Dumbledore heard a slight scuffling sound and turned round expectantly. A small piece of paper flittered down and landed by his hand.
Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter are approaching your door, with the intent of informing you of the absence of Luna Lovegood from the Marauders' Map. The pair will arrive as soon as you finish reading this note. Please tell them of Luna Lovegood's peculiar ancestry in regard to mythical creatures, and then ask them to contact her in regard to their questions.
There was a knock on the door, and the note crumbled to dust.
"Enter, Miss Weasley, Mr Potter."
The door opened and two startled faces peered in at him.
"Sorry, professor" began Ginny Weasley, overcoming her shock, "but we need to talk to you, urgently."
"Please take a seat," said Dumbledore, and leaned back in his chair, "I am completely at your disposal."
The two sat down in the comfortable chairs in front of his desk, and looked at each other. Harry Potter scratched his nose.
Ginny took a deep breath, and said, "Well, professor, I started to notice that Luna Lovegood was beginning to act a little strangely -"
"More strangely," muttered Harry, leaning back in his chair.
"– she had begun to disappear quite frequently, and really oddly. Obviously you can't apparate in Hogwarts, or on Hogwarts grounds, and yet one moment she would be there, in the middle of the room, and then next moment she would be completely gone.
"So suddenly I decided to go and check on Harry's map… but she wasn't on there."
"Which proves what, exactly?" Said Dumbledore, smiling calmly.
"Well, that Luna Lovegood is not in Hogwarts."
"No it doesn't."
"What?"
"I take it that this map that you were referring to is that of the Marauders' Map?"
"Yes, that's right," said Harry.
"Well then, you should know that it will never show Luna Lovegood, even when she is in Hogwarts."
"But," said Harry, argumentatively, "it shows everyone in Hogwarts… doesn't it?"
"No. Not Luna Lovegood. She is part Amadán."
There was complete silence.
"You see, this is where we need Hermione," said Harry, thoughtfully.
Dumbledore sighed. "The Amadán are a type of Irish faerie. They can cause death with the touch of a finger, and mostly appear in the moonlight and during the month of June.
"Somehow, Luna Lovegood has inherited from that part of her blood an odd gift. She cannot be tracked by magical means - that includes by your map, Harry."
"Oh."
"So… why hasn't she ever told me this?" said Ginny, somewhat hurt.
"Perhaps she's embarrassed, rather like you are about your basilisk extravaganza."
"Can't say I've ever seen one, must be someone else you're thinking of! Oh, sorry. Old reflexes, you know how it is."
Dumbledore, who could no longer walk past a sweet shop without diving in and buying most of their stock, and at the mention of the word "password" couldn't help shouting out various items of confectionary, smiled slightly.
Harry privately decided that Ginny Weasley had some issues.
"Perhaps," said Dumbledore, twinkling slightly, "it would be a good idea to ask Luna about these… mysteries."
When the two had closed the door, Dumbledore sank back into his chair and chewed a sweet reflectively. A moment later a tiny shred of a note fluttered down and landed on his desk. He leaned forward and read it.
Thank you. Apologies for the necessity of lying.
This note burst into blue flames.