CHASER 3: "This is a peculiar theme." Spy
Prompts:
#2: (word) Chivalrous
#10: (action) Hide
#14: (creature) Demiguise
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The day was glorious. Sunny skies, but not too hot; slightly humid, but much better than the suffocating dryness of the previous day. And, of course an erumpent standing tall over the plains, chewing some leaves off a tree.
Yes, an erumpent.
Luna and Xenophilius peered over the bush, staring at the beautiful creature in awe; their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide.
The enormous creature towered over everything that came near it. It was as tall as two hippopotami on top of each other and as wide as three. The size of its stomach was massive, perhaps even rivalling that of a middle-aged American man with a beer belly ("Jesus Christ, Diane! It's not my fault you made enough Christmas cookies to feed four families!").
As if purposely meaning to completely baffle the reader, and honestly the writer as well, this statement was made: "It's just a baby - undersized if anything."
Xenophilius Lovegood had never experienced such beauty before. His whole life had been dedicated to discovering the most beautiful, rare, unique, zany, insane, and amazing creatures that the wizarding world had to offer. This topped all of the ones he had seen so far.
Luna was feeling quite the same and was so excited that her first-ever trek was successful. She had heard of her father's previous adventures. For example, the time he had punched a Blast-Ended Skrewt in the face (or butt? You can never really tell with them - I guess if the thing you punch explodes you know it's the butt? Truly a question of the utmost importance…)
Remembering his true purpose for being there - more like an excuse to get a vacation, but whatever lets you sleep at night - Xenophilius pulled out his camera.
"Make sure your flash is off, Daddy," Luna whispered, leaning closer to her father, but not taking her eyes off of the creature in front of her.
Shooting a funny look at his daughter, as if to say, 'I can't believe you have so little confidence in me,' he scoffed. "Of course, sweetie," he muttered.
Luna smiled a little, but it disappeared when her father perfected the angle and took the photo.
Click.
Flash.
The moment that followed was completely silent, save for the oaf-like grunt that left the erumpent's mouth as it turned their heads towards them.
"I saw this Muggle film, a little while ago," whispered Xenophilius, causing Luna to send a panicked glance in her father's direction. They were standing as still as possible as the creature observed them questioningly. "Called geriatric park - no, that's not it - Jer, gur, maybe… was it Jur-"
Luna cut him off. "Get to the point, please!"
Xenophilius snapped out of his confusion and blushed. "Ah, yes! Sorry," he muttered. "Anyway, they stood as still as possible when the large creature was staring them down, and it worked!"
Seeing that the erumpent was only looking at them with curiosity so far, she agreed. "Okay, let's try it."
His theory was debunked seconds later.
Even the erumpent seemed to find his theory funny, as it snorted (almost in amusement, and the writer admits that they too snorted at this ridiculous idea) before charging at them.
Luna, the only one there in her right mind (although, the erumpent seemed quite sane as well), turned and sprinted towards the trees. Her father followed a moment later, waiting only for his mind to register the fact that an erumpent was chasing them.
The pair fled towards the mountain, spotting a small cave that would be perfect for escaping a raging erumpent. They barely made it.
They launched themselves into the darkness of the cave, willing to risk meeting whatever creature might lie in there for safety from the creature behind them.
Hiding around the corner, Luna and Xenophilius quivered in fear as they heard the behemoth try and jam it's way into the cave repeatedly. It was several minutes before they could hear the erumpent let out a large huff of breath and stomp away.
Xenophilius released a deep breath, breaking the previous tension. Luna giggled, and before they knew it, they were bowled over in belly-shaking laughter.
"That was the best thing ever!" Luna exclaimed, between giggles. (The narrator blinks in astonishment - this is, without a doubt, the weirdest family they've ever witnessed.)
Their laughter ended very quickly after that.
"Why hello there," a deep voice said. Both Lovegoods stopped in their tracks, looking for the body behind the voice.
A man hidden in the shadows stepped out. Handsome with rugged features, the man was truly a diamond in the rough (and by rough the narrator means incredibly dry terrain filled with blood-thirsty rhinoceroses).
He donned what one would describe as a stereotypical jungle outfit. A moss green button-up shirt paired with a pair of beige khakis. He had ebony-coloured skin and eyes to match. Not to mention the fact that the man was roughly the size of a tank, muscles bulging from wherever they weren't covered. He was exactly what one might consider an African Indiana Jones.
"Don't worry," the man spoke with a heavy accent, smirking as the two blondes jumped in fright, not sure of what the new presence would do next. "I mean no harm, I was warned that there might be people in trouble heading to this cave."
"And how did you know we would be here?" Xenophilius asked, curiosity in his eyes.
The man glanced at his shoulder and gave a small nod. The Lovegoods watched with confusion until a small monkey-like creature with long white hair appeared on his shoulder.
A demiguise.
Xenophilius' eyes lit up like Christmas trees. This was one of the magical creatures he had been interested in meeting for decades!
The small creature went invisible again almost immediately. The man sighed, almost in disappointment.
"Why did it disappear again?" Luna asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"Demiguises have precognitive sight - they know exactly what your father would have done if it had remained visible," the man spoke, looking unimpressed with Xenophilius.
The state of excitement that Xenophilius had been in quickly disappeared, and he slumped, a defeated look on his face. "I wouldn't have done anything to it," he muttered. "I just wanted to pet it."
"Demiguises despise being touched by people they don't trust," the man explained, observing as Xenophilius accepted that he shouldn't pet it. Once it clear that he wouldn't go after his small friend, the demiguise became visible again.
Seeing that everything was peaceful - the man decided it was time for introductions. "My name is Amare Mabuza," he began, before gesturing to the demiguise. "And this is my friend, Emerys."
"My name is Luna, and this is my father, Xenophilius!" Luna introduced herself, attempting to smooth everything over before her father did something that would ruin the civility of the conversation. "We're visitors from England!"
"Yes, it's obvious to me that," Amare paused before continuing, "you're not from around here." The father-daughter duo blinked, and an awkward silence ensued.
Xenophilius tried his best to break the awkwardness by laughing (although it didn't work very well, the narrator noted, he seemed terrified of the buff man in front of him.) "Now, was it our appearance that gave it away, or the fact that we were just chased into a cave by an erumpent?"
"A bit of both," Amare chuckled, and the two Lovegoods quickly did the same. Before they knew it, they were having a cordial conversation with this random man who had been casually standing in a cave.
After a few minutes, Amare offered to lead them back to the village. "We don't want you two to run into any stray erumpents now, do we?" he had remarked, leading to awkward laughter from the other two. Nonetheless, they accepted his offer.
The walk back to the village was quite peaceful, and both Xenophilius and Luna were extremely interested in hearing the many stories of the man in front of them. He had been on numerous adventures in his lifetime, and had even had encounters with several of the magical creatures that Xenophilius had always wanted to see.
Casting a quick tempus, Xenophilius noted that it was a perfect time for himself and Luna to have lunch. Looking at Amare, who was chatting with his daughter, Xenophilius decided that it would be delightful to have lunch with their new friend. "Amare, would you like to join us for lunch?"
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Half an hour later, the three of them were sitting around a table outside. They had chosen a nice restaurant on the outskirts of the village which allowed them to admire the scenic terrain.
Right after they ordered, the casual demeanor of Emerys, who was now sitting on Luna's shoulder, completely disappeared. It leaped back onto its owner's shoulder, who adopted a serious expression as he listened to what Emerys was whispering into his ear.
Amare stood up, looking down at his two companions. "An adult erumpent is on its way here now - probably because of your altercation with its child earlier. We have to set up a wall ward."
"Set up the ward stones along the western border, that's where it'll be heading. You set up three and I'll get the other four. They should be about 500 meters apart," Amare instructed.
Xenophilius nodded dutifully (although he would never admit it - he was very excited at the idea of being a part of an adventure) and got to work, his daughter trailing behind him.
Finding stones and marking them with runes wasn't very exciting, but Xenophilius was happy to do it if it meant that people's lives would be saved.
He had definitely earned his fair share of odd looks while doing it, too. After all, a man dressed in camouflage robes picking up large stones and waving his wand at them was a strange sight to behold.
By the time Xenophilius made his way back, Amare was drawing runes on the final rock in the center of the seven. Noticing the blonde man, Amare finished quickly and stood, turning to Xenophilius. "Everything went off without a hitch?" he asked.
Xenophilius nodded, looking around and noted that the streets were empty. "Where did everyone go?"
Amare turned, looking over the barren streets. "I informed the chief of the town of the situation, and he issued an alert telling everyone to stay inside."
Before Xenophilius could ask another question, Amare raised his hand to silence them. A rumbling noise could be heard from a distance, growing louder every second.
"Is that..?" Luna asked, quietly. A nod from her father confirmed her fears, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trembling.
Amare placed himself behind the central ward rock and took out his wand, muttering under his breath as the runes on the stones began to glow.
Then the creature came into view. Almost twice as big as the one they had seen earlier, the erumpent seemed to have an expression of anger as it charged towards the small village.
While Luna and Xenophilius' eyes had been glued to the creature, Amare was putting up the shield. The runes written on the centre ward stone grew and expanded off the stone.
The Lovegoods watched in awe as - in a span of roughly five seconds - the runes grew until they reached the next ward stone and the next. This continued until the whole west side of the village was guarded by a semi-circle shaped collection of glowing runes.
The tension was thick in the air and everything seemed to move in slow motion as the erumpent arrived. As it hit the ward wall, it was almost as if it had run into a solid brick wall - sharp cracks could be heard as it smashed into the wall.
The erumpent roared in agony, making everyone in the surrounding area wince - the pain must have been excruciating. Amare was kneeled over the stone, groaning as he pumped all of his power into the ward.
The ward flickered in and out, clearly a sign that Amare was reaching his limit, and the erumpent, however dumb the creature may be, noticed that its power was waning.
It took a few steps backward, limping, before kicking back dust in a way very similar to a bull preparing to charge, before it did just that - charge.
Xenophilius, noting the dire situation, kneeled next to Amare and brought out his wand. He wasn't experienced in the art of ward stones, but the least he could do was offer him some of his power. Channelling as much energy as he could into his wand, Xenophilius pushed it out into a small stream and a small golden thread left his wand and met the point where Amare's wand met his hand.
Suddenly, the ward was full-powered again and the charging erumpent noticed - its eyes widening - but it was too late to stop itself. It crashed into the barrier, but instead of turning its head upon meeting the ward, it put its horn straight into the ward.
Erumpent horns are notorious for exploding upon contact, Xenophilius recalled, watching with wide eyes as an explosion shook the ground. A blast of fire and smoke erupted from the point of impact and dust flew all the way to the edge of the ward.
Thankfully, the ward stood strong.
A few seconds later, after watching in stunned disbelief, the erumpent fell to the ground. It's horn exploding had completely destroyed its own head - it had been a suicide.
Seeing that the coast was clear, Amare let out a deep breath and collapsed to the ground, the ward fading with his consciousness. Xenophilius made an effort the catch him, but he fell in the opposite direction and ended up just awkwardly touching his waist (and the narrator could tell he enjoyed it - Amare was a very muscular individual after all).
Emerys the demiguise looked down at his owner in worry from his position on Luna's shoulder. He turned quickly, hearing the sound of someone arriving, and sadness filled his eyes.
Luna, noticing the demiguise's downcast look, asked, "What's wrong, Emerys?"
The small creature made eye contact with the blonde girl and nodded solemnly, before jumping off her shoulder and going invisible mid-leap. Luna gasped in shock and went to look for the small creature, but was interrupted by a voice.
"Alas, you've saved the village!" The man exclaimed with a grin. With sparkling white teeth and perfectly coiffed hair, the man definitely didn't look like he belonged here. "I'm this man's roommate and I can bring him home so he can rest."
Xenophilius furrowed his eyebrows - this man looked familiar. "Who are you?" He asked unabashedly.
The man gaped for a moment, before collecting himself. "I'm... Gaston Lostheart, and who are you?"
"I'm Xenophilius Lovegood of Britain, and this is my daughter Luna."
"Ah… A Lovegood," The man muttered under his breath so the others couldn't hear him. "Well, off with you! I can take him from here!"
Xenophilius looked at his daughter and she looked back at him. They both shrugged, and Xenophilius nodded in acceptance.
"Ok."
(This is where the narrator cuts it off because they got so frustrated they quit.)
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The next day, around noon, the Lovegoods were heading out of their hotel, suitcases in hand, when they spotted a party happening at a restaurant.
"We need lunch anyway," Xenophilius said, looking at his daughter. "Do you want to check it out?"
Luna shrugged. "Why not?"
The very first thing they noticed were the the erumpents.
Yes, the erumpents.
Erumpent figurines all over the place, erumpent balloons everywhere, napkins with erumpents drawn on them at every table. (The narrator screams in frustration - as if there hadn't been enough of these in this story before).
"Well, this is a peculiar theme," Xenophilius pondered out loud, almost as if he had forgotten of the events from the day before. Luna nodded absently, agreeing with her father as she looked around.
The pair wandered around for a few minutes, before they spotted someone they actually knew. "Amare!" Luna exclaimed, running over to the table with the man they had met the previous day.
Amare turned, looking up at the pair in confusion. "Who are you?"
Xenophilius furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean, we met yesterday!"
"I have no clue who you people are - leave me alone," He said, his words saying he was sure but his expression showing confusion. Amare stood up, shooting them with a strange look before walking away, exiting the restaurant.
Once again, the pair of Lovegoods looked at each other and shrugged, completely dismissing what had just happened. (Please excuse the narrator as they go punch a wall - they'll be right back.)
They sat at a table and discussed what they would do on their next adventure, when a familiar face took the stage.
"Hello, hello!" Gaston Lostheart greeted the crowd, waving as if he was a celebrity (while in reality, only about twenty people were in there, and they were sitting calmly at their seats).
"I'm Gilderoy Lockhart, as you already know, and I'm here to announce my new book based on my adventure that happened here just yesterday - To Exile an Erumpent! It will be coming to bookstores in a few months and I can assure you, it will be good!" This announcement was met with silence, and Lockhart took this as his cue to leave the stage. "Thank you for the appreciation, I'll see you all on my book tour!"
Once again (and thank Merlin, for the final time) Xenophilius and Luna looked at each other and shrugged.
"Do you want to head home?" Xenophilius asked his daughter, taking one more look around the restaurant. "We can eat somewhere else, this place is strange."
She agreed, and thus marked the end of Luna's first adventure.