Encounter Nr. 3
It had been a rather eventless week. Luna sat in her classes and quietly absorbed those parts of the teachers' lectures that she thought were important. She nearly never took notes, but stared absentmindedly at the teacher or at the student in front of her and listened. Those around her suspected that she didn't pay any attention to classes at all, though that was an idiotic thing to think. How could Luna get her high grades, if not through paying attention?
The one class in which she always took notes was Potions. Not because it was especially difficult, but she had soon decided that a class with Snape was more pleasant when she scribbled into her notebook. Not that he would have been able to make head or tail of her notes had he taken a look at them. No one but Luna herself knew what clues the words she carefully printed into her book gave.
There was, for instance, her entry concerning Pollyjuice Potion:
i.4: Very thinly, i.5: Slowly, i.11: Don't forget.
And that was that.
No need to say that the inquisitive Slytherin, who unknowingly sat at the same desk during his Potions class and who found the notebook after she'd forgotten it on her desk after her Potions lesson, felt rather puzzled when he poked a look into it. When he saw whose notebook it was, he groaned. Two encounters with the crackpot were enough, yet now her notebook had had to fall into his hands!
After the lesson was over, Blaise approached Snape to give him Loony's notes, but the Potions Master didn't make the slightest move to relieve him of the burden. Instead, he told Blaise to bring the notes to 'Ms. Lovegood'. Sighing inwardly, Blaise left the classroom. No matter how much he'd liked to argue, he knew quite well that arguing with Snape would not get him anywhere.
On his way to the Great Hall, he resolved to make Loony pay for the errand he had been forced to run for her. He, Blaise Zabini, had to run after a student two years younger and as crazy as the rest of the school put together to bring her her notes she'd made so cryptic they could be no use and had which she'd dared to forget!
Fuming, he strode over to the Ravenclaw table, where she sat at the seat that was farthest from the teachers' table. Her wand sticking behind her ear, the Quibbler lying open in front of her, she ate and read at the same time. She did not notice him till he smacked the notebook right onto the Quibbler. Then she raised her dreamy eyes to his flashing ones and smiled.
'Hello Blaise! So it was you who had my notebook.' She said pleasantly. 'How nice of you to return it before the end of term!'
Puzzled, he met her innocent stare. 'What else should I be doing, Loony? Why the hell should I want to keep any book of yours any longer than necessary? You idiot forgot the notes in the Potions classroom and Snape made me return it to you.'
'Everyone else waits to return my things to me till the end of term.' Luna explained, while stuffing the notebook into her patched bag. 'This is a pleasant change.'
'Don't get used to it, Loony', Blaise sneered. 'I won't be bringing you any more books back if I can help it.'
'Don't worry', Luna answered brightly, 'I can handle it.' Her expression turned to that of slight interest. 'By the way, are you managing your little problem with your split personality?'
'The only one with a split personality here is you. In fact, you're absolutely cracked!'
'Ah, so you no longer live under the illusion that you're the Dark Lord? That is good!'
Blaise wasn't as surprised as he had been on earlier occasions when she blithely ignored his insults and doggedly pursued the subject she wanted to talk about. And it was time to change tactics, anyway. 'Yes, I discovered that I am not the Dark Lord, I am greater than him. How else could Evil Me have managed to enter Hogwarts in spite of all the wards?'
Ha! He got the satisfaction of seeing a look of utter perplexity cross Luna's features. His feeling of triumph was somewhat dampened, however, when she said: 'If you are evil, why did you return my notes to me?'
He flashed her a devious smile. 'It's all part of my sinister plan, Loony.'
He went, leaving behind an utterly bewildered Luna. What was he up to?
.
.
Luna has already memorised the ingredients and in which sequence she has to add them. She only notes the things she might forget to do when making the potion later on. For Pollyjuice Potion, she noted that she has to slice ingredient 4 very thinly, add ingredient 5 very slowly and not forget to add the 11th ingredient (because she nearly DID forget to add it during Double Potions).
It had been a rather eventless week. Luna sat in her classes and quietly absorbed those parts of the teachers' lectures that she thought were important. She nearly never took notes, but stared absentmindedly at the teacher or at the student in front of her and listened. Those around her suspected that she didn't pay any attention to classes at all, though that was an idiotic thing to think. How could Luna get her high grades, if not through paying attention?
The one class in which she always took notes was Potions. Not because it was especially difficult, but she had soon decided that a class with Snape was more pleasant when she scribbled into her notebook. Not that he would have been able to make head or tail of her notes had he taken a look at them. No one but Luna herself knew what clues the words she carefully printed into her book gave.
There was, for instance, her entry concerning Pollyjuice Potion:
i.4: Very thinly, i.5: Slowly, i.11: Don't forget.
And that was that.
No need to say that the inquisitive Slytherin, who unknowingly sat at the same desk during his Potions class and who found the notebook after she'd forgotten it on her desk after her Potions lesson, felt rather puzzled when he poked a look into it. When he saw whose notebook it was, he groaned. Two encounters with the crackpot were enough, yet now her notebook had had to fall into his hands!
After the lesson was over, Blaise approached Snape to give him Loony's notes, but the Potions Master didn't make the slightest move to relieve him of the burden. Instead, he told Blaise to bring the notes to 'Ms. Lovegood'. Sighing inwardly, Blaise left the classroom. No matter how much he'd liked to argue, he knew quite well that arguing with Snape would not get him anywhere.
On his way to the Great Hall, he resolved to make Loony pay for the errand he had been forced to run for her. He, Blaise Zabini, had to run after a student two years younger and as crazy as the rest of the school put together to bring her her notes she'd made so cryptic they could be no use and had which she'd dared to forget!
Fuming, he strode over to the Ravenclaw table, where she sat at the seat that was farthest from the teachers' table. Her wand sticking behind her ear, the Quibbler lying open in front of her, she ate and read at the same time. She did not notice him till he smacked the notebook right onto the Quibbler. Then she raised her dreamy eyes to his flashing ones and smiled.
'Hello Blaise! So it was you who had my notebook.' She said pleasantly. 'How nice of you to return it before the end of term!'
Puzzled, he met her innocent stare. 'What else should I be doing, Loony? Why the hell should I want to keep any book of yours any longer than necessary? You idiot forgot the notes in the Potions classroom and Snape made me return it to you.'
'Everyone else waits to return my things to me till the end of term.' Luna explained, while stuffing the notebook into her patched bag. 'This is a pleasant change.'
'Don't get used to it, Loony', Blaise sneered. 'I won't be bringing you any more books back if I can help it.'
'Don't worry', Luna answered brightly, 'I can handle it.' Her expression turned to that of slight interest. 'By the way, are you managing your little problem with your split personality?'
'The only one with a split personality here is you. In fact, you're absolutely cracked!'
'Ah, so you no longer live under the illusion that you're the Dark Lord? That is good!'
Blaise wasn't as surprised as he had been on earlier occasions when she blithely ignored his insults and doggedly pursued the subject she wanted to talk about. And it was time to change tactics, anyway. 'Yes, I discovered that I am not the Dark Lord, I am greater than him. How else could Evil Me have managed to enter Hogwarts in spite of all the wards?'
Ha! He got the satisfaction of seeing a look of utter perplexity cross Luna's features. His feeling of triumph was somewhat dampened, however, when she said: 'If you are evil, why did you return my notes to me?'
He flashed her a devious smile. 'It's all part of my sinister plan, Loony.'
He went, leaving behind an utterly bewildered Luna. What was he up to?
.
.
Luna has already memorised the ingredients and in which sequence she has to add them. She only notes the things she might forget to do when making the potion later on. For Pollyjuice Potion, she noted that she has to slice ingredient 4 very thinly, add ingredient 5 very slowly and not forget to add the 11th ingredient (because she nearly DID forget to add it during Double Potions).