Link Faron, Gryffindor
Part 9
A Few Chance Encounters
Disclaimer: None of the characters or settings mentioned belong to me.
AN: I play somewhat fast and loose with chronology. Sorry about that.
…
"Say, Luna, why were you searching for your missing things on the Seventh Floor?" Link asked, jogging down the third floor corridor. "If my wand is correct, your shoe at least is on a lower floor than that."
Luna considered this as she jogged on her toes springily. She had taken off her remaining shoe and had it strapped to her hand like an inflexible glove.
"Well, I was looking for the Room of Hidden Things, of course," Luna said matter-of-factly.
"Oh?" Link said, his interest thoroughly piqued. He considered words like "hidden" and "secret" and "forbidden" and "lost" to be a personal challenge.
"It's a magic room, of course," Luna continued. "My mother said that she found it on the seventh floor, though she couldn't quite figure out how she'd found it. It's filled with all sorts of lost objects."
"That's incredible," Link said. "Say, once we've tracked down your shoe, would you mind if I look for the Room of Hidden Things with you?"
Luna looked at Link, her silver eyes gleaming. "No, I don't think I would mind."
"Excellent," Link smiled at the prospect of another adventure. He stopped. His wand thrummed as if his quarry was within sight, but the shoe was nowhere to be seen. "Not again," Link sighed.
"Wrong floor?" Luna asked. "Or perhaps the wrackspurts are interfering with the signal?"
"Maybe," Link said. He assumed that "wrackspurt" was a piece of magical jargon he hadn't learned yet. "I think – no, I know, that my wand has never been particularly good at distinguishing between highs and lows. It's better at directions on a plane."
Luna accepted that explanation without protest, and they set off, Luna with a spring in her step, and Link at a practiced jog. Within a few minutes they were on the second floor.
The primary fixture of the second floor was the Transfiguration wing, which had Professor McGonagall's classroom, office, and supply room. The Defense Against the Dark Arts wing was on the opposite end of the floor closer to the bathrooms.
The dousing mechanism of his wand indicated to Link that the missing shoe was on the DADA side of the floor, so the duo set out in that direction at a jog.
Link knew, at last, that they were headed in the correct direction, the thrumming of his sword-turned-wand confident and steady.
"I think we've got it now – oh," Link paused. In the distance, the floor was sparkling – it was wet. "I think the bathroom has flooded."
"Perhaps someone has upset Myrtle," Luna blink mournfully.
"Maybe," Link knelt, and put a hand to the wall. Something was wrong here, though he didn't know what. The wall thrummed, and there was a low, long hiss. Was that the pipes, complaining at the rush of water from Myrtle's tantrum?
Link listened closely with his long ears, and heard the shuffle of feet in water – and, was that the scrape of scales against stone? Link did not know for certain, and a large part of him wanted to rush forward to investigate and confront the threat he felt in his bones.
But he did not dare risk the safety of his new friend.
"Link?" Luna asked, the slightest edge to her normally airy voice.
"There's something over there," Link said. "Something dangerous. Let's turn back."
And Link set off, not at a jog but at a sprint, grasping Luna steadily by the arm. He stretched his hearing as well as he could, and guessed (hoped) that the monster was not pursuing, though he could not be certain as much of the sound was drowned out by the frantic beating of his own heart.
They were passing Madame Murray's portrait when Link heard a new sound – the clatter of footsteps. It was Harry, Ron, and Hermione – and they were running toward the flooded bathroom and the monster.
"Stop! Turn back!" Link yelled frantically.
"Link? What are you doing here?" Ron panted. He looked winded.
"Never mind that now," Link and Harry said in unison. They looked at each other.
"I-I heard a voice," Harry said quickly. "It says that it's going to murder someone, tear them apart… it was going this way."
"It was. I heard a monster," Link said. "Now, how about we run away from the creature we are ill-prepared to defeat."
"Let's go, Harry," Hermione urged her friend.
Harry hesitated. "But, but somebody could be in danger…"
"Harry, I get it," Link said. "I want to help, too. But we are not prepared. You don't just go tearing off after the threat. That's how you wind up getting yourself and your friends killed. You gather the information, the weapons, and the expertise you need, and then you face the monster. And if you die, you can tell yourself honestly that you did everything you could."
Harry looked like he wanted to protest, but he acquiesced with a slight nod.
"Good," Link said tersely. "Now, let's go." He broke into a run again, and his companions followed behind.
A few tense minutes later they were at the of Professor McGonagall's office.
"Why're we here?" Ron asked.
"Closest safe place I could think of," Link said. There was a statue of Athena by the door that Link addressed. "Please grant us asylum here. Danger stalks the halls."
The statue nodded, withdrawing a knife from within her robes. The door opened, and, once all five students were within the office, it closed and audibly locked.
"How did you know about that?" Ron asked, totally bewildered (and quite impressed).
"I'm incorrigible," Link admitted with a grin.
"I wonder if McGonagall's never ending sandwich platter is around here…" Ron said, peering about the room. Hermione gave him a look. "What? There was absolutely nothing to eat at that Deathday party."
"Sandwiches are nice," interjected Luna airily.
"Exactly," Ron agreed, though he seemed a bit put out that his only assistance was coming from someone with a distinct air of dottiness.
"You said you saw a monster," Harry rounded on Link, all business.
"Oh, Link didn't see the monster," Luna floated over, taking her shoe off her hand and replacing it on her foot, now that she was no longer running. "You heard it, right?"
"I heard something big, that's for certain," Link frowned. "Scales. Hissing. It was probably a reptile."
"Perhaps it was an Umgubular Slashkilter," Luna suggested.
"A what?" Hermione questioned.
"An Umgubular Slashkilter," Luna said seriously. "They are often found in damp places…"
"Could we have the lesson later, Luna?" Link asked, trying to redirect the conversation. Even behind McGonagall's defenses, there was still a danger of attack. "I want to bolster our defenses. If the monster gets past Athena we're sitting ducks. Hermione, are there any charms you know that could help?"
"A few," Hermione said. She set to work, muttering to herself seriously.
"I'll check around, see if McGonagall has a backdoor we could escape through in a pinch," Harry said.
"Sandwich platter?" questioned Luna.
"We need to keep up our strength," Ron agreed seriously.
They set off together, looking through McGonagall's things.
"Right," Link huffed. Physical defenses. "Sorry, Professor McGonagall," he muttered to himself, and he set to work.
…
AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Guest reviewers - thank you all so much for your suggestions and support. I won't reply to you all in text here, but I really do appreciate each of your kind messages. For at least the next couple weeks I am going to try a MWF update schedule, for as long as I continue to have several chapters written ahead of what I post.
