Chapter 11: Threads Between the Aisles
Three months remained before Luna would board the train to Hogwarts.
The days passed slowly, yet purposefully, in the Lovegood household. With her mother's survival and the stabilization of her system, Luna's internal world began to bloom. Her mornings were filled with reading magical theory, afternoons with wand exercises guided by her mother, and evenings often reserved for quiet dream-walks beneath the summer sky.
System Sync: 52.6%
Subsystems Active:Basic Spell Storage, Emotional Regulator, Dream Memory Index, Time-Space Sensory Calibration (Tier I)
Occasionally, the system nudged her with gentle prompts:
Daily Optimization Suggestion:Reinforce dream-memory integration via lucid projection practice. Suitable timeframe: 22:00 - 23:30.
On the first morning of July, the family set out to Diagon Alley.
The Leaky Cauldron was as bustling as Luna remembered from dreams—memories?—of another life. A soft vibration in her temples indicated minor magical congestion in the air. Her system analyzed and filtered out interference automatically.
They passed through the brick wall, her father's hand gently guiding her forward, and Luna gasped softly as Diagon Alley unfolded like an enchanted mural.
Stalls shimmered with floating charms, owls hooted from gilded cages, and shelves of shimmering wands filled display windows. Luna's senses pulsed as threads of ambient magic wrapped around her vision.
System Note:Magical Density: Moderate-High
Thread Conduction Ideal for Spatial Calibration.
Her first stop was Madam Malkin's. Luna stood on the small stool as measuring tapes flitted about her. A brown-haired girl in the next seat glanced over—Hermione.
They exchanged smiles, but little else. Yet Luna's mind made a soft note.
Memory Log Saved:First Encounter: Hermione Granger. Emotional Signature: Curious, Reserved.
At Flourish and Blotts, Luna gravitated toward the back shelves. Her hands brushed against titles like Theories of Arithmancy and Ancient Constructs, Spiraling Sigils and Their Harmonic Effects, and a ragged volume labeled Dreams and the Transmutational Mind.
Pandora raised an eyebrow. "Some heavy reading for a first year, Luna."
Luna tilted her head. "They feel... important."
System Alert:Classified Novel Detected: Contains Layered Rune Encryption. Unlock Progress: 8%... 12%...
Temporary Storage Enabled.
Xenophilius, meanwhile, carried an armful of books titled Creatures That Definitely Exist and Invisibugs of the Northern Steppes. "For bedtime reading," he said proudly.
At Ollivanders, the air thickened with ancestral weight.
The old wandmaker approached slowly. His eyes lingered on Luna longer than most.
"Ah... curious. Very curious," he murmured. "You... have danced with time, haven't you?"
Luna blinked.
Her system flared briefly, capturing his aura.
Ollivander Detected.
Arcane Intuition Level: Class-A (Wand Resonance Expert)
He led her to a case at the back—hidden.
"Try this," he whispered, drawing out a wand with a shaft of silver-gray and a handle made of midnight black.
The moment her fingers touched it, the wand pulsed. The tip shimmered with starlight.
System Alert:Wand Link Established. Material Composition: Thestral Hair Core, Elder Ash Wood (Rejuvenated). Custom Bond: Luna Hair Filament Fused—Complete Sync 97.4%.
Ollivander blinked in awe. "This wand... was waiting for you."
She nodded quietly. She could feel it breathing with her.
Back home, the days blurred into a comforting rhythm of light practice, advanced reading, family meals, and occasional visits to a nearby forest glade where Luna experimented with silent spells and grounding magic.
Spell Learning: Lumos
Source: Guided – Mother.
System Spell Breakdown:
Incantation: Lumos
Effect: Emits a small beam of light from wand tip.
Mana Consumption: Low
Recommended Application: Low-light navigation, focused light source.
She practiced every night, watching the soft orb of light bloom like a flower in the dark.
And once, while alone, she whispered a spell she remembered from long ago:
"Protego."
It flickered, but held.
Spell Learning: Protego
*Source: Self-Learned (Dream Memory)._
System Spell Breakdown:
Effect: Conjures a basic magical shield against minor physical/magical threats.
Mana Consumption: Medium-High
System Note: Defensive spells can evolve with intent and emotional urgency.
By August, Luna had crossed paths with Hermione once more in the Alley, this time near the apothecary. They talked briefly about potions and wand woods. It was polite, almost formal. But Luna's instincts whispered of a future alliance.
System Prediction:Hermione Granger – Potential Study Partner. Alignment Probability: 67.2%.
Evenings were spent at the Lovegood porch, with Xenophilius describing impossible beasts and Pandora smiling softly into the sunset.
Luna would often dream, then.
Dream of clocks that spun backward.
Of feathers that sang.
Of a train waiting just out of sight.
And with every dream, her power grew steadier.
System Summary:
Dream Stability: Reinforced (73%).
Wand Synchronization: Stable.
Temporal-Sensory Calibration: Progressing...
The countdown had begun.
And Hogwarts... waited.