Author's Note: This is my submission for Round 12 of the QLFC for Pride of Portree.
Position: Beater 2
Crossover Prompt: Harry Potter x Mushishi (Anime)
Prompts (word) rush, (color) silver, word (honest).
The Singing Lanterns
They say that if you go deep into the forest and follow the river at twilight, after a long, hot day just before autumn, you will see them.
They sing as stars would sing had they voices. Cold, clear, and haunting, their song carries on the wind, becoming faint echoes that cause involuntary shivers up the spine.
Only the pure of heart can catch sight of the Oni no Hikari, the Light of the Demon, though some go as far to call it the Light of the Damned for its propensity to spirit people away. It is said that to look upon them is to lose oneself forever.
They twist and sway through the air as though suspended in water. There is no choice but to follow the pulsing silver light for as long as your eyes hold sight of them. Before you know it, you will no longer be where you once were.
It is said that you lose track of time and place when you follow them—that it is not merely where you travel but when.
None have returned to separate truth from legend.
Ginko was in a terrible rush. He'd expected the journey through the mountains to take two weeks and had left with an extra week as a buffer, but he hadn't counted a swarm of drill-shaped, avalanche-causing Mushi. Ginko wasn't familiar with them, but he knew better than to think that he knew everything about the elusive, often invisible beings. Luckily, his special hand-rolled herbal cigarillos kept them at bay, but he was certain to mark the area on his map.
It would not do for anyone to die needlessly.
Wavering in the space between pure energy and form, Mushi were often as mysterious as they were common. Most of the time, they simply drifted through the world with no lasting impact upon it. Unfortunately, however, this was not always the case, and when Mushi began to cause trouble, Mushi-shi such as Ginko were called in to help.
Ginko had lost an eye to the Mushi. Even worse, it had nearly consumed him altogether, had it not been for the kindness of the woman that had saved him and sacrificed herself instead. This was also the reason for his oddly vibrant green eye and icy white hair. Though he wore a false eye filled with kouki, which functioned just like a normal eye, he still felt self-conscious about it. Most people were too polite to say anything about his odd appearance, but he could feel their stares on his back when he turned away. It was a cruel reminder that he'd never truly be a part of their world, and while the Mushi were drawn to him like moths to a flame, they were hardly anything he might consider good company.
Ginko checked his map and hurried on, panting hard. The heavy box that slapped rhythmically against his back didn't help much, either.
'Come on Ginko!' he urged himself. 'A little girl is counting on you!'
He was running downhill, and though the trees were still sparse enough for him to slip through them relatively easily at the pace he was going, the setting sun wasn't doing him any favors. Suddenly, there was a stab of pain in his ankle as it twisted on a loose rock and he was rolling down and down. Sky and earth rolled sickeningly around him as he shielded his face. Finally, there was a sickening crack and he could feel the box on his back bowing as it took the brunt of the force of impact. His heart thudded hard against his chest and for a moment, Ginko lay there gathering his strength.
Slowly, he moved his arms and legs, testing to see if anything seemed broken. Other than the shooting pain in his ankle, he seemed surprisingly all right. Pulling himself up to a sitting position with a groan, he slipped the box off of his back and inspected it in the halflight. A long, ugly crack ran down the middle, and it appeared as though the bottom was bad enough that the wood had split. Ginko groaned at this. It was going to cost a lot to replace the specially treated wood, which kept Mushi out of his precious stores.
"I suppose it could be worse," he grumbled, running a finger over the crack. "but I must seal it so that it doesn't get worse. Now, if only I had a light…"
He fumbled in his trenchcoat with an involuntary groan as he realized that his wrist was injured as well.
It was then that he heard a clear, gentle sound. It was like nothing he'd ever heard before. A silvery light bobbed towards him and in moments, he was surrounded by a parade of multi-colored lanterns. They floated in the sky as though held aloft by invisible hands, and Ginko wanted nothing more than to follow them. Absentmindedly, he stood, holding the cracked box in both hands.
He took a step.
There was no pain. He felt lighter and the wooden box felt almost weightless in his arms.
The lights twinkled and pulsed maddeningly.
He followed them, his body shimmering in time with the lanterns until they all winked out at once. Ginko winked out with them, leaving no trace behind.
"Wake up, Harry!"
The voice tickled his ear, and Harry Potter turned in a half-asleep stupor, mumbling that he was just fine staying in bed, thank you.
"Oh no you don't!" The voice was gentle but firm and seconds later, Harry felt the covers lift off of him, leaving him lying on the fitted sheet.
"Mrfffffff!" Harry said, burrowing his face into the pillow defiantly.
"Hmm, well, maybe your clothing has been infested with Tribblywotsits. They can make getting out of bed rather difficult." The voice sounded concerned now, and Harry was beginning to place it as he swam upwards towards full consciousness.
It can't be Ginny. She's staying with her parents this weekend to prepare for her mother's birthday and it's not Hermione because she's got back-to-back training all day long with Kingsley for the foreseeable future even though it's the middle of the summer...
His head turned to the side and his eyes snapped open instantly.
"If you can't get up on your own by the count of three, I guess your clothes will have to go!" A soft, somewhat spacey voice said matter-of-factly. "One...two..."
"Luna! No!" Harry turned to face the ceiling and found the enigmatic Ravenclaw girl hovering over him with her wand in one hand, ready to cast a Divestment spell.
"Oh! Hello, Harry!" Luna said, breaking into a wide smile as though levitating over beds was somehow proper guest etiquette. "For a moment, I was starting to worry that you had Fleebits in your ears. They're very fond of earwax, you know."
Harry's face went scarlet as he realized that he wasn't wearing much more than a crumpled pair of boxers with one of the buttons missing. With an embarrassed cry, he covered his groin with his pillow and tried to steady his voice.
"Um, so..." He tried to sound casual and failed miserably. "How can I...er...help you, Luna?"
"Oh, don't be silly, Harry, you know you promised to help me with my Seventh Year project!"
"But, classes don't start for another couple of weeks!" Harry protested, knowing that his Auror training started the same day as Hogwarts classes. "Shouldn't you be spending the rest of your free time...sleeping in or something?"
"Hmmm, maybe you really do have an infestation of Tribblywotsits. Are you sure you don't want me to help you?" Luna waved her wand ever so slightly.
"Um...no! That won't be necessary! Really!" Harry said hurriedly. "So...if you'll just wait outside the door, I'll get ready right now, honest!"
Luna shrugged and hovered down to the floor, touching down without a sound.
"Sure, Harry!" she said brightly. "I'll see you soon!"
Harry dressed and brushed his teeth with a bleary half-awareness that reminded him of the good old days… the days before the war— the days when Voldemort only tried to kill him once a year instead of every day.
He snorted at that thought.
Well… some of them were good, anyway.
It was only when he got to the door that he realized that he wasn't at Grimmauld Place at all.
"How did I get to my old dorm room in Gryffindor Tower?" he wondered aloud, honestly shocked.
For that matter, how had Luna gotten in?
"You came up with me yesterday after I talked to the Headmistress." Luna said from the doorway.
"Hmm...I must have forgotten..." Harry said, putting on his glasses.
"Well, it might have been the scotch that you brought for the Headmistress." Luna replied thoughtfully. "She said that it wasn't good manners to drink alone. I don't have much a taste for drink, so I just enjoyed watching you both enjoy it all."
Harry blinked. Well, now the residual bleariness finally made sense.
"Here, I brought you a Headache Remedy."
Harry took it gratefully, though it tasted horribly bitter.
"Right, then!" he said as brightly as he could muster. "What's first?"
"We have to gather ingredients to call them," Luna said seriously, her icy blue eyes burning with determination.
"Er...who is 'them' again?" Harry asked, nonplussed.
"It's a surprise!" Luna said brightly.
Harry simply stared back, hoping that his expression wasn't as incredulous as it felt.
He just hoped that the creatures they were looking to capture didn't have a completely ridiculous name.
Harry was covered in dust and sweat and all he could think about was the delectable spread that was sure to be in the Great Hall. Besides, the sun was beginning to set, and he didn't want to be caught in the Forbidden Forest at night. Other than that, it hadn't been that bad. Being Luna's sidekick largely consisted of carrying ingredients and having to look at things he couldn't see.
As much as he cared for Luna, despite her eccentricities, he desperately wanted to get cleaned up, have a good, hearty meal and then crawl into bed.
"Just a bit longer!" Luna said excitedly. "All I have to do is arrange things like so... and… there!"
An odd assortment of differently shaped vials were set in a circle, each filled with a different colored ingredient. Luna pulled a small bottle of clear liquid from her robes and unscrewed it quickly, adding a couple of drops to each vial. Small plumes of multicolored smoke began to spout from the tips of the vials, and Luna grinned with excitement.
"Now, Harry, you stand there!" she said, pointing to his left.
"Like this?" He asked, shuffling over.
"A little more...Perfect!"
"Now what?"
"You need to hold hands with me with our arms creating a circle over the ingredients while I speak the words."
Anticipation hung in the air. Harry could see how intensely Luna was concentrating, and he held his hands out without protest.
She spoke some strange words that were unlike any Harry had ever heard, then, and for a moment, Harry had a strange sense of being filled with something that was bigger than himself. Then, the smoke poured from the circle, twisting like a rainbow cloud through the branches of the nearby trees and into the darkening sky beyond.
They stood for many long minutes, waiting for something, anything to happen.
Nothing did.
Luna gently let go of Harry's hands, and he realized belatedly that she was shaking with silent tears.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, moving carefully around the still smoking vials and placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
"I… I just thought… that it would work. I truly believed it would." Luna's voice cracked as she spoke, and Harry wasn't sure what scared him more, the broken sound her voice was making or the tears pouring down her cheeks without any sign of stopping.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked gently.
"I haven't been a good friend, Harry." Luna said, sniffing loudly. "I didn't tell you...I...it's…"
"What didn't you tell me, Luna? I promise, I won't be mad." Harry replied, trying to reassure her.
"My mum...she...this was the spell she was building when she…" Luna trailed off, looking at the ground. "I perfected it! I made sure to add special ingredients to keep the Nargles away! That's why… that's why things went wrong…"
Harry opened his mouth to ask Luna what she was talking about when suddenly, an odd sound reached his ears and he turned his head instinctively towards the source of it. Through the trees, a soft, silver glow was growing as though a procession was silently travelling through the forest.
"Is that… singing?" he asked, his eyes widening as Luna's face lit up.
"It worked! It worked!" she exclaimed.
Suddenly, Luna grabbed his hands and placed them over his ears.
"N… no…" she said with a sad smile on her face. "You shouldn't listen. It's dangerous."
"Wha—?" Harry asked, but Luna just pressed his hands against his ears firmly again and he sighed, rolling his eyes.
"I'm going to find her! Wait for me here, Harry! I shouldn't be long!" she said loudly.
With that, Luna began to walk towards the source of the light, which abruptly disappeared moments later.
After about half an hour, Harry began to feel rather silly standing around in the dark with his hands over his ears. Grasping his wand in his free hand, Harry lit the tip of it and made his way towards where Luna had disappeared.
He heard voices coming from the clearing ahead, but the bushes were thick and it was rather dark, which didn't help.
"Luna? Are you alright?" Harry called out, feeling rather stupid and unwieldy as he crashed through the underbrush, ever the commensurate Gryffindor.
Running headlong through a rather thick and prickly bush, Harry broke into the clearing and froze.
Luna was bending over a young man with snow-white hair who lay on his back, wincing with pain. As he looked more closely, he realized that the man was obviously East Asian even though his eyes were such a vibrant green that they nearly glowed. Blue lanterns floated around Luna's head as she attended to his wounds.
His eyes snapped wide as he saw Harry, and he said something in a low voice to Luna, who turned to look at Harry.
"What in the world…?" Harry wondered aloud.
"Sorry, Harry," Luna said simply, "but he needed my help. I was wrong about the lights. I was wrong about… everything."
Harry was taken aback by the bitter resignation in Luna's voice, but he said nothing. He gave her a glance to let her know he wanted to be helpful but she motioned for him to sit instead. It was just as well. Unfortunately, he'd only learned a few basic healing spells from Hermione and was rather rusty at that.
Luna turned to the man and spoke with him in a language that Harry could not understand. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it.
"This is Ginko," Luna said. "He's from Japan. I'm doing my best with what I learned back when Daddy took me there to study Nekojishi a couple summers ago, but it looks like he speaks a somewhat different dialect."
"How so?" Harry knelt down and tried to look friendly. "Er… Hello, Ginko."
The man gave him a skeptical look, but he raised his non-injured hand as though in a stationary wave.
"So...where did he come from, then?" Harry asked.
"Well, that's kind of hard to explain…" Luna responded, staring somewhat intensely at Harry until he realized that this was probably not the place or time.
"Ahhhhhh, you know what? Let's just get everyone back to the castle safe and sound first," Harry said, kneeling down and offering his shoulder. Ginko took it gratefully and, between the three of them, they made it back to the castle safely.
It took Ginko more than a week under Madam Pomfrey's watchful eye to recover from his mysterious ordeal. Luna was in to see him every day, and he seemed much better than before. The strange, cracked box that he'd been clutching never left his side, and, slowly, Luna was teaching him some English, which he seemed to catch onto rather quickly.
"Mr. Scamander sure is coming along well! He was half starved, the poor dear!" Madam Pomfrey said brightly at the breakfast table the following Thursday.
"Who?" Harry said through a mouthful of eggs as Minerva McGonagall gave him a disapproving glare, "Oh, you mean Ginko? That's marvelous!"
Madam Pomfrey looked confused.
"What do you mean, my dear boy?" she asked. "His name is Newt. Odd name, if you ask me, but then again, he is a Scamander."
Harry glanced over at Luna, but she merely gave him an enigmatic smile.
Luna and Newt had a long engagement, and were married in a small ceremony in a cave full of Lighted Squillbies. Though, of course, no one was able to see them apart from the bride, the father of the bride, and the groom.
The two began to travel across the world, searching out and discovering all manner of improbable creatures and were very happy together.
Aside from Luna and her equally enigmatic husband, only Harry, who received regular postcards from every corner of the earth signed by the two, knew the true story of how they had met.
However, not even he knew everything.
After all, some things are best kept between a husband and wife.