The dark shape drew closer and closer, swooping straight toward them.
Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly and was about to raise her wand, but lowered it again once she saw what it was.
A black winged horse with a skeletal body, a dragonlike head, and enormous bat wings flew up beside them and slowly landed.
Luna smiled and stroked its back, and Wu Wu gave a soft snort.
A Thestral!
Hermione recognized it at once.
Hogwarts did keep a few, but they were so rare that Hermione had never seen one herself.
She had never expected to see one today.
"Wu Wu comes here for a little while every day. I usually come over to feed Wu Wu some raw meat," Luna explained, then looked at Hermione.
Seeing her calm reaction, Luna said happily, "You really can see Wu Wu!"
Hermione nodded without speaking, simply listening quietly.
"Two years ago, my mother died when a magical experiment went wrong. Ever since then, I've been able to see Wu Wu."
"Father said these are Thestrals," Luna recalled. "Only people who have witnessed death can see them."
"Oh, right." She turned to Hermione. "She was reading that book, Introduction to Dangerous Magical Experiments, at the time."
"Since you can see Wu Wu, you must have witnessed death too." Luna studied Hermione's face. "But my intuition tells me you haven't just 'witnessed' it."
"You're right," Hermione said with a nod. "I haven't just seen it. I've also... killed."
To her surprise, Luna showed no fear. Instead, she happily clapped her hands together, seemingly delighted that she had guessed correctly.
"I knew it! I was right!"
Hermione smiled, took a piece of raw meat from her bag, and fed it to the Thestral, taking the opportunity to collect a vial of blood.
``` [Thestral