57 Not so spooky

"And what do you mean by that?" Albus asked, but without reproach, he decided to listen to his young student's plan first. 

Madam Pomfrey has already gutted all the details of Danil's miraculous treatment out of them and gave them a lecture so that no more such shit would be done without the presence of a healer. After that, the boy was ordered to change his clothes and get out of the medical wing if nothing bothers him anymore.

"We both know that wizards are not the sanest – in normal folk terms, at the very least. Our priorities shifted away so much that we all probably look insane and deranged to an ordinary person." The old man nodded in agreement, reaching for the second lemon drop in his little bag.

When in your world almost everywhere can heal everyday injuries with a spell, and something more serious with potions that bring discomfort for a short time; the word "safe" starts to change its meaning. It was difficult to worry about a broken arm when you know that you will be healthy again in the morning. But there are hundreds, if not thousands, of such strange differences in the wixen way of thinking.

Take magical animals as another example. A bone that a wix broke in a non-magical way can be healed in a couple of hours at most. But the wounds left by the magical beast had to be treated longer and with more natural methods. 

Therefore, if in the eyes of wizards some life-threatening injuries were practically safe, then a meeting with even the most "harmless" magical animals could end in prolonged suffering and pain, or even in death. 

"Since I will be seen by them as a dangerous creature in most cases, I suggest hitting where they wouldn't expect – cuteness." Danil said quite seriously. "Something like a Beauty and the Beast situation."

For a couple of seconds, Albus thought he had misheard his student. But no, Danil just continued to stare and radiate seriousness. In front of the old wizard was a monster boy who decided to win the trust of people with Luna's cuteness.

"It sounds most unusual. But will it work?"

Although the idea was possibly workable, there were doubts about how exactly they would be able to pull off this adventure. Because regardless of what they tell and try to show, everyone will draw their own conclusions. But someone might well have thought that Danil was under Luna's complete control, something like a familiar.

There was no need to talk about how bad this could affect the girl.

"Well-"

"Danil!" The high-pitched voice of the little blonde rang loudly and two quite serious men didn't even have time to blink, as a rocket named Luna crashed into the torso of the monster boy.

The girl hung on to her friend like a koala and apparently wasn't going to let go anytime soon. She sobbed quietly and tried very hard not to cry, although she knew that for some reason human fluids don't harm Danil as water does, she didn't want to risk it. Wrapping his left arm around his friend, so that she wouldn't slip off, the monster boy smiled. 

"Hi, Luna Lovegood, I'm already healed."

"I know, Danil Khromov." The girl replied, tactfully sobbing between words to make it easier to understand. "I stole a report from Madam Pomfrey- on your condition. Now I don't like the number six." She muttered and hid her face in the boy's side.

Danil grimaced. After the battle with Potter – although it was more of a giveaway game – he lost six percent of his flesh. And it seemed like six isn't that big of a number, but it was on six more than he wanted.

"Since you're already here, will you listen to our proposal? There's something only you can help with."

Interest flashed in the girl's eyes and she showed her face again, at least for a moment giving Albus a hope that maybe their plan would work. All that remains is to tell all the nuances that Luna may encounter if she agrees to help them. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

And once again this year, the Main Hall of Hogwarts Castle was filled with the nervous trepidation of students and the harsh temperament of professors. This year will certainly be remembered by many as one of the richest in strange and dangerous events.

The escape of Sirius No-name from Azkaban, the Dementors in Hogwarts, the attack of these creatures on Potter, the appearance of Acromantulas on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, the reanimation of the Basilisk and its attack on Potter…

Quite a lot of strange things were connected with Potter. It was amazing how the Boy-Who-Lived attracted problems of Increasing size on a permanent basis. There was a feeling that as a child he wasn't hit with a death spell, but was instead cursed to have the luck of the joker. And again, this time he was lucky to find another scary creature that wanted to rip him apart.

Everyone in the Hall was wondering: what happened this time? Will the Professors tell them the truth? Was it a farewell "gift" from Sirius No-name? Right now, all the students were whispering among themselves, throwing theories among themselves about what really happened.

And while some openly and with great interest discussed the latest news, looking at the magical photos of the incident at the same time – which were kindly provided by Colin Creevey, at a symbolic price of seven Knuts – some demonstratively showed their complete indifference to what was happening. Yet, that didn't make them special, because even they wanted to know what's going on. And, as luck would have it, the culprits of the celebration were nowhere to be seen!

"What do you think Potter got into this time?" Someone at the Ravens table asked. 

"A Sickel says that the idiot stuck his nose where it didn't belong." They heard in response.

"Nah, this time he was definitely attacked unprovoked for sure, because he got himself into the Basilisk fight, and to step into the same puddle twice in one year will be a new peak of stupidity even for him." Said a third person.

But all this talk and speculation died down when the Golden Trio entered the Hall, and right behind them were the remaining staff members. 

What no one expected was for an unexpected guest to show up with them. Directly behind Professor Dumbledore walked a skinny black monster whose height could only be compared to Hagrid's. Hell, maybe it was even higher!

He wore black slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a dark robe that flowed behind him like a cape in the wind. Somehow this particular show of style strongly reminded everyone of Professor Snape's billowing robes, which only added fuel to the fire of Hogwarts rumor mill.

"What is this creature doing in the castle?!" Someone squealed from the direction of the Slytherin table. Fear had already begun to penetrate the minds of the students and only the presence of their professors calmed the children.

Dumbledore was prepared for such a question. "I ask all of you to remain in your seats, everything will be explained in a couple of minutes. Mister Khromov is on the territory of the Castle with my permission, you can be sure of that."

Each of their small group scattered to their own places. The Golden Trio remained at their table, sitting down with their peers, while the Professors took their seats, leaving an empty chair for Danil next to Hagrid.

The monster boy looked around the Great Hall, looking for familiar faces. Most of his friends were surprised with his appearance. Almost none of them expected to see him this evening, especially after they saw the photographs that Colin took.

"Students, please give me your attention." The whispers in the Hall stopped as soon as Dumbledore began to speak. "I'm sure that each of you wants to know what happened this time, so I won't bore you with long stories.

"First, I'll tell you about who Mister Khromov is. Since the beginning of September of this year, he has been a resident of the castle as a student." Shocked gasps came from all sides, because everyone knew that Hogwarts had never trained magical creatures. "Yes, Mister Khromov is indeed a human, albeit a cursed one."

Dumbledore looked around at his students and, as he expected, not everyone took his words well. Who would be pleased to know that some monster studied side by side with them?

"The true nature and the details of this curse aren't known, but we can confidently say that this curse only affects Mister Khromov himself and cannot interact with the environment." This calmed the students, although not so much that they stopped being nervous.

"The reason for the chase that occurred earlier this afternoon was a side effect of this curse." He continued and the students held their breath. "Anyone who looks directly into Mister Khromov's eyes risks their life and the safety of those around them. That is why, from the very beginning of his arrival in the castle, he wears these enchanted glasses."

The students' gazes immediately fell on Danil, who stretched forward so that everyone could look at the mentioned object.

"But how then was Potter able to look him in the eye?!" Asked a malicious voice from Hufflepuff.

"I'll let Mister Khromov to tell this part of the story." Albus bowed, giving Danil the opportunity to take control of the situation.

Rising to his full height, Danil began to speak, his low voice and Russian accent forced everyone to pay attention to him, not allowing the audience to even think about interrupting him.

"Greetings, students of Hogwarts. My name is Danil Khromov and only half a year ago I first learned about magic, when my body turned into what I am now." He ignored the expected sighs of pity and scoffs of disbelief. "But you're not here to hear about my past. You are here to hear about what happened today." 

And Danil began to tell the edited version of events with a perfect poker face, without feeling remorse for his lies. He purposely avoided mentioning any things that could bring legal problems to both him and the rest of the participants in this event. It was decided in advance that they would not tell the public about the crimes of Potter and his friends. They will suffer all punishments outside the knowledge of the public.

Someone may ask: why? After all, they deserved to be expelled from Hogwarts at the very least! There is a simple answer to this - politics.

Neither Dumbledore nor Bellatrix Black herself could let the world know that young Potter broke into someone's room and conducted a full-blown illegal search inside just because he wanted to. So, by withholding this information, Dumbledore and Danil got themselves some brownie points with the Black family.

"... I apologize to anyone who felt unsafe in my presence." Danil bowed his head for a couple of moments, ending his monologue. After which he sat down, allowing the Hogwarts' body to digest everything he had said.

The students had mixed feelings at this moment. The fault for the incident still lay with Potter and his friends, who were hanging around in forbidden parts of the school, but it was also partly the fault of Danil, who didn't take appropriate measures to prevent a disaster.

A couple of minutes later, one witch spoke up.

"Are we done here?" Luna asked, tilting her head as she waited for an answer.

"Yes, Miss Lovegood, that concludes the announcement. Now I invite you all to satisfy your hunger. No one can think on an empty stomach." Dumbledore clapped his hands and the tables were immediately filled with various dishes, announcing the start of dinner.

Luna, hearing this, stood before the eyes of the entire Hall and skipped towards Danil, eventually landing on his lap. It was obvious that the girl felt very comfortable and safe in his presence.

"Happy with yourself?" Danil grinned. At first, the only idea was that Luna would just join him for dinner. The girl insisted on doing it her way.

"Mhum." She nodded smugly and speared a sausage lying nearby onto her fork, handing it to the boy behind her. "Now you're not so spooky to them anymore."

Now, no one simply had the slightest idea how to perceive this monster boy. After all, the professors didn't even think about interfering with the girl's actions. They simply let her be.

'Luna used confusion. It's super effective!' Danil thought with a chuckle.