Harry and Luna followed Professor McGonagall to her private office.
"I won't take long," Professor McGonagall said. "I don't think we need to discuss the preliminaries, nor the details. Neither of you were in your dormitories for a good portion of the night. Would you like to tell me where you were?"
"I was in the Room of Requirement, studying, and Luna came to help me," Harry said. "I go there several days per week. It's easier to study in there, and I think you know why I have to study as much and as hard as I can, any way I can. Luna seems to be the only one who can come in while I'm in there. And whenever she comes in, she's been very helpful to me."
"I'm sure she has," said Professor McGonagall, with a hint of cynicism. "And I appreciate your honesty. From now on you should have the room summon an alarm clock to make sure you both make it out of there on time. Professor Dumbledore and I have no problem with you using the Room of Requirement for your studies, but I will tolerate no more wandering about the halls after hours." Then she looked at both of them, very closely, and added, "But you should also keep in mind, that 'Discretion is the better part of valor.' You should not lead people to believe things about the two of you, whether they are true or not. 'He-who-must-not-be-named' would like nothing more than to find another way of manipulating you, Harry. You don't need to hand him any more opportunities."
"I understand, Professor," Harry said, dryly. He couldn't stop thinking of this, every day of his life.
Professor McGonagall's expression changed slightly. She stopped being 'Professor' for the moment, and began to speak more openly. "If I were either one of your mothers, I'd sit you down and have a talk with you. But I think you've both seen your share of difficulties and have grown up a bit more than the average Hogwarts student. In many ways I'm quite proud of both of you. Just make sure you show some self-restraint, and don't let anything get out of hand." Then she put her 'Professor hat' back on, and gave the standard lecture. "I'm sure you are both aware of the rules at Hogwarts regarding the conduct between boys and girls. You will reserve any 'Extracurricular Activities' for your time spent in Hogsmeade. If you must spend your study times together, then you should do just that. Study."
Harry thought he saw a smile on Professor McGonagall's face. She was trying hard to be stern, so it was difficult to see. But Harry knew her well enough, at least. And he tried to make it look like he didn't notice.
"Professor, I think Moaning Myrtle was harassing Luna last night," Harry added. "Luna slept in the Room of Requirement after I left. You probably know about Myrtle writing on the walls in the Gryffindor Common Room." Professor McGonagall frowned, her glasses slipping on her nose a bit, and thought to herself for a moment. She had a look on her face like that of an unpleasant memory, or at least one best forgotten.
Luna had remained quiet while Professor McGonagall and Harry discussed the situation. She appeared to be lost in thought, and a little disturbed. She didn't try to defend herself with Professor McGonagall, though she was likely to hear something about it from Professor Flitwick later. Professor Flitwick could be formidable, despite his small stature. But he usually avoided this sort of thing, and probably appreciated Professor McGonagall's involvement. That way his lecture could be on a more intellectual level, perhaps some good advice. Still, Luna took it all in stride. "Harry is doing a good enough job for both of us," she thought. Yes, Harry was doing quite well at dealing with things, and Luna enjoyed seeing him do it.
"Well, I'll have a talk to the ghosts, and see what's going on," Professor McGonagall said. "Myrtle's death, as you know, was very traumatic, and she may have taken a liking to you after the Chamber of Secrets was re-opened. I understand she even helped you during the Triwizard Tournament." Professor McGonagall paused for a moment. "It wouldn't be the first time one of the ghosts had haunted someone out of infatuation or jealousy. It's part of my job here to play ecto-psychologist to pitiable ghosts like Myrtle. Some ghosts are born out of sheer terror over dying, and it's especially true for those whose death was so horrible, like Myrtle's. And in Myrtle's case, she had an equally horrible life. Even ghosts have problems coping, and Myrtle is no exception to that. Muggles would call her a paranoid scizophrenic, if she were alive. So try to be as understanding and forgiving with her as you can, and I'll see if I can get her to calm down."
So Harry and Luna left Professor McGonagall's office and went to their separate classes. Harry was barely on time for 'Advanced Potions' with Professor Snape, and arrived with Snape's penetrating stare boring a hole in him all the way to his seat. And his concentration was worse than usual, even for one of Snape's classes. Hermione was also in Advanced Potions, along with Neville, who had studied extra hard last year. Neville wanted to become a Healer, and was also willing to endure more of Snape's ridicule to achieve his goal.
Harry's mind focused on Luna for most of the class, and his notes reflected it. He couldn't help himself. Of course, Malfoy noticed that Harry was unusually glass-eyed, and kept muttering "Looney Potty" when Snape wasn't looking. Then he would glance over at Harry, to see if he'd noticed. Malfoy's smirk always bothered Harry, but today Malfoy was being unusually obnoxious. Yet, Harry didn't want to say anything to Professor Snape, for even if Snape had heard Malfoy, he wouldn't have cared. It wouldn't be the first time that Malfoy had taunted Harry during one of Snape's lectures, and Harry always received detention whenever he said anything. Snape was still angry with Harry over last year's incident with the pensieve. And having to do his occasional Occlumency lessons with Snape wasn't making things any easier between them. Harry decided to let it go, and hoped that ignoring Malfoy would somehow motivate him to stop.
On the way out of Snape's class, Malfoy jeered at Harry again. "Hey Potty, you tired of ghost-girls already? Or do you just like the looney ones? Well, now you've got BOTH of them!"
Harry answered coolly, "I'm sorry Malfoy, were you saying something? I thought I heard another one of those Bronx Cheers." Harry hoped that Malfoy would understand the reference, but he did have some doubt. Others leaving the class started sniggering in response, but Malfoy just glared at him with hate, and slunk away. Crabbe and Goyle couldn't take Advanced Potions, their O.W.L. scores were too low. So Malfoy didn't have his usual cheering section present. The other Slytherins only took his side when they saw an advantage. They were just as happy turning on him as they were cheering him on, especially since his father was in Azkaban. And now they were sniggering at Malfoy. Most of the Slytherins thought that stirring up trouble was a lot more fun than taking sides, and Malfoy was always good for a laugh whenever he and Harry went at it. They would have some fun with Malfoy in the Common Room later. Then Malfoy would be angry enough to spit venom, and would have to find another way to one-up his rival. He couldn't stand looking bad, even for a moment. And the other Slytherins knew exactly how to push his buttons. That is how they kept the feud warm, just below the boiling point.
Harry was glad that Voldemort hadn't been in his dreams for a long time. Studying Occlumency with Snape had helped, after all. He continued studying in the Library that evening, instead of the Room of Requirement. Harry went out of his way to avoid the 'appearance of impropriety,' as McGonagall would have put it, at least until things cooled down. After studying, he took a long shower (in case any of Myrtle's "tears" had remained from the night before) and went to bed earlier than usual.
That night, Harry had a very strange dream. It had nothing to do with Voldemort. After all, Harry had been doing his Occlumency exercises before going to sleep each night, and Voldemort no longer invaded his dreams. But he kept hearing a girl crying, and didn't know who she was. But it was definitely a girl, and she was definitely crying. And he didn't know why, but he thought it involved him somehow.
Nothing unusual seemed to happen that night. But in the morning, the other Gryffindors didn't forget what had happened before, and kept looking under things, and sniffed around the Common Room, expecting to find another message written in something that belonged inside of a sewer pipe. Moaning Myrtle was nowhere to be seen, and Harry wasn't sure whether or not she was up to something. "I hope Myrtle didn't bother Luna again, last night," he thought. Professor McGonagall would have talked with her by now. And Myrtle had been very quiet since yesterday morning. But Harry was in no mood to think anything but the worst of Moaning Myrtle. Fortunately, Luna had also turned in early, and had a decent night's rest, without incident.
And so today went like any other day, except when Harry and Luna ate lunch together at the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Hermione and Ron.
"So I take it Myrtle didn't bother either of you last night?" Hermione asked. "Oh, don't worry, I figured it out. Myrtle is the only one who would write messages about Harry in poo. And I asked Nearly Headless Nick about it, and he filled me in on the rest of the details." Hermione had been victim to Myrtle's cruelty before, and knew how cruel Myrtle could be. She also knew how sad and pitiful she was. Myrtle really was a psychological mess. And now that Myrtle was out of the second floor girl's bathroom for good, she was becoming more like Peeves.
"And I thought Peeves' jokes were bad," commented Ron. "Mate, you got a real problem on your hands, haunted by a love-sick ghost with a streak of jealousy, and a looney one at that..." Ron hesitated. He thought about what he had just said. He was about to say "and she was the least popular girl at Hogwarts before she was killed," but with Luna there, he didn't want to offend her by accident. Luna hadn't been very popular, either. And Ron believed that she was Harry's girlfriend now, and she was a loyal member of the DA, having fought against the Death Eaters and everything. And he'd just said 'looney' without thinking.
Ron sat quietly for a bit, contemplating how to remove his foot from his mouth. He listened to Hermione and Harry, and observed that Luna wasn't speaking much, either. She spent most of her time looking at Harry, even when he wasn't speaking. Ron began thinking about Harry's preference in girls. "Harry likes the smart girls, like the ones in Ravenclaw. And he likes Hermione. Cho is smart, and of course she's in Ravenclaw. But Cho couldn't stop crying about Cedric. Luna gets picked on by everyone, but she never cries about it. Myrtle was a Ravenclaw, and was picked on by everyone, and never stops crying. It's almost like Myrtle could have been like Cho if she'd been more popular. I bet Myrtle wants to be Harry's girlfriend, even though she's dead."
Ron entertained similar thoughts for a while. "I don't think Harry could deal with anyone that cries all of the time. He always said that sort of thing bothered him when he went out with Cho." Ron looked over at Luna, sitting next to Harry. Hermione was between Ron and Harry, and they were discussing something from Advanced Transfiguration. Ron had to admit that Luna was VERY pretty, despite the butterbeer cap necklace, and the unusual earrings and hats she would often wear. "And Luna's a lot braver than any Ravenclaw I've ever known," he thought. "That's what Harry likes. Cho is like Myrtle, they both spend their time crying and sulking. No wonder he dumped her." Ron never considered that Cho might have dumped Harry. And then he began to think of Hermione and Harry. The thought bothered him, for he didn't want to be a rival with his best friend. Ron kept thinking to himself while Hermione and Harry kept their conversation going. Luna was listening intently, quite interested in the subject. "Hermione's sure talks a lot more than Luna does, or even Cho. But Harry said that Cho would talk about Cedric all of the time, and then start crying. Harry seems to prefer the quiet girls. And Hermione is anything but quiet!"
Ron wanted to justify to himself that Harry wasn't going to attach himself to Hermione any time soon. That left the door wide open to Ron, and Hermione wasn't rejecting any of Ron's subtle advances. Ron still wasn't sure how to approach Hermione. Fleur Delacour was now dating Viktor Krum, and there were no other suitors standing in line, waiting to jump ahead of Ron. Hermione didn't take the news about Viktor and Fleur very hard, when she found out. In fact, she was quite happy seeing them together. Ron had blatently displayed his jealousy over Viktor during the Triwizard Tournament, and was very happy with the current situation And Ron didn't want it to change, especially not with his best friend Harry. Ron was more than happy to see Luna sitting with Harry, a lot closer than Harry was to Hermione. Yes, Ron had nothing to worry about from Harry, when it came to Hermione.
Hermione had the unusual ability to discuss something she enjoyed while thinking about something completely unrelated, without seeming uninterested in the discussion. She saw Luna's proximity to Harry, and drew the obvious conclusions. Luna was practically sitting on Harry, or so she thought. And Hermione really liked Harry, but she didn't think Harry thought of her as more than just a friend. Her mind started digesting the situation. "Harry has been studying so hard lately, that he's becoming the most dedicated scholar at Hogwarts. I never really saw how serious he could be about his studies before. He's been hiding in the Room of Requirement a lot. I hope Luna doesn't interfere with his studies." Hermione couldn't force herself to admit what the real issue was, so she focused on Harry's studies instead. "Harry really does need to study as hard as he can. And Harry is so focused on defeating... 'him.'" In spite of her bravery against the Death Eaters, Hermione couldn't even force herself to think of Voldemort's name. "Dumbledore believes the Prophecy, and if it's true, it's no wonder Harry wants to study all of the time. He's going to have to face... 'him', and kill him. We're all depending on you, Harry." Hermione couldn't help herself, feeling a little awe towards Harry at the moment. Yet there was still something more.
Hermione thought of Harry's 'fan girl club' that consisted of nearly all of the Gryffindor girls, and nearly half of all of the other girls in the fourth and fifth years. There were also a few 'members' from the sixth and seventh years, though they were usually too embarassed to show it. Many copies of Colin's photos of Harry had been pasted on the walls in the girls' dormitories. There was even a picture in one of the Slytherin dormitories. One of the Slytherin girls admired Harry's Parseltongue ability so much that she would carry pictures of snakes with her, and would often ask Harry to show her what it sounded like. And a few of the 6th and 7th year girls would occasionally tag along behind Harry, for no particular reason, as he walked between his N.E.W.T. level classes. Hermione saw it all, and heard them whispering, and acting silly whenever Harry was around. But Hermione had never seen Luna acting like one of the 'fan girls.' Hermione, of course, would never lower herself to that kind of behavior. At least that's what she told herself. But the truth was, she had unlimited access to Harry without having to fawn all over him to get his attention. Had the situtation been different, she may have become a secret member of his 'fan girl club' too.
Hermione was surprised when she found out that Luna had been the only one who could enter the Room of Requirement when Harry was in there studying, and had often been very helpful to him. "Maybe I should help him study?" she asked herself. "Luna's only in her fifth year, so I would be much better at helping Harry than she is. Why didn't the Room of Requirement let me in those times?" Hermione suddenly realized her reason for wanting to 'help Harry study' would have little to do with studying. The thought of Luna Lovegood being Harry's study partner had more of an affect on her than she realized. Suddenly Hermione knew what it was. She scolded herself, privately, for entertaining such an idea. She remembered how much she hated Ron's jealousy over Viktor, and she found herself doing the same thing! Hermione checked her feelings on the matter, realizing of course that she could not have both Harry and Ron to herself. She, like Harry, would have to choose one, and let the other go. And she resigned herself to the idea that Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood would be study partners, and would probably end up romantically involved. "Harry seems to know what he's doing with Luna," she thought "He won't need any more coaching from me, this time. She's nothing like Cho, and won't play games with him like Cho did. I wish I knew what to do about Myrtle though, but I can't stand the thought of being around her. Poor Myrtle, she's such a mess. Now, if I could just work on Ron..."
Several of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw girls looked at Luna with obvious envy. Like Hermione, they thought they were better suited for Harry than Luna, for a number of reasons. Some thought they were prettier, others thought they would be better study partners. Others just wanted Harry for themselves, and didn't care much for what he wanted. Harry had secretly become the most eligible boy on campus. It was no wonder that he had to go to the Room of Requirement to study so often. But it was far less apparent to Harry, for he never saw the giggling girls trailing him from a distance, nor heard what they said to one another when he wasn't looking. Some of the Slytherin girls thought he was very powerful, taking on the Death Eaters and Voldemort like that. Most of the Hufflepuff girls thought Harry was a showoff. But the few Hufflepuff girls that admired Harry did so for his dedication to defeating Voldemort, and for his loyalty to their beloved Cedric. But it was mostly the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor girls who formed the basis of the unofficial Hogwarts 'Harry Potter Fan Girl Club.' Even Cho felt a little jealousy at the idea of Luna Lovegood being Harry's 'new lover.'
Without Harry's knowledge, he had accumulated a huge number of 'fan girls,' waiting in the wings for all kinds of romantic escapades, should he ever express any such desire.
Since the very beginning of the term, everybody kept asking Harry about fighting the Death Eaters, and Dumbledore's battle with 'you know who.' Fame certainly had its disadvantages. Last year's streak of infamy had indeed rebounded with a vengeance, and Harry was more famous than ever before, and Colin's obsession from previous years was nothing compared to this. And unfortunately, the death of Sirius sparked the kind of sympathy reactions that Harry didn't want, nor need. Harry had remembered seeing an old movie where a group of musicians were being mobbed by young girls everywhere they went. The thought of this kind of thing happening to him was a real concern. More than once he had heard comment of a trail of girls behind him, though he never seemed to see it himself. Harry avoided the possibility at all cost, just in case.
Harry spent the rest of that day uneventfully attending classes, and studying in the library. He spent the evening studying in the Room of Requirement again, and then went back to his dormitory. He never questioned why the Room of Requirement was always open to him. He figured he just needed it the most, what with the Prophecy and all. Harry took advantage of it as often as he could. Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore had given their approval, for they both knew he was making good use of it. They were often like proud parents, but rarely showed it.
Harry did his Occlumency exercises, then went to sleep. He hoped he wouldn't dream about anything again tonight, regardless of whether it had anything to do with Voldemort...
Harry dreamed he was hearing a girl cry. He walked through dark halls, looking to see who it was. He walked into a bathroom, and a girl was sitting in the toilet stall, crying. He didn't think anything of it, and opened the door to see who it was. He couldn't see her face. She stood up and said, "It's your fault."
"Do I know you?" asked Harry.
The girl didn't answer. But then she walked out of the bathroom. Harry followed. She walked up the flights of stairs to where the Room of Requirement should be. Inside it was like an exotic hotel room, with a heart-shaped bed. She invited Harry into the room. Harry hesitated, not sure what to think. She drew him in, slowly. Harry resisted, but it had no effect, and he wasn't sure what to think at this point. The girl kept pawing at him, in places he'd rather she not touch, over, and over again. He tried to say something, tried to scream, even, but his mouth moved without making a sound. He couldn't even breathe, and the girl became more like a monster, clawing at him, pulling him into the room, onto the bed even, and still he couldn't see her face. He wanted to scream, but couldn't.
Harry woke up, suddenly. His pajamas felt a little wet. He knew why. And he thought he could hear Myrtle, humming to herself.
Harry went back to sleep, quite shaken up by this time. He didn't even want to consider what had just happened, and hoped he would just forget about it, like a bad nightmare. But when he awoke, it was all he could think of. And it wasn't pleasant thoughts that ran through his head. Harry had never been more disgusted in his life. He quickly made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, hoping he wouldn't see anything with his name on it again.
To think that Myrtle had succeeded in invading his dreams like that! "If Myrtle can do that, maybe Voldemort can." The double-entendre thought that entered his mind for a moment was so appalling he outwardly exclaimed "Ugghh!". Everybody looked at him. By now he was used to it, so he didn't even react. He just kept eating and left, waving and smiling at Luna on his way out of the Great Hall. And just then Harry thought he caught a whiff of something unpleasant. "I hope I'm just imagining things," he thought.
If Harry had experienced any really bad days at Hogwarts, then today would have been the worst. The teachers seemed unusually aggravated with everything he did. Even Professor McGonagall took notice of things that were unusually nit-picky, even for her, and took the opportunity to openly scold him during class. It was almost as bad as being in one of Snape's classes. Harry couldn't believe it! "Was Myrtle affecting everybody? Or is something wrong with me?" He became somewhat sulky, and by evening just sat by himself in the Gryffindor Common Room, not talking to anyone, not studying. He just sat there for a long time. "A shower and a good night's rest is what I need," he thought.
While he was in the shower, Harry had the distinct impression that Myrtle was watching him. "She admitted to doing that kind of thing before," Harry thought, "In the prefect's bathroom, during the Triwizard Tournament." Only this time, it turned out to be worse than he expected. Myrtle appeared through the wall, from behind the spigots, eyeing him with a look of hunger.
"I really enjoyed last night, Harry" she said.
"Myrtle, you have to stop this. PLEASE!" yelled Harry, and Myrtle disappeared back into the wall.
"What are you screaming about, Harry?" said Dean, who had just walked into the shower.
"Nothing," said Harry. He didn't need to get the entire school involved in his ghostly daytime drama. So he washed the rest of the soap off, dried, put his night clothes on, and went back to his dormitory, without saying anything to anyone.
Harry did his Occlumency exercises extra long that evening. They seemed to work, this time. He slept soundly, without dreams.