Moonchild
Chapter 8
Seleneo
Seleneo headed down to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast as usual, and he was soon joined by Luna. Seleneo kept glancing up at the ceiling, which was a steely gray, but Luna hadn't seemed to notice. That was probably the thing he admired most about her: she never seemed to fall victim to the weary, sorrowful circle of life. He envied how pleasantly content she always looked. Finally what he'd been waiting for appeared in the form of a team of barn owls swooping down to drop a parcel in front of him on the table with a letter addressed to Seleneo K. Moonchild.
"What's the K stand for?" Luna asked serenely.
"I'd rather not say," Seleneo said. Then he leaned over to whisper in her ear, "It's Kavouri. I hate my middle name, that's why I didn't want to say it out loud."
"So what is that parcel?" Luna probed.
"I'm not sure," Seleneo said, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. He was almost a hundred percent sure what it was, but he didn't want to tell Luna or anyone else. "I'll probably open it during my free period."
And so Seleneo's free period arrived. He rushed up to Ravenclaw Tower, to his private dormitory, and tore open the package. Inside was a heavy pewter basin with strange runes carved along the lip.
"Excellent," Seleneo said to himself. "It's about time this thing got here." He considered the ponderous basin for a moment. "So now I just need some vials," he said to himself. "I'll need to visit the library, too. I'm pretty sure I know the spell, but I'll need to check it to be sure." He carried the basin over to the window sill and set it down; he'd keep it there for now until he could think of a better place for it. He wanted a place to keep it where no one but him would know about it, even though no one but him ever came up here. That was the best part of having his own private dormitory; here could be found something that could be found in very few other places at Hogwarts, and that was solitude.
"I really don't want to go be Flitwick's bitch," he said to himself. The quiet and solitude of his tower hideaway was so inviting, so seductive, he felt like he would never want to leave it if he stayed there too long. Finally the logical side of his brain won the battle, and he descended from his tower to return to the rest of the castle. He made a mental note as he exited the Ravenclaw common room to stop by the library.
"There you are," said Luna dreamily as she sat down at the Ravenclaw table for dinner that evening. "I haven't seen you all day."
"I've been busy," Seleneo replied, which wasn't necessarily a lie. It just hadn't been all schoolwork he'd been doing. "Oh, before I forget, I'll be at Astronomy tonight."
"Really?" Luna seemed genuinely surprised by this. "You haven't been at a single Astronomy class all year so far. What's the occasion?"
"Well," Seleneo said, "it just worked out that I had tonight free, so I'll be able to make it. So what have you got going on tonight before then?"
"Nothing really," she said. "I mean, homework, but there's always homework so nothing out of the ordinary."
"Alright," Seleneo said, disappointment seeping through the word. "I had just thought if you weren't doing anything, since Astronomy doesn't start til midnight, I thought maybe you'd want to come sit in on my Alchemy class. It's from seven to nine, and it's probably dreadfully boring so I totally get it if you don't want to. The more I think about it the more it occurs to me how unappealing that actually sounds. Forget I ever brought it up."
"No, I'll go," Luna said hurriedly. "I've always wondered about Alchemy. I've heard that it's the only branch of magic that Muggles have ever had any kind of success in."
"Hard to say," said Seleneo. "Well, they won't have achieved any success through magical means, that's for certain. That will be a good question for tonight."
"Who teaches that anyway?"
"Slughorn and McGonagall," said Seleneo. "Minerva told me that Albus Dumbledore used to teach it, but obviously he can't anymore…It's because where it combines chemistry and potioneering with transformation magic, they collaborate on the subject."
"That makes sense," said Luna. "It's hard to believe he's been dead almost two years."
"It really is a loss to the entire world, wizards and Muggles alike," said Seleneo. "I wonder how long he would've lived…well, he could create a Philosopher's Stone, so I guess however long he wanted, really. But, if we're going to Alchemy, we'd better get a move-on, I think. They do it down in the dungeons since all the potions equipment is down there."
They set off together at a brisk pace in order to get down to Seleneo's Alchemy class by seven. He was surprised, but not disappointed, that Luna had agreed to come. He was certain she never would again, but he figured he might as well enjoy this one time while he had it.
"Good evening, Mr. Moonchild," said the kind but severe voice of Minerva McGonagall. "And Ms. Lovegood, it seems. Unusual but delightful all the same."
"Wonderful, that one, isn't she?" Slughorn guffawed. "I remember that Christmas party of mine she came to a few years ago. Fantastic. Will I see you there again this year?"
"Only if I have someone to go with," she said placidly.
"Excellent!" Slughorn strode over to his desk. "Well, it won't be a difficult lesson tonight. Just have a test for you, and then you'll be free to go."
Seleneo set to work on his test, which involved naming the Three Primes, the four basic elements, the mundane elements, the planetary metals, and the alchemical processes, along with drawing their alchemic symbols.
"Professor McGonagall," Luna said as Seleneo wrote, "is it true that Alchemy is the only branch of magic where Muggles have seen any kind of success?"
"It is true to a certain degree," said McGonagall. "The goals of the medieval alchemists were to transmutate metals into gold and silver, create a remedy for all diseases so as to prolong life indefinitely, and create a universal solvent. Muggles have developed universal solvents, they have developed devices which they call "life-support" which does just what its name implies, and they do have the ability now to transform elements with the proper machinery, although it's far too expensive with too low a yield for it to be worth the trouble. So, I suppose the answer to your question is both yes and no."
"Finished," Seleneo declared. He handed Slughorn his parchment and then he and Luna left the dungeons.
"Like I said, I totally get it if you never want to go back to that again," Seleneo said. "You saw what that test was like."
"I thought it was pretty neat, the little bit I was there," Luna said. "I'm surprised they don't offer this all the time."
"They only do it for NEWT students, and even then it's only if there's enough interest," he said. "The only reason I was able to get away with having it as a private class was because I need it for my degree."
"What are you doing your grad work in anyhow?" Luna asked as they made their way towards the Astronomy tower.
"Wandlore," said Seleneo. "There aren't enough good wandmakers anymore, but especially not in the States. I'm also thinking of experimenting with materials. Once I start doing an internship somewhere I'll be able to test my theories."
They chattered away the rest of the trip about various things, from Seleneo's plans of being a wandmaker to Luna's dream of travelling the world in search of new and fantastic creatures. Finally they reached the Astronomy tower. They were the last two to arrive, with Professor Sinistra right behind them.
"Alright, folk," she said, taking her place in front of the class, "let's get started."
