DISCLAIMER: I'm not Just Kidding when I say I'm not J.K.(R.)
Many apologies for missing two weeks in a row. I've been incredibly busy and stuck in an apathetic rut. I'm out! Here's the next chapter!
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Near and Far
After a plain dinner of oak-smoked cheddar, fresh bread, and kippers, Neville and Luna had a rare evening with Xenophilius. His latest experiment--he was trying to spell book characters out of their binding and bring them to life--had resulted in partial success, though the end result was that his entire workshop was burnt down. (Perhaps it would have been better for poor Xeno to have chosen some pleasant Bronte or Austen novel rather than the wizarding children's book, Roary the Dragon Hunter.)
In any case, as Neville settled back on the couch for his near-habitual after-dinner nap, he paid attention to the interaction of his fiancee and her father as they sipped exotic Romanian tea, tinkered with a thousand-piece puzzle, and whispered about fantastical things on the carpet. Xeno was sitting cross-legged, picking through the pieces, and Luna was a little farther away, playing with a few and trying to fit them into the partially-complete picture.
The wireless was also on, and as Neville closed his eyes, he heard a slur of words and music.
And now, folks, we bring you Oedipus, King of Rock 'n Roll, and his new hit, 'Nuthin' but a Sluagh.' Let's give him a hand!
"Daddy, I saw an arctic owl come with a letter with a return address at Kristianstad Basin. You didn't mention that you got a letter from up north."
'You ain't nuthin' but a Sluagh,
Cryin' at my west window.
"Oh, yes of course, my dear. Arberry gives us his blessing, and he wants to let us know that they've got a fossil, just found last week, that might be our big lead. Apparently, they've found some new ceratopsid teeth, they're almost certain of them being ceratopsid, but they want me to take a look at them for sure."
'You ain't nuthin' but a Sluagh,
Cryin' at my west window.
"There's more news, Luna. Arberry also thinks that they might have found something bigger, and that it might just be our Snorkack. They're wanting me to come up and join them on a permanent basis fairly soon. They'll have it--whatever it is--plastered and in the preparation lab in less than a month."
Well, you ain't never gonna get my soul
And y'aint no friend of mine!'
"Oh, Daddy, that's wonderful! Does that mean we'll be going to Sweden sometime soon? I was rather thinking lately, that since we've not had much luck there, you would be considering going to the States this year instead for the hunting. It made me rather sad, because I do so love Sweden."
Well, they said you was in heaven,
Well, that was just a lie.
"Ah, älskling, you thought wrong! Would your father give up just because he has not succeeded yet? No! I would not! And besides, Arberry's been promising me a job for so long--ah! My dream! A full-time paleontologist on the field!"
Well, they said you was (welcome) in heaven,
Well, that was just a lie.
"You've had many dreams, Daddy. When do you think you'll go?"
Well, you ain't never gonna get my soul
And y'aint no friend of mine!'
"When we go, you mean. I'm not going alone. The father and daughter team, just as it's always been. Oh, well, I was thinking about May or June. Of course, we usually go as soon as you're out of school, but now that you're not in school anymore, we can go whenever we like."
'You ain't nuthin' but a Sluagh,
Cryin' at my west window.
"But Daddy, what about The Quibbler? What about your current project? And, in case you forgot, I'm getting married in May or June."
'You ain't nuthin' but a Sluagh,
Cryin' at my west window.
"Oh, I can just sell off The Quibbler; I'm rather bored of it anyhow. And I'm so close to being done with Vita Simulo Animus that it'll be done before then, most certainly. And can't you two lovebirds tie it any sooner than that?"
Well, you ain't never gonna get my soul
And y'aint no friend of mine!'
"Daddy, how many times have you said 'if only your mother was a June bride...'?"
With that, Xenophilius stood and turned off the wireless. "I didn't think of that," he replied, sounding pained. "Can't we just...bring him along? And you two can get married there, with all our friends, in Sweden. What about that?"
"They're your friends, Daddy, and my friends, but not Neville's friends. Besides." She turned to glance at Neville, who feigned sleep. (However, he had not hitherto missed any important snippet of information!) "He's so...British. It would make him happy to be married here, I think. I don't suppose he'd like the colder climate. Why don't you just go, Daddy? You haven't been Snorkack hunting since the war, and it would make you so happy. I'll be just fine taking care of the magazine. You always are so eager to get back to it when we return from our trips; you'd regret selling it."
"Hm." Xeno considered this. "Don't you want me to be here, to give you away at your wedding?"
Luna shrugged. "If you are, I should love it, but if you aren't, I don't mind finding someone else. It's a non-issue."
"I need to think about this," Xeno said, and ambled out of the living-room into the kitchen. The screen door screeched and banged, implying that he had left the house to possibly start rebuilding his workshed.
With that, Luna sighed and flopped onto the couch near Neville. "I hope I didn't sound too bossy," she mused, seeing through his deceptive slumber.
Smiling, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "I don't think so," he replied, "but I didn't know we were getting married in June."
"Oh! I should have asked you, shouldn't I have." The phrase was not a question, however, so Neville thought about it.
"It's all right with me," he decided, "it's soon enough that we're not rushing things, but not so soon that we can't get prepared for it in time."
"What sorts of preparations do you have in mind?" she queried, snuggling into his warm softness, and he took her into his arms.
"A house, for one," he said definitively. "I don't know where--somewhere local, if you like, or somewhere not so local, if you like. It's all the same, really, to me, since we only ever really bother seeing anybody on holidays. And, on my part, getting a stable job. One that I can grow in. And...we need to think about things like children."
He perceived her eyelids shudder rapidly, and he wondered what that meant.
"Oooh," she said, and he was scared for a moment that she didn't like the idea. She put solve on his fear by looking up into his eyes, love and a slightly mischievous light glinting in them. "I can't wait," she whispered in desperate excitement, and, in that moment, Neville realized that he was just as thrilled at the idea.
He initiated the kisses that followed this new decision, and there was something more exciting in them than there ever had been before.
After they became tired and humbled, Luna remembered that her father had gone out without a hat, jumper, or gloves.
"He'll catch his death of cold," she said, trotting up the stairs gaily. Neville followed closely, and leaned in the doorjamb while Luna dug through her father's cedar drawers for the necessary articles.
It was such a domestic scene, watching her paw through the winter clothes in the ethereal light of the candle that she held. Neville treasured it, wondering if someday she'd be doing this for him while he was out in his greenhouse.
Then it occurred to him--since when was Luna so sensible as to remember warm clothes, for anybody, much less herself? He smiled, realizing that maybe she had picked up a little something from him.
That made him even happier, even as he regarded her from afar.
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A/N: Guess what? Luna's Crumple-Horned Snorkack might exist! But in the form of a crumple-horned dinosaur. Look up Leptoceratops on Wikipedia, and you'll see what I mean. Apparently, in 2006 or maybe a little earlier, they found some leptoceratopsid teeth in Sweden--this country being particularly hard to find fossils in because it was on land for the earlier geologic periods, so there was no sediment for fossils to deposit in, and then in later periods it was under a glacier, and that destroyed most fossils that were there from previous times and also prevented new ones. Usually they're found in North America, but Sweden's a lot closer to England than Canada, and I think Xeno is persistent on the idea that since there's less competition in Sweden, he's going to stick with searching in Sweden, because he thinks got a better chance to find the first amazing fossil there.
Of COURSE I borrowed Elvis (the king)'s You Ain't Nuthin' but a Hound Dog for the format of You Ain't Nuthin but a Sluagh'. If you're interested in what a Sluagh is, I got info from the wonderful Wikipedia. It's from Irish and Scottish folklore, and is termed 'a restless spirit' similar to a ghost.
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Love and blessing
A. A.