Luna Lovegood's Arc

Chapter 1 of 19

Luna Lovegood knelt in the wet grass and studied the paw prints no one else believed were real. They circled the clearing, pressed deep near a thornbush. A Crumple-Horned Snorkack had come here in the night. She was certain. If she caught one alive, the whole wizarding world would finally stop laughing. But her trap lay ruined at her feet, and that was the problem. She had built it from wire and rope. The wire had snapped shut too hard. She saw where it would have crushed a small creature the moment it stepped inside. A dead Snorkack proved nothing. A hurt one would run and never return. She needed a trap that held gently, and she had no idea how to make one. A branch cracked behind her. Hermione Granger stepped through the trees, arms crossed, a heavy book tucked under one elbow. She was the cleverest witch Luna knew, and she had never believed in Snorkacks once. Yet here she stood, breathing hard, having followed Luna out into the cold. "You left dinner three hours ago," Hermione said. "I thought you'd fallen in a ditch." She looked at the mangled wire and frowned. "Luna, this thing could take a person's hand off." "That's why it's no good," Luna said. "I don't want to hurt it. I only want to show everyone it's real." Hermione crouched beside her. She poked the sprung wire, then went quiet. Luna waited. She knew that face. It meant Hermione had stopped arguing and started thinking. "The problem is the force," Hermione said. "A trap that clamps will always injure. You need one that holds without pressure." She opened her book and flipped pages fast. "A cushioning charm on a soft enclosure. Something that closes slow." Luna's eyes widened. "Like a net that hugs instead of bites." "Exactly." Hermione almost smiled. "We'd need soft cloth, not wire. Wide mesh, so it can breathe." They worked through the night. Hermione cut the wire away and taught Luna the cushioning charm. Luna gathered fistfuls of moss for a soft floor. Hermione stitched a wide cloth net and wove the charm through every knot. When they tested it on a fallen apple, the net drifted closed and cradled the fruit without a bruise. By dawn they had it. A gentle enclosure that could hold a living creature unharmed. Luna held the finished net to her chest and laughed. Then a low bleat came from the trees. Both girls turned. A llama stepped into the clearing, cheerful and calm, its coat pale in the gray light. It walked straight into their fresh trap. The net closed and hugged it snugly. The llama chewed and looked pleased. "That's not a Snorkack," Hermione said flatly. "No," Luna agreed, staring. "But it works." She smiled. "Now I have to find where the real one hides before it moves on."