Written for Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
Team: Wigtown Wanderers
Position: Chaser One
Prompt: The Shining
Additional Prompts: 3. (object) a cursed car, 8. (location) a haunted hotel, 13. (color) red
Word Count: 2694
Warning(s): Horror themes throughout, blood, supernatural
~MC4A Meta Data~
Stacked With: Quidditch League;FPC; BAON; StL; SIN; NC; PP; SoC; FF; RC; Star; Fence; ER; RoB; MLG; Cluster; T3; SN; FR; O3; RoIL; Ship; TY; Ship (Lunar Lion)
Individual Challenges: Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog (Y); Eating Cake; Lunar Era; Hold the Mayo (Y); Zukes of Hazard (Y); Bi Bi Bi (Y); Ship Sails (Y); Disabled (Y); Ethnic & Present (Y); Rowl in Her Grave; Neurodivergent (Y); Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Magical MC (x2) (Y); Red Wave (Y); Lovebirds; Can of Spite (Y); Behind Green Eyes (Y); Jump Scare
Representations: Desi Harry Potter/Luna Lovegood QPR; Road Trip & Hotel Stay
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Sweetest Burn; Second Verse (Esbat; Queen Bee; Shiver & Shake; Muck & Slime; Car in a Tutu; Found Family; Zucchini Bread; Not a Lamp); Chorus (Soul-Like; Turtle-Duck; Unicorn; Machismo; Pear-Shaped)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: RoIL (Exuviation); O3 (Orator; Oust); FR (Liberation); SN (Ameliorate); T3 (Thimble); TY (Āvāsa)
Warning(s): Horror themes throughout, blood, supernatural
~o0o~
Luna's car was cursed. Completely ignoring the fact that she—sorry—fae didn't technically have a license, faer car seemed to have just appeared one day with the sole intent to wreak mayhem on the psyche of anyone unfortunate enough to be sitting in the passenger's seat. It was quirky at first glance; looking like someone Frankensteined several cars together into a little blue, yellow, and red convertible. Totally Luna.
Harry never even suspected how evil it really was until they were twenty miles down the road and it was much too late to turn back.
It was six months after the war. Harry and Ginny kinda fell off, he still loved her, but more in the same way he loved Ron and Hermione. Breaking up still hurt and the world was still a mess. He needed to get away, but he spent almost a year on the Never-Ending Camping Trip From Hell with Ron and Hermione and wasn't exactly keen on cramming into another tight space with the pair. Ron's complaining and Hermione's nagging didn't appeal to him. Again. He loved them, but there was a reason he had his own place rather than being a third wheel for whatever mess they had going on.
A lot of time was actually spent with Luna, and fae would be over three, four times a week. Harry usually ended up cooking for faer, since fae could burn water, but honestly he didn't mind. He hated being Cinderella for the Dursleys, but after looking in his family vault, he found cookbooks that belonged to his father's side and a spice box kept fresh with very strong charms. It was fun to experiment with Punjabi recipes and Luna was always up to being a guinea pig, eating everything on faer plate even if the meal didn't turn out all that great.
Harry insisted his feelings wouldn't be hurt, but fae insisted that the love made every bite worth it.
So, when Luna suggested (or rather stated) that they go on a driving trip across Europe well… it beat having everyone stop him every five minutes to shake his hand and praise him for saving their lives, and if maybe he could ask that Granger girl to roll back some of her unorthodox ideas because, sure, the current system allowed Voldemort to rise to power in the first place, but they were also really comfortable with that system and—just—urgh!
Harry needed a holiday.
The car was not helping him relax the slightest bit. The seat refused to move back, leaving at least one or both shins pressed up against the dashboard. If he unbuckled his seatbelt while the car was in motion, even for a moment to reach the cooler or snack bag tucked in the much too small backseat, the car would just stop driving and refuse to move until all passengers were buckled up properly. And that was just the start of it.
Somehow it always ran out of gas, forcing them to walk back the twenty miles to the gas station they passed, despite having a near full tank that should have made it to the next gas station fifty miles away and then some.
Harry rubbed his neck and peered into the darkness outside. They were still a ways out from their destination in Norway. The car from hell seemed to be calmest on the ferry, but seemed upset that Harry got out to walk around.
He turned the radio back on.
"You said after that game Gators fans wouldn't have the guts to call, well I'm a Gators fan and I'm callin'!" said the twang of a southern American.
Harry toggled through the other stations, but as he found out at the start of the trip, that was the only station that worked and the same caller was having the same argument with the radio announcer for the past twelve hours.
"We'll be at our destination by morning," said Luna, tapping faer hands against the steering wheel. "We'll go aurora borealis hunting. If you're tired, we can stop."
"I'm alright," he said, smiling slightly. "I'm good to keep going."
Wrong thing to say. The car back-fired and spluttered, turning down a lane nearly hidden by foliage despite Luna's best efforts to turn it back to the main road.
"How dare you make a fool of me," Harry whispered.
The car finally gave out at the entrance to a tall, dilapidated hotel painted a bright yellow, eye-numbing even with only the moon's glow and a handful of buzzing sodium lights to illuminate it. The full moon was slowly disappearing with the start of a snowfall.
"Well, rest will do us good anyway," said Luna cheerfully. "Onward!"
Harry chuckled and nodded. Faer enthusiasm was contagious in any situation. Despite his kvetching, he really was having a good time. The hellish car made it easier to appreciate their stops in any instance. Even the impromptu ones.
The hotel would be fine. He'd stayed in worse conditions. Grown up in worse conditions.
Grabbing their suitcases from the boot that couldn't seem to close without the assistance of bungee cords, they entered the hotel and looked around.
It was actually pretty nice looking inside if you liked rustic, Viking inspired decor. A bit dusty, but Harry knew that even most wixen couldn't be bothered to dust the rafters. There was a massive fireplace, cushy chairs, ancient rugs; it almost reminded him of the Gryffindor Common Room except with more… dead animals.
Luna looked around in mild interest before approaching the concierge. No one was around but there were cubbies containing room keys. Fae tapped the bell, the sound higher and a bit louder than expected. When no one answered, Harry tapped it.
Nothing.
Luna started tapping on it rhythmically, bopping faer head. Harry chuckled.
"Kan jeg hjelpe deg?"
"Sweet Merlin!" Harry gasped, clutching his heart.
An older, severe looking woman stood there. She wasn't ancient, but her clothes certainly were. She reminded him of Professor McGonagall in a way.
"Hallo der," said Luna, launching into Norwegian. Fae spoke the language of every place they passed through yet refused to tell Harry how many languages fae spoke.
The woman responded, then switched to English when Harry looked familiar.
"We do not often get those just… passing through," she said. "You might do better seeking accommodations elsewhere."
"So, no vacancy?" Harry asked, then scowled. "Or do you think we're too broke to afford this place?"
"I have room here," she said, her eyes as pale and startling as Luna's. "There is always room for one more."
"Great, do you have a phone in case we need to call for a mechanic?"
She continued staring at him. For a solid minute, no one said anything before she turned and hovered her hands over the shiny keys, waggling her fingers as if not sure which one to give them. Harry didn't exactly need the finest suite, but he wasn't about to go sleep in the car from hell either.
Finally, she took one down and placed it on the counter top.
"We're just staying the night," said Harry, digging for his wallet.
"You leave when it decides you do."
"Ah, I see you have experience with temperamental cars too," said Luna, taking the key. "Room 666, lovely!"
Harry followed faer to the elevator. Fae pressed the up button and stepped back. The elevator shifted and groaned, then something red started gushing out from behind the closed doors. Both leapt back to avoid their shoes getting drenched in whatever the hell that substance was.
"Egh, I think you need to hire new maintenance!" Harry called and looked back for the old woman only to find she had decidedly vanished. Probably to go back to watching TV in the break room. "Whatever. I'm not paying for more than one night here. We'll get the car to our destination one way or another."
"That's the spirit," said Luna, taking his hand. "And the exercise will do us good after being cooped up in Sheila."
"Yeah… I'm not calling it Sheila."
They trekked up to the sixth floor only to find that the numbers were all wrong, each door beginning with a four. The next level down was number seven, the next level above that was number two. Finally, they found it on the third floor, which irritated Harry and even Luna seemed a bit peeved about that.
The room was pretty nice though. It had a sitting area, a television, and a bed big enough to fit the two of them. Harry doubted they would've been listened to if they asked for a room with two beds.
Thunk!
"OW!" Harry rubbed his shin and glared down at the coffee table that most certainly wasn't there a moment ago.
"Well that's quite rude," said Luna, pushing the table away with faer foot.
Harry set his suitcase down on the bed and Luna did the same, they both stepped into the bathroom to get ready for bed. The water came out kinda brown at first, but after a moment it ran clear. It tasted alright. A bit rusty. He was done washing his face before Luna and stepped out to put on his pajamas.
"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed.
Their luggage had been strewn about the room. With the extension charm there had been a lot more than usual and most—if not all of it—was now overturned. Harry drew his wand.
"Pack!"
It all funneled back into the proper place. Harry huffed and changed into his pajamas. He pulled the covers on the bed back and checked for bed bugs. Well, none of those. Probably because it was so cold.
"We're bugless!" he informed Luna.
"Wonderful," fae said, plaiting faer hair as fae left the bathroom. "I'm going to sit up and read for a bit."
"Go for it."
A muffled scream startled both of them. Harry frowned and looked out in the hallway, seeing a ghostly woman wander out of the adjacent room. She wailed and dragged her hands down her blood-stained face.
"Oi!" Harry hissed. "Do you have any idea what time it is? It's very late! Pick it up at eight!"
She stared at him, flabbergasted, then lunged forward with her claw-like hands slashing at him.
"Ehh!" he mocked and waved his hand, too tired to deal. "I better not have you screaming in my face at three in the morning or I'll be very cross!"
Slamming the door in her face, he strode back to bed and climbed in with a huff.
"Ghosts."
"Ghosts," fae agreed.
Harry settled down and rested his head against Luna's arm. Fae sat up reading for exactly thirty pages, as fae always did each night, before putting the book on the nightstand and turning off the lamp. The room wasn't completely dark. A small light powered by magic was left on Harry's side of the bed.
He wasn't sure when it started or if he always hated sleeping in the dark and just ignored the stab of fear in his chest, but since moving into his own place he had to have some sort of light on. It started with him leaving the bathroom light on, then plugging in a night light.
Luna had this little doo-dad from day one of their trip, silently setting it up without a word.
It was nice to have someone that didn't expect him to explain everything. Fae accepted things easily.
There was a loud, heavy knock. Harry rolled his eyes and put an arm around Luna, settling down for sleep. Must've been the furnace kicking on.
The knock came again, more insistent.
"Come back with a warrant!" Luna called out.
It stopped and Harry drifted off to sleep.
For a few hours anyway.
A nightmare plagued him, as they often did and he jolted awake, sweating. Even blurred without his glasses, he could see Luna's eyes were open. Fae dragged faer thin fingers through his hair, soothing him. He breathed deeply and frowned at an odd noise, quickly putting on his glasses to find the source.
The room seemed to be breathing, the walls pushing and pulling in and out, the ceiling stretching impossibly high before appearing to come so close as to squash them. The ceiling crackled as if long nails were scrabbling just on the other side trying to break through.
A voice whispered indistinctly and Harry flinched slightly as a few became clearer.
"Want to… kill. Kill… KILL!"
Luna sat upright.
"Now you stop that!" fae said sharply.
A figure pushed against the wall above their beds, stretching it as if it were made of spandex. Luna got up and grabbed a newspaper off the desk against the window. Fae rolled it up and smacked the figure three times.
"That's enough!" fae scolded and swatted the smoothly flat wall once more for good measure.
The whispering grew urgent as the walls began to ooze the same stuff from the elevator.
"GET OUT!" bellowed a voice that shook the very foundations of the hotel.
"You get out!" Harry snipped and crossed his arms defiantly. "Know what? I quite like it here, I think I may just stay forever and ever and ever. How do you like that?"
The ooze receded and the whispers ceased.
"That's better," Luna sniffed and laid back down next to Harry.
For about an hour, he lifted his head to scowl at every little noise, but once Luna's breathing softened and evened out, his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep.
Next time he woke was to the most horrific noise he ever heard in his life. Groaning, he rolled over and smacked off the shrill alarm clock.
"Whoever designed that sound should always be served lukewarm tea," he muttered and dropped his head back into his pillow. He frowned and rolled over to see a small child with grey skin and lidless eyes lying down between him and Luna. "Hey!"
"I said he could stay just for the night," said Luna without opening faer eyes. "He was scared."
The child chattered his teeth and disappeared into the mattress. Harry hummed and got up to use the loo.
"I hope they serve breakfast here," he said and opened the bathroom door.
A woman peered out at him from behind the shower curtain and gave him a becoming smile. He rolled his eyes and shut the door.
"Sure, take your time, it's not like I have to pee," he said. "Broads in bathtubs, I would've been fine with a mint on my pillow!"
He heard a slosh of water and opened the bathroom door to find it empty. He did what he needed to do and got dressed while Luna busied about getting their things back into their suitcases.
"Let's see if…" Harry sighed. "If Sheila is willing to take us the rest of the way."
Luna smiled serenely and nodded, quickly dressing.
Unfortunately, the hotel didn't even have a tea or coffee bar. Not even a coffee pot in the break room. The woman from yesterday looked quite stunned to see them return the key and almost refused to take it until shadows darkened on the walls and the still roaring fire spluttered dangerously.
"Come back soon," she gulped.
"We will!" said Luna cheerily, taking Harry's hand.
In the grey sunrise, cars could be seen in the parking lot, many with the air left out of the tires and covered with a casing of ice.
"Good morning, Sheila," he said, tapping the hood of the car from hell. "Ready to get going?"
The doors opened for them and ice shook itself off the car. Luna turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.
"Atta girl!" Luna praised.
They sat for a moment, waiting for it to warm up and looked back at the hotel. It shuddered and groaned before collapsing in on itself and withering away into nothing but a pit in the ground.
"Oh dear," said Luna. "I forgot my book in there."
"Pity," said Harry, switching on the radio.
"I'm just saying that I'm a Gators fan and I'm calling."
Harry screamed.