The Thirteenth Hour

Chapter 1

Something bring me right here
I am dreaming, I'm in a drift
Please see me through metaphors in blue
I'm holding on for dear life

Spirit, please don't abandon me

Deer In Headlights - Sia

—

"Hello," Luna said pleasantly as she opened the compartment door to reveal Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley. The train was starting, its whistle blowing. It lurched forward, and Luna drifted into a vacant seat next to Ginny.

"Hey, Luna," said Ron, swallowing a laugh as Luna leaned over to pull up one of her violet knee-high socks that had slumped down, her wand tucked behind her ear where a radish earring dangled.

"How was your break?" Hermione asked."

"It was lovely. My father and I spent four weeks in Sweden searching for a live Crumple-Horned Snorkack specimen for a photography special in The Quibbler."

Hermione blinked, then took a deep breath. "And did you find one?" she asked in a controlled voice with a pained expression on her face.

"No," Luna replied. "Our theory is that they got wind we were looking for them, and they all left the area. They are very shy creatures, you know."

Hermione did not seem to trust herself to say much else and instead shot a glance at Ron, who was contorting his mouth in an effort not to giggle.

"That's too bad, Luna," Ginny said, rolling her eyes in Ron's direction.

Luna sighed. "Yes, it's all right though. How have you all been?"

Each of her friends provided a brief summary of their exploits over summer break, including both the mundane ("My Great Uncle Algie brought me a Wiggentree for my birthday!") and the more serious ("The Order asked us to stay at Hogwarts as long as possible; they want to know where I am. But we're still going to keep working on the Horcruxes.").

"Did you see that article in The Quibbler yesterday supporting you, Harry?" Neville asked with excitement sometime after noon. "It even discussed that The Daily Prophet is completely compromised!"

"Ah, yes," Luna said, nodding her head, "it was right on the front page next to the exposé about the Ministry of Magic's secret heliopath army."

Hermione's lips pursed, all thought of the Second Wizarding War forgotten. "You do know, of course, that heliopaths don't even really exist, right?" she said through gritted teeth, the words spilling out before she could stop herself.

A rare sour look crossed Luna's face to rival Hermione's. "Of course they do. Did you even read the article?"

At that moment, the door to their compartment slid open, revealing the smiling trolley witch with her cart full of sweets. The group fumbled with coins and made their purchases, then settled back down. Luna was biting into a particularly chewy licorice wand when she pointed at Neville and said, "What's the matter with Trevor?"

Trevor the toad was on Neville's lap, and at the current moment, he seemed to be choking on a very long, fine gold chain, making a raspy croaking sound over and over.

"Oh, no! Trevor!" Neville cried.

A few moments of panic ensued as half of the group jumped to their feet, some reaching for their wands. Neville picked the choking toad up with both hands and held him up in the air with the offending chain dangling from his mouth. Luna remained calm and snatched the toad from Neville's hands without a word. She brought the toad close to her, clutching him near her abdomen like a precious treasure, ignoring the retching noises.