The Houses Competition

Y3, Round 2

House: Gryffindor

Year: Head Girl

Category: Standard

Prompt: 8. [Speech] "Your wish is my command."

Word count: 1473 words (written on Google Docs)

Betas: Thank you to the lovely CK (Theoretical-Optimist), Shiba (Shibalyfe) and Aurora (Aurora-Star-Merry-Harry-Ricci) for all their help!

Additional A/N: I'm not sure how this story that was originally a Walburga/Orion, then a Stan Shunpike, then a Creevey family fic, became a Lovegood focus, but it just happened :') I hope you enjoy this. I also know Luna was nine when all this happened, and I was tempted to change her dialogue just a little bit more. However, I hope it still keeps her within her age bracket and I do believe Xenophilius will always see her as his little girl, no matter how old she gets lol. I also love Pandora and think she was a good mother and person over-all, but this is the other of two headcanons I have for her. Oh, and one last thing, I also wasn't sure how to correctly punctuate someone reading out of a book (the first sentence is made up), so I stuck with the most common response which was to use italics—I hope that's right! :)

Thank you for reading!

Your Wish is my Command

"Aladdin thought carefully about his third wish, remembering that he had promised to free the genie…"

Xenophilius turned the page carefully and looked down at his daughter. He had thought that she would've dozed off by now—the Muggle storybook was awfully long—but as usual, he was wrong. With her head leaning on his forearm, Luna gazed up at him with wide, silver eyes.

"How come Muggles can believe in genies but some wizards don't believe in Wrackspurts?" she asked.

He put the book on the coffee table, as well as the old inkpot he had been using to show her how genies used expansion charms to fit inside their lamps, and sighed. It had been a question he had asked himself many a time when he'd found copies of The Quibbler in bins lining Diagon Alley.

"I suppose that wizards already have magic, and they don't really think they need to look elsewhere for more," he said.

Luna nodded and was silent for a moment. Then: "Daddy? What would your three wishes be?"

Xenophilius had to think carefully. What did he want? His eyes wandered over to the desk where Pandora sat with her nose in her books, completely oblivious to their conversation.

"Well, my first wish would be to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," he eventually said.

"You might one day."

Xenophilius smiled and ruffled Luna's hair. "My second wish would be to have a roof over my head, but I already have that, don't I?"

Luna giggled. "Silly Daddy, you're supposed to wish for things you need."

His eyes slid over to the office again, watching as Pandora scratched something off a piece of parchment. His second wish would've really been for everything under that roof to be perfect, but Luna didn't need to know that.

Turning back to his daughter, his smile widened. "Does that mean I can't have my third wish?"

Luna tilted her head. "What is it?"

Wiggling his eyebrows, he started tickling Luna. "A beautiful, brave, and smart daughter!"

The little girl's giggles echoed around the house. "Silly Daddy," she choked out through her squeals.

"I think that's enough for one evening, don't you?"

Xenophilius turned to see Pandora staring at him, her eyebrows raised. He bit back the retort that came to his lips and instead gave his wife a mock bow.

"Your wish is my command," he said, gaining more giggles from Luna.

Her laughter drowned out Pandora's sigh as he picked up the book and 'magic lamp' inkpot, and escorted Luna to her bedroom.

If there was one thing Xenophilius couldn't stand, it was crying. As soon as he entered the kitchen that evening, the heart-wrenching sound hit his ears.

Luna was sitting at the kitchen table, her normally bright eyes welling with tears. She was staring miserably at her plate whilst Pandora bustled about the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling up a chair.

Luna sniffled and wiped her wet nose with the back of her sleeve. "I don't like carrots."

"Don't bother telling her she doesn't have to eat them. I don't have time to cook anything else," Pandora said, before giving Luna a small smile. "They're healthy for you. Now, I've got to get back to work."

In a flash, she was running back into her office.

Xenophilius offered Luna a smile of his own. "I don't like carrots either, nasty things they are," he said, wrinkling his nose.

Luna gave him a small smile, but it soon faded. "I wish I could have chocolate for dinner instead. I'm sure Aladdin would've wished for that."

It took Xenophilius a moment to remember that Aladdin was not one of Luna's 'pet' garden gnomes, but the character from the book they had read the night before. Nevertheless, he grinned as he realised exactly how he could stop his daughter's sorrow.

Waving his wand, he summoned the old inkpot from Luna's bedroom and held it out to her.

Luna sniffled again, but as her eyes took in the inkpot, her own face lit up with a smile. She took the item and rubbed her sleeve on it, just like the character did in the book.

"I wish for chocolate!"

Xenophilius grinned. This time, he used his wand to summon some chocolate he had hidden in the pantry.

"Your wish is my command!" he said. "Just don't tell your mother."

Luna giggled and accepted the chocolate bar. "Thanks, genie!"

"It's neither ridiculous nor dangerous what I'm doing. All my experiments are completely harmless," Pandora said.

Her normally beautiful blue eyes flashed as she stared him down, her hands on her hips.

Xenophilius took a step back. "There're always risks in magic."

Pandora huffed and turned to her desk. Flipping through a stack of parchment and finding the sheet she wanted, she whipped back around and waved it in his face. "Don't you see how close I am? This could be it!"

She then placed the parchment back on the desk and sighed. Xenophilius watched as she raked a hand through her hair, her breathing becoming more even.

"Look, I know this is taking all my time, but I promise it'll be worth it. I just need your support—just like how I supported you with your magazine," she said, walking over to him and gripping his hand. "Please, just give me time."

Xenophilius sighed. It was true; Pandora had given up her dreams of becoming a Magizoologist to help raise Luna and assist with The Quibbler's creation. Now it was her turn.

"Daddy, I have my second wish ready."

The pair spun around to see Luna standing in the doorway, the inkpot in her hand.

"What is it, sweetie?" he asked, plastering a smile on his face.

"I wish you, and Mummy, and me could go on a picnic like we used to. Then you can both do your work with smiles on your faces."

He wasn't sure when their daughter had become so wise, but a break seemed like a good idea. He glanced at Pandora and said, "Well? Shall we?"

Pandora nodded and took Luna's hand. "That sounds marvellous."

Taking Luna's other hand after she placed the inkpot back into her robe pocket, he gave it a squeeze. "Your wish is my command."

He knew those wretched experiments would destroy them!

Through blurry eyes, Xenophilius looked around the master bedroom. At first, when the accident had happened, he had thought he would never be able to return to the room. There were simply too many memories of Pandora: the jewellery box on the dresser, the robes hanging on the back of the wardrobe door…

He had returned, though, and now he couldn't seem to leave. Remaining inside every day was his punishment for letting her continue with her wretched experiments. Another sob choked up his throat, and he buried his face in his hands.

"Daddy?"

Using his robes as a handkerchief, Xenophilius blew his nose and swiped at his eyes. Remaining in the room had also allowed him to hide his pain from Luna.

His little girl came in and sat next to him on the bed. Her own eyes looked a little red, as did the tip of her nose. He tried to give her a smile, but his lips quivered instead, and he realised too late that he would not be able to keep the tears at bay.

"I'm sorry, Luna, I'm sorry," he said, sobbing.

Luna didn't say anything, but he could feel her tiny hand rubbing his back. They remained that way for a while: Luna consoling him as he blubbered like a selfish fool.

Only when he finally managed to calm his sobs did Luna stop. He felt her place something on his knee, and he looked down.

"I know what my third wish will be," she said, tapping the inkpot.

A waved of dread replaced the hurt in his heart as he realised she was probably going to wish for something impossible. He couldn't bring Pandora back, no matter how much he wished he could.

"I wish my father would smile again."

"I can't bring—pardon?"

Blinking away his tears, he saw Luna staring into his eyes. "I wish you would smile again. I want to free you like Aladdin freed the genie; I miss my happy Daddy."

"I—I—"

He could see the pleading in her eyes. He couldn't let her down, not again.

"Your—your wish is my co-command," he said, his voice shaking.

Luna continued staring at him, and with a shaky laugh, he cracked a smile.

Luna smiled back. "Thank you. Can we have dinner now?"

He chuckled. "How about some healthy chocolate?"

Standing up slowly, his knees wobbling, he took Luna's hand and allowed her to lead him out of the bedroom.

He couldn't help but feel that it was he who had received his third wish.