Luna: Hunting For Flyneers

Disclaimer: (I do not own Harry Potter (Do I look like JKR? No, well not last time I checked... And I ran out of Polyjuice) or anything like that. Luna would have a much bigger part to play in the books if I did! (and there would have been huggles and, Tom/Harry goodness. I don't own the characters (except for the Flyneer, which of course isn't a real character anyway... Or IS it? This Fanfic is written for enjoyment purposes only - I am making no money from it, and if I was, I would still be writing on this half broken laptop in the middle of nowhere, nobody would buy this story.)

It was freezing here at night.

Down by the edge of the forest, near the lake where the earth fairies and Pixies gathered at dusk, where the cold rays of the unnaturally bright moon hit the deep dark murky water of the lake - in which the Giant squid had gone underwater for the night. It hated the dark as much as she loved it. (She loved the sun, too, but there was just something so wonderful about the night, so hidden, so beautiful and so mysterious!)

It was freezing here, even in the hottest of summers, and as it was winter, the coldest season of the year, it was understandably making her shiver with cold as she hadn't got a coat on. Reflecting back, she realised that it had been a bad idea to come outside without a coat on, but she was sure the coat would ward off the Flyneer, the bug which she had wanted to see for ages.

She had a little time until midnight, the time she (and her mother when she had been alive) considered the most magical hour of all, the time where the plants grew, magic spread, wishes were granted and unicorns danced in the moonlight.

She started thinking about something else. To pass the time she hummed a little song, but that made her think about her mother, remembering the lullabies her mother sang to her in her lovely lilting Irish accent. She also remembered her lively tinkling laugh, the lovely pieces of jewellery that she had make out of Butterbeer corks and other things that ordinary people would just throw away. They were a treasure to her mother. She missed her mother so terribly sometimes that it would hurt. She felt a very uncharacteristic rush of sadness surge through her as she played with her Butterbeer cork necklace that had been created with love and warmth for her. She wished the other people in her year would understand, and would be her friends as deep down, she was very sure that they were all wonderful people, some were perhaps a bit misunderstood.

Somehow, she always knew when someone was truly bad, a trait she had picked up from her grandmother (an extraordinary person who had worked with animals) She always wished she could do the same thing. She sighed again sadly, how could they mock her beliefs when their own could be so prejudiced? Her mother had once told her about all of the wonderful creatures that inhabited the world. The creatures that no ordinary person could see, but she could see them; her mother could see them and her grandmother before that. She knew she could!

She got so wrapped up her thoughts that when an owl hooted in the nearby forest she gave a small jump of surprise, startling her out of her sadness.

She gave a sigh, she was dreaming again whilst she should be looking for the Flyneer. It just HAD to be midnight now. She felt slightly alarmed, her eyes bulging out more than usual. What happened if she had missed it? She supposed she could go and look tomorrow, but she would really love to see one tonight. Suddenly she remembered her watch and peered down at it to read the time. Half past eleven! The time would soon pass she quickly assured herself, hugging her robes to her.

She began to think about her friends. She had Harry. She smiled at this. He was so much like her: he loved adventures and had a very open mind, and she always was surprised when he didn't laugh, like everyone else did, when she was sure she had spotted a Floberwert or a Wakurspurt. They had been courting for almost a year. She hated the word dating; it didn't sound magical or a bit like a fairytale. She wanted it to be perfect, her mother had told her she would find a prince and marry him one day. She knew she had found The One, not like the others did, she could see it, just like she did the creatures. She also had Ginny and Neville; she smiled at the thought of them. She was continuously surprised she had such friends; most people mocked her for her beliefs and what they called naivety. She wasn't naive, but they didn't need to know that, they never would.

She could see the Thestrals after all, and could hear the whispers from behind the veil (she always privately thought that her mother was waiting for her, behind there to welcome her when her time was up and she was taken to the afterward) She had seen her mother die when she was nine.

She looked at the time again suddenly. It was half past two! She sighed and got up, looking around her, straightening her robes, smiling; it would give her an excuse to come back tomorrow. She started to hum and wandered back to the castle dancing to and fro, with little skips, blending perfectly into the background. She would go and see the Thestrals and Hagrid tomorrow. That would make her feel happier; perhaps Hagrid would even help her find a Flyneer?