Chapter 31
They were not careful with the rust. It spread everywhere. Luna even had a splotch of bronze on her nose and cheek. That didn’t prevent them from enjoying the park. First the swings, then the slides. It wasn’t as good as it could have been, because the cold metal was a bit uncomfortable, but Luna didn’t seem to mind it one bit, and so Taylor decided she wasn’t going to mind it as well.
They played until Taylor was feeling tired.
“Let’s go back,” she said to Luna, who was playing on the swing again. “I’m getting hungry.”
Luna hopped off the swing, and Taylor had a brilliant idea.
“Race you!” she shouted and started running.
“You’re cheating,” Taylor said once she got to her house. Somehow Luna had, despite starting later, arrived first.
In a very un-Luna behaviour, her friend stuck her tongue out, then daintily entered the house.
Taylor followed, hot on her heels, only to come to a screeching halt inside.
Her mum was glaring at her.
“Take off the shoes, and go get cleaned. We’re going to the movies.”
Luna tried to sneak away, but her mum didn’t even need to look to see the sneaking thief. She rounded on Luna. “That means you too, young lady.”
“Is daddy coming too?”
Annette had a complicated look in her eyes. She shook her head.
“He sent an owl. Apparently, something urgent came up with the latest Quibbler edition. He’ll be here on the twenty-fourth.”
Taylor wasn’t sure if she was seeing things, but Luna looked dejected.
“Which movie are we watching?” she blurted out, trying to change the subject.
“Aladdin,” her mum said. “Now, go get ready.”
There was no arguing with mum when she was like that. A full bath would take too much time and be too much work, so Taylor opted for a quick shower. Luna did the same and about half an hour later they were ready and on their way.
The shopping centre wasn’t that far from Taylor’s house. A ten-minute drive. Luna seemed fascinated with each piece of technology they encountered. All the flashing lights, the vending machines, the many tellies on display.
Taylor had to gently tug on her friend’s arm to move her along.
Mum gave Taylor a few pounds. “Go grab the popcorn and fizzy drinks. I’ll get the tickets.”
Taylor did as asked, with Luna trailing after her.
“Do you like it sweet or salted?” she asked Luna.
Her friend seemed very confused, so Taylor decided to buy both. If Luna didn’t like the sweet ones Taylor would take them no problem, she liked both salted and sweet popcorn. Together with the food, she got the biggest fizzy drink she could afford. Soon after they were being ushered inside the cinema and trying to find their seats.
The movie had been great, and Taylor was glad they brought Luna along. It was awesome seeing Luna swaying to the music, and trying to sing along with the whole new world song, but the fun wasn’t done.
Annette gathered the duo, handing over a few bills to Taylor and then to Luna.
“Go and explore a little,” she said. “Have fun, but meet me here in two hours.”
“What are you going to do, mum? You could come with us.”
Annette shook her head. “I have boring shopping to do. You girls have fun.”
Taylor turned to Luna after her mum had left. “Want to try the arcade?”
Luna tilted her head, clearly having no clue what Taylor was talking about.
Taylor grabbed Luna’s hand and led her toward the arcade. “They are these machines you can play games on. You’ll see.”
In the end, both Luna and Taylor were horrible at the games. Of the few games available, Taylor tried her hand at Street Fighter, not something she had ever tried before, and got beaten in the second round. Luna somehow did worse. Her dreamy friend had a hard time moving the controls and pressing the buttons in time.
After that, they tried Pacman, Pinball, even those claw machines.
Taylor, like usual, couldn’t get a plushie, but Luna somehow managed to grab one, a brown bunny.
“That’s amazing!” Taylor said, hugging her friend. “I can never land the claw right.”
With what was left of their money, Taylor got them ice cream (even though it was very cold); a shopping trip that didn't end in ice cream was no successful shopping trip.
They returned home in the evening after an afternoon of fun. While Luna was in the bathroom, Taylor opened Arabelle’s cage and let the critter out.
“You can explore outside, but try to remain out of view,” she said holding the spider. “Don’t try to leave my range. I’ll know and I’ll stop you.”
There were some pincers clicking that sounded angry.
“And try not to kill anyone’s pet. That means cats and dogs.”
More clicking.
“Now shoo,” Taylor said, placing the spider on the windowsill and cracking it open. “Try to come back before we go to sleep, alright?”
Arabelle didn’t answer, she scurried away and into the night. Taylor hoped this wasn’t a mistake, but the critter deserved to explore a little. She’d keep an eye on the spider, just in case.
Fortunately, Arabelle didn’t cause a commotion. In true predator fashion, she went hunting and that night, no rat was ever safe from her.
The next day, the one before Christmas Eve, there was no exploring. It was raining heavily and the girls, plus Nap and Arabelle, spent the whole day on the couch watching the telly. Luna seemed fascinated with cartoons.
Taylor sneaked away while Luna was distracted to package her gifts. She’d have to give her mum an even bigger hug later for getting the wrap and the tape. She packaged the three gifts, then hid them inside her trunk again. She joined her friend under the blankets on the couch. She tried to pay attention to the cartoons, but ended up falling asleep on Luna.
Christmas Eve arrived without much fanfare. The rain hadn’t stopped and they had been confined to the house. Not that they remained idle. The dinner preparation started in the afternoon and her mum, the cruel taskmaster, kept both Luna and Taylor busy, first with cleaning the house and now with helping with the cooking.
Taylor peeled potatoes and apples; cut the carrots into the perfect cubes; sliced the green beans.
Her mum wasn’t doing a normal Christmas dinner this year. There would be roast turkey, but that was it.
Instead of the traditional roast potatoes, gravy and carrots, this time it was some sort of Russian Salad. Taylor couldn’t fathom what potatoes, apples, carrots, green beans and mayonnaise had to do with Russia, but her mum was sure of it. Along with that, they’d also have white rice and unfortunately, roasted Brussels sprouts.
Xenophilius arrived with a snap-crack in the living room a few minutes before dinner started. Taylor was starting to get worried, because Luna looked more dejected with each passing minute.
The wizard hugged his daughter, then greeted everyone. “Hello!” He was carrying two small packages with him, oddly shaped. He was also wearing an eye-searing yellow robe. “I hope I’m not late.”
“You’re just in time,” Annette said, carrying the roast toward the living room. “Go wash your hands,” she ordered everyone.
Soon after, they were seated at the table and Taylor could admire the food. It looked good.
“This smells amazing,” Xeno said.
Annette distributed the plates and people dug in the food. More than the amazing smell, the taste was almost magical. For a moment, Taylor wasn’t sure if her mum wasn’t some sort of magical cooking wizard.
The clinking of cutlery was soon replaced by small talk.
Taylor talked about school, about Quidditch, and laughed when describing Snape blasting Lockhart in the dueling club. She tried to gloss over the Heir attacks, but Xeno wanted to talk about it.
“Has the Heir attacked again?” he asked before stuffing his mouth with a huge bite of the roast. He turned to Annette. “This is delicious! Are you sure you are a muggle?”
But Annette wasn’t paying attention to him. Her eyes were fixed on Taylor.
“Attack? What is he talking about, Taylor?”
Taylor squirmed under her mum’s gaze and couldn’t see a way to dodge the question.
“Remember I told you about the cat being petrified and the new mystery?” she said finally.
Annette shook her head.
“I told you in a letter, mum.”
“Taylor, sweetie, you barely sent me any letters.”
Taylor opened her mouth, closed it, trying to understand what her mum had said. “Mum, I sent you letters every day.”
It was Annette’s turn to blink. “You did?” she muttered. “I… must’ve forgotten.” Her mum looked lost for a moment, then she shook her head, her eyes focused again. “We can talk about that later. Tell me about this heir and the attacks.”
Taylor squirmed harder. She wanted to ask about her mum not remembering the letters, but the look in her eyes was enough to know she wouldn’t budge.
“The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts,” Luna said instead. “The Heir unleashed the monster from the Chamber of Secrets to punish the mudbloods and cleanse the castle from the undeserving.” There was a moment of silence. “A cat and a boy were petrified. No one knows who the Heir is, or how the attacks happen.”
“And why isn’t anyone doing anything about it? How come no newspaper reported that?”
Xeno, who had been eyeing the food like a hungry wolf, piped up. “It’s the Rotfang conspiracy’s fault!”
Three pairs of eyes turned to him.
“The Ministry doesn’t want you to know it, but they have shady dealings everywhere. The Daily Prophet only publishes things the conspiracy approves of. You won’t ever see it saying anything bad about the government, or Hogwarts for that matter.”
“A conspiracy? Are you sure?”
“Yes!” The man said, having gotten up. He gesticulated animatedly. “I’ve been working on a special edition for The Quibbler for the past few days,” he stopped close to Luna and kissed her crown. “That’s why I’ve been so busy, Moonshine. All that information you sent me was crucial to unraveling this conspiracy. I even have undeniable proof from an anonymous correspondent! There’s no way they’ll be able to deny it!”
Xeno ranted about this conspiracy and that, thankfully derailing all the talk about the attacks, but the glance her mum sent her way told they weren’t done with the subject, it was just being postponed.
Once dinner was over, it was time for the gift exchange.
Taylor ran to her bedroom and grabbed all the gifts. When she returned to the living room, everyone was already waiting for her.
“Why don’t you start, Little Owl,” her mum said.
Taylor grabbed the package in the middle, the one for her mum. She walked closer and pushed it towards her. “I tried my best,” she said, barely audible.
Annette smiled, and instead of taking the package, she hugged Taylor for a long while. “Thank you, sweetie.”
Under everyone’s gaze, she opened the package, revealing a black t-shirt with silvery details.
Annette fingered the fabric, her eyes widening. “This is so soft.” She hugged Taylor again.
Her mum got up, left the living room, and returned a few minutes later wearing the shirt. Like Taylor had expected, the cut wasn’t a perfect fit, but it looked comfortable.
“I love it, Taylor,” her mum said, hugging Taylor again.
Next up was Xeno. His package was the smallest one, because Taylor only thought to make it when Luna asked if her dad could come too. It ended up being a small handkerchief, light blue with a stylized XL sewn in the middle.
Xeno looked at the piece of fabric. “What is this made of?”
Taylor wasn’t about to tell strangers, so she just shrugged. “Secret.”
Xeno laughed.
Lastly, she took the biggest package and held it to Luna. Her friend took it and carefully opened the wrapping. Luna’s gift was a pajama set, woven in silvery silk with light pink piping. Because just silvery was boring, she’d sewn in the shirt and trousers a yellow moon with a white rabbit sleeping on it. The pink details weren’t because Taylor’s own pajama set was pink and silvery. Not one bit.
Luna held the articles of clothing for a long while, before tackling Taylor into a hug. Taylor didn’t miss that her friend was finally smiling again. Totally worth it!
Maybe inspired by Taylor’s mum, Luna ran out of the living room and returned wearing the pajamas. The clothing was bigger than Luna’s petite frame, but that had been the intention all along. That way, it would last a few years, hopefully, instead of a few months.
Luna was the next to present gifts. To her father, she gave some sort of necklace that looked like a triangle with a circle inside. To Taylor’s mum she gave a wizard cooking recipe book, much to Annette’s amusement. When it was Taylor’s turn, Luna produced big packages from inside a small bag.
“I knew you liked them,” Luna said, presenting Taylor with her own magical House hats.
Taylor tackle-hugged her friend. She immediately put on the Ravenclaw animated hat after the hug, and the eagle spread her wings and screeched.
That seemed to be some sort of challenge, because Nap flapped her wings, and tackled the hat out of Taylor’s head with an angry hoot.
Annette’s gift for both Taylor and Luna was the same. She’d compiled a list of useful every day spells into a small notebook. It had the words, the wand movements, even a small story for each spell transcribed in the notebook.
The tackle-hugs found their next target: Annette, courtesy of two emotional children.
Maybe not wanting to be outdone, Xeno pulled out two books as well. One looked very old, but well preserved, the other new.
“This one was your mum’s,” he said, handing the old book to Luna, who took it in trembling hands. The other, he gave to Taylor. “It doesn’t have all the fancy enchantments from Luna’s book, but it does have all the same spells, I copied them myself.”
Taylor took the book, reading the cover. The name was promising. Book of Spells, it read.
Xeno endured the hugs, laughing all the while.