Girl Who Survived: Book Two {Harry Potter: Order of Phoenix}

[Chapter Ten: Luna Lovegood]

[Chapter 10: Luna Lovegood]



My sleep was choppy and restless. I kept waking up from countless nightmares of being chased, and killed. I always awoke with a jolt before anything seriously bad happened to me.


"… better hurry up, Mum's going ballistic, she says we're going to miss the train." Ginny said, shaking my side slightly. Hurriedly, she began back down the stairs.


There was a lot of commotion in the house. From what I heard as I dressed, I gathered that Fred and George had bewitched their trunks to fly downstairs to save the bother of carrying them, with the result that they had hurtled straight into Ginny and knocked her down two flights of stairs into the hall; Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley were both screaming at the top of their voices.


“— COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS—"


“— FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS —“


Luckily, I wasn’t very frantic over the next few minutes. All I had to do was put my trunks with the others. Simba doesn’t have much problem with traveling. He copes very well to sudden changes, and normally just sleeps in my pack. I walked into Harry’s room, Simba perched in my arms, to see a scatter-brained looking Hermione. She was rambling on about something with Crookshanks wriggling in her arms and Hedwig perched on her shoulder.


“Eye's complaining that we can't leave unless Sturgis Podmore's here, otherwise the guard will be one short.” Said Hermione.


“Guard?” asked Harry.


“We have to go to King's Cross with a guard?” I inquired, putting myself into the conversation.


“No, the two of you have to go to King's Cross with a guard,” Hermione corrected me, waving a finger at both of us.


"Why?" said Harry irritably. "I thought Voldemort was supposed to be lying low, or are you telling me he's going to jump out from behind a dustbin to try to kidnap one of us?"


"I don't know, it's just what Mad-Eye says," said Hermione distractedly, looking at her watch, "But if we don't leave soon we're definitely going to miss the train…"


"WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE?" Mrs. Weasley bellowed and Hermione jumped as though scolded and hurried out of the room. Harry seized Hedwig, stuffed her unceremoniously into her cage, and set off downstairs after Hermione, dragging his trunk. I was the last to leave behind them and Simba just purred.


Mrs. Black's portrait was howling with rage but nobody was bothering to close the curtains over her; all the noise in the hall was bound to rouse her again, anyway.


"Harry, Acacia, the two of you are coming with me and Tonks," shouted Mrs. Weasley— over the repeated screeches of "MUDBLOODS! SCUM! CREATURES OF DIRT!" — "Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage… oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!"


A bear-like black dog had appeared at Harry's side as he was clambering over all of the trunks cluttering the hall to get to Mrs. Weasley. I set down my trunk and stuck Simba into my backpack. He hates his cage, and there's no way I'm leaving him to Mad-Eye.


"Oh honestly…" said Mrs. Weasley despairingly. "Well, on your own head be it!"


She wrenched open the front door and stepped out into the weak September sunlight. Harry, the dog, and I followed her. The door slammed behind us and Mrs. Black’s screeches were cut off instantly.


"Where's Tonks?" Harry said, looking around as we went down the stone steps of number twelve, which vanished the moment we reached the pavement.


"She's waiting for us just up here," said Mrs. Weasley stiffly, averting her eyes from the lolloping black dog in-between Harry and me.


An old woman greeted us on the corner. She had tightly curled grey hair and wore a purple hat shaped like a pork pie.


"Wotcher," she said, winking. "Better hurry up, hadn't we, Molly?" she added, checking her watch.


"I know, I know," moaned Mrs. Weasley, lengthening her stride, "But Mad-Eye wanted to wait for Sturgis… if only Arthur could have got us cars from the Ministry again… but Fudge won't let him borrow so much as an empty ink bottle these days… how Muggles can stand travelling without magic."


But the great black dog gave a joyful bark and gamboled around us, snapping at pigeons and chasing its own tail. I couldn't help laughing. Sirius had been trapped inside for a very long time. Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips in an almost Petunia-ish way.


It took us about twenty minutes to reach King's Cross on foot and nothing more eventful happened during that time than Sirius scaring a couple of cats for mine and Harry's entertainment. Once inside the station we lingered casually beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten until the coast was clear, then each of us leaned against it in turn and fell easily through on to platform nine and three-quarters, where the Hogwarts Express stood belching sooty steam over a platform packed with departing students and their families. I inhaled the familiar smell and felt my spirits soar… I was really going back…


"I hope the others make it in time," said Mrs. Weasley anxiously, staring behind her at the wrought-iron arch spanning the platform, through which new arrivals would come.


"Nice dog, Harry!" called a tall boy with dreadlocks.


"Thanks, Lee," said Harry, grinning, as Sirius wagged his tail frantically.


"Hi Ash!" Lee called. I responded with a wave and smile.


"Oh good," said Mrs. Weasley, sounding relieved, "Here's Alastor with the luggage, look…"


A porter's cap pulled low over his mismatched eyes, Moody came limping through the archway pushing a trolley loaded with our trunks.


"All okay," He muttered to Mrs. Weasley and Tonks, "Don't think we were followed…"


Seconds later, Mr. Weasley emerged on to the platform with Ron and Hermione. They had almost unloaded Moody's luggage trolley when Fred, George and Ginny turned up with Lupin.


"No trouble?" growled Moody.


"Nothing," said Lupin.


"I'll still be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore," said Moody, "That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus."


"Well, look after yourselves," said Lupin, shaking hands all around. He reached Harry and me last.


He looked at us with fond eyes, "Especially you two."


"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled," said Moody, stepping over to Harry and me as well. "And don't forget, all of you - careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."


He then looked at me directly, "Stay out of trouble. I know it's hard for you to blend in, but try. I also know we aren't too fond of each other, but listen to me when I say it would be best if you kept a low profile."


I just nodded at him. Admittedly, I was terrified of what would happen if I ever fell into Voldemort's clutches. For once, I was willing to do what Mad-Eye was asking of me.


"It's been great meeting all of you," said Tonks, hugging Hermione and Ginny, "We'll see you soon, I expect."


Tonks walked over to hug me, "Remember, Ash. Try not to give them too much hell. Mind your mischief; we don't need you in any predicaments this year."