Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe is not mine.
Luna awoke one morning in July with an excited smile on her face. The Lovegoods had spent the last week planning a trip to the beach, and the day had finally arrived when they would be on their way. The little girl especially looked forward to looking for Silicrines in the sand with her father. Xenophilius had mentioned to her that if they could find some he would write a special article about it in the following month's edition of The Quibbler with her help. Her only disappointment was that she could not take Newt with her as pets weren't allowed on the beach, but hopefully the Diggorys would take good care of him.
"Wake up, Newt!" Luna said, tapping the cat on his back. "Sleepy-time's over." But Newt did not move. "Are you okay?" Still no response. This started to worry Luna.
"Are you sad because you can't come with me today?" she asked. "It's okay, Cedric can play with you and I'll be back before you know it." Newt gave a soft, feeble meow. "Uh-oh," the five-year-old said sadly before rushing down to the kitchen where Pandora was making breakfast.
"Mummy, I think Newt's sick," she said. "When I woke him up he just lay there and didn't want to move."
"Oh dear," sighed Pandora. Luna led her upstairs to where Newt still lay; the witch gingerly picked up the cat and examined him closely. When she touched his tummy, Newt squirmed in pain.
"I think I know what's wrong," said Pandora softly. "Newt must have swallowed something he shouldn't have."
"What?"
"Well, sweetie, it was probably my necklace." The previous evening, Pandora had taken off her butterbeer cork necklace to take a shower after working in the garden for most of the day. When she had gone to retrieve her necklace, she had quickly discovered it was not where she'd left it. Pandora had frantically enlisted Xenophilius and Luna's help in finding the necklace, but unfortunately it didn't seem to be anywhere in the house.
"We will have to take him to the Magical Menagerie and have them examine him to be sure," Pandora went on. "If they can't do anything we may have to take him to a Muggle vet."
"Does this mean we're not going to the beach today?" asked Luna.
"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry, Luna; I know how much you were looking forward to it."
"It's okay, Mummy," the little girl assured her. "We can always go another day. Right now I just want Newt to get better."
Several moments later found Pandora and Luna entering the Magical Menagerie, Luna carefully carrying Newt. "Well, hello there!" said the woman behind the counter. She then spotted the cat in Luna's arms. "What seems to be the problem?"
"It's my cat," explained Luna. "He's sick and I think it's something he ate. Can you take a look at him?"
"Yes, but I will have to take him to the back," the woman told her. "This should only take a few minutes." After the woman left, Luna looked around at all the different creatures in the shop; she giggled at the sight of three black rats fighting over a piece of cheese.
In no time the saleswoman was back. "Well, you were right," she said. "Your cat did swallow something - a necklace, to be precise. Luckily I have a potion here that can help." She held up a small bottle. "I always make sure to have some bottles of this on standby in case any of my animals swallow anything they can't digest or that is poisonous to them. This potion will induce vomiting. If all goes according to plan, your cat should throw up the necklace."
"Thank you, madam," said Pandora, with Luna nodding in agreement. After she had paid for the potion, the two of them headed straight back home to give some of it to Newt. "Don't be scared, Newt," Luna told him gently as she held the spoon up to the cat's mouth. "This'll help you feel better." Newt was in too much pain to resist, and no sooner had he swallowed the potion than he started to retch.
After about three minutes, however, nothing apart from vomit seemed to be coming up. "I don't think it's working, Mummy," a crestfallen Luna said.
Pandora sighed sadly. "I don't think so, either, Luna. We'll just have to - "
"Wait, Mummy, look!" cried Luna, pointing. What looked like a butterbeer cork had become visible on the back of the cat's tongue. "Come on, you can do it!" the five-year-old girl cheered, and after several tense, anxious minutes, the necklace was finally out.
"Good kitty!" said Luna. "Come on, let's go play." But Pandora held out a hand to stop her as she was about to head to her room. "Wait a minute, sweetheart, Newt still needs some rest. All that vomiting tired him out."
"Oh, okay," Luna replied, bending over to gently stroke Newt's fur to help him sleep while Pandora went to give her necklace a good cleaning.
"You know, Luna," Pandora said that night as she was tucking her daughter into bed, "there's something I never told you about this necklace." She pointed unnecessarily at the butterbeer cork necklace she now had around her neck. "This is what your father gave me when he proposed to me long ago. That's why I was so upset when I realized it was missing last night."
"Really?" asked Luna.
"Yes. Apparently his way of showing that he loved me was to give me something he believed would keep away Nargles. Of course, that's something to be expected of your father; he sticks by his beliefs no matter what anyone thinks." The woman smiled. "But that's what I love about him."
"And I take after him, don't I, Mummy?"
"You certainly do, but you also take after me in some ways. You're sweet and kind and you look at everything with faith." Luna beamed at the compliment.
"Mummy, now that Newt's better, can we go to the beach tomorrow?" she asked.
"No, not tomorrow, sweetie, your daddy and I will both be very busy. But we can go next week."
"Okay! Goodnight, Mummy."
"Goodnight, Luna. Pleasant dreams." After her mother had left, Luna turned to her cat and whispered, "Newt, you silly kitty, you had us worried this morning. Next time I tell you something isn't food, please don't eat it. I don't want you to die." Newt looked at her as if he understood and snuggled up next to her, and soon the two were fast asleep.