Chapter 21: On the Road
"What's wrong, Lyra?" Luna asked curiously, looking at the hesitant girl before her.
"N-Nothing..." Lyra really didn't want Luna to know that she was currently debating whether or not to hit Newt Scamander with an Avada Kedavra.
He was, without a doubt, an enemy of Lord Grindelwald, and he had repeatedly ruined the Lord's plans. Lady Vinda had even said she'd love to torture Newt with the Cruciatus Curse for an hour, and then use the Killing Curse to desecrate his corpse for another...
As a loyal follower of Lord Grindelwald, she really should uphold Lady Vinda's wishes... but...
Is it... bad... to kill someone the first time you hang out with a friend?
Besides, Lyra had never killed anyone before... So, maybe it's better to just torture him with the Cruciatus Curse first?
But then again, no one uses the Cruciatus Curse the first time they hang out with a friend, either... And Miss Lovegood seemed to have a good relationship with Newt.
This is so frustrating...
"Are you sure it's nothing?" Luna asked, tilting her head. "I feel like Lyra has something on her mind..."
Miss Lovegood is too perceptive. And she's calling me 'Lyra'... Lyra pressed her lips together, feeling a little embarrassed. Besides her parents, no one had ever called her that.
"N-No... it's really nothing... Miss Lovegood..."
"Why are you calling me 'Miss Lovegood'?" Luna pressed her lips together, then reached out and gave one of Lyra's pointed ears a gentle tug. Over the girl's resulting squeak, she said with a laugh, "Don't friends just call each other by their first names?"
"Fr... Ah..." Lyra stumbled back a few steps, dodging Luna's hand. "Are... are Miss Lovegood and I... friends?"
"Of course," Luna said, a smile playing on her lips. She giggled, walking ahead. "Aren't we visiting Mr. Scamander together? That's something only friends do."
"I... I see..." Lyra felt a thrill of excitement. I... I have a second friend already...
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either," Luna said with a shrug. "After all, you're my first friend, Lyra."
"Ah... that is, if you don't count Daddy and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack I haven't met yet."
So I'm ranked... behind a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?
But even so, Lyra was happy. Even if her second friend did always like to tug on her ears and hair.
But as for calling her 'Luna'... She felt she still needed to work up to that.
"Lyra's hair is so pretty," Luna said, taking a quick step forward and then crouching by the side of the path.
"R... Really?" Lyra asked instinctively.
"Lyra, come quick... there are grasshoppers... They're a sign that the Nargles are about to appear!"
"Gr... Grasshoppers?"
"Ah... we'd better hurry! Nargles are very unfriendly, even if we do have our Butterbeer necklaces..." Luna said, picking up her pace.
"Ah... right!" Lyra felt she was having trouble keeping up with Luna's rhythm. Is it because I've spent too little time talking to people?
She clenched her fists. I have to try harder to interact with people. Not only to make more friends, but also for Lord Grindelwald's great...
Huh? Where did Miss Lovegood go?
Ah... she had, at some point, run off to a nearby stream and was filling a bottle with water.
"Mr. Scamander will have a great need for this clear stream water," Luna said quietly as she filled the bottle. "You might need some, too."
"Wh... Why?" Lyra asked, pressing her lips together.
"To wash the filth off you, of course," Luna said with a smile, looking at Lyra's perfectly clean, new robes.
"Filth..." Lyra didn't really understand what Miss Lovegood was talking about. It was like this sometimes—she would suddenly say things that sounded very strange.
It made Lyra feel that this eleven-year-old girl was truly... special.
But Luna didn't seem to want to explain, or maybe it was just an off-hand joke. She tightened the cap and stuffed the bottle into the strange little bag she was carrying.
"I made it myself from Dirigible Plums," she said, seeming to notice Lyra's curious gaze. "Do you want one?"
"Ah... no, no, that's okay," Lyra quickly shook her head. She clutched the necklace she was wearing. "I'm fine with this."
It was the necklace Luna had given her, made from a Butterbeer cork. Lyra had thought for a long time about whether to wash it, but she felt that if she did, the wonderful, fragrant Butterbeer smell would be gone.
"It suits you," Luna said with a smile, then abruptly changed the subject. "Oh, I saw you in Diagon Alley yesterday."
"You were with Director Scrimgeour."
"Huh?" Lyra froze, then quickly said, "Th-That wasn't me... I don't know..."
"But it was you," Luna said, looking at Lyra seriously. "You were wearing a silver mask, right?"
Seeing Lyra, who was now frozen in shock, she gave a light laugh. Her voice took on its sing-song quality. "I'd recommend you stay away from Mr. Scrimgeour and the Aurors."
"Because Mr. Scrimgeour is actually a vampire..." Luna whispered. "And the Aurors are always plotting to give people gum disease."
A vampire and gum disease?
Mr. Scrimgeour did seem a bit like a vampire... And the Aurors really weren't good people...
Wait, that's not the point! How did Miss Lovegood recognize me? Even... even Lady Vinda didn't see through my disguise...
"Of course I could tell it was you," Luna said, seemingly guessing Lyra's thoughts. She skipped ahead on the path. "Why wouldn't I be able to recognize my own friend?"
So it's because... we're friends?
But... if she can still recognize me at Hogwarts... Lyra couldn't help but cover her ears.
If Luna greets me in the middle of class... I'll definitely faint on the spot...
Just as she was thinking this, she realized Luna had stopped walking.
"We're here, Lyra," she said, pointing to a small cottage in front of them.
"This is Mr. Scamander's house." She then moved to stand slightly in front of Lyra. "Daddy told me Mr. Scamander has raised Billywigs. You'd better keep that necklace on tight."
"Ah... okay..." Lyra pressed her lips together, her heart suddenly filling with dread. It wasn't because of the Billywigs, of course. It was because she was about to meet one of Lord Grindelwald's greatest enemies...
Dumbledore was already so terrifying... Newt... must be... he must be just as frightening, right?