This short is for the Slytherin House, prompt being Normal - 931 words

Luna hummed as she sat on one of the tables in the one of the many empty classrooms swinging her bare feet. Nargles had been infecting Hogwarts for the last month, creating an outright pandemic, and Luna did not want any of the pesky little buggers to latch onto her and create a nest. There was no need for her to add to the confusion!

There were always small Nargle nests scattered throughout the ancient castle – it was inevitable, due to the sheer number of students in attendance – but this year… Luna shivered. Their numbers were ridiculously high, even with Professor Umbridge taking over the Hogwarts and the stories of You-Know-Who's return.

One of the reasons she believed Harry Potter about the return of the You-Know-Who was the lack of Nargles in his vicinity when he spoke about him – a clear sign he wasn't mad, or a liar. Harry wasn't the deceitful one. Probably partly due to his Gryffindor nature, he abhorred liars and pretenders, but more importantly, he rarely judged people off of their reputation. She had seen his open-minded approach to people in his eyes when he looked at her on the Hogwarts Express, and it was a nice change from the normal taunting and shunning.

Loony Lovegood was a nickname she'd learned to live with, and let her see how people reacted to those different from the norm. She guessed that Harry, being the famed Boy-Who-Lived, also learned not to take people at face value, but instead to wait and see how they behaved before forming an opinion of them. It was a trait almost Slytherin in nature, not that she would say so out loud or need to do so. She respected Harry's need for privacy, which was glaringly obvious even to those who spent less a minute in his presence, let alone several hours. She considered it a sufficient payment for accepting her without making it look like a chore and indulging her more abnormal habits.

"Hey, Loony!" A shout broke her train of thought, and she returned her attention to the outside world.

"Hello, Rose, Caroline" Luna answered serenely, taking in the sight of Rose Wilkins and Caroline Shafiq, both trailed by the veritable army of Nargles. The two Slytherin fourth years had their Inquisitorius badges pinned on the front of their robes, a fashion that was slowly becoming the new norm for the Hogwarts, though Luna knew it wouldn't last. After all, the Wrackspurts were still latched onto the DADA position, and Professor Umbridge had not yet rejected her title as Professor.

"This wing is out of bounds for all students," Rose sneered, and at her friend's posturing Caroline snickered. "Fifty points from Ravenclaw."

Luna shrugged and hopped off of the table. "Okay."

"And thirty more points off, for the incomplete uniform," Caroline added maliciously. "When will you learn to keep your shoes on your feet?"

A real flare of anger lanced through Luna before she beat it into submission. They knew very well what happened to her shoes! They were one of those who hid them! But it was pointless to argue. After all, they were the ones calling the shots. For now, she couldn't help but add, mentally smirking.

"Okay!" With that Luna skipped off to the Great Staircase, intending to go outside – it was quite warm, perfect for a late afternoon stroll to the Thestral herd – but ran into the obstacle also known as Harry Potter.

"Luna! How are— Where are your shoes?"

Oh, Harry sounded so angry, and Luna couldn't help but feel warm inside. She knew she would never be Harry's friend like Hermione or Ronald were, but this was fine with her.

"Oh don't worry Harry," Luna said in a sing-song voice,, "it's just the Nagles playing with my things again, hiding them all over the castle. There is an abnormal amount of them nesting around this year."

She could tell with crystal clarity that Harry wasn't buying her rather flimsy excuse; his cheeks were flushed, and his fists were balled tightly at his side.

"That doesn't give anyone the right to hide your things!"

"Don't worry so much Harry," Luna reassured him. Fate always had interesting ways of returning her things. "The lost things have a certain way of coming back. Although," she smiled, spotting her favorite slippers on the windowsill just behind Harry, "they don't always do it in the way we expect them to."

Harry followed Luna's gaze.

"Oh." Suddenly he smirked, mischief dancing in his green eyes. "Say, Luna, do you mind if I… help your things find their way to you?"

Maybe she shouldn't have said that, Luna thought bemusedly as she watched Harry begin scheming. She liked the usual, unpredictable way. But maybe this time, she would let Harry play her knight in shining armor. She could get used to that.

From that day on, the lost pieces of Luna's clothes, shoes, and jewellery would rather mysteriously find their way into her book bag or, in the case of her winter jacket, to her bed in the Ravenclaw dorm. She never asked Harry how he managed to find her things, but she noticed several of her more insistent tormentors avoiding her like plague, and honest to Merlin shaking whenever they looked at the Gryffindor table. She couldn't help but smile at Harry in those moments, and Harry would simply smirk and wink in return.

Luna could really get used to this. Maybe, in time, it would become normal. She would really like it to be normal.