Once again, Myo was hidden behind a large rock on top of a cliff a few miles from the tower. Only her eyes peered over the rock, fixed on the young girl with long blonde hair and large, dreamy, melancholic silver-blue eyes, seemingly staring out at the ocean. She was dressed in a simple yellow dress, hiking boots and wore very pretty, sparkling, multi-coloured earrings. Myo wished she had some like them, but wearing them would distract her too much and make her too easy to spot when hunting. She was sitting cross-legged on the grass, a large sketchbook on her lap and a pencil in her hand.

For the past week she had been watching the girl and her father, Myo had become increasingly curious. At first she had intended just to scare them enough to get them to go away from her territory. But their behaviour had been too fascinating for her to decide to chase them away immediately. Firstly, the father was not a Vernon and his daughter was not a Petunia. They were strange and different from the few humans she had ever seen, but not ina bad way. They seemed both detached from what humans might find important and passionate about their own interests. And so far, as far as Myo could see, they were doing nothing wrong. They weren't chasing her preys, they weren't disturbing anything, and they weren't noisy. They spent most of their time surveying the moor and the shore armed with binoculars, maps and notebooks.

Their relationship was also interesting. It was the first time Myo had had the chance to observe a human relationship. (Myo doubted more and more that Vernon and Petunia were human. The other humans she had seen so far did not behave like them at all. Were they another species? Like, there are humans, bird things and Vernons? Three types of creatures vaguely similar but with profound differences? The idea was worth exploring). The little blonde and the father, (at least she assumed, their resemblance was obvious.) were very close, they spent a lot of time together, talked a lot together, Myo had tried more than once to hear but she couldn't get too close without risking being seen. And finally they often touched each other. When the little blonde spent a few hours alone and came back to their tent, the father would take her in his arms. It was strange, Myo had seen Dudley being hugged by Vernon or Petunia before, but the hugs at the Dursleys' house were nothing like the way the father gently hugged his daughter as if she were the most precious thing in the world. The hugs Dudley received had always been violent, crushing, nothing like what she had seen here. It was still really strange though. Why would anyone hug anyone else?

Anyway. All this had nothing to do with the capital mission Myo had given herself the day before. She had to discover the mystery of the notebooks. And for that, she had to steal the little blonde's notebook. So since this morning she had been following her discreetly across the barren land, watching her, looking for an opportunity to grab her prize.

The little blonde had just slipped the pencil behind her ear. She must have finished doing that mysterious thing in the notebook. She put the notebook down beside her and lay down completely in the grass. Her eyes turned to the sky.

Myo waited, lurking in the shadow of the large rock. Soon she saw the child's chest rise and fall in a slow, calm rhythm. Her eyes had closed. Myo emerged from her hiding place and approached her quietly. Once she was right next to the little blonde she crouched down. The child was fast asleep. No doubt lulled by the sound of the wind in the grass and the soft touch of the sun's rays.

The little girl was very pleasant to look at, her features were soft and round, her eyelids were adorned with long blond lashes, her little nose and her thin lips were cute. Myo hadn't had the opportunity to observe many humans up close. None, in fact (Vernon and Petunia didn't count.) And Myo realised that she liked it. It was really strange. She had to make some effort to resist the temptation to press the tip of the sleeping girl's nose just out of curiosity.

But this was not the time. She couldn't risk being seen. She grabbed the small notebook and stuffed it into her bag. Then, without a sound, she threw herself off the cliff before gliding towards the tower, using the sea winds to gain altitude. She loved to hover over the sea, to see the waves, to feel the little spray against her skin, to smell the ocean, to possibly fly just above the water to catch a fish swimming too close to the surface (Myo had discovered during the winter when she had her first successful catch, that she loved fish). But most of all it was fun to fly right at the water's edge between the rocks just below the cliff, dodging waves and sharp rock blades. It was a dangerous game but terribly fun.

Soon she reached the tower, perched on the sill of a window and jumped in. She took the stolen notebook out of her bag and put it on the desk. She quickly sat down on the stool, her curiosity too pressing to do anything else. She opened it at the beginning. The first page was blank except for a name at the bottom right. 'Luna Lovegood' with an address. Ottery St Catchpole, Devon. Luna... like the moon? Nice name. And Lovegood? Myo, who thought the name Lovecraft was strangely cute, could only think this one was even cuter. Seriously, it was as if someone decided that all their family members would be called 'Goodkindlovelyweareadorable'. She would have preferred to be called Lovegood than Potter though. Who would want to be associated with pots? Pots! Yes, Myo could cook in pots, but that's no reason to be called that! Besides, she had never done any pottery.

Myo turned the page, and her eyes widened, on the paper was a beautiful pencil drawing of a mountain landscape. Luna (if the girl was indeed the owner of the notebook), apparently knew how to draw a thousand times better than she did. She turned the pages, one by one, looking at the different drawings with attention. There were more landscapes of various kinds, but also sketches of all sorts of strange creatures. Myo had already seen some of them, but most were unknown to her. They must have lived in very different environments from the one near the tower. Her gaze fell on a drawing of a round creature with big black eyes and tiny legs and wings. Myo remembered seeing one a month or so ago when she was high in the sky on her way to raid the book box again. After a while she came across a portrait of a woman who looked very much like Luna, but in her adult years. Perhaps her mother... Three pages further on was the portrait of a man. This one Myo recognised, it was the one she presumed to be her father and who was accompanying her.

The most recent drawings contained more of the creatures she had seen near the tower and more familiar landscapes. They were probably the drawings she had made here since her arrival. Myo froze on one of the pages. Here was a drawing of her tower... the little blonde seemed to have approached without her noticing, or at a time when she wasn't there. The last drawing was a seascape seen from the edge of a cliff. Myo was impressed. The graphite waves looked real. It was the drawing that Luna had just finished... For the first time, Myo felt bad for having stolen something. The drawing book was obviously precious to the girl. Inexplicably, her throat was tight and she felt strangely uneasy. Stealing had never caused such a reaction in her. She had stolen tools from gardens, books, food... But she had never felt like this afterwards.

Myo hated that feeling. That feeling of having crossed a line she shouldn't have. The notebook belonged to Luna, she had filled it with drawings of her passions, pictures of people she was close to (the concept of close people was strange to Myo but she could imagine that humans preferred to be with some people than with others). Myo had never felt this strange sense of discomfort with herself, she couldn't even imagine that it was possible to feel this way.

Her mind was already made up. She put the sketchbook back in her bag and jumped out of one of the tower's windows before soaring higher and higher, until she was high enough to be mistaken for a normal bird from the ground. She immediately headed for the edge of the cliff where Luna had fallen asleep (what a strange human ... falling asleep like that in an unsafe place...) But unfortunately, she was gone. The grass on which she had fallen asleep still had the trace of her body.
Myo could no longer return the notebook to her as discreetly as she would have liked. That would complicate things. She should try to leave the notebook near the tent and hope that no one saw her. She flew back towards the Lovegoods' tent. Fortunately no one seemed to have returned. The father had been at sea all day yesterday and had probably done the same thing today, given his absence. And either Luna was in the tent or she hadn't returned yet. Myo landed discreetly behind the large green canvas tent and listened. No sound. She walked towards the entrance of the tent. It was closed and no one seemed to be around. In front of the tent was a light metal table with folding chairs and the remains of a campfire. Without wasting any time, Myo placed the notebook on the table and flew back to the tower, her heart suddenly much lighter than it had been a few minutes before.

oOOOo

A few days later, on a sunny day, Myo was indulging in her new favorite pastime: Observing Luna. She was as much an enigma as she was full of answers. A human specimen to be observed and studied near the tower without risking danger by lingering in a village. Today, Myo was hidden among the shrubs in one of the crevices of the cliff, watching Luna on the beach below. Her father had gone out to sea in a small boat earlier in the day and Luna, left alone on land, was taking advantage of the low tide to pick up things in the sand.

Was she picking up cockles? Clamshells? Some other kind of shell? Perhaps this was something she had in common with the little human. Myo, when she didn't felt like hunting, went to pick up shells on the beach. Whether they were simply beautiful or good to eat, Myo collected them all. The pretty ones she put on the shelves with her other precious objects, while all the edible shells went into a bucket of water for a few hours to spit out their sand. (Thanks to one of the recipe books she had collected from the book box, without which she would have gotten sick trying to eat shells full of sand.

Since Luna was filling a basket with shells, the shells seemed to be the best option, especially since she had a rake in her other hand. Myo envied her for that. Picking up cockles must have been so much easier with a rake.

In any case, considering the quantity of shells in her basket, the catch must have been good.

Myo frowned, by now the tide must have started to rise and Luna was moving further and further from shore. Myo didn't have a problem with the rising tide when she was collecting shells because she could just fly away and return to the tower, but she doubted Luna had that option. She didn't have a wing after all. And watching Luna over the last few days, Myo had realised that she could be very dreamy or focus on one thing and forget about the rest of the world around her.

She looked out into the distance, the sea was rising, and Myo had realised that here the sea could rise very quickly. And right now the sea was rising at an alarming rate, and Luna was too far from shore. If she didn't get back to the cliffs and the passage to the moors she would soon find herself under water!

Luna was crouched in the sand looking at something she had just found, totally unaware of the approaching danger. Did she even swim? Myo didn't need to be able to swim, she could fly. But Luna... If she stayed here she would drown. Like the rabbit she had once seen fall into the river.

And strangely enough, Myo didn't want to see Luna drown. She didn't like that idea. It was strange, she shouldn't be so involved. The water would soon rise too fast for Luna to get out. She had to act. Myo picked up a few stones and stuffed them into her pockets before flying up high enough to be mistaken for a bird. Then she dropped some stones around where Luna was. First Luna's small form, even smaller from this height, looked up, then around. She had to realise quickly...

Ah, at last! Luna had turned towards the open sea, then started running towards the cliffs. Good! Mission accomplished. Myo was now rid of that strange unpleasant feeling caused by the idea that Luna would end up drowned like the rabbit.

She continued to circle in the air until she saw Luna's small form reach the cliff just in time. A little more and the waves would have taken her. Myo felt a strange relief come over her as she started back towards the tower.

Everything was getting stranger and stranger. She shouldn't feel so involved, she was a human... and yet.

oOOOo

Myo had just pulled off a brilliant coup. Earlier that day, Luna's presumed father was sitting at the small, light metal table in front of their tent, while Luna was probably inside. He had been writing things down on sheets of paper. Myo's curiosity might finally be satisfied if what the man had written was the reason they had pitched their tent in her territory.

She had waited patiently for an opening, just as Jasmine might wait motionless for hours for a mosquito to get caught in her web, then taking advantage of a moment when the man's back was turned, she had grabbed the documents and stuffed them into her bag before making a quick escape. Now Myo was in the tower, safe and sound, sitting behind her desk, holding the precious documents at arm's length, a big smile on her face. She immediately began to devour them with her eyes.

The documents looked like newspaper articles, Myo had once or twice stolen newspapers on her excursions but had quickly stopped, finding what was written in them uninteresting. But the articles in what seemed to be the first drafts of future newspaper articles were exciting.

The first explained that Swedish explorers were rumoured to have finally spotted the mysterious Crumple-Horned Snorkack. The creature seemed to be particularly elusive. Myo wondered what it might taste like...

The second was as exciting as it was horrifying. People called aurors and disgruntled government agents had gathered in the rotfang conspiracy to bring down the ministry with the help of powerful black magic and gum disease. Myo had been petrified with dread. Since her escape from the Dursleys she had learned a lot about how humans lived. Namely that they had people who gathered in a ministry to decide what other people were allowed to do and how to punish people who didn't do what they said they should do. Or something like that. And that the ministry and its rules prevented people from doing anything really bad. Like doing worse things than they were already doing.

The Ministry of the United Kingdom was falling because of these mysterious aurors, dark magic (Why couldn't magic exist if Myo was a bird thing that could make fire. The idea was immediately accepted) and gum disease. From the article it was not clear what the conspiracy was about, but it must have had something to do with dental hygiene. Maybe they wanted to take over the ministry to prevent people from washing their mouths... Let's hope the ministry resists...

Fortunately Myo didn't have to worry about that, she doubted that bird things like her would have to answer to the ministry. So even if the rotfang conspiracy won, she could still wash her mouth out with her flames every day. But the worst part was maybe the conspiracy would use their black magic to spread gum disease around the world once the ministry fell. Myo shuddered, such horror!

The last article was different, the first part was about the possible sighting of Womib Vellondia off the coast of Scotland (surely the reason for the man's boat trips...) The second part didn't appeal to her at all, it was about rumours of an unknown creature half human and half bird in the north of Scotland and how the man had gone to the scene to investigate. Were they investigating her? Myo didn't like the idea at all. If too many people knew about her and the rumour was backed up by a newspaper, people might come looking. And Myo did not want to be seen. She had to find a way to get them to drop the story.

oOOOo

Myo had been following Luna quietly across the moor for several hours now, her plan was perfect, she was going to talk to Luna and ask her to tell her father not to publish the article about the rumour of her presence. She had thought of going straight to Luna's presumed father, but Myo was too scared to confront a grown human in this way. Her plan was perfect, simple, effective, no reason for it to fail. The only problem, the only big problem was that for her plan to work, Myo had to show up and explain why she didn't want the article to come out. If she stayed hidden and took on the role of a disembodied voice ordering the censorship of an article, Myo was sure the next article would be. "Disembodied voice of a ghost in the north east of Scotland. Which would be completely counterproductive. But the problem remained. Myo had to show up. And so far, although Myo had been spotted a few times by villagers, she had never shown herself willingly, and every time she knew she had been seen she had completely panicked. Petunia's voice still echoed in her head. "You must not be seen."

But, right now, she had no choice, the only other solution she could see was to make Luna and her alleged father disappear, but Myo wouldn't do that. The very idea of hurting Luna revolted her and made her inexplicably want to puke. She couldn't do that. Therefore she had to show up and talk to her. And that she couldn't do. She had been following Luna for hours on the sly. The occasion was ideal, her father was away at sea again, she would not be disturbed, there was only the little Luna, harmless, without wings, without flames, without sharp talons. She was the predator, the danger, in front of someone as threatening as a small white rabbit. And yet Myo was afraid, with a lump in her stomach and a tightness in her throat. Unable to get up the courage to simply go and talk to Luna. To explain to her and ask her not to let the article end up in the final version of the newspaper.

Luna was heading towards the cliff the other day, where Myo had 'borrowed' her sketchbook (borrowed, yes, Myo had given it back to her, it wasn't theft. No, really, the principle of theft is that you don't return what you steal, so Myo was innocent, perfectly innocent). Luna sat facing the sea, facing the horizon. Myo was like the last time, hiding behind the big rock, leaning alternately on one claw and the other nervously, unable to decide to finally go and talk to her, fear paralysing her.

Myo crouched behind the rock, trying to calm her breathing, closing her eyes tightly. Maybe she should just leave a message near Luna and her father's tent and hope for the best... lost in her fears and thoughts she didn't hear the sound of footsteps in the grass approaching.

" Pretty."

Myo was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of that small, dreamy voice. She stood up abruptly, ready to flee, turning immediately to the source of the voice. A few feet away from her, her large silver-blue eyes fixed on her, Luna stood with one hand resting against the rock.

Before Myo could snap out of her stupor and begin to panic, Luna resumed.

"I finally found you! You know. Dady and I came here partly to find you. We even cancelled our expedition to Sweden in search of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack when Dady heard a rumour of a bird child living in the area. Was that you spying on us since we arrived? I thought it was nargles at first, with my notebook missing, but nargles don't give back what they steal so I really didn't know. Oh sorry, I haven't introduced myself, my name is Luna! Luna Lovegood! And you are?" She said in the most natural way in the world, holding out her hand.

Myo was far too confused to react sensibly, no one had ever spoken to her like that. Without really knowing why, too surprised to run away like she normally would or even panic Myo shook her hand with an air of absolute disbelief before stammering. "My, Myo, Myosotis. Myosotis Potter."

Luna smiled at her, Petunia had smiled at her a few times, but her smiles were always tainted, never real, never reaching her eyes, a mask over a frozen reality. But the smile Luna offered her was completely pure, whole, honest in a way Myo had never seen. (Myo liked that kind of smile.) It kept her in a stupor.

"Nice to meet you Myosotis Potter. You know. There are lots of stories about you, and with the amount of wrackspurts around people reading them I knew they were all completely false but now I have confirmation. None of them said you had wings and so many feathers! So pretty..."

"nargle? Wrackspurts? What's pretty?"

"It's you silly, with such pretty wings. Such beautiful feathers." Luna hid a small amused laugh as she put her hand in front of her mouth. Myo was blushing, but she didn't really know why. Did she like it so much when someone complimented her wings? "Naughty little buggers the nargles, if you're not careful they steal your stuff and hide it. I don't see many of them in general, and there are even fewer around. Wrackspurts, they love to gather around people who lie and people who are confused, and there are a lot of them flying around your head right now."

Suddenly frightened at the thought of invisible creatures influencing her thoughts, Myo instinctively summoned her flames in and around her head. Suddenly she felt calmer, more able to understand and react to what was happening. She turned to Luna. "Are they gone? The Wrackspurts."

Luna stared at her with wide, admiring eyes. She nodded. "Yes, they got away. Are you making flames? How? Don't they burn you? They scared the Wrackspurts away! That's even more effective than my earrings!"

As Myo's confusion evaporated, the reality of her situation returned, she was in front of someone other than Vernon Petunia or Dudley, someone who shouldn't see her. She started to turn to run away when Luna's hand came to rest on her wrist. Myo stopped short, petrified.

"Wait! Why are you leaving?" said Luna.

Someone was touching her, Luna was holding her wrist. The feeling was strange. No one had ever touched her before. The Dursleys stayed away, kept their distance, even when Vernon beat her he didn't touch her. The only form of contact she really had was when Petunia was nursing her wounds after Vernon's attacks. Myo would have expected to be completely freaked out by this situation. But strangely enough the contact with Luna's hand didn't bother her all that much. Luna's hand was soft and warm, and her grip, though firm, didn't hurt, and Myo knew she could get out of it without effort. She didn't panic, but the novelty and strangeness of the situation left her speechless, unable to process what was happening for a few seconds.

Myo sighed, and without turning around she replied, "I'm not supposed to be seen, I'm not supposed to talk to anyone." She wanted to talk to people. To real humans, not Vernons, Vernons she was convinced now were a completely different species. She had to talk to Luna, explain, ask about the paper. But the reflex not to be seen was so deeply rooted that it was hard to resist. Even if deep down she wanted to talk to Luna longer.

Luna's voice sounded entirely surprised. "Why? You're not doing anything wrong. Why can't you be seen? It's a shame, your wings are so pretty..."

Why... a question Myo had never really asked herself. Not when it came to the absolute orders of the Dursleys. Questioning them, or refusing them was out of the question. This was the first time she had really asked herself that question. Why did she have to go unseen? This thought stopped her dead in her tracks as she was about to release her wrist from Luna's hand to leave. Instead she turned to look at Luna, her piercing green eyes plunging into the depths of Luna's silver-blue orbs.

"Because a Vernon told me to? Because people must not know that I exist? Because I am a bird thing and humans must not see bird things and only Vernons and Petunias have the right to know that bird things exist?" A thousand theories tumbled around in her head. She thought back to the reaction the boy had had when he first saw her, when he first arrived. Had he frozen in surprise? Was it fear? Maybe things birds like her were just not supposed to be seen... But Luna hadn't reacted like that at all.

Luna nodded. "Isn't it a bit late to go and hide? I mean. I already saw you. Now I know you exist, I cannot unsee you when I have seen you before. So what would leaving now change?" she said, tilting her head slightly to the side, her big silver blue eyes full of curiosity.

The argument made surprising sense. What good would it do to stop being seen by Luna if she had already been seen. And anyway Vernon was gone, he couldn't hurt her here. Myo's features relaxed and her posture softened. Luna smiled at her again (Myo really liked that smile) and then let go of her wrist. "Do you want to come with me to chat? We can sit on the edge of the cliff facing the sea, it will be more comfortable to talk."

Myo hesitated for a moment, unable to make up her mind, but finally nodded, now that the shock was over and she had no logical reason to run away (even though a voice inside her told her she wasn't supposed to talk to anyone and be seen). And besides she could explain her problem with the paper and deep down she wanted to talk to Luna. She was so much more sane than Petunia. This discussion hadn't lasted five minutes and yet it was the longest and most sensible discussion she had ever had in her life. As they walked side by side towards the sunny grassy edge of the cliff. (At some distance from each other, Myo was still too suspicious. ) Luna asked. "And what is a Vernon? What is a Petunia? Dady never mentioned those creatures. And a bird thing? Funny name for a species."

Myo waited until they were comfortably seated on the grass to answer. She didn't really know about the Vernons but she would do her best to share her theory. "I don't really know. Vernons, I think, are a strange kind of animal that masquerade as humans. They're like humans but bigger, fatter, uglier and either extremely violent or apathetic. If you see one, you have to run away, they are very dangerous. The house where I lived had a kind of mystery, a magic? A force? Something that protected me from Vernon. So I think the wild ones are even more violent. You have to run if you see one." Luna nodded, looking a little scared. "Petunias are the Vernon's females, they are less brutal and don't hit, but they are very strange, you can't tell what they will do, one moment they are normal, the next they are angry. They are also more difficult to recognise among humans than the Vernons, it is their behaviour that makes them different. The dudleys, are their young, it's easy to recognize them they are miniature Vernons. I say all this but I am not sure. I've only seen one pair, but I'm sure there are others everywhere."

It was the first time Myo had spoken out so much. And strangely enough, it felt good to come out of her heart and talk about the oddities she had experienced. She didn't trust Luna, but it wasn't like telling Luna that was dangerous.

Luna looked thoughtful, "I've never seen a Vernon, it must be a rare species, though now that I think about it I must have seen a Petunia once. Strange creature. Do you think they're trying to infiltrate humanity for some secret purpose?"

"I don't think so... I don't know... they're really strange creatures. Ah, and your other question. I'm a bird thing, well that's what I call myself, I'm obviously not human, but I've never seen the name of my species in a book, so until I know I'm sticking with the bird thing."

"Um... I see, you live with Vernons?"

"No, not anymore, I left before they did something too awful."

Luna stared at her for several seconds with an indescribable look on her face, her smile disappearing. "I'm happy for you. That you're not with them anymore. I know how dangerous some creatures can be, even if they are often misunderstood. I don't think the Vernons are misunderstood, though..."

Myo just nodded. She didn't feel like dwelling on the subject.

Luna's face regained its softness, "And your flames? What about them? They don't burn?"

Myo was grateful for the change of subject and jumped at the opportunity. "Ah, yes. They only burn what I want them to burn. And they protect me. Sometimes I think they think for themselves." Myo paused hesitantly for a moment before holding out her hand to Luna. "Do you want to try?"

Luna nodded happily, a big smile on her face, her eyes filled with infinite curiosity. A thought later and a large blue flame danced spiritedly in the palm of Myo's hand. Luna turned her questioning gaze to Myo and Myo nodded and smiled. With less hesitation than would be wise, Luna reached out with one of her hands towards the flames, dipping it into the blue fire and closing her eyes tightly. For a few seconds Luna remained motionless like that, her face contracted, her eyes closed. But she soon opened them again, her eyes full of admiration as she watched her hand, untouched, surrounded by blue flames, licking at her skin without hurting her in the least.

Luna played with the flames, trying various things before Myo blew them away, laughing softly at the disappointed look Luna gave her. A comfortable silence settled between them for several minutes, as Luna watched the hand she had just dipped in the flames with attention. Then, seeming to tire of her observation, she turned back to Myo.

"Do you know the area well?"

"Yes, why?" Myo replied, intrigued.

"The drafts of the articles Dad is going to publish in our newspaper have disappeared. Do you know what could have happened to them? I haven't seen any gargles in the area, and the other day my sketchbook disappeared when I fell asleep here, but it mysteriously turned up near our tent. And the nargle never return what they steal so I don't know what it is."

Myo felt really guilty, took a deep breath and decided to tell the truth. "Since you and your father arrived in the region, in my territory, I have been spying on you to find out why you came. Sorry, it was me who stole your sketchbook and your father's drafts. Myo reached into her bag and handed the papers to Luna. Luna took them and placed them carefully in her sketchbook. "You've come to check on the rumor of my presence in the area as well as research on the Womib Vellondia in a boat in the open sea, and do an article on both in your newspaper. Is that right?"

The smile returned to Luna's lip. "Yes, Dady and I are going to sail in a few days. Dady thinks she's found a place to watch the Velondes. And actually we were going to do an article about you and the Velondes. And now that I've found you, it will be even easier.

"That's just it, I don't want an article about me."

"Why?" asked Luna, curious.

"If there's an article the more people will come and I don't want to be seen by too many people and I like the place, it's quiet, having people come to bother me, I don't want that."

Luna nodded. "I'll talk to Daddy about it, I'm sure he won't have a problem with it. But I think he'd like to see you. And I'm sure Momy would be interested too.

Myo was a little scared, she had relaxed as the conversation went on, Luna had seemed really nice and had nothing to do with the Dursleys, but the idea of meeting her parents scared her. "I'd rather not, Luna, not yet. Do you have a mum?"

Luna looked a little saddened by the refusal but seemed to light up like sunshine the moment the subject of her mother came up. "Yes, her name is Pandora, she is an expert in the creation of new magic. Right now she's at a big convention of arcane experts at 'Université Magique Des Hautes Neiges' in Montreal..."

The discussion turned to the subject of magic, and Luna's family. Apparently, there was a whole world of wizards hidden from normal people. Wizards like in the stories in her new books from the book box. With magic wands that if waved in the right way with the right magic formula could do lots of things! Heal people, make things fly, transform things, and much more! There were also potions, like normal magic but with the magic that happens when the potion is drunk or used, and lots of other things! It was exciting. Unfortunately no one was supposed to know because of the secrecy status, because the wizards were afraid of normal people or something like that.

Maybe the Vernons knew and that was why Myo was not to be seen! It almost made sense. Because now that she thought about it, Myo was obviously a magical species. After all, according to Luna, even wizards couldn't make flames like hers appear, let alone without a wand. So if the wizards wanted to hide from the non-wizards she had to stay hidden as well so as not to bother the wizards... The idea frustrated Myo, but there was nothing she could do about it, anyway it wasn't as if she expected to be seen any more than necessary. At least she shouldn't have any problems being seen by the wizards. But according to Luna it was more complicated than that, because some wizards were racist and didn't like seeing magical creatures. It was stupid! And Luna agreed! Why wouldn't magical people want to be with more magical people? She would end up with a headache and attract the Wrackspurts again if she kept thinking about it too much.

Another thing Myo asked Luna about was what she was supposedly known for. Apparently there had been a civil war about ten years ago between the current magical government and an extremist political party led by a very powerful wizard.

The extremist group, according to Luna, felt that the magical government was not racist enough and not pro-nobility enough. The war had been terrible and had left thousands dead throughout the magical community of Great Britain. It had come to an abrupt end when the powerful wizard had managed to kill himself while trying to kill the whole family of Myo. He had succeeded in killing her father and mother but had killed himself before he succeeded in killing her. Failed magic or something. And then she was known because the leader of the 'villains' had killed himself in the room where she was at the time. Wizards were really stupid. And then how did an entire revolutionary movement simply collapse when its leader fell? Didn't he have a second in command? Or someone to take over the war if something happened to the leader? It didn't make sense.

Luna had said it was much more complicated, but she hadn't understood much of it when her mother had explained it to her. Luna had also been surprised that Myo was a bird thing when both her parents were apparently not. A new oddity to add to the list. Luna had also asked where the scar had gone, Myo vaguely remembered that she had had one on her forehead a long time ago but that it had completely disappeared after her flames had first appeared. The whole thing seemed strange. She hoped she wouldn't get mixed up in all the stupid and complicated problems of wizards. Killing each other because some people find the government not racist enough... seriously. And now, worse, the wizards saw her as some kind of hero destroying bad wizards, they had even given her an ugly nickname. Girl who lived. She couldn't contain a nervous laugh at this new absurdity.

Luna knew a lot about all these magical things. Apparently she was a witch and so were her parents. She just couldn't have a wand yet because of her age, too young. Luna obviously loved her parents.

Pandora, her mum, was an example to her. She was a great magical scientist. The kind of magical scientist who finds new wand movements and words to say to do new magic never done before! Luna had spent a long time describing one of her new creations. Myo didn't really understand it, but it was something to do with controlling light rays in such a way that, in the end, she could use them to cut things out or draw super precise things, but also form images in the air. Luna's explanation hadn't really helped her understand but it sounded really impressive. Seriously? Cutting things with light?

Xenophilius, he was Luna's father, she finally had his name. And the man was a zoologist but for magical creatures as well as a journal author. Co-author if you counted Luna's help in writing certain articles. And it was he who regularly took Pandora and Luna on expeditions to discover new creatures. This time, Luna had confessed to being sad because her mother had not been able to accompany them because of the seminar. Myo wondered if with his job he could know what species she might belong to, but she didn't want to go see him. Talking to a girl about her age had been difficult enough, she would panic if she tried to talk to a grown man.

Caught up in the discussion Myo spoke more than she had intended, she was beginning to really enjoy talking to Luna. It was pleasant, the discussion flowed and the moments of silence were not awkward. Myo had never talked so much in such a short time. The discussion turned to Myo's way of life and how great it was to live in the old tower, hunting, fishing and foraging. Now Myo had no need to steal food at all and only passed by villages to collect food placed in the strange little stone houses she found in some rare gardens for some time. Why people decided to put food there was a mystery to her. She had asked Luna but she had no idea either.

As Luna was explaining that her mum and dad had enrolled her in the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for her eleventh birthday, a school apparently reserved for the rich, the noble, or the wizards born to normal people with particularly promising potential, Luna and Myo shivered together, a particularly cool breeze reaching them. They both looked up, and saw that the sun was low on the horizon. Myo turned to Luna.

"I'm going back to the tower. It's getting late and there are strange creatures roaming around at night."

"Um, indeed, and then it's getting cold. I'll tell him about the article."

Myo smiled. "Thanks."

Just as Myo was about to take off Luna's voice interrupted her departure. "Wait!"

"What is it?"

Luna's cheeks turned slightly pink, her eyes looking down at the ground as she fidgeted nervously. "You... Can we meet again?"

Myo cocked her head to the side in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, seeing each other again, talking more, doing things together?" added Luna, blushing even more.

Myo hesitated, she had enjoyed talking to Luna, she had found her company pleasant and had learned a lot. Maybe she should at least try. It didn't cost her anything... She looked at the setting sun, the sea, and then at Luna's small form fidgeting, looking nervous because of the silence that was beginning to linger. Myo sighed. "Tomorrow, here, when the sun is at the top of the sky?"

Luna nodded happily, giving her the most radiant smile she had given her since they met; "yes! See you tomorrow, Myosotis!" she said as she ran out onto the moor. Myo watched her walk away, still a little shaken by their meeting. Her first real contact with a human being who wasn't crazy. She flew back to the tower. Tonight she would have a lot to think about.

oOOOo

More than a week later, on a cloudy afternoon, Myo and Luna were walking on a narrow path along the edge of a cliff. It was a bit of a climb at times, but otherwise it wasn't too difficult. Since Myo had first spoken to Luna, they had seen each other every day, their meeting point being the cliff top where Myo had first stolen her notebook. At first Myo thought she would only come back to see Luna once or twice, but she surprised herself by making their conversation a habit. And more, they found themselves doing other things together. Scouring the moor for creatures to watch (and possibly eat, in Myo's case), drawing, Myo now had three portraits of Luna in the tower. Luna didn't quite understand Myo's interest in the portraits, but she had let herself be drawn anyway. Myo didn't understand why she liked drawing portraits so much either, drawing people, capturing their faces, their expressions, their essence was just fascinating to Myo. But she couldn't explain it to herself.

During their long talks Myo had learned a lot about Luna's family and the hidden magical world in general. How small communities hid themselves more or less in every city (apparently the biggest city, London, had a very large magical community living in a large area more like a city within a city called charing. It was interesting to know, but Myo would never go to London of her own free will, just flying miles above a city disgusted her, so going in?

At the moment Myo was leading Luna to one of her secrets, a place she had discovered two months ago while flying low over a cliff, and strangely enough she didn't mind taking Luna to a place where a month ago she couldn't even imagine taking Luna to.

Myo was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of something skidding against the stones behind her. She barely had time to turn around to see Luna starting to fall into the air, the sharp rocks and icy water waiting for her to arrive. Quicker than she thought she could, Myo threw herself into the air after Luna, as a new fear, a feeling she had never felt before, came over her. Time seemed to slow down as her talons closed around Luna's shoulders and with a powerful wingbeat Myo brought them back to the path.

She gently set Luna down on the path before landing a few feet away. Luna had one hand against the rock for support as her legs shook, the other hand over her heart. Her eyes were wide, a tear silently running down one of her cheeks.

"Luna, are you okay?" said Myo as she approached.

"I, I had the fright of my life." Luna stammered. "Thank you."

Myo nodded. "We're almost there, let's go." Strangely, Myo's heart was pounding in her chest, her flames begging to come out. She had hated to see Luna fall backwards and couldn't help but imagine Luna's broken body among the rocks, disappearing into the foam. What had just happened had affected her more than she had expected. The idea of Luna disappearing was just... She couldn't explain it. She had to move on, and stop thinking about it.

A few minutes later they arrived at the entrance to the cave, Luna seemed to have recovered quite well. Her knees had stopped shaking and she had regained her colour. She stared at the cave entrance, bewildered. "It's just a cave?"

A mischievous smile appeared on Myo's lips. "You'll see, it's much more than that. They entered, Luna following closely behind Myo, looking unsettled. A turn further on and Luna stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her lay a large cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites and a flooded floor. But what immediately caught her eye were the dozens of luminous mosses and plants, yellow-green, purple, orange or red, which lit up the interior of the cave in a magical way. In the water swam strange eight-legged amphibians, also luminescent. In the air flew dozens of tiny creatures glowing with a soft white light like as many stars. All these lights reflected on the water and diffracted through the strange crystals covering the walls.

The look of delight on Luna's face at all this mysterious beauty was worth a thousand times the price of bringing her here. Myo caught herself staring at her with a smile of her own, as Luna walked through the cave religiously, looking at every strange mossy plant or animal that inhabited the place.

Myo loved it here, her flames singing their contentment in the back of her mind as the feeling she had learned to relate to the magic since Luna had explained it to her was so powerful here. She followed the little blonde through the cave, a strange feeling of contentment washing over her at seeing Luna so happy.

oOOOo

In the last few days Luna's father had been spending a lot of time on the sea looking for schools of Vellondes to observe. From what Luna had said, he preferred to leave her on land for fear that she would get too bored on the boat. He had promised to take her with him when he was sure to find the fish, but in the meantime, Luna spent a lot of time alone in the highlands, with a necklace enchanted by her mum for protection. At last she would be alone if Myo hadn't decided to spend most of her time with Luna these days.

Today, Myo and Luna were at the river. A nice river with clear water, wide but shallow. A few trees were growing around it, which was a change from the desolate landscape of the highlands. Luna had rolled up her dress to mid-thigh and taken off her shoes, to look in the river for small fish, beautiful pebbles or other objects of interest. She had talked about possibly finding a Bewillot. Myo, intrigued, had asked what it was, only to discover that the creature was a small river crustacean with a dark blue shell, twenty-seven legs, nine large eyes and the ability to grow the hair of those it looked at. Myo doubted that she would find any, as so far she had not seen anything like it in the rivers around here, but it was worth looking.

For her part, Myo had quickly tired of searching, her claws being too cold, and had sat down on a rock to warm herself in her flames before starting to draw Luna searching in the water. From time to time Luna would come to her, her lips blue from the cold so that Myo could warm her with her flames too. At first Luna was intrigued and a bit wary of Myo's flames, but she soon got used to them and now seemed to like them very much. Myo wondered if all humans were so brave and carefree or if it was a peculiarity of Luna specifically. Unfortunately she didn't know enough humans to know for sure, but the reaction of the few other humans who had seen her made her think that it was something specific to Luna. After all, all creatures (except bird things) were instinctively afraid of fire.

Myo was about to look up from her drawing after finally finishing it when she heard the splash of Luna's footsteps in the water approaching accompanied by her crystalline laughter. Luna was walking through the water towards her, a big smile on her face and her hands closed around something.

"Myosotis! Look what I found!"

Without realizing it, Myo smiled back at her. "Did you finally find a Bewillot?" she replied.

"No, but I found something just as good!" Luna was now right next to her and without thinking, Myo summoned her blue flames to envelop Luna and warm her. Luna only reacted with a sigh of relief and closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the warmth of the flames and the feeling of comfort that Myo knew so well. Seeming to suddenly remember the reason for her sudden return, Luna held out her hands towards her, exposing what they contained. A deep blue stone, its surface so polished by the waters that it was smooth as glass. In its centre was a hole formed by the passage of time and water. The beauty of the little stone caught Myo for a moment. She couldn't stop looking at it. She was surprised when she heard Luna say. "Here, this is for you," she said, handing her the stone.

Without thinking, Myo took it gently, reverently, before undoing her collar showing the skull of her first hunt and slipping the stone onto it.

Luna was looking at her, smiling, her cheeks strangely rosy. Myo didn't really know how to react. Petunia sometimes gave her books, but she had never given her anything so genuine, so sincere. Without thinking, she took the parchment with a black ink drawing of Luna in profile, leaning over the water to pick up something, and silently handed it to her. Luna took the parchment before clutching it to her chest, blushing even more.

After this strange moment, the afternoon resumed its course, neither of them talking about what had just happened. It had been a strange, floating moment. And Myo didn't know what to make of it.

That evening, lying among the cushions and blankets that served as her bed, Myo spent several hours looking at the beautiful stone pierced at her neck, in the glow of its flames, playing with them as they reflected off the smooth surface of the object. When Myo finally fell asleep, it was with a strange, indescribable warmth in her chest.

oOOOo

The weather was heavy, the clouds low and dark, and Myo was bored. Something in the air just made her want to lie still on the pile of pillows and blankets in the tower and stare at the ceiling beams. She had let a couple of spiders settle in for company and had lost herself in contemplating their webs. Mathilde, the big epeir was lazily moving towards a poor fly caught in her web... Myo looked away towards the only window whose heavy curtain she had left open so she could see the sky. She felt a strange melancholy, alone at the top of her tower, a bitter-sweet feeling weighing on her heart. She had no desire to read, no desire to draw, to fly or even to move. At this point, lying motionless on the pile of cushions suited her just fine.

The day before, Luna had told her that she couldn't come to see her today because her father would be taking her to see the Velonde shoal that he had spotted on the northwestern side of the coast. From the roof of her tower this morning she had watched Luna's and her father's boat sail away. After that, the weather had become overcast and the air had become heavy. Myo didn't like it. She didn't feel like going out or hunting, or even eating. And for several hours now she had been alternating between staring at the ceiling and watching the darkening clouds roll across the sky.

It was still early and yet the atmosphere was vesperal so dark were the clouds. The wind had just picked up, at first a light breeze barely rustling the curtains, then stronger and stronger. Myo was glad to be inside, she was even less keen to be outside in this weather. Then a bluish light illuminated the interior of the tower briefly. Followed closely by a powerful thunderclap. Rain followed closely, curtains of water falling from the sky, as the lightnings multiplied.

Myo, grunting, stood up and walked over to the window to watch the spectacle that was the wrath of the skies. Lightning streaked the sky as the thunder became a continuous, unceasing roar as the lightning bolts followed each other in quick succession. Several were even tearing the sky apart at once at times. Myo looked up at the powerful storm. Behind the thick curtain of dark clouds she could see titanic, fleeting shadows illuminated for a moment by the lightning before becoming invisible again in the darkness of the clouds. Myo felt ridiculous, invisible and tiny before the wrath of the sky. Was it a gigantic lightning snake she had just seen between the clouds or just her imagination?

A strange feeling of dread crawled in the back of her mind. She couldn't put her finger on it. Why was her throat tight and a chill running down her spine here in the safety of her tower? She just hoped Luna wasn't too wet down there.

Suddenly the feeling crystallized, into something precise and almost tangible. Luna! She was on a boat! On the open sea! In the middle of the raging ocean! Her rationality told her that her father was there to watch over her and that nothing would happen to her. But something inside her told her to do something. She walked around in circles in the tower, not knowing. Myo hadn't realised that she had become so attached to Luna that she was considering doing what she was going to do.

Myo shook her head, staying here in uncertainty had become unbearable. She had to go, if only to ease her mind. She clutched the river blue stone offered by Luna in her hand, as she felt a strange inexplicable acidity on the back of her tongue and everything inside her was too uncomfortable with the thought of Luna at sea in the middle of the storm to stay here and do nothing.

The air inside the room shivered as an invisible wind stirred the fabrics and a strange force shook the countless trinkets and skulls displayed on the shelves. Myo's clothes fluttered around her, the hare's skull's eye sockets now incandescent, and the river stone rising from her chest. Myo blinked, the soft green of her irises replaced by two orbs seemingly containing an abyss of blue flames. All the air around her burst into flames, her wings seemingly grown with feathers of pure blue flame. Her entire body was now engulfed in flames. Unaware of this, feeling only her strength and determination to make sure Luna was safe, Myo threw herself out of the window into the wind and driving rain. The ropes of rain didn't even have time to reach her before it evaporated with a hiss.

Myo spread her wings, feathers and flames becoming one. She sliced through the air and water like a white-hot blade slicing through butter. Accelerating more and more, driven by the flames, her anxiety and her determination. Faster and faster, louder and louder, all she could hear was the hiss of rain evaporating on her and the drums of thunder, at that moment she was one with the storm. She flew towards the northwest, her wings carrying her towards, she hoped, a living Luna.