The Forbidden Forest was dark as a cave and smelled of pine. It was a cool, crisp night. As Luna stepped into the forest, a leaf crunched under her shoe. She heard a pealing howl. Then a bunch of snarls. Ripping of flesh, a squeal of terror. A thud as something made a last-ditch attempt to get away.
The wolves had found prey. Luna hoped it wasn't the unicorns.
Her lantern necklace swung from her neck. She hummed Three Witches and a Broomstick without awareness.
From over the trees, she saw the shadow of an owl with parchment attached to its leg flying over the forest. She thought it must be wonderful to be capable of flying over the forest. It would make her job easier.
She imagined swooping over trees, glancing carefully down with nocturnal vision. Searching for a sea of white among the darkness. A tiny smile tugged on her lips.
With her equine-hunting compass in the pocket of her robe, she walked down the path. A sphinx crossed in front of her. Luna didn't see the woman face, just the hair, but the sphinx's lioness body was twisted in a harassed, irked posture.
A couple of minutes later, Luna saw a tree upturned at the roots, as if by a storm. A family of nifflers dug in the moist dirt. A few clutched gold coins in happy hands. Luna shook her head to herself, amazed they were awake so late. She had thought they were diurnal.
Further down the path, Luna discovered some wild-grown pumpkins that appeared dark purple in the starlight. They were close to the path but not on it, a patch of about fifteen of them in various sizes. An animal that looked like a fox with a tiger-striped wooly fur coat was gnawing into a pumpkin with curly teeth that reminded Luna of a guinea pig's teeth when they have not trimmed them with wood.
Several minutes after the pumpkins were no longer visible behind her, she almost got stung by one of Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts as it chased a mouse in front of her on the path in a mad, crazy dance. It kept thrusting its stinger at the mouse to murder it, nearly breaking into Luna's ankle in the process. It was only the presence of her steel anklet that blocked the stab. The prey was too swift for his predator.
After leaving the path, Luna ambled right into a giant hole. It smelled of fresh earth. She wondered what kind of creature would dig such a large hole and why. It was not too deep for her to climb out of, but her whole body was submerged. She easily shimmied herself up and over the slanted front wall.
Her body thrummed with anticipation. She arched her neck forward gracefully as her legs itched to run.
Long wings fluttered by Luna's right ear. She tilted her head and caught glimpse of a dragonfly lighting up like a firefly.
A tree glowing green and orange in the dark alerted Luna that the Harvest Moon was near. The Polyjuice Dream Tree was said to only exist in the wild and within a fortnight of the Harvest Moon. It was invisible during daylight, its presence only shown by black cats rubbing against what appeared to be thin air. At night, a bright green and orange outline of a skinny trunk with wide branches would appear. And the leaves—nearly heart-shaped and three inches—were bright orange and green. On the morning of the Harvest Moon, the tree trunk was invisible, but the leaves showed. Autumn orange and jade green. Appearing to hang unsupported in midair.
Luna paused her quest to admire and examine the Polyjuice Dream Tree. As she did so, she stood her rucksack on the ground. She checked her equine-hunting compass. It was pointing to the right. She wished she brought her keys, but she was sure she could find the unicorns without the whinnying key. And anyway, it'd destroy her element of surprise, which was why she hadn't brought it.
There was still a tiny part of her that fretted over the battle she heard when stepping inside the Forbidden Forest…but it couldn't be true. Her unicorns couldn't be so incredibly close only to be ripped to shreds before she could touch one. Life wasn't that unfair. Of course, the equine-hunting compass would work even if the unicorns were gone. But hope persevered.
Her shoulders were starting to throb. To heal them, she danced in the enchanting light of the tree. Before she began her dance, she made sure her Sneakoscope was working.
When she concluded her dance, she twisted her head and glimpsed a luminous white body stepping forward.
Her first thought was of a Patronus, but as the white silhouette encroached, she realized what it was.
A unicorn colt.
She reached in her rucksack and pulled out a carrot. She held it out on her palm.
The unicorn came closer then backed near a tree in the opposite direction. He eyed her from the corner of the tree, studying her movement. All of a sudden, he galloped straight at her, unleashing a whinny. When he reached her, he pressed his muzzle against her shoulder then darted off. It took Luna a second to realize he had snorted the carrot of her palm. So mesmerized by his closeness and the sweet way he'd rushed off with an arched invitation to follow. Biting noisily, he dropped bits of carrot in shrubs.
Knowing he wanted to play tag, Luna reached in her rucksack and removed her winged speedkers. She couldn't play tag with a colt without these shoes. They had robin's egg blue wings that could fly whoever wore them several feet above the ground, if the wearer desired. She kept the wings tucked in because she had no such desire. All she needed from the shoes was the horseflesh speed.
She also pulled out her Sneakoscope. Just in case a bad guy happened near.
Taking a deep breath, she readied herself.
Then she lunged at the playful white colt.
