"Nick, can I talk to you about something?"
It was Sunday morning. Last night Myrtle had tried to kill Luna, and Harry as well! So Harry sought advice from Nearly Headless Nick, the official Gryffindor ghost. Something had to be done, and Nearly Headless Nick had always been very helpful. Last time Harry had spoken with Nick, it was about the death of Sirius. This time the situation was a bit more serious. Seriously.
"Myrtle can't leave me alone, and I'm actually afraid she'll try to hurt Luna. Myrtle has even tried to get in my dreams, and she, well..."
"I think I understand, Harry. Myrtle's death was very hard for her to understand. She was so young, and her life so horrible, that dying just left too many things unresolved. Poor girl, I've tried talking to her already, but she won't listen, not even to an old ghost like myself. After trying to take your lives like that, the Ministry of Magic won't go easy on her."
"Professor McGonagall said something about being an 'ecto-psychologist,' but I thought she was joking."
"Ah, yes, Minerva... God bless that woman! She's the most beautiful of people. I've known her ever since her first year at Hogwarts. That woman has been nothing but a dear friend to me, and to several of the other ghosts at Hogwarts. Your friend Hermione is a lot like her, you know. Brave, strong, intelligent, creative, and... ah, to be young, and alive again! But that, I think, is Myrtle's problem too. She has always been young, but is no longer alive."
"Great," thought Harry, sarcastically. "This is just what I need." "Nick," he said out loud, "Is there anything you know of that I can do to keep Myrtle out of my dreams?"
"Keep her out? Whatever for? You can communicate with her infinitely better if you were to willingly let her into your dreams." Harry was shocked to hear this. Willingly let her in to his dreams? Would his only choice be to endure more of Myrtle's perverted dreamscapes?
Nick continued in spite of Harry's obvious reaction. "Just don't let her take control of your dream. That is the key! For if you let her control them, she'll feed off of your emotions, and twist your dreams into the kind of grotesque imagery that you so obviously don't want to endure again. To a ghost, this kind of dream invasion can be as addictive as the strongest of intoxicating potions. But if you keep control, and use your opportunities wisely, you can gain a loyal friend and a powerful ally."
Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with this. Letting a ghost into his dreams wasn't his idea of a fun time. But it was worth a shot. Something had to be done.
Harry spent the remainder of the day with Luna. At Professor McGonagall's advice he was taking some well-deserved time off. Today, Luna had insisted on 'making up for the day before,' though Harry never blamed her one bit for the outcome of her day-long project. Her moon-orb was actually an impressive bit of wizardry, and Hermione had even mentioned something about it at breakfast, asking Luna what charms she had applied and what material she had made it from. Few people understood just how intelligent and powerful Luna really was, more ready to write her off as being 'looney' than to recognize her talents and abilities. But Harry had always treated Luna as a friend, and had also seen her in action against the Death Eaters. And Luna had never behaved like a member of the 'fan girl club,' and that impressed Harry even more. And the two of them found that they could spend the afternoon just touring the grounds, talking about nothing in particular, occasionallly stopping for a while to enjoy the view.
Today they decided to walk over to Hagrid's hut to see what new magical creature he was attempting to raise at the moment. Ron and Hermione had joined them, and the four of them spent the early part of the afternoon there. The topic of Myrtle never came up.
Luna whispered an unusual idea into Harry's ear. Harry turned a little pink at first, but decided it would be worthwhile. So the two of them bade goodbye to the others and headed back to the castle. Luna had heard of the Marauder's map when Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been discussing it one afternoon during lunch at the Gryffindor table. She had walked over and quietly listened to them while standing behind Harry. None of them had even noticed that she was there, for it was one of Luna's talents to be able to blend into the background. Today, Luna had suggested to Harry that they do a little exploring with the Marauder's map. She was mostly interested in the secret passageways that were clearly marked on the map. Harry had once told her that most of them appeared to be blocked, and Luna thought it would be fun to try and gain access to some of them.
So at Luna's prompting, they explored the castle with the Marauder's map, wearing Harry's invisibility cloak to avoid suspicion. Luna thought that by remaining invisible they wouldn't draw any attention to the entrances for the various secret passages, and it would help to keep them secret. "If Professor Snape ever found out," she said, "he would surely close them all." They tried a number of different spells, but none seemed to work. Luna attempted various charms that were supposed to reveal whether a secret password had been changed, but the passages themselves seemed to no longer exist. The Marauder's map appeared to reveal the password to any secret passage, as long as it was possible to open it. But none of the 'closed' passages seemed to work any more. Harry guessed that perhaps the passwords had been changed since the map had been made.
It wasn't until they arrived at the statue of the humpbacked witch, which concealed the secret passage that led to Hogsmeade, that Harry and Luna managed to open up any of the secret passages. Luna kept suggesting one passage after another, sometimes looking at her watch, until she suddenly decided to try this one. Harry had thought this one would be blocked off or the password changed by now, but it still worked perfectly! Luna insisted that they go inside, and Harry couldn't say 'no' to her. So they entered the tunnel, then quickly closed the entrance behind them, before anyone noticed it was open. Harry lit his wand, and they removed the invisibility cloak. He handed the map to Luna, and rapidly folded up the invisibility cloak and tucked it under his arm. Luna insisted on keeping the Marauder's map with her, so Harry relented. Luna was starting to demand quite a bit today, and Harry was getting slightly annoyed. But he didn't say anything, and was thankful for it later. In the mean time, Luna was fascinated by the map, even more so because she knew that Harry's father had helped to create it. She often commented about how fun it was to see where everyone was walking throughout the castle, and monitored their own progress down the passageway to Honeyduke's, in Hogsmeade.
They walked down the passageway for a while until their position on the Marauder's map indicated that they had officially left the Hogwarts grounds. Harry wanted to turn back at this point, somewhat fearfull that they would get themselves into some kind of trouble. Myrtle's antics had kept him on his toes recently. He really didn't want to break any more of the rules, and was also somewhat concerned about the Death Eaters. Outside of Hogwarts, he was vulnerable. Peter Petigrew knew of these tunnels too, and was still at large. But there were no other footprints but their own on the map, and Luna had other things in mind. She folded up the map, then suddenly lunged at Harry, throwing him off balance until he fell against the wall. Luna dropped the map and grabbed him with both arms, giggling at him.
"What's the matter, Harry, you seem a little shy today," she said, in an uncharacteristically giggly voice. She put one finger on his chest in a playful manner, drawing a small circle while she said "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Then she leaned up against him in a way that made Harry a bit uncomfortable.
Harry didn't know what to say. He was now at Luna's mercy, and she knew it. Dinner in the Great Hall was still at least an hour away, and they wouldn't be missed until then. So whatever Luna had planned for him, she had planned it well. Harry looked at the ground, and could easily see that it was clean, and there would be no tell tale dirt marks if they were to sit down for a bit. So Harry slid down the wall into a sitting position, and Luna went with him. Then Luna planted her lips on his and Harry responded in kind. He didn't know what else he could do at the moment, except to go along with whatever she wanted. And they really weren't technically breaking any school rules, except for actually having left the school grounds to engage in their 'extracurricular activities.' But this was a technicality he was willing go with at the moment.
A thought occurred to Harry at one point. Had his father used this passageway for the very same purpose? Had his father brought his mother here? And what about Sirius Black and the other Marauders? It seemed to Harry that perhaps this tunnel had more than one use besides making secret trips to Hogsmeade. There was a slight opening at this point, and sitting here was surprisingly comfortable. Harry and Luna spent the next half an hour or so enjoying each other's company a bit more than they otherwise could have, in the solitude of the secret passageway that led between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.
A tiny bell sounded. Luna had set the alarm on her watch so that they would know when it was time to return to Hogwarts, so they wouldn't miss dinner. She had set it while they were at Hagrid's, shortly before whispering to Harry that she wanted to explore the tunnels. They both came up for air at the sound of the alarm. They had long since allowed the tunnel to go dark, so Luna lit her wand to check the time and silence her alarm watch. Harry also noticed what time it was, and they both stood up, ready to go back.
The idea had already occured to Harry, and he confronted Luna. "You planned all of this, didn't you?" he said.
Luna didn't respond. Of course she had planned it. She just smiled at Harry in a rather coy way, then took Harry's hand in hers and led him back towards the statue of the humpbacked witch in Hogwart's Castle. Harry unfolded the invisibility cloak, and checked the Marauder's map one last time to see if the coast was clear. Then he tapped the map and said "Mischief Managed," and they re-entered the castle underneath the invisibility cloak. They ducked into a nearby room for a moment, removed the invisibility cloak, and then headed towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Dinner time was only a few minutes away, and most people were heading towards the Great Hall. But the smiles that Harry and Luna were wearing would have told everyone that they had been up to something, though few people seemed to notice.
Several Gryffindor students were lounging in the Common Room when Harry and Luna walked in. A couple of them were a bit shocked to see Luna there, but nobody objected. Guests were allowed, except after hours. Harry quickly ran upstairs to put his cloak and the Marauder's Map away. Then he rejoined Luna, and the two of them headed towards the Great Hall together. By now, more than a few of the Gryffindors observed the faint 'glow' that both of them were emitting at this point, particularly the members of the unofficial Hogwarts 'Harry Potter fan girl club.'
But Myrtle had already known about their 'extracurricular activities.' Myrtle hadn't been seen all day, and was trying very hard to remain undetected. Neither Harry nor Luna had noticed any unusual smells in the tunnel to Hogsmeade, for it had always smelled a little musty. And neither of them had heard any noises, though they had been a little 'pre-occupied' and probably wouldn't have noticed if a train had passed through. Myrtle kept her anger to herself this time. She didn't want anyone to suspect a thing.
That night, Harry practiced his Occlumency exercises as usual, but carefully avoided focusing on keeping Myrtle out. Instead, he focused on not letting Myrtle take control. "Hopefully this will work," he thought. It was a risk worth taking, as nothing else seemed to help. Harry didn't want to have to see Professor Dumbledore and get the Ministry of Magic involved. At least, not yet.
Harry's dream took a predictable turn that night. Myrtle was in his dream again, in the bathroom, crying. "Myrtle, come out of the bathroom, it's Harry."
"GO AWAY!" Myrtle yelled. She kept blubbering. It was much louder than before.
Harry walked into the bathroom and threw open the door to her stall. This time, he could see Myrtle's face.
"Go away! I don't want to talk to you any more."
"Yes you do, Myrtle, or you wouldn't have come into my dream. I'll wait for you outside." Harry was doing his best to take control. If Myrtle did what HE wanted, things might work out after all.
Harry left the bathroom, and waited outside. When Myrtle finally came out, she was stark naked! Harry stood back a bit, not sure what to do. He remembered what Nick said. He couldn't let Myrtle control his dream.
"Myrtle, you forgot your clothes in the bathroom."
"I didn't need them, Harry. I wanted you to see me like this." Myrtle began to approach him, to touch him again like last time.
"This is a dream, after all," Harry reminded himself. But no matter how hard he tried to stay in control, Myrtle kept twisting his dream in her favor. Harry calmed his thoughts, focused on maintaining control, blocking out Myrtle's attempts to alter his dream. His Occlumency skills were starting to pay off. He wouldn't give Myrtle the 'satisfaction' she was looking for.
Harry had already planned out what he might do. Like the 'First Task' in the Triwizard Tournament, he would concentrate on his strengths. "Accio Wand," he said, in his dream. His wand appeared in his hand. This was encouraging! Harry hadn't actually learned Conjuring yet, so he used a Summoning Charm, for that was what he knew. And in his dream, his subconscious mind applied his intent to the outcome. "Accio clothes," he said, waving his wand. Myrtle's clothes suddenly appeared on her. Then Harry looked down and noticed that he was now in his underwear, which embarassingly revealed something he didn't want anyone to see, especially not Myrtle. "Accio clothes" he said again, and this time his own clothes appeared. And now the dream was completely under Harry's control.
"Harry, you're cheating," Myrtle whined. "You can't cheat like that, it's NOT fair!"
"Myrtle, can we talk? I mean, you're a nice ghost most of the time, but lately you've been very difficult." Harry was trying to be kind. He wanted to give Myrtle one last chance.
"That's because you've been MEAN to me, you and that, that, GIRL you've been snogging. Rotten little tramp, stealing you away from me, that horrible little HUSSY! SHE stole you away from me, and dragged you into that tunnel, and, and..." Myrtle began mouthing words, but no sound came out. She stopped and regained her composure. "And SHE can't have you! I've seen her dreams! I KNOW what SHE wants! SHE can't hide anything from ME! And SHE can't have MY HARRY!"
Harry quickly changed the subject, for this was obviously going in a direction that he didn't want to pursue. Myrtle had been monitoring Luna's dreams about him? What else could she be up to? Harry had been dreaming about Luna lately and wouldn't have wanted Myrtle to see those, but it seemed all too likely that she had.
"Luna and I are both still alive, Myrtle. You have to accept the fact that you are dead. There are just some things you can't have any more. You have to STOP behaving like this!"
"I don't have to do ANYTHING you tell me! YOU can't make me! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME DO ANYTHING DO YOU HEAR!" Myrtle was now screaming as loud as she could inside Harry's dream. But Harry had the upper hand. Harry was in control. It was Harry's dream, after all, and he could do whatever he wanted, as long as he remembered that, and kept his mind focused.
"Myrtle, calm down!" Harry exclaimed. "You can't keep doing these things, it's embarassing me and it's embarassing Luna. It's embarassing everyone! And anyway you're giving the house-elves too much work, cleaning up after you, and you know Hermione doesn't like that sort of thing, and you don't want someone like Hermione angry at you. Please, just be a HELPFUL ghost like you've been before, and everyone will like you. I like you a lot when you're helpful. But PLEASE, don't be like another Peeves!"
Suddenly, Myrtle was infuriated! "HOW COULD YOU COMPARE ME TO THAT HORRIBLE PEEVES!" Myrtle screamed. Her personality had switched to something completely out of character, with more malice and cruelty than she had evern shown before, like a "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde" transformation. And her appearance began to change also. Her color had changed again, and smoke was once again billowing from her nostrils. But the expression on her face became one of rage and hate, and her head grew to four times its normal size. Her teeth were disproportionally large, now jagged like those of a shark. They were also a foul yellow, pocked with blackened areas of decay. Myrtle's appearance was truly frightening!
Harry kept his composure. It was still HIS dream, after all. "Myrtle, stop! Please, STOP!" he said, nearly yelling. "I'm sorry Myrtle, I really am, but I can't talk to you any more if you keep on doing these things. I don't want to have to ask Dumbledore to remove you from the school, or get the Ministry of Magic involved with you again." Harry's serious tone had a visible affect on Myrtle.
"You... you would do that?" Myrtle sobbed. Her head shrank back to its normal size, and her teeth shrank in proportion. Her personality switched back, and she had a look of both fear and concern.
"Not if I don't have to," replied Harry. "You have helped me before, and I'm grateful. I think of you as a friend, like Nearly Headless Nick, even like Hermione and Ginny and the others. But you are hurting me and hurting others that I care about. Myrtle, you have to get over your death, and recognize where you are. There are just some things you can't do now. Not any more. I'm sorry, that's just the way it is."
Myrtle's temporary return to sanity didn't last for long. She just couldn't take it any more. Inside Harry's dream she changed into a horrible gigantic monster, slightly resembling a female version of Hagrid, except for the purple and green color. Harry guessed right that Hagrid must have frightened Myrtle, for she appeared that way whenever she wanted to frighten others. Myrtle's voice got deeper, and she stank like the open end of a sewer pipe with a bad blockage. "HARRY POTTER, HOW DARE YOU!" she bellowed, like a large foghorn. Hurricane force winds shot past Harry's head. Harry would have to end this, NOW.
Forcing himself awake, Harry reached for his wand and his glasses with both hands. He did so partly out of fear, and partly out a desperate desire to end this. He saw Myrtle gliding down from the roof towards him, her eyes red and glowing, her teeth several times bigger than normal, green smoke hissing from her nose and teeth. He wouldn't have needed his glasses to know she was turning into what he had already seen in his dream. Harry waved his wand at Myrtle and used a special 'ghost banishing' spell he had learned in his study of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was primarily used against ghosts of 'dark wizards' or those who had become insane, like Myrtle. Myrtle was quickly driven away from him. The spell forced her through the wall, as she let out a prolonged, terrifying scream. Harry hated doing that to her, but he had no choice. She was starting to turn into an evil kind of ghost, something they didn't need at Hogwarts. And he had already been given permission to use that spell on her, if the need arised. Harry knew all too well from his required studies in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes what evil ghosts were capable of, and Myrtle's escapades with the moon-orb were mild by comparison.
Ron woke up from the noise and asked what was going on. "Go to sleep, Ron," Harry said, just above a whisper so that the other's wouldn't wake up. Ron started to respond but didn't finish what he was saying before it ended in a snore. None of the others seemed to wake up, though Neville rolled over.
Harry woke the next morning, unusually refreshed. It appeared that there had been no unusual events that night. "Thank goodness nothing else happened," he thought. But of course, he was wrong. He wasn't going to get out of trouble that easily. Not with Myrtle, anyway. Heading down towards the Great Hall, Harry overheard some Ravenclaw students talking about something that had happened last night in their dormitories. "What happened?" Harry asked, with a stereotypical cluelessness. Everyone suddenly became quiet.
"It's a good chance it involves either me or Luna," he thought. "I hate to imagine what it is this time. I thought it couldn't get any worse."
Harry headed towards the Ravenclaw Common Room to find Luna. He met her halfway there. "Harry," she said, "We'd better talk before people start asking us questions."
She handed him a black and white photograph. It had obviously been doctored, and bore a resemblance to Harry and Luna 'snogging' in a rather unflattering manner. The view was badly out of focus and had many obvious inconsistencies, but looked a lot like it had been taken in the tunnel to Hogsmeade! The people in the photograph were moving in an endlessly repeating pattern, and both appeared to be naked. But with the poor focus and black and white photography, nothing could be 'seen' other than shadows. Only the faces were clearly visible, and had the look of being 'pasted' and stretched. The intent was obvious. On the back of the photograph a note had been written in a handwriting style similar to Harry's, though it was badly forged. "Dearest Luna, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! Your face, like the back side of a boar. Your lips, like the underside of a mare." And on it continued, getting progressively worse, until at the bottom it was signed 'Harry' which obviously meant him.
"Someone found it in our Common Room this morning." Luna's voice was characteristically calm, though she was visibly bothered by it. Luna was often victimized by relatively harmless pranks, and normally shrugged them off without a second thought. Apparently Luna's infinite patience had been worn thin by this latest prank.
"Malfoy..." Harry said. "He has to be connected to this. It has gone beyond simple spite. And Myrtle had to have seen us yesterday, and then told Malfoy about it. Malfoy's definitely behind it, that's a fact. But who in Ravenclaw would do his dirty work?"
"Perhaps it was Myrtle?" Luna suggested. "If she would go so far as to tell Draco about us in the tunnel, there's no reason that she wouldn't take the next step and help him to do something like this." Luna had remembered the last time Myrtle tried to 'set them up,' when Luna had to spend the night in the Room of Requirement.
"Yes, I think you're right," Harry replied. "I wouldn't have thought she would go so far as to recruit Malfoy for anything, but apparently she's not herself any more. Nearly Headless Nick suggested I allow her into my dream last night. He said that as long as I was in control, I could talk to her better, and try to resolve things. And I tried to explain everything to her, to put a stop to her attempts to control my dreams. I wanted to 'let her down' easily, but now it looks as though I might have made things worse this time."
A snyde comment flew their direction. "Hey Mr. and Mrs. Potty, nice love note." It was Malfoy, with Crabbe and Goyle attached like a couple of abnormal growths. They were sniggering as usual, and Malfoy's cheering section always made Malfoy even more obnoxious.
"Ooh, can I see the pretty picture?" he added, with a fake 'surprise' tone in his voice. "That's a great likeness!" If his voice had been any sweeter, Harry and Luna would've needed insulin shots. "But you shouldn't let too many people see it. That sort of thing can get you expelled, you know." Harry would have reached for his wand but Luna had carefully pressed herself against him and was now gently holding onto his hand. It was obvious that she didn't want him to face off with Malfoy. At least, not yet.
Lacking any kind of favorable response from either Harry or Luna, Malfoy and his sycophantic entourage walked off, sniggering louder than usual. "Morons," Harry said, a bit under his breath, but loud enough for Luna to hear. He could feel Luna shaking slightly. This was even testing her patience.
As if things could not have been any worse than they already were, it seemed like a number of other 'compromising photographs' were now being circulated among the students. Some were copies of the one that Harry had already seen, complete with the fake note on the back. A few showed Harry with different girls, or Luna with different boys, none of whom were recognizable. A few others had even suggested 'other kinds' of pairings, most of them very unflattering, and all with the appearance of being significantly altered. Luna brought Harry with her into the Ravenclaw Common Room, where Filch had been desperately searching for his cat, Mrs. Norris. He had finally located her in a locked closet, along with several piles of altered photographs. They unceremoniously spilled out onto the ground as Filch opened the door.
Filch's priority had been to rescue Mrs. Norris, so many of the photographs began to circulate among the students before Filch could recovered them. And apparently there had been photographs placed in many other locations where they could easily be found. This was no simple prank. It had turned into some kind of conspiracy.
Harry rhetorically asked, "Who could have produced such things?" Luna shook her head, as if to say 'I don't know.' Harry continued his running commentary. "Obviously that wasn't us. This is just unbelievable, even for someone like Malfoy. I can't believe that anyone could be this cruel."
"I can," said Luna. "My father has seen a lot of fake photographs before, even magical ones. People often try to destroy others' reputations through his newspaper. They think it's like one of the Muggle tabloids." Harry already understood how serious Luna's father was about his paper, even though many in the wizarding community considered it to be worth far less than the parchment it was printed on. It was more like 'out of the ordinary' news, and not the kind of trashy reporting that people expected.
The only student that was known to be an expert in photography was Colin Creevey. But Colin was a big fan of Harry's, and wouldn't ever consider doing anything this repulsive. Luna had a camera of her own, a miniature one, which her father had given her. It took magical photographs that were suitable for use in a newspaper, and was very easy to conceal. But Luna's camera hadn't gone missing, and she would never have done this kind of thing herself.
Needless to say, Professor McGonagall was not pleased. She had Harry and Luna sent to her office again. Professor Flitwick was already there, carefully examining one of the photos through a magnifying lens. Harry and Luna were sure they were going to receive detention for their trip down the tunnel yesterday evening, and tried hard not to 'look guilty' when they entered Professor McGonagall's office.
"Well, Harry, Luna, there's no need to concern yourselves. Neither of you is going to get into any kind of trouble. We want to find out who is responsible for the photographs." Professor McGonagall was being unusually frank with them, speaking to Harry and Luna with her 'Professor Hat' off. Harry wondered whether she had already guessed where they had been the day before. He would probably never know.
"Professor McGonagall, the only person I know of who would do something like this would be Malfoy," Harry said. "But Myrtle might have been helping him get the photos into the Ravenclaw Tower. I have no idea why Mrs. Norris was involved, unless she was going to report it to Mr. Filch." Then Harry told Professor McGonagall about Myrtle's most recent activities. He began with the incident involving the moon-orb, and what Nearly Headless Nick had recommended. Then he described what he had attempted to accomplish within his dream, and how Myrtle had reacted. Luna's ears picked up during this last part. She seemed unusually concerned about Myrtle knowing what had been happening in her dreams.
Professor Flitwick was thumbing through the various photographs, occasionally using some kind of magical device or a spell of some kind to try and uncover anything helpful. He shook his head at one point, apparently disappointed by something he saw. For a while, Professor McGonagall kept a thoughtful expression on her face, while Harry and Luna sat in silence. Finally, she spoke. "Nearly Headless Nick and I went through something similar, long ago, when I was about your age, Luna. Oh, it was harmless. He was more of a father to me than anything else, always looking out for me. His over-protectiveness kept several of the Hogwarts boys at bay for quite a while. It was not all unlike what Myrtle has done. I had a talk with Nicolas about it, and he saw the error of his ways. After that he kept his distance. He had only been looking out for what he thought was my best interests. But Nicolas is a much more mature ghost than Myrtle. And we all know that Myrtle has never responded well whenever she has been asked to behave. The Ministry of Magic threatened to punish her, and she hid herself in the bathroom for a long time afterwards. And now she's out, and bothering the students again."
Harry thought that maybe Nick understood Myrtle's problem too well. Had Nick given him bad advice because he considered his own history with Professor McGonagall first?
Professor McGonagall continued. "I'll have to speak to Professor Dumbledore about this. He may have to send Myrtle to a place where she can get treatment. There are such places for ghosts that can't deal with their death properly. It is much better to treat Myrtle's problem than be forced to 'bind' her at the Ministry of Magic."
"A nut-house for ghosts," Harry thought. That's not something Harry would have considered, but Myrtle was certainly on her way to becoming psychotic. Harry wondered if padded cells were even possible for a ghost. Then he tried to guess what 'bind' meant, and it didn't sound pleasant. Could evil ghosts even end up in Azkaban? Harry didn't want to be responsible for anything like that, and felt quite sorry for Myrtle.
Frequent whispering and occasional jeers greeted Harry and Luna as they walked through the hallways. Everyone seemed sure that they had received detention, or worse. But it didn't last for long, and had mostly been from the Slytherins anyway. They seemed to know a bit too much about the whole affair.
Valentine's day was coming, and Harry hadn't yet asked Luna to go to Hogsmeade with him. And he still needed to find out about her birthday! At lunch, Luna sat with Harry at the Gryffindor table again, so he made good use of his opportunity. But Myrtle was in the rafters again, still furious at Harry. She was no longer thinking clearly, and was about to do something rash. Peeves had been unusually cruel to Myrtle for most of the morning, while Myrtle had tried to follow Harry to his classes. Peeves had overherd Myrtle talking while she was inside Harry's dream, and heard her screaming about being compared to him. And it delighted Peeves to bother Myrtle a bit more than usual because of it. Now Myrtle was caught in a downward spiral of psychotic behavior, and was about to explode.
"Luna, where would you like to go on Valentine's Day?" Harry asked. He wanted to check with her first, but had already hoped for The Three Broomsticks.
"Anywhere is fine with me," Luna replied. It was a typical 'girl answer.' Of course what she really meant was 'pick a place first, then ask me.' It was also Luna's way of seeing whether Harry understood her well enough to choose a place that she would like to go to.
"How about The Three Broomsticks? I can send Hedwig to get reservations."
"That would be lovely," she replied. Then she added, "I'm SO glad you didn't say Madame Puddifoot's. The decor of that place makes me a little sick to my stomach." Harry laughed in response, along with a couple of other students that overheard. But several of the girls glared at her for daring to say something like that.
"But I would have gone anyway," she added. She didn't want to leave Harry with any doubts. Harry thought that Luna's blunt honesty was quite refreshing. They both started laughing, particularly when some of the girls at the Gryffindor table had given them strange looks. They would certainly have appreciated a trip to Madame Puddifoot's, just like Cho had once wanted Harry to take her there. Yet Harry's memories of that place weren't very fond, to say the least. He was quite glad that Luna hadn't set her heart on going there.
Myrtle heard the entire affair. She had often wanted to go to a place like Madame Puddifoot's, when she was alive, and she didn't like Luna toying and flirting with Harry. She didn't like Harry spending time with Luna on Valentine's day. She didn't like how close Luna was sitting next to Harry. And she especially didn't like how happy they seemed together at the moment. Then Peeves started annoying Myrtle again. Myrtle was already way past the boiling point, but she was a little afraid to do anything at the moment, especially with Professor McGonagall nearby. She had been listening in when Professor McGonagall had been talking, and didn't like the idea of being punished by the Ministry of Magic.
Not to be undone by Harry, Ron overcame his fear and asked Hermione if she would also like to go with him to The Three Broomsticks for Valentine's Day. Of course Hermione thought it would be a great idea, and they quickly decided for the four of them to go. Harry would arrange for reservations, and send Hedwig that afternoon. This time they wouldn't be going as a group, but as a pair of couples. And the four of them were quite happy about their plans.
Then Myrtle entered like a gigantic train wreck, spoiling the moment, as well as everyone's lunch. She appeared directly over the Gryffindor table, right in front of Harry. Her head began to expand again, and the green smoke came back. She screamed at the top of her voice, "HARRY HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!" and cried rivers of tears all over everyone's food. She started kicking things off of the table towards Harry, and then towards Luna. Harry tried to use his wand to deflect everything, and Luna stood up and moved directly behind him. And Myrtle's smell was fouler than usual. One of the first year students almost started vomiting, which might have generated a cascade of sympathy pukes if he hadn't choked it back. It forced an early end to lunch, and angered the professors who were still there at the time. Professor McGonagall was the first to come to their rescue, and she aimed her wand at Myrtle. Myrtle fled in terror.
Harry and Luna had to leave immediately so that they could change clothes, but didn't have nearly enough time to clean up properly. Luna bore a slight strawberry stain in her hair for the remainder of the day, and they both smelled a little like Myrtle's tears. And just to make things worse, a few of the Slytherins kept throwing dungbombs behind them as they walked between their classes, or held their noses as they passed by.