18 November 1992, Hogwarts
That night, Harry waited until curfew and snuck out of the common room using his invisibility cloak. He was strangely excited for what was essentially a walk in a forest with his new friend. To be perfectly honest, he could see why Tom was so taken with the young Ravenclaw.
Harry had spent less than a handful of hours with Luna and he had to admit that she was unique. She just saw the world differently, something that made sense since she was a clairvoyant. In general, clairvoyance is a magical skill that allows someone to perceive the world differently, to see beyond what can be perceived with the naked eye. In a way, Harry's Arcane Hearing might be a form of clairvoyance since he could perceive magic in a way others just don't, but the general definition involves a more conceptual nature of the skill. Luna, for example, can just discern the true nature of something. Whether someone is good or bad, kind or mean, hateful or loving. She could see if someone was hexed or was under some kind of compulsion, and probably so much more. The girl tried to stay away from her gift as much as possible and Harry had the impression that she was strangely resentful towards it.
Anyway, Harry knew that it was this skill that made Luna confide in him so easily. He was honestly tempted to ask her how she perceived him, but she must have known in some way that he meant her no harm.
Yet, the young Ravenclaw was just so kind despite her gift. In a way, Harry could understand how it was possible, but in another, it was baffling. The truth was that people were complex, and Luna could probably see that. Everyone, especially children, had a kindness to them, an innocence, that Luna probably couldn't see in older men and women, one that made Luna forgive their obvious spiteful attempts at putting her down and bullying her.
That kind of kindness, that kind of forgiveness was just something that Harry couldn't understand. Luna had suffered, yet she just ignored her pain and moved on to her carefree life. She wasn't putting on a mask or hiding her suffering, she just forgave them and didn't care, and that was unnatural, that was inhuman. A human being is not supposed to act like that. Even good people simply repressed the urge to have some kind of vengeance, something that would have been quite easy for Luna to pull off, but she just let go.
No wonder Tom Riddle was fascinated with her. He had suffered at the hand of other children, yet he always got back at his attackers. Yet, through pure understanding, Luna Lovegood had shown him that there was another way, a better way. She had shown Harry this, but honestly, with all his maturity, he didn't think he would be able to shrug off slights like she did.
Before he could realize it, Harry found himself at the entrance to the Great Hall and saw Luna waiting for him while humming. Security was pretty lax now that Filch wasn't there to scare the crap out of the younger years. Prefect patrols had increased, apparently, but they didn't intimidate the younger students as Filch did. The Potter scion honestly thought that Dumbledore hired the squib just for the 'crazy old man' aura that he projected, that children would instinctively fear, even though the average second year student was technically more dangerous than him.
He took off his cloak and revealed himself, "Hello Luna."
The girl twirled around and smiled at him, "Hello, Harry Potter. It seems that we chose a good night for our stroll. There's magic in the air."
Harry simply shrugged, having started to be used to her weirdness, "Sure, shall we?"
The girl didn't answer him and just started skipping away. They simply walked in silence, their footsteps echoing softly in the empty corridors. The dim glow of moonlight filtered through the tall windows, casting long shadows that danced along the cold stone walls.
Minutes later and they had left the castle and made their way towards the forest. They walked past the Black Lake, its dark waters reflecting the silver glow of the stars above. Harry watched Luna's graceful movements, feeling a sense of calm wash over him. The familiar sound of her humming echoed through the night, harmonizing with the soft rustling of leaves and the distant hooting of an owl. Luna's ethereal presence seemed to blend seamlessly with the enchanted atmosphere of the forbidden forest as if she were a part of it.
They reached the edge of the forest, its boundary marked by ancient, towering trees that loomed like silent sentinels. Moonbeams filtered through the dense foliage, casting intricate patterns of light and shadow on the forest floor.
The magic of the forest was as oppressive as ever. Harry's Arcane Hearing was all over the place. There was this large magical enchantment that was around the entire forest, that was playful and protective, but with a weird sinister tint, yet there were so many creatures inside, that it had another layer that just sounded like noise more than anything. There were the cold-blooded predators, the soft magical plants, the severity and discipline that probably belonged to the centaurs. In all truth, it was magnificent in some kind of organized chaotic paradox that just fascinated him. It was an entire magical ecosystem, and it was as complex as it sounded.
They arrived at a clearing, where Luna just stopped suddenly, and stood still, "I always like to stay here. It's just on the edge of centaur territory, so the really dangerous creatures tend to stay away, and sometimes I get a few visitors, who I just like to talk to. I find Thestrals to be wonderful listeners. Here they come."
.....
Want to read ahead by more than 60 chapters. Then join my p@treon Right Now.
Link: p*atreon.com/BookReaderBoy (Remove the *)
Also Free members get 2 advanced chapters for Free as well.