For a heartbeat, she stood there, gazing into the dark corridors where he had vanished, before continuing on her own way—her thoughts drifting far afield.

  The evening had passed, and the night had gently awakened. The bright moonlight filtered through the arched windows of the castle, covering the nd in a shroud of mystery.

  Menie was just pcing a pte of sandwiches and a carafe of cold peach nectar on the table when Luna returned from her little stroll her head, as always, in the clouds.Dreamily, she leaned against the door. "Well, where have your thoughts wandered off to?", the young teacher asked amusedly.

  "I beg your pardon?", Luna looked at her, completely startled out of her reverie.

  "What is it that captures your attention so much that you forget everything around you once again?", she asked again.

  "Oh! Well, I’ve just had a very strange encounter. As I was leaving the Hufflepuff quarters, I met a boy down in the corridors...", her gaze lost itself somewhere in the room.

  "And?", Menie’s curiosity was now fully piqued.

  "He... I... I was dancing, just like that day when you put on that beautiful song."

  Menie remembered vividly the moment Luna had spun around her own axis with closed eyes and waving hands. She had looked quite droll indeed.

  "Well," Luna continued."He very gently pced his fingertips upon mine and then interced them with my fingers, so that I had to stop... and as quickly as the gesture had come, he released me again and vanished with an apology into the darkness of the castle."

  "Oh!", the young woman let out, more than surprised. "Well, since I only arrived here during the summer holidays myself, I don't really know how it is with the students. Perhaps there are some who stay here during the break. But it is strange. In all the time I’ve been here, I haven't run into a single student. And the Headmaster didn't mention any students staying at Hogwarts at the moment either."

  Luna nodded and sank onto the soft sofa. Menie handed her a goblet of cool juice and sat down beside her.

  "Eat something," she urged Luna, but the girl shook her head vehemently, absent mindedly tugging at her dress.

  "Well, I suppose that means another midnight snacking raid," Menie remarked, but Luna shook her head again.

  "I’m not hungry," she mumbled softly.

  "Oh, dear me!", Menie noted, leaving the rest unspoken.

  Already wearing her nightgown, Luna sat on the windowsill and watched the moon drenched ndscape. The hooting of an owl announced the approaching midnight - the hour of secrets. At least, that was how Luna had always felt. Thus, it was not rare for her to secretly hop out of bed at night and enjoy that special hour in solitude and silence. And more than once, she had even slipped out of the house...

  The green light of the mps bathed the room in a diffuse glow. Stretched out on his bed in the boys' dormitory, Tom y watching the ring on his finger, tracing its contours again and again with a gentle touch.

  That ring was a part of him - a part of his history - from the vastness of the past, it had endured all the way to this time, to him...An indescribable feeling flowed through his veins...

  With its eternal song of humanity’s secret longings, midnight had settled over the world.

  Quiet footsteps echoed against the walls of the corridors. Luna had thrown on one of her summer dresses and padded out. Menie, meanwhile, had dozed off over one of her novels.Finally, she was outdoors above her, the infinite night. Barefoot, she ran across the soft grass, spinning in circles while gazing at the sky; it was indescribably beautiful.Skipping, she ran down to the ke and sat down. As if the moonlight had bled into the water, the surface had merged with the light. She had rarely seen anything more beautiful... it was a moment of eternity.