A Club
Viopathartic
O.M.G! Is it, like, Viopathartic, like, again?
A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE BABY! This is gonna be a little shorter than what you're used to from me but I hope it will still be enjoyable.
Chapter 6:
Harry glanced around the Great Hall from the entrance threshold, one foot in and one foot out.
Draco Malfoy was not here.
That was odd. As much as the Slytherin wanted to ignore the Club members, he never skipped morning breakfast before. The Slytherin table seemed not notice that one of their own was missing. Most of the talk was apparently revolved around the newest issue of the Daily Prophet. Suddenly, Harry was curious and was about to completely step over the threshold to retrieve one when his eyes turned to the Gryffindor table where his friends were most likely to be. They spotted him as quickly as they were spotted. Hermione began to rise from her seat but Harry wouldn't let her.
He decided he would find the Daily Prophet elsewhere as he exited the Great Hall.
On his way out he ran into Luna. Instantly, the Daily Prophet disappeared from his mind. She was standing in front of the notice board with her head tilted thoughtfully. Without even turning to Harry, she asked, "You haven't taken this down. Do you want more people?"
Harry slowly walked to where she was positioned and looked at the advertisement for A Club.
He thought about it for a second. People DID come to the first meeting...so if he continued to put this up than others might come. But then again, did Harry want more people? He gave a small smile. Then he reached out and pulled the poster off the notice board and handed it to Luna.
"No...actually, I like the way the club is right now."
Luna smiled broadly, clutching the poster in her hands.
"Good choice, Harry. You don't know how many other weirdoes might show up next time..."
Harry chuckled, "That's right, Luna."
Draco Malfoy just wanted to be alone.
His morning started out okay...almost as if he never attended the club meetings.
That was...until he went to see his father in Azkaban.
This was his first time in the Azkaban jail. His mum never let him go before but this time, Draco was insistent. He wanted to see his father and talk to him.
The official Auror led the pair past the cells, solemnly basked in shadows. Draco saw a Dementor drift by in an intersecting corridor. He suppressed a shiver as an image of his father yelling to him to never touch his wand without asking first. He never liked Dementors.
There was a bald-headed man with one eye open as the other appeared to be sewed shut. He was sitting in the cell next to his father's cell. He looked up miserably as Draco passed. Suddenly the main shot up from his seat and ran to the front of his cell, hands wrapping around the metal bars. Draco suddenly backed up against his mum. The man looked at him wildly, pointing a sickly bony finger at him.
"You-you-you!" He whispered hysterically. He went on to mutter a string of incomprehensible words, the one eye staring crazily at him. The Auror pulled out his wand, successfully driving the man back into the shadows of his cell.
"Draco, come on," Narcissa Malfoy pulled Draco by the hand, leading him to Lucius' cell.
His father used to be a finely built man. When he walked through the house or through the Ministry, he walked with stride as if he owned the place. His golden blond hair was brushed so that it used to shine as it past his shoulders. His clothes was tailored by the most expensive wizards in Europe and they were only for people "of class" as Lucius used to say.
Now here he was, sitting on a cement bench, waiting with his head bowed and hand clenched in fists on his thighs. Lucius lost the shine in his hair; it probably hasn't been washed in days. His clothes were a black and white jumpsuit, barely providing enough warmth for the perpetual coldness in the cells.
He sneered and stood up when he saw Draco and Narcissa appear in front of him. His ex-wife gulped and held her son by his shoulders. Draco shrugged her off and stepped closer.
"Hello Father," he said quietly.
"Never call me that again, you worthless child!" Lucius hissed through the bars, eyes narrowing in hatred. Draco was so shocked that his mouth was left slightly opened. "You stupid boy, get away from me. You don't deserve to even see me!"
"Lucius!" Narcissa gasped, pulling Draco away. This time Draco didn't resist.
"And you, fucking bitch. Why are you here? Have you come to beg for my money? Never. NEVER! You could work at a whorehouse for all I care!"
Narcissa had enough. She pulled her son by the arm and whispered to the Auror to escort them out. Draco had to fight the urge to look back as he walked down the gloomy hall again. He didn't want to see the anger or the loathing in his father's eyes again.
Why was his father so cold-blooded? He dismissed his mother as if she was nothing but dirt. And the way he treated him...was even worse. Couldn't he tell that Draco wanted to be loyal to him? That he never wanted his mum to get the divorce?
Then Loony came into the Astronomy Tower and sat down besides him as if they were supposed to be meeting here.
And she didn't even say hello.
"Oh. It's not mating season yet for the Crumple Horned Snorkacks," commented Luna a bit disappointedly as she scanned the insides of the Daily Prophet. She had it opened so the cover could be seen from where Draco was sitting and when he did, he swiftly turned his head to the side.
"Have you seen him yet, Draco?" asked Luna with her head tilted to the side. She noticed how the boy tightened his jaw and refused to look at her.
She nodded as if he answered her. "You did."
Luna closed the paper and placed it on her lap. She gazed patiently at the boy. "I know he's your father. That's why you're so naturally loyal to him. You want to believe that he has done nothing wrong."
Draco focused in on the lengthy crack in the stone wall, tracing it up and down from the ceiling to the floor. She stopped talking but he knew she would start again. He began counting the number of bricks in the wall in front of him.
1…2…3…4…5…6…
"But he has. He's a Death Eater, Draco. He's a horrible person."
28…29…30…
"They do horrible things. I bet he treated you wrong too, didn't he?"
56…57…58…59…
"If you keep acting like this, you'll become like him."
Draco grabbed her by the shoulders and blindly pushed her to the floor. Luna's look of surprise was well suited for this situation. She fell onto the floor on her bum, not even letting out a sound. She gazed up at him in wonder, tears building up from the hurt but she didn't cry.
"Will you SHUT up!?! You're such an idiot! Don't you know when you're not wanted? No wonder no one likes you! You're so Loony a-and stupid a-and a bloody retard! GO AWAY!" He roared with blood boiling and ears ringing.
He whirled around so that he wouldn't see her shakily stand up from the ground, so that he would see the tears flowing freely from her eyes to the floor. He trained his ears so that he wouldn't hear her sob or the jingle of her bag as she grabbed it from the bench. He blocked out everything so that he wouldn't hear the door slam shut with such unpleasant finality that it made him hate himself.
Harry spotted Neville outside on the grounds, walking in the direction of Hagrid's hut.
"Hey Nev. Going to Hagrid's?"
"I might. Right now I'm just walking. I have a Herbology test tomorrow so I'm just trying to clear my mind," Neville said. "Do you want to walk with me?"
"Sure," answered Harry and he fell into step with his friend.
"Why aren't you talking to Hermione and Ron anymore?" Neville asked curiously. Harry sighed and then shrugged.
"We kind of had a row yesterday and I left without answering them."
"They didn't seem mad at you," said Neville, "they even asked Dean and Seamus about you."
"We're not mad at each other...it's...well, it's a bit complicated."
"Oh," Neville said and stopped looking at Harry. He knew Neville didn't want to pry. He was only trying to help.
"Well, you see...I'm not really okay with Hermione and Ron dating. They're exact opposites. It's scary how the whole school population believes they're made for each other because I can't really see that."
"Me neither," his friend said. Harry shot him a surprised look. "What? Harry, we can't ignore the arguments the two of them get into. It's always been that way. Ron always hurt Hermione without even thinking and now she's dating him? That's a dumb decision on Hermione's part."
Neville colored once he realized what he said about Hermione to Harry. "Sorry....I-I didn't--"
"No. It's alright." Harry couldn't believe Neville was actually agreeing with him. He liked how Neville had changed. Sure, he was still a bit shy but when he talked to Harry, Harry could see that there was a different Neville Longbottom underneath. He grinned, "I'm glad you feel the same way as me."
"See...in the last row, I almost, well, told Hermione that I liked her and that the only reason I was not hanging out with her anymore was because she was still dating Ron."
"Ron was there too?"
"Yeah."
"And what did you do?"
"I...ran?"
Neville laughed. "Very brave."
Harry smiled back and shrugged. "I didn't know what to do. She asked if I had a problem with her and Ron and...I couldn't even answer. It was the perfect moment to just let it all out and I fled."
"Then it wasn't the perfect moment," Neville wisely said. The Boy-Who-Lived smiled slightly.
"You remember when you thanked me the other day?"
Neville nodded, "Yeah."
"Well, I should be the one thanking you. You don't know how much you changed me...I'm just…really glad that you're my friend,"
"Harry, I-no, I'm not that-"
Harry frowned. "You're a good person. And very brave too. Weren't you with me on that day in the Department of Mysteries? Aren't you here now, talking to me?"
Neville's face flustered as he heard Harry's praise for him.
"Oh hey, there's Luna," Neville pointed up at the hill that faced Hagrid's Hut, effectively changing the subject. The Ravenclaw was sitting on top of it in Indian style. She appeared to be meditating...
...but when Harry and Neville decided to move closer, they were shocked to find that she was crying.
"Luna! A-are you alright?" Neville asked immediately, kneeling in front of her.
Slowly, Luna opened her eyes and tipped her head back so that she saw the sky. Neville glanced nervously at Harry and then placed a hand on her shoulder. Luna's light blue eyes met Neville's, tears spilling down her cheeks.
Harry stood aside, silently watching the younger girl. He always found it odd how she never blinked when someone insulted her. Now he knew that she was hiding all of it; the hurt, the pain, and the torture of being different from everyone else. Harry remembered what it was like for him to be different in the Muggle World. But he wasn't as good as Luna with holding in his hurt. That was why he was such a good target to Dudley and his gang.
He asked softly, "What happened, Luna?"
"I went to visit Draco in the tower," she sniffed.
Harry stiffened, "Draco Malfoy did this to you?"
Luna shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "No."
"Well, then who?" Neville inquired.
"Malfoy did it."
Harry looked at her, bewildered. "But I thought you just said--"
"Draco didn't do it. Malfoy did it. They're two separate people now."
Neville and Harry backed away to give her space as she stood up. She brushed the grass off her flowing skirt and then reached into her bag to grab a handkerchief. She blew her noise loudly, causing Neville to jump. Harry shot him an amused look before quickly sobering.
"Draco knows what's wrong. Malfoy still wants to be with his father. Malfoy's trying to take over again but there's something that's stopping him."
"Oh," said Neville. "But is everything else alright...I mean physically?"
Luna shook her head, vanishing the handkerchief with her wand. "Thank you. You helped me a lot."
Harry had a feeling that she wasn't just talking about what they did just now. He nodded back, silently agreeing to never let her cry again.
The three of them fell in step together, walking in no particular direction. The atmosphere was peaceful. The silence was not awkward but companionable. It made Harry feel glad that he decided to post the noticed on the board.
"Poor Draco," Luna sighed all of the sudden as she walked between them.
"What are you talking about, Luna? He just hurt you today!" Neville exclaimed, looking at Luna as if she suddenly gone crazy. Actually, Luna was already crazy...but Neville didn't think of that. She smiled at him, finally acting like her normal self.
"Neville," she sang melodically as she bent down to pluck a long strand of grass. She sort of skipped towards her friend and handed the bewildered Gryffindor her "present".
"I'm talking about what happened to his father."
Neville's mouth formed an "o" and then he nodded. He gestured towards her with the flower in his grip, "Er...thanks." Harry, however, was still confused.
"Malfoy's father is in Azkaban! What could have happened to him?"
Luna gazed at Harry as if she was analyzing him. Then, she removed her bookbag and turned it upside down. The contents fell on the grass in heaping amounts. It was a wonder how she kept everything inside, in yet her bag looked normal. Harry supposed she used an enlargement charm on the inside.
Luna knelt down and began to sort through her items. Neville and Harry exchanged glances before doing the same and pawing through her books, odd jewelries, and a collection of quills.
"Ah, yes!" Luna lifted a very heavy textbook and picked something up from underneath. In her palm was a miniscule piece of parchment. Harry gazed down at it and then shot her a questioning look.
She took out her wand and muttered some charm, instantly turning the item to its original size. It was the Daily Prophet.
"Luna...if you have all your text books and other stuff at original size in your book bag, why do you bother to shrink the Daily Prophet?" asked Neville.
Luna appeared to not have heard her friend and splayed the Newspaper on the ground so all three could see the cover.
LUCIUS MALFOY ESCAPES FROM AZKABAN, THEN CAPTURED AGAIN BY AURORS.
Harry read on about how Malfoy's father had help from his Death Eaters, and they blew a chunk of the prison structure. Luckily, Aurors, who were visiting a suspect at a nearby cell, were able to call reinforcement and capture Lucius and his friends.
"And how does this make you sympathize Malfoy?"
Her dreamy expression was lost at once and Luna frowned, the sadness an expression foreign to her face. "Draco went to see his father."
Harry remembered how he had defended father during their attempt to change Draco's ways. Even though Draco's parents were now divorced and Lucius had disowned him, Draco still cared and held loyalty to the Death Eater. In a nervous voice (for Luna seemed deeply affected by this), he asked, "What did Lucius say to him?"
Luna sighed, absentmindedly picking up her belongings. "I suspect that his father called him some names and refused to speak to his son after that. Narcissa Malfoy must have pulled Draco away because he didn't want to leave."
"So he's changing then," Harry whispered, more to himself than the other two, but Luna heard.
"I believe significantly. But he's reluctant. Stubbornly so…" She closed her bag in finality and let out a breathy sigh. Squinting, she gazed up at the sky with her hand shading her eyes.
"Oh," she said regretfully.
"What?" Neville did the same as she but saw nothing in the clear, blue firmaments.
"The Lysofits are so far away," she murmured. In answer to Harry's look, she explained, "It's not very astonishing that you never heard of them. They're extremely rare."
"What exactly do you see, Luna? Because, I see nothing."
"You have to call them, Neville. Like this," Luna said. She clapped her hands together and then raised her arms to the skies. She called out a sound that Harry could only connect to an Indian's call, shaking her head as she did so. Neville and him watched in bemusement. "See? Oh--they're coming!" Luna pointed to a spot in the skies, apparently seeing the Lysofrits.
Harry and Neville still couldn't see anything.
"Oh, they're shy! Here, Neville...call them!" The Ravenclaw grabbed Neville's hand and clapped them for him. The boy was too afraid to pull them away.
"You have to do it like you mean it, Neville!" Luna clapped again, encouraging a weak clap from Neville. "Harry, do you--"
"No, no. I'm fine," answered Harry with a wide grin on his face. Neville glared at him.
"Just clap your hands, Neville. They'll come, I promise."
Neville sighed loudly and did as his friend commanded, clapping soundly and then calling out.
Harry walked slowly behind them, thoroughly amused at the sounds they were making together and how ridiculous they seemed to look. Luna didn't even mind while Neville was apparently getting into the Lysofits' call.
The only problem was: they were walking down a hill. Neville called out again, with Luna walking ahead. His back was turned and he was facing Harry. He was laughing as he did his unique call, now forgetting his awkwardness from before.
"Neville--no, stop....hill!"
He realized too soon. "Bloody--" Neville waved his arms in a windmill fashion, attempting to regain his balance. His body failed him and Harry watched as he fell back, onto the ground and began rolling down the hill. Luna, who was oblivious to her friend's approach, was knocked down by surprise as Neville's body collided into the back of her knees. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were caught in a tangle as they somersaulted until they reached a flat area.
Harry sprinted to see if his friends were alright.
And they were.
Luna began to laugh as she lay beneath Neville. He groaned as he picked himself up, holding his head. Harry and him watched the girl laugh as if rolling down a hill and potentially hurting themselves was the world's funniest joke.
Harry's worry was gone and now he couldn't stop a small smile from appearing on his face. Soon enough, laughter was bubbling in his throat and escaped through as he sunk onto his knees and side, holding his stomach to stop the ache. The two Gryffindors and Ravenclaw lay on the ground, rolling on the ground and letting their cries of laughter merge into the winds of November.
I'm terribly sorry for the miniscule Harry/Hermione in this one. Initially I was planning on making this a friendship story between Luna, Neville, and Draco but I also wanted to post this on Portkey.org, which was why I added the little situation between the Golden Trio. I'm sorry; I'll work on it. But the LND thing is crucial to the plot…In the end it will be Harry/Hermione.
Check out my latest chapter of Operation CoJacks and also my other one-shots if you feel up to more Viopathartic awesomeness.
Until next time,
Le