Chapter 118. Surprise Visit
Later that same day, after all classes were done, and dusk was approaching, I decided to visit Gaynor. Pansy, still afraid of spiders, felt it best to stay in my room and clean up the creature on my desk for me. “Just enjoy your reunion. I’m sure you missed her almost as much as Val.” She teased, giggling at my silence. I had nothing to say against her, she was right. Standing in front of the entrance of the Chamber I muttered the word ‘open’ and descended down inside.
I walked in silence of my own footfalls, taking the moment to ponder my thoughts on Pansy, but more specifically, my thoughts on us as a couple. What we had now was so close to perfection I was afraid to ruin it with the truth. However, holding hands could only hold off the ever growing desires I had in her presence. I gulped, unsure how long I could retain my own sanity with how perfect she was; her loyalty scratching at my instinctual desires. I had to tell her to move closer, but had to remain silent to keep what I had at the moment.
I opened the vault door on instinct, my mind still far away as the metal slowly swung open. However, the sight shocked my system enough to wake me from my thoughts. A golden haired girl I had come to know was sitting in front of the giant sized Gaynor, both looking up towards me for the noise I had made in entering. “Hi Lucas… I was just talking with Gaynor…” Luna announced in as loud a voice as she could muster, her words only able to carry themselves with the help of the echoing stone.
“Lucas!” Gaynor yelled, skittering across the walls to pounce on top of me, all her plentiful legs squeezing me tightly as her size grew even more over the summer. Now perhaps 10 or 12 feet in diameter, she dwarfed me in size, holding me like a toy in her massive size. I happily pet her underbelly, but the confusion and wariness of the girl sitting on the silk covered ground could not be ignored. “So, what is Luna doing here?” I asked, Gaynor finally pulling away to feel over my body to see how I had grown, her milky white eyes still signifying her blindness.
“Luna has been talking with me about her life, and asking me about mine!” As her legs patted my body all over to see me better, she continued. “She asked me what you were like when you changed, and how we chase each other for fun. She also-” Gaynor spoke with a happy tone, eagerly explaining all the fun times she had with her friend, before I cut her off. “What?” I asked in slight horror, the words Gaynor so easily spoke so bluntly poking at my greatest fears.
I snapped my gaze to Luna, and rushed down the ladder while Gaynor skittered behind me, worried of what she may have said to upset me. “Lucas? D-Did I do something wrong?” I instantly shook my head, but never removed my gaze from Luna as I spoke. “No! No, you did nothing wrong Gaynor.” Now standing in front of Luna, both of us staring deeply at one another, her azure eyes still somehow glowing in the dimly lit Chamber. “How…?” Was all that could escape my lips, all the myriad of questions I had for her, fell to the wayside under the first one that could be asked.
Luna blinked a few times at me, humming in thought before suddenly nodding in understanding and digging into her purse to showcase a small green snake. “I found her in Hagrid’s garden… I wondered if any snake could open the chamber…” I instantly shook my head, another question I needed answered was now understood, but not the most pressing one in my mind. “No! The- Me! How- When did you know?” I yelled, my jumbled mind spinning with the thought of Hermione or Chiara perhaps saying something to her.
I was only brought back from Luna’s hand grasping both of mine, forcing my attention back to her neutral expression. “I knew the moment I saw your eyes…” She explained with hardly any emotion in her lighthearted tone. She gently pulled me down onto the soft silken ground to sit just in front of her, her piercing blue eyes never leaving mine. “I saw your eyes that night…” She explained further, the shameful night I had lost control now brought into the forefront of my mind.
“Oh my-” I was about to speak, but Luna blocked my lips with her own. The sudden attack left me stunned, her soft lips parting slightly before she moved away. As I looked at her, my mouth agape in shock and disbelief she licked her own lips, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she stared at me with a somewhat smirk. “Is that better…?” She asked, recalling the time afterwards she stuck her finger in my mouth, suddenly her strange actions lined up in my mind. I licked my own lips, the sweet taste of chocolate and butterbeer staining my tongue in its flavor, showcasing what she had eaten at Hogsmeade before coming here.
I gulped, gasping for air under the strain of my mind’s restraints being loosened in strange excitement. I slapped my hand over my mouth, making sure she couldn’t attack me again while I stammered. “I- You were there! I’m- Pansy and I-!” Luna blinked a few times, her tiny smile dimming back to her usual indifferent expression. She nodded at me, moving closer until her nose almost touched mine. I could feel her breaths against my hand until her own hand gently rested overtop mine. I should have backed away, thrown her aside, yelled at her to leave me be, but couldn’t find it within myself to stop her in any way.
Her hypnotic gaze leered into my soul as she spoke. “You’re confused…” I blinked in silence, her simple words somehow piercing my chest. “Did you never learn…?” I squinted at her, unsure what she was trying to say. She muttered whispering words under her breath before her gaze focused once again onto me. “I spoke with Chiara… She has trouble being monogamous too…” My eyes then widened at her words, disbelief growing on my covered expression.
Her hand pulled at mine blocking my mouth, slowly lowering my defenses from her as she spoke. “Werewolves instinctually form packs… Even with both of yours being different, you still have the same curse inside you… I can see your confliction…” My eyes shook, I couldn’t refute the signs inside myself. My excitement and familiar feelings between each girl, so reminiscent of my time with Pansy. The biggest difference was my fear of those feelings with Hermione, Chiara, or Luna. I had slight fear with Pansy, but that was because of her rejecting me for who I was, not the fear of how I should feel in her presence.
My anxiety and excitement built up as my hand dropped to my side, Luna still gently holding it, slowly encroaching her fingers between mine. With my last vestige of self restraint I looked away from her. “I’m not leaving Pansy! I won’t, she has been-” Luna tightened her grip on my hand, pulling it towards her waist, pausing my words as I felt her soft skin hidden under her wool vest. “You need help Lucas… I want to help you…” My erratic breathing quickened further, the taste of butterbeer finally gone from my tongue, reapplied itself as I licked my dry lips.
“You are having trouble holding yourself back… You need to release your stress…” I grit my teeth, the chains in my mind creaking further under the strain. Glancing back up at her large eyes lulled me into a stupor along with her gentle and lighthearted tone. “You need Pansy… But I think you might need me too…” A chain snapped, followed by another, and another. With each one I slowly tilted my head, and raised my free hand up to gently steer Luna’s neck. Her eyes looked on at me with nothing I could understand; nothing but a small glint that grew brighter as she parted her lips