TITLE: Our Family Secret
FANDOM: HP/BtVS
AUTHOR: Dizzy Flower
PART: 3/?
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Luna has to research an ancestor for History of Magic. When she stumbles across one Drusilla Rose Kent, she has to know what happens to her. Answer to Gidgetgirl's Loopy Challenge.
DISCLAIMER: BtVS and Angel belongs to Joss Whedon. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. This story is an answer to a challenge by Gidgetgirl. Heffalumps belong to A. A. Milne.

Our Family Secret

Chapter 3-

City of Angelus

"Now, if anything happens-" Hermione began, as Luna asked the lady at the desk for a window seat.

"I shall call you on the fellytone," Luna finished, as the attendant handed her a ticket. "You've gone over this with me before." She looked around the airport terminal curiously. "It would be much quicker if I took a port key, you know."

Hermione gave a sigh. "Yes, but my uncle the muggle is expecting to pick you up at the airport."

"I could always take a port key to the airport."

"Oh? And what if someone saw you? Don't worry, you'll like flying on the plane, I promise."

"Did you hear that Luna?" A voice interrupted excitedly. The two girls turned to see Mr Weasley, who had volunteered to take them to the airport, and who was almost as red as his hair from the thrill. "The voice said you have to be bored!"

"I expect it said that Luna can now board the plane, Mr Weasley," Hermione corrected politely.

"Of course, of course," Mr Weasley said, not really paying attention. "I'm looking forward to seeing the airyplane take off."

Hermione smiled indulgently at him and turned back to Luna. "Remember, don't say anything strange around Wesley," she reminded Luna.

"Of course I won't," Luna replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not stupid."

"Ring when you get to Wesley's house, okay?" Hermione told her, walking with Luna to the gate.

"You've told me all this a thousand times before," Luna said, annoyed. "I won't forget anything."

The two girls began to walk towards the boarding gate. "Do you have the notebook?" Hermione asked in an undertone so that Mr Weasley wouldn't overhear.

Luna nodded. "Yep. All the information's in there."

"Good." Hermione stepped forward and gave the other girl a tight hug. "Good luck."

Mr Weasley caught up and gave Luna a pat on the back. "I still can't believe you won that competition to go to LA, Luna," he said happily. "I didn't even know Bertie Botts was having a competition."

"It came as a surprise to me, too," Luna said, managing to keep a straight face. She, Hermione, Ginny, and her father all knew the truth, but they'd told everyone else that she'd won a trip to LA to see a convention on Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans. Wesley had been told that the convention was for a clothing label. Everyone was told that unfortunately the company didn't supply accommodation and so Luna would be staying with Hermione's uncle. Hermione had assured her that Wesley wouldn't want to come with her to the convention. "You'll have two weeks all to yourself," Hermione proclaimed.

"Have fun," Hermione told her now, as someone took her ticket. "You'll have a great time, even if you don't find anything."

"I'll find something," Luna told her firmly, and with that, she turned and walked through the gate.

The plane trip was long, and a bit boring in the middle, but overall Luna had had a wonderful time. She'd never flown so high, even on a broom. Through her window she could see England, spread out below her like a child's toy. It was awe-inspiring to know that from this height a person would be as small as a flea on a Heffalump.

Soon the plane had left England behind and the only thing below them was the sea. Luna thought it was beautiful, a huge expanse of navy blue that stretched out below them for miles. She fell asleep soon after thinking that, and the next thing she remembered was the captain saying that they were about to land. Luna gathered her things together and waited patiently for the plane to land.

Her ears popped just as the plane's wheels landed onto the tarmac. Both were, in Luna's opinion, unpleasant sensations.

She'd also had a close scare in customs when she thought someone had picked up on the fact that she was carrying a wand, but it carried too many concealing and repelling spells for that. The highlight of her trip was when a boy in front of her in the line was almost strip-searched after a water gun was found in his suitcase. Luna found it quite hilarious.

After an hour or two she walked out of a large door to find a multitude of people waiting. People were shouting names, squealing, crying, and then there were the silent chauffeurs who stood holding placards with names on them. No one looked like a Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. Her Wesley Wyndham-Pryce was stiff, impeccably dressed, perhaps with glasses, and bearing a remarkable resemblance to Hermione. The man who came up to her and asked, in a polite English accent, "Are you Luna Lovegood, by any chance?" did not fit those expectations. First and foremost, he did not look anything like Hermione. He did not wear glasses. And, finally, he wore what Hermione called 'jeans'.

"Yes. Are you Wesley Wyndham-Pryce?" Luna had asked, slightly confused. This man was nothing like Hermione had described. For one thing, he was quite good-looking.

The man had nodded and then asked, "Shall I take your suitcase?"

Luna had said "Thankyou, that would be kind," handed it over, and now here they were, sitting in a taxi presumably on the way to Wesley's apartment.

"So how's Hermione?" Wesley asked, breaking the silence.

"She's good. She's a prefect now, you know."

"Really? Tell her I said congratulations. I suppose she's liking school then."

"Oh, yes. She loves it."

"I never could work out why Sophie and George sent her to a boarding school in Scotland," Wesley said conversationally. "There are plenty of good schools in England."

"Hogwarts is wonderful," Luna defended. "I don't think any school could be better."

"That's exactly what Hermione says," Wesley replied with a smile. "You two obviously think alike."

There was another long silence as Luna looked out of the car window.

"Where do you live?" Luna asked curiously.

"Very near here," said Wesley, and at that moment the taxi began to slow down. When it stopped, Luna looked out the window to see a rather drab looking apartment block. She opened the door and stepped out. Wesley had already retrieved her suitcase from the trunk of the car. "Follow me," he called to her, and she dutifully followed behind him as he stepped into the foyer of the building. Wesley walked to a door in the wall and pressed a button beside it. "We're on the fourth floor, I'm afraid," he told her with a slight smile. "It's usually alright, except when the lift breaks down."

A lift! Luna remembered Hermione telling her about these. And she would have to go up and down a lift every day! Brilliant!

Luna's thoughts were interrupted by a dinging noise, and the lift doors opened. Wesley and Luna stepped in, and Wesley pressed another button with a little four on it. Suddenly, the floor shuddered beneath her and it felt as if the floor was moving up to meet the roof. Then, as soon as it had started, it stopped, and the lift doors opened on to a corridor. Luna followed Wesley out, her legs wobbling a little bit. "This is my apartment," Wesley told her, crossing to a door and taking out a key. "It's not much, but it's home." The door opened on to a large living space, and Luna stepped in curiously. She'd never been in a muggle's home before. It was very similar, and at the same time very different from her own home. Luna recognised the television in one corner, with a video player tucked underneath. There were a lot of books everywhere.

"Bathroom's here," Wesley said, giving her the tour. Luna peeped into the room he was showing her to see a bath, toilet, and sink. It was basically the same as home. "And this," Wesley continued, "is your bedroom." He opened the door with a flourish. Luna walked inside. It was a poky, cramped, dull room, but it would do. "It's lovely. Thankyou so much for taking me in."

Wesley shrugged. "You are one of my niece's closest friends, after all. And I never use this room."

"Well, thankyou anyway," said Luna gratefully.

"Don't mention it. Are you hungry?" When Luna shook her head he continued, "I'll let you get to sleep, then. By the sounds of it, you're going to have a busy few weeks."

Luna nodded, and Wesley closed the door. Sighing, Luna sat down heavily on the bed tucked into the corner and looked around. There was a desk and a closet against one wall, and a bookcase was squeezed into the only remaining space in the room. She'd look through the books tomorrow, she decided, and began unpacking her suitcase. Within minutes of climbing into bed, she was asleep.

Wesley announced at breakfast that he had some business to take care of and that he wouldn't be back until the early evening. "I figured you would be too tired, what with the time difference, to do anything anyway," he explained.

"I am feeling a bit tired," Luna lied. Actually, she was feeling fine.

"Okay then. Well, I'll see you when I get home." Wesley smiled at her, and then picked up a bag that had been resting on the table. It looked suspiciously bulky. Luna hoped that Hermione's uncle didn't deal in stolen body parts. She'd read about that somewhere once. "Bye," Luna said with a smile. If he did steal body parts, it was probably best to get on his good side.

Luna read the paper while she ate her cereal. It was fascinating. It had articles about local politics and events, sport and world events, just like the Prophet, but the rest was filled with ads. The advertisements were really interesting to read, but Luna had no idea what most of them were advertising. Hermione had gone over the main things about Muggle life, but she'd failed to mention little things.

After she'd gone over every inch of the newspaper, Luna flipped on the television. Hermione had explained it in detail, including all the shows she should know. No amount of explaining could have prepared her for the little people stuck in the television, though. The wizarding world had nothing like it. For the next half an hour Luna sat enthralled, her eyes not moving from the little box in front of her. She'd definitely ask her father for a television for her next birthday, Luna decided.

Luna's mind turned to Drusilla. Somewhere in this city was someone who would know what had happened to her. In the desk in her bedroom Luna had tucked the notebook that held all the information she knew about Drusilla. Everything from her birth date to information about Darla and Angelus was written in there in Luna's messy script. There were quite a few possibilities to follow up on, Luna had decided on the plane trip. She could ask Angel –the souled version of Drusilla's sire- but as he had set her alight she didn't think he would be too happy to see her descendant. There were also possible flunkies, and Spike, her ex-lover and childe to investigate. Spike could be promising, but he lived in Sunnydale, a town hours away from LA. Anyway, Luna didn't think he'd talked to Drusilla in a long time.

Today would be a perfect opportunity to go out and talk to people, Luna decided, turning off the television. Wesley wasn't here, and wouldn't come home until the evening.

Suddenly, a high-pitched ringing noise sounded out of nowhere. "Who's there?" Luna called out, grabbing her wand, which was tucked into the waistband of her skirt. No one answered, and Luna jumped when it rang again. Where was the sound coming from? She wondered, listening for the next ring. The next second, Luna tracked it down to a little rectangular square of plastic attached to the wall. Realising what it was, she began to feel a little stupid. Hermione had explained to her what a fellytone was, and what it sounded like, but she had never actually seen or heard one in real life. She hesitated about picking it up (after all, it wasn't her house) but then decided to. Closing her hand around the plastic of the removable part of the phone, she lifted it up to her ear and said nervously, "Hello?"

"Luna?"

Luna relaxed when she heard Hermione's voice on the other side of the line. "Hi, Hermione," she said brightly.

"Did you know how worried I was?" Hermione demanded. "You never called!"

"Sorry, I forgot," Luna said easily. It was true: she'd been so tired last night she'd just collapsed into bed.

"I thought something had happened to you," Hermione defended. "Did the plane land alright? Did Uncle Wesley pick you up? What's his house like?"

"Yes, yes, and it's small," Luna answered her questions. "He's not at all like you described."

"He isn't?"

"Nope. He's a lot...cooler...than you said he was. He asked after you, by the way. And he says congratulations for being made prefect."

"Well, tell him I say hello, and thanks."

"Does he deal in body parts?" Luna asked curiously. She heard a splutter on the other end. She thought it might be Hermione.

"No! Why in Merlin's name did you ask?"

"He was carrying on oddly-shaped parcel this morning," Luna explained. "I thought it might be body parts."

"I think Uncle Wesley works for some detective agency or something like that. Maybe it was evidence." Hermione suggested. She sounded like she was trying to hold in a laugh.

Luna considered it. "Yes, that might've been it."

"So what are you going to do today?"

"Well, your uncle had to leave this morning, so I thought now might be a good time to look around," Luna told her.

"Excellent," said Hermione. "I hope you find something."

"So do I," said Luna. "I have no idea where to begin, though."

"Maybe you should do some reconnaissance," suggested Hermione.

"Pardon?"

"Recon? It's this military term. It means you do some spying out of the land. Maybe you should check out the Hyperion where Angel lives."

"Yeah!" Luna perked up. She was really curious as to where Drusilla's sire lived. She hoped it was dark and dingy, just like a vampire's home should be. Yes, she decided, that would be a very fun activity to do today. "Do you want me to ring you tonight to tell you what I find?"

"Nah," said Hermione. "Long distance phone calls get really expensive. I gave you my email address, didn't I? You can email me."

"Er...okay," Luna said unsurely. Hermione had explained the Internet and email to her, but she hadn't really understood it. Perhaps she could find the LA version of Diagon Alley and post an owl instead.

"Brilliant. Mum's calling me, so I have to go. Good luck, okay?"

"Bye!" Luna told her and heard a little click as Hermione rang off. Placing the phone back in its cradle, she walked back to her room. Opening the desk drawer she took out the notebook and extracted a map of Los Angeles folded into a tiny square. It wasn't a very good map, and only showed the main features of the city, but Luna had marked the Hyperion hotel on it. Hermione had told her that to get around Los Angeles she would need to take a taxi. Wesley had taken her home from the airport in a taxi, and so now Luna had first hand experience in what to do when she hopped in one. The only other thing she needed to do was call a cab company.

That was easy. Hermione had given her a list of cab companies and their telephone numbers to put in her notebook, and so all Luna needed to do was pick one.

The taxi dropped her off a few blocks away from the Hyperion. She'd had a little bit of trouble giving him the right amount of money but he obviously thought she was from another country. After Luna had painstakingly counted out the bills and a few coins, the taxi had driven off, leaving her to look around.

It wasn't a very nice suburb, she thought to herself. It was a bit dirty, and she swore she saw a rat in one of the rubbish bins. Rats didn't really bother her as much as they did other girls, though. She'd gotten over her fear the day Graham Doncaster managed to place a rat in her bed and it has started to lick her toes at eleven at night. She'd kept it as a pet, but Blackpaws had disappeared without warning last year. She rather thought Crookshanks had eaten him, but she never told Hermione that.

Her map had shown her that the Hyperion was directly north from the spot she was standing in, and so she began looking for the nearest street going north. As she walked, Luna's mind took note of her surroundings. Perhaps Drusilla had walked on the very pavement she was walking on? Perhaps Drusilla had looked at that bit of graffiti on the wall and wondered who wrote it, just like Luna? Luna could see a street coming up in front of her, but there was a little alley about a hundred metres before it. She'd be able to get to the Hyperion quicker and be less noticed if she used the alley, Luna realised. Reaching the entrance, she peered in cautiously. It was very dark, the light prevented from reaching the ground by canopies and walkways stretching over the top.

How positively gothic!

The more fanciful part of Luna's mind half expected a vampire to jump out from behind a bin at any moment, but the other part of Luna's brain noted with some disappointment that it was daytime, and thus highly unlikely.

And so with thoughts like these, Luna was not entirely surprised when something jumped out from behind a bin with its mouth open ready to bite her. This creature wasn't a vampire, though. In fact, it was nothing Luna had ever read about or seen. It had four arms similar to a human's, but they were tipped with crab-like claws. The bottom half of the creature was similar to a crab's as well, but it was a dirty copper colour, like dry blood. Its head was almost completely taken up by its mouth, with two beady little eyes perched on top. Thanks to its open mouth, Luna knew that it had rows upon rows of slimy green teeth and extraordinarily bad breath.

She shrieked, but regained her senses enough to grab for her wand. "Stupefy!" Luna cried out, but the demonic crab sweeped away her wand with a flick of its giant claws. Luna watched helpless as her wand flew through the air and then rolled away to fall down into a grate.

The demonic crab advanced towards her, and Luna backed away, unable to take her eyes off it. Suddenly, before her eyes, something metal seemed to grow out of its chest. Dimly Luna recognised it as the head of an axe. The demonic crab seemed to be as surprised as her, looking down at the axe with puzzlement in its little eyes. Then the eyes clouded over and the creature fell to the ground, hopefully dead.

With the demonic crab lying on the ground, Luna could clearly see the creature that felled it.

A boy, a few years older than herself, stood standing with the axe balanced in one of his hands. His face was unreadable.

"Thankyou," Luna whispered.

The boy didn't answer, but his eyes flicked down to the demonic crab. "Did you know what that was?" He asked. He had an odd accent, Luna realised. Not quite American, not quite English.

Luna shook her head, and saw the grate. "My wand!" she said, remembering, and rushed to the grate. She dropped to her knees and peered in. There was a faint sound of running water, and Luna's heart dropped.

"It's a water main," The boy said from behind her. "Whatever dropped in there is lost to you now."

TBC...