Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series.
I gazed around the Great Hall with a smile of wonder. Everything looked so amazing! The candles, the enchanted ceiling, and the banners with the House crests were all exactly as Daddy had described. I stood there with an enraptured expression on my face as I waited to be Sorted.
"Lovegood, Luna!" called Professor McGonagall.
I skipped forward to the stool, sat down, and put on the Sorting Hat.
"Hmmm," it whispered in my ear. "You're intelligent but courageous and loyal too. All the same, better be … RAVENCLAW!"
I hopped down from the stool, took off the Hat, and skipped to the cheering Ravenclaw table. I sat down at an empty seat next to a scowling brunette girl. She sniffed and moved over farther.
Suddenly, something erupted from the shadows. It launched itself at the nearest first-year who promptly screamed and ran into a sixth-year who knocked a table over. The Hall exploded into pandemonium as students ran screaming, pushed over other people, and shoved over tables in their haste to escape. Meanwhile, the thing had attacked a first-year witch who panicked and waved her wand around wildly. Flames shot out in all directions, incinerating a nearby chair, almost blasting a blond boy from Slytherin off his feet (later learned to be Malfoy), and setting on fire my table, the Slytherin House banner, and almost all of the House tables. The blond boy started thrusting people out of his way while trying to flee the blaze. I stood up unhurriedly and tried skipping to the door, but the frightened crowd propelled me along. Suddenly, I ran into somebody.
"Oof!" the boy gasped.
"Sorry," I murmured. I dragged myself out of the press of people so I could stand next to the trio.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm Harry Potter," answered the boy with black hair.
"Ron Weasley," replied the red-haired boy.
"I'm Hermione Granger," said the girl.
"I'm Luna. I suppose I should have known you were Harry Potter," I told Harry, pointing at him, "because of your black hair and green eyes. Why are you three hiding here and not going to the Gryffindor common room?"
They looked at each other and nodded. Then, the girl–Hermione–said, "We're trying to find what caused the disruption."
The redhead–Ron nodded vigorously, telling me, "I saw a glimpse of a long neck and feathers before it ran into the hall."
All of a sudden, we realized that there was almost no one here. Only Professor Dumbledore and some teachers were left, and they were heading straight towards our hideout.
"Quick!" Hermione hissed. "Over here!" She tugged us into an abandoned classroom. We closed the door softly but left a bit of an opening so we could hear the teachers.
"Fan out," Dumbledore ordered. "It can't have gone far. Even if it was a wizard, he or she can't Apparate so near. He or she would be forced to hide." All of the teachers, including Dumbledore, started searching, occasionally casting spells, or waving wands. But after just a few minutes they all met in the center of the corridor. None of them had found anything.
"There's not even a footprint," said McGonagall. "It's like it just vanished. Flitwick, is it possible to cast a charm to render yourself invisible?"
"No. You could cast a Disillusionment Charm but it's very high-level and I checked for any magical traces. I trust you checked for any signs of Transfiguration?" Flitwick squeaked.
"Yes, of course. No signs at all." McGonagall sighed.
"There is an enchantment that can make animals disappear, in a sense. It can make animals melt into shadows. Any place with shadows is fair play." Dumbledore said.
"Can people perform this enchantment on themselves?" McGonagall asked.
"No," replied Dumbledore. "It can only be performed on animals." The teachers looked at each other worriedly, then left, discussing things in hushed voices. We slid out of the classroom quietly and stared at each other.
"That's creepy," muttered Ron.
"Let's go back to the common room. They'll be wondering where we are," asked Hermione.
"Yeah, let's go," agreed Harry. "You should go too, Luna. It's getting late."
"Yes, I believe I shall be going. My, this was an exciting first day. I hope this doesn't happen every year. Well, good night." I trotted to the common room. Luckily, I hadn't been missed by the prefect, so I was able to sneak in.
Classes the next day seemed pretty normal although the teachers looked a bit pale. As I walked down the hallway, however, I noticed a disturbance. Harry and the blond boy were arguing in the middle of the corridor.
"Yo, Malfoy," Harry yelled. "Why don't you go cry to your mother?"
"Hey, Harry," taunted Malfoy. "At least my mother's a pureblood. You're as stupid as your Mudblood mother!"
Before Ron could stop him, Harry threw himself at Malfoy. They tussled on the ground for a few minutes until a prefect broke up the fight. Fortunately for Harry, the prefect decided not to punish them as it was their first offense. Malfoy sneered at Harry and then strutted down the hall.
"He's stupid," Ron snarled angrily. "Just ignore him."
Hermione opened her mouth and suddenly we heard a deafening crash from the hallway Malfoy was in. We ran over and saw him lying on the ground, unconscious, with a portrait next to him. Madam Pomfrey appeared and ordered Crabbe and Goyle to take him to the hospital wing.
"He deserved it," muttered Ron.
"Everybody, go back to class!" barked McGonagall. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I had to leave quickly.
The next day there was more news. A Gryffindor had been attacked. He had been able to get a clear look at his attacker, though. He described it as a bird-like creature with a long neck, feathery body, skinny legs, and big feet. It had bitten his shoulder and had scratched his arm and legs before some students had arrived and it had vanished again. I immediately thought it could be a Crumple-Horned Snorkack as they are known to fight in tight spaces. I voiced this idea to Harry, Ron, and Hermione later but they shot it down, saying that the Gryffindor boy hadn't said anything about horns and he definitely would have noticed. All of Hogwarts had concluded that it was an emu. The whole school was buzzing with fear of another attack, and they didn't have to wait long. Two days later a fifth-year Gryffindor boy was attacked, and then only a day later a second-year Gryffindor boy was attacked.
When I next got a chance, I met with Ron, Harry, and Hermione, and we discussed the attacks. Suddenly, I noticed something as we talked about the victims.
"What house was the first girl, the first-year witch, that was attacked Sorted into?" I blurted out.
"Um, Gryffindor, why?" asked Ron.
"Because," I said excitedly, "that means all of the victims are Gryffindors! And 4 out of 5 were boys!"
"What does that mean?" Hermione snapped.
"That somebody has a grudge against Gryffindor boys, probably. Maybe he or she didn't give the emu specific instructions on who to attack. That's why at first it attacked a Gryffindor girl, a sixth-year boy, then a fifth-year, and finally a second-year boy. The emu's master is narrowing down his or her instructions."
"So," said Harry slowly, "the intended victim is a second-year Gryffindor boy. How are we going to figure out which one?"
"It's you!" Hermione burst out. "It all fits! We know so many people that have a grudge against you, Harry. Also, the fifth-year boy had dark hair, and the second-year had both dark hair and green eyes!"
"What about Malfoy?" Ron asked.
"He had just fought with Harry so he had Harry's scent," replied Hermione.
"Great," groaned Harry. "I'm going to be attacked by a vanishing emu? Who came up with this?"
"Definitely Malfoy or his dad," concluded Ron. "They hate you, and they're stupid enough to come up with this harebrained scheme."
"We have no proof yet," sighed Hermione. "But we can use Polyjuice Potion to find out."
"What's that?" Ron piped up.
"Oh, Ron, don't you pay attention in Potions?" scolded Hermione. "It's a potion that turns you into other people. It's very difficult to make, though. It takes 6 months to prepare. So, if we start now, we can take it at Christmastime."
"I'll help," I said.
It took a lot of work to prepare the potion. Hermione stole some ingredients from Snape's stores, and everyday I snuck over to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to help Hermione. Finally, the potion was almost ready. I had already gotten some of Pansy Parkinson's hair by drugging her with a goblet of pumpkin juice spiked with Sleeping Draught placed next to her. She made it to the hallway before she passed out since I hadn't given her a very strong dose. I stuffed her in a closet and pulled out two of her hairs. I knew Ron, Harry, and Hermione were already in the bathroom so I hurried over, dropped in the hairs, and gulped down the disgusting brown glop. Immediately, I felt myself begin to change. Hermione rushed to a stall, but I stayed and watched myself transform. It was very interesting but also painful.
"Let's go!" I called to Harry and Ron—now Crabbe and Goyle.
"All right," they said.
"Hermione? Let's go," I said, walking towards her stall.
"No!" she shouted. "I'm not going to go. Just go without me!"
"If you're sure," I said worriedly.
"Yes! Just go!" she yelled.
We left and arrived at the Slytherin common room by following Malfoy who met us in one of the hallways. We were able to get in without being caught. We had to sit through Malfoy's tirade about Harry, but, finally, I was able to ask him about the attacks.
"Oh, yes," he said gleefully, lowering his voice and leaning in closer. "My father bewitched the emu so it could melt into the shadows. He's trying to get it to attack Harry, but it keeps attacking the wrong people."
"Oh," I breathed. This was the proof we needed!
Suddenly, I realized that Ron's hair was turning back to red. I quickly motioned to his hair discreetly.
"Um, I forgot something in the Great Hall. Come with me, Crabbe and Goyle," I said.
"I can go with you," said Malfoy, half standing up.
"No, it's fine," I said quickly. "Crabbe and Goyle also forgot things, right?"
"Um, yeah," they muttered. "Let's go."
We left quickly and hid in an empty room until we had returned to our normal selves.
"Let's go tell Dumbledore!" Harry said excitedly.
"Shouldn't we tell Hermione first?" I asked.
"No," said Harry. "We need to stop the attacks first."
"All right," Ron agreed reluctantly.
As we set off for Dumbledore's office, out of nowhere a black shape flew at us from the shadows. Its feet knocked into Harry, throwing him into the wall.
"Do something!" Harry shouted at us. "I lost my wand!"
Petrified, Ron just stared at the emu. Apparently, it was up to me to save Harry. I raised my wand and yelled, "Stupefy!" A red beam of light shot out of my wand and hit the emu directly in the head. It dropped on top of Harry. Ron and I raced over and pried it off of him. Dumbledore and a group of teachers raced over just as we got it off.
"What happened here?" Dumbledore asked. Ron, Harry, and I took turns explaining what had happened. When we were done, Dumbledore told Madam Pomfrey to see to Harry and Hermione.
Then he turned to Ron and me and said cheerfully, "I think this calls for a celebratory feast."
Two days later, at the feast Harry came over as I walked to my seat.
"Thanks for saving me," he muttered.
"Oh, you're welcome," I smiled. Then, Dumbledore stood up and I rushed to my seat.
"I'm sure all of you know about the events in the last two days. The only thing you may not know is that Lucius Malfoy has been arrested," Dumbledore announced.
Everybody but the Slytherins cheered.
"Now," he continued, "I must thank the students that helped us find the emu. Thanks to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna for capturing the emu. As a reward, Gryffindor gets 300 points, and Ravenclaw receives 100 points." Cheers and applause erupted from all of the tables except for the Slytherin one. I beamed as classmates I didn't even know patted me on the back. This was the best year ever.