Book of Shadows
Chapter 23 – Interview with a shadow

…

"Is it very interesting Harry?"

"Hm?"

Luna peered over his shoulder as he hunched over his grimoire. He wondered how long she'd been there.

"You seem very focused. It must be very interesting I expect."

He wasn't expecting her, except in the sense he was expecting her because he wasn't expecting her. In the short time he'd known her he'd come to the conclusion that was just how it was with Luna. You didn't expect her, so there she was. It was usually pretty funny when it happened to Ron.

"It's not the same."

"Isn't it?"

"No, it isn't."

"Hm," she nodded, "What is it, or isn't it… is it?"

This too was very Luna.

"My spell."

"The one with the chains?"

"Yes."

"What isn't it the same as?"

"All the others."

"Hm, well it wouldn't be would it."

Realizing he was going to have an actual conversation he tried to sit up, only to find Luna had not moved and was now leaning against him, her chin on his shoulder, her cheek brushing his.

"Luna, trying to sit up."

"I see that."

Despite the peculiar position he found himself smiling, "Your making it very difficult Luna."

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are."

She still didn't move.

"Would you like to sit down, Luna?"

"I'm actually quite comfortable here, thank you."

Cheeky little witch.

"Luna, please sit down."

Levitating a chair for her to sit, reluctantly she removed herself from his person and took the offered chair, allowing him to stretch out the kink that had developed from a prolonged hunch.

"I think Hermione is replicating," said Luna.

Harry snorted, "Really. What makes you say that?"

"I saw her in the hall today, but there were three of them. I don't think she's quite got it down though. One was much too blonde and the other was entirely the wrong color. I'm surprised she's willing to be seen with them."

"That was Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil."

"Is that what she calls them?"

"They're her roommates, not her replicates Luna."

"Oh poo. I suppose I can't send father that article now. It really was quite good."

"Was it?" he said. Are you pulling my leg, he meant.

It was hard to tell with Luna sometimes, and sitting there looking at her pout, he wouldn't have bet a knut either way.

"Is there a reason those two are following her around? Only, none of them looked all that happy to be together."

"They're not," but they had their directions.

It was three days since the latest catastrophe and, like a good little lioness, Hermione had gotten over her trauma, or at least got past it for the time being so she could go back to work.

The only problem was that Harry and Ron were fully engaged with their own activities, like hunting the spell eater and the one not yet named, and since there was no runes Professor to oversee that class, there was no one to escort her back to Gryffindor.

McGonagall's solution had been to assign Lavender and Parvati as Hermione's personal escort. They weren't pleased. Hermione wasn't pleased. McGonagall didn't care.

After giving them a dressing down and making the realities of the situation perfectly clear to all three they had demurely nodded and apologized. Still didn't like it, but they had the good sense not to complain too loudly anywhere McGonagall could hear them.

"So, you were saying about your spell?"

"Is this an interview?"

"Why would you think that?" she said, shifting her notepad further under the table, like he hadn't already seen it.

"It's the frame, the newest layer we're seeing," he explained, pretending she wasn't scribbling. "I've seen the one Professor Babbling did and I compared it to the ones in my book. It matches up perfectly, till I get to this one."

"Which is different."

"Yes."

"And why do you suppose that is?"

"I don't," he said. "I have no idea. Why does this spell connect differently than the others, I don't know? Even the spell we all got that puts the shadows into the book has the same frame, but not this one. It's like—it's like it needs to connect differently, but why? I don't know."

"You sound very frustrated."

He was very frustrated. No one else in Hogwarts had this weirdness in their book, and it wasn't the only bit of weirdness either. But why him? What was it about him that had created this strange and powerful spell?

"Wish I knew how this was all connected. The frame holds the spell and connects it to the book which connects it to us, somehow. I wish I knew where that bit was too."

Stood to reason there was probably something somewhere in the book that did.

"It's on the inside of the back cover."

"… I'm sorry, what?"

"The bit that connects the book to its owner, it's on the inside of the back cover," she repeated.

The brain cranked slowly, unable to comprehend what it was hearing, "The back cover?"

Luna nodded.

Staring at his book he flipped to the back, turning over the last page, and there it was, an intricate circle filled with symbols and shapes, the meaning of which he couldn't even begin to guess at.

"What is it?"

"It looks like a very complicated ritual circle," said Luna.

"Does anyone else know about this?"

Luna shrugged; people didn't often go out of their way to tell her things.

"We need to bring this to Dumbledore."

"Is it really that important?"

"YES!" pause for thought, "Maybe. It feels like it should be."

"Well alright then," Luna nodded, hopping to her feet.

The halls were bare as they proceeded toward the headmaster's office. The latest development had put the fear into people like his second year when the basilisk was roaming about. He'd felt it then too, the fear, the helplessness.

Walking side by side with Luna, he felt, not fear, but anger. It wasn't well directed though; he wasn't sure exactly what or who he was angry at.

Umbridge? Sure, she was a nuisance, but the appearance of the shadow beasts had mostly neutered her.

The shadow beasts? Maybe, they were a nuisance to, and a couple of them were doing real and serious harm, but it didn't feel like that was right either.

The person who started the whole thing? That was possible, but still didn't feel right. He had no idea who they were or why they did it, and anyway, it wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to him. So, what was it?

"You seem very distracted Harry."

"Do I?"

"Mm hm."

"Just—thinking, I guess."

"You're not sure?"

"Not sure what I'm thinking about."

"I should think you're thinking about whatever it is you're thinking about. Does that make se—oof! Harry, is something wrong?"

Almost certainly, he thought, his arm held straight across her path. Something was watching them; his danger sense was pinging.

Unlike sweet, innocent Hermione, kept safe and secure by two loving dentists, Harry had been living on the edge of danger for as long as he could remember. His instinct was well honed and had served him well in his time at Hogwarts when he chose to listen to it.

He was listening now. The faintest sounds, a too loud breath, feet sliding against the stone floor, cold steel against leather.

"Harry?"

"Ambush."

The word whispered, echoed in the empty hall. Sensing they'd been made, the mish-mashed group of shadows leapt from their hiding places and charged.

"RECKLESS COMMANDER!"

And they were met with the edge of cold hard steel. None of them were all that impressive, nor all that big, likely why they'd grouped up. The Reckless commander went through them with practiced ease. One managing to slip past him was rent to shadow black dust by a small bolt of lightning.

"You're getting very good at that," said Luna.

Yes, he was, he thought proudly as his commander completed his work and casually swaggered back.

"Well, that was easy," he said.

"It was very impressing anyway," said Luna.

"That's awful nice of you miss. Uh, something the matter there boss?"

Depends on how you look at it, "You can talk?"

"Course I can," the armored man said, "why'd ya think I couldn't."

Why had he thought he couldn't? "You never had. I guess I didn't really think about it."

"In my opinion, I doubt if you ever think at all."

Mad cackling filled the hall and Harry glared up at an all too familiar shape. "You again."

"Did you miss me?"

"I know that one," said the commander with a hard scowl. "Ruddy nuisance."

"Not for much longer."

Seeing the book appear, the creep went "YIPE!" and shot through the ceiling.

"One of these days," Harry growled.

"Shame he managed to get over here. Bad luck, that's what that is."

"Is it?" Luna wondered aloud, staring at the Reckless commander with an odd intensity, I mean more than usual.

"What's that Luna?" Harry asked when he noticed his commander looking uncomfortable.

"He knows how they got here."

"He knows—you know how you got here!"

"Well, yeah," said the commander, "through the portal. That's how we all got here. That's the only way to get here from the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm?"

"OO!" Luna squealed excitedly, note pad in hand and a ravenous look on her face.

"Uh, Luna, before you start," Harry interrupted. "I think Dumbledore will probably want to hear this as well."

"Hm, yes, you're probably right. I'll transcribe as we go," the intrepid reporter chirped.