Sorry that it's been a while. I've been busy, and then I got sick. I swear, I'm going to the doctor someday, really, I am. Ok, this is the next chapter (obviously). Oh, and I just found out that I'm on three peoples favorites list. Anybody want to fess up? No, I'm not angry, I just want to know who!! The suspense can kill, you know....
Chapter (is it six?) Six: Dueling and the Full Moon
"I don't want to get up!" screamed Rose, clinging onto her pillow. Luna sighed and turned to Amy, who was sitting on her bed, looking very amused.
"A little help, Amy? Please?" she begged. Amy grinned and walked over to the pouting Rose.
"Rose, dearest, you're going to be late for breakfast. What do you want more, sleep or food?" she asked calmly. Rose stared at the canopy for a minute, and then climbed out of bed. Luna stared in amazement at Amy. She shrugged.
"Just gotta try to get to the savage beast through it's wants, is all," she explained.
"I heard that! I am not a savage beast, Miss Kensington. Where's your sister, by the way?" asked Rose. Her voice was muffled from her head being buried in her trunk. Amy sighed and fell back onto Rose's bed.
"Hmm? Oh, she went to go see Mina. She needed her.... something. I think it was her enchanted mirror or something, but I can never be sure," Amy explained. Luna nodded and smoothed her hair down.
"Rose, are you DONE yet?" she asked impatiently. Rose poked her head up from the trunk and scowled at her.
"I don't know what robes to wear!" protested Rose. Luna rubbed her forehead.
"Here's a suggestion. How about the school regulation robes?" she suggested. Rose scowled at her again.
"I have ten pairs of black robes, and they all are different. Here, you help me choose. The ones that are enchanted to make me look thinner, or the ones enchanted to make me look taller. Or, hey, what about my robes with the seventy pockets? They hold Dungbombs, Fireworks, and other miscellaneous things," Rose proclaimed. Luna sighed again.
"You don't really need to look thinner OR taller. Just pull on the robes with the seventy pockets. That way you can store some of our things in them," she snapped. Rose rolled her eyes.
"Well, Miss Lupin. I suggest you calm down. What is wrong anyway?" she asked.
Luna knew what was wrong. She felt horrible, and wasn't happy about it. Tonight was the full moon, and she wasn't looking forward to it.
"I'm just tired. And very, very hungry. Toss the robes on over your pajamas, you can change properly later. I'm hungry. Let's go!" she snipped again. Rose glared at her, but tossed the robes over her head.
"All right, fine, I will. Come on, if we don't hurry, we'll miss breakfast all together, and then we'll be late for Dueling class," said Rose. Luna stared at her.
"You're yelling at us about being late?!"
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"We'll be working in pairs, so-" Remus was saying, when suddenly Luna, Rose, and Amy burst into the classroom.
"We're-not-late!" gasped Rose. Sirius raised an eyebrow at them, and Luna watched as her father fought back a smile.
"Very well, girls. Please take a seat. I won't deduct points this time, but if you're late again, I'm afraid I'll have too," Remus said calmly. Luna sighed in relief and collapsed into the nearest desk.
"As I was saying, we'll be working in pairs, so if you could please choose your partners. Make sure they are equal in strength for right now. Later we will be pairing you up with other people, but for today we just want to know what you've learned," he continued. Instantly, the class jumped to their feet and began looking for partners. Luna turned to Rose.
"Partner?" she asked lazily. Rose shrugged.
"I don't know, Luna. You know what Professor Lupin said- work with partners of equal strength. Everyone knows I'm so much stronger than you!" teased Rose. Luna rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand. She watched as her father and Sirius stood before each other, wand in hand.
"Before we begin, remember this. No Unforgivable curses. Nothing stronger than a first year curse. Nothing, understand? Go easy for right now. All right. Bow to your partner to begin," Sirius commanded. Luna bowed to Rose, and watched as the rest of the class did the same. Her father smiled vaguely at Sirius and then quickly turned to the class.
"You may begin your duel. Please don't hurt anyone severely."
Rose grinned at Luna and raised her wand.
It's just like fencing, it's just like fencing. You gotta wait your turn. Right of way, and all, Luna thought to herself as she waited for Rose to cast her charm.
"Rictusempra!" she shouted. A silvery light shot out of her wand. Luna paused and thought quickly.
Wait for it.... wait for it... now!
Luna raised her wand just in time and blocked. She whipped around and pointed her wand at Rose.
"Expelliarmus!" she shouted in turn. Rose was blasted off her feet, but kept her wand in hand. She pointed at herself and cried out: "Wingardium Leviousa!" Rose was soon floating and managed not to go slamming into a wall. She pointed her wand back at Luna and grinned.
"Kepicurnicus!" she screamed. Luna frowned.
What the heck does that do? she thought to herself.
Suddenly, a bucket was above her. Luna looked at it, and then it tipped. A greenish liquid poured over her, and Luna gasped. It was green, slimy water! She glared at Rose.
"Finite Incantatem!" she screamed at Rose. She fell to the ground heavily. "Caecus!" Luna yelled in return. The Momentary Blindness Curse. Rose screamed.
"What the hell?!" she yelled. Amy looked up from her duel a few feet away.
"Language, Rose. Just Finite Incatatem it! Good one, Luna! Caecus!" Amy screamed. Luna barely had time to register that Lita was blind before Rose was back on her feet.
"Oh, that's it. No more Miss Nice Black. Ventosus!" she yelled in return. Luna was swept off her feet, a strong wind carrying her.
What... oh, duh. The Swirling Wind Charm. Usually used to move things... guess it works, though.
Luna scowled at Rose through the wind.
"Tarantallegra!" Luna whispered. The Dancing charm hit Rose full on, and she began to dance. Luna laughed in the wind, when suddenly, everything stopped.
Sirius and her father stood in front of her, looking amused.
"Very good class. You're obviously pretty good at this. Some of you were using some rarer curses, and some used charms that are used for other things. However, many of you stuck to traditional curses, such as the Jelly Legs hex," her father said, looking pointedly at Lita and Amy, "or the Full Body Bind." Here he looked at Michelle and Tim Vendetti. Sirius grinned from behind her father.
"Gotta learn creativity, kids. Hey, why don't Remus... Professor Lupin and I show you the Disarming Charm to begin with, all right? Remus, you'll be on the receiving end," announced Sirius. Her father rolled his eyes, but dutifully raised his wand as though he were preparing to send a curse. Sirius grinned.
"Expelliarmus!" Sirius shouted. Remus went flying through the air, and his wand was caught by Sirius, who was smiling. Remus clambered to his feet and looked angrily at Sirius.
"You did that on purpose!" he protested. Sirius smiled.
"I had to get you back for that little comment about you being the better dueler, didn't I?" he asked innocently. Remus sighed and then turned back to the class.
"That is the Disarming Charm. Once you get the hang of it, you shouldn't," Remus glared at Sirius, "end up sending people through the air unless it's on purpose." Sirius began whistling innocently.
"We noted some originality from Miss Black. She sent a Swirling Wind charm at Miss Lupin. Usually, Swirling Wind charms are only used to move debris after a storm. Also, Miss Black used a Water charm. To use a water charm, you usually just say Curnicus. However, Miss Black used the prefix Kepi, which changes the water green. This ends up putting a stain in clothing, much to my disdain," Remus paused and sighed at his daughters black- now green- robes.
"I saw that Miss Kensington and Miss Lupin used Caecus on their partners. Caecus is an older charm, and is hardly known of now. It is a Momentary Blindness Charm, which allows an opponent to relax for a minute. It can be repelled by Finite Incantatem," Sirius continued. Remus nodded in agreement.
"Miss Salvay used Taylingus, another old charm. This is called the Sneezing charm in good old English. It causes an opponent to sneeze in a rapid succession, over and over again, until the next charm is placed. Another charm we saw was from Mr. Reidly to Mr. Avarius. He used Satum Saturum, which is a diversionary tactic. It creates multiple images of the sender, which confuses the opponent. They are seen only to the receiver, and it allows the defendant to either escape or cast another spell."
Sirius grinned. "Class time is up, unfortunately. So... what's their homework, Professor Lupin?" he asked in a teasing voice. Some of the kids groaned, but Remus smiled.
"A simple essay on some charms that are not commonly used in duels. Due next week. Not very long, just give me two charms, all right? And not any that Professor Black and I mentioned!" he called as the class left.
Luna grinned at Rose, who was still a bit upset about the Caecus charm.
"How could you use that on me? That was so rude! I didn't even know what was going on!" Rose yelled. Luna grinned again.
"That's the joy of a good charm. The enemy never knows what to expect," she explained. Rose sniffed at her.
"Well, I'm not the enemy, now am I? Why do we even need that class!" she protested again. Luna stared at her in amazement.
"Uh, dummy, maybe because Voldemort is back in full swing?" Amy asked from behind them. Rose laughed suddenly.
"Duh, I am stupid. Sorry for getting all huffy, Lupin. Scared me a bit, is all," she said. Rose stuck out a hand.
"Truce? We study the curses, hexes, and charms together?" she asked. Luna thought a moment.
"Truce."
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"I'm going to be sick," Luna moaned. They were in the middle of Herbology class, where Professor Sprout was explaining about that days lesson.
"- will not be having a normal lesson today, class. Instead, our lesson will take place tonight, under the full moon," Sprout continued. Luna turned pale. She was going to miss class. Rose glanced at her in concern and then raised her hand.
"Ah, Professor? What will we be studying tonight that we can't study another night?" she asked carefully. Professor Sprout raised an eyebrow.
"For your information, Miss Black, we will be studying Moonroses." (A/N- Shameless plug, I know. But hey, now you know where I got my pen name from!) Some of the class gasped.
"Moonroses? Aren't they... you know, a myth?" Amy asked, breathless. Professor Sprout smiled at all the amazed faces.
"No, Miss Kensington, they are quite real. We have a bunch planted near the Forbidden Forest, and we will be plucking them tonight. You will be allowed to pluck two, one to give to Professor Snape, and one to keep or give to someone else," Sprout explained. The class sneered.
"Why would we give them to Professor Snape?" Robert Faltroid asked.
"They are used in several potions, and he needs some anyway. Please open your books and read about this rare and beautiful plant, please," she snapped at them. The class pulled their books from their bags and flipped open to the pages. Luna stared at the picture in amazement.
It was a beautiful flower, really. It seemed so perfect in everyway. Luna sighed and began reading the caption.
The Moonrose is a beautiful rose, and somewhat rare. Its' petals are silver in color, and in the correct conditions, it appears to be a liquid. It can only be picked under the full moon. If it is picked another time, it will wilt.
The Moonrose was first discovered in the late 15th century by renowned witch Selena Rovena. When Rovena was up at night surveying the family ghoul, she noticed a silver glimmer in the field by her house. While exploring, she found the delicate flower and plucked it. It didn't wilt until the day she died.
While Moonrose's only bloom under the full moon, it does remain alive for a full day after the moon. However, it is useless in this form, and will crumble to dust by the time the Moon rises at dusk.
The Moonrose is used in many potions, usually healing ones. It is also part of an ancient protection spell (turn to page 393 to read of it).
The Moonrose symbolizes eternal friendship when given to someone. It can also mean love for one another, but it is rarely used in this form. The Moonrose, for some unknown reason, will only wilt when the owner dies. It has been recorded, however, to stay alive after that, if given to someone else, or if a promise has been made on it.
Luna read the caption in amazement. She so wanted to be able to go out and pick one... but it was the full moon, and she couldn't be out anyway. She sighed and decided to look up the ancient protection spell. Rose was already there when she glanced at her book, and seemed immersed in the reading.
The Moonrose, continued.
As said on page 102, the Moonrose is used in an ancient protection spell. This spell can only be cast between true friends or true lovers. It binds the spell casters together, and will not let them go. If a person abandons them after taking this spell, they will be killed instantly.
There are, officially, two spells that this flower is used in. One is the protection spell. Another is the friendship spell. This spell, listed below, can only be cast between to open hearts. It must be cast under the waning moon, which is usually obvious a few days after the full moon. It too cannot be broken, or the person who broke it will be killed instantly. These spells are not recommended to be used for anyone younger than 100. It is a powerful spell, and can kill an unskilled wizard.
Luna merely scanned the rest of the page. It wasn't very important, it was just warnings, and more history about the spells. It bored her. She wasn't very good at History of Magic to begin with, and she didn't want to have to deal with it now. Finally, at the bottom of the page, was the friendship spell that had been mentioned earlier in the chapter. She read it softly to herself.
By this rose I bind to you
Eternal friendship, through and through.
If broken, I will die
Never to see the night sky.
If kept, eternity will reign.
From heaven's eyes
Glory will not feign.
Never in any day
Shall I betray
The promise given here.
By this rose I bind to you
Eternal friendship, through and through.
Luna stared at it in amazement. It really was a promise. And it said in the spell, that if it was broken, the person would die. But what did those three lines in the middle mean. From the 'If Kept' part to the 'Glory will not' part? Luna sighed in frustration and closed her book. It didn't matter, anyway. She couldn't pluck it. The moon was up tonight, and it was looking for her.
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Luna glanced at the clock as she made her move across the chess board. Ten minutes until she had to leave.
"Check mate," she said lazily. Michelle stared at the board for a minute, then scowled.
"Yeah, you got me. I swear, you cheated somehow," she snapped. Luna smiled half-heartedly at her, and then stood up. She would leave now.
"Hey, Rose? Tell Professor Sprout I'm in the Hospital Wing, all right? I'm not feeling well, she'll understand," she said. Rose smiled sadly at her, and Amy glanced up from her Exploding Snap cards.
"You haven't been looking well, Luna. Isn't your cold any better?" she asked, grabbing a couple of cards as the tower exploded. Luna smiled at her.
"No, it isn't. I'll be back in the morning, try to grab a Moonrose for Professor Snape for me, will you? Tell Sprout you're picking in my behalf," she said. She carefully climbed through the portal door and walked down the hall, her bones groaning in protest.
As she walked down the hall, she looked at the portraits on the wall (A/N- Hey, I'm a poet, and didn't even know it!). They frowned at her as she walked past, and some even began whispering about her. Luna kept her head down against the accusatory manner of the portraits, when suddenly she went ice cold. She gasped, and looked up.
A female ghost stood in front of her, smiling sadly. It wore Victorian clothing, and it's hair was down. The ghost passed through her again, and Luna continued walking.
Finally, she reached the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey stood by the door, waiting with her father and Sirius. Luna looked at them in surprise.
"Father, Sirius, what are you doing here?" she asked softly. She had expected her father to spend the night in his office. Sirius smiled ruefully.
"Remus couldn't get the potion. He got here a day after he would have needed to take it before. I am going to spend the night with him, in the upper rooms," he explained. Her father smiled sadly at her and talked quietly to Sirius. Luna knew what this meant. Sirius was there to keep the werewolf away from her. It would end up killing her if it knew she was there...
Luna shuddered and watched as Madam Pomfrey prodded the Whomping Willow. The limbs froze and Madam Pomfrey pointed to the hole.
"Go quickly now. The moon is almost up. I'll be around in the morning to get you, although I think it is best if you skip breakfast in the morning, all right? Good luck," Madam Pomfrey called as the three of them disappeared into the tunnel.
Luna looked at her father. He was pale, and looked sicker than he usually did. Then again, she reflected, he couldn't look any worse than her.
The tunnel took forever to get through. It was musty, and smelled funny. She hoped the Shrieking Shack was somewhat better. Suddenly, her father stopped. They were at the door. Sirius leaned forward and opened it, and they entered in.
Luna looked around as she saw it. It was dusty, decayed, and pretty ugly. But it had solid doors, and the windows were boarded up, so she supposed it must be safe. Her father looked at her.
"Sirius and I will be upstairs. Don't you dare come up there, or I'll take points from Gryffindor," he said severely. Luna nodded mutely, and her father softened. "It's not that bad, really. You'll get used to it. Good luck, Luna. The potion should get rid of some of the pain."
Luna nodded again as she felt her bones creak. Her father stared at her for a minute, then turned and dashed up the stairs. Luna smiled at Sirius, who grinned in return, and then he was gone. She was alone.
She decided to find a good, strong room to transform in. She didn't need it, really, since she would be safe with the potion, but she would feel better, just in case and all. She found one near the very end, a living room like area. It had a rather battered couch, and a broken table by it. Luna smiled and ran her hands along the rough wood. It felt wonderful.
Luna felt the moon begin to rise, and quickly sat down on the couch. Her stomach felt queasy, all ways the beginning signs of the change. She bit her lip, trying to bite back a scream as her bones rearranged themselves. It didn't work, however, as the changes continued. She screamed. She heard her father echo her from upstairs, and then.... she was a wolf.
It wasn't bad, really. Better smell, that was for sure. She could smell herself, or at least the scent she had left behind. It was very weird.
Well, this isn't so bad. I can just curl up, and go to sleep. Or not, probably not. The wolf doesn't want to sleep, might as well keep part of it happy. Darn animal. Wish we had a muggle TV or something. How about a book? Wolves can read, correct. Oh, forget the wolf. I can read, and I'm essentially human... did I bring my book?
Luna jumped off the couch and began nosing around in the bag she had brought, as a just in case. She had some water, some small snacks, band aids... but she couldn't find her book.
Success! It was Rose's book, actually. Stained Shadows, by Metuka Himn. She nosed the book open with her snout, and sat down for a night of glorious reading.
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"Please cut carefully, girls!" yelled Professor Sprout at Rose, Amy, and Lita. Rose rolled her eyes and snipped off another rose.
They were beautiful, even more beautiful than the book had described. Sprout had taken one look at them, and said you could pick up to six. There were over a hundred anyway, and the Gryffindor class were the only ones picking them, so it didn't really matter.
Rose knew who she was picking the six for. One for her, one for Luna, one for Amy, one for Lita, and two for her dad, so he could give one to someone else.
"Hey, Rose? Who are you giving your six to? I'm giving one to Lita, one to Luna, one to you, one to Mina, one to my mom, but who else should I give it to?" Amy called. She had five roses in her hand, and had her scissors above a sixth. Rose shrugged.
"I'm giving one to you, one to Luna, one to Lita, two for my dad, and one for me," she said. Amy blinked, and then rolled her eyes.
"Ok, I'm stupid. One-for-me!" she said in punctuated sentences. She snipped off the last flower.
"According to the book, these won't wilt until the owner dies, so we have a while," Lita whispered from behind them. Rose nodded.
"That's right. Come on, the rest of the class is leaving, we gotta go!" she exclaimed. She, Amy, and Lita took off with the rest of the class, betting on who would win a foot race.
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Luna could feel the sun begin to rise, and closed her eyes, ignoring the pain. It came and went and she reopened her eyes. She rose from the couch and threw the book into her bag.
"Father?" she called upstairs. A minute later, both Sirius and her father came trudging down the stairs. They didn't look happy.
"Father?" she asked again. He smiled weakly at her and caught her hand in his.
"Come along, Luna. We can't be late for class," he yawned. Luna smiled at him and grinned at Sirius. He nodded at her, but wasn't up to his usual spirits. Luna felt tired too, so she understood.
Madam Pomfrey met them at the Whomping Willow and quickly ushered them back to the Hospital wing. Luna gratefully drank her medicine, and then decided it would be best for her to get back to the common room.
"Madam Pomfrey, may I leave?" she asked politely. She stared at her for a moment, and then smiled kindly.
"But of course my dear. If you are sure you aren't feeling any ill effects..." she trailed off. Luna sighed.
"Just tired, Madam. I'll be sure to catch up on sleep later. Thank you for your help!" she whispered cheerfully as she exited the Hospital Wing.
Luna crept back to the common room quietly, hardly making a sound. Suddenly, she stopped, her insides cold just as they had been last night. She whirled around and saw the ghost that walked through her yesterday. It smiled sadly at her and opened it's mouth.
"Are you the Moon Wolf?" it asked in a whispery, broken voice. Luna frowned.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean," she answered politely.
"I am Miyuki Mercy Maypheen. That is my name. Are you Moon Wolf?" she asked again. Luna stared at Miyuki.
"I'm quite sorry, but I don't know what you mean. You have a very pretty name. My name is Luna Lupin. I don't have a middle name," she said slowly. The ghost blinked at her. Then it smiled.
"Luna and Miyuki will be friends, you see? You be my friend? You tell me what goes on in Hogwarts?" she asked. Luna stared at Miyuki again. Something felt wrong...
"Luna and Miyuki will be friends. What does Miyuki mean?" she asked. Maybe her name would tell her something.
"Miyuki means 'deep snow'. It is Japanese. It implies peace and silence. Good bye, Luna Lupin," she said suddenly. She floated off, humming to herself. Luna stared after the ghost.
"Um, ok."
Luna slunk to the Fat Lady and issued the password (Kneazle fur!) and curled up on a couch. The sun was already up, but nobody was moving yet. So she stared at the fire for a few minutes, knowing that Lita would be up in a few minutes.
"Hey, you're back! How did... you know... go?" a voice from the left of Luna asked. She jumped and saw Rose standing there, holding a flower. Luna shrugged.
"As well as could be expected. How did Herbology go last night?" she asked. Rose grinned.
"Oh, it was awesome. In a weird way. Here, I got you a flower. We were allowed to pick six, you know? There were one hundred last night, and they re-grow each month! Isn't that cool! Amy and Lita got you one too. They were sad you had to miss out on all the fun," Rose muttered. She seemed to be trying to keep her voice down for some reason.
"You're allowed to talk in my almighty presence, you know Rose? You can be as awestruck as you want, but you are allowed to talk," teased Luna. Rose glared at her.
"Shuddup. Amy and Lita are both still asleep. And let me tell you, Lita can bite when she wants to! Think she broke my finger," Rose whimpered. Luna rolled her eyes. A sudden clattering from upstairs informed Luna that the others were awake.
"AMY SOLSTICE KENSINGTON!! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!!" screamed a very angry Lita all of a sudden. Rose and Luna looked at each other, and then ran upstairs to see what the commotion was.
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"And you are sure the girl suspects nothing?" demanded Voldemort. A ghost stooped before him.
"I am certain my Lord. With the information Wormtail brought us, and my extra spying, we will be sure to capture her and the boy unawares. I just need to find out if she is the Moon Wolf or not. She seems uncertain as to what I am speaking of," hissed Miyuki. Voldemort turned away.
"Of course. Be sure to leave a copy of the prophecy by Harry Potter's bed. His friend will be sure to try and decipher it. Leave me, Miyuki. I grow tired of your presence," snapped Voldemort. Miyuki rose from her kneeling position and glided from the room.
"I will have the girl, then? She will be mine?" Miyuki demanded suddenly, turning and facing Voldemort. He glared at her with his snake-like eyes.
"In two different worlds you have been faithful, Miyuki. In the mortal world, and the spirit world. You will have your phoenix. Just be sure to give the prophecy to Harry Potter after we attack. Leave!"
Miyuki swept herself away and smiled a bit. She would have her reward. She would be resurrected by the phoenix. She would live, and rule at Voldemort's right arm.
"And," the ghost mused, "I'll join my 'husband', as it were, once more. Poor Wormtail, must be lonesome without me."
Hmm, twist, yes? Tell me what you think of my new characters, such as Miyuki, the evil ghost; Micaro, the mysterious DADA teacher; Luna, the heroine of our story; Rose, the prankster; Amy, the sweet, kind girl- until she plays a prank; Lita, the shy, sweet one; Marcella Malfoy, the wicked one; and of course, what do you think about my perfect Moonrose?
I already have the next two chapters essentially planned, so you'll be seeing them soon!
