After fooling around in the sea of flowers for a while, Luna ran to the tree and looked up at it.
"There really is a Traceless Immortal… and there really is a Traceless Immortal Tree. If I tell anyone, they won't believe me!"
"How did you find this place, Yvonne? It's wonderful!" Luna turned her head slowly, her cool, dazed look gone. It was easy to see how pleased she was.
"I've been here a lot, and I found it…" Yvonne began, embarrassed and vaguely uneasy.
Because he found Luna's joy far greater than he had expected, the little witch seemed genuinely immersed in this fantasy.
Ivan, however, was well aware that this fairy-tale setting was all a sham.
When the joy of a lie is punctured by cold reality, it often leads to greater disappointment.
Luna didn't doubt Ivan for a moment, and then she turned her attention to the dark opening at the base of the tree. It looked very deep, with only a little fluorescent light.
"This must be the home of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, right?" Luna asked curiously.
Ivan nodded. Even though it was originally meant for spiders and basilisks, it had been tidied up a bit, and it was the only place that was empty and quiet.
The two of them stood at the entrance and waited. A moment later, a tall, majestic creature with a pair of large, curved horns walked slowly out of the cave. Its silver-white fur looked extra gorgeous in the moonlight.
It was over two meters tall and had a very strange appearance. It looked like a deer and had the hooves of a cow. At this moment, it was examining the two people in front of it with its yellow-orange eyes.
"Yah, it really is a Crumple-Horned Snorkack!" Luna shouted happily. She carefully moved closer and wrapped her arms around the Crumple-Horned Snorkack's neck, rubbing her head against its silver fur.
The large man did not shy away from her advances and stood docilely where he was, allowing her to caress him.
"Want to try riding one?" Yvonne asked with a smile.
"May I?" Luna asked happily.
"Of course!" Ivan stepped forward and helped Luna mount the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
At first, Ivan was worried that Luna would fall and wondered if he should ride with the little witch, but Luna adapted quickly and sat down firmly on the Snorkack's horn.
Thus, Ivan abandoned the idea and watched in silence as Luna happily rode her silver beast around the flowers.
When the waning moon was high in the sky and the magic of the Transfiguration Charm was about to wear off, Ivan called out to Luna, who was playing like crazy.
"It's late. We should go back!"
Luna seemed reluctant to part with the Snorkack, but she nodded and hopped off its back, saying good-bye to the Snorkack and the Vanishing Fairies.
They left the Forbidden Forest in the same direction they had come from.
Luna hummed along the way, seemingly in a good mood, while Ivan hesitated to speak. The castle gates were now within sight.
As they passed the entrance hall, Ivan stopped and turned to the young witch, speaking apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Luna…"
It was cruel, but Ivan decided to reveal the truth, because it would not be hidden for long. He did not have the energy to keep Transfiguration going. One night was the best he could do.
"Why are you apologizing to me?" Luna asked Ivan, looking at him with a puzzled expression. "That tree is beautiful, and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack is wonderful…"
"Yeah, it's just that they—" Ivan began to explain, but Luna cut him off.
"They only spend one night in the Forbidden Forest, don't they?" said the little witch airily.
"You can tell?" Ivan was surprised. He thought he was good enough at Transfiguration not to be seen through.
Luna blinked but did not answer Ivan's question.
Ivan did not intend to pursue the matter any further. Now that he had been seen through, he did not want to hold back anymore. He took out a transparent jar from his pocket and showed it to the witch.
Luna could clearly see a Crumple-Horned Snorkack half the size of her hand in the jar, looking like a smaller version of the one in the Forbidden Forest.
"Is it a Crumple-Horned Snorkack baby?" Luna asked curiously.
"No, it's a real Snorkack!" Ivan said solemnly, shaking his head.
To help Luna understand the meaning of the word "real", Ivan unscrewed the jar and lifted the Crumple-Horned Snorkack with his fingers.
The poor creature must have been frightened out of its wits, for it let out a miserable wail, thinking that some demon was trying to torture it again.
This time, however, Ivan was not there to experiment, so he simply waved his wand.
"Finite Incantatem ~ (cursed stop)"
There was a blinding flash of white light, and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack remained where it was, staring at them with pitiful, innocent eyes.
Luna certainly understood the meaning of Ivan's charm, which meant that she was facing a real and living Snorkack!
The witch's eyes lit up and she stared at the strange creature in fascination until Ivan handed her the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
"You really found it!" Luna exclaimed in delight.
In the palm of his hand, the restless Crumple-Horned Snorkack was wrestling with Luna's fingers with its curved horns. It was not at all as docile as its transformed counterpart in the Forbidden Forest. Instead, it was extremely irritable.
However, Luna did not seem to care. She tried her best to calm the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, then looked up at Ivan, her blue eyes misty, and said softly and gratefully, "Thank you for finding the Crumple-Horned Snorkack for me, and thank you for showing me the Traceless Tree and the Traceless Fairy… they are all as I thought…"
"We're friends, aren't we?" Yvonne said earnestly. "And if anything, I should be the one thanking you…"
He had already heard from Hermione about what happened that day, and he wondered how long it would have taken him and Hermione to get over it without Luna's help.
Not to mention the fact that the young witch had helped her a lot in the past few years. Luna had also played a role in helping her solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets and successfully decipher the clue to the Language of Snakes.
Ivan naturally remembered all these help, so he had long wanted to prepare a thank-you gift for her, but he only found the opportunity today…
(PS: If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have put up the Flag. Luna is indeed difficult to write. Today's chapter is…)