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“What are you doing here, Luna?” Harry asked.
Luna looked like she’d been through the wringer standing at the entrance to the Gryffinor common room. She was trembling, and looked at least three shades paler than her usual pallor. Harry stepped aside to let her in, but instead of going inside, she ran to bury her face in Harry’s chest. Harry raised his eyebrows, but wrapped an arm around the younger girl regardless.
Harry awkwardly maneuvered himself and Luna across the common room, ignoring the odd looks they got as they climbed the stairs. Dean, the only other person in his dorm, quickly left once he realized that Harry and Luna could use some privacy. The two sat on the bed and Harry waited patiently until Luna managed to extract herself from his shoulder and sat sniffling.
Harry waited another moment before asking, “What happened? Are you okay?”
Luna sniffed. “The other girls… are taking my things again. And I need Pepe,” she whispered.
Harry didn’t know who or what Pepe was, but he nodded anyway. He studied the girl’s face. She was pale, yes, but she had red spots on her cheeks, and her eyes looked glassy. Was she ill?
“…Do you want me to get Ginny?” Harry asked Luna. She nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back soon, alright?”
Harry hurried back down to the common room. Ginny wasn’t there, but Harry got one of the other girls to fetch her from her dorm. He told her about Luna, then asked, “Who’s Pepe?”
Ginny’s eyes widened. “You know that little toy Hippogriff she carries around? That’s Pepe.”
“Oh….”
“It’s like a comfort item,” Ginny continued. “So of course she wants it if she’s sick….”
“I’ll talk to a Ravenclaw Prefect,” Harry said. “Can you see if you can get Luna to the Hospital Wing?”
Ginny nodded. “Yeah. Where is she? Your dorm?”
“Yeah, she should be on the bed. I’ll meet you in the Hospital Wing?”
Ginny nodded and they parted ways.
Harry headed straight for the library to look for a Ravenclaw Prefect. He came across Padma Patil quietly reading at a table in the corner, and sat next to her to get her attention. She looked up.
“Patil. Can I talk to you for a second?”
Patil nodded. “What is it?” she asked.
“It’s about Luna Lovegood. She’s being bullied. I’ve tried to talk to her dorm-mates myself, but they don’t listen. Perhaps if it was a Prefect they’d stop.”
Patil looked sympathetic. “What exactly are they doing?”
Harry sighed. “They call her names, and steal her stuff. I’ve found her walking around with no shoes on because they were all stolen and hidden.”
“Okay…. I’ll look into it. I can’t promise they’ll listen to me, but if they keep doing it, tell me and we can talk to Professor Flitwick.”
“Thank you,” Harry replied. “Luna doesn’t feel comfortable going to ask for help with these things. She’s just gotten used to it.”
“That’s terrible!”
“Yeah, I know. But we’ll figure it out.”
“Definitely. Well, thank you for telling me.”
“Of course!”