Disclaimer:
"Harry Potter" and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author's notes-
Chapter 162: I have a What?
"We are all ready!" Lyra announced loudly as she got in front of him.
Harry lifted his eyes from the book and glanced at his sister. She had barged into the library, accompanied by Ginny, Luna, and for some reason, Daphne.
"Good for you, have fun." Harry returned to his book, not really sure why she felt the need to inform him of that.
"What do you mean by 'have fun'?! Did you forget your promise already?" Lyra huffed angrily with her fists at her hips.
"Huh?..." Harry gave the girls another glance and remembered the conversation he had with his sister about teaching them a few spells this summer. "Right…" he put the book down.
"So you remember now? Well, good! We are ready, teach us!" Lyra exclaimed.
He was still recovering from the day's experience. Not from summoning the demon...that didn't take much of a toll on him, and after drinking a blood-replenishing potion, he would have been back in top shape. What caused him to be in this state was the awakening of his brand. He still felt tired even after resting for several days... his limbs ached as if he had run three marathons in a row, and his arm still felt very sore.
'But I did make a promise... I suppose it will be good for those girls to learn to defend themselves. That would give me some peace of mind at Hogwarts at least.'
"Let's go to the gardens then," Harry stood up from the couch.
"Are we not going to that room you used last year?" Lyra asked, and Ginny elbowed her side. "That was a secret, remember?" Ginny whispered to her.
"No, there is no need for that, and it would be a bit cramped," Harry told her.
The group walked out of the library, and Harry noticed that Daphne stayed a bit behind the rest. He assumed she wanted to tell him something, so he did the same and got closer to her.
"How is Astoria doing?" He asked in a soft voice.
Daphne smiled. "Much better… Father hired a team of healers to stay at her side. They said that she should be in perfect shape very soon."
"That's great news. Was there something you wanted to tell me?" He asked.
"Yes, actually… I was planning on sending you a letter, but this is faster. My father told me the full list of materials you requested will be ready in two weeks. But we already have most of them, so if you are in a hurry to-"
"No need. I can wait two weeks. Send the amount to pay and I'll have my elf collect it."
"I'm not sure if my father will not accept the payment… after what you did for us," Daphne whispered.
"He will. What I did for your family was a personal favor...this is a business transaction. Let's not mix them."
He cared little for coins. Even after paying for this purchase, he would still have a mountain of gold, thanks to Lord Malfoy's 'generosity'. Having Lord Greengrass owing him one was more valuable than that.
"I will tell him what you said." Daphne looked satisfied with his answer.
"I didn't expect you to be here though," he recalled his sister telling him about Luna but never mentioning anything about Daphne.
"Lyra told me to come," Daphne said with a tinge of coldness in her voice.
Harry noticed this. 'Is she mad because I didn't invite her myself?... I honestly didn't even remember about this. I had more important things on my mind.'
"I didn't think you would be interested. I'm only going to teach them some basic stuff."
"I have learned some things at home, but you ca-"
"Wow!" Luna interrupted Daphne and got closer to her, her eyes scanning the air surrounding Daphne's head.
"What is it?" Daphne took a step back, attempting to create some distance between her and the strange blonde.
"You have a lot of Wrackspurts flying over your head!" Luna sounded very shocked.
"I have what?" Daphne looked very confused now.
"Wrackspurts… is the name of one of the creatures that only Luna can see," Ginny explained.
"She sometimes says things like that; don't let it bother you " Lyra added.
"That's not true...my daddy saw a Nargle last summer," Luna informed her that she was not the only one who could see them.
"So, only your family can see these creatures?" Daphne looked a bit suspicious. "That sounds…"
"Crazy?" Luna asked her directly. "I have been called that a lot." She seemed unfazed.
"I… I wasn't going to say something that impolite…" Daphne told her.
"She is not exactly making things up. Luna has a peculiar gift," Harry spoke.
"She does?" Asked Lyra with shock.
"I do?" Asked Luna, equally shocked.
"She can perceive things that cannot be glimpsed with naked eyes," Harry said.
"You mean like magic?" Daphne asked.
Harry gave her a nod. "Something like that." The truth is that even he didn't understand exactly what Luna's ability was. But he knew she wasn't just making things up. His best guess after knowing her for so many years was that Luna was somehow able to see souls and spirits and her brain interpreted it in that peculiar way.
"Oh… so your family must have some bloodline ability. That's incredible!" Daphne was truly impressed. That type of magical ability was incredibly rare, even among old magical families.
"So, I'm not crazy?" Luna asked.
"You are a bit crazy. But someone else with your gift would have gone insane already," Harry told her.
"Mmm… okay then." Luna shrugged and continued to walk, not seeming to care that much about what Harry told her.
"Wait!" Daphne went after her. "You said before that I had a lot of…" She forgot the name already.
"Wrackspurts." Luna glanced up. "You have a few more now."
"What does it mean then? Is it bad?" Daphne asked. Now that she knew Luna's ability was the real deal, she was getting worried.
"Huh?..." Luna stared at Daphne with a blank expression. "How should I know? I have never seen this many before." She turned around and continued to walk.
Daphne was left standing there, completely baffled. "But you… why would you mention it then?..."
Lyra tapped her on the shoulder. "Don't think too much about it, Daphne."
Ginny approached her. "Yes, it is best to forget about it. Last year she said I had some Gulping Plimpies running around me… I still don't know what she meant."
"I don't think Luna knew what she meant…" Lyra added.
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