The sleeping world was interwoven with midnight, which had softly settled over the nd with its eternal song of love and broken dreams.

  Armando Dippet sat in a plush armchair by one of the open windows of his private quarters. A faint smile graced the old man’s lips. He would cherish this day in his soul forever; it had been so beautiful to him. The young teacher and her little sister had pierced through his loneliness - it had been a strangely familiar feeling. Everything felt so effortless with them.

  ... and then there was Tom. The boy was very dear to his heart. Slowly, he stood up and walked to one of the cabinets, where he pulled open a drawer. A small, old, yellowed painting - memories of days long past, preserved from the depths of antiquity - stared back at him...Gently, his hands brushed over the infinitely familiar face. With the silent promise of yore still in his eyes, he reverently pushed the drawer shut once more.

  Humming softly to herself, Luna skipped through the plush grass. Above her, a deep dark midnight sky.It had taken a great deal of persuasion to make Menie let her go. In the young woman’s eyes, this boy was simply brazen, and she didn't like at all that Luna was once again meeting him so surreptitiously in the dead of night. But in the end, she had agreed.

  Moonlight made the ke sparkle. A tall figure stood not far from the shore.When she finally arrived, he turned toward her. "You're te come!", Without further ado, he pulled her with him toward the Forbidden Forest.

  Once they had crossed the tree line, Luna's excitement was almost irrepressible; she was so overjoyed.Then they reached the hidden clearing - their shared secret. Slowly, she let herself glide into the thick grass, her gaze lost in the infinite vastness of midnight. Then she closed her eyes and felt - felt how this strange, mysterious, and ancient energy flowed through every fiber of her being - just as if she had drunk from the waters of eternal life.

  Tom sat beside her in silence. He, too, took this power deep within himself - feeling how his power grew...It was as if they had stepped out of the river of time and into infinity.

  At some point - neither of them could say how much time had passed Tom suddenly started...

  "What is it?", Luna breathed softly, sitting up as well.

  It was silent - deadly silent. All the sounds of the forest had ceased, as if the world were holding its breath - turning away from the horror that y hidden...

  Uneasily, Luna looked around... but she could see nothing more, as a massive cloud swallowed the moonlight and shrouded the clearing in darkness.

  Tom reached absentmindedly for his wand...His wand? It wasn't there. Of course not, the realization seeped into his consciousness. He had wanted to show her today how to use magic without a wand. And so, Luna didn't have her wand with her either.

  "Damn it!" he hissed under his breath.

  From every direction, a faint snapping could be heard in the undergrowth. In this eerie silence, the sounds felt ten times louder.

  "Look...", Luna breathed, barely audible.Out of the darkness of the forest, glowing red eyes were fixed upon them, slowly - inch by inch - creeping closer....