Shifted: Book Two

Chapter Fifteen - Comforting Luna

The crispy, forest-emerald leaves crunched beneath Hazel's tiresome feet as she walked through the forest, guarded by tall and slim giant-like trees. Ahead of her, the fair-headed girl stood, with her hand in and out of her bag hanging on her shoulder, as she threw out small, red-ish chunks of meat. And what stood before her were a small herd of skeletal,winged black creatures; exactly like the creature pulling the carriages. Hazel made her way to her.

"Hello, Hazel Jones", the girl spoke softly, recognising the figure approaching her from behind without having to look at her.

"Hi, Luna", Hazel replied, walking to her side.

She immediately noticed Luna's bare and, rather cold-looking, feet stood above the brittle leaves that laid on the frosty soil surface.

"You missed Harry, he just came to see me too", Luna informed, now facing Hazel.

Hazel shrugged kindly.

"I'm sure I'll see him later", Hazel said before changing the subject.

"You're feet, aren't they cold?", she asked, looking down in little puzzlement.

Luna shrugged tenderly as she reached into her bag to pull out another small square of meat, throwing it to the gaunt creatures.

"Bit. Unfortunately, all my shoes have mysteriously disappeared", Luna replied with a sheepish smile.

"I suspect Nargles are behind it", she finished, shifting her salmon-tinted lips to the side of her mouth in an unbothered manner.

Hazel nodded before looking up at the winged beasts in utter wonder and amazement.

"What are they?", she asked with such astonishment.

"They're called Thestrals", Luna responded, smiling at the beautiful creatures, the corners of her lips perked up, sending a rush of blood to tint her cheeks like roses blossoming in the spring.

"They're quite gentle, really, but people avoid them because they're a bit...", she added, pausing at the end of her sentence, almost unaware with the right word to finish it.

"Different", Hazel finished, sharing a small smile.

Hazel looked up to their bony, sooty faces; their eye sockets were hollow but their irises were pearly and white, innocent looking too. And stood beside a rather large Thestral, a smaller and younger one stumbled on all-fours like a deer on ice. The baby trembled to the raw square of meat Luna had thrown, picking it up in its beaked mouth and gobbling it up sweetly.

"So why can't the others see them?", Hazel asked intriguingly.

Luna sat herself down on a damp log nearby, shortly being followed by Hazel.

"They can only be seen by people who've seen death", Luna informed, looking down, yet her face continued to portray anything but sadness.

Hazel wasn't entirely sure how to respond. She was interested in Luna; she had a beautiful and magical soul, she had never met anyone so gentle yet unique!

"So you've known someone who's died?", she asked, her brows saddening.

"My mum. She was quite an extraordinary witch, but she did like to experiment and one day, one of her spells went badly wrong. I was 9", Luna responded, looking slightly glum, yet her tone in voice was strong, as though she wasn't on the brink of tears.

Hazel's heart ached for Luna. She knew what the pain felt like to lose, not only a friend, but a mother too. She wanted to bring her in for a warm embrace and tell her everything would be alright, but she knew that Luna was strong enough to remind herself of that. If anything, it was Hazel who still needed comforting with the loss of her parents. Though, that would be rather hard as no one hardly knows anything about her backstory.

"Oh, Luna! I'm so sorry", Hazel exclaimed softly, licking eyes with the frail girl.

"I do feel very sad about it sometimes, but I've got dad", she replied, her tone of voice shifting into something a little more optimistic.

"I'm sorry you had to witness Cedric's murder, I can't imagine what that must've been like", she added, looking away and down to her pale bare feet.

Hazel inhaled slowly, attempting to conceal the flashbacks of the night Cedric was killed. She wanted to honour the friend she had made in a short period of time, but every moment Hazel reminded herself of that tragic murder, her heart stung, her throat clogged up and her chest stiffened. Hazel tenderly exhaled, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's alright", Hazel replied with slight guilt.

Luna repositioned herself, her knees almost touching Hazel's.

"We both believe you and Harry, by the way, dad and I", Luna added as Hazel's ears perked up to something that somewhat gave her a sense of relief; finally, someone other than her close friends (who she assumed would've believed her and Harry anyway) trusted their truth.

"That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and you and Harry fought him. And the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you both", she continued, her eyes widening at the unexpected reality they were all in.

"Thank you. It seems you're about the only ones that do", Hazel replied, lightly chuckling, though she didn't feel a sense of humour, more so disappointment.

Luna softly nudged Hazel's elbow, sharing her a little yet hopeful smile.

"I don't think that's true", Luna suggested.

"I suppose that's how he wants you to feel. If I were You-Know-Who, I'd want you both to feel cut off from everyone else because, if it's just you and Harry alone, you're not as much of a threat", she finished, a twinkle of faith still glistening in her diamond eyes.

Hazel returned the hopeful smile.

"I suppose so", she replied before standing up and dusting herself down.

"I'm going to head back to school, would you care to grab something to eat in the warmth?", Hazel asked politely.

Luna smiled but shook her head, reaching into her bag once more and continuing to feed the gentle Thestrals.

"That's quite alright, I'm sure I'll bump into you soon", she finished, as the two waved goodbye.