I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC in this story

Hello guys, Badger here. I'd like to apologise from lack of updates the last couple of months. University has been a real kick in the balls lately and honestly, I didn't realise how much time has passed. I do hope you can forgive me for that.

But I'm back now and I have a treat for you this chapter as this is the first chapter, in this remaster, that is completely new, built from the ground up. This chapter wasn't in the original story. Mostly. It's also quite short. There was originally a lot more that was going to be included in this chapter, which I removed and decided to put into other chapters, that way this one doesn't feel too cluttered as there is quite a bit that happens in this chapter.

But that's all for now. Read on, enjoy and I will see you at the end.

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Chapter 16

Something Strange, In The School Corridors

…

There was a small chill across the grounds and surrounding forests of Hogwarts castle. It was early in the morning, students were just starting to get out of their beds and there was a gentle mist of fog in the air. Across the grounds outside the castle, James walked into the forests and through a small clearing where he saw the person that he was looking for. Luna Lovegood. He had been making his way to the Great Hall to meet up with the others when he had seen Luna make her way down to the courtyard, carrying what looked like a bucket full of Rae meat in her hands. Curiosity had gotten the better of him, and so he decided to take a small detour and find out what she was doing.

Besides, there were questions he wanted answers to.

His curiosity merely grew when he saw that Luna seemed to just be standing there, looking up at the sky, as if she was waiting for something. He also couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be barefoot, making him wonder why she chose not to wear shoes or some other footwear, especially with how cold it was. As he got closer, Luna seemed to hear him approach as she turned to look at him, a small smile on her face.

"Hello James…" She said, her voice gentle and airy, "What brings you all the way out here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing…" James replied, "But seeing as you asked first, I followed you…I want to know how you knew who I was back on the train…and please don't lie to me, I don't like liars…"

"I would never lie, James…" Luna said, the two now standing side by side, "I guess it's only fair to tell you…I'm a Seer…or at the very least, have Seer abilities…growing up I've always seen glimpses and images of things…people, places and events…Ginny told me about you the first time she met you…"

"You know Ginny?" James asked, a little surprised, as the Weasley daughter had never brought up Luna in conversation, but then again he never spoke to the girl much

"We're quite close…" Luna nodded, "I live not far from the Burrow…after she first met you, she told me about you when she visited later that day, but I already knew who you were from my visions…I don't know why I've had glimpses of you, but I hope I didn't startle you too much on the train…"

"It's…fine…" James said after a moment, "Don't worry about it…"

There was a small silence between the two, with Luna still looking to the sky with the bucket in her hands, before James looked down at her feet. His eyes narrowed slightly, when he saw her skin slowly starting to turn a small shade of blue.

"Aren't your feet cold?" He asked, "It's not exactly ideal weather to be barefoot in…"

"They are, a little bit…" Luna nodded, seemingly unfazed, "Unfortunately however, some of my possessions including my shoes have seemed to have disappeared…I reckon Nargles are behind it…"

"Nargles?" James asked, as he looked at Luna, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What's a Nargle?"

"They're tiny little creatures, that mostly infest mistletoe…" Luna replied, "They're quite mischievous little things, though my Butterbeer cork necklace helps keep them away most days…"

"Right…" James drawled, his tone one of disbelief, "Are you sure it's not people doing it?"

"I don't see why people would do it…" Luna said, her eyebrows furrowed as if she found the very though to be bizarre, "That's not very nice…"

"Some people are just not very nice in general…" James said

"I guess that's true…" Luna shrugged, "Admittedly, there were a few girls that weren't very nice to me…"

"Who?" James asked

"A few of the older girls in Ravenclaw…" Luna said, "After I was sorted, I tried making a few friends but they seemed to find me a little weird…they called me names, but nothing I'm not used to…"

James' eyes narrowed suspiciously at Luna's words. He didn't like that she was being bullied for being a little…odd. However, if her words were anything to go by, it's possible these girls were the ones responsible for her missing possessions. However, before James could push the issue any further, a soft trill filled the air around them. Both James and Luna looked up to see something flying amongst the trees, before it came to a stop on the ground not too far away from them.

A small family of Thestrals. They didn't seem to mind James' and Luna's presence as they started to drink from the nearby river stream and playing with their infants.

James' gaze turned soft as he looked upon the Thestrals in front of them. As beautiful as they were ominous. Beside him, Luna reached into the bucket and threw a few pieces of meat to them. That's when things started clicking into place.

"You can see them too…" James said, his tone now one of sympathy, "May I ask who?"

"My mother…" Luna replied, her voice soft though James could hear a small layer of sadness, "She often experimented with spells and potions…a few years ago, I was watching her work when one of her potions went wrong and backfired…"

"I'm sorry…" James said, not knowing what else to say

"Thank you…" Luna said, feeding the Thestrals some more meat, "Of course, I don't need to ask you the same…about who you lost…do your friends know about…"

"Stop!" James interrupted, closing his eyes tightly, feeling his chest tighten, "Don't…just…just don't…"

"I'm sorry…" Luna replied, "I saw glimpses of what happened, whenever my visions saw you…I didn't mean to cross a line…"

"Its fine…" James sighed, "Just…don't bring this up to anyone…I'm not ready to talk about it…"

Luna nodded in understanding, before turning her attention to one of the Thestral infants slowly walking toward them. It had only just noticed their presence and was now curious as to who they were. Luna smiled at the infant, before reaching into the bucket for a small piece of meat which she threw it to the infant. It glanced down at the meat for a moment before it happily began tucking in to the meal that had been gifted to it.

James and Luna said nothing, just watching in silence, enjoying the peace as well as the each other's company.

…

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the rest of the schools population, Ginny Weasley was walking alone down one of corridors towards the girls bathroom. In her arms she held the black book close to her chest. She found the book fascinating. This morning she had decided to write in it, with the intention of using it as a diary. However, to her shock, when she had started writing her words had disappeared and replaced with someone else's handwriting, responding to what she had written down in a beautiful inked calligraphy. Ginny couldn't believe what she was seeing. At first she thought that the book was some special, magical creation to help students with their learning.

The book was nothing like anything Ginny has seen before.

Before she headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast, she had spent a bit of time speaking to the book, writing things down and seeing how it responded. Apparently whoever, or whatever, was responding to her was called Tom and he was very nice to her. He even offered to help her with her studies throughout her First Year at Hogwarts. Ecstatic, Ginny had then proceeded to make her way down to the Great Hall, with a skip in her step, with the diary clutched in her arms. However, along the way, she had felt a strange sensation fill her entire being. Like a small voice in the back of her mind.

Whatever the voice was, it was telling her to go to the girls bathroom on the second floor of the castle. And, for whatever reason, Ginny found herself doing what the voices said as she immediately turned around and took a small detour to the other end of the castle.

With the diary firmly pressed to her chest, Ginny entered the girls bathroom, the voice in the back of her head getting louder. Listening to what the voice was telling her, she approached the sinks and commanded them to open. There was a small moment of silence, before there was a gentle rumble of stone where the sinks started to move and separate. Ginny took a step back, as marble scrapped across stone, as the sinks parted to reveal a large hole leading to complete darkness. A small smile crept across Ginny's face and, if she had taken a moment to look into a mirror, she would've noticed that her eyes were now beginning to give off an ominous crimson glow.

Summoning a staircase to lead her down into the darkness below, Ginny descended down the hole where, unbeknownst to her, a ghostly figure had popped their head up, watching in shock and fear as they watched someone descend, the sinks closing behind them.

…

Across the country, Voldemort was growing more restless with each passing second he spent inside his old Manor House. He was starting to lose whatever little patience he had left. The only thing currently stopping him from lashing out, was that he could feel that his diary had latched onto someone. He felt the moment that all the magic he embedded into the diary latched onto their magical core, slowly leaching their magic and life force. It would seem that Lucius had been successful in smuggling the diary into Hogwarts. Perhaps he was useful enough to keep around for a while longer.

Hopefully, by the end of the year, he'll have a brand new, much younger body and will no longer be trapped in this wraith state any longer.

Snapping out of his pondering, Voldemort heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The Dark Lord had grown more irritated with his cloaked ally over the last few days. They spoke to him in ways that his other followers never would, out of fear of death, or worse. It both impressed and infuriated to no end. It shown that his ally had a backbone, unlike so many who followed the Dark Lords cause. As much as Voldemort wanted to, he couldn't kill him. Not only because of his corporeal form, but because they were useful for the time being.

But that didn't mean that the Dark Lord wasn't tempted.

"What is it?" Voldemort asked, not even turning to face them

"We've received a message from Lucius…" The cloaked figure said, "He was able to smuggle that diary of yours into Hogwarts…"

"I thought as such…" Voldemort drawled, "I felt the magic latch onto someone's core…"

"So Lucius has saved his neck from the chopping block then?" the figure asked

"For the moment…" Voldemort said, "He may have succeeded in smuggling the diary into Hogwarts…whether everything goes the way it should, is another thing entirely…he's not completely safe just yet…"

…

That night, inside Hogwarts, James was making his way out of the Hogwarts library, a few books under his arm. Lessons were over for the day and James was to meet up with Harry and the others for some last minute studying, before curfew began. He pinched the bridge of his nose, tiredly, before he rounded a corner where someone had bumped into him, causing James to drop his books. Placing a hand on the wall to steady himself, James looked to see Hermione slowly standing up and giving him a death glare. Already James could feel a headache in the back of his skull.

He shook his head a little, as he reached down to pick up the books he had dropped when she had bumped into him.

"You may want to look where you're going next time, Granger…" James said, "People have been hexed in the corridors for less…"

"I was looking where I was going, it's you who should be more careful!" Hermione said, narrowing her eyes even more, before looking at the books in his hands, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I wonder…what could I be doing, leaving the library with books under my arm?" James said sarcastically, tapping his chin in thought, before rolling his eyes, "I'm getting books for studying Granger…same as you I'd imagine…"

"I'll believe that when I see it…" Hermione scoffed, "Cheating is more likely…there's no other reason why you are better then me in lessons!"

"Dear Merlin, you won't let this go will you Granger?" James sighed, "Listen, I'd love to stay and chat but I have places to be…"

With that, James gave her a mock salute before he walked around her and started walking down the corridor. Hermione watched him leave, with a glare, huffing as she turned around and made her way into the library whilst muttering to herself about liars and cheaters.

James, meanwhile, rolled his eyes as he started walking back to the Slytherin Common Room. Granger was a mystery to him. Quite frankly he wanted to dissect her brain so he can see her thought process. He couldn't quite believe the narcissism in the girl. It made his head spin and leave him with a massive headache, every time he spoke with her. Which was more often then he would like. James rubbed his temple, to try and rid the pain in his skull, before he stopped in his tracks as he heard noises coming from another corridor.

He couldn't explain what the sound was.

It sound like a strange hissing, followed by the sound of something dragging across the stone floors. Something big and heavy. Too big to be a bag, or a suitcase. James looked down the corridor in question, as the noises seemed to grow louder. Like whatever it was that was making those noises, was heading in his direction. James' eyes narrowed, curiously, as he contemplated heading down the corridor so he could see what it was, before he felt something brush up against his leg. He jumped a little, in shock, looking down to see none other the Mrs Norris meowing at him. James' racing heart began to calm down, as he glared at the cat.

"Bloody cat!" He said, "Scared the life out of me!"

Mrs Norris merely meowed at him once again, in response. Shaking his head, James turned his attention back to the corridor where the noises seemed to have stopped. James couldn't hear anything anymore, making him wonder if he had just been imagining things. It was getting late and he was feeling tired, so it was possible. With that James straightened himself, his books under his arm, as he turned around and started walking back towards the Slytherin Common Room, whilst Mrs Norris continued sitting on the floor and watching him leave.

Once James had disappeared around the corner, Mrs Norris meowed to herself before she got up and started walking down the opposite corridor.

The corridor where James had heard the strange noises, mere moments earlier.

…

And that is chapter 16 done.

I hope you enjoyed this brand new chapter, despite its shortness. I guess you could call it filler.

In fact, the only thing in this chapter that was in the original story is the moment with James and Luna, but even that has been completely redone. In the original story, the moment between them is very brief and doesn't do much in terms of building up story, or the relationship between the two of them. As such I chose to improve on it and build up their relationship more.

Did I succeed? I don't know, I'll let you be the judge.

Honestly, not one of my favourite chapters that I've written, but I hope you enjoyed it, regardless.

That is all for now though. I don't know when the next update will be, but I hope to see you next time, in whatever story I see you all in.

Badger Out.

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