Luna opened the musty shed door, it creaked loudly and smoke or steam – she wasn't quite sure which, flew out into her face. Coughing, Luna stepped into the shed. When the air cleared Luna looked around the filthy shed in awe. It was like paradise to her, walking into this smelly old garden shed.
Nobody had entered it since Luna was nine years old, more than five years ago,when her mothers experiment went wrong and she had died, a scene which Luna had witnessed and would never leave her memory.
There were three shelves on the back wall covered with bottles and jars. Stepping closer, Luna realized that they were potions and ingredients. Lifting her gaze from a bottle of billywig wings she noticed a huge cauldron in the corner of the room, like in her memories, filled with a strange silvery blue substance.
Luna got a sudden flash-back of her mother death and she watched the scene playing in her head in silence.
Luna's mother, Ellen Lovegood had been brilliant at potions, charms and transfiguration. The problem was, she liked to experiment and put the three skills together, which was where everything went wrong.
Ellen smiled reassuringly at her husband and daughter and she lifted the silver goblet to her lips and drank the silvery blue liquid inside it, which after her meddling should have turned her into a phoenix for a few hours.
Her body erupted into flames and slowly turned to ashes. Father and daughter watched the transformation take place horrified.
Luna looked up at her father, "Daddy...is Mummy a phoenix now?" she asked gazing at the pile of ashes worriedly.
Her father did not look her in the eye but knelt down by the ashes and picked some up. He stared at the black pieces lying in his palm and said truthfully, "I'm not entirely sure Luna, darling."
Luna blinked and found herself back in the present, staring at the blue liquid swirling around in the cauldron. A dusty silver goblet caught Luna's eye, lying on the shed floor where her mother had dropped it those many years ago. She leaned down and picked it up, when she spotted the remainder of the ashes.
"Oh Mummy..."she said softly, a tear falling from her eye, as she felt the ashes in-between her fingers.
Slowly Luna picked up the goblet and lifted it into the cauldron. She drew it out again, now filled with the silvery blue potion, and lifted it to her lips as she had seen her mother do in her memories.
Feeling the cold silver against her lips she hesitated and suddenly there was a creak on the shed floor-boards. Quickly Luna lowered the goblet and spun around, to see her father staring at her with a horrible look on his face, full of worry and love for his daughter.
"Don't do it darling." Her father said simply.
Luna looked directly into his eyes, as he looked into hers. Two faces full of misery.
She flung the goblet down and ran over to hug her father. When she withdrew from the embrace, they both had tears in their eyes.
"Just remember if one of us left, it wouldn't make things better Luna. We all need to be together to be happy, but killing yourself won't do any good, it will just make things worse." Mr. Lovegood said softly.
"I know...sorry Daddy." Luna said quietly, sniffing into her robes.
He patted her head and said, "Shall we go and get some lunch? I'm sure I could make an apple crumble like your mother used to make."
Luna nodded and they walked out of the shed, father and daughter, hand in hand.
Luna knew she would come back to the shed one day when she was older. Maybe she would continue her mothers work and complete the phoenix potion. Or she wouldn't. Her parents would be proud of her no matter what she did, whether they were alive or dead. This thought comforted Luna as she beamed at her father across the kitchen table and tucked into her apple crumble.
"Are you ok?" Mr. Lovegood asked her looking slightly concerned.
"Never better, you?"she replied.
"Well I'm suffering from eating burnt apple crumble but other than that…"he answered, pushing away his plate.
Luna just smiled and took another spoonful of the disgusting crumble.
The End