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Luna Lovegood and The Copied Man
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The Discovery
The tall youth entering the dark doorway of his uncle's shack gave no sign of the atrocity he'd just committed. No blood dripped from his guilty hands, nor did the expression on his handsome features – if one could have discerned it in the gloom – convey aught but satisfaction. And his manner – the way in which he strode forward without fear – was more that of a confident, forthright man than a conscience-stricken boy. Yet a strange and ruthless man indeed, for behind him, across the village of Little Hangleton, the last of his paternal family lay murdered, while before him, in the guttering light of a single candle, his uncle lay – still Stupefied from the boy's earlier visit.
The flickering flame illuminated the wand in the boy's pale hand – yet the weapon was not his own. He laid it beside its owner and began to perform complex and powerful magic upon the mind of the unconscious man. Down, down he penetrated, through the memories, searching for a place to insert a new, self-incriminating belief, linking his uncle to the murders. As he did so, he stumbled upon other useful information. His uncle's black-stoned ring he already knew about from research into his ancestry – that had brought him here in the first place – but he did discover something new.
Sitting up thoughtfully after implanting the lie, the youth seized the ring from his Uncle Morfin's limp hand, then moved away to search the tiny dirt cellar below. This chamber was little more than a store for fuel and a few tools. With one casual sweep of his wand the coal heap scattered and clattered dustily to one side, leaving only the bland, compacted earth beneath. But the boy was not deceived. The wand moved once more, and so did the earth to open up a shallow pit, not much bigger than the little sooted book that lay within it.
Glancing only briefly at the handwritten notes inside the mysterious volume, the youth pocketed it, then returned immediately to Hogwarts. Not long after, all his previous, partly-formed plans he discarded. The ring that he'd boast upon his finger would remain just a ring. Who would have thought a superior route to immortality had resided in the filthy cellar of his uncle's shack?
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Transfiguration Class
Over fifty years passed by. The student called Tom Riddle seemed to have vanished off the face of the Earth before even leaving Hogwarts. Some say he never did...
"Mr Creevey! Will you please pay attention!" cried Professor McGonagall, rapping sharply on the boy's desk with her wand. "Now you are in your fifth year, you will need serious application, practice, and study if you wish to pass your OWL examinations."
She headed back to the front of the class. "That goes for all of you, and few forms of Transfiguration magic are more difficult than conjuration because there is not one general spell but many. That is why the topic will not be covered until NEWT level in your seventh year; it is just too difficult. However, there are exceptions. Can anyone name a simple type of conjuration spell we have already learnt? Not necessarily in Transfiguration class. Yes, Harper?"
"Aguamenti in Charms class?"
"Yes, Aguamenti, the water conjuring spell. Well done, Harper, five points to Slytherin. Any others? Yes, Miss Weasley?"
"Sparks? Coloured sparks?" Ginny said hopefully.
"Very good. Five points to Gryffindor. There are others of course, such as Lumos and fire-producing spells which are related to conjuration. For an extra two points, how effective are any of these spells, would you say?"
"Erm..." Ginny frowned. "Doesn't it depend on the wizard?"
"Exactly! The amount and quality of the results is proportional to the caster's magical power. Keep that in mind in today's class where we shall be learning the doubling charm which conjures a duplicate of an already existing object. Having something to clearly focus on, the spell is not so difficult as pure conjuration, however, it is still extremely hard to perform, which is why I'd like you to choose a very simple target such as a quill, a comb, even a hair grip or pin. Has everyone got something to hand? Quickly now or–" She paused as the classroom door opened.
"Miss Lovegood! Are you aware that you are over fifteen minutes late for this class and – Merlin's Beard! What happened to you?"
"Uuh... sorry, Professor. I was admiring the ceiling of the fifth floor corridor as I walked along – it's quite beautiful, don't you think?"
"Never mind that – you're limping!"
"Oh, yes, I believe I fell down the stairs and landed on my wand after I'd been looking up at the cornice mouldings." She pointed at the wand tucked behind her right ear.
"You ... believe? Surely you know whether you fell downstairs or not?"
"Well, I picked myself up on the fourth floor so I think I must have."
"But down the right side of your face! Are those bruises? Have you seen Madam Pomfrey?"
"No. Yes. She said they're... let me see... 'underlying tissue damage and discolouration that will only fade as I grow up.' Yes, that's what she said. It doesn't hurt much but it takes me longer to walk fast because that's when I walk slower because my leg hurts more."
McGonagall sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. Please take your seat."
Little by little, Luna hobbled to her favourite desk by the open window on the left wall. The tail end of summer had extended into September and warm air fluttered pleasantly through her straggly, blonde hair. She was completely unaware that at that very moment a heart fluttered too – one floor down across the courtyard.
Neville Longbottom straightened in his chair, eyes widening as he stared up at the girl framed by the higher window. He'd not abandoned hope because he knew the dreamy girl was sometimes late for class, but fifteen minutes and forty-three seconds! He put away his watch and began some serious observations: the little tufts of blonde hair that tumbled carelessly over her left eyebrow, the fine line of her left cheek as she chewed on her quill. If only she'd look his way instead of cloud-gazing...
"Miss Lovegood! Are you with us yet?" said McGonagall.
"Sorry, Professor, someone borrowed my shoes."
"Shoes?" blinked McGonagall.
"My comb was in my left shoe of course. Also my quill is bedraggled and a bit sorry-looking."
"Perhaps if you didn't try to eat it so often then it might look more cheerful? As it happens, that will help us determine how effectively you are learning the spell. Have you been paying attention the last ten minutes? Tell her, Creevey! No – there's no need to stand up. No, there's no need to go and tell her, she can hear you from there."
Colin sat down again, then up, then down again looking disappointed. "Yes, Miss." He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and began to recite excitedly, "Conjuring manifests a new physical example of the visualised archetype. The doubling charm requires an already-existing object of that type to assist in the visualisation."
"That's clever!" cried Luna. "So, you could copy a comb with missing teeth to make a new comb with perfect teeth then throw the old one away? Oh, I wish I had a broken comb. Or a derelict house! I've always wanted a new house of my own to play in!"
"Almost," sighed McGonagall. "The result will depend on how well you can focus on the task, as well as your magical power of course. No one could duplicate anything so complex as a house nor would it last if they could"
"A kitten? Kittens are nice."
McGonagall shook her head. "Even simple living creatures are impossible to conjure except for very brief periods – canaries, for example. Anything much bigger is unheard of – well, there is a story that Merlin once copied a dog but it faded away before its first bark. This is why we don't all have immense wealth and endless possessions – they only survive a short time because of the limits of our magical power. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Today I shall be pleased if anyone produces even a hairpin for half a minute."
Pulling out one of her own hairpins, McGonagall bent it double, then held it up. "Now the incantation is Geminio while simply flicking your wand at the target, like so..."
She frowned when a second pin appeared between her thumb and finger, but still slightly bent. "I was not concentrating on it properly as a pin but distracted because I suddenly realised I've not got many hairpins and will need to buy more." She vanished the copy and tried again, this time producing a perfect pin. "Notice the improvement? This pin may tide me over for a few days until I can buy more. I doubled the quintessence of the first pin; I did not duplicate its temporary state of being bent."
"That's just like a blueprint!" cried Colin.
"A what?"
"Uuh... it's a design! Muggles use them to manufacture things!"
"Indeed? Well, no doubt the products must match the design. It's the same with magic. Anything less than an ideal version is a lapse of concentration or simply feeble magic. This is why it is more difficult to copy an imperfect object."
"Couldn't you do it in steps?" said Ginny. "What if you doubled the copy then the second copy, and so on? Then each one would became straighter and straighter."
McGonagall shook her head, "Copying a copy produces terrible distortions which will destroy both and sometimes even the original. Now, everyone, you try."
But no matter how Luna concentrated, she could not double her quill. She regretted its poor condition and hoped she could do better in the future.
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Meeting Tom
Sure enough, within the next few weeks, Luna finally succeeded in doubling a new quill in pristine condition which lasted over thirty minutes – enough to write a verse of poetry, she found. Satisfied with the day's lesson, she tried to skip down the seventh-floor corridor towards the central hallway that led to Ravenclaw Tower, but her damaged leg would not permit such gaiety, so she had to make do with a timid half-hop. As she approached the central passage, a young man blocked her path.
She stopped, frowned, and examined his bearing and attire. The robes he wore were somewhat old-fashioned, while his features were slightly too old for a student, yet very young for a teacher.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"You may call me Tom, and I am your friend."
"I'm not sure you are," replied Luna, tilting her head on one side in a quizzical manner. She enjoyed puzzles and here was one standing before her. The silence was additionally curious, considering there were normally students hurrying along this corridor, heading for their common rooms.
"Let me prove it to you," said Tom. He waved his arm and a door opened in the wall before her. She was sure it had not been there before. Yet it looked faintly familiar...
"Shall we, Luna?" smiled Tom.
"You know my name?"
"I've told you, I'm your friend. Come with me. Come now, you cannot resist me."
He stepped through the door and Luna, who had no wish whatsoever to follow a stranger into a strange situation, followed him anyway – yet wondering why she was doing so. It seemed wrong yet pleasant all at the same time. They entered a circular hallway of white stone, or perhaps it was spiral, she could not yet tell.
She stopped.
"What are you doing?" Tom halted too, and turned around to look at her.
"I've stopped. I'm resisting you."
His gaze pierced her eyes, as if he was examining her more closely than she'd ever known anyone to examine her. The sensation conveyed cold emotion, almost none at all. Luna felt her wand, forgotten until now, depart her hair and swish through the air towards Tom who caught it deftly.
"No, you're not resisting me," he said flatly. "You have temporarily persuaded yourself it is more pleasant to stop than to proceed. That's very clever but I can override it and anyway, it will not help your cause. You will notice the door through which you just passed no longer exists. There is nowhere else to go but forward, and curiosity, hunger, and thirst will not allow you to remain here long. Follow me."
The young man sounded very certain of himself, she thought, as he turned and proceeded on his way, and his logic was faultless. She obeyed.
The floor was now noticeably sloping downwards and soon they reached stone steps that curved down before them. There were no windows of any kind, and ceiling lanterns supplied the only illumination. Steps were particularly uncomfortable for the crippled girl to navigate and she wondered how far they descended.
"What is this place?"
"This? This is the central tower of Hogwarts, the Foundation Tower."
"There is no such tower." Even as she said the words, Luna realised they made no sense. But she liked words that made no sense.
"The tower is within and mostly underground."
"A contradiction in terms."
Tom disregarded her interruption. "And it's upper levels have no easy access but the one we used. All of Hogwarts corridors and classrooms pass around it, leaving it unnoticed. Have you never wondered why the castle's stairs and even some passageways move about? The castle keeps its Foundation Tower very secret."
"The Founders built it?"
"This tower is all they originally intended to build. Its white stones were to be a beacon for wizards everywhere. The castle was built around it later."
Luna was silenced from asking further questions because she perceived the walls were passing upwards faster than she was walking down. The further they proceeded, the quicker the steps descended. The air began to faintly tingle Luna's skin much like when she'd first come to Hogwarts, but additionally so. The dark blemishes on her face in particular were more sore than normal.
They stopped abruptly but she did not stumble.
"We're here." Tom hurried Luna around another circular corridor but her infirmity made it a painful struggle to keep him in sight. Doors of varied and interesting shapes on the outer walls invited them to enter but only on the farthest curve of the long corridor was there an inner doorway. Here Tom stopped. His entire figure was harshly bathed in a powerful silvery light and once Luna caught up to him, she could see why.
The inner chamber was one enormous white-stoned dome with a matching floor of polished marble and bathed in the colourless radiance. Stood upon this expanse and almost filling the entire space were thousands of crystal petals far taller than a man. Luna re-imagined it as a wondrous ice chrysanthemum bursting up inside an igloo of absolutely cathedral proportions. She clapped her hands with delight at the grandeur, for the room was bigger within than one might expect from the outside.
The room provided just enough space that one could pass around the immense flower or else directly through a large gap in the petals straight through the centre. At the far end, on the opposite wall of the chamber, she thought she could perceive a darker stone set in the wall. The sensation of powerful magic was much greater here, and the right side of her face felt on fire.
"Please proceed through the middle right to the end," he gestured, "you'll find it interesting." He himself began the long walk around the perimeter.
"I don't think I should," said Luna.
A frown darkened Tom's face when he turned around at only the first petal on the right. "Why do you vex me, Luna? Will you not submit willingly? Must I compel you?"
"I've been here before."
Surprise, almost astonishment caused Tom to take a step back towards her. "How could you know that?"
"Then I was right. The outer door upstairs seemed as if I ought to remember it, and you are clearly a powerful wizard who already knew me. I believe you Obliviated me and then..." She paused. "You threw me down the fifth floor stairs didn't you? To cover my absence? I always had a curious feeling I'd been pushed."
"And you would be right. Now please go through and waste no more of my time."
"Will you not come with me? It will take you much longer to pass around the outside."
"Alas, that is not possible."
"Why not?"
Tom sighed. "I believe the answer is on the rune stone."
"That dark stone?"
"Yes. I wish you to decipher it for me. No one else has been able to."
"You've brought others here before me?"
"Yes."
"Then threw them down the fifth floor stairs?"
Tom was becoming agitated. "Various incidents befell them to explain their temporary unavailability and confusion. Often nothing was needed but to put them to sleep in their beds because they were never missed. Now hurry along."
"But if I've been here before then I must have failed to decipher the stone. Why bring me here again?"
"You seemed to think more time was needed and I didn't want you to be too late for your Transfiguration lesson."
Luna blinked. "That particular lesson."
Tom blew air. "You are the most annoyingly astute of all my visitors but do not test me further."
"Geminio... the doubling charm lesson! But that was weeks ago. Ah... I only mastered the spell today. Why would you care about my education being completed in that particular spell?"
"For the last time, pass through or I will punish you."
"Might I go around with you then? The end is the same, and I will do so willingly."
"Crucio." He used no wand and had barely moved his hand.
Luna screamed. She continued screaming on the floor until her throat swelled up and she began to choke and writhe.
"Enough," said Tom. "Stand. Go through. No more talk."
Luna would have done so if she could. Anything was better than the agony she had endured. But of herself, she could not yet move. However, a greater will forced her to her feet and she hobbled forward in terrible distress. As she did so, her flesh began to tingle with the magical forces around her. Each step towards the centre of the great crystalline blossom increased the sensation. On her right, she saw that Tom, wand out now, was rushing around the perimeter, but because the distance was significantly greater, and despite her limp, he was falling behind, hindered by the proximity of the outer petals to the wall.
A new idea entered Luna's mind. Tom seemed determined to reach the far side before her. If that would benefit him, then likely his failure might benefit her. She pushed forward as fast as she could. As she approached the centre of the flower the tingling increased until... all the aching remnants of the Cruciatus damage and even the pain of forcing the pace on her injured leg – all vanished.
The effect was a heavenly release: a new freedom. Upright and fresh at last, she discovered she could run and would easily win this race. Tom was out of sight, no more than a moving, glittering shape seen through the many transparent petals far to her right side...
"Help me. Please help me..." The desperate whimper came from directly behind her.
It was the most terrible voice that Luna had ever heard. Many times had she heard that intonation, that style, and that accent before, but never from this standpoint. It was the most familiar one she knew. She turned, dreading who she might see, but knowing she must...
The pitiful girl who lay on the floor at the centre of the flower, and reaching out to her, was... herself.
Luna stared. Luna stared back. "Please..."
Out of the corner of her eye, Luna sensed the dark flickers that were Tom rounding the far curve. If she sprinted now she could reach the rune stone before him and thwart his intentions – though she had no idea what that might accomplish. Or, she could go back and try to help the tortured soul that lay at the focus of magic so strong it was now visibly twisting and distorting her other self's body to destruction.
She went back.
"NOOOO!" cried Tom.
But Luna, rushing whence she had come, and reaching out instinctively ahead towards the girl on the floor, somehow drew the crippled invalid towards herself despite their separation, slipping and sliding across the polished white marble.
Yet the dying girl never quite reached her, for she herself was suddenly being pulled back, back out of the flower on the far side and right to Tom's feet, with the other Luna now sliding the last few paces towards them. The pain in her eyes pleaded for release and Luna reached for her wand. It was gone. Tom had taken it earlier of course.
Mercy. Else convenience. Tom's wand flashed and the creature on the ground slumped and lay still.
"You fool! You may only pass through the focus once or–" He stopped himself, and with a wave of his wand, the other Luna rose up like a sleepwalker and staggered away round the outer wall of the chamber.
Luna gaped for a few moments, recovered, then cried, "Does she live? Or...?"
"Yes, but I've Obliviated her so she'll remember none of this. She will return to her dormitory and sleep it off. Apart from her aching body, there will be no clue as to what has happened, so she will spend the weekend recovering, then resume her lessons."
"And who or what am I?"
"You're nothing but a spare copy I can use as long as I wish and then dispose of. It's very convenient because you won't be missed like your original self."
"You don't want anyone searching for a missing student," said Luna glumly, and the last shred of hope died within her.
"Partly that – but I can also use her again to make another one of you if you do not fulfil my purpose this time. You really are a dispensable nothing."
"But to what purpose?" She gestured briefly at the dark stone set in the wall. Many shapes were etched into it but she stopped herself looking closely. "If I and others have all failed to decipher this stone? Even with one glance from here, you can see it has none of the common runic forms."
"I selected only students most competent in Ancient Runes in the hope that eventually one might prove capable. You were the only one who said you needed more time, but of course, you were probably lying and–"
"–and there wasn't any more time without my absence arousing concerns." Luna thought for a few moments. "But why did you wish me to return to that lesson on the Geminio doubling spell? This chamber is already able to double much more powerfully even than Merlin himself. It can copy a person! Look at me!"
She opened her arms wide and looked down at herself before touching the side of her face which had been so sore earlier. "I'm completely healed – no, not healed, I'm..." The truth was beginning to sink in. "...an ideal copy of the Luna archetype, not the injured state she was in at the time, and..." She paused. "That was it, wasn't it? You wanted me to fully understand I'm merely a disposable copy that won't survive. How long will this copy last before it fades away?"
"Indefinitely. Probably forever. Only limited magic produces limited copies and the magic here is unlimited. But you were wrong about the chamber producing the copy. It was the spell I cast some years ago which conjured you."
Luna's eyes opened wide in astonishment as she struggled to understand. The man must be at least nineteen or twenty. "Then you were still a student when you cast it! What year? How old were you? Seventeen? How can it be possible for such a spell to still double anything three years after you cast it!"
"I was sixteen," said Tom, then continued, "When anyone casts a targeting spell it lasts only the few moments it needs to reach the object and produce a result. Such a spell might survive many seconds to reach a distant object. The result of the contact, of course, might last any length of time, depending on the type, but the spell itself has short duration. But here the Founders have focused such intense magic in one place that the infinite force of any spell cast at its centre will last as long as the magic is actively focused there."
"So it's not merely a doubling chamber, but if it could be controlled – turned off and on again – then... then any spell might be cast here and be overwhelmingly powerful!" She frowned while thinking about the potential.
"You're wondering why I have not taken over the world by now?"
"Well, you don't seem the type who would be content to remain forever within the confines of... oh, you can't leave?"
"Initially I could not leave this chamber for many hours; I am not sure of the reason but I speak of a far higher level of magic, and much adjustment is still needed for me to absorb all of the power. Eventually I found I could reach the other chambers within the Foundation Tower. But weeks passed before I could ascend the steps and visit parts of Hogwarts Castle."
"Weeks? Someone must have noticed you were missing! Did they not search?"
"They searched in vain. The Foundation Tower is well hidden and unplottable."
"But why did you not then copy yourself and send out the duplicate to inform them? Or to take your place in lessons if you wished the discovery to remain secret? The stronger copy would surely not be so imprisoned? Look at me? I feel I am tingling with health!"
Tom stared at Luna but said nothing.
Luna said, and her tone was sad, "That's what you did, didn't you? You sent out a copy and it did not survive? Then am I trapped too? Never to see my father again?"
Tom shook his head, but it was not in response to her question. "You have it all completely wrong."
Luna's jaw fell and she gaped at her captor in shock for a while.
Tom said, "I see you've guessed it at last. Like you, I am a copy. But unlike you, I shall eventually be able to go out into the world and conquer it."
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Tom's Demands
Luna felt as if a thousand Wrackspurts had made her brain so fuzzy it had stopped. After a few more moments of careful, controlled breathing, she began to think clearly again. The long day had finally reached evening, yet despite the physical effort she had endured, she did not feel weary at all. Luna loved puzzles so she nibbled and gnawed at this one until she decided that since a magical copy was of the original ideal form and not its manifest condition, she was as fit as her shape and type could be. Certainly she felt more flexible and bouncy than she ever had in her life. She tried a few skips...
Tom blinked. "Your mind must be unsettled by this experience. Did you not hear what I said? Unlike you, I shall go out. Shall I spell it out? You will never leave this place, never see the world again."
Luna did a few more skips then nodded her head in satisfaction. "But the real Luna will, and that's what matters. She will outgrow her injuries and be completely well again. But Tom, I don't think you will ever outgrow your natural character deformities or be whole."
Tom's eyes flared. "Crucio!"
Luna cringed, bent over, but she did not collapse. She braced herself against what was merely an unpleasant aching tingle throughout her body. She puzzled it out. "Your curse seems far, far weaker – or is it my magic that has changed? Yes, that's it, isn't it? Like you, my magic has become much stronger – far stronger than is normal. I unconsciously protected myself–" She frowned. "But that's impossible. Nobody can shield themselves against the torture curse... and yet... I did."
Tom relented and shook his head. "You are not so smart. Everything is as it should be here. It is the rest of the magical world that has become diminished and diluted. Gamp's Laws are at best relative not absolute. Thousands of years ago, wizardkind was immensely powerful and virtually immortal. The ancient stories of Methuselah and others like him are fact not myth. Somehow their abilities lessened. No doubt cross-breeding with Muggle-filth was to blame. Your magic has not changed. A good copy is of the original perfect witch that you should have been – physically and magically perfect – or as close as can be so far because you are still growing."
Luna's eyes searched Tom's. "What do you mean?"
"I told you I was sixteen when I first came here. Now look at me."
"I don't understand. You must have been trapped here at least three or four years to look as you do. Or do you mean you are ageing rapidly?" Luna's mouth widened in a big 'O'. "Or slowly?"
"Neither," snapped Tom. "I have remained within these walls for over half a century. This body grew normally until male maturity – perhaps twenty to twenty-five years old in appearance, it is hard to tell precisely – and it will remain in this ideal state forever. Maturing is normal, but ageing and withering beyond it is a Mugglish flaw that was never in our perfect design. No spell nor physical accident can harm me. I am shielded from disease, famine, asphyxiation – not one single event can override the limitless magic that enshrouds me. Even the killing curse cannot affect me. Here, take back your wand. You cannot harm me and may need it for the task I set you."
She took it, considered an attack, then, conscious that Tom was watching her closely, pushed it behind her ear. "And I? Might I reach that age too?"
"Women mature earlier. If I allowed it, you would perhaps reach nineteen or twenty, staying that way for all time, and your magic would then be as powerful as mine."
"But you won't allow it?"
"Of course not. I shall dispose of you long before then, once I have no further use for you."
"So, perhaps a few days or weeks depending when I might decipher the stone? Is that my fate? Hardly an incentive to complete the work you set me."
Tom sighed. "You are a fool. I wonder if you are up to the challenge at all. I shall only dispose of you when your mind and body no longer amuse me. As soon as you have translated the rune stone to my satisfaction then you will provide me with diverting conversation during the day and share my bedchamber at night.
Dismayed, Luna stepped back, eyes bulging whitely and mouth wide. "You cannot think to force marriage upon me! I do not love you nor ever can!"
Now it was Tom's turn to stare. Then he began to laugh. His laughter became a great bellow, a roar of delight. "Marry you! Are you completely insane! You dare to presume that a shallow, worthless scatterbrain such as you could ever marry the Lord of the world? I shall enjoy what wit you possess but tire of your silliness within three months at most – and your flesh in six. Perhaps I might extend my appetite slightly by transforming you for variety – Transfiguration is a simple matter for gods such as we."
And as Luna stared in amazement, he demonstrated by rapidly reshaping his form: first to that of a fat old woman, then a tiny child, and almost immediately after took on the appearance of Dumbledore with a long grey beard, before finally reverting to his youthful, handsome self.
His eyes glittered at her surprise which he took for admiration. "Now, enough nonsense. Get to work!" He pointed at the stone. "There you will labour and eat and sleep until it is done."
"And if I refuse? You cannot hurt me very much – certainly not enough to persuade me to speed up my terrible fate."
"How limited your thinking. I shall inflict suffering on those you care about most. That is a weakness I do not share. Never will you have such a hold over me. In time, the world will kneel before me."
"Yet still you remain within these walls, don't you?" Luna frowned. "I conclude that you cannot yet reach my father or you would have already extended yourself beyond Hogwarts."
"Don't fool with me. When I adjust to my magical peak in years to come I shall be able to travel beyond Hogwarts and eventually the entire world. None shall be safe from my wrath. But for now, I mean, of course, your best friends here at Hogwarts."
"Sadly, there are none so close," said Luna. "For some reason, I am not well liked. The other children call me Loony, but I don't mind."
"I don't believe you. What about that dopey Gryffindor?"
Luna frowned. "Who? I do not know any Gryffindors except casually, and a few others by sight. How would I? They distance themselves from me, avoid me in the corridors as if I have dragon pox. They think I don't notice, but I do. You don't mean Harry Potter, do you? He's quite... diplomatic when he talks to me, but I know he thinks I'm strange too."
"Potter? Who's that? Don't play such games with me! I was forced to observe you for a time in order to determine your value to me. I know of your admirer, and you cannot pretend otherwise – or are you so blind! He is besotted with you. You cannot fail to have noticed him and return his pathetic sentiments – such is the way of lowly creatures such as yourself."
Luna shook her head in puzzlement. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?" she said, and there was a hint of sadness in her tone. "I don't believe you."
Rage glowed briefly in his eyes. "Then tomorrow I shall show you!" he said icily. "For now, there are a few hours remaining in which you can work on the rune stone before you sleep.
"But where am I supposed to rest?" said Luna, gesturing to the area on which they stood.
"Why on the floor, of course."
"But it's solid marble and very hard."
"The more you will appreciate my bed when I permit you to serve me."
"You're horrible. I shall never serve you, and I won't work on that rune stone."
"Oh, you will, believe me, you will. Tomorrow I shall begin your ensnarement. Perhaps I should torment your original self? Yes, her injuries do not pain her nearly enough. I can make her cry all day and night if I so choose, and none will help her."
"Oh, please don't! That would be so cruel!"
Tom stared at her. "You care about that girl? But she's you!"
Luna hesitated. "She is not altogether... happy. Leave her alone."
"Then you'll submit to me?"
"No! I will not. I will not help you! If you cause her to suffer it would be as both she and I would wish."
"The boy then. Yes, the boy will be your kitten sacrifice. I shall make you pity him beyond endurance before I kill him slowly."
The copy of Luna did cry that night. As she lay on the hard shiny marble under the rune stone until her shoulder hurt, and her neck ached, and her feet grew cold, she wept. But it was not for her own plight. Luna cried for the world.
.
Watching Neville
"Rouse yourself!" cried Tom, kicking the girl curled up at his feet. "It is late morning yet you waste my time in sleep!"
Rising stiffly to a hunched stand, Luna rubbed her aching limbs and blinked at her surroundings in renewed fear. The great crystal flower still crackled with terrifying magical power and the sense of being utterly trapped overwhelmed her once again.
"Come, hurry! A lesson has begun and I wish for you to see something." He grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly along, skirting around the perimeter of the petals.
"But..." wailed Luna, wincing at the pain in her legs.
"I have no interest in your complaints. Your discomfort will ease far more rapidly than normal." As they circled around the chamber through the narrow gap near its shining white walls, he added, "You should be able to leave this room by now. Let's see how far you can reach."
He hustled her to the open doorway and out into the corridor of many doors – all of which he passed without further comment. By now, Luna was indeed feeling more flexible, and her soreness was so reduced she had forgotten it in concerns for their destination.
"Where are you taking me!"
"You shall see."
But when they reached the upward-spiralling stair, her pace slowed as if she were wading through deep mud, and despite the tugs of her captor, she soon could not move one step higher.
"As I thought," he said. "It will be weeks before you can ascend." He straightened up and drew in a deep breath. "No matter." He drew out his wand and muttered an incantation upon her. "You may not have the power yet but I certainly do."
Luna was free immediately to continue, she could not pretend otherwise, but although the steps themselves soon began to ascend too, it took a long while to reach the top. Yet she was not weary, and perhaps her spirits were lifted a little at the prospect of seeing the familiar areas of Hogwarts.
When they reached the seventh-floor passage, Tom said, "This way. You have a Charms class to attend," and he lengthened his stride towards the stairwell.
"I...? I have a class?"
"Your other self, you fool!"
Tom came to a halt, considered for a moment, then cast more spells upon them both. "We shall be neither seen nor heard, but do not attempt any communication or deceit for I shall know."
When they reached the classroom, the lesson had already begun, the door closed, but Tom drew Luna directly through its timber frame with ease. "There!"
At a desk against the opposite wall sat a girl with a badly marked face and long, straggly, blonde hair. She seemed to barely pay attention to Professor Flitwick who was lecturing from the front of the room. Instead, her eyes vacantly explored the ceiling, or drifted out to the blue sky seen through her favourite window. Luna was immediately filled with an immense pity for her normal self. So this is how I look to others? They cannot see the racing mind or the intricate ideas that fill it?
"Come," said Tom, drawing Luna closer to the girl at the desk. "Not her, look outside – down at the window opposite. Who do you see?"
Luna frowned. Across the open courtyard, a boy gazed upwards. Even at such a distance she could see he had dreamy eyes. "Why, he loves the clouds too!"
Tom sighed in exasperation. "He's not looking at the sky! It's you at whom he wastes his time staring!"
Luna gasped. Tom was right. The boy was looking directly at her – no, through her. She turned her head. Her other self was completely oblivious of his affectionate attention. "Oh, I wish I had known..."
"Well now you do," said Tom impatiently, and seizing her arm, whisked her out through the window to drop down to the other classroom. Luna's stomach seemed to fall away with a lurch as they flew through the air towards the wall below. But they came to no harm and passed through the stones until they stood beside the boy, with a different teacher droning away at the head of the class: Professor Binns.
"How sweet, he prefers me to History. What is his name?"
Tom groaned. "He is Neville Longbottom, and there is nothing sweet about him. His passion for you is no different than my own. It comes to the same in the end; he would use you if he could."
"You're wrong. This boy is nothing like you. His expression is tender and compassionate. I think he's nice."
"Tender? You think so? Look at his slack jaw – he's practically drooling. Let me show you his thoughts, then you'll understand."
"NOOO!" cried Luna, "His thoughts are private and I will not–"
But Luna had no power to resist. She was swept into an ocean of ideas whose currents overwhelmed and pulled her down into their depths. Interests, fears, hopes, love, all flowed by until a bright space emerged, a kind of graceful void without walls and there she herself stood – completely unclothed. Before her stood the boy, hungry and eager and desperate. He leaned forward and began to kiss all over her naked body. Perhaps the fantasy was timeless, Luna did not know, for she was caught up in it, lost to any sensible reasoning.
"Enough!"
She was back in the classroom, hand in stunned outrage over her lips. Tom was leering at her. "You see? And you are no different. It is clear that you wished it too."
Luna could not speak for a while. Tom seemed to enjoy her shock. Finally she spoke. "You should never have entered his most personal thoughts, nor mine. That is wicked."
"Not as wicked as his lust, and as expected, you now desire him too – I see that. Come, we are done here. Your interest will intensify over the next few days and then I shall kill him."
As Tom dragged her away, Luna wrestled with confused feelings. "You cannot mean what you say! Why do you hate us so much?"
"Hate? Do I hate my meat and potatoes when I devour them? You are of use to me, nothing more. You can save him by completing the task I gave you. Otherwise he will die slowly and painfully. It is nothing more than simple arithmetic."
She broke his grip and stopped to glare at him. He was barely out of his teens – in some ways, a spoilt child pulling the wings off flies for his self-gratification – yet there was additional dark menace in his cold eyes too. She shouted at him, "You are without feelings! I might pity you but you do not deserve it."
He had no reply. Seizing her arm again, she was returned to the crystal chamber.
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Neville's Fate
In time, a comfortable chair and table were placed directly below the rune stone. There was food and drink, writing materials too. But it was not Tom Riddle who had provided them. Luna had learned to explore her new magic, stretching her powers to discover how far they extended. A mirror she'd conjured and reshaped her features to be so hideous that Tom would abandon his advances – but knowing he could easily counter that, she abandoned the idea. The inventive girl had experimented with conjuring pink walls with painted murals of exotic creatures, adding magical windows that showed the blue sky – but vanished them soon after with a sigh. Tom would be quick to anger and might remove all of her improvements including her precious table too. At least he'd not complained about the soft mattress she'd conjured to ease her repose – yet she did not sleep well.
Over a week had passed and the young girl worried that she might not resist Tom's demands much longer. She had avoided even looking at the rune stone in case he read the solution in her thoughts. But could she warn Neville somehow before Tom had a chance to strike? The cruel man could not yet leave the castle. Neville could. Yes, that was it. She must at least try to see how far she now could climb the tower steps...
Luna possessed no timepiece but had observed when Tom slept, marking her days from it. During such a period, she began her ascent of the stair. Great was her disappointment when she reached her limit. Not one quarter of its height, she estimated, had she climbed before being blocked. Sadly, she began her descent...
Her way was barred in the lower corridor. Tom Riddle stood there, glass of water in hand which he sipped at thoughtfully. "So, how far did you get? Perhaps it is time to send Longbottom to the hospital wing..."
"NOOO!" cried Luna. "I barely got one step higher than before!"
"DO NOT LIE TO YOUR LORD!" roared Tom. "Do you suppose I cannot tell? As penalty, I shall strike this night and you shall watch!"
He dragged her, literally kicking and screaming, but knowing it would only slow him down. Together they left the Foundation Tower, walked towards the Gryffindor Tower, and there Tom paused. He had forgotten about the Fat Lady portrait, and even his magic would not let him pass through the Founder's ward without a password.
A rage seized him which took some time to quell. "Perhaps, then, it is now time to see if I can leave the castle..."
He considered the distance to the front door. He had almost reached there once before but to go out and around to the windows of the Gryffindor Tower – that would be too far. With Luna tightly in his grip he searched the windows of the nearest passages on the seventh floor. "There!"
Luna's warning shouts were heard by no one, nor were they seen as they flew out of the open casement and up to the Gryffindor dormitories. "This is the one, I believe. Many a broomstick has been summoned through here, and we shall have no problem either. Godric was a fool to suppose his house was completely secure."
Apart from varied heavy breathing and the odd faint snore, there was silence in the sixth-year dormitory. Tom Riddle passed the bed of Harry Potter who was unknown to him, and sought the one face he did know.
"Please don't do this!" sobbed Luna.
"Foolish girl, out of my way!" Tom flung her down, but though she scrambled up and called to the occupants for help, nobody could hear her.
When Tom's curse hit Neville, he merely grunted and rolled over, but soon thereafter, he fumbled back the bedclothes and clutched at his stomach, moaning.
"The effect is subtle and slow. He might survive a week or two. I will only cast the counter curse on the morning after you have deciphered the stone and fully pleased me in my bed. AFTER not before!" he affirmed. "I suggest you get to work as soon as we return."
"What is it, Nev?" Harry Potter was sitting up.
"Bellyache," groaned Neville. "I think it was the turnips."
Harry was out of bed before Tom had pushed Luna to the window.
"I'll get you to the hospital wing. Do you think you can walk?"
Neville nodded, and with Harry's help, he stumbled out of the door.
That was the last Luna saw of him until the cruel end.
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Luna's Demands
A week of turmoil passed during which Luna agonised over Neville's plight. It was not decision-making that split her heart and mind apart – she already knew that to yield to evil would be wrong – no, it was not knowing how much Neville was suffering that hurt the most.
"I want to see him," she said quite flatly one morning, when Tom came into the Crystal Chamber to see if she had made any progress. By now she knew how he organised his day and was already seated at her table, staring without seeing at the rune stone.
He ignored her request. "What have you to report?"
"I see... possibilities."
"That is all? After two weeks?"
"It is hard to concentrate. I wish to see Neville."
"You will not be able to help him nor comfort him in any way, you know that!"
"You were right, I care for him now. I want to at least see how he is."
"What for, by Merlin! You are not talking sense. What are you plotting?"
She turned to him then. "You really don't know? You've never wanted to be with anyone?"
"Of course, people have their uses. But what use is he to you now?"
She shook her head almost in disbelief. "If I knew he was comfortable then perhaps I might be able to focus better on deciphering the rune stone."
Tom let out a long, irritated breath. "You stupid, stupid girl, I can promise you he will be suffering. That is the whole purpose of the curse I inflicted and is entirely your own fault. His only release will be death – which cannot be long now – or else my counter-curse. Do not delay further or it might be too late for me to use it."
He turned to stride away. Luna stared after him. "I shall not look upon the rune stone unless I first look upon Neville."
Riddle spun around, fury on his face. "Very well. Expect to find him writhing and screaming. Only I know how to counter the curse."
"You have been cut off for fifty years; magic has progressed in that time. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey has–" She bit her lip, despising herself for almost voicing her hope.
Tom's astonishment was evident. He became thoughtful. "Yes, we should visit him. I might add to his burden to be certain..."
Luna winced at his words but followed him out.
"Keep up, keep up," he insisted. "You should be able to reach halfway up the stairs before I need to support you."
But Luna still felt strong as they passed that point. She began to think she might at least reach the exit from the Foundation Tower – but Tom must not learn that. Instead, she took a few more steps then slowed to a halt.
"Almost as far as I reached in the same period," said Tom, craftily. "No doubt you are faking it a little though. Another week and I shall have to seal the entrance. That will need vast power and be a nuisance to my comings and goings. Just keep in mind that if you become an irritation then I shall dispose of you earlier. There will always be an inexhaustible supply of students to work on my rune stone. There's a sixth-year Gryffindor Mudblood who shows promise in Ancient Runes – though I'm reluctant to contaminate my hands on her repulsive flesh."
When they reached the hospital wing, Neville was in a sorry state: weak and distressed with eyes closed but not crying out. However, the tautness of his facial muscles testified to the strain he was undergoing, and that he was conscious. The morning light through the window was bright but without any sun to cheer up Luna's melancholy mood. A chair stood at the side of his bed and she sat down on it.
"It's me, it's Luna."
Tom frowned. "Are you mad? He can't possibly hear you."
"I know. Won't you let me speak to him this once?"
"No."
"He might die never having known my feelings for him."
"Do you imagine in your tiny mind that I care one bent Sickle?"
"Please?"
"Oh, very well then..."
She looked up at his face. Tom was smirking. "Longbottom will die lonely unless you fulfil my demands. It's entirely up to you whether you kill him or not."
"His family and friends must visit him."
"No doubt they do, but his heart is yours. Still, despite his misery, it appears Pomfrey has potions now to soothe the worst of his physical anguish so... more pain is needed I think to persuade you." He stood up, raising his wand.
"Ah, good morning! He's on this side, Headmaster." Matron was at the infirmary's entrance, showing in Professor Dumbledore. She led the way.
"That meddling old fool," snarled Tom. "He cannot harm me, but he might detect our presence."
Luna instantly found herself at the far end of the ward, unable to move. Tom had his head on one side with his wand now at his ear. He was listening intently. All Luna could discern was the faint, far-off murmurings of the discussion between Dumbledore and Pomfrey. If only Tom had shared his eavesdropping spell with her then she would have learnt there was not, and never had been, any counter-curse for Neville's condition: the boy was close to death and could not be saved.
"Hah! He has a day or two at most, Lovegood. I give you this ultimatum: Bring the rune stone's translation to my bed tonight. Satisfy me to the utmost in every way, and I give you my word that tomorrow I shall save Longbottom. That is my final statement on the matter. Come, we're leaving."
Upon their return to the crystal chamber, with Luna begging and pleading all the way, his only and final words were: "Time has run out. I tire of playing games with you any further. Come to me tonight with the solution or he dies, and I shall still have you, willing or not."
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Saying Goodbye
Luna wept over lunch, then resigned to what must be, she rose and walked quietly out. There was no real hope, but she had to try to at least console Neville. If she could ascend all the steps, then rested, perhaps she might reach the hospital wing. There was no point in warning Neville or anyone else now – for he'd die without Tom's counter-curse even if he left Hogwarts – but it might give him some comfort to know she cared for him before she finally submitted to Riddle. Then she could only hope Neville survived her dark night with that monster so Tom could save him tomorrow.
The steps were wearisome despite her own vibrant health, but it was her heart that was heavy. She reached halfway easily enough, passed half as much again with ease, and when she finally spied the exit, her hopes lifted.
Alas! As she progressed along the seventh-floor corridor, her legs were stiffening. When she reached the stairs that led down she sat down on the top step to rest, shaking her head in despair. She had been a fool to suppose there was hope. The stairs she might manage but the hospital wing was yet a long way off and up another flight. And she must return before nightfall to satisfy Tom. Luna peered down at the great clock in the hall below – two-thirty! Students would be moving between classes soon and she would be seen. What could she tell them? Nothing. Invisibility – that was the answer. She'd not tried before but was confident in her new magic – it was not at all depleted by the journey. Before she could try, she heard footsteps ascending the steps towards her.
"Luna? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?"
She raised her face from her hands. "Harry?" Tears streaked her face and she rubbed vigorously at them.
"Erm... what's wrong?" She could sense his awkwardness as he reached her level and sat down on the same step. "It's Neville isn't it?"
Luna gasped. "How...? how did you know?"
"Everybody's upset. Dumbledore thinks he won't... you know... last the night. He didn't want to die in hospital so... well, we've been taking turns sitting with him for an hour. I'm on my way to relieve Ron right now."
"He's...? Where is he?"
"Dormitory. He wanted his last memories to be in Gryffindor Tower. He was so proud, you know, to be a Gryffindor. You might not think it but he's very brave." Harry bit his lip and his face scrunched up in grief. "Not sure I'm quite ready to face him y-yet. Not as b-brave as..." His voice descended into a mumble.
"Might I sit with him instead then?" said Luna in a tiny, trembling voice.
Harry nodded, unable to speak. They stood up and she took his arm, leaning on him somewhat. He didn't seem to notice.
"Hope springs eternal," he said.
"Sorry?" Then she saw he wasn't talking to her.
"It's our password," he explained in a low voice, gesturing at the Fat Lady portrait as he led Luna into the Gryffindor common room.
"That's right, it does..." she murmured.
Barely could she walk the steps up to Harry's dorm and he had to give her more support. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'll be fine once I see Neville."
Harry didn't understand but he said nothing until they reached Neville's bedside. Ron stood up, nodded once at Harry, but moved aside when he saw Luna. "Nev? Nev? Visitor for you..."
"Mmm...?" Neville was lying on his back, propped up by several pillows. He opened his eyes. Then he opened them wide. Then his mouth gaped open too.
Luna smiled. "Hello, I came to sit with you if that's alright?"
Neville managed a nod, still gawping. Ron exchanged glances with Harry, then they slipped away to the open doorway. They looked back briefly, then went out.
Luna wasted no time – there wasn't any. She leaned over and kissed Neville's forehead. "Neville, I wanted you to know I'm very fond of you. I saw you looking at me once and..." She took his hand and squeezed it.
Neville wondered if, in fact, this was what happened when you passed on. Or perhaps he was halfway to the next world and his mind was breaking down. It was worth dying, he thought to himself, and happiness touched his lips into a smile as lovely as Luna's.
"Neville?"
He opened his eyes again. She was still there.
"Neville, I want to tell you everything about me. I want you to know how much I care."
"I'd like that." His voice was faint but firm. This couldn't be real but it sure felt good with her hand in his and her eyes... her eyes for the first time were looking directly into his.
For the next hour she talked gently to him, explaining what she could, and what had happened to him, and how the curse might yet be countered the next day. "There's still hope," she smiled. She said nothing of the sacrifice she must make that night but she encouraged him with all her ideas, and her own strength was revived too by their intimacy. For almost another hour she talked while Neville seemed to listen, all the time sinking deeper back into his pillows with a joyful, dreamy look upon his face...
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Luna Finally Submits
Tom Riddle looked at the bedside clock. Where was that girl? He'd not really expected her to show. Tomorrow she would be in chains and suffer his desires the hard way...
A sound – perhaps a cry – caught his attention, and he rose, went to the door, and opened it. There, at the far edge of the round corridor, Luna was calling to him, urgently gesturing for him to come. A resigned expression clouded the girl's expression and her cheap, flimsy white robe hung limply over slumped shoulders. "Tom, it's done. I worked it out at last. I admit it's much more than I expected, but don't blame me if I don't look as excited as I should be. Please hurry. Let's get this over with quickly and I promise to submit in your bedroom – but Neville must be helped right after, and there's not much time."
"Of course! I said I would." He rushed forward, pulling his dressing gown about him, but Luna had hurried off around the corner. If this was some trick... He sprinted after her, catching one glimpse as she entered the crystal chamber – the intense white light piercing easily through the thin cotton garment and revealing her nakedness beneath. She must have readied herself for him, he realised. Tom caught his breath as he continued racing after her.
It was a shock to see the crystal light switch off just as he reached the doorway. He peered in. The entire flower was dark, the only light being a lantern upon the table at the far end which illuminated the rune stone above it. Luna was past the centre already and hurrying towards the other side. "Come on, I'll show you everything."
Ecstatic at what he was finally seeing after all these years, Tom chased after the girl through the deadened flower. The girl had really done it! There was no magical sensation, and not only had the magical focus been stopped at last, but the Geminio curse with it! Here was everything he had ever dreamed of! Now he would be able to cast other spells of such immensity that they would encompass the world from here! She could have no idea of what she was about to give away in return for a pathetic, idiot boy who was doomed anyway!
But the girl had almost reached beyond the crystal flower. What if she–!
"Touch nothing, do nothing, until I get through!" he roared, still fearing a trick. Only now had he recognised his vulnerability: if she reached the stone and restored the full magical focus then... yet he smiled grimly. With the Geminio spell ended, a new spell would still be needed and he would be ready, faster, more powerful than her, and, he alone would be at the focus, his magic amplified beyond comprehension. And yes, he reached the centre easily before she attained the stone, and there he draw his wand...
Pain beyond description. Down he fell, screaming, his wand falling from his limp grasp. Ahead of him, another Riddle, distorted, terribly disfigured, stumbled a few more steps then also collapsed, its shrieks echoing and mingling with his own.
Behind him, through the ocean of pain in which he was drowning, he heard yet another, impossible voice speaking. It was Luna's. But how? Had unlimited power enabled her to copy a copy? Fighting to see beyond the unbearable haze of his suffering, he perceived she was also still ahead of him, yet had only just reached the stone. No! His failing reason finally recognised the truth of it – the first copy of the smart Ravenclaw had not entered the flower at all – he'd seen only the new copy who'd started her run safely beyond the centre.
"Stay there," The Luna behind him was shouting to... herself ahead. "I'll come to you around the edge! Whatever you do, don't come back!"
"Don't worry, I won't," said the other Luna at the rune stone.
The older Luna copy was now hurrying forward around the outer perimeter. She waved her wand as she ran and the illusion she'd cast earlier – for such it was – dissipated. A blaze of immense white light revealed the two tortured Riddles squirming and buckling at the chamber's centre. The crystal flower had always been empowered, but Luna's illusory spell had hid its light and every sensation of the presence of magic still active within it. And yet, no mere illusion could affect the timeless Geminio curse that Tom had cast so long ago, and was now caught in his own trap.
Tom's movement and range of vision were failing. As through a tunnel, all he could see in front of him was the second Riddle copy bubbling and bursting asunder, blood and flesh breaking out spontaneously. Finally the squealing creature broke down into a lifeless mess of gore. Tom cared not, because his own body – itself a mere copy – was also twisting horribly. His outstretched arms distended, distorted, fingers erupting as they clawed frenziedly at the marble.
"Aaaahhhh – how! how!" he sobbed and blubbered, but neither of the two perfect Lunas answered as they watched him slowly die. How...? was his last living thought.
Only after he had finally succumbed to death's embrace did one of the Lunas speak, "Erm... Luna, think you could undo me now? It's a bit uuh... odd like this."
The first Luna copy smiled and waved her wand to cancel the Transfiguration. The person opposite her gradually resumed his normal shape. It was Neville – or at least, a perfect copy.
He grinned. "I don't want to do that ever again."
"Nor I," said Luna. "You were wonderful. And you run funny just like me!"
"Well I was your shape! An illusion of it anyway. That felt so peculiar. How'd you learn to do that? And the levitation spells you cast to get us down here from my dorm? That was awesome! And now I feel full of energy!" He waved his arms wildly and danced around Luna.
"You'll be able to do spells that powerful yourself very soon."
"Really?" His elation changed to a darker, more thoughtful mood. "It's a shame the original Neville had to die."
But Luna's eyes had fallen upon the dark stone's characters, distracting her for a few moments from what Neville had said, because she now saw they were not runes at all but pictograms similar to ones she'd seen Swedish infants play with to create fairy stories. It was likely, she suddenly realised, Tom's parents had never taken him there or he'd have recognised them himself! Well, she would have fun working them out one day. "Neville, you did agree your original life could not be saved. It was your choice to come here."
He nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes, I'm not complaining. He was going to die anyway – Dumbledore told me the truth in the end. At least when you quickly summoned me out of from the middle of that flower, his end was less painful than what Riddle suffered. That was gruesome. But I don't know what I'm going to tell Gran. She'll do her nut."
Luna giggled and they began walking back hand-in-hand around the crystal perimeter. "Not just her – everybody. Don't worry, remember I told you that you'll be trapped here for quite a while, so you won't have to face them yet. Tom took fifty years before he even reached outside Hogwarts. Then there's the other Luna to consider – the old me. Should we tell her?"
"What will happen to her?"
"She'll be fine. Her damaged body will heal in time. She'll live her life in her own way, and no worse off. But it complicates things. We have eternity. I suggest we contact only a few outsiders – including your gran. The magic here is dangerous. We must keep it secret. We can arrange meetings with your gran but never tell her the complete story. I might even find a way to speak to my father without conflicting with the original Luna." She sighed. "There's lots to think about."
They'd reached the doorway and went out without looking back at the mess in the chamber's centre. She led him around the curving corridor.
Luna turned thoughtful. "We'll grow to maturity but never older – never deviate from being perfect copies. Tom called us gods. It seems nothing but the crystal chamber's magic can ever end our lives..."
"But what will we do all that time?" said Neville.
Luna pulled him by the hand into Riddle's private chamber. "I promised Tom I'd go to his bedroom and submit." Smiling, she loosened her flimsy robe and it floated down around her feet. Neville literally staggered with a sudden weakness in his legs. His mouth gaped open in a huge, dumbstruck 'O' and his eyes practically popped in astonishment as Luna said, "First kiss me all over, Neville ... then we'll try to think of something more."
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The End
Author's Notes
That was another fun idea that came and nagged me to write it. I finished it in a few days, and again it boosted my output for my next 'Chance of a Lifetime' chapter! It's win win! The book Tom found in his uncle's cellar was by the Founders and stolen by Salazar, and handed down to his descendants along with his locket. I planned to work that into the story but then it seemed unnecessary. My AU interpretation of magic, Gamp's Law, and the Gemini spell. The Swedish pictogram thing was unlikely but I needed something outside the experience of Tom and his previous victims, while Luna might well have visited Sweden with her father in search of the Snorkack. Okay, there may be loose ends, and some canon and even logic flaws, but the story is there to be enjoyed! :)
Thanks to everyone for comments and reviews. These are most welcome and very encouraging. Let me know of any weaknesses or faults – I'm always trying to improve my writing so feedback is really useful. :)
– Hippothestrowl
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