The Girl who Vanished

Scrapped Chapter 15/The Man Behind the Moons

A/N: I forgot how short this chapter was. You may notice certain things that were brought up later in the story, I figured it wasn't worth it to change this. 

Ravenclaw Common Room

Lara was in the middle of working on her assignments while also thinking about what happened in Divination when an owl drops a letter on her lap. It's from the Hogwarts Caretaker, Gladwin Moon, he asks her if she would be willing to help him with something. Putting her things back in her trunk she made her way out of the common room. After walking down the halls for a bit she came across a large open room with a central tower, walking towards what looked like a sheer drop a spiral staircase magically forms around the central tower. Walking down the stairs she found the Caretaker leaning against one of the walls.

"Is that the moving staircase? It's so different from the way it is now." People were surprised by how different the staircases are to what they have now, their staircases are in a large square shaped room with several levels that will shift at certain times which can be very annoying.

"I wish they kept the stairs the way they were, I hate the current arrangement." Several of the adults nod in agreement, those stairs are a menace.

Lara: "Hello again, Mr Moon."

Gladwin Moon: "I was hoping to see you again, my young friend. Gladwin Moon. Hogwarts caretaker, at your service. First, please allow me to apologise if I seemed a bit - unsteady - when we last met I'm afraid I'd had a rather disconcerting encounter. Although I hear your visit to Hogsmeade was even more eventful than mine."

Lara: "I suppose you could call it 'eventful.' I certainly wasn't expecting a troll attack."

Gladwin Moon: "Of course not! And from what I understand, the village was lucky you were there. In fact, my recent visit to Hogsmeade is the reason I was hoping to bump into you. I could use your help with something. Do you see that curious statue over there?" He points to a nearby statue of a small sloth-like creature holding a crystal ball.

Gladwin Moon: "Watch what happens when the light changes from day to night."

We see a timelapse of the sun setting, the statue turns transparent and the crystal ball starts glowing.

Gladwin Moon: "Now, if you wouldn't mind humouring me for a moment, see if you can remove the moon from the statue."

She reaches over and grabs the moon.

Gladwin Moon: "Odd little contraptions, aren't they? It seems the statue vanishes once the moon is removed. Which, incidentally, can only be done at night. Why don't you hold onto that one for now and I'll explain more as we walk."

As they walk he tells her how ever since that day in Hogsmeade those statues have appeared all over the castle and Hogsmeade, he believes someone is trying to torment him. He explains how that day in Hogsmeade he turned a corner and was confronted with a shape-shifting Boggart which takes on the form of the thing that scares its victim the most, in his case it turned into a Demiguise.

Lily flinched at the mention of a Boggart, she remembers how traumatized she was after encountering one in the wine cellar at Potter manor. It was a few years after Lara disappeared, in one of her periods of depression she went down to the cellar intending on drowning her sorrows in wine until she found a Boggart inside one of the cabinets. The creature took the form of a bloodied and dirt covered one year old Lara. She was brought back to the present by someone squeezing her hand, she looks over to see James looking at her with understanding.

Lara: "A Demiguise?"

Gladwin Moon: "(shivers) Yes. Terrifying creatures that can see the future. Wholly unnerving. I encountered one when I was a lad in Korea. Terrible experience. Those statues are Demiguises. The moons, I assume, are an uninspired play on my name."