Owl to Luna Lovegood (Daroul Encrypted)

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

Luna:

The potion arrived this morning. I've been sitting here LOOKING at it all day. Been going back and forth about it in my head- should I? shouldn't I?

But I think I'm gonna do it. Especially with ZIM here and everything. And I still want to know what it'd be like.

Would you... be willing to do me a favor and come watch? Just in case, well, it doesn't work out right?
I'd feel a lot better knowing that if something -did- go wrong, somebody could speak for me and explain what I did and what exactly happened.

I'm outside the castle, in the vegetable patch by the lake, next to the rampion. Do you have a few minutes?

Dib

Comments

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

Without bothering to send a reply owl, Luna heads down to meet him. She's tempted to try and talk him of it, really, but it's not her choice.

Approaching him, she forces herself to smile. "Hi!"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

Wearing a particularly LARGE set of robes, quite baggy and flappy on his tiny frame (yes, he DID consider the whole -clothing- problem) he waves an arm as Luna reaches him and peeks up at her from behind his huge round lenses. "You think this is a bad idea, don't you. The look on your face..."

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"It doesn't sound like a good idea to me, no. But you told me why you wanted to." She sits down next to him. "So, it's not something I can say you shouldn't do. Just that I wouldn't."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"It... it's kinda nice to have somebody actually concerned about me," Dib replies softly. "And.. that means a lot."

He pulls the little vial of potion from his pocket and turns it around in his hands a few times, looking over the lake. "I accept this is probably one of the long line of really DUMB things that I've done or tried to do, too. But... aren't you a little curious, Luna? As to whether it'll work? What it'd be like?"

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

She takes the time to consider it. "I would have been curious. But now, well. Between 12 and 17, the only real difference is, well, something that's not an issue for you."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

That makes him laugh. "Yeah, you guys kinda got it rough. Well..." He takes a deep breath and uncorks the bottle. "Here goes."

Standing and facing the lake, he quickly downs the contents of the little vial in a breathless gulp. And then waits.

And waits.

"... Nothing's happening, is it." His eyes go flat. But just as he starts to launch into a tirade about scamming mail-order ripoffs, his voice suddenly cracks and squeaks. And then he starts to GROW. It's sort of like watching a flower grow in high-speed photography; he stretches, getting lean and stickly tall, having an outbreak of virulent acne that pops up wild and red for a few seconds across his cheeks and nose before disappearing.

When it's done, the formerly-baggy robes now fit, and he looka at his new longer fingers and thin arms in shiny-eyed awe. "WOW."

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

Luna watches in fascination. She might not think Dib's taking the wisest course of action, but it's undeniably amazing to watch.


"Wow," she finally says. "I didn't realize you'd be that tall."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"You should see my dad, he's -really- tall..." His voice is a shade lower. "This is great!" He hugs Luna, impulsively, grinning. "I can actually see ON TOP of things now!" Touches his chin. "And I've even got a tiny bit of stubble! Check it out, I'm fuzzy!" Thrusts his chin forward.
"This is SO cool."

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

Smiling, Luna touches his chin. "You really do need a shave! Actually your hair's dark enough that I can see it, too. But you still look... you look like you, still. Just older."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"Well, yeah." He laughs, rubbing his fingers over his chin. "I HOPE I still look like me! I like the way I look! But, uhm." He lowers his voice to a whisper. "Is my head still big?"

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"I think you've grown into it," she says in an exaggerated stage whisper, tapping his temple with her index finger. "But do you feel any different?"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"I... I feel kinda... sped-up, I guess. Like everything's moving -fast- inside me. A little bit queasy, too... and just kinda..." He blushes a little, looks at the lake again. "I feel -strong-. Like I can DO things."

He takes a hesitant step forward, like a newborn fawn, long thin legs trembling. He stumbles slightly, catches himself. "... Okay, THIS is going to take getting used to..."

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"Your center of gravity must be different. And from shooting up so fast... are you sore?"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"Uhm," A small blush forming. "A little, now that you mention it. It's kinda... just an all over ache. But if I pay attention, yeah, I can feel it. I think my BONES hurt. I wonder if I only got grown up with what muscle and bone I had to begin with.. maybe that's why I'm so -thin-?"

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"You were thin before, though." Luna looks at him thoughtfully. "You look like any other teenage boy who just had a big growth spurt. Are you hungry?"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"...Actually, yeah!" he chirps suddenly. "You wanna go get something?"

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"I thought you might be. The whole growth spurt thing. Do you want to walk into Hogsmeade or make a kitchen raid?"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

Laughter. "Hogsmeade. Assuming I can actually -walk- anywhere without landing on my nose. It'll be good practice."

He takes another couple of steps, slightly improved balance this time, and offers the crook of his arm politely to Luna.

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

Luna takes his arm just a little shyly. "Well, like this I can help you keep your balance. Which is good, right?"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

He clears his throat, shy too, touches the back of his neck. "Yeah."

Dib gives Luna a warm smile. "Thanks for sticking with me. I'll treat when we get there- how's that sound?"

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

Luna realizes she's biting her lip, and stops abruptly. "Thank you. That's a very sweet offer."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"It's the least I can do," Dib says, shyly covering Luna's hand on his arm with his own for a moment before letting go. "Now, c'mon! I'm starving!"

He laughs and sets off with her, stumbling less now that he has someone to lean on while he gets used to balancing his new muscles. It'd be one thing if he grew into it normally, but THIS was cheating!

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"I was curious too," she says with a smile. "I've heard of aging potions but I've never seen anyone actually use one. It's a neat thing to watch, actually."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"I think I expected it to feel different," he tells Luna, closing his eyes to enjoy the feeling of the breeze from the lake washing over the back of his neck. "Like, I dunno. I thought it'd hurt more, there'd be like.. yelling and stuff. I barely felt -anything-!"

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"You didn't yell at all. Shuddered a little, maybe. It was really something. You just sort of stretched all over."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

Laughing. "Now you make me wish I'd set up a -camera-." He's feeling a little more stable now, but it'd be rude to pull his arm away, so he just straightens up. His head feels so light! It's no longer a massive pull on his neck to keep from toppling over into himself all the time! This is GREAT!

The village draws nearer, and Dib glances at Luna with a smile. "Hey, and I just remembered- we still need to name our anti-Zim group thing! Man. He's gonna be SHOCKED to see me like THIS." Can't help but grin evilly at the thought, losing himself for a moment in little mental fantasies about standing on Zim with one foot.

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"We do need a name, don't we? I know you want an anagram... Xeno-Fiend Iinvestigatory League for Earth Security?"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

That just makes him CRACK UP!

"YES! And we can use Mulder and Scully as code-names!! Though I should warn you, Zim's been known to make robot doubles or other kinds of duplicates of me... it'll probably be a little harder NOW, but be on your guard anyway.

Calvin, in Gryffindor, and I came up with a special code phrase you can use to know that it's really me.You can say 'the eagle flies at sunset,' and I'll reply, 'The aardvark snuffles at dawn.' Zim pulled this stunt AT LEAST twice when I knew him."

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

She laughs in return. "Mulder and Scully it is, although it will make listening to that song about David Duchovny a little strange. Calvin will need a code name too, won't he? How about Skinner?"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

More laughter. "We're gonna run out of names really fast... He's more like a Langley. Are we counting whatshername-Eve as canon too, or staying within the original series' confine?" One eye flares wide above a big grin.

At the edge of Hogsmeade now, Dib stops and peeks at his reflection in a storefront mirror, touching his growed-up face and generally taking inventory. "Wow, I have SHOULDERS!"

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"You had shoulders before!" She swats one of the shoulders in question playfully. "And if anyone gets to be Langly, it's me. I have the press ties. You could be Byers if you want, and Calvin could be Frohike. He's the right height!"

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

"Hey!" He grins, mockingly rubbing his shoulder as if that hurt, which it didn't. "I kinda SORTA had shoulders, sure, but not GOOD ones like these! And... okay, I can be Byers. Byers was cool."

He turns away from his reflection, the sign of the Three Broomsticks visible down the end of the street. "Oh yeah. FOOD."

[whosneverbeen.livejournal.com]

"Your shoulders are just broader because you've grown... well, everywhere. If they hadn't grown with you it would have looked really peculiar." She heads a bit more purposefully toward the Three Broomsticks. "And I suppose now we have to feed you."

[dib-worm.livejournal.com]

Food! It sounds like a GREAT idea. He grins, rubbing his hands together, and follows Luna to the restaurant. Inside, they take a table, and Dib orders them both a round of butterbeer to start with, grinning madly as the waitress calls him "Sir," which he never heard as a 12 year old when he came here with Devi!

One truly excellent meal later, Dib's feeling much more at ease in his new frame, moving with fresh confidence as he and Luna return to Hogwarts.