"Good afternoon, Lyla."
By the edge of the Black Lake, Miss Luna Lovegood skipped over and sat down cheerfully beside Lyla.
"G-good afternoon, Miss Lovegood." A small, nervous smile appeared on Lyla's face, though it was mostly hidden by her red hair. She subtly shifted a little to the side, not wanting to sit too close and crowd Luna.
"I saw a Blibbering Humdinger at Hogwarts this morning," Luna said casually, opening her lunchbox. It was a small wooden container filled with the food she had just gathered from the Great Hall.
"A Blibbering... Humdinger?" Lyla poked at her own lunch with her fork, subconsciously mumbling the unfamiliar word. "What exactly is that?"
"This is a Blibbering Humdinger." Luna tilted her head slightly, proudly showing off one of the dangling earrings she was wearing.
"Ah..." Lyla scratched her ear awkwardly. "I thought that was... that was just a radish..."
"Hahaha, what an interesting guess."
'I don't think it's nearly as interesting as your conjectures about whether Mr. Scrimgeour is a Vampire secretly running the Ministry of Magic...' Lyla thought to herself. She thoughtfully studied Luna's radish earring.
She guessed it was probably handmade by Luna herself. In fact, all of Luna's accessories seemed to be self-made: her earrings, her butterbeer-cork necklace, and her quirky little bag.
And the materials she used were all very... special.
"Oh, by the way, Lyla," Luna said after finishing a piece of bread, suddenly remembering something. "Your duel with Professor Lockhart was very exciting."
"Th-that wasn't a real duel," Lyla quickly tried to explain. "That was just... a demonstration..."
"No, that was definitely a duel." Luna shook her head, looking completely serious.
Lyla sighed helplessly. 'Mr. Lockhart himself clearly announced it was just a demonstration... I don't think I could ever defeat an incredible wizard like Lockhart so easily.'
Of course, Lyla didn't say these words out loud. Luna was just a child; how could she casually shatter a young girl's cute, imaginative ideas?
Just like what Luna had said earlier about Gellert Grindelwald and... old Dumbledore.
'Ah, it's all just a child's fantasy, haha.'
But precisely because Luna was always so wonderfully imaginative, Lyla felt she had to ask her about her recent discovery.
"Miss Lovegood, I have... here... here is... a Magic Array diagram I'd like to show you," Lyla stammered, pulling the folded piece of parchment from her pocket and handing it to Luna.
"If you think it's too much trouble... then... then just forget it..." Lyla mumbled softly.
Luna didn't seem to mind the stuttering at all. She casually took the parchment and unfolded the diagram.
"Is this a new Magic Array?" Luna held the paper in both hands, studying the complex runes repeatedly. "But it seems a bit..."
"A bit what?" Lyla pressed, suddenly eager.
Luna frowned slightly. "It gives me a very bad feeling."
"It feels like decay, and also a bit..." Luna paused, searching for the right word. "It feels just like a Wrackspurt."
'Could it be a Magic Array specifically designed to summon Wrackspurts?'
Lyla shook her head in confusion, not entirely sure what Luna meant by that comparison.
"So... cough, cough..." Lyla cleared her throat nervously, then continued. "So what do you think this Magic Array could possibly be used for?"
"I don't know either." Luna's voice was light and airy, tinged with a hint of genuine confusion. "But... this Magic Array is definitively different from all the previous ones you've shown me."
"The previous Magic Arrays were all very peaceful, just like... listening to a song."
Luna's unwavering trust in her instincts made Lyla nod thoughtfully. She gently took back the Magic Array diagram, firmly deciding to interrogate Mr. Riddle about it tonight.
'But the most likely answer I'll get is 'I don't know', right?' Lyla mused. Mr. Riddle seemed to have become incredibly lazy since arriving at Hogwarts; his response speed in the diary had slowed down considerably.
'It seems he really likes Hogwarts... Can I eventually be like him?'
Lyla exhaled softly, looking out at the tranquil, glass-like surface of the Black Lake.
To be completely honest, compared to Hogwarts, she still missed Nurmengard far more. After all, back at Nurmengard, she didn't have to work nearly as hard as she did now.
'Thinking about it now, I actually feel a bit sorry for Lord Grindelwald... Just wait, Dumbledore, I'll revive his cause soon enough...'
"Oh? Miss Lovegood?"
Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice called out from behind them.
Startled, Lyla violently shivered and immediately ducked behind Luna's back to hide.
"Uh... who are you?" The owner of the voice paused, then added, "Wait, we've met before, haven't we?"
"Huh?" Lyla cautiously poked her head out from behind Luna's shoulder, only to see Miss Granger... standing right alongside Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley.
'You scared me to death... I thought it was Dumbledore sneaking up on me again... Turns out it's just my students! Ah! Wait! My students!'
Lyla subconsciously pulled her red hair tighter around her face to prevent her pointed Veela ears from showing. She also lowered her head slightly to completely avoid making eye contact with the Golden Trio.
"You're..." Hermione looked at Lyla, her brow furrowing slightly. "Do you remember that we met before?"
"Just the day before yesterday, I think?" Hermione thought for a moment before nodding. "You were trying to get to Hogsmeade then."
"Ah... yes... yes," Lyla said softly, her voice barely a squeak. "Thank you... thank you for your help..."
"So Hagrid managed to help you out, right?" Hermione smiled warmly and nodded, then turned to look at a somewhat confused Harry beside her. "I ran into her that day when she was completely lost, so I helped her with directions."
'Please don't say these things in front of Luna... especially the part about me being completely lost.' Lyla felt that her face, currently pressed firmly against Luna's back, must be burning a bright, humiliating red.
"So what are you three going to do?" Luna asked suddenly, breaking the awkward tension. "Are you going swimming?"
"Of course not," Harry quickly shook his head. "We're heading down to the Quidditch Pitch."
"Quidditch?" Luna tilted her head. "That's the sport where you ride brooms and chase a flying ball, right?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not just chasing a ball," Hermione immediately corrected her.
"Ah... my dad says the entire sport is just a Ministry of Magic conspiracy." Luna smiled and blinked serenely. "They use the Golden Snitch to completely attract the attention of all the wizards, so nobody realizes they're actually secretly training Fire Elves in the background."
"..."
Luna's bizarre conspiracy theory stunned the three Gryffindors into absolute silence.
Lyla certainly knew what Quidditch was, but she had never played it. The reason for that was incredibly simple.
She had a crippling fear of heights and absolutely didn't dare to ride a broomstick. However, she had watched matches before—at least, she had watched all the ones Muller had participated in at Durmstrang.
'But this sport shouldn't have absolutely anything to do with the Ministry of Magic, right?'
"How is that even possible?" As expected, Miss Granger was the very first to break the silence, aggressively shaking her head. She seemed entirely unable to tolerate Luna's wild rumors.
"How could the Ministry of Magic possibly pull off such a thing?" Hermione argued. "And Harry is a Seeker! Does he look like an accomplice of the Ministry of Magic to you?"
'Ah... he doesn't seem like it... But then again, I probably don't look much like a Hogwarts Professor either, do I?'
"Harry certainly doesn't," Luna shrugged nonchalantly. "But I'm not talking about Hogwarts Quidditch."
"Then whose Quidditch are you talking about? No matter whose Quidditch it is, it absolutely has nothing to do with..."
Seeing Hermione gearing up for a full-blown debate, Harry quickly coughed loudly and pulled her back by the sleeve.
"We really should go, Hermione," he reminded her urgently. "Ron is waiting for us down at the pitch."
Hermione bit her lip and shook her head in frustration. "I know." Then she glared pointedly at Luna. "But that doesn't mean I agree with your ridiculous point of view."
"?"
Luna simply tilted her head, looking at Hermione with a hint of mild confusion.
Luna probably didn't even consider what she had just said as a debatable "point of view"; she believed she was merely stating objective facts.
Watching the Golden Trio quickly walk away, Luna shook her head slightly. She looked back at Lyla and suddenly whispered, "Quidditch, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with the Ministry of Magic."
"Ah..." Lyla was stunned for a moment. "Then why did you just..."
"Because we couldn't let them talk to us for too long," Luna explained simply. She bent down, plucked a long blade of grass, and gently tucked it into Lyla's red hair.
"Hermione is very smart. She would have eventually figured out exactly who you are."
"Ugh!" Lyla shivered violently.
'Please don't suddenly say such terrifying things while you're calmly putting grass in my hair!'