Harry opened his eyes the moment the sensation of terrible compression ended.
The fresh, cold air felt wonderful against his skin, as the rim of the sky appeared just up ahead so close to him that he felt he could just reach out and grab a hold of it. The sun was setting in the far distance across the sea, with its last rays mingling with the austere starlight beyond. There was just a moment of breathless exhilaration as he realized that it had worked, that he had just successfully apparated!
And then he realized they were falling through the sky.
"Whoa!" he shouted, barely audible against the now howling wind.
He looked down and almost jolted so hard with surprise that he kicked off Luna - who he now realized was clinging to his flapping dress robes and elbow, having realized they had appeared hundreds, maybe even thousands of feet above the ground.
White stretched in all directions beneath them and as he flailed, he realized again that they were falling. Which meant there would be an inevitable and rather harsh stop coming to greet them soon if they didn't do something. Lacking a broom, or even the reassuring press and weight of his quidditch gear, it took his brain an additional few seconds to remember the spell he and every other quidditch player was drilled to remember and cast on a dime.
He grabbed a firmer hold of Luna, shouting at the top of his lungs in an effort to hear himself over the whipping gale tearing at his dress robes.
"Arresto Momentum!"
Luna made a sound of surprise, her grip on his robes tightening them around his neck and pulling him a bit sideways in the air, but they were already slowing down to a much safer rate of descension, so he fought the urge to panic and flail. Below them, the ground was now only some hundred feet to go; not much more than at a normal quidditch game, allowing Harry to feel much more relaxed.
It gave him enough time and peace of mind to finally look around properly, to attempt to ascertain their location now free of the Vanishing Cabinets.
The snow-covered valley below didn't look familiar. Nor did the nearly-frozen body of water dominating one horizon, or the range of tall, dark and foreboding mountains the other. He realized that this wasn't the Black lake nearly at once, as the great looming icebergs floating in the distance certainly weren't a feature he ever remembered seeing in Scotland. None of the hills came close to any of the great peaks dominating these lands either, for that matter.
Even as he fell, he couldn't help but ogle at their size, their vast heights so tall that even this far away and in the air, they seemed to loom over him.
His confused ogling came to a halt as they finally hit the ground, his bum making contact with dry, virgin powder snow. He realized suddenly that he hadn't seen any tracks in the snow around them, regardless of how far he had tried to look.
Beside him Luna stood up, shivering slightly in her much more revealing dress. Unlike his dark, layered robes that resembled a muggle suit, her elegant silvery dress was just that; a dress. Her bare shoulders and arms certainly weren't appropriate for outdoor activities, especially not at this time of year.
"Here," he said as he took off his topmost layer, the cloak-like outer garment
She blinked at him curiously, her attention far too in demand by their strange environment and predicament for her to realize that she had been shivering. Looking down at the proffered long dark over-robe, she smiled. "Oh, no. That's alright, Harry."
He frowned at her, not quite understanding her. She always seemed to refuse him when he wanted to help, which only made her seem more and more confusing.
"No, really Luna. You're freezing."
Not waiting for her to say anything again, he walked behind her and put the over-robe over her goose fleshing shoulders. She looked up at him, blinking twice with her wide, silver eyes.
"Oh... Thank you, Harry." The slight smile told him she had been cold.
And he realized that he too was feeling the chill now. Had been, even with his over robe too. The long fall had robbed them of any warmth, the whipping winds tearing right through their fabrics. Shivering slightly, he thanked himself for at least having the forethought to wear decent loafers to the party. Looking over, he realized Luna hadn't been quite so lucky. Well, maybe she was used to it? She had been walking around barefoot all last year, after all. He shivered then, the cold seeping into his bones by now.
But then a wave of warmth rushed over him. Blinking, he looked up and met eyes with Luna who had drawn her own wand and was now repeating the warming charm on herself as well. He grinned, realizing suddenly that her idea was probably the smarter one. Ravenclaw, duh.
"Thanks, Luna."
"You're welcome, Harry," she told him dreamily as she put away her wand, already having cast one on herself as well.
"Where are we?" he asked, looking around again for a lack of anything else to say. Seeing the mountains in the far distance, he realized again just how utterly gigantic they truly were. Much bigger than anything he had ever seen in Scotland.
Much, much bigger.
"Perhaps we're in Narnia?" Luna asked, smiling slightly at him.
He blinked, not sure what to make of that. Never having been one to comment on her creatures one way or another, at least not to her face, he only shrugged. "Would you know how to get back to Hogwarts from there?"
Now she too seemed confused, before she shook her head. "I'm afraid not."
"Well, the sun was setting that way," Harry said pointing to what he was now dubbing 'west' in his mind. "So that would mean the sea over there is the north, right?"
That put the mountain range behind them as south, with the coastline running east to west? Which would put them at the northern end of Scotland? Maybe? He wasn't quite sure how cold it got during the winter and whether floating icebergs were something to be found in the Atlantic sea, regardless of how dreadfully cold Hogwarts got in the winter.
She hummed thoughtfully. "The sun could be rising, Harry. It might be east and south."
Harry made a disgruntled sound of understanding, acknowledging her point. Raising his wand he spoke softly, "Point Me."
The Four-Point Spell was a useful trick he had learnt a few years ago in preparation for the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, allowing his wand to essentially act as a magical compass that pointed north. That would settle the question, along with telling them what time of day it was.
He frowned. The wand wasn't reacting at all. Shaking it twice to see if that would make it work, he grunted and tried again. "Point Me."
"Harry..." Luna quietly murmured, pulling at his upper arm.
Grunting, he tried to see if his wand had been broken or something with some worry. It was his best weapon against Voldemort; he couldn't afford to lose it now, lest he lost his only real weapon against the dark lord.
"Harry..." She repeated, this time more insistent.
"What is it, Luna?" he asked with more than a little bit of annoyance as he looked up from his still-malfunctioning wand.
Seeing that she was pointing up at the sky, he followed her line of sight and then gasped. There were two moons hanging in the sky; one large, reddish-brown moon and a smaller grey moon much more like the one he was familiar with.
"What... the..."
He gaped at the sky for several long seconds, feeling lost and confused. The more he looked, the more everything looked out of place. Astronomy had never been a great passion of his and his O.W.L.s had reflected that quite accurately, but even he could tell that all of the stars were completely and utterly wrong.
But after a while, he had to shake himself back together.
Turning to Luna, who was looking around and eyeing their surroundings curiously, he spoke calmly - more to impress it upon himself that he needed to be calm than to reassure her, really. "Luna, we can't stay here. The warming charms won't last forever and we need to find some kind of shelter for the night."
She turned to look at him and nodded once, raising her hand to point. "I saw lights that way when we were falling. We might find a town there."
He nodded.
"It's worth a try. Was it very far away?" he asked, wondering how far they could walk through the knee-high snow in their dress robes.
"No, I don't think so."
Nodding twice, he started walking. "Let's go. Maybe we can sleep in a bed tonight and try and puzzle what happened tomorrow..."
She hummed in response, moving to follow in his tracks through the snow. His long hanging robes causing him to act much like a snowplough for Luna to follow.
With the sun already having set—he decided that it must have, given how it was only getting darker and darker now—only the numerous stars and the two moons rising above gave them any light to go by. Even compared to Hogwarts where the light pollution was minimal, this view of the night sky here was simply breathtaking. And it only further reinforced how alien this place was, as five years of Astronomy had not failed to impress upon him at least a dozen constellations, of which he was now able to find not a one.
At least the fields of seemingly never-ending white snow illuminated the night enough for them to know where they were headed; the weak night lights reflecting enough for most of the terrain to be visible, generally at least. He couldn't say for certain whether there were forests in the distance or just the shadows of looming hills. But he could see clearly the way right before him so that he knew he wasn't walking in circles.
Behind him, Luna walked quietly. Though he could hear the shifting and rustling of her dress robe, all but confirming that she was still gawking every-which-way just as he was.
"Do you think there might be Crumple-Horned Snorkacks here?" she suddenly asked, after they must have walked for at least half an hour. "Like in Sweden? They say you can find their tracks in the snow, like fallen tree trunks..."
He couldn't help himself; he let out a deep belly laugh that spread through his body like warmth.
"You know, Luna? With our luck, there just might!"
Coming over the crest of the hill, Harry let out a long sigh of relief.
There was a village up ahead, judging by the squat buildings he could now see. Warm, inviting lights were pooling out from small cracks and windows, at places barely strong enough to penetrate the thick mounds of snow piled everywhere, blazing out brightly at others. He couldn't see or hear anyone, but he supposed that only made sense given how late and cold it was.
If he could help it, he wouldn't be outside right now either.
He could hear the ocean just beside the village and feel it too. The cold northern wind blowing inland and chilling him despite the warming charm. Already they had had to repeat it once, and he thought he could feel the second one starting to wane already as well.
"I can see it, Luna. It's just up ahead," he said as he turned around and collected his breath.
Despite the cold, he was soaked with sweat. With how high the snow on the ground had piled up, walking was unexpectedly hard work. At least Luna didn't seem exhausted, that was something.
"Do you want another charm, Harry?" She asked and he shook his head. It would last them until the village, at least. "Are you thirsty?"
Furrowing his brows, he was about to say something but then realized that he was actually very parched. All of the sweat had stuck to his clothes, freezing them into near-solid sheets around his body where the warming charm didn't reach, which was less than comfortable.
"A little," he admitted.
Nodding seriously, she drew her wand. Then as he didn't react appropriately, she mimed for him to open his mouth and jut his chin forward. He blinked in confusion, only realizing a second later that she meant to spell the water directly into his mouth, since they didn't have any cups or goblets.
Flushing, he cleared his throat only to realize he didn't have the energy to argue.
"Just don't get any on me, alright?"
She nodded again and spoke quietly, "Aguamenti."
Conjuring a weak stream that arc slightly, right into his mouth, she smiled with satisfaction. Even so, Harry felt very awkward. Getting his mouth full he pulled back and nodded at her with bulging cheeks. He felt like some overgrown and half-frozen squirrel. Swallowing the water, he thanked her quietly and turned around, feeling very thankful for the darkness that hid his flushed face.
At least his thirst had been thoroughly quenched.
She mirrored his actions, leaning her head back to drink from her wand as well.
"Come on, just a little bit more," he said as he started trudging once more.
As they closed in on the village, they soon found a stone-cobbled road that was leading into the village. The road seemed fairly well-travelled, with most of the stone and dirt upon it having being trampled and hardened enough to support their weights, unlike the snow they had been trudging through.
Harry shook his robes, trying to get most of the ice and snow out of the dark cloth, but soon gave it up as a lost cause. Even the scouring charm didn't seem to manage much and he had to give it up until they got somewhere inside and warm.
As they finally arrived at the edge of the village, Harry stared with rapt interest at the rugged wooden buildings. They were even more primitive than most of the buildings in Hogsmeade, he thought. Very rustic, with their thick piled log walls and high arching hay roofs covered in snow. Just down the path into the village, he could see a harbour of some kind, with dozens of large boats tied down for the night
He didn't know much about boats, but he knew that these were the old-timey sailing kind, which troubled him; he couldn't see any signs of electricity anywhere around them either, for that matter. Perhaps if this was a wizarding village that might not have been worrying, but the place had a very muggle feel about it, if he were very honest.
All of the buildings seemed much too practical and sensible for wizard-make.
"Look," Luna said as she walked up to the porch of the nearest building, the one that marked the very edge of the village it seemed. She pointed to a hanging sign, almost illegible in the darkness. "'Windpeak Inn', it says."
He grinned, jogging up to her to confirm what it said. "Brilliant, Luna!"
Leading the way he went for the front door. But even as he tried to pull at it, the door would not budge. After a moment of useless struggling which told him that it was not stuck or simply tight, but actually locked, he considered whether he ought to take out his wand.
But just then he heard a gruff man's voice from inside. "Who is it? We're closed for the night."
Harry blinked, looking back at Luna who was peering at the door with her brows slightly furrowed. The man inside spoke with an odd accent that Harry couldn't quite place and he wondered whether she could. Noticing his staring, she turned to look at him questioningly.
She blinked twice, her large blue eyes shining as they took in the many small lights in the darkness. Huh...
Clearing his throat as he realized she didn't have anything to say, Harry chose to speak.
"Please, sir. Could you let us come inside and warm up? We've walked for hours and we're very cold and tired..." He tried to make himself sound as pathetic and small as possible, hoping that it would help.
"Huh? Travellers? Well, alright alright. Let me just open the door. But we already put away all the food for the night. You'll have to make do with just a warm bed for the night."
Harry made a silent fist pump—the gesture raising Luna's brows with curiosity—as he grinned with relief. "Thank you, sir!"
The door opened just a bit; enough for the warmth and light to pour out teasingly, followed by the waft of smoke and mouthwatering food and drink. The man's head peered out suspiciously from behind the door, his shoulder-length light brown hair looking almost red with the glow of embers backlighting his figure. Combined with his slightly haggard and worn appearance, as if he hadn't slept well in weeks, it was uncomfortably reminiscent of Filch for a moment. He looked at them appraisingly, his eyes switching between the two of them as he took in their appearance from head to toe.
Harry noted that the man was wearing clothes made out of much rougher cloth; a simple long-sleeved shirt with an apron around his waist.
"Well, do you have coin for the night?"
That brought Harry up short. He realized that even if he had brought coins with him to the Christmas party, it probably wouldn't even serve him here, being wizarding currency. He turned to Luna, feeling very helpless right then and wondering what to do.
The innkeeper obviously noted his distress, coughing once as he opened the door a little bit more. "Where did you two even come from? The last ship today came hours ago..."
"We walked down that very nice road," Luna explained simply, motioning at the cobbled road down which they had just come. "Though I do wish I had worn better shoes..."
Frowning, both of the men stared down at her dress shoes. The polished dark leather still looking quite handsome, even as her long stockings were quite obviously and completely wet.
"A good pair of dragonhide boots would have been nice."
"Dragonhide?" the innkeeper exclaimed with obvious confusion. "Hahaha, I would almost pay to see boots made out of a dragon's hide, girl!"
Harry let out a sigh of relief, as he realized Luna was having better luck with the man than he had.
"Are you two in trouble?" the innkeeper finally asked, opening the door a little more and allowing some more of the warmth to roll out teasingly, still eyeing them quite intensely - though with less suspicion and more open curiosity, now.
"Oh yes," Luna immediately answered, even as Harry had been thinking, 'No, sir. No trouble at all.'
Seeing the once-more guarded look in the man's eyes, Harry immediately wished he had managed to speak first as he floundered for something to say.
"We're quite lost, tired, and wet, you see."
The innkeeper blinked at Luna's candor, then laughed quietly as he opened the door completely. "I see. Well, we can't have that now. Come on in, come on in. My name is Thoring; I own the inn."
"Thank you, sir." Harry shook himself as he shed a few layers of half-frozen clothing as he entered the inn. "We'll make it up to you, I swear."
Thoring chuffed, amused by the promise even as he continued to stare with open curiosity at their strange clothing. "Well, I won't give you any rooms if you can't pay. But I'll let you sleep by the fire. I can afford that much charity at least."
Harry blinked, biting back a reply and then nodding, not quite able to thank the man.
"I don't know what a pair like you are doing out so late, but I'll tell you this much; all the doors are locked and there's nothing valuable here, so don't try anything. The guests'll not take kindly to it and I'll not guarantee your safety. We'll see about figuring out what to do with you two in the morning."
With that, the innkeeper turned and locked the outer door again. Not only was there a large and rugged lock of black iron on the door, there was also a large beam placed across to keep it from opening inwards even if the lock was opened. After that, the man retreated to another room further behind what seemed like a small counter at the end of the large space, leaving them on their own.
Looking around, Harry noted that while it wasn't the great hall of Hogwarts it did seem comfortable enough at least. A long hall, with a large and long firepit running down the middle, with solid wooden benches and tables on both sides by the walls. The floor was cobbled stone as well, obviously made with a lot of care and effort as not a single stone seemed loose beneath his shoes, even if it was covered in sleet, mud, and dirty water.
No doubt from numerous customers coming and going during the day.
The ceiling was hay as he had suspected, supported by rugged wooden beams, though there was an obvious artistry and love of carpentry to be seen here as well. The building was old and worn, the wood faded and dry, but he decided it had earned its wear and tear.
"I guess we should sleep?" Harry finally ventured with a shrug.
Luna nodded, drawing her wand. He grimaced, placing a hand on her forearm before she had time to cast a spell. Leaning in, he whispered quietly. "I think they're muggles. We probably shouldn't use too much magic."
"Oh..." she replied with a wide-eyed stare of surprise. "Are you sure?"
He faltered for a bit but then nodded. "Better to be sure, right? Look, we can sleep next to the fire. The stones have dried the floor and you can borrow my over robe for the night. It shouldn't be too bad."
She looked at the floor next to the fire pit and nodded.
"Alright, Harry."
They shuffled around, looking for a place to lie on the floor. Harry thought about dragging a bench over but decided to give it up because they were too narrow to be comfortable anyhow. Finally, he relented and cast a whispered scourgify on the floor next to the fire pit.
Luna folded up his longcoat-like over robe and then settled down, wrinkling her nose in thought as she tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Harry settled to lie down next to her, not giving the matter too much thought as he was already dead tired by this point.
It wasn't until he had lain down and Luna quietly whispered, "Good night, Harry," that he realized how close they were. But by then he was too tired to get up and find another place to sleep.
"Good night, Luna."
It was warm and comfortable.
She was lying on top of him.
He reached over, playing with her fiery hair. She looked up at him and smiled, reaching up to caress his own mess of hair. Her lips drew closer and closer, coming to kiss him. "Mm, Ginny..."
"Harry, I want to..." she began whispering to him quietly from his right.
"Yeah," he grinned, enjoying the tickle of her breath in his ears.
"...Kiss the dark lord."
"What."
The dream came to a stark contrast as he drew back, his furrowed brows almost touching one another as he tried to pull away from Ginny. The arms that had been draped around him so languidly morphed into something that was rather holding him down as Ginny rose up. And up. Towering above him, becoming as one with the dancing shadows and terrors just beyond his sight.
Playful fingers had turned into great sharp sickles, burrowing painfully in his skin. Anchoring. Tearing. Ripping.
"Give yourself unto me, mortal..."
Harry woke up with a startle, the scream dying in his throat as his eyes shot wide open. The unfamiliar ceiling above him was enough, however, to silence any further sounds as his confusion took over. Where was he? What was that? Where was Ginny?
Hay ceiling. Greying wooden beams. Austere morning light pooling in through the cracks and opening by the eaves. It was quiet, he realized as he raised his head slightly trying to get up. But his back was aching from having to sleep on the bumpy cobbled stone floor.
And something was weighing his left side down. For a moment he felt an irrational thrill of hope that it was Ginny, before he remembered the whole of his strange nightmare and shook his head. It was only Luna, sleeping soundly while her head rested on his arm. He had to fight down the urge to yelp and free himself, not wanting to wake her up and make this even more embarrasing. She had curled herself up sometime during the night as the fire had died, he realized. Her bare arms balling underneath her body as she was leaning into him and his warmth.
There was a definite chill in the air, now that the fire had died down.
She almost looked like one of Mrs. Figgs cats lazing in the sunlight, he thought with a chuckle as he slowly began to extract himself.
The inn was silent and still if one ignored the muffled snoring one could hear from behind the various doors. Most of the customers must have still been asleep. He rubbed blearily at his eyes, realizing that he had a slight headache and that he was still quite tired.
He probably hadn't been able to sleep for too long, even if it was already past dawn.
There was a noise and his head snapped.
Harry stiffened as an unknown woman appeared out of the doorway that Thoring had gone to sleep behind. Wearing a simple green and white dress, she shook her head and set about at the counter, completely ignoring him and Luna.
"Good morning," Harry tried and the woman looked up. Not quite startled, but definitely not expecting someone else to be awake yet.
The woman looked up with some alarm, peering at him and Luna by the fire pit, but said nothing as she noted that the outer door was still bolted shut. Giving him the cold shoulder, she turned around and continued with whatever she had been doing before. Deciding that the woman was content to be quiet and ignore him, Harry shrugged and stood up. Dusting himself off with his hands and checking that he still had his wand, he set about stretching and rolling the kinks out of his shoulders, neck, and back.
But after what felt like an awkward eternity he couldn't help himself anymore. It was too reminiscent of the silences he had to endure back on Privet Drive. "Excuse me. Is there, umm, anything I can do to help?"
The woman looked at him strangely for a moment but then spoke with a shrug.
"Light the fire, if you can. There's firewood outside, under the eaves."
Harry nodded and moved to open the door, lifting aside the bar with ease but then coming short with the lock. Should he just use the unlocking charm, or...? Behind him the woman came with the key, opening the door without a word to him. He was starting to realize that his help wasn't so much unappreciated as that she simply didn't really care.
Was this the local equivalent of the bored teenage McDonalds worker?
Shaking his head and hiding his smirk, he opened the door and blinked back tears as the cold wind and bright light assaulted his senses. The sun was only starting to just rise, but already it was so bright that he felt like his eyes were searing. Closing the door behind him, Harry ambled around until he found a pile of gnarled firewood.
They weren't as short as the logs he was used to seeing in Hogwarts' fireplaces, but the fire pit inside was longer so he figured it made sense. Grabbing an armful, not caring about his clothes too much, he struggled to get it back inside through the much narrower doorway. Sneaking carefully past the still sleeping Luna, he put the firewood all in the firepit. Not really sure what to do after that, since it wasn't lighting up, he looked around for the woman for more guidance. But she wasn't anywhere to be seen.
Frowning slightly, he shrugged and drew out his wand after making sure he really was alone. Using his body as cover, just in case she did show up again, he whispered under his breath the word, "Incendio."
The cold wood resisted for a moment, but soon caught fire and began to crackle. He nodded with satisfaction, putting away the wand again carefully. Still, if they were around muggles and had to hide their magic, maybe he should try to cast spells non-verbally after all...
"I have three ideas for what happened, Harry."
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, jumping with surprise as he turned to face Luna, now sitting upright on the floor beside him.
"Oh, of course. The morning's greetings ought to come before talk. I forgot - I haven't had very many friends, you see. Daddy and I usually wake each other up with pancakes, which means that we're much too busy to talk in the mornings, you see..."
Harry blinked, utterly nonplussed for a good moment. He cleared his throat with a cough. "Good morning, Luna."
"Yes, good morning, Harry," she repeated dreamily with a smile.
"You, uh, had some ideas?" he asked warily.
"Oh, yes. First, since you mentioned the possibility before, we might very well be under attack."
He frowned. "Under attack? By who?"
"By the Wrackspurts, you see. It is possible very many of them had been trapped in the cabinet, and now we are simply lying there with our heads very, very fuzzy. Not able to tell apart reality from our dreams."
Harry licked his lips, looking around to see if anyone was listening. He wasn't sure how the local muggles might react to her talk if they were overheard. "That's... possible, I guess."
He couldn't really see any evidence to support that theory, but he had a slight idea about how to disprove it. Reaching down, he pinched the back of his own hand. It hurt.
Luna looked on with rapt attention, obviously curious.
"Ah, uh... It's something I saw on the muggle telly. If you think you're dreaming, you should pinch yourself. In a dream, it won't hurt. I think." He trailed off weakly, suddenly realizing how silly he sounded.
But she took it very seriously, repeating his actions with the same results. Then she began to look for something, which resulted in her frowning - or rather, pouting, he supposed. The idea of Luna frowning didn't quite mesh with his understanding of the world.
"I knew I should have brought along a quill and parchment. Daddy would love to know about how muggles fight back against the menace of the Quivering Shadedams..." she explained.
Harry didn't know what to make of that, so he only nodded stoically. "Right, well. What about the second idea?"
"Oh, we might be trapped in a bad dream. You see, the Ravenclaw's Diadem has been lost for centuries. It could easily be cursed and it could have already taken over our minds! We could be terrorizing Hogwarts at this very moment. Or, our bodies anyhow."
He felt a shiver run up his spine as he looked at the old diadem still around Luna's elbow.
He had felt something when he had put it on. But it could have just been nothing. It wasn't as if it had actually taught him anything; he had just remembered things he had heard or seen before. Hermione had probably drilled into his subconscious mind the three D's some breakfast this year, knowing that apparition classes were about to begin in a few weeks.
And he had apparated before, as a child, with accidental magic.
"Did, did you feel anything when you put it on before?" he asked cautiously.
"No," she shook her head, somewhat sadly. "Did you?"
"I, uh... Maybe? I think it might be the diadem you were talking about. I mean, I remembered things I had heard before, so I learned how to apparate with it, I guess. But, I don't know if it's cursed. I learned a little bit of mind magic last year. Not much, you know. Just a little. And I think I've had enough visions to recognize one by now."
He realized he was rambling, so he stopped.
Luna only nodded, all too serious, looking as if she wished she had her quill with her as she held the diadem in her hands.
"And, pinching hurts," she added with a happy expression. "I'm glad the diadem isn't cursed." Then, with a more quiet tone, she added, "Perhaps it's only broken...?"
She didn't seem very despondent, rather only slightly miffed that it wasn't working for her when it had for him before. Maybe.
"Right, uh. Yeah. So, what's the last idea you had?" Harry asked, somehow already feeling better. Somehow talking with Luna seemed to do that, since her ideas were so out there that he had to step back and wonder whether he was actually dreaming.
"Oh, we might be in another world."
Well. That made all too much sense for him.
"You think so? I mean, does that happen often when wizards apparate?" he asked.
"Oh no... At least I don't think so. The Quibbler has never had any issues regarding other worlds. But there were two moons, so it seems very likely."
Harry sighed. "It does, doesn't it?" He shook his head, then. "Well, it doesn't matter much, right now. I mean, I don't know about you but I'm hungry—"
"Oh, I'm ravenous." Luna interjected, seeming inordinately pleased with herself for some reason.
"—and we have no money. So, that's a problem," he finished.
She blinked, tilting her head as she realized he was right. Then she leaned in with a more sombre expression on her face. "The book 'Easy Spells to Fool Muggles' says that we can use the Confundus charm in situations like these..."
He grimaced, vaguely remembering the book. He had read it in his third year if his memory served him correctly. Back then he had laughed at the idea of confunding someone, but now after having experienced both the Imperius curse and mind magics it didn't feel quite so funny anymore...
"I don't think I would feel right, doing something like that," he admitted.
She didn't say anything, only looking at him with an honest expression of curiosity.
"I mean, it seems a bit... mean, to just spell someone, especially after he did offer us a place to sleep out of the cold. Even if it was just on the floor." It had been warm and dry, which was all they really needed.
She nodded with an airy smile, neither agreeing nor challenging his assessment.
"Besides, I think I could work to get us enough money. I mean, at least in the short term." He thought back to all the things he had done back with the Dursleys. He had plenty of skills, even if he wasn't sure quite how many of them would be useful here and how much money they would be worth. Looking back at Luna, still wearing her silver dress and pretty shoes with her slender arms bare to the chill, he made up his mind infused by a spirit of chivalry.
"You don't have to work while we're hiding our magic. I've done a lot of things like this before, it'll be fine."
He tried to puff up his chest to look dependable and certain, but her curious tilt of head slightly deflated him of his efforts.
"Anyhow... I don't think we should stick around much longer. We aren't paying customers, so Thoring probably doesn't appreciate us just standing around," Harry joked, thinking back to how Vernon had often ranted about people doing just that. Lollygagging, he had called it if Harry remembered right.
"I would like to explore the rest of the village," Luna exclaimed with a nod.
That decided, he turned to the woman now at the counter and raised his voice to be heard over the fire, though not shouting as he had no wish to wake up any of the still sleeping customers.
"We'll be leaving now, thank you for all the help, ma'am."
The women looked up, apparently with little interest in him and Luna, only nodding once before going back to whatever it was she was doing.
Looking at Luna and shrugging, they ventured back out into the cold through the heavy wooden door.
He shivered, before looking around to make sure there was no one around. With a quick pair of flicks from his wand, they both had warming charms again, which Luna thanked him for with a smile. Noticing their dirty clothing and how mucked his over-robe had become, he also used a pair of scouring charms. It paid to look neat, Vernon had always exclaimed, so it was probably better if they didn't look as if they had had to walk through several miles of snow to get here.
Even if they had.
"Longboats," Luna said, peering out at the harbor where there were already dozens of large, burly-looking men working. Most of them did not seem to be wearing anywhere near enough clothing for the cold weather, but perhaps the hard work was keeping them warm as they moved crates and barrels to and from various boats without tarrying about.
"Longboat?" he repeated dumbly, turning to look at her quizzically.
"Oh, yes. They're long boats, you see. With large square sails and many oars. And skjölds. I wrote an article about them in the Quibbler once."
He frowned. Weren't those viking ships? "They look too... squat, I think. Too wide."
"Do you think so?" she asked, deflating slightly.
"Well... I don't know. I haven't ever seen one before," he admitted. "Well, maybe we should look for a store for now. I think we should focus on breakfast," his stomach interrupting him to growl at just that moment for emphasis, which made Luna titter with amusement. "And more clothes. Or other clothes anyhow. We're sticking out like sore thumbs right now."
Already some of the just-awoken locals were giving them weird looks, though none seemed hostile or really dangerous. It seemed to be mostly men walking about, all wearing rough spun shirts and ambling through the town towards the other edge, away from the inn and the harbour.
But speaking of clothes gave him an idea. "Maybe we should sell our clothes? Look at the locals: our clothes are a lot nicer. We could probably afford food and warmer clothes if we sold them!" Feeling excited about his idea, he began looking around for a store of some kind, completely missing the flash of hesitation on Luna's face. "Come on, there's probably some kind of, I don't know, general store around here somewhere."
They could probably get more money for the silver diadem, but he was sure Luna wouldn't want to part with it, so he didn't even suggest it.
"Alright, Harry." Luna nodded, her usual dreamy expression having returned.
They looked around but found nothing quite fitting eithers' expectations. The closest thing they found, was an outdoor smithy next to an otherwise seemingly ordinary house, but the anvil was still unmanned and the furnace cold.
But at least their tour of the village had gotten them mostly familiarized with it now. Unfortunately, however, there didn't seem to be that much to see. There were probably half a hundred squat wooden buildings, but few were even half the size of the Windpeak Inn. There seemed to be another Inn down by the docks, but it looked even rougher and neither felt any need to explore the house further.
They did find a very large building at the southern end of the village, as far from the water as possible, which they found out was apparently the Jarl's hall, if the heavily armed guard was to be believed. And next to the impressive White Hall was the guard barracks, where another dozen heavily armed men seemed to be getting ready for the day.
They wore large, face-concealing helmets and bright shirts of interlocking iron rings, over which they had some sort of leather quilting and a long grey cloth marked with the town's symbol; a pointy star. On their arms and legs, they had leather boots and gloves, with warm-looking fur lining sticking out at the edges. Carrying either swords, maces or axes and a large round shield painted with the same four-pointed star, they drew a rather intimidating figure.
"No lolly-gagging, move along."
Apparently, they didn't like being stared at either.
"Erm sorry, sir."
They continued their exploration, now aware of the beady eyes behind the helmets staring at them.
After that, they found where all the men were going earlier in the morning. A mine; a dark hole in the side of a hill, with men coming in and out at a constant rate. Outside, dozens more were working with large clay mounds, keeping raging fires going as they feed them with coal and raw minerals.
"What are they doing...?" Luna asked curiously, apparently never having seen its like.
"They're miners, I think."
"With beards like that?" She seemed astonished and he wasn't sure what to say to that. "Bearded minors... Daddy will want to hear about the un-dwarves being real. He had been very skeptical of the rumours, you see."
Shaking his head, Harry ignored her.
He saw dozens of pick-axes and shovels, piles and piles of black coal along with rows upon rows of metallic balls of various shapes and sizes. He wasn't really sure how mining worked, but he was fairly certain they were digging and extracting metals from the earth.
There were also men just standing around and barking orders, while others were heatedly discussing with men who looked more like the dockworkers, all while guards occasionally patrolled the area.
"I guess they trade metal by sea, or something." It didn't seem very profitable, given how rustic the village appeared, but it was a living. Still, nearly everyone looked exhausted and drawn, with tempers flaring often and loudly even during the short while they observed them.
They kept their distance and returned to the town, still looking for a store. Walking back, Harry could hear the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil—or what he was fairly certain was the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil, as he had never actually heard the sound before—and he perked up at the realization that the smith was probably up and about by now.
Luna followed his lead as he half-ran the way back to the smithy.
There, a muscular man with long white hair was working by the furnace, starting a fire and preparing his tools for the day it seemed. The smith looked up, pausing with obvious confusion at their approach. His wary eyes took them in from head to toe, before finally cautiously greeting them.
"Hello there...?"
"Good morning, sir," Harry began, before realizing that he didn't exactly know what he wanted to say. Frowning in slight consternation, he tried to think how to phrase himself. It wasn't exactly as if blacksmiths dealt in clothing.
"You two come down from Solitude, eh?"
"Solitude?" Luna repeated.
"Well, it was just a guess. Never seen clothes like those before, but I've heard there's plenty of fine things up in the capital. What with the trade from Cyrodiil and High Rock coming in." The smith huffed, tending to the fire in his forge as he spoke. "We don't get much of those here in Dawnstar. Nothing here but fish and the iron mines, heh."
"We were looking for a general store, but we haven't been able to find one. Would you happen to know where we could buy some more... Uh, local, clothes?"
"Ahahah, sorry about that. We don't really have anything like that here. The womanfolk buy rolls of cloth wholesale when a trade ship comes to port, on their way to Windhelm or back... But doubt you'll find anything like that here. Closest clothing store I've heard of would be in Solitude, again."
The smith had an easy way about himself, laughing now in a relaxed manner.
"Then, how would one go about acquiring work around here?" Harry asked with a slight frown. So far things weren't looking up, even if he was acquiring a lot of information from the smith.
"Work...?" The smith asked again, eyeing him and Luna now with a more curious mind. "You two wouldn't happen to be eloping now, would you?"
At Harry's gobsmacked expression, the smith laughed.
"I know all about that - me and my wife had to hop on a ship and we eventually ended up here, setting up shop serving the guard and miners. Always plenty of pickaxes to beat back into shape after every day. Enough at least to keep me and the wifey fed. A child soon too, I hope."
Harry laughed awkwardly as he glanced at Luna and wondered about the misunderstanding that had sprung up.
"I'm Harry, and this is Luna," he said, introducing them. "We don't really have any money, and I'm not sure how exactly we'll manage our next meal to be honest. I had been hoping to sell off some of our clothing, but that might not work out after all..."
"I'm Rustleif," the smith answered with a nod. "Your clothes, eh? You could try selling with one of the traders in port. They might have the coin to bargain with you. But they'll drive you hard for whatever you sell, so don't go in expecting an easy deal."
Harry nodded seriously.
"But for long-term work, this might not be the town for you. How are you with a pick-axe?" Harry shook his head, glancing at Luna who seemed more curious about the anvil than anything else. Rustleif continued amicably nonetheless, "Well, there's always work for a coal shoveler or a porter. Always ships to coming and going, needing strong backs and arms. Not very good coin in it though, I'm afraid, and hard work besides."
Vernon had made as much clear to Harry before; unskilled labour was cheap and plentiful in the muggle world.
"There's always wood in need of chopping. Ever swung an axe?"
Another shake of heads, as this time Luna too decided to answer.
"Hammer, then?" At their repeated answer, Rustleif chuckled. "Good. No need for me to worry about competition. How's about your sword arm?"
Harry perked up slightly at that, but then shrugged, unconsciously rubbing at the basilisk fang wound. "Err, haven't used one in years, to be honest."
Luna looked curious about that as well, turning to look at him with wide eyes. But she didn't ask.
"Well, the guard is fairly picky so you'd be hard-pressed to get in. Mostly it's the families with ties to the Jarl manage the town's security. Thanes and the like, you know?"
Harry nodded, even if he didn't really know what a Thane was. But it sounded familiar to how Vernon would bring in co-workers and colleagues to dinners to butter them up. It really was all about connections wherever you went in the world, regardless of which world you were in.
"Then, know anything about potions? Frida over at the Mortar and Pestle is always asking around for ingredients. Sometimes, her stamina potions are all that keep the mines running," Rustleif explained with a light laugh, which slowly died out. "Like right now. You might not have realized, but you've arrived at a rather poor time. Folks are pretty tired and on edge, so don't go poking your heads anywhere you might not be wanted, you hear me? It's best for everyone if you don't go stepping on any toes."
They could only nod, having noticed how on-edge the miners had seemed.
"Anyhow, I mentioned potions. You think that could work out for you?"
"Harry is quite an accomplished brewer. He received an Exceeding Expectations in his O.W.L.s., after all," Luna stated with full confidence in Harry, who was now squirming slightly. He had never had any great love for potions, thanks in no small part due to Snape.
Rustleif, obviously knowing nothing of the subject but understanding that it must be somewhat impressive, nodded with understanding.
Still, he had to ask, "What do owls have to do with it, though?"
"Oh, it stands for Ordinary Wizarding Levels," Luna once again explained even as Harry felt his heart jumping up into his throat.
Rustleif blinked, before shrugging. "Don't know what that is either, but well, you two should probably try talking with Frida anyhow and see if you can't work something out. Her shop is across from here, on the other side of the bay."
Saying that he pointed towards the docks and the rows of buildings behind them.
"Thank you," Harry said politely, already wishing to retreat from the conversation. "We'll try doing just that."
Luna also made her thanks and they began walking away.
"Didn't we agree to keep our magic hidden from the muggles, Luna?" he whispered to her with more than a little venom, once they had walked out of the immediate vicinity.
"There might not be any magic here, Harry," she said airily, causing him to stumble suddenly in his step.
"What?"
She paused, turning around to face him. "Well, he didn't know what a wizard was. Perhaps they don't have magic here. It is another world, after all."
"...Huh. I hadn't thought of that," he said finally, his earlier temper flare all but gone. "But then, how would they have potions?"
"Curious, isn't it?" She smiled, turning around began skipping forward with much more cheer than she had had before.
They found the potion shop—The Mortar and Pestle—quickly enough. It even had a sign hanging outside and everything. Finding the door unlocked, they knocked and entered. The warmth of the roaring fireplace right in front of them hit them like a tangible wave and they quickly closed the door behind them to keep the heat from escaping, sighing with pleasure at being back inside from the cold.
Their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the shop quickly enough, the light of the fireplace barely enough to help with the effort.
To the left from the entrance was a stairway leading to a second floor, while to the right there was a counter behind which an elderly lady—Frida, they presumed—was standing with a smile that showed the deep creases and wrinkles in her skin. She wore a simple dress, made with the same cloth and cut as most of the other garments the people in town wore, and she had a warm, furry hat on her head. All around them were cupboards and shelves, filled with glass bottles and various ingredients, none of which either could immediately recognize.
"The Mortar and Pestle makes potions, if you couldn't tell from the name. Just step up to the counter, dearies." The wrinkled smile was warm and inviting, and before Harry knew it he was standing just there. "The Mortar and Pestle has cures for every illness, from Ataxia to Witbane," she said in a manner which spoke of decades of repetition, a pitch perfected.
Probably her business slogan, then.
"Uhm, hello ma'am," Harry began as he nodded, not quite sure where to start.
"Are you a witch?" Luna asked without preamble, eliciting a hearty laugh from the old woman.
"Oh, no no, dearie. Nothing quite like that. I'm just an old alchemist, nothing more."
"I see, thank you for telling me." Luna nodded and gave a small curtsy of thanks, which seemed to further charm the old woman.
Harry cleared his throat, figuring it was his turn to try asking. "We were asking around town for work, and Rustleif the smith said that we might ask you..." He hesitated however in explaining why, as he had realized it was possible that his potions experience would be very much useless here. Hadn't she called herself an alchemist, just now? "My name is Harry and this is Luna. We've sort of stumbled into town yesterday, you see?"
"Oh my, is that right? Rustleif did?" She seemed slightly surprised. "Well, unless you have ingredients to sell, I'm afraid there isn't much work I can offer you."
Harry nodded, considering that. He did have several years' worth of experience with herbology and care for magical creatures, and while it might not directly correlate with anything in this world, it might still be useful. Looking at Luna, he knew she had both subjects as well - still remembering with some irritation how she had criticized Hagrid in his fifth year when they had first met.
"We could probably find those ingredients for you. if you are very busy brewing, I mean."
"Oh, could you...?" Frida looked at them a bit sceptically, finding their apparel to be at odds with their words. "Well... I am always running low on ingredients for stamina restoratives."
Harry nodded, hiding his grimace best he could. He vaguely remembered the Invigoration Draught, but the hundreds of hours spent down in the potions classroom really all blended together far too much for him to have any shot at remembering how to brew one without a recipe.
And on top of that, he was fairly certain it wasn't the potion she was talking about.
"Oh, you mean powdered horns and antlers, and coca leaves?" Luna chirped curious.
"Ah... Coca leaves?" Frida asked. Even he had to turn and stare at Luna now, wondering whether she was mistakenly talking about lemonade now.
"Oh, yes. You chew them, though they make your mouth tingle and head swim if you aren't used to them."
The elderly woman nodded seriously. "Oh yes, that sounds very much like a primary ingredient. No doubt many use it through consumption for just that. But ho humm... Dizziness and tingling of the mouth? Would that indicate paralytic properties, or perhaps analgesic...?"
Harry blinked as he realized he had once again utterly lost track of the conversation. Clearing his throat once, he urged them to return to the topic.
"I have never encountered anything quite fitting your description of a coca leaf, but yes, large antlers will do very well for a potion. As will hawk beaks, sabre cat teeth, and mudcrab chitin. I would prefer to not buy any bear claws, as I have never found them very effective. But my husband—bless his soul—quite liked them. Said they made him feel ten years younger and strong like a bear, when he used them himself!" Frida explained, obviously quite happy for the chance to talk. With a wistful shake of her head and a longing stare towards a spot by the fireplace, she moved on. "Oh, but no histcarp. please; I have more than enough histcarps for now. The fishermen rarely come back without a barrel or two, you see. So I can't very well buy it for a good price, if you bring it back."
Harry nodded, already trying to think where he might be able to find any of the creatures she had mentioned. They hadn't seen any since their arrival and he didn't have very much experience with hunting—childhood 'games' aside—which meant that it probably wouldn't be very easy to find some.
"Well be back once we've found some," he said and turned to Luna, checking to see whether she still wanted anything more.
"Goodbye," the Ravenclaw said with a small curtsy before smiling at Harry.
Exiting the Pestle and Mortar, they both blinked against the cold wind and searing brightness of the outside. Distantly, he noticed that several of the ships that had been in port were now gone, presumably setting off to their next destination with the morning winds filling their sails.
Their stomachs growled as one then, informing both just how hungry they were starting to get. Years of scheduled meals had well-trained their bellies to expect sustenance at very specific times.
"It's right around eleven, d'ya reckon?" he asked with a wry grin, feeling more sorry for himself than anything else.
"It does feel like lunch time, yes." Luna nodded, appearing nearly as miserable as he felt. They had been walking around for quite a few hours now and with little in the way of progress to show for it. She turned to look at him then, sporting an unusually serious mien. "Harry, can you catch any of the creatures she mentioned?"
He shrugged.
"It's not so much that, as finding them, I think."
Her eyebrows rose very dramatically as she realized that, nodding at his words and pondering their quandary, as they stood at the waterfront quietly for several long minutes.
"Could you summon one, perhaps?"
Turning to look at Luna, he raised an eyebrow. "You can't summon living beings, Luna."
Nothing bigger than a flobberworm, anyhow.
"Oh... I only thought your summoning charm against the dragon was very impressive," she explained, scrunching her nose and looking unperturbed by the roadblock.
"Well... It couldn't hurt to try, right?" he said as he began to look around. They would need some privacy if he wanted to use his wand. "Come on, let's try over there behind the cliffs around the bend."
She looked at where he was pointing and nodded. Just beyond the edge of the village, following the beach out until they were finally unable to see any buildings or boats. With the constant ebb and flow of the waves, there was very little snow or ice on top of the beach, allowing them to walk fairly quickly for once.
This much closer to the sea, he couldn't help but note how black, cold and clammy it seemed. Uninviting to a degree that put even the Black lake in winter back at Hogwarts to shame.
"Alright. Luna, you keep an eye out for anything," Harry said as he drew his wand.
"Anything?" she asked, excitedly.
"Erm, well, I mean for flying sabre cats or patrolling guards who could see us. Not anything, anything."
"Oh." She deflated slightly. Drawing her own wand, she turned to look back the way they had come. "Alright, Harry."
He nodded, now feeling slightly nervous all of a sudden. Taking a deep breath, he performed the wand motion and spoke, "Accio Sabre Cat!"
And then he fell into a ready stance, eyeing their surroundings warily. He hadn't felt anything, but he didn't exactly want to be caught unawares if a flying Sabre Cat ended up falling on top of him. After a minute, he finally relaxed.
"Okay, that didn't work." What else had Frida mentioned? He tried again, slightly less confidently now. "Accio... Moose?"
But once again, nothing. Trying again for reindeer, hawks and eagles did not net any successes either—though he couldn't see any birds in the sky at all, really—leaving him to slump with disappointment. Even if he had been fairly certain it wouldn't work, he still felt annoyed now that he had actually tried.
"May I try, Harry?" Luna asked, sounding quite certain that she had what it took.
Gesturing for her to go ahead, he crossed his arms.
She nodded, raising her wand as she closed her eyes with intense concentration. He realized that she was trying to picture what she was going to be summoning, something that was important with the charm. His Firebolt had already been intensely familiar to him back in his fourth year, a key factor in his success against the dragon.
Opening her eyes, she flicked her wand and cried out, much louder than he had; "Accio Crumple-Horned Snorkack!"
Harry blinked, feeling his jaw fall open, half panicking. Until nothing happened and he felt very silly.
"Oh phooey..." Luna complained when the result remained unchanged.
Sighing, Harry shook his head, half wondering if she had tried it just to play a trick on him.
At least they hadn't wasted too much time on this, he thought bitterly as the hollowness of his stomach intruded his mind again. He knew he was still fine—years of having to eat at the Dursley table having taught him enough about starving and hunger to knew when he was really in danger—but he also knew that his mood would only keep getting worse until he got something in his belly.
"You forgot one, Harry."
Luna's voice broke him out of his funk and he frowned at her. "What?"
"The mudcrabs, Harry. You haven't tried them yet."
Shaking his head and making a frustrated grunt, he waved his wand haphazardly as he grunted, "Accio mudcrab."
He almost jumped out of his skin with fright as suddenly a massive splash erupted from the sea. He saw something flying towards them at breakneck speeds and his reflexes kicked into overdrive. "STUPEFY!"
The red bolt struck the dark object in mid-air as he jumped out of its way, his well-honed Seeker instincts treating it like a bludger. It barrelled past him and slammed into the beach, kicking up countless small smooth pebbles and making a strange, hollow sound on impact.
Luna squeaked. Or perhaps squealed.
Harry couldn't quite tell with how fast and hard his heart was beating. He stared with wide eyes at the absolutely massive crab that now lay half-buried in the beach. It was dark, with two large pincers and many small legs. But the most notable thing about the crab was just how much its shell looked like nothing more than ordinary rock.
"That's... a bloody big crab," Harry finally said.
"You did it!" Luna beamed effusively.
"Yeah, I guess I—" he said to reply as he turned to look at her, only to freeze at the radiant smile on her face. It's intensity enough to insert colour into the otherwise white and grey world around her, her cold-flushed cheeks red and vibrant, her eyes a dazzling silver.
Harry blinked, shaking his head to break himself out of his stupor as he realized he had forgotten what he had been about to say.
"Let's take it back. Frida will want this, I'm sure!"
"Uh, right."
It took both of them to carry it, as they couldn't levitate it back. They each bundled two or more feet on either side and then awkwardly walked the way back sideways, setting it down only long enough to knock on the door to the Pestle and Mortar.
Frida did not seem to share their awe at the crab's size—something which Harry took to mean that there could be even bigger crabs in the water, renewing his interest in steering well clear of the sea—but she did seem quite surprised at the condition of its shell once they brought it inside.
"Not a single mark. Remarkable. It's almost as if it's sleeping."
"Ah, yeah. It isn't dead. Not exactly, anyhow," Harry explained lamely.
Frida only nodded, raising the mudcrab sideways with one hand and drawing a large knife from her belt with the other. Then, with one decisive thrust of knife and shudder of shell, she had killed it.
"Wonderful, dearies. This will keep me stocked for the rest of the month at least!" She wiped the blade clean before putting it back on her belt. Then, she stood up gingerly and smiled at them. "Would you two like to stay for a late lunch? I haven't had steamed mudcrab legs in years and there's plenty to go around."
Harry and Luna looked at each other only for a second before they were both nodding excitedly. Thus was how they found themselves sitting around a small table an hour later, feasting on melted butter and succulent crab meat.
They would both sworn it was the most delicious meal they had eaten in their whole lives right then and there.
After writing some of things I have before this, it's quite refreshing to write a hot-headed dumbass with a sparkly stick. Harry isn't very complex, it feels like. It feels relaxing to write about him struggling to even feed himself, when I've had to wrestle with the ball of utter self-loathing and -delusion that is EMIYA.
Really the challenge here is Luna. I like Luna. I really like Luna. Really like Luna. And I don't really know why. See, she only has like what, less than 10 scenes in canon HP? So that's not very much. So I figured maybe it was from fanfics. But no, it isn't. They're pretty much all dogshit. At least the ones I found or remembered anyhow. Maybe I just have a crush on Evanna Lynch.
Anyhow, I'm trying to write Luna now. We'll see how that goes lmao
Also, towns will be bigger than in Skyrim(going by the microcosm idea), but their general layout and feel will still reflect the game. (Thought about playing the Dawnstar mobile game before writing, but decided that I didn't care enough. Same with ESO, really.)
