The Moon Maiden and the Beast

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Occasional bad language, action violence, fluff, spoilers for those who have not read the books & slightly ooc main characters.

Standard Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling and do not own any of the copyrights to any borrowed characters or locations used in this work and this is not written for profit. All other known characters and locations borrowed in this work belong to their respective copyright owners.

Authors note: Another plot bunny that came to me recently while I've been looking for a good "creature Harry" fic to read. As with my last one, if anybody wants to adopt this, simply PM me or drop a review.

Prologue: Ill Met by Moonlight and Firelight

"Get up Harry, Ron, this is urgent!'

'Smatter?' called Ron sleepily as Harry woke up and felt his head hit canvas, dully he could make out that something was wrong. He could hear the sounds of screaming in the distance and jumped down off the bunk and reached for his clothes.

'No time Harry, just grab a jacket and get outside, quickly!'

Doing as he was bidden he hurried outside just as Hermione and Ginny came out from the girls tent, looking just as confused as he felt. Harry could hear drunken yelling and distant flashes that looked like spellfire, the smell of smoke soon reaching his nostrils as Mr Weasley bade them.

'All of you, hurry to the wood, we'll come for you once we've dealt with this.'

Harry soon reached for Hermione's hand and began to lead her towards the wood with the others on his heels. However the crowd of fleeing wizards and witches grew thicker as they ran and Hermione's hand soon slipped from his grip as he was shoved this way and that. Harry soon lost sight of his friends but was drawn towards a scream a moment later as a young woman came barrelling towards him and tripped when her nightdress snagged on a bush. In the moment of trying to save herself Harry noticed that she looked rather odd, but also beautiful in quite a serene way. She was maybe a year younger than he himself with long dirty blonde hair and rather protuberant silver eyes which gave her a permanently surprised look. The inevitable happened when the witch threw her hands out to save herself from falling and the pair landed on the grass with Harry stuck underneath.

For a long moment the pair looked into each other's eyes before Harry asked, 'can you get up, please? We'd best keep moving if we're going to get away from this lot wearing masks.'

The witch smiled and Harry noticed that it was quite a beautiful smile and got up before she held out her hand to help Harry up. Harry reached out to take it, but as they touched, a rather strange tingling sensation that soon increased to something like a mild electric shock struck Harry.

'What the?'

Harry obviously wasn't the only one feeling it, as he could see a look of surprise on the young witches face, which seemed to increase as a white glow surrounded the pair for a second before dissipating as the sensation stopped. As Harry got to his feet he asked.

'What just happened?'

'Good question,' said the witch. Her voice had a rather sing song quality to it which intrigued Harry, even though he could tell that she was probably from the home counties. But his musings were interrupted a moment later when five of the cloaked men came upon them and one leered.

'Well well, if it isn't Potter himself, and that crazy fool Lovegood's daughter. My friends I do think we're in luck, not only can we shut down that fools rag of a magazine our Lords killer will finally meet the end he deserves.'

Harry recognized the voice at once and seethed, his blood boiling when he noticed the look of fright on the young witches face.

'Malfoy! You're not laying a finger on her, I'd sooner die than let that happen.'

'Lucy!' Harry shouted, 'you're a fucking dead man.'

The men laughed before Malfoy taunted, 'oh dear, I do believe you need to learn your manners with regard to your betters boy. This time there will be no escape for you, but first I think we shall show you the price for defiance.'

'Nott, take the girl, make her suffer.'

Harry watched in dread as he saw one of the men step towards the witch but then suddenly felt intense pain all over his body. The only thing that came close in his estimation was the time the Basilisk has bitten him. How long the sensations lasted, he wasn't sure, but it soon felt like his body was ripping itself apart and reassembling itself. Vaguely he felt a fading burn from his scar and heard a bloodcurdling scream that was cut off before the sensations suddenly stopped. Harry now looking at the world from a higher vantage point, his body now feeling much larger, and yet more flexible, the very air a kaleidoscope of colour, the men showing a black halo around their outlines.

The black robed men were slowly backing away and Harry heard Malfoy gasp.

'What is this? How can this be, quick, Crabbe, kill it!'

A jet of green light came forward and soon bounced off and struck one of the figures who slumped to the ground.

Harry surged forward and opened his mouth, fire shooting from his maw and consuming another figure before the others scattered in all directions. Just as a giant glowing skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth shot into the night sky which seemed to provoke a chorus of screaming.

Harry turned his head from the glowing skull and looked at himself and was shocked to find that he had somehow changed into a giant snake. While nowhere near the basilisks legendary 60ft length he guessed he was around 20 with a body as thick as a tree trunk. His scales were the same black as his hair and would make him very hard to see in the dark, but what was strange was the strange scaly black fins that were around halfway down his length that looked somewhat like bat wings.

The witch stood still and was looking up at Harry with a smile on her face.

'Thank you Harry, thank you so much.'

She stepped forward and gently rested her palm on his skin and slowly stroked the soft scales on his head. Liking the feeling, Harry soon leaned into her touch an involuntary low pitched rumbling emerging from his mouth that made the girl giggle.

'You like that do you Harry?'

A sudden scream drew Harry's attention to Ginny, Fred and George as Ginny breathed.

'Luna! Watch out for the snake!'

Luna smiled, 'it's alright Ginny, and Harry's just a big softy really.'

'What?' goggled Fred.

'You named a giant snake Harry?' asked George.

'Are you completely Loony?' They both chorused.

Luna shook her head, 'take a look at the scales just above his eyes, I think that will prove I'm not lying. I saw Harry change into this form.'

Fred cautiously approached and shone his wand light onto Harry's head and suddenly whistled.

'Bloody hell Harry, you always did have a talent for doing the impossible. Not only are you an animagus now, you turned into something I haven't even got a clue what it is.'

He turned to the others, 'looks like ickle Harrikins isn't so ickle now.'

Harry concentrated on what he looked like as a human and somehow a moment later, he felt himself shift back and slump forward to the ground as the other gasped.

'Harry, Luna!'

He was barely conscious and felt the others grab him and carry him back to the tent, vague voices, some he recognised, and some he didn't, drifted across his hearing, time soon having no meaning.

'A massive snake, I've never even seen one like it in The Monster book of Monsters.'

'You can't be serious,' said Hermione.

'Will you stop trying to be logical and look at the evidence for once Hermione, look at them for Merlin's sake.'

'Two dead Death Eaters right near where they found them.'

'Your mother is going to be beside herself and Xeno must be frantic,' Mr Weasley's voice was next, 'thank goodness you found them. I'll have to contact Minerva and Albus, they'll know what to do.'

'Arthur, thank goodness you found my moonbeam, but what's happened to her. Why is she unconscious?'

'At a guess, I'd say magical exhaustion, same as Harry. But nobody said they saw her cast a single spell and we only just got Harry's wand back from Barty Crouch's house elf.'

Dreams crossed his mind's eye, memories that were not his, memories that seemed to belong to the girl, Luna, whom he had saved.

A young Luna was sitting on a picnic blanket with her parents outside a rather peculiar shaped house.

Luna, now a few years older was walking in a meadow when a sudden explosion rocked the house. Luna ran forwards into the house, stopping inside as she found the woman who was obviously her mother slumped against a wall, battered and unmoving…..

A few memories showed Luna and Ginny playing together at the Burrow, Ron and the twins an occasional playmate.

Luna was sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts express as Ginny joined her, the pair of them sitting around and chatting as the train travelled north, a blue car flying past the window for a split second before it vanished into a cloudbank as both girls looked out at it. Ginny looking rather unamused at the sight.

The memories at Hogwarts were in a lot of cases rather unpleasant to watch as Harry saw Luna being picked on for being different. He felt his heart go out to her as he watched the Ravenclaws, Cho Chang among themhiding her possessions and resolved to make an example of Cho the next time he saw her.

'Thieving bitch, she'll pay for this, the twins and I are going to prank her until she begs Luna for mercy.

Faster and faster the memories flashed past until he saw the memory of the attack from Luna's point of view…

Harry's eyes shot open and he sat up in bed so suddenly that those around him cried out in surprise.

'Harry!'

He looked around himself and realised that he was lying in a bed at the burrow and saw that he was not alone, Luna was still asleep next to him. Harry felt confused for a moment before the memories flashed past his mind's eye.

'How long have I been out?' he asked.

'Two days,' was the response as he looked up at Professor McGonagall

'You are going to drive me to St Mungoes one of these days Potter.' She began with a weary sigh. 'The word "impossible" seems to hold no meaning for you, and neither does the word "danger".'

Harry shrugged, 'I never once have gone looking for trouble, and it has an unfortunate habit of finding me.'

Luna woke from besides him and enfolded Harry in her arms.

'Why didn't anybody stop them? Surely the headmaster knew what he was doing was wrong?'

Harry's eyes widened as he heard the voice in his mind, 'did she just say?'

'Yes I did Harry.'

Harry looked across at Luna, 'is this normal? We can hear each other's thoughts. I've never even heard of wizards being able to speak telepathically.'

Luna shrugged, 'most can't, but we can, and for one reason only. It's the same reason why we are both now animagi, even if I haven't made the change yet.'

Hermione came closer, a look of awe on her face, 'the headmasters coming, he says he'll be explaining what's happened.'

Luna's face looked angry, 'he'd better, and if half of what I saw was real I'll be reporting him to the Wizenagmot personally for gross neglect of duty and assault upon a noble house. We've got the political power to do it as well.'

Harry guessed what Luna must have seen, 'you saw my memories?'

'Yes, and no child should ever have had to go through what you did Harry. What the headmaster has done is beyond belief. He must have broken or disregarded at least half a dozen laws when he put you with those beasts and left you to rot.'

'What do you mean?'

The door opened and Harry saw the headmaster enter the room, Luna glaring at the old man as he walked over to them.

'Harry, Miss Lovegood, I am most surprised and awed by the news and very proud of you Harry.'

Luna glared, 'That's Earl and Countess Potter thank you very much, and I hope you've got a good explanation for gross negligence. Or we'll both be calling in a blood debt on you for all you've done.'

The crowd in the room gasped as Harry thought, 'Earl and Countess, wait, what?'