Night of the Dark Castle [Syzygy&SHARPii]

[Malicious Lullaby]

It was a couple months after finishing her seventh year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Luna decided to go on this little adventure or journey to uncover what the world had to offer; what the Wizarding world had to offer. She had always been a huge fan of rare magical creatures such as Testrals or Nargles, creatures that others would not know of or care for and it was her journey to uncover more. Creatures that may be very lightly profiled or non-existent to the world.

On that one very day during a very strenuous venture to seek out a Crup, her foot caught onto a muddy patch and it sent her rolling backward down the small hill, back down to the party she had just climbed, causing her to land on her stomach and face down in mud. It was a gloomy and wet day and while she was so close, she was still so far away. Pulling her face out of the mud, she spat out what came into her mouth and wiped the little mud off of her face, only to notice a shiny object. “Oh…shiny. Perhaps?” Then it flew away, revealing itself to be a particle with a water droplet. “No.” Standing, she dusted herself off, about to continue on her venture up to the Crup when she heard growling. That was definitely not a Crup. The whimsical little blonde, slowly turned and saw a pack of wolves; hungry wolves that saw her as this huge drumstick of meat that they could feast on.

“Oh no…” Thankfully there was a path to her right and without a second thought, Luna made a run for it. Never did she feel like she ran that fast and hard in her life but she was not about to succumb to being wolves’ dinner. In the view coming, she saw a large and beautiful castle. She could feel and hear the wolves coming closer and faster, their barks and howls reverberating in her ears like a harsh clap of thunder. Her heart was pounding in her chest and in her head and she was panting hard.

There was a small little bridge that lead up to the pathway up to the castle but in front of that bridge was a gate. “No…” It didn’t stop her. Somehow, she was going to get to that castle and away from those wolves because her life truly depended on it. Jumping into the gate, somehow and someway she was able to climb up it and managed to climb down once she was on the other side. Stepping back, she fell back onto her bottom, watching those wolves clawing and hitting at the gate, trying to get at her to no avail. Panting and calming down, Luna stood up, a little shakily and turned to really look at the castle. It was so beautiful and had this olden day feel to it and its structure that was mighty alluring. Slowly, she walked towards it, her breathing having come back to normal by now and her pulse normal as well. Arriving to the door, she curled her hand up into a fist and she knocked gently, praying there was someone there. Looking back, she saw the wolves laying out in front of the gate, as if they were so determined to make her their dinner.

 

[Syzygy]

Ah, the wolves have caught something.

The sky overhead was surprisingly picturesque, stained a dark orange by the light of the setting sun. The wolves seemed not to notice or care. Right as it began to seem as if there was nobody coming, as if the wolves were going to wait patiently for their meal, there was a sound at the door. The lock began to creak, then groan, as if it hadn't been used in some time. And then the door swung open.

The man inside looked scarcely older than Luna, handsome though somewhat pale as if he had recently taken ill. His hair was black and hung down to his shoulders, but his most striking feature was probably his eyes: they were a shade of amber rarely seen in humans, and seemed to catch the light in such a way that it looked like they were glowing. He was dressed confusingly; a wizard would probably have answered the door in a robe, and yet he was wearing a dark suit that had been out of fashion for at least a century.

He looked appropriately concerned at seeing a muddy, frightened young woman on his doorstep with wolves at the gate. "My god! What happened to you?" With a slight shake of the head he opened the door further and stepped aside, allowing Luna the opportunity to come in. "Quickly now! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

 

[Malicious Lullaby]

As the door opened, Luna looked at the man and her eyes went wide. She bit her lower lip and scratched the back of her head before she managed a somewhat smile. “Oh sorry. It’s just not your everyday occurrence of being chased to death by wolves.” She laughed slightly dryly, as she walked in slowly, almost wearily as if she was about to enter a jungle. For her, just living was like an adventure; perhaps she was like her deceased mother that way but for Luna it was exploring, rather than exploring interesting chemicals and potions.

Turning, she looked at the man and rest her hands in front of her, clasped together, her pleasant look on her face never fading. “Thank you so much. I hope it’s not an inconvenience.” Hanging from her shirt were her swirly-looking glasses that if put on, with them she could see interesting things that weren’t and couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. She had been curious about his aura to begin with the moment he opened the door and this explained it. “My my…” She let out a soft gasp, walking to him. “Such tiny little particles. I hear they are known to be kind of similar to Sprites but these are like enchanted cotton pieces. It’s fascinating and you’re surrounded by such dark clouds of them. May I ask why?”

Her high pitched soft and gentle voice was kind of an allure as she spoke. It didn't seem like someone like her would have that kind of voice but she did but it matched her whimsically persona and it was how she was. Luna was deeply fascinated by the wonders of this world and what had not yet been discovered or were low profile and he seemed like something she didn't know.

 

[Syzygy]

The thing that immediately stood out about the entrance hall was that it was very dark inside. All the windows were shuttered and only the bare minimum of lanterns had been lit, casting huge patches of shadow across the walls and floor that undulated slightly like living things. The ceiling was up so high that the walls simply seemed to vanish into darkness.

At first he wasn't quite sure how to react to her. Somehow he got the feeling that he had gotten off-script. But one doesn't live for several hundred years without learning how to improvise, so he simply favored her with a thin, roguish smile and shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't say," he said, voice low and even. "I've never been much for aura reading."

Then he tilted forward slightly, and extended his hand to Luna. Perhaps it was the way the light reflected off his eyes, but did they just glow? There was something to his voice as well; perhaps it was the baritone, or perhaps it was the slight hint of the supernatural in it. It wasn't a very strong compulsion, but there was definitely something that seemed to draw attention to his words. "How rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gavril." After a moment's pause he continued: "Would you like for me to have a bath drawn? You seem to have had quite a day."

 

[Malicious Lullaby]

Perhaps she was a touch eccentric but she never noticed. To her, it was normal. Looking at him, she took her glasses off slowly, still wondering exactly what he was since she was sure he was not human. It was not surprising in this world but she never thought she’d actually meet someone like him. Taking his hand, she looked at him and smiled gently. “A pleasure to meet you Gavril. I’m Luna Lovegood.”

“I’m still so very sorry for my intrusion. Those wolves…they won’t leave and I don’t understand it. I hope you don’t mind at all.” When he suggested a bath, she pursed her lips. “A bath does sound lovely. It has been a couple of days.” Though for some reason she felt so guilty for her intrusion. “I really hope this is not an imposition.” Though as easy as the guilt swarmed, her attention swept around her surroundings. It was so dark in this place with hardly any light. It was such a dark place it kind of gave her shivers but she was not about to be rude. Her eyes landed back on him, finding his eyes so incredibly intriguing. It was like…a glow.