In this strange silence, Hermione could not help but ask.
"Are you watching Thestrals?"
"Yeah…" Luna's eyes flicked to Hermione and she said abruptly, "You're lucky you can't see it…"
'Lucky?'
Hermione blushed, thinking Luna must be laughing at her.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that! How do you know I can't see? It looks like a horse. It's very tall, very large, and it has two wings like a bat. It's so skinny you can see its bones…"
Hermione narrated the events of her first year of school and what she had read in books.
Luna and Ivan looked at each other and smiled at each other, but didn't say anything.
"And thestrals are magical creatures, usually visible only to those who have witnessed their deaths…" Hermione searched through her memory to make it seem as if she had seen thestrals herself.
At the mention of death, however, Hermione stopped, and suddenly understood why Luna had called her lucky…
Hermione stared at Luna and Ivan. Had they witnessed death?
Hermione hesitated to ask, remembering that Yvonne did not see Thestrals in her first year of school, and wondering why Luna, a year younger than her, was going through this…
Luna took in Hermione's expression, thought for a moment, then looked at Ivan and whispered,
"My mother was a keen experimenter, and she always wanted to create some interesting magic of her own! Until one day, when her spell went wrong and exploded, swallowing her whole, during an experiment, right before my eyes…"
Luna's voice was soft and gentle, but also calm, and one could only see the sadness in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Hermione apologized.
Luna's words brought back memories for Ivan, and his face darkened.
Even though Ivan had a well-thought-out plan to get Alicia back, the Polyjuice Potion was far more difficult to modify than he had anticipated.
Yvonne was afraid that if she went back in time, all her preparations would be in vain…
"Harassment cricket…" Luna said suddenly.
"What?" Yvonne asked, looking at Luna strangely.
"I told you. Harassment cricket!" Luna's eyes studied Ivan with a dazed expression, and she imitated the buzzing of the cricket.
"It's a creature that can't be seen by the eye, that floats into one's ears and messes with one's mind, causing trouble…I think you have it around you. Unfortunately, I can't see it."
Harassment cricket? What was that?
Hermione was confused; she had never read about such a thing.
Ivan, on the other hand, was well aware that harassing Dottie was just a creature of Luna's imagination. Perhaps Luna believed that all human troubles were caused by harassing Dottie.
"Do you know how to get rid of these harassers?" Yvonne asked, sounding exasperated.
Luna cocked her head to one side and thought for a moment, frowning slightly, as if she were actually trying to think of a way to get rid of the harassing tadpoles.
Ivan shook his head and was about to say that he was only joking,
Suddenly, the blonde witch rose to her feet, moved closer, and, to Ivan's bewilderment, embraced him…
A faint scent of jasmine wafted up to his nose, along with a hint of dirigible plum.
Ivan froze, not expecting Luna to suddenly hug him,
Luna's hug was not exactly warm, but it broke into Ivan's thoughts, leaving him unable to think about anything else.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock, and her mouth fell open, but she said nothing…
After a while, Luna let go and sat back down, and everything returned to normal.
"Feeling better?" Luna asked.
"That's how you get rid of the Harassers?" Yvonne didn't know what to say.
Luna nodded, her eyes shifting. "That's how my father comforted me the day my mother died … I hope that helps …"
"I'm not as vulnerable as you think," Yvonne said, amused.
"I know … I know …" Luna laughed softly and spoke in singsong tones. "That's what I told him the other day, but I guess it's not such a bad method, is it?"
"Yeah, it worked…" Ivan looked at Luna for a long moment.
Luna's actions always surprised him, and he never knew what the little witch would do next.
Like a mystery …
Recalling that Luna seemed to be able to understand owls and decipher snake language, Ivan became even more suspicious and couldn't help but ask.
"Can you tell me how you knew I was in a bad mood? And how you could understand owls? Because of Dementor?"
"I don't know such advanced magic. I can just sense emotions and guess what you're thinking…" Luna shook her head, the dirigible plums dangling from her ears swaying with her movements. "It's a special feeling, but too many people won't do…"
Feel emotions? Yvonne had no idea Luna had such an ability. There was nothing in the original timeline about it.
Ivan couldn't help but wonder if this strange ability had something to do with a bloodline. After all, Luna and his father were both… strange?
Ivan didn't want to think about it any further, as he was worried Luna would sense it. He glanced at her, and she smiled at him.
The Thestrals drove on, and the carriage was quiet again, Ivan not speaking, Hermione sitting quietly, thinking…
Luna, reading the newspaper, hummed a tune to herself, and the sound of the wheels rattling over the road seemed to be the soundtrack.
After passing through a long, uphill lane, the carriage finally came to a halt on one side. Hogwarts was not far away, and one could vaguely see dark shadows streaking across the castle…
It was the Dementor on guard duty.
Yvonne got out of the carriage, which was now filled with hundreds of carriages, and many young wizards and witches were alighting and making their way to the castle gates.
Ron was waving at them from the top of the stairs, and Harry was there as well.
"They're waiting for you, aren't they? I'll leave you to it," Luna said, and then, without waiting for Ivan's reply, she joined the Ravenclaw line and followed the crowd into the tower.