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[sees_them_too]

Luna has completed her last exam and has an afternoon gloriously free before the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament tonight. The entire school seems to be ready to explode from excitement (except for the four Champions - they look more likely to fly to pieces from sheer nerves

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[says_the_booyah]

"Hey, Luna. What's up?" He's used to weirdness following Luna, so a magic pen and a stack of sugar cubes are both not that odd. Relatively speaking.

[sees_them_too]

"Hello, Cy."

Luna carefully tries to add one more cube to the pile, which has the effect of causing it to topple. She uses both hands too scoop them back toward her plate.

"Not much, really. Getting ready for the end of the school year. It's almost time to go home for the summer."

"How are you?"

[says_the_booyah]

"Pretty good. Taking the GEDs next month. That's the test that lets you go to college if you dropped out of high school." It's sort of cute how she gathers in the sugar cubes. "What's with the automatic pen?"

[sees_them_too]

"It's funny," Luna says, "how alike Muggles and wizards are with some things. Like calling exams by letters. Like your GED. And A-levels. And NEWTS and OWLS."

She wonders briefly who had that idea first.

"I wish you luck. I just finished my end of year exams, myself."

Luna glances toward her quill. The charms seems to be holding nicely.

"It's easier than copying it all out by hand," she explains. "It's a long list."

[says_the_booyah]

"Everyone calls everything by letters. It's easier that way." OWLs and NEWTs? Someone has a wacky sense of humor.

"And what are you making that many copies of?"

[sees_them_too]

"At the very least it makes it shorter," Luna agrees. "That's not always easier. But it usually is."

Luna reaches over with one finger, slides one of the finished flyers off the stack, and hands it to Cy.

"People tend to hide my things throughout the year," she explains, going back to constructing her sugar tower. "I just need to be sure to get them back before it's time to go home."

[says_the_booyah]

"That stinks...that people would do that to you. I take it you know they've done this before and things aren't just getting lost?" He can easily see her misplacing things.

[sees_them_too]

"Oh, they take them. They do it every year," Luna confirms.

It's true, she gives the appearance of being the personification of absent-mindedness. Luna knows this. But people often lose sight of the salient point.

That it's only appearance.

She's starting her new tower off with a six-square base. Wider. More stability.

"It's all in good fun. They give them back when I ask."

[says_the_booyah]

"No one sees that as bullying?" Cy knows about bullying. As a former student and as a hero who does anti-bullying PSAs in the city.

[sees_them_too]

Luna thinks.

"I can't say that I know what other people think about it," she says.

Really, she can only know what she thinks.

"I suppose if I studied Legilimency, I could know. But that's very advanced magic."

[says_the_booyah]

"That's mindreading?" Clearly, her school has no anti-bullying program.

[sees_them_too]

And if it did, really, Luna's grievances would be minor. She's never had an organized campaign by the Slytherins launched against her.

"Yes," she says. "It's really not even of a level that's taught at Hogwarts. It's usually only studied by witches and wizards who are training to be Aurors."

She's not sure she'd want to peek into people's minds anyway.

"At any rate. I don't mind, really. About the things. They're just things. People don't hurt them. And the things that are important, they leave those be."

She's not sure who formulated the rules, but there are rules to the game.

[says_the_booyah]

"I guess that's not the worst attitude. I've seen kids get hurt many times. This isn't that." He still wishes it were not happening to Luna.

"Good that they don't really teach mindreading. That can be a bit dangerous, I bet."

[sees_them_too]

"Dad says that all we can really control is how we face up to things that happen to us."

And maybe, deep down, there's the feeling that being the object of teasing is better than being ignored entirely.

Luna smiles wryly, one eyebrow raised slightly.

"Yes, I imagine there would be a lot more fights in the corridors if that where the case."

And in the common rooms. The dormitories. The classrooms. The great hall....

[says_the_booyah]

"A lot more things would go wrong, yeah. I am glad we don't have any enemies who can read minds that easily." Though Raven can make some sort of link with a willing participant. He thinks she and Robin once did that.

[sees_them_too]

Luna nods, carefully pressing her hands to the sides of her new tower to firm up the structure.

"I don't know that it's a power I'd want. Do you? It seems like what goes on in people's minds should be just theirs."