The green fmes fred in the ornate firepce of Castle Bck’s grand receiving hall, spilling out two figures onto the cold stone floor. Sirius stumbled slightly as he stepped out of the Floo, brushing soot from their cloaks.
The room around them was vast, dimly lit by the flickering light of a sces mounted on the walls. Despite its size, an eerie stillness hung in the air, as though the castle itself had been holding its breath for decades.
Sirius gazed around, wide-eyed. “Merlin’s beard… I hought I’d step foot in Castle Bck again. This pce beloo my family. It’s beey since before I was born.” His voice carried a mix of nostalgia and disbelief, his eyes trag the high vaulted ceiling and dust-covered banners bearing the Bck family crest.
Luna snorted while the castle and how utterly in disrepair it is… How is her castle? Did Tia keep up with the up keep?
“How did you mao get us in here? I thought only members of the Bck family could access the wards.” Sirus asks
“Oh Sirius, I am a member of the bck family. I am married to the Heir apparant.” Luna states
Luna turo him, her serene smile hinting at mischief. “Oh, Sirius,” she said lightly, “I am a member of the Bck family. I’m married to the Heir Apparent.”
Sirius blinked, processing her words with visible shock. “You… you’re married to Harry?”
“Yes,” she said cheerfully, as though discussing the weather. “It was entirely actal, but quite legal.” Luna took a few steps forward, iing the room with a critical eye. “More importantly, this castle is in dreadful shape. How long has it been like this?”
Sirius, still reeling from her casual revetion, shook his head to clear it. “Decades. No one’s lived here since my great-grandfather’s time. Most of my family preferred the London townhouse. But…” He trailed off, a wistful note in his voice. “Even like this, it feels… like home.”
“Well, home needs a serious ing spell,” Luna said, her eyes gleaming with something that might have beeement—or perhaps magic itself.
Before Sirius could respond, the fire fred again, and two more figures tumbled out of the green fmes—Harry and Daphne, brushing soot from their cloaks as they stepped into the vast hall.
“Luna, why don’t you transform back?” Harry asked, gng around warily before fixing his eyes on her.
Without hesitation, Luna plied. Her shimmering blue hair faded to its usual pale blonde, her height diminished by a few inches, and her glowing silver eyes softened, returning to their familiar warm gold. The ethereal aura that had surrounded her moments ago faded, leaving behind the Luna they all kill etric, still otherworldly, but in a less overwhelming way.
Sirius blinked, dumbfounded by the transformation. “Wait… What was that? And why did she look like a goddess a minute ago?”
Harry scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Er… long story. Let’s just say Luna’s more than she seems.”
“A lot more,” Daphne added dryly, her sharp gaze sweeping the room before nding on Sirius. She gave him a polite nod. “Lord Bck.”
Sirius snorted. “Just Sirius, please. I’ve never been one for titles.” His eyes flicked back to Luna, clearly still grappling with what he had just witnessed. “You weren’t kidding when you said things had ged, were you, Harry?”
“Not in the slightest,” Harry replied, stepping forward to stand beside Luna. “We’ve got a lot to catch you up on. But first…” He gnced around the hall, noting the faded grandeur and disrepair. “This pce could use a bit of work.”
Luna smiled serenely. “I’ve already said as much. But it does have charm, don’t you think?”
“Wait? You met Harry before now?” Luna asks
“I visited him while he was in Azkaban to let him knoere getting him out.” Harry states
“Right, well I say we swear you in on our secrets a you out of this god forsaken try… Ah right Big G is dead kinda fot for a moment.” Luna states causing the three spectators to look at her in shock.
“Big G is dead?” Sirius repeated, his voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and shock. He turo Harry and Daphne, expeg them to share his rea, only to find them looking equally stunned.
“Wait, what?” Daphne said sharply, her eyes narrowing as she fixed Luna with an incredulous stare. “Are you telling us the God of the Bible is… gone? And you khis?” Causing the devil in disguise to flinch sharply.
Harry blirying to process what he had just heard. “Luna, whely were you pnning on telling us that?”
“Oh, it slipped my mind,” Luna said airily, twirling a lock of her now-blonde hair as though she had just remembered something trivial. “It’s not as dramatic as it sounds. He’s been gone for a while now. Heaven still funs… somewhat.”
“Somewhat?” Daphne echoed, her voice rising slightly. “Luna, that’s ly small news! If he’s gone, who’s running things up there?”
“Various angels and other beings,” Luna expined casually. “But without his direct presehey’ve been… well, less effective. The bance he upheld is gohat’s why things have gotten chaotic across the different realms.
“Okay, i think it's time I shared some of the secrets of the world, and have you all swear to secrecy,” Luna states
======Luna herself sat quietly in the library, a quill in hand as she scribbled down plex notes on magical theory. Unlike Harry and Daphne, who found themselves bogged down by the muure of schoolwork, she appeared entirely unbothered by it. After all, she had far greater s weighing on her mind—s that a simple end-of-year test couldn’t answer.
Home…
When Harry and Daphne joined her ter, she greeted them with a smile. “You two ready for the exams?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Harry muttered.
Daphne asked, “Do we still have to worry about Dumbledore meddling, or do you think he’s learned his lesson after what happe the Wizengamot?”
Luna’s smile didn’t falter. “Oh, he’s learned something, all right. Whether it’s the right lesson or not remains to be seen. He is currently trying and failing to track down Princess Faust. An Harry, are you seriously w about exams?”
Harry suddenly shrugs. “Not it would just be bothersome for Hermoio start b me to study again suddenly. So im just doing some extracurricur studying.”
