Chapter 151 I Love You!
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Harry pulled her into a hug, and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too Susan. I’m sorry you have to go through all of this." Harry said.
The pair walked in comfortable silence to the Sphinx Club room, where the others were all waiting for them. Upon seeing Harry, the rest of his cadre of girlfriends shot over to him.
"Oh! You’re awake! We’re so glad, we were worried." Luna said, she looked him over. "Thank you for saving us from those Dementors... they were frightening."
"You know I’d never let anything happen to you. To any of you." Harry said, taking Luna into his arms. "As long as I’m here, you’ll be safe as houses."
Their reunion was a calmer affair than Harry had anticipated. Given the excitement of the previous night, the party had been canceled, with the acquired sweets simply being divvied out to those who would have been in attendance, and an invitation being given to the next party they planned. The Sphinx Club did know how to throw one after all, and the Weasley Twins, the only outside members who were invited at this moment in time, were happy to accept. Harry was grateful for that. Charlie was brotherly to Harry after all, and if things continued as expected, would someday actually BE his brother, so Harry wanted to be on good terms with the Weasley Clan. Ginny was a good friend to begin with, and his interactions with Bill had made that easy as well. Now it seemed only Percy and Ron were the ones he couldn’t quite get along with, but Percy was polite at the very least.
Speaking of Percy though, Harry had heard a bit of gossip about him from Lavender. It seems that his long standing relationship with Penelope Clearwater had ended. Harry was unsure how to take that news. Supposedly the break-up hadn’t been messy, but it wasn’t totally amicable either. Harry hoped Penelope was doing well with that news. He looked up to her a lot, and had, once upon a time, had quite the crush on her. At that moment it had hit him that he wouldn’t see her next year, and that filled him with a kind of sadness. Penelope had been the first older student to really be nice to him, she was the Prefect who had shown him to the dorms initially, had helped him study on many occasions, and had been a good friend. Hogwarts without her would in some way feel... lonely.
Was that what it was like for other students as well? Watching those in the years above them leave, possibly to never see them again? Harry wanted the best for Penelope surely, but... was that what he had to look forward to as well? Harry’s eyes turned towards Luna. He wouldn’t be at Hogwarts for her final year, she’d have Ginny and Astoria yes, but he couldn’t be here to help her. She’d be the last of the Sphinx Club proper, unless Ginny and Astoria joined on fully. The thought sunk him into his seat a bit, although Harry was glad about it in some ways.
Just last night, Harry’s greatest worry had been the lives of Hermione, Luna, and Neville. Making sure they were safe from Dementors and Werewolves. For his biggest worry today to be something as mundane as not being able to be there for his friends schooling after he graduated? That was a welcome change. Harry didn’t have to be a hero, he was still a schoolboy after all. He liked the sense of normalcy that came with that. Leaving your friends as you got older was something normal people got to worry about, and after how extraordinary most of his life had been, some mundane problems felt like a breath of fresh air.
Luna would certainly be fine without him here at Hogwarts. Hell, if she truly wanted she was more than capable of testing out of her year and joining them anyway. While they had never attempted to coddle Luna in her studies, Harry had briefly forgotten that she wasn’t in their year during their study sessions this year. When it came to the core subjects, she had been studying the same material alongside them, having spent most of her first year closing the gap between herself and the rest of the Sphinx Club. She was on the same level as the rest of them now, which meant she was far and away above her yearmates. Ginny and Astoria were her only real equals in her year, and they had had similar treatment, having joined the Sphinx Club often for study sessions.
"Harry? Are you in there?" Daphne’s voice asked, pulling Harry from his thoughts.
"Yeah, just thinking." Harry said, trying to move himself into the present. It would be years before he had to worry about not being there for Luna. He had time.
"Don’t wear yourself out!" Neville said, causing some laughter to flow through the room. Harry even chuckled at that.
"I’ll try not to. Hard to believe the year’s over though." Harry said, trying to move past his worries.
"Yeah, although next year is sure to be exciting." Padma said, moving a piece in the game of Wizard’s Chess she was playing with Daphne.