It was just like any other day. Young Luna was in the kitchen eating breakfast when her mother peeked around the stairs and called out softly, "Good morning, Luna." Luna looked up in surprise and stared unfocusedly at the lady descending the stairs. "Good morning, Mommy."
Mrs. Lovegood approached Luna and cuddled her while planting a kiss on top of her head. Luna just responded by bulging her eyes while chewing her food.
"What are you having for breakfast, dear?" Mrs. Lovegood asked while taking a seat next to her daughter.
"My favorite Freshwater Plimpy soup," Luna beamed dreamily, looking up at her mother. "Want some, Mommy?"
Her mother laughed lightly and replied, "No, thanks, honey. I've had my breakfast already."
"Oh…," Luna trailed off.
"Well, I need to get back to my experiment, now," her mother said after a long pause only filled by the sound of Luna's chewing.
Luna jerked her head up, excited. "Can I watch, Mommy?"
"How could I resist such an angelic face?" her mother smiled.
Luna kept staring wide-eyedly at her mother, so Mrs. Lovegood continued, "Of course you can, Luna. You always do. Go finish your breakfast; I'll be waiting for you in my lab." With that, she rose and ruffled Luna's long blonde waves before heading up the stairs.
Luna hurriedly gulped down her food and then raced up the stairs to the topmost landing of her house. She peeked around the door of her mother's lab to see her mother preparing various jars of unknown objects.
"What are you experimenting with, today?" Luna asked with the innocent curiosity of a nine-year-old.
"Whittlegroot tentacles. They're good for experimenting; they fight back when shot at with a spell, that way it's almost like a practice duel," her mother explained. "Today I'm going to see what happens if I merge a Stunning Spell with a Shield Charm," she winked.
"Ooh!" Luna clapped her hands. "That must be really interesting, Mommy. If it works, they you'd be able to attack and defend at the same time, right?" Luna enthused with typical Ravenclaw thoughtfulness – even though she hasn't been Sorted yet, she was surely going in that House.
"Exactly, my intelligent little Luna," her mother complimented.
"I can't wait to study at Hogwarts and learn magic…," Luna said, staring off into space and as if speaking to herself.
"I can't wait to see what a wonderful witch you'll become," her mother smiled sincerely. "Now keep silent, okay. I'm about to start."
Luna pressed her lips together tightly, but otherwise looked very serene and dreamy.
"…or should it be Stropego? Hmm, but that would mess up the essence of the spells…," Mrs. Lovegood mused to herself. She scribbled several things down and then said, "Alright. This one's worth a try." She pointed her wand at the Whittlegroot tentacles and cried, "Stuptego!"
WHAM! Suddenly there was a blinding flash of white light. The curse had rebounded itself and attacked its caster instead. Mrs. Lovegood shrieked in shock and pain.
Luna let out a short scream. Something heavy pressed her chest as she saw her mother fell to the floor, and lay there unmoving. She ran towards her mother.
"Mommy? Mommy, are you okay?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes moving wildly. She kneeled beside her mother and stared. All she did was keep staring. And somehow Luna knew. She knew that her mother won't be kissing her good night anymore. She knew that her mother wouldn't watch her grow to be an extraordinary witch. She knew that her mother was there no more. She knew that her mother was gone.
Tears made their way out, pouring from her prominent eyes and streaking her pale cheeks. She made no noise, she didn't wail nor sob. But she couldn't stop crying. And she started shaking as her tears fell harder.
It felt like the end. Everything she had, all seemed irrelevant now. It was all over. Luna had nothing left but emptiness and void.
She moved slightly backwards to make way for her father, who rushed into the room and towards her mother. It was all vague to her. She could just make out the blurry outline of her father. He was holding on to her mother, rocking himself back and forth and wailing wildly – unlike his daughter.
When the people from St. Mungo's arrived, their tears had receded. Luna and Mr. Lovegood stood against the wall as they watched the Healers examine the body.
Luna paid no attention as a Healer approached Mr. Lovegood and explained what had happened. The spell had automatically rebounded itself because it was merged with a Shield Charm, and it hit Mrs. Lovegood with thrice its original power. What with the close proximity and an additional counter attack from the tentacles, it killed her.
Luna just watched her mother's body, letting it all sink in. She didn't know what to do now. She didn't know what will happen next. She felt lost.
Mr. Lovegood reached for Luna's hand and squeezed it. Luna looked up to her father's eyes. Luna's usually happy, clear silvery grey eyes now looked clouded and miserable, and as if she'd suffered a hundred years of torture. They also looked much, much emptier than usual.
Mr. Lovegood just whispered, "Oh Luna."
And Luna just kept staring into her father's eyes. Even though her father looked utterly devastated, she could see something else in his eyes. Deep, deep in his eyes. It was as if they were trying to communicate something to her. And only someone intelligent could see it, what with it being buried deep under a thousand masks of sorrow and misery and loss. Luna could see it, of course. If anyone could delve into the core of anything, it would be her.
She could see them telling her that everything would be alright, that there is still hope. That he is still there for her, and will always be.
And that was enough for Luna. Suddenly she didn't feel so alone anymore. Suddenly she felt hope. And she realized that she hasn't lost everything. She still had something. Someone. Someone very important and precious. Her father. She would be alright as long as she still had him. He would be alright as long as he still had her. And they did. They had each other.
She hugged her father tightly.