A Nexus Devil

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Eventually, they finished their drinks, and Luna grabbed Jake's hand, leading him to a new place, saying she had one last spot to show him.

"It's a shame that you've been so busy with this tournament that you haven't really had a lot of time to explore Hogwarts and all of its interesting places this year," Luna said.

Jake couldn't help but agree with her. He had spent the majority of his time here training for the tournament or just learning magic in general.

Hell, he barely even attended more than a handful of actual classes or socialized with as many people as he probably should have. He supposed he was just focused on other things.

Maybe next year, if he was still going to Hogwarts, he'd be forced to actually attend classes and socialize and explore the place more. But those were thoughts for later.

"And here we are," Luna said as she led him up a large hill to the top. "Set at the top is the ugliest tree you've ever seen in your entire life. This," Luna said, "is the Whomping Willow."

Jake was only mildly interested. "So, what exactly is so special about this tree?" he asked.

Luna just giggled. "Why don't you walk up to it and touch it and see what happens?" Jake figured that didn't 'sound completely ominous at all' but he just shrugged as he walked up to the tree.

As Jake approached the tree's trunk within about 20 feet, the strangest thing he had ever seen happened. The entire tree bent backward, its branches forming a whip-like structure, and swung right at his head.

"Holy shit!" Jake exclaimed as he instinctively threw up a shield in front of himself. The massive tree branches smacked into the shield with tremendous force, causing significant cracks to appear.

"Damn, that thing can hit hard," he muttered. He heard mad cackling from Luna behind him as he quickly retreated from the menacing tree and ran up to her. The tree angrily shook its branches at him before appearing still again.

Jake wasn't going to fall for its trickery a second time. That was the last time he would ever approach the murderous tree.

Luna's eyes were teary from laughter as she giggled. "What the hell, Luna? I could have died there," Jake exclaimed exasperatedly, but soon he joined her in laughter. "Why the hell would they keep a tree like that in a school?"

Luna shrugged between her giggles and explained that it was one of the seven mysteries of Hogwarts. Nobody quite knew why it was there, except for Harry, who seemed to uncover the truth behind all the castle's mysteries.

Their little outing had come to an end as the sun began to set. They decided to head back to Hogwarts for dinner, although they weren't particularly hungry after devouring all the chocolate.

Luna emphasized the importance of a balanced meal to keep Jake's strength up for the next day.

While walking back to the castle, Luna stopped and turned to Jake. "Thank you, Jake. I had a lot of fun today, and it has been the best year at Hogwarts for me ever! I never really had a real friend until you showed up," she said sadly.

"I'm glad I could spend time with you too, Luna," Jake replied. "And remember what you said to me on our first day? That was just our first adventure of thousands to come. Well, I'm looking forward to all of those in the future."

Luna's smile turned a bit sad, and she approached Jake. She asked him to bend down a little, and she planted a small kiss on his cheek.

Jake felt a bit mortified by the display of affection, considering Luna was only 13, but she laughed it off and said it was for the possible future.

Luna smiled but still looked a bit sad. "I'm not going to say goodbye because that would be the wrong thing. Instead, I'll see you later, Jake. Yes, indeed, I will see you later, Jake Gremory.

" With that mysterious statement, she turned around and skipped back toward the castle, whistling a Wizarding tune Jake had never heard before.

Unbeknownst to Jake, Luna had tears in her eyes because this was the last time she would see him for a long time…

…

The next day had arrived, marking the final day of the tournament. Jake and the other competitors had their own tents to prepare themselves to their absolute best.

The tent flaps opened, and Jake was surprised to see Serafall herself entering his tent. "Hi, Jake!" She said with a gleeful tone.

"I just wanted to come and wish you good luck and let you know that I'll be watching and rooting for you personally." She then did something that shocked Jake a bit—she ran up and gave him a tight hug.

"I really appreciate that, Serafall," Jake said from within her embrace. "I'm glad you could take time off your busy work schedule to make it and watch me win this thing."

After about 20 seconds, they separated from the hug, and Jake noticed a tinge of sadness in Serafall's expression, similar to Luna's the night before. "Well then," Serafall said, "I don't want to keep you from where you have to go.

" She spoke solemnly, adding, "So I'll just say one last thing; I'll see you later, okay, Jake?" Without giving him a chance to respond, she solemnly left his tent.

"Geez," Jake said to himself, "Have Serafall and Luna been in secret communication or something? They're acting like I'm going to bite the dust here in this challenge.

It's just a maze filled with a couple of man-eating creatures… I'll be fine," he said aloud, trying to pump himself up.

"CHALLENGERS, PLEASE EXIT YOUR TENTS. IT IS TIME FOR THE FINAL TASK TO COMMENCE," the announcer called out. "AND THE FIRST ONE TO ENTER THE MAZE WILL BE JAKE GREMORY!" Jake exited his tent, ready to finish the tournament.

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