Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1589: Gibberish

Evan, Harry, and Ron led Mr. Lovegood into the marquee, listening to him express his understanding of readers’ preferences. He seemed puzzled by the fact that The Quibbler wasn’t as popular as Hogwarts Magic, as though it were as strange as people believing the Blibbering Humdinger didn’t exist.

Just then, Luna came running over from the garden.

She looked as dreamy as ever, with patches of soil and grass clinging to the front of her robes.

She looked like she’d just been battling some garden gnomes.

“Hello, Evan, Harry, Ron!” she said, approaching the three of them. “Looks like you’ve met my dad!”

“Er — my name’s Barny, and this is Barmer,” said Harry, flummoxed, surprised that Luna had recognized him and Evan.

“Oh, have you changed your names too?” she asked brightly.

“Well … how did you know —?”

“Oh, just your expressions,” she said, then leaned close to Evan and gave an emphatic sniff. “And of course, your scent.”

Was this girl some kind of feline?

She could actually identify someone by smell; and Evan was quite sure he didn’t carry any peculiar odor.

But Luna’s senses had always been unusually sharp, always picking up on things others didn’t notice, so by now, no one found it surprising.

Today, like her father, Luna was wearing bright yellow robes, which she had accessorized with a large sunflower in her hair. Once you got over the brightness of it all, the general effect was quite pleasant. At least there were no radishes dangling from her ears.

But because the robes were so vivid, the large smears of mud stood out at once.

“What were you doing in the garden?” Evan asked.

“I wanted to catch a gnome, but failed, and one of them bit me.” Luna seemed to suddenly remember something important, turned around hurriedly, held up her finger to Mr. Lovegood and said, “Daddy, look — a gnome actually bit me!”

“How wonderful! Gnome saliva is enormously beneficial!” said Mr. Lovegood, seizing Luna’s outstretched finger and examining the bleeding puncture marks. “Luna, my love, if you should feel any burgeoning talent today — perhaps an unexpected urge to sing opera or to declaim in Mermish — do not repress it! You may have been gifted by the Gernumblies!”

“I knew it! I had a special feeling!”

At that, Ron finally couldn’t help letting out a loud snort, which Luna heard.

“You can laugh all you want,” said Luna serenely, “but my father has done a lot of research on Gernumbli magic.”

“That’s amazing! We’ve long known your father was especially gifted in that field. Come on, your seats are over this way,” said Evan. He glanced at Ron and hurriedly led Mr. Lovegood and Luna to their seats.

After all these years, no one was foolish enough to challenge Luna or her father’s peculiar views; everyone had long since grown used to them.   

Letting Luna and Ron continue to argue over her father’s research on Gernumbli magic would only have been awkward.

Then again, the wound on Luna’s hand was a cause for concern; gnome saliva had a certain corrosive effect.

“Are you sure you don’t want to put anything on that bite?” Evan asked, “Or I could cast a healing charm for you?”

“Oh, it’s fine, no need to bother” said Luna, sucking her finger in a dreamy fashion and looking Evan up and down. “You look smart. I told Daddy most people would probably wear dress robes, but he believes you ought to wear sun colors to a wedding, for luck, you know.”

“It’s a little different, but it looks beautiful at least!”

“Thank you, I knew you’d appreciate it, Evan,” said Luna happily. “I’m starting to like you a little as much as my daddy does now.”

She drifted off after her father, leaving Evan staring after her, puzzled.

What did “I’m starting to like you a little as much as my dad does now” mean? Did Xenophilius Lovegood really like Evan that much?

Evan stood there for a while, and when he came back, he saw Harry and Ron face-to-face with an elderly witch who was clutching Ron’s arm. She looked a little scary, with her beaky nose, red-rimmed eyes, and feathery pink hat that gave her the look of a bad-tempered flamingo.

“… and your hair’s much too long, Ronald, for a moment I thought you were Ginevra,” the witch babbled. “And who’s this beside you? Don’t bother introducing me, I can tell from the hair — another Weasley! Honestly, you lot breed as fast as gnomes. And speaking of which — Merlin’s beard, what is Xenophilius Lovegood wearing? He looks like an omelet. And who are you?”

“Oh yeah, Auntie Muriel, this is Barmer, and this is Barny. They’re both our cousins.”

“Other Weasleys?! I take back what I just said. You breed faster than gnomes! How many children do the Weasleys want to have? One after another, as if you’re trying to take over the Wizarding world by sheer numbers?! I’m not interested in another Weasley. Aren’t Evan Mason and Harry Potter here? The newspapers have been talking about these two boys in recent years. I was hoping to meet them. I thought they were friends of yours, Ronald, or have you merely been boasting?”

“No — they couldn’t come —”

“Hmm. Made an excuse, did they? Not as gormless as they look in press photographs, then. They were right not to come; they need to stay in hiding now. Not that I’m afraid of You-Know-Who! I’ve lived far too long to fear any Dark wizard. Why, when Grindelwald was at the height of his power, I wasn’t afraid of him either — I’m afraid of no one!” she shouted. “Well, well, find me a good seat, Ronald, I am a hundred and seven and I ought not to be on my feet too long. You may not know, but I’ve just been instructing the bride on how best to wear my tiara. Goblin-made, you know, and been in my family for centuries. She’s a good-looking girl, but still — French.”

She emphasized the word “French,” making it clear she was displeased with Fleur’s origins.

Ron supported his trembling Aunt Muriel inside and did not reappear for some time.

Fred and George also didn’t appear again. No one knew where they and the two French girls had gone. Only Evan and Harry, pretending to be Weasleys, remained at their welcoming post. They had shown several waves of strange guests to their places until, finally, the marquee was nearly full, and for the first time there was no queue outside.

Translating_Wizard

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