The Stars That Lie (Druna ☾)

Chapter 25

The lock wasn't enough. They had wands, of course.

With a burst of manic energy, Luna shoved the nearest dresser in front of the door, then piled a footlocker on top that nearly threw out her back to lift.

It wouldn't hold for long... She spun around, eyes searching for the carpet bag. The one with the horcrux inside.

"What are you doing, Lovegood?" a death eater shouted as he pounded on the door. "Come out this instance or we'll break it down!"

"N— Nothing!" she called back as she dove onto her knees to tear into the bag.

"If you're up to something in there—"

"I just want to be alone!" she shrieked. "Can't I grieve in peace!"

Turning the bag over, everything fell out in a clatter on the floor.

Not exactly the sound of grieving...

She sifted through the mess of school supplies and unpacked clothes. Shirts, inkwells that stained her fingers black and silver, a few textbooks, the diadem, but nothing else. No metal piece to unjam the gears and parts of her telescope. No literal or figurative tooth.

"You have ten seconds to let us in, or we're breaking down this door," a death eater said menacingly.

A little further away, perhaps standing behind the first, the other death eater griped, "Let me in. She deserves a little cruciatus."

Luna's throat swelled shut, leaving her incapable of making any more excuses. She shoved her hands into the bag, feeling along the bottom for anything that hadn't fallen out, then along the sides in search of side pockets. With a little shake, she thought she felt some extra weight on the one side.

There was no time to find the hidden pouch, so with a sharp edge of the diadem, she ripped through the inner lining. One more shake, and the last item clattered out of the bag before her knees.

A fang.

A giant, yellow and brown stained fang.

"Back up," a death eater mutters to the other. "I'm breaking it down now."

Luna was out of time, and she didn't know what she was supposed to do with either of the items. A tooth and a diadem—a tool and a horcrux.

A muffled curse reached her ears just before an explosion of light and splintered furniture flew over her head.

She ducked down, doing the first thing her mad mind came up with.

She stabbed the diadem with the tooth.

Just as the death eaters burst in, wood pieces still raining down over her, another explosion rocked them all back. Black smoke erupted from the diadem with a deafening screech. Luna flew backwards, her spine snapping against a wall.

Then the world went dark, swallowed up by the vile smoke that choked out all her senses.

☾━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━☽

Only three more chapters to go, can you believe it?! Thank you so much to everyone who has interacted with this story. I am so happy that some of you found enjoyment in it (and maybe a little angst and pain too). Happy holidays to those of you celebrating this week!