✔️ 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓&𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 → 𝑓. 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

79 | X. L O V E G O O D

•••
I don't believe in fairytales
and no one wants to go to hell.
•••

Barely ten seconds passed, then the door was flung open and there stood Xenophilius Lovegood, barefoot and wearing what appeared to be a stained nightshirt. His long white candyfloss hair was dirty and unkempt. Xenophilius had been positively dapper at Bill and Fleur's wedding by comparison.

"What? What is it? Who are you? What do you want?", he cried in a high-pitched, querulous voice, looking first at Hermione, then at Ron, and finally at Harry and Lynnea, upon which his mouth fell open in a perfect, comical O.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood", said Harry, holding out his hand, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Xenophilius did not take Harry's hand, although the eye that was not pointing inward at his nose slid straight to the scar on Harry's forehead. "Would it be okay if we came in?", asked Harry. "There's something we'd like to ask you."

"I - I'm not sure that's advisable," whispered Xenophilius. He swallowed and cast a quick look around the garden. "Rather a shock - My word - I ... I'm afraid I don't really think I ought to -"

"It wont take long" said Harry, slightly disappointed by this less-than-warm welcome.

"I - oh, all right then. Come in, quickly, Quickly!"

"Am I the only one smelling that smelly smell?", Lynnea whispered to Ron, who gave a small nod.

They entered the house and were barely inside when Mr Lovegood slammed the door shut.

"Stay close to a window, would you?", Harry muttered at his sister. "Something's fishy here."

While Mr Lovegood lead the three Gryffindors into the kitchen, Lynnea stayed behind. Eyeing a staircase winding up to the first floor, she for a second hesitated before moving. She reached Luna's room.

Luna had decorated her bedroom ceiling with six beautifully painted faces: Harry, Lynnea, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. They were not moving as the portraits at Hogwarts moved, but there was a certain magic about them all the same. Lynnea thought they breathed. What appeared to be a fine golden chains wove around the pictures linking them together, but after examining them for a minute or so, she realized that the chains were actually one work repeated a thousand times in golden ink: "friends ... friends ... friends ..."

Lynnea felt a great rush of affection for Luna. She looked around the room. There was a large photograph beside the bed, of a young Luna and a woman who looked very like her. They were hugging. Luna looked rather better-groomed in this picture than Lynnea had ever seen her in life. The picture was dusty.

Lynnea stared around. Something was wrong. The pale blue carpet was also thick with dust. There were no clothes in the wardrobe, whose doors stood ajar. The bed had a cold, unfriendly look, as though it had not been slept in for weeks. A single cobweb stretched over the nearest window across the blood red sky.

Lynnea walked back downstairs and entered the kitchen. Harry threw her a startled look, cocking an eyebrow, but Lynnea's eyes lay on Xenophelius Lovegood.

"Mr Lovegood," said Lynnea. "Where's Luna?"

"Excuse me?"

"Where's Luna?"

Xenophilius halted on the top step. "I - I've already told you. She is down at the Botions Bridge fishing for Plimpies."

"So why have you only laid that tray for five?"

Xenophilius tried to speak, but no sound came out. The only noise was the continued chugging of the printing press, and a slight rattle from the tray as Xenophilius's hands shook.

"I don't think Luna's been here for weeks." Lynnea spoke. "Her clothes are gone, her bed hasn't been slept in. Where is she? and why do you keep looking out of the window?"

Xenophilius dropped the tray. The bowls bounced and smashed Harry, Ron, and Hermione drew their wands. Xenophilius froze his hand about to enter his pocket. At that moment the printing press gave a huge bang and numerous Quibblers came streaming across the floor from underneath the tablecloth, the press fell silent at last.

Hermione stooped down and picked up one of the magazines, her wand still pointing at Mr Lovegood. "Harry, look at this"

Harry strode over to her as quickly as he could through all the clutter. The front of the Quibbler carried his own picture, emblazoned with the words "Undesirable Number One" and captioned with the reward money.

"The Quibbler's going for a new angle, then?", Harry asked coldly. "Is that what you were doing when you went into the garden, Mr Lovegood? Sending an owl to the Ministry?"

Xenophilius licked his lips. "They took my Luna," he whispered, "Because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I - If I-"

"Hand over Harry?" Lynnea finished for him.

"No deal", Ron said flatly. "Get out of the way, we're leaving."

Xenophilius looked ghastly, a century old, his lips drawn back into a dreadful leer. "They will be here any moment. I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave."

He spread his arms in front of the staircase, and Lynnea had a sudden vision of his mother doing the same thing in front of her and Harry's crib.

"Don't make us hurt you", Harry said. "Get out of the way, Mr Lovegood."

"HARRY!", Hermione screamed. Figures on broomsticks were flying past the windows. As the four of them looked away from him. Xenophilius drew his wand. Harry realized their mistake just in time. He launched himself sideways, shoving Lynnea, Ron and Hermione out of harm's way as Xenophilius' Stunning Spell soared across the room and hit an Erumpent horn.

There was a colossal explosion. The sound of it seemed to blow the room apart. Fragments of wood and paper and rubble flew in all directions, along with an impenetrable cloud of thick white dust. Lynnea flew through the air, then crashed to the floor, unable to see as debris rained upon her, her arms over her head. She heard Hermione's scream, Ron's and Harry's yells, and a series of sickening metallic thuds which told her that Xenophilius had been blasted off his feet and fallen backward down the spiral stairs.

Death Eaters rushed into the house, yelling and fireing spells at Mr Lovegood. It turned out that he had called the Death Eaters several times in false alarm, and now they were pretty pissed, while the desperate blond man tried to convince the two black hooded figures that Harry and Lynnea are hiding upstairs.

"We should get out", Ron growled.

"We can't", Lynnea breathed. "What if they hurt Luna? We have to show them we're here. They need to know Xenophelius is not lying!"

"Okay then", Hermione whispered. "Give me the invisibility Cloak. Ron, you're going to put it on."

"Me? But Harry -"

"Please, Ron! Harry, hold on tight to my hand, Lynnea grab Harry's, Ron grab my shoulder."

Harry held out his left hand for Hermione, his right for Lynnea. Ron vanished beneath the Cloak. The printing press blocking the stairs was vibrating. Xenophilius was trying to shift it using a Hover Charm. Lynnea did not know what Hermione was waiting for.

"Hold tight", she whispered. "Hold tight ... any second ..."

Xenophilius's paper-white face appeared over the top of the sideboard.

"Obliviate!", cried Hermione, pointing her want first into his face then at the floor beneath them. "Deprimo!"

She had blasted a hole in the sitting room floor. They fell like boulders. Lynnea still holding onto Harry's hand for dear life, there was a scream from below, and she glimpsed two men trying to get out of the way as vast quantities of rubble and broken furniture rained all around them from the shattered ceiling. Hermione twisted in midair and thundering of the collapsing house rang in Lynnea's ears as she dragged them once more into darkness.