(no subject)
Luna had first seen the thestrals two years ago, during her introductory flying lesson.
She had been standing on the field below the castle, in a neat line of Ravenclaw first years alongside a neat line of school brooms, while Madam Hooch lectured on proper technique. While the other students had listened with the strict attention that Hogwarts teachers automatically expected of Ravenclaw House, Luna had stared off at the forest beyond.
Where strange dark creatures had wheeled and dipped above the trees.
She had watched them for the whole lesson, save when Madam Hooch brought her back with, “Miss Lovegood, would you please pay attention!” in increasingly impatient tones. Luna had tried, but not very hard. She had already known how to manage a broom well enough, but she hadn’t quite known what she was seeing above the forest.
So that evening, she had gone to find out.
She had known that, technically, she was breaking a rule. The Forbidden Forest was, as the name would suggest, forbidden. But Luna had seen little sense in that rule. And while Luna was good at a great many things, obeying rules she didn’t see sense in just for the sake of obeying them wasn’t really on the list. So she had gone off without another thought on the matter.
The thestrals hadn’t been difficult to find, and Luna had known precisely what they were once she saw them up close. She’d never had the opportunity to lay eyes on them before, but the herd at Hogwarts was difficult to miss. Well, for those who could see.
She had started going to that part of the forest regularly during her first year, taking a bag of treats, a book, her journal, or some other project. Thestrals were shy, and had kept their distance from this strange little interloper at first. But by Halloween, the more confident ones came right up for treats and pettings. By the time she went home for Christmas, she was allowed to freely approach the babies, without warning stamps and flapping wings from the mothers.
When spring came, she had flown for the first time, on the back of a thestral she had taken to calling Pluto.
Not very far. Just to the end of the lake and back. She never flew very far away, or very close to the castle. All things considered, Luna thought, it would be best not to be caught. No one in Ravenclaw House ever asked where she disappeared to, and of course, Luna never mentioned.
Sometimes, sitting in her dormitory tower, Luna smiled when she saw a thestral fly by outside the window. And when her roommates made jokes about Loony Lovegood smiling at nothing again, she just felt a little sad for them for all the things they couldn’t see.
She had been standing on the field below the castle, in a neat line of Ravenclaw first years alongside a neat line of school brooms, while Madam Hooch lectured on proper technique. While the other students had listened with the strict attention that Hogwarts teachers automatically expected of Ravenclaw House, Luna had stared off at the forest beyond.
Where strange dark creatures had wheeled and dipped above the trees.
She had watched them for the whole lesson, save when Madam Hooch brought her back with, “Miss Lovegood, would you please pay attention!” in increasingly impatient tones. Luna had tried, but not very hard. She had already known how to manage a broom well enough, but she hadn’t quite known what she was seeing above the forest.
So that evening, she had gone to find out.
She had known that, technically, she was breaking a rule. The Forbidden Forest was, as the name would suggest, forbidden. But Luna had seen little sense in that rule. And while Luna was good at a great many things, obeying rules she didn’t see sense in just for the sake of obeying them wasn’t really on the list. So she had gone off without another thought on the matter.
The thestrals hadn’t been difficult to find, and Luna had known precisely what they were once she saw them up close. She’d never had the opportunity to lay eyes on them before, but the herd at Hogwarts was difficult to miss. Well, for those who could see.
She had started going to that part of the forest regularly during her first year, taking a bag of treats, a book, her journal, or some other project. Thestrals were shy, and had kept their distance from this strange little interloper at first. But by Halloween, the more confident ones came right up for treats and pettings. By the time she went home for Christmas, she was allowed to freely approach the babies, without warning stamps and flapping wings from the mothers.
When spring came, she had flown for the first time, on the back of a thestral she had taken to calling Pluto.
Not very far. Just to the end of the lake and back. She never flew very far away, or very close to the castle. All things considered, Luna thought, it would be best not to be caught. No one in Ravenclaw House ever asked where she disappeared to, and of course, Luna never mentioned.
Sometimes, sitting in her dormitory tower, Luna smiled when she saw a thestral fly by outside the window. And when her roommates made jokes about Loony Lovegood smiling at nothing again, she just felt a little sad for them for all the things they couldn’t see.