บท 53: New Year Gossip
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---
"I can't believe what happened with your sister," Ron whispered harshly as they sat down in Potions, trying to forget that they would have another year of Snape looming over their shoulders, "I can't believe Rose, of all people, was placed in Slytherin. What does that Hat think it's doing?!"
"You don't have to keep bringing it up," Harry muttered dejectedly as he stared blankly into space, "She barely talked to me all summer, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why."
Ron shrugged, "Well, you might want to do something about that soon. From what I heard, she ended up sitting next to Thane at the Feast."
"What!" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs, coughing awkwardly as every pair of eyes in the room turned to glare at him. "What do you mean they sat next to each other?"
"Oh, they did more than sit," Lavender chimed conspiratorially from behind Ron and Harry with a teasing smile. I saw them myself; they couldn't take their eyes off each other."
"Stop making things up, Lavender," Parvati chastised as she lightly pinched her friend on the arm, who pouted and rubbed her reddened skin, "I wish I were, but it's true. Thane could barely keep his eyes off Rose, and it wasn't just her. There was another girl as well, a Ravenclaw. I don't remember her name exactly, but it started with an L."
"Why can't I get a break," Harry muttered as he buried his face in his hands, "This is the last thing I need after everything that's happened."
"How did you even see all of this?" Ron asked as he turned to look at Lavender, who smiled coyishly, "Well, because I couldn't keep my eyes off Thane. I saw his picture in the Daily Prophet, and I thought they had done some editing to make him look better. But low and behold, when he walks into the dining hall, it's even better than I hoped for!"
Parvati let out a tired sigh, having already endured a similar conversation, "You're helpless."
"Please don't even pretend you're any better," Lavender said shamelessly, "You can't deny it. He's tall, handsome, and miraculously now one of the most powerful people in all of Wizarding Britain."
Ron scoffed and glanced away, "He's not that great...or handsome, and my father said that the ministry is investigating his Bloodline Founder claim."
"Someone's jealous," Parvati muttered as she leaned over to Lavender, who laughed and snickered, making Ron blush furiously and turn back around, "If only they knew."
Harry shook his head in disagreement, "I doubt that would change things. Thane technically didn't do anything wrong."
"Then why make us swear to secrecy?" Ron hissed in a whisper, "And don't think it's a coincidence that after he got the Potion of Life, he disappeared for three months. Just what did he need it for?"
"I don't know, Ron," Harry replied with an exhausted sigh, "And in all honesty, Thane is the last thing I'm worried about right now."
"Are you still worried about the train station not working?" Ron asked, and Harry nodded. "I told you, mate, that was a fluke. And don't worry about the car; my parents love you. I'm the one who needs to worry about having his ear boxed in."
"I don't know, Ron. I have a bad feeling about this year," Harry muttered darkly, making Ron gulp. He laughed nervously, trying to play it off. Come on, nothing could be worse than last year...right?"
---
"Finally," Thane muttered as he entered the Room of Requirement after a day full of classes that failed to teach him anything he didn't already know, "I can finally start making some actual progress."
"Progress on what?"
In an instant, Thane spun around as his Spellblade flew into his hand, only for the blade's tip to end up resting between a pair of silver eyes. For a moment, Thane's brain short-circuited as he stared at Luna, sitting innocently atop the ritual circle as she gently ran her hand over Ingrid's scales with the snake's head resting in her lap.
"H-how...how did you get in here?" Thane demanded as he glanced from the content snake to Luna, who was seemingly unconcerned with the razor-sharp blade hovering only a few inches away from her face.
"Well, I was wandering around the school after classes looking for Whimblepuffs when a door appeared on the wall. So I went inside, and I ended up here," Luna recounted with a beaming smile before hugging Ingrid's head to her chest. That's how I found this wonderful oasis and this gentle soul."
Ingrid let out a pleased hiss, and Thane swore he could see the snake's eyelids flutter even though snakes famously did not have eyelids.
"I see," Thane replied dumbly, still at a loss, though he did stow away his spell blade.
"Sorry if I'm intruding," Luna apologized as she gently placed Ingrid back on the ground and stood up, "I can leave if you want."
"No, you're fine," Thane replied with a sigh, "This place isn't even mine; I came across it by chance, just like you. Actually, that's a lie. The castle brought me here, though for what I have no idea."
"The castle?" Luna asked as she tilted her head to the side and stared up at Thane, who was suddenly aware of just how close she had gotten. Thane nodded and took a deep breath to settle his nerves, which turned out to be a mistake as a delicate lilac scent filled his nose, no doubt coming from Luna herself, 'God, this is worse than I thought.'
Solara, Elara, and Thalion had all confirmed Thane's suspicion that Luna and Rose were the current reincarnations of the Fae Queens. And with him being the King, they were destined to end up together. The attraction Thane felt for both of them was his soul remembering the countless previous lives they had spent together. And while Rose and Luna were also drawn to Thane, it wasn't nearly as strong as they were still human.
"Yes, the castle," Thane exclaimed as he suddenly took a few steps back, distancing himself from Luna as his heart pounded furiously in his chest, "It has some level of intelligence, and it either has taken a liking to me or wants me to eventually return the favor. I'm leaning toward the latter. From what I've seen, the magic it utilizes is most likely ritualistic in nature, which should be impossible considering the magical state of the world."
"You're right. The global ambient mana levels are far too low to sustain a complex multi-ritual formation, which means Hogwarts must be supplementing itself with a limited reserve," Luna muttered in agreement.
Thane froze as he stared at Luna, who continued to stare up at him with large, unblinking silver eyes, "How could you possibly-"
"My mother was a magical researcher; she managed to get her hands on all sorts of rare magical books. Some of them, she said, were the only copies left on the planet, and I've read all of them." Luna boasted with a smile, though Thane couldn't help but notice a flicker of something else as Luna mentioned her mother.
Thane wanted to ask a million questions at once but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, "Well then, you might be the perfect person to help me with a little problem I'm having.
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