Sprinkles of Magic

One

"What are you doing here, Luna?" Harry Potter asked, looking strangely at Luna Lovegood who was standing on the doorway of The Burrow.

"Checking for Nargles," Luna replied, looking around with her curious glasses. "Could I see if there are any inside?"

Harry, who was a mere guest there, hesitantly opened the door for Luna to enter. The moment she entered, Ginny Weasley came down, just after taking a bath. The red haired girl quickly hugged her friend with a grin. They exchanged a few greetings, seeing as they were year mates, before Ginny disappeared in the kitchen to get some treats and tea for Luna.

While waiting, Luna informed Harry of a Barfsprouts. He wasn't really listening but having Luna in the house once in a while really brightens up the place, which was hard to do seeing the war just passed by. She re-told her story to Ginny, who tried to keep up with the conversation.

Minutes later, Hermione who was watching the other Weasley siblings play Quidditch outside just because Ron was there, came in, pleasantly surprised by Luna's presence.

"Hello, Luna! What brings you here?" Though Hermione knew the exact answer at the sight of Luna's glasses, she asked nonetheless since lately, she had been more tolerant of Luna's weird actions and words.

"Hello to you too, Hermione. I'm checking for Nargles and I also told Harry and Ginny about Barfsprouts. Would you like me to enlighten you about Barfsprouts?"

Hermione gulped before nodding slowly. She sat there silently though she frowned once in a while as Luna explained what Barfsprouts were. At the end of her explanation, she offered them if they wanted to see a picture of Barfsprouts. They politely said yes.

Luna gave them a piece of parchment, a bit ripped in the edges and the ink fading, but they could see about three illustrations of what Luna called Barfsprouts and the label below. Hermione traced the drawing with her brows furrowed, murmuring something.

"Luna," Hermione said, "is this an Augrey?"

Luna cocked her head on her side. "Augrey? That's a Barfsprout, Hermione."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, my own mother told so. That's actually her drawing, you know. She used to tell me stories of wonderous animals she knew and drew it for me. She let me name them at times, I was truly happy when she did," Luna replied, her voice light.

There were a few seconds of silence before Ginny spoke up. "Your mother? You mean she taught you all about this before she died?"

Luna nodded, sipping her tea. "She used to do it thrice a week."

Slowly, as Luna's words relayed in their mind, reality dawned to them. The Lovegoods' supposed made-up creatures were real, they were just labeled different for Luna. Pandora Lovegood probably wanted Luna to learn about beasts at a young age but didn't want it to be boring and wanted it to be fun in a way. Certainly, Luna wasn't bored at all.

"But I guess all of you are right." Luna set down her cup. "Barfsprouts might be an Augrey after all."

"What makes you say that?" Harry questioned, hoping that his theory would be proved.

"My father, after my mother passed away, tried to teach me properly about fantastic beasts but I wasn't keeping up. I mixed them all up and often I would write some random name I made up before as answers. After a month, daddy gave up."

"So he simply made you memorize their names as such?"

"Correct."

"Why didn't you tell the professors at Hogwarts back then? They could have helped you with this problem," Hermione murmured, understanding Luna more and more.

"Mother said," Luna began," that I should keep all she taught me deep in my heart. She always used to remind me that memories are timeless treasures of the heart. If I forgot everything she taught me, wouldn't that mean that I would forget her too?"

Luna was right, they were just as sane as she was.