Harry Potter: Wishing Upon A Moon

"Let's go to see the Thestrals together."

'There goes my morning.' Benedict sighed.

He's done a great job at finding excuses for the past few days to save himself from going into the Forbidden Forest with the overly adventurous girl.

"Luna, I've told you that I've gotten more responsibilities this year. And being your guard wasn't one of them."

"Really?" She looked at him. "But you've been doing such a great job until now. See?"

Luna Lovegood pointed towards the other end of the table where most of the older teenagers were sitting. One of the witches seemed to notice them looking at her and turned her face in disgust.

"Saving you from bullying doesn't equate to being your bodyguard. You little munchkin." He tugged her by the nose.

"But when you come with me the Wrackspurts seem to disappear." She replied wistfully.

Hearing his traitorous heartstrings being tugged by her sadden expression he caved in.

"Okay, we'll go."

"It wasn't that hard, wasn't it." She jumped off the bench. "I'll go change."

'And she's off.' Benedict couldn't help but smile seeing her skipping away out of the Great Hall.

The teen whisked away a couple of sandwiches and treats from the table into his bag just in case. After his fifth year his parents gifted him with an expandable bag for his astounding O.W.L results.

'I still remember those first awkward letters.'

He thanked Merlin some of the memories of the poor child remained even after his unexpected departure from this world. However, what guilt he had for the bastard quickly melted away when his parents couldn't believe how much their child turned for the good. Even his then three year old sister didn't like him at all. When Benedict arrived at the station for the Christmas holidays, he noticed the family approaching him with some reservations.

"Hello son. Good to have you back." Oliver Everest scrutinized the boy before him.

"How's my boy been doing?"

'Wow, even the mom didn't want to see him.' He could feel the disappointment coming from her eyes.

"Hmph. You should have stayed at the castle." A small squeaky voice rang out at the station.

"But then I wouldn't have been able to gift you this." He reached for his pocket and took out a small packet of chocolates. "Your favorite Strawberry Choco Swirls."

The small girl swiped the box so quickly that nobody could react in time. She then opened the packet and gave a sniff.

"They smell like the real deal."

"Is there a mafia cartoon I should be aware of?" He questioned his parents.

"It's your cousin Catherine's fault." The man of the family replied.

Their cousin was from the USA. After sending their son off for the school year they took a plane to visit Benedict's mothers side of the family in New York for a couple of weeks.

"That explains it." He ruffled his sister's head.

"You're ruining my style, brother." She cutely whined.

"Then start acting like the little May I know." He winked.

The small girl blinked. She looked towards her parents who had gobsmacked written on their faces.

"Can we keep this one instead?"

"I'm not a pet you little chipmunk." He started playing with her round cheeks.

Returning back to the present, Benedict Everest entered the foyer to wait for Luna to come back. While he was waiting there he saw the familiar trio pass next to him.

"What do you think Harry, should I take a chance?" The red headed teen asked.

"For Quidditch? Of course Ron." Harry Potter seemed to be absent minded.

"We should use this spare time to prepare for our O.W.Ls. you two. Quidditch isn't here for at least one more week." The brown bushy haired girl was frustrated.

"But I have to prepare now, Hermione. Exams are at the end of the year."

She noticed the Head Boy and stopped to say hello.

"Hello, Mr. Everest."

"Good morning, Ms. Granger."

"Sup, Everest. Fancy a game of Wizard Chess later." Ron asked.

"Fancy yourself a beating?" He smirked. "Unfortunately, I'll be busy this afternoon. But thank you for the offer."

"Harry." Hermione nudged her friend.

"Oh, Sorry. It's been quite hard for me to sleep for the last few days."

"Bad dreams, huh? Have you seen Mrs. Pomfrey about this?"

"Er, yes." The lie was so obvious.

"Don't overwork yourself. If there's a problem you can't solve you can always come to me."

"Selling your services to the highest bidder?"

The small blonde came out of nowhere. She was wearing a cloak that had a hood with fluffy bunny ears. It was a present he gave her last year before the Yule Ball.

"It's a good thing I've got it made with extension charms."

"Its my favorite." She played with the bunny ears. "Nice to meet you again Harry."

"You look lovely today, Luna." Harry finally smiled.

"And you have many Wrackspurts."

"What are Wrackspurts?" Hermione couldn't remember hearing that name before.

"That's Looney's -!"

"No need for name calling, Weasley." Benedict sent a small jinx at the red head's behind.

"As for Luna's creatures. Just treat them as other dimensional beings that only she can see."

"But that's not -?"

"Magic also didn't fit the picture until you experienced it for yourself. I'm not asking you to believe. Just don't judge magic with muggle standards."

"You're making more Nargles fly around her." Luna chimed from the side.

"That bad, huh?"

The duo left a confused trio of friends behind.

"They seem to get along together." Harry broke the silence.

"That bloody wanker jinxed me."

"Language, Ron." Hermione huffed.

--------

With a small stop at Hagrid's to get the food for the Thestrals, Benedict was now walking behind Luna with a couple of levitating buckets. The surrounding Forbidden Forest seemed impervious to the changing temperatures as the leaves still blanketed the branches in vibrant green.

"How are you still so energetic?"

They've made at least seven kilometers up until now. While wizards were generally stronger than the average Muggle, it wasn't as common for them to just walk longer distances.

"Lots of exploring. Wasn't it obvious?"

"I'm not questioning your stamina, but your jolly attitude."

"Shouldn't I be happy when spending time with my friend?" She paused and looked him in the eyes.

"No more manipulating tickets for you today. Anymore and spanking is what'll await you."

"Am I grown up enough for that kind of fun?"

"What am I going to do with you?" He muttered in exasperation.

After a couple of minutes of hiking through the trees they finally arrived to a small clearing. It was eerily silent and no wind was blowing.

"Hopefully this will work."

Benedict took out his wand and summoned a breeze, making the fragrance of rotten flesh spread into the forest. It must've worked since not much time has passed before he could finally hear the sounds of steps. Five adult Thestrals and two small ones stepped out of the treeline.

"You can see them, Luna?" He was suspicious as to how it was possible.

"You see many deaths while on the road." She rubbed the soft leathery skin of the foal. "Not all poachers survived my mothers traps."

"Go Pandora." He was impressed and terrified at the same time.

The girl smiled before levitating a big rat from the bucket with a wand. Apparently rodents were a delicacy for the harbringers of death. The foals cutely neighed, waiting for their treat.

"Let me help." With a wave of his hand he had thrown rats towards the adults.

His precision was so on point that the Thestrals didn't have to move to catch them from the air. With a couple of bites they devoured the offered meat.

"You're a very talented person, Sparky."

"Practice can go a long way, Luna."

"Wandless magic isn't a mere result of only experience."

"Of course not. It's mostly dependent on the will of the wizard. And we shouldn't be praising parlor tricks like levitating small objects. Its rather unfortunate that wizards won't polish their accidental magics."

Benedict had a theory that whatever accidental magic a child showed in its earlier years the same type of magic would come much easier for it to master. During his talks with his parents he'd learned that the first sign, proof of him being a wizard was playing with books from the library. His father almost turned grey when he saw his beloved old tomes whisked away through the window and towards the garden. But how could he have blamed the not even two year old son. It was a sign of greatness, of what his firstborn could be.

'How disappointing it must have been to watch as your little genius got further away from your expectations.'

"You're very modest."

Luna was sitting on the grass, with a log as her backrest. Seeing her invitation he sat down next to her on her left.

"And what about you, our next Magizoologist? I could swear Hagrid had secret plans to adopt you." Benedict chuckled.

"Daddy had to give him a talk about taking me to see dragons. They were so gorgeous. But I didn't like how they've chained them." She rested her head against his lap.

"Looking back at it we can see how asinine it was to bring nesting dragons to a glorified pageant for wizards." He gently patted her head.

"Thank you for talking me to the ball." She said before yawning.

Luna closed her eyes in bliss. A sweet sound of small and slowed breaths could be heard as she fell asleep.

"It's me who should thank you." A sincere smile lightened his face.