Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.
"Luna! Time to wake up," Pandora said softly, gently shaking the little girl awake.
Luna rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Goo' mowning, Mummy."
"Good morning, sweetie. Do you know what day it is?"
Luna thought for a moment and then said "Wuna's birfday!"
"That's right. How old are you today?" The toddler held up two fingers. "Yes! You're two! And you are going to have such a wonderful day today. You're going to have a little friend coming over for your birthday party, Mummy will make your favorite cake, and you'll even be getting a bed."
"Bed?"
"Yes, a bed. You're getting to be such a big girl now, it's time you got one."
"Big girl!" Luna repeated happily as her mother lifted her out of the cot, and within minutes she was seated in her high chair awaiting breakfast.
"Now, what would you like for breakfast?" asked Pandora.
"Eggs!"
"Eggs, what?"
"Eggs an' bacon!"
"Eggs and bacon, what?"
Luna took a few seconds to think about it and then said "An' orange juice!"
"Eggs, bacon, and orange juice...what?"
The little girl finally realized what answer her mother was looking for. "Pwease?"
"Of course, sweetie," said Pandora as she got to work on the requested food.
"I can't believe you invited Cedric Diggory here," an indignant Xenophilius said. "I wanted this to be strictly a family party. That's what we did for Luna's first birthday."
"Xeno, I've met him before and he seems like a perfectly nice boy," his wife replied. "Besides, he's eager to meet Luna and become friends with her."
Every month for the last several months, Pandora would bake two batches of her famous Dirigible Plum biscuits; one for her family and one for the Diggorys. (She had made some for the Weasleys once, but of course Molly wouldn't accept them.) On her last visit to the Diggory home, she had mentioned that her daughter had a birthday coming up, asking if Cedric would like to attend the party. The young boy had never visited the Rook before, but he was glad to have the opportunity to meet another child from a wizarding family even if she was a few years younger than he was.
"All right, fine," sighed Xeno, "but hopefully this will be the last time we invite anyone outside the family into our house." Honestly! Pandora thought to herself. Just because he's had some miserable experiences with people doesn't mean he has to be so distrustful. She then looked at the clock and gasped, "Oh Merlin, we'd better start getting ready! Cedric will be here any minute! Come, Lu-Lu, let's get you into your party dress."
By the time Cedric was due to arrive, Luna was clad in a deep blue dress with bronze stars and crescent moons, with a matching pair of shoes. "You look absolutely beautiful, moonbeam," Xeno told her fondly. The toddler beamed. Just then a knock on the door sounded, and Pandora opened it to find Cedric standing there with his mother. "Hello, Ophelia. Hello, Cedric," she said graciously.
"Hi, Mrs. Lovegood," Cedric replied. "Happy birthday, Luna," he added as the little girl toddled up to him.
"Why don't you set Luna's present on the kitchen table with the others, and then we can get started on the cake," said Pandora. "Xeno, you go and set up Luna's new bed."
"Have a good time, Cedric dear," Mrs. Diggory told her son as she headed to the door, "I'll be back to pick you up around 3:00."
They then made their way to the kitchen where Pandora brought out the cake: strawberry-cinnamon with marmalade frosting. After the birthday song had been sung and the cake eaten (Cedric discovered that despite the odd flavor combination, it really wasn't that bad), it was time for Luna to open her presents. She had received a pop-up book of magical creatures from her mother, a plastic necklace with the Deathly Hallows symbol from her father, and a stuffed eagle from Cedric that made a screeching sound when hugged ("I thought Luna might like it since it's the symbol for Ravenclaw and she might be one when she goes to Hogwarts, just like you and her dad were"). Luna giggled as she repeatedly hugged the stuffed eagle.
"What do you say?" Pandora prompted.
"T'ank you, Cedwic," said Luna. "T'ank you, Mummy."
At that moment Xenophilius peeked into the kitchen from the floor above. "The bed's finished. You may come up when you're ready."
They quickly headed up to Luna's room; in place of the cot that had been there that morning, there stood a cute little bed with a bright blue bedspread decorated with Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. The little girl squealed with delight at the sight of it.
"You did a fine job, Xeno," said Pandora. "It looks perfect." She checked her watch. "We'd best head back downstairs; Ophelia will be here in a few minutes to take Cedric home."
That night found Luna excitedly bouncing up and down on her new bed, shrieking at the top of her voice. She started to settle down when she saw her father come into the room to tuck her in. "You really like your new bed, don't you, moonbeam?"
"Big girl!" Luna told him proudly.
"That's right; you are a big girl. Now why don't you get under the covers and Daddy will read you a bedtime story."
"Fwee Bwovvers?"
"Of course, moonbeam," Xeno told her, and he began the story...
"...he greeted Death like an old friend and, as equals, they departed this life. The end."
"The end," repeated Luna. "More stowy? Pwease?"
"Luna, it's getting late. You really should get to sleep now. Daddy will tell you another story tomorrow."
But the toddler stuck out her lower lip. "More stowy now!"
Xeno sighed. "Well...I suppose just one more story wouldn't hurt. And it is still your birthday after all." And so he proceeded to tell her the story of Sebastian the Straight-Horned Snorkack (for he had heard Pandora tell this story a few times and thought it was truly interesting):
"Once upon a time in Sweden there lived a herd of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and they were a happy bunch. However, there was one Snorkack who didn't fit in, and his name was Sebastian. You see, something had gone seriously wrong during his birth and he ended up with a straight horn rather than a crumpled one. His parents tried everything, but no matter what they did, they simply could not make him look like the other Snorkacks."
"Poor Sebastian," said Luna sadly.
"Indeed. So one day he ran away from home, hoping to find some creature somewhere who would accept him. And no sooner had he set out on his way than he happened upon a Nargle named Noah. Now, Noah was not like the other Nargles because instead of stealing possessions from humans, he would give them back, and he didn't like mistletoe. Noah told Sebastian of a special place where the two of them could be free to be themselves without any other creatures bothering them.
"And so the two friends went to a large clearing in the woods where they found plenty of food, a crystal-clear watering hole, and plenty of material to make comfy nests. It was paradise. But, alas, it was not to last. What the two of them didn't know was that an Umgubular Slashkilter had somehow figured out the location of the clearing and had become desperate for something to eat. So about a week after Sebastian and Noah had settled into their new home, the Slashkilter burst into the clearing and gobbled Noah up in one bite. Poor Sebastian was saddened by the loss of his friend, but he never felt truly lonely again because he knew that as long as he remembered Noah, he would never be truly gone. He also learned that you should always be yourself because there will always be someone who will accept you as you are. The end."
Xeno looked down at the sleeping form of his daughter and kissed her on the cheek before quietly exiting the room.