Luna Lovegood

We Meet Again

            Then next morning, a pleasant surprise awaited for the students in the Great Hall, well, most of them.  Hagrid was back!  Though, sporting a new black eye and a few extra cuts and bruises, he was still the same old, blundering, oaf as always.  But Luna did really enjoy him, even if his lessons were unnecessarily dangerous and at times slightly off topic.  He was just an oversized loveable teddy bear!

            As for the haters, also known as the Slytherins, they were frowning and moping at his presence.  No doubt they would try to get him in trouble in front of Umbridge, the slimy critic with a certain hatred for all half-bloods.  And Hagrid was half giant, or so Luna presumed, and was probably first on Umbridge’s list to get sacked.  Well, right after Trelawney, the Divination teacher who was just a little bit whacked up in the head.

            But as Luna’ s Care for Magical Creatures marched tensely into the Forbidden Forest for their first lesson with Hagrid back, Luna was trembling with excitement.  She simply adored animals and all creatures, almost as much as she did plants.  She only hoped Hagrid wouldn’t be taking them to meet something savage like a Manticore or an Acromantula.  She had heard that two years ago the Care for Magical Classes had gotten to meet a Hippogriff, a real live Hippogriff!  Wouldn’t that have been wonderful?  But last year Luna had decided to try Divination and the year before she had been too young.  She had probably missed her only chance.  Perhaps Hagrid would allow them to meet something gentle like a Unicorn, but the creatures were rare and the chance was unlikely.  But no matter; Luna was excited.

            “Righ’ here,” Hagrid began gruffly, stopping the group of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff fourth years in the dim section of the Forest.  “Gather ‘round, gather ‘round,” he said bringing them closer.

            “I’ve got a nice treat for all you, a real treat.”

            And then out of the gloom emerged a creature Luna had seen every year since she was eleven.  It’s reptilian horse form straightened at the sight of the students and its gaunt face swung back and forth ever so slightly.  The bony tail swept the ground and its wings rose majestically in the air.

            “This here’s a thestral,” Hagrid said softly, tentatively reaching out a hand in the general direction of the creature.  The beast leaned its head forward and placed it’s muzzle into Hagrid’s extra-large palm.

            “There isn’t anything there,” one student said smartly.

            “Why of course ya can’t see it!” Hagrid said, as if it was quite obvious.

            “I can see it,” Luna stated quietly.  Students turned and stared at her wide-eyed.

            “Well then, er, Luna, would you like to share with the res’ of the class why they can’t see it?”

            “You can only see the thestrals if you have seen death,” Luna said seriously.

            There was a harsh silence as the students pondered this.

            “Yep,” Hagrid said, interrupting the quiet.  “Now thestrals only like their meat raw an’ fresh…”

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            Later that evening, Luna left the Great Hall and then Hogwarts itself with her pockets full and wits about her.  Racing towards the Forbidden Forest and hoping she was going unseen she knew just how many school rules she was breaking.  But she didn’t care; she had to see them again.

            Reaching the edge of the forest, she took a breath and bravely dashed in.  The moon was not full, so werewolves shouldn’t be an issue that night but the moon was bright enough for her to go by.  Almost to the place where their Care for Magical Creatures class had met earlier that day, Luna stopped suddenly, having heard something that sounded like footsteps behind her.  But she was knocked down by an invisible force.  Breathing hard, fear coursing through her veins, Luna scrambled to her feet and grabbed her wand.

            “Who’s there?” she cried out.

            When no answer came immediately, Luna shot a stunning spell in the direction she had heard the footsteps.  There was a cry as a body thudded to the ground.  Looking more closely, Luna could see a shoe-covered foot lying in the leaves completely alone, or so it seemed.  Cautiously stepping forward, Luna reached towards the foot and grabbed onto what felt like fabric and lifted.  As she raised the invisible fabric, it seemed to materialize right before her very eyes.  And under its folds lay a stunned Harry Potter.

            “Harry!” she exclaimed and began helping him up.  “Oh I’m so sorry!  I had no idea it was you!”

            “It’s quite alright, Luna.  I should have told you it was me.”

            After a moment, Luna spoke again.  “Why were you following me in the first place?”

            “Well, I was kind of curious about where you were going with you pockets stuffed with raw meat.”

            Luna grinned sheepishly.  “Is that an invisibility cloak?” she asked suddenly.

            “Uh, yeah,” Harry said almost reluctantly.  “It was my dad’s.”

            Nodding politely, Luna didn’t feel that she should tell him that it was probably a fake because they were so rare.  But it did look so real…

            “So where are you going, Luna?” Harry questioned, snapping her out of her daze.

            “Oh, to visit the thestrals, of course.”

            “Mind if I join?” he asked politely.

            “Not at all.”

            The two walked in silence for a few minutes until they came to the correct spot.  Pausing, Luna threw a chunk of meat onto the dusty ground before her.  Out of nowhere, a thestral appeared, causing Harry to jump back just a bit.  Luna just stood facing it, gazing at its haunted beauty and smiling as it picked up the meat in its beak-like muzzle.

            “We meet again,” Luna whispered to the creature.

            After Harry had composed himself, he took to staring intently at the creature before him for a moment.  Then he spoke.

            “So, so who did you see?”

            “Who did I see what?” Luna questioned plainly.

            Looking uncomfortable, Harry elaborated.  “You know, er, die?”

            “Oh my mum.”

            “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Harry muttered miserably.

            “That’s alright.  I was nine.  She was quite a clever witch, always inventing things.  But one spell kind of went wrong and that was the end of mum.  It was quite awful actually.” her clear voice resonating through the forest and bouncing off the trees.

            The two stood in awkward silence for a few moments, Luna occasionally through their thestral friend a snack.  Eventually, her pockets empty, Luna stroked the beast a final time and turned to Harry.

            “We should probably be going now.”

            “Yes, yes we probably should.”

            Offering her a spot under the invisibility cloak, Luna obliged and the two walked in masked silence back towards the castle.