Disclaimer: I'm too young to be Rowling so there is sadly no way Harry Potter is mine…

This story is canon compliant, but still more or less AU

I wish a late Happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrated, a Happy First Advent for those who will celebrate and a Happy Day for the rest (no matter if you celebrate anything or not). This chapter is for the one who named me (just like every year). Best wishes, Ebenbild.

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LUNA PLENA

FULL MOON

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"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 'The Little Prince'.

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"She's loony," some said about her.

"Crazy, totally crazy," others commented.

"She's not all there," some said and rolled with their eyes.

And the one that made her hide a smile whenever she heard it, "she's away with the fairies."

"That's not possible," she countered softly whenever she heard the last one. "I wouldn't be there if I was gone with the faeries."

And others would roll their eyes at her words.

"Shut up, Loony Lovegood," they'd say. "Fairies aren't real."

"Aren't you bothered by their words, Luna?" her childhood friend Ginny asked her with a frown.

Luna just hummed in amusement and her eyes roamed around the room.

"I'm fine," she said dreamily. "I don't mind."

Ginny threw her a disbelieving look at that.

"Luna," she said hesitatingly. "They're calling you loony… they're saying you're always off with the fairies."

"It's not happening that often," Luna countered sensibly. "I have to go to class, after all."

Because no matter what people said, Luna wasn't bothered by their words…

…

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"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

– J.M. Barrie, 'Peter Pan' (Chapter III)

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SCHOOL YEAR 1992 – 1993

"Bearn," a voice said when Luna was walking down the steps of one of the moving stairs. Luna stopped and looked around.

There, on the wall right next to her, was a young-looking man in a portrait, leaning against an apple tree and looking at her with thoughtful eyes.

Luna crooked her head.

"Do I know you, Sire?" she asked him and the man, dark-haired, pale-cheeked and silver-eyed, stared at her full of intensity.

"That's the question," he said and crooked his head in an eerily similar manner to Luna's own way of acting.

Luna blinked.

"You're a Peer," she said in a way as if the word meant more than what it sounded like.

The man hummed.

"And you're a fair child," he countered, just as unfazed as Luna seemed to be.

Luna curtsied.

"That I am, good sir," she agreed. "Mother always told me that I was as fair as winter and more beautiful than summer. She called me her winter child. She called me her summer sprog."

The man blinked slowly, his eyes thoughtful and full of understanding.

"Your mother?" he asked.

"She was called Pandora," Luna said. "Daddy sometimes called her Pandora, the Beautiful."

She smiled softly.

"Daddy told me they met in the woods," she said. "Mother said they met at Ambreis and she followed him into the woods when they danced together. He asked her to marry him within a day of dancing."

The man in the portrait hummed thoughtfully.

"The stone circle," he said thoughtfully and Luna nodded before she grimaced.

"People here call it Stonehenge," she said, clearly offended by the name. "I like Mother's name for it better. Ambreis… it sounds like… more, doesn't it?"

"Certainly," the portrait agreed and then looked into Luna's eyes.

"You're a winter's child of summer's descendant, then?" he inquired and Luna shrugged.

"Mother said that's all I was allowed to say," she answered. "My line has to stay unnamed if I wanted to be accepted here."

The man's eyes widened in understanding.

Luna pouted.

"You understand," she said, complaining just a little.

The man inclined his head.

"I do," he agreed.

Luna pouted some more.

"Well, I don't," she said unhappily. "And Mother is gone, so I can't ask her anymore."

The portrait raised an eyebrow at that.

"She returned to Ambreis without you?" he asked.

Luna just sighed and shook her head. "No. She died when I was nine."

The man looked at her with a frown, his lips pressed together unhappily.

"Well," he finally said. "There's nothing to be done about that. I guess, I will have to teach you what you need to know to survive in this world."

Luna blinked and the man's lips twitched.

"You may call me Ealdfæder," he said. "Just like I will call you daughter, Magutúdor mín."

"Oh," Luna said, recognition in her eyes and pleasant surprise in her voice. "It's been years since I was daughter! Mother stopped calling me that at least a year before she died."

Then, Luna's face filled with sorrow.

"Mayhap, I ended up too cold for her," she said sadly. "Mother always loved the warmth more than the cold, after all."

The man sighed.

"If that was the case," he said and closed his silver eyes. "Then we will get along just fine. I was always told that I am too cold in my views of the world as well."

Luna hummed and then looked around.

"I will have to go to class now," she finally said. "And I really should allow the stairs to go back to their duty. They're the moving stairs, after all, so standing still is unnatural for them. Farewell, Ealdfæder!"

"Farewell, Magutúdor mín!"

And with that, Luna walked away, down the steps. The moment her feet left the stairs, the stairs started to move again, as if they never stopped so that a girl could talk to a portrait.

…

"Loony!" Marietta Edgecombe called down the corridor, her voice nasty and her eyes cold. "Loony Lovegood!"

Her eyes were trained on a tiny first year girl who was humming and walking down the hall with her hand on the wall.

"Loony!"

The girl didn't react and Marietta's face twisted in anger.

"Are you hearing me, Loony?" she demanded. "Or are you off with the fairies?"

When the one addressed didn't react, Marietta growled in anger before she quickened her steps to reach the younger girl. The moment she was next to her, she snatched 'Loony's' shoulder, forcefully spinning her around.

"Are you ignoring me, Loony?" she sneered, glaring into the face of the slender girl with white-blond hair and silver eyes. "Hey! Look at me!"

The other girl returned her gaze innocently.

"Have you spoken to me, Marietta Edgecombe?" she asked softly. For a moment, the air around them seemed to heat up, then – before it could be really felt – the warmth dispersed again.

Marietta's grip tightened.

"Didn't you hear me calling your name, Loo-ny?" she sneered.

The other girl crooked her head thoughtfully.

"You called my name?" she asked and frowned. "I didn't hear you mention it…"

Marietta sneered.

"I've been calling your name more than once, Loony!" she declared. "Are you deaf?"

The younger girl blinked, raising one of her hands. She clicked her fingers in front of, first, her right and then in front of her left ear.

Afterwards, she hummed thoughtfully.

"I don't think I am," she said. "But… how'd I know it if I was?"

That took Marietta aback.

"What?" she asked.

The younger girl hummed.

"How'd I know if I was deaf?" she asked. "I mean, obviously you must have had a reason for asking me if I was… otherwise you wouldn't have asked, would you?"

Marietta opened her mouth, then snapped it shut before glaring at the younger girl.

"You've been ignoring me when I called your name," she finally declared. "That's evidence enough that you might be deaf!"

The first-year girl blinked.

"I didn't hear you call my name at all," she said. "When did you mention it?"

"Right now, Loony!"

The young girl pushed her white-blond hair out of her eyes.

"I thought Daddy decided that I was called Luna, not Loony," she said slowly. "Did the Sorting Hat call me Loony without me noticing?"

Marietta sneered.

"It doesn't matter what the Sorting Hat called you!" she countered. "You're obviously off with the fairies – so you're definitely Loony!"

The blond-haired girl blinked and looked around before she looked down on herself and then patted down her body.

"I'm pretty sure I'm still there," she said innocently. "Was I wrong?" Her eyes narrowed. "Did you eat some Blibbering Humdingers? They are known to trigger illusions and ensure that your memory gets faulty." She started to search her pockets. "I might have some radishes somewhere. Blibbering Humdingers aren't fond of them, so if you wear or eat radishes they will keep away and it will also reduce their influence on your body if you have already eaten some of them…"

The answer was a sneer.

"You're definitely off with the fairies, Loony!" Marietta countered.

Luna hummed, stopped searching her pockets and cocked her head.

"I still think that Daddy decided to call me Luna," she said thoughtfully. "Are you sure that you didn't eat some Blibbering Humdingers?"

Marietta shoved her at that, making Luna stumble a few steps backwards.

"It doesn't matter to me what your father decided to call you. I call you Loony," Marietta countered, clearly not interested in arguing with Luna about her creatures. "And you better learn to answer to it if you don't want to face the consequences!"

Luna blinked; her dreamy eyes not really focused on the other girl at all even when her face showed a dawning realisation when she finally connected the dots.

"Oh," she said. "Is that a custom here at Hogwarts? Giving new students new names? Like a protective function?"

Marietta growled wordlessly.

"Are you mad?" she asked furiously. "Do you want to provoke me, Loony?"

"Luna is fine," Luna assured her breezily.

"Didn't you hear when I told you there were consequences if you didn't listen to your name?" Marietta asked icily.

Luna blinked.

"Oh, I heard," she agreed slowly. "There are quite a few dire consequences when it comes to calling people by their real name."

Then her brow furrowed.

"I just didn't know that you have consequences for that kind of thing, too," she added before humming thoughtfully.

In the end, she nodded to herself, clearly coming to a conclusion.

"You can call me Luna," she assured the older girl. "There are no consequences in relation to that name. There's a reason why Daddy and I decided on it when I was asked to attend Hogwarts."

"I call you Loony!" Marietta corrected her and shoved her again. Luna stumbled but managed to catch herself against the wall – what Marietta used to grab Luna's arm and pull her close to her.

"You're nothing but an embarrassment for Ravenclaw House, Loony," she whispered harshly. "You don't deserve me using your actual name! You're loony – so that's what I'll call you!"

Her grip tightened even more.

"You should learn to be less of an embarrassment for us!" she said. "You've shown us all that you're misplaced in our House! If you don't learn your place soon and do as we say, I will make your life a living hell!"

Luna pulled back a little and rubbed her arm with a frown.

"I thought that Ravenclaw is for the astute," she said slowly. "I think I might fit in there very well…"

Marietta just rolled her eyes and then shoved Luna. The younger girl stumbled and this time around fell.

"Learn your place, Loony," Marietta said and when Luna tried to stand up, she shoved her again so that Luna ended up on the floor a second time. With that, Marietta walked away.

Luna on the other hand, slowly stood up from where she had fallen and whipped her hands on her robes.

"Odd thing to care about…" she shook her head, thoughtfully, "strange way to treat other people…" she concluded, before turning around and starting to hop, while humming, in the other direction than Marietta.

…

"Professor?"

Filius Flitwick stopped swishing his wand around and turned to look at the girl standing in the door. The girl was barefoot and dressed in a summer dress in the middle of autumn. The only concession to school clothes was the black robe she wore. It looked a bit odd, Flitwick had to admit to himself. But no matter how the girl dressed, the way she was looking around his room with wide eyes made her look a bit dotty and therefore strange as well.

"Can I help you, Miss Lovegood?" he asked, fixating on the child.

The girl frowned, her dreamy eyes wandering over his classroom's barren walls before she fixated on his robes. "I'm not sure, Professor."

Flitwick stepped down from his pile of books and turned to actually look at the child.

"How about you step in, sit down and then tell me about your woes?" he finally suggested calmly, his eyes wandering over the girl's robes and summer dress down to her unclad toes.

Young Lovegood hummed and then stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her before coming up the rows towards him. She finally took a seat in the second row, pulling her legs up to sit on them, hiding her naked feet.

Filius Flitwick hummed to himself and then clicked his fingers to call one of the house-elves.

The moment the little thing popped into the room the girl perked up.

"A can of tea for me and the young lady, please," Flitwick settled on. The house-elf turned to look at the girl, blinked at her slowly two times, then he inclined his head.

"Whatever Professor Flitiwickie and the fair child wish," the house-elf agreed and then popped away immediately. The next moment, a tea tray with two cups and a can of tea popped into being in front of the girl.

Flitwick hummed and then walked up towards the girl and hopped onto one of the chairs in the first row to turn it so that he was sitting on the opposite side of the young Ravenclaw.

"Now, child, tell me your woes," he said calmly and then reached out to play mother.

The young Ravenclaw hummed thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure…" she said slowly. "I heard you're part-Redcap. And… I'm not sure how to ask…"

"Redcap, Miss Lovegood?" Flitwick asked with a frown.

The young Ravenclaw hummed thoughtfully. "I doubt you're part Hobgoblin, Sir. They might be related to the Redcaps, but they are more tricksters than fierce warriors."

"Usually, people just call my mother's people goblins," Filius Flitwick replied calmly. "There is no other name needed – especially not one long lost in history."

Lovegood frowned. "So… you forgot your own name? The name your people were called? The name they embodied?"

Filius Flitwick suppressed his laugh.

"No," he said, a bit amused. "I doubt my people have ever been named Redcaps or Hobgoblins."

Luna Lovegood hummed.

"A secret, then," she concluded. "Not something wizards or other magicals should know."

"Not a secret, Miss Lovegood." Flitwick tried again. "There's nothing to tell."

Lovegood hummed and crooked her head to look in his direction thoughtfully. For a moment, silences stretched between them, then she nodded decisively.

"I understand your people aren't willing to confirm or deny something as dangerous as a true name," she said. "I will keep your secret."

Flitwick sighed, shook his head and let it go. Instead he took a sip of his tea, looking pointedly at the tea in front of the young girl.

Lovegood ignored his looks.

For a moment, they sat in silence, then Flitwick decided to speak up when it became clear that there would be nothing more coming from the first-year-student in front of him.

"Why did you approach me, Miss Lovegood?" he asked, his eyes returning to her unclad feet even if those were hidden not only by her dress but by the table as well. "Does it have to do something with your attire?"

Lovegood hummed and then crooked her head thoughtfully. "My attire, Professor?"

"You seem to be quite… unusually clad for the time of the year," he finally said. "The weather is rather cool these days and walking without shoes doesn't seem to be the warmest choice of clothing."

Lovegood hmm'd and then raised one of her legs to look at her feet. Flitwick had to admit that he was surprised how clean her feet looked considering that she was walking without shoes.

"You think so, Professor?" she asked and inspected her foot.

"Proper attire for each time of the year should be a given," Flitwick replied and then looked at the girl trying to meet her gaze. Sadly, the girl was more interested in scrutinizing her foot than looking at him.

"Did you not pack the right clothes, Miss Lovegood or did someone take them from you?" Flitwick finally asked when it got clear that he wouldn't be able to meet Lovegood's gaze any time soon.

"Nargles always take things," Lovegood replied evasively. "They usually return it at a later date, though. I doubt anything will be lost forever."

"That's not what I asked," Flitwick said and sighed when the girl took her foot to twist it towards her face and inspect it even closer than she had before. He had to admit he was a bit startled how bendy the slender girl was, but he would have preferred eye-contact to knowing this. "Miss Lovegood," he said. "If there's someone who is mean to you, you have to tell me. I'm your teacher. It's my duty to look out for you."

At that, Lovegood let go of her foot and then fixated his forehead. Flitwick guessed that this was at least a step in the right direction.

"There are always mean things in the world, Professor," the slender girl replied, her radish-like earrings following the movement of her head when she nodded to herself. "And while I understand duty, debt and obligation, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready to incur liabilities of my own."

"That's not what I was talking about, Miss Lovegood," Flitwick said. "I was –"

"You were concerned for me," Lovegood interrupted him. "And I understand that. Redcaps are always a bit cautious when it comes to their offspring..."

"I'm not a Redcap, Miss Lovegood," Flitwick said with a sigh.

"I'm not a Redcap, too," Lovegood countered and then smiled sweetly. With that she stood up and bowed to him. She hadn't even touched her tea. "Don't you worry, Professor, I can look after my own."

And with that she turned, leaving an amused and half-way confused Professor Flitwick behind…

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…

"Magutúdor mín!"

Luna stopped and looked up to the portraits on the wall.

A man with silver eyes similar to Luna's stepped into one of the portraits to Luna's left, not caring that the inhabitant grumbled about the invasion.

"Ealdfæder!" Luna greeted the portrait happily, but Ealdfæder just frowned.

"I heard some concerning things while passing the hallways, Magutúdor mín," he said, his eyes searching Luna's face. "There are rumours about children trying to disrespect and unname you."

Luna hummed.

"That's what you heard, Ealdfæder?" she asked. "What about the rumours of children turning into stone?"

"Those aren't rumours," the other man countered. "They are the truth. The basilisk is on the loose."

Luna blinked.

"A basilisk?" she asked with a frown. "I'm surprised they're not more frightened then. I heard that the basilisk is seen as something dangerous."

Then she frowned. "Or did I confuse it with the blindworm again?"

Ealdfæder scratched his head.

"I think you might have not, this time around," he finally said. "My comrades were wary of the basilisk, too. It's a bit weird, but I think they might be afraid of dying?"

Luna blinked.

"But why?" she asked. "It's discourteous to maintain eye contact with any of the fair and beautiful."

The portrait shrugged, clearly as baffled as her.

"My friends have always been weird," he said instead. "I remember a few times in my life where Brave-Heart grabbed my chin and forced me to disrespect him by lifting it so that I met his eyes. I think… they might be all weird like that?"

Luna hummed and then thought back to her interactions with others.

"You might be right," she agreed, finally. "I've been told to look at people, too."

Then she crooked her head, her expression thoughtful.

"I guess," she said slowly. "Since I'm here… mayhap I should follow their traditions?"

Ealdfæder scratched his chin.

"I tried to do the same," he agreed. "But it will be hard. It was hard for me, after decades of training. It will be harder for you, who has never been forced to do so before."

Luna nodded in agreement.

"In that, Daddy has been nice," she commented. "He was never put out, no matter how I acted."

"He doesn't conform to the world, then?" Ealdfæder inquired and Luna shrugged.

"Not as far as I can tell."

Ealdfæder hummed. "Then we will have to start from the very beginning while you are here," he suspected.

Luna frowned and crooked her head.

"If so, will I need to carry a mirror while walking the hallways?" she asked thoughtfully. "A lot of girls my age have started to do so for some weird reason."

The man frowned.

"I think it might have something to do with their way to disrespect each other by meeting each other's eyes and the basilisk roaming the halls," he finally decided.

Luna hummed.

"So… carrying a mirror is a… precaution?" she wanted to know. "And not a tradition?"

"Surely, it's not a tradition as far as I know," the man answered.

Luna played with her hair. "So that means I won't need a mirror?"

For a moment, the man in the portrait stayed silent, his eyes scrutinizing Luna thoughtfully.

"You're a fair child," he finally decided. "I doubt you're beautiful enough to need a mirror, Magutúdor mín."

Luna hummed.

"I will not use one then," she decided. "If I really should happen to end up endangered, the wrackspurts should warn me before I will be harmed anyway."

At that, the portrait frowned.

"The wrackspurts?" he asked. "You're seeing them?"

Luna blinked.

"You don't?" she wanted to know, her face showing a bit of her disheartened feelings.

The man's frown just strengthened.

"What about nargles?" he asked. "Do you see those, too?"

Luna blinked; her feelings forgotten for a moment.

"Just around the mistletoes," she said truthfully.

The answer was a sigh.

"Alright," Ealdfæder said. "That means that we will have to work on your shields a bit more."

Luna blinked surprised, so the man elaborated.

"You should be able to block them until you want to see them," he said. "That you're unable just means that your shielding is still lacking."

Luna's eyes widened.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised. "So that is the reason why nobody else sees them! Their shields are already better than mine!"

Ealdfæder inclined his head and grimaced.

"Don't worry," he said, full of understanding. "I know what it's like to be behind in your shielding. When I met my friends, I was behind as well. They were already able to ignore wrackspurts and nargles while I was still seeing wrackspurts wherever I looked. I managed to fix it – and we will fix it for you, together, as well!"

Luna beamed.

"Thank you, Ealdfæder!"

"You're welcome, Magutúdor mín," he replied. "And now run along! I'll start teaching you about shielding tonight!"

With a last, beaming smile, Luna did as she was bit.

…

"Loony!" Cho Chang called and harshly grabbed the girl who was sitting peacefully in the library while reading. "I heard you're quite smart."

Luna just hummed in neither agreement nor disagreement. In her hands was a dark book full of odd symbols and characters.

"That's what they say, Cho Chang," she finally agreed when Cho shook her to get an answer.

Cho scoffed.

"Penelope Clearwater told me you explained to her the Disillusionment Charm two days ago," she said. "That's a fifth-year spell that Penny as a sixth-year student still wasn't able to do – and you explained it to her!"

"So?" Luna asked befuddled. "She helped me to find the kitchen, after all."

Cho glared at her.

"You're a first year student! You shouldn't even have known that spell – not to mention the fact that you did it and succeeded!"

Luna blinked.

"The Disillusionment Charm is easier than a glamour," she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "And I've been able to do glamours since I was three."

Cho stared. "What?!"

The answer was a sigh and a head-shake.

"A Disillusionment Charm just imitates the background," she said. "It's basically making you a human chameleon. That's a bit unusual and I'm not sure if I see the reason for such a spell, but it's not hard to do so. Glamours instead will force you to adopt features not your own – features that don't exist, often enough. It's harder to imagine what isn't yet true than to imitate what you already know, you see?"

Cho clearly didn't see.

Luna just sighed and then shook her head.

"Honestly," she said bemused. "You should have learned that at your mother's knees. Why do you need me to explain something that you should have known long ago?"

At that, Cho scoffed.

"Not everybody is a lunatic," she countered. "And stuff like that isn't taught to children."

Luna blinked.

"Huh," she said, surprised. "That might explain why Daddy never tried to teach me anything."

She shook her head. "That's odd," she finally declared. "What else do children learn until they get to Hogwarts then? I mean, it's clear that Hogwarts' education leaves out some important things to learn – I just thought that those were the things you were expected to be taught by your parents already."

Cho just stared, clearly at a loss for words.

"What are you talking about, Loony?" she finally asked.

Luna crooked her head, her gaze far away.

"I mean the things missing… like glamours, like dealing with dangerous creatures, like taboos, like understanding what you see without your shields, like contracts and geasa," she elaborated calmly. "The usual things people should know."

Cho Chang laughed.

"Away with the fairies again, Loony?" she asked in disbelief and shook her head. "Hogwarts isn't missing anything in its curriculum. Whatever you think is missing, isn't needed."

Luna blinked.

"Huh," she said. "That's a brave thing to say. What do you do when you need it later on?"

"It's never needed," Cho countered with an eye roll, before her gaze sharpened. "But never mind that! I also heard that you knew how to brew a fifth-year potion, too – at least theoretically. Are you trying to make friends with sharing all that knowledge, know-it-all?"

Luna just looked at her dreamily.

"I was given a few books for my help," Luna countered before she frowned. "Do you usually make friends by exchanging favours? Is that what friends are about?"

Cho scoffed.

"You don't have friends, psycho!" She said heatedly. "Just much more knowledge than you should have. I heard you even knew runes and decided to tell one of the others about it!"

"We had a fair exchange and it's not as if it was hard," Luna countered. "If you know the rules, you can normally do nearly everything – and I have always been good at learning the rules."

Cho smirked.

"Well, if that's so," she said slowly. "How about you do my homework today? I have Quidditch practice and honestly no time to do it myself."

Luna looked up at her without blinking – making her gazes unsettling and giving the impression that she was looking through Cho.

"What will you do for me in return?" she inquired full of interest.

Cho Chang laughed meanly.

"There's nothing I have to do for you!" she exclaimed. "You're a first year! If I tell you to do my homework, you will do it or I will hurt you!"

"Is that so?" Luna said, looking a bit moonstruck. "A favour without a favour in return?" Then she frowned. "How do you balance something like that? Or is this a case of a debt owed?"

Cho snorted. "I won't owe you anything," she said with an eye roll. "You will do my homework and that's it."

Luna's frown deepened.

"You're actually demanding a gift without favour or debt owed?" she asked coolly.

"If you want to see it as a gift done for me, then sure," Cho answered with a snort.

Luna just stared at her. "And how will you learn something if I do your homework?"

Cho scoffed.

"I can learn even without doing homework, Loony," she pointed out with a sneer. "And now," she threw her books on the table in front of the other girl. "Do it!"

Luna hummed.

"Are you sure this is the way it's done?" she asked. "A favour without anything in return? What about obligations? I mean, you can't see Nargles without accepting the darkness into your heart as well. Nothing is for free, so why should this be for you?"

Cho scoffed and slammed her hands on top of the books.

"Because I said so and you will do as I say!"

Luna hummed again.

"Later maybe," she said, unbothered by the way that Cho was looming over her smaller figure. "I'll finish reading this book first."

Cho growled and reached for the book in the girl's hands.

"Be careful! The book–"

Cho gripped it and ripped it out of Luna's hands. The next moment she yowled and dropped it.

"Bites," Luna finished calmly and picked up the book from where it landed before looking at Cho's bleeding hand.

"You might have time to do your homework yourself, after all," she commented thoughtfully, while a soft breeze swept through the library, bringing with it the scent of autumn. "It's unlikely that you will be able to play Quidditch with that hand."

Cho scoffed, while cradling her hand and suppressing her tears, "Madam Pomphrey will be able to heal it within minutes."

Luna's eyes fixated on the blood, dripping down onto the table.

She reached out and gently touched it with her index finger.

"I doubt it," was her conclusion. "Nothing is for free and curses of the People are hard to break, after all."

With that, she picked up her book and returned to reading – ignoring the still bleeding girl next to her table.

For a moment, Cho stared at her, then she snorted.

"You're a loony bin, Loony Lovegood," she declared and stomped out to go to the Matron.

Cho would end up unable to play Quidditch for the next three weeks.

…

"Professor?"

Filius Flitwick looked up from his homework corrections. In the door to his office stood one of his first-year Ravenclaws.

"Miss Lovegood," he greeted the girl and put aside his quill. "Come in, child, and sit down. For what reason are you seeking me out?"

The girl hesitated for a moment on the threshold, then she slowly took a deliberate step inside, hesitated again, before taking another two steps and closing the door. Only then, she looked around his office, hummed thoughtfully and then stepped up towards his desk to sit down on one of the chairs on the other side.

She sat down at the very front of the chair and then gripped the chair with both of her hands between her legs. Flitwick noticed casually that her feet didn't actually reach the floor now that she was sitting. Instead, she was swinging them, kicking against the legs of the chair with her bare feet.

"Tell me, Professor," she said, full of interest. "How do you make friends?"

Filius Flitwick looked at her in surprise. "You… ask me how to make friends?" he asked.

Lovegood hmm'd.

"Yes Professor," she agreed breezily. "I was told that I'm not good at making them." Then she frowned carefreely. "Or maybe I was told that I don't have them? I'm not too sure which was actually implied, you know?"

Flitwick frowned.

"It's not a nice thing to say to someone else, no matter if it was that you're not good at making them or that you don't have them," he said, a bit concerned.

"Oh?" Luna said. "I thought the whole thing was odd, but I didn't think that what was said was bad in itself."

Flitwick sighed, but before he could say anything at all, Lovegood spoke up again. "Can you tell me how to make friends, Professor?"

For a moment, Flitwick thought about arguing with the girl about her dismissive way some more, but he got the feeling that the young Ravenclaw wouldn't listen, so, in the end, he gave in.

"There are different ways to try and make friends," he said calmly. "You could try and make a study-group with other children from your year. You could ask to play games with them. Often, something to eat also helps to make friends."

Lovegood looked at him dreamily.

"Something to eat?" she asked thoughtfully. "Yes… I think I can see that. Mother once told me that she made friends like that before."

She tapped her chin, and then nodded decisively.

"A splendid piece of advice, Professor!" she exclaimed happily and jumped up. "That's exactly what I will do!"

And with that, she hopped happily out of the room while humming under her breath.

Flitwick just shook his head at the girl fondly and decided to try and keep an eye on her. He hadn't liked what she had implied and he didn't want to stand by when one of his students was harassed – no matter how odd that particular student was…

… … … … … … … … … … …

…

"Ealdfæder!" Luna exclaimed happily and hopped towards one of the portraits near the library. "Did you know that there's a summer sprog at Hogwarts?"

Ealdfæder stepped out of the woods depicted on the portrait and raised an eyebrow at Luna.

"A summer sprog?" he asked surprised.

Luna hummed in agreement.

"He's a year above me," she said, then she frowned. "But… I'm not sure how to approach him."

Ealdfæder looked at her thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure if I can follow," he said slowly.

Luna sighed.

"It's complicated," she said, disheartened. "He's part of another House, so we don't meet without reason and he doesn't hear my name without reason, too. He wasn't there when I was introduced to the school at the beginning of the year, too. I know his name since everybody does… but he doesn't know mine – and I can't be that discourteous and introduce myself to him!"

"I see," Ealdfæder said. "That's certainly a problem."

Then his eyes narrowed.

"But why didn't he attend the introduction to the school at the beginning of the year? It was established to ensure that situations like the one you're in with him wouldn't happen!"

Luna frowned.

"I don't know why he didn't attend," she said unhappily. "There were some rumours about a flying car and a missed train, though…"

Ealdfæder's eyes narrowed.

"And nobody noticed anything wrong until shortly before the feast?" he asked. "What are the teachers doing if they're not looking out for the students to ensure they arrive in time!"

Luna shrugged.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm a first year student and while I have taken the train once, I can't say that the teachers don't usually look out for the students and ensure that everyone is boarded before the train starts its journey. I just can say that they weren't anywhere near the train when I rode it."

Ealdfæder frowned.

"Missing such things just once is bad enough," he countered.

Luna hummed in agreement.

"But it's still better if it was just missed once than never done at all," she said with a frown.

"Too true," Ealdfæder agreed.

Luna sighed. "I guess I will have to take a closer look to see if it was happenstance or permanent circumstances."

"When you're sure, you will tell me," Ealdfæder decided.

"Of course," Luna immediately agreed.

Ealdfæder inclined his head, before he returned to the more important part of their discussion, "how did you gather that the boy you saw but weren't introduced to was a summer sprog?"

Luna blinked, her gaze turning thoughtful.

"That's hard to say," she said. "But… I doubt he's a full-blooded summer sprog. I just think he might be more of a summer sprog than a winter's child."

She crooked her head.

"I watched him talk to a snake," she said.

"Everyone can talk to snakes," Ealdfæder reminded her. "The trick is to get them to listen, Magutúdor mín."

Luna blinked.

"Oh," she said. "Of course! You're right, Ealdfæder! Talking to a snake is easy – but unlike many, he got the serpent to react."

Ealdfæder hummed.

"That's more of a winter's gift," he pointed out. "Not to mention that the gift merged with some mostly common lines as well."

"But not many have a summer's sprog's colouring," Luna countered, "and no commoner survives a killing curse."

At that Ealdæder hummed in thoughtful agreement.

"A half-blood mayhap," he pointed out.

Luna hummed and raised her eyebrows.

"Do half-bloods actually exist?" she asked interestedly.

Ealdfæder scratched his chin.

"Only insofar that you have a name to distinguish their origin," he said. "But by blood? No, you either are fair and beautiful or you aren't."

Luna nodded.

"Just what I thought," she said happily, before the frown returned. "But I think the boy… he's influenced by wrackspurts very strongly right now. Even if I could talk to him without being impolite, I'm not sure if he would be able to listen with all those wrackspurts buzzing around his head."

"An understandable concern," Ealdfæder agreed, his face darkening. "Wrackspurts are one of the worst things that can influence a sentient being."

Luna nodded darkly.

"Wrackspurts are the worst," she said. "I'd prefer Nargles."

"Not that Nargles aren't that much better," Ealdfæder countered with a sigh. "They usually ensure that your head is fuzzy and a lot of people stop to think rationally in any way or form whenever they happen to be infested."

Luna hummed in agreement and then sighed as well.

"I guess," she said slowly. "I will have to hope that I will have an opportunity to speak to the summer sprog and that the wrackspurt infestation will be less by then."

"Let's hope," Ealdfæder agreed.

And with that, he inclined his head and walked away. Luna curtsied, not caring that he didn't see it anymore and then turned to walk away, too. This was their usual way of parting. Saying 'goodbye' definitely wasn't something to be done.

…

"So… you're Loony Lovegood."

Luna was sitting outside in the sunshine. She was currently reading another book with a dark cover and with odd symbols on its pages.

"Hmm?" she asked and looked up to look at an older Slytherin boy who was sneering down at her.

"And you are?" she asked, unbothered.

"Graham Montague," the boy said, his sneer strengthening. "Heir of Montague."

Luna crooked her head.

"Oh," she said. "People really go around and say stuff like that?"

Montague snorted.

"It's called being polite, Looney," he countered.

Luna hummed.

"Well, if you want to be polite, then I'm pleased to meet you. Please do me the favour and call me Luna," she offered, blinking slowly. "Would that be polite enough for you?"

Montague scoffed.

"You wouldn't know polite if it bit you in the ass as far as I heard!" he countered.

Luna frowned, thought about it and then reached behind her where her school bag rested. She opened it, searched it and then pulled out a box.

She opened it, hummed and then turned it so that Montague could see the contents.

"Would you like some biscuits?" she asked politely. "I made them myself last night."

Montague sneered at her, then he reached inside the box and pulled out nearly all of the biscuits.

Without a care, he threw the first into his mouth, chewed and swallowed.

"They could be better," he said with scoff, just to throw another one into his mouth. "Really, you won't make a good wife when you're grown."

He leered at her.

Luna hummed.

"I guess you would be as good a husband as a hippogriff is a comfortable ride," she said calmly, her eyes huge and innocent.

With that, she withdrew the box, looked inside it, sighed and closed it.

"What a shame," she said. "And there I went out of my way to ensure no wrackspurts were there to infect my dough." She shook her head. "I really wanted to offer some to some other people in the hopes to free them from their wrackspurts' infestation…" Luna hummed. "Oh, well, I guess one person eating them is more than enough for today."

A chilly breeze swept around them for a second and Montague wrapped his scarf a bit more tightly around his neck. Luna on the other hand, didn't shiver. She was barefoot, her feet oddly white between the coloured leaves. She also wasn't even wearing a scarf and seemed unbothered by the chill.

She looked at the empty box thoughtfully.

"After all, not a lot of people accept my offerings," she said. "So maybe having a sole person eating them all is not that much of a loss."

Montague scoffed.

"Well, if you were a better baker, they might be more interested," he countered.

Luna crooked her head.

"But you're eating them," she countered. "And you've already eaten most."

Montague just rolled his eyes and stuffed some more biscuits into his mouth.

"Whatever you say, Loony," he said disinterestedly, before looking Luna over.

His eyes rested on Luna's non-existent breast and her hips.

"Maybe, if you'd be older, I would show you the only thing you're good for," he said, leering again. "As it is, I guess I will have to wait another few years to do so."

Luna blinked.

"I wonder what your mother is like if that's your view on the female population," she said and crooked her head.

Montague's features twisted in an ugly sneer and he stepped forwards menacingly.

"Don't insult me or my family, Loony," he said, his voice full of dark promises. "Or you won't be just off with the fairies anymore!"

Luna hummed thoughtfully, her eyes travelling to one of her arms which she turned first one way and then the other.

"I think I'm still here," she countered. "So why do you think I'm off with anyone right now?"

Montague's sneer deepened and then he reached out and shoved the younger girl.

Luna fell to the ground, hitting her head on one of the trees behind her.

"Let that be a lesson for you, Loony," Montague exclaimed. "You're nothing, Loony. Absolutely nothing! Just a pathetic girl who should have been drowned at birth!"

With that he walked away.

Luna sat up and rubbed her head.

"Why would you think that drowning me would have stopped me from existing?" she wondered, but there was no answer from the retreating boy who hadn't heard her. Only the cold November wind was caressing Luna's cheeks, playing with her hair and soothing her thoughts.

…

"Miss Lovegood?" Filius Flitwick looked at the young Ravenclaw girl where she had been about to stand up and walk out of the classroom. "Could you stay behind, please?"

"Of course, Professor," Luna replied dreamily and slung her bag over her shoulder before she stepped up towards Flitwick.

Flitwick meanwhile waited until the rest of the students had left before he looked at the young Lovegood. She was staring moonily at the wall, humming a song Flitwick had never heard before.

"Miss Lovegood?"

"I'm listening, Professor," she immediately said airily.

For a moment, Flitwick waited in case Lovegood decided to actually look at him, but when she didn't seem inclined to follow common courtesy he sighed and continued with his inquiry. "I heard that you've been harassed by some of the older students."

For a moment, the girl didn't seem at all inclined to answer, then she looked over her shoulder at him – her eyes more fixating the wall behind him than him. "I'm not sure what harassing implies," she finally settled on.

Flitwick frowned, but then decided to elaborate for his student's sake.

"Harassment can be many things," he finally said calmly. "I heard that other students forced you to do their homework; I also heard that others shoved you. If either one is true, then it's definitely harassment."

Lovegood hmm'd, her eyes finding one of the windows.

"So, you're telling me, Professor, that this isn't some odd ritual that people do whenever they enter a hierarchic structure like school or work?" she finally asked breezily.

For a moment, Flitwick actually stared in disbelief at the odd Ravenclaw, then he sighed and shook his head, taking all the disbelief and shoving it into the back of his mind instead. "I fear not, Miss Lovegood."

"Huh," Lovegood said thoughtfully. "I guess you learn something new every day."

Flitwick sighed.

"While that is a recommendable thought for a Ravenclaw, I think in this case it's not something that should have to be explained."

Lovegood hummed quietly. "Then I am disheartened that I didn't know it before and I excuse my inexperience that needed correction on your part."

Flitwick raised an eyebrow at the young Ravenclaw's way to apologize, but in the end, he just shook his head at her.

"There's nothing to forgive," he said. "Especially if you're the victim."

Luna Lovegood hmm'd.

"You don't have to fear for me, Professor," she finally settled on. "I can deal."

With that, she curtsied, turned and walked towards the door.

"Miss Lovegood!" Flitwick called after her. "Dealing isn't something you should have to do when it comes to things like that! If you tell me who is harassing you, I will talk with those students!"

The answer was the low humming of a song and a wave over Lovegood's shoulder. Then, the door clicked shut behind her.

Flitwick sighed.

That went anything but well…

… … … … … … … … … … …

…

"Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect."

― Luna Lovegood

...

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

… … … …

I hope you liked it.

'Till next time.

Ebenbild.

… … … …

Old English:

Ealdfæder – grandfather

Bearn – child

Magutúdor mín – my progeny / child