Title: A Friend in Need
The sun barely peaked over the hillside of Ottery St. Catchpole; just a sliver of orange against a dark blue sky, giving way to the outline of a Rook like form far off in the distance. As the morning dew coated flowers and blades of grass, insects and birds started their daily ritual once more; a never ending cycle in the chain of life.
Across dozens of acres of untouched golden wheat grass; billowing ever so gracefully in the gentle morning breeze, the soothing rustle of tall grasses created a sound that reminded one of being nearer to the sea than of being in a meadow so far inland.
Crossing the meadow one would find themselves hip deep in the flow of Wheat Grass. A little further along they would be confronted by a massive wall of sunflowers; 4 meters high and a good stone's throw deep.
The mighty heads of the sunflowers look down, each oversized giant plant passing silent judgment upon those adventurous enough to cross the meadow and enter the burrows beyond.
Once past these golden guardians, butterfly laced fields of wildflowers come into view. Every wondrous shade of color imaginable surpassed by yet another more stunning and more exquisite.
Wild pink roses give way to massive blooms of ancient rose stock with buds the size of a full grown wizard's fist. When open, each flower reveals a display so elaborate that it would make even the most experienced dress maker cry with envy at the tufts and tucks of each petal.
Further along, uneven rows of Daisies mix with Black Eyed Susan's as they sway rhythmically back and forth. Raising their heads towards the heavens they appear to sing morning hymns to the butterflies and bubble bees who gather to greet them each day.
As the sun rises above the highest crest of the hillside, the silhouette of the Lovegood House slowly takes shape. That is, of course, if you happen to be a Witch or Wizard. Otherwise all you see is an unusually shaped shadow effect; created by a cluster of fauna that appear to be far off in the distance.
A concealment charm of the first order has indeed been used to mask the true identity of the Lovegood's home. The odd structure is "home sweet home" to two of its original three occupants; Xenophilious Lovegood and his lovely daughter Luna. At the tender age of 9, Luna witnessed her mother's death when an experiment, involving the powder of Erumpet Horn and extract of Dirigible Plum, went very wrong.
Approaching the broken down gate that barely guards the front walkway to the structure beyond, one cannot help but notice numerous small hand painted signs. Signs that warn not to not touch or walk upon the Dirigible plums and to be careful not to do this or that to the Snargaluff or Gurdyrood plants. The largest sign, which hangs over the front doorway, states rather than warns; "Home of Quibbler Xenophilius Lovegood Editor"
No sound comes from the house, as it is still very early in the morning and the occupants are more than likely fast asleep.
The sun shines high in the morning sky and nowhere is a cloud to be found to cover the Azure sky upon which the blazing orb now holds court.
A thread of light travels up to the third floor of the structure. It creeps around the side of the house and in through a shear curtain that hangs in front of an open window. The curtain itself is no defense against the rays of the sun as it moves ever so gently to and fro; a breeze causing it to billow into the room.
The sunbeam widens, casting a long stretch of golden light across the room, touching the wall opposite the window. As the band of light becomes wider still it reaches a lovely white painted four poster bed. A bed dressed with linens of the softest cotton and covered by a canopy of white lace that hangs above the bed and its occupant.
Light reflects off the golden hair and perfect skin of youth that lay asleep upon the bed, her head nestled upon piles of small satin pillows. The smile on the lovely young girls face is broad and open; her teeth, a brilliant white, glisten as if they are rows of perfect pearls plucked from the rarest of oysters nestled deep in the ocean.
Her breath is soft and gentle yet there is something so very unusual about her surroundings. At first glance one would not notice but upon closer inspection one would find that the walls of this lovely room are covered in soft green, almost iridescent, moths. Replete with large wings and long tails they are brilliant en mass. When viewed individually, one can see that they are but the delicate and innocent Luna Moth.
As sunlight continues to filter into the room there are the tiniest of movements. Upon the bed a flutter of an eyelash is followed by the long stretch of an outreaching arm. An audible yawn releases the air of the night and takes in the breeze of a new day.
After rising from her chamber and a quick stop at her commode, Luna trundled down the steep stairs that lead to her father's work area.
In the corner a large printing press continues, magically, to move its rollers back and forth. Sheets of clean parchment are transformed into printed pages which are folded and stacked in a neat pile alongside the machine.
Upon the stack of folded papers lay the head of a man with silver-blonde hair. Barely a sound leaves him as he is clearly in a very deep sleep.
Careful not to wake him, Luna tip toed past, glancing at the machine as it continued on with its chores. As if aware of her presence, the printing press began to move just a little bit faster, the print suddenly appearing to become just a little bit darker.
Slowly, she made her way down yet another flight of stairs. This one is circular and leads to a wonderful light filled space comprised of a quaint kitchen, eating nook, and living room.
Walking over to the counter Luna retrieved a grey and black enamel coffee pot and made her way outside into the full light of the new day.
Standing outside in the fresh air and warmth of the new day's sunlight, Luna stretched once more, working the warmth into the tiniest of her muscles.
"Good Morning to you!" Luna says with a very sing song tone to her voice.
There at her feet stood a garden gnome who had been unexpectedly spotted chewing upon the root of Xeno Lovegood's prized Dirigible Plum. The plant was now some 5 meters high, growing up the front of the Lovegood home.
The Garden Gnome spit a large and ugly wad of chewed root out at Luna and then burrowed itself deep into the moist dirt below the Dirigible plant. Pretending not to notice, Luna just smiled and walked towards the well; just a few more feet away from where she had just stood.
"Oh how lovely, a bird has decided to make its nest here in our Well bucket." Luna exclaimed!
Without any further ado she began to pump the old red painted metal handle and a sudden gush of cold water splashed upon the ground before her. She quickly put the pot under the pump spout, allowing it to fill as she worked the squeaking handle in an up and down motion. She continued until the water gushing from the spout overflowed the enameled pot.
Luna took the pot and walked back to the Lovegood house, stopping just for a moment to ask the now nearly hidden garden gnome if he had had enough to eat and if not, to say that he was more than welcome to come and share breakfast with her and her father.
She walked back into the kitchen and put the pot of water upon the stove and lit the fire beneath it. She dropped several large spoon full's of a darkened powder into the pot and in no time the house was filled with the oddest aroma one could imagine. Not bitter, nor sweet, neither good nor bad, just odd.
Luna walked back outside into the fresh air of a morning that was now fully under way. Birds flew at break neck speed above her and bees buzzed in a lazy way as they lolled from one wild flower to the next.
Tiny white moths chased each other and intertwined themselves in what appeared to be fits of play. This caused Luna to smile just a little bit more as she made her way along the walk that led away from the Lovegood home. Arriving at the end she stopped to pick up a well-worn basket, full of holes and splinters that lay on its side.
She swung the basket merrily back and forth humming a tune that she had made up on the spot, a tune that had no beginning and no clear end. The tune meandered along just as Luna did, until she came to the giant sunflowers that helped to protect and hide the Lovegood home from the unsuspecting eyes of muggles; Muggles who might stumble out of Ottery St. Catchpole and happen upon Lovegood Hill as it was known to the Wizarding world.
Luna reached up and ever so gently snipped off the large heads of a few random Sunflowers. With them came the bounty of seeds that would make up part of the mornings breakfast. "Nature's bounty at its finest ", she felt.
As her basket began to fill to capacity, she looked down and counted the heads that she had snipped. Looking back at the tall stalks and the remaining thousands of sunflowers before her, she bowed ever so slightly and thanked them for being so generous. With a dainty curtsy she turned on her heals and headed back towards her home through the waist deep expanse of wheat grass.
As Luna walked along the path that she had worn well from her many visits to the rows of sunflowers, she was suddenly and inexplicably stopped in her path. There before her was a creature that she believed, as did the entire wizarding world, to have been extinct since the time of Merlin himself; the Goliath Katydid in all its glory. It looked very much like a huge grasshopper but was the size of a small cat.
There it sat, playing its fiddle legs, producing the exact same random tune that Luna had been humming.
She reached forward to pet the creature but it moved back away from her a few steps. Luna placed her basket of Sunflower heads upon the ground and the now interested Goliath Katydid spotted the prize that lay inside the woven object.
It was clear that this creature so loved sunflowers that it could not resist walking ever so carefully up to the basket. There it stood high upon its long, thin legs and sniffed the contents.
Luna asked the grasshopper if it would like to come and join her and her father for breakfast as they would be serving the seeds of the sunflowers along with some fine plums grown in their very own gardens.
Looking at Luna as if it understood what she had just asked of it, the Katydid walked up to her and she ever so gently cupped her hands, allowing the creature to walk into her palms. She then transported it to her shoulder where it perched right next to her dangling radish earring.
Sniffing the radish to see if it was something of note to eat, the grasshopper decided it was not to its liking and subsequently ignored it. Instead, it settled its gaze on the young girl who was now bending down to retrieve her bounty of Sunflower Heads. Having done so, Luna headed back to the Lovegood House with her new acquaintance.
Upon approaching the house, Luna could see that her father had awakened. All of the leaded windows of the Lovegood home were now open allowing the morning breeze to replace the night's stale air.
As he welcomed his daughter, Xenophilius suddenly became very much aware of the visitor that Luna had brought back with her.
Unable to contain himself, he ran up the flight of circular stairs. Soon, books could be heard being thrown across the room above Luna and their guest.
Laying the ever so large Goliath Katydid down at a small bowl at the nook table, Luna went about the task of preparing the mornings meal.
First, Luna lightly salted the sunflower seeds and then placed them in a bowl containing flakes of natural grains; grains that had been turned to paste and then baked until crisp.
Next, she retrieved three bowls and cups from a cupboard. Into the latter, Luna began to pour the now steaming hot brew that she had prepared prior to visiting the Sunflowers.
Luna walked back to the scrubbed wood table where she had been preparing their morning feast and continued to very carefully pluck the petals one by one from each of the now de seeded sunflower heads. She placed the petals in a stone bowl and then, with a pestle in hand, pressed them firmly until they began to turn to a paste. She poured an oily substance over the golden petal paste and proceeded to continue her mortar and pestle routine until a very thick golden liquid formed.
Luna laid the golden substance to the side and walked back to the nook, taking a seat in front of an open window.
Suddenly, Xeno rushed down the stairs, a book raised high above his head. Yelling "I have it, I have it", nearly at the top of his voice, he ran towards Luna and their guest.
Noticing that the Grasshopper was now a bit frightened, Luna, ever the observant host, reached out and pet the creature, assuring it that everything was OK.
Xenophilius Lovegood threw himself into his chair, quickly grabbed his mug of brew and downed the contents as quickly as he could. He gasped for a moment and then went on to read aloud a passage that he had found regarding the "Extinct" Goliath Katydid.
He went on and on and on about how it had been wiped out, how one had not been seen in over a century and how their songs had once brought calm to the fields after a battle had been waged. "Kings had once sought them out to help bring an end to conflict in their lands, etc. All the while he was speaking; Xeno was oblivious to the fact that Luna and the Katydid had other things on their minds.
The flakes of crisped grain and lightly salted sunflower seeds were all Luna and the creature were concerned about at the moment. It was truly a feast to them and one that they were enjoying immensely as Xeno continued to drink mug after mug of steaming brew, all the while reciting passages from the book.
Trying not to be rude, Luna touched her father's arm very lightly to get his attention. He stopped reading for a moment as she thanked him for all of the information that he was so generously sharing with them. She went on to explain, however, that she and the Katydid would be going up to her bedroom for a while.
Xenophilius went back to reading the text out loud, sometimes hitting the table with his open palm, causing hot brew to spill over the sides of his mug and run across the table top. He barely noticed the exit of the Goliath Katydid and his daughter.
Once again lifting the creature to her shoulder, Luna walked over to the scrubbed wood table and retrieved the bowl she had filled with the golden liquid.
Having done so, she ascended the two flights of stairs and placed the Goliath Katydid upon one of her many pillows. It was obvious that the creature had had its fill of sunflower seeds and was once again working its legs to create a soft piece of music which Luna found irresistible and which made her very happy.
Luna offered the Katydid to stay with her in her room as long as he wished. While the creature offered no obvious clue as to whether it understood or not, his music suddenly became more elaborate and melodic.
Luna hummed along with the tune that filled her room. The fresh air that blew in through the open window carried with it the perfume of the great expanse of wild flowers outside their home. Sunlight filled the room with warmth and touched Luna's skin sending tingles of joy throughout her body.
Walking over to a table alongside the bed, Luna picked up a small, fine bristled paint brush that fit nicely in her hand. She then dragged her commode stand chair over to the side of the room with the shortest wall, where the ceiling was low and slanted.
Gazing at the wall, which was covered in portraits painted in amazing detail, Luna dipped the paint brush into the golden liquid she had created from the petals of the sunflowers. Standing upon the chair, she proceeded to paint a golden ribbon around each of the portraits. This ribbon formed a continuous golden chain, encircling one portrait after the next.
Luna hummed along as the Goliath Katydid played its lovely song. The breeze swirled effortlessly in the room and the sunlight shifted from one side of the room to the other as the day wore on.
Looking very pleased with her work, Luna finally stepped off the chair and gazed upon the artwork that covered the ceiling of her bedroom.
Looking closely at the golden ribbon Luna had painted one could see that it wasn't just a ribbon at all. The word FRIENDS painted over and over, perhaps in the thousands or even the millions, created this wondrous illusion that linked all of the portraits together….