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A Late Summer Night's Dream by Magical Maeve

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Story Notes:

Written for the Fantastic Beasts challenge in the Great Hall.
Chapter Notes: Written on Shakespeare's birthday, I have borrowed a little from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Thanks, Will. :-)
The hare had been watching the moon for some time now and showed no signs of turning its eyes away from the silver sphere. Luna had, in turn, been observing the hare, finding it infinitely more fascinating than the familiar celestial body above them. She thought all living creatures were poetry, but a hare was the most beautiful sonnet imaginable and this one was doing her a great honour by not showing her its tail and running into the depths of the forest. Its ears lay flat against its beautifully arched back, pale fur rippling over hard muscle. Its power contained, for now.

The night was cool as August faded into September, but Luna did not feel the cold like others felt it, was not afraid of the deepening chill. The moon’s light fell on her like sunbeams, tumbling down pale hair and pooling at her feet in a circle of warmth. The cloak she wore was light, its gossamer fabric enhanced by the addition of a fairy child’s caul that had been given to her in the depths of the Black Forest. She smiled as she touched the clasp that held it together. That trip had been one of the first she had taken with Rolf and had come shortly after their wedding; she supposed it was as good a honeymoon as they could have wished for and it had sealed their love for each other as firmly as wax. That forest had been much denser than this one, monstrous and sprawling and filled with magical creatures of such ferocity they had almost called off the trip when they learned of the potential perils that awaited them.

In the event it had been wonderful. The forest itself had a spirit, a dark one that was not without a sense of humour. It played tricks on them, led them on goose chases, made them lose their way for hours, delivered them into clearings and grottoes of such beauty that Luna had cried from the sheer magnificence of it. Streams had run, brimming with magic, feeding waterfalls and pools with life and giving a home to a multitude of rare fish and fauna. They had certainly found creatures, had seen the terrifying Nachzehrer, a vampire-like individual that fed unashamedly on the dead. There had been the German elves; surly, proud fellows that had not been too keen on showing them hospitality but had been bound to by their own laws. Despite themselves, they had been bewitched by Luna’s personality, although, much to her husband’s regret, they had not seen the Erlking himself.

Rolf had, however, been visited by one of the Erdhenne at a farmhouse they had stayed in, an odd-looking creature with a hen’s features, and sure enough, a death had happened within the year as Rolf’s aunt departed this world. The moss folk where everywhere, and though their legends spoke of fierce and spiteful sprites, Luna found them all to be charming and helpful. They showed her many rare creatures, from the tiny Elektrischameise, a friendly bug that was happy to power most appliances in exchange for an unlimited supply of honeydew to the huge Adlerfalk, a powerful bird rarely seen beyond the highest eyries, but once seen will bond with the seer and can be called to aid them in times of need.

All of this they had seen and more. They had filled countless notebooks, drawn hundreds of faithful diagrams, learned much about this dark and distant world and about themselves. It had been, as Rolf said on their return, an adventure, the first of many in their life together. And he had been right. But there was one adventure that they had not shared together yet, one missing piece of a full life. It was that missing piece that had brought her here, to this clearing in the woods, to this hare and this full moon.

Luna sighed and the sound reached out to the hare. Its handsome head turned, broke contact with one moon and connected with another as it looked directly at her. She smiled, a thrill of recognition in her eyes. This was the, hare, of that she was sure.

Her mother had not had much time to teach Luna things in their short life together, but she had done her best. Pandora Lovegood had tried to give her daughter what she knew her husband could not; common sense, practicality and the ability to present oneself in a way that did not invite ridicule. It could be argued that Lune was too young to learn these lessons and that Pandora herself did not practice what she preached. Her death from a backfiring spell had been a prime example of a lack of common sense. For Luna, however, the overriding thing her mother had taught her was that the bond between a mother and child was unique, unbreakable, to be severed only by death. Her mother’s absence made her sad at times, she had felt her loss most keenly at her wedding, when Pandora had not been there to fuss over Luna’s hair, or straighten her spangled train, or fix the unicorn horns in her tiara. Or tell her Rolf was a wonderful man. Or tell her that she was proud of the woman her daughter had become. But that was all right; she would tell her these things when they met again, afterwards.

A light breeze shifted the branches above her, bringing her back to her purpose; the hare. Her mother had taught her about the power of the hare. It had been a comfort at first, the bedtime story, and then later it became more than that, later on it became a hope. Her father’s stories had been filled with fantastic beasts, strange lands, adventure, conspiracy and peril, but her mother’s had always been the same. The hare and the moon and the clearing. She had taught Luna that the hare was one spirit, and that a fragment of this spirit ran through each living hare; one memory, one purpose, one moon under which all gazed up to see their reflection. One result. Luna had been one of those results, one of those blessings. From her earliest memory she had loved the hare; not the cuddly toy that sat on her pillow, its ears frayed from gummy chewing when she had been a baby, but the living, breathing story-hare with such power over life. This hare stalked her dreams, chasing the stuff of nightmares away. This hare was protector and possibility, life after life. This hare was everything.

And then her mother died, and the story of the hare died with her. Until now. Until she knew that she had need of it now that all else had failed.

–Penny for them?” The voice came out of the nowhere and Luna jumped. The little figure before her appeared, quite literally, out of thin air, his impish face a study in mischief. Lune looked to the hare, not quite trusting it not to flee and leave her with nothing, but it held, its ears flicking up, black tips alert to the newcomer. –Don’t worry, we’re old friends. She’ll not go anywhere until the transaction is complete.”

–I’m sure you’re correct, but could we hurry up please. – Luna’s large store of patience was almost exhausted, her normal placid nature disturbed by the importance of what she had come here to do.

–Hurry up,” he said, wide-eyed. He vanished and suddenly his voice was behind her. –Hurry up, missy. Who are you to tell me to hurry up, of her for that matter? You can never hurry a hare unless it wants to be hurried. And here was I thinking you were an uncommon witch, a witch with instincts, a witch what would know these things.”

–I’m sorry,” she breathed, turning, but not quite all the way lest she lose sight of the hare. –It’s just, we haven’t been able to… Rolf and I. It’s not happening and I’m getting quite desperate. We have tried all kinds of charms and amulets, visited special temples, but nothing works.” Poor Rolf, the trials he had endured as she tried everything, no matter how ridiculous it had seemed.

–I know you are desperate.” He blinked back into existence, his head cocked to one side as he regarded her closely. –Desperation has a certain smell; you could almost call it a stench. Not pleasant. But then most of the smells coming off you humans are enough to turn my nose to stone.”

–Well, I’m sure that’s not…”

–Yes, yes. So, have you brought the necessary?” He hopped from one foot to the other in a maddening little dance that made her head ache slightly.

–Of course. It took rather a long time to find it. Scotland is a big place, you know, and full of terrors.”

–Nothing to a brave girl like you, I shouldn’t imagine. Let’s have a look then, make sure you brought the right stuff.” His hand shot out in expectation, thin fingers with sharp nails at the end flexing greedily.

Luna reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a small velvet pouch. She handed it over and the little imp pulled the cords loose and peered inside. With a nod of his head he drew the pouch shut again and gave it back to her.

–All’s well there. Moondew in flower is difficult to keep in such good condition when picked. Now, you know what to do.”

–No.” She shook her head. This rite had not been part of her mother’s story. In fact her mother had always been very vague about what actually happened in the clearing.

–No! Good heaven’s below, what do they teach you these days. It wasn’t always like this. Back in the day you folk knew what you were about. You had the words, knew the proper procedure. Now I could give you the head of an ass and you’d probably be none the wiser, although you wouldn’t be the first.”

–Please,” Luna said. Time was passing and Rolf was alone at home. He wouldn’t be overly worried; night-time excursions were not rare for Magizoologists. More often than not they were an absolute necessity, but she hadn’t told him where she was going and he might start to fret a little.

–Very well. – He flashed a mischievous smile at her. –You must approach her with your head bowed and circle her widdershins three times. Only then can you face her and speak. Once you have recited the correct words you must remove the Moondew from the pouch and place it before her on the ground. She will not eat in front of you so do not be surprised if she does not take the offering. It is not a bad omen, it is perfectly normal. She will then look you in the eye and, well, then you will see. You must then bow to her, circle her three times deosil and leave the clearing without looking back. This last is particularly important. Do you understand?”

Luna nodded. –Perfectly. What are the words?”

He leaned across and whispered into her ear. She had to ask him to repeat it, but after the second recitation she knew she would not forget them. As they moved apart he bowed low to her and gave her another smile.

–Be blessed, Luna Scamander. You have done well to come so far. It is not everyone who can call me forth and have me do their bidding. Mayhap I shall see you again.”

–I shall be hopeful of that,” Luna replied, readying herself for his departure. –Thank you for your help.”

–I bid thee farewell.” And with that he shimmered back into the air, leaving only that faintest ripple in the fabric of the night.

–Farewell, Puck,” she said, bowing her head ready for what was to come.

The temperature dropped further as the wind stilled in the trees. Nothing else moved as Luna began to walk. The grass was soft against her bare feet as she approached the hare. She did not know if it still looked at her, dared not raise her head as she circled it. As she came to a halt before it her lips parted and the words flowed from her, a prayer of sorts that she hoped would be answered.

I have caught you at last, my hare, my fair,
And I beg of you a token, a sign that I am blessed.
I look into your eyes, my hare, my fair.
And I see the world within, and hope will be born.
I offer you this gift, my hare, my fair.
That you may grant my wish, for a babe of my own.


With that she removed the Moondew from the safety of the pouch and placed it at the hare’s feet. Glancing up she dared look into its eyes for the first time since commencing the ritual and gasped, for she did see the world within, a glorious riot of colours and creatures playing where once had been a circle of amber. She could see herself and Rolf peering back at her as clearly as if she were looking at photographs, could see gatherings of their friends at some celebration or another. The scenes shifted again and there was a house, a ramble of a building that sat in a large garden and in the garden was a small pool, a slide, toys and then, tantalisingly she could hear a boy’s cry, a plea for its mother. She did not realised she was crying until the scenes faded back to the gold of a normal eye once more and she was back in the present, in the clearing with the ritual almost done.

With her hot tears wet on her cheeks, she turend away from the animal, heeding Puck’s words not to look back as she walked away in the direction of home. She would go back to Rolf and say nothing of this night, not even if it worked. If she was blessed with a child she would never tell anyone she had needed the hare’s help, would never allow her child to be accused of being moonstruck. She had suffered that accusation herself many times and though it didn’t hurt so much after a time, it was still a cross to bear.

It was past midnight by the time she let herself into their cosy kitchen, taking care not to disturb the orphaned baby Hippogriff that was currently resident there. The house breathed around her; this was not the big house she had seen in the hare’s eyes, but perhaps it would grow to be, perhaps there would be a paddling pool outside and toys strewn about. Perhaps.

Rolf barely moved as she slipped into bed beside him in the dark. He shifted a little but soon settled back into deep sleep as she lay awake, watching for any stray Wrackspurts that might attempt to land on her pillow. Sleep came eventually and by morning the events of the previous night had taken on a dreamlike quality, so much so that she had almost convinced herself it had been a dream. She would have been successful in doing so but for the faint odour of Moondew in the velvet purse that would not fade, and wisps of grass clung to the hem of her cloak for months, Somewhere in her mind she could still see hear Puck’s mischief and see a pair of amber eyes starting at the moon.


Just over nine months later, Luna gave birth to twins on the maternity wing at St Mungo’s. She had formed many different birth plans throughout her pregnancy, from an outdoor birth surrounded by unicorn breath, to a birthing pool with Murtlap Essence added to aid the healing process, even a mountain birth in the pure snow of the highest Alps. Rolf had been patient, waiting for each enthusiasm to pass, and had quietly booked her a bed at St Mungo’s for when the time came. If truth be told he was rather relieved when Luna had announced she was pregnant. They had been trying for children for a few years and he was beginning to think it might never happen. Of course, her trip to the woods would have certainly helped her believe she could bear a child, but beyond that he wasn’t convinced this moon-gazing hare story held any water. Rolf liked evidence, and one pregnancy did not count as evidence. But Luna believed it, even if she hadn’t told him she was doing it. He probably would never have found out had it not been for a chance meeting with that troublemaker Puck in the Wild Wood when he had been looking for a very particular type of toadstool. Puck told lies, everyone knew that, and the tale of the hare and the moon definitely had the taste of one of his fairy stories. He had let Luna keep her secret, just happy that she was happy and now here they were.


Lorcan and Lysander had been placed into his arms at 3.30am while Luna looked on, content with her work. The medi-wife had remarked that she had never attended such a relaxed and easy birth and wasn’t Luna a grand little thing to just pop those babies out like that. A full moon hung in the sky outside the hospital, watching over the world beneath it. As his two babies opened their eyes to look at their father for the first time, he was struck by the colour of their eyes. He had never seen newly-born babies with such perfectly amber eyes before.


And far away from St Mungo’s, in a clearing in a forest, Puck sat cross-legged beside a hare looking up at the moon. A shooting star rose from nowhere, its tail leaving stardust flecked across the heavens. The hare shook itself and rose to all fours, and then stood on its back legs. This was no ordinary hare though, for it kept on rising, until it stood at least six foot tall. It ears began to melt into golden hair and the features gradually reformed into that of a particularly striking woman. The pelt fell away in folds of fabric, a silken cloak replacing fur.

Puck looked up at the woman and smiled, for she was a beautiful sight to behold.

–Well met by moonlight, proud Titania,” he said. –In this matter you have excelled yourself.”

–Indeed, Puck. I think in this instance we can safely say mischief managed.”