When Marcel arrived at the Lovegood residence, Xenophilius was in the kitchen preparing lunch, while Luna was setting three places at the small dining table. Marcel had already informed them he would be coming.
"Good afternoon, Marcel," Luna said calmly, not turning around until she had finished placing the plates. She had heard the commotion from the fireplace.
"Mmm, good afternoon, Luna," Marcel said, looking at the dreamy-faced girl before him with an indescribable feeling. She hadn't changed at all.
"It's been a while. Have you been well?" Luna asked in her airy tone, as if it were a casual remark rather than a polite greeting.
Marcel sat down unceremoniously on a nearby sofa and nodded with a smile. "Not bad. You?"
"I don't know... maybe I'm alright," she said, tilting her head as if genuinely pondering her recent state.
Just then, Xenophilius came over, wiping his hands.
"Welcome, to celebrate Christmas with us, my young reader," he said happily. "Have you read the latest issues? I've written a lot about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. The readers' reactions have been quite good!"
"Oh, yes! That's wonderful. You can tell me more about it later," Marcel said. Of course, he hadn't read it. He didn't have the time, even though Xenophilius sent him a copy via owl every issue without fail.
"Alright, alright, of course! But let's have lunch first. It's ready," Xenophilius said. "I'll be busier after Christmas. You know, The Quibbler's end-of-year special edition. I've prepared a lot of interesting content."
He pulled Marcel to the dining table, sat him down, and served him a full bowl of thick soup.
"...So after Christmas, could you take Luna to visit a large Muggle city for me?" he said. "I remember you said you were very familiar with Muggles. I think you'd do a better job than me."
"Oh, of course!" Marcel nodded.
"That's wonderful! Luna has always wanted to see the Muggle way of life. She's always so fond of the Muggle decorations I buy for her," Xenophilius said, looking at his daughter with a loving gaze.
Luna turned her head to show Marcel the sweet cherry earrings she was wearing. At that moment, with a faint, dreamy smile and her big eyes blinking, she looked genuinely happy.
Lunch continued. Marcel chatted leisurely with the father and daughter, while intermittently pondering the dividing line between Muggles and wizards.
In a wizarding world still primarily composed of pure-bloods, the boundary between wizards and Muggles remained distinct. Even with the efforts of many great minds of the past, which had led to the emergence of many outstanding Muggle-born wizards, the deep-rooted ideology of separation was still firmly planted in the hearts of most wizards.
Marcel didn't have many thoughts on the matter. He just wanted to enjoy his own peaceful life. He was self-aware enough to see himself as an ordinary person. Even though he had become a wizard, he was still just an ordinary wizard.
He would leave the complex and troublesome matters to great wizards like Dumbledore to solve.
"Luna, where should we go first? I think—"
Marcel pushed aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind and began to cheerfully discuss the post-holiday itinerary with Luna.
Time always passed quickly at the Lovegood's house, which was mostly due to Luna's personality. The more time one spent with her, the more one was influenced by her whimsical way of thinking, and the whole world seemed to become more ethereal.
When he was with Luna, Marcel no longer restrained his emotions, because it was difficult to find sadness in Luna's presence. The two of them would often laugh until they couldn't stand up straight over some amusing little thing, or silently enjoy the peace in a unique and pleasant environment.
In a daze, Christmas Eve had quietly arrived.
Xenophilius was busy in his second-floor workshop. Marcel and Luna, just like the night before, leaned against the outer wall of the house, gazing up at the endless night sky.
There were few stars out that night; most were hidden by a thin layer of clouds. A hazy, waning moon appeared and disappeared in the celestial sphere, casting a silver glow over the entire hillside.
"Mother gave me her favorite thing as my name," Luna said, looking up at the moon with a quiet smile, as if she were talking to something else entirely, and not to Marcel who was sitting beside her.
Marcel nodded, not caring whether Luna saw him or not.
"What about you?" Luna asked. "Where did your name come from?"
Marcel smiled, a smile of unknown meaning, but Luna didn't mind at all.
"I chose it myself. This has always been my name," Marcel said. "Always."
"That's nice too," Luna said. "Mother often said that a wizard's name represents the trajectory of their life—where they come from, and where they will go."
Marcel stopped smiling and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. He didn't even know if they were tears of joy or sorrow.
"Yes, it represents where we come from, and perhaps it will also tell us where we are going..."
Early the next morning, the Lovegood house was besieged by owls.
A chaotic flock of owls of all colors, breeds, and sizes had landed on the grassy slope in front of the house, because the roof and windowsills were already full. They were all here to deliver Christmas presents to Marcel.
It was the first time Marcel realized he was so popular. Usually, hardly anyone ever came to talk to him.
When Marcel was woken from his sleep by a series of pecking sounds, he rushed out and brought all the gifts, large and small, inside, piling them up in the Lovegoods' small living room.
Just then, Luna, half-asleep and looking even dreamier than usual, came out of her room in her red and green plaid pajamas.
"Marcel, is this your present for me?" she asked vaguely, holding up a small envelope with her half-open eyes.
"Yes! Open it and see. It's the Christmas present I spent the most time on this year," Marcel said cheerfully. "Merry Christmas, Luna."
"What about my present? Where's my present?" Xenophilius asked excitedly, like a child.
"It's coming," Marcel's smile widened.
"Mmm... hmm, what is this?" Luna gently tore open the envelope and pulled out a thin card covered in tiny letters and symbols.
"It's a spell," Marcel said. "It's the spell that went wrong during the experiment. I've completed its analysis."
There was no need for further explanation. The father and daughter present immediately understood—this was the spell that had taken Luna's mother, that had taken Xenophilius's wife!
The father and daughter looked at each other, and both found their eyes welling with tears.
Marcel was right. They held no hatred for the spell; they hated no person or thing. The only emotion they had for this spell was regret.
Luna's mother, Pandora Lovegood, was a woman who loved to experiment with charms. Because the experiment had gone wrong so suddenly, she had died without leaving a single word. This spell had become her only unfulfilled wish.
When Xenophilius buried his late wife, he had buried her research notes with her, hoping she could continue doing what she loved most in that unknown place.
He had never imagined that Luna, who had witnessed the entire event, would hold it so firmly in her heart. He had even less expected that Marcel, based solely on Luna's casual description of the scene, would silently find and complete the analysis of the spell.
For Luna and her father, this Christmas gift from Marcel was more precious than anything else.
"...Thank you, thank you!" Xenophilius's voice was clearly trembling.
As for Luna, she was now wide awake. She walked silently over to Marcel and hugged him tightly, not letting go for a long time. In the moment their eyes met, Marcel keenly noticed that Luna's usual dreamy look was completely gone. Her large eyes were full of determination.
A long time later, when they finally separated, Luna held the thin card in her hands, and her expression became hazy again. It was as if what Marcel had just seen was merely an illusion.
"Alright Luna, come help me open presents! Let's see who they're all from. I don't remember making that many friends!" Marcel said with a laugh.
That evening, Xenophilius prepared a huge feast, complete with roast meat, roast turkey, and various gravy dipping sauces. It was as if he had used up all the portions he had saved up on regular days.
Of course, the Lovegood family's own unique dishes were also there in all their variety, a dazzling sight for Marcel.
They ate and drank to their hearts' content, sometimes cheering happily, sometimes whispering softly. At the peak of the atmosphere, even Luna, who didn't usually like to dance, pulled Marcel up for a dance.
This Christmas dinner, with only three people, was woven together with their laughter, lasting late into the night...
At dawn the next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Xenophilius used Side-Along Apparition to take the two of them to the cemetery on the outskirts of Plymouth.
Marcel stood quietly to the side, watching as Luna lit the card filled with analytical formulas and let it burn to ashes in front of her mother's tombstone.
It was only then that Marcel learned from Xenophilius that Luna's mother, Pandora, had come from a small Muggle village not far from here.
Marcel looked at the small, lonely figure crouching in front of the tombstone.
Her waterfall of pale-gold, waist-length hair once again showed a beautiful and pure halo in the light of the newly risen sun.
"Expecto Patronum."
Marcel's heart was touched. He watched the girl silently, muttering the incantation as a faint, silvery-white glow emanated from his body.