Into Your Gravity
Chapter One: No Cure For Curiosity

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I own a cat who's on anti-depressants though. For serious.

A/N: This takes place during an AU 7th year for Harry, putting Luna in 6th year.

Set me free, leave me be
I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity
Here I am
And I stand so tall
Just the way I'm supposed to be
But you're onto me
All over me
You loved me because I'm fragile
When I thought I was strong
But you touch me for a little while
And all my fragile strength is gone
--Sara Bareilles, Gravity

"Hello," Luna said pleasantly as she opened to compartment door to reveal Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley. As the train began to move, she sat down next to Ginny.

"Hi, Luna," said Ron. He struggled not to laugh at her appearance: she was wearing a light yellow sweater and a red skirt, as well as her usual radish earrings, and to top it all of she had donned purple, knee-high stockings.

"How was your break?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, it was fine. My father and I spent most of it looking for a living specimen of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Biting a few words back, Hermione said, "Oh? And did you find one?"

"No," Luna replied dreamily. "I suppose that when they heard we were looking for them, they all left the area. They're very shy creatures."

This, apparently, was too much for Hermione, but Harry quickly interrupted before Hermione could say anything less than pleasant. "That's too bad," he said, shooting Hermione a look.

Luna sighed. "Yes, it's all right though. How have you all been?"

Each Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny gave a brief explanation of their summers, while Luna nodded, politely interested.

They talked for several hours, Luna occasionally mentioning something that brought a look that was most unflattering to Hermione's face, particularly when she mentioned the fact that her father planned to do an investigation into whether or not the Ministry of Magic did, in fact, own several heliopaths.

"You do know, of course, that heliopaths don't even really exist, right?" Hermione said through gritted teeth, unable to stop herself.

Luna gave an uncharacteristically sour look before saying, "Of course they do."

Hermione, out of fondness for Luna and wishing to avoid a confrontation, said nothing.

The trolley witch arrived, and each of them bought something. Luna was biting into a particularly chewy licorice wand when she suddenly pointed at Neville and said, "What's the matter with Trevor?"

Trevor the toad was in Neville's lap, and at the current moment, he seemed to be choking on a very long, fine chain.

"Oh, no! Trevor!" Neville cried.

A few moments of utter panic ensued before Luna quietly snatched the toad from Neville's hands. She took him close to her, ignoring his unpleasant retching noises, and bent her head over him. Her long, dirty blonde hair created a sheet around her lap and the toad, so that the others couldn't see exactly what she was doing. However, after a few moments, the retching sounds subsided, and when she looked up again, she was holding the long chain in one hand, and stroking Trevor's back with the other.

"He's fine, just a bit surprised, I think," she said calmly as she handed the toad back to Neville.

"You've saved him! What did you do?" said Neville, his previously worry-flushed face relaxed again.

"I just had to coax it out of him," Luna replied, as though coaxing amphibians was perfectly normal. While the rest of them crowded around Trevor to make sure he was all right, Luna looked at the chain in her hand. At the end it held a tiny hourglass encased in gold. Despite it being slightly coated in toad saliva, it was quite lovely. Glancing up at the others, she gently draped the chain around her neck. Inspecting the hourglass more closely, she gave it a casual flick, causing it to turn wildly on its axle. Delighted, she flicked it again and again and again, continuing ceaselessly for several minutes until she heard a shriek.

"Luna! That's my Time-Turner!" Hermione screeched, her face suddenly pasty white.

But a second later, Luna was gone.

"Oh no," Hermione said, pacing back and forth. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no."

Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Ron all stared at her with dumbstruck looks on their faces.

"What do we do?" she suddenly shrieked, collapsing in Luna's vacated seat.

Harry timidly said, "Erm, well, she's gone back in time, then?"

"Of course she's gone back in time, Harry! This is terrible!" Hermione cried, running a shaky hand through her bushy hair.

"Why do you have a Time-Turner?" Ginny implored.

"Yeah, I thought you gave it back to McGonagall," Ron said, looking distinctly green.

"You mean you had one before?" Ginny asked, forgetting the issue at hand for a moment in favor of interest.

"Yes, yes, I gave it back, but I got it again. McGonagall mailed it to me this summer with my Head Girl letter. Something about having too many classes to be Head Girl too, but there wasn't anyone else for the job – Oh, this is awful!" Hermione said rapidly, dropping her face into her hands.

Deciding not the push it, Ron sat next to Hermione and awkwardly patted her on the back. "It'll turn out all right," he said, though his face said quite the opposite.

"No, it w-won't," Hermione said, beginning to cry. "I left it in my pocket, and it must have fallen out, and then Trevor tried to eat it, and - we've no idea how far in the past she is! For all we know, she sat there spinning the bloody thing for f-five m-m-minutes!" she wailed.

Looking pleadingly at Harry for help, Ron said, "Look, Hermione, we'll talk to McGonagall when we get to school, all right?"

Hermione's body was racked with sobs for a few minutes. Harry and Ginny and even Neville surrounded her, trying to comfort her. After a lot of assuring her that it wasn't her fault, and that everything would be worked out, she looked up at them with her tear streaked face. Wiping her wet cheeks, she said, "Yes, I suppose you're right. There's no point worrying about it right now, and I'm sure Professor McGonagall will know what to do." She said this as though she were trying to convince herself as much as them.

The rest of the train ride was, without a doubt, the longest they'd ever had.

"Luna! That's my Time-Turner!" Hermione screeched, her face suddenly pasty white.

Luna meant to say something back, but at that moment, the hourglass ceased spinning. At that same moment, the train compartment around her began to dissolve rapidly. Luna, utterly caught off guard for perhaps the first time in her life, tried to scream but couldn't make any noise as she seemed to fly backwards extremely fast. This went on for what felt like at least ten minutes. Then, suddenly, she felt solid ground under her feet, but she toppled over. She landed on a seat, and, looking around, she realized she was in the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express that she had just left, but now she was quite alone. Taking a moment to steady herself, she stood and peered out the window. The sky outside was now dark, with stars glittering, and off in the distance she could see the lights and turrets of the Hogwarts castle. Sighing with relief, she exited the compartment. She looked up and down the hall, even poking her head into a few other compartments, before deciding that the Hogwarts Express was utterly deserted.

Whatever happened, she thought, everyone must already have gotten off the train.

She proceeded to get off the train. She glanced around once more for a sign of someone, but after seeing no one, not even the thestrals pulling the carriages, she began the long trek up to the school on foot.