Alex woke up and groaned.
Her early morning headaches weren't quite as bad now as before, but they still sucked. October was drawing to a close and she and Luna spent most of every day practising occlumency and wandless magic. She'd just about got the shield charm down and Luna said they'd soon be moving onto the stinging hex.
What Alex really wanted to learn though, was the banishing charm. She'd seen it used three times now — Once when she'd first met Harry and twice when Luna used it on her at the lighthouse and against her inferi doxies, now kept in jars hidden behind the portrait of her grandfather.
She rolled out of bed, still clutching her head, and made her way downstairs for breakfast. Her father had already left for work so she didn't have to worry about him worrying about her.
Fortunately, she was starting to feel a bit better by the time school rolled around, which was just as well, because what greeted her in the classroom blew her mind even more than the toxins did. "What the hell is this?" she shouted, spotting the front page of the Daily Prophet laid out on the table. She snatched it up and skimmed the article.
HOGWARTS YEARS!
Unbelievable.
TROLL
DEFEATED
BY
FIRST
She stormed out of the classroom. If Greengrass and this muggleborn Slytherin vassal witch were already doing stuff like that then just how far behind was she? Damn it! Why oh why hadn't she accepted Harry's offer? Practising with Luna was great and all, but…
She stopped, halfway down the stairs. Wait. She shook her head. She was being silly. Of course Greengrass and the vassal were ahead of her, they were a year older than her! She shouldn't be comparing herself to them. She should be comparing herself to people her own age… people like Luna.
"Try again, Alex?" Alex groaned, accepted Luna's hand, and got shakily to her feet. "I swear I almost had you that time. If I had just gotten through that last shield…"
Luna smiled. "I'm sure you would have, Alex."
Alex narrowed her eyes. "Again then."
Luna nodded and they faced off against each other again.
"Start!"
Alex brought a bright red stunner to her fingers and loosed it at Luna.
Luna cast a shield to block it.
Then, Luna brought her own stunner to her other hand and cast it at her.
Alex just managed to side step it, but it had been a close thing. She'd already half formed her second stunner and decided this would be the perfect time to unleash her surprise weapon. She sent a mental command to her inferi minions to swarm Luna.
Luna's eyes widened slightly, red stunner also half formed on her fingers, as the three undead doxies emerged from their hiding places around the Lovegood orchard and attacked her en mass.
Alex grinned and let loose her stunner. It ran straight into another of Luna's shields and Luna cast her own stunner straight at her, completely ignoring the three doxies that were now pulling the blonde's hair, scrabbling on her robes, and scratching at her legs.
The last thing Alex thought before she fell unconscious was that doxy inferi really kind of sucked.
Alex and Luna sat on twin beanbags that Luna had dragged over from the Rookery to the Black Library, relaxing and reading and taking turns at petting a purring Amethyst.
Alex sighed. "Luna?"
"Yes, Alex?"
"I think I need to practise inferi raising on something bigger." Luna lay aside her book. "Because your doxies aren't good in combat?"
Alex nodded.
"But they are good at intelligence gathering and infiltrating hard to get at places."
Alex nodded again, more slowly this time. "Yes, but still." She frowned. "It's not as though I know where to get something bigger to practise on though, so I guess it's useless anyway."
Luna put a finger to her chin. "Maybe not. Dad is the second largest donator to the department of the regulation of control for magical creatures, so we do have certain privileges."
Alex perked up. "You'd do that for me?" "Well, I'd have to ask Dad first, but of course."
Alex grinned. "Thanks, Luna. You're the best."
"Thank you for agreeing to do this, Lord Lovegood." Alex curtseyed in her plain and completely unmagical robes.
Luna and Lord Lovegood, by contrast, were both dressed in identical beige trousers, long sleeved shirts, and matching safari pith helmets.
"Don't worry about that, young lady. It's about time for their culling anyway and it is my license. Just make sure you stay behind me at all times. These critters can be rather tricky if you don't know how to deal with them."
Alex nodded uncertainly, eyeing the long metal and wood device that Lord Lovegood had casually slung over his shoulder, and which had been introduced to her as his pre-1964 Winchester Model 12 Shotgun.
"Just don't tell anyone about it," Lord Lovegood said with a wink, indicating the weapon.
Alex hurriedly nodded and soon found herself in a small boat, bobbing offshore of a heavily warded Scottish island.
"Hang on!" Lord Lovegood shouted and she felt the squeeze of a side along apparition.
They landed on soft ground and Alex instantly regretted wearing robes, not that she had any clue about what else to wear. She and Luna kept a few steps behind Luna's father and he soon held up his hand, indicated that they should stop.
He readied his weapon and shouted. "Oi! Ugly! Over here!"
Something large, hairy, and five legged bolted for him from just around the next hill. There was an ear-shattering BANG, and the thing skidded to a dead halt right in front of him.
"Hah! They never learn." Lord Lovegood leaned over the corpse and Alex stepped forward to inspect it.
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