Harry Potter and the Silent Dead: Book 2

Chapter 5: Solutions

Harry was walking down the halls to his next lesson, ignoring his friends worried babbling about his detention that night. He was going to wait for them to calm before explaining, but was distracted by a commotion further along the hall. A young blonde girl in Ravenclaw uniform was standing barefoot as several Gryffindors surrounded her. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but their expressions were indication enough, even though the girl seemed calm. As they turned the corner to History of Magic, he slipped into the crowd, heading towards the young girl. The other students didn't notice him until he stood between them and her. "Back off." They exchanged glances before looking him up and down and laughing. "Shove off Potter, Looney isn't anything to do with you." He couldn't see the young Ravenclaw, but from the small shuffle she made, she clearly didn't like this nickname, or these people. He wasn't sure why he was protecting her, perhaps simply because he could, but a small hex caused the four lions to flail their limbs as they danced down the hall out of sight.

He turned back to the small girl, who smiled at him absentmindedly. "Thank you Harry Potter." She had an airy Irish accent, and cloudy blue eyes, which gazed up at him knowingly. He simply nodded, looking around for her shoes but finding none. "Where are your shoes?" She bounced on the balls of her feet, swaying slightly as she looked around the now empty hall, the other students having gone to class. "They seem to have disappeared from my trunk. I suspect nargles to be responsible." He had no idea what nargles were, but she seemed rather set on believing this explanation. He smiled down at her, before asking her name. "Accio Luna's shoes." A pair of strangely decorated pumps landed in his hands, and he handed them to the grinning Ravenclaw.

"Why thank you Harry, that's very kind of you." She slipped her feet into the shoes before happily looping her arm through his, leading the bemused boy through the castle halls. He was about to point out that he had a lesson to get to when the young girl turned to look him in the eyes. "You're very kind to the living, for a necromancer. Your people have always been misunderstood." He was frozen in shock for a second before looking around to check no one was listening in. The hallway was empty, and he pulled Luna into and empty classroom, casting a secrecy ward. "How do you know that, who are you?" For a moment he worried this was some trick by Dumbledore, and gathered his power, ready for a fight. "You don't need to worry Harry, I'm not spying on you." She slipped over to a table, perching on it and smiling at him. "I'm a bit like you." This confused him, and cautiously he directed his magic towards her. A strange aura met it, not quite like his, but almost its opposite partner. It was light and warm, with a sharpness to it. "You're a seer!" He was so shocked, it took a moment for him to realise he'd spoken aloud. He wasn't surprised though, if his kind was safe with anyone it would be a seer. Both Necromancy and Sight were coveted and hated by the light. Neither of them were particularly safe here. "Exactly, I'm glad you understand. So you don't need to worry about me." Harry looked at Luna for a moment, before walking over to sit with her. "I think I'll still worry. We should stick together don't you think?"

After talking a while longer, they walked to the Great hall, where he met with Lisa and Terry. "Harry, you can't just disappear, we were worried." He apologised, explaining what happened and introducing his new friend. "This is my friend, Luna Lovegood. Hopefully she'll be with us now." Luna had grinned happily at that, and started chattering excitedly to the other Ravenclaws, who both loved her as much as Harry. The strange girl was so subtly clever, full of enthusiasm for her strange creatures and beautiful beliefs. She fit perfectly with their ragtag group.

Eventually the evening came to and end, and he waved at the other Ravenclaws as he headed to the DADA classroom for his detention with Lockhart. He was quite excited for it actually. Of course, not for the hour with the egotistical set of teeth. No, Harry had a clever little plan up his sleeve. Or more specifically, a bottle of veritaserum. He knocked on the classroom door, waiting for a response. He waited a minute, and was about to knock again when he finally heard "Enter." Rolling his eyes, he opened the door, and saw Lockhart seated at a table with some tea and a large stack of paper.