–You know, large bushes of peppermint are often infested with Snarks, very dangerous little fire-bugs that, in large quantities, can explode when they-â€
–Xeno, I know what I’m doing. Please don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.â€
Her fair, light voice rings through Xenophilius’ head. He hadn’t pressed the fact; she was always so stubborn, so insistent, that he had learned it wasn’t worth it. She had continued to pick the peppermint from the overgrown plant, and he had forgotten about it. He had never regretted anything so much.
–Luna, sweetheart, come here! You really must see this!â€
–Yes, mum.†Luna’s bare feet scampered outside to the ‘Experimenting Shed’. Xeno walked outside himself, intrigued, and could hear their excited gasps even from a distance. –Why don’t you add a bit of this? Wouldn’t it brighten it a bit?â€
–I could try, sweetie. That’s a good idea.†Xenophilius didn’t bother to wonder what the item was. Instead, he was fascinated by a glow that was getting brighter and brighter and coming from inside the shed. He moved closer so he could see through the dust-covered window.
–Wow! Great job, Lune, maybe I’ll add a just a bit more.â€
She had always loved Luna so much, looked at her so kindly, taken her not as one younger than her but one equal to her, a friend as well as a daughter. He had loved that so much about her. However much Luna has his own looks, he always thought her as much more of her mother’s daughter. It’s almost like still having her around, which is why he never really grieves when Luna was around or shows his grieving about what had happened except for those few days afterwards. But now, since she's not...
In a split second, it all happened, seemingly in slow motion. He saw her long arm reach up and grasp around the bunch of peppermint. He saw her drop it into the giant cauldron, and the gelled substance grew brighter, to the point where it hurt his eyes. Luna stepped closer, and then there was a small crack that didn’t distract either of their eyes but alarmed Xenophilius and told him exactly what was going to happen. His only reflex was to shout out anything to warn them, and that ended up being his daughter’s name. She stepped back just in time, but his wife hadn’t sensed the danger before the cauldron and its contents erupted with an extremely loud explosion. Xenophilius closed his eyes before he could see what happened.
He had punished himself so much for not realizing what could happen, for not telling her that there was a real danger in using the plant. It had all seemed to go so slowly, so slowly that one would think that he would have the time to comprehend it and warn them. But his mind had gone just as slowly as the whole scene, and there had been no time for him to save anyone but his daughter.
He didn’t look inside. He couldn’t. But he knew from his daughter’s shrieking cries that his suspicion was true. She was dead.
The explosion made from when the Snark covers the surface area of any animal fur will create a toxin so harsh that it is deadly if it touches human skin. This fact isn’t known by many people, and most who know don’t believe. It had always hurt Xenophilius that people could be so ignorant to facts that were simply a bit unbelievable that they would risk their lives.
–Luna?†he croaked, hoping, praying, that this one part of his world was all right, and that she hadn’t been touched the cauldron’s contents.
–Daddy!†she cried and ran out the door into his arms. He held her there for a long, long time, the sadness not even setting in enough for him to cry.
He had decided from then on that he would protect her more than anything else, so that he wouldn't lose anybody else. He couldn’t see her go like he had the wife that had loved him so dearly, that he had fallen for after years of finding nobody. He will never find anyone again, he is sure of that, and he doesn’t want to.
Father and daughter watched in awe and numbness as the shed was set aflame and burnt slowly to the ground until there were only a few small bits and pieces left. Xenophilius never dared to go near those, to even touch them, because the sadness was too strong, but as they were gone from the pile of ash in a few days, he knew Luna had taken them.
He had burned all of the pictures of her, too, and her notebook with all of the experiments she had taken the time to write down in her loopy, long handwriting. He burned and destroyed every memory of her, because this was the way he believed that loss should be dealt with. He thought it would hurt more to be reminded of her, but he soon found out that it hurts a great deal more for the face in his mind to fade to only a shimmering, translucent image where none of the details are for sure, or for her voice not to come to him exactly when he wants it to. There are snippets that he remembers, but that is all. It makes him feel guilty, because he thinks that someone he loved so much deserves a better place in his memory than that. But it isn’t something he wants to go back and redo.
Luna is taken away from him now, and he’s going to do anything to get her back. He can’t relive the terrible memories again. Simply thinking about what happened, or the flashbacks in his dreams, is bad enough. He wants to see her face happy again, not picture what she must look like, for the state in which they’re keeping her cannot be good. He wants, more than anything, for her to be happy, and safe, and he will do anything for this. He doesn’t care what the outcome is for himself. As long as he knows his little Luna is safe. She’s the only thing he has left.
To Lose a Love by Theloonyhermione
Story Notes:
Thanks so much to my amazingly fantastic beta, Wren, who did this on very short notice extremely quickly and well.
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading... I'd really enjoy a review. :)