Cosmic Joke
Chapter 1: My Tears Ricochet
2004, Stirling, Scotland.
Darkness cloaked the attic, the only source of light coming from the sole lantern hanging by the door and what little light managed to filter in through the cracks of the boarded up window.
The attic was stuffed with open trunks filled with textbooks, old clothing and an array of odd items shoved against the far wall. By the door was a floor to ceiling shelf with what seemed to be hundreds of potion ingredients bottled up and neatly labelled. The wall closest to the boarded up window had papers plastered over it covered in tiny scribbles of names, dates and pictures that moved.
In the middle of the room was a sturdy table with two figures sat across each other. They were both female, both unnaturally skinny with sunken in cheeks and eyes too big for their faces, but that was where the similarities ended, as the two were as different as night and day.
The first woman had pin straight red hair and brown eyes that sparkled with a raging fire. The second woman had wavy pale blonde hair reminiscent of moon light and silver blue eyes.
"The 3rd of November 1981?" Asked the red head. In her hands she held a stack of parchment, her eyes tiredly scanning over them.
"The trial of Bellatrix and the Lestrange Brother's." Answered the second girl.
"The 21st of July 1966?" Asked the redhead
"Australia won the Quidditch World Cup" replied the second girl
"The 13th of April 1976?"
"The wedding of Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy"
The redhead's eyes flickered up from the parchment and landed on the girl sat in front of her, with a heavy sigh she placed the parchment down. "I think you're ready, Luna"
With solemn eyes Luna nodded in agreement, "I can't believe it's almost over, Ginny" She spoke, her voice croaky from lack of use.
Ginny shook her head, "it's not over" she disagreed, "it's all just beginning." She said with a fragile smile.
With a weary sigh, Luna rose up out of her seat and made her way to the shelf stacked with potions. With nimble fingers, she plucked down a small bottle with shining red liquid and made her way back to her seat, placing the bottle in the centre of the table.
For a moment the two girls just stared down at the potion.
"Bloody, Hermione" Ginny shakily exhaled.
"Brilliant, Hermione" Luna said with a weak grin.
Slowly, the two looked away from the bottle and at each other, brown connecting with blue.
Ginny stared at her oldest friend and said words that they both knew were lies "you don't have to do this" she did, they had no choice.
Luna lied right back, "it's okay" it wasn't, nothing was okay anymore.
"Did you ever think, that it would just be us?" Ginny asked, holding back years of sadness and heartbreak.
"No" Luna tiredly shook her head. "We were suppose to win."
"We are going to win" Ginny scowled, "just not in this time" she shrugged
Luna's blue eyes flickered to the potion, made by the greatest witch of her age - of perhaps any age.
It held the blood and bones of some the greatest Seers to have ever existed, along with members of the Potter line. It had taken years to make and it had cost Hermione her life in the end.
"What if…." Luna struggled to get the words out, what if she failed?
"You won't" Ginny said with such conviction. "You can't!" She asserted, "he killed everyone" she breathed, her mouth twisting in a grimace, "we can't let him do it again"
Luna sat back in silence, trying to come to terms with the sheer weight of her mission.
"There are so many variables, so many things that could go wrong." She fearfully said.
"Which is why Hermione thought of the Seer element. You can't lose if you know what's coming" Ginny assured her.
"No one, not even Hermione Granger has any idea what I'll end up as" Luna cautioned. "We've broken the laws of magic, ripped spirits from their resting place, bought back blackened souls and twisted them to further our cause and now…we're about to rip apart time and space and shove me in it"
"It doesn't matter, Luna" Ginny shook her head, "you've done the training, your mind can withstand it, everything else is just….just up to you, I suppose" she sighed.
Luna exhaled, running a shaky hand through her hair "Harry was suppose to save the world" she groaned.
Ginny's firm brown eyes filled with tears, "Harry's dead" she frowned. "Now it's up to you Luna Lovegood" with shaky fingers she pushed the potion towards Luna.
Before she could lose her resolve, Luna picked it up and unscrewed the top, her eyes flickered away from the bottle and to her greatest companion. She had no idea if she would ever see Ginny Weasley again and if she would even care if she did, this potion would strip her of all but her memories and even those weren't truly guaranteed.
"I'll see you again Luna Lovegood" Ginny promised, "live your life" she exhaled "and save us all"
Luna tipped the potion back and her whole world exploded into darkness.
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April 1st 1960
Euphemia Potter sat in a rocking chair besides her daughter's crib, a worn out book about rabbits in her hand.
At only four days old her daughter perplexed her in ways a new born baby shouldn't. Luna was a quiet child for the most part but the babe had fits of magical outbursts that made her scream and cry.
Children exhibiting magical outbursts wasn't an unusual occurrence but at so young an age and so frequently, it was enough of a concern for Luna to be admitted to the children's ward.
The door to Luna's private room at St Mungo's pushed open and Healer Marcus, a man in his late thirties with red hair, green robes and a stack of parchments in his hands entered the room.
Euphemia rose to stand but he urged her to sit.
"I see that she's still awake" Healer Marcus noted, leaning over Luna's crib to get a look at her.
"She's not much of a sleeper" Euphemia sadly said, "Monty tells me that all James does is sleep" she frowned. With Luna in St Mungo's Euphemia had barely spent any time with Luna's twin brother James.
"Well, I have some good news" Healer Marcus said. "We're not entirely sure what's causing these magical outbursts but we think we know how to temporarily stop them." He unrolled one of the parchments and passed it to Euphemia, the parchment was made up of a single horizontal line for the most part but shot up and down in random bursts.
"We've been monitoring Luna's brain activity" he explained. "For the most part, her brain is developing as it should but then there are points where a foreign supply of magic overwhelms her mind and causes her outbursts"
"Foreign?" Euphemia frowned, fear clawing through her, "what does that mean?"
"As you know, everyone has their own core of magic" Healer Marcus explained, "that supply grows until one turns seventeen and it stabilises. Luna has her core supply and yet for some reason a supply that isn't her own enters her system and then disperses"
"Is it dangerous?" Euphemia asked
"Not from what we can tell" Healer Marcus shook his head, "the problem is that the only person who can tell us what's happening to her is Luna and sadly she's too young to communicate with us" he stated, "our safest option is to limit the foreign supply so that it doesn't mingle with Luna's own system, this isn't a long term option" he frowned. "We can only use it because Luna's own magical system is so young"
"How long will it work for?" Euphemia asked
"Three, maybe four years" Healer Marcus said. "The hope is that Luna will be old enough to give us more of an idea of how the foreign supply is effecting her and then we can work from there."
Euphemia heaved a sigh of relief, as long as Luna was safe, that was all that mattered.
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July 21 1966, Montreal, Canada.
"Are you sure this was a good idea" Euphemia Potter quietly whispered to her husband, her eyes firmly on her twins. James and Luna were sat right up against the glass of their private viewing box, eyes wide as they took in the flying Quidditch players, their omnioculars abandoned on their seats.
The Potters had turned down the invite to sit in the Prime Ministers box filled with Britain's most influential people and had hired out their own for the occasion.
"They're having a great time" Fleamont grinned, his eyes going to his children. Luna wore a large hat that resembled a Gyrfalcon, the Iceland Quidditch team's national mascot and James was decked out in blue and white, both were hollering at the players through the glass, urging them on. "We can't keep them wrapped up forever"
"Not forever" Euphemia agreed "just until they're off to Hogwarts" she stated.
Fleamont snorted, his hazel eyes bright as he looked at his wife. "You heard what Healer Marcus said, Luna needs to experience the world more, meet children her own age"
"I know" Euphemia sighed, "I just worry" she said, looking over at her children. James and Luna although twins looked nothing alike, whilst James took after his father with his raven black hair and hazel eyes, Luna was her clone, with dirty blonde hair and silver blue eyes.
Luna suddenly moved away from the edge of the box and came to sit next to her father, placing her head in his lap.
"What's wrong, Princess?" Monty asked, running his fingers through her curls.
"My head hurts" Luna moaned.
Euphemia grabbed her wand and waved it in the direction of her handbag, it sailed through the air and in a matter of seconds she had a pain potion in her hand and passed it over to her husband.
"Sit up, sweetheart" she encouraged. This was a routine they were use to, Luna's ability caused her mental strain that Healer Marcus hoped would ease with age.
James had stopped watching the game, his worried eyes on his sister. "James honey, focus on the game" Euphemia tried to encourage, although this was a usual occurrence, James was extremely protective of Luna.
With a frown James walked over "I want to sit with Luna" he said "Iceland lose anyway" he shrugged.
"Who told you that?" Monty frowned
"Luna" James said and the two adults turned to the young girl. Luna was fast asleep, with her head in her fathers lap. Predicting Quidditch games was a step above what she could normally see, Mia and Monty shared a nervous look but did their best to hide it from their son.
"When did she tell you that?" Mia asked
"Three days ago" James frowned, his worried eyes on his sister, the game long forgotten.
"Then why did you both choose to support Iceland?" Monty asked
"Luna liked the colours better" James shrugged.
There was a small pause and then the two adults couldn't contain the small smiles that graced their lips, "of course she did" Mia smiled.
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July 23 1966, St Mungo's Hospital.
St Mungo's had a large toy room in the Children's Ward that overlooked the streets of Muggle London, from her position Luna could see St James's Park and Buckingham Palace.
"Do you think the Queen is home?" She asked curiously, as she built a tower with lego pieces that moved.
"I'm not sure" Healer Marcus said, "why don't you tell me"
Luna's blue eyes landed on the man for a split second before going back to her magical lego pieces.
The silence lasted a while before Healer Marcus broke it.
"How does it work?" He asked, putting a red lego at the top of one of the towers, the piece jiggled in place before sprouting in size, it morphed from a squared piece, into a bridge that connected two of the towers.
"I can't control what I see" Luna shrugged. She'd been seeing Healer Marcus since she was four. Two years later and they'd barely scratched the surface with her Seer abilities. "It's random"
"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup?" Healer Marcus asked, "your parents say that you knew who would win three days before. That is, I must say, rather incredible"
Luna grinned at the praise.
"How did you know?" Healer Marcus asked, "your visions so far have been focused on specific people, your parents, your brother, people you've met, this is a rather big leap"
"I don't know" Luna admitted. "James wanted to know who would win, so I wanted to know and then I saw it happen" she tapped her temples "here"
"You wanted to know?" Healer Marcus repeated, an unusual look on his face. "We've been so focused on controlling your visions, keeping them from taking over your waking life that I'm afraid we've yet to explore other avenues" Healer Marcus frowned, "but I think, Luna, it's perhaps time that we move on to the next step"
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Mia and Monty Potter sat across Healer Marcus in his office. The Head Healer of the Children's Ward sat with an odd gleam in his eyes, Luna's file open in front of him.
"I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I don't have much more to tell you. The Magical world has not seen a Seer with Luna's abilities in centuries. To predict as accurately and as frequently as she does is almost unheard of" he exclaimed "with your permission I'd like to contact Cassandra Vablastsky. I feel that we've reached our limit with medical help and that Luna would benefit far greater from an actual Seer to guide her"
The Potter's shared a worried look, Seer's were revered and deeply sought after in the Magical world, they had done their best to keep Luna's abilities quiet but they'd both known that that could not last forever.
"We want to do what's best for Luna" Monty conceded "you may contact her."
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September 6th 1971, Platform 9 and 3 Quarters
"Luna honey" Monty said, trying to grab his daughter's attention from the hustle and bustle of the platform. "You can go to Madam Pomfrey whenever you want, she has a batch of pain potions ready just for you"
"Don't be shy" Mia added, "she's expecting to see you, James make sure that your sister actually goes"
"And make sure you eat" Monty sternly said, "don't forget that even if you miss meal times you can go to the Prefects or your Head of House and I'm sure they'll help you find a meal"
"And it's okay if you get lost" Mia reassured her, "Hogwarts is so big, you're bound to get lost a dozen times before you start to recognise the place"
"and-" Monty began
"People, please!" James cut him off, palms held up in the universal sign for stop, "we're going to school, not Azkaban" he stated, exasperated.
Monty and Mia shared a worried look, before conceding that yes, they were being a little over protective.
"We're going to be fine" Luna promised, standing beside her twin. The two looked nothing alike, James was tall for his age, with broad shoulders, sharp hazel eyes and a head of mop black hair, whilst Luna was a tiny little thing, with a head of long pale blonde curls and cloudy silver blue eyes that always looks absent.
"I know" Monty conceded with a smile, he leaned down and dragged both his kids into a tight hug, he took his time releasing them, simply taking in the moment. The past eleven years had flown by and it was difficult to let them go.
Once he pulled back, he rose to his feet, a hand on each of their shoulders, "take care of yourself" he told Luna, his blue eyes then moved to James, "take care of yourself and your sister" he winked at James.
"I will" James promised
"I can take care of James as well" Luna spoke up, her voice airy and light.
"We know sweetheart" Mia smiled, "your necklace is already doing such a fabulous job" she praised, gently tugging at the corkscrew necklaces around her neck. The twins and Monty all wore an identical one.
James sighed and shook his head, still not entirely sure how Luna had convinced him to wear the strange contraption but Luna beamed with pride.
A loud whistle rang through the platform, signifying the near departure of the train.
"We better go" James grinned, his face glowing with excitement. He grabbed a hold of Luna's hand and waved goodbye with the other. "We love you! We'll see you at Christmas! We'll make sure to write!"
Monty and Mia could do nothing more than wave back as their children all but ran on to the train, James tugging Luna behind.
"Do you think they'll be okay?" Mia asked anxious.
"Nothing we can do about it now" Monty chuckled, "watch out Hogwarts, James and Luna Potter have arrived!"