Chapter 26: The Promise
"Are you about to succeed?" Luna asked, pressing her lips together as she sat carefully beside Lyra, just as she had for the past few days.
"Mm..." Lyra nodded gently and slowly picked up her wand.
Over the past few days, Lyra had finished engraving all the magic formations. The Energy Storage Formation allowed the book to draw its own magical power; multiple Spatial Formations gave each page its own independent storage space—one page was even as large as the Great Hall; then came the Protection Formation, which made the book immune to ordinary fire and water, and even resistant to some spells.
In addition to those, there was a Locking Formation, ensuring that only Lyra herself, and those she permitted, could open the book.
The combination of four formations... was far more complex than any formation Lyra had attempted before. This was all thanks to Newt's suitcase.
Lyra instinctively glanced at the formation diagram, which was now wrinkled and creased from being consulted so many times.
And now, all that remained was to connect the various formations.
To make the Energy Storage Formation provide power to the others, they had to be linked together, all while being careful not to interfere with the formations already engraved.
This was, perhaps, the most difficult part of formation crafting.
Fortunately, Lyra was used to formation work. She felt as if she were back fifty years ago, or even better than her time at Durmstrang... After all, back then she had to deal with classmates bothering her every day...
"Phew..." Lyra shook her head, forcing herself to calm down. She habitually patted her cheeks and then waved her wand.
The small metal knife floated up again and, under the guidance of her wand, descended to make one cut after another.
Finally, as Lyra's wand stopped at the very tail of the final formation, the entire book cover made a soft sound.
Hum!
A blue light immediately flared up, igniting first from the central Energy Storage Formation, spreading rapidly across the entire cover, and then, slowly, fading back into silence.
"Success..." Lyra let out a long breath, an instinctive smile appearing on her face.
It had been difficult, but she'd managed it relatively easily. The price was that she hadn't left the room in days, but it was all thanks to Miss Lovegood.
Lyra looked over at Luna, finding her completely engrossed in the book, even though the formation's light had faded and was now hidden.
"Do... Do you want... to try it?" Lyra asked, pressing her lips together.
She was more than happy to let her friend be the first to test it.
"Of course." Luna nodded immediately, seemingly without a shred of doubt in Lyra. She slowly picked up the book and gently flipped it open.
A faint rift immediately appeared, gradually covering the dense text on the page.
"..." Lyra watched Luna, suddenly feeling a pang of regret. What if something went wrong... What if Miss Lovegood was trapped inside the book...
But Luna didn't hesitate. She reached her hand directly into the faint rift.
Swoosh.
Luna vanished in a flash of light, making Lyra tremble.
It... it makes that much noise?
Lyra let out a small breath and asked, "Miss Lovegood?"
"Are you... okay?"
"..."
The only response was a long silence.
Oh... oh no!
Lyra instinctively felt something was wrong. Had she really trapped her second-ever friend inside the book?
And that was the best-case scenario!
What if it was some kind of endless abyss inside...
Lyra didn't dare to think. She thrust her own hand into the rift, and immediately felt a pulling sensation.
Please be okay! Lyra prayed to Merlin, Nerida Vulchanova (the founder of Durmstrang), and Lord Grindelwald as she let the force pull her in.
Swoosh!
A silver light flashed. Lyra's body suddenly felt light, and she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut. The next moment, she felt her feet touch solid ground.
"..." She fearfully opened her eyes and looked around.
She was standing on a green meadow. In the distance, a range of high mountains stretched... It was a place she knew all too well... Nurmengard.
Or rather, the view from Nurmengard fifty years ago.
After she learned of Lord Grindelwald's defeat, Lyra had tried to Apparate back, but had failed. The Ministry's Aurors, as bumbling as they were, wouldn't have left the former Zauberpartei "lair" accessible.
And Lyra, who had never left Nurmengard, had never known its precise location anyway.
And so... referencing her memories, Lyra had replicated the view from Nurmengard... The one visible from the room in the small, narrow spire of the castle.
But none of that mattered... Where was Miss Lovegood?
Lyra scanned her surroundings and spotted a flash of gold in the grass.
It was Miss Lovegood. She was lying in the meadow, her eyes closed, perfectly still.
What... what's wrong?
Lyra gripped her wand, flicked it, and Apparated to Luna's side. The next second, a hand grabbed her ankle.
"You got here fast, Lyra..." Luna said, her eyes still closed, in her usual sing-song voice.
"I thought... I was afraid... something..." Lyra realized she had either been tricked, or... Miss Lovegood had simply not heard her.
Either way, her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she looked down.
As she did, she met Luna's now-open eyes.
"Lyra's eyes are like the divination sapphire my mother used to have," Luna said slowly.
"I... they're not..." Lyra instinctively tried to look away, but this only resulted in Luna tickling her ankle.
"Eek!" Lyra tried to pull away, but her foot slipped, and she tumbled onto the grass, landing right next to Luna.
"I slipped, too," Luna said, her eyes closed once more. "And then I realized it's very comfortable lying here."
"Where is this?" Luna asked.
"Germany..." Lyra said in a small voice. At least, it was Germany before she lost consciousness.
"After I find the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, I want to come here, too." Luna turned her head to look at Lyra. As she did, Lyra realized just how close they were.
Feeling awkward, she shrank back, putting a little distance between them.
But Luna didn't seem to mind. "You have to bring me here then, Lyra." Her gaze was exceptionally serious, lacking any of its usual dazed quality.
"Of... of course..." Lyra said quietly. She desperately wanted to tell Luna that this was Nurmengard, Lord Grindelwald's great fortress... Maybe she should just recruit Miss Lovegood into the Zauberpartei...
"Then it's a promise." Luna nodded, turning her gaze back to the sky.
"Are those stars magic, too?"
"Mmhm." Lyra nodded softly, also glancing up at the stars.
These stars, of course, did not belong to Nurmengard. They belonged to Lyra's other home.
The one she could never return to.
"So pretty," Luna laughed, her voice like wind chimes. "Maybe I should draw them?"
"Now?" Lyra asked instinctively.
"Of course not," Luna shook her head. "Now, we should just appreciate them."
"Appreciate... them?" Lyra nodded thoughtfully.
Just like that, the two of them lay on the grass, watching the sky for a long time, until a voice sounded from outside the book.
"Miss Hamilton, perhaps you should be getting up now."
"D-D-D-D-Dumbledore?!" Lyra scrambled to her feet.