Chapter 249: The Eccentric Luna
Chapter 249: The Eccentric Luna
Harry thought it was some sort of insect and instinctively reached out, scratching his ear a few times. But even after scratching his ear red, he didn't find anything.
He was about to ask what a buzzing fly was, but Luna had already skipped back to Mr. Lovegood.
The little girl looked at the bump on her father's head in surprise and reached out to touch it.
"Ouch..." Mr. Lovegood winced, his neck recoiling in pain.
"Sorry, Dad..." Luna quickly apologized, but soon she couldn't help but touch it again.
"Did a Snorkack bump into you? Have you seen it?"
This sentence seemed to have some magic, and Mr. Lovegood instantly felt the pain subside. He stood up from the ground and patted his eye-catching yellow robe.
"Luna, I didn't see the Snorkack. But I think it must have realized we were looking for it, so it sent this little gift."
"You're amazing, Dad," Luna said happily, spinning in place.
Their conversation left Harry even more confused.
Could it be... that the bump on that man's head wasn't caused by the potato goblin I threw? Harry looked around and soon found the potato goblin walking back nearby.
Indeed... the potato goblin was right here.
But why did he say it was a Snorkack... And what is a Snorkack anyway?
Harry scratched his hair, suddenly feeling like a Muggle who knew nothing.
Ron and the others nearby had similar expressions.
The only exception was Kyle, who curiously asked, "Mr. Lovegood, did you find the Snorkack?"
"Almost," the man said regretfully. "We only found traces of its passage in the southern valley. It seems it must have gone somewhere else."
"I just found this," Luna said, holding up half a leaf. "The Snorkack's leftovers... Dad, it must have passed through here when it left."
"You're right, Luna," Mr. Lovegood sighed. "We shouldn't have left."
"Can I take a look at that leaf?" Kyle suddenly asked.
"Of course," Luna said happily, handing the leaf to Kyle. "Are you also interested in Snorkacks?"
"In fact, I'm interested in all magical creatures."
Kyle took the leaf and examined it carefully in the moonlight... But soon, his expression became somewhat strange.
These bite marks... If Mr. Lovegood and Luna had the time to visit the Leaky Cauldron, they would probably find what they were looking for.
This leaf was clearly bitten in half by a potato goblin, and there were potato sprouts all over the garden in front of the Leaky Cauldron. If they wanted, they could even weigh them by the pound.
"Kyle, don't move. There's a Niffler next to your nose... Oh, it's gone again."
"What?" Kyle returned the potato sprout to Luna. "What's a Niffler?"
"A flying house elf," Luna said. "Nifflers like to dance around relatively intelligent people, disrupting their thoughts and making them forget what they were going to say. It's quite rare."
"Dad, did you see it just now?"
"I must have missed it while I was straightening my clothes," Mr. Lovegood said regretfully.
Kyle didn't pay much attention, as they often mentioned names he didn't understand. Even if Newt were here, he'd return with a head full of questions.
"Mr. Lovegood..." Kyle changed the subject, "Luna should be starting Hogwarts this year, right?"
"We received her acceptance letter three days ago," he said happily. "It's such a delightful thing. I've been gathering materials to make her a pair of magical glasses as a gift."
"With them, you can see the Nargles..." Luna replied.
Kyle tugged at the corners of his mouth, managing a polite smile.
In truth, he didn't want to touch anything from the Lovegood family, as it would make him seem foolish.
...
After a few more exchanges, Mr. Lovegood hurried off with Luna.
On the way back to their shabby home, Harry couldn't help but ask, "Ron, who were those two people?"
"The Lovegoods," Ron replied. "They live in a house shaped like a chimney in the north, and there's a big wooden windmill at the entrance."
"Oh, and Mr. Lovegood is the editor of The Quibbler."
"The Quibbler?"
"It's a strange magazine," Ron explained. "Most of its content is gibberish, so hardly anyone reads it."
"Oh," Harry nodded, not quite understanding. He continued, "By the way, what was that about the Nargles... I think that's what she called them. What are they exactly?"
Ron waved his hand dismissively, "You don't need to worry about that. It's just crazy Luna; everyone knows there are no such things as Nargles in the magical world."
"Crazy Luna?"
"Yeah, that's what everyone who knows her calls her. She's like that magazine, always talking nonsense."
Ron put his hands behind his back and said, "In fact, no one wants to associate with the Lovegoods. Only Kyle would talk to them."
"I bet even Kyle can't understand what they're saying," Ron added.
Although it was impolite, Harry recalled Luna's behavior and found the name "Crazy Luna" oddly fitting.
"They're such a strange family," Harry muttered. "Have they always been like this?"
"They used to be better," Ron said. "We even had dinner together, but ever since that explosion two years ago..."
Ron suddenly looked around and lowered his voice. "Since the explosion two years ago, they've been like this. Mom invited them over several times, but they always refused."
"An explosion..."
Ron sighed and whispered, "Apparently, their magic experiment went wrong. Kyle had warned them many times to be careful, and even I remembered..."
"Ron!"
At that moment, Ginny stormed over, annoyed. "Don't you remember? Mom told us not to talk about this to others."
"I remember..." Ron tried to explain, "But this is Harry, not just anyone."
Usually, hearing Harry's name would make Ginny blush and run away, but this time, she stood her ground, glaring at Ron.
"Fine, I won't say anything more..." Ron turned away, muttering under his breath.
(End of Chapter)
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