Harry Potter and the Dovahkiin

Even though Ben knew exactly where the diary was and could retrieve it in minutes, he couldn't risk it—not in his current state.

With his magic acting up, he already had more than enough on his plate. The last thing he needed was to get too close to Voldemort's insidious soul fragment.

And speaking of soul fragments—that's where it all began. While devouring them had strengthened Ben's own soul, it also seemed to have fed whatever lingering traces of the body's former tenant still remained. Namely, his magic.

Well, that was his working theory, anyway. But at this point, the cat was out of the bag, and Ben figured he might as well let it chase some mice.

He chose not to recover the Diary for now—not just because he wasn't immune to its influence, but because he needed it. If all went well, it would open the Chamber of Secrets for him, solving a problem he'd been stuck on for a while. Parseltongue wasn't just 'snake language'—it didn't just allow communication with serpentine creatures but also granted the ability to command them. That little distinction meant his familiar, Karl, couldn't do the job for him.

And, well, there were a few other things that would be a lot more convenient with a giant basilisk slithering around the school. He'd just have to hope no one actually ended up dead. Well, not that he'd let it come to that.

Knock, knock.

"Is everything alright in there?" came an airy voice that Ben instantly recognised as Luna's.

"Uh, yeah. Just give me a minute," he called back, fumbling around in his storage space for a pair of scissors.

"You should really stop that," Luna said from outside the lavatory.

"Stop what?" Ben asked, struggling to cut through his overgrown hair.

"Lying, of course. It's not good for you," she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Ben sighed. Oh great, now she can read me through the door too. Just what I needed.

"I can't, actually," Luna added. Had he spoken that out loud? Or was she just good at answering thoughts before they were said? "But I can see your hair poking out from under the door."

"Oh," he said, stopping mid-snip. "And why exactly are you peeking under there?"

"Checking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, of course. You never know where they might turn up," she said without hesitation.

"Right. Of course," Ben muttered, deciding it was best not to question it further.

A pause. Then, gently, "Would you like me to help? I'm rather good at untangling things."

"N—Yes," Ben admitted, finally giving up. The scissors were useless, and he'd never cut his own hair before. At this point, he'd take all the help he could get.

Ben opened the door, and Luna tilted her head, eyes wide and curious as she studied him. From left to right, then back again.

"Your hair is getting quite wild," she announced. "I think it might be trying to escape."

Ben frowned. "What?"

"You need a haircut," she clarified. "And your eyebrows could use a little trimming too. But not to worry—Daddy let me cut his hair once before, so I'm practically an expert!"

Ben immediately questioned every decision that had led him to this moment.

Luna held out her hand expectantly. "Scissors, please."

"Great. Let's just get this over with," he said, handing her the scissors. In for a Knut, in for a Sickle.

"I'm on it!" Luna chirped, taking the scissors and getting straight to work. Snip, snip.

She was considerably smaller than Ben, which quickly became a problem. Tiptoeing around him, she tugged at his hair every time she reached up, yanking at the strands as she snipped away.

"Ow—are you sure you've done this before?" Ben asked warily.

"I'm almost sure," she said, pausing for a moment. "But it may have been a dream. Or a memory. Or a vision from the Wrackspurts. It's hard to say."

Ben groaned. "That's just—ow!" He winced as she pulled a little too hard.

"Sorry," she said breezily. "Daddy usually sits on the floor since I'm so small."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sitting on the floor," Ben muttered, but then he reached into his hat, pulled out a small stool, and sat down.

Luna froze mid-snip.

Her wide eyes grew even wider. "Did you just pull a stool out of your hat?"

Ben glanced at her. "Uh. Yeah?"

Luna let out a delighted gasp. "That's brilliant! Do you think if you reached in again, you might find a whole sitting room? Or a teapot? Oh, a baby dragon would be nice!"

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Of course that's your takeaway.'

Luna hummed thoughtfully. "You have checked for Nargles in there, haven't you?"

Ben just groaned and let her get back to work.

As the steady snip, snip of the scissors filled the small lavatory, Ben found himself relaxing again.

"So… you can read my mind, huh?" he asked, voicing the thought that had been nagging at him.

"I'm not reading your mind, you know. That would be rude," Luna replied, not missing a beat.

"Then how do you always know when I'm lying?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Oh, that's easy. Your ears go all red," she said matter-of-factly.

Ben blinked. "No, they don't. Do they?" He frowned, confused. "I've never noticed that before."

"That's probably because you don't have eyes in the back of your head," she said. "Most people don't, though I've always thought it would be useful."

Ben huffed a quiet laugh as she continued snipping away at his hair. Silence settled between them again, broken only by the soft snip, snip of the scissors.

"So… you're not gonna ask how my hair ended up like this?" Ben asked, hoping to ease the quiet.

"Oh, I've been wondering," Luna admitted. "I thought about asking, but sometimes hair has secrets it doesn't want to share."

Ben exhaled a small chuckle. "Yeah, well, mine's got a lot of them."

Soon enough, Luna was done with his hair. It was shorter than usual, but Ben didn't mind. At least now he could see properly.

"Alright," Luna said, inspecting her work. "Now, how long would you like to keep your eyebrows?"

Ben blinked. "Uh… what?"

"Your eyebrows," she repeated as if different eyebrow lengths were all the rage these days. "How long do you want them?"

"Um… short? Normal?" Ben said, not entirely sure how to answer that.

"Hmm. A shame," she murmured before trimming them back to a reasonable length. "There, all done."

Ben turned to the mirror and breathed a sigh of relief. No disasters. He actually looked… decent.

"Thanks, Luna. You're a lifesaver," he said with a smile.

"It was my pleasure. I enjoyed it almost as much as counting clouds," she said dreamily.

Ben chuckled and reached into his hat, pulling out a giant peach. "Here. As a token of my thanks."

Luna's eyes sparkled as she took the fruit, but then she peered at his hat with curiosity. "Are there any Gurdyroots in there?"

"No, unfortunately not," Ben admitted.

"Hmm. A shame," she mused. "Though it does make you wonder what else could be growing in there."

Then, without hesitation, she reached into her own bag, pulled out a Gurdyroot, and handed it to him.

Ben stared at it, then at her. "You just carry these around?"

"Of course," she said simply. "You never know when you'll need one."

And with that, she twirled once, tucked the peach under her arm like a prized treasure, and skipped away—sideways.

Ben watched her go, wondering if he was meant to ask why.

-End of Chapter-

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