Under the Invisibility Cloak

Lies and Scars

Harry left the Astronomy Tower in severe pain. He hadn't thought about how much this rejection would hurt. If he thought the pain he had felt last week was bad, it was nothing compared to this. He felt like a knife was twisting into his heart and every part of him from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes were pulsing with pain.

Harry's head was the cause of all this as it filled with all the worst possibilities. What would he do if Draco decided he didn't want to remember their relationship? Harry knew that he'd have to take a forgetfulness potion too, if he was to survive that pain. But would he want to survive it? He didn't know how'd he get through the rest of the year without the warmth that Draco had brought into it.

As all these thoughts ran through his head, Harry's feet carried him wherever they pleased. Before long, he found himself at the top of a tower. He blinked and looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

Owls. Owls? Must be in the Owlery then. Suddenly the floor was getting closer to Harry's face. Why was it getting closer? He figured out too late that he was falling. Why was he falling? He wasn't sure but he was mildly surprised to find that he couldn't feel any pain from his fall. Maybe he had fallen onto something soft, or maybe his internal pain was blocking out any other pain.

Harry found no point in moving after he had fallen. He lay there, replaying the day's events over and over in his head. The decorating, the charm work, explaining things to Dobby, the preparation for the worst (setting up the forgetfulness potion and the pictures of Harry), the extreme nervousness as he waited for Draco and then Draco's reaction. The anger of his words. The confusion and dread in his face.

Harry's heart seemed to brake more and more the more he realized the chances of Draco wanting be with him were tiny. He was so lost in his own horror filled head that he didn't even notice that someone else was in the room until that someone rolled him over.

"Harry, are you alright?" asked a soft voice.

Harry opened his eyes that he hadn't even realized were closed and blinked against the wand light that bathed the room. He squinted past it, trying to see who was holding the wand. A soft face framed by curly blond hair came into focus. Luna Lovegood.

"Harry?" she said when he didn't respond. Her normally dreamy voice was now laced with worry. "Should I get someone?"

"No," Harry said at once, trying to sound forceful but it came out a mere whisper. He didn't want to see anyone at the moment who wasn't Draco Malfoy, especially not a concerned teacher.

"Alright," Luna said cautiously. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you on the floor?"

"I think I tripped," he said, a little sheepishly as he realized how dumb that sounded. To change the subject, he asked, "What are you doing up here?" He couldn't see a letter in her hand and it was almost time for everyone to be in their beds.

"Oh, I come up here every night to scare off the Blibbering Humdingers," she said brightly. "They like to bother the owls at night."

Harry just stared at her, not knowing what to say after that. Luckily, Luna was good at filling up uncomfortable silences, seeing that they happen to her quite often.

"So, what brings you up here this evening? Is this your favorite place to trip?" she asked seriously, as though that was a perfect explanation for Harry's weird behavior, and Harry couldn't help but crack a tiny smile.

"No, I wouldn't say it is. My feet just sort of carried me up here and I didn't mean to fall."

Luna nodded wisely. "Sometimes I let my feet carry me places too. It's always interesting where they end up isn't it?" Harry nodded slightly. "Would you like some company?"