Luna Lovegood and Lavender
The next morning Harry sat at the Gryffindor table, a sullen expression on his face as he pushed steaming eggs around his plate with a fork.
The sun streamed in through the wide windows of the great hall, rays of glowing light catching in Harry unruly hair and painting his complexion golden.
“I just can’t believe that Snape paired you up with that tosser.” Hermione exclaimed, waving her fork in the air to emphasise her sentence. “That’s so unfair Harry.”
“Snape the geezer just didn’t want us to be together.” Ron patted Harry on the back in solidarity.
The trio were sitting at the long sleek Gryffindor table, chewing burnt toast and boiled eggs while discussing Harry's misfortune of a potions partner.
“But don’t worry Harry.” Ron continued, halfway through a mouthful of bacon. “It's only 3 months.”
“3 months!” Hermione shrieked, “You have to do your final potions project with Draco Malfoy for 3 months!?”
Hermione was shell shocked and Harry couldn’t understand why. It was typical of Snape to pair Harry up with his mortal enemy for the project that determined his future in potions. The bastard didn’t even know how this could affect Harry, more than the annoyance about working with Draco, Harry really needed good marks if he wanted to continue potions in his 7th year.
“Oh Harry, I’m really sorry Snape did that.” Hermione reached over the mostly empty Gryffindor table the three of them took residence at and rested her head on Harry’s shoulder. “This year sucks shit.”
“Hey!” Ron poked Hermione’s arm in a (fake) offended manner. “It can’t suck too much, I’m your partner for our potions major project!”
Hermione smirked and prodded Ron back, “No no Ron, that’s exactly why this year will suck. My major project relying on 50% of your brain power, yikes.”
Harry laughed as Ron pouted. “Maybe I’ll get Snape to switch our partners so you can work with Malfoy.” He grumbled, turning away from Harry and Hermione to a stab at his slightly overcooked eggs.
“Oh I dare you to do that Ron.” Hermione said, giggles escaping from her cerise lips. “Imagine the look on Snape’s face if you told him his pairing up was inadequate. I bet you would get at least a month's detention for ‘insulting a teacher’.”
Harry sighed again. “Oh god detention.” He had forgotten about the detention Snape had ordered in the chaos of last nights studying mishap. “I have detention with Malfoy for like, eternity because we exploded the cauldron.”
“How do you even explode a cauldron?” Hermione asked inquisitively, “Aren’t the metals they are created from really strong?”
“Yes.” Harry grumbled, fighting the urge to throw his plate across the room at the place where Snape’s seat was at the Professors table.
The table creaked as Ginny Weasley and her girlfriend Luna Lovegood sat down on the opposite side of Harry and Hermione.
“Mum wanted me to tell you that if you forget about Bill’s birthday again she’s not inviting you home for Christmas.” Ginny said with disinterest, flicking a spot of dirt from her nails as she talked to her brother.
Ron’s face flooded with colour, embarrassed that his little sister had to come lecture him about writing birthday cards because of that one time he had accidentally forgotten to give his older brother a card.
“Uh Ginny, can we talk about this later?” Ron asked quietly, pushing his ginger fringe down slightly to hide his crimson face.
Ginny gave him an annoyed look and shrugged her shoulders, making no effort to reply to Ron, but making no effort to remove herself from where the trio sat either.
“So how’s your classes going Ginny?” Hermione asked out of pure politeness. It wasn’t unusual for Ginny and Luna to join the trio at meal times or games competitions in the Gryffindor common room, but it was always slightly awkward. Although everyone got on well, Harry and Ginny’s messy break up and Ginny’s abrupt new relationship always made the air around the five of them slightly stifling.
“It’s alright at the moment, but bloody hell I am sick of Professor Binns.” Ginny replied, shaking her head in equal parts disgust and anger. “Boring old bastard can’t tell his ass from his face.”
Hermione giggled quietly before smacking Ginny on the arm playfully. “You can’t say that, he’s been a dead teacher for so long, the poor thing.”
Ginny rolled her eyes. “Honestly though, he’s been dead for over a century and a teacher when he was alive, you’d reckon he would at least know how to teach a class without half the students falling asleep.”
“I saw James Meadows sleep through an entire history lesson without Binns saying anything on Tuesday.” Ron added. “He is a pretty shit teacher I will say.”
“Pretty shit?” Ginny stared at her brother, “he’s the most shittest.”
“I don’t think that is a word babe.” Luna interrupted, touching her lover's arm gently.
“Yes it is.” Ginny exclaimed. “He’s the shittest shit teacher at Hogwarts.”
Ginny’s defiance of using proper grammar made a small smile creep onto Luna’s face, a small adoring smile that no one else in the room noticed except for Harry.
“I dunno Gin, I reckon Harry definitely beats you in the shit teacher department.” Ron chuckled.
Harry groaned and sunk his head into his hands that were leaning on the polished oak wood of the table. “God, don’t remind me.”
“Ooh, what’s this?” Ginny prodded, jumping on the Harry slander bandwagon. “Something the famous Harry Potter can’t handle? I don’t think we’ve ever seen this before.”
Harry forced a half-hearted laugh at Ginny’s response and bit the insides of his cheeks hard to stop pieces of his barely healed heart from breaking away again. This was what Harry called the ‘Ginny Effect’. After five months his ex girlfriend still had the power to break his heart over and over again with just a simple sentence. It was torture.
“What’s going on?” Luna asked in her melodic voice, sapphire eyes staring at him in genuine concern.
“Harry’s having a crisis.” Hermione stated, disregarding Harry’s obvious discomfort and clear signals to her to shut down the conversation.
Ginny perked up at that. She sat a little higher in her seat and her eyes widened slightly, a small spark settling in the chestnut brown of her irises. Harry used to love when Ginny would get that spark in her usually daring eyes, it was a trait that made it impossible for her to keep up the ‘feigning disinterest’ act and it was adorable to Harry how she would fail to mask her emotions when they were so clearly written on her face.
Harry remembered all those times he had spent hours daydreaming about Ginny’s eyes, the stunning colour, the obvious emotion, the way they used to stare at Harry like he was the only person in the world.
A sour taste sat in the back of Harry’s mouth. He was great friends with both Luna and Ginny and make no mistake, Harry was happy for both of them.
(The nights he spent awake, thinking of Ginny’s bubbly personality and curved hips said otherwise)
But really, as much as he was definitely not over his unrequited crush he was happy that Ginny had found someone that loved her. He was happy Ginny had found someone she loved, not someone she had faked loving. Not someone who had wasted months of her time in a pathetic attempt to try and make her love him. Not Harry. And that was fine, it was fine, really he was happy for them. It didn’t stop the pang in his chest every time he caught a glimpse of the parts of Ginny that used to be so familiar and now felt foreign though.
“What’s the crisis?” Luna asked softly. “Are you okay Harry?” Her expression was so kind, there was not a trace of amusement at Harry’s suffering, only the pure intention to know and help Harry.
Thank fuck for Luna Lovegood. Harry loved Luna so much. It was a love that ran deep, an intimate platonic connection that Harry was sure the universe had formed.
“I’m fine.” Harry gave a half smile. “Truly, it’s not that big of a deal-“
“Draco is his final potions project partner.” Hermione interrupted, shooting Harry a glance for deflecting the question.
“Oh shit.” Ginny’s eyes went wide and she leaned her chest in Harry's direction slightly, a clear show she was actively listening to the conversation now. “Goddamn Harry that’s tough.”
“I guess.” Harry mumbled, clutching onto any dignity he had left, sending a desperate plea to the gods that Ginny Weasley couldn’t sense how being this close to her was affecting him.
“Pfft. It’s that ugly bastard Snape’s fault. He’s the one that won’t let poor Harry catch a break.” Ron chattered on, oblivious to Harry’s inner turmoil at having to sit through this conversation where he admitted weakness to his ex.
“Fuck Snape.” Hermione stated, so deadpan it made a smile creep to Harry’s lips. Trust Hermione to say something so absurd with no expression.
Ginny laughed, bright and bubbly and filling the entire room. It was an ethereal sound to Harry’s ears.
“Yeah. Fuck Snape. That bastard.” Ginny said, defiance flooding through her veins. “I can’t imagine sitting through every potions class with that git.”
“Lucky for you, you don’t have to imagine it. It’s my fucking reality.” Harry groaned, dragging his hands down his face in frustration.
“I’m sure it can’t be too bad Harry.” Luna’s words were influenced by her accent and everything she said came out in a sing-song melody.
“Can’t be that bad!?” Ron spluttered, “It’s bloody Draco Malfoy!”
“Well yes, but Draco is a person as well.” Luna continued, unaffected by Ron’s outburst. “He wouldn’t sabotage your project Harry, he wants good grades just as bad as you.”
Harry thought for a moment as Ron voiced his objections to Luna’s statement once more. Maybe it was possible that Draco wasn’t actively trying to sabotage Harry. Maybe Harry needed to take a step back and realise that he and Draco would probably never get on, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t work in solitude.
In all fairness, Harry had been doing a lot of bitching about his greasy lab partner and not a lot of listening to him. The reason the cauldron exploded had been Harry’s fault. The reason that Harry and Draco had spent hours last night grinding away at an essay and an in-tact Skele-Gro potion was entirely Harry’s fault.
Draco had been snarky, rude, and plain annoying but he had ultimately done more work than Harry. He had even helped Harry (in a very condescending way, but help was help).
Maybe Harry was being too harsh on Draco and being just slightly too dramatic for his own good, but it was just so unfair. Why couldn’t he get a good partner? Draco would tear him to shreds before the semester ended. Harry would go mad listening to that blonde boy everyday, he knew it.
“I’ll go insane being partners with Malfoy.” Harry pushed his uneaten eggs away from him, the plate dipping into the dirty dishes sector of the Gryffindor table. “I don’t know how I’ll do this.”
“It’s alright Harry. It’s only potions after all, it’s not like you have to do a heart transplant with him or something.” Hermione commented, as if that would put Harry’s mind at ease.
“I think I’d rather do a heart transplant with Malfoy, at least then we would only ever have to spend time with each other for the procedure and then we’d be done and I could get the hell away from him.”
Hermione giggled again at Harry’s overdramatic complaint about his potions partner. Sometimes she thought that it was a true shame Harry hadn’t gone into theatre, he really had a talent for it.
“I had to spend over an hour with him yesterday just trying to finish the bloody potion.” Harry gawked, “And I don’t even know how far along the potion is, it’s supposed to be due this morning but he never told me what else needed to be done!”
“Well that's not very ethical of him. You should have reported him to Snape.” Hermione advised, the true goody-two-shoes side of her personality shining through.
“Ugh. How could I? I guess he would’ve gotten most of it done eventually but he didn't get it done when I was there, he just insulted me every time he opened his mouth.”
Ginny chuckled, “Sounds like Malfoy alright.”
Harry groaned again just as the booming Hogwarts bell rang out along the vast stretch of room in the Great Hall.
Students blearily shuffled to their feet, abandoning their half eaten breakfasts in favour of grabbing satchels and book bags full of stationary and school supplies before begrudgingly making their ways to allocated classrooms.
“I’ve got Herbology with the Hufflepuff's.” Ron told the group, jumping up from the Gryffindor table and striding towards the greenhouses determinedly, hoping to find Neville so that he would have a buddy and avoid being completely confused the entire lesson.
“Arithmancy” Hermione muttered, doing a quick clean up charm to clear the mess left behind on the table (although it was pointless because all the house tables were designed to self clean any mess that could possibly be left behind by students, but Hermione was Hermione so what did Harry really expect?)
“We have free periods Harry.” Luna told the brunette, rising from her own seat as her girlfriend hurried off to her own class. “Whomping Willow?” She asked softly.
“Yep,” Harry replied, “just got to drop off this essay to Snape’s office, I'll meet you there in ten.”
Luna smiled an angelic smile as Harry picked up his own satchel and scurried off to hand in his poorly written 20 pages to his least favourite professor.
He weaved his way through crowds of wizards of all ages in coloured robes, hurriedly dashing to their own classes before house points could be docked for tardiness. Harry himself was dreading the inevitable conversation Snape would try to have with him about ‘learning his lesson’ or some shit, so he, unlike the rest of the Hogwarts students, was taking his sweet time climbing the steps to the Slytherin teachers offices.
When Harry eventually located the crusty teachers office, (after taking many unnecessary detours) he took a full three minutes to compose himself before lifting his tan hands to knock on the ostentatiously decorated door.
“Enter.” A stern voice, which could belong to only the most surly person on earth, boomed.
Harry cautiously pushed open the ugly rickety door and it creaked with a lurch.
“Ah, Mr Potter.” Snape’s gaze met Harry’s and his mouth curled into a foul smirk. “What a surprise.”
Harry had to bite his tongue so he didn’t retaliate and cause more trouble for himself than it was worth. Instead he simply pulled the rolled pages from his satchel and placed it on Snape’s desk. “There is the 20 page essay on ‘why lab safety is vital when making potions’,”
The professor intrusively snatched the paper with his scrawny hands from Harry almost before Harry had fully let go of the paper. Snape seemed to be itching to crique every word Harry had written to mock the child. “I hope you have learned your lesson Mr Potter. This better be very detailed or you and Mr Malfoy will be spending a lot more detentions with me.”
Harry nodded and took that as his sign to leave, eager to get out of this room alone with what was possibly the most intimidating man Harry had ever had the misfortune of meeting.
But just as his hand was turned the brass door knob Snape called out to him. “Oh and Potter, don't forget about your detention this afternoon. I know yesterday we did not discuss a time but I have spoken to your house leader and she has agreed that it would be beneficial to get this detention out of the way quickly so you may learn from your mistakes to correct your behaviour in future.”
Harry said nothing but nodded once more, mentally trying to figure out a way to subtly hex his Professor without him noticing.
“Be here at 6.00pm sharp.” Snape finished, turning his attention away from the brunette and back to the essay he had written. “Dismissed.”
The second Harry was out of Snape’s office he bounded down the stairs and rushed around the corner, sprinting past delicately painted portraits of women in elegant silk dresses and gentlemen in perfectly tailored top hats and robes. He twisted across unevenly moving staircases and flimsy guard rails until he eventually found the exit to the school grounds and emerged from the castle into the outside world. The Whomping Willow sat some way out from the main castle and Harry always felt a thrill when he would run across the lush gardens to the deserted torture tree. Nothing felt more freeing than sitting in a secluded spot with one of his most dearest friends and wasting time talking about nonsense.
Luna sat at the base of the tree, facing away from Hogwarts and looking into the distance. Her ivory hair swayed in the wind and tendrils of smoke rose from where she was peacefully blowing out natural essences from her lungs.
Harry warily took his seat next to her, careful not to touch any branches hanging low on the Whomping Willow and anger the terrifying tree.
“Harry.” Luna greeted, her voice like pure honey to Harry’s ears after his brief conversation with Snape. “You came.”
“Of course.” Harry replied softly. He would always come to Luna, no matter how much distance lay between the two, Harry would always come back to Luna.
When Harry had first met Luna he had thought she was just like sunshine, bright and bringing happiness wherever she went. After years of friendship however, Harry now thought of Luna not as the sun but as the first autumn morning after a harsh winter. The cool air and the euphoric feeling of realising that Halloween and Christmas would be soon. The sun could be harsh, hot and blinding and sometimes overwhelming which is something that in Harry’s eyes Luna could never be. Luna Lovegood was much more mysterious, much more comforting but not so harsh, she was hard to ignore, yes but not the first person you look for when you enter a room. Luna was the first drop of rain after a decade old drought, she was the first colour in the wildlife, the first flower to bloom. Luna was a breath of fresh air after a stifling conversation, a fond smile in a vulnerable moment. Luna Lovegood was the sunshine, but not the overwhelming blazing heat, not the full force strength and blinding presence that affected everyone on the planet. Luna was the sun on a mildly cloudy day, when it gave light but the breeze took away any warmth it produced. Luna was the sun on an evening, dazzling streaks of colours spread across a wondrous sky.
Luna was a person Harry thought he would always be grateful for. She was not his best friend, but a dear one and one Harry was sure he could not live without. Although their friendship was new it made up for lack of time in its pure strength. The bond was so strong that Harry would give up his entire life in an instant for Luna, and he knew she would do the same without hesitation.
“How was Snape?” She asked, blowing rings of almost transparent smoke into the atmosphere from her dainty cigarette.
“He was his usual self.” Harry replied, reaching over and taking a long drag from Luna’s fag.
“Lavender.” He noted, inhaling the sweet herbal scent and letting it take a moment to fill his lungs and calm his nerves.
“I did a lavender harvest this morning.” Luna smiled at Harry affably and motioned to her small box of crushed herbs and cigarette papers.
“Oh yeah?” Harry prodded bemusedly.
When the hell did Luna Lovegood have time for all the adventurous things she did in a day? Harry thought that there would probably never be a time when Luna Lovegood failed to surprise him.
“Are they flowering alright this time of the year?”
“Mhm.” The blonde girl pulled her knees up to rest her chin on the soft fabric of her royal blue and black robes and leaned towards Harry in a comforting way.
Harry reached over and took another hit from the cig, relishing in the relaxing sense of euphoria it gave him. Harry truly felt that everyone smoking weed or tobacco were missing out on the wonders of natural non-toxic or cancerous remedies of smoking.
He looked up at the cerulean sky through the gaps in the tall leaf-free tree and dug his hands into the cool soil beneath him. The dirt piled in his fingernails and weeds of grass got tangled in Harry’s wandering fingers. Luna blew more smoke into the air and Harry watched it float away like a soft cloud whistling past, disappearing into the vast landscape that lay before him.
Plains of thriving grass and assorted flower patches were scattered around the greenhouses and small establishments sitting a small distance away from the school. Daisy Attachment and Cornflower Riches were separated into sections near the end of Hogwarts border, the vibrant blue contrasted to the pale white and complementing the colours significantly. Hagrid the groundskeeper really had an eye for these sorts of things.
The smell of lavender bloomed in the air and the Whomping Willow settled its anxious swaying as the vapored natural herbs from Luna’s cigarette drifted into the heart of the tree.
One reason Harry and Luna never got caught skipping class or smoking on school grounds was that no one would ever think to look for them at the Whomping Willow. With its dreadful reputation that was rightfully deserved it was honestly a miracle that Luna’s plants were able to lull it into a state where it let two students sit underneath it undisturbed.
“So Malfoy huh?” Luna started, drawing Harry’s attention away from the majestic scenery that Hogwarts accommodated.
“Yeah I guess so.” Harry sighed, reaching out to tangle his fingers in Luna’s soft locks of hair. She leaned into the touch and positioned herself so that her head lay gracefully in Harry’s lap, giving him full access to her gorgeously healthy hair.
“I truly don’t think it will be that bad Harry. He’s just a boy after all.” She closed her eyes lightly, a small smile sitting on her face as Harry carded his hands gently through her thick wavy hair. “Not much different to us honestly.”
Harry scoffed - Yeah right ‘not much different’ they couldn’t be more unalike! - He thought.
“Please.” He rolled his eyes offendedly. “He’s a snotty little rich kid adored by all of the Hogwarts students, especially Slytherins.”
Luna smiled sadly, flicking ash from the cig onto the ground next to the pair absentmindedly.
“Truly not that much different though. Are you not half decently wealthy and adored by the Hogwarts wizards and witches just as much as he is?”
The brunette’s face twisted in confliction. What Luna was saying was correct to an extent but still... “It’s not the same.”
Luna pondered this for a second, letting Harry’s fingertips massage her scalp softly. “No it is not. You are known and loved for noble reasons.”
“Yeah, so it’s completely different and totally incomparable.” Harry decided.
Luna frowned once more.
“I don’t think it is incomparable Harry. Although it may be different, there are undeniable similarities between the two of you; both well known, both good at your strengths and both perceived as leaders to your own house groups.”
Harry tilted his head slightly, looking at the tall trees ahead of him swaying elegantly in the breeze and pondered Luna’s words decisively. He had never thought of Malfoy as being similar to him, but what Luna was implying made a lot of sense. Maybe Harry had made too many assumptions unfairly.
“I guess,” He sighed.
“There’s also probably more to both of your personalities than you are letting on.” She said simply as Harry’s mind spun in confusing directions, wondering just what Luna had meant by that statement.
“How are you handling everything?” She changed the subject lightly, sensing Harry was about to launch into questions.
“It’s going okay.”
“Any more nightmares?”
Harry swiftly took a looong hit of the cig, effectively avoiding the prickly question and Luna’s pure concerned gaze.
Harry had been struggling with nightmares his whole life, since his mothers death when he was only one year old every night had been plagued with screams of a tortured woman, harsh commands from an angry uncle, and taunting whispers from a powerful sorcerer. Nightmares were something that Harry thought he would probably never get rid of, at this point in his life it almost felt pointless trying different sleep remedies and nightmare antidotes, nothing ever worked for Harry. These nightmares were cursed onto him in dark magic, just another one of his many misfortunes.
Luna hummed again, passing the fag to Harry and sitting up from her place in his lap to spreading her arms out like a bird floating in the wind.
“You’ll be okay Harry.” She murmured into the breeze. “I know it.”
The two sat in comfortable silence, feeling the effects of the lavender helping them relax and vanishing any sort of stress or headache that lingered in the back of their brains.
They would be okay.
It was peaceful, sitting underneath that big tree and smoking herbs, just two kids finding comfort in small things in the world.
All in all, by the time the bell eventually sounded, Harry was feeling wildly more comfortable and drifted through the day’s classes with ease.
At the end of the last lesson Harry had almost completely forgotten about Draco Malfoy, the lavender and schoolwork keeping his mind easily distracted so it came as a devastating surprise to him when the clock ticked 5:45 pm and he realised that his detention was soon.
God help him tonight, because whatever Snape had in store for them couldn’t have been good and with the prickly blonde in the mix Harry was honestly dreading this detention. He was in no way, shape or form prepared for what lay ahead of him.