Hogwarts High

The Way Back

Mrs. Lovegood met them at the door. "Come in, come in. I found out something interesting..." She hurried them into the parlor. "I finally found a barn owl, and sent Xenophilius a letter explaining the situation. I think I know why we're all here." 

They all looked at each other. Draco took Hermione's hand, squeezing it gently and begging her internally not to talk to anyone else about his father. "When I was blasted here about five years ago, I had just tried to Apparate with Luna, but she let go at the last second, before I arrived here. If Luna Apparates, or tries Side-Along Apparation, everybody ends up here. It happened once to a Muggleborn witch from this town named Dorothy; she ended up at Hogwarts after an accidental Apparation. She ended up returning and telling a Muggle named Frank L. Baum about her adventures, though she spoke in a sort of code to protect the Wizarding World." Mrs. Lovegood explained.

"The cowardly lion... a cowardly Gryffindor?" Hermione muttered.
Mrs. Lovegood nodded. "Yes, Hermione. And the tin man was a Slytherin with a whole other side to him; a side that wasn't so silver." She looked at Draco as she said this.

"Now, Dorothy Gale somehow passed down a gene that transports people here when they try to Apparate in a crisis. When it reached Luna, the gene had already mutated to simply Apparating. And by the way, the Wicked Witch of the West was also a Slytherin. I should have thought that obvious by her 'green skin' meaning robes. Apparently, Hogwarts used to make the Robes the colours of the houses, not the ties."
"Um, Mrs. Lovegood, this is all well and um, good, but how do we get home?" Harry spoke up. 
"We've missed so much school." Hermione sighed. "We'll never catch up!" 

"Lies." Draco huffed. "We will be just fine. The rest of them might have a problem, but again, we will be fine."
 "I'm getting to that, Harry." Mrs. Lovegood noted. "And I'm sure Hogwarts will make an exception, children." 
"Mrs. Lovegood, I think we need to find a way home fast. Today, somebody tried to use the Imperius curse on Hermione." Ginny said.

"Did they, now?" Mrs. Lovegood said, giving Draco another long look.
 "Hey, it wasn't me! It was Jones! I swear it!" Draco huffed, before glaring at her. "Stop assuming I'm evil because I'm a Slytherin. For all you know, it was one of the bloody Gryffindors that did it."
 Mrs. Lovegood nodded like she didn't believe him. "It was Jones, Mrs. Lovegood. He tried the Imperius curse on me, probably was going to try it on the rest of them." Hermione explained. 

Mrs. Lovegood nodded like she was humoring her. "What's that look for?" Ron asked. "It really happened!"
"He's not as problematic as the sister." Mrs. Lovegood said shortly. 
"Wait, what? Kimberley? But she's so nice." Ginny argued. 
Mrs. Lovegood shrugged. "Okay, now have any of you tried Apparating with Luna? I think you'll only get back to Hogwarts that way. It also seems she took all of your energy that makes up Apparating, that's why I couldn't go home."
 "Sorry, Mother." Luna muttered. 
 "Don't be silly, Luna! You were only nine, and couldn't control your magic."

"So. How do we get home?" asked Ron impatiently.
"Get anything you wish to bring, and we will meet back in here in an hour." Mrs. Lovegood said. Grumbling, Ron was the first to get up. Everyone went back to their rooms, and in an hour, they had all collected all of their worldly possessions in Mrs. Lovegood's house. "Before I forget, go teach that Jones boy a lesson. And perhaps his scheming sister. I have a feeling she's behind most of it." Mrs. Lovegood said to one of her cats. Kimberley? She's annoying, and weirder than Luna, but she's so nice! 

Hermione thought. But all she said was, "Animagus?"
Mrs. Lovegood nodded. "Chiara is a very old and dear friend of mine. She thinks the lot of you are very nice, but she prefers being a cat to being a human most of the time." 
"She must have put a lot of work into becoming an unregistered animagus." Luna noted. 
Mrs. Lovegood smiled. "Such a smart girl! Yes, she is unregistered. Now, everyone crowd around Luna." They all obliged. "Okay now, Luna, think of the house you share with your father." Mrs. Lovegood commanded.

Luna obliged, and everyone closed their eyes, and felt a churning sensation. When they opened their eyes, they were standing in Luna's living room, with Mr. Lovegood staring at them. "L-Lydia?" He said. Mrs. Lovegood nodded. "Xenophilius, I have been stuck in Kansas for six years, with no memory of anything after graduation until I saw Luna." Mr. Lovegood's attention turned to Luna. "Luna? You're alive! I was so worried when the Dark Lord took you!"
"See? We told you he was back." Ron told Draco. 

"Is that what everyone thought?" Harry asked. "That Voldemort kidnapped us?" 
"No no no. Don't say the name. Names have power." Xenophilius hushed. "And no, no one thought that the Chosen One had been taken by the Dark Lord. Just... Luna."
 "Bloody hell!" Someone said. They all turned around. It was Ron, Harry and Hermione.