Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe.
"Come back here, Newt!" cried Luna as she ran from her bedroom and down the stairs. The cat had just gotten hold of Hans the stuffed Snorkack and was now scampering away from the seven-year-old girl.
Meanwhile, Xenophilius was busy putting the finishing touches on the March edition of The Quibbler, including an article one of his writers had sent him regarding sightings of new creatures called "sun toads." He was just about to start printing when he heard a knock at the front door.
"I'll get it, dear!" Pandora called. A minute later she called, "Xeno? You've got a visitor." Xeno made his way down to the kitchen and walked up to the front door to find a short, chubby man standing there. He had wavy auburn hair and square, black-framed glasses. He was also holding a snowy white cat in his arms.
"Scotty?" asked Xeno quietly.
"The one and only!" the wizard replied. "Good to see you again, old friend." As he looked at Pandora he added, "And this must be the lovely lady you told me about. And with such a beautiful name too: Pandora." The witch smiled modestly.
Just then Newt and Luna came running downstairs, the cat still holding Hans in his mouth. Both cat and owner stopped when they spotted the visitor. "Hello," said Luna brightly. Turning to her father she added, "Daddy, I thought you didn't like strangers in our house."
"Oh, this is no stranger, moonbeam," Xeno replied. "He's an old friend of mine from my days at Hogwarts. Actually, he was my only friend from my days at Hogwarts. And he was a Hufflepuff. You see, he wrote to me recently asking to pop in and meet the family, and I told him yes."
"Your daughter's sweet," the auburn-haired wizard told Xeno and Pandora. "I can see where she gets her good looks from." To Luna he added, "My name's Scott Underhill, but you can call me Scotty."
"My name is Luna Lovegood," the little girl answered. "I just turned seven a couple of weeks ago." She then spotted the white cat in Scotty's arms. "She's lovely. What's her name?"
"Precious," Scotty said. "Wanna pet her?" Luna nodded happily and petted Precious on the head, causing the cat to purr contentedly.
"I never go anywhere without her," Scotty told Luna. As Precious continued to purr, Luna smiled and said, "I think she likes me. I've got a cat too, you know. His name's Newt; I named him after Newt Scamander."
"Really?" At this moment, the aforementioned calico cat had dropped Hans and was now staring at Precious. "That's him, isn't it?"
"Yes." A few minutes later everyone went up to the sitting room to chat, Pandora carrying a tray of milk, Gurdyroot tea, and Dirigible Plum biscuits.
"So, Scotty," said Pandora, "Xenophilius tells me you two used to be close friends."
"We were," Scotty replied. "We may have been in different Houses, but I was the only one willing to stick up for him when all the other kids picked on him."
"So then, what happened?"
"Well, after we left Hogwarts, I got a great job opportunity working with Hippogriffs in Denmark. " He sighed. "That's when Xeno and I kind of lost touch. But after I was laid off a few months ago, I decided to move back here to Britain and hopefully find another job. Then I remembered Xeno and decided it was time to do some catching up with him. When he told me he had a wife and daughter, I just had to meet you for myself."
"Ah," said Pandora as she nodded in understanding. Just then Scotty picked up a copy of The Quibbler from the coffee table and flipped through the pages curiously. "That's The Quibbler," piped up Luna before taking a sip of her milk. "It has lots of interesting stories and articles about things like Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, Blibbering Humdingers, and Nargles. Daddy's the editor."
Scotty gasped in amazement and turned to Xeno. "Wow! You actually run this incredible magazine?!"
"Yes, ever since my Luna was a baby," Xeno replied proudly. "If you'd like, I would be happy to show you some of my older editions." As the two men headed to Xeno's study, Luna and Pandora looked over at Newt and Precious snuggling against each other on the rug. "They really like each other, don't they?" said Luna.
"I think it's something more than that," her mother replied. "They look as though they are in love."
"You think so, Mummy?" Pandora nodded.
Meanwhile, after Scotty had looked through several different issues of The Quibbler, he asked, "Say, you don't happen to have any openings for a new writer, do you?"
"Hmmmm," said Xeno thoughtfully, "Well, one of my writers retired last month, so yes, I do have an opening."
"Excellent! 'Cause I can bring you some great stories I know your readers will love!"
"That's great. Of course, I've only just finished the March edition, but I look forward to anything you've got for the April edition."
Back in the sitting room, Luna bit thoughtfully into a biscuit before saying, "Daddy's friend seems very nice."
"I agree," said Pandora.
"I just hope Cedric and I don't lose touch with each other like Daddy and Scotty did."
Pandora put an arm around Luna's shoulder. "You know, sweetie, just because you lose touch with a friend doesn't mean they're not your friend anymore. Sometimes people go down different paths and make new friends. I've got some friends who don't contact me nearly as much as they did during our Hogwarts days, but I've never once questioned our friendship."
Luna nodded. "I understand. And like I said before, maybe someday Ginny will want to play with me again." At that moment Xeno and Scotty came into the sitting room, both smiling.
"Good news, ladies," said Xeno. "I have a new writer for The Quibbler." He gestured toward Scotty. "Which of course means he and I will actually stay in touch all the time now."
"That's great, Xeno!" his wife said happily. Luna nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, I'd better be going," said Scotty, picking up Precious as Newt looked on sadly. "It was nice to see you again, Xeno, and I'll owl you as soon as I have a good story for you."
"Goodbye, old friend," Xeno replied. As Scotty and Precious left, Newt let out a mournful yowl.
"Come on, Newt!" begged Luna the next afternoon. "Just one bite? For me?" The cat simply lay there, not bothering to touch his cat food. When her mother came into the kitchen, Luna told her sadly, "He's still not eating, Mummy."
"Oh, dear. He must still be feeling heartbroken because Precious had to leave."
As the seven-year-old was running her hand over Newt's fur, she suddenly realized what she had to do.
"Daddy!" she called, racing up to the sitting room where Xeno was looking through some old Quibblers.
"What is it, moonbeam?" he asked.
"I want to pay Scotty a visit."
A half hour later found the Lovegoods standing in front of a simple one-story house painted yellow with a tan roof. Luna was holding Newt in her arms. Xeno stepped up to the door and knocked, and a few seconds later Scotty emerged. "Hi there!" he said. "Didn't expect to see you all again so soon. What brings you here?"
Luna stepped forward. "Do you have room for another cat?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Why do you ask?"
"You see, Newt really misses your cat and something tells me he'd be happier living with you. That way they can be together." Luna stepped into the house and as soon as Newt saw Precious curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace, he jumped out of the little girl's arms and snuggled up next to her.
"Goodbye, Newt," Luna said softly, petting the top of the calico cat's head. "I'm going to miss you." As she turned away, Newt suddenly got up and began nuzzling her leg as if to say, "I'll miss you too, Luna" before trotting back to Precious' side.
After the Lovegoods had left Scotty's house, Luna's eyes welled up with tears as the memories flowed through her mind: the day she'd bought Newt for her third birthday, the time Bill Weasley had brought him back after he'd run away, the time he'd swallowed Pandora's necklace, and the time she'd tried to put her father's Wellington boots on him after her mother had read her the story of Puss in Boots. Pandora put a comforting hand on her shoulder as the family headed back home.
"You did the right thing, sweetheart," Pandora told Luna once they were back inside the Rook.
"I-I know," sniffed Luna. "I j-just wish I d-didn't have to say g-goodbye."
"Would you like to get a new pet?"
Luna shook her head. "I don't think any other pet will ever replace Newt. Besides, I know that's not what he would want me to do."
"I understand completely, darling," her mother replied. "Now, why don't we go get supper started?"
A/N: Well, the bad news is, Luna's had to give up her beloved cat. But the good news is, Xenophilius now has a new and fully dedicated writer for his magazine.