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Chapter 611: There Are Already Two People in This Memory...
Chapter 611: There Are Already Two People in This Memory...
Luna pulled Ivan out the door, slowly recounting her experience.
Listening, Ivan finally learned some of Luna's childhood stories.
The Lovegoods were thorough workaholics and research enthusiasts.
Xenophilius was the chief editor of the magazine, *The Quibbler*, and in his free time, he enjoyed researching odd and obscure legends, as well as the insects of the Wizarding World.
Luna’s mother, on the other hand, was passionate about the research and improvement of spells. Apart from managing the household and teaching Luna, she spent the rest of her time on this.
"During that period, the newspaper's business wasn't doing well. Father was very worried, spending every day trying to find hot news stories, but the readers weren't buying it. If this continued, we would have been unable to make ends meet."
"Fortunately, my mother was developing a new type of Blasting Curse. If she succeeded, it would have been a huge news story!"
Luna's ethereal voice carried on the breeze, reaching Ivan's ears. Ivan watched as the mother and daughter left the cottage, and then glanced at Xenophilius, who was still in the workshop, writing articles.
"Did your father know about this?" Ivan asked curiously.
"She didn't want me to tell Father..." Luna shook her head. The spell was very dangerous, and there had been some minor mishaps during the experiments. Her mother had almost been injured, leading to a rare and heated argument between her parents.
Xenophilius didn't approve of his wife conducting such dangerous research.
Ivan was puzzled. Why did Luna’s mother bring her daughter along during the experiments? Wasn’t there a risk of the spell going out of control and harming her?
Was Luna supposed to be an assistant, recording data? But she was so young...
Ivan’s doubts were quickly answered.
The witch brought young Luna into the woods not far from their home. After casting a Protego on herself, she handed a wrapped package to her daughter and told her to stand far away.
Ivan, with his keen eye, noticed that the package contained some green potion. With his knowledge of Potions, he recognized it as a burn treatment.
From this, he deduced that Luna was meant to be a final safeguard.
Clearly, the witch understood the danger of the experiment and remained vigilant.
In general, the protection of Protego and the burn treatment potion should have been sufficient to handle most emergencies, especially with young Luna watching. If something went wrong, she could run back to inform Xenophilius.
"Mother said this was the last experiment. Her spell was almost complete..." Luna gazed at the scene, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Ivan didn’t know how to comfort her.
As Ivan had predicted, when the witch uttered the final word, the Blasting Curse completely lost control!
The magic, intended to target enemies, backfired on her. The burst of light illuminated the woods, and the massive explosion echoed through the sky.
The Protego’s defense was no match for the force, easily torn apart. The witch’s body, like a floating willow seed, was thrown into the air and crashed to the ground, lifeless.
The body was a blurry, indistinct mass. Ivan guessed that this was due to the trauma Luna had suffered, causing her to forcibly blur the memory of her mother’s death.
He could imagine the profound psychological trauma that a nine-year-old girl would suffer from witnessing her mother's death in an explosion.
Thinking of this, Ivan turned his head and saw young Luna's face filled with fear and shock. She stumbled over to the Witch's body, standing there, muttering something under her breath. She extended her hands but hesitated to touch.
The sight of her tugged at Ivan's heart.
A few seconds later, Xenophilius Apparated to the scene. He fell to his knees beside the Witch's body, sobbing uncontrollably and shouting something Ivan couldn't hear. Perhaps young Luna couldn't remember it either.
"I'm so sorry!" Ivan sighed. If he could choose again, he would never have practiced Legilimency on Luna.
"It's not your fault. I also want to see her again..." Luna pursed her lips and shook her head, even though it was just in her memory.
"Father told me that as long as I believe, I will have the chance to see Mother again, not just in memories or dreams... He would never lie to me. Never..." Luna's voice echoed through the woods.
Ivan hesitated. Bringing the dead back to life in the Wizarding World wasn't impossible, but reviving a Witch who had died in an explosion five years ago was nearly impossible.
Xenophilius was undoubtedly giving Luna a false hope to use as a mental crutch, hoping that time would heal her wounds.
Ivan could see that Luna truly believed it, or perhaps she had to believe it...
The story in her memory continued. After Luna's mother died, laughter was no longer heard in the Lovegood household.
Xenophilius threw himself into his research to forget his pain. Incompetent at household chores, he let the house fall into disarray, relying on Magic for basic tidying.
Though he still cared for Luna, his preoccupation with research and work left little time to spend with his daughter.
Without peers to play with, the woods became Luna's playground!
Like an elf from Muggle stories, the young Witch with her pale golden hair wandered the woods alone.
She knew every animal in the woods, could call out their scientific names, and even named a deer and several squirrels. Her greatest joy was exploring the woods to find new creatures.
Each time she discovered a new species, it was like finding a treasure for young witches.
"Oh, right, Father said there are Crumple-Horned Snorkacks here, but they must be too afraid of me, as they've never shown themselves," Luna said with a hint of regret.
Ivan looked at Luna. Despite the calm and nostalgic expression on the young witch's face, he could sense the deep loneliness.
"Did you feel lonely back then?" Ivan couldn't help but ask, immediately realizing how foolish and insensitive the question was.
"Sometimes, but not now..." Luna nodded and then shook her head, smiling lightly.
Ivan looked at her in confusion, not quite understanding her meaning.
The young witch's expression was distant. She turned to Ivan, her bright eyes fixed on him. "Now there are two people in this memory, aren't there?"
(End of Chapter)
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