Seeing Luna act this way, Xenophilius Lovegood understood that, at this moment, as her father, he could not show the slightest weakness.
And yet he simply could not open his mouth. At least, as someone who had only just lived through all this, he truly found it hard to tell Luna so bluntly, to tell his own daughter, to tell his daughter that her mother was gone.
Another gust of wind blew through. It was still so bitterly cold that Xenophilius Lovegood felt his whole body trembling.
Yet it also made him notice the world outside the window, notice the moon beyond it, and the less-than-brilliant starry sky.
"Listen to me..." Xenophilius Lovegood's voice was very soft. "Listen to me... Luna..."
It was as if he were speaking to his daughter, and also as if he were speaking to himself.
"Listen to me, Luna..." He tried hard to keep his lips from trembling, to make his voice clear enough, his tone certain enough. "Mummy is gone..."
"She's gone there. She's gone to the moon as a guest..." He raised his hand and pointed toward the distant starry sky. "Do you remember? Do you remember what Daddy told you? What's on the moon?"
"On the moon there are..." Luna's voice was still airy and light. "Moon Frogs!"
"That's right! Moon Frogs!" Xenophilius Lovegood nodded heavily. "Mummy went to the moon to find Moon Frogs!"
He set the flowerpot in his hands in front of Luna. "Mother is just like Daddy... Daddy heard Mother say she wanted to grow Dirigible Plums, so Daddy brought Dirigible Plums back!"
"We..." His voice choked a little, leaving him silent for a long while.
Luna listened with a serious expression and did not ask what else he wanted to say.
"We..." At last, he made his