Painful Memory

Thoughtfully, Ivan looked up.

A familiar figure was standing by the window at the end of the corridor. She raised her hand slightly, and several blue birds landed on her forearm. Their cries were like a symphony.

"Luna? What are you doing here?" Ivan greeted her as she approached.

"I didn't have any classes, so I wandered around the castle…" Luna said, then flicked her wrist and the blue birds took off, disappearing over the horizon.

When she was finished, Luna turned to Ivan with her bright eyes and said happily, "Congratulations on being a champion!"

"Thank you, I received your blessing the other night!" Ivan laughed, remembering that Luna had been the first to applaud Dumbledore's choice of champion.

"Well… would our Hogwarts champion care to walk with me?" Luna suggested, seeing that Ivan seemed troubled.

Ivan readily agreed, thinking Luna might be a good match.

The two of them wandered around the castle together. They didn't have a clear destination in mind, and nobody talked about the things that bothered them.

It had been a long time since Ivan had been this relaxed, and he was finding it hard to breathe under the weight of all the trouble he had to deal with.

However, remembering that they had business to attend to, he brought Luna as far away as possible so that no one else could hear them.

"Can you tell me now?" Luna asked curiously, looking around and seeing no one else in sight.

"It's hard to imagine what could possibly stump you…" Luna added.

"Don't flatter me. You know how much trouble I've been through in the past few years." Ivan shrugged.

"But you always manage to sort them out, don't you?" Luna said with a chuckle.

"That's true, although sometimes the results aren't perfect…" Ivan had regained some of his confidence, but the recent chaos still gave him a headache. After thinking about it, he explained that he needed to practice Legilimency and needed a helper.

"Telepathy? Is that the spell that reads memories?" Luna wondered aloud. Ivan had told her about it.

"Yes, so when you practice, you'll see memories of your past… I wonder if you mind?" Yvonne asked cautiously.

He believed Hermione was avoiding him because of this, and Ivan was worried Luna would refuse.

To his surprise, the little witch agreed so readily that he was surprised.

"We're friends, aren't we? If that would help you!" Luna said briskly, as if having her memory read did not bother her.

"And when can we start?" she added.

"Now, here it is!" Ivan said, looking around. They had reached the eighth floor of the castle, where no one usually came.

Luna nodded and turned to face Ivan, waiting for him to cast his spell.

"Legilimency ~ (Legilimency)" Ivan kept his eyes on Luna's as he drew his wand and placed it gently on her forehead.

The fleeting incantation connected their minds, and images flashed through their minds.

Ivan was certain that this was the easiest spell he had ever cast, as Luna barely resisted him, and he was able to see what Luna was hiding in the deepest recesses of her mind.

It was a particularly desolate green area, with an odd-looking house standing alone nearby. At first glance, it looked like a huge black cylinder covered in branches and vines, and steam was coming out of its top.

"This is my home … the home of Novgood."

Ivan jumped when he heard the disembodied voice behind him. He turned around and saw Luna standing behind him.

"You can appear in your own memory?" Yvonne asked, bewildered.

"Am I not supposed to be here?" Luna asked, surprised. She thought Ivan's magic worked like this.

Ivan was baffled. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation since learning Legilimency.

"Let's go in!" Luna said. She took Ivan's hand and led him to the open door.

Ivan put the question aside for the moment and followed Luna into the house.

In contrast to its rustic, shabby appearance, the mansion was spacious and clean, not at all as cluttered as it had been in the past.

However, there was something strange about the overall decor. Everything was circular, whether it was the tables, chairs, rooms, or the kitchen. There were also various newspaper cuttings on the walls, a few family portraits, and the rest were reports of rare and magical creatures.

Ivan looked around and was led to a studio by Luna.

"That's me," Luna said, pointing to a small figure sitting on a round chair.

Yvonne followed Luna's finger and saw a blonde girl of about eight or nine years old, pestering a wizard of about thirty.

"This is my father, Xenophilius Lovegood," Luna explained, pointing to the wizard.

Yvonne suddenly understood.

In his youth, Xenophilius was quite handsome and did not dress sloppily. However, from the manuscripts on the table and his conversations with Luna Junior, it could be seen that he was quite fond of studying strange things.

In addition to the father and daughter, there was also a witch who was absorbed in her research. Luna pursed her lips and did not introduce herself, but Ivan guessed that she was Luna's mother.

In appearance, she was a beautiful witch in her early thirties. No wonder she had the intelligence of Luna.

"She was my mother…" Luna said faintly, confirming Ivan's suspicions.

Suddenly, the witch called out to Luna, who was a child, and stood up to leave.

As she passed them, Luna reached out as if to stop them, but her hand passed right through the witch.

The ending had long been decided, and everything here was in her memory…

Ivan looked at Luna apologetically, understanding that his release of Legilimency had caused her to relive one of her worst memories.

Before Ivan could apologise, Luna stopped him with a shake of her head.

"Come on, let's go outside too!"