Harry and Ron apperated to an oddly built building on the outskirts of Yorkshire. It was three stories but tilted purposely to the right. There was a garden of bizarre plants by the front door, which the two ran right through.
"Luna!" Harry yelled pounding on the door. "Luna, are you here?"
"Light just went on upstairs," Ron commented. "Someone heard us."
Sure enough, a moment later the front door opened to reveal Luna, her long silvery hair messier than usual and her dressing gown thrown haphazardly on.
"Harry? Ron? What're you doing here so-"
Harry and Ron didn't lower their wands.
"What did you once tell me infested mistletoe?" Harry demanded.
Luna, without missing a beat, replied, "Nargles."
Harry and Ron lowered their wands in relief.
"Sorry," Harry said. "It's a precaution…Luna, can we see your wand?"
"Of course," Luna said, drawing it from her dressing gown pocket.
"It's not your wand," Ron said, looking at it.
"Yes, I know," she nodded. "I was in London about two weeks ago and when I arrived back home it seemed to be missing from my robe pocket. I retraced my steps and everything, but I couldn't find it. I suspect Collitoads are behind it. They often sneak into people's bags and pockets and-"
Harry pulled out the wand he retrieved from Claridina. "Is this it?"
"Yes, where did you get it?" Luna asked happily as she took back her wand.
"Claridina Wretermoust was just using it. She was spotted in Moscow, but she got away. Before she escaped, though, we disarmed her, and this was the wand she was using."
"Do you remember seeing anyone suspicious looking in London?" Ron asked.
"Not particularly," Luna said. "I had the twins with me, so I was busy watching after them. I did see a few Thestrals flying through the air, though, which I thought was odd."
"They usually don't fly through populated areas like that unless they're instructed to do so, do they?" Harry frowned.
"No, they try to keep to themselves," Luna answered.
"Could Claridina be using Thestrals?" Ron asked.
"Maybe. Look, Luna, is Rolf here?"
"No," Luna said. "He's in China with his father studying the mating habits of Spotted Flesh Slugs."
"Right…well, I don't think it's a good idea for you and the twins to be left here alone," Harry said. "We don't know if Claridina just took your wand by chance or if she specifically targeted you. Why don't you get the boys and stay with Ginny and I until we figure it out for sure?"
"Alright, thanks Harry," Luna smiled. "Let me just go wake Locran and Lysander."
"Well, she took that well," Ron said as Luna started up the steps.
"That's Luna for you," Harry said. "She has high spirits, which is good during times like this." Then he lowered his voice. "You don't think Claridina took Luna's wand because of me?"
"What?" Ron frowned.
"She already took Sirius and Bertha's wands," Harry pointed out. "They were both connected to me. And now she took Luna's…"
"Hi Harry! Hi Ron!" Locran and his identical brother Lysander said, running down the stairs, not seeming the slightest bit upset about being awoken in the middle of the night.
"Hey boys," Harry smiled. "Ready to go on a little trip?"
….
"Finally, I've been looking forward to this class," Fred said as him, Alanna and Alexandra made their way across the grounds towards Hagrid's hut, where they would be having their first Care of Magical Creatures Class.
"I wonder how Hagrid is as a teacher," Alexandra said.
"My parents said he's the best," Fred told her. "But that he sometimes brings in creatures that can be a bit…painful."
"Painful?" Alanna repeated.
"Nothing that would cause you permanent physical damage," Fred assured her.
Alanna didn't appear anymore comforted by that piece of information.
"So how was Arithmancy?" Alexandra asked her friend as they waited for Hagrid and the rest of their class.
"Amazing," Alanna replied. "Professor Vector is really smart. I think I'll really love the class."
"Isn't it hard though?" Fred asked.
"It's a bit challenging, yes," Alanna nodded.
"Don't see why you would sign up for it then," Fred said, shaking his head. "Oh, damn it. We're with Slytherin."
Alexandra and Alanna turned and saw that a group of Slytherins were indeed coming their way.
"At least Wretermoust doesn't seem to be with them," Alanna pointed out. "I guess that means he didn't sign up for this class."
Alexandra felt a little relief. "Hey," she said, suddenly remembering Wretermoust and Scorpius's encounter the prior day. "Do him and Scorpius know each other?"
"Dunno," Fred shrugged. "Probably. Scorpius's father was right in with Voldemort and Claridina's a big supporter of the Dark Arts too. I bet a lot of Voldemort's old supporters went over to her. Why?"
"Just wondering," she said quickly. "Oh, there's Hagrid!"
Hagrid was coming out of the Forbidden Forest carrying three crates.
"Mornin' there," he said cheerfully to his students, setting the crates down. "Looks like everyone's here. Let's get right into our first lesson, yes?"
The Gryffindors nodded eagerly while the Slytherins looked less than enthusiastic.
"Are the creatures in the crates?" Fred asked.
"No, no," Hagrid said, grinning. He pried the lids off the crates to reveal bushels and bushels of berries and oats. "Been out half the mornin' gathering this. Now can anyone take a guess based on what we have here as to what creature we'll be studying today?"
No one raised his or her hand.
"Didn't think so," Hagrid said. "These creatures are complex and- Oh, Alanna, reckon you know?"
Alanna had shyly risen her hand. "Er, well, that's the sort of diet you would give to a horse-like creature, so I would guess a Unicorn?"
"Excellent guess, ten points to Gryffindor," Hagrid beamed. "Absolutely right. We'll be studying unicorns today. I found a herd in the forest that seems rather friendly. Now then, before you see them, there are a few things that you need to know. First; Unicorns are the purest creatures on the face of the planet. They're immune to evil; can't be corrupted. Fully mature unicorns can also sense the evil in others. Now, these unicorns are fairly young, so they aren't great with that just yet, but they can still get a rather good idea about you from your touch. Unicorns are very shy creatures as well. Be gentle with them and don't scare them or they won't take a liking to you. Alright, let's see if they'll come round…"
He put two fingers in his mouth a gave a high-pitched whistle.
After a moment of complete silence from the students, four young unicorns slowly came from the forest.
The girls, and even a few of the boys gasped as the beautiful creatures moved closed, inspecting the crates of food Hagrid had left open.
"Boys, be a bit more cautious, they're more drawn ter females," Hagrid said. "Don't crowd them now, spread out amongst the four."
Alexandra, Alanna and Fred approached the smallest unicorn, which was chewing on a bushel of berries.
"They're amazing," Alanna breathed. "They're so…breath-taking." She slowly reached out her hand to stroke the creature. It seemed to like her touch.
"I want to try," Alexandra said, grinning. She stretched out her hand, just as Alanna had done, and began to pet the unicorn. The unicorn gave the slightest of jerks, though, as though it didn't like Alexandra's touch. It looked her in the eyes, as though studying her.
Fred and Alanna didn't seem to notice the unicorn's behavior, thankfully.
"Let me have a try," Fred said, slowly stepping up to the unicorn.
Alexandra moved out of the way and let Fred have a go. The unicorn behaved as it did for Alanna; calm and gentle, but for the rest of the lesson, it didn't take his eyes off of Alexandra.