I walked lazily through the Forbidden Forest, just wondering if what happened between Harry and I was real or if it was just a dream. I’m Luna Lovegood. Loony Lovegood. The girl who believes that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks actually exist, who puts up signs all over the school asking for my stuff to come back, and who lost her mother when she was nine years old.

I will gladly be the girl everyone thinks I am, but I won’t be the girl who hooked up with the famous Harry Potter with the lightening bolt scar on his forehead and escaped You-Know-Who four times already. It’s too much for a fifteen-year-old to handle. I just want to be Loony Lovegood.

I sighed and leaned up against a tree, knowing I was lost without even looking around to see where I was. I heard a twig snap and I was immediately on my guard. I raised my wand ready to attack anyone or anything that comes near me. Sure enough, someone came out. It was the one guy I was trying to avoid, Harry Potter. Woo hoo, the boy who lived is now coming to rescue me from the dark secrets held within this forbidden forest.

I lowered my wand. “What are you doing here?”

“I followed you. We need to talk about this, Luna. You can’t avoid me forever.”

I rolled my eyes, but it was too dark for him to see. “Well, I was trying to, but it’s hard to avoid someone who’s following you.”

“Luna, I like you. I didn’t think I—What was that?”

I had heard it too. It was a slight clip clopping on the ground that was getting closer by the second. We both raised our wands, in case it was something dangerous and vile and deadly. My breathing steadily grew harsher and I could feel beads of sweat starting to form. We saw two figures coming closer to us. Looming out of that darkness and entering a ray of light that made it’s way through the thick trees were…two centaurs. And here I thought it was going to be something horrible, like those blast-ended screwts they used in Triwizard Tournament.

“What are you humans doing in our forest?” bellowed the raven-haired centaur. “You are not allowed here. Leave at once.”

Harry spoke. “We don’t mean any harm. Her cat came into the forest and we got lost while trying to find it.” Lying to get out of being hurt by centaurs, I don’t know why I’m not surprised. Not to mention blaming it on the cat I don’t have.

The blonde centaur whispered something into the raven-haired one’s ear. “My companion here, Timide, believes you are lying. Come with us, young ones, we will decide your chastisement with the others.”

I glared at Harry and we silently walked in-between Timide and the raven-haired centaur. This was all Harry’s fault. If he hadn’t kissed me, we wouldn’t be in this mess. This was horrible, I was about to get a chastisement and I didn’t even know what a chastisement was. This sucks. Why, oh, why does Harry Potter have to be attracted to me? Why not Ginny Weasley? She’s an attractive girl and everyone knows that red heads are better blondes, especially dirty-blondes.

In no time, about twenty centaurs, angry faces and all surrounded us. The raven-haired centaur came in front of us, leaving only Timide to watch us.

“What is the meaning of bringing these filthy humans into our presence, Sage?”

I was outraged. I was not filthy. I had happened to take a very long shower this morning. I was pretty clean and my hair smelled like coconuts. “I happen to be very clean, Mr. Centaur.”

Harry hit me. “Watch it, Luna.”

The leader type centaur that clip clopped his way over to me and put his face into mine. “Got a mouth on you, haven’t you? Bring them to Aragog’s territory. Let him decide how to use them both.”

Harry gasped. I’m guessing Aragog wasn’t a good thing. Sage and Timide grabbed onto us both and soon no rays of light made its way through the thick ceiling of trees. There was only darkness. So dark that not even my eyes could get adjusted to it. Soon, I couldn’t hear the clip clopping of the centaurs anymore, only the rhythmic sounds of our breathing.  I saw the outline of Harry’s messy hair and stepped closer to him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer, as if protecting me, something he was trying to do.

“Harry, I don’t need you to protect me,” I said demandingly.

He pulled me closer and I could barely see his wand arm rise. “Yes, you do. You don’t know what we are going up against. Lumos.” The tip of his wand was lighted with blue fire.

I heard clicking and scuttling across the ground, and then I saw it. It was a huge, and I mean huge, spider. “Harry? What was that?”

“That was just one of the many children of Aragog. I met him in my second year and he feeds his children lost humans, unless they are Hagrid.”

“Thank you for telling me that, Harry. I feel really comforted now. I always wanted to be eaten by the spawn of a huge spider. It’s a dream come true.” I huddled closer to Harry, feeling his warmth overcome me. I think now was a really bad time to feel attracted to him. “Harry, if we die, I want you to know that I loved that kiss. It meant the world to me. Oh, and also, I really do like you.”

“That’s really nice to know, Luna. One last thing.” He kissed me hard on the lips and then put al his attention back to the huge spiders surrounding here. “I really like you to, but get out your wand.”

But before I could, a bright light shown in both of our eyes. It was a car’s headlights.