Confessions during Fishing
"Mum?"
Luna doesn't look up from her fishing rod. "Yes, honey?"
"Mum, I don't..."
"You can say it, Lysander," Luna says with a small smile. "I won't bite, you know."
"Right." Lysander looks at his feet. "Mum, I don't really believe in... Nargles and all."
He had expected a reaction from his mum; he had expected a scolding. He hangs his head.
He's surprised when he feels a hand on his shoulder.
Luna's still smiling serenely. "I'll tell you something, sweetie," she says quietly. "After a few years in Magizoology research... I began to doubt their existence as well. But it's always nice to have something to believe in when everything else falls apart, don't you think?"
She inspects the end of her fishing rod. "Hmm. Maybe Plimpies don't like Gillyweed, after all. I should probably ask Rolf for some Aquavirius Maggots, he's got quite a stock... The natives gave us them in return for the Pumpkin Pasties we brought from home, you know."
Lysander ignores her mother's dreamy ramblings and clears his throat awkwardly. "So, er, you're not angry or anything?"
She blinks, her large, silvery eyes staring at him. She smiles and pats his head.
"Of course not, Lysander... Just don't tell your brother anything, OK? Sooner or later, he'll figure it out as well, by himself. To each, their own," Luna drifts off, her voice a teensy bit wistful.
"Thanks, Mum." Lysander examines his hook. "Can I go inside now? The mosquitoes are getting to me..."
Luna nods. "Anti-itch cream's in the purple-striped cupboard, you can ask Lorcan. I'll be back soon – funny, it doesn't feel like Christmas, in the middle of the rain forest..."
And so he goes back to their shack in the middle of nowhere; Lysander Scamander leaves his mum in her reveries, fishing for creatures which may or may not exist.
Actually, this one was my favorite... Luna is so easy to write, and Lysander as well... :)
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