NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Rescuing Luna
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to give you a heads up that I've decided to edit out a few chapters from the story where Harry and Hermione delve into each other's memories. It seemed like it was causing some confusion, so I thought it would be best to streamline things a bit.
However, if you're still interested in reading those chapters, they're actually available for free on my P*atreon. So if you're curious about what went down in:
Chapter 5: "Love's Mirror"
Chapter 6: "Shared Memories, Shared Pain Pt. 1"
Chapter 7: "Shared Memories, Shared Pain Pt. 2"
Chapter 8: "Shared Memories, Shared Pain Pt. 3"
Link: pa*treon.com/thebookaddict (Remove the *)
Feel free to hop on over there and check them out. They're still part of the story, just tucked away for those who want a deeper dive into Harry and Hermione's journey.
You can also get exclusive early access to over 60 advanced chapters and up to 2 chapters for free as well on my p*atreon!
....
Hermione hugged the shocked girl. "Luna, I never realised it was this bad. I'm so sorry but don't worry we'll help you with this."
The blonde-haired witch hadn't a clue what was happening, she knew this girl was Hermione Granger and everyone recognised Harry but what were they doing in the corridor talking to her? Hermione's hug almost panicked her until she heard the sincerity in her voice. Luna was sure she meant her no harm and Harry's actions confirmed this.
Harry pulled out his wand and took an oath, "I swear on my magic I will be Luna Lovegood's friend and never knowingly harm her." Hermione repeated the procedure.
"Luna, we can't explain at the moment, but we truly are your friends and I will take you under the protection of my house. Hermione and I are betrothed and have no intention of returning here next term but we want you to come with us," said Harry
Luna saw their betrothal rings appear as well as Harry's family ring.
"This is a secret, Luna, so please don't say anything until we're ready, but we do want you to come with us. No one will bother you again, we promise." Hermione still had tears in her eyes as she looked at the state of her best female friend.
These were the first kind words Luna had heard since starting at Hogwarts nearly two years ago. The school thought she dressed oddly but what most of them were unaware of was that she could only wear what her housemates didn't hide. Today's ensemble was really bad with the two right shoes leaving her left foot in agony. She didn't know what it was about these two but something just felt right, almost like déjà vu.
They helped Luna to the Gryffindor dorms where Hermione loaned her some clothes and a pair of shoes before the trio headed off to lunch.
The entered the great hall and the two Gryffindors followed Luna over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down with her, they were hardly seated when Marietta Edgecombe interrupted them, "Not enough room at your own table, or are you just interested in Loony's lies?"
The rest of the table were snickering at Marietta's wit but the three were just casually helping themselves to lunch. When they had sufficient food on their plates, Harry replied, "No, Miss Edgecombe, there is plenty of room at the Gryffindor table but we wanted to have lunch with our friend Luna." There was silence as everyone waited for the punch line; this was a joke - right?
Harry continued speaking in a calm tone, "You see, Luna is a good friend of ours and under the protection of the House of Potter so I would suggest that anyone sitting here who has taken or hidden any of her belongings immediately go and return them."
There was some nervous laughter before Cho Chang spoke, "Big bad Potter is so scary sticking up for the retard, those tactics might work in your house of dorks but here in Ravenclaw we…" the rest was cut off by the screams of people at the table, all of whom were looking at Cho in horror.
Cho looked down at her hands and saw they were covered in wrinkles; she put her hands to her face where her beautiful smooth skin had more wrinkles than last week's bed sheets. She ran out the hall screaming while holding her face in her wrinkly hands.
Harry glanced at Hermione who had enjoyed that far too much. "Payback?" he asked.
She just nodded. "Ever since she tried to kiss you I wanted to rip her arm off and beat her with the wet end." Luna looked genuinely confused for a change, "We will explain it to you, Luna, but you're going to have to trust us for now."
Flitwick came rushing over, "What are you two Gryffindors doing causing trouble at this table?"
Hermione was still pissed at the treatment of her friend and here was a professor she respected blaming them without even finding out the facts. They were going to find out that a pissed off Hermione Granger was a formidable sight.
"Well, since you're asking so nicely, Professor, we're doing your job for you by putting a stop to the vicious bullying of a young student in your house. Oh, and just to reiterate to those denser members of the so-called clever house, immediate means get your arses in gear and return my friend's belongings before you all end up like the delightful Miss Chang."
There was pandemonium as witches climbed over one another in their haste to get to the dorm and return Luna's stuff. The diminutive head of Ravenclaw just stood there, unsure of what to do next. "Miss Granger, if there was a problem, you should have come to me with it."
"Yeah, like that was going to work. You had two years to sort this out; what we did took us two minutes and, trust me on this, they will never bother her again," raged Hermione.
"I can't fix something if I don't know about the problem," replied Flitwick.