Breaking Fast

Chapter 4: Breaking Fast

"They derailed the plot and bungled the side story," said Cho.

The editor nodded. "Even though Luna is a minor character, they should bring out the moral fibre she possess."

Cho sat at the typewriter but gave up. "It's beyond redeeming. It's a mess."

"Grab your purse, love," said the editor. "We'll get an inspirational drink and go somewhere to watch the waves pound against rocks."

"Inspired by the resistance of the cliffs, our own fibre will become tough enough to pound sense into the story," said Cho.

It was later in the morning when Biff and Theo arrived and saw the blank pieces of paper.

"The girls are having trouble with where they took the relationship," said Theo.

"Perhaps some day they will find the Scroll of the Perfect Plot," said Biff.

"They created the problem; they can deal with it," said Theo. "We'll advance the story line."

How often foreboding and prophecy come in our dreams.

Green cloak: You seek to save your life.

Black cloak: I ask if you wish to save your clan. The pursuit is expensive.

Green cloak: We have plenty.

Black cloak: You waste your substance. Rise above the past. Accept the offer.

Green cloak: You believe you can live with yourself after such an offer.

Black cloak: I have already lived with much.

Green cloak: We will continue. We have an operative.

Black cloak: I assume female.

Green cloak: The task requires the utmost in dedication.

Black cloak: It will require the utmost in sacrifice.

Green cloak: Our advantage. You can no longer boast of having the same.

Jonathan threw off his cloak of bed covers and let his feet feel the shock of the cold, stone floor. He splashed his face and stared into the mirror reflecting the morning gloom and concluded the island's rising damp was infecting his spirit. He made his way to breakfast.

It was also morning at the law enforcement office.

"Hermione wants us to investigate someone," said Ron, "some bloke that Luna is infatuated with."

"Luna?" asked Harry.

"I can picture it in my mind," said Ron. "Luna is thinking this bloke is talking to her, listening to her, taking her seriously. He goes looking for wildlife with her; he asks about her life; he keeps glancing at her boobs. Luna is thinking this bloke really, really likes her. She is thinking, oh wow, we can be friends."

"The ultimate female," said Harry.

"At any rate," said Ron, "we're not going to get any peace until we check him out."

"Throw the ball back into Hermione's court," said Harry. "Ask her to pump Luna about the bloke. It should be easy. She probably can't stop gushing about her new found friend."

Back at the castle breakfast table, Jonathan was sipping tea when Luna arrived.

"Jonathan, what happened?" she asked, sitting beside him.

"Just a feverish dream," he said, staring straight ahead.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye. Skippy had his head in Luna's lap. She was petting it reassuringly.

"You need something healthy," she said.

Please, not bangers and mash, he thought, but Luna conjured an orange and suspended it in midair while movements of her wand peeled it. She gave half to him. He watched a girl eat an orange. No suggestive movement of lips around an inserted object. Straightforward consumption. It spoke of normality and stability. But not for him.

Luna pet Skippy and sighed. Skippy sighed. Perhaps not for him either.

The restoration of lost volumes continued with Luna no longer working on the opposite side of the library. At noon, she declared she was going to meet a friend for lunch. As she and Hermione waited for their sandwiches, Luna coaxed her friend into talking about the ins and outs of dealing with an administration. For Hermione, the opportunity to unburden herself to someone who would keep confidences was too tempting, and Luna spent the next hour vicariously living what appeared to be a more normal existence.

Meanwhile, Jonathan, enjoying a pork cutlet and talking to Alastor and Filius, was thinking that if Luna was not going to keep her distance, then he could no longer read the scroll in the library. He was translating the section on using the Void as a source of power and wondering how Anglo-Saxon wizards came by the notion of utter extinguishment.

Later, Ron and Harry evinced disappointment at Hermione's lapse in intelligence gathering.

'Do we really care?" asked Harry when they were back in the office.

"We were able to put Hermione off balance for a while," said Ron. "Count our blessings."

"You're right, mate," said Harry, "but I don't think our luck will hold."

“We may not be able to get out of the hole the girls dug for the story,” said Theo, “but we can romp around in it.”

“Speaking of holes, it’s lunch time,” said Biff.

It was a short time later, and Cho was suppressing a scream. The young writer, however, quickly regained her equilibrium in the face of a greater need. The editor’s head was buried in her hands and she was declaring that she would never be able to face a blank sheet of paper again.

“Brace up,” urged the novice writer. “We have to exhibit the same fortitude we expect from our heroines.”

"There's always tomorrow," said the editor.

Some time later, the boys returned to find the manuscript as they left it and the girls closeted in the editor's office.

"What we wrote must have affected them deeply," said Theo. "They're busy putting together a suitable follow-up."

“Aye, lad,” said Biff, "but we can't wait for perfection."

Like leopards circling a fence around antelopes, others were clawing in frustration at obstacles and barriers.

“I need your help,” said Hermione, sipping her sherry in an out-of-the-way pub. “Luna’s not thinking straight, if she ever did, and Ronald can’t see what’s right in front of him.”

“I realize we need to know more,” said Ginny, “but I don’t know what I can do.”

Hermione slammed her glass down. “I know, some relaxing social event, some event that provides a lot of free time for couples. Could we arrange a double date?”

Hermione went on to say that since Luna might be suspicious of her motives, Ginny had to carry out the plan. Ginny was hesitant. She and her current boyfriend were beyond the double-date stage, and she didn’t want to regress. And besides, who would they get for Luna. It occurred to Hermione that a midsummer festival was coming up. There would be singing and dancing and displays of new spells and shows of new plants and unusual animals. Couples could spend hours at the event, and Luna would certainly talk about her partner at work. The new plants and animals made the fourth person obvious. The two of them would work on Neville Longbottom.

In another corner of the pub, hooded figures were sipping their beer and contemplating their lack of success.

“He’s gone to ground.”

“We’ve searched everywhere a powerful warlock would go.”

“He’s at some obscure place of no consequence, and there’s no shortage of those in Britain.”