Luna Lovegood's Arc

Chapter 16 of 19

The Ministry file called the herd genuine. But a file was only ink. Now that ruling had spread, and wizards wanted to see for themselves. Luna stood at her tent by the tree line and watched them come. A dozen figures in bright robes crossed the field toward the forest, chattering, pointing, tramping without care. If they reached the trees like this, they would spook the herd. The Snorkacks would flee deep and never trust an open field again. Luna's proof would vanish before anyone saw it. She ran up the slope to meet them. "Stop," she called. "You'll frighten them." A few slowed. Most did not. One man laughed and kept walking, wand raised to light the shadows under the branches. Luna's stomach dropped. She could not hold back a crowd alone. So she called for help. Hagrid came down from the castle grounds at a heavy jog, the ground shaking under his boots. He had brought her the ward stones once, ancient rocks carved with runes that kept the herd safely back. He knew wild creatures better than any scholar. "Oi!" he roared, and the whole crowd froze. "Yeh don't charge a shy beast like a herd o' hippogriffs!" The wizards stared at him, unsure. Hagrid softened his voice. "They come out fer her," he said, nodding at Luna. "Only her. Yeh push, an' yeh'll never lay eyes on one." The crowd muttered but stood still. Luna saw her chance. She would not fence them out. She would show them the right way to look. Dumbledore arrived then, walking calm across the grass in his star-flecked robes. The muttering stopped. Even the loud man lowered his wand. "Luna knows these creatures," Dumbledore said. "Follow her rules, and you may witness something no wizard has seen in a lifetime. Break them, and you will see nothing." His quiet weight settled the crowd where Luna's shouting could not. Luna took charge. She lined the wizards along the tree line, well back, wands dark. "Sit," she said. "Be quiet. Let me go first." They obeyed. She walked out alone into the open field, sugared gurdyroot cupped in her palm, and waited. Minutes passed. Then the mother Snorkack stepped from the trees. Its striped coat caught the light. It crossed the grass, ignored the crowd, and ate from Luna's hand. A dozen wizards watched a wild creature choose her freely. No cage. No rope. Someone gasped. Another began to weep. The Snorkack turned and slipped back into the forest. The wizards stayed frozen, then broke into a low, awed hum. They had seen it with their own eyes. Word of this would not be ink now. It would be witness. Hagrid grinned at Luna. But she saw the loud man already scribbling notes, and heard him whisper to another about bringing more people, dozens more. She had shown one crowd safely. Tomorrow there would be a bigger one.