Crimson Moon

As Harry and Luna descended into the Chamber of Secrets, the temperature dropped noticeably, the dampness of the walls becoming more apparent. Whether it was from the age of the Chamber or the water trickling down from the bathroom above was unclear. They moved deeper into the underbelly of Hogwarts, past ancient aqueducts and a network of what looked like dangerously outdated lead pipes that fed the castle's water supply

Luna looked at Harry and the boy looked back.

Luna glanced at Harry, who met her gaze.

“I’m not sure it’s safe to drink the water here,” Luna commented, her voice thoughtful but tinged with amusement.

Harry followed her eyes to the pipes, then glanced over at Daphne, whose expression of growing horror betrayed her thoughts. Clearly, she was beginning to suspect that these pipes might be part of the wizarding world's bigger problems.

“We're probably going to have to fix that later, aren’t we? You know, as heirs to the castle?” Harry asked, his tone half-serious.

Daphne’s jaw dropped slightly. “Wait... you two own the castle?”

“More or less,” Luna replied, waving off the technicality as they reached the towering stone doors of the Chamber. She turned to Harry, her eyes gleaming with excitement and an unmistakable touch of bloodlust. “Dear, would you do the honors?”

Harry didn’t need to be asked twice. With a hiss of Parseltongue, the ancient doors creaked open, revealing the dark, cavernous space within. Without missing a beat, Luna darted ahead, sprinting into the Chamber where the legendary basilisk awaited. The air thrummed with the presence of something powerful in her wake.

Daphne watched, wide-eyed, as Luna’s magic subtly radiated from her. "Holy crap... she has a ton of magic,” she muttered under her breath.

“Shall we?” Harry asked, extending a hand to her.

Daphne hesitated, then smiled slightly, taking his hand. “Let’s not let her have all the fun.”

Harry chuckled as they ventured deeper into the shadows. Ahead, Luna’s cheerful voice rang out: “Here snakey, snakey, snakey!”

The ground began to rumble ominously, signaling the arrival of a very large, very irritated basilisk.

“We’re going to die,” Daphne whispered, her voice trembling.

“Daphne,” Luna’s voice called back from the darkness, “I thought you’d learned by now—dying is for noobs!”

Daphne blinked, thoroughly confused. “Why is a witch talking about video games? Electronics don’t work here!”

When they caught up with Luna, she was standing at the entrance of the antechamber, a Walkman held high above her head, a mischievous smile on her face. I’m Still Standing by Elton John blasted through the headphones as she bobbed to the beat, preparing herself for the fight.

Harry doubled over with laughter at the sheer absurdity of it all, while Daphne stared in disbelief.

“I would’ve thought Ajuka would’ve figured out how to make electronics work around magic by now,” Luna said casually. “If you want to set up a deal, just let me know. Could be useful.”

With that, she popped the headphones on and charged into the antechamber, disappearing in a blur of motion. The ground continued to shake as the basilisk drew closer.

Daphne turned to Harry, exasperated. “She’s completely mad… and I think I’m in love. Is that how you feel?”

“A little bit, yes,” Harry said, grinning.

Luna’s voice echoed through the Chamber: “Engarde, ye foul beastie!”

Suddenly, the entire floor vibrated with a pulse of magical energy, followed by an ominous silence.

Daphne’s face paled. “Uh, is she going to be okay?”

The sound of Luna’s voice echoed back faintly: “Oi! No running away, ye cur!”

The door in front of them bulged outward for a split second, before settling back into place.

“She’ll be fine,” Harry assured her, though there was a flicker of concern in his eyes.

Daphne frowned. “Doesn’t the basilisk have an instant death gaze? You know, the whole 'look it in the eyes and die' thing?”

“I’m not sure that could actually kill her,” Harry mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

There was another tremor, followed by the sound of cracking stone. Then, all was still.

“We should probably check on her,” Daphne said, walking toward the stone door. She reached out and touched it gently.

The door collapsed instantly, having been weakened by the short but intense fight. As the dust settled, Harry and Daphne could finally see Luna. Her eyes glowed a vivid red, her lips tinged with a sickly green, her teeth into the hide of the now-defeated basilisk.

Daphne’s eyes widened. “Luna’s a vampire?”

Harry examined the scene calmly. “After reading that book, I think it’s more likely the thestral traits coming out in her human form.”

Luna lifted her head, wiping her mouth with a triumphant grin. "Snake's down. Who’s hungry?"

Commonnerfer

It's a bit shorter than I wanted I have had a long week and weekend. Goodnews is my grandfather just survived open heart surgy and now on hopefully a short path to recovery... Its hard to know, I wanted to do Luna's perspective of this fight but I had neither the time nor energy to put that together for this chapter sadly. I do not know if I wish to revisit this fight I would rather continue on with the story.