Later that night, at 10 P.M. Hogwarts time as September was a few hours away from drawing to a close, Luna heard a knock on her door.

"Luna, my love," came Xenophilius's voice, "May I please come in? We need to talk."

"Yes, daddy, " said Luna kindly, going over to her door and letting her father in.

Xenophilius took a seat next to Luna on her bed.

"Luna, my love," said Xenophilius seriously, "It is time for me to come clean with you. In light of very recent events, I have been forced to confront some hard realities. What I need to come clean with you about is this; There are no such things as Nargles or the Crumple Horned Snorkack. These creatures were never anything more than an invention of my mind."

Luna looked into her father's eyes, feeling disappointed. This disappointment showed on her face as a look of hurt came across it.

"Nargles and Crumpled Horned Snorkacks really don't exist?" asked Luna, with a say it ain't so tent in her voice.

"They really don't," sighed Xenophilius heavily.

"Why did you lie to me all this time, daddy?" inquired Luna as a few tears streamed down her cheeks.

"So," explained Xenophilius slowly, "My creation of these creatures in my mind came about as a coping method during a time of grief. "

There was a minute and a nanosecond of screaming silence following this pronouncement.

Finally, Luna spoke up remembering that, "The first time you ever told me about Nargles and Crumple Horned Snorkacks was a week after mom died."

Xenophilius nodded gravely.

"I couldn't cope with the grief and heartache that the loss of Pandora was causing me," admitted Xenophilius quietly, "As a coping mechanism, I created this world in my own mind that had all these unusual and different creatures and retreated into that world. Losing myself in this world became my escape from my grief."

"I struggled with that grief too," piped up Luna candidly, "Even now, there are times when my emotions about mom's death will flare up. Once you told me about things like Nargles and Crumple Horned Snorkacks, retreating in my mind into a world where such creatures existed became my form of escapism as well. However, after a while, I became convinced that these creatures were real and that you can find them if only you searched long and hard enough."

Xenophilius nodded in understanding.

"The same thing happened to me," said Xenophilius matter of factly, "Our belief in these imaginary creatures fed on each other's to the point where we both became disconnected from reality. There's nothing wrong with a little fantasy and imagination, but, in our case, it consumed us."

"And after mom died, I was all you had left, " said Luna solemnly, "I still had Ginny as a close friend, but for you, I was ALL you had."

"That's why I cherished our vacations so much, " explained Xenophilius, "With my wife dead, bonding with my daughter became everything to me. There were some healthy good times that came out of that, but we also both developed an unhealthy disconnect from reality that fed on each other because of how strongly bonded we were and still are. The loneliness I felt at home when you were away at Hogwarts was emotional torture. The honest truth is that the merging of the Bones and Lovegood families is a very healthy thing for me. Having Amelia be there for me is going to make all the difference in the world."

"Did you ever consider remarrying after mom's death?" Luna asked her dad curiously.

"I would never slap Pandora in the face or insult her memory by remarrying after her death, " said Xenophilius fiercely, "If we'd gotten divorced, I probably would have remarried. But, out of respect for Pandora, her memory, and the love that was between me and her, I always rejected the possibility of remarrying after her death. That said, I'm grateful to now be living with another adult and not have to be lonely when you're away at Hogwarts. To your credit, you've always written to me a lot. Still."

"The pain mom's death caused both of us was overwhelming, " said Luna quietly, "But why are you telling me now that you made all these creatures up?"

"The destruction of our home at the hands of the Erumpent Horn has forced me to face reality," said Xenophilius matter of factly, "I had convinced myself that the Erumpent Horn was really the horn of a Crumple Horned Snorkack and that I could learn its secrets by studying it closely. Of course, the Erumpent Horn exploded instantly at my touch. My disconnect from reality got our house destroyed and it could easily have killed me. I almost left you as an orphan because I wasn't living in the real world. I'm VERY lucky to have survived. "

"Everything happens for reason," Luna told her father, just like she'd told her friends, "It was meant for the Bones family and the Lovegood family to merge. Look at the good that's coming of that merger. Both you and Amelia no longer have to come home from work to empty houses when Susan and I are away at Hogwarts. You can be a father figure to Susan while Amelia can be a mother figure to me so Susan and I both have two significant adult figures in our lives. Everything happens for a reason. It was meant for the Bones and Lovegood families to merge. And it was meant for you to get a wake up call. The loss of our home but the fact that you are still alive was meant to be. It was meant to be a wake up call for you about not straying too far from reality. Fantasy and imagination are extremely healthy in moderation but quite dangerous when taken to extremes."

"The loss of our home forced the time to come for me to face reality and to come clean and be honest with you, " said Xenophilius calmly, "I wanted to talk to you tonight, both to tell you the truth while it was on my mind and to get it off my chest."

"I'm grateful that Amelia has allowed us to live with her and Susan, " said Luna warmly, "And I'm also glad to have an expanded circle of friends now. For so long Ginny was my only one."

"I'm glad to see that too," said Xenophilius and he actually now smiled, "I'm also immensely proud of how well you're doing in school. Well, that's all I have, but I wanted to clear the air with you tonight. I'll let you get to bed, but first, have this."

Xenophilius embraced his daughter in a tight hug. How long the hug lasted, neither of them knew or cared. Xenophilius and Luna had cleared the air and were ready to move forward.

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