Cold Night

"Hello Professor Lockhart, you wanted to see me?" greeted Matthew as he entered the Office of the DADA Professor again, which was filled with Portraits of the Blond Man that were currently staring at him.

"Ah yes, Mr. Mason I was expecting you. The Headmaster informed me that you will assist me during the Dueling Club I was organizing, so my experienced self could share my knowledge with the students." Greeted the 'Professor'.

"Yes Sir. Do you already have a date for the Club planned?"

"Of course! The first official meeting of the Dueling Club will be on December 17th. The Official announcements will be soon on the Notifications Boards in the Common Rooms." Replied Lockhart with one of his annoying smiles that he probably practiced for hours before a mirror.

"I see. That's fine with me. So what are you planning to teach and what will my role be?" asked Matthew.

"You, my capable assistant will have a showcase duel with me. Don't worry! You have nothing to fear! I know how scary that must have sounded but I will just showcase the basics. I won't attack you too hard." Answered the blond Idiot full of himself, believing Matthew was just another Student with no real DADA Teacher for the last few years.

'Oh, how fun that will be.' Thought Matthew while politely replying, "Ok Professor I trust you. And after that will I be responsible for the first to fourth years?"

"Yes, Yes, you should show them the basic disarming and defense spells. I will of course show the higher years more advanced magics, which may prove too much for the younger Students. Maybe I can show you after that also a few tricks." He boasted.

"Okay, Professor. I am fine with that. Is that everything? If we have nothing else to discuss I see you on the 17th!" said Matthew as he stood up.

"No that's everything. Good day to you Mr. Mason."

"Bye Professor."

~ Scene Break ~

It was almost midnight as he left the Office of Lockhart. Originally he planned to directly head for the Ravenclaw Common Room, but something he spotted on his mental map made him frown. It made him take a small detour, as his new target wasn't that far away.

He was already a few Corridors away from the Entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower as he began to hear steps just around the Corner. The sound of bare feet on the cold, stone floor of a Hogwarts Corridor at the end of November was accompanied by the sound of someone humming. As Matthew stepped around the corner he saw the tiny frame of Luna Lovegood with her back to him.

"Luna, what are you doing out here all alone at night? It's currently dangerous in the Castle! Especially since the Chamber of Secrets was opened! The Monster is probably targeting Students that are alone on the Corridors." Asked Matthew.

The small dirty blond-haired girl turned to face him as she heard his voice. She was currently barefoot, and her skin us turning into an unnatural blue shade from the cold of the Castle in this cold Season. She stared at him with her cute blue eyes while visibly shivering from the cold.

"Hello, Matthew, nice to see you again." She greeted with her dreamy voice while staring at him with distant eyes.

"What happened to your shoes, Luna? Why are you out here freezing all alone?" he asked worried already knowing the answer as he took his wand out and cast a warming charm on the small dirty blond-haired first year. Luna who stopped shivering now with the new warmth from the spell looked at him before replying.

"Nargles these small mischievous thieves took my shoes. They like to play pranks on me. And for some reason, the bronze knocker at the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower decided he didn't want to ask me a riddle today. So I choose to wander a bit through the Castle, the night sky is so nice today." She answered dreamily.

"Are you being bullied, Luna? You can tell me the truth." He asked with a soft voice.

"No, it's just in the Nature of Nargles to play pranks on people. Since I keep them away with my Necklace they probably decided to take my things while I am not there. They probably convinced the Bronze Knocker to help them."

"Luna if other Students bully you, we can take care of them. If you have troubles you can always come to me. We are friends after all." He offered.

For a moment her eyes became focused, "You would want to be friends with me?" she asked with her eyes glittering slightly.

"Yes, why not? Did you forget? We became already friends on the train!"

This was the moment when she suddenly began to hug Matthew, "Thank you… " she muttered with a tiny voice.

"Don't worry about it. And you also have other friends. Isn't there Ginny? And you Harry, Hermione, and Ron also became your friends on the train. I am sure they would help you if you asked them." He replied with a smile while hugging the tiny girl.

"But Ginny isn't talking to me." She muttered.

"She may have her own troubles currently. I believe once these troubles are resolved she will be your friend as usual." He explained realizing that Ginny didn't interact with Luna because of the Dairy, "Come let's visit Professor Flitwick. I am sure he will be able to help you and take care of the 'Nargles'."

Matthew took the small girl piggyback and carried her to the Office Professor Flitwick, the head of House Ravenclaw, and knocked on his door. It took a few minutes before the small Professor opened the door.

"Mr. Mason what are you doing here at this lat— Miss Lovegood! What happened?" asked the half Goblin Professor as he realized that Matthew was carrying Luna on his back.

"You see Professor. I just came from a discussion with Professor Lockhart about the Dueling Club, when I heard close to the Ravenclaw Common Room a young voice humming. Considering the current situation in the Castle I checked who it was since the voice sounded very young. It's not safe after all. I found Luna here all alone, without shoes, freezing and shivering to wander through the Castle. Someone in Ravenclaw stole her things and prevented the Bronze Knocker from letting her into the Common Room. Some Ravenclaws are bullying her Professor." Explained Matthew.

"WHAT!? Is that true Mrs. Lovegood?" asked the Professor.

"I think the Nargles are playing pranks on me." Explained the first year.

"I see. Follow me Mr. Mason, Ms. Lovegood. We will take care of these Nargles." Said Professor Flitwick with a furious look on his face as he lead them to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

And damn, the Professor was small in stature but he could be really scary if he wanted. The Bronze Knocker guarding the entrance to the Common Room was silenced with a simple Charm. It prevented Luna from hearing and answering the Riddle. The Professor called the whole house into the Common Room and began to look for the Culprits. In the end, it turned out to be a few older Ravenclaw girls who picked on Luna for her quirky demeanor. Her belongings were quickly returned to her, and the responsible s would serve detentions for the rest of the year.

Matthew introduced Luna to Cho and her friends. Cho quickly took a liking to Luna, since her character was very different from her book counterpart thanks to Matthew's influence and the lack of Marietta's (who was amongst the bullies). Hermione would also spend more time with Luna from now on since there was only one year difference, even with their different personalities they became friends. The other members of Ravenclaw still kept their distance from Luna because of her special character but nobody dared to bully her anymore. The older Students even paid special attention to that. Especially the sixth-year Prefect Penelope Clearwater kept an eye on Luna.

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