So consumed was he by his internal dooming that he failed to notice someone coming the other way as he turned a corner and bumped into the person. His well-trained seeker reflexes saved the day, and he managed to catch her before she fell, noticing that the person he bumped into was a blonde girl in Ravenclaw. Her big silver eyes stared up at him as he kept his arm around her waist just a moment longer than he meant to.
"I'm so sorry," Harry said. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"It's okay," the girl said, her voice light and ethereal. "I've always wondered what it was like to be a golden snitch, and now I know."
Harry would have laughed, but she sounded like she was serious, and he didn't want to insult her.
"You poor thing," she said, reaching up and grazing the backs of her nails through his scalp. "Your head's so full of Wrackspurts that I'm surprised you can think at all."
Harry took a step back from the strange girl, choosing not to focus on the pleasant chill her touch had sent down his spine, and asked, "Wrackspurts?"
"They're invisible little creatures that fly in through our ears and make our minds go all fuzzy," she said. "You have one of the worst cases of them I've ever seen. You can make them go away by thinking positive thoughts."
"Well, I'm rather low on positive thoughts at the moment," Harry muttered.
"Because of the tournament?" the girl asked.
"Yes, because of the tournament," Harry hissed, feeling bad when the girl looked sad. "I'm sorry, it's just...I learned what the first task is, and I have no idea what I'm going to do."
"What is it?" she asked. "I overheard one of the first years speculating that you'd have to arm-wrestle trolls, but I said that couldn't possibly be it."
"I might honestly prefer that," Harry muttered. "We'll be going up against dragons."
"Fighting them?" the girl asked.
"Getting past them," Harry said.
"Probably stealing something," the girl speculated. "I've heard that Gringotts uses dragons to guard their most valuable vaults."
"So that's what I was thinking about when I bumped into you," Harry said. Looking down, he noticed something that he hadn't before and asked, "um, where are your shoes?"
"They were stolen by the nargles," the girl replied. "I've no idea where they've put them."
"Nargles?" Harry asked.
"They're mischievous little creatures that live in mistletoe and steal things," the girl replied. "My butterbeer cork necklace keeps them away, but I was foolish enough to not take my shoes with me when I went to shower this morning, and by the time I was done, they were gone."
Right," Harry said, figuring that someone in her year had taken them. "Aren't your feet cold?"
"Very," Luna said, "but I'm trying not to think about it."
Grabbing his wand, Harry cast a quick warming charm on her feet. The girl sighed in pleasure and smiled widely up at him.
"Oh, that's much better!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much. I'm Luna Lovegood, by the way."
"Harry Potter," Harry said reflexively.
"I think that I might have a solution to your dragon problem," Luna said. "Would you mind walking me to my common room?"
"Not at all," Harry said, wondering what the strange girl could possibly have in mind.
Even if he doubted that her solution would work, given their odd conversation, he was desperate enough to hear her out. As they walked towards Ravenclaw Tower, Harry noticed that she was wearing earrings that looked like radishes. Luna seemed sweet, if unusual, and Harry had nothing against her, but he was beginning to suspect that she was being bullied. He doubted that it was mistletoe-dwelling gremlins that stole her shoes.
"Here we are," Luna said as they arrived at the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower.
There was an eagle knocker on the door, and when Luna touched it, it seemed to come alive and look at them.
"The poor have me, the rich need me, and if you eat me, you'll die," the eagle said. "What am I?"
"Nothing," Luna said automatically.
"Correct," the eagle said, and the door swung open.
"Wait here," Luna said. "I'll be right back."
"Alright," Harry said, still looking at the eagle.
He hadn't had the slightest clue what the answer to that riddle was and was suddenly glad that he hadn't been sorted into Ravenclaw.
"Harry?" came a beautiful voice, and Harry looked over to see Cho Chang approaching.
"It would have had its perks, though," he thought to himself as he looked at the raven-haired beauty.
"What are you doing here?" Cho asked.
Her red-haired friend next to her, whom Harry thought might have been named Maria, looked equally curious and more hostile.
"I found i...oh," Luna said. "Hello Cho, Marietta."
"Lovegood," Marietta said.
"I found what I was looking for, Harry," Luna said.
"You two know each other?" Cho asked.
"Oh yes, we just met," Luna said before Harry could reply. "Harry caught me and warmed my feet. He's very nice."
"Er...yes, I…" Harry stammered.
"You two have a lovely night," Luna said.
"Right," Cho said, heading inside with Marietta in tow. "You as well. Remember, curfew's in twenty minutes."
As the door closed, Harry groaned, saying, "I wish you hadn't said that."
"Why?" Luna asked.
The answer to that was because he didn't know what the hell Cho was going to think of him after that display, but instead he said, "you saw what Skeeter wrote about me already."
"I could write something about you if you like," Luna offered. "My father owns and operates the Quibbler."
"The what?" Harry asked.
"The Quibbler," Luna repeated. "It's a paper for those who don't want to be spoonfed the opinion of the ministry. Cho wasn't lying about curfew, by the way. We'll need to make this quick."