Harry woke early the next day. There was quite a bit to do—the adults hadn't cleaned up after the dinner party. It was a half hour of puttering about collecting dirty dishes, managing the compost, and finally washing everything, before Harry was even able to get a start on breakfast.
Harry's breakfast cooking had improved over the years. When the Dursleys came downstairs one by one, they were greeted by a table with omelets, fried spinach, breakfast potatoes and some leftover haricots verts from the previous night, all arranged on chaffing plates. Wisps of steam were still escaping the pot of tea that was resting under one of Petunia's floral tea cozies in the center of the tableau.
Vernon wolfed his breakfast down quickly—he had an early meeting at Grunnings. Vernon had given Harry and Dudley a bit of a lecture about the drill market the previous week, by way of explaining that there were only so many drills that could be sold in the U.K. market, and so Grunnings would be adding a new line of tools. The first of these would be something called a router, which could be used to make grooves in pieces of wood. Vernon had managed to convince Harry that this was useful when he explained it, but Harry still couldn't really picture what it was for.
Petunia shooed Harry away when he went to clean the breakfast plates. "You've done enough already this morning, dear. Breakfast was lovely! Let me take care of this."
Feeling a bit usurped, Harry nevertheless went off with Dudley. They got to talking about Luna's note, and Harry realized with some embarrassment that he didn't actually know what to do next.
"So, how do you think we go about floo calling someone?" Harry asked Dudley.
"I don't know. Luna didn't explain—she thinks we already know how. Let's ask mother."
"How would she know? She's not a wizard."
"You have a point. Should we just try it and see? I wish it had come with instructions!"
The two boys sat in front of the fireplace concentrating for a while. Harry brightened. "It must require floo powder. Let's see." He grabbed a handful of floo powder and tossed it in. A green flame burst into being in the fireplace.
"Brilliant. Now what, maybe call out or something?" said Dudley.
"Hm, it says here 'The Rookery,'" said Harry. The flames brightened a bit. "The Rookery," Harry enunciated clearly. Nothing happened. "The Rookery," a bit slower and louder. "Luna Lovegood."
Suddenly a face appeared in the fireplace, formed out of green flame. Harry and Dudley leapt back in alarm. "What? Who's there?" asked the face.
"Oh," said Harry. "I'm terribly sorry, we're just learning to work this thing. Do you know a 'Luna Lovegood?'"
"Why yes, that's my daughter," replied the face. "And who are you young fellows?"
"I'm Harry Dursley, and this is my brother Dudley," answered Harry.
"Ah. Greetings! Luna was looking forward to hearing from you. I'm glad you've called! Come on through, then. Luna is out in the garden."
"Mum, we're going to visit Luna," Dudley yelled.
"Okay, dear! Be careful!" replied Petunia.
The two boys clambered through the fireplace. The journey took a bit longer than the trip to Diagon Alley, but in no time the two boys tumbled out of the fireplace and landed in a heap at the feet of a small, blonde-haired woman with silvery eyes and a very amused expression. "I can see that you two need to practice your transitions," she observed.
The boys looked around. There was a spiral staircase in the middle of the room, hanging unsupported in midair, leading both upstairs and down. The walls were a lovely aquamarine hue, with ivory piping and beautiful paintings of animals and plants. They seemed to be in a sort of kitchen. Bright sunlight lit the room; Dudley and Harry felt immediately at home and welcome.
The witch smiled warmly as she watched them take in the room. "Xeno is quite the painter," she said. "Now, Luna is outside. She believes she has cornered a crumple-horned snorkack in its burrow in the snapdragon bed."
"Are they dangerous?" asked Harry, a bit concerned. He'd been bitten by a stoat that he'd cornered accidentally in the garden the previous year, and had to have stitches. So he'd developed a healthy respect for the sorts of animals that can be found in gardens.
"Not to worry, dear. The crumple-horned snorkack is a vegetarian."
"So are stoats," he replied.
"In any case, the crumple-horned snorkack is native to Gascony and Saintonge. I suspect that what she's actually found is a hedgehog."
"And they don't bite?" asked Harry.
"My, you're a chary little one, aren't you?" said the witch. "Don't worry, I'm a dab hand with healing charms. Comes with the territory, being a Mum, you know. If the hedgehog bites you, come right in before you bleed out, and I'll take care of it." She rolled her eyes slightly as she spoke, smiling gently.
Not entirely reassured, Harry nevertheless followed Dudley out into the garden, where they found a diminutive blonde girl squatting before a hole underneath some snapdragons, which were violently in bloom. The garden was lovely. Neatly weeded, with little walkways amongst the flowers and herbs, covered in paving stones.
Each bed was edged in and raised using thick twigs pounded into the ground one against the next, forming perfect tiny walls to hold in the dirt. The air was filled with tantalizing scents. Harry was able to detect various spices with which he was familiar. Rosemary, thyme, surprisingly even saffron, a flower which Harry knew did not grow in England.
The flower bed was bursting with various flowers: roses, hydrangea, lilies-of-the-valley, tulips, tiger lilies, and of course the large cluster of snapdragons before which the girl, presumably Luna, was squatting.
"Shh! I think he's about to poke his snout out of the hole," said Luna, very softly. The boys stilled and waited. Moments later, a hedgehog snout poked out, sniffing. Soon the whole hedgehog followed. Luna put her hand forward; Harry tensed. The hedgehog gently licked her hand, then lost interest and wandered off, stopping from time to time to nibble on the end of one of the garden plants.
"It wasn't a snorkack," ventured Dudley.
"Oh, that's okay, I suspected it was a hedgehog, but it never hurts to be optimistic. Cute little thing, isn't it?"
"Won't it wreck your garden with all that nibbling?" asked Harry.
Luna looked at Harry, surprised. "Aren't we witches and wizards, Harry? A little growth spell will take care of that. And in exchange we have a little friend with us as we garden."
Excited, Harry asked, "do you cast growth spells, then?"
"I haven't got my wand yet," Luna answered ruefully. "I have to get Mother or Father to do it. Three years to go! What about you two?"
"Two years, I think," said Harry.
"Brilliant! You can tell me all about it!" Luna grinned enthusiastically. "Speaking of which…"
"The Rotfang conspiracy?" asked Harry.
"Yes," answered Luna, suddenly focused on Harry as if he were the only thing in her world.
"I'm terribly sorry to have to disappoint, but Dudley and I are not from the continent, as you may have gathered from our rather ordinary accents. What is the Rotfang Conspiracy anyway?"
Luna smiled. "Just some nonsense I made up. Not to worry. I will admit that I was hoping you were from someplace exotic, but with a name like Dursley, that wasn't the most likely hypothesis, was it?"
"No," smiled Harry, amused. He had been reading "Danny Dunn" recently—an American series about a boy scientist. Luna was reminding him oddly of Professor Bullfinch, one of the characters in the books, who liked to use words like "hypothesis." Harry could easily imagine Professor Bullfinch in a garden waiting to see what came out of a hole.
"So are you muggle-born, then? How did you learn you were wizards?"
Harry realized that he should probably not tell the whole story, but Dudley burst in. "Harry's parents were wizards, but they were killed by Voldemort!"
"I'm so sorry, Harry," said Luna. "So you are adopted, then?"
"Yes. What does 'muggle-born' mean?"
"Oh, that your parents aren't magical. Magicals refer to non-magicals as muggles."
"That's a bit weird, isn't it?" asked Harry. "It sounds a bit like a put-down."
Luna thought for a moment. "It hadn't occurred to me. I don't actually know any muggles. But if it bothers you, I will just say 'non-magicals.'"
"Okay," said Harry, happy that his deflection had worked. "Anyway, Dudley's parents are my aunt and uncle, and so they adopted me. I call Dudley my brother now, because they are my family. And they are indeed non-magical."
"My Mum is going to become magical, though," said Dudley.
"Dudley!"
Dudley stopped for a moment, and then a realization dawned on his face. "Well, anyway, she wants to," Dudley said.
"I don't think that's possible," said Luna. "But wouldn't it be interesting if it were? Do you think everyone would do it? What would happen?"
"Our friend Colin says that it's not actually a good idea for everybody to become wizards," said Harry. "Magic is really fun, but it's also dangerous. Look at Voldemort!"
"Yes," said Luna thoughtfully. "Magic wasn't very kind to him, was it?"
The children played in the garden until lunchtime, and then the witch called them in to eat. "Dudley, Harry," she said, "I realized that I never introduced myself. My name is Pandora. As you may have gathered, I am Luna's mother."
A tall, fit man with long, smoothly flowing blond hair came down the stairs, eyes twinkling and curious as he saw the two boys and Luna together. "And I am Xeno," he said. "I'm so glad you've come. Luna can be a bit isolated here. There are a few neighbors, but they are all quite a long distance away. I hope we'll see you often!"
Harry was a bit confused. After all, they'd come all the way from Surrey. Surely the neighbors could use the floo as well?
Lunch was a casserole made from mushrooms, pasta and root vegetables. It was held in a cream sauce, with spices from the garden. As promised, nettle-and-mint tea was served. Harry took a sip and then looked up at Luna. "It's quite mild!" he said in surprise.
"We use chocolate mint, not peppermint," Luna said, seeing his expression. "It's more like a moroccan mint tea. But the nettles add a richness to it. We used to use peppermint, but it was much too strong."
"It's quite good," said Harry appreciatively. "The casserole as well. May I have the recipe?"
Pandora looked askance at Harry. "I think it might be a bit challenging for such a young lad. Do you cook, then, or is it for your mother?"
Harry had no idea what she meant. "Well, I suppose it might be difficult. Is the roux particularly touchy? Do you roast the vegetables before you add them, or just cook it all together at once?"
Surprised but delighted, Pandora exclaimed "Oh my, Harry! It sounds like you are going to have a natural talent for potions, if you are asking questions like that at your age! This will be very exciting. I hope that once you've gotten the basics from Professor Snape, you can come brew with me in my potions lab downstairs," said Pandora.
"I'd love that!" said Harry, eyes shining. He had had no idea that cooking would be useful for a wizard. "What kind of potions do you brew? I don't know anything about potions!"
"I am a magical experimentalist," replied Pandora. "I'm more of an expert in charms, but I have a few potions that I brew to enhance intelligence, because it helps me with my charms work, and I also experiment with charmed potions, and potions that deliver charms.
"This can be very useful for healing: some potions can't be safely drunk, but are very effective if they can reach the bloodstream, so a charm to keep them isolated until they are absorbed allows us to deliver medications that would otherwise be impossible to use.
"Similarly, when there is bleeding inside of the body, for example, a simple healing charm could fix it, but only if that part of the body can be reached. It is possible to brew a potion that can act as a carrier for a charm, so that it can be delivered where it is needed in the body.
"I have a long-term contract with St. Mungo's to work on potions like these. It is very interesting work. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get Luna interested. I suspect that she will be a magical botanist or a cryptozoologist when she grows up." Pandora smiled indulgently at her daughter. "But Luna, if you change your mind, you know I'd love to have you as a lab partner."
Luna smiled at her mother, rolling her eyes. "I know, Mum. I love you too!"
After lunch, Luna, Harry and Dudley went for a walk in the forest. Harry was expecting Luna to point out all sorts of magical species, but it seemed that that wasn't her goal. After about an hour of walking, the trio came to a clear hilltop where they could look down to a town on the ocean that Luna said was Sidmouth, and off to the west the small village of Tipton St. John. The Rookery could be seen at the top of another hill, standing tall and narrow very much like the chess piece after which it was named.
Luna pointed out a house down toward Sidmouth. It was tall, sort of boot-shaped, and seemed a bit rickety. "That's the the Burrow."
"Doesn't look much like a Burrow," remarked Dudley. "Looks more like a shoe."
"Doesn't it, though," said Luna, with an amused look. "That's where the Weasleys live. I think they call it the Burrow because it sounds cozy. Ginny Weasley is a friend of mine. She has about ten older brothers. I'm not sure. Her next eldest is Ronald. You might like him. He's not very nice to me, but I think it's a boy thing. No offense meant, of course."
Harry wondered what "a boy thing" might be. He had noticed that the boys and girls at school tended to separate out, but he and Dudley had been spared that a bit because they were never really able to form close friendships anyway. Maybe "a boy thing" was code for being like Piers Polkiss?
"Is he a bully?" Harry asked.
"No. Well, maybe. I think maybe he feels a little bit bullied. All those older brothers, you know. Even if they aren't trying."
Harry nodded, understanding.
Near the house were a set of three hoops, rather high up in the air. Dudley noticed them first. "What are those hoops?" he asked, looking at Luna.
"Quidditch," said Luna in a disgusted tone of voice.
"Quidditch?" prompted Dudley.
"It's a stupid sort of ball game that you play on brooms. There are three balls and a snitch. The idea is to get one of the balls, the 'quaffle,' through the hoops to score. Two of the balls, 'bludgers,' are used to batter the players on the other team so that they don't score. You see a lot of injuries from that."
"What's the snitch?" asked Harry.
"Dumbest part of the game, if you ask me. There's one player on each team, the 'seeker,' whose job it is to watch for the snitch. It's charmed to hide, and then appear suddenly and flee whoever chases it. If the seeker catches it, it ends the game, and adds a hundred fifty points to the seeker's team's score."
"Sounds like that would make for very short games and very unpredictable outcomes," said Harry.
"Precisely. I don't understand it. But it's very popular in the wizarding world."
"What do you mean it's played on brooms," asked Dudley.
"Well, how else are they going to get up there."
"You mean they use brooms to knock the quaffer into the hoops?"
"No, silly, they ride on the brooms."
Harry and Dudley both looked at each other, nonplussed. Then Harry thought of something he'd seen in one of his Danny Dunn books, about Hallowe'en. "OH! You mean like old witches riding around on broomsticks?"
Luna looked at Harry. "Oh, right. You're a mug—from a non-magical family. You wouldn't have seen this. Yes, witches really do ride on brooms. We have to be careful about it, so that non-magicals don't see us, but they're a pretty good way to get around."
"Oh, and look, the hoops are hidden behind that bluff, aren't they?" said Dudley.
"Exactly," said Luna. "The non-magicals who live down in Sidmouth can't see them play. Although what they do about hikers up here in the hills I don't know."
The trio remained on the hilltop for quite some time, sitting in companionable silence and enjoying the view. Eventually Luna pointed out that it was getting late, and so the three children clambered down from the hilltop and found their way back to the Rookery. Pandora suggested that they should head home before dinnertime. Luna insisted on hugging Harry and Dudley goodbye, as did Pandora. Xeno was a bit more reserved, but clearly appreciated their visit.
"Dursley Manor," intoned Harry as Dudley tossed floo powder into the fireplace. The two boys jumped through and emerged into the Dursley sitting room, peppered with soot, struggling to retain their balance. Harry almost had it, but Dudley didn't quite manage, and grabbed Harry on the way down.
Petunia found the two boys in a pile on the living room floor, with Harry punching Dudley affectionately. "Boys! Behave!" she exclaimed, smiling delightedly at seeing the two boys playing so well together. She could not help but remember with shame a time when she'd encouraged Dudley to treat Harry quite poorly. It was amazing to see the boys bounce back from that. "How was your day?"
"We saw a hedgehog," exclaimed Harry.
"And we learned about quaffers!" added Dudley.
"Can we add Luna to the wards?" asked Harry.
"I don't see why not," said Petunia. "I'll send an owl off to Professor Dumbledore." She marveled at how comfortably that sentence came out of her mouth. Things really had changed at the Dursley household. She didn't know what the future held, but at least it was interesting so far.
