Chapter 68: Life is but a Dream
Luna woke up the next morning as happy as ever. She got dressed, sans shoes, which had gone missing again, then gathered her books for the day. After a quick check for her missing shoes, she walked down to the Ravenclaw common room and left to go to breakfast.
On her way to the Great Hall, Luna bumped into the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw House's resident ghost.
"Good morning," Luna said.
"Hello, Luna," the Grey Lady replied. "Still can't find your shoes?"
"Not yet," Luna replied. "I still think nargles took them. They like to do that sort of thing."
"I'm sure they'll turn up when you least expect it," the ghost replied.
While Luna ate her breakfast, an owl dropped a copy of the latest issue of the Quibbler in front of her. She began reading it as soon as it landed.
"Anything good?" asked one of her housemates.
"It's not bad, but not one of my favorites," Luna replied. "I think the rune puzzle's one of the best, though."
"Nothing about wrackspurts?" another housemate asked.
"Of course not. We had an article about them two issues ago. It'd be silly to do another one so soon without anything new to report."
Both housemates burst out laughing. After trying and failing to figure out the joke, Luna returned to reading the Quibbler.
After breakfast, Luna gathered her things and headed to class. Potions wasn't so bad, even if no one would work with her unless they had to. Luna almost always ended up working with one of the Hufflepuffs, since the Ravenclaws quickly paired off so they wouldn't be forced to work with her. Even the Hufflepuffs didn't like working with her, but it wasn't their fault.
"Where you going, Loony?"
Luna looked behind her and saw some older Ravenclaws following her. She could never remember their names, but she was certain they changed them every day.
"I'm going to Potions, of course," Luna replied. "Where are you all off to?"
"Doesn't Snape have a rule against showing up barefoot?" one of them sneered.
"I can't remember," Luna said. "I don't think he likes it, but I can't find my shoes again."
Luna knew how this ended. It ended with her books knocked to the floor, her housemates laughing, and her showing up late to class. She lost points, but she didn't mind; Gryffindor always won the House Cup anyway. Her housemates were mean to her, but then she'd go to Charms or Transfiguration, and they wouldn't bother her. Herbology was nice too, and she really liked Professor Lupin, so Defence Against the Dark Arts wasn't so bad.
Classes had never been a problem; getting to class was the real challenge.
"Maybe nargles took them," one of her housemates said.
"That's what I think," Luna said. "I'm not sure, although I like feeling the stone under my feet. I don't mind going barefoot, but I'd rather not ruin my stockings again."
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall always fixed her stockings for her when they ripped. None of the other professors did, but they probably wanted to let Professor McGonagall do it. Luna had small things she liked to do too, like reading or watching animals. She had thought it interesting when the spiders all ran out of the castle the last year, even if she never found out why.
"So what?" one of the girls asked. "When mine are torn, I just send them home and have mum fix them."
Luna flinched.
"Yeah, like her dad could fix them," one of the boys scoffed. "He's too busy writing that fake newspaper."
Luna tightened her grip on her books and looked down at the floor. Her dad was so proud of The Quibbler. Why didn't anyone else like it? Why were they all so mean?
He's got every right to be. At least it's not controlled by the government.
The other students began to laugh, and Luna forced herself to smile. Everything would be fine if she could just get to class.
You'll love Professor Snape. He and I are best friends!
"Oi!"
Luna turned around to see a boy with a Gryffindor crest on his robes standing behind her. He didn't look terribly confident in himself, but Luna was still happy to see him.
"What do you want, Longbottom?" asked a Ravenclaw.
"L-leave her alone," Neville ordered.
"Or what?"
Don't you know I'm the Grand Queen of Hogwarts and picking on other students is punishable by slow, painful torture?
"Afraid we'll upset your little girlfriend?"
"S-stop it," Neville stammered.
"'S-stop it'," one of the Ravenclaws imitated. "Listen to you. Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be brave?"
"Besides, we weren't talking to you, Longbottom, we were talking to Loony."
The Ravenclaws started to laugh, and Neville took a step back.
Why doesn't he pull out the Sword of Gryffindor? Luna wondered. Where are his gloves? What day is it? Did he forget them? I like cake, especially with chocolate. I wonder what we're doing in Potions today. Where are you? Has he got his gloves?
"Or… Or I'll…" Neville stammered.
"It's alright, Neville," Luna said quietly. "I'm not worth it."
Luna smiled at Neville. She knew how this went; anyone who stood up for her suffered the same fate. The same thing happened to the Hufflepuffs that had tried to work with her in Potions, and the first-years that had tried to be nice to her a few months back. Everyone that stood by Luna was broken down by her tormentors, leaving Luna completely alone.
Spread the word: Luna Lovegood is under my protection, and anyone who crosses her, crosses me!
Luna watched Neville run off, then checked to make sure she didn't have any loose pieces of parchment in her notebooks. Sure enough, the group of older students, satisfied that they had made her life miserable, knocked her books out of her hands on their way past her.
Luna waited for them to leave, then collected her books. One piece of parchment fell out while she was collecting them. It was a drawing she had done of her imaginary hero. She wore a black dress, red cloak, and had crimson hair. The girl grinned back at Luna, as if to reassure her that everything was going to be alright.
"Why can't you be real?" she whispered.
Luna skipped Potions that day. She felt bad for the person that might have to work alone, but she couldn't go to class. With tears falling down her cheeks, Luna made her way to somewhere she knew she could hide.
The bathroom door slammed shut behind her as she flung open the door to an empty stall.
My uncle told me it's alright to cry, just so long as you never cry about the same thing twice.
"What if you do?" Luna whispered.
Then you just didn't finish crying the first time.
Luna put her books down on the toilet, then started crying.
I can get through this, she told herself. I just need a minute.
Of course you can, Little Moon. They're afraid of you because you're different. People were afraid of me too, but my brother says you win by not being afraid.
"I wish you were real," Luna whispered. "I wish you weren't only a dream."
"Hello?"
Luna looked up, then drew her legs to her chest so the other girl wouldn't find her.
"I saw you crying," the voice said. "Is everything alright?"
"It's nothing," Luna said softly.
"Crying's never nothing," the girl said. "Last time I was crying in here a troll nearly killed me."
Knowing who the other girl was, Luna unlocked the stall and slowly opened the door. A bushy-haired Gryffindor stood before her, a sad, crooked smile on her face.
"Luna, right?" she asked.
"Yes," Luna said softly. "Hello, Hermione."
"Come on out," Hermione said, motioning towards the rest of the bathroom. "It's alright."
"I just need a minute," Luna said. "I'll be fine."
"You don't look fine. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
Luna wasn't sure if she could trust Brain. No, that wasn't right. She said she'd been attacked by a troll in the bathroom, not the corridor, so it was just Hermione. Was she still nice? Brain was nice, wasn't she? Hermione wasn't too different from Brain.
"How come you're not wearing shoes?" Hermione asked.
"I can't find them. The same thing happened last year, so I know they'll turn up."
"Is that what's bothering you?" Hermione asked.
Luna saw Hermione's eyes dart down and catch a glimpse of her picture.
"That's very good," Hermione said. "Did you draw that?"
Luna nodded.
"Who is that?"
"She's called Rose," Luna said. "Rose Peta-Lorrum. I dreamed her."
"What's she like?"
"She's nice, and stands up for other people."
Luna began to cry again. She forced herself to smile, but couldn't force the tears to stop.
"What's wrong?"
"I forget she isn't real sometimes," Luna said. "I get confused."
"I understand," Hermione said. "When I was a little girl, I wanted some brave hero to come and save me, too. The closest I've got are Harry and Ron."
"What about Sally-Anne?" Luna asked.
"Sally-Anne Perks? The girl that dropped out after a few months?"
"Oh," Luna said. "I'm sorry, I got confused."
"Stress can do that," Hermione replied. "I read somewhere that stress can make you hallucinate, even remember things that didn't happen."
Luna nodded. That did happen sometimes. She hated it when it did, especially when she forgot about her mum. It felt like her mum kept coming back and dying all over again because she kept forgetting.
"You shouldn't be nice to me," Luna said. "Neville tried earlier, and they laughed at him for it."
"It's not so easy to get me down," Hermione said. "I was attacked by a troll in this very bathroom two years ago, and a basilisk not far from the library last year. This year we've got Dementors outside and a madman on the loose. Something happens every year, and my friends always end up at the center of it."
Luna looked down at the picture of Rose. She couldn't remember what had happened anymore. Hadn't Rose killed the troll? Then Ginny killed the Basilisk, didn't she? Or had Harry killed the Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor? No, Neville always used the Sword of Gryffindor.
"Neville should get a sword. He's good with one."
"Erm… Okay." Hermione backed out of the stall. "Are you feeling better, then?"
"I think so," Luna said. "I still don't think I'm up for Potions. I think I'll stay here for a while."
"I haven't got class for an hour," Hermione said. "Why don't we stay here and talk?"
After she left the bathroom with Hermione, Luna went to Defence Against the Dark Arts. She sat with Ginny, the one other person that didn't care how much the Ravenclaws harassed her.
"You think I can't take it?!" she shouted at them. "Have you met my brothers?! Bring it on!"
Hermione and Ginny helped her through the rest of the day. It wasn't a perfect day, but it was better than it had been. At the end of it, Luna curled up under her warm covers and went to sleep, hoping to dream of a better world.
Luna awoke to the sound of Tutela barking. She looked around the room and saw Brain and Princess rousing from their beds.
"What's going on?" groaned one of the other girls. "Lovegood, why is your dog barking when the sun's not up?"
Luna climbed out of bed and knelt down beside Tutela.
"It's alright, girl," Luna said softly.
"Rose!"
Luna turned towards the sound of Toad's voice.
"Come on," Princess said, running down the stairs. Brain and Luna followed close behind her, with Tutela at their heels. The girls collected Alex as they went, with Firecracker not far behind them. There were murmurs from all around them, mostly that of people telling them to go back to sleep.
"What's going on?" Alex asked Neville when they reached the bottom of the stairs.
Neville, Harry, and Percy stood in the common room. Percy and Harry stood over Ron, who was sitting on one of the couches.
"It was him," he said. "Sirius Black–"
"What's going on?" Rose asked as she appeared in the common room.
Luna smiled when she saw Rose, then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Peta-Lorrum, where were you?" Percy asked.
"Not important; why'd Tutela call me?"
"Sirius Black was here," Ron said again. "He–"
"He's mine!" Rose shouted, turning in place towards the portrait. She sprinted out of the room, phasing straight through the wall.
Sally-Anne knelt down beside Ron.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"I woke up, and he was standing over me. He had a knife in his hand, and he slashed my curtains. He ran off when I got up."
"He's right," Neville said. "His curtains were torn, so we tried to get everyone as quickly as we could."
"What is all the noise about?" Professor McGonagall asked as she entered the common room. "I know you all like a party, but it's time–"
"Sirius Black was here, Professor," Alex said. "He went after Ron."
"What?!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "Where's Peta-Lorrum?"
"Trying to catch up to him," Luna replied. "She's going after him before too many people go looking so she can use speak with anything to get his trail from the stones."
"Good," Professor McGonagall said.
What Luna didn't tell them was that Rose couldn't use greater dimension jumper to improve her speed, nor could she go her full speed while tracking. Even if all Rose needed to do was to ask the stones for directions, that meant she'd need to stop at nearly every junction and couldn't break into a full sprint. Luna also knew that Rose wouldn't dare leave the grounds, otherwise she risked an attack happening before she returned.
Even knowing that Rose had little to no chance of catching up to Sirius Black, unless the escaped convict was an extremely slow runner, Luna knew that if anyone could figure out a way, it was Rose.
"Percy, Alexandra, you two stay here. No one is to be let out of the common room. I'm going to go rouse the rest of the staff and we'll search the grounds."
"I'm not sure that's necessary," Luna said.
"Ms. Lovegood, you shouldn't even be here," Professor McGonagall said. "I'm making an allowance, but do not start telling me how to do my job."
Luna nodded, but she still disagreed with the Deputy Headmistress's course of action. The only way Sirius Black could escape Rose was by beating her to the edge of the wards. He couldn't hide from Rose, unless he used a passage she'd never seen before, and those didn't exist. Reflectesalon could detect secret doors, so Rose had familiarized herself with all the secret passageways back in September.
"Luna, why don't you think it's necessary to search the castle?" Alex whispered.
"Because Sirius Black has got to outrun Rose. She can get his trail no matter what."
"Right."
Luna liked Alex. She didn't ask silly questions like "How is Rose getting his trail?" or "What's greater dimension jumper?"
A burst of rose petals signaled Rose's failure to catch Sirius Black.
"Don't bother searching the castle," Rose said. "He got away."
"What do you mean, Ms. Peta-Lorrum?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Short version: I can't leave the wards. I mean, I can, but it's not a good idea. Tell you later. Good news: I now know how the dog fits into all of this."
"How?" Professor McGonagall asked curtly.
"Sirius Black doesn't own the dog; he is the dog."
"Are you saying he's an animagus?"
"Yes," Rose said. "He changed into the dog while he was escaping, but I can't track and run at the same time; I'm not a Ranger. He outran me as a dog, beat me to the edge of the wards, so I had to turn back. He also used two different secret passageways on his way out. I'll give him this: he knows his way around the castle. He was on the grounds before you got here."
"How do you know that?" Professor McGonagall asked.
It's like asking someone if they want ice cream. That's a silly question. Tutela told her.
"Tutela told me," Rose replied. "I've got telecomm with her for miles."
"She means telepathic communication," Hermione explained.
I want ice cream.
"And you're certain of this?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Yes."
"Then the only question that remains is how he got inside Gryffindor Tower," Professor McGonagall said, turning back towards the entrance. "Sir Cadogan!"
She left Gryffindor Tower, but returned within a minute. By then, more students were joining them in the common room.
"Everyone, there has been a break in. Sirius Black got inside Gryffindor Tower and made an attempt on Ronald Weasley. According to Sir Cadogan, who will be removed by the morning, Black possessed tonight's password. Given that it wasn't a password yesterday, someone must have told him today. Would anyone care to admit to this now?"
There were several murmurs from around the room, but no one confessed to giving Sirius Black the password.
"Very well, we will get to the bottom of this, but not until tomorrow. No one is to leave Gryffindor Tower until I come in tomorrow morning. That includes my prefects. You six will stay here to ensure that this happens. Now, why don't you all get some sleep?"
As everyone began to walk back up to their rooms, Professor McGonagall called Rose over. Luna sat down on the floor with Tutela.
"Ms. Peta-Lorrum, ignoring for a moment both the dog and Ravenclaw that shouldn't be here, why weren't you here?"
"How do you–"
"Because if you were, then Sirius Black wouldn't have got past you. Where were you?"
"The Astronomy Tower, getting some fresh air to clear my head."
"I appreciate your honesty," Professor McGonagall said. "You are to stand guard in the common room, so something like this never happens again. That means until Sirius Black is in custody, you are never to break curfew again. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, but Tutela's not a dog."
"Good. And whatever it–"
"She."
"Whatever she is, Ms. Lovegood has received enough special treatment simply by being allowed to stay here. You all know full well that the only pets we allow are toads, owls, rats, and cats."
"I–"
Professor McGonagall raised her hand, and the whole world went silent.
Luna wondered how she did that. Was it some sort of spell, or did she condition people from birth to respond to it? Luna raised her hand, but nothing happened. Maybe it only worked for Professor McGonagall. How had she managed that?
"We will discuss it after Sirius Black has been caught and the Dementors have been removed from Hogwarts. Until then, the rest of the staff and I are keeping a list of everything you do. Know that you will be punished for every broken rule."
What were they planning to do? Luna knew Rose didn't respond to any standard discipline. Until the day came when Professor Dumbledore figured out how to take XP away from Rose, there was nothing he could do, unless he convinced Brain to talk to Sk'lar or Ozerl.
"Good night to you all," Professor McGonagall said, then promptly left the common room.
Sunday wasn't a particularly busy day for the group, so they didn't spend a lot of time in the common room. The air was warming up, although they still didn't want to go outside. Rose refused to leave Luna's side, so she wouldn't go with them to Hogsmeade, and only Harry had any success casting a Patronus charm, so they could only agree to take a single carriage.
Since Hermione still refused to be in the same room with Ron if at all possible, much less share a carriage, Harry, Neville, Sally-Anne, and Ron went on their own, and Hermione and Rose stayed behind.
Thus, it was Rose, Hermione, and Luna that saw them first. The Fat Lady's portrait had been replaced at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, but with additional security. Two large, hulking trolls stood on either side of the entrance. They remained alert as they glowered at everything and everyone, holding their clubs at the ready.
Hermione turned nearly as pale as Rose and screamed when she saw them.
"It's alright," Rose said, pulling her away from Gryffindor Tower and the trolls. "I can get us past them."
Luna didn't understand the purpose of the trolls. Rose could make something much better for guarding the entrance than trolls. Why hadn't Professor Dumbledore asked her?
"That's a good question, Moon," Rose said when Luna brought it up. "Let's go ask him."
The three girls began the trip to Professor Dumbledore's office, but ran into the man himself on their way.
"Good afternoon, ladies," he said.
"'Rose, I need help guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower'," Rose said, poorly imitating Professor Dumbledore's voice. "No problem, Professor. I'll just make an iron golem that's immune to magic, breathes toxic gas, and can crush your head like a grape!"
Luna looked from Professor Dumbledore to Rose. She couldn't argue with Rose; she had a point. Iron golems could do all those things.
"I take it you've seen the trolls?"
"My best friend's worst fear is guarding her room," Rose said. "Yeah, we saw them."
"And naturally, you've got a better idea?"
"Iron golem, bronze serpent," Rose said.
"Nimblewrights," Luna added.
"Nimblewrights," Rose repeated. "Good one, Moon."
Luna smiled with pride, which, as Firecracker had pointed out, wasn't much different from her normal smile.
"How many of those can you make?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"All of them," Rose and Luna replied.
"Which one takes the least amount of time?"
"A single nimblewright will take me a little over a week if I work on it 16 hours a day," Rose said.
"Can't you use Serendipity?" Luna asked.
"Only for the body, although that's a lot of the work right there," Rose said. "Four and a half days if I do it that way."
"In your opinion, Rose, how many nimblewrights could replace a security troll?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
Rose tilted her head, meaning that she was thinking about it. Luna wondered about it too. Nimblewrights were quick and had a high chance for a critical hit. A nimblewright's AC was most likely higher than a troll's, and it got two attacks in a full-round attack that probably did as much as a troll's club.
"One is probably enough to replace a single troll," Rose said. "I can make two just in case, but I'll need a pass from class, and those things gone while I'm working."
Luna glanced over at Brain. She hadn't spoken a word the entire time. That wasn't like her; she always had something to say. Was she still afraid of the troll that had attacked her in the bathroom? Or had it been the third-floor corridor? No, that didn't sound right, it was the first-floor corridor. That was it!
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Professor Dumbledore said. "The Fat Lady insisted that she receive additional protection."
"What about animated statues?" Luna asked, drawing the attention of all three of her companions.
"How do you mean?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"Rose said Professor McGonagall has animated statues. Why not enchant some to only recognize and react to Sirius Black? Wouldn't it be easy to have them recognize him as a human and as a dog?"
Luna was pleased with herself. It was an obvious solution, so Professor Dumbledore must've already thought about it. He and Rose were just letting Luna figure it out on her own. They were so nice like that!
"It may not be that simple," Professor Dumbledore said. "Although that is a clever solution. Two points to Ravenclaw."
Luna and Rose both beamed with pride.
"Rose, if you would please come with me. I want to discuss our options."
Rose nodded, then turned to her friends.
"Will you two be alright?"
Luna nodded.
"We'll take good care of Brain," Luna said.
There was a faint bark of agreement from inside Luna's pack that was clearly not from an illegal dog.
"Brilliant," Rose said, turning to Professor Dumbledore. "Lead the way."
Luna looked to Brain as Rose and Professor Dumbledore walked off. Luna was certain that Brain wasn't herself. Was she supposed to fix it? That's what Rose would do, but was it what Luna should do? Luna didn't know.
Before Luna made a decision, Hermione walked away. Luna knew Rose wanted her to look after Brain, so she caught up with her.
"Where are we going?" Luna asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "I want to go to my room, but I can't with those trolls there."
"Why not go to the Room of Requirement?"
"It's not the same."
"It can be the same," Luna said.
She led Hermione by the hand back towards Gryffindor Tower, turning off to go to the Room of Requirement before they caught sight of the trolls. They picked up Crookshanks on the way, who was lurking through the corridors again. Hermione paced back and forth, and the door appeared on the wall. Once inside the room, Tutela hopped out of Luna's bag.
Luna looked around at the small room. There was a single bed with blue sheets, and a bookshelf with a few books.
"It's my bedroom back at home," Hermione said.
"Are you feeling okay?" Luna asked.
"Not really," Hermione said, collapsing on the bed. "As if things weren't bad enough, they've got to put trolls in front of Gryffindor Tower."
Luna watched Crookshanks eyeing Tutela, as if he weren't sure what to make of the homunculus. Tutela watched Crookshanks, but paid more attention to Hermione and Luna.
"Don't worry," Luna said. "Rose will have some nimblewrights in a week, and it will be fine. You can probably sleep here until then."
"Sleep," Hermione said. "Sure."
Tutela stared at Hermione and began to whine.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"She's worried," Luna said, stroking Tutela's fur. "Are you sure you're sleeping alright?"
"I'm fine, Luna. I'll be alright. It's not like I'm losing much sleep, so long as I wear the ring. If I don't quite get two hours, then I'm not losing much."
"You need two hours for the ring to work. If you don't get two hours, then the ring doesn't give you the extra six."
Hermione sat up and stared at Luna.
"What?"
"Have you not been getting two hours?"
"No, I keep having nightmares, same as everyone else. Then I can't fall asleep for a few hours, so I hit REM sleep right away, and I have another nightmare."
Luna frowned. She kept having nightmares too, but she had started going to bed early so she could get enough sleep. It sounded like Hermione couldn't even do that.
"Make sure you get enough sleep," Luna said.
"I know," Hermione said.
"If you don't you'll get stressed."
"I know," Hermione said impatiently.
"I heard somewhere that stress can make you hallucinate, even remember things that didn't happen."
"I– what?"
Silence fell over the room, and Hermione got a look like she was attempting to process what Luna said. Luna was certain that Brain had told her that, but she might've been confused again.
"What?" Luna asked.
"What did you say?"
"I said I think stress can make you hallucinate, even–"
"Remember things that didn't happen," they said at the same time.
Hermione didn't say anything for a few minutes. Tutela sat beside Luna, attentively watching Hermione. Luna wasn't sure what Brain was thinking, but it was interesting to watch her.
Brain couldn't have been thinking about the troll, because Luna was certain that had happened. What else was there?
"I couldn't have just imagined it," Hermione muttered. "I couldn't have. I know it happened!"
"What happened?" Luna asked.
"Ronald!"
Luna froze. Was Cohort real? Was he a hallucination? No, he must've been real. He helped fight the Basilisk. Luna wracked her brain for memories of anyone interacting with Cohort. Rose always called him Cohort, and Luna knew Rose was real. Maybe they were both hallucinating.
"Rose is real," Luna said.
Hermione stared at her, astounded by her logical prowess.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Rose is real, and she can see Cohort, so he must be real too."
This time, Crookshanks joined Hermione in staring at Luna.
"What?" Hermione asked again. "No! That's not what I mean!"
Luna and Tutela tilted their heads.
"I mean when he… when he called me…"
Luna and Tutela tilted their heads to the other side.
"No, I know it happened!" Hermione shouted. "I know it did!"
Luna jumped at Hermione's sudden outburst.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Hermione said. "I just need some rest."
Luna smiled, and pulled out some homework while Hermione fell asleep.
As promised, the trolls were replaced with nimblewrights within the week. They resembled knights in golden armor, wearing dark red cloaks. Neither was armed, although they looked intimidating without weapons.
"What's to stop me from blowing one of them up?" Ginny asked.
"You'd have to win initiative," Luna replied. "They can draw their weapons as a free action, and trip you as a standard action."
"Don't forget about entropic shield," Rose added.
"Of course not."
"They can also use haste and alter self at will, so they can run away and fetch a teacher if need be. They're brilliant for utility. You can't stun or control them, and they've got intelligence, so they can out-think their opponents."
"What are you planning on doing with them after they catch Sirius Black?" Harry asked.
"I'll ask them," Rose said. "I'm sure they've got some ideas." She turned to Hermione. "What do you think, Brain?"
Hermione mumbled an answer, then returned to her work. A nest of notes from at least five classes surrounded her.
"Is anyone else starting to worry about her?" Neville asked.
Luna looked at her friends. Princess was quieter than usual, Brain still looked part vampire, Cohort wasn't speaking to anyone, and Toad, Scarface, and Firecracker looked just as confused as she was, which on its own was a little assuring.
"I don't think this is normal," Harry said.
"It's not," Rose said, "but it's fine. In a few more weeks, this will all be over."
That gave Luna comfort as the day went on. She knew no matter how bad things got, Rose would always be there to fix them.
That night, Rose tucked Luna into Rose's old bed, then went to the common room to stand guard. That put the defences of Gryffindor Tower up to a pair of nimblewrights, a 20th-level Artificer, and a handful of students trained for combat.
As Luna began to drift off to sleep, she heard crying from the bed next to her.
"Princess?" Luna whispered.
Luna heard Princess pick up her head.
"Sorry?" Sally-Anne asked.
"You were crying," Luna said. "Tutela heard it too."
Luna felt Tutela shift around in their bed.
"It's nothing," Sally-Anne said.
"Crying is never nothing," Luna said.
"It's just… It's all my fault," Sally-Anne said. "I try so hard to keep everyone safe, and I got angry and threw it all away."
Luna tried to work out Princess's riddle. Luna wasn't sure when Princess had last been angry. In fact, Luna was positive Princess didn't get angry. She was always kind to everyone. Well, except that one time back in September when Rose went missing for a day.
"When did that happen?" Luna asked.
"The night Sirius Black broke in," Sally-Anne whispered. "It's all my fault. I gave Malfoy the password, thinking he wouldn't use it before it was changed."
That didn't sound like her. Why would she give Butterhead the password? Well, they were a couple. Wait, were they? No, Princess was with… probably no one. Luna decided she must be confused.
"Why'd you do that?" Luna asked.
"He… He found out something I didn't want him to know, and threatened to tell people if I didn't give him the password. Now I feel horrible about it."
Luna still had a lot of questions. How was Butterhead pretending to be Sirius Black? Or was Sirius Black pretending to be Butterhead? Why did Sally-Anne get angry? How had her being angry given Butterhead something he could use against her?
"But you only gave the password to Butterhead."
"I told him the password the same night that Sirius Black broke in," Sally-Anne said. "Malfoy must've given it to Sirius Black."
Luna thought about that. Draco Malfoy was mean, but he wouldn't be helping Sirius Black, would he? Was Sirius Black still evil? Butterhead threatened people all the time, but he didn't try to kill people. If Sirius Black planned on killing people, then Butterhead wouldn't be a part of it.
Luna couldn't remember much about Butterhead, but she was certain that he either wanted someone to love him, wanted his father's approval, or wanted to start an army of vampires and take over the world. She couldn't remember which, but it left her with one vital question.
"Does Sirius Black know any vampires?" Luna asked.
Princess paused, evidently attempting to understand the argument Luna was making. If not that, then Luna was probably confused again. Either way, Luna gave her the courtesy that other people gave her and allowed her to work it out on her own.
"Probably not?" Sally-Anne said slowly. "Why?"
"Because if not, then I don't know why Butterhead would be helping him."
Once again, Princess paused, and Luna stared into the darkness, wondering what the dirty-blonde was thinking. She reached back and scratched Tutela's ears as she waited patiently for the other girl to say something.
"He wouldn't," Sally-Anne said. "Draco wouldn't be helping Sirius Black. He's not evil, he just doesn't like us." She paused again. "He wasn't asking for the password for Black, he was asking for it just to have something. So… it's not my fault."
"Nargles can talk too," Luna said. "That's why Daddy and I don't think passwords are a good idea. I wrote an article about it for The Quibbler a few months ago."
Apparently happy with this, Princess soon fell asleep, leaving Luna alone in the dark.
Nargles didn't always talk to people, and they weren't known to be reliable. If Sirius Black knew a way to get nargles to tell the truth, then he was truly a formidable opponent.
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