Chapter 8
Luna opened the door, and I followed her in. As we entered, what welcomed me was a cozy home a home that gave off the feeling of calm and safety.
I don't know why this wasn't the case in the Burrow, but this felt... nice.
I looked around. There were many things: a kitchen where dishes were being washed, though no food was being cooked like in the Burrow.
Why there was no food wasn't something I had time to think about, as a voice, one with the same sleepy tone as Luna's, came from the upper floor.
It was most likely her mum.
"Can you get the jar from the middle left, dear? It has a green lid and leaves inside of it," she said.
I just followed Luna to the place where they kept the ingredients.
"My mum does magic experiments. She's quite good at it," Luna said with a proud look on her face. She looked quite cute while boasting about her mum, her chest puffed up, and even a slight spark of excitement when she spoke about her.
{Why doesn't she get the ingredients herself?} I wrote down as we entered a dark room packed with jars and other items. It was most likely a storage room that Luna's mother had set up in the house.
"She forgets to bring some ingredients, and Dad is out gathering stuff for the Quibbler, so she asks me to get them," she said as she grabbed the jar her mum had asked for.
{Why not get it herself?} I wrote down and showed her.
"Sometimes she can't leave the experiment in the middle, or it would go boom," she said, making a boom gesture with her face and hands. The jar in her hand almost slipped, she looked like that one meme where the guy does the mind-blown gif.
I followed her up to the second floor, and then the third, which was most likely where her mum worked.
As we walked up, I noticed quite a few family portraits lining the walls. None of them moved; they were regular portraits. One of them looked quite recent: it showed her dad, mum, and Luna herself.
As we reached the door where Luna's mother did her experiments, a small boom and a ton of smoke came from the other side. Luna opened the door in a bit of a hurry, though her composure remained, somewhat.
"Are you okay, Mum?" Luna asked, trying to peer through the smoke to find her mother, but to no avail. However, a gust of wind pushed all the smoke out through the nearby window.
Luna's mother looked just like Luna, only older. She had a smile on her face, the kind that made it clear she had enjoyed the experience. The room was a mess, stuff was scattered everywhere, most likely due to the experiment going wrong. There were books and pages all over the floor. The bookshelf to the side was almost empty, the table and chair had toppled over, and at the center of the room stood a cauldron filled with dark purple liquid that gave off a sour smell.
And at the center of it all was Luna's mother, wand in hand. With one flick, everything in the room began floating back to its place. Judging by the ease of it, this definitely wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
"Oh, sorry dear, did I scare you?" she asked Luna as she flicked her wand once more, causing the jar in Luna's hand to fly up into the air and settle onto the table, which had just corrected itself into its rightful place.
Luna's mother knelt to Luna's level and gave her a hug, most likely to calm her down. From the look of it, it worked; Luna visibly relaxed in her embrace.
As I was watching all this, I remembered that Luna's mother had died when Luna was around nine or ten. I didn't really know how she had died, but if I had to guess, it must have been because of her magical experiments. There was one more thing I did know: Luna had seen her mother die. It must have been during one of these errands, just like this one, that led her there… and to witnessing it all.
Although I didn't know anything else about Luna, that alone was enough to make me want to change things.
After all, I didn't want to see a child like her lose her mother and especially not witness it.
She might be able to look at my realistically drawn monster corpses without flinching, but seeing her own mother like that… that's on a completely different level.
And I didn't want to see her sad.
It might be too much to say, but I felt like Luna had grown on me a bit. And I didn't want to see that ruined.
As I was thinking that, Luna's mother let go of the hug. As she did, her eyes landed on me. They were sharp as daggers as they scanned me all over, and more than that, I felt myself being scanned by some kind of magic at the same time. A silent spell, no doubt.
Her smile, however, remained. That smile gave me chills.
She wasn't simple, I could tell just by the look she gave me. It was the look of someone with experience. Not the kind that comes from quietly sitting in a room doing experiments, but the kind forged through life-and-death scenarios.
I didn't show any expression on my face, but if the tensing of my shoulders and muscles meant anything, then she had already read me like a book.
"Hello there," she said.
And just like that, as if I'd been granted a pardon, I let out a shallow breath. When had I even started holding it? I didn't remember.
It was something else entirely to make me, someone who had killed thousands, hold my breath with just a single glance. If I had to say… she was something more than just a mother, or even a wizard.
She was special. Special enough to maybe even know that famous "Hello there" meme.
Or maybe that was just my imagination.
Who knows.
{Hello} I wrote back and showed her.
"Who is your new friend, Luna?" her mother asked as she looked back toward her.
"This is Nihilo. He can't speak," Luna replied.
{Hello, ma'am. My name is Nihilo R. Echoes. It's nice to meet you.} I wrote to her.
"Hello, Nihilo. My name is Pandora Lovegood, I'm Luna's mother," she said, ruffling Luna's hair as she spoke.
Luna didn't seem to like it, judging by the frown on her face, but she said nothing.
"Luna, sorry for bothering you, dear. There are some cookies in the kitchen cabinet; you can have those. Make sure to give some to your friend."
Luna just nodded and walked out. I followed her, but before going, I looked back. Pandora was still looking me in the eye.
I gave her a small smile, tore a sheet of paper off my notepad, and placed it on the table beside me before walking out.
That should be enough to warn her. And even if she didn't listen, there was nothing more I could do.
As I walked out, Luna looked at me oddly. After all, I had taken longer than needed to follow her out. But she didn't say anything. I could tell she was happy, though, by the way she was hopping as she walked.
It was quite a sight. I just followed silently.
Not like I could speak, anyway.
That joke never gets old, I thought to myself as we reached the ground floor. Luna hopped her way to the kitchen and took out a jar that had a cookie drawn on it. As she put her hand in, her whole arm went down into it, though the jar was only big enough for half of it.
Thinking she had used too much force and gotten her hand stuck, I went closer to help. However, she calmly pulled her hand out, and with it came two cookies. One of which she handed to me, or should I say, shoved directly into my mouth.
My eye twitched at her actions, but I calmly accepted the cookie like a man and started to nibble on it. It was quite big. Big enough that I was pretty sure it was the size of Luna's head.
As for how it fit in the cookie jar? It must have been magically extended.
And now that I think about it, all the jars in this house are probably magically extended, just like this one.
God damn. This just confirmed my theory that Pandora was not normal.
Who makes magically extended cookie jars? And now that I really think about it, this whole house is way too big on the inside compared to the outside as well.
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