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Already happened story > Crimson Moon > Chapter 47: Hallway Runaway

Chapter 47: Hallway Runaway

  Harry woke to the soft golden light streaming through the window of his four-poster bed in Gryffindor Tower. He stretched nguidly, letting out a yawn before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The dormitory was already alive with the faint sounds of his fellow Gryffindors stirring—rustling sheets, muted chatter, and the occasional thud of a trunk lid being closed.

  Sliding out of bed, Harry grabbed his wand and gave it a flick toward the foot of his bed. His clothes for the day floated ly into his arms, and he dressed quickly, his mind rag with thoughts of the impending Wizengamot session. Luna’s antics were sure to be… memorable, to say the least.

  He moved to the sink in the er of the room and spshed cold water on his face, blinking at his refle in the small, slightly cracked mirror. His hair, as always, was hopelessly untamable, and he made no effort to fix it. Instead, he grabbed his gsses, perched them on his nose, a about brushing his teeth.

  Fully awake now, Harry shrugged on his school robe, checked that his wand was secure in its holster, and grabbed his bag. The faint smell of breakfast wafting through the tower was enough to set his stomach rumbling as he desded the spiral staircase to the Gryffindor on room.

  “M, Harry,” Neville greeted him, struggling to untahe strap of his bag from the leg of a chair.

  “M, Neville,” Harry replied with a grin, helping his friend free the strap before heading toward the portrait hole.

  On his way down the corridors, Harry entered a few more familiar faces. Dean and Seamus were huddled together, whispering about Quidditch pys, while Lavender and Parvati waved at him as they passed, already deep in versation about their m Astrology lesson.

  Halfway dowaircase to the Great Hall, Harry heard a familiar voice calling his name. He turo see Ron and Hermiog up to him.

  “Oi, Harry!” Ron said, panting slightly. “You’ve been hard to pin down tely. Everything alright?”

  Harry hesitated, gng at Hermione, who was giving him a scrutinizing look. “Yeah, I’ve just had a lot on my mind,” he said evasively.

  Hermione frowned, her arms crossed. “You’ve been distant, Harry. Even during lessons. Is it something we’ve done?”

  “No,” Harry said quickly, his voice softening. “It’s not you two. It’s… plicated.”

  Ron raised an eyebrow. “plicated? It doesn’t have anything to do with that crazy blonde bird does it? I am telling you mate she’s mental.”

  Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “ly. Just… let’s call it ‘politics.’ I’ll expin soon, alright?”

  Hermione’s frown deepened, but she nodded relutly. “Fine. But you know you talk to us, Harry.”

  “I know,” he replied, giving them both a small smile. “Thanks.”

  The trio tinued down to the Great Hall together, their footsteps eg in the spacious corridor. The sound of king silverware and lively chatter grew louder as they approached, and Luna was not here… That probably did not bode well.

  A quick look up to the teachers table showed Dumbledore sitting alone looking worried…

  “What in the bloody hell have you done Luna.” Harry mutters to himself. ===================The thunderous sound of hooves reverberated through the halls of Hogwarts as Luna, in her Animagus falloped through the corridors. Students froze in awe and fusion, their whispers and excmations rising like a tide.

  “Is that an ali?” one Ravenced, clutg their friend’s arm.

  “But they’re supposed to be mythical!” a Hufflepuff chimed in, their eyes wide.

  Luna, her shimmering silvery-blue coat glowing faintly in the m light, flicked her tail pyfully as she bounded down the Grand Staircase. Her wiended gracefully, allowio make an impossibly sharp turn as she evaded her pursuers.

  “An ali! In Hogwarts!” Professonagall’s voice rang out, authoritative yet ced with disbelief. She sprinted ahead of the other professors, her wand held high. “How in Merlin’s name did o inside?”

  “It’s impossible!” Flitwick squeaked, his face a mixture of schorly curiosity and arm. “Alis are beings of immense magical pends, yes, but not one has been doted iuries!”

  Snape’s dark gaze was fixed on the shimmering form as he stalked down the corridor. “Legend or not, it’s here now,” he growled. “And if it’s truly an ali, it could destabilize the wards around the castle.”

  “It won’t hurt the students,” Hagrid rumbled, his eyes sparkling with wonder despite the urgency. “Alis are protectors, not attackers—leastways, that’s what the old tales say.”

  “Protectors or not, this is highly irregur!” Magall snapped, juring a shimmering barrier ahead of the creature. “We o tain it!”

  Luna slowed her gallop just enough to assess the glowing barrier before her horn shimmered with moonlight, casting a delicate terspell that unraveled the magic like a thread pulled loose. She let out a soft whinny—somethiween a ugh and a taunt—before tering toward the Astronomy Tower.

  “She’s taunting us,” Magall muttered, narrowing her eyes.

  An suddenly the Ali is off again running through the halls.==============

  “She’s heading toward the kits!” Magall shouted, casting a -like spell that spread across the hallway in an attempt to block her path.

  But Luna, with the cleverness of both ali and witch, skidded to a halt just short of the glowing magical web. Her horn shimmered faintly, and a gust of wied from nowhere, pushing the back toward its caster. With a flick of her mane and a triumphant neigh, she spun around and bolted in the opposite dire.

  “She’s toying with us!” Snape growled, his patience wearing thin.

  “It’s fasating, really,” Flitwick remarked, his toill awed despite the chase. “Her magical finesse is impeccable. Did you see how ly she tered that spell?”

  “Professor Flitwick,” Magall said through gritted teeth, “this is not the time for academic admiration!”

  Luna galloped through another passageway, weaving expertly through the byrinthine castle as though she had spent years memorizing its twists and turns. In truth, her sense of freedom in this form was intoxig. The professors' shouts and the students' gasps only added to her amusement.====The professors stumbled to a halt in the hallway he kits, panting and disheveled. Magall leaned heavily on a nearby wall, her hat askew and her usually impeccable robes slightly rumpled. “I… ’t believe it,” she muttered betweehs, adjusting her gsses. “We’ve been outmaneuvered by that stupid horse Again.”

  Hagrid bent over with his hands on his knees, his massive frame heaving as he tried to catch his breath. “She’s somethin’ else, alright,” he said, his voice full ing admiration. “Fast as a Hippogriff and twice as clever.”

  Flitwick, despite his smaller stature, had mao keep up better than most. Still, he leaned against a pilr for support, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. “Remarkable agility and spellcraft,” he said with a wheeze. “She dismantled every trap we set for her like it was child’s py.”

  Snape, oher hand, looked more irritated than exhausted, though his usually sharp appearance was a bit worse for wear. His hair g to his face, and his bck robes were damp with sweat. “This is beyond ridiculous,” he hissed, gring at Magall. “We’ve chased her through half the castle, and we’re no closer to catg her. This mythical creature is about to bee potion ingredients! they’re deliberately mog us!”

  The professors rouhe er, their collective footsteps eg in the empty stone hallway. They stopped abruptly, staring at the pletely deserted space. The only sound was their bored breathing and the faint hum of magical wards still hanging in the air.

  “WHERE DID IT GO!” Snape bellowed, his voice reverberating off the walls. His pale face was flushed, and his dark eyes burned with frustration.

  Hagrid looked around, scratg his head. “She was right here a sed ago. I saw her tail disappear ‘round this er!”

  Magall pressed her lips into a thin line, sing the corridor with sharp eyes. “It couldn’t have simply vanished,” she said, her tone ced with a bination of exhaustion and exasperation.

  Flitwick frowned, lifting his wand and casting a quick revealing spell. Sparkles of light danced briefly along the walls, then fizzled out. “No traces of ret magic,” he said with a sigh. “She’s either masking her presence perfectly… or she’s truly gone.”

  Shrew his hands in the air.