Thalia Fragments
In the ages when humans and magic coexisted peacefully, Gaius Pliny Cencontus traveled around the world, recording anecdotes in his Natural History. In the sixteenth volume, a kind of very interesting fungus called Gloom Shroom was recorded, they use sadness as nourishment, animals become uncontrollably depressed after eating it, so comes its name.
Gloom Shroom like wet environment, they grow most quickly in late summer, often parasiting in the roots of phoenix, olive, and other trees. The tree will soon be infected, mutating into Moaning Fruit. Therefore, in September and October, in some nights with bright moon, baby cries are often heard from the mountains. This kind of mushroom was all over the continent, but at the end of the fifteenth century, Nicolo Leonicino seriously noted in Mistakes of Pliny that more than 100 magical creatures, including the Gloom Shroom, were imaginary, causing people that love science to suspect their existence. With anger, Gloom Shroom cut off with the world, moved to the forbidden forest near Hogwarts, and lived a leisure life of seclusion for generations.
Besides, there is a symbiont that likes to live within Gloom Shroom, called Thalia Fragment, which Natural History touched on lightly, because it is neither plant nor animal, furthermore, not related to handicraft and agriculture.
Natura's History says: no one has seen Thalia Fragments as their true features, only light can be observed with naked eye, they swallow sadness and produce happiness, so they like to stay near tragedy theaters or Gloom Shroom. When Moaning Fruit cry, Thalia Fragments make a wonderful sound which sounds like harp on odd days and bells on even days, and the powder that falls can cure the toxicity of Gloom Shroom. No one knew what does the voice of Thalia Fragment represent, indeed, no one cared. Only Giusep Mezovanti, a linguist in the eighteenth century, has proved that the voice in human language stands for– "Don't expect too much on the end of the world".
These ten words are the results of Mezovanti's study in his whole life. At the age of fifty-two, he finally published his paper on Weekly Mana, the predecessor of Daily Prophet. People read his paper, and used them to wipe Windows. Mezovanti died in the following year.
About two hundred years later, in the forbidden forest of Hogwarts, there is also a
bunch of people fighting for Thalia Fragments.
"Luna, when are we gonna stop? It hurts!" Ginny shouted weakly.
"Why does it not hurt when you ride a broomstick?" Luna doesn't seem to care.
"They're different… Hermione, why are you being so quiet?"
"I am horsesick… "
Luna, Ginny and Hermione rode a bench horse through and over the mountains. The four hooves of the bench were strong, making a few meters in one jump, leaving a
string of square hoof prints in the soft mud.
Finally, they stopped by a small, clear stream.
"Gloom Shroom grow near water sources, and wherever they are, there will be Thalia Fragments presenting," Luna pulled out a pocket book, Shakespeare's Tragedy.
"We're hitting them with a book?" Ginny asked.
"No, we're attracting them with a book."
Luna opened the book and handed it to Hermione.
"You'll be Juliet, Ginny will be Romeo, read."
"Why am I asked to read?"
"Rather you two than me, action!"
That night, " Romeo, Romeo!" echoed in the forest; bats, starlings, and nightingales flew to the branches nearby, many fiurnal animals were also awakened, ran to
see what was happening sleepily.
Throughout the second act, Hermione's voice was becoming hoarse, but they have yet to find a thing.
"Luna, does this work at all?"
"Theoretically yes… " Luna dodged Hermione's murderous eyes, and took a
thought, "I see, we're not sad enough! Go straight to the climax, Juliet play dead,
Romeo, kiss her and pretend to commit suicide."
"Ki…ki…kiss… her?"
"Like this," Luna kissed herself on the back of her hand.
"Is it necessary?"
"Art should pursue maximum reality, otherwise the Thalia Fragments won't be
coming."
"Then do I really have to commit suicide?"
"Well, if you're capable of… "
Before Hermione prepared to punch Luna, a long arrow flew and nailed to the
back of the bench, so fast that the silver light in the air was not even disappeared. The bench jumped to its feet and started to ran, wanting to shake off the biting pain. It mourned all the way, rushing around, and was finally knocked down on a tree to stop.
Ginny, who was swinged off the bench, knelt down to the ground, counting the stars she's seeing in front of her eyes; Luna was comforting the bench calmly; Hermione…
"Hermione!"
Ginny jumped up and shook Luna's shoulder.
"We've lost Hermione! I have already lost her computer, I can't lose her too!"
Looking at Luna who also showed a little panic, Ginny could not help but cried.
"This nonsense about Gloom Shroom! Damn you Gloom Shroom! Damn all of the Gloom Shrooms!"
Ginny's cry grew louder and louder, some uproar came from the grass around
her. Suddenly, bright voice of harp appeared, it was not much in the beginning, then the scales fall altogether, variating but in order. In the gorgeous music, points of light flew out from leaves and soil, slowly formed a golden wall.
Ginny was amazed and her cries gradually stopped, Luna pinched her hand to urge her to keep crying.
The golden wall gathered slowly, covering Ginny like a blanket, making her look
like a huge flame, and her mood grew warm.
"Luna, Thalia Fragments are attracted by the cries, so they should've met Hagrid too! Hagrid may have already be cured!"
"No, Thalia Fragments would not approach giants, because… "
Sound of hooves interrupted their conversation, they looked by the light of Thalia Fragments and saw a figure with white-blond hair.
"Who's there!"
"Centaurs, they are safe," Luna whispered to Ginny.
The centaur came out of the shadow, his eyes looked amazingly blue in the golden light.
"Greetings to you in the name of the bow and arrow on Charon's chest, strangers,
you may call me Firenze."
Firenze stared curiously at Ginny in the light, suggested kindly, "I have never seen
so many Thalia Fragments, ponies should not be such sad. I can tell you a few
centaurian jokes if you like."
"No, actually it's because… "
Firenze looked very friendly, so Ginny told him what happened.
After Ginny's account, Firenze nodded. "Don't worry about the girl named Hermione, that arrow belongs to Ronan, he's a good hunter, who will surely follow your flight and find Hermione that fell down. Centaurs don't hurt ponies, if there is no accident, I think he had already taken her
to safe places."
"Why did he attack us?" Luna asked.
"It is likely that he regarded you as something dangerous, the forest has not been very peaceful recently. The thing you rode… has it done any strange things?"
"Um…no… "
"Where are you going next?"
"To find Hagrid," replied Ginny.
"Stop running around! You will slip into the Forest of Lovaszi!" Firenze warned rapidly.
"What is Forest of Lovaszi?"
"A place you'd better not to run into," He said something perfunctory and turned off the topic, "You have to go back. I will ask the centaurs to find Hagrid and see
the girl by the way… "
As he spoke, a sound of bugle covered the sky, disturbed a flock of crows.
Firenze frowned, seemed anxious. "I'm afraid not… you need to go on your own, the ceremony has started, I have to go… "
"Wait," Luna stopped Firenze who was hurried to go, "Can you give us some advice in the name of a prophet before you go?"
Firenze hesitated for a moment and looked up at the starry sky through the thick branches.
"What is he looking at?" Ginny whispered to Luna.
"The stars."
"That's impossible. The woods are so dense, and there are clouds."
"Centaurs can penetrate everything when they look straight at the stars. They are the best astrologers and the second best starwatchers."
"Who is the best starwatcher then?"
Before Luna could answer, Firenze had withdrawn his sight and said carefully, "I'm afraid I cannot advise you in the name of a prophet, but I can give some advice as a friend, go wash your faces in that stream."
Ginny ran to the nearby stream, the Thalia Fragments that are attached to her flew into the air, leaving a piece of golden powder. Ginny took some water and splash it on her face to remove the uncomfortable powder off her eyelids, but instead she started coughing.
"This is not a stream. The water is salty!"
She soon realized that the stream was made of tears, it will lead them to Hagrid.
Ginny and Luna rode on the bench again. Before leaving, Luna gave a candy to Firenze and said:
"If you are truly a friend, please give me a little gift of centaur."
Firenze smiled, he thought carefully for a while and said, "If you know where your stars is, you will never get lost in the woods."
"Thank you, Firenze, goodbye!"
"May the moonlight bless you, until the sun rises."
In the ancient blessing of centaurs, they ran to two different directions. Ginny sat behind Luna, thought carefully for a long time, and asked:
"That is the gift of centaurs?"
"The wisdom of centaurs is the best gift."
But Ginny still can't understand, why is the moonlight pressing them.
