(sorry guys. This one's kinda short and boing. I just had to introduce some characters. So bare with me!)
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Luna woke the next morning on the hall floor of the 5th level wearing yesterday’s robes and her pair of socks. She had been sleepwalking again. Perhaps she should start wearing shoes to bed.
Fifteen minutes later Luna was back in the common room with a fresh set of robes, hair brushed, and she spotted her shoes. They were hanging, laces tied together, around the neck of the Ravenclaw statue, eight feet off the ground. She craned her neck to see them, the red standing out bright against the white marble.
“Nargles,” she muttered. And with the flick of her wrist and a murmur from her lips, the shoes floated down into Luna’s outstretched arms. Nasty little creatures they were. She had read about them in last month’s edition of The Quibbler. After tying her shoes to her feet and applying a fresh set of orange radish-like things to her ears she grabbed her school bag and rushed off to breakfast.
There was the usual clatter of plates, drowsy conversations, and hoot of owls as they flew in with the morning post. A tawny-colored owl with white speckles flew over Luna’s head and landed beside her plate of waffles and strawberry jam. Luna quietly read her letter from Daddy, wishing her well on her first day of classes, sipping her pumpkin juice. When she finished, the owl tilted its head expectantly. Luna extended her goblet towards the owl and it dipped its beak in. Smiling as the creature squawked in pleasure and took off, Luna peered down the Ravenclaw table to see Professor Flitwick passing out schedules.
Professor Flitwick was the head of the Ravenclaw house. He was about one and a quarter meters high and had a highly unattractive looking face. Flitwick had a scruff of black hair on the top of his wrinkly head and his shoes were about size 20. He was also the Charms teacher, one of Luna’s favorite classes, and the choir director.
Eventually, he had hiked his way up towards Luna. “Well, here you go, Luna, your schedule.”
“Thank you, professor,” she said politely. He nodded to her response and muttered something about that being his first “thank you” of the day.
Luna looked down at her schedule for the day:
Class Teacher
Charms Professor Flitwick
Double Herbology Professor Sprout
Lunch -
Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Umbridge
Potions Professor Snape
Transfiguration Professor McGonagall
She wondered if she had any classes with Ginny and the other Gryffindors today. If so, maybe Ginny would let her sit next to her and perhaps she wouldn’t have to sit alone and look like the loner she knew she had come to be. She didn’t really have any friends in Ravenclaw. Abigail and Emma, two other Ravenclaw 4th years, were nice to her when no one was looking, but to Luna, that didn’t really count. If you couldn’t be friends with someone in public, you couldn’t be friends at all.
As she made her way to Charms class she got her usual trip from Malfoy and the familiar gut wrenching feeling of being sprawled on the floor, belongings splayed around her. There was outright pointing from the Slytherins nearby, snickers from the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors walked by without a second glance. Only Ginny came to her rescue and they rushed off to Charms together and made it through the door just as the bell signaling the end of the passing period rang. Professor Flitwick clicked his tongue disapprovingly and class began.
Today during Charms they were starting off the year with a very advanced charm. They created little golden birds and made them fly around the room, charging and changing direction at the flick of anyone’s wand. There were quite a few visits to the nurse that class.
Next Luna headed off to one of her favorite classes-Herbology. She had it for twice as long as a normal class, but it was unfortunately spoiled by the presence of the Slytherins who were intent on making Luna miserable. But she would not let them spoil this for her. Luna deeply inhaled the earthy scent and Professor Sprout handed out earmuffs and began explaining Mundrakes.
After a couple hours of dirty bliss, Luna headed off to lunch and to sit alone, as usual. Then, after a cool, crisp glass of pumpkin juice, and a warm cheese and honey sandwich, she walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts, the class she had been most curious about that day. She wondered what this Umbridge woman was like. But with her speech from the previous night, she did not seem promising. Once everyone was in their seats, class began.
“Good afternoon, class!” Professor Umbridge said excitedly with that overly joyful tone that one uses when talking to babies or small animals. “As you may know, my name is Professor Umbridge and I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I understand you leadership for this class has been quite…erratic, but I am here to take steps to further your education in an appropriate manner.
“Now class, here is your new curriculum for the school year,” and with the flick of her wand, a stack of text books began passing themselves out. The title read, Defense Against the Dark Arts: Basic for Beginners. Smiling, crudely drawn pictures of a boy in overalls and a gleeful little girl were prancing around on the cover, as if the Dark Arts are something to laugh about. “It is a new, safe, and Ministry approved way of learning. Now, if you would please open to chapter one, and begin reading.”
Emma, one of Luna’s “friends” raised her hand and the professor called on her.
“Professor? Are we going to practice using any defensive spells today?"
“Heavens no, child!” Umbridge said in a high, squeaky voice. “Why on earth would you even need to bring your wand to my classroom?”
There was a shocked silence that filled the room as everyone turned to each other in awe. A few jaws dropped. This could not be possible. This was insanity!
“Alright, everyone,” the professor said, clapping her hands. “Back to your reading.”
A slow hour passed by with an awkward silence milling throughout the room. Luna finished the reading within the first twenty minutes and was forced to sit through forty more minutes of absolutely nothing.
Finally Umbridge looked up from her desk, quill and parchment, to the clock and stood up in front of the class and cleared her throat. Everyone popped out of their daydreams and looked with glassy eyes towards her.
“Now, I would like you all to copy the displayed texted four times for maximum understanding.” There were groans all around the room, as a long paragraph appeared on the blackboard and scrambling through bags as people searched for their ink and quills.
Finally, the torture was over and Luna went on to a different kind of torture in the dungeons for potions class with Professor Snape. After a long, dreary hour and a half full of brewing potions that made her hair frizz and a pop quiz on the ingredients in a love potion, she burst out of the dungeon like an escaped prisoner, and sprinted to Transfiguration with McGonagall.
The bell rang and everyone picked up their bags at the end of class, there was a shout outside and Professor McGonagall rushed out the door. When Luna stepped outside, she saw her sweeping Harry aside and into her office. Luna sighed and skipped back down the hall. Her day was over.