This story is just one chapter of a longer story written as a collaboration fic between the members of the Ravenclaw House at Third Floor Corridor. Each chapter can also be read as a one-shot, which is why this part is being posted here as well.
Thanks to Morwen Eruviel for betaing.
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Slender, white hands were tucked in the pockets of her robe, a wand was tucked neatly behind her ear, and she wore a quirked half-smile on her face. If anyone had been looking at that moment, they would have said that her smile was due to one of her peculiarities. Why else would anyone walk aimlessly around the lake wearing an odd smile?
However, they wouldn't know that her smile was painted on her face for a reason. Luna Lovegood was remembering the spectacular events of the day before. Her smile grew wider as she remembered the various reactions in the Great Hall.
Fred and George really were professionals. They had pranked the Headmaster in a way that made everyone laugh, was creative, and, most importantly to Luna, didn't embarrass their target too much.
The cool morning breeze brushed against Luna's pale face as she took a deep breath. Her face became more contemplative: she was going to create a prank that was even better than the twins.
Continuing her walk around the lake, she heard a rustle in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Instead of running away in fright, she looked toward the mysterious noise and squinted her eyes to see if she could tell what was making the sound.
"You can come out," Luna called in the direction of the noise.
Nothing happened for a moment. When Luna was about to give up and turn back, a head poked out from behind a bush – a rather ugly head by most standards. Luna smiled brightly.
She had never seen a creature like that. Quickly searching through her memory, she tried to remember if she had even heard a description of the creature that stood before her. Nothing immediately came to mind, however. Standing still, Luna watched the creature as it looked back at her. Even she had to admit that it was not an overly pretty creature. Its fur was brown, short, and rather stiff. Although it stood on two legs, it was hunched over in a way that made Luna think that it might use its front arms when it ran. If it stood up straight, the creature would reach no higher than her knee. Its eyes, however, were large and deep green in color. Luna thought they were absolutely beautiful.
Luna bent down to look at the creature more closely. "Hi," she said gently. "Are you lost?"
The creature didn't answer. Luna drew even nearer, something that she had been told not to do near an unknown creature, but she paid no attention. After all, the creature looked sweet and gentle.
She cocked her head to one side. "Are you a Lukiplinos?" The creature didn't move, so Luna went on. "Daddy told me about you. Do you really bring luck to whoever sees you? Well, I need that."
She smiled brightly and slowly lowered herself onto the ground. Tucking her wand behind her ear again, she thoughtfully picked at stray bits of grass on the ground, breaking them into pieces.
"It's like this," she told the creature. "I'm supposed to think of some pranks to play on Professor McGonagall. Do you have any ideas?"
She looked into the creature's eyes, and suddenly drew back, inspired. "Oh, that is a good idea." There was a pause as Luna contemplated how she was going to make it work, then smiled and got up.
"Well, goodbye, Lukiplinos. Thanks for your help." She gave it a small wave before turning and walking back to Hogwarts.
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"Come in."
Luna gently opened the door to Professor McGonagall's office. The Transfiguration teacher sat behind her desk, looking at Luna with detached interest.
"May I disturb you for a moment, Professor?"
At McGonagall's answering nod, Luna entered the office and shut the door.
"I wanted to ask about my grade for the last essay. I think I mentioned Nargles and how to transfigure them into handkerchiefs, but I'm afraid I forgot to mention the fact that they are magical creatures, so the spell should be different. I need to see the essay though, so I can know what I did wrong."
"Have a seat, Miss Lovegood." McGonagall said briskly. "I will try to find it for you."
"How are you this morning, Professor?" Luna asked, sitting in one of the wooden chairs beside McGonagall's desk.
"I am well, thank you." McGonagall said curtly. She flipped through a small sheaf of papers on her desk.
"That's good," Luna answered. She got up again, and went over to the window. "It looks like it will be cloudy tomorrow, so I thought I might look for some Fluffy-toed Crum-Flingers tomorrow afternoon. They like to sleep in damp places on cloudy afternoons, and sometimes if you are really quiet you can see them."
McGonagall didn't comment on that statement. "I must have already filed the essays for that class." She stood up and walked back to the cupboard in the other part of her office.
As Luna looked at the papers spread out on McGonagall's desk, her eyes widened. It was just what she was looking for. All the Transfiguration class schedules were laid out before her, and the teacher was occupied.
As Luna quietly reached out and pulled the First-year schedule towards her, she continued talking. "Do you think I should look indoors or outside, Professor? Fluffy-toed Crum-Flingers don't like the sun." Luna pointed her wand at the schedule. "Even if it's cloudy they are probably buried in the ground. Maybe I should try the dungeons, do you think?"
A duplicate of the First-year schedule appeared next to the original. Luna pulled a blue quill out of her bag. Her father had given her this quill for her last birthday. It was a rather remarkable quill, not least because it was able to erase ink. As Luna began to erase the handwriting off the duplicate that she had made, McGonagall looked up at her.
"I was just writing this down before I forgot, Professor," Luna answered the unspoken question. McGonagall didn't say anything as she went back to her filing cabinet. After Luna erased the heading, she took a close look at the way that McGonagall had written "Fourth-years" on another schedule. Taking great care, she copied it onto the modified First-year schedule in McGonagall's handwriting. "So, Professor, do you think it's possible to transfigure a Fluffy-toed Crum-Flinger?"
The Transfiguration professor looked at Luna once more before sighing. "Most likely, Miss Lovegood - if such a creature exists. I would need to know its exact magical properties before attempting to transfigure it, however."
"What would I need to know before I transfigured one?"
As McGonagall answered the question, Luna quietly folded the real Fourth-year schedule in half and slipped it into her robes. After all, it wouldn't do to leave the correct one on the teacher's desk.
McGonagall returned to Luna, document in hand. Sitting down, she frowned slightly as she looked over Luna's essay. "I have it marked exceeds expectations, Miss Lovegood," she said. "And there is no mention of a Narla."
"Nargle," Luna answered softly, "I must have mentioned them in Professor Flitwick's essay about cheering charms." She stood up. "Thank you, Professor."
Opening the door, Luna saw McGonagall give an imperceptible shake of her head. Luna smiled. There was something to be said for peripheral vision. Now, she would just have to wait for tomorrow.
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A hazy red streaked across the sky as the world became slowly darker. Luna sighed contentedly, resting her chin on her bended knees. There was something particularly comforting about seeing the day end, seeing the different colours paint the sky with the knowledge that a new day will begin. The sun set each day – so predictably – and yet, each sunset was completely different from the last.
There was a small noise to her left, and Luna turned her head to see where it had come from.
She smiled when she saw the same creature she met this morning. "Hallo, little fellow."
The creature was standing beside her, looking up with unblinking eyes. Slowly, it approached and allowed Luna to rub her hand over its stiff brown fur.
"Do you like watching the sun over the lake?" she asked. "So do I."
Luna sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "I think the prank is going to work," she finally told the Lukiplinos. "It isn't much though. I wish that you could help me."
It seemed to Luna that the creature's soft eyes lit up at her words. Their eyes met and the creature leaned forward. "Oh," Luna said softly, "you can help me. What are your talents?"
The Lukiplinos picked up a rock with its little hands, then plunked it into the lake.
"Well, I know that you can move things around. What do you think you could do in Professor McGonagall's office?
As she went over some ideas with the creature, she made sure that it knew what not to do. "No hurting Professor McGonagall – or anybody. Everything you do has to be back to normal the next day. Understand?"
The Lukiplinos nodded solemnly, and Luna smiled fondly at it. The next day would certainly be exciting.
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Ginny met Luna in the hall the next morning. "Luna! What did you do? I was leaving the Gryffindor tower this morning, and I saw McGonagall running from her rooms squeaking! She was still dressed in her nightclothes, and her hair was a mess."
"Perhaps she was being chased by a Lukiplinos"
"Luna! Seriously."
Luna frowned. "I was being serious, Ginny."
When they arrived at the classroom, Professor McGonagall wasn't there yet. Instead Professor Sprout was setting up various rodents in front of the students' desks.
Jeremy Harris raised his hand. "Ma'am, where is Professor McGonagall?"
"She'll be along shortly, Mr. Harris," Professor Sprout answered with a smile. "She had a bit of trouble this morning and needed some extra time, so I offered to set up for her." In Sprout's hand, Luna recognized the class schedule by her attempt at McGonagall's handwriting written near the top. So it had worked! The classroom was getting ready for a First-year class, and if Professor McGonagall was sufficiently distracted, everything should go according to plan.
When the Transfiguration professor did come in, she certainly appeared agitated enough to rely completely on the schedule and ignore everything else.
"Books away! We are going to return to our study of transfigured animals. Please send one person from each table to collect your rat."
One of the Ravenclaws raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Bensen?" McGonagall asked
"You said we were going to test us over pigeon transfiguration!"
"I just looked at the schedule, Mr. Bensen." McGonagall said. "It clearly called for each of you to practice with rodents."
No one else said anything. Ginny stole a glance at Luna, but Luna kept her gaze straight ahead, listening closely to McGonagall's words.
When Ginny came back with a rat to share with Luna, she couldn't seem to help saying something about the sudden schedule change.
"I mastered this ages ago," Ginny said, waving her wand effortlessly toward the rat.
"So did I," Luna said, pulling out her wand.
"It's not like McGonagall to make a mistake like this!" Ginny returned the goblet to a rat, then pushed it in front of Luna.
"No, it isn't." The Ravenclaw waved her own wand, making a perfect crystal goblet.
"Luna!" Ginny hissed. Luna turned and her large blue eyes met the other girl's. Luna titled her head slightly.
Ginny shook her head. "Forget it. I'll ask you later."
And they went back to work.
A few minutes later, everyone else had also finished, and had begun to talk amongst themselves about how strange the class had been.
Professor McGonagall was quite distracted. She seemed to keep turning something over in her mind, and didn't seem to notice that she had assigned her class one of the simplest transfigurations.
Jeremy Harris and Mark Fowler had finished their work, and were both sitting quietly at their desk, waiting for more instructions. They looked around at all the other tables, exchanged a look, then shrugged in unison.
Jeremy lifted his hand into the air. "Professor McGonagall, I have a ques-"
A loud crash echoed through the classroom. The Professor jumped, then stood and addressed her students.
"If you will excuse me," McGonagall said stiffly. "I must see who has just breached my office wards. Class dismissed!"
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Right after lunch, Ginny and Luna were walking down the corridors together. Ginny had Charms, and Luna had Potions, but there was some distance before they would have to separate.
Just as they began to turn their separate ways, McGonagall came rushing past.
"What's wrong, Professor?" Luna asked.
"It would seem somebody – or some creature – has broken into my office. My teacups are in a nearby lavatory, and all my paintings are covered with hand lotion!"
Luna noticed Ginny unsuccessfully try to hold back a grin. She hoped McGonagall would not notice it.
"Maybe it was those Fluffy-toed Crum-Flingers we were talking about earlier," Luna offered. "Sometimes if…"
"Thank you, Miss Lovegood," McGonagall interrupted. "I have to go and see the Headmaster now. Both of you have classes to go to."
"Bye, Professor," Luna called out to her teacher's retreating back.
Ginny turned to Luna with wide eyes. "What did you do?"
Luna shrugged. "I think it was a Lukiplinos, but sometimes it is hard to tell. It could be its cousin the Lukipitinos..."
The two girls had reached the split in the corridor. "Well, I have Potions," Luna said as she turned away from the other girl slightly. "I'll talk to you later."
"Later, Luna."
She arrived at the Potions classroom with exactly one minute to spare. Apparently Professor Snape had only arrived a moment before. As she slid around the corner and into the classroom, she did not even notice Snape until her foot kicked the back of her professor's boot. He spun around, and Luna quickly took three steps back.
"Get in your seat," Snape said stiffly.
Luna, panting, and a little shamed for being almost late, sank into the front row beside Cody Sweers and took out her textbook.
The lesson had been going on for less than five minutes when the classroom door flew open. Snape's expression turned from annoyance to something akin to concern when he saw who it was.
"Severus" McGonagall rasped out. She hurried towards the front of the classroom. Although she tried to whisper so only Snape could hear, Luna could still make out snatches of their conversation.
"…chambers, and something came…on my bookshelves…
"…chased you?"
"Yes…think it was…"
"A verdoni?"
"It matched…the…do with it?"
"I'll kill it. It may…a student…"
Luna's eyes widened. Quickly as she could, she stood and slipped from the room without anyone seeing her go. As soon as she was outside the classroom, she took off at a run. She had made sure that her prank wouldn't hurt anyone, but now her little friend was in danger. Snape was going to kill him!
Even though she had told the Lukiplinos - or verdoni as the professors had called it – to stay hidden, Luna knew there were ways someone could track the creature. It was definitely within Snape's abilities to find the creature and kill it.
Luna opened the door to an empty classroom near McGonagall's rooms. "Lukip," she called. It only took a minute before the stiffed-haired creature appeared before her.
"Lukip," She bent down and gently touched the creature's head. "I'm really sorry, but you need to go back into the forest. You must never come back."
The creature looked at her, and Luna thought that the look in its large, green eyes was one of the saddest things that she had ever seen. Quickly, she bent down and kissed it on the head.
"Maybe I can visit you someday." Hearing a sudden footstep, Luna pushed the creature toward the castle door. "Go," she whimpered urgently. She stood up. "Don't be seen," she added, as the creature hurried off.
Feeling relieved beyond words, Luna hurried back towards the potions classroom. Just as she put her hand on the knob, it swung open, and Professor Snape was glaring down at her.
"Miss Lovegood, did it escape your ears that we have a highly dangerous creature on the loose?"
"No, sir," Luna said. "But I've never seen a verdoni and Daddy says…"
"Get in class," Snape snarled.
Luna did.
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After class, Luna walked idly down the corridor, swinging her arms in odd patterns. After about 30 minutes, Snape had come back to report that there was no verdoni in the castle. Luna could tell McGonagall was relieved, although still a bit apprehensive.
"Luna!" she heard a familiar voice calling her name. Turning around, she saw Hermione, Harry, and Ron hurrying to catch up with her.
"Luna," Hermione said again. "Did you hear? Apparently there was a verdoni in the castle this afternoon.
Ron broke in, rushing over Hermione. "Yeah, it got into McGonagall's office! Snape went looking for it, but he didn't find it."
Hermione pushed him back. "I've read about them. Apparently they are intelligent enough to understand humans, but they can't speak. That's why they are classified as beasts or magical creatures, rather than magical beings." She paused for breath. "They also bind to one magical person and obey them forever. That's one reason that they are so commonly used by Dark Wizards as familiars."
Ginny had walked up from the other direction. She crossed her arms and gave Luna a glare. "A verdoni? What were you thinking?"
Hermione stared in surprise. "You – you let the verdoni in?"
Luna shook her head. "Only for the prank. He didn't do any harm really. Only stole McGonagall's hairpins and put her teacups in the toilet and chased her – but not to harm her of course…"
Hermione shook her head. "Those creatures are evil, Luna, you shouldn't mess with them. Now you might have a Dark creature bound to you!"
"They might sometimes be used to do evil things but that -"
"Sometimes!" Hermione interrupted. "Luna, it's well known that those creatures are used to do horrible things."
"Just because something can be used for wrong doesn't automatically make it evil."
The group fell silent. Hermione still looked doubtful, but the others seemed to agree with Luna. Finally, Harry said, "Luna's right, you know."
Ron grinned. "And that was absolutely brilliant this morning, seeing McGonagall run from her rooms in a nightdress."
The group shared a laugh. Having finished their classes for the day, they set off for the Great Hall to talk with each other until dinner. As they turned a corner, a long shadow fell on their faces. The five of them had to stop in order to avoid running into the tall, dark form of their Potions professor. Luna looked up to meet his unblinking, accusing gaze. Snape's eyes flickered momentarily on the ground before looking up again.
"Miss Lovegood," he said darkly. "you have some cat hair on your skirt." With that, he was gone, leaving the group standing in the corridor.
Luna looked down at her skirt. Sure enough, clinging to the pale blue fabric, there were three coarse brown hairs.
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A/N: Please review.