I'm tired of hiding.
Luna stays in a cottage with her father. It is small and dirty and not at all like the pretty farm she grew up on. The farm was always full of life and magic. This place is simply empty.
There is a war, but it seems so far away. The only thing that seems to permeate this place, this horrid, dull place, is the summer heat and the occasional rat.
The Quibbler hasn't been published in months. Mr. Lovegood is too afraid, which amazes Luna, as she's never seen her father afraid. Not in front of the Crumple-Horned Snorcacks, or the Moon Wraiths, or even when his wife died. Her father has always been the most solid force in her life.
I really want to do something important.
Luna leaves at night, not because there are shadows to hide in, but because that's when she feels like going. Her father falls asleep, but she can't, so she doesn't see any reason to continue waiting. So she gets dressed, whispers, "I love you, Daddy," and slips out of the cottage.
She holds her wand ready in front of her. For a few minutes, she jumps at every noise, every rustle of the leaves or wind. A raccoon crosses her path, and she shoots a poorly-aimed hex at it.
The raccoon is fine, and Luna feels silly. She tucks her wand safely behind her ear and wanders down the path.
This isn't so hard. Why didn't I do this sooner?
The land around the cottage is bare. Its low rolls are covered with a thin layer of browning grass, and the emptiness is punctured only by the occasional tree or line of bushes.
Luna looks up as she walks, counting the stars. There are large dark spots between them (clouds, or possibly Floating Humdingers, Luna guesses) and she takes delight in finding shapes in them. One looks like a boat, one like a Nargle, and one like a snake. This is infinitely more interesting than the dying grass and scrawny trees.
The cottage is unplottable, but the land around it is not. Luna reaches the edge of the unplottable land quickly, but keeps walking. She wants to be out of earshot of the cottage.
Finally, at the edge of a dirt road, she holds her wand up. With a sharp bang that cuts through the night, the Knight Bus appears in front of her.
"Welcome aboard the Knight Bus," a young pimply young man who can't be more than a few years older than Luna greets her. He covers his mouth with one hand, but it doesn't hide his yawn. "I'm Stan Shunpike, and if you need anything--" he yawns again. "Just ask me."
Luna nods and boards the bus.
"Destination?" Stan asks.
Luna hasn't thought about that, honestly, and she says the first place that comes to mind. "The Leaky Cauldron."
I don't like moments like this, when my fate lies in the next decision I make.
Luna chooses a seat at the Leaky Cauldron from which she can see everything that happens in the room. She likes knowing what's going on around her, even if she analyses it all differently than anyone else would.
She sips a Butterbeer and wonders what to do next. Find Death Eaters? She can't do much on her own. Maybe she can write something for the Daily Prophet. She's got plenty of experience writing and researching for the Quibbler with her father. She should warn people about the Wrackspurts. That would be good. She knows Voldemort is using them, because of that time in the Ministry. What else could make hers and Ron's brains go all fuzzy like that?
And in the meantime, she hasn't slept in two days, so she pays for a room that overlooks Diagon Alley, and falls asleep to the familiar sounds of London and owls and life.
I feel rested and excited for the first time in months. I think the pixie dust in the Leaky Cauldron is getting to me.
Luna spends the next day wandering around Diagon Alley. She watches the people rush by, and remembers the time before the war, when witches and wizards laughed and walked leisurely through the streets.
This isn't as much fun as she'd hoped it would be.
Still, she has her self-appointed mission. She finds her first target, an older wizard with his head held high. She approaches him with a smile.
"Excuse me, sir, but I need to know if you've been attacked by any Wrackspurts. It's research, you see."
The man scowls down at the eager girl. "I don't know what you're talking about." He rudely pushes past her and continues walking.
"Sir! It's important. You-Know-Who is using them, and I need to know--"
"Quiet! Don't speak of such things in the open," the man says harshly. He disappears into a shop, and Luna doesn't follow.
The next person, a much younger witch who Luna thinks very pretty, Apparates away from her when she says You-Know-Who.
Finally, Luna gets a mild-mannered old witch to listen to her. The witch explains patiently that there is no such thing as Wrackspurts, and Luna counters with her version of what happened two years ago in the Ministry of Magic. The woman is more impressed that she knows Harry Potter than with her story, which Luna finds frustrating.
I don't think some people really want to know what's going on.
That night, after a late dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, Luna begins writing an article about her findings. She writes until her candlelight runs out, then falls asleep in the same room she was in the night before.
Morning dawns with new hope, because Luna, fortunately, has a lot of that. In her excitement to begin anew, she forgets to eat breakfast and immediately runs into Diagon Alley. She is soon accosted by a small boy. Luna gives him a wide smile.
"Hi Miss!" The boy bounces excitedly on his heals in front of her.
"Hi! Did you want to know about the Wrackspurts?" Luna asks.
The boy shakes his head, and Luna's smile falters. "Grandmother says you know Harry Potter, is that true?"
To her dismay, Luna doesn't get any more information about the Wrackspurts that day. She spends all of it answering questions about Harry Potter, and even though many people are impressed that she helped fight Death Eaters, this isn't helping her research.
I know Harry is important, but I want to save people too.
The next day is spent at the nearest public library. It is on the edge of Diagon Alley and full of books about magic, and some that just are magic.
Luna chooses a book on magical creatures, and it screams when she opens it. The librarian rushes over and points her to a safer part of the library. She doesn't find out a lot about Wrackspurts, but there's some good information to add to her article.
I didn't know there were so many different kinds of Wrackspurts!
Armed with new knowledge, Luna tries Diagon Alley once more. She talks to a skeptical young man in Ministry robes, a shopkeeper who tries to sell her flying pig snouts, and a small girl who smiles and drools a lot. Luna isn't sure how effective this is.
Around lunch time, she hears a familiar voice nearby, and she looks around excitedly, trying to identify the source.
"I don't know, someone bombarding innocent witches and wizards with questions about Volde--Ron, don't flinch at his name--Voldemort."
Ron... it's Harry! "Harry!" Luna calls. She turns in a circle and waves enthusiastically.
"Luna?"
"Luna!"
"Luna."
Three different voices repeat her name with three different tones, but to her, they all sound relieved to see her.
Harry grabs her arm from behind. She turns and gives him a hug.
"People have been asking about you! I keep telling them all about the time we fought in the Department of Mysteries," Luna says in a serious tone.
"Have you?" Harry asks, and Luna doesn't think he sounds happy about it.
"Yes!"
Hermione smiles politely and tugs on Harry's arm. "Let's go, Harry, we need to find the potential terrorist."
"I think we've found her," Harry says, and an amused grin begins to spread across his face.
Hermione sighs dramatically. "Luna isn't a terrorist, Harry."
"No, but-- Luna, have you been asking people about Voldemort?" Harry asks her.
Luna's expression turns serious. "I'm writing an article about Wrackspurts because Voldemort is using them, and I want people to know about them."
Harry looks confused, and asks, "What are Wrackspurts?"
"They're not real," Hermione says.
"They are!" Luna insists. "They go through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy."
Ron starts laughing then. "They're in the fairy-stories Mum used to tell us when we were little," he says tactlessly.
This upsets Luna. She crosses her arms and frowns. She turns to Harry, her expression indignant. "You believe me, don't you?"
Harry pauses, but then says, "Yes. And, um, if you come with us I'll help you with your article."
Luna smiles brightly and hugs him again. He pats her gently on the back before pulling away.
This is exciting. We can help each other.
Harry. Hermione, and Ron take Luna to a dreary old house they call, appropriately, Grimmauld Place. At Harry's suggestion, Hermione takes her to the library. There, she finds a lot of information on the Wrackspurts. The Blacks have a lot of information on dark creatures, in fact.
She asks Ron about that time at the Ministry. He doesn't remember a lot, and that disappoints Luna a bit.
There are a lot of interesting people at Grimmauld Place, and they all come and go often, but it is Harry that interests Luna the most. She wants to know what he's doing, but he tells her very little.
"There's something we have to find. Don't worry about it, Luna."
I feel like they're keeping something from me.
Luna finishes her article on Wrackspurts. It's got first-hand experience, an in-depth profile of the creature, brief information on all the other kinds of Wrackspurts, how to recognize and avoid them, and what to do if you find your brain under attack. Luna thinks it's one of the best articles she's written to date.
She tries to get Hermione to look at it, because Hermione is one of the smartest people she knows. Hermione says she's busy, however, and brushes Luna off with an excuse that there is research to be done.
"What kind of research?" Luna asks.
"The sort that doesn't involve creatures that don't exist," Hermione says harshly. Luna doesn't think she's ever seen Hermione this stressed, not even during her O.W.L.s.
Harry reads her article, though. In it, she describes a spell that reduces the Wrackspurts' power. Harry asks many questions about it.
"Would it work on other creatures?" he asks finally.
"Yes, if they have Dark Magic in them," Luna responds.
"Like... a piece of Voldemort's soul?" Harry asks curiously.
"I suppose so, but I don't know where you'd get an animal like that."
"Teach me the spell."
It is a command, and Harry stands tall. He looks like the leader, the hero, Luna knows he is.
I think I admire Harry. He's going to save us, after all.
Once Harry is sure he can cast the spell properly, he organizes some sort of quest. Luna thinks it sounds exciting. He assigns positions and objectives to Ron and Hermione, Lupin and Tonks, Charlie and Bill. He says they will leave at sunset.
"What can I do?" Luna asks.
"You've already helped," Harry says.
"I want to help more," Luna insists.
It takes a lot of begging, but finally Harry gives in. "You'll stay in the back with Ron, though. You, Ron, and Charlie are back-up. You don't fight unless something happens to the rest of us."
Luna nods solemnly.
I've never been on a mission before. I hope I don't mess it up.
Harry leads them to an old house that looks abandoned. He insists the only thing in it is their target, but the target will be well protected.
He's wrong.
At the edge of the property several of them are hit with a stunning spell simultaneously.
Somehow, Harry gets into the shack anyway, and uses Luna's spell to kill a snake. Luna would be proud if she had time to think about it.
But there are more spells to dodge, to counter, some that Luna recognizes and some she doesn't. There's one that paralyzes, another that blasts them off their feet, a Cruciatus, an Imperius. Luna isn't sure which one hits her, but she's knocked unconscious.
Ron? Harry? Anyone? I'm not alone, am I?
Luna wakes somewhere cold and dark. She feels a rough surface against her back and cold magical restraints around her wrists and ankles. She tries to sit up, but she can't.
She lets out a wordless cry of protest and pulls at the restraints anyway. She triggers some sort of spell. There is a bright flash of light, then pain shoots through her body. The light dies away too quickly, and she feels even more blind than she did before. She cries out again, but this time doesn't pull on the restraints.
"Who's there?" Luna recognizes the tired voice as Harry's.
"Luna," she says, and it comes out as almost a sob.
"Luna," he repeats, and there is hopelessness in his voice.
"Where are we?" Luna asks, and the sad lilt of Harry's voice has affected hers as well.
"We're-- shh!" He interrupts himself at the sound of approaching footsteps. "Pretend to be asleep still," he whispers urgently.
Luna relaxes as much as she can, closes her eyes, and forces her breath to become even. She hears a door open, and an acrid voice spit, "Potter."
"Malfoy," Harry spits back with just as much hate.
"Lumos," Malfoy says, and the room lights up. Luna wants to open her eyes, but she obeys Harry. There is a rustling of robes and more footsteps as Malfoy moves across the room.
"Put your wand away," Harry demands. "You won't do anything to me. You couldn't even kill a weakened old man."
"Shut up!" A swish of air, a ripping noise, a cry of pain from Harry. Luna has to bite her lip to keep from calling out. "You keep saying shit like that," Draco says in a more controlled voice, "as if you want me to hurt you."
"At least that way I know I'm still alive," Harry says in a voice so soft it's almost a whisper.
Malfoy lets out a small noise of amusement, and Luna can imagine the smirk on his face.
"The Dark Lord wants you alive for some reason, or you would be dead already."
"Don't touch me!"
"I don't see what's so special about you, or your bloody scar, though. He should let us kill you now."
"It's been days," Harry says, and the hopelessness has crept back into his voice. "Let us go."
"No." There is a pause, strange, sharp sounding words, and another cry of pain from Harry. "Aunt Bellatrix might come down here to kill the bitch later, however."
"Leave Luna alone!"
Rustling of robes, retreating footsteps. "She's of no use to us." The door slams, and the light goes out.
Luna opens her eyes, but it takes a moment before she finds her voice. "Harry?" she calls finally.
"Luna."
"I don't want to die." Her voice cracks with the sobs she is holding back.
"I won't let them kill you."
Luna nods, even though Harry can't see her.
I don't think I'm brave enough for this.
It's quite a while before anything else happens.
"Luna?" Harry breaks the silence.
"I'm still here," she responds softly, voice rough from disuse.
"Okay."
Luna waits for Harry to say more, but he doesn't. She closes her eyes and tries to sleep, because there's nothing else to pass the time.
Sudden lights wake her. They make her eyes burn, and she shuts them again quickly. She's been in darkness for days, she's sure, and this too-bright artificial light is cruel.
Her restraints release, and someone grabs Luna's robes. She's forced to stand. She looks around, blinking. Harry stands several feet away, surrounded by masked Death Eaters. His hands are bound behind him, and the captors take turns casting harsh spells that incapacitate him and hurt him.
Only two Death Eaters stand beside Luna. One is very tall, and one is chubby. The chubby one keeps his wand pointed at Luna, and the tall one holds her shoulder firmly. Clearly, they don't find her as threatening as they do Harry.
Finally, the tall one says, "Enough! Bring them upstairs."
Grudgingly, the other Death Eaters obey, and they are forced up a long stone staircase. Luna isn't sure if she should be grateful to be out of the dungeon, or scared of what the Death Eaters have planned.
They force Harry onto a platform in the center of a wide, elaborate room. As he steps onto it, he cries out in pain. Luna is made to stand next to him, hands bound behind her back. The chubby one casts an unfamiliar spell, and Luna can't move.
With the closest Death Eaters several steps away and his hands finally unbound, Harry looks around frantically. He tries to throw himself off the platform, but hits an invisible wall of magic that throws him back to the ground. The Death Eaters jeer and throw insults at Harry.
Harry sits up, anger flashing through his eyes. Unwashed, with long uncontrolled hair and ripped clothing, Harry looks almost feral. Luna's never seen Harry so upset. She wonders what, exactly, happened while she was unconscious.
The room quiets suddenly, and the far door opens to reveal Voldemort. A cold shivers runs through Luna. She wants to shrink back, hide from this creature, but she can't. He is more terrifying in person than she had ever imagined, and she wonders how, exactly, Harry was able to face him as many times as he had.
"Harry Potter." The voice is appropriately snakelike, a raspy hiss.
"Let Luna go!" Harry demands, gesturing to her.
Luna wonders why he didn't say, "Let me go!" After all, he's more important in this war than she is.
"No, I don't think I will," Voldemort says, and he sounds almost amused.
"It's not her you want," Harry says, angry tears forming in his eyes. "It's me. I'm the Horcrux."
Luna wants to ask, "What's a Horcrux?" but she knows she should stay quiet. The spell that binds her is slowly wearing off. Her tensed muscles are relaxing, but she keep still, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention from the Death Eaters, or worse, Voldemort.
Voldemort takes a small vial from his robes. He levitates it to Harry. Harry holds it gingerly between two fingers, untrusting.
"Drink," Voldemort commands.
Harry frowns. He raises the vial over his head, ready to drop the vial, to let it break against the harsh stone of the platform.
Before he can, Voldemort waves his wand. "Imperio!"
There is a brief struggle, but Harry drinks the potion.
Satisfied, Voldemort sweeps from the room, motioning for the Death Eaters to follow, leaving Harry and Luna alone.
When the door slams shut and the wards and charms that will keep them in the room are in place, Luna finally moves. She moves to step onto the platform, to help Harry.
"No!"
A sharp jolt goes through Luna's body, and she is thrown back to the floor, away from Harry.
"Don't… don't worry... about… me," Harry says.
His breathing is becoming more erratic. He sits with his head in his hands. "I don't… know what that… that potion… is… but, Luna… if you can… save yourself… please."
"No!" Luna protests. "We need you."
Harry shakes his head.
He's giving up! He can't! Who will save us?
They sit in silence for what feels like a long time.
"How do I get out of here? Where are we, anyway?" Luna asks finally.
Someone appears out of nowhere. "Malfoy Manor." Luna shifts her gaze in the direction of the voice. Draco Malfoy is holding Harry's Invisibility Cloak and looking quite disheveled. "And Mum and I don't want half-bloods and blood-traitors soiling our home any longer."
"Draco?"
"Lovegood." There isn't any of the malice or disgust in his voice that the Slytherins always have when addressing her. Luna is confused, but Harry seems to understand.
"So it… it all was… really an act," Harry says, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
Draco ignores the comment. "I can't disable this spell, but I can weaken it," he says, waving his wand at the platform.
"No," Harry replies. "Save Luna… I have to… to die anyway."
Draco narrows his eyes and in a much quieter voice says, "You're not going to abandon us now, Potter."
Harry shakes his head. "I'm the… the last Horcrux. Kill me… and the path to… to Volde… Voldemort… is… is clear."
Finally understanding dawns in Draco's cold grey eyes, and he nods. He raises his wand.
"No!" Luna almost doesn't recognize her own shrill, desperate voice.
"Be quiet!" Draco demands.
"Luna, tell… tell the Order what I… told Malfoy."
"No!" Luna says again.
Draco waves his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry collapses. Draco grabs Luna's hand, and Apparates them both away.
I wish I'd never left Daddy.
Draco shoves the Invisibility Cloak into Luna's hands. "Go back to the Order."
Luna just looks at him for a moment.
"Go!" Draco demands.
"What about you? You're not safe here either after kill--" She stops suddenly, unable to complete that thought.
Draco grinds his teeth irritably. "I'm meeting Mother somewhere safe. Just go."
Satisfied, Luna throws the cloak over herself, and Apparates.
I'm shaken, but otherwise okay.
Luna waits in Grimmauld Place while the Order takes care of Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
This isn't how she expected things to happen. The days she spent worrying about the Wrackspurts seem like they were a long, long time ago.
The first people back to Grimmauld Place are not part of the army that went to Malfoy Manor, to Luna's dismay. They are Narcissa and Draco Malfoy.
"I haven't been in this house since I was a child," Narcissa comments, shaking her head.
Draco frowns.
They look lost, and Luna gives them as kind a smile as she can manage at the moment.
"You made it back," Draco says in an overconfident drawl that suggests he didn't expect any less.
Luna nods.
Then the people Luna's been waiting for come home as well, and there is much commotion, much rejoicing, and much mourning all at the same time.
The war is over. Why can't I stop crying.
Draco sets a plate of food on the table next to Luna's bed in Grimmauld Place. "You weren't at dinner again."
"Not hungry," Luna says, and rolls over so she's facing the wall.
"Not eating won't change what happened," he says angrily.
Luna doesn't answer.
"Tomorrow the members of the Order are being commemorated at the Ministry's ceremony. Do you want to look like crap for that?"
"Why do you care so much?"
"Eat something!"
Luna shakes her head. Frustrated, Draco stomps away, but leaves the food. He pauses in the doorway.
"If it weren't for you, Mother and I would be in Azkaban. You're the only person alive who really knows what happened that night."
The door slams. After a shocked moment, Luna sits up and begins to nibble on the sandwich Draco left.
It's a start, anyway.
Please let me know what you think!