Chapter 56

It was comforting, to see the blonde he remembered so well retain the personality that suited her. "Hello Luna."

Ginny, seemingly a bit more comfortable with his presence, looked back and forth between them in surprise, "I didn't know you knew him Luna…" she whispered, earning an even brighter smile and a nod from her friend.

"Oh yes, Harry and I are very good friends, we knew each other from his original world."

Harry, naturally, glanced over at his two sisters, a hint of the look that their parents would give them when the older individuals knew they had done something wrong even without being told.

Amaryllis, however, took up the argument for their innocence. "I didn't say anything, I swear." Harriet nodded in agreement a second later.

Luna, however, merely giggled, "Of course not, I've been speaking with the other Luna, we talk a lot." The male in the carriage had begun to wave the comment off as another of the blonde's many oddities when she continued. "She said we normally become friends in our fifth year, and that we even went to a party together where I wore a very pretty yellow dress, but I wanted to meet you sooner. Other Luna told me you were very cute."

He stilled, the world seemed to still, because Harry most certainly had not mentioned those details to anyone since arriving. But then, how did she know?

The girl's eyes became softer, her voice gentle as if speaking to a frightened animal. "They are okay Harry. Everyone who went with you to the Ministry. They are all okay. She said they miss you, but everyone made it out, just a few scrapes and bruises."

Somewhere deep inside a dam broke, and tears pooled in his eyes. Tears of relief, of sorrow, of joy, of loss. He missed them, his friends, his adopted family, but knowing they were okay, knowing nothing bad had happened was such a weight removed from his shoulders that he nearly collapsed.

The other occupants looked as if they wanted to ask more, to pry into the conversation, but each held back.

****

"Hey Ginny, could I see the books in your trunk for a second?" The request clearly confused the redhead for a moment, as she stared back in silence before lighting up in a blush and hurriedly retrieving her storage before handing it over.

As he began to rummage through it, checking each object in turn, it earned a question from Hermione, "Harry, what are you doing?"

"Hm? Oh, just checking to see if they change textbooks every year or not." It was a lie, a bad one but it appeared no one was going to call him out on it, at least not immediately. Luna even gave him a warm, understanding, smile.

To his relief there was no mysterious journal, no cursed objects that he could see, no blank notebooks that might possess her. For the first time in over half a year he allowed himself to relax and the belief that there would be no further catastrophes.

At least that was his hope.

****

It had been less than a month and yet Grace Riddle felt as if she had gone nearly a year without seeing the boy sitting down at her House's table.

Pathetic

Outrageous

Ridiculous… and yet she couldn't help it. No longer was it a simple little tug in her mind that drew her attention or an above-average skill. She had studied him the previous year, even when he was unaware of her presence, and what she came to know as the real Harry Potter was astounding.

It was more than just his origin into their world, more than just the way he seemed to ignore the very laws of magic. He was a prodigy among prodigies, surpassing her own skill at his age, and likely Dumbledore's as well. Even without the difference between his mental and physical age it was almost preposterous how powerful and talented he was.

Patronus in his third year with no Magical upbringing? Unheard of.

Still, it was even more than his abilities. If it were just those, sure she would have offered him private lessons and tutoring but not an apprenticeship. Even if she would have considered it the rules would have been on her terms, not his and his families.

She damn well wouldn't have been so obsessed with him.

Something bad had happened to him, more than just what he let on. His parents murdered, growing up among Muggles, forced to, at the very least, retrieve the Philosopher Stone from a sociopath while avoiding said monster's attempts to murder him. All of that and he kept fighting, kept resisting, kept ensuring that those around him were safe.

If it were her… well, she had been told what the male version of her had done after a childhood of neglect.

As usual the Sorting Ceremony commenced, but this year it held far less of her attention than ever before. She would glance up at each student as they approached, examine them for a moment, before switching back to the more interesting subject of her borderline obsession.

That is until a certain blonde made her way to the stool.

Lovegood

She vaguely remembered the name, but this fact was quickly discarded for a far more pressing one. Harry was staring at the girl, openly with warmth in his eyes. It was when she discovered this that she noticed the girl looking back at him even with the hat on her head.

There was an obvious connection between them, maybe they were friends in his former life. 'Maybe they were more' a voice whispered, one she quickly identified as resembling her mother's.

No, no she wasn't going to do this, wasn't going to allow that woman into her head after all the years of ignoring her, wasn't going to become jealous over the friendship between two students.

When the Sorting Hat announced her as Ravenclaw, however, a sigh of relief escaped her lips, quickly turning into something ugly when the blonde waved happily at the Slytherin table, at Harry.

"It seems they know each other." Filius chimed in 'helpfully' as if she couldn't notice the obvious. "We could always use more inter-house relations."

Grace's eyes snapped over to the smaller man, preparing to tell him that there would be no relations between Harry and anyone, but the half-Goblin had already moved on, clearly thinking nothing about his comment or the fire it lit inside of his fellow professor.

Following the feast Harry would take the usual route back to the common rooms with the rest of his House. He would unpack with Crabbe and Goyle, taking the area closest to the door as before, would get ready and change for the evening.

Then he would sleep. He would sleep more peacefully than he had in what felt to be years. They were safe, his friends were okay, everyone was alive and well. His sacrifice hadn't doomed them, everything would be okay.

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