Chapter 13: Monsters

Luna's second year at Hogwarts was not necessarily worse than her first year, just stranger. She had spent the first part of the summer on a wonderful expedition with her father to Tibet to interview a sect of monks who supposedly had succeeded in training a pack of chimeras. Disappointingly, after spending three weeks searching the Himalayas, they found the remains of a small village. While they could never be certain what happened to the monks, Luna suspected they may have fallen afoul of their chimera herd; a theory supported by the numerous claw and scorch marks on most of the building. Her father meanwhile proposed the Chinese Ministry of Magic was afraid of the monks weaponizing the chimeras and must have raided the compound. When Fudge was spotted two weeks later with a jacket seemingly made of chimera fur, the subsequent article about the British and Chinese Ministries conspiring to eliminate a defenseless village led to one of the most popular Quibbler editions of the year to date.

Upon her return to England, Luna started pouring over books on warding and locking charms. Most of her possessions had vanished the previous year after being forced to move back into Ravenclaw tower. While they had all been mysteriously returned at the end of the year, she still wanted to avoid a similar situation this year. This year she would be much better prepared.

When the time came to return to Hogwarts, instead of risking interacting with her house mates more than absolutely necessary, Luna spend the train ride up in the front of the train speaking with the conductor, a kind man named Smithers, and the trolley lady Margery. The engineer was much too busy to busy to talk with them (he had to drive the train after all), but Smithers was fascinated by Luna's wide-ranging opinions and experiences. She even managed to convince him to take out a subscription to the Quibbler.

The train ride took a turn for the worse when a short distance from Hogsmeade when the engineer slowed the train, yelling back that there was something on the tracks. Then the door to the engine slid open to reveal a pair of dementors. Despite the roaring fire powering the steam engine, Luna started shivering. Thoughts started popping into her head. Some dark. Some true. Her worst mistakes played on loop while her victims shouted their accusations from all around her. She closed her eyes to drown them out, but it was all in her head. She tried to respond, but she had no voice. They were telling the truth after all. It was so cold, she was so alone, and it was all her fault.

After what seemed like an eternity, Luna found herself sitting on the bench wrapped in a warm blanked. An unfamiliar man was placing a chocolate frog into her hands. She tried to push it away. She didn't want it. Anything but chocolate. The man was insistent and pushed it back into her hands.

"Make sure she eats it," the strange man told Smithers.

"Will she be alright?" Margery's voice asked.

"In a few minutes if she eats the chocolate. Otherwise, it will take a bit longer," the man replied. "Could I have some more chocolate frogs? There are several others I passed on my way here that had bad reactions to the dementors as well."

"Take whatever you need," Margery replied. The door closed and the other man left. Once he was gone, Margery asked, "What was the ministry thinking, allowing the dementors to search the train for Black? And with only a note for warning too. The least they could have done was send some aurors instead. Honestly. You should eat the chocolate like Professor Lupin said dear. It will make you feel better."

That afternoon was Luna's first interaction with Professor Remus Lupin, but she absolutely refused to eat the chocolate for the rest of the train ride.


The first few weeks back at Hogwarts quickly fell into a familiar pattern of slipping in and out of classrooms, eating in the kitchens, and exploring the castle and grounds. The extra locking charms on Luna's trunk seemed to work for the first few weeks, but the pair of sandals she left by her bed one morning had vanished when she returned two hours later. Luna refused to underestimate the other Ravenclaws and knew it was only a matter of time before someone broke the locking charms on her trunk, so she held all of her valuable possessions – her wand, dream diary, actual diary, and butterbeer cap necklace – on her person at all times. It was a fairly effective solution, at least until she could fine a more permanent method of securing her valuables.

The looming threat of Sirius Black, the only man the Ministry was willing to confirm ever escaped Azkaban prison, and the dementors sent ostensibly to help secure the castle had little impact on Luna after the unexpectedly eventful trip on the Hogwarts Express. Despite the lack of tangible evidence of the dementors presence within the castle grounds (excluding, of course, the ring of dead plants and flowers surrounding the official school boundaries), Luna was initially quite hesitant to venture out of the castle. Her first trip to try to visit the Thestrals was cut short when Professor Lupin caught her in the hallway on her way down to the grounds. She heard him coming and hid in a closet, but his footsteps stopped in the hallway near where she was hiding. He then said in a loud voice, "If you return to your common room now, Ms. Lovegood, then I won't take off any points." He then walked away, leaving Luna to puzzle over how he knew she was there without ever seeing her. While she cared little for house points, the mystery and threat of detention made her delay her trip to another night.

She made her first successful trip outside the castle after bed on the night of the full moon. One of the more interesting discoveries she had made during the summer was Thestrals were partial to a particular plant known as moonlace. Luna had sent a letter to Professor Sprout inquiring about the plant and was informed that there was a small patch growing on the shores of the lake. However, the plant only bloomed under the light of a full moon, so Luna found herself slipping onto the grounds well after curfew to find the elusive plant. She planned on using it to make a nice spice rub for some stakes she had procured as a treat for the Thestrals. They had probably missed her over the summer, so she wanted to give them a present. Besides, food always tasted better when marinated – well, not all foods, but meat certainly – and Luna hoped they would appreciate the extra effort.

While it was a clear night illuminated by the bright full moon, it still took Luna almost an hour climbing along the rocky shore of the lake to find enough plants for the entire herd. Things were further complicated because she was unable to use her wand. There was a clear view of the lake from many of the windows in the castle and the light would clearly mark her location for any teachers on patrol. They were even stricter about curfew this term for some reason. Why would students out of bed make it easier for Sirius Black to break into the castle?

A wolf howled and was quickly cut off. The full moon seemed to glow even brighter than before. Luna hurried back to the castle, having had enough adventure for one night.


The following morning's defense class found Professor Snape, not Professor Lupin standing in front of the classroom. While he continued the scheduled lesson plans on the disarming charm, Luna barely paid attention. It was rather rare for wizards to get sick for a day. Most symptoms could either be treated with a few potions or were so complicated or life threatening that they disabled the wizard for weeks or longer. A completely insane idea crossed her mind. It had been the full moon last night, after all… What if… Luna was the first person out of the classroom and was quickly running to the library. She needed to find a copy of the student register from twenty to forty years ago. She also needed to write her father for the list. He should still have it. It had been close to four years, but he never disposed of source materials.


Exactly one month later, Luna knocked on the door to the hospital wing late at night a few minutes before curfew. Madam Pomfrey opened the door with a look of concern, "Are you alright Ms. Lovegood. Have you had another accident with experimental magic?"

"Not this time," Luna replied rolling her eyes. According to the school charter, the Matron or Nurse was required to report "injuries of a malicious nature" to the headmaster or heads of houses. Luna was particularly careful whenever she needed to visit the hospital wing for a hex or jinx that she didn't know how to treat on her own to claim it was an accident or the result of an experimental spell. Since the injuries were accidental or self-inflicted, they were not "of a malicious nature", avoiding the school charter's reporting requirements. Coupled with the standard healer oaths, the only people Madam Pomfrey could report the trips to the hospital wing to were Luna or her father, as Luna made sure to frequently remind her. Confidentiality ensured no one found more excuses to blame "Loony Lovegood", and Luna's increasing skill at conflict avoidance – or running away – let things reach a comfortable balance of only trip to the hospital wing per week.

"I was wondering if Professor Lupin was here," Luna asked cautiously.

"No," Madam Pomfrey replied. "Why would he be here?"

"Oh no reason. But if you happen to see him tomorrow morning, could you give him these sugar quills," Luna asked, holding out the package.

"Why would you like to give Professor Lupin sugar quills," Madam Pomfrey asked, baffled.

"Well, I figured the sugar will help him recover faster," Luna replied. "If it's alright, curfew is soon, and I really need to be back in the common room."

Luna turned and skipped away, leaving Madam Pomfrey standing slack-jawed in the doorway of the hospital wing, holding a paper bag of candy.


"Professor Lupin wants to see you in his office."

"What did you say?" Luna asked, looking up from her copy of Standard Book of Spells: Grade II.

"I said, Loony, that Professor Lupin wants to see you in his office," Evan replied. "He seemed pretty annoyed, so you better not have done something that cost us house points."

Professor Lupin had missed class the following morning, as Luna expected. She was still fairly certain she guessed correctly, but she was incredibly nervous as she walked down the corridor to Professor Lupin's office. Maybe sending candy was not the best idea. She always appreciated a good piece of candy when she was feeling down, and she assumed that the extra sugar would be helpful after spending an entire night awake. On the other hand, he probably wanted to keep it a secret. Wizards could be so bigoted after all. Maybe this was not a good idea, not that she had much of a choice now. She knocked on the door.

Professor Lupin called, "Come in."

Luna stepped into the room. "You wanted to see me professor?"

"Yes, Ms. Lovegood. Please shut the door and take a seat."

Well that was one route closed. Standing by the door would be a great way to escape route. Then again, she really should stop categorizing all the room's exits. He was not another student; he was a professor. She should be perfectly safe. But then why did she feel like she poked a sleeping dragon?

"I got an interesting package from Madam Pomfrey this morning," Professor Lupin began, holding out the paper bag of sugar quills. "Do you care to explain?"

Perhaps a more cautious approach was needed. "Like I told Madam Pomfrey last night, I thought you might appreciate them."

"Why didn't you bring me them yourself?"

"I thought you would be indisposed and wouldn't accept them from me directly."

"Ms. Lovegood, do you understand that it is inappropriate for students to give teachers gifts?"

Luna's eyes widened. "I… I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought you would like the candy in the morning, given your condition."

"And what condition is that?"

"Your lycanthropy."

Professor Lupin seemed to deflate before Luna's eyes. For the first time, Luna noticed the bags beneath his eyes. The fine traces of scars covering his face that had gained new significance. "Alright then. I will send my letter of resignation to Professor Dumbledore tonight. I would appreciate it if you would avoid spreading the information until I have time to pack up my things."

"You're leaving! Why?"

"You know about my condition. I doubt you or many of the other students would want a werewolf teaching them."

"Of course I want you to stay. You're a great defense teacher. Everyone loves your classes. If you are worried about others finding out, I haven't told anyone, and I promise I won't tell anyone," Luna's eyes widened again as she realized what Professor Lupin must have seen in her gift. "I wasn't trying to blackmail you or anything with the candy. I just thought you would appreciate some candy after your transformation and what was probably a terrible night."

Professor Lupin gave a small smile. "In that case, thank you for the gift. Sadly, it doesn't change much about the current situation. If a second year could find out so quickly, other students will likely recognize my condition as well. It was foolish to think we could keep something so… big… covered up for an entire year."

"I doubt anyone else can find out the same way I did. My father wrote an article on werewolves four years ago. I was able to get an old copy of the Werewolf Registry from his notes along with a copy of an article your father wrote twenty-five years ago under a pseudonym for the Quibbler – for some reason it got rejected by the Prophet – on raising a werewolf. After that, I just needed to cross check names and dates with the Hogwarts student registry to confirm you are the same Remus Lupin."

"That's quite impressive Ms. Lovegood."

"Thank you."

"Are you still comfortable with me serving as your teacher?"

"Definitely. I'm sure you're taking every possible precaution. Besides, a little danger is nothing new to Hogwarts. In case you haven't heard, we had a basilisk attacking students last year and school wasn't closed."

"I appreciate your confidence, Ms. Lovegood."

Luna stood to leave but paused by the door. "Professor, Do you like sugar quills?"

"Yes, but I don't think it is appropriate for students to be sending teachers gifts."

"Oh," Luna replied disappointed. "Well, goodnight then professor."


Fall faded into winter with a freezing January and what seemed to be becoming and even colder February. It was a Saturday morning. Particularly, the Saturday after Sirius Black's break-in to Gryffindor tower and the almost-murder of Ron Weasley. It was a Hogsmead weekend for the older years, and Luna found herself skipping back from her interview of the new security trolls that had been placed to defend the Gryffindor common room and its portrait. She had needed to wait for a Hogsmead weekend when fewer people would be around since she rather thought that the Gryffindors would take a dim view of a student from another house snooping around their common room.

Of course, the interview was rather disappointing because trolls had a small vocabulary and a rather limited understanding of interviews… and questions… and answers. In fact, after half an hour, the only thing Luna could be sure they actually understood were brawn, club size, and to hit things when the portrait screamed. Hopefully, no one would question the remains of a suit of armor Luna had used to test that particular theory.

"Hey Loony!" a voice called out from behind her.

Luna grimaced. With the corridors so empty, she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings. She should have listened more closely. There was a hidden passageway nearby that she could have easily reached if she had noticed sooner. Whatever was going to happen, it was her fault for being complacent.


"Hey Neville, what's up?" Ginny asked as she walked over to the rather dejected looking boy huddled over a parchment that was full of cross-outs and corrections.

"Oh. Hi Ginny, "Neville sighed. "Not much."

"What you working on?"

"Potions essay."

"This is a Hogsmead weekend, right? Why aren't you there with all the other third years?"

"My Gran revoked her permission after my screw-up with the passwords," Neville replied referencing how Sirius Black found the list of common room passwords that Neville had kept.

"I thought Harry can't go to Hogsmead either. Why aren't you hanging out with him?"

"I was waiting for him for a while. He said he was going to get the essay he forgot in the library, but he hasn't showed yet. He probably has better things to do."

Ginny felt a burst of anger towards Harry. You don't just stand up a friend like that. "You up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

"Not today," Neville replied. "I really need to work on this essay."

"Maybe I can help?" Ginny suggested. She had learned a lot about potions from Tom from the numerous times he helped her with essays of class preparations. Maybe this would be a good way to put that knowledge to use?

"I get what you're trying to do Ginny, but I don't need your pity."

"That's not what I meant Neville, and you know it."

"I know," Neville sighed. "Just… I really do need to work on this. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay," Ginny replied. She made her way out of the common room slowly. Her former hero or not, it was time to give Harry bloody Potter a piece of her mind.


Ginny was making her way slowly down the corridor towards the library when she heard the sound of raised voices off down a side corridor. She turned to see what the commotion was about. Three students had their wands drawn, pointed at a fourth girl whose back was to the wall. "What the bloody hell is going on here?"

All four students turned to her, and Ginny pulled her wand out of her pocket. The fourth girl was Luna. The group's leader, Chloe Jenkins, said, "This is none of your business Weasley. Just go."

"I don't think so," Ginny replied, moving to stand between the three bullies and Luna. "Back off."

Jenkins glanced at one of the other girls who gave a small shrug. Jenkins fired a quick hex, but Ginny easily blocked it with a quick Protego. Her training in Defense with Jack showing its use yet again. Ginny replied with a stinging hex which Jenkins was able to sidestep. The second girl muttered "It's not worth it. We can come back later."

"She's in the common room," Jenkins replied.

"Later," the second girl insisted.

The three turned and started to run down the corridor, but Ginny wasn't going to let them escape so easily. She fired a tripping jinx and caught the third bully, who had been silent until now. The other two glanced back. The second girl – whose name Ginny didn't remember – turned back to stop and help, but Jenkins grabber her hand and dragged her away. So much for loyalty.

Ginny pointed her wand at the girl who was now struggling to sit up. Hit her again. Ginny knew a number of good hexes and jinxes, even a few curses that would do. Hit her hard enough to stay down. Hard enough that she won't come back after you again. Ever. She was a bully. She deserves it.

No. That's what Tom would have wanted. That's what Tom would have done. Bill said she wasn't Tom. She wouldn't be Tom. Ginny forced herself to lower her wand. "Just tell me why?"

The girl – Olivia was what Ginny thought her name was – looked up at her with fear in her eyes. She slowly stood and spoke with candor and a surprising hardness in her voice, "It's better her than me."

The girl turned and ran after the others while Ginny turned to see an empty corridor. Luna had vanished during the commotion. Bloody hell.

The girl's footsteps faded behind her, while Ginny stood staring at the empty corridor. She was tired of chasing Luna. Whenever she thought she would have the opportunity to finally talk, Luna would vanish like a ghost. It was like trying to catch smoke with a bloody fishing net. She was just so tired.

"I don't know if you are still here," Ginny said to the empty corridor, "but if you are, I've been meaning to talk to you – trying to talk to you all year."

Ginny sighed, holding her hand up to her face. She probably sounded like an idiot to anyone who was passing by. "I need to explain what happened last year. Honestly, I'm still trying to pull the pieces together myself. If you can hear me, please come out. I just want to talk – to explain."

Ginny stood there, waiting for a sign that Luna could hear her, but the corridor remained silent. Ginny considered leaving but decided to continue anyways. Luna likely was still hiding nearby, and Ginny was tired of waiting, tired of trying to explain. "I wasn't myself last year. There was a diary and a boy named Tom and I did a lot of things without knowing; things I would never have done if I knew what I was doing. I hurt you, and I let you get hurt, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry Luna. I never meant to cause any pain, and if you were here, I would tell you everything. The complete truth. The entire story with no evasion or anything. Just hear me out, and if you still hate me afterwards, I'll accept it. Please."

Ginny quickly became more and more conscious of how ridiculous she sounded so she added, "And if anyone else heard what I just said and have a problem with it, come at me! I dare you!"

Ginny stood there in the corridor for ten minutes, before eventually giving up. Luna wasn't coming. She could not even be sure Luna heard her. Ginny was not in the mood to try to give Harry a piece of her mind anymore. Her confrontation with the Ravenclaws left her so weary. Instead, she made her way slowly towards the astronomy tower. She could use the peace the height gave her. The paradoxical adrenaline rush and calm. She needed the escape.


Luna waited in her hiding place until Ginny's footsteps finally faded. She had been so surprised when Ginny had appeared in the middle of the fight. She almost told Ginny to leave. After all, stopping bullies only made their subsequent punishments more ferocious, but before she could react, Ginny was already involved. Not wanting to confront Ginny either, Luna slipped into the secret passageway. From that hiding place, she heard Ginny's pleas. She almost even left to talk to her. Ginny sounded so earnest. So much like old-Ginny, her friend.

Almost.

It could still be a trick by not-Ginny. Nothing about the situation made sense. What could explain the personality shifts? The diary Ginny mentioned could correspond to the angry book from her dream and later the library. Ginny had mentioned someone named Tom during their ride on the train, but how could that explain Ginny's actions. It was not like Ginny stood by and let things happen. No. Ginny attacked her. Multiple times. She made it clear that they were no longer friends. It was not anyone else. There was no one else there. However, this Ginny sounded so sincere. What could explain such shifts in personality?

She would need to think about it.