It was the middle of November. I remember because the first snowfall of the winter was sprinkled across the castle grounds that very morning. I was so excited to get outside and see how each of the forest inhabitants were adapting to the snow.
I was sitting in class. Actually paying attention for once. Professor Trelawney was harping on about the history of crystal balls and the origins of her own. I kind of had to pay attention, there were no windows in her classroom for me to stare out of.
But the shock came when a knock was battered on the door. It was a glad distraction for me. Usually, a class interruption was a sign that one of the students was about to get in trouble.
Professor Flitwick pushed open the door. It had been quite a forceful knock for a man of such small stature.
"Professor Flitwick," Professor Trelawney professed, "how splendid of you to grace us with your presence."
Professor Flitwick looked stern but he couldn't get a word in before the other professor butted in again.
"Just on time, of course. Shall I do the honours?"
He grunted in reply, swallowing a sour expression, as Professor Trelawney spread her arms wide and gazed purposefully through the room. She squeezed her eyes shut and allowed her fingers to dance across the room until they outstretched and stabbed pointedly at me.
"Luna Lovegood, dear, Professor McGonagall would like to see you." She opened her eyes, eyeing me through her thick glasses. A misty smile spread across her face.
Every head in the foggy classroom turned. They were all staring at me piercingly. I froze in place, staring aimlessly at Professor Trelawney.
"Go on, dear," she urged, her smile intact.
I blinked and nothing changed. Cautiously, I pulled myself out of the smothering armchair, picked up my crystal ball and tucked it back into the empty shelf it came from. Eyes were following me. All of them were questioning, What did you do?
Well, they could wonder all they liked, I had no idea. I got to the front of the room. Professor Flitwick nodded wordlessly and Professor Trelawney shooed me out the door.
Professor Flitwick's heel clacked on the tiles, echoing through the empty halls, pinging from one bare wall to the next.
"Are you sure it's me Professor McGonagall wants to see?" I asked. "Maybe she meant to say Lance Linwood? Our names are quite similar..."
Professor Flitwick ignored me, shaking his head as he bore on down the corridor. I followed, hanging back so he could lead the way.
We arrived outside the the ornate passageway to Professor McGonagall's office. Professor Flitwick took this opportunity to look up at me. "I expected better from you, Lovegood," he said with finality. He pranced away, leaving me to my own devices.
The door was open, a stocky gargoyle standing aside and eyeing me with distaste. I stepped through and heard the grinding of the door shutting behind me.
It was a cavernous room, full of ostentatious columns and gilding, but I could easily distinguish that Professor McGonagall had cleared the office of some of the frilly bits left behind from Dumbledore's era.
She was as still as a statue at her desk, her shoulders pulled back and her spine straight. Stiff-necked, her eyes traced my footsteps until I was stood right in front of the huge desk. It was much more pleasant to gaze at the portraits on the wall. Their eyes were fixed on me and some of them were wearing kind smiles. Their faces hung from the wall, each so diverse and unique, it would have been entrancing if I wasn't aware of the Headmistress' cold eyes still staring at me.
"Luna Lovegood. Where should we begin?" she begun.
"Professor McGonagall," I said formally, "I'm not sure why you summoned me."
"Have you heard the latest news?" she asked, finally taking her eyes off me and sliding a newspaper out from underneath a stack of paper. "More attacks all across the country."
The headline read: "TERROR IN TENBY AS M**BLOOD MURDERS CONTINUE."
She snatched it away before I could read anything else. Her expression had fallen, frown lines showing on her face.
"During times like this, we have to stay together," she said. "We have to stay safe."
She turned her strict eyes back on me, penetrating mine.
"Now, how about you explain to me why you're so keen on going out on nightly excursions?"
I really should've known. Someone must've seen me and told Professor McGonagall. It all made sense now that she said it out loud.
I opened my mouth but had nothing to offer other than silence. I had nothing to say. How could I possibly explain?
"Sightings from the ghosts, corroborations from each of your roommates..." She frowned. "Not to mention the unpromising reports from your professors."
I thought of the endless sky, the purple hue stretching off to infinity. Casos' skeletal head as he nuzzled into my armpit. The breathing of the trees, humming and soothing. The birds nestling down in their comfortable, canopy homes. The forest floor critters rustling through the leaves and leaving trails in the mud. My journal, worn and splattered with paint, pages full and swollen.
There was no way I could put it all into words to present to the professor. It couldn't be moulded into a neat explanation. The feeling I had when I was out in the woods... it was indescribable. The fact that it could potentially be taken away from me... And I was unable to describe, let alone defend it... I felt tension rising in my cheeks, tears building in my throat.
"Sit," Professor McGonagall commanded kindly.
My weary legs collapsed into the chair opposite her desk.
"Don't you know how unsafe it is?" she pressed.
I closed my eyes, barring any tears from escaping, but the tension only increased. "I know," I whispered.
"It's against the rules."
I merely nodded.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
I shook my head.
"Then you'll have no problem accepting your punishment."
I opened my eyes, breathing deeply to calm myself down. McGonagall's cold demeanor had softened. Her eyes implored mine. If I opened my mouth, I was sure that I'd let slip a choking wail.
"Obviously, we're all keeping a close eye on you from now on. For breaking curfew multiple times and disrespecting Hogwarts' out of bounds areas, you won't be going to Hogsmeade for the rest of the school year."
All I could do was take it all in. I didn't have room in my brain to process what this punishment would mean.
"... And fifty points from Ravenclaw." She sorted through a pile of folders, pulled one to the top and pored over the sheets inside. "As for your academic performance... I see that you're falling considerably far behind in Potions. I want you to take extra classes with Professor Slughorn until the end of the year. If you want any chance of moving onto further education, that is. Your other subjects aren't up to scratch by a long shot so, by January I want your grades back up to standard. Is that clear?"
"Clear," I repeated.
McGonagall sighed pensively. "I know this is extremely hard for you. It's not easy being back here," she said. She paused and swallowed before opening her mouth again. "But rules are rules."
***
The corridor felt a million miles longer than it was when I was following Professor Flitwick to the Headmistress' Office. The harder I ran, the slower I was going. When I emerged onto the landing, light streamed through the vast windows imprinted in the wall.
A chill echoed down my spine as I rested my head against the clouded glass. Far below me, the world trickled by. Dark clouds smoldered against the hills. The wind blew. The grass shrunk against the frosty remnants of the morning's snow. The lake flowed and ebbed. The trees waved through the air.
My eyes roamed and I let out a sigh.