2 March 1993
Dear Diary;
It's amazing the changes that can happen when one thing is altered. Case in point is the Malfoy family. Before the music came to Hogwarts; Lord Malfoy was always trying to undercut the class offerings here and the financial stuff as well because he thought that the muggleborn and raised were destroying the traditions and practices of the magical world. Now I've heard through the student rumor mill is that he's changed his mind and is now pushing for reforms of a progressive nature… who'd have thought it?
Draco Malfoy has also confided in me that his parents have started listening to muggle music and after I had made a couple of suggestions, determined that their Songs were to be 'Smooth Criminal' by Michael Jackson for Lord Malfoy and 'Diamonds' by Rihanna for Lady Malfoy. I'm glad they like it…
My classes are going well, I think my favorite class would have to be Charms. Professor Flitwick is so funny and the material is easy enough to learn. Binns continues to be a drag. Hello Nap Time! I'm surprised that no one has thought about replacing him yet!
March's edition of the Magical Musical Medley took place as usual in the Great Hall. Minerva was a bit under the weather and so she asked Pomona to take her place. Minerva did 'attend' via one of the floating orbs that Harry had created last year.
Pomona stepped up to the podium and cast a Sonorous Charm on herself, "Welcome everyone to the March edition of the Magical Musical Medley. Headmistress McGonagall is unfortunately not feeling well though she's here with us in spirit and also via one of the Student Helpers that our own Mr. Harry Potter created last year. Ok, let's see… right, this month's teacher is Professor Lupin with his Song 'Hungry Like The Wolf' by Duran Duran. The students selected for this month are: Theo Nott of Slytherin, Morag McDougal of Ravenclaw, Justin Finch-Fletchley of Hufflepuff and Parvati Patil of Gryffindor! Let the music commence!"
Before Pomona could step down, Professor Snape whispered in her ear briefly. Pomona's cheeks pinked in embarrassment before returning to the podium.
"Oh! As Professor Snape has just reminded me, I'm supposed to announce which songs were chosen for the students. So for Theo Nott of Slytherin, his Song is 'Cool Kids' by Echosmith; for Morag McDougal of Ravenclaw, her Song is 'Touch the Sky' by Julie Fowlis; for Justin Finch-Fletchley of Hufflepuff, his Song is 'Can't Stop The Feeling' by Justin Timberlake; and finally for Parvati Patil of Gryffindor, her Song is 'Last Friday Night' by Katy Perry."
With that the music commenced; Remus sat there in his chair with one hand over his face and the other trying to fend off the nudges and smirks given by Sirius who had stopped by to hear the Medley. He finally relented and put on a brave face to the assembled crowd, not knowing that no one really cared about his condition anymore. Pretty much everyone knew about it but they also knew about the muggle treatment that was far and above more effective than Wolfsbane.
Theo was enjoying his Song. He sometimes felt out of place when compared to some of the more popular students. His mother had said to him, every time he complained, that what was inside of him was the most important thing and that if the others wanted to prance around and burn bright to let them as they'd be the first to burn out while he was just getting started.
Morag's Song spoke to her inner Scot. It was a song of bravery and spirit; of flying free and unencumbered by societal pressures or what her parents wanted for her.
Justin had been to a Justin Timberlake concert before and was extremely happy to have a Song by him. His other favorite by the same singer was 'Suit and Tie.' His head was bobbing to the beat and melody before being asked to dance by Millie, which he happily accepted.
Parvati was pink with embarrassment over her Song. Lavender and the others were twigging her about the similarities between the party girl and her. Padma gave her a commiserating hug and told her not to worry about it. She reminded Parvati that Pansy Parkinson had gotten the song 'Shake your tail feathers' which was a LOT more embarrassing than this.
The new Quidditch season had recommenced and with it was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. The now requisite song for the Lions was 'We Will Rock You' by Queen while Hufflepuff really hadn't chosen a song to represent them. According to Harry was that the team was leaning towards LMFAO's 'Sorry For Party Rocking' but it wasn't definitive.
In the end it didn't matter, Hufflepuff lost by ninety points.
In the Headmistress' office…
Minerva sat at her desk slogging away at all of the usual parchment work that accumulated on her desk. A record player was quietly playing a catchy tune from her childhood. She leaned back and rubbed her tired eyes before noticing the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses were leaving rather quickly.
"Armando? Is there a problem I should know about?"
Armando Dippet, the headmaster before Dumbledore turned back and replied, "The others and I are going to be holding a meeting for a while. This is something that normally happens during this time of year. It's nothing to worry about my dear."
"Very well then, enjoy your meeting," replied Minerva.
It was about an hour later when she noticed them all returning. What made the moment memorable was that each one was evidently not happy about something.
"Did something happen at your meeting Armando?" Minerva inquired.
"As it turns out, yes something did happen and frankly, we're all rather peeved about it. Phineas Nigellus Black here violated his oath to the school. He was the one who informed Delores Umbridge about the new musical program that was started this year. He's been feeding her information about the events and types of songs being played."
Minerva became livid about that bit of news, "Where is he? As Headmistress, I demand the presence of Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait!" Phineas slunk into view seemingly unapologetic about what had transpired.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" thundered Minerva, "What possible reason could you give for unleashing that nightmare of a person upon this school and her students?"
Phineas huffed, "The so-called 'music' is utterly disgraceful and unsuitable to the children. That noise is causing our proud purebloods to cavort around in an unseemly manner like animals. I saw the need to alert someone of like mind who would be capable of putting a stop to this nonsense and took it. I refuse to apologize for what I have done or for what has transpired."
Minerva's blood pressure nearly spiked as a result of that explanation. She looked around at the other portraits to see them all shaking their heads or muttering sulphurously under their breaths against Phineas. She decided that the only recourse was to lock down his portrait and to remove it from the wall. Once that was done, she called for a house-elf to take the portrait and put it somewhere in deep storage where no one would find it.
VINDICATION!
By Ambrose Hammer
Owner and publisher of the weekly magazine The Quibbler, Xenophilius Lovegood (45) must be feeling like he's on top of the world after his daughter announced to him and to the rest of the world that the creature they've long sought after has been conclusively found and captured. His daughter, Miss Luna Lovegood (11) recently began printing what are called 'Chocolate Snorkack Cards.' Each card lists a particular animal ranging from Class X to Class XXXXX according to the Ministry guidelines and lists several key facts about known habitat, a picture of said creature and in full color. For the One of Kind cards; they feature creatures more commonly associated with cryptomagizoology such as the elusive Crumple-horned Snorkack, Heliopaths and the like. Each pack comes with a chocolate version of the Snorkack similar to the usual chocolate frog.
Miss Lovegood stated that her boyfriend, Neville Longbottom (12) had been contacted by a friend of his, who had found the medium-sized creature which resembles a pale blue jackrabbit with tiny curled horns jutting up from its head. (Details of the animal can be found on Page 4.)
'I'm still in shock at the generosity of my wonderful boyfriend,' Miss Lovegood stated as she shyly smiled and held the hand of Mr. Longbottom who blushed, 'I'm also incredibly grateful to his friend who found the creature because of my Chocolate Snorkack Cards.'
These cards are available all major retailers in Diagon Alley and soon to be released in Hogsmeade this spring. Each pack sells for 1 Sickle and comes with four randomly selected cards and a handsome carrying case.
Luna was definitely feeling on top of the world. The morning edition of the Daily Prophet was laid out in front of her and she just beamed happily at anyone who complimented her on the accomplishment. When asked where Nellie was, she replied that because she was such a shy creature Luna had to leave her in her room otherwise, the two of them would be invisible.
Students of all houses were coming up to her asking for her autograph on their favorite Snorkack card and asking what was in store for the next batch. She explained that all of the selection for printing was done randomly and that she had no control over what was going to be printed for that batch. She only handled quality control and information gathering.
Luna was in her Astronomy class looking up at the stars and marveling at the grandeur and the feeling of just how small she felt. The teacher politely coughed to get her attention and quietly told her to continue with her assignment. She quickly and thoroughly filled out the worksheet on the star alignments and constellations.
'This would be a great place to come and snuggle with Neville when it gets warmer. Maybe in springtime?' she thought dreamily.
The next day, she found herself idly wandering through the greenhouse where they had their first date. She stopped to smell some pretty flowers and trailed her fingers lightly over the mossy rocks. She finally ended up sitting and relaxing on the warming bench connected to the Dragon Heater. She closed her eyes and began to slide into a Trance.
Luna opened her eyes and found herself in a tranquil country setting, a dirt path leading away from her. To her left was a grove of trees, to her right was a pond with multi-colored fish jumping into the air. The air was warm and scented with the aroma of simple country life. A gentle breeze wafted its way over the land, rustling the leaves in the trees.
She meandered along the path until she came across a small wooden shack with a bench swing hanging from the eaves. She approached and knocked on the door but there was no answer. Luna grasped the handle and opened the door; the inside was dark and foreboding. She entered and began to look around but jumped in shock when she heard a voice.
'You should not be here. It's not safe.'
"Who's there? I mean you no harm," Luna replied.
'It is not you with whom I'm afraid of.'
"Will you show yourself to me?" Luna politely asked.
A specter appeared in front of her. Tall, forbidding with an aristocratic bearing on his features.
'You must leave this place. The secrets within are not for mere mortals to have.'
"I'm not looking for any secrets, I was merely walking along the path outside and discovered this shack. What is this place?"
'This is the birthplace of all of the unholy creatures with whom many fear. I am the guardian and its prisoner. I made a terrible mistake years ago and for my penance I must remain.'
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help ease your suffering?"
The specter shook his head sadly.
'There is nothing anyone can do. I alone must bear the consequences.'
"I'm still sorry to hear that. Does this place exist in the mortal world? Maybe I can send someone to help you there?"
'Long ago maybe but no longer. A fortress where the unholy reside now guards the island in which this shack lays. It is not for the gentle likes of you my dear.'
Fear gripped Luna's heart. Dementors, it sounded like this specter was describing Dementors and the island fortress of Azkaban!
"You're speaking of what are known as Dementors, aren't you?" Luna queried nervously.
The specter nodded his head morosely and floated over to where a table and chair stood, an old, rotting looking book lay on the table.
'Within this book is all of the secrets to the creation of those unholy beasts. If you must send someone, send only the bravest and most crafty for the journey is wrought with extreme danger. Within these pages you will also find the only way to destroy them permanently.'
"You're the one who's been sending me the Visions, aren't you? Should I assume that the shack and the book lay within the center of the fortress or at least underneath?"
The specter gave a small, sad smile for the first time.
'That would be correct. The shack lies within the center of the Dementor's stronghold and breeding grounds. I wish you luck in your quest young miss. You're going to need it…'
With that there was a flash of white light and Luna was pushed out of her Trance. She blinked her eyes in the harsh light to see Madam Pomfrey standing over her and Neville worriedly holding her hand.
"Miss Lovegood? Can you hear me?" asked Poppy.
Luna nodded her head and tried to speak but found that her voice was scratchy and weak. Neville helped her sip on a glass of cool water before she tried again.
"Wha- what happened? Why am I here?"
"You were brought here by Mr. Longbottom when he found you in the greenhouse and not responding to his touch or voice. Should I suspect that you were in a Trance?" Poppy explained.
Luna nodded then asked, "How long was I out for?"
Neville glanced up at Poppy who carefully told her that she had been unconscious for the past three days. Luna was stunned! Three days was a new record for her.
"Madam Pomfrey, I need a phial to hold a memory. I want to copy the Vision I had so I can send it to the Department of Mysteries. I think they're going to need to see it."
So Poppy retrieved a phial and assisted Luna in copying the memory of the Vision into it. Luna corked the bottle and labeled it with a warning to view under the strictest security. She tried to get out of bed but Madam Pomfrey firmly pushed her back.
"Miss Lovegood, I'm advising you to stay in this bed until I clear you. You may write your letter and either have Mr. Longbottom send it or wait until you've been given permission to leave. Now lay back!"
Luna just stuck out her lower lip in a pout but lay back onto the bed. Poppy pulled the covers back up and left to deal with other things. Luna turned to Neville who had dug into his bag and handed over the parchment and her favorite pen. She shyly smiled and thanked him.
16 March 1993
To: Director of the Department of Mysteries
From: Luna Lovegood, Gryffindor House, Hogwarts
Re: Information regarding Dementors. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY!
Dear Sir or Madam:
I recently had a Vision in which I met with the creator of the Dementors (see enclosed memory phial). In the Vision, he detailed where a certain book lay and the information that is contained within. It is rare that my Visions don't come to anything so I recommend you make haste to set up a mission to retrieve said book and use it to destroy the Dementors once and for all.
With regards,
Luna Lovegood
In the office of the Director of the Department of Mysteries…
Unspeakable Croaker leaned back in his chair after viewing the memory sent to him by Miss Lovegood. He pondered the possibility of a potential mission and what it would mean for the wider world if there truly were such a book that outlined how to deal with those monsters. At the very least, he decided to put together a research team to dig through the Archives and see if the records matched or came close to matching this memory. At any rate, perhaps it would be a good idea to cultivate Miss Lovegood in her education to eventually liaison with the DoM after she graduated.
It was the last weekend of March and Luna decided that she would finally take a chance to use the new indoor pool that had been refurbished. She drifted down to the changing room with her bathing suit and a towel. As she approached the door to the pool, she heard her name being called.
"Luna? Hey, Luna!"
She turned to see Harry rapidly approaching her; the look of consternation on his face.
"What's the matter, Harry?"
"Have you seen Neville? He and I were going to be going over some potion ingredient samples that his explorer friend shipped to him along with Nellie."
Luna thought for a moment before shaking her head, "No, I can't say that I've seen him recently. Maybe he's in the pool as well?" She gestured towards the hall.
Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Let's take a peek."
Sure enough, they found Neville floating on one of the inflatable lounge chairs in the shallow end of the pool that had been designated for the non-swimmers. Neville glanced up at their approach and the look of puzzlement at seeing Harry dissolved into a sheepish look of apology.
"Sorry, Harry. I guess I lost track of time. Let me just get out and changed and we can get started on the ingredients."
Luna in the meantime doffed her towel onto one of the chairs lining the patio area and dove into the pool and started lazily swimming back and forth along the lanes. She kept her eye on Neville as he climbed out of the pool, water streaming down from his body. She shook herself before any illicit thoughts could further float through her mind. 'Get a grip, Luna! You're eleven!'
1 April 1993
Dear Diary;
Easter is approaching and Hermione has invited Neville and I to join her and Harry for a day at the London Zoo and the Royal Arboretum and Conservatory. I have no idea what's there other than that Hermione's described it as the one place where I would fit in if I decide to further my education in animal care (as if I wouldn't!)
I heard back from Director Bones that the trial for Delores Umbridge would be taking place at the beginning of May. I hope she goes away for a long time!
Oh yeah, before I forget, today's is Fred and George's birthday. I hope they enjoy my little prank…
George Weasley opened his eyes bright and early on the first of April. Today he and his twin were fifteen years old. He lay in bed not really understanding why the blanket was especially tight or why his hair seemed to be floating in front of his eyes and the room slowly spinning. When his focus sharpened he found himself floating high above the floor trapped in his bed. He heard laughter coming from below and tried to shift enough to be able to see beneath him.
What he found was everyone in Gryffindor Tower pointing up at him. Some were chuckling, some were agog with amazement. The Seventh year Prefect slowly shook his head in bemusement before heading out to find Professor Lupin.
"Wha- what happened? Someone get me down!" George shouted.
Professor Lupin finally came in and slowed to a halt as he stared at the spinning, floating bed that entrapped George. He shook his head to dispel the surprise then pulled out his wand and tried to cancel the spell but found he couldn't.
Quirking an eyebrow Remus mused, "Interesting. If not a spell or charm then it's must be a rune cluster. Anyone have a broom handy?"
One of the second years came running back a few minutes later with her broom and flew up to George who was already starting to turn a bit green from the spinning. She carefully examined the bed frame and discovered a rune cluster that was dimly glowing.
"I found it professor! What should I do now?" she exclaimed.
"I'm going to capture it with my own spell and when I tell you, I want you to take your wand and use a gentle cutting hex to interrupt the cluster. Ready? Now."
With the cluster interrupted, the bed began sinking towards the floor until it landed with a bit of a thump. George was released from the blankets, gave everyone a pained grin before racing upstairs towards the bathroom.
Neville was practically in stitches from laughing so hard at George's birthday predicament. He glanced over at Luna who was merely standing there with a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Luna?" he whispered, "Did you pull that prank on George?"
Luna didn't reply but the merriment in her eyes gave him the answer all the same.
Neville coughed as he tried to recover from another bout of laughter, "So what happened to Fred?"
Fred Weasley woke to the sounds of giggling laughter. He cracked one eye open before both flew open in shock! He was lying in his bed in the middle of the Slytherin Common Room and clutching a pink teddy bear! His sheets were covered with little pink and red hearts; his blanket portrayed a dancing unicorn and his pillow was shaped like a fluffy cloud. To make matters worse, he was wearing a set of cowboy feetie pajamas!
The assembled crowd of Slytherins burst out laughing at the sight of one half of the legendary Weasley Twins in his ridiculous getup. Fred even heard Draco Malfoy calling out, "Oh my big, brave Gryffindor!" to general laughter and light applause. He jumped out of bed and whirled around frantically trying to find the exit before one of the kinder hearts pointed him in the right direction.
As he raced out of the Common Room, his exit was further embarrassing as the bottom flap to his pajamas fell open to the screams of delight of the girls.
When Luna and the rest of the Gryffindors got down to the Great Hall for breakfast, nearly the entire school had already heard the rumors that someone had pranked the Weasley Twins and what the pranks had been. When the twins arrived at the table, the assembled crowd applauded with a few cheers and good-natured jeers. They grimly smiled back and waved.
Luna sat there with a smug grin as she ate her morning porridge. Hermione sat down across from her with a raised eyebrow and a calculating look.
"You seem to be unusually smug about something. What did you do?"
Luna leaned in and whispered, "I pranked the Twins."
Hermione reared back in shock; her mouth dropped open, her eyes wide, "No! You? What? How? Tell me everything!"
Luna just calmly shook her head and whispered that this was neither the time nor place as there were too many people around.
"How about we meet in the Sunroom you found at lunchtime?" Hermione agreed to that.
Later when they met up, Luna explained how she got the help of the castle elves to move the twins into position and engraved the rune cluster into George's bed. When Hermione inquired how she was able to enlist the elves, Luna explained that all it took was a simple explanation. Apparently the elves wanted a bit of payback to the Twins as well…
The April Magical Musical Medley was upon the school and as usual everyone gathered to hear the selection of music.
"Good morning everyone and I can see you all are terribly excited to hear this month's selection! So without further ado…"
Teacher:
Argus Filch – Louie Armstrong, "Mack the Knife"
Students:
Orla Quirke – Rihanna, "Rude Boy"
Jimmy Peakes – The Louisiana Gator Boys, "How Blue Can You Get?"
Cormac McLaggen – Britney Spears, "Womanizer"
Lee Jordan – Benny Goodman, "Sing, Sing, Sing"
When Orla's Song began playing, at first she was shocked. She came from a rather simple folk with simple tastes but this song… it electrified her senses and urged her to dance and move to the beat in a rather suggestive way.
Jimmy was happy with his Song. He had never heard of Blues but figured that maybe the next time he was at the Music Annex to he ought to look into this genre further. It had a sort of charm that just… flowed.
The older girls of Hogwarts thoroughly agreed that this song was practically written for McLaggen. The creepy twerp practically bounced from girl to girl, his approach was horrendous and his attitude was that they should be swooning around him because he deigned to show some interest. Any conversation held, the topic was all about him and his exploits or the people he knew.
Lee's Song tied in nicely with the Weasley Twins' song. It was jazzy, loud and fast paced.
Easter was upon them and Luna was traveling with Harry, Hermione and Neville and the Granger parents to the London Zoo. She was still mesmerized by the sights that passed by the window even though she had been in this area before. After parking and paying for their entrance, they gathered in the Visitor's Center to review the maps and schedule a meeting time for lunch.
Luna was in seventh heaven! There were all sorts of animals that she had either never heard or seen before but also animals that she had only read about! There were lions, tigers, birds, snakes and lizards! Her head was spinning as much as it had when they visited Harrod's.
"Neville! Look! They have an Atlantean Micro Dragon!" she squealed in joy as she rushed ahead.
Neville read the information sign and shook his head in exasperation, "Luna, it says that this is the Komodo dragon. It's a muggle lizard."
Harry and Hermione were in the Reptile House when the Keeper spotted him.
"Mr. Potter! Hey, been a long time."
Harry smiled back, "Hello sir. Yes, I was accepted to a boarding school in Scotland. I'm just visiting with my friends for the Easter holiday. Is that snake still here?"
The Keeper nodded, "Yep, she's still here. C'mon, I'll show you."
The two kids were escorted over to an enclosure that held a large black snake. The snake lifted her head as the lid was taken off. The Keeper motioned to Harry to start.
~Greetings my dear, it's been a long time. ~
~Speaker! It has been a long time. Where have you been? ~
~ I've been attending a school up north. I would like you to meet my mate. Her name is Hermione. ~
The snake introduced herself while Harry translated. Hermione was fascinated by the dual facts that she was having a conversation with a snake and that Harry was able to speak the snake's language. After they bid the snake and the Keeper goodbye, she turned to Harry.
"How long have you known that you're a Parselmouth?"
Harry shrugged, "For a few years now. I was in Miss Honeybloom's backyard the first time. I had an interesting conversation with a garden snake that was sunning itself on a rock about the life that surrounded the pond.
They met up for lunch and the adults got to listen to the excited chatter from Luna as she went through her discoveries.
"I never thought I'd be able to touch a lion! It was SOOO cute! The fur is kind of stiff and coarse but amazing! Then there was the Atlantean Micro Dragon which for some reason was mislabeled as a Komodo lizard…"
Emma smiled indulgently at Luna's enthusiasm, "So I take it that you're happy to see some of the animals you thought were imaginary or undiscovered, are in fact real?"
Luna nodded her head happily, "Yes! I even saw a creature that I would've thought to be impossible if someone had just described it to me. It's an Australian creature known as a platypus. Such a strange creature, I'm definitely going to put in the pile for the new batch of Chocolate Snorkack cards. Hmmm, should it be under Class X or One of a Kind?"
The others chuckled amusedly at her predicament.
The next place they visited was the Royal Arboretum and Conservatory in London. The look on Neville's face as they meandered through the different locales and environments caused Harry and the others to giggle. Everywhere he looked, he saw plants and descriptive tags similar to the information contained within a Chocolate Snorkack card. At one point during a tour of the Amazon rainforest, he paused and kind of gazed at Luna.
"Luna? I think you're really onto something with your card collection. From what I've observed and learned today, I'm thinking that maybe I ought to do something similar but with plants."
On the train ride back, Luna was curled up next to Neville and reading a book on becoming a veterinarian. She couldn't believe that there was a career tailor-made for people like her! Yes, it would require a lot of schooling once she was done with Hogwarts but in her mind it would be totally worth it! Imagine being able to straddle both worlds to explore and discover strange and new creatures while being able to take care of them in a controlled setting.
Neville was writing a list of plants, both magical and mundane, in a semblance of order for a card collection of his own. He had no idea if he wanted to include a chocolate plant or not but at this point was just fleshing out his idea. He too followed the Ministry guidelines for a Class X through XXXXX categorization. Hermione had looked over his shoulder at one point and suggested the idea that he tie in his cards with a note about which plant fit into the environment that cross-referenced Luna's cards.
In Amelia Bones' office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement…
All the parchment work was completed and collated; all the forms filled out and sent off to their proper destinations. Everyone had been notified and prepped with additional Aurors on standby in case of trouble. It was time…
