A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for the requests! I'll get around to them asap :)
But for now, I hope you enjoy this little one-shot. It's my first attempt at writing Luna so I hope it's okay. Regardless, I had so much fun writing this. It is based around the fairy tale, Thumbelina (don't own it) and this idea kinda clicked with it right away! (I'll put a synopsis of the original story at the end for those of you who aren't familiar with it.)
Enjoy!
Written for: QLFC rnd 12 (Harpies, Beater 2) [base around Thumbelina - travel log style - "Revenge is not worthy of you. If you concentrate on revenge, you will keep those wounds fresh that would otherwise have healed." Adeline Yen Mah, Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society]; Hunger Games comp [D4 - A Ravenclaw]; Disney characters comp [Dumbo - write about Luna]; HP Chapter comp [OoTP - Luna Lovegood - write about Luna]; The Great Maze comp [entry fic, write about anything]
Little Journal
Date: 7th October 1998
Location: On the back of a Natterjack toad, somewhere in Europe.
Hello, little journal; this is my first time writing in you. Daddy said I ought to be logging accounts of my travels in a larger and sturdier book – for practical reasons – but I thought you looked quite lonely sitting on the shelf gathering dust. You looked like you needed an adventure, or at least, a change of scenery. That's all right, because I do too.
Over the past couple of years, I've only ever seen the world as a bleak and dreary warzone. That's over now, but witches and wizards in the UK are still struggling to rehabilitate the happy, beautiful and magical world I grew up in. They're still grieving. They're still trying to come to terms with everything. I've heard that some people are seeking revenge for the losses they suffered, which, in my opinion, will just keep their wounds open for much longer; wounds that would have healed by now if they had just tried to move on and have a fresh start.
That's what I'm doing now. I've decided to go travelling and meet the magical creatures of the world that Daddy has told me about so many times before. I'm trying to look at the world through a new pair of eyes, so that's why I put a Shrinking Charm on both of us, journal. I hope you don't mind.
Oh! The toad has just spotted a blowfly. He's hopping around much faster now, so I'm afraid if I keep writing I'll either drop you or just squiggle all over you, and I'm sure you won't like either of those things to happen. This journey is already so exciting. I wonder where Mr Toad is going to take us…
Oh, by the way, my name is Luna.
Date: 11th October 1998
Location: On a lily pad, the river Loire.
I hope you don't mind, journal, but I had to find a way to get off the Natterjack. He was headed towards a patch of heathland that seemed to be heavily infested with Wrackspurts. It's lucky that I remembered to pack my Spectrespecs! Since I'm so tiny now I wondered if they'd even be able to float into my ears at all, but I didn't want to take the risk.
Anyway, for the last day or so, I've been floating on a lily pad down this river after the gulping plimpies kindly helped me get off the toad by splashing around in the water and distracting him for a while. I must remember to make sure they're kept safe from being turned into my Dad's famous plimpy soup.
Being so small, it does frighten me a little to think how deep the water must be, but I'm not worrying too much. I have my wand with me, after all. So for now, I'm just lying on my back on this comfortable lily pad looking up at the sky. So far I've seen shapes in the clouds that remind me of my friends' faces, although; that could just be me imagining them. I miss them all terribly, but this is my journey of healing and of forgetting about the losses and suffering of the war.
I must say that I am really enjoying this new perspective on the world. Everything seems new and exciting, and floating down the river so peacefully is already making my head feel clearer…
Of course, that could just be a baby Wrackspurt floating out of my ear…
Date: 31st October 1998
Location: Gunnison National Forest, CO, USA
I'm sorry I haven't been writing in you much, journal, but I've just been having so much fun exploring this forest. I've been here for quite a while, and although I haven't been writing in detail, I have come across many fascinating and colourful creatures here, which I've taken pictures of (with their permission, of course). I've also written notes about them on the back of each picture. If you don't mind I'd like to Spello-tape them in on the next blank page.
Now that I've made myself a little shelter out of some sticks and leaves, I have a free moment to write down what you've missed. I should probably start by telling you that we're in America now. I've always wanted to come here ever since reading 'Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them', and now that I am here it doesn't quite seem real. I don't know whether it's because this is just a new place or because I'm as small as a Bowtruckle, but I feel so inspired by this experience and this journey. Seeing these magical creatures up close just fascinates me, and for the first time in my life I think I can see myself doing this as a career. I feel like I understand the creatures, and they understand me (maybe with the exception of that rude stag beetle who shook me off his back when I started singing the Invisible Whooper Melody).
Oh! I've just realized what the date is today: October 31st. I must remember to owl Harry when I get chance to make sure he's all right. Maybe I'll send letters to the others too whilst I'm at it. I don't want them to get the impression I've just run away whilst they're all still coping with the aftermath of the war back at home. Who knows, maybe they'll let me know if Magizoology is something they think I'd be good at!
Date: 9th November 1998
Location: Underground, somewhere in North America
The weather has been turning nasty over the last few days; it's extremely windy and rainy, which I normally don't mind, but given my size I thought it was too dangerous to stay in the forest. It's a shame, really, but I could always visit again one day.
I managed to squeeze myself into a hole in the ground that a little worm had made, and have been down here for the last day or so. Although it's very toasty, I don't like being here. I feel restricted, and the darkness and damp smell just reminds me of my imprisonment at Malfoy Manor.
There are more creatures down here, though, and I've snapped pictures and made notes of them too (I'm afraid more Spello-tape is coming your way, journal). Most of them were very welcoming and friendly, but others weren't very nice - like the Jarvey. They're fascinating creatures that are capable of human speech, but it is in their nature to be blunt and rude. They also resemble giant ferrets, too, and with me being uncomfortable with down here anyway, the encounter with the Jarvey hasn't helped lessen the pain of the Malfoy Manor memory, since the creature just reminded me of Draco.
Oh well - I suppose this will just help the healing process a little bit more. Still… I hope I'm not down here for long.
Date: 17th November 1998
Location: On the back of a swallow, somewhere in America
The skies make me feel much happier than the ground. I feel so free up here, although I do seem incredibly high up – I hope I'm not tugging on the swallow's feathers too hard. I'm not really sure where to go next; there are so many options. I have been travelling for over a month, and although I miss everyone back home terribly, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to go back yet…
Sorry for trailing off mid-thought there, journal, but I think I just heard the Invisible Whooper Melody. I wonder if there are some of them flying near us! How exciting! Oops; I was just about to get my camera out to take a picture of an invisible thing - silly me! But their song… I can hear it. Maybe I'll sing along with them.
The swallow has landed in a tall evergreen tree to have a rest from all of the flying, and I can see what looks like a little figure who's about the same height as a shrunken-me further along the branch. It's him who has been whistling the Whooper Melody! I might introduce myself to him.
A little later
The other shrunken person is Rolf Scamander, Newt Scamander's grandson! As it turns out, he's been globetrotting these past few months looking for strange magical creatures just like I have. When I told him about my journey over the last few weeks, he didn't once call me 'loony' or 'insane'. In fact, he told me that I'm just as sane as he is, and whilst he may have been making a joke about the way we both chose to shrink ourselves, I take that as a huge compliment.
Meeting Rolf has given me confidence that maybe I'd make a good Magizoologist one day, so when I get home that is the first thing I'm going to look into. I feel like I've made peace with the war, and that I'll be able to get on with my life when I return to the UK.
But for now I'm going to carry on exploring the world for a little while longer. I hope you don't mind, journal, but Rolf would like to come along too.
A/N: Thank you for reading :D
For anyone interested here's the Thumbelina synopsis:
"The tale opens with a beggar woman giving a peasant's wife a barleycorn in exchange for food. Once planted, a tiny girl, Thumbelina (Tommelise), emerges from its flower.
One night, Thumbelina, asleep in her walnut-shell cradle, is carried off by a toad who wants the miniature maiden as a bride for her son. With the help of friendly fish and a butterfly, Thumbelina escapes the toad and her son, and drifts on a lily pad until captured by a stag beetle. The insect discards her when his friends reject her company. Thumbelina tries to protect herself from the elements, but when winter comes, she is in desperate straits. She is finally given shelter by an old field mouse and tends her dwelling in gratitude.
The mouse suggests Thumbelina marry her neighbor, a mole, but Thumbelina finds repulsive the prospect of being married to such a creature because he spent all his days underground and never saw the sun or sky. The field mouse keeps pushing Thumbelina into the marriage, saying the mole is a good match for her, and does not listen to her protests. At the last minute, Thumbelina escapes the situation by fleeing to a far land with a swallow she nursed back to health during the winter.
In a sunny field of flowers, Thumbelina meets a tiny flower-fairy prince just her size and to her liking, and they wed. She receives a pair of wings to accompany her husband on his travels from flower to flower, and a new name, Maia."