Into Your Gravity ( Luna Lovegood & Tom Riddle )

Chapter twenty-two: If Home Is Where The Heart Is

"It feels like I've been everywhere
But someday I'll be coming home."
-John Legend
  •

The days following the night in the Room of Requirement and leading up to her departure were blurred and the memories unclear. Tom was not seen in class for those days, and she did not see him again. No one in the Slytherin house would tell her where he was. Rumors spread like wildfire through the school about why Luna looked like a ghost and Tom was nowhere to be found.

After dinner one night, Professor Dumbledore caught Luna before she left the Great Hall. "It's time," he muttered. "Come to my office tonight when you are ready."

Luna went to her dormitory and quickly wrote notes for Lucinda, Lorraine, and Tristy. She spent longer on Cat's note, but it was still fairly short. She briefly considered writing a note for Tom, but rejected the idea. She had nothing left to say.

She placed each of the girls' notes on their bedside tables. Then she put her wand behind her ear and carefully tucked Tom's necklace beneath her blouse. She scooped Othello up and left the dormitory.

Upon reaching Dumbledore's office, she knocked quietly. "Come in, Miss Lovegood."

She entered to find Dumbledore waiting for her, sitting behind his desk, fingertips pressed together under his chin. He gave her a small smile. "Ready, then?"

Luna nodded.

Dumbledore stood from his chair. He picked up what looked like a Time-Turner, only it was silver rather than gold. He draped the thin chain around her neck. "I suppose it's safer to travel into the future. If a mistake is made, at least you know you're coming." He smiled, but the lack of the twinkle in his eyes gave him away. He rested a hand on her thin shoulder. "There are no words, Miss Lovegood. Your time here was a blessing for all who have met you. I look forward to seeing you again someday. Goodbye, Miss Lovegood." He winked, and before she could speak, she realized he had been turning the tiny hourglass. And then Dumbledore and his office were gone.

She was returned to her own time precisely on the day she was first ripped backward into the past. She reappeared in the now-empty office. She set Othello down, who looked ruffled and put-out after his time-traveling venture. He walked slowly down the hall, sniffing carefully at all the unfamiliar scents in what was a familiar corridor. Luna then drifted down to the Great Hall, where the first year students were still in the process of being sorted.

She hovered in the entry to the Great Hall, her Great Hall, not Tom's. She watched as a small blonde girl scuttled to the stool with the Sorting Hate perched upon it. Everything seemed surreal to Luna at this moment. She was accustomed to disruptions in her life, and she was equally accustomed to the way the world continued on in spite of these disruptions. So the smiling faces on her peers, despite the shape her own heart was in, did not bother her. All that bothered her was she was afraid she wouldn't be able to keep up with the world this time.

Her thoughts, as well as the relative quiet over the Hall as the Hat thought, were shattered by a shriek coming from a mass of brown hair hurtling towards her.

"OHMYGODLUNAYOU'REALRIGHTYOU'REALRIGHT!" Hermione screamed. She threw her arms around Luna and once again began sobbing uncontrollably. "I was so worried," she sobbed. Luna patted her back comfortingly as Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Neville made their way over to her as well.

"Don't kill her, Hermione. She's only just got back," Harry said, grinning a lopsided grin.

Ginny pried Hermione off of Luna, giving Ron, Harry, and Neville each a chance to hug Luna. After Ginny had hugged her herself, the six of them turned back toward the Great Hall. Hundreds of eyes were staring at them. Hermione, still sniffing, cried, "Nothing's going on here! Continue with the Sorting!"