Caesar's gaze settled on the stubborn green stain on the tip of her shoe and lingered there for a moment.
"You've got a Frog Spawn Resonance Charm on you. Is that the smell of a failed experiment?"
Luna's eyes flew wide. "How did you know? Are you also—"
"My father's job in the Muggle world is a police officer, but he used to be an Auror in the Wizarding World," Caesar explained succinctly.
He paused briefly, as if weighing his words. "I'm also somewhat interested in Fantastic Beasts and magical experiments."
Perhaps she had finally met someone who might understand "magic."
Or perhaps her nerves, taut for so long, had relaxed a little at last.
Luna began to explain, haltingly, where the annoying smell clinging to her had come from.
It had started when her mother, Pandora, had suddenly decided to experiment with a jar of magical frog spawn.
She was convinced that if the frog spawn were given the right "emotional resonance charm," the frogs that hatched might change color according to their moods.
Her mother had said excitedly, "Just imagine, Luna! They'd turn blue when sad and yellow when happy. Wouldn't that be amazing?"
The experiment had taken place in the kitchen.
Somewhere along the way, something had gone disastrously wrong. The jar of frog spawn, which had been full of promise, hadn't hatched properly. Instead, it had exploded with a dull bang.
Green liquid with a strange, sweet, fishy smell had splattered everywhere.
Including on the new shoes Luna had hurriedly put on that morning, before she'd had a chance to clean them properly.
Caesar listened quietly, his expression calm at first.
But gradually, he began to notice something unusual.
What surprised him a little was that before Luna Lovegood became widely known as "Loony"—
Before necklaces