"Or maybe Wrackspurts muddled someone's brain, making them hide the shoes??" Her ethereal voice once again sounded as the wind rustled through the Forbidden Forest.
Lucien looked at the little girl in front of him. What was it?
Wrackspurts?
Was it another creature, like the Blibbering Humdingers, that only Luna could see and believe in?
Not necessarily. Luna really did seem able to see unusual things, like last time at the Burrow…
"Achoo!"
Luna suddenly sneezed, rubbing her reddened nose.
Seeing this, Lucien took out his wand and casually summoned two fallen leaves from the ground, transfiguring them.
A pair of pure white rabbit shoes appeared at Luna's feet.
"Put these on first."
Luna obediently slipped her feet into the shoes, stamping lightly twice so the rabbit ears at the toes swayed.
"Thank you, Lucien. Hmm, why did you turn them into rabbit shoes?"
Lucien smiled and pointed at Luna's earrings.
"Aren't those carrots?"
Luna tilted her head, looking at Lucien with her grey eyes.
"I thought you might call me 'Loony' too. After all, you wouldn't need to walk this far just to find shoes. The Forbidden Forest is still dangerous for first-year students."
The Forbidden Forest, dangerous?
Lucien thought back to his seven trips in and out of the forest last year. He did not seem to have encountered anything dangerous.
"Loony? Do others call you that?"
Luna nodded, but there was no sadness on her face, as if she were simply stating something unrelated to herself.
"Yes. Perhaps because of what I say, what I think, or how I dress. Anyway, others think I'm very special. Very strange."
Luna's calm composure, so different from her peers, made Lucien even more curious about her. He said softly,
"We're in Ravenclaw. Aren't little eagles supposed to be a bit special?"
That was true. Ravenclaw had the fewest students, but also the most 'eccentric' ones.
Besides their love of knowledge and pursuit of wisdom, Ravenclaw students often had their own 'talents,' noticing perspectives others would never consider. But they did not always care to explain themselves, which sometimes made them seem out of place.
Luna continued to look up at Lucien, murmuring,
"Special? Then you must be the most special among us. But you also get along well with others, which makes you even more special…"
"Actually, I came here because I wanted to see a unicorn. A few days ago, I thought I saw a flying unicorn at the edge of the Forbidden Forest."
"But I might have been mistaken. Still, I feel like if I come again today, I should be able to see it."
A flying unicorn?
Lucien's expression turned strange. This time, he did not doubt whether Luna had seen something only she could see.
Because he knew the unicorn Luna was talking about, and it had already arrived.
A white figure descended from the sky, silver light wings shimmering at its shoulders, giving off a sacred and pure glow.
"Aurora."
Lucien waved at the unicorn, calling out with a smile.
Aurora, whom he had rescued last winter, had grown considerably over the past year.
At Lucien's call, Aurora trotted over, affectionately rubbing her head against his cheek.
Lucien patted Aurora's neck, watching as the pair of silver light wings gradually faded, finally turning into wing-shaped patterns.
After he used the Magic Weaving Technique to repair Aurora's damaged magical circuits, changes had occurred during the later stages of stabilization.
Aurora's golden fur from her youth had turned into her current white, and as the patterns became clearer, they also revealed corresponding special abilities.
By channeling magic into those wing patterns, they could transform into light wings, granting Aurora the ability to fly.
This also showed Lucien the positive effects brought by the Magic Weaving Technique.
Speaking of which, Norbert had also grown to a certain extent. It was time to try adjusting its magical circuits with the same technique.
To train Norbert into becoming the Dragon King of its kind, more magical abilities were needed. According to the system, as long as the changes were not too extreme and still fell within the scope of a Norwegian Ridgeback, it would be acceptable.
"Luna, is this the unicorn you were talking about?"
Luna, however, looked puzzled. She glanced at Lucien, then at the unicorn, and hesitated for a long time before speaking.
"Yes, a winged unicorn. But… I've read in books that unicorns only allow witches, or rather, pure maidens, to approach them. Touching them directly is even harder…"
"Lucien, aren't you an older student? Are you a girl posing as a boy, like those princesses in fairy tales?"
Lucien: "..."
Then Luna covered her mouth, a look of realization flashing in her large eyes.
"Ah, I understand. My dad says unicorns don't see with their eyes, but with moonlight. Your soul… must have a lot of moonlight in it."
She paused, as if searching for a more fitting description.
"Much more than ordinary people. They can recognize it."
First a Disney princess, then Moonlight?
Could this girl always come up with a theory that made sense to herself?
Lucien felt that Luna's little head was filled with all kinds of strange and wonderful knowledge. He asked,
"By the way, back at the Weasleys' house, those presences you 'saw' around me being 'eaten'… what did that mean?"
But Luna shook her head this time, her voice turning distant again.
"I think I've forgotten. But now there are many more around you. I know all of them, like the Thinking Moths, the Orb Ants, the Mood Ducks…"
"Lucien, you're very happy at Hogwarts. You like it here, don't you?"
Lucien had been trying to make sense of the creatures Luna mentioned when her question caught him off guard.
Did he like Hogwarts?
Of course. It was a fascinating place, full of magical and mysterious knowledge. There was so much he could learn here.
Lucien nodded.
"Yes, I'm very happy here."
Hearing this, Luna let out a soft laugh, clearly pleased.
"That's wonderful."
"Lucien, her name is Aurora, right? Can I play with her for a while?"
"That depends on Aurora."
After asking and communicating, just as Lucien expected, Aurora allowed Luna to approach her.
Lucien then spoke with the Thestrals and eventually exchanged special feed and grooming for the tail feathers they had shed in their nests.
Holding the cold, dark feathers, Lucien let out a quiet breath.
It was another layer of insurance against the Basilisk.
________
(^///^) Please support this fic and also read 12 chapters ahead at Patreon.com/DrakDevil1