Every parent watches their child go with more than a degree of trepidation. There is that fear; that never-ending worry that something bad will happen to them, that some fearsome monster will leap out from behind number thirty-two's wheelie bin and grab them. For many, that fear is never realised. Their child bumbles through life with nothing more serious than a missed promotion or a tiff at work. But, if that fear was realised, that parent would do anything - absolutely anything - to get that child back.
Xenophilius Lovegood is no different. He knew the risks, allowing Luna to go back to Hogwarts, but somehow, he had figured that everything would be alright. The Death Eaters wouldn't pick on his Luna, a defenceless little girl, surely. And even if they did, she had her friends. They wouldn't take her in broad daylight, in front of so many people.
Now, in that big, cold, empty house, all alone except for the wrackspurts, he berates himself for that decision. He let her go - he willingly let her go - into danger. It is bad enough for someone else to put your child in danger, but for you to allow that to happen? Xenophilius couldn't feel worse about it. That bed, neatly made, should have been rumpled right about now. She should have been here, leaving a trail of clutter in her wake. Her room, ghostly tidy, should have been strewn with her belongings, like it was every holiday. Like it was supposed to be.
They'd told him. 'Get Potter, or lose the girl. Forever'. How could he miss that chance? A parent would do anything to get back their child, even if it put them in danger. Even if it put someone else's child in danger. Even if it put the whole of the world in danger, they would do whatever it took.
And here he was. Potter, and all his friends, in his living room. In Xenophilius' living room. He had to do it. Potter would be fine, he was quite adept at getting out of trouble. But Luna? He couldn't just leave his little girl, all along, locked up wherever she was, maybe hurt, probably scared.
Whatever it takes. He'd promised himself so long ago, right when she was just a tiny bundle in her mother's arms. Whatever it takes to keep her safe.
A.N. A short insight into why Xenophilius did what he did in Deathly Hallows. Any hope of a review? Even a flame?