I'm going to pretend that since this is occurring in the fifth book of
Harry Potter, Hagrid has already returned with Grawp.
###
Two silhouettes scampered down the cold stone steps from the looming castle over their heads. They paused on the grass of the grounds, hoping that Hagrid in his cabin wouldn't notice them. The taller of the two pulled her hood over her head to remove her profile from view, the other, much smaller figure shrank until she was the size of a cat. Together they slinked across the castle's grounds and hid themselves in the dense forest of the night.
Following a worn out path dotted by the moonlight of the full moon, the cat paused and seemed to breathe in the moonlight making her crescent moon insignia on her forehead glow dimly. The girl glanced from left to right, as though she could see into the darkness and see hidden dangers. For the moment there were none and the pair headed further into the forest.
Once the moonlight was completely hidden by the thick canopy of the trees, the cat's forehead glowed brightly to shine their path. The girl cast more uneasy glances into the forest, slightly unnerved by the horror stories Harry Potter had told her the night before. Her steps were uneven and reluctant, and she almost tripped on the black cat beneath her feet.
"What's wrong?" she asked to the cat.
"Something..." the cat replied in a hushed whisper. Her ears pivoted towards their right, and her ruby red eyes shot to its direction. The girl kept quiet and still. So did the forest, and whatever that scared the cat.
"Luna...tell me, what's there?" the girl whispered.
At first the lithe cat didn't respond, she only stared wide-eyed and calculating. 'They couldn't be here, there aren't any left! They were killed off!' The cat thought, desperately hoping her fears were incorrect. "Nothing." The cat replied, hoping her friend would take the lie. "Just a feeling," and the cat carried onwards, prowling around the girl, making sure there were no dangers whatsoever.
"How far do we need to go?" the girl whispered.
"Far enough to not be seen."
Suddenly more moonlight shone over them like a comfort blanket as they reached a clearing in the forest. Trees had been knocked down and reduced to splinters by some kind of struggle. The space was wide and dangerous to prey, but luckily Luna had some defensive magic.
"Okay, this will be fine for the process, stand over there." The cat said, looking up to the moon as though watching to make sure it was in a correct position. The girl shifted uneasily on the spot, tonight was the most important of her life. No time to get the jitters.
~~~
Harry woke up with a start with his scar prickling. Rubbing it gently, he thought of his dream, but by now he could hardly remember it. Then he realised how light the room was. Was it daytime already? Had he missed breakfast? When he heard Neville's snores he assumed everyone was still in bed. He was about to shout to get them up before they missed breakfast, but upon opening the curtains, he stumbled back onto bed, temporarily blinded by the amount of light entering the dormitory. Looking round, Neville was still snoring, and the others were still sleeping soundly. Looking to the clock, it still said 'naptime'. Bewildered, he closed the curtains again and quietly went down the cold stone steps to the common room, heading directly for the windows and with closed eyes he opened the curtains.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he focused to the centre of the phenomenon where most of the light was concentrated in mid air, slightly above the trees of the Forbidden Forest.
What was going on...?
He thought of many different theories, one of which being some kind of ritual on the night on the full moon for some kind of animal living in the forest. It must've been secret, for otherwise he was sure that his friends would have woken up. He opened the window and he was further surprised by a chorus of angelic voices that rang with a catlike 'meow'. His theory was developed to the animal being some kind of cat. Even though he was curious and tired, he couldn't help but be enchanted by this magical event.
Sitting himself on the windowsill, he let himself drift to sleep by the sound of angelic meows. (AN: I honestly don't know where this silly idea came from, it just makes me laugh!)
~~~
Practically half asleep, Julia trudged through the castle, dragging her feet and carrying the weight of Luna on her shoulders.
"DD-sen- *yawn!* -sei says we can stay in the guest room behind the painting of the Moon palace...he thought.he thought it was fitting." The cat said, half yawning from exhaustion.
"Wherezat?" Julia slurred, stumbling up the moving staircases.
"Fi...fifth floor, next to a suit of arms."
Not bothering to reply, not bothering to rub her itchy forehead, Julia stepped up the stairs and made it higher and higher with every step, occasionally stopping for a large yawn.
Finally they passed the shiny suit of arms which greeted them with a small wave and Julia stopped short in front of the panoramic painting of a grand marble palace. "How do I get in?" Julia asked, and before she knew it, four figures garbed in a uniform of sorts, but each in a different colour approached. The girl never got a reply from Luna, for she was staring at the painting, lost in memories.
"You won't get in here!" the figure in red said.
"But unless you have the password," the one in green said-
"Just say the word," the figure in blue said-
"And you'll be welcomed!" finished the orange and blue figure.
Julia stared, boggled at this painting. "Luna...I need a password!"
"*yawn!* Mare Sere- Serenatis." The four senshi smiled down on them and the girl suddenly felt very small under their gaze. The red one especially intimidated her. However now that she looked carefully through her eyes clouded by tiredness, she realised that the palace looked much more real. "Get in it, I want to go to sleep!" Luna tiredly said.
"H-How?" The cat rolled her eyes and bounded off Julia's shoulder and into the painting. There she was, on the grass under the moonlight in front of a magnificent palace. Instead of questioning, Julia followed blindly and jogged after Luna who disappeared through a gate to the side. Upon opening, they found what they were looking for.
"BED!"
~~~
Deep down in the comforts of the fluffy bed, Luna woke, yawned and stretched. Blinking out her sleeping dust, she stretched again and tiredly flopped back on the bed, her tail waving lazily. Suddenly the bed jerked and a slumbering girl turned herself round under the thick duvet, to face the cat. The girl absent-mindedly scratched her forehead letting her light brown hair fall away from her face. Luna stared at her friend and suddenly her eyes opened wide.
"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" she cried out, which caused the girl to jerk upright and alert.
"What's wrong? What happened?" she asked quickly. She turned to the black cat beside her and saw Luna's mouth open agape. She transformed back in her human form and pointed to Julia's forehead.
"Ju-Julia! Go look in the mirror!" Luna said shakily. Julia scrunched up her face and gave the cat a condescending look. She rolled her eyes and got out of bed, still fully dressed and mumbled,
"There had better be a good reason for this...huge spot or something?" Stomping into the side bathroom, she looked at herself under tired eyes. "What is it? I don't see anything!"
Luna walked in behind her and lifted her messy fringe. Julia's reaction was exactly the same as Luna's.
"WHAT?! No way!" Luna sighed and nodded, defeated.
"I don't understand either, but I suppose what happened yesterday is a way back on Mau to get lunar powers. I don't remember my ceremony; it was years ago, so I suppose that's what happens." Luna paused, and looked to Julia who was still staring at herself in the mirror. "You won't need to get a wand, since you received lunar magic the wand will only amplify the sheer amount of magic you have already. Needless to say, your magic will have to be done with your hands."
Julia nodded dumbly, and rubbed the crescent moon mark in the centre of her forehead. It twinkled mischievously. Eventually she shrugged and sighed. "I guess I'll have to pretend it's a scar, like Harry's."
"You wouldn't actually _say_ that would you?!" Luna asked incredulously. "Having that mark is an honour of part of the Lunarian's treaty! And-"
"But yesterday I didn't have it, DID I?"
"The- oh. I see."
"It's just a mark anyway, and I was practicing the transfiguration techniques with my hands anyway. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's pretty cool actually." Julia walked out of the bathroom, followed by a shocked Luna and they made their way out of the painting.
"Shall I practice my magic then?... sheesh, this reminds of some kind of computer game."
"It's not. Remember that. You could get hurt." Luna replied, shrinking again to cat form and jumping to Julia's shoulders, who rolled her eyes and continued walking to the great hall.
After 15 minutes, they made it and she opened the doors to see the entire school having their breakfast. As she walked past in her creased skirt and shirt from the night before, the student body craned their necks to see the tall girl walking to the teachers' table and talk a few words with the headmaster. They finished their small conversation and she headed down the tables to the Gryffindors to sit near the infamous trio of the present Hogwarts generation. Whispers generated round the hall and Julia calmly ate her breakfast after greeting Hermione, Ron and Harry.
However soon the murmurs turned to general chatter as the owls swooped down to drop off the mail. Between Harry, Ron, Hermione and Julia, they remained silent until Julia broke it. "I'm going to be in your year Hermione. Isn't that cool?"
"What? How come? I thought you were coming to visit!" Hermione replied aghast.
"Fine. I know when I'm not wanted." Ron and Harry snorted in held in laughter over their pumpkin juice.
"No no! I just thought you wanted to see Dumbledore that's all."
"That _was_ our plan, until Luna decided to change her mind and she wanted to stay. OH," Julia blushed. "She's the one with the long black hair in the weird hairstyle and dress sense." Suddenly Julia held in her breathe as her cat clawed her arms in her lap. "Ow...I take it back!"
"What's your cat called?" Harry asked.
"Uh, um, she's called Luna as well because my friend has a huge ego." Again Julia held in her breathe. "Ow..." Hermione narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Especially at the cat who peered over the table edge. Ron looked over to his friend and nudged Hermione. He gave her a disapproved look and her frowned face relaxed to a smile.
"So! Are you starting straight away?"
Julia beamed. "I think so, but I don't have any supplies."
"I'm sure the school can lend you some, but you'll have to get yourself a wand." Harry replied, "We could go to Diagon Alley next time we get to go out to Hogsmeade and-"
"Oh I don't need one." Julia replied cheerfully, taking a bite out of her piece of toast. Before they could question her further, Professor McGonagall approached from behind them and handed some timetables to Hermione who dealt them out.
"Please make sure you make it on time to all of your lessons, your O.W.L.S. are this year and we don't need any-more- mischief."
"We will!" the three chorused and finally the professor handed Julia a timetable.
"Since you have already been introduced to these three, I would advise to ask for help from Granger." Professor McGonagall said, casting an uneasy look to Luna's direction. "Supplies can be lent to you in lessons. Extra tutoring will be at 7o' clock each evening with Professor Dumbledore in his office." She nodded curtly and left.
"Do you know which house you're in?" Hermione asked. Julia shook her head and showed Hermione her timetable.
"That's weird. You're all mixed up, sometimes you're with us, then with Ravenclaw Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Hey! You'll be with the sixth years for Transfiguration!"
"What?" Ron said, coughing on his baked beans. "Gimme that!" Harry peered over his shoulder and yes, she was with the sixth year Gryffindors. The three stared at Julia suspiciously.
"Wh-What? Is that a crime?"
"You're in our year, and a new student. How can you be ahead?" Ron asked.
Julia glowered at him. "Are you saying that I'm crap?"
"N-NO!" Ron replied having stuck his foot in his mouth again.
"Good." She snatched her timetable back and looked down it. Upon seeing students leaving the hall she said, "Well I'd better go since I have a lesson now with the Slytherins." Promptly she turned and walked away but Ron shouted,
"Good luck!"
"There's no such thing!" she shouted back, having learnt that the hard way during her entire childhood. Once she got to the bottom of the changing staircases, she muttered her thoughts. "Right, so it's Charms first. Um, hm. Which- way???"
"Lost mudblood?" sneered a voice behind her. Whirling around she saw Malfoy and his bodyguards. Completely ignoring him, but placing her hands into a position such that it resembled the screen of a TV, she mocked a voiceover voice.
"And here comes the bad smelling boy and his bruised bodyguards! Dressed as though he has no idea what the meaning of 'style' is, he *sigh* tries to make a condescending face but fails miserably-"
"Watch it you-"
"As well as having no sense of style, he can't make a good comeback for the life of him so give it up foooor...Flattenhim Boy! (also rhymes with platinum which so matches his hair, don't'cha think?)"
"Listen here mudblood-"
"What?" Julia hissed. "I can't hear you!"
"Mudblood!"
"Hm?"
"OI!"
"I'm sorry say that again?"
"MUDBLOOD SHUT UP!"
"Mr Malfoy!" snapped Professor Sprout from behind him. "10 points from Slytherin for such horrible behaviour to a new student! Go and show Holdsworth to her class and be quick about it, you don't want more taken away do you?"
Just as the Professor moved away, Malfoy rounded on Julia who gave a sweet and innocent look. "What did I do?" Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles. "Want another rematch? I'm sorry but didn't you hear the Professor, you just lost 10 points, you need some more practice at controlling your temper. _Please_ show me the way to Charms." She fluttered her eyelashes for the desired effect.
"THAT'S IT!" Malfoy shouted and while rolling up his sleeves, he struck a punch but his fist was caught in a stranger's hand.
"Luna..." Julia whispered.
"Need another person to fight me?" Malfoy sneered. Julia straightened up to tower over him and said,
"Actually I don't. I just need to get to my lesson on time. As do you."
"We'll continue this later." Malfoy said, and upon cricking his head, he headed forward completely ignoring the two girls who decided to follow.
"You mustn't fight so much Julia." Luna whispered.
"It's not me! He always starts it!"
"But you provoke him!"
Julia glowered and refused to answer as they entered the classroom, Luna in cat form.
~~~
Charms was...interesting. Julia managed to master the bubble charm in the lesson as others were struggling. She has managed to hide her insignia thus far, but soon the truth will come out. It has to, after her first try of magic in the classroom, she didn't control it and sent the room into disorder due to the deafening sounds of her massive exploding bubbles. Plus since she isn't using a wand, the students will get suspicious.
And then there's that night in the woods, I could've sworn a youma was prowling them. A stray maybe. I wonder to whom it belonged to. Hope it doesn't come out of the forest. That would be disastrous and I'd have to call the Senshi. I wonder how Usagi is doing...
~~~
The castle shook. Everyone inside jerked awake. A deafening and horrible roar shook the castle to its foundations and people screamed. Julia and Luna gasped in their bed, and rushed out of their room to look outside. Some kind of monster, was thrashing with the Whomping Willow, and winning. It was taller than the tree and seemed to be shaped slightly humanoid, but it's skin was clear and watery, sending rainbows in all sorts of directions from the moonlight. It jumped up and formed into a ball of strange clear liquid, and the centre became brighter and brighter.
"What is that?" Julia whispered, completely terrified by the sight.
"A youma." The girl rounded on her small now humanoid friend. "Must be a stray. I thought I sensed something that night."
"You told me you didn't!"
"Well I did!" Luna snapped. "I'm going to have to call my friends from Japan. They're the only ones who can defeat these enemies." Luna lifted her crescent moon necklace and lifted it up so that it caught the moonlight.
"But I thought you didn't want to see them."
"I didn't, not so soon."
"Then don't. We'll find a way." Julia replied, determination written across her face. "Together we can defeat it."
"But-"
"Impedimenta!" The glass shattered and Julia jumped onto the side.
"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?!" Luna shrieked, trying to pull her down, but she wasn't strong enough, she hadn't developed her human muscles. The height must've been at least 50 metres, and before Luna could try to stop her, Julia dived off.
"You idiot!" Luna shouted out the window.
"Liquiforum terrae!" Julia shouted and although the speed worried her and her crescent moon mark glowed, feet first she plunged into the soil like jumping into water. The youma turned it's attention on her as she jumped out of the soil with a "Finite Incantatem." The youma shrieked at her and with such speed it immersed Julia inside its body next to some kind of crystal.
"JULIA!" came Luna's muffled cry. "Hey! Leave her alone!" Before she knew it, the small woman found that students from Hufflepuff were trying to peer out the window to see what was going on. "Get away from here!" she growled loudly. "Get to the dungeons, they're the safest!"
"We're prefects! We'll stay!" said Ernie Macmillan proudly.
"NO." she sternly said. "You'll only get hurt." As the rest of the students started to move away, the prefects stayed behind. "This is OUT of your league, leave before I force you." They moved to the window and peered out to see the ball of water spinning faster around a darker blob inside it. "What do I have to say for you to get OUT of here!" Her moon insignia glowed and a tight explosion circled around her. Her hair billowed from left to right, circling her body and yellow dress. She thrust her arms out sending out a pulse of magical energy and they were forced backwards a little before disappearing. "They'll be safer down there." She whispered before darting down the stairs and bursting through the great wooden doors.
"Matte youma!" she shouted. It did not respond, and only spun faster. Teachers began to file out of the castle, Dumbledore in the lead, wand raised. "DD-sensei I don't want you here! You know the consequences!"
But they didn't hear her, and kept coming. "Grr, this is MY fight for once. I finally get the chance and they try and help!" She raised her finger to the moon and then fired energy blasts on a perimeter around the youma and herself. Little golden balls lay suspended a foot off the grass that sparked as a teacher tried to bypass the shield. 'Oh why can't people see what's best for them?!' she thought desperately as she saw Harry, Hermione and Ron at the edge of the shield. Hermione promptly stopped her friends from going any further upon seeing the golden balls of energy. "MATTE YOUMA!" she yelled now as it was slowly starting to evaporate from the heat energy generated by the movement.
Luna frowned and raised her hands to the sky and gathered the moonlight energy, and upon thrusting her arms down, a highly charged sphere of energy hit the youma, but did not do anything. She tried again, and again and this was as far as she knew her best attack! Wait...
"SOMEBODY LEND ME YOUR WAND!" But the bystanders were too scared. "NOW!" It was quiet, and suddenly the centre of the spherical ball of liquid burst into 5 bright lights. "PLEASE!" she screamed, every fibre of her being screaming out for aid.
"Here!" came a voice, she turned and saw that it was Harry, who threw his wand point first through the barrier and burst through, caught by Luna's waiting hand.
"Thanks Harry!" She spun the wand in her hand so that most of her energy was being fed into the receiving wand. She stopped and she panted for breathe. She hadn't realised how much her body needed energy to survive the thousands of years that she had been living. "Take -THIS! YA!" A huge barrel of energy and magic burst from the amplifier and scorched a trench in the soil as it hit the youma. Again the youma gave a mighty screech and when Luna stopped her barrage of energy, the _thing_ also ceased to move, and instead it suddenly convulsed. It bulged, it shook, it formed odd shapes and finally it concentrated itself into its centre, a girl. The girl seemed to suck it inside herself, and soon Luna saw why.
The youma had bonded with her.
"No..." she whispered and ran to Julia's limp form on the wet ground. Her ankles, her wrists were bound by watery bonds. "Oh..." Luna's shaking hands moved away Julia's hair and saw another bond, around her mind, around her forehead centred by a large clear blue glowing jewel. "No...baka...! Baka...baka... baka BAKA!" The vision of the moon burst into tears and punched at the ground. The shield broke down and the watchers swarmed around the two friends, Harry in the lead.
"What happened?" he asked a little shakily. The girl who had grown on him looked fine, but it was the binds that worried him. They stood in silence and soon the glowing in the jewel stopped and Julia slowly awoke.
###
Two silhouettes scampered down the cold stone steps from the looming castle over their heads. They paused on the grass of the grounds, hoping that Hagrid in his cabin wouldn't notice them. The taller of the two pulled her hood over her head to remove her profile from view, the other, much smaller figure shrank until she was the size of a cat. Together they slinked across the castle's grounds and hid themselves in the dense forest of the night.
Following a worn out path dotted by the moonlight of the full moon, the cat paused and seemed to breathe in the moonlight making her crescent moon insignia on her forehead glow dimly. The girl glanced from left to right, as though she could see into the darkness and see hidden dangers. For the moment there were none and the pair headed further into the forest.
Once the moonlight was completely hidden by the thick canopy of the trees, the cat's forehead glowed brightly to shine their path. The girl cast more uneasy glances into the forest, slightly unnerved by the horror stories Harry Potter had told her the night before. Her steps were uneven and reluctant, and she almost tripped on the black cat beneath her feet.
"What's wrong?" she asked to the cat.
"Something..." the cat replied in a hushed whisper. Her ears pivoted towards their right, and her ruby red eyes shot to its direction. The girl kept quiet and still. So did the forest, and whatever that scared the cat.
"Luna...tell me, what's there?" the girl whispered.
At first the lithe cat didn't respond, she only stared wide-eyed and calculating. 'They couldn't be here, there aren't any left! They were killed off!' The cat thought, desperately hoping her fears were incorrect. "Nothing." The cat replied, hoping her friend would take the lie. "Just a feeling," and the cat carried onwards, prowling around the girl, making sure there were no dangers whatsoever.
"How far do we need to go?" the girl whispered.
"Far enough to not be seen."
Suddenly more moonlight shone over them like a comfort blanket as they reached a clearing in the forest. Trees had been knocked down and reduced to splinters by some kind of struggle. The space was wide and dangerous to prey, but luckily Luna had some defensive magic.
"Okay, this will be fine for the process, stand over there." The cat said, looking up to the moon as though watching to make sure it was in a correct position. The girl shifted uneasily on the spot, tonight was the most important of her life. No time to get the jitters.
~~~
Harry woke up with a start with his scar prickling. Rubbing it gently, he thought of his dream, but by now he could hardly remember it. Then he realised how light the room was. Was it daytime already? Had he missed breakfast? When he heard Neville's snores he assumed everyone was still in bed. He was about to shout to get them up before they missed breakfast, but upon opening the curtains, he stumbled back onto bed, temporarily blinded by the amount of light entering the dormitory. Looking round, Neville was still snoring, and the others were still sleeping soundly. Looking to the clock, it still said 'naptime'. Bewildered, he closed the curtains again and quietly went down the cold stone steps to the common room, heading directly for the windows and with closed eyes he opened the curtains.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he focused to the centre of the phenomenon where most of the light was concentrated in mid air, slightly above the trees of the Forbidden Forest.
What was going on...?
He thought of many different theories, one of which being some kind of ritual on the night on the full moon for some kind of animal living in the forest. It must've been secret, for otherwise he was sure that his friends would have woken up. He opened the window and he was further surprised by a chorus of angelic voices that rang with a catlike 'meow'. His theory was developed to the animal being some kind of cat. Even though he was curious and tired, he couldn't help but be enchanted by this magical event.
Sitting himself on the windowsill, he let himself drift to sleep by the sound of angelic meows. (AN: I honestly don't know where this silly idea came from, it just makes me laugh!)
~~~
Practically half asleep, Julia trudged through the castle, dragging her feet and carrying the weight of Luna on her shoulders.
"DD-sen- *yawn!* -sei says we can stay in the guest room behind the painting of the Moon palace...he thought.he thought it was fitting." The cat said, half yawning from exhaustion.
"Wherezat?" Julia slurred, stumbling up the moving staircases.
"Fi...fifth floor, next to a suit of arms."
Not bothering to reply, not bothering to rub her itchy forehead, Julia stepped up the stairs and made it higher and higher with every step, occasionally stopping for a large yawn.
Finally they passed the shiny suit of arms which greeted them with a small wave and Julia stopped short in front of the panoramic painting of a grand marble palace. "How do I get in?" Julia asked, and before she knew it, four figures garbed in a uniform of sorts, but each in a different colour approached. The girl never got a reply from Luna, for she was staring at the painting, lost in memories.
"You won't get in here!" the figure in red said.
"But unless you have the password," the one in green said-
"Just say the word," the figure in blue said-
"And you'll be welcomed!" finished the orange and blue figure.
Julia stared, boggled at this painting. "Luna...I need a password!"
"*yawn!* Mare Sere- Serenatis." The four senshi smiled down on them and the girl suddenly felt very small under their gaze. The red one especially intimidated her. However now that she looked carefully through her eyes clouded by tiredness, she realised that the palace looked much more real. "Get in it, I want to go to sleep!" Luna tiredly said.
"H-How?" The cat rolled her eyes and bounded off Julia's shoulder and into the painting. There she was, on the grass under the moonlight in front of a magnificent palace. Instead of questioning, Julia followed blindly and jogged after Luna who disappeared through a gate to the side. Upon opening, they found what they were looking for.
"BED!"
~~~
Deep down in the comforts of the fluffy bed, Luna woke, yawned and stretched. Blinking out her sleeping dust, she stretched again and tiredly flopped back on the bed, her tail waving lazily. Suddenly the bed jerked and a slumbering girl turned herself round under the thick duvet, to face the cat. The girl absent-mindedly scratched her forehead letting her light brown hair fall away from her face. Luna stared at her friend and suddenly her eyes opened wide.
"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" she cried out, which caused the girl to jerk upright and alert.
"What's wrong? What happened?" she asked quickly. She turned to the black cat beside her and saw Luna's mouth open agape. She transformed back in her human form and pointed to Julia's forehead.
"Ju-Julia! Go look in the mirror!" Luna said shakily. Julia scrunched up her face and gave the cat a condescending look. She rolled her eyes and got out of bed, still fully dressed and mumbled,
"There had better be a good reason for this...huge spot or something?" Stomping into the side bathroom, she looked at herself under tired eyes. "What is it? I don't see anything!"
Luna walked in behind her and lifted her messy fringe. Julia's reaction was exactly the same as Luna's.
"WHAT?! No way!" Luna sighed and nodded, defeated.
"I don't understand either, but I suppose what happened yesterday is a way back on Mau to get lunar powers. I don't remember my ceremony; it was years ago, so I suppose that's what happens." Luna paused, and looked to Julia who was still staring at herself in the mirror. "You won't need to get a wand, since you received lunar magic the wand will only amplify the sheer amount of magic you have already. Needless to say, your magic will have to be done with your hands."
Julia nodded dumbly, and rubbed the crescent moon mark in the centre of her forehead. It twinkled mischievously. Eventually she shrugged and sighed. "I guess I'll have to pretend it's a scar, like Harry's."
"You wouldn't actually _say_ that would you?!" Luna asked incredulously. "Having that mark is an honour of part of the Lunarian's treaty! And-"
"But yesterday I didn't have it, DID I?"
"The- oh. I see."
"It's just a mark anyway, and I was practicing the transfiguration techniques with my hands anyway. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's pretty cool actually." Julia walked out of the bathroom, followed by a shocked Luna and they made their way out of the painting.
"Shall I practice my magic then?... sheesh, this reminds of some kind of computer game."
"It's not. Remember that. You could get hurt." Luna replied, shrinking again to cat form and jumping to Julia's shoulders, who rolled her eyes and continued walking to the great hall.
After 15 minutes, they made it and she opened the doors to see the entire school having their breakfast. As she walked past in her creased skirt and shirt from the night before, the student body craned their necks to see the tall girl walking to the teachers' table and talk a few words with the headmaster. They finished their small conversation and she headed down the tables to the Gryffindors to sit near the infamous trio of the present Hogwarts generation. Whispers generated round the hall and Julia calmly ate her breakfast after greeting Hermione, Ron and Harry.
However soon the murmurs turned to general chatter as the owls swooped down to drop off the mail. Between Harry, Ron, Hermione and Julia, they remained silent until Julia broke it. "I'm going to be in your year Hermione. Isn't that cool?"
"What? How come? I thought you were coming to visit!" Hermione replied aghast.
"Fine. I know when I'm not wanted." Ron and Harry snorted in held in laughter over their pumpkin juice.
"No no! I just thought you wanted to see Dumbledore that's all."
"That _was_ our plan, until Luna decided to change her mind and she wanted to stay. OH," Julia blushed. "She's the one with the long black hair in the weird hairstyle and dress sense." Suddenly Julia held in her breathe as her cat clawed her arms in her lap. "Ow...I take it back!"
"What's your cat called?" Harry asked.
"Uh, um, she's called Luna as well because my friend has a huge ego." Again Julia held in her breathe. "Ow..." Hermione narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Especially at the cat who peered over the table edge. Ron looked over to his friend and nudged Hermione. He gave her a disapproved look and her frowned face relaxed to a smile.
"So! Are you starting straight away?"
Julia beamed. "I think so, but I don't have any supplies."
"I'm sure the school can lend you some, but you'll have to get yourself a wand." Harry replied, "We could go to Diagon Alley next time we get to go out to Hogsmeade and-"
"Oh I don't need one." Julia replied cheerfully, taking a bite out of her piece of toast. Before they could question her further, Professor McGonagall approached from behind them and handed some timetables to Hermione who dealt them out.
"Please make sure you make it on time to all of your lessons, your O.W.L.S. are this year and we don't need any-more- mischief."
"We will!" the three chorused and finally the professor handed Julia a timetable.
"Since you have already been introduced to these three, I would advise to ask for help from Granger." Professor McGonagall said, casting an uneasy look to Luna's direction. "Supplies can be lent to you in lessons. Extra tutoring will be at 7o' clock each evening with Professor Dumbledore in his office." She nodded curtly and left.
"Do you know which house you're in?" Hermione asked. Julia shook her head and showed Hermione her timetable.
"That's weird. You're all mixed up, sometimes you're with us, then with Ravenclaw Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Hey! You'll be with the sixth years for Transfiguration!"
"What?" Ron said, coughing on his baked beans. "Gimme that!" Harry peered over his shoulder and yes, she was with the sixth year Gryffindors. The three stared at Julia suspiciously.
"Wh-What? Is that a crime?"
"You're in our year, and a new student. How can you be ahead?" Ron asked.
Julia glowered at him. "Are you saying that I'm crap?"
"N-NO!" Ron replied having stuck his foot in his mouth again.
"Good." She snatched her timetable back and looked down it. Upon seeing students leaving the hall she said, "Well I'd better go since I have a lesson now with the Slytherins." Promptly she turned and walked away but Ron shouted,
"Good luck!"
"There's no such thing!" she shouted back, having learnt that the hard way during her entire childhood. Once she got to the bottom of the changing staircases, she muttered her thoughts. "Right, so it's Charms first. Um, hm. Which- way???"
"Lost mudblood?" sneered a voice behind her. Whirling around she saw Malfoy and his bodyguards. Completely ignoring him, but placing her hands into a position such that it resembled the screen of a TV, she mocked a voiceover voice.
"And here comes the bad smelling boy and his bruised bodyguards! Dressed as though he has no idea what the meaning of 'style' is, he *sigh* tries to make a condescending face but fails miserably-"
"Watch it you-"
"As well as having no sense of style, he can't make a good comeback for the life of him so give it up foooor...Flattenhim Boy! (also rhymes with platinum which so matches his hair, don't'cha think?)"
"Listen here mudblood-"
"What?" Julia hissed. "I can't hear you!"
"Mudblood!"
"Hm?"
"OI!"
"I'm sorry say that again?"
"MUDBLOOD SHUT UP!"
"Mr Malfoy!" snapped Professor Sprout from behind him. "10 points from Slytherin for such horrible behaviour to a new student! Go and show Holdsworth to her class and be quick about it, you don't want more taken away do you?"
Just as the Professor moved away, Malfoy rounded on Julia who gave a sweet and innocent look. "What did I do?" Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles. "Want another rematch? I'm sorry but didn't you hear the Professor, you just lost 10 points, you need some more practice at controlling your temper. _Please_ show me the way to Charms." She fluttered her eyelashes for the desired effect.
"THAT'S IT!" Malfoy shouted and while rolling up his sleeves, he struck a punch but his fist was caught in a stranger's hand.
"Luna..." Julia whispered.
"Need another person to fight me?" Malfoy sneered. Julia straightened up to tower over him and said,
"Actually I don't. I just need to get to my lesson on time. As do you."
"We'll continue this later." Malfoy said, and upon cricking his head, he headed forward completely ignoring the two girls who decided to follow.
"You mustn't fight so much Julia." Luna whispered.
"It's not me! He always starts it!"
"But you provoke him!"
Julia glowered and refused to answer as they entered the classroom, Luna in cat form.
~~~
Charms was...interesting. Julia managed to master the bubble charm in the lesson as others were struggling. She has managed to hide her insignia thus far, but soon the truth will come out. It has to, after her first try of magic in the classroom, she didn't control it and sent the room into disorder due to the deafening sounds of her massive exploding bubbles. Plus since she isn't using a wand, the students will get suspicious.
And then there's that night in the woods, I could've sworn a youma was prowling them. A stray maybe. I wonder to whom it belonged to. Hope it doesn't come out of the forest. That would be disastrous and I'd have to call the Senshi. I wonder how Usagi is doing...
~~~
The castle shook. Everyone inside jerked awake. A deafening and horrible roar shook the castle to its foundations and people screamed. Julia and Luna gasped in their bed, and rushed out of their room to look outside. Some kind of monster, was thrashing with the Whomping Willow, and winning. It was taller than the tree and seemed to be shaped slightly humanoid, but it's skin was clear and watery, sending rainbows in all sorts of directions from the moonlight. It jumped up and formed into a ball of strange clear liquid, and the centre became brighter and brighter.
"What is that?" Julia whispered, completely terrified by the sight.
"A youma." The girl rounded on her small now humanoid friend. "Must be a stray. I thought I sensed something that night."
"You told me you didn't!"
"Well I did!" Luna snapped. "I'm going to have to call my friends from Japan. They're the only ones who can defeat these enemies." Luna lifted her crescent moon necklace and lifted it up so that it caught the moonlight.
"But I thought you didn't want to see them."
"I didn't, not so soon."
"Then don't. We'll find a way." Julia replied, determination written across her face. "Together we can defeat it."
"But-"
"Impedimenta!" The glass shattered and Julia jumped onto the side.
"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?!" Luna shrieked, trying to pull her down, but she wasn't strong enough, she hadn't developed her human muscles. The height must've been at least 50 metres, and before Luna could try to stop her, Julia dived off.
"You idiot!" Luna shouted out the window.
"Liquiforum terrae!" Julia shouted and although the speed worried her and her crescent moon mark glowed, feet first she plunged into the soil like jumping into water. The youma turned it's attention on her as she jumped out of the soil with a "Finite Incantatem." The youma shrieked at her and with such speed it immersed Julia inside its body next to some kind of crystal.
"JULIA!" came Luna's muffled cry. "Hey! Leave her alone!" Before she knew it, the small woman found that students from Hufflepuff were trying to peer out the window to see what was going on. "Get away from here!" she growled loudly. "Get to the dungeons, they're the safest!"
"We're prefects! We'll stay!" said Ernie Macmillan proudly.
"NO." she sternly said. "You'll only get hurt." As the rest of the students started to move away, the prefects stayed behind. "This is OUT of your league, leave before I force you." They moved to the window and peered out to see the ball of water spinning faster around a darker blob inside it. "What do I have to say for you to get OUT of here!" Her moon insignia glowed and a tight explosion circled around her. Her hair billowed from left to right, circling her body and yellow dress. She thrust her arms out sending out a pulse of magical energy and they were forced backwards a little before disappearing. "They'll be safer down there." She whispered before darting down the stairs and bursting through the great wooden doors.
"Matte youma!" she shouted. It did not respond, and only spun faster. Teachers began to file out of the castle, Dumbledore in the lead, wand raised. "DD-sensei I don't want you here! You know the consequences!"
But they didn't hear her, and kept coming. "Grr, this is MY fight for once. I finally get the chance and they try and help!" She raised her finger to the moon and then fired energy blasts on a perimeter around the youma and herself. Little golden balls lay suspended a foot off the grass that sparked as a teacher tried to bypass the shield. 'Oh why can't people see what's best for them?!' she thought desperately as she saw Harry, Hermione and Ron at the edge of the shield. Hermione promptly stopped her friends from going any further upon seeing the golden balls of energy. "MATTE YOUMA!" she yelled now as it was slowly starting to evaporate from the heat energy generated by the movement.
Luna frowned and raised her hands to the sky and gathered the moonlight energy, and upon thrusting her arms down, a highly charged sphere of energy hit the youma, but did not do anything. She tried again, and again and this was as far as she knew her best attack! Wait...
"SOMEBODY LEND ME YOUR WAND!" But the bystanders were too scared. "NOW!" It was quiet, and suddenly the centre of the spherical ball of liquid burst into 5 bright lights. "PLEASE!" she screamed, every fibre of her being screaming out for aid.
"Here!" came a voice, she turned and saw that it was Harry, who threw his wand point first through the barrier and burst through, caught by Luna's waiting hand.
"Thanks Harry!" She spun the wand in her hand so that most of her energy was being fed into the receiving wand. She stopped and she panted for breathe. She hadn't realised how much her body needed energy to survive the thousands of years that she had been living. "Take -THIS! YA!" A huge barrel of energy and magic burst from the amplifier and scorched a trench in the soil as it hit the youma. Again the youma gave a mighty screech and when Luna stopped her barrage of energy, the _thing_ also ceased to move, and instead it suddenly convulsed. It bulged, it shook, it formed odd shapes and finally it concentrated itself into its centre, a girl. The girl seemed to suck it inside herself, and soon Luna saw why.
The youma had bonded with her.
"No..." she whispered and ran to Julia's limp form on the wet ground. Her ankles, her wrists were bound by watery bonds. "Oh..." Luna's shaking hands moved away Julia's hair and saw another bond, around her mind, around her forehead centred by a large clear blue glowing jewel. "No...baka...! Baka...baka... baka BAKA!" The vision of the moon burst into tears and punched at the ground. The shield broke down and the watchers swarmed around the two friends, Harry in the lead.
"What happened?" he asked a little shakily. The girl who had grown on him looked fine, but it was the binds that worried him. They stood in silence and soon the glowing in the jewel stopped and Julia slowly awoke.