HP: Magic of the End

Anyone in the village of Ottery St Catch Pole could say with certainty: the Lovegood family house looked as strange as its inhabitants were.

It was a huge stone cylinder made of black brick and twisted into the design of a giant rook chess piece. Small windows littered the walls of the house, as if in completely random places. It was hard to tell if this was really the case, or if the windows were simply magnified magically from the inside.

Standing on a small hill, like a miniature castle, Lovegood house had a small current at the base, which was only good for the garden that surrounded the Rookery.

Dan, after a couple of hours of talking with the Lovegoods, found out that this house was built by Xenophilius' grandfather about two hundred years ago. Apparently, the man took the words "My house is my fortress" too much to heart.

To be honest, Dan learned a lot after a long conversation with Xeno. It was clear that the man didn't have enough screws in his head, or there were a couple of extra ones. 

The monster boy made sure of this himself, after one afternoon tea session with the man.

"The goblins didn't just go underground after being defeated by wizards. They were given a choice, of course, but no one remembers the other options anymore. For wizards, goblins are now where they should always be: under their feet." Xeno tapped his bare foot on the soft carpet a couple of times. "Maybe you've already noticed, but our kind don't like being below someone else. It's just unthinkable for them. Why, I once–"

The fact that at the Rookery you had to take off your shoes at the entrance inspired Dan with nostalgia. He knew perfectly well that in many households’ people walked with shoes on – at least on the first floor – but in Russia it was pure madness. 

Only two kinds of people could walk around the Russian apartment in shoes: a doctor who came to pull you out of an alcoholic coma or a suicidal guest. 

"Daddy." Luna said just one word and Xeno blinked, as if coming out of a trance.

"Ah, thank you, dear," he shook his head, "but the goblins have chosen that they will go underground. For mining and craftsmanship is something that has been in their blood for millennia. At least according to them."

With a wave of his wand, Xeno summoned to himself a fairly large map, on the left side of which were the British Isles, and on the right was its underground parts. 

It even seemed to Dan that the ink was rising from the paper, hanging in the air and forming a pseudo-hologram in the air.

"This is a map that my daughter and I have collected over the past couple of years. Every tunnel and cave that stretches under the earth's crust all over the island, connecting, intertwining and forming a complex maze underground. And most of it is goblin territory; their home, a place for life and death.

"My theory is that immediately after the last lost rebellion, the goblins crafted a new plan. Having lived underground for a long time, they know its secrets, for them it is an ideal battlefield. So, they left the surface, presenting themselves as bankers for any wix who is willing to part with some of their gold–"

"Daddy." Luna said again, chewing on a chocolate chip cookie and looking at her father with wide eyes.

"Thanks, sweetie." Xeno shook his head again. "Their plan is simple to the point of banality. What would it cost them to dig tunnels under every important building in magical Britain? The Ministry, the Auror Academy, St Mongo's, the Plantations of Ingredients for Potions – there are few important places in our country.

"And once they finish building these tunnels, they will only have to release the Blue Bile-Eaters into the water sources nearby to poison all the wix and seize control of Magical Britain."

When Xeno finished his monologue, Dan almost fell off his chair. How could this guy build such a logical-sounding theory and end it on Blue Bile-Eaters?! Why not assume that goblins will just blow up the whole infrastructure of magical Britain?!

"Ah, right, I've prepared something for your arrival." Xeno exclaimed, quickly getting up from his seat. "Luna told me a lot about her new friend from Russia and I couldn't resist, I just had to try to make something Russian! Wait a moment, please."

The man disappeared at the other end of the kitchen and started rattling dishes. 

"Oh…" Luna sighed softly, her already wide eyes became even wider. "Did Daddy cook something? I hope he wasn't distracted by Wrackspurts this time…"

Dan didn't have time to ask her what she meant because Xeno came out of the kitchen. He definitely cooked something, but it wasn't food. Levitating a small wooden barrel with a tap in the lid in front of him, Xeno answered the unasked question with a smile. 

"This is my first barrel of Mead. I made wine before, but this is one of the few times I got to work with honey."

Putting the barrel on the table, small mugs of mead quickly appeared next to everyone. An interesting fact about wizards: their tolerance for alcohol was much higher than that of ordinary people. So as long as alcohol was not of a magical nature, even children could drink it and not suffer any consequences.

Dan looked at the mug and without thinking quickly dipped the little finger of his left hand into the drink, fully expecting pain, but nothing happened. There was one oddity he noticed with the water. Only some water brought him pain, as if someone cursed only the rain and running water. Of course, the full list of liquids that could harm him was far from short, but even so, he had things he could occasionally drink.

Apparently, mead was one of them.

"Thank you, Mr. Lovegood." Dan said and tasted a bit, marveling at the rather pleasant taste. He didn't even really taste the alcohol in the drink.

"Call me Xeno, it'll be easier that way." The man sat back in his seat. "Since we're already talking, can I ask you a couple of questions?" He asked, pulling out a long scroll and a writing quill.

If before, anyone had even the slightest doubt that Xeno was Luna's father, then it would fall away as soon as they saw his gaze at that moment. Dan had never seen a father and daughter so interested in the same cause.

So Dan had to answer a series of new questions. Interestingly, Xeno didn't repeat any of the questions that Luna had asked before. Most likely she had already told her father everything she knew about… ahem… the biology of Endermen.

"Running water hurts you, is that right?" Xeno muttered, looking at the already half-empty mug of mead. "But clearly, not all water, else your blood would kill you from the inside. I heard about a similar curse years ago. Hate from the cradle of the world, they called it." 

Considering that water was usually called the cradle of the world, the name was fitting. But…

"It sounds silly." Luna was the first to express her opinion.

"It does sound silly, but it's real. It makes all the running water like acid for the damned. Maybe I can find a book describing the curse later..." Xeno muttered. "But you're saying that your entire race suffers from this curse, not just you?"

"I haven't seen anyone of my own race yet, but I suspect so." Dan replied. 

"Huh." The man rubbed his chin. "That sounds unpleasant."

The conversations continued well into the evening, moving from conspiracy theories – which sounded more real with every second – to stories from the lives of Xeno and Luna.

Dan found out that when Luna was only 5 years old, she and a girl named Ginny stole her brothers' brooms and flew through the window of the Weasley house. Worse was the fact that both girls were only in pajamas at the time. 

In response, the Lovegoods heard little Dan decide it would be a good idea to cut himself a piece of cake. Which he did, putting the cut piece on a plate, he calmly took the remaining cake and dipped, leaving one small slice behind. 

Halloween – which the Celts and Druids called Samhain; a name Xeno used – was already tomorrow. So closer to midnight, everyone decided to go to bed.

The guest room Dan was put in for a while was rather small and a bit empty, but he didn't complain. His thoughts were occupied with other things.

'... I won't sleep tonight, huh?' He sighed heavily as he tossed and turned in bed. 'Fucking conspiracy theorists and their theories. How can I sleep now, knowing that the sirens are transporting cocaine by underwater routes?!'

His mental self-reproach was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and Dan was only too glad to open the door. Anything to get out of your own head.

He wasn't surprised at all when he spotted Luna on the threshold of his room. The girl was dressed in warm blue pajamas with fluffy bunny slippers on her feet. Dan could only think of one word at the sight of her: cute.

"Hello again, Luna Lovegood," he said with a smile.

"And hello to you, Danil Khromov. Would you like to come and paint with me?" The girl pulled out a fabric bag from behind her back, a few well-used brushes could be seen inside.

"Why, yes, I would like it very much." 

The moon led him out of the house to a nearby hill, on which stood only a lone tree. There were already two easels standing there, as if the girl knew in advance that he would agree. Dan wasn't opposed to such a prediction.

The cold autumn night was not the best time to paint, but the full moon and cloudless sky made for a beautiful moment.

"Do we need a table?" Dan asked when they were both at their easels. Luna only hummed in agreement.

The girl put the bag on the ground, taking out everything she needed from there. Dan, without thinking twice, took a block of earth from the side and placed it next to the easels to serve as a makeshift table.

"What kept you from sleeping?" He asked the next question.

"I can never sleep before Halloween," Luna murmured in response, holding a small brush in her hand, "mommy used to tell me about our ancestors and their lives on this day. Now she is with them. Maybe she even met Grandma again on the other side." The girl stopped for a moment. "Though she said Grandma definitely didn't make it to the other side. Still not sure why."

Dan nodded, preferring not to think about it. Knowing that the concept of souls was very real, he was terrified to imagine what might have the power to keep a soul from crossing to "the other side".

Now was not the time to think about stressful things. Also taking a brush in his hands, Dan raised his gaze to the moon and sighed. How long ago did he have a moment to just stop and paint? Not because he needed it, or because there was money on the line. When was the last time he painted for himself?

Pushing those thoughts aside as well, Dan decided to choose not to worry about it. But there was still something he had to do.

"Luna?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

The girl blinked a couple of times in confusion, but only smiled back.

"You're welcome."