Heaven ♡ Luna Lovegood

02.

Chapter Two;

Hmm... very kind, I can see, and considerate too... You are definitely easy to place, Miss Wilkinson! HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff table was nice enough, but Annie wished she was either at the Ravenclaw table with Luna, or the Gryffindors table with Ginny and Neville. She knew them somewhat, and felt comfortable around them. She didn't know anyone at the Hufflepuff table, and in the quiet and subdued Great Hall, she was nervous to speak up.

At least she hadn't been the only new arrival who hadn't been a first year. A handful of students in second year and above had been present for Sorting as well. Obviously they'd been in Annie's position; either home schooled or studying abroad previously.

Hardly anyone spoke. In the presence of three Death Eaters, most of the students talked in whispers and murmured and ate their food, not wanting to direct attention. Although she avoided glancing at the staff table, Annie was sure she could feel the eyes of the Carrows sweeping the Hall, searching for troublemakers. Severus Snape had decreed they were in charge of punishment.

It was a relief when dinner finished, after being released by Snape (who had also set down a long list of strict rules, which included things such as a curfew) - Annie wanted nothing else but to escape the Hall.

The scrapes of chairs was a relief to hear after the previous suffocating silence. Before she followed everyone else to the Hufflepuff common room, Annie pushed her way over to the group of Ravenclaws swarming outside - in particular a certain dirty-blonde girl who stood out amongst them all.

"Luna!" Annie gasped, once she was close enough.

Luna turned, a pleasant smile on her face. "Hello, Annie. How was dinner?"

"It was delicious, but..." Annie's face fell. "I wish I'd been Sorted in Ravenclaw." It would have been such a reassurance to have Luna siting by her side.

"It would have been nice. There's a lot of nice people in Hufflepuff, though, so you won't be alone."

Ginny Weasley approached the two of them. "You might want to move Luna, Annie," she said in a low close as she passed, on her way to the Gryffindor common room. "The Carrows are watching."

Annie didn't dare to look back to check.

"I'll see you around, Luna," she said tersely, waving.

Luna smiled back. Annie blinked. It was a bright smile, one that Annie didn't think possible in a place as dark as Hogwarts. It was almost like finding a hint of sun somewhere deep underground.

"Goodnight, Annie," Luna said, and skipped away.

Annie found she was staring after Luna, mesmerised and stunned. She then shook herself and followed several Hufflepuffs to their common room, Luna's smile still on her mind.

+++

Breakfast was just as subdued the next morning as it had been at dinner. Annie barely ate anything, her anxiety for her first day causing massive butterflies to attack her stomach. She was sure she'd throw up if she put too much into her stomach.

Lack of sleep didn't help, either. Though the Hufflepuff common room was warm and comfortable, Annie had spent the night up late worrying about the next day.

When breakfast finished, teachers bustled down to hand out timetables. Professor Sprout, Hufflepuff's Head of House, struck Annie as a rather kind woman, with her reassuring and encouraging smile.

"You're one of our new students, aren't you?" she asked brightly when she reached Annie. "Annie Wilkinson, am I correct?"

Annie nodded. "Yes, Professor."

"Hmm..." Professor Sprout looked over her chosen subjects. "Herbology, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Transfiguration... and, of course, Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts." Her face darkened at the last two, but it cleared quickly and she instead smiled. "All very good. Especially Herbology, I look forward to seeing you in my class, Miss Wilkinson! Here's your timetable, your first class starts in half an hour, you might want to get a move on."

Annie bobbed her head and leapt to her feet. She glanced down at her timetable. Muggle Studies first period.

And she had no idea where the class was.

Annie's eyes instantly slipped to the Ravenclaw table, where Luna was just standing having received her timetable from Professor Flitwick.

Annie ran over to her side at once. "What class do you have first?" she asked breathlessly. She hoped it was Muggle Studies, first so she had someone she knew in the class, and second so she didn't get lost. She doubted Alecto Carrow would take 'being lost' as an acceptable excuse and wouldn't hesitate to put her straight in detention.

Detention with either of the Carrows was something Annie desperately wanted to avoid.

Luna considered her timetable. "Muggle Studies," she said, and Annie's shoulders sagged in relief. "Yourself?"

"Same." Luna smiled.

"You two have Muggle Studies as well?" a new voice asked from behind them. It was Ginny. The redhead pulled a face when the others nodded. "I doubt this class will be much fun at all. Let's go and get it over with."

Nothing could have prepared Annie for what awaited her.