THC Round 5
House: Slytherin
Class: Ancient Runes
Category: Standard
Prompt: Abandoned Area, [Animal] rabbit
Rating: T
Word Count: 1989
Betas: CoppersMama, VanillaAshes
Warnings: Brief mentions of death and animal suffering
Luna flinched as branches cracked under her sneakers. Even though she knew Ginny was just a few steps behind her, she felt alone and rather frightened. Muttering a spell under her breath, she cast a Patronus, allowing the soft blue light to soften the bleakness of the woods. Just a few feet away, she heard Ginny curse.
"I'm over here," called Luna. "Follow the blue light!"
Fighting her way through the bushes, Ginny emerged from the trees.
"Why did I let you drag me out here," Ginny grumbled at Luna.
Ignoring her question, Luna guided her patronus to illuminate the woods. The blue-lit hare hopped gracefully around, and the pair spotted something just a few meters away.
They locked eyes then cautiously proceeded through the trees. A cabin was nestled in the bushes. Luna hoped to herself that it was empty. She knew it was her idea to go explore these woods. It was just rare that they had an opportunity to seek out some unusual members of the fae family. Unfortunately, the mission had been a bust, and all they got was lost. Still, she was glad to have Ginny's company.
The trees were a little less overgrown heading towards the house, and the pair got there quickly. Standing before the door, their bravery dwindled. Luna extinguished her Patronus, and the pair lit up their wants like torches. The cabin was made of thick wood logs and had many dusty windows. The door appeared red in the dim light, and there was a knocker in the shape of a wolf. Luna took a deep breath and banged the wolf's head against the door. It felt like the noise was amplified through the woods, and the two stood, holding their breath, unsure if they wanted someone to open the door.
After standing in silence for a couple of minutes, it became clear that the cabin was abandoned.
"Alohomora" mumbled Ginny.
The door unlocked. Luna wondered if the cabin belonged to a wizard or a muggle.
Inside, they were hit with an unpleasant smell. The cabin had definitely been inhabited but abandoned long enough for everything left to rot. Inside was muggy and damp and heavy. It felt at least twenty degrees warmer inside the cabin than out in the woods. Every inch of the cabin was covered in things, and as the pair entered, a feeling of hopelessness washed over them. Newspapers, dishes, books and piles of garbage. It would have appeared cluttered, but each pile of items was perfectly stacked.
Weaving their way between teetering stacks, the pair tried to understand who once resided there. Luna peered into a bedroom and let out a gasp. Ginny rushed to her side and they found themselves staring at a caged rabbit. It's ears drooped around it's small face and it's fur was matted. In the rabbit's tiny space was an empty food bowl and water dish, long dried up.
Rushing to the poor creature, Luna unlatched the cage and cradled the rabbit in her shaking could feel its ribs, and its breathing was slow and made her stomach roll. Who could do this to such a sweet creature?
Ginny grabbed the dish from the cage
"Auguamenti", she murmured, watching Luna cradle the rabbit.
Bowl now filled with water, the rabbit drank gratefully. Ginny inspected the cage. She cast a detection spell over the space, and it glowed red. They were dealing with a magical presence. Trying to dig deeper as to what spells were cast upon the cage, Ginny muttered a few more incantations, but nothing was revealed.
She turned back to Luna, who was sitting on the floor petting the rabbit's back as it drank.
"The cage shows signs of being locked and secured using magic," Ginny relayed.
'So we are dealing with a magical being," Luna confirmed, her voice low. Twice she opened and closed her fist, then in a sudden movement, she leapt to her feet. She grabbed the cage and rushed to the front door. With a shout, she hurled the cage off the porch and into the trees. When she turned around, both Ginny and the rabbit were watching her with wide eyes.
Ginny nodded slowly, reaching out to the frightened rabbit.
"Close the door please, Luna," Ginny ordered with a bemused smile.
Luna complied and sheepishly closed the door.
"I hate people who cause suffering to animals."
The rabbit moved with caution towards Luna. It was then that she noticed it had semi-healed lacerations on its back. Her heart ached looking at it and she nearly felt the need to throw something else out the door. The poor creature must have been of some importance to whoever locked it up.
"Do you think we could learn anything from these piles?"
Ginny followed Luna's eyes and landed upon piles of papers in the kitchen. Random words and phrases were circled in messy, dark blue ink.
"Maybe", she responded, grabbing the top paper.
Luna sat on the floor with the rabbit in her lap and joined Ginny, flipping through the stacks of papers. Occasionally, the house would creak and pop causing both of them to jump. As they scanned the papers, they could find no rhyme or reason to the circles and lines. The home felt off-putting but they were determined to find some sort of answer before leaving with the rabbit.
After a few minutes the rabbit began scratching at Luna's leg. At first she just petted its head, hoping it would calm down but when the scratching persisted she looked the rabbit in its wide brown eyes.
"What is it?"
Ginny and Luna watched as the rabbit took off down the hallway. It paused on a section of flooring and began to scratch the surface.
Casting a spell, Ginny detected a hidden hatch and, with growing apprehension, located the handle. Luna scooped the rabbit into her arms as Ginny tossed the hatch open. A blast of icy air burst forth, causing goosebumps to cover Luna's arms. Before them was a black pit. They could see nothing past the first step descending into the darkness. To their horror, the rabbit leaped from Luna's arms into the abyss. The pair, frightened, followed the clacking of the creature's nails on the wooden steps.
After descending twelve wooden steps, Luna raised her illuminated wand to observe her surroundings. Ginny stood to her left, and the rabbit was on the floor in front of them. The impossible darkness in the room had to be magical. Their wands could only light a few inches around them.
Suddenly, the rabbit ran away from them once more. Before they could follow they were startled by a horrible shattering screamed, while Luna went to hold her ears. It broke the eerie silence and the room filled with light. Blinking, Luna looked around. There were shards of electric blue glass everywhere and the rabbit hopped back towards the pair. It blinked at them, urging them to put together the pieces, but neither of them could think in this uncomfortable basement.
"You grab a few pieces of this glass, and I'll grab the rabbit," instructed Luna.
Nodding, Ginny placed a few pieces in her coat pockets. The rabbit obediently hopped into Luna's arms, and they raced up the stairs.
As they emerged from the hidden hatch, Luna's stomach sank. A figure stood in the doorway between them and the exit.
"It's bad to go into other people's homes," the voice hissed at them. It sounded as though words were difficult for the figure to form.
Luna stood in front of Ginny. "We thought it was empty, and there was a living creature starving in here."
"That creature is none of your business."
The rabbit snuggled against Luna's chest.
"What is this place," she shouted at the figure, trying to intimidate it.
"A facility," it responded, lunging at Luna and Ginny.
But Ginny was ready and shot it down with a Patronus. The creature fell and writhed on the ground as Ginny's blue horse attacked it. Luna mustered up her strength and sent her own glowing hare in to assist the horse. Together, the pair sent the dementor back out into the woods.
Suddenly, the notes in the newspaper made sense. Only words that related to suffering and darkness had been circled. Why a dementor was residing in a cabin was beyond their knowledge, but they rushed away before he regained his strength.
Back outside the cabin, a weight lifted off the two witches. They jogged away from the cabin until they couldn't see it in the trees. Breaking, Luna bent down and picked some dandelions for the rabbit. The little brown-furred creature eagerly scarfed them down and then stood on its back legs. In a swift motion, it transformed into a human. A malnourished young woman stood before them, her messy brown hair draped over her eyes. There were large tears in her clothes that revealed poorly healed wounds. Head bowed, she struggled to grasp her words.
"I have so much to tell you."
"Later," Ginny stated firmly. "We need to put more distance between us and the dementor."
The woman and Luna both nodded, and the trio hustled further from the cabin. Finally, they reached the clearing where Luna and Ginny had started their journey. While catching their breath, the pair turned to the newest member of their group.
"You're an animagus," Ginny stated.
The woman nodded nervously. "My name is Celenia. I worked as an intake officer at Azkaban."
Luna politely stopped Celina. "Let's find a more comfortable place before we continue." The three then joined hands and aparated to Luna's flat. Covered in paintings. Celeina was amazed.
"I hate to trouble you," she began as Ginny sat herself at Luna's table. "But I could desperately use some food."
Luna summoned a plate, hot and ready to go, from her fridge and placed it on the table.
"Tell us your story, Celenia."
For nearly an hour, the two friends listened in captivated silence. Celenia had been an intake officer at Azkaban, keeping track of the prisoners. One day, a dementor had gone rogue and as he fled the scene, he took her with him. They had moved into the cabin, which had already been abandoned. They stumbled upon the previous owner's deceased form on the couch. To protect herself from the dementor's kiss, Celenia had turned into her rabbit. That angered the dementor, and he locked her away, often leaving for long periods of time. Her wounds were from trying to squeeze her way out of the cage. Each attempt only left her more wounded. She was certain the cage was cursed to keep her from ever healing. His goal, she explained, was to build an army of prisoners and wreak havoc on the wizards that enslaved the dementors. She noted that his plan didn't make much sense, and she often wondered if he had tampered with the souls of so many humans that he began to absorb their evil and insanity. Never did he reveal to her why he had stolen her away.
As Celenia finished her story, Luna busied herself making tea. Ginny sent an owl to Harry, who was working at the ministry as an Aurror. They needed to resolve this quickly. A rough dementor was a terrifying thought.
Luna made up a bed for Celenia, who sighed happily as she snuggled into the pile of pillows and soft blankets.
"I don't remember the last time I was this comfortable."
Ginny bid Luna and Celenia goodnight, but Luna hovered for a moment. Celenia took a moment to speak.
" I saw your Patronus through the window. It was the first time I felt hope since I was stolen away. Thank you. From one rabbit to another, I owe you my life."
Luna only nodded and gently patted Celenia on the head. "Goodnight, dear, new friend."