She twirled the short locks between her fingers; she really wished Mother would have let her keep it long. She liked the feel of it on her back when she was changing her clothes, and if she closed her eyes and swung her head, she imagined her hair was brushing the ground behind her, like a princess’s. Besides, Mother spent more time brushing it when it was longer, and it didn't curl behind her ears like wisps, tickling the sides of her face as it did now.
She was staring absently at the leaves on the grove of trees behind their house as she lay on the ground. She would have liked to ask Father why the Bowtruckles seem to have left early this year, as the leaves were already past the point of their vivid colors, and had already littered the ground around her in large numbers. She giggled to herself as she remembered jumping into a pile of leaves, only to have Mother wave her wand so she could do it again and again.
One of the few remaining leaves snapped off the branch and began a fluttering, twisting dance towards the ground. She stood up quickly and tried to catch it, jumping and snatching before it even came within reach. Suddenly, she was propelled towards it as hands encircled her waist. Squealing, she clutched the leaf in her hand as her father set her to the ground.
"Chasing leaves again?"
She shielded her smile with the broad leaf she now held, but the giggle escaped. Her father giggled himself as picked her up to swing her around above his head. She squealed with laughter.
As he flipped her upside down and marched toward the house, he said, "Your mother has to go to town to pick up a few things." A bounce and a giggle. "Would you like to go with her?"
She laughed as she yelled, "Yes!" enthusiastically, and he flipped her in the other direction along her midsection, ignoring her shrieks and laughter.
As they rounded the corner, Luna vaguely noticed her mother leaning against the frame of kitchen door, smiling as she heard their laughter.
"I found this garden gnome traipsing about the garden," her father exclaimed.
"Hey!" Luna protested as he set her upright.
He only winked at her, but her mother rolled her eyes as she knelt to place a kiss on the forehead of her now upright daughter.
"Are you coming to the village with me, Luna?" her mother asked, tucking a strand of the short blonde hair behind one of her ears. It came loose as Luna nodded happily. Due to the high number of Muggles in the village, she wasn't allowed to visit very often when her mother made trips to see the strange, older woman who sold her mother the ingredients for her frequent experiments. But the village itself was much more interesting with its strange devices and shops than the scary old woman that lived above an old antique store, masquerading as a Muggle herself.
Her mother laughed at her enthusiasm. "Go put on a coat and hat and wash up, and then we'll walk down to the village."
Luna bounded into the house and headed for the washroom. As she reached to turn on the water, she saw the large leaf still clutched in her hand and frowned. She'd have to take it back outside to make sure that no Bowtruckle spirits would stay inside.
As she reached the front door, she heard her parents speaking on the other side of it in hushed voices.
"Xeno, I told you, I've thought this through several times already. I need to do it tonight." Her mother's voice had an urgent tone to it; Luna peeked around the corner to see her gripping her father's arm.
Her father didn't look happy. "I know how important this is to you, Judy, but it's just too dangerous. Not with all of these factors coming together like this. I just think that you should wait--"
She turned abruptly; Luna moved back farther in the doorway to not be seen. He sighed, but was still visibly upset, placing his waist on her shoulders and encircling her from behind. His voice was much softer as he spoke.
"Judy…" He placed a kiss on her neck near her ear and she closed her eyes. Her posture relaxed slightly as she sighed. "Judy," he said again, "please, just go through the safety precautions one more time. I know why you want to do this tonight; I believe in it. But it's too dangerous. Please. For Luna."
At the mention of her daughter's name, any tension that had left her body flew back into it, and she turned in her husband's arms. He didn't release her, but looked her full in the eye.
Luna clutched the leaf until it became crumbles in her hands as she continued to watch from the doorway, eyes wide as her parents battled wills.
The silence became pervasive as her father stared down his wife's hard gaze. She at last relented as she sighed and settled into his arms in a more comfortable position; he was wise not to seem smug about this, only kissing her forehead as she said she would make sure all necessary precautions had been made, and back out if she thought anything might go wrong.
"But," she added, lifting one of her arms free to point a finger at him, "you saw how excited your daughter was earlier. I'm not depriving her of going to the village. Especially not today, she'll be a giggling mess with those Muggles all dressed up."
Luna's interest was peaked now, and she unconsciously crept forward, head peeking around the door, leaf crumbles still clutched in her hand.
This did not escape her father's notice; he raised an eyebrow at his wife, who smiled mischievously.
"You know, honey," she said sweetly, "I think that tonight's a good night for some little girl stew."
Luna's creep forward stopped in her tracks.
He licked his lips. "Mmm, yes, dear, I think you are right! It is All Hallow's Eve, after all. All of the spirits are gathered, and the Nargles and the Bowtruckle spirits gather around to watch as well!"
Luna's eyes widened; what was a Nargle?
"Oh, yes, pumpkin-cakes," she said brightly, stifling a giggle at her husband's attempt to hide his disgust at her choice of nickname. "We must have the Nargles present! And then, when the sun goes down…" she trailed off knowingly, and at her husband's nod, they both turned and pounced.
Luna squealed as her parents picked her up and began tickling her as they continued the charade. "What shall we put in the pot with her, honeydumpling?" her father asked her mother.
She made a face at him, and then made feather light scratches at the bottom of Luna's feet that sent her into a fit of giggles while she considered. "Definitely some radishes, and some turnips."
Now Luna was making faces through her laughter at their choice of ingredients. "Oh, yes, butterscotch!" her husband said excitedly. "And some rutabaga, definitely rutabaga!"
"Dad!" Luna said. "Not rutabaga! I hate rutabaga!"
Mrs. Lovegood couldn't help herself anymore; she fell to the ground, pulling her father and Luna with her, as she gave way to the laughter that was bubbling below the surface. They all landed together in a giggling heap that took several minutes to blow over.
Luna had landed on top of her, and she now propped herself up, looking at her mother.
"Mum," she said seriously. "Are you doing something bad tonight?"
Her mother's laughter died out instantly. Luna felt bad for asking, but she didn't want Mother to get hurt.
Mrs. Lovegood lifted herself up onto her elbows, Luna moving herself onto a sitting position on the ground.
"I promised your father I wouldn't, and I mean that," her mother said, taking her daughter's hand. "I promise you that now, too, okay?"
Luna nodded. "I believe you, Mum," she said simply.
She kissed her daughter's cheek, and they headed out after grabbing their coats.
~*~*~*~
The weather was cool and crisp and simply perfect autumn weather as the two walked down to the mostly Muggle village. It was only about four o'clock in the afternoon, so the sun was steadily lowering in the sky, which was still a brilliant shade of blue.
Luna was dancing and skipping as they made their way down the path, kicking leaves whenever she saw piles of them and twirling her arms up in the air. This was her favorite time of year, she decided, right then and there. Her mother always looked more alive when the air became crisper and cooler, and there wasn't anything more fun than playing with piles of falling, dancing leaves that would twirl and tumble in the refreshing breeze.
Her mother seemed lost in thought during the thirty minute journey; she appeared to be talking to herself frequently. As they reached the cross-roads, one wooden arrow pointed to Ottery-St. Catchpole and Luna had to tug on her mother's hand to get her to go the right direction.
They soon reached the village, with its quaint houses and shops. The homes and shops lined its crooked cobblestone main street with many winding branches, and Luna always became wide eyed with wonderment at its bustling activity whenever she was allowed to come. There were never any wands or magic being performed; the Muggles traded strange money; they drove strange cars down the side streets; the children played with strange toys.
Knowing she shouldn't speak about being a witch, she would always simply stare in wonderment, usually drawing strange looks before being drawn inside the strange store owned by the one of the only witches in town that lived above the antique shop.
Today, the shops seemed closed, even though it was only late afternoon. Instead, there were families and children walking between the shops to go to and from the houses lining the streets, and they looked even more abnormal than usual.
The first girl to walk past Luna was wearing a pink taffeta skirt that stuck out stiffly from her body, complete with tights and a tiara. But she was carrying a pumpkin. Her brother was dressed like a spider, for some reason; he had sewn four extra legs to the sides of his black shirt so that it appeared he had eight legs that bounced as he walked. He was also carrying a pumpkin. Luna frowned in confusion as she watched them walk up to the house next to the antique shop with their mother, dressed in normal Muggle clothing, and knock on the door.
As the house owner answered the door, the children held out their pumpkins, which Luna suddenly noticed had handles, and yelled, "Trick or Treat!" The elderly woman who opened the door smiled and began gushing about the scary spider and the beautiful ballerina at her door. Luna's eyes widened as she then put stuff into the pumpkins! They said thank you (the boy at the poking in his back of his mother) and then they walked further down the street. Luna watched as this process was repeated at the next house.
She saw another family walk down the street towards the antique shop, and eagerly moved forward to see if the same thing happened. This boy had a green face with painted scars and strange silver objects on the sides of his neck; his clothes were ratty and torn. The other person walking with them was wearing a white sheet over their head; Luna couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, because the sheet covered everything. They had cut two eyeholes out to see with.
Luna wrinkled her nose. What were these Muggles doing now? Just when she thought they couldn't dress more strangely....
They also weren't carrying pumpkins; they were carrying what looked to by pillow cases. She could tell they already had something in them, but she really wanted to know what. She glanced over her shoulder; her mother was in deep conversation with the strange older woman.
She moved out of the shop and walked over to the family. "Hello," she said to the boy with the paint on his face.
"What are you supposed to be?" he asked, looking at the cotton jumper she always wore when coming to the village.
"Well, I--ah…" she stammered, not know what he meant. Could he tell she was a witch? She wasn't supposed to tell anyone in the village except for the scary old lady.
"David," his mother scolded. "Don't be rude, she's obviously not dressed up."
David's mother smiled at her. "Hello there, dear. What are you doing out here by yourself? It's not safe on Halloween, with the teenagers getting all rowdy."
"Why are you dressed up?" Luna asked. That would explain the Muggles extra eccentric behavior.
"Because it's Halloween," came a high-pitched, piping voice from underneath the sheet. Luna still couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl.
She squinted at the eyeholes, trying to decipher it. "What's Halloween? Is it like All Hallow's Eve? But we don't dress up. Why do you dress up? What are you supposed to be?"
"I'm a ghost," said the sheet indignantly, sounding offended that Luna had had to ask.
She giggled. "That's not a ghost!"
"Is too!" The ghost shot back.
"Is not!"
"Is too! How do you know what a ghost looks like, anyway?" the figure in the sheet demanded.
Luna opened her mouth, and then shut it abruptly. She certainly couldn't tell them that. She turned to the boy instead. "What are you supposed to be, then?"
He stared at her like she had grown three heads. "I'm Frankenstein."
She stared right back, wide-eyed. "What's a Franken…ah, stiln?"
The mother was staring now, too. "Dear, where's your mother? We really need to be going if we are going to hit all of the houses before it gets dark…"
"What does trick or treat mean?" Luna asked. "And what do they give you when you say it?"
The mother stared at her for a few more seconds. "You've never been trick or treating?” she asked in surprise. “Well, it's like a tradition. You are asking the house to give you a treat, and if they don't, you will trick them. The people at the houses are giving the children sweets."
Luna was still completely confused as to the motivation behind this entire tradition. She still had no idea what a Frankenstiln was, either. "So…you dress up like Frankenstilns and ghosts and go trick people into giving you candy?"
The mother was becoming somewhat exasperated as her children were getting impatient to go to the next house and she was explaining Halloween to a stranger. "You dress up like whatever you want to go get candy, yes. No one really does the tricking anymore, except rowdy teenagers, usually. Everyone gives out candy. It's a tradition."
She reached out to stop the Frankenstiln from smacking the ghost with his pillowcase full of what Luna now knew to be candy.
"Listen, dear - what's your name, by the way?"
"I'm Luna," she said.
"Luna," the mother repeated. "Where are your parents?"
Luna pointed into the store behind her. The mother looked warily at the antique shop that appeared to be closed with its few dim lights; she could vaguely make out her mother and the old woman still talking in the back of the store.
"Are you going to be okay if we leave?" she asked Luna, who nodded and stepped backwards a few steps into the shadow of the shop’s overhang.
The mother looked into the dark shadows of the shop one more time, and then hurried her children to the door of the house. Yelling, "Trick or Treat!" again, the old woman smiled and commented on the scary ghost and Franken…oh, stein, before dropping candy into their pillow cases.
Luna was just enormously confused. Why didn't witches and wizards celebrate Halloween? They certainly had the means to dress up! And, they had candy in the wizarding world, too!
Another family was coming down the street; Luna didn't know if she wanted to talk to them or not, until she saw what they were dressed up as.
The boy was wearing a cape and a white shirt, with his hair slicked back and pale makeup on his face. His mouth wasn't closed all of the way, and she could see two long canines overlapping his bottom lip.
His sister wore a long black robe, a tall black pointy hat, and carried a broomstick. Her nose was long and covered in ugly warts, and her face was painted green. Luna wasn't sure what had happened to her, but she knew one thing for sure: she was a witch!
Luna hurried out from the overhang to intercept the little family, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She kept her voice quiet as she whispered, "Hello! Fancy seeing another witch here!"
Their mother was still at the last house, chatting with the woman who lived there; she didn't notice her children talking to the strange little girl on the street.
Hoisting up her broomstick, the girl dressed up shrilled, "You aren't a witch! You don't have a pointy hat!"
Luna blinked. "What? You don't need a pointy hat to be a witch! My mum's a really good witch, but she doesn't have a pointy hat!"
"Then she's not a witch," the little girl said haughtily. "I’m a wicked witch. You aren't even dressed up for Halloween."
Luna stomped her foot. "We don't celebrate Halloween! It's All Hallow's Eve! When the spirits are stronger, it makes magic more powerful! And how did you get a broomstick, my parent's won't let me have one. Which kind is it?"
The little girl looked slightly confused at Luna's short speech. "Er - it's a wicked broomstick! Witches are wicked, you know. Mum put the warts on, and my hat was taller than the rest of the hats in the store! The taller your hat, the more wicked you are."
She shifted her plastic pumpkin basket and draped it over the broomstick handle as her brother impatiently ran to the next house. "Michael!" she yelled, hiking up her skirt to run after him. Luna saw she was wearing Muggle shoes. "Wait for me, witches don't run! You do my bidding as my evil servant!"
Blinking back tears of confusion and frustration, Luna stepped back into the shadows of the shop and sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees. She thought Muggles didn't know about witches and wizards, but now she knew that they thought she was evil.
She didn't know how long she sat there; the sun had begun to set, displaying a beautiful array of colors she could just barely make out at the end of the road if she had been paying attention. As it was, she absently watched families here and there make their way past the shop dressed in a variety of outfits, many of which she didn't understand. And true to the word of the mother who she talked with earlier, everyone received a treat.
She had been sitting there for perhaps an hour when she heard someone rustling in the growth between the shop and the house next to it where she had been watching trick-or-treaters. She turned to see three older boys crouched in the woods, oblivious to her presence. She crept closer in the shade of the building, trying to make out what they were saying.
"Old Marie Higgins won't know what's coming," one said, laughing gruffly.
"Did you bring the eggs?" another asked.
The third one nodded, and Luna could now see they were hunched over a basket of dozens of eggs. She furrowed her brow, about to ask them what they were going to do with the eggs and the nice old lady who had been giving out candy, when her mother called her name from the front of the shop.
The three boys jumped at the sound, and quickly picked up their basket and headed back into the woods out of sight. Luna gave the woods one last look before going back to her mother.
"Are you ready? Did you have fun watching the Muggles and their costumes?" her mother asked with a smile.
Luna nodded, but then looked down at the ground.
Her mother knelt down. "Luna, what is it?"
"They said witches were wicked. And those boys were going to do something mean to that old lady with eggs. Why don't we get to dress up and get candy?" Luna fought to keep her voice even as she asked the questions that had been bothering her for the last hour, and about those mean boys she had just seen.
"It's starting to get dark, and we need to head back," her mother said, standing up and taking her hand. "But I'll explain as soon as we get out of the village."
"Okay," Luna said softly, enjoying the warmth of her mother's hand as she led the way down the cobblestones.
As they passed the cross-roads sign again, her mother began speaking.
"Luna, explain to me what happened first. Then we'll talk."
So Luna started from the beginning, and explained to her mother about trick-or-treating, and about how the girl called witches wicked and that they had evil servants, and that there were boys who had eggs and that she thought they were going to do something mean. And about how the Muggles were having fun dressing up and getting candy and that she never go to do that.
Her mother listened the entire way back to their house at the top of the hill; she did not appear to be preoccupied as she was on the way there. When they arrived home, she scoped Luna up and sat her in her lap on the rocking chair residing outside the back door.
"My Luna," her mother began, "let me start by saying that you are not a wicked witch. That young girl was another Muggle dressed up as a witch. And yes, sometimes they dress up as a wicked witch, but that is because they just don’t know any better. We've kept our society secret from them."
"But why?" Luna interrupted. "Why can't they just know? She didn't even believe me."
Her mother sighed; Luna was much too young to be getting into an ethical discussion about the secrecy of magic with. "For now, darling, just trust me. One day when you're older, you'll understand. Oh, don’t pout now! But because they don't know the truth, they have invented their own versions of wizards and witches and vampires and such. But you are not wicked, Luna. Do you think I'm wicked?"
Luna's eyes widened. "Oh, no, Mum! I tried to tell her you were a wonderful witch who loved me very much."
Her mother smiled and laughed. "Yes, I do. But just as I am a witch, so are you. And neither of us is wicked, got it?"
"Yes, Mum," Luna said, leaning into her mother's hug.
"Now, about Halloween." Her mother's tone became more serious. "You know it as All Hallow's Eve. You are a witch, Luna, and that means that you belong to a different society. Halloween is different for us. Stories that Muggles tell each other about ghosts and spirits - those are true. You know that, you've seen ghosts. Most ghosts aren't dangerous. But spirits are different, and they are most powerful on Halloween. We need to honor the spirits, not dress-up and play games. It is a time for reverence for those who might come out this night. It is a powerful time, Luna, one that must be taken seriously. The wizarding world has never celebrated Halloween as the Muggles do, because we understand the full power behind it, and we therefore take it seriously. Does that make any sense, Luna?"
Her mother was looking at her with an uncommonly solemn expression on her face, and Luna suddenly realized what her father was afraid of. She nodded slowly, and then suddenly hugged her mother, throwing her arms around her neck.
"You aren't doing anything tonight, are you?" she asked, her voice muffled through her mother's long hair.
"No, dear, I'm not. I had a long talk with Ms Willowdin and I am keeping my promise. Until I know more information and I've done more research, I won't be performing the experiment on a night like tonight."
She leaned back to look at Luna. "But it seems as if you understood some of what I told you. I might make a Charms researcher out of you yet."
"Mum, those boys…they were talking about that old lady that lived next to the shop, and they had a basket full of eggs. I think they were going to trick her. What does that mean? What were they going to do?"
Her mother shook her head. "Those were not nice boys, Luna. You are right, they were going to be very mean and throw the eggs at her house. But not because she wouldn't give them any candy - it's because they are simply mean boys. Muggles have starting doing these sorts of tricks on Halloween; just another way to upset the spirits. They are ignorant; they have no idea what they are doing."
Luna was upset now; she tugged on her mother’s sleeve. "Can we go help her? Can we stop them, please?"
"Oh, Luna dear, it's going to be much too late for that. But it's a very noble thought."
Luna was upset for the nice old lady who gave everyone sweets. Her mother looked out the window with a thoughtful expression on her face at the not-quite full moon. Maybe she was sad for her, too. Her mother didn't speak for several minutes, and Luna realized her mother wasn't thinking about the old lady at all.
Luna touched her elbow, and she jumped. "Mum?" Luna asked, somewhat hesitantly.
Mrs. Lovegood smiled reassuringly at her daughter, pulling her into another hug. "I'm here, dear. I'm here."
Luna pulled back again and looked at her mother again. "You were thinking about it. You promised."
Her mother looked serious once more as she emphatically said, "There will be no experiments tonight, dear. I promise."
Luna's smile was radiant, and the two women made their way into the house where they could hear Xenophilius singing to himself.
The next morning when Luna woke up, it was to a lumpy pillow. She reached underneath it to find a small wrapped package, complete with a bow and a small note in her mother's loopy handwriting that said, "My Luna, darling - Enjoy these 'Halloween' sweets. Love, Mum and Dad".
Luna giggled, hastily tore off the wrapping and, grinning, popped a sweet in her mouth.
Wicked Witches by ahattab33
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: I am not JKR, nor do I own Frankenstein or anything to do with the Wicked Witch (of anywhere).
A very big thank you to everyone from the UK who helped me with my British fact checking. An even bigger thank you my beta, Emma/Amortentia x, whose feedback was invaluable.
Chapter Endnotes:Thank you very much for the read...another thank you to Emma for supplying the ending. Reviews are very very welcome! And Happy Halloween!