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

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ECLIPSIS LUNAE

LUNAR ECLIPSE

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"May the odds be ever in your favor!"

– Suzanne Collins, 'The Hunger Games'.

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"She's loony," people would say. "A total lunatic."

"She's out of her mind," others would say. "Absolutely moonstruck."

"Leave her be, she's gone with the fairies," some would counter. "No matter what you'd say to her, she doesn't even get offended when she's insulted."

"Don't you feel hurt when they say things like that?" Neville would inquire.

"It's fine," she replied. "I'm not sure why they think I'm gone, but otherwise, I don't mind."

She scratched her head and looked down at her body as if expecting to vanish any moment.

But even if she didn't react, that didn't stop the others from commenting.

"She's certifiable," people would say behind her back. "She doesn't even understand when she's insulted.

"She's crazy," other people would comment. "She must have been dropped on the head as a child."

"Don't bother," they'd say. "She doesn't even care if you take her things. She just thinks some of her creatures took them instead."

"Do you need help, Miss Lovegood?" Professor Flitwick would ask. "You've been missing your shoes two days in a row now."

"I'm fine, Professor," was her dreamy answer. "The nargles hid my shoes again. Don't worry, I'll get them back soon."

"And what happened to your homework, Miss Lovegood?"

And Luna would just hum and shrug, seemingly unbothered by whatever others decided to do to her. "The Heliopaths might have burned it."

"Miss Lovegood…" Flitwick replied with a sigh. "There is no such a thing as Heliopaths. Tell me, your shoes and homework – were they taken?" Concern was colouring the professor's voice. "Did some of your classmates take them?"

"Oh," Luna said and crooked her head. "Heliopaths do exist, Professor. You should know that as a Redcap."

"Miss Lovegood…"

"And never mind my shoes. They'll return, don't you worry, Professor. They always do."

And no matter what was said to her, she didn't accuse anybody of taking her things nor did she tell the professors what really happened to her things.

…

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"I love thee, I'm charm'd by thy beauty, dear boy!

And if thou'rt unwilling, then force I'll employ." –

My father, my father, he seizes me fast,

For sorely the Erl-King has hurt me at last. –"

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 'Erlkönig' (translation by Edgar Alfred Bowring)

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…

SCHOOL YEAR 1997 – 1998

"The world is getting darker," Luna commented and leaned against the portrait in the hallway. "I've seen more and more Umgubular Slashkilters spread around Hogwarts."

Ealdfæder hummed thoughtfully.

"The new Headmaster…" he said slowly. "Have you taken a closer look at him? He seems to have Nargles."

Luna hummed. "He's full of darkness and the deepest of love," she agreed and closed her eyes with a sigh. "Mayhap he won't bring down Hogwarts all around us while he tries to banish the Nargles from his heart."

Ealdfæder raised an eyebrow. "He's actually trying to banish the Nargles from his heart?" he asked in horrified disbelief. "Why in Danu's name does he try something so foolish?"

Luna shrugged.

"Don't shrug," Ealdfæder immediately admonished her. "You've been raised better than that."

"Of course," Luna agreed and slumped against the wall before she returned to Ealdfæder's question. "And I don't know why Headmaster Bat tries to banish the Nargles from his heart. Mayhap it's because he was told that that's something he can do? Mayhap he tries to forget the summer sprog's mother?"

She tapped her pointer finger against her chin. "I don't know."

Ealdfæder sighed and shook his head in dismay.

"The more I learn about this world, the more I despair," he declared, his green eyes full of sorrow.

Luna hummed in agreement. For a moment, silence spread between them, then Ealdfæder nodded to himself.

"I think it's time," he said. Luna immediately perked up.

"Are you telling me that I will stop wearing the Butterbeer cork necklace?" she asked full of interest.

"And your Dirigible plum-shaped earrings," Ealdfæder calmly agreed.

Luna looked at him in surprise, her right hand reaching for her earrings which looked like radishes. "The earrings, too?"

Ealdfæder inclined his head.

Luna turned her gaze towards the ceiling. "I didn't think I was far enough to lose the earrings, too."

"The world is getting darker," Ealdfæder pointed out, darkly. "I wouldn't suggest that you'd lose the earrings if it wasn't for that."

Luna hummed. "You want me to be able to show my teeth."

"That's one way to say it," Ealdfæder said in agreement.

Luna hesitated, then she reached for her Butterbeer cork necklace. "What will I wear instead?"

The portrait hesitated, too. Then, slowly, the whole portrait swung aside, giving room to show a small, hidden alcove in the wall behind it.

Luna reached inside the alcove, pulling out a filigree necklace made out of silver. Then, she reached into the alcove a second time and pulled out a pair of silver earrings.

The portrait closed, hiding the alcove and Luna looked at the necklace a bit closer. It was made out of multiple delicate chains with small stones connecting the different chains into a pattern that reminded either of snowflakes or sunflowers.

Luna touched one of the pellucid, partly bluish, partly pearly stones.

"Hecatolites," she said and caressed the biggest stone that was sitting in the middle of the pattern. The stone had a hole more or less in the middle. "An adder stone."

"Moonstones," Ealdfæder agreed. "And a serpent's egg. I thought they were fitting."

Luna hummed and then held up the necklace to look through the hole of the stone.

"Do you see anything different?" Ealdfæder asked, full of interest.

Luna crooked her head. "I'm not sure," she confessed. "But the hallway seems to be a bit darker."

"The darkness is spreading," Ealdfæder agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit darker in the vision of a truth-showing stone."

"I like it," Luna declared. "I've always wanted to have a seeing stone."

"Serpent's egg," Ealdfæder immediately corrected her.

"Adder stone," Luna countered and Ealdfæder agreed with an inclination of his head.

"That, too."

Luna hummed and then turned her gaze towards the earrings. The earrings were gleaming in the dark hallway. The light flickering softly in different colours.

"Faerie lights?" she asked full of interest.

Ealdfæder hummed in agreement. "They suit you."

Luna smiled.

"They do," she agreed. "They suit me just fine."

Ealdfæder inclined his head.

"Take care of yourself," he said. Luna slowly reached for her Butterbeer cork necklace, unhooked it and removed it. She put on the silver necklace. Then, she did the same with the earrings.

For a moment, she looked at her old necklace and earrings, then she kissed all three items before reaching for the portrait. Ealdfæder's portrait swung open again and she placed her old necklace and earrings where she had gotten the new ones from.

The portrait closed again.

"Look after them," she declared calmly.

Ealdfæder inclined his head, then Luna curtsied and when Ealdfæder bowed, she turned and walked away, her fingers first touching the silver necklace and then her earrings. Both of them flickered and then changed to look like her old ones had.

…

They were locked in the dungeons of one of the old manor houses. While Ollivander had been dragged there first at the beginning of the summer, the young Ravenclaw girl had only been thrown into the cell just a short time ago.

Now, Ollivander was staring at her, his silver eyes big and wary.

Luna cocked her head, blinked and looked through the elderly man.

"Are you alright?" she asked dreamily.

Ollivander shuddered and took a step back. "They took you?"

"Hmm?" Luna blinked slowly.

"They… the Death Eaters… they took you?" he repeated.

"Oh," Luna said and looked dreamily at the ceiling. "Yes, they did. They wanted to keep Daddy quiet."

"And therefore, they went and kidnapped you?" Ollivander asked, totally horrified. "Why would anybody take you to threaten your father? Why would anybody even think about taking you for any reason at all?"

Luna hummed and thought about that question a bit longer.

"There are a lot of stupid people in this world," she finally decided calmly. "Some of them may happen to be more ignorant than others."

Ollivander shivered, his face pale and sweat coating his forehead and neck.

"I can't even think how someone can be that ignorant to kidnap you!" he countered, shaking his head in pure disbelief and horror.

Luna crooked her head.

"I think that's what they've always done," she said thoughtfully. "It's a weird way to operate, but if they think they can get what they want that way, maybe it's not surprising that they do it."

"That might be true," Ollivander said. "But doing something like that with the Gentry… that's –"

"Oh," Luna said, finally catching on to Ollivander's unease. "Don't worry. Daddy is a commoner. It's Ealdfæder who belongs to the Gentry… well, and Mother, who once did, too."

Ollivander relaxed for a moment, then he shuddered.

"Your father might have been a… commoner," he finally said. "But that doesn't explain why they… the Death Eaters… went and took a Fair Child to keep him quiet."

"I'm his only child," Luna explained reasonably. "It was either me or nobody."

"I'd have chosen nobody in their lieu of you," Ollivander decided immediately.

Luna hummed and sat down on the floor. Her eyes traced the stones of the ceiling. "Not everybody knows how to use their eyes and brain," she countered and started to tap the stone of the ground with her pointer finger. "And not everybody knows what should and shouldn't be done."

Ollivander scoffed. "Some things should be instinctual – I mean, you don't expect to survive an Avada Kedavra, so why do those people expect the equivalent in this case."

Luna crooked her head thoughtfully.

"Huh," she said, surprised. "That's really an apt comparison." She whistled, her eyes searching the room. "I wonder what Ealdfæder would think about it."

Ollivander stared at her.

"Ealdfæder?" he repeated slowly.

Luna hummed. "I'm his dohtor, since Mother can't claim me any longer," she said.

Ollivander narrowed his eyes, he didn't look directly into Luna's eyes, but he looked towards her, scrutinizing her with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "How… how old is Ealdfæder?" he asked cautiously.

Luna flashed him her sharp teeth. "Does it matter? He knows this world."

Ollivander shuddered.

"When–?" he didn't dare to finish his question.

Luna hummed, her eyes searching the ceiling.

"He lived at Hogwarts about a thousand years ago," she revealed, sounding quite disinterested.

Ollivander gulped. Luna blinked.

"Don't worry," she said. "He's quite nice. He's been helping me to figure out the world and my place in it."

"I'm pretty sure that it should have been the others who should have thought about that, Fair Child," the wandmaker remarked. "Not you."

That elicited a soft smile from Luna. "I appreciate your candidness."

Ollivander laughed roughly.

"You truly are a Fair Child," he said and shook his head in amusement.

At that moment, the door opened and some Death Eaters stepped through. Luna hummed, her eyes settling on one and then on the next Death Eater. "It seems that you two seem to amuse yourself just fine," one of them said with a sneer in his voice. Luna's eyes immediately turned towards the speaker, her gaze looking through the man, instead of fixating on him.

"I know you," she said thoughtfully. "You were at the Department of Mysteries. We battled."

The Death Eater Luna had picked out, stopped mid-step and then stared at her. "How would you know I was there or not?" he countered, his hand going to his mask.

Luna hummed. "Do you want to tell me you weren't?" she inquired dreamily. Next to her, Ollivander shuddered and took a step backwards.

That drew the attention of one of the other three Death Eaters. "Anything to say, wandmaker?" the Death Eater asked with a sneer.

"Don't lie," Ollivander countered and shuddered again. "Don't threaten. Be polite and don't speak your name."

At that, more than one Death Eater snickered. "Were you hit on the head one time too often within the last few weeks, wandmaker?" one of them commented full of amusement.

The man who had been recognized by Luna snorted, too. "I am Adelfonsus Mulciber." He said and looked at Luna.

"And I am Gunther Avery," the man next to him said, a sneer audible in his voice. For a moment, both men waited, looking in insincere curiousness towards Luna. When the girl did nothing but hum, Mulciber turned towards Ollivander with a smirk.

"Nothing happened," he said amused. Ollivander was staring at him, face pale like a ghost and shivering. "Guess we don't have to fear her hearing our names."

"Which also means that the rest you cautioned about is most likely nonsense as well," Avery added amused. Ollivander peered at Luna who had started to hum nearly silently to herself, seemingly uninterested in the happenings around her.

The other Death Eater's snorted and then turned towards Ollivander. "Now, that's over," one of them said. "Are you willing to be of service to the Dark Lord, now, wandmaker?"

"Of service?" The Ravenclaw girl's ethereal voice could be heard before Ollivander could even think about answering.

"He's going to work for our side, little girl," Avery said amused. "Just like your father will since we have you."

"Daddy usually doesn't follow demands that easily," she said thoughtfully. "And I think that you might be offending Ealdfæder more than Daddy by keeping me."

Avery sneered and then leaned down towards Luna. "Be careful, little girl. Dancing with the fairies might be fine at Hogwarts – but you aren't there anymore. So, be careful how you act," he said icily. "Else I might visit you at night for some fun."

Luna hummed again. "Is that so?" she asked thoughtfully, then she crooked her head and her eyes sharpened. Her gaze met Avery's. A cold breeze swept through the room they were in, bringing the smell of snow and ice. "Have you ever gone and searched for faeries, Gunther Avery?" she asked, her eyes settling on the man, her voice spacy and ethereal. "You might want to look for a faerie ring and step through. Mayhap that will ensure that you will gain the service you crave."

Ollivander paled even further.

The other Death Eater's laughed, clearly distracted by the girl's words.

"I guess we can give you some more time to think about our offer, Ollivander," one of the other Death Eater's decided while Avery opened the door and walked out. "You seem to fear that girl more than us. Maybe you will be willing to follow our Lord just to get away from her in a few weeks."

With that, they followed Avery out of the door.

Ollivander swallowed.

"A faerie ring?" he asked. Luna blinked.

"Why not?" she asked. "He was the one who mentioned that I'm dancing with the faeries."

There was a second of silence, then she added thoughtfully, "I'd really love to know how long it'll take him to find one out there."

For a moment, Ollivander stared at her, then he started to laugh uncontrollably and helplessly.

Luna crooked her head. "Was it something I said?"

…

"Where are you going now that we saved you, Luna?" Harry asked, watching the slightly dotty looking girl in front of him. Luna was looking up at the night sky, her eyes searching the sky as if she expected to see something there that Harry couldn't see. "What are you going to do?"

"Do?" Luna asked and then hummed. "Should I be doing anything?"

"Will you stay here at Shell Cottage?" Harry said and looked at the stars as well. "With Ollivander? Or will you go somewhere else?"

Luna hummed, her voice a low, carrying, ethereal tune – more a hummed song than an answer.

"I might stay for a while," she finally decided. "Ollivander promised to make me a wand. I will have to train with it first, for a while, but after, I will go back."

"Back?" Harry repeated.

"Back to Hogwarts," Luna said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You want to go back to Hogwarts while it's in the hands of the Death Eaters?" he asked in disbelief.

Luna crooked her head.

"It's still Hogwarts," she said as if nothing else mattered. "It was Ealdfæder's home and it is close to being mine, too."

Harry frowned. "Is it worth your life?" he asked, his eyes full of concern. "You're a target now that you fled from Malfoy manor. The Death Eaters will most likely try to catch you again. If you go to Hogwarts… then they will easily capture you a second time."

Luna hummed noncommittally.

"They won't do anything to me," she finally said calmly. "Don't worry, Harry Potter. I won't be in danger."

For a moment, Harry felt a slight tug inside his chest, then he dismissed the feeling of concern and shook his head instead. "Luna… Hogwarts is dangerous right now…"

Luna just hummed.

"Not for me," she countered, her eyes on the stars. "Not as long as Hogwarts is still Ealdfæder's home, at least." Then she closed her eyes. "It will always be his home, no matter what will happen in this world or any other."

Harry shook his head and then sighed – a bit frustrated with the girl in front of him. "Luna," he said slowly. "Maybe… maybe you should stay here… where it's safe, you know? I mean… I guess you can defend yourself… but… but these are Death Eaters. Death Eaters and Voldemort. They won't show any mercy. They will just kill you and –"

"Nothing will happen to me, summer sprog," Luna countered and smiled at Harry sweetly. "Don't worry about me, Harry Potter. I will stay safe."

Harry hesitated for a moment longer, but in the end, he decided to believe her.

"Shell Cottage will be open for you if you need a place to lay low," he said. "Bill and Fleur promised."

Luna looked at him dreamily.

"That's fine," she said and then turned around to walk towards the ocean. "See you on the flip-side, Harry Potter."

And with that, she walked away into the night, leaving Harry behind.

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…

"Magutúdor mín," Ealdfæder greeted her and held out a hand towards her. Luna took his hand and curtsied. "Ealdfæder," she said happily, her silver eyes meeting his silver ones.

For a moment, Ealdfæder looked her over in concern. Luna smiled and then twirled for him. "Did you know that there are some people outside who think Death Eaters are stupid?" she asked happily. "The wandmaker was fairly horrified that I was taken to keep my father quiet."

Ealdfæder hmm'd.

"Is that so?" he said thoughtfully. "I can't remember ever meeting someone like that."

Luna shrugged. "They seem to be rare," she offered, before changing the subject. "The summer sprog didn't want me to return to Hogwarts."

At that, Ealdfæder's eyebrows furrowed.

"Hogwarts is safe for you," he said. "So why did he want you to stay away?"

Luna crooked her head thoughtfully. "It could be the wrackspurts," she offered. "He's been getting worse and worse, it seems."

"We really should find a way to get rid of them then," Ealdfæder concluded. "They will take the summer sprog down if we're not careful – and a summer sprog in their hands… it'll most likely lead to the sprog's demise."

Luna nodded sagely.

"I would be sad if the summer sprog died," she said, a bit disheartened. "But he's untrained, and I have no idea how to help him learn as long as the wrackspurts have a hold on him. I tried my best, but I think he has never understood what I tried to teach him until now."

Ealdfæder sighed. "You're still a child, Magutúdor mín," he pointed out, "You shouldn't teach anybody. I should have been the one to teach him."

Luna just sighed.

"But he ignores most of the portraits of Hogwarts," she said and looked around the meadow they were standing in. "He doesn't seem to realise that there's more to magic than just what he's taught. Just like he doesn't seem to understand that there's more to some of the portraits."

"It's a terrible trait to have," Ealdfæder agreed with a sigh. "But being stubborn and therefore sometimes rigid is so… winter."

Luna nodded and then shook her head. "I guess I should be happy that I inherited the good things then," she said with a frown. "Being rigid has to make life really hard, sometimes. I wonder how he does it."

"He's a summer child of winter's descendance," Ealdfæder countered. "He was bound to inherit at least something from winter – just like you, who are fickle like summer even if you're a winter's child for the most part."

For a moment, Luna thought that over, then she nodded slowly. "I guess I can understand that."

She hummed and then looked towards the woods in the distance. "That doesn't mean that I can understand how someone can be rigid like him, though. The world is far easier to take if you adapt to everything that it throws at you and not just to the things you are shown to be true."

Ealdfæder sighed.

"There's always good and bad in every character trait," he reminded her. "And just because you two are different in that way doesn't mean that you aren't the same in many other ways."

Luna nodded. "Of course not," she agreed. "He's a summer sprog and I am a winter's child. We're the same just by the fact that we share a heritage like that."

Ealdfæder smiled. "Bring him by whenever you have time," he said. "Mayhap we will be able to do something against those wrackspurts together."

Luna curtsied.

"Farewell, then, Ealdfæder," she said and held out her hand for him. He took it, pulled her closer so that he could place his hands on her cheeks and then kissed her forehead.

"Farewell, my daughter," he said. His lips touched her forehead. Golden sparkles surrounded them and the next moment, Luna was standing in front of Ealdfæder's portrait. "Don't let the Death Eaters catch you." There was a malicious smile on Ealdfæder's face.

Luna returned his smile with a bloodthirsty one of her own.

"Did you like my present, by the way?" she asked. "I might have some more for you in the upcoming weeks."

"I adored it," Ealdfæder assured her. "It was a good choice in return for your obligation."

Luna smiled.

"I just started," she said. "You gave me three pieces, after all." Her hand reached for the necklace he had given her. "It is just that I return for each an obligation of their own."

And with that, she turned and walked away humming, not bothered by one of the Carrow siblings who rounded the corner. For a moment, the Carrow looked at her with a frown, then, he shook his head and mumbled something akin to "Fata morganas" and continued his way as if Luna wasn't there.

…

Luna was hurrying down the steps of the castle after she had shown Harry Potter the Ravenclaw statue and with it the diadem of Ravenclaw.

Outside, the Death Eaters were trying to get in, but Luna knew that there were other dangers lingering at Hogwarts.

She rounded a corner, just to be grabbed by harsh hands. She looked up and into the face of a boy she hadn't seen in two years ever since he finished Hogwarts.

"What are you up to, Loony?" Graham Montague said and leered at her.

"Why are you in the castle?" Luna countered.

Montague grinned. "You're not going to ask how I got here?" he wanted to know, his grin evil and his eyes travelling over her body.

Luna hummed, clearly unimpressed. "The Carrows let you in. They're hoping for your help to find the summer sprog."

"Summer sprog?" Montague repeated with a sneer.

Luna waved her hand. "Your Dark Lord's adversary," she answered unbothered when Montague dragged her closer.

"Potter," Montague said and rolled his eyes. "You could just name him, Loony."

Luna raised her delicate eyebrow at him. "I don't name people I like," she said. "I'm not that uncultured."

Montague scoffed.

"But you name them to their faces," he countered.

"Just as long as they haven't named themselves to me," Luna said. "The moment they do, I won't name them anymore. I was raised to be courteous, after all."

Montague scoffed. "I should have guessed that you're even more loony than what I suspected already."

He looked Luna up and down.

"On the other hand, you grew up looking good," he said, leering at her. "Maybe I could have some fun with you while the Dark Lord brings down Potter and his friends. I bet nobody will miss you until after everything is over."

Luna sighed.

"You shouldn't have come here," she said, her voice full of sadness.

"No," Montague said and pulled her closer towards him. His free hand reached around her to grope her. "You shouldn't have come, Loony. You vanished from the dungeons in Malfoy manor. You shouldn't have come here just to fight."

"Ealdfæder loves this school," Luna said and reached for Montague's wandering hand. "I wouldn't dare to leave it to its fate without me there to guard it."

Montague snorted and pulled her closer, his thick fingers closing around her waist.

"What do you think you can do against the Dark Lord, Loony?" he asked with a sneer. "Especially if you can't even do something against me. Admit it, you're in my hands right now – and you will be whatever I like you to be for me."

One of his hands wandered places.

Luna sighed and reached out towards Montague's fingers.

"Shouldn't you have learned your lesson already?" she asked with a sigh.

Montague leered. "Oh, I learned," he said. "I know now how to have fun with girls like you."

Luna shook her head. Montague reached towards her blouse, but then Luna's slender fingers closed around his thick ones. She closed her fingers around his hand. For a second, Montague laughed, but then his hand opened against his wishes.

"You should have listened," she said calmly and forced Montague's arms apart, her slender figure escaping their prison without Montague being able to counter Luna's strength. With a single step and a turn she was out of his reach and facing him.

Montague scowled and then pulled his wand on her. "If that's so, then I'll do it the other way," he declared. A sickly yellow light escaped his wand tip, but Luna just twirled out of its way when it came towards her.

"I warned you," she said dreamily. "But sadly, you seem to prefer to listen to the wrackspurts." Then she crooked her head thoughtfully. "On the other hand, I can't see any wrackspurts near you. Mayhap your Dark Lord owns some Heliopaths?" She hummed. "That might be the case. Otherwise, I can't fathom why so many people follow someone as unreasonable as him. Being obsessed with his word thanks to the Heliopaths in his possession would explain it…"

Montague turned red in the face, fury twisting his visage into grotesque ways. "Heli-thingies aren't real, Loony," he said through clenched teeth and then pointed his wand at Luna again. A purple spell hurled at her and missed her when she danced aside.

"Heliopaths are of course real," she countered. "I've seen some already."

"Go and dance with the fairies, Loony!" Montague countered and this time, he straight out went for a Cruciatus Curse.

Luna hummed and sidestepped with a pirouette.

"Would you like to come with me?" she asked and then looked towards his face. Montague scoffed and tightened his hold on his wand.

"The only thing I will do is make you scream – one way or another," he threatened.

At that, Luna laughed. Her laugh echoed like ethereal bells through the hallway, her voice clearer and a lot more inhuman sounding than any other voice at Hogwarts.

"Come with me, Graham Montague, Heir of Montague," she said and a cold wind blew through the corridor. "Come and follow me!"

Montague stared at her. Then his wand clattered onto the floor and he nodded. "I will follow you," he said. "Wherever you want to go."

And when she turned and walked down the hallway, he followed. Within seconds, the corridor was empty, the only thing left was Montague's wand.

He would never pick it up again.

…

"Miss Lovegood!" Filius Flitwick hurried after the girl walking down the hallway.

He knew that the young Ravenclaw wouldn't be safe at Hogwarts as long as the Carrows were still there. He shuddered to think what they'd do to the girl if they found her.

"Miss Lovegood!" the girl turned and looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

"Professor," she said calmly.

"Miss Lovegood, what are you doing here?" Flitwick asked grimly. "If the Carrows –"

"I'm a student here," Lovegood said dreamily. "As long as I am a student, they can't do anything to me."

Flitwick sighed. "I doubt that those two Death Eaters will care that you are a student, Miss Lovegood," he said. "Not to mention their helpers – current and former Slytherins – who will hurt you when they see you."

Lovegood frowned and then looked towards another student who was standing next to her motionlessly.

"Is he one of those?" she asked full of interest.

Flitwick turned his attention to the other boy and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Mr Montague," he said, feeling his heart sink when he understood that the girl had already been caught and that he himself would most likely suffer the consequences for his actions right now, too, the moment the boy reported to the Carrows.

To his surprise, Montague didn't react at his name being called.

Lovegood hmm'd thoughtfully.

"I guess that's a yes, then," she decided, unbothered by the fact that Montague was acting like a statue.

"What… Miss Lovegood," Flitwick said, a bit taken aback by the way both students acted. "What happened to Mr Montague?"

"Hmm?" Lovegood turned and looked at Montague. "Did anything happen to him? He looks normal in my eyes." Her eyes roamed over the other boy's body as if searching for something out of place on him.

"He's not reacting, Miss Lovegood," Flitwick pointed out, trying to keep calm for the girl's sake. "That's anything but normal."

Lovegood crooked her head.

"So, I did something wrong while naming him?" she asked and scratched her cheek. "How do people act normally, after they are true-named?"

"True… named?"

The Ravenclaw girl nodded as if what she had been saying wasn't unusual at all. "That's what I did," she assured her teacher. "It's the first time I true-named someone, but Ealdfæder made it sound as if it was all instinct and if I trusted my instincts, I wouldn't be able to do anything wrong."

Then she looked thoughtfully at Montague. "You think that I did something wrong, Professor?"

Flitwick blinked and then looked at the blond-haired Ravenclaw before he looked at Montague.

"You… you're the reason for this?" he asked, not sure what he should think at all.

"Hmm?"

"Montague? You're the reason why he isn't acting like usual, Miss Lovegood?"

Luna looked at Montague and then at Flitwick, crooking her head to the side while her eyes narrowed.

"Does it matter?" she asked. "He's mine now. How he acts won't matter from now on, will it?"

Flitwick opened his mouth to object, but he closed it again when he saw the young Ravenclaw's eyes gleaming silver in the dusky hallway.

He might not be a full goblin, but he knew those eyes that looked like quicksilver.

He took a step back.

"I guess it doesn't," he agreed, mentally taking a step back, too. There were some things even goblins didn't cross.

… … … … … … … … … … …

…

Luna was hopping down the stairs which were behaving for once. Instead of the stairs changing randomly, they smoothed the way for Luna and her companion.

"Magutúdor mín."

Luna stopped and looked at the portrait hanging next to the stairway.

"Ealdfæder!" she exclaimed happily.

Ealdfæder raised an eyebrow at her and then looked around. "What's going on, Magutúdor mín?"

Luna crooked her head.

"Have you heard that there's a battle going on, here at Hogwarts?" she asked Ealdfæder.

The man frowned.

"A battle?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "Here, at Hogwarts?"

There was something protective in his voice, something that bordered a bit on feral.

Luna hummed, her eyes flashed silver.

"Yes," she said. "There's a rumour that a descendant of yours is our adversary."

"My descendant?" Ealdfæder raised an eyebrow. "The summer sprog?"

Luna crooked her head. "You think he's your descendant?"

"Most likely," Ealdfæder agreed. "He's a summer sprog of winter's descendant, you're a winter child of summer's descendant. You, just like me and the summer sprog are born of both seasons. That's not usual; that's not normal – especially not in this world. He has to be one of mine, just like you are."

Luna nodded thoughtfully.

"The summer sprog is not the adversary," she said.

"Another summer sprog? A winter child?" Ealdfæder asked with a frown.

Luna shrugged.

"Don't shrug."

Luna inclined her head. "Of course, Ealdfæder," she agreed. For a moment, Luna and Ealdfæder looked at each other, then Luna returned to the previous topic.

She hummed. "I doubt the adversary is either a summer sprog or a winter's child," she said. "While I heard that snakes talk to him, from what I heard, he doesn't conduct himself like the Fair and Beautiful at all."

Ealdfæder hummed, his voice having the same pitch like Luna's had just a moment ago. There was something ethereal, supernatural in the tone of his voice.

"So most likely, he's not one of us," he said calmly.

Luna blinked slowly. "How'd you know that I am right and that he isn't one of us just by my words alone?" she inquired full of interest.

"You would have known if he was," Ealdfæder said. "There's something in us that will call out to us whenever we meet someone like us. If you met him, even for a moment, and didn't feel it, then he is neither fair nor beautiful."

Luna hummed, then nodded decisively. "I met him once," she said. "I didn't feel anything."

"So, he's not my descendant – at least not in any way that matters," Ealdfæder said.

Luna agreed with a nod.

"You said he's attacking Hogwarts?" Ealdfæder asked her then.

"In your name," Luna said. Ealdfæder's face twisted in a mix of fury and disgust.

"Hogwarts is home," he said coolly. "Hogwarts is mine."

Luna clicked her tongue. "I guess I will have to help and do something about that, then."

"You're my daughter, Magutúdor mín," Ealdfæder agreed. "It's your duty."

Luna inclined her head and then exposed sharp teeth.

"That it is," she said happily. "And I will make you proud!"

With that, she curtsied and hopped away happily, still followed by her human shadow.

…

"What are you doing here, little girl?" A man's voice asked her and Luna turned around to look at the mask of a Death Eater. She crooked her head and then raised one of her eyebrows.

"Am I not allowed to be here?" she asked.

The Death Eater scoffed. "I thought you'd be more interested in hiding after we held you prisoner in Malfoy manor."

Then his gaze landed on Montague who was standing behind her motionless. "And what are you doing, Montague? Didn't you say you'd put her in her place if you ever met her again?"

Luna followed his gaze to the young man behind her. Then, she looked back at the Death Eater and shrugged. "He won't answer you," she said matter-of-factly.

The man's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, he won't answer me, little girl?" he asked with a snarl. "He's not your toy. He will do whatever he wants!"

At that, Luna smirked.

"Oh, but he is," she said cheerfully. "I like him. Isn't he sweet the way he waits for my commands?"

The Death Eater's eyes narrowed, he raised his wand, ready to throw a curse at the slender girl in front of him, when she threw a curve ball at him by humming and then speaking. The tune of her hum carried like the toll of a bell, but more sweetly than anything else in the world. "How is your comrade? Gunther Avery was his name, I think?" Her lips twisted in the resemblance of a bloodthirsty smile.

The Death Eater growled, his wand lowered again, distracted by that new point of irritation.

"He vanished without a trace after he talked to you, little girl," he said and then stepped closer to her. "Are you implying you had something to do with the fact that he vanished?"

Luna shook her head sadly.

"You still don't understand why the wandmaker was paying me respect, do you?" she asked and her silvery eyes narrowed when she looked through him. "It's odd. You wizards always seem to know this much – but not one of you has ever thought me dangerous."

The Death Eater snorted.

"You? Dangerous?" he asked amused before he added. "There are more dangerous bunnies out there than you!"

"Is that really what you believe, Adelfonsus Mulciber?" The Death Eater shuddered when Luna's voice gained an echo, suddenly sounding far more supernatural than it had ever before. Luna smiled, her lips opened, revealing far too many sharp, pointed teeth; her canine teeth seemed to be especially elongated and sharp.

Her irises swirled, the silver in them turning liquid like quicksilver, spreading over her eyeballs until only the slightest bit of white could be seen at the corners of her eyes. Her pupils narrowed into slits, leaving only a flickering bit of black behind.

The Death Eater's eyes narrowed behind his mask. He shuddered and then every motion of his body stilled. His muscles relaxed.

Luna crooked her head at him thoughtfully. "Defend us and follow me," she said, her voice as clear and cutting as glass.

"As my lady commands," Mulciber immediately agreed. Luna nodded to herself and then turned around to walk down the steps of the castle and out onto the grounds.

She was walking towards the forest when another Death Eater stepped into her way.

"Montague, Mulciber, what are you d–?"

The Death Eater stopped mid-sentence, his hand reached for his mask, removing it with a single wave of his hand. His eyes were wide and fixed on Luna. He paled.

Luna smiled, her pointed teeth on sharp display in her mouth.

"No," he whispered and paled further. "No… no… please… have mercy!"

Luna crooked her head. "Have you ever heard that winter has mercy on anybody?" she asked calmly. The Death Eater shuddered, recognition and fear in his gaze.

"You lived among humans," he said. "You should –"

"I am still of winter," Luna countered her eyes, meeting his. "I am cold – far colder than summer."

The Death Eater shook, but he didn't even try to attack her, as if part of him was already resigned to his fate. "Please… please… no, please…"

"Too late is too late, Rodolphus Lestrange," Luna said, her smile widening. "Now, come with me. Let me take you home."

The man's body relaxed when the enchantment took a hold of him.

"If that is your wish," he agreed.

"This is my wish," Luna said calmly.

"Another one of your gifts, Magutúdor mín?" an amused voice asked behind her.

Luna turned and beamed at the man with silver eyes who had stepped up so that he was nearly next to her now. "Ealdfæder!" she exclaimed happily. "Aren't they pretty?"

Ealdfæder hummed and turned to look first at Lestrange then Mulciber and Montague over.

"They're certainly interesting," he agreed and then looked at the boy who was standing next to her. "And who is he?"

Luna turned and then looked at the boy.

"Oh," she said happily. "That's Montague. He's mine, by name and deed and the food on his lips."

Ealdfæder looked in her direction proudly.

"You've grown, Magutúdor mín," he said. "You're honouring your line."

Luna beamed.

"Will you tell me then why I have to keep it unnamed then?" she asked.

Ealdfæder looked at Lestrange and Mulciber with a bloodthirsty smile of his own. "Because of me," he confessed. "I am the first of your line. My mother was of summer's Court, my father was of winter's." His eyes flickered towards Luna without even trying to make eye contact. "I am known in this world," he said. "I am feared here."

Luna hummed and then looked at the two Death Eaters.

"Do you think so?" she asked. "Still? After all these years? I mean, wizards live such a frighteningly short life – don't you think they might have forgotten?"

Ealdfæder crooked his head thoughtfully. "I think there are still rumours about the village I burned when I was annoyed with some of them."

Lestrange gulped, his eyes widened while the enchantment still held him in place. Mulciber on the other hand, just like Montague, didn't react at all.

Luna meanwhile looked thoughtful. "Did they try to true name you?" she asked, clearly seeing that as a reason for burning down a village.

Ealdfæder smiled, his teeth as sharp and pointed as Luna's.

"I don't let anybody true name me," he countered. "I gave them a name to call me – and they listened. It's been a thousand years, but after the village, they all listened."

Luna hummed. "So… that's why they call you Slytherin, Ealdfæder?" she asked thoughtfully. "And that's why I had to keep my line unnamed?"

"Slytherin?" Lestrange repeated, gurgling the words and nearly sounding like he was drowning by just hearing the way Luna and Ealdfæder talked to each other.

"That's what I was called," Ealdfæder agreed, his silver eyes turning towards Lestrange first before turning and meeting Mulciber's eyes.

Mulciber shuddered and nearly collapsed into himself at that look.

"He's not the strongest one out there, is he?" Ealdfæder asked with a frown.

Luna shrugged.

"Don't shrug!"

For a moment, Luna pouted, then she shook her head and sighed, before she returned to the topic at hand. "He gave me his name out of his own free will," she said. "I'm not sure how much strength you need to dare something like that."

"It could have been stupidity," Ealdfæder countered.

"Too true," Luna agreed, not even put out by his suggestion. "But then, it needs strength to be that stupid, too."

"True enough," Ealdfæder conceded and then looked at the Death Eaters standing in front of them. "And what about the other? Did he give you his name out of his own free will, as well?"

Luna hummed in agreement.

"But he knew what was coming the moment he saw me," she said. "Which makes him less likely to be stupid, you know?"

Ealdfæder nodded thoughtfully. Before he could comment, though, a few other Death Eaters saw them and raised their wand to curse them.

Ealdfæder sighed and wiped away their spells with a single hand motion. He looked around and then back at Luna.

"I saw that there's some kind of fight going on," he said and pulled out a mirror from one of his pockets. It showed the inside of the castle and some students fighting against some Death Eaters. Luna wondered if his portrait was currently showing the Forbidden Forest as a background or if he had it enhanced so that it still showed the meadow like normally.

"There is," Luna agreed and looked at the Death Eaters who were approaching them. Then she looked at Ealdfæder and the man standing beside him. While the man was wearing a tunic and trousers in forest green, he was still recognizable as Gunther Avery.

She crooked her head.

"Did you bring him deliberately?" she asked.

Ealdfæder hummed. "I thought I'd see how he would do on the battlefield," he said. "Our wars are a bit too much for him right now, but this? I really want to see how he will do here."

At that moment, a new volley of spells came towards them from the Death Eaters who were still approaching. Ealdfæder sighed and then flicked his fingers, returning their spells to the sender.

Luna smiled.

"I hope he will be to your satisfaction," she said happily, not paying heed to the Death Eaters that had their spells returned by Ealdfæder, before nodding towards Mulciber and then Lestrange. "Do you want to test them here, too?"

Ealdfæder looked at the other two.

"Keep that one," he pointed to Lestrange. "He might be a good loyal servant to you later on. I will take the other one as a fulfilment of your obligation, though, daughter of mine."

Luna beamed.

Ealdfæder reached out towards her, cupped her cheeks and then kissed her forehead.

"And now," he eyes travelled up towards the castle. "Let's see what people who decided to challenge the Fae by attacking part of what is ours will fair against our anger."

Luna hummed and then looked at the Death Eaters who had cast spells at them and who were now nothing but dead husks on the ground.

"I think they won't fare that well," she decided.

Ealdfæder smirked. "We will see."

…

Ginny was cornered. Two Death Eaters had managed to separate her from her allies and were now in the process of trying to take her down.

And, no matter how much Ginny wanted to deny it, they were winning. One of them had already clipped her and soon, she would lose. She was good – a mean duellist – but she was still less experienced than the Death Eaters who were trying to kill her. Until now, only luck had kept her alive.

Then, a figure seemed to literally materialize from the shadows next to her.

The man – green robes and looking more like a Slytherin than an ally – clicked his fingers. The Death Eater to her right collapsed wheezing. For a moment, he seemed to be able to calm his breathing, then the Slytherin next to Ginny flicked the hand he had used to click and the Death Eater gasped for air, shuddered and then stilled on the floor.

Ginny turned wide eyes towards the other Death Eater, wondering why he hadn't stepped in to help his colleague, just to see him on the floor, his eyes wide and lifeless.

Next to him, Luna was standing to the right of Rodolphus Lestrange.

Ginny shuddered and tried to get one with the wall behind her.

Luna on the other hand didn't seem to be disturbed by Lestrange's attendance at all.

"Luna," Ginny said slowly. "Are… are you okay?"

Luna crooked her head full of confusion. "Why shouldn't I be?"

Ginny looked at Luna and then at Lestrange. The man was standing next to Luna, not reacting at all even when Ginny talked. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him and then looked back at Luna. "You're saying he's not keeping you prisoner?" she asked pointedly. "I mean, that's Lestrange we're talking about! I know he'd –"

"He's mine now," Luna interrupted her and smiled dreamily. "Isn't he pretty?"

Ginny opened and then closed her mouth. She gawked. "What?"

"He's quite pretty, Magutúdor mín," the Slytherin next to Ginny assured Luna as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Ginny turned and stared at the man.

"And… who are you?" she finally managed to ask.

The man crooked his head in a distinctive Luna-way.

"It's impolite to name yourself, bearn," he told her calmly. "I wouldn't disrespect you so, and neither would I do it to any student of this school."

Ginny blinked.

"Dis…respectful?" she asked slowly and quite a bit bemused.

"He's a Peer," Luna said as if it should mean something to Ginny. Ginny frowned, so Luna crooked her head in the same manner of the stranger and added thoughtfully. "One of the Gentry?" she offered. "The Fair and Beautiful?"

Ginny still stared at Luna as if she was mad.

Luna sighed.

"The Shining Ones," she said and when Ginny still looked blank, she shook her head and added. "The Fair Folk."

At least that was a name Ginny had heard before – even if it had been in stories and myths and legends, nothing true, nothing anybody believed.

"He's part of the Fae?" she asked and paled. She stepped away from the man. While her mother had always scoffed at her grandmother's tales, her father's mother had insisted on telling Ginny and her siblings about the Fair Folk and the dangers connected to them. Nevertheless, thanks to Ginny's mother Ginny had never really believed in faeries – just like nobody else in the magical world seemed to believe in them. Now, standing next to one of the Fae, Ginny couldn't help but feel wary; her mind conjuring up all those stories about the Fair Folk that her grandmother had told her when she was little. She knew the danger of the Fae. She remembered stories of kidnapping and slavery. She remembered stories about offended faeries.

"I wouldn't call us that," the man – the Fae – corrected Ginny in that. "Calling us by name means to call us to you."

Ginny's heart stopped.

Did she offend the Fae by calling his race by name? Would she be forced to give up her freedom to him, too.

"Don't give your name to the Fair Folk," her grandmother had warned her once. "Don't eat any food of the Fair Folk. Don't offend them. Don't thank them – they will see it as you being obligated to them…"

There was more, but Ginny was reeling and her fear stopped her from remembering.

At that moment, Luna hummed in agreement to Ealdfæder's claim. "But then, we're already there, so naming us doesn't matter that much right now," she offered up, unbothered by Ginny's world turning upside-down.

Ginny's gaze snapped into Luna's direction.

"Us?" she repeated.

What had she said to Luna? Had she given her freedom away to her friend by being careless with her words? Did the friendship she thought she had with Luna even matter to the other girl?

Luna hummed, while she inclined her head in agreement to Ginny's question.

"Of course," the man next to Ginny said. "Magutúdor mín is a fair child."

Luna curtsied. "How kind of you, Ealdfæder."

"Think nothing of it, daughter of mine," the man – Ealdfæder – immediately replied.

Ginny swallowed harshly.

"Luna… you… I…"

"Don't worry, Ginny Weasley," Luna said airly. "I know that you have different customs than we do. I did my best to fit into this world, after all."

Ginny gulped. "You… you did a good job?" she offered up, her sentence sounding more like a question than a reply, but Luna beamed at her anyway.

"How kind of you," the fair child exclaimed happily and then looked at Ealdfæder. "We did well."

Ealdfæder hummed in agreement before he suddenly turned towards Ginny and narrowed his eyes at her nose.

"Just one question, bearn," Ealdfæder said, his voice cool.

Ginny gulped but nodded. "I'm listening."

Ealdfæder hummed, then he asked, "why do you humans insist on disrespecting yourself?"

Ginny frowned. "I'm… not following?"

"You… and Brave-Heart and quite a few others seem to insist that people should look each other in the eyes," Ealdfæder said with a furrow on his forehead. "Neither Magutúdor mín nor I have ever found out why you want to be disrespected like that."

Ginny opened her mouth, gawked and then couldn't help but ask a question of her own. "That's what you want to know while we're in the middle of a battle?" she asked in disbelief.

Ealdfæder and Luna exchanged a look, then both of them nodded decisively.

Ginny stared at them for a moment longer, then her eyes went to the docile looking Lestrange, decided that the question wasn't the weirdest thing she had experienced in the last half an hour and answered.

"I… don't know?" she offered. "But… I think sometimes making someone look at you is… a powerplay?" She shrugged. "And sometimes we expect the other person to meet our eyes to see if they're sincere?"

Luna and Ealdfæder looked at each other, something akin to a revelation in their eyes.

"Oh!" Luna said happily. "So… the whole thing is about mental connections – either to fight or to portray your faithfulness!"

Ealdfæder hummed. "What an ingenious way to lessen the chance of battle," he commented and then his eyes travelled the battlefield.

Luna followed his gaze.

"I guess this is the perfect time to train?" she said happily.

Ginny's eyes widened. She didn't just let loose two Fae using the Mind Arts on unsuspecting Death Eaters, did she?!

"Luna, Ealdfæder, that's not what I mean–"

Sadly, she was too late. Luna and Ealdfæder – with Lestrange following them like a puppy – had already vanished.

When Ginny finally left her corner, the first thing she came across was a Death Eater who was sitting on the ground, crying his heart out, whispering things like "no more" and "Mummy, please make him stop".

Ginny stared at him for a moment, then she turned away. Not her circus, not her monkeys. Someone else should deal with the fact that two Fae had suddenly decided that meeting eyes was an invite for battle. She had done enough.

…

… … … … … … … … … … …

"The father now gallops, with terror half wild,

He grasps in his arms the poor shuddering child;

He reaches his courtyard with toil and with dread, –

The child in his arms finds he motionless, dead."

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 'Erlkönig' (translation by Edgar Alfred Bowring)

… … … … … … … … … … …

…

Harry was wandering the hallways after the final battle. He didn't know what to do.

He had seen the carnage. So many dead.

"How are you fairing, Harry Potter?" he stopped dead at that question and then turned to look at Luna. The slender Ravenclaw girl was standing next to a dark-haired man with silver eyes in a green tunic and trousers. Behind them, nearly hidden in the shadows stood a man who - Harry was sure - was wearing a Death Eater robe.

"I… think I'm going to be fine sometime in the future?" Harry finally offered, not too sure what Luna actually wanted.

Luna hummed and then looked up towards the man's face.

"Ealdfæder, this is the summer sprog," she said. "Harry Potter, this is Ealdfæder."

"Eald-what?" Harry repeated, not even sure if he could sound out that word.

Ealdfæder on the other hand scrutinized Harry without meeting his eyes and then nodded as if answering an unasked question. "He's definitely a summer sprog," he said. "But from the looks of it, a lot of his nature was blocked by the wrackspurts until a few hours ago."

Luna hummed. Harry on the other hand frowned and scrutinized the man in return.

"You're a relation of Luna, then?" he asked. The talk about wrackspurts made it a fair assumption in his eyes.

The stranger – Ealdfæder – hummed.

"We are related through her mother's line," he said. "Just like you and I are related through one of your lines, too."

Harry looked at the man in surprise. But… the dark hair of the stranger was looking a bit untamed and while it could have happened in the heat of the battle, if it was natural… then Harry could see that they might be related somehow.

Luna smiled at Harry. "Don't worry, now that the wrackspurts are gone, you should be able to return to your nature very soon," she assured him.

At that moment, the man behind them moved and Harry recognized him.

"Is that Rodolphus Lestrange?" he asked with a hiss.

Luna turned and looked at the Death Eater.

"He's mine now," she said happily and reached out to pat the Death Eater's head as if he was a dog. "Isn't he pretty?"

Harry had to admit that he was more surprised that Lestrange let her than feel concerned with the fact that Luna had called a Death Eater pretty.

He opened his mouth to say something, to tell Luna that she should step away from the man before he cursed her, when suddenly, gold-glowing chains flickered into existence. They were wrapped around Lestrange's throat and ended on Luna's wrist as a bracelet.

"Are… are those chains?" Harry asked and stared at the glowing connection between Luna and the Death Eater. The connection looked oddly pretty in Harry's eyes.

"Hmm?" Luna's eyes flickered towards the connection as well. "Oh, it's the enchantment," she said, her eyes tracking the chains just like Harry's had done. "He gave me his true name, so he is mine now."

Harry gulped.

"Does that mean I am yours, too?" he asked, suddenly concerned by the fact that she had named him just a few minutes ago.

"Oh, no," Luna said and waved it off. "You didn't name yourself. As long as you don't name yourself, there won't be any consequences, no matter if people know your name or not."

Harry guessed there was a good thing about being famous then. As far as he knew, he had never introduced himself to anybody.

"It'll also help if you just give them a name they can call you by," Luna said calmly. "Even though that's harder to play because most will offer their true name in return. Humans are odd like that, you know?"

Harry gulped and looked at the ceiling. His gaze followed an odd-looking creature floating there.

Ealdfæder hummed. "That's one of the wrackspurts that had you in their grasp," he said and Harry turned to look at him wide-eyed. "Don't you worry. They won't be able to keep a hold of you again. After you've cleansed yourself, it's usually hard for them to return. Not impossible, I fear, but daughter and I will teach you how to repel them long before they will be able to gain another foothold on you."

Then he crooked his head. "That is, if you let us teach you?"

Harry hummed. "What's the price?" he asked and Ealdfæder smiled a smile full of teeth.

"You're already learning. Don't you worry about the price. It's nothing you can't afford. If I teach you, I will call you son, just like Magutúdor mín will call you brother. That's the price you will pay, Byre mín."

Ealdfæder held out a hand. For a moment, Harry looked at him and then at Luna. Then his gaze travelled to the creature still floating just below the ceiling.

He clasped Ealdfæder's hand and felt when the geas took a hold of him. His irises widened, replacing the white in his eyeballs until only in the corners of his eyes, the white could be seen. His pupils narrowed into slits.

And then, the three Fae smirked at each other, their smiles bloodthirsty and their teeth sharp and pointed.

…

… … … … … … … … … … …

"Don't worry. You're just as sane as I am."

– Luna Lovegood

… … … … … … … … … … …

THE END

…

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

… … … …

I hope you liked it.

Over and out

Ebenbild.

… … … …

Old English:

Ealdfæder – grandfather / ancestor

Dohtor – daughter

Bearn – child

Magutúdor mín – my descendant / progeny / child

Byre mín - my son / descendant