House: Slytherin
Position/Year: 1
Category: Drabble
Prompts: [First Line] When he/she/they walked in, paint was everywhere but the canvases.
Word Count: 493
Beta: Mari^^
A/N: Could be AU. ## Judges' Pick for Round 9 ^^ ##
When he walked in, paint was everywhere but the canvases. His heart constricted at the sight as he warily crept closer to where little Luna was sitting, her blank eyes staring far away.
Every day since she witnessed her mother's death, nine-year old Luna would always go to the fire-blackened shed where it happened and try to paint. Each day before sunset, Xenophilius Lovegood would find her sitting very still on her wooden stool with a blank canvas and the same colors- yellow, orange, and blue- carelessly splattered everywhere in the room. And every single time, he would be reminded of how the flames had consumed his beloved Pandora while his daughter stood unseeingly into the fire, horror etched on her lovely, innocent face.
He had wanted to destroy the shed and had nearly succeeded. But Luna had wept and screamed for him to leave it alone and he couldn't bear the agony in her eyes so he'd stopped; even if it hurt to see it all the time and be reminded of what he'd lost.
He ached to comfort her, even as he himself grieved. But people grieve in different ways. Luna had stopped talking, retreating deep inside herself to where he can't reach her.
Weeks had gone by, and still, she went to the shed, placed a blank canvas at the center of the room, splashed the walls with yellow, orange and blue- the color of fire- surrounding herself once again with the phantoms of her past.
He decided that it had gone long enough this time and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Enough, Luna. Stop doing this to yourself anymore."
She didn't even move.
Steeling himself for a confrontation ahead, he said, "I will destroy the shed tomorrow."
Luna snapped her head back at him, though her eyes were still far away, and muttered in a tiny voice, "Did you know?"
Xenophilius' chin trembled. He knew, but asked anyway. "Know what, my child?"
"It was me. It was all my fault."
He couldn't help the tears that fell from his anguished eyes. "It was an accident, Luna."
He couldn't tell her that it wasn't her fault.
They both knew the truth.
"I want to die," she whispered brokenly.
Cold fear shot through his chest. His grip on her shoulders tightened as he fiercely held her eyes to his own, forcefully drawing her out from the depths of her mind. "Don't say that ever again!" he scolded her, his voice trembling. "I'm still here, Luna," his voice broke. "I'm still here."
She looked at him with sorrow that shouldn't be seen in a child- and finally wept, holding her father in remorse and shame.
The next day, the shed was nowhere to be found, and the canvas was bright with strange, painted mythical creatures.
Xenophilius smiled in relief and helped her name all the creatures she drew and spun a wonderful tale about each one as she listened contentedly.
.oO END Oo.
A/N: It's my head cannon that Luna had a hand on her mom's death whether accidentally or deliberately (I like the idea of a Dark!Luna) and his father encouraged her to believe in non-existent creatures to distract her from thinking about her part on her mom's death. I think that Luna being odd is deliberate to keep her father happy. Her father always worries that she will develop a suicidal tendency so he would always tell her far-fetched stories to keep her mind busy solving these non-realistic theories like the Rotfang Conspiracy. His father also publishes the Quibbler so he possibly could've covered what truly happened about the accident and also made stories up to continue amusing his daughter. His love for her is obviously deep and a bit misguided. Though, by encouraging creative thinking (more like wacky thinking) Luna was sorted to Ravenclaw.
