Chapter Text
Ruby Moon Part 2: A Destiny Woven in Stars
It was a very short night, as sleeplessness turned into a whirlwind of thoughts. That revelation fractured my intuition, filling me with doubts. I didn't know how to act. I had crucial information for my master Eriol, but I myself felt the most discordant, with questions that could only be answered upon reaching Hogwarts.
Luna's mother had been clear: once the girl woke up, she would lose her memory. How was I going to deal with that? It was going to take a long time. Furthermore, the warning was that the recovery would be in fragments, and that she could have even more violent or imprecise stages. All of that swirled in my head.
—"I call upon you, you who are called Witness! Come to my call, be part of the deal!" Instantly, a cloud materialized, taking the form of a small being.
—"How may I serve you, my lady Ruby Moon?"
—"You will stay in this room and watch everything this girl does. But if she moves, you will also follow her. You will be like a chameleon: you will have to hide in the shadows, watch everything she does, and you must inform me, no matter how ironic it seems."
—"Your highest priority is to avoid some beings who were sent by a person named Lucius Malfoy to find this girl. I don't know what form these beings have; it will be up to you to detect and evade them."
—"Very well, my lady. As you have commanded, your mandate will be fulfilled. Allow me to call two people I trust. We will be three witnesses to watch over this girl, who is a high priority for you." —A subtle bow was implied before me.
—"That sounds good. Fulfill the mandate, be like a needle in a haystack and do not let yourselves be seen."
The being vanished again, camouflaging itself in the environment.
My nerves began to manifest; my body trembled slowly. Then, I pulled a small cigarette from my clothes and lit it. I opened the window of that cabin and began to observe the moon, the stars, and the landscape the train was leaving behind, a worthy setting, perhaps, of a horror book.
I tried to clear my mind, but not even this cigarette could calm my anxiety. I decided to simply look at Luna for a while, to see if I could find any answers in her. She just looked like a normal, sweet and tender girl; an angelic face that, however, manifested a little madness when she was awake. Nothing unusual, nothing different from children her age.
What presences will this girl have to face? What kind of challenges will my master Eriol and I have to confront? Are our lives about to change? Will Hogwarts be a battlefield? Too many questions in my mind. If my master Eriol were here, he would answer them. There's no point in fantasizing or reflecting, as I'm not one hundred percent rational.
I lay down on that large, seemingly comfortable armchair for a good while. With a couple of gestures of my fingers, a soft melody, like a lullaby, began to play, seeking to relax my mind and help me sleep. I felt the intoxicating effect of that music that flooded my ears and traveled through my veins, calming every fiber of my being.
—"Wonderful! It's the best. Classical music enlivens my body and mind."
—"If I had to choose among so many songs, this would be the definitive one: the violins, the piano, the change of tempo from slow to fast."
I don't know how much time had passed, but my eyes were beginning to close. The murmur of my mind faded, and all the surrounding noise began to blur. I was about to cross the threshold into the realm of dreams... or nightmares, you never know.
—"Cards are a fundamental part of music, don't forget that."
—"Don't let the sun touch the Moon."
—"Don't look for me because you won't find me; don't reveal me because you won't know either."
—"Nothing is by chance, everything is inevitable. Give this message to your master and he will know who it is for."
It was a voice, but I didn't know whose. It was very confusing, but very repetitive. Who could it be? How did it invade my dreams? I don't understand. I woke up with a start, as if something had frightened me.
That voice kept echoing in my mind, so I decided to record everything. I wrote it down. What kind of meaning does it have? Nothing like this had ever happened to me; I don't understand what it refers to.
—"My head hurts a lot. How long must I have been asleep?"
—"Manifest before me, you who are the Witness!"
A cloud spread before me and three small figures appeared, greeting me cordially.
—"Tell me what happened while I was asleep."
One of them said: —"While you slept, my lady, we only saw your body move, as if struggling with something or someone, but no one else entered this room. We felt no presence."
Then the second stated: —"We simply heard you complain, but your voice was not very clear and only expressed uneasiness."
And the third member, with a somewhat careless tone, said: —"My lady Ruby Moon, I can assure you that nothing interrupted this room, and by our contract, lying would ruin our trust."
I observed all three of them, and each expressed what they had to say.
—"Very well, keep watching," I ordered, and the three vanished again, merging with the environment.
I searched the cabin for some liquor or a drink to calm my anxiety again. Finding nothing, I had to make my way to the cabin where there was food and drinks for the entire night.
I arrived there and, to my surprise, there was the man whose hair was as bright as the sun: Lucius Malfoy! He was sitting with three other people, all drinking and laughing, perhaps talking about magic or matters of their family congregation. Then, I remembered what my master had told me about Lucius; he had a lot to do with the great assemblies and important decisions of the Ministry of Magic, being a manipulative figure in that circle on a large scale.
I took a seat, trying to stay near a window and away from that man's gaze.
They had brought me a drink prepared with aged liquor, over two hundred years old. It contained abundant ice, combined with the acidity of lemon and the complexity of exotic magical spices, all served in an elegant dragon-shaped glass. With my right hand, holding the glass between my fingers, I began to savor it slowly. I felt the mixture of heat and cold spread through my throat, traveling through every corner of my body. With each sip, the liquor enchanted me a little, weaving a sensation of warmth and lightness that gradually relaxed my mind, dissipating questions and anxieties. After all, at Hogwarts I would find all my answers and thus successfully fulfill my mission for my master.
I finished my glass and, with a gesture to a nearby waiter, asked for a new drink, this time something softer and more aromatic, perhaps an infusion of magical herbs with a touch of honey. When it arrived, its warm vapor enveloped me, and with the first sip, I felt a wave of calm wash over me. It was a different, deeper relief, cradling my mind and freeing it from any tension.
It was then that a clear memory surfaced, a conversation with my master Eriol in one of his most reflective moments. His voice echoed in my head, serene and profound: "Ruby Moon," he would say to me with that all-knowing look, "life is complicated, full of things we don't expect. But there's something that will always be true: as long as I am with you, as long as I protect you, nothing bad will happen to you. No matter how difficult the situation or what danger threatens you, my presence will take care of you. Your safety is the most important thing. Never forget it."
My eyes suddenly welled up. My master's words resonated with such clarity that they transported me back to that day. Tears began to slide down my cheeks, uncontrollable. I remembered the first time I saw him, when he found me huddled in a shadowy corner, covered in grime and wearing rags. He, with a delicacy I didn't expect, lifted my chin with a finger and, with his thumb, wiped away my dirty tears, one by one, while his eyes radiated a compassion I had never felt.
The pain of that memory, mixed with the nostalgia of his promise, overwhelmed me. I needed something stronger to quiet the knot in my throat. I signaled the waiter again.
—"Another drink, please," I asked, my voice slightly broken. "But make it... bitter. Very bitter."
The bitter glass arrived, dark and dense. I took it without hesitation, the harsh liquid scraping my throat as I drank it. This time, I felt it differently: a slightly dizzying warmth spread through my body, like a light fog that relieved my tension. I wasn't completely drunk, but enough to feel freer. The night's worries faded, and a strange lightness invaded me. Without thinking, just wanting to, my lips parted and a soft melody began to emerge.
My verses flowed, a song for you, my beloved Eriol:
Song to the Guardian of My Soul
Oh, my Eriol, You are the light in my darkness.
The lamp that guides me constantly,
the truth. You pulled me from a shadowy corner,
giving my life a new dawn.
Your hand is strong,
my unbreakable refuge.
a tender comfort, healing my pain.
In each of your gestures, in your serene voice,
I found calm, the peace that fills me.
Master and guardian,
my loyalty is absolute.
My soul belongs to you.
For your great wisdom, for your immense goodness,
my heart vibrates in deep gratitude.
Though the world changes,
or the sun sets.
M y devotion to you will not disappear.
You are my pillar, my anchor, my only reason for being,
the absolute owner of my heart.
So let this song, be carried by the wind.
To your ears,
where it will always resonate.
My eternal love,
endless gratitude,
for being everything to me.
When I finished singing, I realized what I had done. A total silence filled the cabin. Everyone was looking at me: the normal people and also the important ones, like Lucius Malfoy, whose face I couldn't decipher. Had I really sung aloud? I did it without thinking, just out of emotion and alcohol; I never thought others would hear me. The surprise left me speechless, and the impact tightened my chest. I had shown something very personal about myself, something I never wanted anyone to see, much less in such a place and with such people.
—"Well, what a beautiful voice you have, my dear young lady," Lucius Malfoy's clean and melodic voice cut the silence, resonating with surprising courtesy that made me even more nervous. "Allow me to invite you for a drink at our table. It would be an honor."
An uncomfortable heat rose up my neck to my ears. With every fiber of my being wanting to disappear, I tried to maintain composure and replied with the utmost courtesy I could muster, although inside I felt completely exposed and mortified: —"Oh, thank you, My Lord. I don't know your name, but I cannot allow myself that at this moment. I feel a little embarrassed by this... oversight on my part. Please forgive me."
With a final bow of my head, I apologized again to those present and, with a general "excuse me" that included Lucius Malfoy, I left the dining car. The way back to Luna's cabin felt longer than usual, each step revealing the accumulated tiredness. Upon arriving, the small bed seemed like a refuge. I lay down next to Luna, hugging her gently, feeling her comforting warmth. The moon, from the window, bathed the small room with its silvery glow, enveloping us in a serene peace as I let myself be carried away by exhaustion.