Luna Lovegood and the Sorcerer's Stone
Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter, and as always…nothing is ever as it seems.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, any of the characters, or anything like that. If I did I would be very rich and probably would have better things to do with my time than write fanfiction :)!
Chapter Fourteen: Mars and the Moon
The prospect of a detention wasn't something that Luna was looking forward to, and she might have been dreading it more if it wasn't for the very good news that came that morning over breakfast. It was Snape himself who brought her the news—the potion that would release Draco and Robin from their frozen state would be finished within the week. Ginny let out a squeal of excitement from the Gryffindor table when she overheard the news, and the moment Snape was out of sight she ran over and the two girls didn't eat a bite more, whispering to each other until the bell rang.
It was still a little troubling to Luna that she'd heard nothing more about the person who'd gone into the third-floor corridor. A part of her was wondering if she might have been charmed into seeing something that wasn't there—surely she'd have heard by now if somebody had been found. And the fact that nobody had said anything about the missing stone was starting to wear on her nerves a little bit—unless…
Luna was beginning to suspect, quite strongly, that the stone she had hidden away in her trunk was a duplicate of the real stone. Whether it had been put there by the thief or by Dumbledore she could only guess.
She did, however, believe she was coming very close to understanding what the original had been. The first clue came to her in the form of a man that Mrs. Potter mentioned once during class, and who Hagrid had mentioned one a week earlier.
"Can yeh look after the dragon? Dumbledore's meetin' with Nicholas Flamel, wants me to escort the ol' man aroun'."
"Nicholas Flamel?" Luna said, the name sounding familiar.
"He's of no mind t'you," Hagrid warned. It was this warning that made Luna realize he was pretty important.
It took her most of History of Magic to realize why the name was familiar to her. Back when she'd been coming into her powers—when she was sure she had powers, however ridiculous people told her the idea was—she had done some research in muggle libraries, gobbling up whatever information she could get on the subject.
The mythology around Flamel said that he succeeded at two goals—creating a magical stone that could turn lead into gold, and somehow achieving immortality.
If that man of muggle myth and this Flamel that was meeting with Dumbledore was one and the same, it seemed pretty obvious to Luna why Quirrel had been after the stone. What she couldn't get at was why the stone was being kept at Hogwarts—surely something like that would be better kept at Gringott's, where it had originally been, and not under some strange maze of dogs and flying keys and chess…
All she could figure was there had to be something more to it, something that she was missing. But figuring that out was going to have to wait.
As soon as Potions was over Luna reported to Professor Flitwick, who was occupied with arranging the contents of his vast personal library.
"Oh, Miss Lovegood!" he called out, spotting her. "Your detention has been changed. You will be taking it in the Forbidden Forest with Professor Snape."
"With Snape?" said Luna, blinking in surprise.
"Yes. I believe that he is aiding Hagrid in trailing some creature that has been hunting the unicorns in the forest." When he saw the look on Luna's face, he nodded gravely. "Young as you are, you are indeed talented in the use of Defensive magics, Miss Lovegood. I have noticed as much with your Charms work. Don't fret, you will be kept perfectly safe."
She nodded, though Flitwick had misinterpreted the look of surprise on her face. She wasn't worried about being harmed, though she knew that the forest was forbidden for a reason. But she had never heard of a student taking their detention with Professor Snape—even when he assigned them himself it was usually doing menial chores with Flitwick or Hagrid, or even with Filch (though this punishment was reserved for severe transgressions.)
She concluded that Snape was after something—of course, she had never expected either Snape or Dumbledore to believe what she'd said that night, not completely.
A little worried, she made her way to Snape's office, where he was packing a small leather satchel. He glanced over his shoulder, nodding when he saw Luna arrive. "You're on time. That is acceptable. We have another student joining us tonight, and with any luck she'll decide to arrive on time."
It turned out that they were only somewhat lucky—Eris Lestrange arrived a full ten minutes after she was supposed to. "As head of your house, I'm thoroughly disappointed in you Miss Lestrange," he said dryly.
"I'm sorry Professor," she said, "but I had so much homework for McGonagall…"
He snorted. "I am adding an extra foot to your scroll. Please be more wary of time in the future."
He left the room. Luna glanced over at Eris—she had found it to be her good fortune not to have had too many encounters with the unpleasant girl since she started at Hogwarts. The few times she had, they had been bitter remarks made in hallways and remarks made to be overheard over the breakfast tables. It was obvious that Eris found Luna unremarkable—even more obvious that Eris was trying to make as many people as possible think that Luna was an attention-grubber.
Now, alone for the first time in a long while and without Snape around to moderate, Eris turned a vicious smile on Luna, dark eyes glittering.
"So, I heard your muggle uncle is dying. Nasty habit those muggles have, being weak and all…"
"I don't want to listen to you," said Luna, turning to her. She was trying her hardest to stay calm, even though she wanted to turn around and slap her.
"Oh, don't you?" Eris hissed. "You know, by now I'd think you'd be used to people dying. It's pretty stupid how people pity you the way you do…your mum just up and died, bet she didn't even fight back, and MY mum was framed and put away in prison…"
"If she was anything like you I'm sure she wasn't framed!" Luna whipped around. "You're just a nasty little brat who can't do anything but make up lies to get attention."
"ME make up lies?" said Eris, as if aghast. "I'll bet your uncle is safe and well…really, are you going to make up a dead relative everytime you're in need of a pity party?"
Luna raised her wand, Eris followed suit, and both quickly hid them away as Snape walked back into the room. Sensing the friction, he raised an eyebrow at the girls. Luna tried to hide her face, certain he'd be able to see something there. Eris looked perfectly serene.
"Take these," he said, handing them both smaller version of the large pack he held. "Emergency packets. Hagrid is already out there with Fang looking, we'll meet up with him midforest and split up to cover more ground. He says he heard a cry about an hour ago so a unicorn may already be dead or dying. If one is still alive when we find it we'll try and aid it if we can. Otherwise…"
Luna nodded. She understood. They left the castle, walking straight to the edge of the forest. It seemed darker inside than Luna thought it should be. The stars disappeared beneath the thick canopy—and it was quieter than Luna thought it should be too. There were no animals making sounds. Every once in a while though she thought she could feel something watching her, or hear something rustling in the undergrowth.
"Stay close," said Snape, "and keep your wands at the ready."
Luna did as she was told, holding her wand close to her. Eris followed suit reluctantly, and as a small group they moved forward into the dark forest. They had scarcely gone twenty steps in when Snape paused, crouching down to note a silver substance that was glistening on the leaves of a small shrubbery. "That's unicorn blood," he said. "It gives life to any who partake of it."
"But isn't it a taboo?" said Luna. "Unicorns are sacred."
"That's right," said Snape. "I pray that it's a creature we're after. Anything else has got to be desperate."
They continued on. They walked for close to half an hour, finding more blood, before they saw the animal in the middle of a clearing. Snape reached out and grabbed her shoulder before they could go near it. A strange cloaked figure was crouching down, drinking the blood of the dead animal. It looked up, eyes shining brightly and boring straight into Luna's.
She screamed. A searing pain swept through her, starting at the scar on her forehead and seeming to radiate outward. Falling to the ground, she could only hear Snape shout and the creature take off. Warning the girls not to move he fled after it. Several long minutes passed—Eris said nothing and after a little while Luna was able to shakily return to her feet.
Finally they heard something coming towards them—something huge. A woman's torso appeared out of the grasses. Eris shrieked, tripping over herself and turning to run from the forest. When Luna got a proper look at him she saw what had scared Eris. Though she had the body of a woman, her lower half was that of a horse.
"Child, you had best come with me," she said, looking away from the dead body in the center of the clearing. "It would not do to have you harmed."
She reached out his hand. Luna debated for only a moment before taking it. The centaur pulled her onto her back, and took off at a run through the forest. Feeling a little sick, she leaned forward onto the centaur's back. "What is your name?" she mumbled.
"My name is Varael, Luna Lovegood," she said. "I am taking you to our camp."
The forest got darker and darker. Luna gave up on trying to remember where they had been—the centaur moved far too fast for her to keep up. When she finally slowed down they had reached a narrow grove populated with wooden huts that had been built against the trees. A small grouping of centaurs, all women, were waiting for Varael when she strode into the camp.
"Where have you been?" said the eldest, whose long white hair was bound into a thick plait.
"I found the girl," said Varael.
The others looked around to where Luna sat, now a little more alert and aware of the fact that the centaurs didn't look entirely pleased to see her. "You have brought her to our home," said a young centaur furiously. She stepped forward. Her hair was bright red and shorn close to the head. Tattoos covered her torso and shoulders, and she wore tight leather armor over the fabric the women bound their chests with.
"She could not find it again," said Varael. "And remember who it is, my cousin, before you judge so harshly. She is our once and future…"
"Shh," said the elder, turning her gaze to the heavens. "All to be revealed in time."
Luna thought that if her head wasn't swimming at the moment then what the centaurs were saying might make more sense. But as it was she was content to let them speak, without trying to understand it.
"Mars is bright, and burning brighter every moment," said the elder as she watched the heavens. Luna realized then that the trees above the camp parted to reveal the night sky. She glanced up, and tried to remember from her lessons which one was Mars. She found it, following the trail of stars.
"He is chasing the moon," said Luna after a long moment.
The centaurs turned to her. "Yes, child," said the elder. "You see this?" She strode over to Varael and pointed to the bright crescent in the sky. "But Chiron there…he is watching. He will not let the moon be harmed."
It seemed to Luna that there was some sense in what the Centaur was saying. She told the elder as much, and the woman smiled.
"Child, before the days of the Dark Lord we were strong, but we were naïve. All our men were killed those long years ago. Our days are numbered…" She put her hand across Luna's forehead. "We are mistrustful of your mind, but we have nothing more to protect. No children to nurture…this forest will no longer be ours to watch in a few years time. But I can do what I must to be certain that this happens no longer, no other child of the forest….and surely you are a daughter of the moon. Your father named you aptly…"
Luna felt her scar began to tingle, and in an instant it seemed that all the pain from earlier had melted away.
"Surely you do not mean…" began the redheaded centaur.
"I do," said the elder. "She will be granted entry into our tribe, and may return here one day as necessary. Is that satisfactory?" She looked into Luna's eyes, smiling sadly. "My name is Grahla. Search for me when Mars crawls high into the sky and the moon turns red…I will be here for you."
There was a sound at the edge of the clearing. The centaurs drew their bows and Grahla raised her hand to stay them. "Hagrid, is that you I hear?"
The giant stepped into their midst. They lowered their bows, though the strings remained taut.
"I see yeh have Luna," he said. "I expected as much. Snape said he saw a centaur ridin' one way an' Eris the other. If yeh'll please I'll get her back to the castle now."
The centaur nodded. Hagrid walked right up to them and plucked Luna from Varael's back. He carried her all the way back to the edge of the forest and walked her to the castle, where Professor Snape was waiting to return her to her room. She understood that they wanted to keep her safe—after all, they'd never caught the basilisk—but she had been half tempted to see if she could get into the Gryffindor tower to tell everybody what she had seen and heard in the forest.
As it was, the moment she did have a chance was the one time she had something far more important to focus her attention on.
She was sitting on the Ravenclaw table, politely ignoring Willa once again, when the room went quiet. She turned—at the entrance to the room was Professor Robin and behind her Draco. After a long pause the room broke out into excited chatter—and then, to the surprise of everybody, a loud shriek that led to Ginny rushing through the room and throwing her arms around Draco, hugging him tightly.
Nobody was more stunned than Draco—Luna wondered for a moment if he even remembered that it was Ginny's life he'd saved in the hallway. But as uncomfortable as she was certain the display would make him she could hardly help repeating Ginny's performance, albeit without the scream, and she capped the tight hug she gave him with a kiss on the cheek.
"Err…" he mumbled, blushing.
"You're back!" said Luna.
"Yeah, I guess I am," he said.
"I've got a lot to tell you," she said.
"I gathered," he said, glancing over at Ginny.
"Why don't we get together later? All of us?" said Ginny.
"All of us?" said Draco.
Luna smiled. "You, me, Ginny….and Harry and Ron of course," she said. "There's a lot of stuff for us to go over."
"Does it include why you're suddenly friends with them?"
"Because you saved my life!" said Ginny happily, taking his arm and walking with him to the table. Luna shrugged at the look he shot her—if he was going to go around saving people's lives, he was going to have to get used to people actually wanting to be friends with him. Maybe she'd have to remind him of that fact later.
They met later that evening, managing to find a mostly clear space in the library where they wouldn't be overheard. Apart from the glares that Draco and Harry shared once in a while things went mostly without incident.
Everybody had to admit that Luna's conclusion about the stone in the corridor seemed pretty likely—the question was who had the real stone now, and why?
As they walked back to their common room, Luna filled Draco in on the other details of her life.
"I'd have thought you'd given up this stuff, hearing about that," he said with a frown.
"I thought about it. But then I thought about something else. Nicholas Flamel made a stone that turns lead into gold. And he also found a way to become immortal. What if they weren't two separate discoveries? What if the Philosopher's Stone can make people immortal?"
Draco stopped right where he was. "Luna? What are you saying?"
"If I can find the real stone then I can save my uncle's life. And I'm going to do it."