Luna had no idea how she ended up having matching schedules with the most popular boy in her school.
Perhaps it started when she woke up nearly an hour earlier than everyone else for the meeting with Professor McGonagall. With nothing to change into, she pulled her black jacket over her rumpled clothes, ran her fingers through her tangled hair, and got out of bed as quietly as she could. She opened and shut the doors silently as she entered the common room. The enchanted ceiling gave the illusion of morning sunlight streaming into the nature-filled room. She made her way to the entrance hole and —
“What are you doing?” a voice said behind her.
Luna whirled around to find Luka sitting on an armchair in the middle of the room, reading a book. He was sporting black pyjamas, and for some annoying reason, everything seemed to look stylish when he was wearing it.
“What are you doing?” said Luna.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he said, shrugging. Perhaps it was due to the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament the night before. He tilted his head at her, raising an eyebrow.
“I have to go to Professor McGonagall’s office,” she answered.
“Do you… even know where it is?” said Luka.
“Er — no…” Her only plan at the moment was to wander around Hogwarts until she came upon a giant, golden gargoyle, which was precisely why she got up so early.
“Hm,” he said, a sceptical expression on his face. “I could show you if you want.”
“Really?”
“Why not?” he said. “I’ve got nothing to do anyway. Wait here for a moment.” And he swiftly went into the boys’ dormitories, leaving Luna alone in the common room.
Luna wondered if he was really going to help her and if she should accept his help, but it was too late, as he had already gone. It would save a lot of time if she was led there by someone who knew where they were going. So, she sat down in a soft armchair to wait. Only a few minutes passed before Luka came back into the room, now dressed in his wizard robes.
“All right, let’s go!” he said.
They went through the entrance hole and out of the barrels, and he led her up multiple flights of stairs and corridors.
“Why are you meeting with the headmistress?” he asked.
“To discuss my schedule and supplies,” said Luna, waving the sleeve of her jacket to indicate.
“What electives are you going to take?”
“Er… I’m not sure yet,” she said, almost forgetting she was actually a third year. “What electives are you going to take?”
“I signed up for Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Arithmancy,” said Luka. “I would take more, but I don’t need to attend Muggle Studies, and Study of Ancient Runes didn’t sound very interesting.”
They continued to talk about the schedules, and after the long walk, they arrived in front of the golden statue.
“We’re here!” announced Luka.
“Oh.” Luna grinned at him. “Thank you for helping me.”
His mouth turned upward. “No problem. You know the password, right?”
Luna nodded.
“All right, I’ll wait for you here,” he said, leaning against a wall.
“Oh — no, no, you don’t have to —”
“Actually, I do. You’d probably get lost trying to find the Great Hall and end up in the dungeons. Locked in the dungeons.”
“Wha — I won’t,” she said, although she knew it was very likely.
“Just go already,” said Luka, lightly shoving her toward the gargoyle.
“Fine.” She looked back at him, and he waved dismissively at her. Then, she turned to the statue, rolling her eyes, and said, “Phoenix.”
The gargoyle suddenly came to life and stepped over to allow her to enter the spiral staircase it was guarding. As Luna climbed the stairs, she thought about how extraordinary everything was in the wizarding world. She’d never imagined that she would be able to witness a real Triwizard Tournament, but what was confusing was the last thing Professor McGonagall had said at the feast: “...only the top students of each year can participate in the Tournament.” What could she have meant by that? Luna couldn’t ponder the matter much longer, for, at the top of the staircase, she came upon a door with a large golden knocker, which led to the headmistress’s office for sure. She knocked on the door twice, and it magically swung open all on its own.
“Come in, Yue,” Professor McGonagall said from inside the room.
Luna stepped into the room, spotting countless glass displays holding various silver trinkets. The headmistress was seated at the desk at the end of the room, surrounded by numerous portraits hung on the walls. Just as the books had described, the largest portrait, of Albus Dumbledore, was right behind the headmistress’s large, cushioned chair.
“Have a seat,” said Professor McGonagall. “So, for your schedule. Third year students start taking elective classes this year.” Luna nodded. The headmistress handed her a piece of parchment with the descriptions of the elective classes. “Look over that, and please make your decision right away.” Luna scanned the different classes, but she couldn’t make up her mind about which ones to take. She obviously couldn’t take all of them, but it was too difficult to choose just a few.
“I’ll take… Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination,” she blurted, afraid to keep Professor McGonagall waiting for any longer.
“Very well. I will have that arranged.” Professor McGonagall took out a few pieces of paper. “Now, regarding your supplies, it will be best if you buy them as soon as possible. I will have the top student of your year escort you to Diagon Alley this coming Saturday, and this is the list of supplies you will need.” She gave her another piece of parchment. “In the meantime, you can borrow a friend’s parchment and quills and use the extra textbooks stored in the library for your classes. You are also permitted to wear your Muggle clothing for this week only.”
“All right… thank you, Professor,” said Luna. But how could she borrow quills and parchment when she had no friends? Who would want to lend her some anyway?
“Do you have any more questions?” Professor McGonagall asked.
“Er — I do, actually,” said Luna. The professor nodded, gesturing for her to continue. “About the Triwizard Tournament… You said that only the top students of each year could compete in it.”
“That’s correct. The top two students from each year compete in the Triwizard Tournament in pairs. For example, the most highly-ranked first years will compete against the first years from the other schools, the second years with other second years, and so on. Of course, they have the choice to compete or not. And after the elimination rounds, the final three pairs of students will participate in the final challenge,” Professor McGonagall explained.
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“Pairs…?” said Luna.
“That safety measure was put in place to make sure the Tournament is safer. But the challenges are still extremely difficult and deadly,” said the headmistress. “However, you needn’t worry about that.” Luna had an upsetting feeling that Professor McGonagall thought she had no need to worry about the Tournament because she wouldn’t get even close to qualifying. One thing she hated was when people underestimated her, although she kind of doubted that it would be an underestimate.
Professor McGonagall waved her wand silently.
“Would you please bring Mr Lee up to my office?” said the headmistress.
“Oh — yes.” Luna got up and left the room. How did she know Luka was down there? That must’ve been a nonverbal spell she’d cast. She saw Luka’s head perk up when the gargoyle moved aside to let her down.
“Done?” said Luka, walking toward her.
“Er — no. McGonagall wants to see you too,” said Luna. He tilted his head.
They headed up the staircase together and entered the headmistress’s office. She was still sitting behind her desk, sorting through papers.
“Lee, take a seat. You too, Yue,” she said. They sat down on the two chairs in front of her. “Now, Lee. As you are the top student of the third years, I’m putting you in charge of taking Luna to buy her supplies on Saturday.” Luna’s eyebrows shot up. Luka was the top student? So he was just as smart as he was good-looking? What other oh-so-amazing things did she not know about him? “And, as you have the same schedule as Miss Yue, please guide her to her classes and around the school and help her get settled into Hogwarts.” Luna’s brain spun with puzzlement. Why would McGonagall ask him to do such a thing? She didn’t need anyone’s help getting around. Just as she was about to open her mouth to insist she didn’t need assistance, Luka spoke.
“Of course, Professor,” he said. He turned to Luna and raised his eyebrows. “It will be no problem at all.”
“Oh, and here is the Hogsmeade permission form.” Professor McGonagall gave her a piece of parchment. “I will allow you to mail it to your parents for them to sign it or not.”
“Thank you, Professor,” said Luna gratefully.
“And, Lee, I hope you will work hard this year. I expect great things from you in the Tournament.”
Luka nodded and said, “Yes, Professor.”
Afterwards, they left the headmistress’s office and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
“I’m going to be something like your personal bodyguard,” joked Luka.
“Hmph.” Luna crossed her arms. “I don’t need your help.”
“But they’re the headmistress’s orders.” He smirked. “I’m afraid you’ll just have to put up with it.” She shoved him lightly, and he grinned.
“Are you really the top student in our year?” she asked.
“Er — yes…” He looked a little uncomfortable talking about it.
“Is that why McGonagall said, ‘I expect great things from you in the Tournament,’?” said Luna. “You’re guaranteed a spot to compete, aren’t you?”
Luka rubbed the back of his neck and slid his fingers through his silky hair.
“You look strange though,” she said.
“Excuse me?”
“It must be hard, being amazing. Everyone must expect such great things from you, don’t they?” said Luna, barely skimming it over with her thoughts. He blinked. “And you’re afraid to let them down or do worse than they expect of you.”
He was silent for a moment, and she turned to glance at him. He was staring at her with an unreadable expression.
“What?” she said. He said nothing. “Hey, are you sure we’re going in the right direction?”
After a while, they arrived at the Great Hall. No sooner had they sat down than Luka was swarmed with people — mostly girls — from all four tables once again. They nearly knocked Luna, who was sitting next to him, face-first into her fried eggs and bacon. Luka hurriedly reached out to help her, but she caught herself right before her nose knocked her goblet of orange juice over.
“Sorry,” he mouthed silently, giving her an apologetic look.
She shook her head to indicate that it was all right and began eating her food.
“Hey, Luka~ Have you had any sausages yet?” A fourth year girl held out her fork. “You can have mine~”
“No, thanks,” he said, grimacing a little. Luna could see the hint of displeasure in his face, but she doubted any of his admirers would notice.
As she was eating her toast, the owl mail poured in from the rooftop entrance, the storm of owls slowly settling down beside their owners. Luna watched as an elegant barn owl circled the crowd of people gathered around that end of the Hufflepuff table and landed gently on Luka’s shoulder.
His friends immediately burst into a chorus of, “Oh my, is that your owl, Luka?”, “It’s such a beautiful bird!”, and “Let me pet it!”. Numerous hands shot out at the poor owl, who hopped onto Luka’s arm and was held away from the prying fingers.
“Please stop,” said Luka. “Nyra is very unfriendly — she might scratch you.” Some hands retracted right away while other — very idiotic, thought Luna — people kept reaching for his owl.
“Stop that!” said Luna, jumping to her feet. “Can’t you see that you’re upsetting her?” The owl’s feathers were ruffled in fright, and she looked like she had half a mind to nip somebody. “Luka already told you to stop. If you’re truly his friends, why won’t you listen?” Luka gave her another unreadable expression, and half of his admires seemed to shoot her dirty looks. She sat down and went back to eating her breakfast, stabbing her bacon sharply with her fork. She usually didn’t bring attention to herself, but she just couldn’t stand it when people acted so… inconsiderate. She wouldn’t be surprised if that poor owl never visited the Great Hall ever again. Luka’s friends had started chattering around him again.
Looking at the owl, who was nibbling a piece of his toast, Luna suddenly remembered something important that she’d completely forgotten about.
“Oh no!” she exclaimed, slapping her forehead. “I have to send a letter to my parents!” They must’ve been so worried when she didn’t turn up back at the hotel. She stood up, ready to abandon her half-eaten breakfast when Luka grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I’ve got to send my parents an owl. Right — do you know where the owlery is?” she asked urgently.
“You can use Nyra if you’d like,” he offered.
Luna blinked. “Really? Oh — but I don’t have —” Before she finished her sentence, Luka took out a piece of parchment and a quill from a pouch on his belt. She blinked again. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
His mouth quirked up. “No problem.”
She quickly thought of the message and jotted it down, pausing briefly to admire the quill. She rolled up her message with the Hogsmeade permission form and turned to the owl. Luna hesitated, looking at her knife-sharp talons.
To her surprise, Nyra held out her leg to her. At first, Luna thought she was going to scratch her, but she soon realised that the owl was letting her tie the letter to her leg. The owl’s huge, brown eyes were pinned onto her as she carefully tied the letter onto her leg.
Once she finished, Luna dipped her head slightly and whispered, “Thank you.”
Everyone gasped as Nyra jumped onto Luka’s shoulder and affectionately nipped his ear. But no one was more surprised than Luna when the owl hopped onto her shoulder, nibbled her ear, and took off in a flurry of white and tan coloured feathers.
“Huh,” said Luka, giving her a thoughtful look. “Looks like she’s taken a liking to you.”
Luna stared wide-eyed at the owl’s retreating wings.
“Oh, right!” She stood up, but Luka immediately grabbed her arm again.
“Where are you going, now?” he said.
“I’ve got to get my textbooks from the library before class starts,” she said.
He pulled her into her seat again. “You can just share with me.”
“Huh?” A look of surprise crossed her face. “Really?”
Luka grinned a little and nodded.
“Thank you!” said Luna, but her voice was drowned out by his friends’ prattling.
“You could give your books to her and share with me instead, Luka!” someone said.
“What’s your schedule? I’ll ask Professor Brooks to change mine to match!” said another.
“Did you see how his owl approached her all by itself?” a fifth year Gryffindor said. “What was that about?”
“Luka, why are you being so nice to her? Do you even know her?”
Luna was wondering the same thing. Why was he being so nice to her? He showed her how to get to the headmistress’s office, let her borrow his owl to send a letter, let her share his textbooks with him, and he didn’t even protest when Professor McGonagall told him to escort her to Diagon Alley on Saturday. It was really kind of him to help her, though.