Chapter two: The Moon People
She had just received the letter from Hogwarts and was busy perusing it, sitting under a shady tree just outside the camp. She belonged to one of the gypsy tribes of the wizarding world; the "Moon People" they were called by the magic folk.
They didn't call themselves anything; however, they had an indigenous language and traditions and a literal translation of 'moon people' in their language would be "Luna" .
They tended to look alike because they generally married within the tribe. Those who didn't, were exempted from the tribal membership and its traditional obligations. There was no fuss created whenever such a thing came to pass, for they were an ancient people who had learnt through the ages that such occurrences were inevitable; nor did they completely severe ties with their kin, they would always be welcomed if they chose to return and accept the rules. Otherwise, they were not regarded as outcasts, more like distant relations.
There was only one condition; if the offspring of such a union inherited the character traits of the Luna i.e. the distinctive temperament which was evident even in infancy, the child would be handed over to the tribal elders for their training according to their ancient custom. This training involved a system of mentor and disciples, the arts taught included a basic knowledge of all magical subjects taught in wizard schools with emphasis on potion making; the art developed by their ancestors. The Luna prided themselves on the perfection of this art, which they claimed was theirs by right of creation.
They were also known for their physical prowess and cunning; some of them were among the best duelers in the wizarding world. You could always tell a 'moon person' by their pale skin, high cheekbones, angular faces ,lucidity of movement and silky smooth voices. They were quite an elegant bunch, though not always pretty looking in the usual sense.
They also tended to be a tad arrogant, some were such a bad combination of arrogance, pride and selfishness that their power-hungry ways led them to join the dark forces. The Malfoys were a case in point. The family had long ago renounced all ties with the mother tribe along with a few ambitious others who had tired of living in perpetual oblivion(they did not generally interfere in the matters of the wizarding world) and set out to fulfill their vague ambitions of 'letting the world know just who they were" or something along those lines. It had quickly turned ugly with the arrivals of Grindewald and Voldemort; for they tended to side with the dark forces; believing it to be their path to 'glory'. They being powerful witches and wizards, this was no laughing matter and it was thus, the Luna were forced to turn against each other in the battle of good and evil.
Reive, or Severus, as she was usually called by her last name by those who knew her, and who was now staring into the distance, having concluded the perusal of the piece of parchment in her hand, was an example of the offspring of a Luna(her mother) and an outsider.
She had not known her parents long before she had been taken away for her formal training; neither was she missed for such offspring tended to be misfits in such families. They were usually the firstborns and the only ones among their siblings to inherit the 'moon' traits. They rarely returned to their families; having found their true calling and kin among the Luna.
As was the custom, her last name had been changed so she could not be traced back to her family. Reive knew no family other than those she studied and traveled with; for the Luna were restless souls, always on the move in search of knowledge.
She had lived an interesting life, she was musically inclined too, a thing encouraged by her mentor, who would be leaving them to 'fulfill her obligations to the wizarding world' as she had put it when she broke the news to them. Yes, her mentor was a 'she', an accomplished witch by anyone's standards, but who had heretofore been known to the wizarding world only as a member of a highly successful wizard musical band. She was the equivalent of a muggle 'star' in the wizarding world. Very few of the wizards knew she was a practicing luna and no one even dreamed of her being a 'mentor'. Indeed, her disciples were not only given their magical education but were also a part of the performing troupe.
Now someone else would be taking over the mantle of the ex-mentor and Reive was not happy about that for she had a special relationship with her mentor, more like an elder sister or a mother figure. Yes, Reive was a particularly temperamental person who was fiercely possessive of her loved ones, in this case there was only one. The one who would be leaving shortly, probably never to be heard from again.
She had spent the whole day being nastier than usual to everyone and indeed everything that crossed her path, until her mentor finally took her aside to talk to her. She had managed to get some sense into her; for Reive was well aware of the pitfalls of becoming emotionally attached to something, it was what she had been taught to avoid from the beginning, for she had a mission to accomplish, to be of service to humanity in general, in any way possible. That was the credo of the moon people. If she let her personal motives get in the way, she would never get far, she knew that. People had to move on. That was the way of life. However she was now learning that the knowing didn't make the doing any easier.
The letter from Hogwarts which her mentor had put into her hand at the end of their chat had surprisingly lifted her spirits for she didn't think she could stand being part of the troupe without her mentor. It just wouldn't be the same. She needed a change, to get away from the stifling atmosphere created by the attitude of her fellow disciples, who were always worried about being better than each other and were viewing the going away of their former mentor as a chance to finally show up Reive, who they thought had always been favoured by their ex-mentor a little too much.
The truth was that Reive was in fact a better dancer by far because she was not distracted by vanity, unlike the others. She had pride but not vanity; she didn't flaunt her prowess but was content in the knowledge that she was the best. That was an example of the quirky way her mind worked. It was this quiet assumption of her greatness that had made her mentor so fond of her; instead of repulsing her, it made her mentor laugh till the tears came out of her eyes.
Now as she sat alone under the tree, she wondered what life would be like at Hogwarts; indeed, what life would be like on her own. Was she even ready for this? What if she succumbed to self-deception, a thing which had been kept at bay by her mentor. Did she have the strength of character to face the inevitable test? Would her ambitious and proud nature cloud her judgment ? She was going to find out soon enough.
You see, she had this fear of falling victim to her weakness, as her ancestors had fallen; she had recently found out that they had been among those who had defected to the Dark side.
She had just received the letter from Hogwarts and was busy perusing it, sitting under a shady tree just outside the camp. She belonged to one of the gypsy tribes of the wizarding world; the "Moon People" they were called by the magic folk.
They didn't call themselves anything; however, they had an indigenous language and traditions and a literal translation of 'moon people' in their language would be "Luna" .
They tended to look alike because they generally married within the tribe. Those who didn't, were exempted from the tribal membership and its traditional obligations. There was no fuss created whenever such a thing came to pass, for they were an ancient people who had learnt through the ages that such occurrences were inevitable; nor did they completely severe ties with their kin, they would always be welcomed if they chose to return and accept the rules. Otherwise, they were not regarded as outcasts, more like distant relations.
There was only one condition; if the offspring of such a union inherited the character traits of the Luna i.e. the distinctive temperament which was evident even in infancy, the child would be handed over to the tribal elders for their training according to their ancient custom. This training involved a system of mentor and disciples, the arts taught included a basic knowledge of all magical subjects taught in wizard schools with emphasis on potion making; the art developed by their ancestors. The Luna prided themselves on the perfection of this art, which they claimed was theirs by right of creation.
They were also known for their physical prowess and cunning; some of them were among the best duelers in the wizarding world. You could always tell a 'moon person' by their pale skin, high cheekbones, angular faces ,lucidity of movement and silky smooth voices. They were quite an elegant bunch, though not always pretty looking in the usual sense.
They also tended to be a tad arrogant, some were such a bad combination of arrogance, pride and selfishness that their power-hungry ways led them to join the dark forces. The Malfoys were a case in point. The family had long ago renounced all ties with the mother tribe along with a few ambitious others who had tired of living in perpetual oblivion(they did not generally interfere in the matters of the wizarding world) and set out to fulfill their vague ambitions of 'letting the world know just who they were" or something along those lines. It had quickly turned ugly with the arrivals of Grindewald and Voldemort; for they tended to side with the dark forces; believing it to be their path to 'glory'. They being powerful witches and wizards, this was no laughing matter and it was thus, the Luna were forced to turn against each other in the battle of good and evil.
Reive, or Severus, as she was usually called by her last name by those who knew her, and who was now staring into the distance, having concluded the perusal of the piece of parchment in her hand, was an example of the offspring of a Luna(her mother) and an outsider.
She had not known her parents long before she had been taken away for her formal training; neither was she missed for such offspring tended to be misfits in such families. They were usually the firstborns and the only ones among their siblings to inherit the 'moon' traits. They rarely returned to their families; having found their true calling and kin among the Luna.
As was the custom, her last name had been changed so she could not be traced back to her family. Reive knew no family other than those she studied and traveled with; for the Luna were restless souls, always on the move in search of knowledge.
She had lived an interesting life, she was musically inclined too, a thing encouraged by her mentor, who would be leaving them to 'fulfill her obligations to the wizarding world' as she had put it when she broke the news to them. Yes, her mentor was a 'she', an accomplished witch by anyone's standards, but who had heretofore been known to the wizarding world only as a member of a highly successful wizard musical band. She was the equivalent of a muggle 'star' in the wizarding world. Very few of the wizards knew she was a practicing luna and no one even dreamed of her being a 'mentor'. Indeed, her disciples were not only given their magical education but were also a part of the performing troupe.
Now someone else would be taking over the mantle of the ex-mentor and Reive was not happy about that for she had a special relationship with her mentor, more like an elder sister or a mother figure. Yes, Reive was a particularly temperamental person who was fiercely possessive of her loved ones, in this case there was only one. The one who would be leaving shortly, probably never to be heard from again.
She had spent the whole day being nastier than usual to everyone and indeed everything that crossed her path, until her mentor finally took her aside to talk to her. She had managed to get some sense into her; for Reive was well aware of the pitfalls of becoming emotionally attached to something, it was what she had been taught to avoid from the beginning, for she had a mission to accomplish, to be of service to humanity in general, in any way possible. That was the credo of the moon people. If she let her personal motives get in the way, she would never get far, she knew that. People had to move on. That was the way of life. However she was now learning that the knowing didn't make the doing any easier.
The letter from Hogwarts which her mentor had put into her hand at the end of their chat had surprisingly lifted her spirits for she didn't think she could stand being part of the troupe without her mentor. It just wouldn't be the same. She needed a change, to get away from the stifling atmosphere created by the attitude of her fellow disciples, who were always worried about being better than each other and were viewing the going away of their former mentor as a chance to finally show up Reive, who they thought had always been favoured by their ex-mentor a little too much.
The truth was that Reive was in fact a better dancer by far because she was not distracted by vanity, unlike the others. She had pride but not vanity; she didn't flaunt her prowess but was content in the knowledge that she was the best. That was an example of the quirky way her mind worked. It was this quiet assumption of her greatness that had made her mentor so fond of her; instead of repulsing her, it made her mentor laugh till the tears came out of her eyes.
Now as she sat alone under the tree, she wondered what life would be like at Hogwarts; indeed, what life would be like on her own. Was she even ready for this? What if she succumbed to self-deception, a thing which had been kept at bay by her mentor. Did she have the strength of character to face the inevitable test? Would her ambitious and proud nature cloud her judgment ? She was going to find out soon enough.
You see, she had this fear of falling victim to her weakness, as her ancestors had fallen; she had recently found out that they had been among those who had defected to the Dark side.