Luna Lovegood and the Half-Blood Prince

October 6, 1995

Luna Lovegood walked dreamily down the Hogwarts driveway on her way to Hogsmeade. She walked almost backwards for a while, trying to catch a glimpse of the giant squid. She looked around and realized she was the last student to leave the Hogwarts grounds.

As soon as she entered Hogsmeade, Luna headed for her favorite shop, a newsstand called Riveting Reports & Spellbinding Scoops, to buy some magazines. She spent a few minutes browsing the various covers before making her selection.

While she waited in line, she heard Mildred, the owner of the newsstand, talking to the witch at the front of the line.

"I've got your copy of Sorcerer's Digest here, Gwendolyn," said Mildred, her earrings blinking on and off as she spoke.

"Oooh, thank you, Mildred!" the customer, a tall witch in a plain black robe, said, "I feel like I've been waiting forever for this. I've thought of nothing but the Half-Blood Prince for weeks, and now I'll finally get to read more about him. My heart is pounding, I'm that excited!"

"Oh, you'll enjoy it." Mildred giggled conspiratorially. "You'll read things you'd never guess -- but I don't want to give it away!"

Finally, it was Luna's turn to pay for her merchandise.

"Good afternoon, Luna, did you find everything you were looking for?" asked Mildred with a smile.

"No, I'd also like a copy of Sorcerer's Digest," said Luna with a wide smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm all sold out. That was a very popular issue. It just came out yesterday, and it sold out in all the stores the first day. I saved my last copy for the witch who runs the town library - she's one of my best customers. She just picked it up a few minutes ago. Maybe if you went to the library she'd let you sit at one of the tables and read it."

"That's a good idea, maybe I'll do that," Luna answered vaguely, her attention wandering to a box on the counter containing glittery packages with odd-looking cartoons on the outside.

"Oh, those are Pokemon cards," said Mildred, noticing the direction of Luna's gaze. "They're all the rage with Muggle children, sort of like Chocolate Frog Cards without the sweets. They're from Japan. Not selling very well here, though."

"They don't even move?" said Luna in a puzzled voice. "Very strange!"

Luna took her purchases and wandered down the street looking in the shop windows. After window shopping for a few minutes, she stopped at Madam Puddifoot's. The tea shop was about half-full, mostly with couples. Luna chose a stool at the counter, which was empty.

"Well, hello Luna!" Herb, Madam Puddifoot's husband, greeted Luna from behind the counter. "What can I get for you today?"

"Hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream, please," said Luna.

"Coming right up!" Herb said cheerfully. "And I have a bag full of butterbeer caps I've been saving for you."

"Oh, thank you," said Luna dreamily. "They make really nice necklaces when you string them together."

As Luna sat drinking her hot chocolate and watching Madam Pudifoot wait on the customers at the tables (Herb never ventured beyond the counter), the witch Luna had seen in line at the newsstand entered the tea shop and came up to the counter.

"Can I have my usual hot chocolate to go, Herb?" said the witch in a breathless and slightly harassed voice. "I'm running late again, as usual."

"Of course, Gwendolyn, right away," said Herb in his hearty voice. Luna could see the cover of Sorcerer's Digest sticking out of the woman's bag. Gwendolyn dropped a couple of coins on the counter, thanked Herb and hurried out of the tea shop with her hot chocolate.

Luna sat at the counter for a few more minutes, reading one of the magazines she'd purchased at Riveting Reports & Spellbinding Scoops, and slowly drinking her hot chocolate. When she finished, she thanked Herb with a smile and headed back outside.

The Hogsmeade town library was right next door to Madam Puddifoot's. It was a much older building made all of stone. The stone steps at the front were guarded by enchanted statues of lions which roared at the passersby but hardly ever bit anyone.

Luna had visited the library many times before, and was especially pleased with their selection of books about unusual and little-known creatures. Way up on the third floor was a small room with crooked bookshelves reaching all the way up to the low ceilings. Instead of the large wooden tables and chairs that occupied much of the rest of the library's floor space, this room had squashy armchairs. The books in this room were all about creatures like the Twelve-Toed Bombadoo and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

But today, Luna looked around for the witch named Gwendolyn. Wandering through the rooms on the first floor, Luna found it difficult not to let her attention wander to the titles of the books on the overcrowded shelves she passed. Finally, however, she spotted the tall witch in the Librarian's office behind the circulation desk.

As she approached, she became aware that Gwendolyn and the other librarian were discussing the article in Sorcerer's Digest.

"Yes, I think I got the last copy," Gwendolyn was saying. "I've been waiting all week for this. We were so busy in here yesterday that I never was able to get down the street to get my copy. You can handle things here for awhile, can't you, Allesandra? I'm going to read it right now." And Gwendolyn proceeded to shut her office door with a soft click.

Disappointed, Luna turned and headed up the stairs to her favorite part of the library. Entering the cluttered little room, she found it was empty except for one tiny little wizard who was curled up in one of the chairs reading an enormous old book. He reminded Luna of Professor Flitwick, and she smiled at him when he looked up. She selected a book on Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and turned reluctantly to go down the stairs. She chose a table where she had a good view of the Librarian's office door and settled herself as comfortably as she could in the hard wooden chair.

Several hours later, Luna felt she knew all there was to know about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, and still the office door remained closed. The other librarian started cleaning off the counter and making preparations to close the library for the night, and still Luna had not had a chance to get a look at the new issue of Sorcerer's Digest.

Luna got up and placed the book she'd been reading on the book return cart. She glanced toward the librarian, but her back was toward Luna and she was helping a patron check out a last-minute book. Luna ducked down between the nearest set of bookshelves. Taking out her wand, she cast a disillusionment charm on herself so that she blended in with the books she was standing in front of, and stood very still. Soon she heard the librarians bidding each other goodnight and finally, she heard the door close and lock with a loud click.

Luna waited what seemed like forever, but was probably about three minutes, and quietly stole across the dark room toward the Librarian's office. Reaching the doorway, she paused to light her wand, now that she was far enough from the windows that no one should be able to see the light. By the light of her wand, she gazed about the librarian's cluttered office. There were books and magazines everywhere. Dog-eared copies of Transfiguration Today. Piles of old Daily Prophet's in the corner on the floor. Brand new children's books waiting to be catalogued so they could be added to the shelves. A set of well-worn wizarding reference books. Luna spent an hour looking at every magazine in view, but none of them was the current issue of Sorcerer's Digest.

Sighing, Luna finally had to admit defeat. Turning, she walked across the office and back out into the main part of the library. She hurried up the stairs and into the tiny cluttered room under the eaves. Turning to the smallest set of bookshelves, tucked in a corner opposite the stairwell, Luna pointed her wand and whispered, "Revolutio!" The set of shelves turned sideways and opened like a door, revealing a dark tunnel behind it. Luna passed through the opening, ducking slightly as the entered the tunnel. The bookshelves slid silently back into place and Luna proceeded through the tunnel, glad for the light of her wand.

After walking for what seemed like an hour, but was probably only fifteen minutes, the tunnel started to climb and abruptly ended at what seemed to be a closed wooden door. Luna performed the same spell that had made the library bookshelves revolve, and quietly peered through the opening; she was looking into the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts school library. Since it was dinnertime, the library was empty. Luna quickly closed the secret opening to the tunnel and stood looking at the books in the restricted section.

"I wonder if one of these books holds the secret of the Half-Blood Prince," she mused. But she knew she didn't have long before she would be discovered, and she also didn't want to completely miss dinner. She'd long-ago missed lunch and her stomach was complaining loudly. She left the library, promising herself she wouldn't give up the search for the Half-Blood Prince.