《Bonds of Gold (HP Fanfiction)》


 Chapter 1 - The Meeting

    Luna sat huddled in the corner of her room. Her father, once again, not home to care for his nine year old daughter. When mother was still around, she never noticed how wrong his long absences were. Now, with the weight of witnessing her mother''s death, and the loneliness settling in, she had to find constant excuses to keep forgiving him.


    Alone and in her head most of the time, she kept replaying her father''s howl of pain when coming home and finding his wife dead. It was the day that her world turned for the worse, but also, the day of clarity. She discovered just how messed up the world is.


    She had to survive though, so she took inspiration from the one thing her father was truly good at. Escaping reality. Finding solace in imagination and creatures of myth. It also helped keep away the connections that came with such risk.


    Since her mother''s death, she''s isolated herself in her family home. Pretending to be on grand adventures with her father, or atleast, the idea of a father she had in her head.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "...Luna..."


    Luna sprang up in surprise. It sounded like a young boy, one she didn''t recognize. Although, she didn''t know a lot of people in general, she knew it wasn''t one of the Weasleys.


    Slightly scared, she slowly made her way down the stairs and outside, where she thought she heard the voice. The voice calling her name again confirmed her suspicion.


    Once outside, she immediately spotted him. He stood feet away from her porch, facing her with a welcoming smile. She had to fight the urge of smiling back, but kept hold of her caution and stayed on the porch while addressing him.


    "Who are you?"


    The boy''s smile seemed to multiply and she had to force herself not to go into a daze. It was hard, because she had never met someone quite so... pretty. She knew it wasn''t the right way to describe a male, but it was the only description she could come to. He had long silver hair, tied into a pony tail, with feminine features in perfect symmetry. All those were beautiful in their own right, but what really captured the image was his pale violet eyes. They seemed to shine and have flakes of the universe swirling in them.


    "Hello Ms. Lovegood. My name is Esper." He took a bow and while he was rising, he held out a hand to her. "And I''ve come to take you on an adventure."

 Chapter 2

    Professor McGonagall hurried her way through the halls, panic and surprise clearly visible on her face. This year seemed to be purposefully trying to test her heart and how much it can take. The year ended with Hogwarts newest celebrity taking security into their own hands and now this...


    She finally made it to the Headmaster''s office and started frantically knocking.


    "Albus! Albus! We have a problem!" It was rare to hear such a lack of composure from the Professor, so Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, quickly let her in.


    "Minerva, my dear. Please breathe and tell me what happened."


    McGonagall complied, but not without a glare, for what she didn''t know, but it''s always a safe bet to blame the Headmaster. Once she got her breath under control, she shared the news.


    "Albus, I just got back from checking the roster, and there''s been two new additions, though we''re only a week away from the start of the term."


    Albus peeked out from his glasses, but otherwise stayed quiet. The twinkle of curiosity was unmistakable though.


    "The girl, Albus. She''s on the list."


    "The girl?" Albus questioned, but it seemed to come to him a second later. His whole countenance became serious. "Notify her father at once, then get Professor Snape. I want you to trace her and bring her here as soon as possible. Hopefully by time Mr. Lovegood is here. Have Professor Snape accompany you."


    McGonagall gave a hard nod and quickly went to the door.


    "Minerva." Albus called, freezing McGonagall in place. She turned back towards him.


    "What was the other name?" McGonagall had to think for a second, with all the commotion she had forgotten there were two additions, not one.


    "One I don''t recognize, so possibly a Muggle-born, although I don''t know why he was only added now."


    "There''s most likely a connection. The name, my dear." He gently reminded.


    "Esper Vallispear."


    As soon as the name sounded, the Headmaster made the most expressive face McGonagall has seen in a long time. Surprise.


    "Is there something wrong, Albus?" The Headmaster quickly got himself under control.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "Minerva... I want you to be careful when going to find Ms. Lovegood. If this Esper Vallispear is with her..." His face contorted, to what, McGonagall could not tell. It looked like fear, but McGonagall was quick to deny it. "Do not provoke him."


    "Albus... do you know this Esper Vallispear?"


    "No. No, my dear. I know of his family." He folded his arms on his desk in front of him. "A family with members that have been around since before the Founders."


    McGonagall appeared confused from the confession. "There are a lot of families originated from before the Founders, Albus."


    "Minerva... Hallia Vallispear was born in 523."


    "Yes?"


    "She''s still alive."


    *********


    Luna glared at Esper, a pout tugging at her lips. It was a threat she had learned worked well on him. He could never say no when she pouted.


    "I''m sorry, Luna, but I had planned to take you home last year." He smiled wryly. "One last adventure, okay? Then, I have to take you back."


    Luna fought the tears and looked down so he wouldn''t see her face.


    "I... I just don''t want to be alone." She whispered, but Esper clearly heard her. He moved forward and lifted her chin so they were looking into each others eyes.


    "Whoever said you''ll be alone? I''ll be going with you. Remember what I told you when we first met?" Luna brightened at him going with her. She was under the impression that he would drop her off and leave. If there''s one thing she''s learn about Esper, it''s that he never stays in one place for long.


    Memorys of their first meeting played in her head.


    "You''ll never be alone now. For we are destined to each other." He smirked at the time. "You couldn''t get rid of me, even if you wanted to." It was a sweet memory that she held dear. It blew away her doubts of being worthy of love and making connections.


    "Yes, I remember."


    "Hold them close to your heart then. There isn''t a chance I''ll leave you alone." She playfully glared at him, but let her head move forward. Forehead to forehead, she stared into his eyes.


    "You better remember those words as well." She whispered to him. Not giving him time to reply, she quickly lifted herself and turned away.


    "Alright, where are we going next?" Her imagination started making her excited. "Perhaps a dragon? The one in China was beautiful. Ooo, maybe we can finally find a Crumple-Horned Snotkack!" She turned back to him with a smile.


    "It''s called a Yolipog and it can be found in Egypt."


    "Ooo, what can it do?" She asked while moving and sidling up to him.


    "It raises the dead." He said before they disappeared.


    ....


    Shortly after they disappeared, a loud pop came from the spot they were just at. Two figures could be seen from the smoke, one Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape. Professors and Head of Houses at the school of Hogwarts for Wizardary and Witchcraft.


    McGonagall looked around the area, then back down to the book in her hands. A frown marred her face.


    "We just missed them." She said with bitterness. Snape too frowned, but it wasn''t anything new for him.


    "Perhaps we should wait for them to show at Hogwarts." He drawled. "We''ve missed them two times now, and I''m sure Mr. Lovegood is wrecking the Headmasters office at this point."


    "Professor Snape..." She said in a tone of warning, not in the mood. She knew he just didn''t want to be doing this, but when it came to danger Professor Snape is a reliable backup.


    "We''ll try again." She said as she started to trace them once again through the roster. Snape just sighed.

 Chapter 3

    Esper dove, taking Luna with him, behind a pillar as arrows flew over their head. They had searched quite a many of Egyptian tombs before finally finding the Yolipog in the tomb of Horus, a rich merchant when alive.


    The creature was in total contrast to it''s apparent ability of raising the dead. Relatively small at three feet, it looked like a baby kangaroo, only with bigger ears, a shorter snout, and purple coloring. It was adorable.


    And while it did indeed raise many undead after they found it, neither Esper, nor Luna, were in any panic. Actually, Luna had one of the brightest smiles she''s ever had, since it was the first time Esper has let her confront one of the creatures. He usually made her stay back while he subdued them for her to later interact with. This time though, she had her own wand to help.


    He had gotten it for her on her last birthday, though she hadn''t had the chance to use it, other than practicing. A beech wand of 10-inches, with a pheonix feather core. It was beautiful, with it''s engravings of tulips running along its'' length.


    "Do you wish to take on the Yolipog, or the undead?" Esper asked. Luna looked at him and giggled. Not answering, she sprinted from behind cover.


    Esper watched her go with an eyebrow raised, but amusement still visible. Seconds later, a loud explosion sounded and Esper knew she used one of the spells he created, then taught her. Esper himself didn''t need to use traditional structured magic, so it was quite difficult to make something applicable to Luna. The spells name was called...


    "Explosion!" Luna yelled out, and a second explosion sounded out. Esper never had the best naming sense.


    Esper leasurely came out from cover, assuming all the undead taken care of. The Yolipog only had a limited supply to use, because not many of the poorer were allowed to be buried near the rich.


    When he came out, he spotted Luna cooing at a creature that looked to be desperately trying to escape her grasp. The Yolipog were relatively harmless without corpses around them. Also, they weren''t inherently evil or dark, despite their ability to raise the dead. The ministry didn''t agree with that though, so they were labeled as dark creatures in the same class as dementors.


    "Luna, give it room to breathe."


    Luna pouted, but complied, gently lowering it to the ground.


    "You didn''t tell me it would be so cute!"


    "Well, I didn''t want to ruin the surprise." He replied back with his signature grin. Luna lightly hit his arm in response, before crouching down and petting the Yolipog. It actually seemed to enjoy that, and it''s threatening hissing stopped to be replaced with mewing.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "You''re a cute little girl, aren''t you Iris?" Luna cooed. Esper raised an eyebrow, once again questioning Luna''s oddities. It wasn''t the first time, nor did he believe it would be the last.


    "You''ve named... her?"


    "Well, I assumed since this was the last adventure, you would let me keep this one."


    "And, as with all the last creatures, Iris here is too dangerous to be brought in public." He said with a light laugh. "Although, I would of liked to keep the Chinese Yellow Belly myself." Luna laughed also.


    "He was such a nice dragon. He even let me ride him." Luna reminisced on one of the early journeys Esper took her on. In which, they tracked down a dragon that spanned 50 feet, all because Luna wanted to ride a dragon. It was the biggest creature she had ever seen, and, after some persuasion, was gentle and kind.


    "Alright, Iris here is relatively small and I imagine can be disguised."


    "You mean...?" Luna brightened considerably. Esper nodded.


    "Yes, yes, you can keep her." Luna in excitement jumped up and put Esper in a bone crushing hug. With a kiss on the cheek, Luna thanked him loudly.


    While they were celebrating, a loud pop sounded out from behind them. Both of their expressions went serious and Esper moved Luna behind him as he turned to face the sound.


    "Finally caught up to you two." A female voice said sternly.


    Standing infront of Esper was what he knew would eventually come, so he lowered his guard somewhat. Though, not completely, because he knew the infamy his family carried to those that remembered them.


    *******


    Professor McGonagall swept her eyes along the room, taking note of the charred corpses and burn spots on the floors and walls, while keeping the children in her periphery. She was under no illusion that they didn''t have the means to escape, even if she finally caught up to them. Professor Snape in contrast seemed to not have a care in the world, though his face was set in a scowl. McGonagall believed it was just his default expression though, so it didn''t mean much.


    "Luna Lovegood and Esper Vallispear. While it is the choice of your parents and yourselves to attend Hogwarts, the same cannot be said for Ms. Lovegood staying here." She turned to direct her stern glare at the young girl. "Your father awaits you, Ms. Lovegood." Luna jolted at the reminder of her father, honestly not thinking much of the man while on her adventure. McGonagall''s vision settled on Esper.


    "Mr. Vallispear... I hope you don''t impede on this." A silent stare down followed this statement, before Esper smiled at her.


    "Ofcourse not, Professor. We were about to return anyway." McGonagall stiffly nodded, before advancing on them with her wand out.


    "Professor Snape, please apparate Mr. Vallispear. I will take Ms. Lovegood." She placed a hand on Luna''s shoulder, before finally noticing the creature in the girl''s arms. "Ms. Lovegood... release the creature so we can be on our way."


    Ofcourse, Luna would never accept that, so a small argument broke out. Luna eventually won, only because McGonagall didn''t know the creature and it looked relatively harmless.


    With a sigh, and fingers on her temple, McGonagall and Snape started the long journey back to Hogwarts. Their targets finally in capture.