Luna Lovegood

Whispers

Hey, everyone!  Thanks for sticking with me.  I'm sorry for the slow uploading, but a lot has been happening lately in this little thing called LIFE.  :)  So, thanks!  And to anyone who is reading this but has only ever seen the Harry Potter movies, DO NOT BE AFRAID!  Just remember that I am basing this mainly off of the books, so things might seem a little different to you.  Some of the dialogue is very similar to that in the book, as well.  And if you HAVE only seen the movies, do yourself a favor and go read the books (why? because they're awesome--duh).  Well, enjoy! :D

~Suzanne

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            It was after hours at the Ministry, and they crew didn’t run into anyone right away.  The Ministry seemed to take their breaths away.  All but Harry.  It seemed that he had been here before.  For what, Luna did not know and did not feel pressed to ask.  The walls where white white white and fireplaces filled them, probably for those coming to work by way of floo powder.  Luna had used the magical dust once before and it had been a dusty experience.

            As the crew darted through the halls, they almost missed the discreet sign claiming to be above the entrance to the “Department of Mysteries”.  With a ‘creak,’ Harry pushed open the door, revealing a dimly lit corridor.  Harry went in first, a look of recognition crossing his face.  Farther down the way was an ominous black door.  As Harry started down the path, the rest of them followed in pursuit, their footsteps echoing loudly.  Abruptly, Harry stopped mid-stride and Neville, who was walking directly behind him, almost crashed into him.

            “Maybe some of you should stay behind…as lookouts, or something,” Harry said tentatively.

            Ginny didn’t hesitate to respond with, “Harry, that’s stupid.  How would we be able to warn you?  You could be miles away!”

            “We’re coming with you, mate,” Ron said, a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

            “Let’s go,” Hermione said with authority, stepping forward to push open the black door a few paces away.  Luna found herself holding her breath as the door creaked on its hinges.  But the six walked across the threshold without trouble until Harry asked Neville to close the door.  As soon as Neville obeyed, the candles in the room began to shake.  Luna stared as the multitude of doors before them began to rotate.  Hermione grabbed Harry’s arm and Ron grabbed Hermione’s arm.  Ginny stood frozen in her tracks, and Luna felt Neville’s presence behind her.

            Blue flames flickered on the walls like reflections.

            “How do we know which door we came in, now?” Ginny whispered, worried.

            “We don’t,” Hermione replied, her voice quivering.  Luna was not used to seeing these two girls, usually so fierce and strong, trembling in fear.  She herself was feeling quite afraid.

            “Which door do we go through, Harry?” Ron asked.

            “In my dreams it was the one straight ahead.  Inside it sort of…glittered.  We should try a few doors.  I’ll know which one it is right away,” Harry answered.

            Harry then made for the door right in front of him.  With his wand at the ready, Harry pushed open the door to reveal a room that did not look too different than Luna’s Mum’s lab before it blew up.  There were a few desks and counters with empty beakers.  The only difference was the large tank in the middle of the room filled with green liquid and dark objects suspended in it.  The group moved forward to check it out.

            “What are those?” Ron asked, curiously repulsed.  “Fish?”

            Then, Luna remembered something.  They looked like—

            “Aquavirius Maggots!” she cried out with excitement.  Finally all of her Quibbler reading had paid off!  “Daddy said that the Ministry is breeding—”

            “No,” Hermione interrupted in a low voice.  She sounded strange.  “They’re brains.”  Neville turned almost as green as the liquid in the tank before them.  Luna’s heart sank.  Hermione the know-it-all was back and in business.  But as Luna looked closer, she found that Hermione was right.  She felt sick to her stomach thinking about where the Ministry may have gotten those.

            “This isn’t the right room,” Harry said decisively.  “Let’s try another one.”

            “But there are more doors in here,” Ginny pointed out.  And she was right.  At least five other doors lined the walls of the brain room.  The Department of Mysteries was a lot bigger than she had thought it would be.  One could get lost in this hopeless maze.

            “In my dream I didn’t go through a second door.  We should go back to the dark room.”  Luna didn’t know what dream it was that Harry kept referring to, but she trusted him to lead them to the right place.  As the others went back through the open door they had entered the the brain room by, Luna was the last one out and moved to close it behind her.

            “Wait!” Hermione cried, startling Luna.  She said some sort of spell, and a red ‘X’ blazed on the door.  “That way we won’t check the same one twice.”  Know-it-all Hermione was right, once again.

            The group tried another door.  The room was dark, except for some steps that led to an archway in the middle of the room lit by a wave of light gray wisps.  Soft murmurs echoed throughout the room.

            “Who’s there?” Harry called out.  No answer.  The murmurs continued.  It was as if someone was standing right behind the veil of wisps.

            “Let’s go,” Hermione said, worriedly.  “Something’s not right.”  Her voice raised in timbre.  She sounded even more frightened than in the brain room.  Harry began walking up the steps towards the arch, Luna right behind him.

            “What are you saying?” Harry called out to the voices.

            “Harry!” Hermione said again, her voice not masking her terror in the least.  “There’s no one there!”

            “Can anyone else hear it?” Harry asked, turning to the rest of the group.

            “I can hear them, too,” Luna said, her eyes wide as she strained to hear what the voices were saying.  She couldn’t make out their words.  She and Harry both stared intently at the veil, as if in a trance.  She didn’t want to look away; she was too intrigued.

            “Harry, we’re supposed to find Sirius,” Hermione reminded him.  She spoke cautiously, as if to a mentally unstable person.

            “Oh,” Harry spoke softly, at first the only sign that he had heard her.  But the name of his godfather seemed to snap him out of it.  “Yeah, let’s go.”

            Luna remained standing on the steps, staring at the arch and veil, until Neville’s hand appeared on her shoulder.  “C’mon, Loon.  There’s nothing there.”

            She did not agree, but she turned at went with him back to the dark room.