Missing Pets and Possible Threats
Despite all the oddities, Avi liked Luna. She often said things that made no sense, but Avi didn’t know enough about magical creatures to know if they were true or not. She was funny, in a very dry way that sometimes reminded him of Severus. But most of all Luna was a good listener. She didn’t pry into things that he didn’t want to talk about but was always accepting of anything he was willing to share about his past life. They visited the Thestrals daily, and she taught him how to make the “baby formula” the foal liked so much.
Avi told Luna about his research into animagi and they agreed to write over the school year. She would help him plan out the steps for the transformative potion, and he would help her with her own transformation next summer when he came back. He even told her a little about Dudley. How his cousin always got spoiled, while he was ignored. Avi could tell Luna knew it had been worse than being ignored, but she never dug for more details. Luna told him about her mother. How her dad broke after her death. How she had struggled to stay in the "here and now" ever since the potion exploded. How she worried neither of them would ever truly recover.
They had only known each other for less than a week, but Avyaan trusted her in a way he had never trusted anyone besides Severus. He had never actually had to come out and explain about his aunt and uncle to Severus; he had already known. Something about actually verbalizing his… mistreatment made it feel more personal. Like he was choosing to trust instead of taking the help that was offered. It probably shouldn't have made a difference, but somehow it did.
It was their last day together before Avi had to go with his dad to meet the Hogwarts staff. They had decided to move into his quarters there tonight, so they wouldn’t have to worry about it before the meeting. It had taken some pleading, but Severus had agreed to let Avyaan spend the morning with his friend before they packed. They were sitting in their usual clearing. The foal, whom Luna had dubbed Biam for “no particular reason,” was curled half in Avi’s lap like an overgrown puppy that had yet to realize his true size.
Something about the warm weight in his lap and the soft humming Luna was making tunelessly made Avi feel safe enough to bring up what had been on his mind ever since he learned about the Thestrals. He stroked the buttery soft leather of his wings as he began to speak. “I was five when I saw a man die.” Avi swallowed, his throat clicking with the effort. “I had just started primary school and one of the teachers had been asking Petunia some questions about me. She was worried, more like paranoid that the house was being watched, so they took me with them when they went to a big park in London for Dudley’s birthday party. As always Dudley and his friends had chased me around for fun, but the forest around the park was really dense. I had gotten lost in the woods and by the time I found my way back, everyone had left. I don’t even think my aunt and uncle even tried to look for me before they left…”
Luna continued to hum soothingly as he continued. “There was an older man who noticed me standing alone. He was carrying a dog leash when he came up to ask if I was ok.” The leash had been bright red leather with a matching collar attached. He couldn’t remember what the man had looked like anymore, but no matter how much Avi tried to forget, he could never get that leash and collar out of his head. “He told me he was looking for his lost dog that had slipped out of his collar and that if I helped him look he would help me find my family.”
It had already been getting dark by then and there had not been anyone around by then. “I followed him back into the woods.” The man had whistles and called ‘here boy’ but had never actually called a dog’s name, Avi remembered with a shiver. “It was fully dark when we got to the other side of the park. He took me to his van ‘so he could call his wife’, but when he opened the door he grabbed me and tried to pull me inside.”
Avi hugged Biam’s long, warm neck for comfort. “I’m not sure what really happened, but he dropped me and screamed like he had been burned. I ran across the street, trying to get away as he chased me. I-” He swallowed back bile as he remembered. “I think my magic might have done something. One minute, he was charging after me across the street, and the next, a lorry had come out of nowhere.” Avi had just stood there in shock until the cops came, unable to speak after what he had witnessed. The school secretary had lived nearby and had come out to see what all the commotion was about and recognized Harry. She had to look up his address for the police officers so they could take him 'home.' Uncle Vernon had been furious when they dropped him off at their house. He had drug the boy into the house and beat him bloody, while Petunia had taken the officers outside and thanked them profusely for finding “their missing troublemaker.” Sobbing about how he was always running off and getting into trouble.
The Thestral in his lap seemed to feel his stress and chirped unhappily, bumping his chin to get attention. He obligingly scratched him in his favorite spot. Avi laughed as Biam’s eyes crossed as he scratched behind his leathery horse ears, and Luna smiled. “I’m glad you're not with the muggles anymore. You deserve to be safe, Avi.” The mother Thestral was back to chewing on her hair again like she was trying to groom Luna but was unsure of how to go about it with all her hair. She patted her neck absently as she said, “My mother fought for you to come live with us. It’s a shame she was unable to make that happen before she died. I always wanted a brother.”
“What?” Avi looked at her in shock. But she seemed to be lost in thought.
“Our mothers were friends in school. Mother knew Lily had named her one of your godmothers, but for some reason, the will was sealed before she could claim you. She was furious. She argued with the Department of Wizarding Family Services, asking about who had received custody, but they never would tell her. I think she might have even hired a Hitwizard to look into the matter not long before she died.”
Avyaan swallowed as he thought back to all he had learned about the sealed will and the Headmaster. He remembered the note from his mother to Pandora Lovegood. Was it possible that he had hidden the flaw in the potion recipe on purpose? He felt sick just at the thought. Wait. Wasn't Mrs. Lovegood Harry's godmother, not Avi's?
But before he could say anything, Luna turned to him suddenly. Her blue eyes looked straight into his soul. “Be careful Avi. Hogwarts is not safe. A crown sits upon his head, but he is blinded by his own wisdom. Be careful who you trust.” She blinked, her eyes losing their intensity and she went back to petting the Thestrals like nothing had happened.
No matter what Avi did, Luna refused to answer his questions about how she had known. In fact, it seemed like she didn't even remember the last few minutes of their conversation. Avyaan wondered about her strange conviction about the coming school year and what danger could be lurking at a school long after he left her house. There had just been something so final about her words…