Summer Writing Series Challenge (July 29)
Challenge: [Movie Week] Documentary
Title: The Crumple-Horned Snorkack: A Documentary
Word Count: 1,000
"There are many things which surprise people," Luna Lovegood said in her interview with the new Wizarding Wireless Live Entertainment department. "Take Muggles, they spend their entire lives shielded and protected from our way of life. They have no clue that many magical creatures they thought were myth do, indeed, exist."
"And what you're saying, Miss Lovegood, is that you've found something that no living witch or wizard has ever seen?" Rita Skeeter asked curiously.
"That's correct," Luna said with a dreamy smile. "My boyfriend and I, along with my father and a few friends, went on an expedition to capture a photograph."
"A photograph, is that all?" Rita asked with a smirk.
"Not just an ordinary photo, Rita," Luna responded in a lazy voice, "but that of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack!" she finished excitedly.
"You, and your friends, went on a photo-shoot for a creature that appeared in your father's tabloid, The Quibbler?" Rita asked skeptically. "Just how boring was your trip?" she added with a snort.
"Not boring at all," Luna said with a smile, accompanied by her trademarked sing-song voice. "We've brought back several photos and poor Ronald was gored by one of the stallions."
"Ronald? You mean Ronald Weasley?" Skeeter asked with a bit more enthusiasm than she had meant.
"That's right," Luna replied with a nod. "He and I have been dating since before I graduated Hogwarts."
"Well, let's take a look at your mission to capture this creature that has alluded everyone until now, apparently," Rita announced with a flourish. "You'll have to narrate as we swap each photo, which details moments in your expedition."
Luna nodded as enlarged photographs were set on an easel. The first depicted the group as they prepared to leave. Harry and Hermione were checking their bags. He was saying something to the bushy-haired witch while Ron and Luna were talking about something entirely.
"My father isn't in any of the shots as he's manning the camera," Luna explained as she recalled the moment. "Ronald and I were excited about the trip; the war had taken a toll on our cabin fever and when Harry defeated Voldemort we went on this trip. I'm not sure what Harry and Hermione Granger are talking about, but afterwards she seemed far more pleasurable than normal."
The next photo showed a camp in a plush jungle. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were laughing around the campfire while Luna read a book.
"The others were enjoying the break we'd taken in our hike in the mountains," she explained unenthusiastically, "while I was researching other creatures in the area. I was hoping we could find a Blibbering Humdinger while we were near its native habitat, but luck wasn't with us that night."
Another photo was presented of a different location but the same camp setting. Luna was gazing at the stars with Ron and the other two were not visible in the shot. Two glints of light flickered between the tents and were gone almost instantly.
"This was an exciting moment," Luna said enthusiastically. "Ronald and I were talking about our futures when Father caught a glint of light from the eyes of a Snorkack! We'd missed him during our discussions and we soon found that they prefer to show themselves when nobody is paying attention to them."
Another photograph was put on display. This one showed Ron flying through the air and unceremoniously colliding with the camera. There was a streak of brown and grey in the background that was soon engulfed by the green of foliage.
"This is where my poor Ronald met a large male Snorkack," Luna explained sullenly. "He wasn't seriously injured, well physically at least, and we began our chase of his assailant. We found that these creatures don't leave many tracks, unless you're not looking for them, and it was very difficult to follow its trail. You can see the standard coloring of an older stallion as it turns to flee right here," she explained as she pointed to the blur.
The next presented photo caught a tall creature as it walked slowly across a ravine. Large, crumpled horns adorned its head and every few strides it turned and looked at the camera. Its glossy, brown and grey fur rippled in the sunlight as it traveled over a creek and then quickly disappeared from sight. The camera seemed to weave all over the place and the focus went in and out making it difficult to tell what was actually in the shot.
"This was our first, true sighting!" Luna exclaimed excitedly as she watched the photo repeat itself. "We decided that we weren't going to look and Father began to take a photo of us all at the bottom of this ravine. His camera started going out of focus and when he tried to see what was wrong with it, the camera went off. It was such a surprise to find this image with everything else!"
"But that was a blur moving across the ravine," Rita pointed out with the shake of her head. "The focus was off and the entire time, the camera wasn't steady."
"I did tell you that it wasn't working properly for some reason," Luna said with a half-smile and a shrug. "Father and I believe that we were able to capture a photo of one of the elder Crumple-Horned Snorkacks because we weren't trying to actually take one."
"That could have been anything!" Rita said with a snort of laughter. "It could have been an American Bigfoot or a Himalayan Yeti wearing an odd Viking cap!"
"The Sasquatch in the area confirmed that they weren't out on holiday when the photo was taken," Luna said with a smile. "Even the Poobah's prankster son has an alibi for the time in question!"
"Thank you for your time and for bringing this... valuable... information to light, Miss Lovegood," Rita said with a faux smile. "I'm Rita Skeeter and you've been watching The Crumple-Horned Snorkack: A Documentary. Good evening."
A/N: Wee, just a bit late, and I'm the only one to write for the Documentary... Truth be told, I was at a loss on what to do myself ;) This was challenging. Sorry it's so late, now on to the other late responses!