Book Club: Red Rising

Prompt:

(genre) sci-fi

Word Count: 1201

The new house the Lovegoods moved into had been locked for a long time. Standing precariously on top of a hill, it overlooked the little Muggle village a few miles away. Its previous owner had been an eccentric Muggle scientist, who had disappeared all of a sudden one day and was never heard from again. Pandora Lovegood hadn't hesitated in asking her husband, Xenophilius, to buy the house. To her, the house had history, and Pandora had always loved unravelling a good mystery.

Luna was just four years old when they moved into the house, and she was delighted to see that they would have their own garden and even a basement. But to the Lovegoods' confusion, the basement was barricaded by wooden planks and a sign that said 'Stay Out!' in big red letters.

Despite the warning sign, Pandora decided they needed to renovate the house, and she asked Xenophilius to get rid of the planks.

Luna stood by with her kitten, Sir Snowbell, and watched her father use his wand to remove the wood. The door creaked open ominously, and Luna silently walked up to the door.

"Let me go in first, dear," Xenophilius said, placing his hand on Luna's shoulder. Luna nodded and stepped back, allowing her father to enter the basement. He was such a strong man, and Luna believed he wasn't afraid of anything.

Pandora placed her hands on Luna's shoulders to keep her in place and watched Xenophilis walk down the stairs into the basement. Sir Snowbell meowed as he hopped out of Luna's arms and trotted in after Xenophilius.

"Sir Snowbell, come back!" Luna cried, hurrying after him, but the kitten refused to listen. Luna stumbled over the stairs and almost fell on her face, but Pandora stopped her just in time. "Thank you, Mummy."

"You're welcome, dear," Pandora said, helping her down the stairs carefully. She called out, "Xeno, honey, what's down there?"

"Come down and see for yourselves," Xenophilius called back, sounding confused.

When the mother-daughter duo reached the bottom of the stairs, they found the basement was filled with all sorts of plants.

Luna squealed and clapped her hands in excitement. "Mummy, look, plants! Can we keep them?"

Pandora didn't reply as she inspected the plants. They all looked normal to her, so why were they boarded up in the dark basement? They were a bit larger than normal houseplants, but it didn't strike her as particularly unusual.

Xenophilius looked at Pandora and asked, "Darling, what do you want to do with these?"

Just then, Luna cried out, "Mummy, look! The plant's trying to eat Sir Snowbell! No, bad plant! Bad! Let go of him."

To their surprise, one of the larger plants had the kitten halfway inside its maw. Its sharp jaw was trying to bite the half-kneazle, but only the kitten's magical nature made it impossible for the plant to chew on it.

At Luna's chastisement, it drooped its head and let go of Sir Snowbell. The kitten yowled and jumped off the table and straight into Luna's outstretched arms.

Luna soothed it by petting its fur and said, "It's okay, Sir Snowbell. The plant won't hurt you again, will you, Mr Plant?"

The plant seemed to be properly chastised as it shook its head slowly. Pandora and Xenophilius shared a look as they watched their daughter interact with the plant. They wondered about the plants' origins but decided if they were harmless, they wouldn't throw them out.

"See, Sir Snowbell, now the plants won't hurt you," Luna declared, but the kitten refused to move. She placed him down on the ground, and he quickly tried to climb back up. When he realised Luna wasn't going to pick him up, he darted for the stairs, climbing up them as fast as he could.

Pandora cleared her throat and said, "Luna, dear, how about you go upstairs and play? Daddy and I will deal with these plants. Okay?"

"Okay, Mummy. The Wrackspurts will help you with the plants," Luna said, making her way towards the stairs. She pointed at the plants and said, "Don't try to eat Mummy and Daddy. They're very nice."

The plants all lowered their heads in unison as though they were ashamed of the idea. They let out a low rumbling sound that Luna decided was an agreement, and she nodded as she walked up the stairs.

Once she was gone, Pandora turned to Xenophilius and whispered, "What are these plants? They're not like any Venomous Tentacula I've ever seen!"

"I believe these are Muggle plants, dear," Xenophilius said, inspecting the plants closely. Just then, he caught sight of a bloodied piece of cloth lying near the plants. His eyes widened as he pointed at it. "Dora… Look!"

Pandora turned around and gasped at the sight. She pulled out her wand and cast an Accio on the cloth. It flew into her hand, and she almost dropped it. "This is definitely blood."

"Do you think the previous owner… that Mughle…" Xenophilius trailed off pointedly, but Pandora understood.

She whispered, "We can't keep these plants here if they're dangerous enough to eat someone. They might hurt Luna!"

The plants seemed to understand her, and they began to rumble. The ground beneath their feet at the sound, and the couple paled in fear of retaliation. Fortunately, the plants didn't attack them; they simply swayed from side to side and continued to rumble.

"Maybe they're hungry," Xenophilius said, thinking out loud. The plants began making strange chittering sounds, and Xenophilius decided it was in agreement. "See? How about we feed them something and… forget about this mess?"

Pandora nodded. She looked around the room and found a table pushed roughly towards the corner wall. She pointed it out to Xenophilius, and they made their way towards it, making sure the plants didn't try to take a bite out of them.

Papers lay scattered on top of the table, several scrunched up in balls littering the floor. Pandora glanced at them, but she couldn't make out heads nor tails of the diagrams. She vaguely understood that the plants were designed by the Muggle scientist, but for what purpose?

Xenophilius peered over her shoulder and said, "What does it say?"

"I don't understand, but it says something about genetic mutation? Engineering? Hybrid plants? Animal DNA?" Pandora repeated the words that she could read on the papers.

Xenophilius frowned at the words. "I don't understand those either, but maybe we should feed these plants… and give them some sunlight. Who knows how long they have been locked up in here?"

The plants began to hum in agreement, and Pandora, despite her reluctance, agreed with Xenophilius. She pulled out her wand and cast a Lumos Solem, illuminating the basement with bright sunlight.

The plants started chittering again, swaying from side to side as they basked in the light. Pandora smiled when she noticed one of the smaller plants trying to extend its leaves towards the light. She shifted her wand to allow the plant to wallow in the light, and the little plant hummed in contentment.

Maybe the plants weren't so bad. Maybe the attack on the scientist was just a one-time thing.