Chapter 3: Trust

It was dark. The air was filled with steam and odd smells. She was sitting on a bench facing a table filled with vials and cut up plants. A cauldron was bubbling merrily on her left, spewing blue smoke into the air. A girl with black hair was sitting on her right. She knew the girl. It was a classmate of hers. Olivia. She was at Hogwarts, and this was Potions. The surly teacher paced in the back of the room, his black robes swishing as he moved. The smoke curled in his wake.

She turned to look at a chalkboard in the front of the room and reached down to stir her cauldron a few times. It was starting to turn a mellow orange color. It was almost time to add the chopped petals. The girl next to her said something. She turned to look at her, but something caught her eye. Behind the girl, a cauldron had turned an angry red. It was bubbling viciously. The professor had just noticed as well and was walking over. A thought flashed through her head. She knew what was about to happen. He would not be fast enough. She grabbed her partner and pulled her under the table. The other girl scowled at her. She mumbled something and held her under the table. A moment passed. Other students noticed them crouched under the table. They were looking at her oddly. They were laughing. Another second passed, then another. Olivia tried to pull away when the room erupted into a flash of light.

She was walking down a familiar corridor. She had a book bag hanging on her shoulder. Another girl was walking with her. It was her friend. Her only friend. That can't be right. She has other friends, doesn't she? Does she? If she does, then how is this her only friend? Her only remaining friend. A shiver ran down her spine.

They walked into the common room. She needed to go grab something from their room, and her friend waited downstairs. She climbed the stairs and opened their door. In the middle of the floor was something furry. Next to it lay an empty wrapper. She screamed. Her friend ran up the stairs and saw the animal on the floor. She ran over and picked it up, sobbing. Other girls appear, drawn by their cries. Her friend looked at her with eyes full of tears. She said something. Something hurtful. She can't mean it. It doesn't make sense. She can't be here. This is wrong. She had to get away. She turned and ran.

She ran out through the common room, past all those staring faces. Someone in the corner snickered, but she was already out into the hallway. The portraits blurred by. She didn't have a destination in mind. She only knew she had to get away.

The torches got farther and farther apart. The portraits got fewer. She no longer recognized the hallway. She couldn't look back. She couldn't stop running. She didn't want to think. It hurt too much. She stumbled into a dark, dusty classroom and collapsed onto the floor. Tears streamed down her face and puddled on the floor. The room filled with the sound of her sobbing.

"Luna!"

A voice cut through the dream.

"Luna!"

The room started to shake.

"Wake up!"

The dream shattered. Luna jerked awake. She was in her bed in her dorm room. Anne was standing next to her.

"Are you okay?" Anne asked.

Luna rubbed her eyes and shook her head. The room was still swimming, and her head pounded. Her other roommates all looked over at her from their own beds with concern. "What happened? What time is it?" Luna asked in a hoarse voice.

"It's a bit before seven. You were screaming. I kept trying to wake you up, but nothing worked," Anne said, her voice full of concern. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Water."

Olivia, the girl Luna was sitting next to in her dream, walked to the bathroom and returned with a glass of water. "Thank you," Luna said, taking a sip.

"Maybe we should get a prefect." Chloe suggested from the other side of the room.

Luna shook her head, "I'm fine. I'm sorry for waking you all up."

Anne reached over, put her hand on Luna's shoulder, looked her in the eye, and asked, "Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"No. I'm fine," Luna shrugged her off. There were some things that she needed to carry on her own.

Anne nodded, but she reached down and picked up her little kitten and set him down on Luna's lap. The little brown fur-ball looked up at Luna with his big eyes and licked her hand. Luna reached over and started to gently pet him. At least someone understood. Some things couldn't be shared.

Around the room, her dorm mates started getting dressed and ready for the day. Only Becca remained in her bed, refusing to be up so early on a weekend. Despite only being in school for two weeks, the normalcy of their routine and Pumpernickel curled up on her lap made the dreams slowly fade away.

After a few minutes, she gently moved Pumpernickel from her lap. He looked up at her, a bit disappointed. "I'm sorry, but I need to get moving. Thank you for cheering me up this morning," She whispered to the kitten.

"Mew," he purred and licked her hand one last time and jumped down from the bed. It was almost like he understood what she said.

Her dorm mates slowly started drifting down to the common room. They agreed to wait a few minutes for everyone to get up. Luna was still the last one to be ready. She grabbed her book bag and put her diary inside. She needed to fill it out soon, lest she forget some details from her dreams, but she didn't want to make her friends wait. Friends. That is a nice word. So happy and hopeful. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and started to leave the room. "Don't wait for me," Becca groaned from her bed, "I'm going to get more sleep. It's the weekend for Merlin's sake."

"Okay. I'm sorry for waking you up earlier."

"It's fine. Just please close the door when you leave," Becca replied before pulling her curtains shut.

"Sleep well," Luna replied as she climbed down the stairs.

The first year Ravenclaw girls (well, most of them) sat down at the sparsely populated Ravenclaw table. They had come down during the mid-morning lull after the early birds finished but before the late risers (most of the school) got up. Even the faculty table was empty. It was a pleasant time to have breakfast. Luna asked Anne to pass the hot water to make a cup of tea. It was especially nice to have a quiet breakfast after that night. After those dreams. Anne handed the kettle with a small smile. On the other side of the table, Chloe and Olivia were having a spirited debate about which Lockhart book was the best. At least they weren't asking her about her dreams, something Luna appreciated to no end.

"How can you not like Voyaging with Vampires? It has VAMPIRES!"

"Have you ever met a vampire? They are nothing to laugh about. I don't care what your novels say."

"But how can Magical Me be your favorite. He doesn't do anything heroic?"

"That's the point. It puts all of his other books into context. It's where he shares the person underneath the hero."

Anne made a gagging noise, and Luna needed to raise her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Chloe turned to glare at them, "Don't you even start Miss Sarcastic. I saw you staring at him during class."

"You know full well that was shock. He literally gave us a test that asked what his favorite color was."

"It was valid. We were supposed to read the books before class, and that information was in the books. You are just mad since you did worse than the rest of us."

"Come on. That grade didn't even count."

"Still."

"I wouldn't drink the pumpkin juice if I were you," Luna whispered to Olivia, "I suspect a fuzzlewump put a curse on it."

Anne immediately spat her mouthful of juice back into her cup. "What?!"

"Well, you and Chloe both drank the pumpkin juice right before you started fighting, so it makes sense."

Olivia pushed the jug away from her, "What's a fuzzlewump?"

"A tiny insect, about half the size of a Sickle, that curses beverages. Drinking the cursed liquid makes people extremely volatile. I thought they usually only cursed alcoholic beverages, but who knows."

Olivia and Chloe shared a worried look and moved the pumpkin juice farther down the table. Anne leaned over and whispered in Luna's ear, "Are there really fuzzlewumps or was that just an excuse to stop our argument?"

"Of course they're real. Just they are native to equatorial countries, not England. It is much too cold here," Luna replied with a conspiratorial twinkle in her eye. "Devon Pixies, on the other hand, are something we should be more worried about. I hope the Hogwarts wards keep them out. They can be rather nasty."

"Luna…"

"No. I'm serious. Their venom can be mixed with most liquids and is quite tasteless. It causes paralysis within a few minutes of ingestion. They also have an odd fixation with pumpkins, so I would suspect they would love pumpkin juice."

The Ravenclaw boys started to arrive at breakfast and received a very serious warning from Olivia not to drink the pumpkin juice. Luna and Anne excused themselves from the table and started to walk up to the library.

"Why did you even tell me the fuzzlewumps weren't real? You could easily have tricked me as well," Anne asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"It's much more fun if someone else knows, or at least suspects. What's the point of a joke if no one else gets it?"

Anne nodded, "Well thanks for letting me in."

"When we get to the library, I want to introduce you to my friend Ginny. She said she would be there this morning, probably to work on the Transfiguration homework. We grew up together, and she's really nice."

"Cool," Anne replied. Then she looked through her book bag. "Wait a minute. I forgot my notes in the dormitory."

"Do you want me to go back with you?"

"No. You go ahead. I'll meet you in the library."

A few minutes later, Luna was walking down the hallway to the library. She had all her study materials and was excited for the morning. She had not had the chance to spend much time with Ginny after Hogwarts started and hoped this would be a good opportunity to reconnect and introduce her new friend. She brought lots of extra parchment and ink (both black and bright purple), her class notes, and half completed essays. It was going to be a good morning.

She turned into the library. Despite still being the early morning, it was already bustling with students sitting at the many tables and moving between the shelves. The librarian patrolled the room and provided forceful reminders to anyone who breached the silence of the library. The books. The quiet. The library was one of Luna's favorite places in the castle. The perfect indoor location. Luna wandered through the tall shelves holding ancient tomes, full of information and knowledge just waiting to be tapped. She finally spotted Ginny sitting at a table in the corner with a heavy book propped up in front of her. Ginny's back was to her, and she couldn't call out or risk the wrath of Madam Pince. She walked up to Ginny and glanced over her friend's shoulder to see what assignment she was working on. A chill ran down her spite when she saw the small book Ginny was writing ferociously in. She couldn't make out the words, yet something was very wrong here. Luna pulled up a chair opposite Ginny, sat down, and said, "Hello."

Ginny looked up startled with an odd look in her eye. Instead of a normal greeting, she slammed the book closed. There was something wrong.

"Are you alright Ginny?" Luna asked as she pulled out her notes for Transfiguration.

"Fine," she replied, "What do you want?"

There was definitely something very wrong. Her eyes were different. They were still the same color and shape, but they were hard and angry, like they had been consumed by a cold flame. A raging inferno. A cold anger radiated off her, and Luna could almost feel the temperature of the room dropping. "We agreed to study today…"

"I'd rather not study with you."

"Are you okay Ginny? Why are you mad at me?" Luna said with her voice filled with concern.

"I am fine. I would prefer to be left alone."

"This isn't like you…"

"I. Am. Fine!" Ginny growled. Anger and hatred radiated from her, and, somehow, from the little book she had been writing in earlier. The little book. No, it can't be. Luna had warned her. She had agreed.

"Ginny, can I see that book?" Luna reached across the table to grab it.

"No. Go Away!" Ginny yelled and gave her a hard shove. She tumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

"Ginny…"

Something flickered in Ginny's eye. She rapidly gathered up her books and rushed out of the library, leaving Luna stunned and hurt on the ground.


Luna slowly trudged back to the common room, turning the conversation over and over in her head. It just didn't make sense. Why was Ginny so angry at her? When they spoke at the end of class on Thursday to make plans for this morning, she seemed fine. Why was she so angry? What did she do? What could she do?

Even more disturbing, however, was she saw this. She dreamed this. She didn't realize how badly it would end up, but she knew Ginny would be angry. She knew there was going to be sitting there with that odd little book that she was so protective of. She knew that Ginny would be radiating that cold burning fury. She knew when she looked Ginny in the eye, she would not see her friend, but something else. Someone else. Luna didn't know how, but the book was connected, and she had tried to warn Ginny. She had assumed Ginny would take her warning seriously, but she didn't. It all just blew up in her face. Ginny was not Ginny anymore because of her dream. It was all her fault.

"Luna? I thought we were meeting in the library… Luna … are you alright?"

Luna looked up to see Anne standing in front of her. She was supposed to introduce her to Ginny. They were supposed to become friends also. Instead, Ginny just hates her. Will she make Anne hate her too? When will Anne stop being Anne? Luna dropped her bag and collapsed against the wall, sobbing.

Anne crouched down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Not really."

"What happened?"

"Promise me. Promise me you will never let any chocolate into our dorm room," Luna said, looking up at Anne with her red eyes and tear streaked face.

"What? Sure."

"No, I'm serious," Luna said, grabbing Anne's shoulder, "You need to promise me. Promise me!"

"Alright. Alright. I promise."

"Thank you," Luna replied. She leaned back against the wall and took some deep breaths. She was exhausted. Hopefully this would be enough. It had to be enough. She reached up to wipe her face dry.

"What was this about?"

"I can't tell you. Please just trust me. Please."

"I trust you," Anne affirmed. She was worried about what could have shaken Luna this badly. "I thought we were meeting in the library."

"We were, but not anymore."

"Why? Aren't we supposed to meet your friend Ginny there?"

"I don't know if Ginny is still my friend."

"Oh… Did you have a fight?"

"Sort of… I'd rather not talk about it," Luna sighed. "Can we just go back to the common room?"

"Sure," Anne replied. She gave Luna a hand standing up and helped the exhausted girl walk back to the common room. Something happened between Luna and Ginny. Anne didn't know what it was, but now Luna was terrified of chocolate. She had only known Luna for a couple weeks, but she trusted her. Anything that could scare her this badly was not something to be messed with. She was already careful about leaving unwrapped chocolate out because of Pumpernickel, but with Luna's new warning, she would be even more vigilant. For some unfathomable reason, no chocolate could enter their dorm room. She would need to spread the word to her other dorm mates. None of the candy would cross the threshold.


Luna was sitting on her bed. Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1 sat propped up on her pillow, and Pumpernickel lay curled up in her lap. He had walked up to her as soon as she arrived in the room that morning being supported by Anne and had refused to leave her side all day. Luna turned the page of the book, and he reached out with one of his little paws and swatted the corner, pushing it back. She tried to turn the page again, but he pushed it back again. Luna giggled, "Silly kitten. I need to read that."

Pumpernickel turned to face her with his big bright yellow eyes and replied, "Mew."

"I guess I studied enough anyways. Let's find something to play with," Luna replied. She gently lifted him onto her bed and rummaged around in her trunk for a ball of yarn. She always found yarn to be one of those things you never thought you needed until a crisis when it is an urgent necessity and there is no way of getting some. Sort of like tape, aluminum, and carrots. Another item it is important to never leave home without. She unwound a bit and held it in the air. Pumpernickel stood up on his back paws and tried to swat it. It was so nice to spend time just playing with the little kitten. Time to forget about her dreams and schoolwork and her fight with Ginny. Time to just be content.

The door to the dorm room opened, and Anne walked in. "Come on Luna. It's dinner time. Everyone is waiting for you in the common room," She said as she walked over to pour some food in a bowl for Pumpernickel.

"I'd rather just stay here."

"You can't just hide in the dorm room. You didn't even eat lunch today," Anne replied, setting down the bowl of food next to the bowl of water. "Pumpernickel needs to eat also."

The kitten jumped down from the bed and walked over to the food. "Traitor," Luna grumbled.

The kitten turned around, looked her in the eye, and said, "mew" before turning back to his food. Was that a reproachful look in his eye?

"You are all ganging up on me."

"Exactly. Even Pumpernickel agrees. You can't keep hiding up here, moping. You need to eat. You need to leave the room."

"I'm coming," Luna replied as she pulled on her shoes. "Let's go."

They walked down to the common room where the rest of her dorm mates were waiting sitting on a group of chairs clustered around one of the windows. The sunset really was spectacular. All those incredible colors.

Chloe spotted them as they reached the foot of the stairs, "They're down. You feeling any better Luna?"

"A bit."

"Good. Then let's all head to dinner."

As the group walked down to the Great Hall, Chloe and Becca told them about their encounter with the Whomping Willow. After Harry Potter's infamous flying car crash, Professor Sprout had put the broken branches in little slings. Thinking this would be a great opportunity to observe the rare tree up-close without much risk, Becca and Chloe took a hike to it that afternoon. However, even broken limbs did not stop the tree, and they barely avoided being hit. Becca was convinced she caught a glimpse of a tunnel of some kind underneath the tree before they were driven away.

"But why would there be a tunnel under the tree?" Chloe insisted. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe it is a secret passage," Anne suggested.

"But where would it go to? There is no point in having a passage that no one can get to. What do you think Luna?"

"I guess I'm with Becca. Maybe the tree is guarding something for safekeeping. Like the stone from Flamel that Goldstein says was kept in the castle last year."

"But how would anyone get to it."

"There would need to be a trick of some kind. A way that only the owner could get through."

"I guess it's possible, but hasn't that tree been there forever? Someone would have figured the trick out by now."

Luna shrugged in response. "Then maybe a blood badger lives under the willow, and the tunnel is its lair."

"A what?" Anne asked as she held the door to the Great Hall open so they could all file in.

"A blood badger," Luna replied as she took her seat at the table.

"What are you all talking about?" Liam, one of the first-year boys asked.

"Becca thinks there is a tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow, and Luna was telling us how it could be a den for a creature called a blood badger." Chloe replied.

"Oh. Please tell us, Luna. What is this creature known as a blood badger?"

Luna wasn't sure, but was there sarcasm in his voice? It didn't matter. The others probably wanted to hear about it even if he didn't. She gestured to Max to pass the shepherd's pie and placed a portion on her plate before replying. "Blood Badgers are known to have a symbiotic relationship with many semi-sentient plants like Whomping Willows and Stabbing Spruce. They suck the blood of their prey and bury drained carcasses for the trees to eat. The trees in turn provide protection for the badgers burrows."

"Eww. Luna, could you have saved that explanation for some other time? Like when we are not trying to eat." Olivia said. "That's horrible."

"You did ask," Luna replied before taking a bite of her pie. It was quite good. The school elves got the perfect amount of salt. Once she found the kitchens, she would need to thank them. Their food was generally excellent.

"That sounds awesome," Liam replied. "I wish I could see one."

"Well if there is a burrow under the Whomping Willow, you can go over and see it."

"That is, if they even exist," Liam replied with a cruel chuckle. Another one of the boys also laughed. His name was Evan.

"They do."

"Of course they do. Just like Nargles and fuzzlewumps and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Guess what, Lovegood. I had some time today, so I went to ask the Care of Magical Creatures professor about some of them. I was such a fool. I thought the Snorkacks sounded cool and wanted to find out more. Guess what she replied. Come on. Someone guess."

"No idea," Chloe replied, "Why don't you tell us?"

"Of course," Liam said with a cruel smile. He turned to look Luna in the eye and said, "She said they don't exist."

"They do exist," Luna insisted.

"No. They don't. It explains everything. It explains why none of us have heard of them. Why whenever I go to the library to read up on one of the things that sound interesting, I can't find any books. Why are you lying to us?"

"I'm not lying," Luna said in a quiet voice.

"What. Nargles got your tongue?"

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are! Just admit it."

"Back off Liam." Chloe said.

"Maybe she isn't lying. What if she really believes in this stuff?" Evan suggested. "What other things do you believe in?"

"Huh?" Luna asked, still having trouble processing everything.

"Please stop," Anne said in a quiet voice.

"I mean. It's obvious. She is not conniving enough to be trying to trick us all. She must actually believe all this stuff. She's a conspiracy theory nut! Do you think the world is flat?"

"No. Of course not."

"Is the minister conspiring with several important families to overthrow the government and install a dictatorship through poor dental hygiene?"

"You mean the Root-fang Conspiracy? I guess it's possible. I read some good articles about them if you want to …"

"Ha! I knew it!"

"Let me have a shot. Is Gringotts trying to steal all the wealth from the wizards."

"Well they are a bank…."

"Stop it." Anne cut in.

"No. It's fun." Liam replied. "Is Atlantis real?"

"Yes, but it vanished without a trace."

"Then why are there no records of it?"

"Because they were all destroyed…"

"If you can't prove that, are the werewolves trying to destroy the wizards by decimating the cow population?"

Luna couldn't take this anymore.

"Your dad edits the Quibbler, right? Does he believe all these things too?"

She had to get away.

"Did your Mom really leave you because you are nuts?"

Luna fled the Great Hall in tears, and the trance was broken. "You bloody bastards!" Anne yelled and rushed out of the hall after Luna. As the door closed behind her, she could hear Chloe scolding, "What is wrong with you?"

She stopped in the hallway to think for a minute. Luna could have gone anywhere in the castle… If she had to start searching somewhere, she supposed she would start with the dormitory. With that, Anne set off to find her friend.

Sure enough, she found Luna sitting on her bed holding Pumpernickel. She sat down next to her and said, "I still believe you."

"Thank you," Luna replied. The pair sat in silence as they watched Pumpernickel try to climb up Anne's bed. Luna was grateful she didn't say anything more. Sometimes silence was the best. It had been a long day.

The door to the room opened and the other girls walked in. Chloe spoke up and said, "I'm sorry Luna. They were horrible to you. We all should have tried to stop them sooner."

"It's all right…"

"No, it isn't. I just need you to know that we all have your back," Chloe insisted. Olivia and Becca nodded in agreement.

Despite the horrid day, Luna fell asleep that night happy. Despite the Ravenclaw boys, despite her fight with Ginny, and despite her fear of the future, she had friends. More importantly, they trusted and believed her. Nothing could change that.


I must have dozed off…

It seems so. Do you remember? We were talking about your Potions essay while you waited for Luna.

How long was I out for?

Not too long. It felt like a short time, even for me. Probably no more than ten to fifteen minutes.

Arg… I can't believe I just fell asleep like that! It isn't like me at all.

You are under a lot of stress with classes and the new environment. It is perfectly understandable for your body to just give up every now and then. I would not worry too much about it. Shall we return to the discussion of the potions essay?

Yeah. If I remember, you were talking about essences or something?

Yes. When adding ingredients into a potion, it is not always the object themselves that are important, but instead what they contain. Some other ingredients are added only for their physical properties while their magical components can be easily neglected or negated. These can be replaced if an equivalent physical source can be found. For example, mistletoe berries are used to increase the density of the potion. In the Forgetfulness potion it makes the body take a longer time to absorb. In the Antidote for Common Poisons, it keeps the ground bezoar from falling out of suspension. Do you understand?

I think so.

In that case you should probably start writing the essay. I could keep explaining principles for you, but the essay is due tomorrow. You may as well bite the bullet and start writing. I will be happy to answer any questions you have, but we should leave off discussions of potion fundamentals for another day.

What's a bullet?

A bullet is like a small stone that muggles use to kill each other by launching them at high speeds. "Biting a bullet" means to stop delaying and get to work. It was used often where I grew up.

Tom…

Yes Ginny?

Do you think Luna is coming? I've been here for hours.

I do not think so. I am sorry.

But why? She promised.

I think she has started moving on. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, school is a new start. She probably took that opportunity.

But…

Ginny, your friend Luna got sorted into a different house. You will not have much opportunity to interact, so she probably is trying to become comfortable there. I know you still want to be friends, but it may be best if you only remain friends at home. It may be best for both of you.

But I still want to be her friend.

And she does not want to be yours, in school at least. Put it out of your mind for now and focus on your studies. You can try to reconnect over the summer.

That makes sense. Thank you for your help Tom, and for your advice.

Any time Ginerva. Any time.