Order Only: A Troll, probably for my Dark Arts OWL practical exam

[alt_luna]

I'm afraid I scuttled any chance whatsoever I might have had for advancing further with the Dark Arts.

When they called my name, I came into the room where the three examiners sat at a table, all writing furiously with their quills, and the door was shut behind me. A woman was sitting cross-legged on the ground, shivering. From her grey rags, it was clear that she was a muggle. Her head was bowed a little, but I could see tears leaking down her face. Fiery letters on her forehead that spelled out 'FILTH' were fading. They must have been cast by the student just before me.

'Who is next?' the man at the center of the table said, pulling a piece of parchment closer as the two other women examiners looked up expectantly. 'Ah, Lovegood.' He pulled off his spectacles, polished them furiously with a spotted handkerchief, and then honked his enormous beak of a nose into it. 'Go over to that Muggle' he waved a careless hand at the woman on the floor 'and use the Flagrate spell to spell out something...appropriate on her.'

I walked over and looked down at her. There was nothing pretty about her. Her hair was grey, and her hands were swollen as if they had seen hard work. She tried to smile at me, but her lips were trembling and there was a tooth missing.

This is the moment when you must decide, I told myself, but I couldn't think what to write. I thought of my mother, which was odd, because she looked nothing like my mother. I thought of my father, and how I would never know what happened to him, but when he disappeared I was declared a half-blood, which everyone knows is a lie. I thought of Mr and Mrs Weasley, who might have been my parents when my own were gone, except it wasn't allowed.

I've been all but alone for a long time, so I know what it feels like to be lost.

The woman kept staring at me, not flinching away, but shivering.

'Well?' the Head Examiner said sharply. 'Cast your spell, Lovegood. You lose points for delay, you know.'

The hem of her worn dress lay in front of her on the floor. Carefully, I raised my wand and I burned the letters into the fabric, as large as I could make them without actually touching her.

O M E L A S
And then I walked out of the room, without even waiting for them to dismiss me.

Comments

Private message to Mrs Longbottom

[alt_luna]

I'm sorry if that was the wrong thing to do.

But at the moment, it felt exactly right.

Re: Private message to Mrs Longbottom

[alt_alice]

Thank you for telling us about it, Luna.

And right and wrong are rather twisted round in this case, aren't they? I do hope you don't face any greater consequences beyond your marks, however.

Re: Private message to Mrs Longbottom

[alt_luna]

I'm willing to accept them, whatever they are.

[alt_terry]

What does the word mean?

[alt_luna]

It's from a story.

It would probably be better for me if they don't recognise it.

[alt_susan]

That's so brave, Luna. I hope no one knows your story, and they think you were being frivolous and writing nonsense.

Do you still have the story? I'd like to read it sometime.

[alt_luna]

I do. I'd be willing to lend it to you, as long as you charm it so no one else can read it.

[alt_susan]

Naturally! It sounds like something really powerful. Thanks for being willing to lend it.

[alt_evelyn]

Artie's person was crying the whole time, and he says the man looked pale and awful, like he'd been sick.

His wand was shaking so badly that he missed twice, and although he finally managed to cast the Stinging hex it took a few tries to cast the counterspell.

He's a bit worked up about the whole thing. He keeps describing what the man looked like over and over again, and I think he's beating himself up over taking so long to sort out the counterspell.

I wish

[alt_susan]

Ed was pretty shaken up too. He had to cast Imperio and make the muggle they brought in do something he'd not do normally. He made him cluck like a chicken, because that at least wouldn't hurt him physically.

But he said the worst part was that he was our age. We talked for awhile after. I think he'd want to join the Order, if he knew...but I'm not sure he's discreet enough.

[alt_evelyn]

We'll be testing out some other people over summer.

And learning about something bigger and more important like this has a way of making people grow up a bit, I think.

[alt_susan]

Maybe I'm not giving Ed enough credit, just because he's my younger brother and all.

Private Message to Susan

[alt_evelyn]

I wanted to tell Artie so badly.

I've wanted to tell him for ages, but seeing him looking so lost and sad I just wanted to blurt out everything right then and there.

Re: Private Message to Susan

[alt_susan]

Oh, Evelyn. That's so hard. I felt it with Aurelia too, but she wasn't ready. Maybe Artie will be, though.

Re: Private Message to Susan

[alt_evelyn]

Yes. I hope so.

And that's certainly one way of looking at it, too.

That someone might be ready someday even if they aren't right now.

Re: Private Message to Susan

[alt_susan]

I think it's a process. And the stuff they teach us seeps in more than I think I realized.

...I just noticed that I wrote "muggle" when everyone else simply said "person." I didn't even think about it.

Re: Private Message to Susan

[alt_evelyn]

Mum will go on a tear every now and then about how we define people and animals and humans, and how we've spent such a long time thinking of Muggles as animals, and how we can get everyone to think about them as people.

And how there are people who aren't human, too, like goblins and centaurs and anyone else who can think and feel and talk.

You're right. It's definitely a process.

But I do think that both Artie and Ed saw people in front of them. At least for a moment. And that's important.

Private message to Luna Lovegood

[alt_molly]

Oh, Luna. This positively brought tears to my eyes.

I'm so proud of you, dear. I just hope there won't be any...repercussions.