the white rose
A young child was born in July
His parents adored when he made them smile
but darkness fears excessive light
and extinguishes their brightest minds
the boy grew up
to be someone new
someone as brave
as his parents knew
as they lay with their eyes blank
and don’t understand
the boy cries out to them
with a heart left to mend.
Turns out, Hangman’s Hill wasn’t that easy to find. Since neither Xenophilius nor Luna had ever been and the only one of the friend group who was still alive was the one they were searching for, it was a rather unfortunate instance.
But a couple researches in a muggle library later, a few weird looks and a now traumatized librarian, they found their place: Hangman’s Hill in Birsay, Orkley Islands. Sure enough, it was a small hill that looked well abandoned.
The wind almost threw Luna off the cliff when they arrived. Her pale-blonde hair was everywhere but where it was supposed to be and the strangled noise from her dad let her know that he wasn’t doing any better.
When she finally got her hair into a proper bun, she took in the landscape. It was a grey, stormy day, quite common for England this time of year (all year round, actually). The grass was unkempt, wild flowers sprouting from the ground. A large willow stood strong at the top of the hill, the ocean vast and dark below the cliff.
“Well, it’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”, Xenophilius mumbles as he holds his hair out of his face, “it looks straight out of a movie or something.”
Luna hadn’t realized how she’d held her breath at the sight in front of her. It really seemed right out of a movie. She scanned the area some more for anything to help them.
A few stones here, an abandoned hat there …
“What’s that over there?”, Xenophilius suddenly asked, squinting at a small something in the distance.
“Where?”, Luna asked, trying to make out anything.
“That stone over there. Below the willow.” He pointed at what seemed to be a small pile of stones at the base of the tree.
“Let’s go have a look. Be careful though, we don’t know if there are still any old traps from the war.”
They slowly made their way up the hill, kneeling in front of the pile of stones which turned out to be just a big, deformed one.
“Oh.”
Xenophilius had knelt down in front of the stone, wordless. Luna looked at him questioningly before following his lead.
He slowly reached out, touching the letters that were engraved with a shaking hand. They were long weathered, the stone overtaken by moss and ivy, but she could still make out the words.
To Evan, who was the rose to my thorns. Even if there is nothing of you left on this earth, I will find a way to remember you. And even if there is nothing left of my consciousness, my heart will still remember you. I’ll find peace in knowing that I avenged your death.
Her heart sank. This was a grave. Evan’s grave. This was where he was buried, if there was anything left of him to bury at all. She lowered her eyes to the grass beneath her feet. There, a small rose was blooming in white. Xenophilius traced the petals with care, his eyes filled with tenderness.
“It’s charmed to bloom forever”, he murmured, “that means Barty must still be alive.”
Luna nodded thoughtfully. The rose would only wither if its source of magic was gone as well.
“Are you okay?”, she asked, sneaking a glance at her father’s face.
He nodded softly.
“This isn’t his real grave, I think. He never got a proper burial. There was no body left to find.”
His daughter reached out to squeeze his hand.
“I’m sure he’s in a better place now.”
Xeno scoffed sadly.
“A place without Barty doesn’t really seem that much better for him, probably …”
The wind bristled through the leaves above them, making them whisper a sorrowful song.
“So that’s why we’ve got to find Barty. I reckon he’s not doing any better without Evan?”
The pale-haired man sighed and stood up.
“No, I highly doubt it. Those two were attached at the hip.”
He brushed his hair out of his face before resting his hands on his hips.
“But there has to be something here … I know that Barty has left something, I just know he did …”
Luna turned around, taking in the landscape again. The wind tore at her clothes, the cold breeze giving her goosebumps. She could feel it, too. Something about this place felt different. She could almost taste it … something old, something ancient was in the air.
“Revelio!”, her father cast. She watched the familiar blue of the spell waft spread out in circles.
“There!”, she called. There was something weird about the grave. The spell just seemed to flicker before it, before breaking down.
“Revelio!”, Xenophilius tried again, this time pointing his wand directly at the stone. Again, the blue light moved towards the grave. Once again, it disappeared.
He frowned.
“That’s strange.”
He reached out his hand, touching both the stone and the rose.
“There seems to be some kind of enchantment around it that seems to protect it …”
“But why can you still touch them both?”, Luna asked.
“I don’t know “, Xenophilius answered. His mind was spinning. What kind of enchantment would Barty put around this grave? What would he want to protect it from?
Luna watched her father sink into his thoughts. She walked closer to the stone, kneeling down in front of it. There was something emanating from it. Something … powerful, something familiar.
She could almost see the air flurry around the stone. It was thick with magic.
Xenophilius reached out to the rose again. His fingers touched the white, fresh petals, releasing a small golden shimmer on the flower.
Luna narrowed her eyes.
“Can you do that again, Daddy?”, she asked.
Her father did what she’d told, and she could see another golden shimmer on the flower.
“What’s that glow?”
Xenophilius now squinted at his hand as well. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t really feel the texture of the rose beneath his fingers. He tried again. Nothing. Only a smooth coolness that was definitely not how a rose usually felt like.
“I can’t really feel the rose. At all.” His eyebrows were scrunched in confusion.
“You try it”, he said suddenly, moving away to make space for his daughter.
Luna scooted over, reaching out to try and touch the rose as well. But the expected golden glow didn’t appear.
The two stared in confusion.
“What in Merlin- Ahhh!”
Xenophilius screeched before jolting away as suddenly, the rose began to move. Luna snapped her hand away to inspect her finger. There were no thorns on the rose, yet it had somehow pricked her finger. Light red blood coated its tip, one droplet staining the white rose pink.
“Luna, look!”, her father whispered, pulling her out of her self-pitying thoughts. The rose had begun to turn, emitting an eerie red glow.
“Is it … absorbing my blood?”, she asked, eyeing the plant skeptically whilst holding onto her finger as if it could be pricked at any second again.
Her father’s eyes shone with curiosity.
“It appears to be.”
The rose slowly started to disintegrate- no, scratch that, only the outer layer peeled off, slowly shedding its flowery disguise to reveal a piece of paper.
Luna just stared at it.
“My finger got pricked for that piece of paper?”
Xenophilius just chuckled and ruffled her hair.
“You’ll get over it.”
He reached out to pick up the paper. It was stained with dirt and appeared to have been ripped out of a notebook. It only had a few words on it.
“To Pandora: I’m going to avenge him for us. Don’t try to search for me. Thank you for everything, your best friend Barty”
There was a moment of silence. And then a second one.
“Did we just spent half an hour searching this place, only to find a note telling us what we could’ve known from just reading the inscription on the gravestone?”, Luna asked in disbelief.
The two blondes stared at the paper in front of them before she started laughing at the ridiculousness of it. The sound got lost in the wind, yet her father sighed before joining in.
“It does seem like that. Talk about a waste of time.”
“Well, at least I got to spend some quality time with my favorite Dad, touring the British countryside, didn’t I?”
The girl grinned to herself.
“You sure did, and I am honored to be your favorite Dad. Not that you have any other ones.”
Luna raised her eyebrow cheekily.
“None that you know of, anyway.”
Xenophilius gasped, scandalized.
“Luna!”
“Just kidding!”
She burst into giggles again. Her father looked at her lovingly. God, he was so glad that she was happy and carefree. After Pandora died, all he had felt was just incredibly lost. He didn’t eat, had trouble sleeping and just seemed so, so far away. Luna was the one who kept urging him to eat. To keep him going.
If she hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have lived for much longer. His heart ached for her. How difficult it must have been for her to take care of her own father at such a young age. He was supposed to take care of her, not the other way around.
And yet she’d never faltered. Never complained. She just kept smiling, and living and spreading joy. He didn’t know how he could ever repay her. Even now, what she was doing just to make her father happy, to see him at peace once more.
A sudden surge of gratefulness overcame him and he pulled her into a hug. She let out a small yelp of surprise before completely melting into his embrace.
“Thank you so much, Luna.”
She hummed quietly, her eyes closed shut.
“For what?”
He smiled solemnly.
“For everything.”
Luna grinned.
“You’re welcome, Daddy. I’d appreciate getting off the floor though, my skirt is starting to soak in the dew from the grass.”
Xenophilius chuckled before releasing her from his arms. He bent down to pick up the piece of paper that still lay on the ground in front of them.
“Well, looks like we should probably get going then. Maybe we can check the box again, to see if we can find anything that helps …”
He sighed again. As much as he hated to admit it, it seemed as though they had run into a dead end. Maybe this mystery hunt was ending earlier than expected. He tried not to feel too disappointed, but it was hard not to.
Luna pulled him out of his thoughts once again.
“Hey, do you think we could get ice cream around here?”
An hour and a half later, after having descended Hangman’s Hill without slipping and breaking all their bones, Luna was happily munching on some blueberry ice cream.
They had found a small village not too far off. The houses were small and bright, every one with a small front garden and window sills full of flowers.
Now they were strolling through the streets, enjoying the few rays of sunshine that made it through the clouds.
“Hey, have you ever been here before?”, Luna asked, a slight skip in her every step that made her skirt sway from left to right. There were green grass patches on it.
Her father shook his head, being busy eating his own lemon-flavored ice cream.
“It must be nice living in a strictly muggle neighborhood- “
“Oh wait, isn’t that Neville?”, Luna interrupted him, excitedly waving at a person in the distance that did appear to actually be Neville Longbottom.
Xenophilius suppressed a dry chuckle. So much about muggle neighborhood.
“Hey Neville!”, his daughter motioned for the boy to come over who had meanwhile gone bright red. The streets were mostly deserted, yet he cast a few glances left and right as if to check for people who could see him before he hesitantly walked towards them.
“Hey Luna, funny seeing you here!”, he said, scratching his nape whilst doing anything except for looking at them.
“Yes, it’s such a coincidence! Neville, I’m sure you know my father?”
Neville just smiled shyly and held out a hand that Xenophilius gratefully shook.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Neville! You’re starting third year now, right? In Gryffindor?”
Said boy chuckled awkwardly.
“Yes, I’m honored to meet you Mr. Lovegood. What brings you here?”
“Oh, my Daddy and I are on a trip to find one of his old friends!”, Luna exclaimed happily whilst staring at Neville with her bright blue eyes.
He started to feel even more intimidated than he’d been before.
“Really? Is it, um … one of your creatures?”, he asked, wishing desperately he hadn’t left the house this morning.
“Oh no, we’re actually looking for Barty Crouch Jr. Have you heard of him?”
The boy almost choked on his own spit. He really shouldn’t have gone out today.
“You mean Barty Crouch Jr. as in … the Death Eater?”, he made sure he heard that correctly.
His voice shook slightly as he shuffled a few centimeters away from the two of them. Whatever business they had with that sick man; he didn’t want to know.
“Yeah, that’s the one”, Xenophilius supplied in an attempt to be helpful, not noticing the distress they had put the boy in.
He was looking very pale and Xenophilius almost asked him about his wellbeing, when he uttered out a sentence that made his heart slow.
“Barty Crouch Jr is dead. He died years ago, in Azkaban.”