Deatheater's Raid
Luna strain to fall asleep that night was ineffective as Dean's words replicated through her head.
"Romania." He said, "She was last recognized in Romania."
Her husband disappeared in Romania and her greatest rival was seen there just recently?
Just a nonchalant coincidence?
Luna didn't think so.
A petite kick in Luna's stomach influenced a smile on Luna's lips. Baby Potter had been kicking for several days now, but she had yet to tell Hermione and Lupin about it. It wouldn't be long at this point in time.
The baby maintained its kicking tempo for countless minutes, as Luna was too fatigued to tally them.
"Silly thing." Luna said, giggling to herself. "You're as stubborn as your dad you goof!!!"
"Who are you dubbing as 'goof'?"
Luna's head shot up as Hermione sauntered to her beside.
"Well?" Hermione questioned.
Luna smiled before pointing to her bloated abdomen.
"It's been kicking for a certain amount of days now." She said with enthusiasm.
Hermione grinned gaily at Luna.
"Oh Luna!" she said elatedly, "I'm so happy for you…..and the baby."
Luna smiled considerately before seizing Hermione's hand.
Sinking it to her stomach, she whispered, "I want you to feel it."
There was only silence merged with the patient breathing of the two women. Then…………
"Oh my gosh! I felt it, I felt it!!!" Hermione frolicked around the room, tears of elation brimming at the eyes.
"Hermione!" Luna was rather bewildered with Hermione's eccentric behavior seeing that she was a person who fervently took a dim view of impractical actions produced by adult akin to herself.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, a jubilant note still muddled up in her voice. "But after what Lady Fock said beforehand……."
Luna nodded.
"I understand." She answered. "But you do realize that ……."
"Luna, Hermione!" Lupin rushed into the room "Cmon, we have go to escape this place!"
Lupin's abrupt movements distressed Luna and Hermione.
"Care to tell us what's happening?" Hermione asked curtly.
Lupin disregarded Hermione's question as he yanked the window up. Luna, in contrast, had her eyes pasted on the door.
"Oh. My. God." She cried.
There were no words to portray it. The inn, in which they were staying in, was on fire.
Hermione pursued Luna's petrified stare and screamed in alarm.
"The place's on fire! We're going to die!" Hermione screeched.
"Will you keep quiet?!" Lupin barked. "We are going to die, if you don't get rational!"
Hermione, who had always been one to be intellectual, was vastly affronted by this, but did not make another peep.
"Luna, you go first." Lupin commanded, grabbing a spare pillow and disrobing it of its case. "Hermione, stuff food into this."
Seizing Luna's hand, he pulled her to the window, where the gravel avenue waited below.
"Go on Luna." Lupin said hastily. "I'm going to wait for Hermione. What are you waiting for? Go on!!!"
"I-I-I-I can't Lupin." Luna whispered, her eyes enlarging in trepidation.
"And why not?"
"Because there are deatheaters waiting down below."
Lupin looked, and to his bewilderment, she was right. Approximately a dozen or more deatheaters were lurking below, just waiting for the instant when Luna would be soaring from the pane.
"Damn it!" Lupin roared. Now he knew. This wasn't a mishap. This was, undeniably, an attack.
"Now what?" Luna cried anxiously.
Luna had on no account felt so fr
ightened as she did right then. Deatheaters on her right, a blistering inferno to her left, no breakout amid.
"Why the hell are we standing here?" Hermione unexpectedly burst out. "We are witches and a wizard for crying out loud. We can apparate!"
"Good thinking!" Lupin praised Hermione approvingly. "Let's meet in the marketplace. We should be far enough from here."
Luna closed her eyes and heard two, blaring pops crack.
"Market" she thought hurryingly to herself. "Meet Lupin and Hermione in the market."
The air gushed past her. The firestorm's bellows disappear and were quickly substituted with the cricket's mating summon.
Opening her eyes, Luna produced a cry of distress as she stared at her backdrop.
"This isn't the Trioŭs marketplace." Luna exclaimed. This is –"
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"Have you seen Luna?" Lupin questioned Hermione .
She shook her head.
"I was going to ask you that." She responded.
"Oh geez…." Lupin stared around the tiny marketplace. "She could be anywhere."
"I knew she should have studied her apparation before receiving the examination." Hermione said.
Right before her seventh year, Luna had taken the apparation exam. Hermione had drilled her about studying for weeks but Luna had something to her that made her apparating, to some extent, uncanny. She would from time to time think of a place, but journey to another one. Whether it was fear, or anger, or who knows what, no one knew.
"Don't be hard on her." Lupin scolded. "I'm sure whatever happened wasn't her fault."
Hermione grunted. She didn't want to trust him, but she realized that Lupin was correct. Luna would never pull a feat on them. The only question now was………where was she??
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"What do you mean, they aren't inside?" Cho screeched intensely. "Find them, FIND THEM!!!"
"I'm sorry." Scarlet apologized. "But they aren't in there. The fire must have exterminated them."
Cho rolled her eyes.
"Yes they did." She said sardonically. "And I love Luna with all my heart."
The deatheaters stopped what they were doing to gawk at Cho.
"Get back to work." Cho snarled.
"They're out there, and wherever they are, we'll be waiting." Cho said spitefully searching the neighboring woods with her eyes as if the trio would pop out of it any minute.
"Milady, Mr. Potter wishes to speak with you." a deatheater stated.
Cho scowled. Turning to Scarlet, she demanded, "Watch over the search. Return when it is finished and report to me right away. If you don't, there'll be hell to pay."
Scarlet nodded vigorously. Cho left without another word.
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"I'm lost," Luna thought desolately. "I'm lost, oh yes I'm lost."
It was definitely correct. Luna was mislaid in this……this…….this well, place.
She had walked through this terrain seeking for any indications of other life subsisting in this location. But she had no such luck.
Luna contorted her attractive face as a flare of pain slithered through her spine. Ever since she had disembarked in this area, a blast or two would burn through her body.
"Please, please don't make me yield my child here." Luna thought upsettingly. This was just what she needed. Having contractions in the middle of this with no one around for miles.
Trees behind her quivered, rattling their noisy rumpus.
"Who's there?" Luna asked vigilantly.
A hand emerged from the trees. As an alternative for its regular color, the hand bore mauve skin.
Luna gasped. She faltered over a boulder before jade hands rescued her.
"T-t-thank you." Luna stuttered her thanks.
"No need to articulate your gratitude. Your vigor and benefits are adequate."
Luna stared into the eyes of the two centaurs. The mauve one was a female while the jade was the sex of a male.
"Who are you?" she asked vaguely.
The male bobbed his head at his cohort.
"That is Velei." He said civilly. "I am acknowledged as Srok. May perhaps we possess your forename?"
"Luna. Luna Potter." Luna said. "Do you know where I am?"
"Yes." Velei answered. Her accent, disparate Srok's sonorous, rich accent, was shrill, but with the sound of a bluebird's song mixed within. "You, my friend, are in The swamps of Brazil."
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A/N: Yay!!!!! I actually finished this chapter before December ended!!! I'm so happy!!! starts dancing and singing with joy Ok now you can REVIEW!!!!
(Just a little memo on the centaurs: Just because the centaurs in the Harry Potter books are skeptical of people doesn't mean they have to be in my story. You'll learn more about Srok and Velei in the next chapter, promise! ;D )
Adieu!!
