Chapter 161: 161: Have You Seen My Left Hand?

Words : 1245 Updated : Oct 4th, 2025

"Luna, there's no such thing as a Wrackspurt! Bill told me so!" The red-haired girl tried to reason with her friend. "If you'd stop saying all these weird things, I bet you'd make more friends." Luna opened her mouth as if to reply but suddenly crouched down, parting the grass with her hands. "What kind of footprint is this?" she murmured. "It's huge and strange... It could belong to a druid who transformed into a Ronald Bigmouth Beast, or maybe a Graveyard Stalker—those are terrifying. They love eating rabbits. I bet groundhogs and pine trees aren't safe from them either." "Maybe it's just a normal bear." The red-haired girl sighed, her patience wearing thin. "Listen, Luna, ordinary bears eat rabbits too, you know." But Luna was already off, chasing after the tracks. "It went this way!" she cried, running ahead. "Be careful not to fall into the river, Luna! The ground here is slippery!" The red-haired girl ran after her, panting. ... Five minutes later, they had followed the tracks into a small forest. "What is it?" the red-haired girl gasped, leaning on Luna's shoulder. Just then, a middle-aged man dressed like a woodsman stepped out from behind a tree. "Ah, Ginny, Luna. Sorry to disappoint you, but it's just a regular bear." He raised his wand, chuckling. "If you want, you could take one of its paws. Bear paws are quite sweet—probably because they eat so much honey. Who knows?" "Eat a bear paw?!" Ginny shrieked. "That's barbaric!" The man shrugged, looking unbothered. "A Chinese wizard once told me about it. When it comes to food, they certainly know what they're talking about. If you don't want to eat it, we'll just let it go." With a flick of his wand, the petrified bear suddenly sprang back to life, letting out a startled roar before dashing into the woods. "Head home soon, kids," the man advised. "Don't stay in the forest too long. You're not full-fledged witches yet." With that, he slung his axe over his shoulder, waved his wand lazily, and disappeared deeper into the trees, following the bear's tracks. Ginny frowned. "What's Uncle Anchestor up to?" Luna answered in her usual dreamy tone. "I think he's just being a lumberjack. His grandfather passed away recently, so maybe he wants to expand his house." "Oh, that must be it, Luna!" Ginny exclaimed, suddenly excited. "I wish we could expand our house too. Our rooms are so small... I wonder if Harry will think we're poor!" Luna blinked. "But Ginny, you are poor." Ginny's face turned red. "Luna! You can't just say that!" she snapped. "Bill and Charlie have jobs now—our family is going to get richer! I don't understand why Ron and the others had to bring Harry home. Wouldn't it be better if we just used that money to get a bigger house instead?" Yes, this red-haired girl was none other than Ginny Weasley—the youngest in the Weasley family and the only daughter of her generation. On the way back, she couldn't stop talking about Harry Potter. "Do you want to sneak a look at him? We could hide in a corner and watch. Fred and George wouldn't even notice!" Luna tilted her head. "Does he have four arms?" she asked curiously. "Or maybe two heads?" "Luna, Harry's not a monster!" Ginny huffed. "I don't see why you're so obsessed with him," Luna said, completely unfazed. "He looks just like a regular person. Now, if he had a tail or eight legs, then that would be interesting. I'd be his biggest fan! I'd even get my dad to write about him in The Quibbler." "Luna! That's—ugh, you're impossible!" Ginny groaned. "Sorry..." Luna mumbled absentmindedly. But her apology was empty—she didn't understand why she was supposed to say sorry in the first place. Had it been anyone else, she wouldn't have apologized at all. But since it was Ginny—her only friend—well, maybe she should. Ginny sighed. "You know what? That's just how you are, Luna." She kicked a rock down the road, frowning. "I really worry about you. When we go to Hogwarts, we might not be in the same house. My whole family has always been in Gryffindor. Even Ron got in. But you... You'll definitely end up in Ravenclaw." She turned to Luna, her expression serious. "When you get to Hogwarts, promise me one thing: try to make some friends, okay?" Luna was completely lost in her own world, staring blankly into the distance. Ginny sighed. There was no reasoning with her. Out of everyone Ginny knew—her family, her friends, even her idiot brother Ron—Luna Lovegood was the most impossible person to deal with. Luna was, without a doubt, a mad girl. "Ginny," Luna suddenly spoke, pointing ahead. "What's that?" Ginny turned to look, expecting to see another one of Luna's imaginary creatures. And then she froze. Because floating in the air, completely detached from any body, was a hand. A human hand. A single, well-proportioned, pale hand with neatly trimmed fingernails—just a hand. No arm, no body, nothing attached. It simply hovered in the air, as if it had a mind of its own. Ginny let out a startled yelp. Luna, however, gasped in excitement. "A floating hand! A mysterious, disembodied hand! I must tell my father about this—this could be the next big story for The Quibbler! 'The Haunting of Hildrey Village: The Hand of Justice! Who was its owner? What untold stories does it carry? What injustice is it trying to avenge?!'" Ginny rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that's what's happening..." She glanced at the hand again, frowning. "It's probably just someone practicing Apparition and messing up. Look—" Before she could finish, someone appeared with a soft pop and strolled toward them. A boy. He was tall, with sharp features and an air of nonchalance. His expression was calm, as if losing a whole hand was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "Did you girls happen to see my hand?" he asked, his tone entirely casual. Ginny's mouth fell open. "Your hand?" The boy shrugged. "Wizarding hands don't always behave like Muggle hands, you know. Sometimes they like to wander off... Oh, there it is." He walked up to the floating hand, tapped it with his wand, and with a soft pop, it reattached itself to his wrist like it had never been missing. Ginny gaped. Luna tilted her head. "Did that hurt?" The boy flexed his fingers. "Not really," he said. "It's a pretty common accident, actually. I once heard about a guy who splinched himself into a Muggle chimney while Apparating. Losing a hand is nothing compared to that." Luna studied him curiously. "But I don't think you're old enough to be practicing Apparition. Are you seventeen?" The boy smirked. "What do you think, Miss Lovegood?" Ginny glanced between them, eyes narrowing. "Wait—you two know each other?" Before Luna could answer, the boy replied smoothly, "We met once at Gringotts last year." Ginny turned to Luna in surprise. "Your dad made quite an impression on me," the boy continued, his tone indifferent. "He even sent a copy of The Quibbler to Hagrid, and Hagrid passed it on to me."

Chapter 161: 161: Have You Seen My Left Hand?

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