The next days were colder still, frost clinging stubbornly to the inside of the tall castle windows. Students wrapped in scarves hurried through hallways, and the fireplaces burned almost nonstop. Winter in Hogwarts had a way of making even magic feel quiet and tense.
After our basilisk research in the library, something strange settled into the air — not fear exactly, but a whisper of something watching. Something moving beneath the floor.
It wasn't long before we noticed Harry Potter acting… odd.
Luna and I sat at the Ravenclaw table during breakfast, flipping through our creature journal. My cat had claimed a warm patch by the jug of pumpkin juice. Luna doodled a basilisk scale on the corner of the page, humming.
That's when Harry hurried by — face pale, jaw set, eyes darting toward the pipes that ran along the hall.
He walked straight into a table leg, cursed under his breath, and kept going.
Ron followed him, arms full of toast shoved into his pockets, muttering, "Harry, slow down, mate, we're not late— Harry?"
Hermione marched after them, whispering urgently. "We don't even know what it is yet! Harry, stop running toward things! Please!"
Luna and I exchanged a glance.
"They're doing it again," I said.
"Running toward danger," Luna murmured, stabbing a blueberry with her fork. "It's their hobby, you know."
Harry paused by a pillar, leaned in, and pressed his ear against the stones as if listening. Ron frowned. Hermione threw her hands up in exasperation.
Across the hall, a group of Hufflepuffs stared.
I whispered, "Do you think… he hears something?"
Luna tilted her head, thoughtful. "Maybe. Or maybe something is hearing him."
That sent a chill down my spine.
Hermione finally dragged Harry away by his sleeve, scolding him in a whisper. Ron followed reluctantly with toast crumbs falling behind him like a trail.
Madam Pomfrey nearly slipped on one.
Luna looked back at our journal and said lightly, "We should write 'Potter behavior: unusual.' For future reference."
I snorted. "That's normal for him."
"True," she admitted. "Still unusual."
We lingered at breakfast longer than usual, watching as Harry glanced nervously at pipes, windows, shadows — anything that wasn't normal. It made something tighten in my chest.
"Should we… help?" I asked quietly.
Luna shook her head immediately.
"No. If something dangerous is happening, the professors will handle it." She poked at her porridge. "And Harry already has two friends, one scar, and about seven destinies following him around. He doesn't need us too."
"You're right."
"And besides," Luna continued, leaning closer with a gentle smile, "we promised each other. No needless danger. No following strange noises. If we explore creatures, we do so safely. No basilisks. No cursed chambers."
"Agreed," I said firmly.
Yet even as we said it… something shifted under the floor.
A deep, distant slither.
My spoon froze halfway to my mouth. Luna blinked.
We didn't speak of it.
Not then.
Later That Day — The Corridor of Echoes
Luna and I walked to Charms class together, sharing her long scarf wrapped around both our necks. The stone corridors were quieter than usual; students walked in groups, whispering anxiously.
Halfway down the hall, Harry appeared again — standing stock-still beside a long stretch of wall. He looked pale, terrified, like someone listening to a voice no one else could hear.
Ron tugged his sleeve. "Harry? Harry? Come on, mate."
"I heard it again," Harry whispered. "It's moving. Hunting."
Ron paled.
Hermione clutched her books closer. "Please let's not talk about this in the open—Harry!"
They hurried off.
Luna and I pressed ourselves into a small alcove to let them pass. My heart hammered. I looked at Luna.
"Something is definitely wrong."
"Yes," Luna said calmly. "But wrong things happen at Hogwarts every year. Everyone says so. Someone found a troll last year in a bathroom."
"That's not comforting."
"It shouldn't be."
We stared after the trio disappearing around the corner.
"Luna," I whispered, "what if it is something like… what we read?"
"A basilisk?" She blinked. "Perhaps. But if we go looking for one, Professor Snape will appear from the shadows like an angry bat. Again."
That image made me laugh despite the fear.
Luna reached for my hand.
"We'll stay safe," she said softly. "We find creatures — but not monsters."
I squeezed her hand.
"Together," I murmured.
"Always."
Evening in Ravenclaw Tower
We curled up in our shared corner of the common room, with stacks of blankets, books, and cat hair. Snow drifted against the window, turning the sky a glittering white.
Luna carefully wrote in our journal:
Potter acting strange.
Avoid pipes.
Avoid danger.
Avoid anything with fangs longer than my arm.
She handed me the quill.
"Add something too."
I wrote:
Stay near Luna.
Good for safety.
Good for heart.
Luna read it, cheeks tinting the faintest pink.
We stayed there long into the night, listening to the fire crackle, pretending the sounds in the pipes were only winter settling into stone.