Luna loved winter. The cold air stinging her cheeks in a way that would have made her unsure if she was too cold or too hot without the winter scenery to clue her in. The snow crunching beneath her feet as the sun glistened off it. The fragrance of the chilled air. Luna loved it all, and that didn't even include the best part of it all. Wrackspurts hated the cold, and the winter climate kept the majority of them away, allowing people to think more clearly during the season.
As Luna sat on a bench outside, enjoying the chill, fresh air, Ginny and Lisa commented on the snowball fight going on in front of them. "Ooooh, right in the face!" Ginny called out as a snowball flew from an older black girl's hand into the face of Ginny's brother, Fred. "That throw was powerful and directly hit its mark. With accuracy like that, she certainly deserves her chaser position."
"Look over there! I think the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws are forming an alliance." Lisa motioned over to where a small group was magically assembling a snow wall together.
"I thought it was a free for all," Ginny said with a frown. "If it's based on houses, why did Angelina hit Fred?" Ginny shook her head. "Never mind. It's Fred. I'm sure he tried to pull some prank on her."
"Actually, it looks like the Gryffindor front is completely falling apart. They seemed to have dissolved into a civil war of sorts." Lisa, Ginny, and Luna watched as the Gryffindors split into two separate sides and assailed each other with snow.
"That'll make them easy pickings for the other two houses," Ginny said, glancing over to the recently created snow wall. "Yep, there it is. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws start their assault against the divided Gryffindors. Will the Gryffindors be able to pull it together in time to defend themselves, or will the opposition successfully take advantage and bring an end to the Gryffindors fight?"
"Well, Ginny," Lisa started. "They're certainly at a disadvantage now. With the recent alliance, the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws have the numbers, but I wouldn't count the Gryffindors out. They're an energetic bunch, and endurance matters most in a snowball fight."
"I couldn't agree more, Lisa," Ginny replied with a grin. "Sheer stubbornness often determines the outcome of snowball fights, and that lot is as stubborn as they come. Still, I think the Ravenclaw's ingenuity could prove pivotal."
"Ah, are you referring to the snowball cannon? That's an impressive bit of Transfiguration and Charms there."
"Indeed, it is. And- Oof. Looks like Lee Jordan just received the full brunt of the bombardment from that cannon. It appears to be very effective."
"That it does, Ginny. Unfortunately for the alliance, it looks like the attack got the Gryffindors to put aside their differences in light of the looming, outside threat. That could be a fatal mistake for the alliance."
"It may be," Ginny agreed. "It looks like the Gryffindors have some tricks of their own. It looks like Harry Potter is throwing dungbombs instead of snow. Is that even a legal snowball fight move?"
"I'm not sure. Let's ask our resident rules expert. Luna, what do you say?"
Luna was torn from her thoughts on the merriment of winter as the sound of her name broke into her consciousness. "Hmm?" She asked as she replayed Lisa's words in her mind. When she made sense of the words, she directed her gaze to the fight in front of her. "Oh, those aren't dungbombs."
"Then what are they?" Ginny asked. "They sure look like dungbombs."
"Those are unfertilized versnu eggs. They're designed to look like dungbombs to scare off predators. Harry's father received a bunch of them as a thank you for funding The Quibbler's latest expedition to Australia where Dad found the eggs. See, they're not going off."
Sure enough, all the dungbombs Harry had thrown sat at the bottom of the snow wall, still completely whole. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, who had retreated once the dungbombs were thrown, stared with confusion at the fallen projectiles.
"Either way, it seems to have been a successful diversion. The Gryffindors are launching a counterattack, and the alliance is caught off guard!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Not fair. Versnu eggs or not, I still think that wasn't a legal move," Lisa said with a frown.
"I thought that was Luna's decision." As one, the two girls turned their gaze on Luna questioningly.
Luna tilted her head staring over the snowball fight. Nobody on the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw side seemed to be protesting Harry's use of the Versnu eggs though that could have been because they were too busy ducking for cover. "I'm not sure there are any rules," Luna finally said as a Hufflepuff sent a Leg-Locker Curse at a Gryffindor, and still, nobody protested.
"But it goes against the spirit of the fight," Lisa persisted.
Ginny snorted. "You're just saying that because it's your house that had its efforts thwarted. Look, they lost control of their snowball cannon."
"Hey! Get your heads in the fight!" Lisa yelled out towards the alliance, garnering surprised stares from Ginny and Luna. She shrugged sheepishly. "I get a little invested in spectator sports."
The three girls giggled before Ginny stood up and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Come on, Gryffindor! Build a defense!" A few people glanced over, but most didn't pay Ginny any attention. Harry was one of the few who looked over, and he let a wicked grin slide across his face before launching a snowball over with a flick of his wand. The snowball landed a direct hit on Ginny's forehead, leaving her gaping back at Harry with residual snow on her forehead.
"Maybe you should worry about your own defense," Harry teased before focusing back on the battle he was in the midst of.
"Oh, that's it," Ginny said with a smirk as she gathered a handful of snow. "It looks like Gryffindor's about to have another civil war on its hands."
After Ginny marched off to join the fight, Lisa sighed. "Damn. I lost my fellow commentator. Any interest in commentating, Luna?"
Luna smiled. "Sure. Some blond boy throws a snowball at another blond boy. I'm not sure what he's hoping to accomplish, but I'm sure he has his reasons. I'm not sure if anyone knows the point of snowball fights or any fights."
Lisa nodded grimly. "We may never know the reasons, but let's not dwell on that. Instead, let's admire the impeccable execution of that heating charm by Ginny Weasley. Her adversary, Harry Potter, will have soaking socks and shoes until he finds an opportunity to dry them. A unique and well thought out move, though, one does wonder if the heating charm belongs in a snowball fight any more than dungbombs. Or versnu eggs, as it were."
"I don't know why the Gryffindors keep fighting themselves. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the Wrackspurts were involved," Luna responded.
"What makes you so sure it's not Wrackspurts?"
"It's too cold."
Lisa waited for Luna to expound on her explanation. When that didn't happen, Lisa just shrugged and nodded. "Absolutely. Much too cold for Wrackspurts. It could be those troublesome quarrel fairies though. You never know when they might strike."
Luna giggled. "Of course it's not quarrel fairies. Don't be silly."
"Right. Of course," Lisa agreed faintly. She always figured it was best to just go along with Luna said and not to ask too many questions. "Anyways, back to the fight. Merianne from Hufflepuff has lost her wand and resorted to throwing snowballs the muggle way. It's nice to see someone so dedicated to the game that they keep going in the face of adversity. Vivian from Gryffindor could learn a thing or two from Merianne. She quit as soon as she got hit with a snowball. Makes you wonder why she even wanted to participate in the first place. What do you think, Luna?"
Luna blinked as she saw Professor McGonagall making her way over to the warring crowd. "I believe Professor McGonagall has decided to join the snowball fight," she mused.
Lisa giggled. "What?" She didn't have a ready, in character response for that. Lisa followed Luna's gaze over to the approaching Transfiguration teacher. "She looks a bit grim, doesn't she? Snowball fights aren't aren't against any rules, are they?"
"I don't think it's about the snowball fight," Luna said slowly as McGonagall drew to a stop. The participants in the snowball fight halted their attacks one by one as they began to notice McGonagall's presence.
By the time McGonagall spoke up, all snow hurling related activities had ceased. "Everyone make your way to your common rooms. Immediately." A flurry of questions met McGonagall's announcement, all of which she ignored. As McGonagall opened her mouth again, silence swept through the crowd again. "Your head of house will answer any questions you have. For now stick with the other members of your house as you head back to the common rooms. Gryffindors, follow me."
"This can't be good," Lisa stated unnecessarily as the Gryffindors started trudging after McGonagall exchanging concerned looks as they did so.
"No," Luna agreed. For once, she didn't want to suggest any theories about what had happened. Something horrible had happened, and she was too horrified by the possibilities to voice them out loud. If recent events had anything to do with it, whatever caused all the students to get called back to their common rooms was related to the Chamber of Secrets. Luna felt certain someone else had been petrified, or worse. According to rumors, a girl had died the last time the Chamber of Secrets was open. Luna knew Voldemort had no qualms about murder even if just to advertise, so she didn't count out death as a possibility.
The Ravenclaws from outside joined an already crowded common room as they stepped through the entrance. The room buzzed with chatter as everyone speculated over what the emergency situation was. Spotting Nashira sitting by herself at a table while writing furiously, Luna pulled a reluctant Lisa in that direction. "How can you be studying at a time like this?" Lisa asked.
Nashira looked up briefly before turning back to whatever she was working on. "At a time like what? Do you know what's going on?"
"No, but I can guess," Lisa said. "The way Professor McGonagall looked, it has to have been another petrification."
Nashira tapped her lip thoughtfully with the end of her quill, taking an interest much to Luna's and Lisa's surprise. Nashira shifted a piercing gaze to Luna. "Did you hear that voice again? The one that Turpin didn't hear?"
Luna shook her head as she tried to piece together the reason she hadn't heard the voice again. From the voice's first appearance, it seemed as if it was related to the attack. Luna supposed she hadn't been close enough to hear the voice the next attack or while she was watching the snowball fight. "I think I have to be near it to hear it," Luna concluded out loud.
"Well, that makes sense considering that's how sounds generally work," Nashira drawled. Their conversation ended as the last few stragglers made it into the common room accompanied by Flitwick.
Flitwick hobbled over to the front of the fireplace and waited for the chatter to halt. Once the noise dulled to a weak drone, Flitwick cast a quick Sonorous. "I have some very grave news," Flitwick announced with a hitch to his voice. "A student of Hogwarts, Mary Fisher, was found dead in the fourth floor corridor. We are currently investigating the death and sending word out to your families. Anyone that wishes to leave early for the winter holidays will be allowed to do so."
"What about after the winter holidays? Are you shutting the school down?" asked an older girl that Luna didn't know the name of.
Flitwick slumped a little. "That is still undecided as of yet, but I do not believe we will shut down. Instead, safety measures will be put in place to ensure the safety of all our students. Safety measures that we will start using tomorrow."
More murmurs broke out over that statement. When Flitwick got his house to quiet down again, he outlined how the next few days before break would go down. Students would travel to and from classes in groups. First and second years had to be accompanied by their teachers between classes.
Luna adapted to the new escort service quickly though she did miss wandering the halls, getting lost, and finding her way back. It always felt like such an adventure. Amanda, however, was extremely grateful for the chaperones. Already having been freaked out from the petrifications, the death of Mary Fisher severely frightened Amanda to the point where Amanda definitively wanted to leave Hogwarts permanently.
"I think I can convince my parents to let me go to Beauxbatons," Amanda told Luna while Snape grouchily led them to the Charms classroom. "I know once I tell them about the attacks they won't want me to go to Hogwarts anymore either. I just don't know if my mom will let me go to a foreign country for school. She was already uncomfortable with letting me go to a boarding school."
Luna frowned. "I wouldn't choose Beauxbatons if I were you. It's well known that the school doesn't actually exist. The French ministry just uses it as a cover for their unethical magical experiments."
"Wait, what do you mean? Almost everyone I've talked to said Beauxbatons is the second best magical school in Europe."
"That means France's cover story is working well, but my dad did a story on it last year. He talked to the parents of a girl that went to Beauxbatons for five years and left the school with extensive brain damage. It turned out that they ran heavy charms experiments on the poor girl for all five years."
"That's awful!" Amanda gasped.
"Yes, it is," Luna agreed. Cases like this were how she knew her dad's work was important. "You should go to the Bern School of Magic instead. It is a small but very successful school. The only reason they don't get more credit is because they only have about eighty students at a time."
Amanda worried her lips. "Well, I certainly don't want to go to Beauxbatons anymore. I could try Bern. The small number of students might actually be a good thing. More one on one help from the teachers, you know?"
Luna nodded. From what she knew from her cousin that went to Bern, that was one of the appeals of the Swiss school. She didn't add anything else to her recommendation as they reached the Charms classroom, and Luna and Amanda split ways.
Everyone in the school was anxious to leave for winter break, not just Amanda. Luna was the exception. Her dad was on an expedition to Uganda and had arranged for Luna to stay with her aunt over the holidays, something that Luna was not looking forward to. It wasn't that she disliked her aunt, Luna just always felt unnerved whenever she stepped foot in Godric's Hollow. She supposed she had some lingering trauma from her mother's murder even if she couldn't remember it at all.
"You could come stay with me," Harry offered. "Mom and Dad would love to have you stay for the holidays. Besides, if you're there, you can entertain Sirius' kids, so I don't have to."
"Real nice," Ginny scoffed. "What's so bad about whoever these kids are?" "They're two and three. I don't like kid," said Harry unapologetically.
"I'd love to visit your family," Luna said ignoring all the commentary on Sirius' kids. "Thanks, Harry. Are you sure your parents won't mind?" "Mind? Merlin, no. I told you already, they'll be pleased."
Luna smiled happily. If she couldn't spend the holidays with her dad, at least she got to see the Potters again. Maybe James would have some new ideas for The Quibbler.