Edge Of Gravity

Author Note: This is sort of a rewrite of the last chapter, or perhaps a prequel of sorts. Thanks to LariLee for being a awesome beta, your wonderful.

Her fingers reached further out the window, scraping her arm between the thick metal bars. The room spun in sharp movements, fluttering with a demanding magical pull. It was splitting her mind, pulling her into two different directions until finally her legs gave out to leave her clutching the Portkey in a heap on the grimy floor.

Luna Lovegood’s fingers flexed around the small charm, trying to fight the burning throb of her body being thrust back. Her head still ached from the split, leaving her disoriented for several long minutes. It was harder each time she tried; each time it pulled her apart until she felt broken in two. This time, she hadn’t been able to get past her elbow before she collapsed on the rough ground.

Portkeys were useless within Pamphilan Dungeons; the witch’s power, even in death, was able to counteract the magic within the charm. Her only hope was to reach far enough out of the cell for it to pull her out, to help her escape to number 12 Grimmauld Place. The decrepit old home, abandoned by the Order of the Phoenix long ago, was the only place she really felt any safety. Perhaps it was the old hippogriff, which would attack anyone besides her.

Luna pushed herself up, staring at the moonlit window that was thick with grim and blood. Some of it was hers, but most was from former prisoners, perhaps with the same hope as her own. The thought of that fact made a shiver run down her spine, before she pushed it away. She would escape. She had to escape, even if it was only to pet the old hippogriff.

She opened her hand to stare down at the small charm, its iridescent color shimmering brighter under the moonlight. The small raven wings on the charm flapped on occasion before falling still again. She turned it over in her palm; the backside read ‘Wise Ravenclaw’. Luna stared at the words for several seconds, before shoving it into her dilapidated robes.

“Wise Ravenclaw.” She whispered to herself, staring back at the window with misery. Luna wished that were true, wished that she was smart enough not to have been caught by Death Eaters. She had fallen into their trap. Her only thought had been to protect the small house-elf from death, instead of logically thinking. At the time, it had seemed the only choice, but now she had hours to maul over how she could have done it differently.

The distant sound of a laugh echoed through the wall, making her turn her head sharply towards the door. It was close, closer than what was comfortable for her. She pushed herself up, bobbing back and forth several times before she was able to gain her balance enough to tiptoe to the door.

“…so mad, that I doubt she will….the crystals should….” Luna pushed her ear closer to the door, but the words were too muffled for her to understand. She could feel their footsteps under her bare feet; they were coming for her. Only a few other prisoners resided in this area of the prison, most having died within days of arriving. The witch’s necromantic power wasn’t strong enough to keep them alive when the crystals were melting away their skin.

Luna pushed her ear harder against the door, hearing them talking more rapidly. “Potter‘s cousin will…the werewolf is going to rip him limb from….destroy the body by tomorrow.”

“What about the Lord….angry if the boy dies?” the other guard chimed in, his voice sounding slightly alarmed.

“No, he will probably…besides I don’t see anything different from any other Muggle.”

Luna moved away from the door, her face scrunching up trying to process what she had just heard. Harry’s cousin in Pamphilan Dungeons with a werewolf? Voldemort wants him kept alive? He was going to die tonight. She stared at the door several seconds more before dropping to sit on the ground.

Quickly, her mind began planning an escape or Harry’s cousin would not be the only one to die tonight. The soft rasp of the key entering the lock drew her attention, before she stared off into space. They thought her mad. It had kept her from torture and hopefully would aid in her escape tonight.

“Loony.” The name had stuck to her, so it was not surprising to her when the guards entered the room muttering it. She continued to stare off into the shadows, watching their jerky movements. “The bloody crazed wench doesn’t even know we are here.”

Luna rolled her head sideways, turning to stare at the opposite wall. One was cradling an armful of crystals while the other stared at her with open excitement. “She will know when we use a few crystals on her,” the guard whispered, as if it was a beautiful prayer.

The guard with the crystals moved closer, trying to catch eye contact that she refused to give. Closer…closer…Luna’s hand shot out, forcing the armful of crystals to explode against his chest.

“AAAAAAAAAA!” he screamed, loud enough to make her ears ache.

Her hand worked quicker than she thought possible, pulling the guard’s wand from his belt. “Petrificus Totalus!” she barked, pointing the strange wand at the other guard.

His body froze, while the other guard gurgled on the ground. The crystals effects were fighting against each other to see which would kill him first. His body jerked about, while his skin emitted a strange gurgling sound. Luna turned her eyes away, feeling sickness building in her chest.

She clutched the wand in her hand, walking past the guard, staring at him. The magic would probably wear off in only minutes; she had to get away and find Harry’s cousin before it did. Her skin prickled with the magic as she walked out of the cell into the long corridor.

Luna moved quickly, her feet aching as she walked across the uneven ground. The loud growling stopped her in her track, making her turn to the door from where it emitted. “Bombarda!” she barked, ignoring the key in the lock. She wasn’t willing to chance the key untainted with Dark magic, to touch it. The door jerked backwards, flying across the room to hit the opposite wall.

She blinked into the dark cell for several seconds before she saw the beast, one of its chains pulled from the wall scraping against the ground as it reached out for a tiny figure heaped on the floor. The other cuff barely in the wall, making her positive he was going to attack.

“Impedimenta!” she screamed, before he completely pulled the chain from the wall.

Luna turned her attention to the boy heaped on the ground, his face dazed with pain. Propelling herself forward, she walked to stand over him. He didn’t look much like Harry, but his expression, it was the sad, broken look of one who didn’t feel that he could go on. She had seen it when Harry had lost his Uncle all those years ago and now she faced it again. “Are you ready to go?”

Harry’s cousin seemed confused, his face scrunching up. “I…you…who?”

“Yes.” Luna answered for him quickly, knowing that the werewolf would only be frozen for a moment or two more. She turned her attention to the wall, before bellowing the blasting curse. The wall exploded outwards, sending bricks flying through the air. Turning back towards the young man, she reached down to pull him to his feet. His thin frame allowed her to pull him up as if he weighed next to nothing.

“Remus…”

“Werewolves don’t hold magic for long,” Luna sighed, pulling him towards the hole. She jerked her head up, hearing the sound of running. The guard was coming for them. “Guards are coming.”

She yanked the young man along, her mind trying to think of how to escape them when it came to her in a flash. With a quick flick of her wand, the chains fell away from the beast’s arms, freeing him from the wall. Yanking the young man behind her to the outside, she pulled him to a small forest of trees she had stared at longingly from her cell window. “Who…”

“Luna…Luna Lovegood,”

“What…”

“Waiting,” Luna sighed, wishing that he would be quiet. She wanted to make sure the werewolf spell would break before it was killed; it seemed a great deal to the young man.

The sharp growl answered her, followed by screams. A thankful rush of air filled her lungs, before she quickly searched for her charm. Digging into her pockets, she clutched onto the young man. “You don’t get Portkey sick?” Her fingers closed around the charm, pulling them both away.