic about revising as the O.W.L.s approached, and so she, Harry, and Ron spent most of the weekend preparing. Ron grumbled frequently about how much time the studying was taking, until by Sunday morning Hermione just blew up at him, shouting, "If passing your O.W.L.s is so unimportant to you, then go. But when they expel you and snap your wand, don't come crying to me about how you should have been studying instead of snogging with your girlfriend!" Hermione then gathered her books and stomped off, leaving a stunned Ron, and causing Harry to rush after her, asking her to come back and help them.

The Quidditch match was a much-needed break for everyone. Harry and Luna sat together in the Gryffindor stands, cheering on the Lions. In the aftermath of Dolores Umbridge's chat with them, Luna wasn't in the mood to practice commentary again, and preferred to just cheer Ginny on, which Harry was happy to do. Luna had worn her lion hat, which she made roar periodically, whenever Gryffindor scored, or she thought they needed a morale boost, or, most often, whenever she just felt like making the hat roar. Luna got comparatively fewer negative looks from the Gryffindors than she did with her eagle hat from the Ravenclaws in February. In Harry's opinion this was partly due to the Gryffindors being happy someone from another house was cheering for them, and partly due to his housemates being worried that without Harry, Fred and George playing, that the Lions needed all the help they could get.

Luna mentioned that she didn't get many comments at all when she passed through the Ravenclaw common room with her hat, other than some mutterings and scowls, and Zachary Stonetower shaking his head and saying, "Aw, c'mon, Lovegood, why do you have to wear that thing?"

The match was exciting, and Ginny caught the snitch in her first try at Seeker, but Hufflepuff won on points. Harry saw that Ron looked dejected at having let the quaffle in too many times, but suspected Lavender would find a way to cheer him up. Luna pointed out that the result was very much like the result in the World Cup final, when Viktor caught the snitch but Ireland won anyway.

"That was such a fun time," Luna said. "Daddy and I camped all week, and the match was very exciting. Of course, it got far too exciting when the Death Eaters showed up."

Harry agreed grimly, and after sharing supper with Luna, went back to his studies. Hermione was in no mood to study with Ron after supper, so each of the three friends went off on their own. Harry spent his evening, as he had been spending many evenings lately, practising Occlumency. After Snape's berating of him a few weeks previous, and pointing out how he was endangering Luna, Harry was putting renewed effort into studying the mind-shielding art.

He was apparently having some success at it, if the frustrated look on Snape's face was any indication.

Harry was presently in Snape's office for another 'Remedial Potions' lesson. In between Snape's sneering and insulting him, the Potions professor was having rather a lot of difficulty entering Harry's mind. He only successfully sifted through Harry's thoughts twice: once immediately after a long, unsuccessful struggle to enter Harry's mind, in which Harry's kept blanking his mind an blocking Snape, and one rather sneaky time in which Snape physically shoved Harry, which surprised him enough that he dropped his guard.

The first time Snape successfully used Legilimency that evening resulted in him sifting through memories of last summer at the Dursleys', and specifically the confrontation with Dudley and his friends, and then the Dementor attack immediately following. Harry saw a slight smile on Snape's face after he finally ejected him.

The second time, after Snape shoved him, Snape was in his mind for a much shorter period of time, but was focusing on Harry's thoughts of Umbridge – detentions, Blood Quills, Harry's and Luna's encounter with her in the stairwell to the Owlery, and finally their discussion on Friday night. When Harry finally forced Snape out, he expected to see a gloating expression as his second-most-hated teacher contemplated the many ways Umbridge was trying to remove him from Hogwarts.

Instead, Snape's face was exactly, excruciatingly neutral.

Eventually, Snape ended the lesson. "Sub-par" was his evaluation.

"I thought I'd improved a lot," Harry said. "You only got in twice, and one of those was by cheating."

"You mean when I pushed you off your balance?" Snape said with a sneer. "There is no 'cheating' in combat, Potter. The Dark Lord doesn't play by Marquess of Queensberry rules. Any advantage he can take, or his Death Eaters can take, they will. And they will do far worse than give you a gentle push."

"You're as bad as Moody."

"He may be a one-eyed over-the-hill paranoid lunatic, but he's not wrong, Potter. You slip up once, due to your laziness and inattention, and the Dark Lord kills you."

"At least I'm improving," Harry said in his defence.

"Yes. You've gone from hopeless to merely inadequate. You must be so proud. Now get out."

March 13, 1996.

It was with some confidence that Harry went to Snape's office for his Wednesday Occlumency lesson. He'd been practising furiously since Monday. This time he'd keep that bastard out of his mind, and show him who was 'inadequate'.

However, if anyone had attempted Legilimency on him when Harry opened the door to Snape's office, the young man's shock would have allowed him full access to Harry's mind.

"Professor Snape was called away, Harry."

"Professor Dumbledore." Harry could hardly believe his eyes when they showed the Headmaster standing in front of him. Since his farce of a trial, Harry had had virtually no contact with the Headmaster. For months, Harry tried in vain to figure out what he could have done to offend his mentor, and had eventually resigned himself to the aged wizard's absence from his life. Harry couldn't imagine what would have brought Dumbledore to him after such along time, except...

"You heard about Umbridge's offer."

"Professor Umbridge, Harry."

Harry bristled at the correction. It was one thing for Dumbledore to insist Harry refer to Snape as 'Professor' – the man was horrible, but he knew his subject. Umbridge, on the other hand, was bar-none the worst Defence Professor Harry had ever had. Even Lockhart was better – he was a complete incompetent, but he at least tried to teach. Umbridge didn't even do that.

"I suppose Sn-... Professor Snape told you he saw it in my mind? Did he tell you what else Umbridge, sorry, Professor Umbridge said? About wanting me expelled? About suggesting Luna and I be sent to the mental ward?"

"He did. I must say I'm surprised you didn't go to any of your teachers about this," said Dumbledore, a slight tone of chastisement in his voice.

"This past year has taught me I'm pretty much on my own here," Harry said bitterly.

"You know that's not true, Harry. Just recently, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick advocated forcefully on behalf of you and Miss Lovegood regarding Professor Umbridge's detention methods," said Dumbledore.

Both professors had been livid when Harry explained Umbridge's application of collective punishment, but Harry hadn't seen anything further from the teachers, although Umbridge hadn't used her Blood Quill on him or Luna since then. Harry hadn't really realized that until now.

"Oh. I'll have to thank them, then. I'm just so used to being ignored this year that it's hard to notice when it stops."

"No one is ignoring you, Harry."

Harry laughed bitterly. "You haven't spoken with me all year, sir! Umbridge is torturing students and using Luna to get at me. Snape's Occlumency lessons are like being knocked about inside my head with a Beater's bat. You must have seen what the Prophet has been saying about me all year, and now Umbridge has come right out and told me she wants to get rid of me and Luna! It's like... it's like Chinese water torture, sir, and I don't know what I did to make you mad at me!"

Dumbledore's face fell, and his eyes lost their usual twinkle. "You haven't done anything, Harry. I'm not mad at you at all, my dear boy."

"Then why? Why this year of all years? With everything that's going on?"

Dumbledore sat down, and motioned to Harry to sit as well. "I'm sure you've been keeping up with the Prophet, and have been paying attention to the Educational Decrees." When Harry nodded, Dumbledore continued, "The Minister of Magic views me as a threat, Harry, ever since Voldemort's return. He means to silence me just as surely as Professor Umbridge means to silence you, and hopefully to get rid of me as well. I had hoped that, among other effects, distancing myself from you might mean less pressure on you, and allow you to enjoy a normal school year.

"I did not take into account Professor Umbridge's special focus on you. And I should have realized that you and your friends would try and inform the public of the truth, rather than keep your heads down." A wry smile formed upon the old wizard's face. "It seems I forgot to take into account your Gryffindor courage."

"We're not all Gryffindors."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Indeed you are not. Courage, while prized by Godric Gryffindor, is not solely the province of his house. I dare say you would find courageous young men and women in every house. Our Sorting Hat often has a difficult decision placing students due to that very fact, as you yourself well know.

"It seems distancing myself from you was a mistake, Harry, and I apologize for hurting you by it. It was not my intent. I will still have to maintain a certain coolness in public for appearances' sake, you understand."

"I guess," Harry reluctantly. "It still hurts, sir, that I couldn't talk to you with so many things going on."

"Things are rarely as we would wish them to be, Harry. I regret having to do that myself. By the way, Professor Snape tells me you're improving tremendously at Occlumency."

Harry's eyes widened. "Really? He told me I was 'inadequate'."

"You have to know how to interpret the words people use," Dumbledore said with a wry grin. "I trust that as you continue to practice, you will find it a tremendously useful skill. Have you had any visions lately?"

"Two weeks ago I dreamt that Voldemort was going to use the Killing Curse on Luna, and then used the Imperius Curse to try and get me to torture her. I don't know if it was a vision or a dream."

"Hmm," Dumbledore said, sounding troubled. "I don't know myself. None since?

"No, sir."

"If you do have any further visions or dreams, please tell Professor Snape immediately. He will let me know about them.

"Have you come to a decision about Professor Umbridge's proposal?"

Harry shook his head. "She gave Luna and I until after Easter to think about it. We've talked, and we want to talk it over with her Father at Easter before making a decision. I don't need to ask my family what they suggest. They'd pack my stuff as soon as I told them."

"You're planning on going to Miss Lovegood's home for Easter?"

Harry shook his head. "The Burrow. Ron invited me. I usually stay here for Easter, but I need to get away this year. Assuming I'm allowed."

"We've been upgrading the ward system at the Burrow, as well as Lovegood Cottage. Bill Weasley was looking at both homes. I was going to send him to Mr. Lovegood later, but your interview made upgrading his wards more urgent than they otherwise would be. Both homes should now be almost as safe as the castle is."

"You'll forgive me if I don't find the castle particularly safe this year," Harry said, raising his scarred hand.

Dumbledore frowned. "Please believe me when I say that if there was anything I could do about... current circumstances, I would."

"All right," Harry said, not really meaning it.

"But tell me, Harry, what are your thoughts about Professor Umbridge's offer?"

"I normally wouldn't even consider it. I love Hogwarts – it's more my home than anywhere else has ever been. I love learning magic, I like most of my teachers, my friends are here, my girlfriend is here. I fit in more than I've ever fit in anywhere.

"But Headmaster, there's only so much I can take," he said plaintively. "It was bad enough last year with all that 'Potter Stinks' business, but I have the press after me, tons of people here at school just eat up what the Prophet says, and Umbridge, sorry, Professor Umbridge is just horrible. I can't even play Quidditch anymore, and she locked up my Firebolt so I can't even go for a flight if I want! I really worry about what she's going to do next, because I don't think it will be good for me. I honestly think she's going to try to put me and Luna in the mental ward if I don't agree to a transfer.

"And I have to keep Luna in mind as well. She gets treated horribly here. I like to think I've helped make that better – I know she's really helped my life become better – but with Professor Umbridge using her as a pawn against me... It's different than if it was just me."

He sighed. "Then there's Voldemort. The Ministry is just sticking its head in the sand, sir. They don't want to listen to me, and I don't know if anyone else is, even after the interview with The Quibbler, although Luna says her dad has had to run a second printing of the issue. I don't want to cut and run, I don't want to abandon everyone I care about, but he's after me. Maybe if I left, he wouldn't come after me. It's not very Gryffindor, I know, but what can I do? After all, there's nothing I can do to stop him."

Dumbledore looked at Harry for a long moment, as if weighing his words before he uttered them. "There's always something you can do, Harry. You're doing it now – providing moral leadership. By speaking the truth. By risking your safety and reputation by providing an interview to Mr. Lovegood. By showing your classmates what leadership and bravery are."

"But I'm just one kid," Harry said.

"Harry, each of us, every person alive, is just one person. But each of us, every day, makes choices about what we do, about how we live, that affects everyone else, in ways we can't even imagine. The sum of all those minor individual actions can move mountains.

"Your actions inspire others: students, teachers, the ordinary wizard and witch in the streets. Everything you do has an effect on those around you.

"Think of the inspiration you provide. Inspiration, for example, to young Muggleborn wizards, who see that someone raised in their world has a role to play, and is willing to stand up to evil. Inspiration to someone who would suffer in silence, who sees how you have risked yourself to speak the truth – they may decide to do the same. I know you don't like it, but you are a role model for many, and a hero to many. Not just for the death of Voldemort when you were one year old, but for your actions since you came to Hogwarts, and even what you have done this very year."

Dumbledore leaned in closer, and his voice took a grandfatherly tone. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. I'm not going to insist you endure life here if you find it unbearable. That is for you to decide. Do know that your friends will miss you if you go. Your teachers will miss you. I will miss you.

"And you should know that Voldemort is unlikely to leave you alone just because you have moved abroad. That is not the way he thinks, and thousands of miles of distance are no protection from him. You cannot run away from evil – either that of Voldemort or of a more banal variety – without evil getting stronger. The Muggles have a saying, among the many wonderful things in their various cultures, which I have always found particularly apt: 'All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing'.

"You are a good man. Your concern with your own safety is nothing to be ashamed of, and your concern for your friends shows you to be the young man I've always known you are. I know you will make the right decision."

Dumbledore sighed. "I wish you could have a normal school experience, Harry. You've held up admirably under all the burdens you bear. It gladdens me when I see you laughing with your friends in the Great Hall, and I wish there was more that caused it.

"I'm especially happy to see your closeness with Miss Lovegood. Love is the most powerful magic of all, I've long said, and young love can be especially powerful. It's wonderful to see that you haven't closed yourself off from it. I think it's doing both you and her a world of good."

"I do too, sir," Harry said.

Dumbledore stood up. "I should return to my office, Harry. Thank you for this little chat – it's good to speak with you again. I do so enjoy it – never forget that, Harry. No matter what you decide, never doubt that."

"I won't, sir. Thank you."

"Thank you, Harry. Have a good evening."

[A/N: Thanks as always to MandibleBones for betareading, and especially for planting the seed in my head of a confrontation between Snape and Flitwick. Also, credit should go to almanera for inspiring the scene between Cho and Harry.]

13. 12: Biscuits and Tea

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

Chapter 12 – Biscuits and Tea

March 11, 1996

Lavender Brown sat on her bed in the fifth-year Gryffindor girls dormitory with her best friend Parvati Patil. Lavender hadn't been spending as much time with her best friend lately as she used to, what with her new romance with Ron, and building a new friendship with Luna, so Lavender tried to make the time she spent hanging out with Parvati as much fun as possible.

For the two of them, fun usually involved gossip. And talking about boys. And, for a change of pace, gossiping about boys.

Lavender got the impression that at least on some level, Parvati disapproved of Lavender going out with Ron. This was likely due to her sister Padma's disastrous date with Ron to the Yule Ball the previous year. Padma was never particularly interested in Ron, as far as Lavender knew, and had just gone with Ron as a favour to her sister, who took Harry Potter. But for Ron to actively ignore her, when Padma had put so much effort into looking nice and being a fun date, offended Padma greatly, and offended her sister even more. Parvati felt far more anger at Ron on her sister's behalf than she did at Harry on her own, and could not understand why Lavender found him so fascinating.

Which meant that when Lavender waxed rhapsodic about how tall and handsome Ron was, or how he would hold her hand when they walked about the castle, or how, in the brief moments they were able to steal kisses from one another he was so eager (if not exactly skilled – at least in the beginning! Lavender thought with a smile), or that he actually seemed interested when she told him about her family, Parvati wasn't exactly enthusiastic. In fourth year, when they spoke about her date to the ball with Seamus, Parvati was all giggles and encouragement. She was the same before Lavender's date with Zacharias Smith, before it turned so unpleasant, and afterwards, Parvati was as encouraging and supportive as Lavender could have hoped.

From Parvati's reactions when she gushed about her Won-Won, though, they may as well have been talking about Potions class.

That was one of the reasons Lavender was glad she had befriended Luna Lovegood. She had originally thought that if she and Ron were to be together, it would be a good idea to get to know the girlfriend of Ron's best friend. Sure, she was weird, and dressed so strangely, and talked about such bizarre things, but Luna seemed basically pleasant and well-meaning in Dumbledore's Army meetings, so Lavender had hoped they would have at least had some things to talk about. Luna also showed some real insight into the mysteries of Divination when they were chatting at the Three Broomsticks that one Saturday.

As Lavender got to know her, though, she was surprised to find her so pleasant and accepting, and was more surprised that she took Lavender seriously. One of the few complaints Lavender had about her life at Hogwarts was that everyone saw her happy, bubbly, gossipy personality and assumed she was dumb. Or a flake. Luna didn't treat her like that at all; most likely, Lavender thought, because she was used to being treated the same way, or like she was crazy.

Lavender had also began to appreciate Luna's often-bizarre fashion choices. Lavender and Parvati had originally thought Luna simply had no fashion sense whatsoever, which Lavender found an inexplicable concept. While it was true Luna was not as interested in the topic as she was, Lavender soon came to realize that Luna had a style all her own, geared more to what she herself thought looked good, or had meaning to her (like those strange necklaces and earrings!) than what anyone else thought. Lavender could respect that – it might not have been her style, but at least it was a style.

Not that Lavender would ever dress that way herself, mind you!

So what began as getting to know the blond girl because (if things went as Lavender hoped) they would likely be spending a lot of time together, had turned into the beginnings of a genuine friendship. With Parvati so cold on Ron, Luna was really the only person Lavender could gush to about how wonderful her Won-Won was, and Lavender really needed a friend like that. She had been so happy the last month she could burst!

The only other person she could possibly talk to entered the dorm room in a huff, and placed a large pile of books on her nightstand before collapsing face-first on her four-poster bed.

"Tough day, Hermione?" Parvati asked.

Hermione rolled over to face her roommates. "I'm going mad trying to revise for the O.W.L.s! Am I the only one who cares? Who's taking these seriously?"

"We were revising, ourselves, for a few hours," Lavender said. "I think we should be completely ready for our Divination test, don't you think so Parvati?"

"Yes, and it's harder than it would have been had Professor Trelawney not been sacked mid-term," Parvati said.

Hermione muttered something disparaging about Divination that Lavender pretended not to hear.

"Were you studying with Harry and Ron?" Lavender asked.

"No, I had to do so on my own. Harry had... Remedial Potions," Hermione said, which made Lavender groan almost involuntarily, "and Ron is so frustrating to study with these days! He's not serious about this at all."

"He's pretty serious when we study. He's getting much better at Divination. Of course, I know how to reward him," Lavender said with a blush and a giggle.

Parvati rolled her eyes and Hermione frowned.

"Yes, well I'm not going to be helping him that way!" Hermione said.

"I should hope not," Lavender said seriously.

Hermione gave Lavender another frown.

"Have you seen him?" Lavender asked.

"He's in the common room, playing chess with Neville. Like we have time for games with only three months to go."

Lavender smiled, both at Hermione's neurosis and the mention of their other housemate. She was hoping to bring the topic of Neville up to Hermione at some point. Lavender was sure that Hermione would be happier (and not coincidentally, easier to room with) if she had something or someone to distract her from studying all the time. The only boys Hermione talked to on a regular basis were Ron, Harry, and Neville. Harry and Luna were together and happy, and there was no way Lavender was going to give up Ron. So unless Hermione got a sudden interest in someone like Cormac McClaggen or Justin Finch-Fletchley, Neville was the best bet to try and set Hermione up with.

Lavender knew, as did anyone who had their ear to the ground, that Neville had asked Hermione to the Yule Ball before he had asked Ginny. Lavender was sure that meant something. They were always talking, and Hermione would help the shy boy in Potions, which favour he would return in Herbology. And they had spent part of the last Hogsmeade weekend together in the village. That had to mean something.

Lavender also remembered the gossip about how Ron and Hermione got in a huge row about Viktor Krum after the Yule Ball. She had watched the two fight like cats and dogs off-and-on for the last few years, and while Lavender didn't think there was anything there... well, sometimes it was better for everyone if certain situations were made less complicated.

But mostly, like many girls in the flush of their own romance, Lavender had the urge to play matchmaker, and help her friends be as happy as she was. Lavender was trying to talk up Seamus to Parvati. Neville and Hermione might become another successful happy couple. Then maybe all three of them would finally have something interesting to talk about!

"Hermione, what are you doing for the Hogsmeade weekend?" Lavender asked.

"I'll probably just spend an hour or two at Hogsmeade Books, then maybe stop by the Three Broomsticks if Harry and Ron are going to be there. Why?"

"That doesn't sound very fun."

Hermione sighed. "Well, I've recently found myself with a lot of free time in Hogsmeade. I hear you and Ron are going on a double date with Harry and Luna?"

Lavender smiled. "Yes. It should be lots of fun, I'll bet. Did you know none of them had ever been on one? I'm hoping we can find some games to play or something. Maybe the skating pond will still be frozen, or someone could refreeze it. And we're all planning to go to the Three Broomsticks, so we'll probably see you there."

Lavender paused for a moment. "You don't have to have a lot of free time, you know. I'll bet lots of boys would want to keep you company."

Hermione looked sceptical. "Name one."

"Well, you and Neville seemed to have fun last time around."

Hermione thought about this. "I suppose. Neville's nice – but he's more interested in spending the day at the florists than at the bookstore."

"I'm sure you two could find something more fun to do than either of those things. Like going to Madam Puddifoot's," Lavender said with a little giggle.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Lavender, it's not... Neville and I... Look, Neville's really sweet, but..."

"But what?" Lavender asked, at the same time as Parvati joined in the conversation asking, "Is it because of Viktor Krum?"

"What? No. Viktor's just a friend."

"But you did say you were going to see him in Spain at Easter," Parvati pointed out.

"Just because he's going to be in Lisbon. He'll practically be there anyway."

"'Practically' is still him going out of his way, into another country in fact, just to see you."

"Yes, I suppose, but it doesn't mean that... look, why are we talking about my lack of a love life? What about you, Parvati?" Hermione said, flustered and trying to redirect the conversation away from herself. "Who's taking you to Hogsmeade?"

"No one," Parvati said. "I like to spend the time with Padma when I can."

"But I bet Seamus would like to," Lavender teased. "He said she looks like a goddess! Isn't that just so sweet!"

Parvati blushed and covered her face with her pillow, muttering, "You hush now, Lav."

Lavender giggled. "Well, I think it's cute. He's a good dancer, too." She turned back to Hermione. "So if you're not with Viktor, what's the problem? You need someone closer anyway. And Neville did ask you to the Ball last year."

"Just as a friend, though," Hermione said.

"Did he say that?"

"Sort of. In Hogsmeade last month."

Lavender waved that away dismissively. "I'm sure he was just saying that because you had a date already. I'll bet if you had said 'yes', it wouldn't have been just as friends. I think you two would be cute together. I could put a little bug in his ear, if you'd like."

"Lavender, no. I don't think Neville likes me that way. And I'm not looking for a boyfriend."

"Neither is Parvati, but you just wait," Lavender said, earning her a swat from Parvati's pillow. Laughing, she continued, "And you never know about Neville. He is getting much cuter. Don't tell Ron I said that, but I'm not the only one who's noticed. And he's only ever had the nicest things to say about you."

"Lavender, will you just... look, I'm tired. Can you drop the subject, please?"

Lavender shrugged. "I was just making a suggestion I thought you might like. I'll drop it." For now, she thought.

March 14, 1996.

There were many irritated murmurs as people left the Room of Requirement that evening. Harry knew he was driving them hard, just as he was driving himself hard. A small part of him thought that the lull in the pressure from Umbridge would be a good time for Dumbledore's Army to relax. This was the same small part that urged him to take her offer and transfer out, consequences be damned.

But the part of him that urged him in intensify their training and their meetings was larger. This was the same part that drove him to try and master Occlumency ever since that dream or vision of Voldemort, the one that showed him the danger Luna was in due to his relationship with her. Harry was in danger – they were all in danger – whether Umbridge was letting up on them temporarily or not.

So he pushed them, almost as much as he was pushing himself. There were lots of complaints, but they were all improving. He'd scheduled another meeting tomorrow, but he promised that they would try Patronuses again that time. As that was the most impressive bit of magic Harry could perform, he knew that would minimize the grumbling. Well, maybe not 'minimize'. Maybe 'reduce'. Somewhat.

Harry fully expected he would be losing some members. Marietta Edgecombe hadn't attended today's meeting either, although Cho Chang, who was in much better spirits than on Saturday, said she might attend tomorrow's session. No one else had dropped out, though, not even Zacharias Smith, despite his constant complaints and attempts to undermine Harry. A small part of Harry really wished Smith would drop out, and an even smaller part of him lovingly mulled over ways to convince Smith to quit.

Harry suspected this was the part of him that made the Sorting Hat want to put him in Slytherin.

He knew he would have to tell Ron and Hermione about what was going on. Hermione had already noticed how Umbridge was easing up on him (détente, Hermione had called it), and was wondering why, although she chalked it up to pressure from the Ministry. Harry told himself he would tell them both about it – maybe closer to Easter.

He still had no idea what his decision would be. In his talk with Harry the night previous, Dumbledore had made some good, if not exactly novel, arguments, and Harry took the Headmaster's advice seriously. He appreciated that Dumbledore had finally broken his silence, and was talking to him again, and almost understood his reasoning for not talking to Harry. Almost. But even despite what Dumbledore said, he wasn't certain what he would do.

Of course, it wasn't just his decision.

Luna waited around until everyone else had left. She then surprised him by leaping into his arms without warning, obviously trusting Harry's reflexes, which fortunately didn't fail him. She smiled sweetly at him and said, "Good catch, Harry," before rewarding him with a passionate kiss that nearly had him focusing on something other than the fact that he was holding her up by her bottom. When she noticed his distraction, she gave him an enigmatic smile, another quick kiss, and then lowered herself to the floor, not letting go of him, or letting him let go of her.

"I've missed you the last few days," she said. "You been so busy with your Occlumency lately, I've felt somewhat like an Estotilian Auk-Warbler-Thrush. The males will leave their mates for long periods to hunt, and they only see each other for a few days before the male leaves again."

Trying to ignore the implications of what she said, Harry said, "It hasn't been that long."

"I know. That's why I said 'somewhat,' you know," she said as she continued to hug him tightly.

"What's Estotilian? I've heard of Estonian – is that the same thing?"

She laughed. "No, silly. It's from Estotiland. It's an island in the North Atlantic that's invisible to Muggles. Most of the time, at least. There's a nature preserve of all kinds of magical creatures there. Daddy keeps trying to get us a permit to visit, but the I.C.W. is so secretive about it, he hasn't had any luck at all. They only let a few people a year visit – mostly naturalists."

"Maybe they'll let you go when you're out of school," Harry said, encouragingly.

"Oh, I do hope so. I've always wanted to see it, ever since I was a little girl and Mummy would tell me all about it. Maybe we could go together."

"I'd like that."

"But at the moment, we should go. Out of this Room, I mean," she said.

"I was hoping we could just stay here for a while."

She sighed a contented sigh. "That would be lovely, but I thought we could go see Professor Trelawney tonight." She sighed again. "Maybe in five minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, they left the Room hand-in-hand. Luna reached into her backpack, and pulled out two gingerbread men, giving one of them to him. The gingerbread man was very tasty-looking, and had eyes and a mouth made of icing. When the man-shaped biscuit saw Harry looking at him, his icing smile grew even wider.

"That's sort of creepy," Harry said, which cause the gingerbread man to frown. "I don't know if I want to eat a biscuit that smiles and frowns." This made the gingerbread man frown even more.

"Oh, Harry, you're hurting his feelings," she said, as she bit a leg off her own gingerbread man, which oddly (to Harry, at least), made the gingerbread man smile more. "He's a biscuit. He wants to be eaten. And he's delicious." That last statement earned her a wider smile from the crippled cookie.

Sometimes magic is just too weird, Harry thought, closing his eyes, and biting of the arm of the biscuit. He couldn't bear to watch its expression change as he ate the biscuit, and so looked at Luna instead, who was smiling as she devoured her gingerbread man, saying to him before she popped the head into her mouth, "You are a very tasty treat, Mr. Gingerbread Man. Thank you."

Harry shook his head and ate the rest of his biscuit without looking at it. "That was really delicious, but so weird," he said. "I don't think I like my snacks reacting to me like that."

Luna shrugged. "It's just magic, Harry. Mrs. Weasley made them. She sent me a package by owl this morning."

"That was nice of her."

Luna nodded. "It really was. She sent a note saying how she had talked to Daddy after your interview, and then again after that story in the Prophet. She told him she didn't believe a word of what the Prophet said, and wrote to me to tell me to keep my spirits up. She's invited me over for tea at Easter." She leaned in close to him, and whispered. "She probably wants to talk to me about you!"

"She's very nice. She's been like a mum to me," Harry said. He had worried how Mrs. Weasley would react to the story, after how she believed Rita Skeeter's hatchet job against Hermione last year until she was straightened out. Harry feared for a repeat of that, and was glad it looked like that wouldn't be an issue.

"After Mummy died, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley would check in on us regularly for almost a year, to make sure we were all right. She used to bring these same gingerbread men over sometimes, as she knew they made me laugh. Not much else did that year. I'm glad she remembered." She paused for a while. "I'll bet she wants to talk to me about sex."

Harry nearly did a spit take at Luna's bluntness. "What?"

"Well, I was so young when Mummy died. I don't have any mother figure to talk to about it. I'm sure she wants to make certain I know all about it, now that I have a boyfriend," Luna said cheerfully.

Harry had absolutely no idea what to say.

"I do, you know. Know all about it. Well, probably not all about it. From the stories I hear some of the girls tell, there's so many things I never would have even thought of on my own. But they do give us talks in the girls' dorms. So I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will be relieved about that."

Somehow, Harry wasn't so sure.

"She gave Ginny The Talk last summer. I think Ginny found it embarrassing, seeing how red she turned when she told me, but I think it's nice that Mrs. Weasley cares about me. And you, of course. And I would think that Mr. Weasley will want to have a chat with you and Ron, too," she said, smiling at him.

Harry groaned. The last thing he needed was a third version of The Talk! Luna just gently squeezed his hand, smiled her dreamy smile, and began humming softly as they walked through the halls.

Luna knocked on the heavy wooden door at the top of the staircase from the Divination classroom. "Professor Trelawney?" she called through the door. "It's Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter. We wanted to see how you were doing."

"Just a minute!" came an unsteady voice from the room inside. Luna thought she heard a 'clink' of a bottle and a cupboard being slammed quickly, and a few moments later, the door opened, revealing Sybill Trelawney, the former Divination professor.

Being sacked had not been kind to her. She looked far more dishevelled than Luna had ever seen her before, her brown hair had obviously not been combed that day, her glasses were smudged and dirty, her eyes bloodshot, and instead of her usual shawls, cloaks and baubles, she was dressed in plain green and blue robes. A strong smell of cooking sherry emanated from her.

"Oh, hello dears," she said, hiccoughing slightly. "I knew you would come, of course. I just lost track of time, considering portents of the future. Come in, come in."

Professor Trelawney waved into her combined office and living quarters. She guided them to a couple of worn chairs she had positioned around a table with an antique-looking crystal ball atop it, which had blue and violet mist swirling around in it. She wandered over to her kitchen nook, hesitantly pulled out her wand, and prepared a pot of tea, serving it to the two students in the pink teacups she used in class. It was a spicy, oddly-flavoured tea that Luna had always quite liked, but a glance at Harry told her that he didn't share her appreciation of it.

Luna wondered whether Harry's slow sips of the tea were to avoid reading the leaves at the bottom.

"How are you doing, Professor?" Harry asked. "I haven't seen you since... well..."

"Since That Woman fired me," Professor Trelawney said bitterly. "Yes. I tried to warn her of what the Fates had in store for her, but like so many narrow-minded cretins, she took it out on the messenger. No matter. She cannot avoid the future." She laughed a crueler laugh than Luna had ever heard from her.

"Yes, since that. Are you doing all right?"

"I was fired after sixteen years loyal service by a woman too small-minded to appreciate, let alone understand, the Sight, who didn't even have the decency to do so out of the view of my students. If not for the Headmaster, I would be homeless as well as unemployed. He replaced me with a horse! And everyone except Miss Brown, Miss Patil, and Minerva seems to have forgotten me!" she said angrily.

Luna thought it was only Professor Trelawney's anger that was stopping her from breaking down in tears.

Professor Trelawney pulled herself together. "It is the fate of those gifted with the Sight to be ridiculed and persecuted. I know this. I doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I think it was very unfair what happened," Luna said. "Professor Umbridge is not a nice woman."

"No, she isn't. Lavender has told me about your problems with her as well. She also gave me this," Professor Trelawney said, getting a copy of The Quibbler with Harry's interview. "At least she can't expel me for having it!

"It was a most interesting interview, Harry my dear. Is that why you've come to see me? To find what the future holds for you and the Dark Lord?"

"Er, not really, Professor. We just wanted to see how you were. Lavender talks about you all the time, and we wanted to say 'hello'."

Professor Trelawney smiled sadly. "Lavender is a sweet girl, with a bright future ahead of her in the True Art of Divination. If not for the visits of her and Parvati, I fear what would become of me. It's always gratifying for a teacher to know she has an impact on her students, and that students such as yourselves still respect me and care enough to visit. Despite what That Woman did."

Harry nodded, somewhat guiltily.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Potter, I have been unable to See what lies in the future for you and the Dark Lord. Very little is clear where he is concerned. I have seen that the two of you face other grave challenges in the near future, although what exactly they are, and what the outcome is, have not been revealed to me.

"Be very careful, Harry and Luna. There are those who wish you ill fortune – that much is certain. Tread carefully – very carefully."

Professor Trelawney got up, made some more tea, and poured some other liquid into her own cup, which she obviously hoped Luna and Harry didn't notice. Luna did, but said nothing.

"Your father prints The Quibbler, does he not?" Professor Trelawney asked Luna.

"He publishes it, yes," Luna said.

"I've noticed there's no divination column. Has he ever thought of adding one?" Professor Trelawney added nervously, "It's just that a good publication should have one. The one in the Daily Prophet is so awful it gives the lie to the paper's title, and I thought The Quibbler might need one. I could even find time to write one, perhaps, if having a famous name would help you father..."

Luna smiled reassuringly. "Daddy's always looking for new columns. I'll suggest that to him in my next letter."

"Thank you, my dear. It helps to keep oneself busy, you know..." Professor Trelawney said, sipping her tea. She leaned towards Luna and said, "I see you've finished your tea. Do you see anything in the leaves?"

Harry frowned slightly, and Luna thought he was likely thankful he himself was nowhere near finished. Luna peered into her cup, trying to see a shape in the leaves at the bottom. It was very indistinct – at first it looked like a lamppost, but if she tilted her head slightly it could be a stalk of wheat. She blinked, and then saw it looked more like a broomstick.

Harry moved to get a closer look, and accidentally bumped the cup, muttering "Sorry". The rearranged leaves were clear as day. "It's a Nargle," she said.

"Oh, then that must signify... er... what is Nargle, dear?" Professor Trelawney asked.

"It's a sprite. Lives in mistletoe. Steals your things. Repelled by these," Harry said, holding up his butterbeer cork necklace from Luna.

"Ah. Yes. Of course. Perhaps something you value will be taken away," the former professor said to Luna.

Harry frowned again, saying, "That's a common occurrence for Luna."

"Don't worry too much, dear, it might not be permanent," Professor Trelawney said reassuringly. "What did you see before Harry jostled you?"

Luna paused, unable to speak.

"Luna?" Harry prodded.

"Wheat, or maybe it was a palm tree?" Luna said hesitantly.

"Do either of those mean anything to you? Does your Inner Eye tell you anything?"

"Not particularly," she said.

"I'm sure like many great truths, they will be only understandable in hindsight. But it's near curfew, children. You should get back to your dormitories. Thank you for coming," Professor Trelawney said, gratitude in her voice. "Do feel free to come again. Please. Whenever you like."

"Professor," Harry asked, turning just before he reached the door, "if anything were to, well, happen to change the current situation with our High Inquisitor, would you support that? Could, well, whoever count on your support?"

Professor Trelawney answered Harry more soberly than she had anything during the visit. "Absolutely. Implicitly. I am at any whoever's beck and call." She smiled at the two students. "And tell whoever to be careful. That Woman is dangerous. One doesn't need to see with her Inner Eye to see that."

Harry and Luna climbed down the stairs in the North Tower. It was not quite curfew yet, so Harry didn't pull out the Cloak of Invisibility, but he and Luna tried to be quiet just the same. Better not to take risks.

"That was smart of you to get Professor Trelawney on our side," Luna said.

Harry shrugged. "It seemed natural – she doesn't like Umbridge any more than we do. I don't know how much use she would be, though – she's not really much of a seer. Are you really going to suggest her column idea to your dad?"

"Yes, I think I will. It's a good idea, you know, having a divination column – Daddy said that even some Muggle papers have them."

"Horoscopes. Yeah, they do – although Aunt Petunia made sure to cut them out of the Daily Mail every day, just in case I ever got to look at the paper. Didn't want to 'encourage' me," Harry said.

Luna reached for his hand and held it. "I'm sure Professor Trelawney's column would be far more accurate than any Muggle horoscope."

Harry scoffed. "I don't know. She's really not very good. Dumbledore said she's only ever made two real prophecies. Although I should be happy, I guess. If she was any good, I'd be dead multiple times over."

Luna stopped, and let go of his hand. Her normally serene, vaguely happy expression was gone, and instead she looked very upset.

"Luna?"

"Harry Potter! I have asked you not to say things like that! You know that I don't like it when you joke about such things," Luna said, her voice trembling.

"It was just a joke," he said, a note of apology in his voice.

"It's not a joke to me!" she said vehemently. She dropped her voice to almost a whisper. "It's not a joke to me, Harry. I've already lost one person I love, when Mummy died. I don't want to lose you too, not when I just found you. I don't even want to think about it."

"Luna, love, you won't lose me. I promise," he said, pulling her into a hug.

"You can't promise that," she said quietly. "Not when he is out there." She sniffled softly. "I know it's a possibility, Harry. I hope it won't happen – I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you. But please don't joke about it. Please."

"All right. I won't. I'm sorry, Luna, I didn't think." He continued to hold her an gave her a soft kiss, which seemed to make her feel better. Thinking back over what might have made her react like this, he asked, "What did you see in your teacup?"

"It was a Nargle, don't you remember?"

"Of course. But did you see anything else?"

She was silent for a long moment, before she whispered, so quietly he could barely hear, "A broomstick."

Harry knew Luna had a broomstick back in Ottery St. Catchpole, but didn't think it meant that much to her. And then it clicked.

"You think the broomstick represents me?"

"Yes," she whispered.

He tilted her head up so he could look directly in her wide silver eyes, moistened with tears. "I don't think the Nargles are going to steal me away, Luna. I keep my necklace on, remember?"

She smiled slightly. "I don't think the Nargles represent literal Nargles. But I don't want you taken from me – I couldn't bear to go on it you were. Not after how wonderful these last few months have been."

"I couldn't bear being taken from you either, love," he said reassuringly, holding her tightly. "Maybe it's one of those predictions that won't come true. Lots don't – especially Trelawney's."

"I hope so, Harry. I really do."

"I know."

He gave her a kiss to comfort her, and they held one another on the staircase for a few minutes. Then Luna pulled out her pocket watch, which was very small and had an opalescent case. "It was Mummy's," she said.

"It's very beautiful."

"I know. I 'lost' it last year, but it was on my pillow the last morning before summer. I was so glad – I didn't want to think it was gone forever. I've put your anti-theft charm on it now, so I don't think that will happen again." She opened the case, and her eyes went wide at the time. "Oh, it's past curfew! We should get back, Harry," she said, urgently.

"In a few minutes, love," he said, covering them with his Cloak, and holding her close.

[A/N: Estotiland is a phantom island which sailors and cartographers used to think existed in the North Atlantic, like Frisland or Hy-Brazil. Wikipedia has a useful article on it and other phantom islands. I figured in the Harry Potter universe it might actually exist, and simply be imperfectly hidden from Muggles.

I'm going to put a plug in here for the story 'A World Divided' by Martine Lewis, which I had the good fortune to betaread and is a lovely story set in the Harry Potter Universe, but in a magical school in rural Quebec. It's very good, and well worth a read. Check it out.

Thanks as always to MandibleBones for his betareading and suggestions.]

14. 13: Polls, Pubs, Party Planning

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

Chapter 13 – Polls, Pubs, Party Planning

March 15, 1996

Once again, Dolores Umbridge found herself in the atrium outside Cornelius Fudge's office. Waiting.

She never used to have to wait. She was in the inner circle of the Office of the Minister for Magic until recently. Even after her appointment to the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, she had the ear of the Minister, and no mere underling in the OMM would dare think of making her wait. But since that damned memo from the teacher's meeting three weeks previous landed on Cornelius' desk, she could feel her influence slipping, and there was precious little she could do about it up in Scotland.

"I'm sure the Minister will only be a few minutes longer, Madam Umbridge. He's very busy after his trip to Istanbul last week," said his secretary, Trudy Little.

Bloody trollop, thought Dolores.

She needed to get posted back to London, and fast. Unfortunately, she knew there was no way Cornelius would recall her unless she dealt with the Dumbledore and Potter situation. She was quite proud of her proposal to send Potter and Lovegood to a school overseas. That would get them out of the Ministry's hair, and leave her to deal with Dumbledore, which she was sure she would be able to do, given only a little more time.

And time was wasting, while Dolores sat in this atrium, with that trollop Trudy Little casting glances over at her every so often, smiling her false little smile. Dolores tried to smile back, but it didn't reach her eyes. Looking at Trudy's blonde hair, milky complexion and too-tight robes, Dolores felt all the resentment she usually felt for brainless beauties in positions of power over her. It was obvious why Cornelius hired her – though he was known to be a faithful husband, he obviously still liked the kind of decoration Trudy provided.

It just made her hate Trudy all the more. When Dolores finally made Permanent Secretary, she certainly wasn't going to be hiring her secretary just on the basis of the way he filled out a set of robes. One more reason why her not being Minister herself was an injustice.

After an interminable wait, she was finally ushered into the Minister's office.

"Hello, Dolores," Cornelius Fudge said affably, pouring her some tea, a weary smile on his face. "Sorry about the delay – tons to deal with, coming back from the I.C.W. Minister's Conference. The bloody thing was supposed to be done Monday, but our new Supreme Mugwump would not gavel the damned thing finished until we had three extra days of debate on whether flying carpets should be legal. We may have to legalize them just to keep the Persian Ministry off our backs. I tell you, Dolores, if I'd known Pedro Oliveira was such a spineless ditherer, I never would have voted for him. It almost makes me miss Dumbledore as Supreme Mugwump."

"Cornelius!" she said, shocked.

"Almost, Dolores. He's a barmy old codger, but at least he kept things moving. So, how did your proposal to Harry Potter go? Does he want to go overseas?"

"He seemed cautiously interested, Cornelius. I played on his experiences under Dumbledore, the lack of safety, all of Dumbledore's failings. He played into my hands when he mentioned Lovegood's experiences at Hogwarts as well."

Cornelius frowned. "But he didn't accept."

Dolores was flustered. "Not yet, Cornelius. It's a big decision. I told him he could have until after the Easter holidays."

"And why would you give him so long?" Fudge asked, sipping his tea.

"He needs time to see this is the best option, and his little girlfriend needs time too. He won't go without her."

Fudge poured himself another cup of tea. "I'm not convinced sending him away is a good idea. People will think we're exiling him."

Which we are, thought Dolores. "I'm sure people will see it as our wise Minister giving a young man an opportunity to study abroad, learn more about the world, develop himself... really, Cornelius, it's a generous thing we're doing. The public will see that, no doubt."

"Yes, about that," Cornelius said, waving his wand, causing his desk to open, and a thick scroll of parchment to float over to Dolores.

"What's this?"

"Opinion polling," he said.

"What on earth?" she asked, confused.

"It's an idea I got from the Muggle Minister," Cornelius explained. At Dolores' cough, he reprimanded her. "Really, Dolores. They do have some good ideas. At my last meeting with him, right after that business at the Triwizard Tournament, he mentioned he was facing a leadership challenge the next week. Some rumbling in his own faction in the Mugglegamot, or whatever they call it. He was certain he would win, though, because he said his own faction's polling showed he had more support among the Muggles than any other member of his faction.

"We spoke a bit about this, and he mentioned there are Muggles out there, lots of them, who make their whole business finding out what people think. They just ask random people what they think, collate it, apply some of their Muggle arithmancy, and there you go! The 'view of the common Muggle.' I thought it was a good idea, and had some enquiries made. It turns out there were a couple Muggleborns who left our world working in that business. A couple generous offers, some organizing, and we have it for ourselves. The view of the common wizard. And witch, of course. Go on, take a look."

Dolores unrolled the scroll. "Confidential Report on Wizarding Public Opinion in the week of March 4 to March 11, 1996," it said. Just after that damned article in The Quibbler.

She skipped over the methodology section, and after some unrolling, found the summary. She read the results aloud. It was disturbing reading.

"Do you think Wizarding Britain is better off than it was two years ago? 41% Yes, 49% No, 10% undecided."

"Do you agree with the dismissal of Albus Dumbledore from the Wizengamot and International Confederation of Wizards? 36% Yes, 42% No, 28% undecided."

"Do you support Harry Potter? 51% Yes, 27 % No, 22% undecided."

"Do you think You-Know-Who has returned? 26% Yes, 31% No, 43% undecided."

"How would you rate Cornelius Fudge's performance as Minister? 35% favourable, 34% unfavourable, 31% undecided."

Cornelius frowned at her. "Lovely, isn't it. Look at those numbers. Thirty-five percent favourable. Thirty-five! More people disagree with Dumbledore's sacking than agree. Nine months after an intense media campaign, more than half of the wizards and witches in this country still support Harry Potter!"

"It was taken just after that interview," Dolores explained.

"Yes, it was. Keep reading."

"Not counting the March 2, 1996 issue, have you read two or more issues of The Quibbler in the last year? 8% Yes, 92% No."

"Did you read the Harry Potter interview in the March 2, 1996 issue of The Quibbler? 49% Yes, 51% No."

"Did you catch that? Half the people polled read that interview. Half! Five times who normally read it! Three-fifths of the people support Potter! And twenty-two percent haven't made up their minds." Fudge said.

"But only a quarter actually believe Potter's lies," Dolores pointed out.

"And only slightly more believe us!" Cornelius yelled. "Almost half don't know who to believe! Skip to the bottom."

Dolores unravelled the rest of the scroll. She did not read the last two lines aloud.

Do you support the Ministry's efforts to reform Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? 32% Yes, 42% No, 26% undecided.

Answers to the above by parents of Hogwarts students: 23% Yes, 64% No, 13% undecided.

"Harrowing, aren't they?" Cornelius said. "They tell me the numbers are correct within six points, nineteen times out of twenty. Whatever that means. All I know is that I want progress, Dolores. I want to see results. I want Dumbledore neutralized. I want Potter dealt with. I want to not see numbers like this again, because if those education numbers go down, and my numbers go down... I cannot guarantee my support for you."

"Minister!" she said.

"You're sure sending Potter outside the country is a good idea? We'll have no control over him. He could talk to anyone, and we would have way to stop him. Not even to the minimal extent we can now. He could be libelling me in all the papers overseas, Dolores, if we let him go."

"If we're paying for his education, we have some control, Cornelius," she said, smiling at him. "And if he talks to some foreign rags, what does it really matter? Foreigners don't choose our Minister, Cornelius. And British wizards don't read foreign papers."

"You'd better hope they don't read them, Dolores. I still think he could have been bribed to toe the line. Offer him a position in the Ministry when he graduates, or something."

She shook her head. "He's stubborn. He won't support us. He's convinced he's right. The best we can do is get him out of the country."

"I hope you're right, and I hope this doesn't backfire. The 'Boy-Who-Lied' line isn't working, and I don't want to be tarred as the Minister who drove away Harry Potter."

"You won't be if we manage it correctly," she said.

"And you think you can manage him?"

"I do. Besides, what will it matter? You-Know-Who isn't back, you've said it yourself. What do we need Harry Potter for? Don't you want people looking to you for guidance, rather than to him?"

Cornelius pondered that, and Dolores smiled. She still knew how to convince him.

March 16, 1996.

Harry had to admit, he was having fun.

The closest he'd had to a double date before was the Yule Ball last year, when he and Ron had taken the Patil sisters. And largely ignored them, he now realized. Harry internally shook his head thinking about it. He and Ron knew nothing last year, absolutely nothing. They waited until the last minute to get dates, putting themselves through tremendous stress, but Harry still lucked out and got them dates with two nice, pretty girls in the Patil twins. It should have been a recipe for fun. Even though he had had no romantic feelings for Parvati, they still could have had a good time. They should have had a good time. But they didn't. Harry was too wrapped up in looking at Cho, and Ron was too busy moping about his robes and ranting about Viktor Krum. Neither he nor Ron knew a damn thing about girls then, and certainly nothing about how to treat them.

Harry was still surprised Parvati forgave him back in January.

This double date was going much better. He and Ron had met Luna and Lavender out at the carriages about mid-morning. The boys were dressed appropriately for the crisp March weather. Lavender was looking her usual smiling and perky self, and looked quite nice as far as Harry was concerned. She greeted Ron with a tight hug and a steamy kiss. Luna was dressed in her usual explosion of colours, wearing her crescent moon earrings, and her butterbeer-cork necklace. Instead of the usual carefree disarray, her hair was done in a tight braid all the way down her back, interwoven with purple silk ribbons and tied off at the end with a small purple bow. In her hair above her right ear she wore a violet. Harry gave her a hug and a quick kiss.

After Lavender untangled herself from Ron, she turned to Harry and excitedly asked, "So? What do you think of her hair?"

"It looks great. Of course, I always like it, but I think it looks really good. I like the ribbons, by the way."

Luna smiled at him for the complement, but it was Lavender who said, "Thanks! I helped Luna braid her hair, and the ribbons were my idea – they go with that violet you gave her."

"You kept the violet?" he asked.

"Of course," Luna said, "and I cast a Preserving Charm on it. No one had ever given me a flower before. Well, other than the lily anklet you made me, of course," she said, pointing to the ring of flowers at the bottom of her leg.

The two couples took a carriage to the village, with Luna and Harry taking one bench, and Ron and Lavender taking the other. Lavender said "No Umbridge in here!" with a giggle, sat in Ron's lap, threw her arms around him, and began vigorously snogging him. Harry looked at Luna with a smirk at this, and merely cuddled next to her and gave her a comparatively less steamy kiss but equally passionate, which Luna still seemed to appreciate.

After they arrived in Hogsmeade, and Ron and Lavender came up for air, the four friends wandered the village. It was far warmer than it had been at Valentine's Day – the sun was shining and the snow was melting in and around the village, which made Harry wish he had worn wellies rather than his trainers. Periodic drying charms would probably solve that problem for him, however.

Their morning consisted largely of wandering around and chatting, making jokes, and the teens holding the hands of their sweethearts. They stopped at a kiosk selling hot chocolate, and the two boys treated their girlfriends to a mug of the steaming beverage, which took away any lingering edge of cold.

At one point they passed the pond where Luna and Harry ice skated in January and Ron and Lavender skated in February. The pond was still covered in ice, but the sun and warmth had noticeably thinned the surface, and here and there small puddles of water rested on top of the ice. The pond was largely devoid of skaters, save for three brave Hufflepuff boys that Harry thought must have been third-years.

"We could transfigure some skates and give it a try," Lavender said. "Maybe cast some Glaciating Charms to keep the ice frozen."

"Last time we skated, Parkinson used Finite on our skates," Harry said. "I'd hate to see what would happen if someone did that to the ice."

"We'll keep an eye out, Harry," Ron said. "We'll have those three over there as witnesses, too."

"I think it will be lots of fun," Luna said, as she began transfiguring her boots.

After the transfigurations were done, and a few Glaciating Charms cast (which the third-year Hufflepuffs seemed to appreciate), the four began skating. Harry was glad to see Ron showed the same minimal proficiency as he did, and both boys were happy to hold their girlfriends hands as they skated. Eventually Luna and Lavender decided to do some more impressive skating movies, gliding around the boys. This left Harry and Ron to try and maintain balance on their own, which they were somewhat successful at, earning them some good-natured laughs from the girls.

"I wish there was some snow here," Ron said with a smirk at Harry after Ron fell down for the third time. "I'd lob one at Lav next time she laughed. Not too hard, mind you – just enough to get a laugh of my own."

"Wouldn't she be mad?"

"Nah, she'd probably just tackle me. That'd be all right!" Ron said with a laugh.

Luna and Lavender skated up to them and stopped with a flourish. "You boys need more practice," Lavender said with a laugh as she cast another Glaciating Charm. "I wish I didn't have to keep doing that."

"You could probably charm your skates to freeze the ice as they passed over it," Luna said idly, looking up and around her in a manner that Harry knew meant she was looking for Wrackspurts. Or something. "That way we wouldn't have to keep charming the ice as we went, and we wouldn't fall in."

"That's a really good idea," Ron said.

Luna smiled a little smile. "Thank you, Ronald. Oh, you could probably even charm them so they would do that on open water!" she said excitedly. "That way we'd be able to skate any time of the year! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"That's brilliant!" Lavender said.

Harry grinned – it was nice to see Luna's ideas appreciated instead of dismissed, and part of him enjoyed the reflected glow of his girlfriend being recognized. "It'd have to be a pretty strong charm," he said, "so that it would freeze a large enough area that if you went quickly, you wouldn't just fall in."

"Oh, I'm certain it would be possible," Luna said. "I'll have to talk to Professor Flitwick about it – it could be my next Charms project!"

"You get that working right and I'll bet Fred and George would buy the idea from you. They'll think that's a great prank – skating in July, even," Ron said.

"Oh, that would be nice," Luna said, idly skating backwards in circles around the group. "Of course, you'd probably only be able to do it on relatively calm water like ponds, but I think that would be a lot of fun. We could have summer skate parties down at the pond by my house! If I get it worked out, we might be able to do that at Easter!" She looked at Lavender. "Of course, you'll have to come, if you're available that is."

"I'm having Parvati over for part of the first week of the hols," Lavender said, "but if we do that in the second week, that could be fun."

Luna smiled warmly and said excitedly, "Maybe we could do a slumber party. I haven't had anyone sleep over since Ginny did before Mummy died. We could invite her, too – that would be lots of fun, although I don't know if you and Ginny really get along – and maybe we could all go to the village the next day!"

"Sure. I'll have to check with my parents, but that sounds fun. And I like Ginny – I bet she'd have loads of Ron stories to tell!" Lavender said with a wink at Ron, which earned her a groan from her boyfriend.

"If this comes off, you could invite Lavender over for lunch. Let your mum meet her," Harry said with a grin at his best friend.

"Oh, I'd love to meet your mum!" Lavender said, skating up right in front of Ron. "Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Er, yeah, it does," Ron said.

Lavender frowned a little at Ron's apparent lack of enthusiasm until Harry said, "You just don't want your mum to tell more stories. Or dig out the baby photos." He grinned wider as he said that.

"I hadn't even though of that!" Ron groaned. "You sure you want to come over Lav?"

"I don't want to miss out on seeing ickle baby Won-Won photos. I'll bet you were just the cutest little thing!"

Lavender smothered him with a snog before Ron could groan again. Harry figured that was probably the best way she could convince him.

Hermione wasn't exactly alone in the Gryffindor common room, but it didn't really matter to her. With the vast majority of the third-year and older students in Hogsmeade, and many of the first and second years in the Great Hall, library, or out enjoying the grounds, the common room was practically deserted. The three younger girls in the common room were intimidated enough by Hermione to stay at the other end of the room and give Hermione the space she needed to spread out her books and her notes in front of the fire. Crookshanks was seated beside her, purring contentedly. She even had a warm mug of hot chocolate.

It was a lovely way to study.

After a few productive hours of studying, Hermione was startled by someone sitting down on one of the chairs near her couch. She let out a quick gasp she tried to muffle, and looking at her new companion, said, "Oh! You startled me, Neville."

The boy in question had obviously just emerged from the shower. "Sorry, Hermione. Not going to Hogsmeade?"

"Not yet. I figured I'd take advantage of the relative quiet to get some studying done. I'll go in later to meet everyone at the Three Broomsticks. Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I am," he said as he reached over and stroked Crookshanks' fur. "I was planning on going into the village for lunch, actually. You want to come?"

"I was hoping to do a bit more studying, actually," she said.

"How about an hour from now? The Hog's Head has a good lamb stew. I'll treat," Neville said.

Thinking back to her conversation with Lavender earlier in the week, Hermione was somewhat wary. But the lamb stew did sound good, and an hour would give her time to finish up reviewing a few more chapters of Arithmancy. "Okay, give me an hour," she said.

Neville smiled. "Great! I'm going to go feed Trevor. See you then!"

An hour later, the two Gryffindors were walking into the village together, in silence for most of the way. Hermione broke the ice by saying, "You don't have to treat me, Neville. I can buy my own lunch."

"I don't mind," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "You help me so much in Potions, I'd like to do something for you for a change."

Hermione smiled a little. "Thank you, then. I don't help you just to get a free lunch, by the way."

"I know. That wouldn't be much of a trade – five years of getting grief from Snape for one bowl of lamb stew."

"I don't get a drink?" she asked playfully.

Neville turned red. "Well, of course! I mean... I didn't..."

"I'm kidding," she said. "So were you having a lie-in this morning?"

"No, I got up early to help Professor Sprout replant some Venomous Tentacula plants. We'll be dealing with them next year, she says. They're really neat, but you have to be really careful with them. Professor Sprout asked if I wanted to help – she usually asks seventh-years to help with them!" he said proudly.

"That's great, Neville. You really have a way with Herbology."

"It's the one thing I'm good at," he said.

"You're good at far more than that."

"That's not what everyone else says," Neville pointed out.

"Who? Malfoy? Snape? You can't listen to them, Neville. You're a good wizard. You just need more confidence, and you're far more confident than you were even last year."

"I wish I had your confidence, Hermione. You always seem so sure of yourself."

"Not always. But if I'm not sure of something, I work at it and work at it until I am. You do that too, Neville. You're a hard worker," she said.

"I have to be or I'd fail everything."

"You stop that right now, Neville. I told you, you're a good wizard. You have lots to be confident in, and not just in Herbology. You wouldn't be in Gryffindor if you didn't," she said in a tone that brooked no further argument.

They ended up at the Hog's Head pub at roughly half past one. Neville ordered his usual Ploughman's and a butterbeer, while Hermione had the lamb stew and found that the Hog's Head served a sparkling dandelion and burdock, which she found quite tasty.

"This is really good," Hermione said between mouthfuls of the stew.

"I knew you'd like it."

"Neville, did Lavender say anything to you?" she asked in a serious tone.

"'Bout what?" he said as he spread some pickle on a slice of dark bread.

"About, well, me."

"No, I don't think so. Was she supposed to?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, she was not. Never mind about that." She ate some more stew, and asked, "Thank you for the lunch invitation, by the way. What brought it on?"

"Nothing, really. I hadn't eaten. You looked like you hadn't either, with all your books spread out like that. I knew Harry and Ron were busy with their girlfriends, and I did want to do something for you for all your help. And I had fun hanging out with you last time. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing," she said quickly. "I don't get many lunch invitations, that's all."

"Okay. I heard you're going to Spain for Easter?"

"Yes," she said. "My parents wanted to do a beach vacation as a family. I didn't see them much this past summer – I stayed with Ron's family for much of it – so it's ten days of 'fun in the sun'."

"You don't sound too happy."

"Beaches are boring. After a little bit of swimming, all there is to do is sit under a beach umbrella and read, and I'd much rather do that indoors where there's less sand. At least Mum and Dad have some plans to do some sightseeing – I'd like to see the Alhambra. Maybe see if I can find any monuments left by Andalusian wizards."

Neville finished his meal, and said, "Maybe Professor Sprout can help you with that. She spent some summers in Spain."

"I didn't know that."

"She's mentioned them a few times when I've helped her out."

"Well, I'll ask her if she knows if there's a wizarding quarter in Malaga or Granada, then. I'm also going to be seeing Viktor," she said.

"That should be fun."

"I don't know. I haven't seen Viktor since the Tournament. Who knows if we'll still get along. I expect we will, but... Oh, and my Dad is very keen to meet the 'older sports star who's writing his only daughter.' He's made some comments about what kind of an adult writes to a schoolgirl, and that kind of thing. I just hope they get on."

"Viktor's only three years older than you, right?" Neville asked.

"Only a couple months over two, actually."

"That's not much. He could be fourteen years older. Guess where's I'm going for Easter?" he said, in a voice completely lacking enthusiasm.

"You don't mean..."

Neville grimaced. "Yep. Holland. Gran wants to visit her old friend for a few days, and thought she'd bring me along for 'company.' So I'll probably be spending most of my time with Esmeralda."

"Maybe you'll get along?" Hermione said, trying to stay positive.

"I really hope not. If we do, I'll probably come back to school engaged!" Neville said, his voice full of despair.

"You can't your grandmother dictate your life, Neville..."

He sighed. "You don't know Gran. She's obsessed with me carrying on the family line, and always asking me if I've met any nice girls, and about all the girls in my classes. And those within a few years of me. It's horrible. I wish she'd get another hobby."

"Stand up to her. Show her your inner Gryffindor."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm going to have some elderberry pie. Want some?"

"Oh, why not." Once the pie, which Hermione found delicious, arrived, her curiosity got the better of her. "So your Gran asks about all us girls?" When Neville nodded, she asked, "What did you say about me?"

After Neville stopped coughing on a bite of his pie, and saw Hermione was not going to let him get away with not answering, he said, "I told her you were the smartest one in our year, that you're very nice, and how you always helped me. I told her your parents are dentists, but I couldn't really explain what they do. I also told her how good you are with a Full Body Bind!" He smiled at the last comment.

"Oh no, you told her that?"

"I had to tell her that I got the points that won us the House Cup, and I had to tell her why."

"Wonderful," Hermione said, sighing. "Warn me if it looks like we'll ever meet."

"She thought it was great. Said it was good that Hogwarts was still producing spunky girls. She said Mum was spunky. It was one of the things that made Gran approve of Dad marrying Mum."

Hermione had to ask what was on her mind. "Did you tell her about the Yule Ball? And me, well..."

Neville shook his head. "I concentrated on telling her about Ginny saying yes, instead."

"Thanks."

Neville shrugged. "Don't thank me. I wanted to make myself look cool. Why mention anything that takes away from it?"

"I would have said yes to you if Viktor hadn't asked first."

Neville didn't say anything for a few moments, although eventually he gave a small chuckle, and said "If that had happened, Gran really would have questioned me about you!"

Hermione smiled a little smile and had some more pie.

While Hermione and Neville were enjoying lunch, Ron and Harry were in Quality Quidditch Supplies. Their girlfriends were off on their own for a bit, and the four had agreed to meet up afterwards at Honeydukes.

Lunch had gone well – they all went to Madam Puddifoot's, and sat at adjoining tables. The atmosphere was more like when Harry and Luna first went there in January than the Valentine's Day weekend – which meant that while the shop was still romantic, it wasn't as overwhelming as last time. There were no cherubs, the sandwiches were back to their normal triangle shapes, and there were far fewer heart decorations than the last time.

The seating arrangements had meant that it was easy for the four friends to talk, while if the couples wished to get more expressive, they could do that as well. Lavender in particular had seemed eager to engage in the kind of public shows of affection that she and Ron couldn't back in the castle under Umbridge's eyes. Harry and Luna, by contrast, were far more subdued.

Ron was standing in front of a display of brooms and sighing. "Bloody Umbridge should be thrown into Azkaban, she should," he muttered.

Harry moved over to Ron and followed his eyes to the demonstration model of a Firebolt that the shop had.

"Locking up something so beautiful, away from the world. It's sacrilege! I love my Cleansweep Eleven, don't get me wrong, but a Firebolt is meant to be used!" Ron said.

"Don't I know it."

"I'll bet she won't even let you take it back to The Burrow for Easter. You can use Dad's old Comet 180 when we play. It's no Firebolt, but it at least it flies. Usually. Or my old Shooting Star, if you don't care about, well, speed."

Harry chuckled a little. "Luna said her dad may let me use his, too. Maybe you can let Lavender use yours or your dad's if she comes over."

"Yeah, I suppose. Thank you for suggesting that, by the way."

"What? Don't you want her to come over?"

Ron shook his head. "It's not that at all."

"Do you think your parents won't like her or something?"

"No, I think they'll like her fine. Lav's nice."

"So what's the problem?" Harry asked, confused.

"Lav thinks I'm cool."

"That's a bad thing?"

"No, it's great. No one has ever thought I'm cool. But if she comes to The Burrow, she won't see me as the cool Quidditch star... she's see me as Ron, sixth of the Weasleys. She'll see Mum being all 'Mum' at me," Ron said.

"Hey, your mum's really nice."

"I love Mum. You know that. But she'll be all, 'Wash behind your ears' and 'De-gnome the garden' and 'Leave some for everyone else!' And then the mystique will be gone." Ron sighed, but seeing Harry grin, he defensively said, "What?"

"Mystique? She's known you since you were eleven, Ron. She saw that whole slug-vomiting thing back in second-year, she's seen your dress robes – "

"Hey! Fred and George bought me new ones!"

Harry continued. " – so I don't think you have to worry about mystique. Not with the way she was kissing you. It's like she was trying to eat your face."

"Like you and Luna don't..."

"Not so much as you two. And not so publicly."

Ron smiled lasciviously. "Yeah. Lav borrowed some of Luna's lipstick you were telling me about, by the way – the flavour-changing kind. Snogging with Lav's fun at any time, but I really like that stuff. I'll have to thank Luna."

"Thank Ginny, too. That's where Luna got it."

Ron grimaced. "Urgh... I don't even want to think about her using that!"

Harry laughed at his friend's discomfort. "Maybe just think of it with Lav, then. I think it's cool how much she likes you. I don't think you have to worry about anything with her coming over – I honestly thought it might be fun for both of you. That's why I suggested it. Unless there's some reason you don't want her visiting."

Ron said, "If Mum doesn't like her, I'll never hear the end of it. But if Mum does like her, I'll also never hear the end of it! Before Percy went and became King of the Tosspots, Mum would ask about Penelope Clearwater every time she saw him! That's why Fred didn't want to tell Mum about Angelina. I don't want every conversation I have with Mum until I die to be about Lavender, and how she's doing, and how we're doing, and where we're going."

"It won't be until you die, Ron. Just until you marry her," Harry said, laughing.

Ron swatted his friend, and said, "Don't even joke about that! Lav's great, but that's thinking way too far ahead for me. Way too far ahead. I want to focus on now with her, not the future. Anyway, you'll see. It'll be the same for you. I bet you a sickle the first thing Mum says after she picks us up from King's Cross is about Luna."

Knowing that Mrs. Weasley had already invited Luna over, Harry shook his head. "I'm not taking that bet."

Ron just laughed at his friend's expense.

At the same time, Luna and Lavender were looking around "Miss Witch", a shop that catered to the young witches of Hogwarts, selling cosmetics, jewellery and clothing. Lavender first picked out a tube of Luna's charmed lipstick for herself, and then took it upon herself to look for various cosmetics she thought would work for Luna. She ended up suggesting very little.

"You've got that whole 'child of nature' look going for you, so I don't think you should wear much make-up even if you wanted to. I wish I had your complexion, for one thing," Lavender said. "Maybe a couple more shades of lipstick, for special occasions... that's really all I'd suggest. You really don't need anything to make your eyes 'pop'! Maybe we can find something to make them look less big..." She paused, realizing what she'd said. "I'm not saying you need anything to make you look different, you know, or that you need to change at all."

"I know," Luna said happily.

"It's just fun, sometimes, to play with your look. Like wearing different outfits depending on how you feel. It's not really a matter of making you look better... I just like how I can change my appearance. Like a magic-proof glamour." She sighed. "I must seem so shallow to you."

"Oh, I don't think so," Luna said. "I don't think it's shallow at all. It's like when I change my earrings, or necklace or that kind of thing."

Lavender smiled. "Yes! I just think I look better with some makeup sometimes. I know Won-Won likes it," she giggled. "As for you... maybe you can get some blush... This might look nice sometimes..." Lavender then took Luna over to another aisle and grabbed some more ribbons for Luna's hair and some headbands for herself. "I think Harry really liked the ribbons! Thanks for letting me do your hair today."

"You're welcome. It was a lot of fun. I'd never really done that, you know, other than with Ginny and Hermione before my first date with Harry," Luna said.

"Parvati and I used to try and get Hermione to let us do her hair. I think she thought we were insulting her. I guess maybe I asked wrong, or something. We just wanted to bond with her... My mum would do that with me when I was younger. Maybe Hermione didn't do that with hers. Did your mum? Before..."

"Before she died? Sometimes. I didn't much like having my hair brushed by anyone, even Mummy. Even myself, as you can probably tell," she said. "I know people think my hair's an awful mess."

"I don't think it's awful at all," Lavender said. "Just not a look I would go for. But if it makes you happy..."

"It does, although I like how you made it look today. I didn't mind you brushing it out at all, not like I thought I would."

"If you didn't think you'd like it, why did you let me?" Lavender asked.

"I don't have many friends. It's nice to do things with them, even if it's not something I would choose myself, you know? And it turns out that it was fun. I may have to wear it like this more often. Oooooh, look at those!" she said, pointing to some iridescent ribbons that changed colour gradually. "I think I'll get some of those for next time I want ribbons in my hair. Maybe I can charm them for something."

"You and your charms!" Lavender wandered over to the jewellery section. "Oh, Luna! Come see this! Maybe I'll get this for Ron as a late birthday present. I didn't know his birthday was on March First, or I would have got him something in Hogsmeade last time"

Luna came over to Lavender, and saw what she was pointing at – a shiny gold necklace with "My Sweetheart" made out of large, golden block letters on a thick chain.

"I don't think Ron would wear that, Lavender."

"Why not?" she said defensively. "Harry wears that cork necklace you made for him."

"Actually, he's the one who made it a necklace. I just made it a charm," Luna pointed out. "And I think Ron's brothers would tease him if you gave him that. He doesn't liked to be teased, you know. He can be very sensitive."

"Oh. I guess. My brother doesn't tease me much, so I didn't think of that. I just wanted to give him something he could see and think of me, like I'm sure Harry's necklace does for you."

Luna looked at the jewellery. "Maybe a locket. It's less obvious, so less teasing for Ron – he could even keep it in his pocket – and you can put a photo of yourself in it."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Lavender exclaimed, and after a trip to the cashier and a pose for the cashier's camera, Lavender was in possession of a small oval locket (Luna had talked her down from a heart-shaped one using the possibility of Ron getting teased as a reason) with a picture inside that showed Lavender smiling widely and then giggling and blowing a kiss.

"I bet Ron will like that," Luna said. "That picture is very appropriate."

Lavender laughed. "He won't forget me kissing him that way! But you know what else I should get him? Some candy. Ron will love that."

"Let's get the boys and go to Honeydukes then. I could use some more pumpkin creams. Not too many, of course. Rimesprites, you know," Luna said sagely.

"Of course," Lavender said with a smile.

Eventually, of course, they all ended up at the Three Broomsticks as usual. The two couples sat opposite one another, allowing each person to cuddle their sweetheart while they drank butterbeer, or gillywater in Luna's case, and played Exploding Snap over a heaping plate of chips. Luna came out the winner twice in a row.

Ron frowned and said, "We should be playing chess. There's a pub game."

Harry shook his head and said, "Backgammon's more of a pub game."

"Never heard of it. Is it some Muggle game?"

"It is," Luna said. "I've played it. Daddy has a set he bought when he worked for the Daily Express. It's fun."

"We should be playing gobstones," Lavender said. "That's a pub game. I've got a really nice set my dad made. If I can come by at Easter, I'll bring it!"

Hermione and Neville arrived at that point. "Hi guys. You're going to The Burrow at Easter?" Hermione asked Lavender.

"Luna invited to visit her place," Lavender said. "I'll probably go visit Ron too, if his parents will let me."

"I'm sure they will," Hermione said. "They're both very nice. They've always treated me well."

Lavender's smile fell momentarily, before she asked, "So what did you two do today?"

"Hermione and I went to the Hog's Head, for lunch, and then hung out at the florists and the bookstore," Neville said.

Harry said, "You probably just missed us at the bookstore. I got this," he said, handing a small worn tome to Hermione.

"'Useful Spells from the Front'," she read. "By Arminius Esterhazy!"

"I liked his memoirs, so I asked if he had written anything else last time I was there. The only other thing he ever wrote was this, so I had to order it. It's apparently pretty rare," Harry said.

"I should think so! You must let me borrow it!" she said excitedly.

"Look on page 92," Harry said.

Hermione flipped to the page and saw what Harry was referring to. "Wand-Breaking Curse" was what it said. A quick read-through showed that it was very complex spell, and would be very difficult to master. It also had the drawback of only targeting one person, although any wand or wands they were carrying would be affected by it.

"We've got to keep this secret," she whispered. Harry nodded solemnly.

"That's what, two rare books in two months?" Ron said. "They're going to put you on their rare book mailing list."

"If they do, you'll have to show me the catalogue!" Hermione said with a laugh.

"Me too," Luna added, squeezing her boyfriend's hand.

Hermione and Neville took seats facing one another and ordered drinks. Lavender turned towards Neville and asked, "How did you two end up at the Hog's Head?"

"Hermione was studying in the common room, and looked like she could use a bite of lamb stew, so I invited her to come with me," Neville said.

"How gallant of you!" Lavender said, giving Hermione a look which clearly said "See?"

"It wasn't gallant at all," Neville said. "I'd just rather eat with a friend than on my own. Hermione was doing me a favour."

"Right," Lavender said, giving Hermione another look, before turning to Ron and saying, "Are you going to show them your present?"

"Er, sure," Ron said, leaning over and pulling the locket out from under his shirt. "Lav gave me this as a birthday present. This and some Cauldron Cakes, but I'm not sharing those with anyone but her!"

Hermione and Neville took a look inside the locket. "That's a good picture of you," Neville said to Lavender.

"It really is," Ron agreed.

Lavender gave Ron a big kiss, and said, "I got it at Miss Witch. They did the photo, too. I think it's a great idea to let that someone special have a keepsake of you."

"It's very nice."

"What's very nice?" asked Ginny, sliding in next to Neville, who got very silent suddenly.

"Ron's new locket," Luna said, twirling the onion in her gillywater.

Ginny let out a laugh, and said, "Well, come on, show your sister."

Ron muttered something inaudible, but brought out the locket again.

"Very nice," Ginny said, sincerely. "You realize Fred and George will have a field day with this if they see you wearing it."

"They'll just be jealous of who's picture's in it," Ron said. That got him another big kiss from Lavender, while Hermione looked at Ginny and rolled her eyes, causing Ginny to giggle.

"Where's Michael?" Neville asked.

"He's with Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot over there," Ginny said. "We sat with the Gryffindors last time, so it's Ravenclaws this time."

"That's fair, I suppose," Neville said.

Lavender looked at Luna, tilting her head at Ginny. Luna said, "Oh, right. I'm trying to organize a slumber party for the second week of the holiday, Ginny. Lavender will try and come over. Would you like to as well?"

"Sure," Ginny said. "That would be fun. I'm sure Mum will let me."

"Would you like to come, too?" Luna asked Hermione.

"Thanks, Luna, but I'll be in Spain the whole holiday," Hermione said.

"That's too bad," Luna said. "Oh! Ron and Harry are trying to get a Quidditch game going, too, Ginny. Maybe you could invite Michael. I know he's not much of a Quidditch player, but I'm not either, and I'm going. He could cheer you on if he doesn't want to play."

"Yeah, and you can introduce him to Mum and Dad," Ron laughed.

"Are you bringing Lavender over?" Ginny said, challenging her brother.

"That's the plan," Ron said.

"Oh. Sure, I'll ask him."

"Great. The more, the merrier. Maybe we can get enough for two full teams. You want to come, Neville?" Ron asked.

"Maybe. I'm not much on a broom," Neville said.

"Neither is Ron! That's why he plays Keeper!" Ginny laughed.

"Hey! I could outrace and outmanoeuvre you any day of the week, Gin-Gin," Ron said, offended.

"I'd like to see that, Won-Won," Ginny said right back, causing Ron to blush, and Lavender to look sheepish. "You should come, Neville. The more the merrier."

"I'll ask Gran," Neville said. "As long as I'm not in Holland then."

"Are you going there for Easter?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, Gran's taking me," Neville said. Everyone but Hermione smiled at him, and said it sounded like fun.

"You should see if you can find any Amphibious Kelpies when you're there, if you get to go into the rest of the Netherlands." Luna said. When she saw that, as usual, no one knew what she was referring to, she explained, "They're like the kelpies we have in Britain, but they can spend time on land, too. Daddy says they used to live in the Zuiderzee, but since the Muggles reclaimed all those polders, they live on land now. They're practically indistinguishable from normal horses."

"How can you tell they're not?" Ginny asked.

"They swim better in deep water than horses," Luna said sagely.

"So to find out if it's a horse or an Aquatic Kelpie, you just throw it in the sea or something?" Ron asked.

"Yes. Or try and feed it sardines, I suppose, but that's not as effective," Luna said.

"I don't think I'll have time to look for them," Neville said. "We're going to be visiting a friend of Gran's the whole time."

"Oh, that's too bad," Luna said.

"Tell me about it," Neville said unenthusiastically "But if we're home, I'll try to come, Ron."

"Great," Ron said, shaking some malt vinegar on the chips and popping a few in his mouth. "Thish'll be the besht Eashter ever," he said through a mouth full of half-chewed potato.

[Author's Note: The Third Task canonically took place on June 24, 1995. Prime Minister John Major faced a leadership crisis in the British Conservative Party at roughly the same time, having resigned as Tory leader on June 22, 1995, and being reaffirmed as leader on July 4, 1995. I figure that if Cornelius Fudge felt the need to meet with the Muggle Prime Minister before the Triwizard Tournament, he would meet afterwards to let him know everything was perfect fine, really, nothing to worry about, and in any event he shouldn't put any faith in any rumours he were to hear. Everything was fine. A British lad even won the tournament, hurrah! and whatnot. I'm sure the leadership challenge would come up as a topic of discussion as well.

It's an open question, of course, as to whether J.K. Rowling intended the Harry Potter universe to follow the real timeline. My guess is probably not. I generally tend to make it do so, though, or at least I have in this, and in How Xenophilius Lovegood Saved Britain, because it amuses me, and I like to think of the Harry Potter Universe as a hidden history rather than an alternate one.

Dandelion and burdock is a traditional English soft drink, which is available carbonated or still. I have unfortunately never had the opportunity to try it. A friend of mine has, though, and thought it was a nice light drink, and very English.

Neville here says "Holland", like many non-Dutch people do, to mean the entire Netherlands. Luna assumes he specifically means the region of Holland, as she has a strong tendency in canon to assume that people know what she herself knows, and being somewhat surprised that they don't. Polders are areas of land reclaimed from the sea. Large polders were reclaimed from the former Zuiderzee in the Twentieth Century by the Dutch. One could write an interesting story about the effects of that on the Wizarding World, and any Wizarding reaction to that rather ambitious Muggle action. If one were to write a story like this, please drop me a line. I'd love to read it.

Thanks as always to MandibleBones for his betareading services and editorial suggestions.]

15. 14: Occlumency Overtime

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

Chapter 14 – Occlumency Overtime

March 18, 1996.

Monday night Occlumency. Two hours in a room with Snape. Never much fun for Harry Potter.

Although he didn't mind so much now.

Having Snape trying to assault his mind for two hours, trying to find a way into his thoughts, trying to sift through his memories, was usually painful and frustrating for Harry. It was still painful, but Harry was finally able to keep Snape out of his thoughts for the full "Remedial Potions" lesson. None of Snape's tricks – insulting him, distracting him, pushing him – worked this time. Harry's mind was blissfully free of intrusion.

Harry had hoped to see a look of frustration on Snape's face at Harry successful repulsion of his attempts at Legilimency.

Unfortunately for Harry, Snape's only reaction as he put his wand away was a simple, toneless, "You're learning."

The Potions Master then looked piercingly at Harry. "I wouldn't be so smug if I were you, Potter. You have to be able repel a Legilimens at any point, and as I have told you before, any failure at Occlumency may be your last failure at anything. It will almost never be as easy as it has been for you."

"You think this was easy?" Harry said, incredulous.

Snape gave him a cruel smile. "In a classroom setting, with an instructor who you know is attempting Legilimency, and who is behaving far more gently towards your than any potential foe? Yes, I think you have had it tremendously easy. The next phase will not be so easy for you."

Harry would not have described Snape's lessons in the last two-and-a-half months as "gentle" by any means, but was more worried by his last comment. "What is the next phase?"

Snape shook his head. "You truly thought this was the limit of my instruction. That you had mastered Occlumency? Always so arrogant, aren't you? No, we have only just begun. The next phase is more subtle. A Legilimens could strike at any time, Potter, not just when you are ready. I will be testing to see whether you are truly learning Occlumency, or whether today was a lucky fluke. I suspect the latter," he said, dismissing Harry with wave of his hand.

His thoughts were clouded as he returned to the common room that night. Harry had hoped that this would be the end of his Occlumency lessons, and was quite proud of his progress over the last month. But it looked like things were going to get more intense for him with Snape, rather than less.

March 19, 1996.

Harry was eating bangers and mash for breakfast when he felt it – a slight throbbing in his head. Thinking it was just a headache, he ignored it until he felt his thoughts being flipped through like pages in a book. Legilimency! He concentrated on expelling the intruder, but being caught off-guard made it a more difficult task than it was during his lessons with Snape. Making an effort to take control of his thoughts, with some difficulty he was able to focus his memory on when he captured the "egg" during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, and the triumph he felt at that. He resisted any attempts to move his mind off of that image. Once he was able to control his own mind, he was able to expel the unwanted "guest" with only a little further effort.

"You all right, Harry?" asked Ron through a mouth full of fried potatoes.

"Yeah. Just a headache," Harry said, waving off his friend's concern.

"Too much studying, I'll bet," Ron said with a laugh.

Harry looked at the head table. Snape looked the same as always – impassive, neutral, and slightly sneering – and didn't look Harry's way at all. But his point was made, and Harry knew it.

He glanced over at Luna, who was looking at him with a look of concern on her face. He smiled and tried to signal with his expression that he was fine, and that the look of pain on his face was nothing. She looked sceptical, but gave him a warm smile.

They weren't going to be able to spend much time together before the holiday. Harry had his studying, and now had to spend even more time on Occlumency than before. Luna was excited to try and work out her summertime ice skate idea, and was going to be consulting with Professor Flitwick and trying to work out the details of her project. And Harry knew he had to tell Ron, Hermione and Sirius about Umbridge's offer. He would see her at the D.A., and they promised one another to try and get together at least once before Easter, but it was going to be a lonely two weeks for Harry.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was never any fun lately for Luna, but Professor Umbridge was still ignoring her rather than targeting her, so while the class dragged on interminably, it wasn't hazardous for her. For the moment. She learned nothing of note, however, and spent her time trying to work out the specifics of the water-freezing ice skates she thought of on the weekend. Professor Flitwick had liked the idea, and made some suggestions on avenues Luna should try. This contemplation made the class move much quicker than normal for her. Eventually it ended, much to Luna's relief.

Professor Umbridge dismissed the class, but as she did so, she said, "Miss Drake, Miss Marquand, Miss Venders. Please see me after supper in my office."

Luna didn't think her three tormentors were being punished by her least favourite professor. The smug look on Jocasta's face confirmed it.

March 20, 1996

Snape had been called out of his office. So Harry waited, idly looking around at the potions ingredients on the walls and the books in his bookcase. There were the expected books – various treatises on potion-making and defence, and copies of the current textbooks Harry himself used in his other classes. Harry was amused but unsurprised to see no copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard. No matter what Harry thought of Professor Snape, he knew was a serious man. Not having a copy of that, despite its endorsement by Umbridge, raised Snape in his estimation. Slightly.

There were a few interesting titles. Snape didn't have a copy of either of Arminius Esterhazy's books, but there were some tantalizing titles – Brew Your Future by Clement St. Just, The Best Defence and Strike First, Strike Hard by Philomena Lessard, The Mysteries of the Spheres by Traicho Yordanov, and Potions of Influence: A Theoretical Treatise by Horace Slughorn. One thin volume truly caught his eye, though – The Subtle Science: Practical Observations by one Severus Snape.

Harry had to take a look.

He was no potions expert, certainly not according to Snape, but this book of his was clear and concise. Flipping through it, Harry saw it was full of notes on how subtle changes in potion-making could have very real effects. Harry knew from experience how easy it was to ruin a potion, whether by accident or inattention, but this book of Snape's spoke about how important it was for brewers of potions who had any interest in expanding their options to try new ingredients, modify the stirring instructions, and generally experiment to see what the results would be. Snape pointed out in his introduction that this was for the advanced brewer, and that a firm theoretical understanding of the science and art of potions was required to be able to experiment without the danger of the brewer blowing himself up, or melting his face off, or meet his end in a variety of unpleasant ways.

"Find something interesting, have you?"

Snape had returned. He marched over to Harry and snatched his book from Harry's hands.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable snoop. Keep your hands off other people's possessions, Potter."

"That looked really interesting," Harry said, ignoring the point deduction.

"Thank you so much for your approval, Potter. It is heartening to know that I, a Potions Master of sixteen years experience, have the support of an barely competent adolescent," Snape said with a sneer.

"Why don't we learn things like that in class?" Harry asked.

"The principles within are for advanced students, among which you are unlikely to ever find yourself."

A frown briefly crossing his face at the insult, Harry said, "But that would make learning potions so much more interesting."

"I am not here to make your time 'interesting', Potter. I am here to teach. You fancy yourself a Quidditch player. Or at least you used to," Snape said with a gloating expression on his face. "Would you teach a novice player the Wronski Feint?"

"No, I'd teach him the basics of flying, first."

"Then you're not as foolish as I thought."

"But we've been simply following instructions for five years," Harry protested.

"And have you noticed what happens when you do not successfully follow those instructions? Perhaps you are aware of the regularity with which Longbottom injures himself, or Weasley's cauldron explodes, or your own laughable attempts at potion-making fail. Do you think I would risk teaching you advanced methods if you can't follow the basics?"

"But you never even try to teach us the theory!"

"Five more points from Gryffindor. Why would I waste my time teaching theory to incompetents who cannot follow simple instructions? If you cannot brew a simple potion, if you cannot handle the unpredictability and potential calamity inherent in potion-making, you cannot hope to understand, let alone survive, advanced experimental techniques. I will not have you questioning my teaching methods, Potter, when you have shown yourself so incapable of learning."

Harry was unconvinced. "But if we learned theory along with following instructions, wouldn't we understand potions better?"

"Five more points from Gryffindor. Enough of this. You are here for Occlumency, despite what we tell anyone else. And you reacted far too slowly at breakfast yesterday."

"I wasn't expecting it," Harry said, regretting the words instantly.

"That, Potter, is the point! You must always be ready. The Dark Lord will not schedule his attacks on your mind with you. They could happen at any time. Legilimens!"

Harry reacted instantly, struggling to keep Snape out of his mind. It was difficult, but after a few minutes of struggle, Snape broke off the spell.

"So you can still resist Legilimency when you see it coming. I've told you before, though, you need to be prepared at any time. Whether eating, studying, sleeping, or during an assignation with your girlfriend. You must always be prepared, if you want to protect yourself. To protect her from your complete incompetence.

"I will continue to attempt Legilimency on you, when you least expect it. You had better improve at resisting it."

Harry was doing better. He knew he was. Snape was no longer able to break into his mind when Harry was prepared. But as his teacher raised his wand to try again, Harry knew he had to do even better if he wanted to keep the Dark Lord out of his mind, and keep him from using his fears against him.

March 21, 1996.

Learning the Patronus Charm always brought everyone to a D.A. meeting. Today was no exception. At the start of the class, four students could cast a corporeal Patronus – Harry had a stag Patronus, Cho Chang had a swan, Hermione had an otter, and Luna had a hare. Harry repeated the basic instructions for the charm from last time, and had the three girls help him with the others. Cho spent much of her time helping her best friend Marietta Edgecombe, who had actually bothered to show up today, Harry noted. Hermione concentrated on assisting the four Weasleys. Luna was working mainly with Lavender Brown and the Patil sisters.

Harry himself tried to assist everybody. Neville's was close to full corporeality, but frustratingly for the young man, he wasn't quite able to cast it completely. His shoulders sagged. "Sorry, Harry," he said.

Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't be sorry, Neville. You're doing great. Remember, very few wizards can cast this at all, even ones who've been graduates of Hogwarts for years. You're not there yet, but you will be. Just take a few minutes to relax."

Harry spoke loudly to the whole room. "Did everyone hear that? This is one of the most difficult spells you will ever attempt. You are each doing better than most wizards and witches who ever attempt this. Try to relax. You'll all get there."

Harry went over to assist Zacharias Smith and Ernie Macmillan. "Are you sure you're teaching this right?" Zacharias asked as his Patronus failed to coalesce.

Irritated, he answered, "Yes. It worked for Cho, Hermione and Luna. Look, you're doing well, you just have to focus – "

"I am focusing," Zacharias said.

" – and think of a happy thought. Like when you scored in the game against Gryffindor a few weeks ago. Something that really makes you glad. Then do this," Harry said, as he demonstrated his stag Patronus.

Zacharias tried again, and was only able to produce wisps of vapour. "Damn it!" he cursed.

"You can't get frustrated, Zacharias. Take a moment, and try again."

As Harry said that, Ernie Macmillan produced a full corporeal boar Patronus, which snorted and charged around the room.

"Excellent! That's how you do it. Ernie, maybe you can give Zacharias some help. Susan? Hannah? Come over here and practice with Ernie," Harry said, waving the two Hufflepuff girls over. He could see Ernie's chest puff up as the Hufflepuff proceeded to show off his Patronus once again to his housemates.

Shortly thereafter, a dove Patronus flew past Harry. He turned to look around, and saw Marietta Edgecombe smiling as Cho clapped her hands at her friend. "Great, Marietta! What did you think of?" Harry said as he went over.

Marietta said, "How I felt when Mum got promoted at the Ministry. I was so proud of her."

"Wonderful!" Harry said. "Good work. You too, Cho, for helping," he said, which made his former crush smile warmly at him.

Harry continued to make the rounds. He went over to Hermione and the Weasleys, and with Hermione demonstrated their Patronuses for the four siblings. While each of the of the Weasleys was able to create an impressive non-corporeal display, none of them were yet able to cast a full Patronus. Harry grabbed Fred, and said, "Here, like this. I know you have some happy memories, Fred. Think of some of your best pranks. Or starting your business."

"Or the time you turned Percy's skin purple back in first year," George piped up.

Fred grinned and tried again. Harry watched as the vapour tried to form, but didn't quite do so.

"You'll get there. You've got loads of time. Ginny, you try."

Ginny was no more successful than she had been before. Harry stood behind her and guided her arm. "Like this, Ginny. Think of when you caught the snitch. Or the last really good hex you got off at Ron for annoying you."

"Hey!" his friend protested, as Ginny grinned. Harry stepped back, and watched her as she cast the spell and created a majestic horse which galloped around the room, past Luna who clapped in delight, and then charged her brothers.

"Awesome! I knew you could do it. So, boys? Are you going to let your sister outshine you? Be the only Weasley who can cast this?" Harry said with a grin at the three brothers.

"I guess we know who the best in the family is," Ginny said as she cast her horse again, taunting them.

With everyone else, Harry tried cajoling and encouraging. With the Weasleys, he figured sibling rivalry was the way to go. He felt vindicated a few moments later as he was walking away, when a ghostly terrier bounded past him and he heard Ron's voice saying to his brothers, "Well, what about you too? Not as good as the two youngest, eh?"

"Ronald!" Hermione said, although Harry heard a touch of pride for her friend in her admonition.

Harry went back to Neville, who was now practicing with the Creevey brothers. The two brothers were nowhere near as successful at Neville as creating even a non-corporeal Patronus, but they were enthusiastic, and were encouraging each other and the older Gryffindor.

"Wow!" Dennis said at his brother's display. "That's even better than before, Colin. You try now, Neville. I'll bet you get a full Patronus this time."

Harry stood back and watched his friend try one more time. With a determined look and a forceful shout of "Expecto Patronum!" a fully corporeal Patronus emerged from Neville's wand an skittered about the room.

"What the hell was that?" asked Ernie as Harry and the Creeveys congratulated Neville.

"I don't really know," said Neville, his pride in his accomplishment outweighing his uncertainly.

"That was a mongoose," Parvati said loudly.

"Huh. Wow," Neville said.

"Told you you'd do it," Harry said, as Neville went back to help the Creeveys.

Harry went over to Luna, and slipped his arm around her waist. Luna smiled at him as Lavender sighed theatrically, which made the Patil sisters roll their eyes simultaneously, and then giggle at each other. "How are you all doing?"

"Oh, I think I've got the charm mastered, Harry, but I thought you knew that," Luna said dreamily.

Harry laughed, and said, "I know. I meant the rest of you."

"Not quite there yet," Padma said. "But I'm close, I can feel it."

"Same here," said Parvati and Lavender at the same time.

Harry nodded, and then spoke loudly at everyone. "All right, I think that should be it today. Leave by ones and twos, and we'll try to get in one more meeting next week before the Easter hols. Check your coins regularly. We'll be trying the Patronus Charm one more time, then do a little duelling. You're all doing great."

The Room of Requirement emptied quickly, with most of the couples leaving together. Lavender looked at Ron like he was Merlin as Ron described his Patronus to her as they left the Room. Ginny was ecstatic that she was the first of her family to cast it successfully, but Michael looked less happy for her than Harry thought he probably should.

Eventually it was just Harry and Luna left.

"I've missed you," he said after giving her a kiss.

"Me too," she said. "But we'll have lots of time at Easter together."

"I know. How's the project?"

Her face lit up. "It's very challenging. Professor Flitwick pointed out that it might be considered a misuse of a Muggle artefact when I first brought him the idea."

"I wouldn't tell Mr. Weasley then," Harry said.

"Oh, I don't think it will be a problem. It's not a misuse so much as an improved use, don't you think? I'm not making the ice skate do anything other than what it's supposed to do. I'm just making it do it better."

Harry said, "I think it's a brilliant idea, but I don't think ice skates are supposed to freeze open water."

Luna shrugged. "I've changed my focus. I'm trying to make sure the ice skates freeze the surrounding area enough that the wearer wouldn't fall through thin ice. Professor Flitwick thought that would be okay."

"But you told us all you wanted them to freeze open water," Harry said.

"Oh, no. That might not be allowed by the Ministry, if that were their purpose, Harry. But if it were a side effect, well, you can't help side effects, can you?" she said innocently.

Harry laughed. "I love it. You are as devious as a Slytherin, love."

A ghost of a smile formed on her lips. "I don't think so, Harry. I'm just following the rules."

"You're following a loophole. Don't worry, I approve."

She cuddled into him. "I know. But there's nothing wrong with exploiting loopholes, you know. If the Ministry didn't want them to be exploited, they wouldn't have put them there, would they have?"

Harry thought of Arthur Weasley using those same loopholes to justify owning the flying Ford Anglia. "Luna my love? You are absolutely right."

She smiled again. "I know. But it's nice when you agree."

He laughed, and then his tone got more serious. "I'm going to tell Ron and Hermione about Umbridge's offer. I'm going to tell Sirius, too."

"Have you decided?" she asked.

"No. I'll decide with you. But they should know the offer's been made. I hope they aren't mad I haven't told them yet."

"It hasn't yet been two weeks."

"I know, but they may feel hurt. That's why I want to tell them now."

"I'm sure they'll understand," she said. "They're your friends."

"I hope they do. I should get you back to your common room," he said, pulling out his Invisibility Cloak.

"I do so love this," Luna said as they got under the Cloak. "Not being seen. Being close to you. Will you bring it to The Burrow at Easter?"

"Probably. Why?"

"You never know when it might be useful," she said.

Harry mulled over the possibilities as they left the Room of Requirement.

March 23, 1996.

There was a spring in the step of many of the students at supper, and not just because it was Saturday. Harry was getting smiles and waves from many people as he made his way to the Gryffindor table for supper, especially those who had cast Patronuses for the first time last night. Ernie clapped him on the back as Harry passed him, and even Marietta Edgecombe, who had no particular fondness for him, gave him a little smile, although it was clear to Harry that she credited Cho more than Harry for her Patronus. Maybe she was even right to do so.

It made Harry especially happy that Neville, Ron and Ginny could now perform the charm, and they greeted him even more warmly than usual as he sat among them. Neville was still baffled by his mongoose Patronus – Parvati had told him all about them, but he would never have guessed that to be his Patronus. He spoke about this quietly as they all ate.

"There doesn't have to be a reason for your, well, you know," Hermione said quietly, "to be any particular form."

"Harry's is a stag," Ron pointed out.

"Yes, well obviously sometimes they have meaning, but they don't have to," Hermione said. "Mine's an otter. I can't think of any reason for that."

"Maybe you like to play about in the water while you swim," Ron said with a laugh.

"You are spending your holidays on the beach," added Harry.

"It won't all be on the beach. And I don't think you can use those to predict what your Easter activities will be. Ron's not going to be chasing bones, for heaven's sake," Hermione said.

"He might be chasing something, if Lavender comes over," said Ginny.

Lavender blushed, giggled and covered her face in embarrassment as Ron shook his head and put his arm around her to comfort her. Harry laughed. Hermione did not look amused.

After Lavender finally uncovered her face she said, "I wonder if you actually could use Patronuses to predict the future. I'll have to ask Professor Trelawney." She whispered the word 'Patronus'.

"Oooh, that does sound interesting," Luna said, appearing behind Harry and carrying a bowl. "You'll have to tell me what she says. Maybe mine means I'll eat more carrots. I just ate a plateful of them. They're much nicer than peas. May I join you for dessert?"

Ginny moved over to allow Luna to sit next to Harry. As she did, Harry felt a subtle throb in his head, like the beginnings of a headache. "Snape," he thought, as he blocked the intrusion. The pain subsided after a few moments, and he knew he succeeded at keeping his professor from his thoughts.

"Are you all right?" Luna asked tenderly.

"Yeah. Just a flash of pain. But it's gone now," he said.

"Oh good. You're getting much better at it," Luna said, smiling encouragingly at him. She helped herself to a bowl of tapioca pudding. "I know Harry doesn't like tapioca," she said to the others, which made Harry think she felt the need to justify eating with the Gryffindors. "If anyone else doesn't like it, I'll have their share."

"I think there's probably enough that you don't have to worry," Ginny said to her friend with a laugh.

"That's nice. I do so love pudding."

They all exchanged anecdotes of their day. After the dessert was finished and as people got up to leave, Harry turned to Ron and Hermione and asked if they could go for a walk with him by the lake.

"Who, us? Not Luna?" Ron asked.

"Oh no, I'm very busy with my project for Charms," Luna said. "I just wanted to see Harry for pudding." She squeezed his hand and stood up. "Bye Harry, bye everyone," she said as gave a little wave to the others.

Harry and his best friends left the table shortly thereafter, with Ron promising Lavender they'd meet in the Gryffindor common room afterwards.

When they got to the lakeshore, Harry looked around to make certain there was no one else within earshot.

"So what's this all about?" asked Ron.

"Umbridge made a proposal to me and Luna," Harry said. "She's offering to transfer us to another school overseas and have the Ministry pick up the tuition costs in exchange for us shutting up and keeping our heads down for the rest of the year."

"So what did she say when you told her where to go?" Ron asked. When he got no response, he said, "You did turn her down, right?"

"She gave us until after the Easter break to decide," Harry said.

"Well, how long does it take to say 'no'?" Ron said.

"Harry, when did she make this proposal?" Hermione asked.

"Two Fridays ago."

"And you're just telling us now?" exclaimed Ron.

"I've had to think about it," Harry said, beginning to get annoyed.

"What's there to think about? You can't leave Hogwarts. You can't leave us," Ron said, gesturing to himself and Hermione.

"It's not about you. You're not the one facing all these bloody detentions with her. And I do mean 'bloody'," Harry said, raising up his scarred right hand.

"Still, to leave Hogwarts? Where would you go? Durmstrang, with all those Dark wankers there?" Ron asked.

"Durmstrang is not a Dark school," Hermione interjected.

"You would say that. But what do you call the school that gave us Grindelwald?" said Ron.

"Is the school that gave us You-Know-Who 'Dark'?" responded Hermione.

"That's different," Ron said weakly.

"I haven't even thought of where I would go if I took her up on it," Harry said.

"Good."

"But if I did, the Ministry wouldn't transfer us anywhere in Europe. So we'd likely go to the States, or Canada, or Australia."

"We'd never see you again!" Ron exclaimed. "How can you even think of this?"

"Look, you haven't had to watch your girlfriend get carved up by that cow. You're not the one facing expulsion. She hasn't threatened to send you and your girlfriend to the mental ward at St. Mungo's."

Both Ron's and Hermione's eyes widened. "She threatened that?" Hermione said.

"Yeah, so I hope you'll pardon me for not wanting to spend the rest of my life locked up with Gilderoy Lockhart."

"She can't do that! Dumbledore wouldn't let her," Ron said.

"I don't think Dumbledore's is much of a position to stop her on anything," Hermione pointed out. "And she'd probably rely on what the Prophet's been saying about Harry and Luna. And everyone calling her 'Loony' for years. I don't think it would necessarily work, mind you – "

"Of course not!" Ron said.

" – but I see where Harry's coming from."

"You're not going to take her up on it. Are you?" Ron asked seriously.

"I don't know. I don't really want to leave Hogwarts, even if I could get away from her and Snape. And I really don't want to leave you guys. But I worry about what's next. It keeps getting worse with her," Harry said.

"You haven't got any detentions for a few weeks," said Hermione.

"I think she's giving me space so I'll agree to leave."

"You can't leave, Harry. You just can't. You're our best friend. Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without you," implored Ron.

"I've still got three weeks to decide. I'd rather we ship her to Australia," said Harry.

"Me too. I don't know what the Australians have done to deserve her, though," Ron said.

"Maybe she'd get eaten by a Tasmanian tiger," Harry said.

"They're extinct," Hermione said.

"That's not what Luna thinks."

"Of course not," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at the same time as she gave a small smile.

"Seriously. Don't go, Harry. I don't want to lose my best mate," Ron said.

"Thanks," Harry said, smiling but noncommittal.

"Besides, all those foreign Quidditch teams are horrible."

"Says the man who cheers for Chudley."

Ron sputtered. "You just wait! Sure, this season's a wash, but next year they're going to win it all!"

"Did Lavender predict that for you?" Hermione asked.

"No."

"Bet you asked her, though," Harry said. At Ron's sheepish look, Harry teased, "She probably just was trying to spare your feelings."

"Oh, be quiet."

They began to walk back to the castle. "Say, did I tell you that Snape wrote a book? I saw it in his office." Harry said.

"Really? What was it? No, let me guess. How to be a Greasy Git?" Ron suggested.

"Nope."

"One of those bodice-rippers Lav likes? The Potion-Master's Passion?" Ron said with a smirk.

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about that," Harry said.

Hermione frowned. "Really, Ron. Was it a potions book, Harry?"

"Yeah. The Subtle Science: Practical Observations."

"Sounds boring," Ron said with a grimace.

"It actually looked interesting."

"Sure. Pull the other one."

"No, seriously!"

They walked back to the castle, arguing good-naturedly.

March 27, 1996.

It had been an interesting week so far.

Harry had contacted Sirius through the mirror right after his conversation with Ron and Hermione about Umbridge's proposal. After assuring Sirius that Snape wasn't mistreating him (well, no more so than usual), he told Sirius about Umbridge's proposal, and why he was even considering it. Unlike Ron and Hermione, Sirius didn't try and sway him either way, and just asked for Harry to let him know what his plans were when he decided. He did say that if Harry relocated abroad, he would probably try and follow.

"When I was abroad last year, there was no one really looking for me. I'm sure the heat will be less overseas," Sirius had said.

"You are accused of masterminding the Azbakan breakout," Harry said.

"It won't be a problem," Sirius said dismissively. "And do talk to me on this once or twice on your holiday. But not too much, mind you. Concentrate on your girlfriend instead! And remember what I said when we spoke before." Sirius gave a leer at that comment, and laughed at Harry's stammering response.

Dumbledore's Army was also going well. After last week's breakthrough, even more students were able to fully cast the Patronus Charm yesterday. Michael Corner, Colin Creevey, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot were all able to cast it by the end of the session, but Harry was happiest to see the Weasley twins finally cast fully corporeal Patronuses – a badger for Fred and a raccoon for George.

He hadn't seen Luna much at all since dessert on Saturday, with her ice skate project and his preparing for O.W.L.s, but it was only one more day of classes before taking the Hogwarts Express to his Easter vacation. Easter had become his guiding star, almost the only thing keeping him going through this dismal term, other than Luna herself. He had never spent Easter away from Hogwarts before, but this year he truly needed to for the sake of his sanity.

Occlumency, at least, was progressing to Harry's satisfaction, if not to Snape's. Harry was now consistently keeping Snape from his thoughts during their thrice-weekly sessions, and was able to keep Snape's surprise probes at bay more often than not, whether they occurred at mealtime, during class, or in the hallway. The only truly successful time Snape used Legilimency on Harry recently was just after Draco had made a disparaging remark earlier in the day about muggleborns, and said "Don't worry, Pansy. They'll get theirs soon enough, you'll see," when Hermione and Harry were in hearing range. Harry was angry enough that it provided Snape a perfect opportunity to catch him unaware. Harry was certain Snape would berate him at length for that tonight, and Harry was become a successful enough Occlumens that he had berated himself already.

So Harry was surprised but not shocked that Dumbledore was there in Snape's office instead of Snape himself.

"Good evening, Harry. Chocolate egg?" the Headmaster asked, offering him a gold-foil wrapped treat.

"Thank you, sir."

"You're quite welcome, Harry, although I dare say you'll be getting more Easter chocolate at the Burrow than I will here in the castle. Do make sure you go into Ottery St. Catchpole and visit their sweet shop – it's quite well stocked for a small village."

"I will, Professor."

"Excellent. Always remember to enjoy the little things in life, Harry. Often you'll find having them available makes it easier to focus on the important things. I expect you're finding that with your Occlumency lessons."

"I am, sir. They're easier to focus on now that I have a reason to."

"Protecting Miss Lovegood, you mean." Harry nodded, and Dumbledore continued. "If you take the time to examine things dispassionately, you'll find you always had reasons to learn Occlumency. You simply now have a more obvious reason. But it is easier to learn something when you know why you should learn it, is it not?"

"That's what I've found."

"Indeed. I suspect History of Magic grades would be higher if Professor Binns could find a way to make the subject relevant to students. I have considered replacing him, by the way, but Cuthbert's become such a fixture here that it's hard to let go. For him, too, I believe," he said with a characteristic twinkle in his eye.

"But I wanted to have a quick chat with you before you go off to enjoy a well-earned break. Professor Snape has kept me informed about your progress, and I'm quite pleased to hear how well you've done."

"I can't imagine he said that," Harry said.

"No, he's not a teacher given to praise easily. But he's been less annoyed when we discuss the subject, which is praise in itself coming from him. And I can tell you're improving, because you've resisted my Legilimency twice since we've begun speaking."

Harry was shocked. "You've tried?"

"Indeed, Harry. Just because Professor Snape isn't here tonight with you, it doesn't mean you're not still having a lesson."

"I didn't mean that, sir. It's just I can always tell when Snape – sorry, Professor Snape – casts it. I didn't sense anything from you," Harry explained.

"No doubt. Professor Snape is a master Legilimens indeed. But I have eighty years of experience on him. Also, you have almost certainly become attuned to his particular style. Every Legilimens is different, Harry. Some are forceful. Some are clumsy. Some are subtle. Some are all of these. You must learn to focus your Occlumency not only to resist intrusions into your thoughts, but to sense when they are occurring," Dumbledore said.

"I understand, sir."

"Excellent. It's a tremendous skill you're learning, Harry. I do hope you appreciate the opportunity you've been given to learn it from a master of the subject like Professor Snape.

"But I do want to talk about other things. I've assigned Auror Tonks to stay at the Burrow with you over the holidays. The improved wards should stop any problems you have, but when you go into the village, it would be safer to have someone else watching your back, I would think. She'll be disguised as a Weasley cousin, for appearances, of course.

"And you'll have to make a decision about Professor Umbridge's proposal. That is, assuming you haven't yet."

"No, I haven't, sir."

"I trust whichever decision you make will be the right one for you. And for Miss Lovegood, of course. Remus asked me to ask you to stay, of course, but I don't think there's anything I have to add to what I said last time," Dumbledore said.

"I expected him to ask. I told Sirius he could tell him. Did Sirius say anything?"

"I suspect Sirius would be happy either way. If you go abroad, he will undoubtedly follow. It would be quite a risk for him, but with Sirius that is often an attraction rather than a deterrent. I do have one request, though, Harry."

"Yes, sir," Harry said apprehensively.

"Have fun. Enjoy your holiday. Laugh with your friends. Treasure your time with Miss Lovegood. Make the most of your youth, and never forget to enjoy the little things. You won't have holidays with your friends forever. Adulthood, and adult responsibilities, come far too soon."

"I will sir," Harry said with some relief.

"And when you go into the village sweet shop? Pick up a cream egg. The Muggles do make some delightful treats."

March 29, 1996.

Dolores Umbridge watched from the battlements as students made their way to Hogsmeade Station. Most of the student body was leaving this year. Far more than usual, she understood.

No matter. A nearly empty castle would give her the time to do what she needed to.

She saw Potter and Lovegood leave the grounds surrounded by their friends. With any luck, they would agree to her transfer proposal, behave like good little children, and she could have a quiet spring, and focus on Dumbledore. If not, well, there were always contingencies.

Interviewing Jocasta Drake and her friends was very fruitful. Draco Malfoy and his associates were similarly enthusiastic, as were a few other Slytherins. Miss Drake had even suggested she talk with Deirdre Cholmondeley and Melanie Maxwell. That didn't exactly bear fruit, but it showed initiative and resourcefulness on Miss Drake's part. She was overcoming Dolores' natural dislike of children, and Dolores was considering mentoring the young girl. She showed promise.

After the departing children disappeared from view, she went to her room and packed an overnight bag. She wasn't planning on spending much time at the castle over the holidays.

She was needed at the Ministry.

She had interviews.

16. 15: Easter in Ottery, Part I

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Harry Potter or the Harry Potter universe, of course.

[Author's Note: Okay, so that was vastly longer than I expected it to be between chapters. My muse just, well, disappeared on this one for a while and I wrote other things instead. But it's returned, and I shouldn't be anywhere near so long updating this next time. Thank you for everyone who's come back to this.]

Chapter 15 – Easter in Ottery, Part I: In Loco Parental Guidance

March 29, 1996.

Harry Potter wiped the sweat off his forehead as he stepped off the Hogwarts Express, helping Luna carry her trunk. He had stuffed all that he needed for the holiday in a small piece of luggage – a few days worth of clothes and a few books – which he had placed on Luna's trunk, Hedwig's cage balanced atop it. Unlike his own minimal packing, Luna made it a point to bring all her possessions back from Hogwarts every time she returned home, lest they "disappear". That wasn't happening much lately, but it still made Harry's blood boil.

Lugging the trunk down the platform, they spotted Xenophilius Lovegood. He was wearing bright purple robes along with his navy blue Homburg, and his face broke into a wide grin when he saw his daughter. Harry and Luna quickened their pace, and soon she was hugging her father tightly.

"How was your term, Moonbeam?"

"Oh, quite good overall, I would say," she said, turning and smiling at Harry.

"And yours, Harry?"

"Well, parts of it were really great. Others..."

"Yes. Our interview made quite the impression," Mr. Lovegood said, casting a glance over Harry's shoulder, to where the Malfoys were greeting Draco. Harry looked and saw Lucius give Mr. Lovegood a dark look. Harry gave an equally dark look to Draco, who grinned mockingly at Harry.

"I should have expected them to go after Luna," Harry said.

"No, Harry, it's not your fault that the Prophet wrote that about me," Luna said touching his arm as she did so.

"Luna's right, Harry. It's not your fault – its the Malfoys' and the Prophet's."

"I wanted to write a letter to the editor to them, to say what a pack of lies that was. Umbridge wouldn't let me," Harry said.

"I know. I've been following the 'Educational Decrees'. The Ministry didn't used to just issue decrees at the drop of a hat. Even during the previous war against You-Know-Who, they did things properly. Of course, that may explain why they were losing the war so badly before your unexpected intervention," Mr. Lovegood said, nodding his head at Harry. "Unfortunately, I've had no success in getting a retraction of what those sorry excuses for journalists wrote about my Luna, and I'm in no position to sue them for libel."

"That's all right, Daddy," Luna said. "No one sensible believes the Prophet anyway."

Mr. Lovegood shook his head as he cast a Reducing Spell on Luna's trunk. "I wish that were true, Moonbeam. It would be so much easier if the only people who read the Prophet were fools, but that is sadly not the way the world works.

"We must be off, however. I have a meeting with a subscriber who says she's seen a nest of Crested Rock Voles near her home in East Yorkshire, and I'm sure Luna would want to come. Can you imagine? There's hasn't been a Crested Rock Vole sighting that far north since the Middle Ages!" Mr. Lovegood said excitedly as the three of them walked toward where the Weasleys were gathered. Harry saw Lavender standing with the Weasleys and smiling at Mrs. Weasley as Ron turned red, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as she left.

As he approached his neighbours, Mr. Lovegood tipped his hat to Mrs. Weasley, who gave Harry a huge hug, and then after a moment gave Luna a hug as well. "Well! Look at you, Luna. You've become quite the young lady. Can you come over Sunday for tea?"

"Oh, I'd like that very much, thank you," Luna said. She gave Harry a hug and said, "See you Sunday, Harry."

"I'll miss you," he said quietly.

Apparently it was not quiet enough, however, as while he was hugging Luna, he heard Ron snort with laughter, and then say, "Ow! Ginny, what was that for?" to which Ginny responded, "Oh like you weren't all treacly with Lav-Lav on the train."

Luna left with her father, and turned to give Harry a vigorous wave and a wide smile before the Lovegoods passed through the barrier to the Muggle part of King's Cross Station.

Impatiently motioning for Fred, George, Ron, Ginny and Harry to gather their things, Mrs. Weasley said, "Well, come on, everyone. We have to meet your father at the Leaky Cauldron in half and hour, then we're all going to floo home." She turned to Harry and said, "Luna's turned into a lovely young woman. She seems quite taken with you."

Ron barely suppressed a laugh at this. Ignoring him, Harry said, "I'm taken with her, too."

"Well I think you're very cute together. And Lavender seemed lovely as well. I've invited her for tea on the holiday as well." Mrs. Weasley shook her head slightly and smiled. "You're growing up. You all are." She was silent for a moment, and then said, "Well, come on everyone."

When they returned to the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley fed the family a hearty meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with vegetables from the Weasley garden. The Hogwarts elves did a fine job at mealtimes, but Harry enjoyed Mrs. Weasley's cooking even more. Perhaps it was because of the love and enthusiasm with which she made her meals, and the concern she had that Harry eat and enjoy supper was just as much as she had for her own children. Harry knew that if Aunt Petunia had given him even a fraction of the love he felt from one simple meal with Mrs. Weasley, he'd be eager to return to Privet Drive from school rather than dreading the prospect.

Banishing that errant thought, he followed Mr. Weasley when he summoned him and Ron out to his shed. Harry caught the snickers of Fred and George, and with a shudder he realized what was coming. Luna had been right.

When they entered the shed, Mr. Weasley went over to his workbench and flipped a switch which caused a lantern to turn on. After his eyes got used to the sudden brightness, he noticed it was attached, crudely but apparently effectively, to a large battery sitting nearby.

"I've finally got an eckeltric lantern working!" Mr. Weasley said, pride filling his voice. "I only shocked myself six times, too. I must say, I'm almost ready to wire this whole shed, I think."

Harry thought it was nice to see Mr. Weasley look excited again. Ever since the summer, the man he had thought of as Ron's fun and happy father had been extremely somber. Getting attacked by Nagini at Christmas was no doubt a large part of it, but even before, Harry could tell the weight of Voldemort's return lay heavy upon his shoulders.

Arthur Weasley went over to a cabinet, pulled out three squat glasses, withdrew a bottle and poured about an inch of amber liquid into each of them. He gave a glass to each of the boys, and said, "Blake's Special Blend. Firewhiskey from Ireland. The Department of Intoxicating Substances says you're allowed to drink liquor with a parent or responsible adult. It's strong stuff, so you should sip it." Ignoring his own advice, Arthur tossed his glass back in one gulp, and poured himself another, which he then sipped.

Harry gingerly tried the drink. Other than butterbeer, which was very mild, Harry had never had alcohol, and didn't know what to expect. He had heard from Seamus that firewhiskey was even stronger tasting than Muggle whiskey, and it had a burning sensation completely different from its Muggle analogue, due to the magical nature of it. So when the first sip hit his mouth, he was completely unprepared for to numbness on his tongue, followed shortly thereafter by an intense heat, when spread down his throat to his stomach. When the sensation finally returned to his mouth, it left a burnt-wood and ash taste, that wasn't entirely unpleasant, but Harry knew it would take a while to get used to. He took another sip. It was better the second time... somewhat.

With a glance over at Ron, Harry saw that Ron was handling the firewhiskey better than him. He had obviously had it before.

"It's a drink for adults, and that's how I'm going to talk to you now – adult to adult. You're both growing up, and next year you'll both turn of age. You'll be entering a whole new world of responsibility. Not that you haven't had it before now, far more than children your age should ever have to face, but still..."

Mr. Weasley took another sip of the firewhiskey.

"Molly tells me you both have girlfriends now," he said. "That Harry, you're seeing Luna Lovegood, and Ron, that you're seeing a girl named Lavender."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, Lavender Brown. This is what she looks like," he said, pulling out his locket and opening it to show his father Lavender's picture.

"She's very pretty," Mr. Weasley said. "Your mother thought she was nice. I understand we'll be seeing both of them over the holidays. That should be fun for you both, I expect?" He took another sip. "I meant to have this conversation with you two years ago but after that business at the World Cup it completely slipped my mind. Ron, do you remember the talk we had with you when you were eleven about where babies come from?"

It had been months since Harry saw Ron turn quite that shade of red without Lavender somehow being involved.

"Yeah," Ron said, sheepishly.

"And Harry, I understand you recently had a talk with Sirius on this topic?"

Equally sheepishly, Harry affirmed this.

"Right. So do either of you have any questions about, well, how things work?"

Both boys shook their heads.

"Good. If you do, you can always ask me. Or talk to Bill, if that's less embarrassing. Sirius, too, I suppose, but he was quite the rake, and you probably shouldn't be taking advice from him about, well, girls. And things." Mr. Weasley took another drink, and poured himself a little more from the bottle.

"I remember being your age. Girls were new and exciting. You probably have friends who claim they've had all kinds of experiences with girls. Some may even be telling a bit of the truth. And I'm certain you both have had thoughts. And urges. Everyone goes through it as a teenager. Even your parents."

Ron had the misfortune to be sipping his firewhiskey at that point. Once his coughing an sputtering died down, Mr. Weasley continued.

"Girls get those urges, too. That's normal. But it means you'll be tempted to explore the physical side of... things. Holding hands, kissing, cuddling, or more."

He sighed.

"I'm supposed to tell you to wait until you're married before you go any further than cuddling. That you should wait until your wedding night. You really should, but I know that doesn't happen with most young people. It certainly didn't when I was your age.

"So I want to give you some advice. Love is powerful magic. Sex is powerful magic. With the right witch, it's... well, it's amazing. Life-changing. Life-creating. But it's powerful stuff. You should save it for someone you're completely, head-over-heels, over-the-moon in love with.

"When I was your age, Ron, I was certain your mother was the one for me. She was my first girlfriend, my only girlfriend. Once you meet perfection, why go out with anyone else?" he said, almost wistfully. "It's probably not the same with you two so far – I'd been going with Molly since I was thirteen. I understand you've only had your girlfriends for a couple of months.

"I can't control what you do. You're away from us for ten months a year, and unless things are vastly different from when I was your age, you're not under constant supervision. But my advice? Don't do anything until you know you're in love, and you know that love will last. Remember what I said about what it's like with the right girl. And whatever you do, whenever you do it, do it with care and respect. And with this charm," he said, as he proceeded to demonstrate the Contraceptive Charm to the two embarrassed boys.

"For heaven's sake, boys, practise that charm. Practise it in until you can cast it in your sleep. If you have any questions, just ask. Now go back into the house, boys."

As Harry left, he saw Mr. Weasley shake his head, and pour himself another firewhiskey. There was a certain relief in know that his version of the Talk was as painful for Mr. Weasley to give as it was for him to hear.

He devoutly hoped there wouldn't be a fourth version of it.

It took a moment for Harry to recognize the redheaded woman sitting next to Ginny and laughing with her at him and Ron when they returned from their talk with Mr. Weasley. She looked vaguely like a female Charlie Weasley, but there was something in her smile that tipped him off as to her identity.

"Hey, Tonks."

"Wotcher, Harry! Ron! Did you and Arthur have a nice chat?" she asked in an innocent voice as Ginny laughed openly at them.

"Er, yes. Very informative," Harry said. "You wouldn't be able to obliviate the last half-hour for me, would you?"

"Molly and Arthur wouldn't like that," Tonks said.

"Plus, we'd just have to go through it again when Dad found out," Ron added. Wanting to change the subject, he asked Tonks, "So why do you look like that, anyway?"

"Why, I'm your distant cousin Polly Prewitt from America, Ron. Don't you recognize me?" she said in what Harry thought was a passable imitation of... well, some kind of American accent.

"Er, right, Tonks... I mean 'Polly'," Ron said.

"You can call me 'Tonks' here in the Burrow. Just not outside. No one's supposed to know I'm here – Moody's told everyone I'm on assignment in Northern Ireland, and you," she said, nodding to Harry, "are not supposed to have contact with Ministry personnel, what with you being so dangerously unbalanced and all."

"What about Dad?" Ginny asked.

"Everyone knows Harry's a family friend," Tonks said.

"So they don't hold it against him down at the Ministry?"

Tonks hesitated, before saying, "Well, I wouldn't say that, exactly."

On that unsettling note, Harry and Ron went up to Ron's room to settle in.

March 30, 1996

Mrs. Weasley had put all of the teens to work on Saturday morning. Fred and George were casting spells on the Burrow itself to shore up the structure and seal some leaks which had made themselves known over the winter, with Ginny assisting them by flying on her broomstick above the roof and directing the twin. Ron and Harry were instructed to de-gnome the garden, a task Ron took to with relish. Afterwards, they filled in the gnome-holes as best they could, and Harry and Ron tried to replant some vegetable seeds which Mrs. Weasley had left for them.

"Bloody gardening. Why can't the twins do this? They'd be able to use their wands, and we wouldn't have to get our hands in the dirt," Ron had grumbled.

"I don't mind," shrugged Harry. "I have to do this all summer back at the Dursleys', although Petunia only wants flowers. She would never eat something 'grown in the muck'. I don't know where she thinks food comes from. At least your mum appreciates the work we do."

And she did. Molly had prepared a huge lunch for the children of meats and rolls and pickles and jams, with some tarts for dessert, before insisting the teens go off and have fun. Harry and Ron spent the afternoon walking around the Weasley property and tossing a quaffle back and forth as they talked, while Ginny began writing a holiday potions essay Snape had assigned to 'keep the students out of trouble'. Harry and Ron planned on putting that off as long as possible.

Ron got an owl from Lavender at supper, which made Fred and Ginny tease him mercilessly, while George surreptitiously took his wand out, and cast a quick Summoning Charm to snatch the note out of Ron's hands.

"Dear Won-Won," read George, as Ron tried to grab it back, "I miss you already. I can't wait to see you again and hear you whisper in my ear ..."

"George!" interrupted Molly. "Give your brother back his letter!"

"But we're just getting to the good part, where she talks about his muscular – "

"Give me that back!" shouted Ron,

"You should just Accio it back," said Fred.

"Too bad you're not old enough," said George.

"Far too young," said Fred.

"Certainly too young to... how does Lav-Lav put it? 'Kiss her neck while running your manly hands through my – '"

"George! Give your brother back his letter," Arthur said. "And don't read things like that at the table."

"I'm not the one getting mash notes when the rest of us are trying to enjoy Mum's delicious Shepherd's Pie," George said.

"But you are the one sharing them with us," Ginny pointed out.

"Maybe you should have a talk with Won-Won, Dad," Fred laughed. "Teach him a few things he needs to know about girls."

"Your father already did. Now eat your food," Molly said, snatching the note and handing it back to Ron, who shoved it into his pocket while muttering darkly about what he would do to George.

March 31, 1996.

Harry, Ginny and Ron spent most of Sunday afternoon on their brooms – or in Harry's case, on Arthur Weasley's old Comet 180. Harry and Ginny were acting as Chasers to Ron's Keeper, trying to get the quaffle past him using a variety of tricks. Tonks was flying with them, acting as the third chaser while keeping an eye on the skies and ground around them. Ron was stopping about two-thirds of their shots, although Harry knew if he had his Firebolt that Ron wouldn't be doing nearly so well. Compared to Harry's broom, currently under Dolores Umbridge's lock and key, Mr. Weasley's broom was slow to accelerate, had a lower top speed, couldn't climb as fast, had a much wider turning radius, and had far worse handling.

But that didn't matter to Harry – he was flying! He'd almost forgotten that most basic of magical activities: the feeling of the wind through his hair, being high above the ground, under his own control, doing something he would have thought impossible before meeting Hagrid almost five years previous. Just the feeling of being of the air was exhilarating, and the view was amazing. He saw off over in the distance what Ginny had told him was Lovegood Tower – a strange looking house which looked like a chess rook, built on a small rise in a green meadow.

And then he saw a flash of blond hair coming down the pathway between the two properties. Harry signalled to Ron and Ginny for a time out, and flew down to meet his girlfriend who was skipping merrily toward the Burrow, carrying her white canvas bag.

"Hello Harry," she said cheerfully, as he flew down next to her and gave her a kiss.

"Woooo! Harry!" he heard Tonks shout from the across the field.

"Cut it out!" Harry shouted, smiling, as he gestured with his hand slash across his throat. Tonks just laughed at him.

"Who's that?" Luna asked.

"That's, er... Polly Prewitt One of Mrs. Weasley's cousins. From America. She's over here for the hols."

"It's always nice to have relatives visit. I wish my cousins from Ireland would visit more often, but they find Daddy odd, for some reason."

"How was Yorkshire? Did you and your dad find any of those voles?"

"We did, but it turned out they were just regular voles, rather than Crested Rock Voles. It's too bad – I've never seen a Crested Rock Vole. Daddy and Mummy saw one once, over in Kent, but that was long before I was born."

"I'm sorry your trip was a waste, Luna."

"Time spent with loved ones is never wasted, Harry. I was nice to go on a little trip with Daddy – I hope the trip to Sweden he's planning comes off. I haven't been camping since the World Cup last year, and that wasn't quite as peaceful as we would have liked."

"No, it wasn't," Harry agreed, remembering the mayhem when Death Eaters attacked the campground. "You're going to see Mrs. Weasley for tea?" At Luna's nod, he offered her a ride, so she hopped onto the Comet 180 with Harry, and wrapped her arms around his waist as he took off for the Burrow.

Unfortunately, Mr. Weasley's old broom was not the broomstick that Harry was used to in his Firebolt. With Luna's added weight, slight though she was, the Comet refused to go more than five feet off the ground, and the speed, well...

"We'd probably move quicker at a brisk walk," Harry said sheepishly.

"That's okay, I don't mind," Luna said, tightening her grip around his waist.

Thus encouraged, Harry "sped" Luna off slowly toward the Burrow, not minding Tonks and Ron's laughs as they went.

Molly Weasley looked out her kitchen and saw Harry and Luna Lovegood flying, very slowly, toward the Burrow, on Arthur's old broomstick from when they were students at Hogwarts. The old Comet was never much of a broom at the best of times, and she wasn't surprised it was moving so slowly. It didn't fly much faster when Arthur would take her for rides when they were no older than Harry.

She smiled, thinking of those long-ago days. Young love...

It was hard thinking of her boys (and Harry was always one of 'her boys' in her mind) as old enough to be in love. When she was a fifth-year student, she knew she would marry Arthur as soon as they graduated, but they were so much more mature at that age than Harry and Ron, who were still really just young boys. Weren't they?

That was part of the reason she wanted to meet with Luna... and with Lavender Brown. Both to meet the girls who had suddenly seemed to be so important to the boys, and to make sure that they weren't... getting ahead of themselves. Molly knew how teenagers could be – both from her own memories of that age, and from her experiences with her older children, Bill and Charlie in particular. Not that it should be a problem – Harry and Ron were good boys, and despite how they seemed to get in trouble and be, well, flexible with the rules, that was more due to their adventures being thrust upon them rather than anything else. Still, best to meet and get to know these girls, and if everyone knew that she was paying attention to them, well, so much the better.

The other part of the reason she wanted to talk with Luna in particular was to provide a maternal influence. The poor girl, losing her mother so young... after the accident, Molly had checked in on the Lovegoods regularly, making certain they were able to go on. Xenophilius was completely devastated – if he hadn't had the magazine and Luna to take care of, she wasn't sure he would have recovered – but Luna just seemed to withdraw into herself completely for a few months, before she began talking more than simple, "Yes, Mrs. Weasley", "No, Mrs. Weasley", and "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley" answers. The whole Lovegood family had been quite odd to begin with, of course – friendly, but odd. That, combined with seven children of her own to take care of, meant that they were neighbourly, but never really friends with the Lovegoods – but Xeno and Luna seemed to get vastly stranger after Astrid's death. She had checked in regularly for about a year or so after Astrid died, but then Luna went off to Hogwarts with Ginny, and Molly thought the school and Ginny would watch out for her. But with them being sorted into different houses, and Ginny's possession that year, Luna and Ginny had grown apart, and Luna fallen out of Molly's thoughts.

Time to change that, Molly thought as she heard a knock at her door.

She opened it with a wide, welcoming smile. "Luna, dear, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing all right," Luna said. "I was with Daddy in Yorkshire, but we didn't find what we were looking for. The Crested Rock Voles are almost as hard to find as Crumple-Horned Snorkacks! But that's what cryptomagizoology is like, you know. Most of the time you don't find what you're looking for, or even any evidence at all. It can be very disheartening."

"Er, of course, dear," Molly said, trying not to sound as confused as she felt. "I'm sorry to hear that. Come, sit down. Have some tea."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Oh! I have something for you," Luna said, rummaging through her bag. "I know it's here somewhere. Oh! There it is. Here you go." She pulled out a large storage jar filled with a sort of pink, lumpy jam. "These are dirigible plum preserves. I made them myself last summer. They don't make you wiser the way these do," she said, touching her earrings, "but I always feel better after having some."

"Well it looks delicious," Molly said. "Let's open this up and have them with some scones." She poured them both some tea, and spooned some of the preserves onto some scones. "It's been a long time since we've really spoken, Luna. How have you been liking Hogwarts?"

"Oh, it's been quite fun, you know. I've learnt lots of things, and most of my classes are informative, although Care of Magical Creatures seems to focus mostly on common, dangerous creatures rather than the truly rare ones. They can't talk about the ones the Ministry pretends don't exist, of course, I understand that, but it's still disappointing."

"And how are you doing other than in your classes, dear? I've read what they've said in the Prophet. It must be hard, dealing with those lies," Molly said, her voice full of sympathy.

Luna shrugged. "Well, they've never been much for journalistic ethics, you know, so it's not very surprising. I'd rather they weren't writing about me, but I haven't had it nearly as bad as Harry. What they write about him is just terrible! He's very strong, and he tries not to show it, but I know it hurts him to have people not believing in him because of the Daily Prophet. Daddy and I never believed a word of it, but many did. People can be very credulous, you know. They'll believe all manner of silly things."

Molly coughed. "Of course, dear." She took a bite of her scone. "These preserves are delicious! They're like regular plum preserves, but – "

"They're much sweeter," Luna said. "That's because being airborne – except being tethered to the bush by their stems, of course – they don't leech any bitterness from the ground. I like to pair them with a darker, coarser bread, most of the time, but they're nice on your scones, Mrs. Weasley."

"We'll save the rest for later. I know Ron and Harry will love them. You've been spending a lot of time with Harry lately, I understand?" Molly said, changing the topic to what she really wanted to talk about.

Luna nodded. "He's been my boyfriend for two months now. He's... he's really very wonderful. He's very kind, and handsome, and he always treats me well and listens to what I have to say. Even before we became a couple, he listened to what I had to say, even if he didn't believe me then. Many people don't bother to listen to me at all, you know. They think I'm strange. Or mad."

Molly was surprised at how nonchalant the young girl sounded. "That doesn't bother you?"

"I'd rather they didn't, of course, but people are going to believe what they want. You can't stop them. As long as I know I'm not mad, that's the important thing. It's nice to know that some people don't though, and with my friends" (Molly noted she used that word almost reverently) "even if they don't agree with me, or they think my ideas are strange, they hear me out before deciding. Harry was the first to do that, you know. It's probably what made me fall in love with him."

Molly's eyebrows raised. "That's very quick," she said slowly.

"It is, I suppose. But some people fall in love at first sight. My parents did, you know. Well, not a first sight, I suppose. I'm sure they met at Hogwarts, but Daddy was five years older than Mummy. But when they met after Daddy had graduated, when he was sent by to give a gift my Grandfather had left in his will to Mummy's dad – Daddy's father used to contribute articles to The Quibbler when Mummy's dad owned it – it was love at first sight then. Maybe love at second sight, I suppose. Or love at new first sight. I don't know what the best way to put it is," Luna said, scarcely pausing to breathe.

"Anyway, I didn't fall in love with Harry until after I got to know him. He's really wonderful, and not just to me. I wish things weren't so hard for him, at school and with the Prophet. He doesn't deserve any of this."

"No, he doesn't. He doesn't deserve this at all. He's such a good boy," Molly said. "He's been a good friend to this family, and I'm glad that you're in his life, Luna. He's much happier now than he was in the summer or at Christmas. I think you're a large part of that."

"Oh, I hope so," Luna said, smiling at Molly.

"But there's something else I wanted to talk to you about," Molly said, wringing her hands. "When I was in school, Gryffindor girls all got a talk in second-year about, well, boys, and girls, and boys and girls together, and..."

"You mean sex," Luna said.

Molly just looked at Luna. She wasn't used to such bluntness. "Well, yes. Do they have a talk like that in Ravenclaw?"

"Oh yes. They give it to all of us in first-year. It's very informative."

"Good. And, well... do you have any questions? I know that young women don't like to talk about things like that with older women like myself, but I thought that, well, with your mother no longer being with us, you might have some questions. Ginny did. About, well..."

"Sex," Luna said simply.

"Yes."

"I don't think I do, Mrs. Weasley. It was very informative, and there are other books in the Library, if you know where to look. I think I understand how sex works."

"I'm not talking about the ins-and-outs... I mean, how it works, dear, although if you ever have any questions, you can ask me. I'm talking about feelings. Feeling pressured, feeling like you have to do things to please a boy, to keep him liking you. Or even feeling like you should do things just because you're able to. Things like that."

Luna just looked a Molly for a few moments, blinking her large grey eyes slowly in a manner Molly found very disconcerting.

"Mrs. Weasley, I don't think Harry would ever pressure me to do anything I wasn't ready for," Luna said quietly. "That's not what he's like at all."

"I know he wouldn't mean to, dear, but sometimes boys can have, well, expectations you might feel the need to meet. And you shouldn't feel that way. You need to make sure you let him know, if that happens, that you're not comfortable with that kind of thing until you're older."

"Oh, I don't think you should worry, Mrs. Weasley. I would never do anything I didn't want to. I'm not much for going along with the herd. And Harry's too much of a gentleman to pressure me to do something I'm not ready for. And I don't think I'll be ready for anything like that for a while yet. I'm only fifteen, you know."

"I know, dear, but... well, I just wanted you to know I'm here. If you ever have questions or need to talk."

Luna smiled. "Thank you. It's nice to have someone to talk to. I didn't have anyone, really, until this year. Ginny was the only one who was nice to me, and I didn't see her much, since we got to Hogwarts. But now we've become much closer again, and I have Harry, of course, and Hermione and Ron are very nice, and Lavender has become a good friend, so I'm not so lonely anymore."

Molly smiled. "That's wonderful, dear. So you and Lavender are friends?"

"Oh yes. We started hanging out because of Harry and Ron, you know, but she's really very nice, and we've become good friends. She sees things differently than I do, of course, but that's what you want in a friend, isn't it? It wouldn't be much fun to be around people who always thought exactly the way I did. How would I ever look at things differently?"

"I hadn't thought of things like that."

"She's going to come visit me for a few days next week. I've never had a friend from school stay over at my house. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Ron seems very smitten with her," Molly observed.

"I think so, too."

"What is she like?"

"Lavender's very cheerful, and always smiles. She's very good at Divination, and she's a good duellist as well. She's an excellent Gobstones player. And she's quite friendly to everyone – not just to me. And very pretty. I know lots of the girls are jealous of her."

"Well, she seemed very pleasant when I met her at King's Cross. She's coming over for tea next week."

"That's nice. She's smitten with Ron, too you know. It's why they're always snogging, I think." As Molly's eyes widened and she struggle to not spit out her tea in surprise, Luna said, "These scones are lovely, Mrs. Weasley. You'll have to give me the recipe so I can make some for Daddy."

Luna left the burrow into the bright cold mid-afternoon daylight. She had a good talk with Mrs. Weasley, and even if her concern was largely unnecessary, it made Luna feel good to know that the woman cared, both for her and for Harry. The offer of someone to talk to meant a lot to her, as while Luna was perfectly content with her own company, it was always nice to have someone else to talk to, especially an older woman. No one could ever replace Mummy, of course, and Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to be trying, but she did miss having someone to turn to.

Luna looked to the sky and saw that Harry was still flying around with Ron, Ginny, and their American cousin. She regretted not bringing a broom, but it was a lovely crisp day, and she wanted to walk through the fields and meadows surrounding her home that she missed so much when she was up in Scotland most of the year.

Harry spotted her shortly thereafter and swooped down to meet her. Luna could tell he was diving as quick as the broomstick would let him, and the frustration of flying such an obsolete broom rather than his Firebolt was evident on his face.

"How did it go with Mrs. Weasley?" he asked her when he got to her, dismounting the broomstick.

"Oh, it was lovely. She had scones and my dirigible plum preserves. I gave her a large jar, so there should be some left for you."

"That's if Ron doesn't eat it all before I get a chance," Harry said, laughing. "So were you right? Did Mrs. Weasley give you The Talk?"

Luna nodded. "Yes. It was very quick – I think she was uncomfortable talking out it."

Harry chuckled. "I wouldn't have thought that, what with, well..." He waived at in the air at Ron and Ginny. "All of them."

"Maybe she's a woman of action and not words. She is a Gryffindor, you know."

Harry burst out laughing at that. "Luna!"

"Oi, what's so funny?" Ron said, as he, Ginny and Polly flew down to them.

"Private joke," Harry said. "Luna, this is Polly Prewitt. Polly, Luna Lovegood, my girlfriend.

"Nice to meet you," Polly said, extending her hand to Luna.

"It's nice to meet you as well. Harry says you're from America."

Polly nodded. "Yep."

"I've been to the States once. My Mum and Dad took me when I was three. We went to New York. I don't remember anything other than the tall buildings – and the bagels. Where are you from?" Luna asked.

"Er... Texas," Polly said.

"Texas? How wonderful," Luna said enthusiastically. "Daddy wants to take me to Texas. He says we're going to look for the Pecos White Jackalope. They're not very common, you know. Daddy says they're being out-competed by the Great Plains Jackalope, but I wonder if they're just hiding. Have you ever seen a Jackalope?"

"Don't think so. I've never heard of them."

Luna's eyes went wide. "You've never heard of them?" she asked, incredulously.

Ginny put her hand on Polly's shoulder. "Polly, Luna's very into – "

"Made-up..." Ron began.

Ginny leaned over and swatted her brother and finished her thought. " – unusual creatures."

"Jackalopes are not unusual," Luna said. "They're very common in the American West, Mexico and parts of Canada."

"Well, I'm not really into animals," Polly said.

"Oh well," Luna said. "Where are you from in Texas?"

"It's in the desert. You've probably never heard of it. Near Galveston."

"Oooh, I always wanted to go to Galveston. They have a wonderful wizarding school there, I've heard. Is that where you went?"

"Yeah. Malhado Academy. I went there."

"I'd like to see it at some point," Luna said. "I might even see it sometime soon."

"Uh, Luna," Harry said, tugging her sleeve.

"Yes, Harry? Oh, right," she said. She probably shouldn't hint about Professor Umbridge's offer to Polly, although she did want to talk to Ginny about it. She turned back to Polly. "How do you like England? Have you ever been here before?"

"Yeah, I stayed with Molly – she's my cousin – and Arthur a few years ago. Er, England's great. Lots of friendly people. I love the food."

"You play Quidditch?" Luna asked. "I thought Quodpot was more popular over there."

"Er, yeah, but I'm more into Quidditch. I'm not the player these three are, but I love the game."

"I always wanted to see a Quodpot game," Luna said. "It's like Quidditch crossed with Exploding Snap, isn't it? Although I suppose you would think of it more like Quidditch being Quodpot without the Exploding Snap bits. And with more people trying to knock you off your broom. How long are you here for?"

"Just for the holidays. I'll be hanging around Ron, Ginny, and Harry here a lot. Then it's back to Texas," Polly said.

"Back to the desert," Luna said, no longer smiling.

"Yep."

"In Galveston."

"Near Galveston."

"Right. It's nice to meet you, Polly," Luna said, smiling again. "I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other, as I'm going to be with Harry here as much as I can. He's a wonderful boyfriend," she said, as Harry blushed and Ginny laughed.

"Yeah, I'll bet. Nice to meet you, Luna."

"Harry, can I talk with you a moment?" Luna asked, dragging him away.

"Hands where we can see them, you two! Ouch! Will you quit hitting me, Ginny?" Ron shouted.

Luna led Harry around the Burrow, looking over her shoulder until she was sure they were alone.

"Harry," she said urgently, "You need to go inside and floo Dumbledore now."

"What? Why?"

"That woman, Polly – I think she may be a Death Eater."

"What? No, Polly's no..."

"How can you be sure, Harry? Ginny's never mentioned a 'Polly Prewitt' before, and she's going to be here exactly when you are? And I can tell you that whatever else, that woman is not from Texas."

"Now, Luna..."

"You need to trust me, Harry. Polly's an impostor. She doesn't like Quodpot, she's never heard of a Jackalope – "

"Lots of people haven't heard of some of the animals you have, Luna. That doesn't mean..."

"Harry," she said seriously. Harry looked right at her. She continued, "Everyone over there has heard of Jackalopes. Muggles have heard of Jackalopes. They think they're a legend, because Jackalope horns have an effect like a weak Muggle-Repelling Charm, but they've heard of them. And Galveston is on the sea. It's nowhere near the desert. And I'm no expert on accents, but I don't think she sounds like a Texan. And Daddy told me that Americans all think British food is terrible. Probably due to all the wrackspurts they attract when they come to Britain, because Americans have no natural immunity against them, you know. She's done some research if she knows Malhado Academy, but you have to trust me, Harry, that woman isn't what she's telling us."

Harry was frowning at her.

Luna sighed, and her face fell. "You don't believe me. You have to believe me, Harry."

He shook his head. "That's not it. I do believe you, Luna. Polly's... look, I should have told you right off, but she told us not to... to keep quiet about... Dumbledore sent her. She's Sirius' cousin. She's an Auror."

"An Auror? Oh no, Harry... She might be with the Rotfangs. You can't trust her."

"I know her, Luna. You have to trust me on this. She's on our side. Her name is Nymphadora Tonks. Her grandfather was Sirius' uncle... I think. She graduated from Hufflepuff just before I started at Hogwarts. She's one of the good ones, Luna."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"She's pretending to be Molly's cousin because she could get fired from the Auror Office for associating with me, and Dumbledore thinks I need protection. She's a metamorphmagus."

"I've never met a metamorphmagus," Luna said. "I've heard a person becomes a metamorphmagus in womb, if the mother is bit by a garden gnome the same day she gives birth. I wonder if that's what happened to Nymphadora's mother?"

"You'll have to ask her. And don't call her 'Nymphadora'. She hates her name. Just call her 'Tonks'. Although while she's here, you should probably call her 'Polly'."

"That's very sad. 'Nymphadora' is a lovely name. It means 'gift of the nymphs', you know. I don't know why she wouldn't like it," Luna said.

"She probably got called 'Nymph' a lot, I guess."

"I'd like that better than 'Loony'," she said, shrugging.

"It's what you're used to, I guess. Here, I'll properly introduce you," he said, taking Luna by the hand and calling out for Ron, Ginny, and 'Polly' once again.