Luna Lovegood sat at the kitchen table with her chin resting on its wooden surface. She had been left all alone since her father was busy working on a new article for the Quibbler and her mother was preparing dinner. This left Luna very bored. Normally, she would spend her days playing with the faeries in the garden or chasing butterflies through the flowers, but today it was raining and the faeries were all hidden, safe and warm in the nooks of the trees that they called home.
Noticing her child's inactiveness, Pandora Lovegood stopped what she was doing. "What's wrong, love bug?"
"Nothing's wrong, mummy," she said with a sigh. "I just wanna go outside and play."
Looking out of the window, Pandora saw that it was still raining and tried to think of something to occupy her young daughter.
"How can you be bored, my love, when you're in such an extraordinary world?"
"What do you mean, mummy? It's just a boring old kitchen. I don't see anything 'straordinary."
"But Luna, listen carefully. Can't you hear them?" Pandora said, looking concerned.
Luna froze, listening hard. "Hear what, mummy? I can't hear anything."
"Really, you can't hear all of the magnificent creatures calling for their princess?"
Shaking her head, Luna looked confused. She looked around the kitchen, trying to understand what her mother was talking about.
Pandora walked around the table until she was directly behind Luna's chair. With great care, she lifted Luna from her seat and stood her on the table. "Can you see them from here? They're all around you. All of the subjects from our kingdom have come to see their princess. That's you, sweetheart."
"Tell me what they look like, mummy," Luna whined.
"Well, let's see. There are Crumple Horned Snorkacks way in the back. Can't you see them with their massive humps and sparkling purple scales? Their horns are just over there, sticking up above the crowd and their gigantic tails swishing from side to side. Next, to them are the Umgubular Slashkilters, making a hooting sound. Wow! Look at the beautiful gold and blue feathers that cover their bodies! They're quite lovely and bright, don't you think?"
Luna looked around the room and suddenly the kitchen disappeared. She and her mother were standing on top of a massive pedestal and forest surrounded them. Vines hung all around them and brightly colored butterflies floated through the air. Sunlight shone through the humongous canopy of trees to illuminate all of the magical creatures before her. Sure enough, she could see the Crumple Horned Snorkacks poking their heads out from behind different trees, their metallic purple scales occasionally shinning in the light. Excitement filled her tiny heart.
"Mummy! Mummy!" Luna shrieked with joy, "Look at all of the Moon Fwogs! Can you hear them croaking? I think they're calling my name!"
"I see them baby. Did you see the Heliopaths far, far away? Even they came to see their new princess, although they can't get too close or they might accidentally light the place on fire."
Luna squeaked, "I can see Gulping Plimpies. Look! They're like a rainbow, mummy! Look at all of the colors! Blue and green and yellow and orange!"
Soon the happy shrieks and squeals from the kitchen attracted Xenophelius Lovegood's attention. "What on Earth is going on out here? Are my two girls alright?"
Smiling, Luna recounted the tale of how she came to be a princess in this magical land. Xeno oohed and ahhed as she told him about all of the animals in their presence.
Smiling Xeno added, "What about the Aquavirius Maggots just in front of your pedestal here? Don't tell me you mistook them for common brains! Look at how they crawl in masses to look at you. And over there! Look at the Blibbering Humdingers floating above the crowd. They almost look like serpents except for their rainbow colored scales and wispy fins. Look how they twirl through the air in happiness! All because of your darling!"
Luna stamped, hooted, and howled at all of her subjects, acknowledging their presence. All of the magical creatures returned the gesture, clamoring forward to get a glimpse of Luna. She stepped off of her pedestal and wandered through the crowd, talking to each of the creatures as she went.
After what seemed to be hours of festivities to celebrate the princess, Luna was exhausted. She refused to admit that she needed to go to bed, but her drooping eyes said it loud and clear. Xeno scooped the young princess up into his arms and carried her up the stairs, his wife following right behind him.
Silently, Pandora lifted the covers and Xeno slid Luna underneath them. Gently, he tucked the blankets in around her tiny, sleeping form. Brushing her hair out of her face, he turned and walked to the doorway where he stood waiting for his wife.
Pandora bent forward, kissing Luna's forehead lightly. "Good night, my princess. May you dream of Crumple Horned Snorkacks and Blibbering Humdingers always."
Hi there,
This story was originally posted on HPFF for The Harry Potter Children's Story Challenge. It received an honourable mention in Freda & Georgina's Creative Creature's Challenge on HPFF as well.
It was a real struggle for me to try and figure out what to write for this challenge. I am an only child and only grandchild and as such have never really grown up around little kids. This left me with very little clue about what a child might like to read. This is my best attempt.
I'd like to say a big thank you to krazyboutharryginny for helping me sort out my ideas for this one and to BitterSweetFlames for looking this over for me. I appreciate you both, not only for your help, but for your friendship.
And finally, if you read this and have a moment to spare, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to leave a comment in the little box below!
Thank you for reading!
~TreacleTart
