The mystery of the Wrackspurts was becoming more and more puzzling.
In the past, Luna had believed that every person's Wrackspurts were unique. The number. How they flew around. Their mood.
This could only change slowly over time.
Sure, happy thoughts could prevent them in the short term from flying in your ear when you were suffering from a Wrackspurt infection, but they were still there.
So Ginny was unique.
Before Samhain she had a lot of Wrackspurts flying around her, like many other first-years, but then Luna found out that Ginny could control how many were around her. And now there were no Wrackspurts whatsoever near her. It completely baffled Luna. How was that possible?
"Miss Lovegood, what are the ingredients of the Herbicide Potion?"
Luna looked up. Where was she again?
She looked around and her eyes fell on Snapy and his single, slow and very lethargic Wrackspurt, floating near him. Today it was at least there - sometimes it was completely missing.
The small yellow-green creature looked longingly at Snapy's ear, but then just flew to the corner of the classroom. Poor thing.
"What did you do to your Wrackspurt to make him look so miserable, Professor?" Luna asked. Maybe this could help her to understand Ginny's sudden lack of Wrackspurts.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw. Nobody is interested in your nonsense, Miss Lovegood."
She heard some groans from the Ravenclaw first-years in the class. Hopefully they weren't infested by Nargles again.
Snapy was really mean, sometimes. Was that the reason his Wrackspurt looked so pitiful? But the new Ginny was nice, even nicer than the old one. She was just about to ask Snapy if his Wrackspurt was so sad because he was always so mean, when the bell rang.
Luna was about to leave when a Ravenclaw boy cornered her. What was his name again?
"Do you always have to lose points in Potions? Can you not, just once, stop speaking about your made-up creatures!? The older Ravenclaws are mad at all of us first-years for losing so many house points!"
He was clearly infested by Nargles. Thankfully she had her shoes on her feet, so no Nargle could hide them again. She wished the other Ravenclaws had accepted her Butterbeer cork necklaces - then she wouldn't have to deal with all those Nargles.
But Luna had to investigate the seventh-floor corridor now. She had no time for her fellow Ravenclaw's obvious Nargle problem.
"Sorry, I have no time at the moment, but you really should do something about those Nargles," she helpfully pointed out and turned away.
A few weeks ago she had seen an invisible field moving through the seventh-floor corridor that repelled the free-floating Wrackspurts nearby. It almost reminded her of Ginny…
It would be a monumental achievement if she could find out the reason for this. She could create something similar to the Butterbeer cork necklace that repelled Nargles, but for Wrackspurts.
With this Luna could create a world where nobody was suffering from Wrackspurt infections.
She started her investigation for today near the tapestry of the wizard who was learning how to dance from trolls - a very wise man, dancing is much better than fighting.
So she walked around the corridor, but the nearby Wrackspurts acted completely normal.
Luna really wanted to write this Wrackspurt article for The Quibbler. Not just to help people, but also because maybe it could even pay for the trip to Sweden to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Dad had talked a lot about taking Luna there this or next summer, so they could find one.
Crumple-Horned Snorkacks were said to be very wise and could even see the future sometimes. She really wanted to meet one…
She turned around again to inspect the tapestry. Maybe there was some clue.
Then suddenly a door appeared from nowhere, so Luna naturally opened it and stepped in.
What greeted her was a forest as far as the eye could see. The door behind her was standing there without any wall nearby, like a portal. So she kept it open, just in case. She didn't want it do disappear if she closed it.
Luna walked through the forest. The trees were mostly Norway spruce and Scots pine. She wondered where she was. Scandinavia? Poland? Siberia, perhaps? There were no mountains nearby, so probably not the Alps…
But then a purple creature walked out from behind a tree. A Snorkack? But then her eyes fell on the horn and Luna felt a fizzing rush of excitement.
A Crumple-Horned Snorkack!
Luna jumped, arms in the air, with a scream of joy and immediately ran towards the calm and wise creature.
"A Crumple-Horned Snorkack! This is so awesome!" Luna exclaimed as she neared it. "Wait till I tell my dad. This will be the best article for The Quibbler ever!"
"Greetings, child," the strange voice of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack stopped her in her tracks. Dad had theorized that they could speak, but to verify it…
"Greetings, oh majestic Crumple-Horned Snorkack," she said while bowing - she wanted to make a good first impression.
Its swishing tail and purple hump were so beautiful, while the half-closed eyes and tongue hanging out of its mouth made it so approachable.
"What is it that you truly seek, child?" the strange voice spoke again.
"I was searching for a way to repel Wrackspurts, oh wise one, but now I have many questions about you and your kind. I hope you can answer those," Luna requested. There were so many questions about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks that might be answered by this majestic creature.
"No, what is it that you truly desire from the bottom of your soul? What did you want to achieve in Hogwarts? Was it just to find out more about Wrackspurts and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, child?"
Luna froze.
This question reminded her of something she wanted to forget.
The loneliness. The roommates that were mean and hid her things - because of those Nargles. Not having any friends, aside from Ginny... And she wasn't sure, truth be told, that Ginny saw her as a friend in the first place.
"I… I want to make friends," she whispered in a low voice, looking at her feet. "I want to get closer to Ginny and to others, but they are all so mean when I tell them about what interests me. It's easier to be alone," she continued, more to herself than to the creature.
"So you want to make Ginny and other children your friends?" it clarified, while Luna, after a moment of thought, nodded mutely.
"Well, you will meet her and a boy in a few days. He will appreciate it if you acknowledge him as Ginny's boyfriend and tell them that they make a nice couple. Compliments like this are very good for making friends," the Crumple-Horned Snorkack advised, his eyes twinkling with mirth for some reason.
"Getting Ginny to truly become your friend might be more tricky. You'll have to tell her, 'Sometimes it's better to forget than to remember' - she will understand. Remember those words, child."
Luna nodded seriously.
Sometimes it's better to forget than to remember. She didn't know what that meant, but she trusted the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Such a wonderful creature wouldn't prank her or lie.
"Now go, child. I'm tired and you should leave this forest," it said while turning away.
Luna was a bit disappointed that she hadn't been able to ask all her questions about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, but she still left the forest as she had been told.
"We will meet again, child," she heard its voice one last time as she closed the door. Perhaps then she would be able to ask all her questions about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks…