Chapter 2: In which Rolf meets the curious Luna Lovegood
Thank you to anyone who reviewed or read this story! Here is chapter two, please feel free to tell me what you thought of it. All constructive critiscm and general comments are welcome.
Rolf pushed through the trees and branches. He had left his team behind a little while ago, with promises to eventually return. Before nightfall at least, he had promised Janet, his second in command (who looked after him really). He was looking for the blue plants that he had seen in a certain part of this vast forest. Where, he was not entirely sure but he was not going to let that stop him. Not if he could finally find the new species he so desperately wanted to.
He moved into a clearing and that is when he saw her. A young woman, almost a girl, was sitting next to the blue flowers that he had been searching for. She was talking to herself whilst plaiting a flower into her dirty blonde hair. She had her back to Rolf, seemingly oblivious to the world.
"Excuse me?" He called and walked towards her. The girl turned around quickly, startled. She looked up at him with the biggest eyes he had ever seen and tilted her head to the side to look at him. Rolf tilted his head to the other side at her.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Those flowers you are next to?"
"What about them?"
"Do you have any idea what they are called? Or if they have a name?"
The girl narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Why?"
"I'm looking for a new species: of plant, animal, goblin, spirit, or gnome. Anything really
"Then no, I am not really sure of its name. I was going to ask my father, in a letter of course. Obviously he is not here." The girl smiled at him for the first time. Rolf found himself smiling back.
"Are you travelling alone then?"
The girl looked around.
"It appears so. What about you?"
"My team are somewhere." Rolf gestured vaguely in the direction he thought he had come from. "I'm Rolf by the way. Rolf Scamander."
"Oh?" said the girl, interested. "Luna Lovegood."
"Nice to meet you" said Rolf and they shook hands. "Lovegood as in Xenophillius Lovegood?"
"My father. Scamander as in Newt Scamander?"
"My grandfather."
"Oh? What is he like?"
"Dead."
"Oh."
"No it's fine. It's not as if I am never going to see him again."
"Is he a ghost then?"
"I think so. Or he is behind the Curtain."
"The Curtain?"
"It is in the Ministry. It's a giant curtain and behind is those no longer with us. One day we will all go through it."
"Yes I know of it," Luna shrugged. "Only it's called the Veil. I've seen it. I heard my mother from behind it."
"Sorry."
She smiled at him again. Rolf felt a little disconcerted.
"Did you want the flower?"
"What? Oh yes, thank you." She stuck one behind his ear and laughed a little too loudly.
"Pretty." She murmured.
"Would you like to come back to my camp? I have a little team there. I'm sure they would like you." He began to ask but she shook her head and looked at him.
"Maybe another time. Goodbye Rolf Scamander."
"Goodbye Luna Lovegood."
With that she picked another flower and departed the clearing into the thick bushes and thorns. Rolf watched her go until he could not see her anymore and turned back to where he thought he had come from. He remembered the flower and pulled it out of his hair and twiddled with it. If it was a new magical species, he knew what he would call it.
"The Lovegood," He said aloud and pocketed it. Then he began to make his way back to camp.
Rolf had no other contact with Luna Lovegood for the rest of the week, though he often looked out for the flash of dirty blonde hair and the rather bright clothing that she had worn. He did discover, however, that she was a former freedom fighter in the Second Wizarding War. Or so his team told him.
Rolf did spend a lot of his time with his team. There was Janet, his second in command and his main carer. Then there was Tom, Janet's husband and the team cook. It seemed the less that was said about his cooking the better. There was Sam, their resident medical advisor, who had just finished his training at St. Mungo's. Then there was Rose, the specialist they had brought in to help in their search for a new breed of Manticore. They had students with them too. There were three of them: Suzy, Epinone and Briar, all of which were along in a similar capacity as Rolf had been in his trips to Egypt. They had a skilled fighter as well, in case the camp was ever attacked: Dougal. Then last and possibly least was Richard, the representative for the Board. He considered himself a magical creature expert but no one had seen any proof of this being the case. He was also a stickler for rules and protocol which was not in line with what Rolf wanted at all.
He had talked about her with his team and they had seemed fascinated by Rolf's encounter with her (though most thought that Rolf had simply imagined it: he had a tendency to do that). Some of them even gave Rolf their Chocolate Frog Cards of her, in case he ever saw her again. She became a ghost of the trip; an apparition that had them all hooked on this mystery.
