What is a Crush?
Chapter eight- What is a Crush?
Harry grinned at his housemates and nodded greetings to the people he knew in other houses as he made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. His ears caught snippets of whispered conversation about why Haiden Potter hadn't been at the feast and why Severus left with Professor McGonagall only to reappear with Professor Dumbledore later at the feast.. Harry shook his head at some of the stories that people were able to come up with in under one day.
“Good Morning.” Luna, a first year Ravenclaw, said airily as Harry sat down across from her. The young girl had shoulder length platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes, and the second Harry's eyes first landed on her he nearly panicked thanking that he was in one of his dreams again.
“Morning.” He shyly said to anyone who could hear him as he reached out for the toast in front of him. As he nibbled on his toast he watched the people around him, mainly Luna. She was reading a newspaper, 'The Quibbler', upside down. Harry wanted to ask her what 'The Quibbler' was, where she had gotten it, if he could get it too, and why she was reading it upside down. But was scared to even really talk to her. She had been in a couple of his dreams last year, the dreams that scared him and kept him from wanting to sleep, that had to mean something. Harry was afraid to find out what that was.
“Mail's gonna be a little loud today.” Luna suddenly said and everyone around her gave her a weird look before going back to what they had been doing, which in Harry's case was watching her. A minute later there was a rushing sound overhead and a hundred or so owls streamed in, circling the hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd. Harry was shocked when a package addressed to him was dropped onto his plate.
Confused, Harry picked up the package to see that it was from Narcissa, he glanced at the Slytherin table to see Draco had gotten his usual package. He looked back at the package and began to open it with a small smile, when a roar of sound filled the huge hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.
“RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU! YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU! I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE!” Mrs Weasley's yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made every plate and spoons rattle on all of the tables, and echoed deafeningly off the stone walls. People throughout the hall were swiveling around to see who had received the Howler. Harry looked over at the Gryffindor table to see Ron sinking low in his chair so that only his crimson forehead could be seen. “WHEN WE GOT THAT LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME! WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS! YOU AND HAIDEN COULD BOTH HAVE DIED!” Harry looked at his brother in confusion when his name was brought up. Haiden looked as though he couldn't hear the voice that was making even Harry's eardrums throb. “I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED- YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!”
The howler that was floating in front of Ron in the shape of a mouth turned towards Ginny and said “Oh and Ginny dear,” Every eye turned to look at the very embarrassed girl who looked like she wanted a hole to appear under her and suck her up, “congratulations on making Gryffindor. You're father and I are so proud.” Silence fell over the Great Hall as the howler turned back towards Ron and stuck it's tongue out at him before shredding itself and then bursting into flames. Harry felt awkward and embarrassed, as if he was the one who had received the howler, or been mentioned in it, as whispers began to spread like wildfire.
Harry jumped when a hand was placed lightly on his. He looked to the hand's owner to see it was Luna who was staring at him as if trying to look into his soul. Harry didn't know how to feel about that, it was weird, the only people who had ever looked at him like that was Professor Flitwick and Severus. Harry didn't know if he should open himself up to Luna like he did with Flitwick and Severus, or run. Without Harry realizing it, his hand under Luna's balled up and his body began to fold in on itself, as if trying to make himself as small as possible.
“It's alright.” Luna whispered soothingly as he began to gently pat his hand. “You don't have to do anything if you don't want to.” Suddenly she grabbed his hand before flipping it over, causing Harry's hand to open, and began to gently run a finger over his palm. The sensation that her petting was creating in his mind and body was strange, but in a good way. Harry felt his eyelids start to drop as a wave of peaceful balance washed over him. “There you go.” Luna said with a smile and Harry sent a lazy smile back at her. Harry was so calm and at peace that he didn't even mind when the other Ravenclaws around him and Luna started whispering about the both of them, nor did he mind when those whispers spread over to the Slytherin table.
Harry gently grabbed Luna's finger that was petting his palm and used it to gently pull her hand closer to his so that he could thread his fingers through hers. “Have you been to the library yet?” Harry asked her. Luna laughed and shook her head, “That's a shame, it is such a wonderfully calming place. Shall I show you it?” Harry asked letting his hand slip from her to stand up, without a word Luna stood up and the two of them walked out of the Great Hall.
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By the time his second class, Transfiguration with Gryffindor, the calmness Luna had managed to give Harry had defiantly worn off. He was now feeling scared and unsure, and the fact that he hadn't been able to talk to the Weasley Twins or Draco wasn't making things any better for him. And it was because of this that was making turning a beetle into a button harder than it should. It wasn't that Harry had forgotten everything he had learn last year, he remember it perfectly and could even recite it for you by heart, it was that his magic was not wanting to cooperate with him.
Harry let his cheek rest on his desk as him and his beetle began a staring contest. He gently ran a finger along the back of the beetle with a sigh, he couldn't blame the beetle, it wasn't the poor things fault, nor could he blame his wand, like Ron could with his broken and taped up wand. No, for some reason he could not get his magic to do as he wanted, and it kind of scared him.
Harry glanced up at Professor McGonagall as she stopped next this his desk as she made her rounds. “Is there a problem with your beetle?” She asked him and he somehow was able to shake his head while still keeping his head on his desk.
“No ma'am, I'm just having a little difficulty with my magic right now.” He told her and noticed his fellow Ravenclaws that heard him tense him and look at him worriedly, even Professor McGonagall tensed up.
“Shall I send you to Madam Pomfrey?” Professor McGonagall asked and a wave of fear ripped through Harry, he hadn't had a pleasant experience the last time he was in the Hospital Wing.
“I'm sure I'll be alright, just having difficulty getting the right amount of magic in my spell. I'll get it worked out.” Harry said hurriedly as he lifted his head from the desk, if the look McGonagall was giving him didn't scream disbelief the Harry didn't know what would.
“I see, if it is nothing as you say, then continue.” McGonagall said and stood next to his desk, watching, waiting, for him to continue trying to turn the beetle into a button. Harry pointing his wand at the beetle, said the incantation, felt his magic start to flow towards the beetle only for it to slam back into him right before it touched the beetle. He glanced up at McGonagall, waiting to see if she had noticed what his magic had just done, but before she could say anything, Ron was asking for another beetle because he had accidentally squished his.
Harry let out a sigh of relief when the bell for lunch rang and slowly packed away his stuff, so that by the time he was done the only students left in the room were him, Haiden, and Ron who was whacking his wand furiously on the desk.
“Stupid- useless- thing-” He muttered angrily with each whack.
“Write him for another one.” Haiden suggested as Ron wand let off a volley of bangs like a firecracker as Harry started to pass them.
“Oh, yeah, and get another howler back.” Ron snapped glaring at Harry as he finished passing them almost as if he was blaming Harry. And had Harry not been feeling the was he was, he would have glared back. Harry hurried down the hall to get to the Great Hall, maybe he could sit with Fred and George, or even Draco. As he got closer to the Great Hall, Harry was suddenly shocked to find a hand in his pulling him away from the Great Hall and outside into the overcast courtyard, passing Draco who had a pain filled look on his face.
It took Harry's brain a minute to finally realize that Luna was the person holding his hand. And as if hearing his mind finally realizing she was there, she glanced over her shoulder at him with a soft smile. Luna took them to a tree where she sat, pulling Harry down with her, and took his hand that was still in hers and turned it so that his palm was up. Humming a soothing song, she wordlessly began to run a finger along his palm, and once again a wave of peaceful balance crashed into him.
It took his mind far longer than it probably should to realize that someone else had joined them. This new person was a first year Slytherin, and a girl. She had shoulder length midnight black hair, her hazel eyes were taking in the words of one of Lockhart's books, which one he couldn't tell, and she was leaning against Luna. And if Harry remembered correctly from the sorting the night before, her name was Myari Rose.
“Finally back with us?” Myari asked, never looking away from her book.
“I went somewhere?” Harry asked a little sluggishly and Myari chuckled.
“You could say that.” She said finally glancing at him. “I think that's enough Luna, we don't want him getting dependent on that.” Harry's mind finally fully snapped into place when Luna stopped running her finger along his palm.
“What was that?” Harry asked.
“A technique usually only taught to my clans people. It's to help balance a person out emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and magically. If a person is out of balance in anyway bad things can start to happen to them and around them. The technique should only be used as a last resort.” Myari explained.
“So why use it on me?” Harry asked.
“Because you, Harry, are so far out of balance that it was becoming life threatening, and not just to you.” Luna said and Harry knew that he should be worried about that, but at the moment he couldn't seem to muster the energy to be anything but calm.
“I don't know what happened to make you so out of balance, but I couldn't just sit back and watch your aura wreck havoc to you and everything around you. And technically I should have been the one to use that technique, but I'm a little out of balance right now and I would have just made you worse. So I had to teach Luna how to balance you out.” Myari said with a sigh and Luna reached up and began to run her fingers through Myari's hair. Harry smiled at how Myari all but melted at Luna's touch.
“Myari come from a clan that rarely interacts with people outside of their clan, though there are a few exceptions, like me and my father. It is not uncommon for a person in her clan to never travel outside of their village. And those that do leave the village usually do not leave for long, a few days or so. Myari has been away from her clan for a little under two weeks.” Luna said softly, answering a question Harry had yet to ask.
“I see.” Harry said.
“You know my reason, what is yours?” Myari asked, Harry froze. Should he tell these two girls that he had literally just met about what he had overheard last year? He hadn't told anyone about that night. Would they go and tell everyone? Would they look at him with pity? Would they laugh and say that being a shield for his brother was all he would ever be?
“The sword does not depend solely on the shield, nor does the shield solely depend on the sword. The shield may act alone or it may act with the sword. The shield can defend, or it can attack. The sword will break. The shield will chip but never break.” Luna sung with a airy laugh and even though Harry had know idea what she said, it calmed him. A shadow fell over the trio and Harry tilted his head back to see Draco glaring at Luna. “Hello.” She said as Myari shifted as if getting ready to jump up. Draco sneered at Luna before looking at Harry.
“We have Double Herbology. Come.” Draco said holding out his hand for Harry to take. Harry took Draco's hand and allowed the boy to gently pull him up and lead him towards the Herbology building.
“Is everything alright Draco?” Harry asked, he felt Draco's hand tighten around his for a second.
“You were holding her hand.” Draco growled out.
“I hold Fred and George's hand all the time, why is her hand different?” Harry asked.
“Fred and George are like your older brothers, or fathers, or whatever you want to call them. But she, she wants to take you from me. I know it! I won't allow it!” Draco said. Harry noticed the back of Draco's neck and ears turn red and it reminded him of every time Ginny turned red around Haiden, because of her huge crush on him. He let Draco continue to lead him to class as he let his mind shift through every memory he had of Draco. Did Draco have crush on him like Ginny had a crush on Haiden?
Harry felt his face heat up. What was it like to have a crush? Harry opened his mouth to ask Draco, only for a small squeak to come out instead. When Draco looked over his shoulder at Harry to make sure he was alright, Harry felt his face heat up even more. On second thought, maybe he should ask Fred and George, or maybe even Severus.