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Luna quietly looked over the article her father had written for the September issue of The Quibbler. Her frown deepened more and more with each line she read. When she was done she looked up at Xenophilius with an anguished look on her face.

"is this true, Daddy?" she asked. "Is the Three-Tongued, Plaid-Tailed Kroogbear really going to become extinct in five years?"

"I'm afraid so," her father answered. "Though it could be even sooner than that. The change in climate has caused them to die out faster than ever."

"Is that why you could never find one?" asked Luna.

"Possibly. The ones left have apparently become more and more distrustful of humans."

Just then a knock sounded at the front door. "I'll be right back, moonbeam," Xeno told her as he went down to the kitchen. A moment later he called, "Luna, it's Cedric!"

"Hey, Lu," Cedric said with a grin as the eight-year-old girl walked up to him. 'Say, would you mind taking a walk with me for a bit?"

"No, I don't mind," Luna replied happily.

"Don't wander off too far, you two!" Xeno called after them as they headed outside.

"We're only going down to Bottom Bridge, Mr. Lovegood, don't worry!" Cedric called back.

As the two children walked, Cedric turned to Luna and said, "So, Luna, you know I'm going to Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Yes," Luna replied. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah. I'm just sad that we won't be seeing much of each other anymore."

Soon they reached Bottom Bridge, both leaning against the railing. Cedric reached into his pocket and pulled out his new wand.

"Check this out," he told Luna. "Twelve and a quarter inches long, ash and unicorn hair, springy."

Luna stared at it with fascination. "You might want to be careful using that. Ash wands tend to attract Schnozmites, you know."

"What are Schnozmites?"

"They're mosquito-like bugs that burrow into your nose and cause terrible nosebleeds."

Cedric frowned for a moment, doubtful whether or not this was actually true. He then said, "I'll be careful."

"What House do you think you'll be in?" asked Luna.

"Dunno," said Cedric. He took a moment to think about it and then added, "It'd be cool to be a Gryffindor. I hear they're the best."

Luna smiled. "Gryffindor is known for turning out the bravest, most daring wizards. But they can also be quite reckless," she added seriously. "At least that's what Mummy says."

"I s'pose," said Cedric. "Still, it'd be really cool to be one of them."

Luna stared at the eleven-year-old for several moments. "I see you more as a Hufflepuff," she told him.

"How's that?"

"Hufflepuffs are known to be loyal and you always stick by me no matter what. And you always like everything to be fair."

"Yeah," Cedric said, grinning. "I just hope they don't put me in Slytherin; Dad would have my head."

"Oh, I know how he feels," Luna told him seriously. "A lot of Dark wizards came from Slytherin, like You-Know-Who." Another moment of silence, then Luna asked, "What House was your father in?"

"Gryffindor."

"And your mother?"

"Hufflepuff."

They stood in silence for a minute and watched some Plimpies floating down the stream. Then Luna said, "I hope you make lots of friends at Hogwarts."

"Thanks, Lu."

A few minutes later, as the two of them headed back, the eight-year-old sighed sadly. "I wish I could go with you now."

"Aw, it won't be so bad for you to wait," Cedric told her. "It'll only be three more years. And I'll be back during the Christmas and summer holidays."

"I know. Promise you'll write to me while you're there?"

Cedric nodded. "Promise."

Later, as the Lovegoods sat down to a delicious supper of pumpkin pot pie, Luna asked, "Mummy, can we go to King's Cross tomorrow and see Cedric off?"

"Of course, sweetie," Pandora replied.

Luna took a bite of food, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Have any good wizards come from Slytherin?" she asked.

"Absolutely," her mother told her. "You know, Slytherin isn't really as bad as people say it is. The reason it's turned out so many Dark witches and wizards is because ambition and cunning are essential ingredients for evil. But those traits can be used for good as well."

The little girl nodded in understanding. "When I go to Hogwarts, I hope I'm a Ravenclaw like you and Daddy."

Pandora smiled and stroked her daughter's long blonde hair. "Honestly, I will not be the least bit surprised if you do end up in Ravenclaw." Luna beamed.

The next morning at five minutes to eleven, Pandora and Luna were on platform 9 3/4 looking around for Cedric. They finally spotted him loading his bags onto a compartment near the end of the train with the help of his father.

"Cedric!" Luna called, running up to him.

"Oh, hey Luna. What're you doing here?"

"I came to see you off. And I've got a gift for you." Luna reached into her bag and pulled out the bracelet of butterbeer corks she had made the night before. "This will help keep the Nargles away."

"Thanks, Lu."

"And I want you to have this, too," Luna added, handing Cedric a drawing of the two of them standing next to each other; the words "FRIENDS FOREVER" was written on the top. "So you won't forget me," she explained.

"Wow," the young boy said softly. Just then a whistle sounded, and Cedric hurried onto the train. "See you, Luna!" he called back.

"Goodbye, Cedric!" the little girl called back. "Have a good term!" As the Hogwarts Express began to move, Luna ran alongside it until she could no longer catch up, then stood and waved.

Three days later, Luna was dancing in the garden when her father called from the doorway, "Luna! Could you come here for a moment?"

"Yes, Daddy?" said Luna as she skipped over to Xenophilius.

"You've had an owl," he told her, handing her a piece of parchment, which she eagerly unrolled.

"It's from Cedric!" Luna cried happily. She then proceeded to read the letter aloud:

Hey, Lu!

How's it going?

Turns out you were right; the Sorting Hat put me in Hufflepuff. Mum was really proud when she found out, and Dad took it well enough, though he still wishes I'd been put in Gryffindor instead.

My classes are going great so far; 'course, that Snape is one right foul bloke. I've already made lots of friends too.

Hey, you know the Weasley twins, right? Well, they've started at Hogwarts too and they're in Gryffindor; you wouldn't believe the mischief those two get into! Just yesterday they started a huge food fight in the Great Hall and even enchanted their chicken drumsticks to float about whacking the Slytherins on their heads!

Hope you and your parents are doing well,

Your friend,

Cedric

P.S. If you ever happen to find a Cloud Fairy, let me know as soon as you can, and be sore to get a photo of it. I'd love to see what those things look like.