In Search of...
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
by Drauchenfyre
Characters: Luna Lovegood, Xeno Lovegood, Rolf Scamander
Summary: A fluffy little story about Luna and Rolf...
A/N: Yes, the name 'Allan Quatermain' is correctly spelled. I checked.
***STORY***
Eighteen-year-old Luna Lovegood sat at the campfire, frying eggs and making coffee, in her and her father's campsite in a large clearing in the Amazon. This was her first expedition with her father since their falling-out after the Battle of Hogwarts a little over a year ago. She sat and mused over the events of her life with Daddy.
When she was little, Luna, like most little girls, thought her Daddy was perfect. Had she ever heard of the fictional Muggle character, she'd have compared him to Allan Quatermain- a great hunter and explorer who could find anything he searched for.
The reality started to set in after Mummy's death. With no one he could leave Luna with for weeks at a time, he started taking her with him on safari. She quickly learned that, while her Daddy was good at finding these creatures, documenting them was another matter. Fortunately, Xenophilius Lovegood was a well-respected explorer in the circles of Cryptozoology (The study of supposedly mythical beasts), and he had many friends. Anytime Xeno Lovegood sent out a discovery over the MAP (Magical Associated Press) Wire, several of these friends would congregate from around the globe to document the find.
She had had her falling out with Xeno following the Battle of Hogwarts when he tearfully admitted to betraying Harry and his friends to the Death Eaters to try and convince them to return her. For the first time in her life, she was furious with her father. After a screaming match that would have done a Molly Weasley Howler proud, Luna stormed out of the Rookery and apparated to Hogwarts to help with the reconstruction. She had stayed there in September to attend her final year as a Ravenclaw Prefect (her year's original Prefect having died in the Camps, as she was a Muggle-Born).
It had been Christmas before she had even been willing to read her father's letters of apology- and even then, Harry Potter was the one who urged her to forgive him, as he himself had. When she asked him why he would forgive him for what he did, Harry answered simply, "He did what he had to, to save that which was most precious to him. I could never hate him for that."
Now, here in July, she and her father had set out on a post-graduation expedition to find a South American legend which had not been seen in centuries- Quetzalcoatl, the Winged Serpent of the Storm. It was known to have existed once, but it had been so long since a confirmed sighting that most believed it extinct. Xeno was determined to prove that wrong.
It had taken a week, but Xeno and Luna had struck gold. Their report of the Quetzalcoatl nest, complete with their Portkey coordinates, had gone out on Xeno's portable MAP Wire transmitter last night, and his friends should be along soon to document the find.
"Hellloooooo the camp!"
Luna looked up to see a familiar figure walking towards her. Dressed in khaki hiking gear, well-worn boots, a loaded field vest, and a ballcap, was a young blond man. His eyes were hidden behind mirrored shades, but Luna remembered those beautiful cobalt eyes behind them.
Rolf Tomas Scamander.
The youngest of Xeno's crowd (besides Luna), Rolf was a mere three years older than Luna, and often traveled with his grandfather, famed wildlife author Newton Isaac 'Newt' Scamander. Smiling, she stood up to greet the handsome man she had been crushing on for years.
"Rolf, always good to see you."
Rolf threw an arm around Luna in a crushing one-armed hug, his other hand holding away his camera so it didn't get damaged. His accent betrayed his Montana origins as he replied, "How's my favorite Moonchild today?"
Luna smiled and said, "Recovering from the War. It's good to be on safari again." Those that thought Luna weird would have been surprised to find her oddness was a symptom of her claustrophobia. Even in a spacious castle like Hogwarts, the walls felt like they were closing in. Luna lived for being outdoors, among the trees, wildlife- nature. Here, she was at peace with herself.
Rolf looked more serious, but, before he could say anything, the tent flap opened and Xenophilius Lovegood emerged. "Rolf!" he cried. "Where's that Grandfather of yours?"
Rolf turned toward the elder Lovegood and replied, "Back home in Montana. He claims he's retired again. I give him three more months before he goes stir-crazy this time. That man is not built for the idle lifestyle."
"He sent you alone?"
Rolf shrugged, "He said I'd need to do this by myself some day, figured an expedition with the Lovegoods was a nice, safe way to cut my teeth."
Luna tilted her head to the side. "Where's your pack?"
Rolf patted his vest. "Latest invention from Frontiersmen Clothiers. All the pockets are bottomless, with autoshrinking charms- I've even got my tent in here. And the vest never weighs more than five pounds, no matter what you put in it!"
Luna smiled. The most forward-thinking magical inventors lived in North America, and Rolf was always picking up some new, odd piece of safari equipment.
"Well, you're the first to get here. I was expecting Maria first- we're practically in her back yard, after all," Xeno commented.
"Santana? She's on maternity leave."
"Really? Since when?"
"She found out last month. In our line of work, you really can't waddle through the woods pregnant- she'll be out of circulation for the next year at least. I hear Tonio's over the moon about their first child."
"So who else is coming?"
"Hmmm- Dundee's on her way from Oz, Tanaka from Japan, Kinte from Mozambique, Vulkov from Bulgaria- everyone else is on assignment, except Rakesh. No one's heard from him in the last three months. He went looking for the Yeti and didn't come back."
"No one's out looking for him?"
"Tanaka, Vulkov and I talked about it- if he's not heard from by the time we're done here, we'll go looking. You know how Rakesh is- goes out in the field and loses all track of time. Without us tracking him down, he'll wander home in December, thinking it's still April." He turned to Luna. "Care to join us, Moonchild?"
Luna smiled, then replied, "I'll have to think about it, Rolf, but thanks for thinking of me anyway."
"I think about you a lot, Luna."
Xeno cleared his throat, then said, "Shall I show you the nest?"
Rolf threw him a roguish grin and said, "Nah, Dundee and Tanaka are right behind me- they'll be here within the hour. Might as well wait for them."
Xeno, grumbling about teenage daughters growing up too fast and their 'bad-boy' crushes, returned to the tent as Luna poured Rolf some coffee- two sugars, no cream. She remembered.
Rolf looked into her eyes, more serious than she'd seen him before. "I thought I'd lost you, Moonchild. When we didn't hear from you the summer after the war, I feared the worst."
"Daddy and I had a falling out, over something he did during the war. A safari together was out of the question."
"You still could have written."
"I was in a bad place, Rolf. The ICW had an interdiction on the British Isles- no owls in or out."
The unusually grim photographer nodded, sadly. Then, he reached out, lifted her chin, and gently kissed her on the lips.
"Don't scare me like that again, Moonchild."
"R-Rolf, I-I thought we were going to wait-"
"Until you were legal, Luna. Last I checked, eighteen was legal in every country I've ever set foot in. We don't have to hide our feelings anymore- the only barriers to our being boyfriend and girlfriend are those we impose- or are imposed by meddling-but-well-meaning parental units."
Luna smiled and threw her arms around the taller boy's neck, pulling his head down for a good, deep kiss.
Clapping and a wolf-whistle interrupted them. Jumping apart, they turned and saw Christina Dundee, Hiro Tanaka, and Nikolai Vulkov standing there applauding, Nikolai restraining Xeno Lovegood and laughing.
Dundee broke the tension by saying, "'Bout time you got off yer arse, Rolf. Thought one of them Pommies was gonna beat ya to yer Sheila."
Rolf gulped, unable to take his eyes off Xeno's thunderous expression.
Luna, though, was having none of it. "Daddy, are you objecting to Rolf in particular- or me dating in general?"
Xeno suddenly looked guilty, staring at his daughter like a deer in Muggle headlights, then sighed and deflated. "Dating in general, Snowflower. I guess you are old enough, and if you have to have a boyfriend, at least he's a nice and respectful lad." Xeno turned to Rolf. "Okay, lad, but remember- If you hurt my Luna, I know a hex that will remove your appendix through your nose."
Rolf smiled nervously, then reached out and took Luna's hand in his own. If Xeno came around this quickly, maybe it was truly meant to be?
END