Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and corresponding characters. Some parts of the dialogue were borrowed from George Lucas.
A/N: This is post-DH story, mostly unrelated to The First Mission. Set soon after victory, it deviates from my favorite HP/LL preference. I actually wrote this oneshot to 'get back in tune' with the FM universe after not writing for so long.
To Meet an Angel
Hermione, Ginny and Luna were walking along the road towards the Hogsmeade village. Small shopping trip after the brief visit to Hogwarts was Ginny's idea and her friends were just glad to keep her company. Ron however backed out, mumbling something about not being into shopping stuff, while Harry was too busy discussing things with the Headmistress. So the girls set out to stretch their legs, having out-voted Luna's suggestion to fly there by Thestrals, in spite of her (possibly fair) accusation that Hermione was secretly afraid of the creatures.
"You know, I actually half-expected you to return to Hogwarts for your final year, Hermione," Ginny said. In spite of the Final Battle taking place only a couple months ago, the school was almost ready for the new batch of first-year students.
"I'm currently preparing to take my N.E.W.T. exams in September," Hermione replied. "Believe me or not, I've almost convinced Ron to do the same."
"And what about Harry?"
"Well, if anyone deserves a reprieve, it's him. Besides, I'm sure Kingsley is willing to give him a job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement right away. At least he offered that to me, but I wanted to get my test results first."
"Yeah, that and the Ministry having a rough time sorting out their previous activities," Ginny supplied. "I don't blame you. Dad and Percy said just compiling the lists of apprehended Muggleborns was hard in itself. Dreadful, really. I heard Kingsley's handling all these things pretty well though, given the initial chaos. McGonagall said the official awarding ceremony might already take place by the end of the month. Although I suspect he might've held it off so that Harry would receive his Order of Merlin on thirty-first."
"It would make a nice birthday present," Luna said dreamily. "Have you decided on your own gifts by the way? I hope Harry will like mine even though it's not an official medal."
Ginny blushed. "Mine is going to be a surprise. Don't even ask what it is."
Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"Well, there's still a plenty of time. And I don't really think Kingsley delayed it intentionally. It's just there are still more important things to do other than awarding. Umbridge's trial for example isn't yet finished."
"I hope they'll chuck her into Azkaban for life!" Ginny said vindictively. "Too bad there are no Dementors there anymore – oh, I'm sorry, Luna!" she quickly apologized as her friend looked up at her with a sad smile.
Luna's father Xenophilius still had trouble recovering from his stay in the dreaded prison.
Thankfully, the uncomfortable silence was soon broken by the lively activity of Hogsmeade village as they reached their destination.
After the Final Battle the wizarding village quickly became what it was before the reign of Voldemort and his minions, and its various shops were all ready to welcome the new customers.
It soon became clear however that it presented a little problem. Hermione insisted on going to the Scrivenshaft's (for what reason, it was hard to say, given that she as good as graduated), while Ginny was set on checking out the Gladrags and Honeydukes first. Briefly considering going separately, they at last turned to Luna, leaving her to make a decision.
"Why don't we simply walk around the place?" she asked, sincerely not understanding what was the problem. "We can just visit Three Broomsticks first and – hey, look at this!"
She pointed at a small building near the end of the street, which looked recently renewed. Upon closer inspection, it turned out a shop with the new wooden sign saying "Scamander's Specials".
Hermione frowned. "I don't remember it… This must be a new one."
Ginny shrugged.
"Well, some wizarding families moved in here recently, after You-Know… I mean, after Voldemort's defeat," she amended.
In spite of the ultimate victory, many people still had trouble saying the late Dark Lord's name, especially after the months of Taboo.
"I wonder what do they sell in here. Let's go and have a look," Luna said decisively. The other two girls looked at each other. Luna has always been the first to try out something new or visit a new place.
On the inside the shop looked still under construction, with the room filled mostly with empty boxes.
"Hello there!" Hermione called tentatively.
Almost immediately the door to the back room opened, and a smiling middle-aged man came out.
"Good day, good day! Sorry about all of this," he waved his hand at the boxes. "I haven't quite had time to finish setting things here you see…"
"Um, sorry, we didn't mean to disturb you, we just thought there was a new shop in here and –" Ginny began.
"But there is. Or, rather, will be once I finish with all of that," he looked around, took out his wand and waved it at the boxes, causing them all to vanish.
"I'm sorry to welcome my first customers in such manner. I planned to open later today and already put out the sign as you can see… Perhaps it was a bit too soon."
Hermione thought the man reminded her of Luna's father somehow.
"We were wondering what do you sell," Luna piped up. "The sign said it was 'Specials'…"
"Oh, it's various rarities of all sorts. I believe the usual contingent of customers here, Hogwarts' students, should like at least some of them. Trinkets, items, books, that sort of things."
"Books?" Hermione's eyes almost glowed with excitement. Ginny chuckled quietly.
"You're an avid reader, I suppose?" The shopkeeper looked at her attentively. "I do have some… uncommon books for really devoted library visitors in my store, but I'm afraid they're not the cheapest items here. Nevermind, I suppose I can make a discount for my first customer, don't you think?"
Hermione positively beamed. "Oh, thank you, thank you Mr… err… Mr. –?" she broke off, just realizing they haven't even asked his name.
"The name is Archibald Scamander," he said helpfully.
"Scamander…" Hermione frowned for a few seconds, then her eyes suddenly widened. "And are you not perchance related to –?"
"Newton Scamander, the author of numerous books about magical creatures, yes, he is my father," Archibald replied.
"Your father is a great man," Luna said respectfully. "But he doesn't mention all of the magical creatures in his books…"
Hermione groaned to herself. Here we go… ten seconds before she mentions –
"I would really like to find out more about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."
Correction. Five seconds.
"Crumple-Horned what?" Archibald asked uncertainly. "I'm afraid I never heard of these… Though I'm not really qualified in Magical zoology, unlike my father. My son, on the other hand, is taking after him, dreaming to discover the new kinds of magical animals."
"Are you sure there have left any to be discovered?" Hermione couldn't help asking. "After all, by now there are few if any places left, unexplored by wizards."
"Oh, you are quite wrong, young miss, just the fact that the wizards have been somewhere doesn't mean they've explored the area thoroughly enough," the man spoke with conviction. "Not to mention those hard-to-explore regions, like equatorial jungles, or high mountain plateaus. Why, there are unconfirmed rumors that the north-eastern ranges of Asia are littered with little-known forms of life!"
Luna beamed at his words.
"Just wait till Daddy hears of it!" She exclaimed happily.
"Your father is interested in magical creatures too?" Archibald asked. "You know, my father is too old to go adventuring any more, but we hope that Rolf will take his place when he grows up. You should talk to him sometime. It's convenient that now, when the Dark Time is finally over, I thought we might move here from Dorset. Anyway, Rolf's due for Hogwarts this year, it just makes things easier."
Ginny's eyes widened. Somehow she got the impression that Archibald's son was about to graduate or maybe graduated already. Judging by Hermione's look of surprise, she made the same mistake.
"Now, you were interested in my 'special' books, didn't you?" he turned to face Hermione. "I'll be pleased to show them to you… Rolf!" he suddenly called out.
They heard someone running and few moments later a skinny ten-year-old boy ran into the room with wand in his hand.
"Yes, Dad?" he spoke, glancing curiously at the girls.
"Bring back these books from that stand in the back room, we've got our first customers. And no running in the shop, I told you!"
"One minute, Dad," the boy promptly left, walking this time.
"Perhaps you may also find a few more things of interest in my shop," Archibald pondered. "Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment…"
He left to the back rooms as well, leaving the girls alone.
"He's a bit strange, don't you think?" Ginny asked quietly.
"No, I don't," Luna replied airily before Hermione could open her mouth. "I'll make sure to ask Daddy to write him. We might get material for several articles in The Quibbler."
"Well, if he has some rare books for sale, I think having a look won't hurt," Hermione reasoned.
Just then, several old-looking tomes of considerable width and a few smaller books floated into the room, followed by Rolf with his wand raised high.
"Finita," he landed the books on a table, which apparently served as a temporary counter.
The girls goggled at him.
"You… You were doing magic!" Hermione spluttered. The boy looked quizzically at her.
"Of course. I'm a wizard."
"That's not it. This spell is taught to students at Hogwarts and they take quite some time to grasp it… well, most of them, anyway. And what has happened to the underage magic restriction?"
"I believe this restriction applies only to the first-year students and higher, until they come of age," Archibald chose this moment to come back, carrying a couple of boxes. "And I'd like to know who in their right mind would postpone teaching their children the basics, given the last year's events."
He did have a point, they had to admit, so the discussion quickly shifted to Scamander's books (in Hermione's case) and other curious items he had to offer. Ginny even recognized a couple of intricate silver instruments she briefly saw in Headmaster's office while trying to retrieve Gryffindor's sword, and the one she saw in George's experimental lab.
Luna reached out to examine a strange Puffskein-like purple ball when it suddenly changed color to red and rolled down on the floor.
The girl quickly bent and scooped the ball before it could roll any further. As she stood up to return it to the box, the lace with her charm slipped out. She promptly pulled it back under her shirt.
"No, thank you," Hermione politely declined the shopkeeper's offer. "I'm afraid I'm not that interested in Indian traditions…"
"Well, how about this one?" Archibald suggested. " 'The Basic Introduction To Arcane Magic'. More than fifty years old, you'd be pressed hard to even find it by now. Though the condition is far from original."
It was true. The book's cover looked even older than some of Dumbledore's books on Horcruxes, and the title was nearly unreadable.
Hermione frowned. "Arcane magic? But wasn't it restricted? I thought I read about it somewhere…"
"Not when this book was published, that's for certain," Archibald assured her. "However I am willing to sell it for half a price, seeing that it's so battered and all. Now that I think about it, I can't even exactly recall who sold it to me. For all I know, it might've even been some acquaintance of the author, the associate professor Timur Tukwe… Takwe… Arrgh, never got them right, those eastern names."
"Well…" Hermione was clearly tempted and torn between the thirst for knowledge and her wariness of illegal things and magic. "How much did you say it is, again?"
All the time while Archibald's customers examined things he brought in to show them, his son's eyes seemed to follow Luna everywhere, as he quietly stood in the back of the room. Finally noticing the boy's attention, Luna smiled at him and came over.
"Hello there," she smiled at him. "You are Rolf, that's right?"
"Hi," he returned the smile before becoming strangely serious for a ten-year-old.
"And I'm Luna. Is there something I can help you with?" she asked sympathetically.
The boy looked at her as if wanting to ask something and afraid to do so.
"Are you an angel?" he asked at last in a quiet voice.
Luna blinked.
"A what?"
"An angel," Rolf repeated. "Grandpa told me about them. They live in Heaven, I suppose. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe."
For the first time since she went to Hogwarts, Luna blushed. Apart from her parents, nobody ever called her beautiful.
Having overheard the last part, Ginny giggled. "You're a funny little boy."
Turning to her, Rolf then gave her a look, quite unusual for someone of his age. While not exactly a glare, it still made the girl strangely uneasy. She stepped back, leaving her friend to deal with the young admirer on her own.
"What makes you think so?" Luna asked, half-embarrassed, half-curious.
"You look like one. And I saw your medallion. Only angels have these," the boy said seriously.
Luna stopped, her hand slightly twitching. She tilted her head to a side like she often did when contemplating an answer to obscure question.
"What if I found a dead angel and took it from him?" she played along.
"I don't think so. No one can kill an angel," Rolf said confidently. "Even Voldemort couldn't kill Harry Potter, and he wasn't exactly a one, just under their protection."
While hearing a ten-year-old saying Voldemort's name aloud was uncommon at least, Luna didn't really pay attention to it, her mind set on more important matters.
"I wish that were so…" She couldn't help mumbling. "And how do you know that?" she inquired about the second part of the statement.
"Well, I never met him in person, but from what I heard he sounds very human, with good and bad feelings and all," Rolf explained clumsily.
Luna smiled kindly. "I mean the protection part."
Rolf's eyes widened. "How else could he get resurrected? Don't you know –" he broke off, looking apologetic.
"You know a lot about those events," Luna noticed. "For someone who wasn't there. Or were you?"
She looked at him as if actually considering the possibility. He shook his head vigorously.
"Dad would've killed me if I was. If Death Eaters didn't get me first." He lowered his eyes then looked up again. "And you really were there? What was it like?"
His voice sounded a bit anxious. Luna contemplated the answer.
"Confusing," she said at last. "And meaningless. So many unnecessary deaths…"
"Well, thank you for your purchase," Archibald's voice caught their attention. "Is there anything else you would like?"
"No, thank you," Ginny replied dryly. "Now we barely have enough for the butterbeer let alone anything else," she muttered under her breath.
Hermione seemed totally preoccupied with her new book until Ginny waved a hand in front of her eyes, making the older girl flush in embarrassment.
Not waiting till Ginny called her, Luna turned back to Rolf.
"I hope to see you again," she said. The look of disappointment briefly showed up on his face, then he reached into his pocket and extracted a strange wooden figurine. To anyone else, it would look Pegasus-like, but Luna knew it was really a Thestral.
"Take this, please… so you'll have something to remember me by," Rolf quietly said with the child's sincerity.
Luna's heart melted as she took the gift. "This is very kind of you, Rolf. But I think we'll be able to see each other at Hogwarts. I still have seventh year to attend."
Rolf beamed. "That's great! I hope I get sorted into Ravenclaw, like you."
Luna gazed at him curiously. "And how did you know I was in Ravenclaw House?"
The boy lowered his eyes again, looking embarrassed.
"Well, it's from this blue and bronze pattern on your shirt, mostly."
Luna smiled, her cheeks reddening slightly.
"But I think you are brave enough to be in Gryffindor and loyal enough for Hufflepuff too," he quickly added.
The expression forming on Luna's face plainly spoke: little flatterer.
"Luna! Are you coming or what?" Ginny finally called her.
"In a few moments," turning to Rolf for the last time, she whispered. "Even if I didn't go to Hogwarts this year, I still couldn't forget you."
Giving the boy a second to take in her words and get the widest smile on his face, she added. "I forget nothing. See you in September."
She reached out for her lace momentarily, before turning to her friends and leaving the shop with them.
Once back on the street, Ginny finally let Hermione know what she thought about spending (it seemed she almost said: wasting) all available money on another book. Hermione retaliated that it was once-in-lifetime opportunity and that she already promised to pay for the next shopping trip. Luna didn't really listen to them.
Letting the arguing girls go ahead, she thoughtfully extracted her charm and examined it. The tiny trinket protected her from Nargles all right, but who said it was all about that?
'And here I thought humans couldn't see it as medallion by themselves…'
A/N: I've made Rolf considerably younger than Luna in this fic, but his age was never specified in canon. Rowling herself just said that Luna got married much later than Harry.