Till The End | h.p

luna

A few weeks later, Sam and Harry are sitting in the common room, studying... sort of. Sam watches in pride as the twins begin selling their newest inventions to other students. Ron and Hermione walk up to them and sit beside them.

"I'm not asking you to write all of it," Ron insists.

"Oh, please," Hermione rolls her eyes playfully.

"I've been busy studying for these stupid OWL exams."

Hermione smiles slightly, "I'll do the introduction. That's all."

"Hermione," Ron starts, "You're honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met. And if I'm ever rude to you again-"

"We'll know you've gone back to normal," Sam chuckles.

Hermione sits in between Sam and Harry, while Ron sits on the other side of Sam. Hermione stops and stares at Harry.

"What's wrong with your hand?" She asks him.

He looks up at Sam quickly and then to Hermione while holding his non injured hand.

"The other hand," Hermione states as she reaches for it.

Harry gives in and Sam tries desperately to hide hers so they don't suspect anything. Ron notices what she's doing and pulls out her hand as well. They both look at their scarred hands, Sam's slightly more fresh since she had another detention, yesterday. Ron reads the words and looks into her eyes with such a ferocity, she forgets how much he cares sometimes. Ron calls over for Fred and George, knowing they'll be furious. Sam yanks her hand away from Ron, which ends up causing her hand to bleed and she winces. Harry quickly looks at her to make sure she's alright. The twins make their way over quite cheerfully until they see the expressions on the four of them.

"Show them, Sam," Ron insists.

The twins kneel down so be at eye level with her on the couch, "Come on, little S, what-"

She shows them her hand and their eyes widen and then become quite livid. George gently lifts her hand to examine it, "Follow me, I have something that'll help."

Fred stands up and stays with the others, "Who?" He asks with such a hatred that Harry, Hermione and even Ron have never seen.

"Umbridge," Harry answers, "It's her idea as punishment."

"You've got to tell Dumbledore, Harry," Hermione commands.

"No. Dumbledore's got enough on his mind right now. Anyway, we don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction."

"Bloody hell, Harry. The woman's torturing you," Ron persists, "If the parents knew about this-"

"Yeah, well, I haven't got any of those, have I, Ron?"

"Harry, you've got to report this," Hermione continues, "It's perfectly simple. You're being-"

"No, it's not," Harry interrupts, "Hermione, whatever this is, it's not simple. You don't understand."

"Then help us to," She tries, but Harry gets up and walks away.

"I'm not going to just sit by and watch that devil woman carve those words into my sister's hand," Fred notes.

"Neither am I," Ron follows Harry up the stairs and shuts their dormitory door, "What about Sam? You can be broody all you want, mate, but not when it comes to her."

"You think I haven't tried? Umbridge has her radar zeroed in on us! I-"

"Tell me Sirius knows about this," Ron interrupts.

Harry remains silent until Ron continues, "If you don't tell him, I will."

Within the next few weeks, Harry becomes increasingly more distant and agitated. Harry walks down to Hagrid's Hut, in hopes of feeling slightly less alone, but he's still on leave. He walks into the forest behind the hut and finds a herd of the creatures that were pulling the carriages. He notices Luna trying to feed one of them and he walks up to her.

"Hello, Harry Potter."

He looks down to see that she's barefoot, "Your feet. Aren't they cold?"

"Bit. Unfortunately, all my shoes have mysteriously disappeared. I suspect Nargles are behind it."

He watches as the winged horses walk by, "What are they?"

"They're called Thestrals. They're quite gentle, really, but people avoid them because they're a bit..."

"Different," Harry notes as they see a small one approach, "But why can't the others see them?"

"They can only be seen by people who've seen death."

"But, Sam-"

"Well, she's a Banshee, isn't she?" Luna remarks, "They see death through premonitions, don't you know?"

He nods slightly, "So you've known someone who's died, then?"

She nods with a small smile, "My mum. She was quite an extraordinary witch, but she did like to experiment and one day, one of her spells went badly wrong. I was nine."

"I'm sorry."

"Yes, it was rather horrible," they walk up to the baby Thestral, "I do feel very sad about it sometimes, but I've got Dad. We both believe you, by the way. That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and you fought him and the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you and Dumbledore."

"Thanks. It seems you're about the only ones that do."

She shakes her head and tosses a raw piece of meat for the Thestral to eat, "I don't think that's true. But I suppose that's how he wants you to feel."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if I were You-Know-Who I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else because if it's just you alone... you're not as much of a threat."

She gives him a smile and he looks at her surprise and amusement.