Lily spoke. "At least there aren't any triplets this year."
There was a snort from Sirius. "I'd like to see the family with the balls to try and make nice with all three parties at once."
"A traditionally Gray family might be able to pull it off."
"… I suppose."
"So that brings the total noble houses for the Gray's compartment to three… same as the Dark," said Lord Potter.
"While we're sitting pretty with five. Hah!"
"Sirius…" Lily admonished.
"I know, I know, it's not the most important thing, but still."
Lord Potter spoke. "I've actually heard an interesting rumour about the Gray's next move."
"What?"
Across from her, John's eyes widened in alarm.
"I've been told—"
"DAAAAD!"
All the adult faces turned to their group.
"What?"
John silently made rapid head jerking motions to where Luna sat gazing at the gobstones with a ferocious concentration.
The adult's eyes widened slightly.
Lord Potter coughed. "Ah. Yes. Amelia, would you do the honours?"
A cloud of magic settled over the table, and the grown-ups continued to chat, their voices now muffled to anyone who might listen in.
Luna's gobstone spewed liquid in John's face.
....
Alex and Luna sat on their knees on her four-poster bed. They'd ditched Susan and John again. Amethyst was hunting a sock, which Luna dangled in front of her. The black kitten made a giant leap, misjudged, and tumbled off the bed, landing in a heap of clothes, mewling and clawing.
"So, how do I learn more about Lord Slytherin?"
Luna looked back at her from where she was reaching over the side of the bed. "Lord Slytherin is a very private person, Alex."
"I figured that already."
"He has many secrets that he doesn't give away lightly. He needs to know he can trust those close to him with those secrets absolutely."
"And you're one of those people?"
Luna beamed. "Yes."
"How? I mean what did you do to earn that trust?"
Luna looked up at the ceiling. "I learned what he had to teach."
She huffed. "Well, I haven't been able to learn anything from him because he doesn't want to teach me."
"Lord Slytherin can't teach you until you learn to protect his secrets."
"Protect his… you mean occlumency? I know occlumency already!"
Luna crawled towards her, and placed her hands on her shoulders. Her blonde hair fell in front of her face.
"Umm, Luna?"
Luna flicked her hair back, and fixed her with her silvery gray stare. There was nothing dreamy about it now. "May I?"
Her pupils dilated. "Y-you know legilimency?"
"A bit. May I?"
She hesitated. Then she firmed her resolve and nodded.
Luna leaned forward and rested her forehead on hers. The girl's soft breath tickled her nose. Her heart beat a little quicker and she strengthened her shields, ready for the tell tale tickling that signalled a mind probe. Her whole world seemed to narrow to the silver orbs in front of her.
And then something smashed into her with the ferocity of a mothering nundu. She gasped. She tried to push the presence away, but she might as well have tried to stop a tidal wave. Suddenly Luna was everywhere. Everything was open to her, all her memories, all her emotions, all her fears, hopes, and dreams. She fell forward, and darkness enveloped her.
…
…
…
She was being held. She opened her eyes to see Luna's gray ones gazing down at her with a mixture of resolve and sadness.
"Not nearly good enough, Alex."
She looked away, embarrassed and angry with herself. Her heart raced. She needed to get away. She easily shoved Luna away, and scrambled from the bed. She got two steps before she felt herself being summoned back into Luna's arms. She grabbed the girl's arms from around her waist and plied them off, but still couldn't move. She was stuck. "Let me go!" She wriggled.
"Shhhh…Alex, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Luna's voice was soft and calming. The girl nuzzled the back of her neck. "It's okay, really it is."
She stopped struggling, and trembled. Fear and vulnerability flooded her.
"You found out that you're not as strong as you thought you were. That's fine. No one expects you to be a god."
"Why?" her voice was a whisper. "Why can't I keep you out?"
"Alex, the occlumency lessons given to us before we go to Hogwarts are only supposed to stop stealth and surface intrusion."
"But my tutor did full assaults too!" Her voice started to rise.
"It's quite likely he was holding back. It normally takes a decade of practise before you can keep out a master legilimens, if they're really trying."
Her lip trembled. "But how can you…"
"Lord Slytherin's teaching methods are much better than normal ones, and Harry used those methods when he taught me."
She thought back to when she'd first met Harry. She hung her head. Her grip loosened on Luna's arms, and she felt the girl wrap around her, Luna's chest still pressed to her back.
They stayed like that for whole minutes. Her trembling ceased. She calmed.
Eventually the words slipped from her lips like the single snowflake before the avalanche. "I want to learn."
....
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