Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Curious Case of Luna Lovegood	By : Marvolo Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 34123 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own any of the Character's, Places or Things from The Harry Potter World. I make No Money or Profit of Any Kind. The same goes for any unoriginal lyrics or poetry.

Chapter List
- 47
- 48
- 49
"Your Majesty?" The Queen returned from her thoughts and looked upon the Prime Minister, who was nervously avoiding her gaze. She took tired and breathed hard before saying. "Are you certain this is the only way? Can't we simply try and reason with them?"
The Prime Minister went to speak when one of his generals cut in. "Dear Majesty, nobody ever wants to drop a bomb, but these...Magi, they are fighting a war in the heart of our city. Report's are spreading that a swarm of...of these abominable creatures have entered the city and are attacking citizens. We must take action."
"By dropping a bomb in the center of London!?" The Queen exclaimed. "What you speak is madness."
The General smiled with pride. "Done properly we need only implode the building over which the fighting persists. We don't even need to send in our brave soldiers until the enemy as been taken care of. We do this right and we will have won this war just in time for tea."
"But will it really just be these Magi, from what I've been told they live across the globe. We already destroyed two castles, we have to stop this now before we start a Third World War!" The Queen shouted with anger before calming herself. "My apologizes, that was undignified."
"It perfectly alright your grace but...I'm afraid this war has already started. It isn't just the Magi we are fighting after all. Some of their kind are joining forces with creatures believed to only exist in fairy tails and others have even formed alliances with non-Magi governments, like the Australians and the Italians.. We have to act now or we will become their slaves."
The Queen sighed before she turned to the man watching the exchange nervously. "What do you think Mr. Prime Minister."
The Prime Minister muttered weakly. "I've seen what they are capable of, they did not hide their existence for centuries simply to keep the peace. They were just biding their time before they could strike. They are plotting our downfall I'm sure of it."
The Queen resisted the urge to role her eyes at the General's words coming from the Prime Minister's mouth. "I don't like this."
The General spoke for himself. "It is a formality, that we inform you of ]this at all your grace. We will go ahead with our attack, and you will support the actions of the British government."
The Queen glared. "I am not some puppet, I have a say in this. I am the Commander in Chief, I have power!"
"Of course you do your Majesty, just not here." The General uttered with condensation before rising to leave, the Prime Minister following hot on his heels.
The Queen was steaming as she watched the men leave. She waited for the sound of them closing the door before uttering to her servant. "Anastasia, if you would be so kind as to make me a tea...and make it an Irish tea. "
"I would love to madam but I'm not so good at carrying things."
"What on earth do you mean..." The trailed off as she turned as pale as a ghost, which was exactly what now floated before her. "Oh heavens..."
"No don't faint." Myrtle squeaked as she quickly floated to the Queen. who was regaining her senses.
"I'm here with a message your grass...I mean grace. You must give us a chance your Majesty. Not all Witches and Wizards are bad."
"I know that." The Queen sighed, she was thankful the royal family was immune to the Statues of Secrecy along with the Prime Minister. If she had never seen a ghost before she would have surely met
her death. "The...what did you Witches call us, Muggles? The Muggles have been informed of your existence. All of Britain was ravaged by your war, and our very government was attacked. Like it or not they had to say something. Now they want your kind eliminated and I no longer have the power to stop them."
Myrtle shook her head as she spoke the message she had been instructed to give. "You still have power, your Majesty. Use the power you've got to help us. As we speak Witches and Wizards are fighting for liberty and freedom. Our government is being run by the Totalitar, a Totalitarian government bent on controlling the world. The Statues of Secrecy was doomed to die but now is the time for our people to reunite. We must work together to ensure a better future. Send what forces you can to help the rebellion, we need it. Britain might not be the world conquering power it once was but it's another story in the Magical community. The entire magical world and in turn the Muggle world has their eyes on us. If we can't learn to work together we are all done for."
"Who sent you?" The Queen asked with vested interest.
"The leader of the Luna Lovegood Rebellion, Hermione Granger, and the conquer of the Dark Lord, Harry Potter."
The Queen leaned forward as she spoke. "The Luna Lovegood Rebellion you say? Who is this...Luna Lovegood"
Myrtle looked solemnly as she uttered. "A prisoner of the Totalitar, the leader of the cause, and your only hope to prevent all out war."
Luna opened her eyes as she heard the sound of an old door creaking open. The sound of footsteps followed as Luna closed her eyes again. She felt the woman's presence before her, but said nothing.
"Ahem."
"Hello Delores." Luna greeted with a serene smile. "Where's Mister Shacklebolt."
"Busy." Umbridge uttered with a frown. Luna was sitting cross legged on the floor, her hands resting palms up on her knees. Her eyes were still closed. Delores huffed, "Get up now, we are going to find some use for you."
"I don' think so." Luna replied.
Umbridge giggled. "Oh you silly thing, I know it's hard to believe but even Squibs have their uses. I'm sure the Unspeakables will find yours. Even if they have to tear your soul apart we will find out the secret to your magic. "
Luna shook her head. "The secret of magic cannot be discovered through experiments in science. Magic is the very antithesis of science."
Delores rolled her eyes. "Keep your mouth shut or I will dub thee a lost cause and feed you to my guards here. Now get off the floor."
Luna opened her eyes and saw the two Dementors hovering right up to her cage, seemingly lusting for her soul. The sound that came from them reminded Luna of a man dying of thirst. Luna looked Delores dead in the eye. "You have nothing to threaten me with. I have nothing to fear, and nothing left to lose. You lost that power the moment you killed the man I loved."
"Oh dear someone get me a violin." Delores mocked sarcastically. One of the Dementors nodded and started to leave but Umbridge stopped it. "I understand how you must feel, but let me tell you a little secret."
Delores opened the cage and strutted right up to Luna. She grabbed the girl by the chin and made her look up at her face. "You always have something to lose. Now get off the floor."
Luna's eyes hardened. "You're right, I do, but the things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect."
"The only way to find Potter is to join him in death." Umbridge snorted dismissively.
"That may be, but when I do die, I will be reunited with everyone I've lost." Luna spoke loudly, making sure the other prisoners heard her as Luna rose to her feet. "But until that day I will continue to live, I will stand, and I will fight for my Mother's work. I will finish it even if it kills me, but I wish not to die. No matter how harsh life is, no matter how difficult, not matter what you do to me, or the pain I suffer, I will always choose life over death, for death is infinite, and death is but a blink in the eye of time and you only get this one chance!"
The other prisoners lifted their heads as they all looked over to Luna's cell. Hearing her words as she stood in the darkest depths of Hades with eyes that burned with passion. "You live your life solely for the control of others but your control is a lie, your order is a lie. All that matters is chaos, and that we make not just the right choices, but the ones we can live with. Once we accept that nothing-"
"Enough riddles." Umbridge shouted as she turned around and strutted out of the cell. "I have a long night ahead of me and I will not put up with your insolence any further. Get off the floor, the first thing the Unspeakables will do is make your mind more receptive to orders, even if we have to remove part of your brain."
"No." Luna whispered.
Delores exclaimed with authority. "Dementors, take it to the dissection room."
Luna rose to her feet and shouted. "NO!"
The Dementors reached for her and Luna saw visions of her Mother's death flash through her mind, yet it didn't have the effect it once had, instead it made Luna sad but proud. With a burst of energy Luna dived under the Dementors as they floated above her, then rolled to her feet, standing before Delores glaring with hatred.
Delores's eyes darkened as she uttered. "It dare disobey me freak, its own Mother."
"I more than dare!" Luna hissed back seething with anger.
Umbrage hollered "I created you Muggle, and I can destroy you. You are lucky I didn't have you killed the moment you were born you wretched Squib."
Luna shrieked with unbridled rage, "YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER YOU BITCH!
Delores stared at Luna stunned while Luna took in two deep breaths before panting with an equally stunned look. "That felt good."
Umbridge whispered darkly. "So it's true then, you are mad. Loony Lovegood the mad Squib."
"I am not a squib! I am not a Muggle! I am not a Freak, a Witch or a Loony. I am a Person. I am Luna Lovegood, and my Mother was Pandora Lovegood."
Delores Umbridge nodded. "So be it, Miss Lovegood. I was a fool to think a Squib could ever know the secrets to Magic, you're as crazy as the mad hippie Witch that you call Mother!"
"Pandora is my Mother and always has been, from the moment she first held me in her arms."Luna cried out as she raised her hands. "You say you are my mother and for a brief moment in time you were, but as there can be no justice on stolen land, you can have no control over a child you have abandoned."
Luna spoke with conviction that even had the Dementors backed away. "I am Luna Lovegood daughter of Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood and as Merlin as my witness I will finish my Mothers work...Imaginatio Potestatem!"
Umbridge covered her ears as a horrible sound worse than nails on a chalk board filled the room. A high pitched shriek of metal being slowly bent before snapping in two. Luna looked around and smiled. It had worked.'
"People! Your cages have been broken!" Luna shouted as the prisoners rose to their feet. "This is your chance to take back what is yours by right, your life. Not all of us will make it out but they cannot stop us all."
The endless rows of cages let loose a triumphant roar as the prisoners stormed out of the cages and stampeded towards Luna and Umbridge. Umbridge pushed Luna to the floor as she waddled towards the door as fast as her legs could carry her. "Dementors retain control and kill that creature.."
One of the Dementors flew over towards the charging prisoners while the other grabbed Luna by the throat and lifted her off the floor. Luna tried to pry the Dementors deathly hand from her throat as she heard the screams of the Squibs and Muggles. Luna's feet dangled from the floor, and as the Dementor brought its covered face to hers, Luna was forced to stops resisting the Dementor's grasp on her throat and grimaced as she placed her hands on the foul creature's hidden face.
Luna gasped as her neck became constricted, the Dementor focusing its energy into crushing her throat. Luna felt the images of her nightmare fill her mind and the feel of the Dementor's grip tighten. Luna fought the urge to grab for her throat knowing if she did, the Dementor's kiss would destroy her soul before she could gasp for air.
Luna croaked as she kicked at the creature, sights of horrible images consuming her mind. Sights of her Mother and Father lying dead, Filius collapsing to the floor for the final time, the ruins of Hogwarts, the sight of Harry vanishing in fire, Bellatrix cackling at her.
"Squib, Squib, Magical Squib
Little wee baby cries in her crib"
Luna heard the tortured melody Bellatrix sang as she descended into the dungeons. Luna closed her eyes and focused on the magic she had in her. Maybe this time she could shut it out, the taunts, the knife, and the fear for her Father and friends.
Bellatrix stood over her and cackled as she kicked Luna away from her.
Maybe this time I'll cut off your pretty hair.
"Make it stop."
Luna did not notice the shadow that covered her or the Witch that stood over her. She did not hear the curses and taunts nor did she feel Bellatrix's blade cut through her skin. She shut out Bellatrix and the dark world with it.
She did not notice the Dark Witches frustration over her lack of reaction, nor did she feel Bellatrix kicking her in the face.
"Give up, let go, and you will see him again."
A voice whispered. Luna wasn't sure if was Bellatrix's, the Dementor's, or her own. In that moment she was not in the creature's clutches but in the Dungeons of Malfoy Manor were she was prepared to greet death.
I'm Sorry...
She did not notice the blade press against her throat. She did not feel the knife begin to slit her...
"Bellatrix!"
The twisted Witch turned to see a mouse like man cower before her. "I was just here to tell you that Greyback is here with some snatchers. They think they got Harry Potter."
Luna opened her eyes at this. "Harry?"
"Let go..."
...
"No..."
Bellatrix kicked her in the face as she growled "What are you smiling at!"
Luna didn't answer, she just smiled. He was here, she would be saved, and even if he was a prisoner they would all get out together. In that one moment before Bellatrix hit her with a crucio curse Luna felt hope, and something else she had never felt before...
Give in now child...
"No...No I won't."
Luna looked up from her magazine at the people who had entered her compartment. One in particular caught her eye, she had seen him before, he was famous after all but he seemed different. It wasn't a good change, it reminded Luna of how she had changed since her Mother's death. She tried to reach to him but felt something in the way.
Had a good summer, Luna?' Ginny asked.
'Yes,' said Luna dreamily, without taking her eyes off Harry, he clearly seemed uncomfortable but she couldn't help but stare. Even for her she found him to be exceptionally ordinary, like a bad liar too convincing to be believed. 'Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. You're Harry Potter,' she added. '
I know I am,' Harry replied awkwardly. Luna shrugged to herself. It must be Wrackspurts.
DIE!
"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"
"I'm sorry about your Godfather." Luna whispered as she gave Harry's hand a quick squeeze.
"Have you…" he began. "I mean, who … has anyone you have known, ever died?"
'Yes,' said Luna simply, 'my mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know.
"Yes, it was rather horrible," Luna replied wondering what made her tell this story to the young boy before her, like she wondered why she joined him to fight the Death eaters. She seemed to often do weird things with this boy.
"I enjoyed the meetings, it was like having friends." Luna hummed.
"Luna we are friends." Harry replied.
"Oh that's nice." Luna replied with a faint smile.
Keep fighting
"It's so hard though" Luna thought as the darkness overcame her. "I miss Harry"
"Love you too Luna," Harry whispered.
Luna shivered at these words "No one has ever said anything like that to me," Luna whispered "say it again."
"I love you Luna," Harry repeated now he was starting to break down.
Luna started to laugh in her delirium. Whatever veil she was referring to was simply not present now. She felt like she had lost her mind, if she hadn't already. Luna didn't care though she was truly happy. To hell with magic, to hell with Hogwarts, she had Harry.
Fight for him
"Mother was right. She once told me that no matter how lonely I felt, I would one day find someone to share my life with, to share my heart and soul. I found happiness in you."
Let go and your struggles will be over
Luna smile genuinely. "Who am I Harry?"
Harry grinned, "You're the one I love, and you are Luna Lovegood."
"Yes but who is Luna Lovegood?"
"A riddle I hope I never solve." Harry uttered under his breath as he kissed her with passion.
"I'm sorry Harry" Luna uttered in her mind's eye.
"Luna?"
Luna looked beside her and saw Harry casting a patronus charm at the Dementor. "Don't give up hope"
That's right,' Harry said encouragingly, as if they were back in the Room of Requirement and this was simply a spell practice for the DA. 'That's right, Luna ... come on, think of something happy...'
"Something happy?' Luna utter weakly, her voice cracked. She had the strangest sense of Déjà vu and as she looked around she saw everyone beside her casting their own patronus charms, everyone from DA, everyone from the LLR. Ron and Hermione, She saw all the Weasleys, even Fred who winked at her. She saw her family, Filius and her, Mother and Father,
"Something happy." Luna whispered as she looked at Harry.
"I'm dreaming...I can't be this normal…this happy." Luna whispered refusing to open her eyes.
Harry kissed the top of her head. "How do you feel Luna?"
Luna sighed. "I feel strong, I feel weak. I feel…I feel like butter."
Harry chuckled. "I know the feeling, I could stay in this spring all night."
"We did sleep in the spring all night, we are still in it now." Luna reminded him with a giggle before sighing with content. "Last night was the happiest of my life. It was magical Harry."
'We're all still here,' Luna and Harry chanted together, 'we're still fighting,"
"And we always will be." Pandora whispered.
"No matter what!" Xenophilius shouted
Come on...NOW!' Filius cried out.
Luna saw a white burst of light and for a moment she swore she had died, then she hit the floor and it hurt. Luna looked up and saw the silver patronus of a hare charging down the Dementor that had attacked her. She seemed to be on her own again but she knew that was no longer the case.
Luna rose to her feet and saw the other Dementor was attacking the Muggles and Squibs. Luna raised her hand and the silver Hare lunged, driving off the other Dementor away from the panicking prisoners. She looked at her hand with awe but as she looked up she saw the Patronus begin to flicker and a weakness zapped through her body.
"Are you OK?" one of the Muggles asked, he was a skinny man with kind eyes.
Luna nodded. "I was foolish to leave Harry, the ones we love are always with us. I tried to ignore and bury that love, but it only made me weaker. I did not gain magic by leaving him, I gained meaningless power, for magic was the very thing I lost by leaving. I may have lost most of that power, but my Magic is back because the ones I love are with me, in my heart. Though judging from that Patronus, before the night is out I fear I will become a Squib."
Luna smiled at the elder Muggle. "Thank you for listening even though you had no idea what I was talking about."
The Muggle smiled and nodded dumbly, Luna suspected Wrackspurts were in involved. Luna cried out with a ragged voice to the prisoners, "Follow me, we have to..."
Luna's voice trailed off as the Mob of people began to stampede towards her blindly to reach the prisons doors. Luna turned around and ran as fast as she could towards the doors while the Mob was closing in on her. As Luna nearly reached the doors, they opened. The Minister stood there with a mischievous smile on her face. Luna nearly stopped but the people behind her forced her to sprint forward into what she was certain was Umbridge's trap. Luna had only one choice, spring the trap. Luna ran forwards as fast as her little feet could carry her towards the vile woman. She was close, she could see the darkness in her eyes...
BAM!
Luna felt her world spin as she collided with something hard. She felt like a fly that had flown straight into a windshield, only with much less messy results. She tried to move her head but it seemed to stick to the surface she had hit. Suddenly other people started colliding into the wall, some smashing into Luna. She opened her eyes and saw Umbridge standing in front of her smiling, just as she had been before. The wall she had run into must be invisible. Delores waved her hand as the wall started to descend and more of the panicking Muggles and Squibs ran into the wall above her.
The wall continued to go down taking Luna and the unfortunate souls with her, further into the depths of the Department of Mysteries. Luna could hear the sound of women and children whimpering as darkness set in. With a sudden jerk the wall came to a stop, a loud boom echoed through the dark as the people screamed and cried in terror.
Luna felt herself whimper as another sound filled the room. The mechanical sound of gears moving and the metal screech of an opening door. Luna tried moving her arms and legs in a panic but to no avail.
Someone let loose a horrible shriek before it was suddenly cut off, causing the rest of the people to start screaming. Luna felt something large step onto the wall, which shook under the sudden weight. Then the sound of slurping crawled into Luna's ears. Luna started struggling against the surface with her entire body but she was no more successful than the other screaming victims. The wall continued to bend under the weight of the creatures stepping upon it, which only confirmed their size to Luna.
Luna opened her eyes as an idea struck her. "Everybody push against the wall at 3. Everyone, 1...2...3 Push!"
Luna threw her weight into the wall but few others did. "NO, everyone we can't just struggle, we have to fight it together. Again 1...2...3...PUSH!"
Luna threw her weight into the wall and this time felt others do the same. The wall bent slightly before bouncing back up.
"That's it, It's work..." Luna was cut off by the sound of someone screaming before going silent. Luna gulped before shouting. "Push!"
More people threw their weight into the wall. Luna smiled and called out again, but as she did she felt the wall bend right by her, and heard a sound she could not describe coming from over her head. Something hairy brushed against her cheek and Luna shrieked. "PUSH!"
They pushed in again and the wall bent further than ever before, when it bounced back up the whiplash ripped Luna's arm and head from the wall, Luna quickly reach out and grabbed the hairy limb by her face, she heard a horrible screeching sound as the creature jerked it's leg away, Luna held tight and felt herself be pealed from the wall. The wind rushed past her face as the creature pulled it's arm back and prepared to slam her in to the wall. Luna grabbed the limb with her other hand and braced herself.
"PUSH!"
As the creature slammed her down, Luna threw her legs forward and kicked against the wall as hard as she could. The bending wall snapped with a crack, and Luna was thrown to the floor. Luna rose to her knees and saw the shattered substance of the wall was in pieces while the freed Muggles and Squibs were pealing others from it. Luna got to her feet when she saw one of the Squibs who weren't so lucky. If Luna had to describe him in one word, she would use runny...as he was a puddle of liquid.
Luna shook herself and ran to help the others, spotting Harry's aunt among the Squibs. She looked at Luna and ran to her in a panic. "Have you seen my son, have you seen my Duddy."
"I don't think so?" Luna muttered, neglecting not to mention the puddle she had just seen earlier.
"I'm here mom!" A voice called from across the room causing Petunia to run towards her sickly son and crush him in her arms.
Petunia grimaced as she looked at the shattered wall. "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do since child birth."
Luna glanced at the frail yet large Dudley and hummed. "I can see that."
Petunia glared at her before turning her attention to her son. Luna smiled before turning to help others. She pulled one girl from the substance which she described as being plastic, when something caught the corner of Luna's eye.
She peered into the darkness her eyes adjusting when she spotted what it was.
SRCKIAIAIAIAIAIAIAI!
The Acromantula let loose a high pitched scream as it pounced forward and knocked Luna to the ground with a thud. Luna heard the others panic as she looked up into the monstrous Spiders eight black eyes and saw her own pale reflection. Her eye was swollen, and blood smeared her hair. Her forehead still bore the scar Harry bore in life. Luna could hardly recognize herself but what she found most shocking of all was the fire in her eyes, a fire that refused to be put out.
Luna rolled to the side just as the spider squirted a liquid just where her head had been. Luna glanced at the acid as it began to dissolve the floor. Luna crawled backwards as the Acromantula squealed and again pounced on her. Luna kicked with all her might as the spider spit out more acid, landing over Luna head.
The Spider grabbed Luna's kicking leg and started dragging her towards the side of the room. Luna looked up and realized with horror the walls and ceiling were covered in webs. Luna tried kicking but the Spider paid her futile efforts no mind. Luna reached out behind her, grabbing onto anything that would stop her from being pulled into the creatures den. Luna's hand wrapped around a jagged piece of plastic and sat up, slashing at the spider's limb.
The creature squealed as Luna freed herself, pale blue blood pouring from its leg. The Acromantula lunged forward again but this time Luna was ready. With a shriek she did not know she could make, Luna thrust the jagged piece of plastic into the spider head. Blue blood poured everywhere as the Spider started screeching and convulsing. Luna brought the Sharp object down onto the Spiders head three more times before it went silent and still. Luna grimace as she pulled herself from underneath the Spider, sticky blue blood covered her head to toe. Luna wiped as much of it as she could off her and onto the floor.
Luna noticed other giant spiders had been killed. It seemed the Muggles had discovered the use of the sharp pieces of plastic that littered the floor before she had. "The uses of being a Muggle and a Squib," Luna thought to herself. "You rely not on your magic, but on the objects around you and how best to use them to survive.
Luna looked at the creature she had killed and sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Mister Spider, I know you were just trying to eat, but I did not want to be eaten today."
"I'm starting to think you are freakier then the freaks" Petunia uttered with a snort as she looked down upon the strange girl.
"Thank you." Luna replied with a smile.
"That wasn't a...never mind." Petunia muttered to herself before turning her attentions to her son.
Luna looked around before spotting something that caught her eye as she spoke. "I wonder where that cave will take us."
The others turned and saw nothing but walls of the room. Luna approached the wall and traced her finger around it before shoving against the wall. She was joined by a couple of larger gentlemen and in a matter a moments, the wall gave away. After pushing the wall a foot inwards they slid it to the side as if it was a door, which it probably was. "I assume that's where the Acromantula came from."
"But won't there be more in there?" Dudley squeaked.
"Only one way to find out?" Luna uttered with a shrug, "Of course you are free to stay here if you like."
Without a moment's thought Luna walked into the cave, with the others reluctantly following her.
"This is disgusting." Petunia moaned as she stepped into a deep puddle of sewage. "I can't believe your...people use sewers, can't you just use magic for this sort of thing."
Luna shook her head. "Most Wizards follow the laws of magic. I, like my Mother before me believe that there are no such laws however, one of the rules is you can't make something from nothing and vice versa, vanishing something usually turns it into air and vanishing certain...objects can prove to make breathing quite toxic, hence sewers."
A girl Luna recognized from when she was first imprisoned asked. "How can something come from nothing."
"It can with magic but outside of magic it's really a yes or no answer depending on what nothing is. If nothing is really nothing or simply a lack of matter. Of course our understanding of nothing adds to the question, is nothing really nothing at all, or is it in fact something that is considered by us to be nothing but is in fact something after all." Luna replied with a smile, "Where there is nothing, or no matter at all, there is believed to be energy. Though you could say that energy is something and nothing is full of energy. In this case everything is something and nothing is anything, therefore nothing is a myth as there's no such thing as nothing...or something like that."
"My head hurts." Dudley moaned.
"Or the Muggles are wrong, they've been wrong quite a lot throughout history but to error is to be human." Luna grimaced as she stepped into more sewage.
Petunia looked at Luna like she was mad, but others listened keeping their minds away from the miserable situation. Luna hummed. "The universe is not as infinite as we used to believe, there is an edge, though once again the definition of the Universe has changed. The Universe is everything that ever had, does or will exist. However it is hypothesized that there are other Universes, let's call them Miniverses as under the old definition they would be part of the universe as well. These Miniverses are so far away and moving so fast not even the light of the Miniverses can reach us. The more you hypothesis and philosophies how large all of existence and supposed non-existence is, the more we begin to realize how small we really are. In fact I believe that not everything I said is true, yet I believe with a passion that the universe is truly infinite."
Luna then looked at Petunia contemplatively. "Or you can pretend the universe is small, that the earth is the center of the universe, that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it and in turn you. You can pretend that everything is simple and anything beyond your understanding is evil. People hate and kill each other because they are different, and they don't understand their ways. Well if that's true, then they might as well hate the whole universe, and all of known and unknown existence, I know a six hundred year old philosopher and he understands no more of the universe than you or I."
Luna sighed as she approached a small beam of light at the end of the sewer. "Delores believes she can have absolute order, but that is impossible, in a universe so large and random, order is very small, and only on a relative level. She fears chaos because the hardest thing for most of us to realize is how little we control anything. We can only truly control ourselves and even that has limitations. Yet as much as they research here, she will never discover this, for people like her are blind. The worst sort of people are the ones who close off both their mind and their heart, as the mind and heart is what makes humans and humanoids so special."
Petunia's eyes seemed distant as Luna reached what seemed like a dead end, if not for a small crack of light in the wall. A couple of large Muggles pushed against the tablet and pulled it to the side. The largest man peaked inside before pulling his head back in and looking at the others. He went to say something before fainting.
Luna hesitantly peaked her head through the partly opened doorway and felt the blood leave her head. "Oh dear."
Spiders, thousands of them, sleeping all over the floor and they where the size of cars. Luna looked past them and saw metal bars on the other side of the room, it was a cage, small enough for humans to get through but not these monsters, and the problem was the room was the size of a football field.**
Luna looked back at the crowd and whispered. "We need to do this very quietly."
Luna slid the rest of the door open, flinching as it made a slight scratching sound before slowly lowering herself to the ground. "Watch your step."
Luna stepped over a spider leg as she manoeuvred her way through the Cluster. Luna felt her heart pounding inside her chest as she felt the hair of a spider tickle her as she brushed it's back, going as close as she dared to the beast in order to avoid touching the adjacent spider's face. She peered back at the others as they slowly followed her footsteps. When Petunia stepped into the room and saw the horde of Acromantula, she all but screamed, only just being prevented by Dudley, who placed a hand over her mouth, muffling her terror. Dudley looked like the only thing preventing him from wetting himself was his own dehydration.
Luna shivered as she felt one of the sleeping giant's breath on her shoulder. Taking once last deep breath Luna silently sprinted the last ten feet to reach the metal bars, sucking in her breath, she squeezed her way through the metal bars and into a brighter room full of potion vials and research notes, likely on the study of the Acromantula.
Luna looked back as the other prisoners slowly started slipping between the bars. Some had to struggle more than others but luckily some good had come out of their starvation as they were able to slip through. Luna looked back into the Spider's cage and cursed under her breath. "Fiddlesticks!"
Petunia was standing in the middle of cage, frozen as if she had been petrified, Dudley was trying to get his Mother to move but she seemed to have gone into a state of shock.
Luna started to slip back into the cage when a man grabbed her arm. He whispered. "You can't help them, the longer we stay here the more likely others will come."
"I'm not leaving anyone behind." Luna replied with conviction.
"If you go in there I'm not waiting, it's every man or woman for himself." The man uttered as he glanced back at the creatures.
Luna shook her head. "I will not stop you if you leave but do you know how to get out of here."
"Do you?" A middle aged woman asked. "That woman, I heard you both talking when they first brought you with us, the man you say you loved suffered under her ward. Why should any of us risk our lives to help her, least of all you."
Luna looked back at the Dursley's before sighing. "If Harry was here, it is what he would do."
Luna slipped back into the cage and quickly started to slip her way through the beasts. In five minutes she had reached the Dursley's. Dudley looked beseechingly at Luna for help as Petunia remained in her petrified state.
Luna hummed calmly. "Why are you frightened, it cannot be the Spiders or you would have escaped with the rest of us,"
Petunia's eyes met Luna's, if Petunia could speak Luna was certain she would have shrieked "OF COURSE IT'S THE SPIDERS TO BLEEPING BLEEPING BLEE-"
Luna whispered. "One foot at a time Petunia, you don't even have to look, just close your eyes and I will make sure your feet land in the right place...that's it...just one step at a time, that is all we can do sometimes. Don't worry, it's only fear and fear cannot hurt us as long as don't let it."
Luna smiled as Petunia started walking through the spiders nest. Dudley smiled and looked as if he was going to hug Luna. Smiling he took a step towards her-
CRUNCH!
.
.
SHKREIAUAAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAAIAIA!
The spider shrieked as it felt it's leg get crushed by Dudley foot. The spider's shriek woke the other spiders up, Luna screamed, "RUN!"
The three bolted towards the cage. Luna felt something crunch under her foot and another shriek deafened them all. The Spiders started rising and charging towards the three intruders. Petunia and Luna reached the bars first in full sprint and instantly squeezed through. Dudley followed shortly behind and squeezed himself through the bars...and made it halfway through them.
Dudley tried pulling himself through again but found himself stuck between the bars. Even starved and sickly, Dudley wasn't exactly small. "HELP!"
"MY BABY!" Petunia screamed as she grabbed Dudley's arm and tried to pull him through. A few of the other prisoners tried to help but he wouldn't budge. Luna saw the spiders were about to reach him while others had risen to their feet. Luna ran back through the bars and put all her weight into shoving Dudley through them. One of the Spider lunged at Luna who pressed her back against Dudley's and with all her strength, pressed her hands against the spiders head as it shoved against her. Luna saw the creature about spit venom while the other Spiders had converged around them.
The Spider pressed more weight into Luna and in turn Dudley, who with a pop, was thrown through the bars and onto her mother, as they both collapsed on the floor. Luna tumbled through the bars and landed on top of the Dursley's as the Spider continued to press forwards, as its head squeezed through bars a burst of red light filled the room, and the spiders head exploded into a slob of blue slime.
Luna glanced at the others and slowly rose to her feet, while the Dursley's did the same. Petunia practically gasping for air as Dudley rolled off her squashed figure.
Luna walked up to the lab's doorway and peered through it, looking down a long hallway. The group continued onward until they came upon stairway going up. To her left the hallway continued, leading off to Merlin knows where. Luna sighed. "I don't know the way...but I do know this, the moment they discover we are alive, they will come after us. They will try to stop and even kill you, but they do not want you. Delores wants me and as long as I am with you, I am a burden to your chance of survival."
Luna looked to the prisoners. "I'm afraid this is where we part."
The prisoners nodded as they looked uncertainly up the stairs. Petunia looked at the weird girl and uttered. "Thank you...for everything... Luna."
Luna looked at Petunia in surprise before nodding. "Maybe there is hope for you yet Petunia."
The widowed Dursley huffed with a scowl. "I was actually thinking the same thing about you."
Luna smiled. "Then at least one of us is hopeless."
Dudley walked up to Luna and to her shock, gave her a hug. Luna squeaked as she felt her back crack;
"Thank you Luna." Dudley uttered.
"Please don't kill me." Luna whimpered causing Dudley to let her go.
"Sorry." Dudley mumbled bashfully before the Dursley's started up the stairs. The prisoners followed all of them nodding to Luna.
"Dear child." The old women Luna recognized as Fiona uttered. "Whatever happens we shall make sure the world knows of your heroism. It honors me to have known you child."
"I'm not a hero, I was trying to escape as well." Luna replied.
"You put others before yourself, throughout our escape. You did so for no reason than the purity and goodness in your heart. The tales they tell of you are true, you truly are a saint."
Luna looked down at her bare feet before muttering. "I just wanted to help, that's all I ever want to do. I don't want to be a saint."
"Nor do I wish to be old, but we are what we are dear. Remember one thing for me child." Fiona whispered. " Neither the saint or hero can change the world, but they can set the spark that enlightens it, farewell child."
With that the elder lady turned to the stairs where two young men helped her up each step. Luna watched until all the Muggles and Squibs were out of sight before walking down the hallway, praying they all made it our alive. Of course there was another reason Luna had left them, they were trying to escape, while Luna had no intention of leaving.
Luna reached the end of the hallway, there stood a large red door that Hagrid could fit through. Luna opened the door and walked into the darkness, her mind fixed on her destination, her last hope to find the answer to her mission...Pandora's Box.
Delores returned to her office in short order and with a wave of her wand, a map appeared on the wall. She grinned as she saw the yellow dot running down the hallways. She was stronger than she had thought, which only made the Minister smile. But it turned into a frown as she saw the other yellow dots, slowly rising higher and higher, towards the Department of Mysteries exit. She also saw a stray red dot, which could only be a Witch or Wizard, heading down towards the dungeons. Delores waved her wand and conjured a Patronus of a Bulldog which always made Umbridge frown. She would prefer it to be a kitten, though she did hear Unspeakables whispering that it should be a toad.
Delores spoke to the Silver Bulldog. "Tell Kingsley that there has been a breakout of Squibs and Muggles as well as an intruder, likely a Wizard. The Unspeakables' who aren't fighting are busy keeping the Wizarding settlements in check and infiltrating the Muggle Government. Come back down and take care of this problem, and bring some of Project M.I.M. with you."
Delores watched as the silver bulldog vanished before turning back the map and staring at the yellow dot that marked Luna. The Minister uttered with excitement. "You better run child, Mother's coming. Mother's home. "
Luna opened another door and peaked inside. It was another empty room. Luna ran inside before she let out a deep breath and sunk to her knees, hoping to regain her strength. Luna felt like a mouse trapped inside a maze, only the cheese at the end of the maze was blocked off, surrounded by walls.
"Then break down the walls." Luna thought out loud to herself. "I need to find Pandora's Box, it is the only hope to save the Muggles and Squibs, as well as my own magic. I can't stop now."
Luna rose to her feet and opened the next door...another Merlin darned hallway.
Luna walked down the hallway, eyes and ears alert, she could feel the magic through the walls, and a deep rumbling underneath her feet. The hallways came to an end and another door stood before her, this one was green and opened by itself as Luna reached it.
Luna's eyes widened as she stepped into a dark room full of flashing lights. The lights seemed to switch colour at every opportunity, currently changing from blue to yellow, then green and finally red.
Luna had to blink as she slowly walked through the room, trying to examine what took place here. Luna felt a chill go up her spine as the room started to get thinner the further she walked, the room turned into a hall way. Luna noticed as she walked, the ceiling was closer to the floor with each step, when the hallway was no more than 8 by 4 feet.
Luna had to steady her feet as she felt the hallway turn into a circular tunnel. The lights were flashing even more frequently through the darkness and Luna had to struggle to keep her eyes open at all. Luna felt the tunnel getting smaller and smaller as her heart began to beat faster and faster. Suddenly Luna realized the floor was begin to tilt downwards, getting steeper and steeper with each step. Luna tried to turn around but the tunnel was so small she could not turn. Luna had no choice but to continue to move forward. Luna whimpered as the tunnel floor continued to grow steeper and before she knew it Luna was sliding down the tunnel.
Luna screamed as she picked up momentum and soon was in free fall, plummeting at overwhelming speeds. The light kept flashing in her face as her vision started to blur and Luna was certain that she was going so fast she was passing out. In fact for a second she probably did, but was awoken when she hit something soft.
Luna took a moment to regain her faculties before slowly rising to her feet, she looked at the surface she had landed on and frowned, she was hovering ten feet off the ground. With a yelp she fell the last ten feet and landed on her backside. Luna grumbled under her breath as she stumbled to her feet and looked around the room.
The room was eerily familiar, it was dark and old like an old cellar, if not for the handcuffs on the floor and bars on the door. Luna looked around the room and slowly began to feel a sense of morbid dread fill her body. She recognized this place, she knew where she was.
Luna turned around but was stopped abruptly by the figure of a Witch who seemed to tower over her.
"Going somewhere Loony."
Luna felt a hand smash into her face and sent her to the hard ground. Luna tried to crawl desperately away but a hellish cold hand grabbed her hair and pulled on it violently, causing Luna to scream out in pain as she was thrown backwards and underneath the prowling witch above her. Luna could not believe her eyes, it had to be a dream, she was dead after all, Bellatrix Lestrange should not be standing over her.
"Surprise!" Bellatrix shrieked with mirth. "Happy Death day."
The Mad witch pounced on Luna. Luna struggled to kick the mad woman off of her but Bellatrix just laughed a horrible heartless cackle. "My my, if it isn't the iddy biddy Squiby, long time no see Loony."
Luna whimpered as she felt Bellatrix's cold hand stroke her cheek. "What's wrong? Don't you want to play with me?"
"Last time, I had to keep you alive, you were important, a valuable hostage, but not anymore. Your Mummy's dead, your Daddy's dead, even your Potty's dead. Everyone who was ever foolish enough to care for you is dead. Nobody loves you anymore, you simply don't matter anymore. My poor little baby." Bellatrix cackled as she reached into her ragged robes and pulled out a long sharp knife, Luna's eyes widened in horror as she stared at it. Luna could feel her skin burning from where they bore hidden scars.
"Oh we are going to have so much fun. It will be just like a sleep over. a sleep over that never ends. Would you like to sleep Loony? Sleep forever just like me?" Bellatrix whispered as she gently stroked the knife across Luna's skin, just a whisper so it wouldn't break the skin...yet.
Luna shook her head.
This can't be real, it just can't...
"Now what game are we going to play. I think I'm going to cut off your pretty head. That's a fun game. Let's see how long you can stay awake."
This isn't happening, this isn't happening.
Luna's eyes opened with a twinkle and smiled. "I'm sorry Bell, but I don't want to play today."
"YOU'LL PLAY WHAT I TELL YOU TO PLAY!" Bellatrix roared as her thin temper snapped.
"No, I'm not playing along...I'm not scared of you anymore." Luna uttered as she closed her eyes. "Goodbye."
"OPEN YOUR EYES AND PLAY!" Bellatrix hollered but Luna kept her eyes closed. "OPEN YOUR EYES OR I'LL CUT THEM OUT!"
Luna shook her head. "Then do so, dad once told me that the best way to deal with bullies was to ignore them...I think it might actually work this time."
Luna closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen, which was nothing at all. Bellatrix started shouting in a rage befitting of a toddler. "Open your eyes, you hear me, I said open your Merlin damned eyes."
Luna sighed with the hint of a smile. "You are being Riddikulus."
Bellatrix shrieked one last time before shrinking. Her shout turned more and more puny and her words became less legible. In a matter of moments, Luna was holding a little baby in her arms, which was balling it's eyes out. Luna laughed at the Bogart baby, and was tempted to play with it before remembering that the baby was no more real than Bellatrix had been. Luna gently placed the Bogart baby down, which vanished into the shadows as the Bogart made it's retreat.
As the Bogart vanished, the room which resembled the Malfoy's cellar transformed back into a dark room with flashing lights, and a door appeared before her. As Luna walked towards the door to the next room she could feel that using the spell made her even weaker. It must have cost her at least an hour of time, and she doubted she could do another spell for another hour on top of that. Luna opened the door and entered the next room.
It was soft under her feet, almost like lamb's wool, and Luna saw beautiful salamanders of a strange colour she had never seen before. They slowly crossed the soft floor towards a door at the end the room, but they did not seem to get any closer than before. Luna was reminded of something but shrugged and slowly walked across the room. A beautiful melody hung in the air as she heard angelic voice's chanting,
"You got to get in to get out."
Luna went to pick up one of the crawlers but for some reason, her hands could not reach them. Something must be blocking them. Luna wished she could stay here forever but she knew she had work to do. With a sad sigh, Luna walked towards the door. As she reached it, Luna looked back one last time at the strange creatures before opening the door. Suddenly she heard a hiss behind her, and Luna saw the creatures squealing and rushing closer towards the door but they found no more success than before. Luna sighed sadly before shutting the door behind her, leaving the creatures in a prison they simply could not escape.
Luna found herself going up a spiraling flight of stairs. Luna took a deep breath and continued on-wards.
Luna reached the top of the stairs and panted with exhaustion before opening the next door. This room was different, It was pitch black and Luna could feel the evil that lurked inside. Luna gulped as she walked into the darkness. She had to squeeze her way through the door and when she made it through she hit her head on the wall.
Luna quickly realized the room was small, so small in fact that Luna could not even lift her arms, as they were too tightly wedged against the brick wall. Suddenly the door slammed shut behind her and Luna realized with horror that she was stuck.
Luna struggled against the wall but it was hopeless, it was a trap and she had walked straight into it, hook, line and sinker.
Then a light filled the room and Luna looked up to see a small light at the end of the tunnel above her, it must have been twenty feet above her. Luna's eyes hardened as she gathered her resolve, she knew what she had to do. Luna grimaced as she pushed her arms and legs against the wall with all her might before wiggling her body with everything she had. She smiled inwardly as she wiggled up an inch. She moved her body again, trying her best to imitate a worm, caterpillar or Aquavirius Maggot, and crawled up another inch, Luna kept her arms and legs tight against the wall to keep from sliding back down.
She was doing everything in her power to crawl out of this hole and her muscles were burning. Luna felt like one of the creatures she was trying to copy, wondering if the grueling experience would lead to her own transformation. Like a Caterpillar into a butterfly. An Aquavirius Maggot to an Aquavirius Fly, or a worm into bird food, Luna imagined she was transforming from a Squib into a Witch.
As she continued her arduous climb, Luna felt herself start to slide down the tunnel, Luna braced herself against the walls with everything she had, and stopped her fall, but she had lost five feet and had scraped her arms against the wall. Luna shook with pain as she blinked back tears, feeling the blood poor from her arms as she continued to crawl upwards. Luna grunted from the effort and from the pain of scraping her bloody arms against the rocky walls.
Luna realized she was wrong, she wasn't becoming a Witch, she was becoming a Woman.
Luna didn't know how long it had taken but with all the effort she could muster Luna thrust her upper body out of the tunnel and onto the floor. Finally able to free her arms, she pulled the rest of herself out of the hole before collapsing to the floor, gasping for air. Her Muscles burned from the effort and the skin on her arms was covered with blood and blisters. When Luna caught her breath she couldn't help but start laughing. Despite her weakened state, she had never felt stronger in her whole entire life than she did at this very moment. Luna felt a power flow through her that had nothing to do with magic.
It was the power of pride, THE PRIDE OF A WOMAN.
When Luna had recovered enough to continue onward, Luna rose to her feet and opened the next door. It was made of stone and would be empty if not for the mirror that sat on the other side of the room. It was no bigger than she was, if not smaller, yet Luna felt afraid to approach it. She knew she could not turn back, not now...not before she had finished what she had started.
Luna cautiously approached the mirror before gasping at the stranger in it. Luna spun around the room with her hands out stretched but no one was there. Luna regained her composure before looking at the woman in the Mirror. She had brown hair, and cold brown eyes. She was somewhat chubby but not terribly so, and she had an ugly wart on her elbow. If Luna didn't know any better she could have sworn it was Delores in the mirror, yet something was off.
The girl was shorter and skinnier then the rather hefty Minister. She had a large, pointy noise, though nothing as bad as Luna's father's, and eyes as large as an owls, yet unlike Luna's the eyes they were filled with not awe and wonder, but a coldness befitting of Umbridge. Her lips were small compared to Umbridge's large painted ones and her skin was as pail as her Fathers, though not dry and wrinkly like Umbridge's. Her nose was also slightly bent, not unlike her Father's.
Luna slowly raised her hand and the woman in the mirror did the same. When she lowered it her alien reflection copied her motion. Luna felt tears run down her face as she looked upon the daughter of Xenophilius and Umbridge...herself. Luna remembered the memories she had seen, the changing of her hair and eye colour, yet here she stood, a stranger to herself.
"Who is Luna Lovegood." Luna remembered saying to Harry, who smiled and simply said. "A riddle I hope to never solve."
"Is this who I am?" Luna whispered as she looked into the mirror. "Does my reflection, reveal the truth?"
"It's not pretty is it, the truth." a familiar voice whispered, and Luna could see the reflection of Delores Umbridge, as she walk up behind her and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "I think it was Dumbledore who once said the truth was a beautiful and terrible thing. You say I'm not your Mother and Merlin knows I wish it were true, but the Mirror does not lie."
Delores rested a hand on Luna's cheek as she whispered softly with a hint of sadness, and desperate longing. "You could have been a wonder child. A daughter I had always wanted, just look at your reflection, see how beautiful you could have been. You tell me you know pain, you know nothing of it."
Luna grimaced as Delores lowered her hand and grasped her chin harshly while her nails dug into Luna's shoulder. The Minister hissed. "We both lost our Mothers when we were far too young, and later in life we lost our Fathers. Though my Father's death was no loss to me, at least you had a Father you could mourn."
"I lost my Brother, I lost my own flesh and blood because he was a cursed Squib. Then it happened again, when I lost my Daughter, my only Daughter. No Mother should ever have to lose a child, even a new born. I carried you inside me for nine long agonizing months only to find out the angel I thought I'd give birth too, was not even human!" Delores cried out before she threw Luna to the floor.
Luna looked up at Umbridge who seemed beside herself with rage. "Why couldn't you have been normal? Why couldn't you have been like everyone else? Why did you have to be a FREAK!?"
"Why do I have to be normal? Why does it matter. You ask me why I'm not normal, the answer is simple. Why not?" Luna replied harshly. "One day Delores, you will realize that you can't control the world, and even if you could you shouldn't."
"I can do whatever I want child. I am in charge, I will have control and I will have order." Delores aimed her wand at Luna who backed away towards the mirror. "I'm going to fix you up, make you nice and obedient, just like my Father, he was nice and obedient in the end. You will learn what it means to be the Daughter of Delores Umbridge, you will allow me to give power to those under my control and you will unite the Wizards and Witches of the World to wipe out all races deemed unworthy by the Ministry of Magic. With the Might of Magic, I shall have order and peace for all time, and you may just even earn a place by my side, not as a Squib but as a Witch!" Delores shouted triumphantly.
Luna looked at her with a sad smile. "I'm sorry Delores, all this time I thought you were a monster but now I see the truth."
Delores smile wickedly. "Now you're seeing the bigger picture, You have a chance to become my heir, small as it is. However, with magic, anything is possible."
"No, I think I'll have to decline, you see you're not a Monster, you're just a sad, strange little women, and I have nothing in my heart for you but pity." Luna whispered.
"PITY!" Delores laughed. "I'm the Minister of Magic, and Head of the Unspeakables and soon I shall have order over every living thing on this very earth."
"This very earth, as wonderful as it is, is nothing more than a speck of dust. You wish to control the world, I say your dreams are vastly too small. Order is only a matter of perception Miss Umbridge, and when you look at the big picture the little order we have is trivial at best." Luna uttered with a sigh before shaking her head.
"You may have this trivial power, you may one day rule the world, but you have no magic in your heart, in a way you are more of a Squib than I. Maybe one day you will have your world order, but you will never be happy, you threw away your happiness when you let your hatred cost you what your heart truly desires, a family." Luna finished with a sad look in her eyes
Umbridge looked at Luna, fuming, as her face turned red then purple. "YOU DARE CALL ME A SQUIB!"
Luna couldn't help but laugh. "You're hopeless, like talking to Nargles."
Delores aimed her wand at Luna. "You...You will obey my orders as your superior, your Minister and your Mother."
"I told you already, you are not my Mother." Luna replied passionately. "My Mother is not the one that gave me life. My Mother is the person who raised me and took care of me. She gave me strength, she gave me morals and she taught me how to live. She loved me more than anyone could love another, and I cherished her for it. She poured her heart and soul for me. She shed blood, sweat and tears for me. She cried when I was sad and laughed when I was happy. She loved me unconditionally but made sure I could be the best me I could be. My Mother did everything for me, she even died for me. My Mother was my world and you took her from me, just like you took Harry!"
Luna looked back at the mirror and saw no one but herself in it, just as she was now. She may not know who she was but she did know one thing. Luna Lovegood is the daughter of Pandora Lovegood. Luna cried as she whispered. "My Mother loved me, and I'm sorry I forgot that, but I swear, I will never forget again."
"We'll see." Delores raised her wand and uttered "Crucio."
Luna hear Delores whisper the evil word and attempted to dodge the curse but ran straight into the mirror, but instead of shattering she felt herself fall through the silver substance before landing on the floor of the same room only it seemed backwards somehow. Luna looked back in the Mirror and saw Umbridge glaring at her before her face popped through the mirror. Luna backed away as Umbridge's arm came through next, before it fired a spell. Luna turned around and bolted down the hallway. As Luna ran she heard the shouts from behind her. "Come back here you Squib! I order you!"
Luna ran as fast as her legs could carry her, vaguely hearing the curses flying past her as Umbridge followed. Luna felt a rope wrap itself around her legs and Luna let out a startled yelp as she fell to the floor. Luna reached for her legs and struggled to untie the rope as Delores approached her. "If you want to be treated like an animal then so be it, I'll drag you to the dissection room my damn self if I have to!"
Delores grabbed the other end of the rope and started pulling, dragging Luna by her legs. Luna pushed herself up into the sitting position and gave the rope a hard tug, pulling the Minister on top of her. The two women clashed as they rolled down the hallway down a flight of stairs. Delores clawed at Luna with her finger nails while Luna tried to bite them off.
As they landed at the bottom of the stairs, Delores gained the upper hand and pinned Luna underneath her, before aiming her wand at Luna's throat. "You filthy creature, do you know who I am? I am Del-"
A Toad! Ha!
Delores looked over her shoulder and saw the three Nargles floating above her with sinister looks. Delores frowned. "What in Merlin's name-"
Aναρχία huffed. "We're Nargles...do we really need to keep telling people what we are."
Most people don't know we exist. Anarhie replied.
Delores frowned. "You can't be, you're not real, you don't exist-"
SHUT
THE
HELL
UP!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Umbridge felt herself get lifted off Luna who looked on with amusement. Umbridge shouted as the Nargles lifted her to the ceiling by Umbridge's cloak. "You put me down this instant. You are not real you can't be, you are just a symptom of the Squibs madness and-"
The Nargles threw Umbridge into the wall before transforming into three, six foot tall demons with black eyes, blood red skin and the head of horses. They shouted in Delores's face with a deep demonic voice that shook the room.
DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A SYMPTOM OF MADNESS!?
Delores nodded numbly, the blood drained from her face, causing the Nargles to return to normal and laugh. Luna untied the knot and freed her legs. Luna rose to her feet looking at the Minister, who had her eyes calmly shut. The Nargles suddenly flickered and Anarhie turned to Luna. "Get out of here now, we can't hold her off much longer."
Luna frowned.' "I don't understand, you have her-"
"GO NOW!"
Luna didn't need to be told thrice, confused or not, Luna ran down the hallway, trying to put as much distance between her and Delores as she could.
Luna had to blink as she entered the next room. Luna was surrounded by mirrors, from which she could see her own battered reflection. As she stepped forward Luna saw a path to the side, also covered with mirrors. Instead of one big mirror, there were hundreds of small ones stuck together. Luna walked down further, trying to ignore the vast array of reflections before reaching across a crossroad. Luna now understood, it was a maze, a house of mirrors to be precise.
Luna sighed wearily as she turned left, she stayed on this path for five minutes before reaching a dead end. As Luna turned around she couldn't help but wonder who of the Unspeakables had to go through this maze, and what happened to them. Luna kept glancing at her reflection and the further she walked through the maze, the more she felt that she was being followed.
Luna saw movement and swiftly turned around only to see her distorted reflection. The mirrors seemed to twist her reflection further and further beyond recognition. Luna felt a chill go up her spine as the mirrors distorted even her eyes, turning them into swirling Grey voids. Luna turned again as she saw the flicker of a shadow fly across a mirror before vanishing once more. Luna panted as she felt her heart in her throat...she swore she saw...no it couldn't be. Luna closed her eyes and regained control of her breath before pursuing forward, sighing with frustration as she reached another dead end.
Luna wasn't sure how long it took her to reach the center of the maze, but when she did, she felt the hair stand on the back of her neck.. The Walls weren't the only mirrors now, the floor and ceiling also showed Luna's reflection, and at the center of the floor was a Mirror unlike any she had ever seen in her life.
It was ancient and ornate, it had clawed feet and a golden frame. Inscribed into the gold were the words "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."
Luna frowned, there was something familiar about the strange writing, but those thoughts quickly fled her as she looked into the Mirror. Luna gasped, her hands covered her mouth and her eyes widened as tears began to build in them. Luna quickly turned around and saw nothing but her own reflection in the other surrounding Mirrors.
Luna turned back to the strange Mirror. It wasn't a trick of the light, the Mirror reflected Luna, and behind her stood the man she loved...Harry Potter. Luna again whirled around and reached her hand out, grasping for something she knew could not be, she grasped only air. Luna saw the mirrors reflection inside every surrounding mirror and noticed something odd. Through the reflection of the mirrors, the writing was legible though the spacing was strange. "Ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe art's desirE."
Luna looked back at the Mirror with awe and wonder. And looked at the word Erised. Luna remembered Harry telling her about this, the Mirror of Erised.
Luna looked back into the Mirror at Harry and slowly reached out to touch him, but her hand only touched glass. Luna closed her eyes as she softly spoke the Mirror's words aloud. "I show not your face but your heart's desire."
Luna choked out a sob before the grief consumed her and all she could do was cry. She did not see her parents, she did not see her dreams coming true, she did not see her mission, her quest fulfilled, all she saw was what her dreams had cost her. He had inspired her, and even made her believe her dreams could come true. Now the only dream that mattered in her heart, was the one dream could never be.
Dreams of happiness and love. Dreams of laughter and joy. Dreams of marriage and children. Dreams of family. All this lay inside the Mirror but no matter how hard Luna pressed herself against the glass, they were only dreams and nothing more.
Luna cried as she desperately whispered the words, praying they would make her dreams come true. "Imaginatio Potestatem."
Luna waited for something to happen, anything to happen, but nothing did. She knew nothing would. Luna sadly opened her eyes and looked at the man in the mirror. Her heart almost warmed as she saw his tears, confirming he didn't hate her, yet this only seemed to pierce her heart like a dagger. He looked sad and tired, his clothes singed and burnt and his arm dripping blood. He looked like a hero straight out of a fairy tale but in truth he was so much more. He was her hero, not just for his courage and bravery, but his kindness that inspired and touched her heart.
Luna whispered, her voice hoarse. "Oh Harry, I'm sorry for leaving you, I'm sorry I could not save you. I'm sorry for everything." Luna shuddered. "I'm sorry but I have to leave you once more. I have to finish my mission, it's all I have left. Don't worry though, I'll be back, and I'll never leave you again.
Luna tearfully watched as Harry reached out to rest his hand on her shoulder for support, causing Harry to smile weakly before she stiffened. Her heart seemed to stop beating and the air remained trapped in her lungs. Everything seemed to freeze as Luna felt the hand touch her shoulder...
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The Curious Case of Luna Lovegood