"Harry, as your girlfriend I feel the need to prepare you – "
"Yet again," Daphne interjected with a raised eyebrow.
"Yet again," Hermione agreed, "that this is not going to work and you shouldn't get your hopes up."
"Hedwig is the smartest owl there is," Harry said stroked his familiar's feathers. She hooted and fluffed up under his praise. "She'll find him. Even if he is still hiding as a dog."
"Harry, even if Hedwig had been a Mayan Wind Chatterer I do not think it would have increased her odds into a positive number," Luna looked at him sadly. She turned to the bird and petted her chest. "Please don't think I doubt your abilities, Hedwig. It is simply that a man smart enough to escape Azkaban would not forget to ward himself to avoid owls." Hedwig nipped at Luna's fingers and bobbed her head. She twisted back to Harry and held out her leg for his letter.
"I seriously can't believe we are sending a letter to Sirius Black," Neville said shaking his head. "This has got to be one of the strangest ideas you've ever had, Harry. There is no way this is going to work."
"It'll work," Harry said proudly. "You just watch. Hedwig will find him and we'll be able to convince him to come in with Amelia and Tonks and everything will work out. Tracey thinks it'll work."
All eyes turned to the black haired girl who held up her hands. "Hey I never said it would work. I said it would be entertaining to try and that we didn't seem to have any better ideas."
"You know not to encourage him, Trace," Daphne groaned.
"Well I am officially out of ideas people so short of taking out an ad in the Prophet – " Harry grumbled as Hedwig took wing.
"Why don't we do that?" Luna asked.
"What?" Five eyes turned to the blonde.
"Instead of an ad though I could write an article for the Quibbler. I'm sorry I didn't suggest it earlier," she looked at Hermione. "That was why you initially invited me into this investigation to begin with wasn't it?"
"You know, Luna," Hermione said with a look of amused frustration on her face, "I'm starting to think you are the smartest one among us."
"Well I am the only Ravenclaw." A less observant group would've completely missed the smug note in her tone. "I'll have the article to daddy by the end of the day. If he works quickly we can probably have the next issue out for tomorrow morning."
The Quibbler article did manage to be delivered by the next morning. Before lunch, half the school had read about how: 'The Ministry Covers Up Sirius Black's Lack of Trial' and 'Only The DMLE Head Is Working For Justice'. By dinner the rest had seen it.
Luna quickly found dirty looks directed her way. She had fully expected it as she was the author of both articles. It was part of the reason why she had avoided taking this step for so long. The other was she had gotten used to the protection being friends with Harry and Daphne had afforded her. The others were wonderful true, but people were frightened of Harry and Daphne in particular. Daphne had very deliberately spread the story of the fight with the basilisk to ensure that Harry and she received proper credit. They commanded respect and fear. For a time that had extended to Luna as she was taken under their wing. The wrackspurts…the bullies…had stopped. They didn't want to get on the wrong side of the Slytherin Slayers.
Now that was going to change. Nothing else had worked. Harry had been tearing his hair out for the past two weeks trying to determine what he was missing. What he was overlooking regarding the two fugitives. But he had come up blank. So Luna had acted. She had sacrificed her protection to help her friend. She would deal with the consequences as she had for so long until he had come.
She was left alone until 9:55 pm. Just prior to curfew. Marietta, Lisa and a girl whose name she did not know, came for her as they had all last year. They laughed as they stripped her, berating her for printing her delusions. For showcasing her oddity. For presuming to be friends with Harry Potter. For standing in the way of her betters. For daring to be different.
Luna refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing their barbs hurt. She never once let her eyes fill with tears nor did she cry out as they slapped her nor did she plead as they forced her out of the Common Room to wander the halls. They let her keep her bra and panties for which she was grateful, but she did not show it. It would only be worse the next time if she showed any emotion. She had learned that long ago. Luna would endure as she always had. She had friends she could go to in the morning. She had a room with a delightful couch she could curl up on for the evening. Luna would endure.
Then she heard the laughter. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Loony Lovegood," Marcus Flint crooned from behind her.
Luna's thoughts froze. Flint was even worse than Draco Malfoy. All Malfoy would do would be throw a few curses, maybe lock her in a closet for the night and surreptitiously unlock it in the morning. Flint…might not unlock the closet.
With widening eyes Luna realized that it might be even worse. She had recently hit puberty and actually required the bra now. Flint would want to sample the fruit before he spoiled it.
"Good evening, Marcus Flint," she said injecting a bit of mocking into her airy voice carefully modulated to show complete disinterest even as her muscles tensed.
"Girls shouldn't wander the halls this late at night you know, Loony." He stopped behind her. Close enough for Luna to feel the brute's breath on her neck. "Marietta told me you might be up here around now. Such a shame to see that she was correct…I suppose I should…lead you back." His hand running down her back left no illusions on just where exactly he intended to lead her.
"Why, thank you. I appreciate that," she said. She had to wait. Wait just long enough to…
"Oh you'll be thanking me indeed little one," Flint turned her around and leered at her body. Luna used the movement to throw a punch into his neck and lash out with her leg towards his crotch. Flint had better reflexes than she had hoped. He managed to avoid the jab and shifted enough to miss her groin shot. However his move did put his knee into the path of her leg. Grunting in pain Flint fell back holding his injured knee as Luna turned on her heel and bolted. There was no point in trying to get back into the Ravenclaw's Common Room. No doubt Marietta and the others were still there. Instead she had to find other means of escape. She could still perhaps –
Any idea of hiding her pain and continuing along the same path as before fled at Flint's footsteps sounding behind her. "Get back here you little, bitch!" He had long legs. This race would not last long if she didn't take additional steps.
"Comm on, contact Harry!" Luna said between breaths. She thanked all the gods and goddesses she knew that Marietta had left her the earring Harry had given her.
"Wha? W'as goin' on?"
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