Chapter 193: A Flying Unicorn, and This Is Not How You Play Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The wind sighed through the Forbidden Forest, rustling the leaves with a dry, whispering hush.
Leonardo stared at the little girl in front of him, genuinely at a loss.
Bubble-Snotters?
Was this another one of those creatures, like Wrackspurts, that only Luna could see and believe in?
Then again, perhaps not. Luna did seem able to notice things that were… unusual. Like that time at the Burrow…
"Achoo!"
Luna suddenly sneezed, rubbing at her slightly reddened nose.
Leonardo drew his wand and, with the casual ease of habit, summoned two fallen leaves from the ground. He performed Transfiguration on each in turn.
A pair of pure white rabbit slippers appeared neatly by Luna's feet.
"Put these on for now."
Luna obediently slipped her feet into them, then stamped twice, very lightly. The little rabbit ears at the toes wobbled with each movement.
"Thank you, Leonardo. Um… why rabbit slippers?"
Leonardo smiled and pointed at her earrings.
"Because you've already got carrots."
Luna tilted her head, looking up into Leonardo's dark green eyes.
"I thought you would call me Loony too," she said calmly. "If I'm looking for shoes, I don't need to come all the way out here. The Forbidden Forest is dangerous for first-years."
Dangerous?
Leonardo remembered last year's repeated trips in and out of the Forest. He did not recall anything particularly dangerous happening.
"Loony? Is that what people call you?"
Luna nodded. Her face did not crumple or tighten, as though she were simply reporting something that had nothing to do with her.
"Yes. Maybe it's the way I talk, or the things I think, or how I dress. People think I'm… special. Strange."
There was something about the way she carried herself, so composed and detached for her age, that only made Leonardo more curious.
He lowered his voice slightly. "We're Ravenclaw. Aren't eagles meant to be a bit unusual?"
It was not untrue. Ravenclaw was the smallest House, and yet it seemed to collect the greatest number of oddities.
Beyond their love of learning and their chase after wit, Ravenclaws often had their own little "talents". They saw angles other people never considered. And because they did not always want to explain themselves, they sometimes ended up looking as though they did not fit anywhere at all.
Luna still looked up at him, murmuring as if thinking aloud.
"Special? Then you must be the most special of all of us. But you can get on with everyone, which makes you even more special…"
She hesitated, then went on in the same drifting voice. "Actually, I came here to see a unicorn. A few days ago, near the edge of the Forest, I thought I saw a flying unicorn."
"I might have been mistaken," Luna admitted. "But I think if I come again today, I should see it."
A flying unicorn?
Leonardo's expression turned peculiar, and for once it was not because he suspected Luna had imagined something that only she could "see".
Because he knew exactly which unicorn she meant.
And it was already here.
A white shape dropped from the sky. Silver wings of light flared from its shoulder blades, throwing off a holy, pure radiance.
"Aurora."
Leonardo lifted a hand and called to it with a smile.
Aurora, the young unicorn he had saved last winter. In nearly a year, it had grown a great deal.
At his call, Aurora trotted over in quick little steps and pressed affectionately against Leonardo's cheek.
Leonardo patted her neck, watching as the silver-white wings of light gradually faded, until they became a pair of wing-shaped markings, like a pattern woven into her coat.
After he had repaired Aurora's damaged magical circuitry with magical-weave construction, the changes that followed during her recovery had taken an unexpected turn.
Her coat had shifted from the pale gold of her foalhood to the white she wore now. As the wing markings grew clearer, they also revealed a corresponding ability.
If Aurora channelled magic into those wing patterns, they could become wings of light, granting her true flight.
It was a perfect example of the kind of beneficial enhancement magical-weave construction could produce.
Come to think of it, Norbert had reached a stage of growth where it might be possible to try adjusting his magical circuitry as well.
Yes. If Norbert was to be raised into a true dragon king of his kind, more extraordinary magical abilities would be necessary. According to the system, as long as he was not altered too drastically, he would still remain within the category of a Norwegian Ridgeback, a fire-breathing dragon.
Leonardo turned slightly towards Luna. "Luna, is this the unicorn you meant?"
Luna, however, looked puzzled. She glanced from Leonardo to the unicorn, hesitating for a long moment before she spoke.
"Yes… a unicorn with wings. But I read that unicorns only allow witches, or pure young girls, to approach them. Touching them should be even harder…"
Her brows knitted, as though she could not make the pieces fit. "Leonardo, you're an older student, aren't you?"
Then Luna suddenly covered her mouth, her large eyes brightening with understanding.
"Oh. I understand. My dad said unicorns don't see with their eyes. They see people by moonlight. In your soul…"
She paused, searching for the right words.
"There must be lots of moonlight stored there. More than most people. They can tell."
Moonlight?
Did this girl always have an explanation for everything, one that somehow held together in its own strange way?
Leonardo felt as though Luna's head was full of all sorts of peculiar knowledge. He asked, "By the way, the last time we were at the Weasleys', you said the things around me were eaten. What did you mean?"
This time, Luna shook her head, and her voice went oddly hollow again.
"I think I forgot," she said. "But there are lots more around you now. I know them all. Thinking moths, light-ball ants, happy ducks…"
Then she looked at him with calm certainty. "Leonardo, you're very happy at Hogwarts. You like it here, don't you?"
Leonardo had been trying to spot the creatures she was describing, and her question caught him off guard.
Did he like Hogwarts?
Of course. Hogwarts was fascinating. It held so much strange, intricate, magical knowledge. He could learn an enormous amount here…
Leonardo nodded. "Yes. I'm very happy here."
Luna's face brightened into a small, genuine smile. She looked truly pleased.
"That's good," she said softly.
Then, with the same gentle, airy manner, she asked, "Leonardo, her name is Aurora, isn't it? Can I play with her for a little while?"
"That's something you'll have to ask Aurora herself."
After a quiet exchange, and exactly as Leonardo expected, Aurora allowed Luna to come closer.
Leonardo then spoke with the thestrals. In the end, he traded specially prepared food, along with grooming and care, in exchange for tail feathers they had shed in their nest.
Holding the cold, pitch-black feathers in his hand, Leonardo let out a slow breath.
Another layer of insurance for facing the basilisk.
The Trunk World
"Good. Just one more feather."
"Boss, you said that yesterday," Aether, the thunderbird, complained as Leonardo soothed him. "If you keep plucking me like this, how am I supposed to find a mate later?"
Leonardo's vision went dark for a moment. This bird's imagination was running far too far ahead. Thunderbirds did not even consider mating until they were at least twenty.
He cleared his throat. "Aether. You're ten. You've got years. Besides, if you stick with me, won't you live well? With your build and your feathers, you'll be miles ahead of birds your age. I guarantee you'll have a whole flock of wives one day, all right? It's one feather. It'll grow back in a few days."
Aether craned his neck, enjoying the way Leonardo scratched the soft feathers there, though his tone was still aggrieved.
"But, Boss… it still hurts a little."
Leonardo asked simply, "What do you want for dinner?"
Aether immediately turned his head, hooked a feather free with his beak, and offered it up like a tribute.
"Salt-and-pepper lamb chops, thank you, Boss!"
Leonardo shook his head, utterly speechless, and took the thunderbird feather. He left that level of the space and returned to his alchemical workshop.
At his workbench, he continued refining the half-finished flying broom.
His wand tapped and traced. Materials broke down and were processed into the parts he needed. As the thunderbird feather was added, the broom's surface seemed to carry the faint sound of wind and distant thunder.
"Nearly done. Quidditch matches start in November. I'll make it in time."
...
After Charms class ended, Leonardo walked with the trio towards the Great Hall for dinner.
When there was no one nearby, Hermione spoke first.
"Leonardo, in History of Magic, Professor Binns told us about the legend of the Chamber of Secrets…"
Hermione repeated almost word for word what the ghost professor had said, laying out the Chamber's story in careful detail.
Leonardo listened quietly. It matched what Snape had told him: Slytherin, a hidden chamber, a monster, the killing of Muggle-borns.
As Hermione spoke, he noticed her front teeth looked… a little smaller than before.
"Leonardo," Ron asked, looking full of expectation, "have you got any ideas about this 'Heir of Slytherin'?"
Ron remembered last year, when Leonardo had found information about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone in a book, helping them uncover the truth. He was clearly hoping for the same again.
Leonardo did not answer at once.
He did know. Tom Riddle's diary, or rather the diary's Tom Riddle, and Lockhart doing the dirty work.
But he still had use for Lockhart and the basilisk. This year, they would have to solve it themselves.
If events followed the original path, Harry and the others would first suspect Malfoy, then Hagrid, and Harry himself would end up taking the blame at least once.
With the changes Leonardo had introduced, who would they target this time?
He was genuinely curious.
"So," Leonardo asked Ron instead, "based on what you've got so far, what do you think?"
Ron scratched his red hair, uncertain.
"If it's like the legend says, and the Heir's going after Muggle-born witches and wizards, then it's probably one of the Slytherins, isn't it? Slytherin built the Chamber, then someone in his House inherits the whole pure-blood rubbish and carries it on. Neat little circle."
"But who exactly? There are loads of them…"
"Flint, maybe? He's horrible anyway."
Harry pushed up his glasses. "Flint could strangle someone with his hands, sure. But commanding a monster? I'm not sure his brain would allow it."
Hermione glanced at Leonardo, thinking.
"Maybe we could ask Malfoy and Greengrass to help us investigate? They're in Slytherin, so it would be easy for them, and…"
She hesitated, then continued carefully, "Neither of them seems like they want to drive out or hurt Muggle-born students, do they?"
When Hermione finished, Harry and Ron both looked at Leonardo as well.
Leonardo lifted his eyes towards the ceiling. Somehow, the conversation had circled back to him again.
This was not how Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was supposed to go.
They were meant to reason it out, brainstorm, narrow down suspects, then brew Polyjuice Potion and sneak close to their target to gather clues.
Then, through coincidence, they would get Tom Riddle's diary, trigger the interaction, and unlock the special scene…
Looking at their hopeful expressions, Leonardo could not help laughing, half-amused and half-exasperated.
"Honestly, you can just ask Malfoy and Greengrass yourselves."
Harry adjusted his glasses, looking uncomfortable. "Malfoy might be difficult right now. Flint's back from detention and has returned to Quidditch training. He seems pretty unhappy with Malfoy, so…"
Ron jumped in. "So ask Greengrass. But you know she doesn't really hang about with us. She gets on with you, though, right?"
As he said it, Ron actually winked at Leonardo.
Hermione did not look pleased. What did Ron mean, 'gets on with you'? She hugged her books a bit tighter and pressed her lips together.
"We don't have to go begging her," Hermione said. "There are other ways."
Ron looked at her, baffled. He wanted to point out that nobody had said 'begging', and that she was the one who had suggested asking them in the first place.
Then Harry spoke hesitantly, his expression conflicted.
"Or… maybe it isn't someone from Slytherin. There's someone who doesn't feel right."
He waited a few seconds, then forced the words out. "I think Lockhart… I mean, I don't know, it's just… that night Mrs Norris was attacked, I was in Lockhart's office…"
As Harry explained, Leonardo's thoughts raced.
Harry was sharp. He had not found the key detail, but he had sensed something was off.
The trick Lockhart and the diary's Tom had pulled, using Harry as an alibi, was clever enough.
Young witches and wizards rarely watched the time closely, and children especially tended to feel time rushing past. Lockhart had removed any clocks from his office and left only an hourglass. The illusion of the stopped sand had misled Harry.
And after Harry left the office, chasing the basilisk's voice through the corridors, the tension and fear would only have distorted his sense of time further.
When Harry finished, Ron nodded, looking thoughtful.
"Yeah, Harry, the Defence Against the Dark Arts job is always suspicious, but we can't just slap it on Lockhart because of Quirrell last year. Honestly, even I can tell he's a bit of an idiot. Could he really do something like this?"
"Ron, Professor Lockhart isn't an idiot," Hermione protested automatically. "Maybe he's just… just…"
She trailed off. The more Defence lessons she attended, the less confident she felt. Was Lockhart really as brave and clever as his books claimed?
Ron raised both hands in surrender. "All right, all right, I said the wrong thing. I forgot you drew a little heart next to Defence Against the Dark Arts on your timetable. But honestly, why do you all like Lockhart types? I thought you'd like Leo…"
"Ron!"
Hermione let out a mortified sound and, at the same time, slammed her book into Ron's face, cutting him off mid-sentence.