the gentle moon / george weasley

can't trust me off-leash

"I'm not doing anything wrong," Harry mumbled, kicking his leg at the cat near it. August giggled, coming around the corner.

"Get." August hissed at the cat, who took off once she stepped forward her and Harry. Harry's face turned sour, peering around her shoulder.

"Is Filch coming too?" Harry grimaced. August laughed.

"No, I reckon' he'll be busy for a while," August snaked her arm through one of Harry's and walked them down the hall, "The twins, have been working on a new thing. They're trying to make almost dungbomb-esque things, that turn the hall into a swamp."

Harry looked over their shoulders between them, laughing.

"So there's a swamp down there."

August shook her head smiling, "I said they're working on it, I didn't say they succeeded." August looked down at her muddy boots, "They got the mud part down, just no water." August looked back at Harry, who was laughing at her feet, "Why are you up so early?"

Harry pulled a letter out of his pocket, "Mu-Jade..." he told her.

August smiled, "It's a nice day today, you think you'll have practice?"

"Maybe," Harry shrugged, a shiver sent through both their bodies when they walked out into the courtyard, "Angelina is starting to scare me."

"Eh, she'll come down once you guys have your first match." August shrugged. The sun was high in the sky now and when they entered the Owlery the glassless windows dazzled their eyes; thick silvery beams of sunlight crisscrossed the circular room in which hundreds of owls nestled on rafters, a little restless in the early morning light, some clearly just returned from hunting. The straw-covered floor crunched a little as they stepped across tiny animal bones, Harry his craning neck for a sight of Hedwig.

"There you are," he said, spotting her somewhere near the very top of the vaulted ceiling. "Get down here, I've got a letter for you."

With a low hoot, she stretched her great white wings and soared down onto his shoulder.

"Right," Harry gave her the letter to clasp in her beak, "Just home."

She blinked her amber eyes once and he took that to mean that she understood.

"Safe flight, then," said Harry and he carried her to one of the windows; and Hedwig took off into the blindingly bright sky. They watched her until she became a tiny black speck and vanished, then Harry's gaze switched to Hagrid's hut, clearly visible from this window, and just as clearly uninhabited, the chimney smokeless, the curtains drawn.

"He's fine," August reassured him.

"And you know that for sure?"

"I know everything." August smiled. Harry saw something at the edge of the forbidden forest and then turned to August with a shocked face that quickly vanished.

"Oh spit it out! What?" August looked out the window, where his gaze had just been.

"It doesn't make sense..."

"What?"

"Luna,"

"Love her." August interrupted.

"Luna said something to me at the start of term... I saw something, something pulling the carriages."

"Nothing pulls the carriages, Harry." August said, "They just, I don't know... go."

"No, I saw this horse thing, it was like a skeleton with wings."

"You saw a Thestral? Thestrals pull the carriages?" August questioned and then she came to a quick conclusion. "Oh... It makes sense."

"What does?" Harry asked.