When Luna awoke, she instantly knew that something was wrong without having to open her eyes; slowly turning onto her side, Luna felt something tickle her nose, causing her eyes to shoot open in alarm.
As she sat up, her alarm turned to horror; Luna's bed was covered in red feathers and what looked horribly like dried blood.
Only covering her mouth with her hands stopped Luna from shrieking in sudden terror and awakening her dormmates; as she stared at the horrible mess, Luna tried to shuffle away from the feathers until she felt her back press against her headboard.
Unable to tear her eyes away from the horrifying mess, Luna pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as tears began to run freely down her cheeks; for weeks now, Luna had been blacking out and could never remember where she had been when she came to. As Luna lowered her head and rested it on her knees, she desperately tried to remember what had happened the previous night; she remembered Harry asking if she was okay during breakfast, then she had yelled at him and stormed off. She felt guilt hit her like a train at that and began to sob even harder; for weeks now, Luna felt like someone else had taken over her body. She seemed to always feel a simmering level of anger just beneath the surface and would lash out like an injured animal at anyone who came too close to her.
She had immediately regretted lashing out at Harry at breakfast and had wanted to apologize to him almost as soon as she ran out of the Great Hall; only shame and distraction had kept her from doing so, as she needed to immediately run to class.
As the day went on, Luna's shame had grown, and she found herself unable to even look at her friend when lunch came, choosing instead to simply sit by herself at the far end of Ravenclaw table.
The last thing that Luna remembered was dropping off her bag after her last class, intending to head down to the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast; now, she had woken up surrounded by blood and feathers, with no idea how such a thing had occurred.
"Someone…." Luna whimpered softly as her dormmates slept on unknowingly, "Help me…"
XXXX
"Harry Weasley, you tell me his name this instant or so help me!" Molly roared as she stared down at her youngest son. Dumbledore had wisely (or unwisely, depending on who you ask) chosen to wait to inform Molly and Arthur about Harry's attack, as well as what had happened to Mrs. Norris, until the following day.
Naturally, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had come barreling through Dumbledore's fireplace, with Sirius in tow, and immediately began demanding answers; unfortunately, Albus had none to give, neither about the attack on Mrs. Norris nor about the attack on Harry that had resulted in two broken ribs as well as a host of other injuries.
After realizing that Dumbledore had nothing to tell them, Sirius and the Weasleys marched down to the Hospital Wing just as Harry was taking his breakfast; sitting on the bed next to him were Hermione and Ron, both of whom were looking suddenly nervous.
After quickly hugging her sons and making sure that Harry was okay, Molly immediately began demanding answers as to how Harry had appeared so injured; but Harry refused to say who had attacked him, saying only that it "Was too dark" and "That he didn't get a good look at his attacker."
Years of raising seven children, though, had unfortunately given Molly the ability to spot a lie with almost an uncanny and unnatural ability, and she could immediately tell that Harry was not being entirely truthful.
"I'm telling you, mum!" Harry retorted at once, "I didn't see who it was! So, I can't tell you what I don't know!"
"Bollocks!" Molly shouted, surprising everyone, "I can tell you're lying to me! But what I don't know is why? Whoever attacked you nearly killed you, Harry! So, why are you protecting him?!"
"I don't think that's why he's being quiet," Sirius said shrewdly, "I think there's another reason why Harry refuses to speak up."
"What do you mean?" Molly asked, turning to Sirius, who was staring hard at his squirming godson; Harry, meanwhile, was staring at his blanket with a level of concentration that almost made Sirius laugh.
"The real reason you don't want to tell us who is responsible for your attack is because you want to settle the matter yourself, isn't it, Harry?"
Harry said nothing as Molly turned back to face him, her face seemingly paling for a moment as she took in Sirius' words.
"Is that true, Harry?" Molly asked softly, "Are you lying to me so you can take revenge?"
Harry said nothing and simply stared at his blanket, but the answer became obvious when his hair turned an angry red. Molly drew herself up and was prepared to begin what would have been undoubtedly a long, angry rant when Sirius headed her off by kneeling in front of Harry and placing his hand atop of Harry's.
"Harry…. Pup, look at me, please,"
Slowly, Harry drew his gaze away from his blanketed knees and turned to look at Sirius with a sad/angry expression.
"I know you're angry, pup. You've a right to be after what was done to you; it was wrong and cruel and never should have happened in the first place. You have a right to revenge yourself and make the one responsible pay."
Harry's eyes widened in surprise at that as Molly tried to interrupt,
"Sirius…!"
Before she could say more, however, Sirius turned and gave Molly a harsh glare that immediately caused her to fall silent as he turned back to Harry.
"Harry, if anyone understands wanting revenge, it's me," Sirius said sadly, "I was unjustly locked up for years and left to rot. I could have very easily taken my revenge against those responsible, but if I did that, I would have just ended up right back in Azkaban, and what would have been the point? Just to make myself feel better? It would have cost me the time I've gotten to spend with you."
Harry bit his lip as he stared at Sirius, and for a moment, Sirius thought that he had managed to get through to his godson; that hope was dashed a moment later when Harry's face turned hard again, and he returned his gaze to his blanket.
"I'm sorry, Sirius," Harry said harshly, "But I don't have anything more to say."
Shutting his eyes and shaking his head in disappointment, Sirius rose back to his feet and said softly,
"So be it, then."
Taking his place next to Molly again, Sirius shared a look with the Weasley Matriarch before turning back to Harry.
"I'm not going to punish you as you've done nothing wrong yet. But we will ensure that you are very closely watched from here on out. And if Dumbledore informs us that you've attacked another student, you will be grounded for the entirety of the summer."
"You can't do that!" Harry nearly shouted in outrage, his anger creating a buffer from the pain that his body was in.
"We can and will!" Molly retorted at once, "You were almost killed, Harry! And I won't have you making a repeat performance for a reason as silly as revenge!"
"I think we should return to my office," Dumbledore said sadly, having entered just in time to hear Sirius' speech, "So as to allow tempers to cool."
"I think that's a good idea," Arthur said at once, placing a calming hand on his wife's shoulder; Molly shot a glare at her husband before turning back to Harry, who was glaring at her in impotent fury.
"Don't think that this conversation is over, young man!" Molly spat before turning and following the others out of the Hospital Wing.
"Harry…" Ron started softly, only for his brother to fall back onto the bed and turn away from him,
"Just go away," Harry growled angrily as tears ran unseen down his face.
Unable to say anything else, Ron rose sadly to his feet and walked out of the Hospital Wing, followed closely by Hermione.
XXXX
"I swear, that boy!" Molly raged, once the group had returned to Dumbledore's office,
"Now, now, Molly," Dumbledore said softly, "We cannot hold it against him too much. We were all that age once, after all."
"Enough about Harry," Sirius said with a weary sigh, "What can you tell us about the attack on Filch's cat?"
"Nothing," Dumbledore sighed, sinking lower into his chair, "There were no witnesses. No evidence of what occurred."
"So, what is to be done?" Arthur asked, "Shouldn't the Aurors be called?"
"I will not have Hogwarts turned into an armed camp of war," Dumbledore said harshly, causing the others to flinch at his tone, "This is a school and shall remain as such. If I were to call the Aurors, all that would occur is that the school would be shut down at worst or turned into a hunting ground at best."
"Lucius Malfoy is behind this," Sirius spat, "I'd bet my last Galleon on it. This is what that elf tried to warn Harry about!"
"Alas, until we have evidence of that, there is very little that I can do…" Dumbledore said sadly, with a hint of anger lacing his words.
"I won't have that bastard placing my children in danger," Arthur growled, "You solve this, Albus, or I'll inform the Ministry myself."
Without another word, the Weasleys and Sirius spun on their heel and stormed to Dumbledore's fireplace, Flooing away a moment later and leaving a weary Headmaster behind.