Leaping lightly from root to root, Luna made sure not to bother the little nymphs that enjoyed playing between the undergrowth of the forest. She didn't like that they felt the need to flee every time she parted the leaves to step onto the ground, so Luna had learned the alternate route: she was sure her father still bothered them sometimes.
Luna could hear the difference.
She stopped several paces from the river and glanced around, Spectrespecs carefully perched on her nose. There usually weren't Nargles around the river at this time of day, but the Nargles were an odd bunch, and tended to do whatever pleased them. The blue lights were absent, and Luna sighed in relief.
It wouldn't be a surprise if she was found out. She had tried her best to keep it from her parents. The blanket was already laid out, a corner folded in from a curious fairy, and three cushions almost exactly as she had left them on an earlier trip.
A pair of candles in glass jars joined them, settling in the centre of the cushions, where Luna hoped it would provide enough light. It was difficult to tell with the Blibbering Humdingers that liked to hang around after dark. Luna would leave the radio on at home to distract them.
It was only a couple of metres away, but it would be more pleasant without their constant mumbling. (Luna hadn't realised the first time, and her father had disappeared soon after they had eaten, claiming he had a lot of work for the next Quibbler issue.)
The basket was placed in the remaining space, a light heating charm to keep the contents warm enough to be eaten later.
Satisfied, Luna sat back, reaching into her pocket to grasp at the box of matchsticks – her mother's. It was nearly empty, only five matchsticks were still in the box. She was going to have to refill the box soon.
The first matchstick broke in half when she tried to light it, and she dropped the pieces onto the edge of the blanket in dismay.
The second matchstick blew off as quickly as it was lit. Her hand trembled as she lay the burnt matchstick next to its sibling.
The last caught alight, and Luna lit the two candles. She only blew the matchstick out after it threatened to burn her. (She'd gotten into trouble for that before.)
Lighting the candles without magic was tradition since she had been a child – probably because Luna hadn't been able to use magic as a child, but it had stuck even after she had entered the walls of Hogwarts.
Every time Luna blinked, she could see all their passed lakeside dinners. All the successful ones, all the terrible ones, their food fights. It had always been their almost magicless family moments, where they were just a little family alone in the mighty universe, enjoying the presence of each other.
"Preparing everything by hand really does make it more satisfying, Mummy, even now." Luna's gaze rested on the cushion to her right – her mother's cushion, or the one her mother had occupied before the accident so many years ago. "I'm afraid the animals interest me far more than the spells."
She gave the cushions a watery smile. "I had Hermione have a look at your notes, and she's been working on it for weeks already. Do you know what she said? She said your spell only needed an extra syllable, maybe two, to make it stable enough to use. You were really close."
Luna turned to the next cushion. The memory of her father's warm, proud smile greeted her and she swallowed through the thickness in her throat.
"The Quibbler is doing great, Daddy! I'm sure you're really proud of the little magazine you started in Hogwarts to impress Mummy!" Luna called, tears streaming from her eyes as she fought to speak over her sobs. "I'm getting someone else to manage it while I go looking for animals with Rolf. I haven't found your Crumple-Horned Snorkack yet, but I promise I will some day, and I'll be sure to remind them that you knew all along."
The drops had grown into a stream, and Luna didn't bother wiping her cheeks anymore. Luna's eyes found the distant horizon and the rapidly cooling colours of the sun that had already set.
"I just-I just wish you were here one more time. That we could have one last dinner at dusk together, just the three of either of you could have met your grandsons, Lorcan and Lysander. I can only ever tell them stories about you, but the stories will never give you justice. You're both more than any story I would ever be able to repeat to them."
The flickering flames and the fireflies were the only stars she could reach tonight, even as the glittering night sky slowly made itself visible to her.
"But I know, wherever you are, you're happy. And together. And right now, that's all I can really ask of the two of you. I will see you again, some day, but you're going to have to wait to meet my Lorcan and Lysander. They're eager to meet you, but the longer the wait the better the surprise, right?"
Luna let the sounds of the river and the trees take over, with only her choked breaths breaking their rhythm.
The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko] –
Transfiguration: Write a story about a character needing to use a match and/or a lighter rather than a wand [matchstick, mighty]
Through the Universe: Lunar Eclipse – (character) Luna Lovegood
