Mooncalves Under the Moon

"Ha ha ha ha, Su Yu, look! These Diricawls! They're so much fun!" Ka-jie rarely laughed this happily, her laughter echoing through the clearing in the magical forest. She crouched in front of a Diricawl and lightly poked the fluffy little creature with a finger—poof, it vanished, only to reappear three steps away the next second, tilting its head at her.

"They blink away whenever you touch them!" Ka-jie chased after it again and gave it another poke. Poof—it disappeared again. Her laughter grew louder, her eyes curving into crescents as the little birds kept blinking in and out of sight, reflected in her green pupils.

"Slow down, Ka-jie!" Su Yu watched her childish antics as he followed at an unhurried pace. It was not that he did not want to walk faster; he was currently covered in Bowtruckles. The twig-like creatures clung to his shoulders, arms, and even the top of his head, their long fingers gripping his clothes while their green eyes blinked. He had to walk carefully for fear of dropping them. One especially tiny Bowtruckle had climbed beside his ear and treated it like a branch, hanging from his earlobe and swaying back and forth.

Fa-jie and Kurama were angrily holding a Niffler. The fluffy black little thing had a duckbill-like snout and struggled desperately in Fa-jie's hand, its four short legs kicking wildly in the air. Its pouch was stuffed full of shiny things.

"Spit them out." Fa-jie's voice was cold, though Su Yu could tell she was holding back laughter.

The Niffler refused. It covered the opening of its pouch with both little paws and shook its head like a rattle-drum.

Kurama crouched beside Fa-jie, her tail bristling as her amber eyes glared at the Niffler. "It stole my gold coins! Three of them! I counted!" Her voice was shrill with anger, and she scratched at the ground twice with her claws.

Fa-jie held the Niffler upside down and shook it. Clatter—three gold coins fell to the ground, gleaming in the sunlight. Kurama pounced on them and hugged them to herself, counting them one by one. Even after she finished, she turned each one over to check the backs, making sure none were missing.

Fa-jie shook it again. Her watch and gold ring fell out. She shook it once more, and Ka-jie's necklace fell out too. The Niffler's pouch seemed bottomless.

After being emptied out, the Niffler sat on the ground dejectedly, touching its empty pouch with its paws and letting out a pitiful squeak. Fa-jie looked at it and softened. She took a Galleon from her pocket and handed it over. The Niffler's eyes immediately lit up. It stuffed the Galleon into its pouch and darted into the woods.

Su Yu and the others had arrived at the Swiss Magical Forest Reserve a few days earlier to have some fun. This reserve lay hidden deep in the Alps, concealed by a powerful magical barrier that Muggles could never find. The trees in the forest were so tall that their tops could not be seen, their crowns joining into a green canopy. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows across the ground, while the air carried the scents of pine resin and wildflowers.

The two girls especially loved this place. There were so many magical creatures here—Diricawls, Bowtruckles, Nifflers, Plimpies, and Pixies hiding in tree hollows. Every one of them fascinated the girls. Fa-jie tried to shake hands with a Bowtruckle, only to have its long fingers pinch her, making her pull her hand back with an itch.

Since tonight was a full-moon night, they waited here to watch the Mooncalves dance. Mooncalves only came out to dance under a full moon. It was said that their dance held magical power, and anyone who saw it would be blessed with good luck.

At that moment, an Erumpent approached from the distance. It was built like a rhinoceros, with gray-blue skin that carried a metallic sheen. A long, sharp horn grew from its nose, its tip faintly glowing. It walked slowly, every step making the ground tremble slightly.

How should he put it? Su Yu thought it was kind of ugly-cute. Its face was wrinkled, its eyes tiny, and whenever it looked at someone with its head tilted, it resembled a cow pondering whether or not to eat a particular patch of grass.

Su Yu walked over and stroked its back. The Erumpent's skin was rough as sandpaper. Then it lay down comfortably, rolled over, and stuck all four legs into the air, exposing its grayish-white belly for Su Yu to scratch.

Kurama also leaped over then, landing on the Erumpent's belly and bouncing up and down as if on a trampoline. Its belly was soft, and every time Kurama bounced, it let out a contented rumble, its eyes narrowing into slits.

Su Yu took a huge backscratcher from his ring and ran it up and down the grayish-white belly. The Erumpent trembled slightly with pleasure, its tail swishing across the ground and sweeping up a scatter of fallen leaves.

Not far away, a Thestral walked over with a little girl on its back.

The little girl rode on the Thestral's back, her long pale-gold hair loose and wild, like wheat waves tousled by the wind, falling softly to her waist. Her hair was neither tied up nor held with clips; it simply flowed free, drifting through the air like a soft flag whenever the wind blew.

Her slightly protruding gray-blue eyes always carried a hint of daze, as if she were looking at places others could not see. Even when she spoke, she did so slowly, her voice light as though it floated in the air. An old wand was tucked behind her left ear, a Butterbeer cork necklace hung around her neck, and a pair of radish-shaped earrings dangled from her ears.

The mad girl, Luna Lovegood.

Su Yu and the others had met her in the reserve days ago. That day, Fa-jie had been studying the habits of an Occamy when Luna emerged from the woods riding a Thestral, her pale-gold hair nearly transparent in the sunlight. Fa-jie looked up at her and froze for a moment.

Fa-jie found her very interesting. Through their conversations, she felt Luna possessed a wild sort of beauty, much like herself.

After several days of talking, they had become friends.

"Su Yu!" Luna said slowly, her voice light as the wind. She slid off the Thestral's back and stepped barefoot onto the grass. "You don't have any Wrackspurts on you today. It seems you're in a pretty good mood."

"That sounds like good news." Su Yu smiled and responded. The Bowtruckles on him lifted their heads, glanced at Luna, then lay back down. "Do you want to watch the Mooncalves dance with us tonight?"

"Sure. I imagine it'll be beautiful?" Luna tilted her head, her gray-blue eyes looking at Su Yu as if her gaze passed through him and settled somewhere far, far away.

"I don't know, Miss Luna, but it'll definitely be an unforgettable memory, won't it?" Su Yu said.

Luna nodded and smiled.

Everyone waited until nightfall.

The moon hung in midair, its clear radiance spilling over the ground. The forest darkened, and the sky above the canopy shifted from deep blue to inky blue as the stars lit up one by one.

Su Yu, Fa-jie, Ka-jie, and Luna sat on a hillside beside a burning pile of firewood. The logs occasionally crackled, sparks rising into the air, flashing once, then disappearing.

No one spoke. Only the gentle sound of wind brushing through leaves could be heard.

Fa-jie leaned against Su Yu's left side, her head resting on his shoulder, her eyes half-closed. Ka-jie sat on his right, hugging her knees with her chin resting on them as she watched the distant woods. Kurama lay across Su Yu's lap, her tail hanging down and swaying in the firelight. Luna sat a little farther away, stretching her bare feet toward the fire, her toes curling faintly in its glow.

Before long, several round gray figures emerged from the trees—Mooncalves.

They were not very large, about the size of fat cats, with round bodies and four thin, long legs. They waddled as they walked, like reeds swaying in the wind. Their skin was smooth and gleamed silver-gray under the moonlight. Most eye-catching of all were their enormous round eyes, which occupied half their faces. Their pupils were dark blue, shining in the darkness like polished gemstones.

At the sight of the full moon, they seemed to awaken beneath its light and began to spin, hop, and dance on tiptoe in the clearing, clumsily yet adorably. Their movements were slow and carried a silly tenderness, as if the entire world contained only them and the moon. One Mooncalf lifted its forelegs and spun in place, put them down, and spun again, only to trip over its own feet and nearly fall. Another jumped up, then landed on its companion's tail. The two rolled together across the grass for several turns before getting up and continuing to dance as if nothing had happened.

Their dance had no music and no rhythm, but they danced with complete sincerity. Every Mooncalf spoke to the moon in its own way.

Luna tilted her face up slightly, her pale-gold hair shining beneath the moonlight. "Look," she said softly. "They're talking to the moon."

Ka-jie lightly touched Su Yu's arm, her lips curved in a smile. "Aren't they adorable? Like a bunch of little fools dancing in the moonlight."

Fa-jie leaned against Su Yu, her gaze gentle as she smiled faintly too. "How wonderful. I've never seen such gentle, adorable magical creatures."

Su Yu watched the Mooncalves hopping beneath the moonlight, then looked at the two girls quietly watching beside him. He felt that the night was impossibly gentle, as if even the wind had slowed its steps. The logs in the fire had burned down to embers, their dark red glow dancing over everyone's faces. At some point, Kurama had fallen asleep. Her tail slipped off Su Yu's lap onto the grass, its tip curled slightly.

Luna took a small notebook from her pocket, opened it, and used a pencil too short to hold properly to draw something. Su Yu glanced over—she was sketching the Mooncalves. Her lines were simple, but with only a few strokes, she captured their round bodies and slender legs.

"You draw very well," Su Yu said.

"Thank you." Luna did not look up. "They're very happy today. Can you tell?"

Su Yu looked at the Mooncalves still dancing, then at Luna. "I can."

Luna's lips curved into a smile, and she said nothing more.

The next day, Su Yu and the two girls were awakened by Kurama.

"My gold coins are missing again!" Kurama's voice came from outside the tent, sharp enough to pierce eardrums. "It must be that Niffler! Definitely!"

Su Yu sat up in his sleeping bag and rubbed his eyes. Fa-jie lay beside him with her blanket pulled over her head. Ka-jie slept on the other side of the tent, turning over and mumbling something.

"Aren't you getting up to help me find them?" Kurama rushed into the tent and crouched in front of Su Yu, her nine tails puffed into a ball.

Kurama touched her neck and checked the Philosopher's Stone hanging there again. "Good thing I always hug it while I sleep, or it would've been stolen too."

"Then what's the problem? You still have the Philosopher's Stone. They're just gold coins. You can make more later."

"No!" Kurama's tails puffed out even further. "They're my gold coins! Every single one has feelings!"

Su Yu sighed and could only get up to help look. Fa-jie's watch and gold ring had gone missing too—she sat up, glanced at the bedside, confirmed the watch was gone, and her expression changed from sleepy to speechless. Ka-jie's losses were even stranger. Her hair clip and sunglasses had disappeared. She searched under her pillow, inside her sleeping bag, and through her backpack, but found nothing.

As Su Yu walked out of the tent, he kept wondering what a Niffler wearing sunglasses, a hair clip, a gold ring, and a watch would look like. In his mind, that little black creature wore sunglasses across its snout, a hair clip on its head, gold rings around both front paws, and a sparkling watch on its wrist. Its pouch would be bulging, and it would jingle with every step. He found the image rather amusing.

Kurama had now transformed into Holmes. She crouched at the tent entrance with her nose pressed to the ground, sniffing for scents and inching forward step by step.

Su Yu said from behind her, "Kurama, there's no need to make this so troublesome. Watch me!"

He drew his wand and gave it a wave. "Trace Revealed!"

A beam of golden light shot from the tip of his wand and spread through the air, bursting like fireworks into countless tiny points of light that settled over the ground, trees, and blades of grass. Then he opened his mouth and breathed out a mouthful of golden sand—the sand spread through the air like a fine net, covering dozens of meters around them. It drifted in the air, slowly revealing the scene of the Niffler sneaking away last night.

"The Niffler ran that way!" Su Yu pointed Kurama in the right direction.

Kurama immediately ran west, her four legs moving swiftly as her nine tails trailed behind her in a straight line. Before long, she returned with the Niffler in her mouth. She held it by the scruff of its neck while its four legs kicked in the air, its pouch swollen like a balloon.

Just as Su Yu had imagined, the sunglasses sat on its snout, looking ridiculous. Ka-jie's oversized sunglasses had slipped down to the tip of the Niffler's nose, so it had to keep pushing them up with its paws. Ka-jie's hair clip was pinned atop its head, Fa-jie's gold rings were around its front paws, and Fa-jie's watch hung around one wrist, already sliding down to the base of its paw and ready to fall off at any moment.

Su Yu picked it up upside down. Clatter—a pile of things spilled from its pouch, forming a small mountain. Gold coins, spoons, buttons, a glass marble picked up from who knew where, and a pair of radish-shaped earrings.

Su Yu picked up the earrings and looked at them. Were these not Luna's? They were identical to the pair she wore. Unfortunately, Luna had already left with her father—Mr. Lovegood had come to pick her up early that morning, saying they were going to search for a rare aquatic creature. Su Yu could only put the earrings into his ring and wait for a chance to return them to her at school.

When Su Yu brought everything back, both girls were already dressed and ready. Fa-jie was tying her hair when she saw Su Yu enter and held out her hand. Su Yu placed the watch and rings in her palm, and she put them back on. Ka-jie took her sunglasses, then had Su Yu clip her hair clip back into place. She smiled at him.

After packing up their tent, the three Apparated back to Foley Manor.

Butler Carson had already prepared a lavish breakfast for them.

The dining table was covered with food. Su Yu sat down, and Kurama jumped onto the table and crouched in her usual spot, where a plate of sliced fruit and a small piece of cheesecake had been set before her.

The start of term was drawing closer. Su Yu and the others planned to rest at home for the next few days and prepare for school.

If anyone asked what Su Yu would do about textbooks, he could simply use Ka-jie's from the previous year. As for Lockhart's books? It was already generous of Su Yu not to elbow Lockhart in the face, and they expected him to buy his books? What Dark magic did he not know? Oh, except for Grindelwald's blue Fiendfyre curse—he had not found where to learn that.

Ka-jie sat across from Su Yu with a cup of coffee in hand, reading today's newspaper. Fa-jie sat beside Su Yu, buttered a piece of toast, and placed it on his plate. Kurama finished her fruit and began eating her cheesecake in small bites, her tail swaying behind her.

Su Yu leaned back in his chair and took a sip of coffee.

Summer vacation was almost over. A new term was about to begin.