That night, Marcel slept in Xenophilius's workshop.
He had fashioned a makeshift bed for Marcel out of an old door panel, laying two blankets and a quilt on top as a mattress, with another quilt for cover. Although it sounded a bit shabby, it wasn't uncomfortable to sleep on.
It allowed Marcel to get a good night's rest.
The next morning, Luna came to wake him up. To be honest, Marcel was used to a life of late nights and late mornings. Forcing him to change now wasn't something he could do overnight.
"Get up, the sun is already up," Luna said, tugging at Marcel's quilt. Tucked inside, Marcel didn't move.
"The sun is already up!" Seeing no movement, Luna tried her best to raise her voice.
"The sun will never rise again," Marcel mumbled, as if talking in his sleep.
Luna silently stared at Marcel, who was completely curled up under the covers, for a while before reaching out to tug at the quilt again. She felt that was all she could do.
But Marcel, predictably, had no reaction.
After waiting a few more minutes, Luna turned and pattered downstairs, seeming to have thought of a good idea.
A short while later, Luna pattered back up, holding a soft basket woven from fine rattan. The basket swayed slightly in her hands, as if many small things were moving around inside. This, it seemed, was the reason for her hurried trip downstairs. The things inside could probably wake Marcel up very effectively, or so Luna thought.
The girl blinked, then carefully lifted a corner of the quilt and quickly dumped the contents of the basket inside.
Seeing the little creatures crawl into the bedding, Luna seemed to nod with satisfaction and even carefully tucked the lifted corner back in place.
Before long, there was a stirring from under the quilt, sounding very much like someone humming softly.
"Mmm... huh?" Marcel seemed to be waking up, but his voice sounded off, heavy and nasal as if he had a cold. "Ngh, ah! What is this? Don't..."
The quilt began to shake restlessly, trembling so much that even the old door panel serving as the bed frame started to wobble.
As expected, the hastily assembled bed was not very sturdy. With a loud crash, the entire room seemed to shudder. Marcel struggled, threw off the quilt, and let out a pained groan.
Of course, the nasal tone was still there; the accident hadn't changed that.
The little culprits responsible for all this were now clinging all over Marcel, especially on his face and neck. They hummed happily, jostling for space on his face, neck, chest, and elsewhere. A few even stuck their soft tongues into his nostrils.
"Ugh... A-achoo!" Marcel shook his head, flinging the little things off his face. Only then did he see Miss Luna standing to the side, carefully observing the rare spectacle.
"Pygmy Puffs," Luna said in a dreamlike voice, pointing at the fluffy little creatures on Marcel. "They are very affectionate towards people and hum when they're happy."
"Also, they're very easy to keep. They'll eat anything from leftovers to spiders and flies. And they especially love to stick their long tongues up sleeping wizards' noses to eat their bogies."
Hearing this, Marcel quickly pinched his nose, noticing that several of the little creatures were flicking their slender tongues, eager to try!
"Alright, alright! This is a very effective living alarm clock, so let's just put them away!" Marcel said, pinching his nose and waving his other hand dismissively. He climbed up from the floor. "Oh, right. Good morning, Luna!"
…
Breakfast time passed quickly.
Or rather, there wasn't much to mention. English food was notoriously terrible, a fact that held true even in the wizarding world. Not to mention the Lovegoods' poor financial state; the magazine's sales meant that most of the profits had to be used as funds for the next issue, leaving very few Galleons for living expenses.
Luna's father hastily finished his breakfast and then Apparated out to gather material. Before leaving, he gave Luna a few instructions, likely about showing Marcel around. Marcel, who was busy smacking his lips and pondering how to make the Gurdyroot infusion taste better, didn't listen too closely.
Luna and her father both loved the drink, but Marcel found it hard to stomach. Compared to last night's fish soup, which had equally prominent pros and cons, this Gurdyroot infusion, so characteristic of the Lovegoods, was clearly just an exercise in suffering.
"What an impactful beverage," Marcel sighed, tilting his head back and pouring the liquid down his throat. "Alright, so where are we going?"
Luna stared blankly at the spot where her father had disappeared, only answering after a moment, "I don't know either."
Marcel tilted his head and thought for a moment before asking, "Are there any neighbors nearby? I mean, wizards."
"Hmm, the closest are the Fawcetts," Luna said, turning to look out the window. "A bit farther is Ottery St. Catchpole. Mr. Weasley from the Ministry and Mr. Diggory both have their homes near there."
Marcel nodded. Just as he was thinking about whether to visit another wizarding family to build some goodwill, a name that was mentioned in passing suddenly caught his attention.
"Weasley?" He looked up at Luna. "Is that the... wizarding family where everyone has red hair?"
"Mrs. Molly doesn't," Luna said, shaking her head with a vacant expression. "Her hair is brown."
Marcel couldn't help but laugh.
"It really is brown," Luna repeated earnestly, seeing his reaction.
"Okay, okay," Marcel said, laughing even harder at her expression. "Of course, of course. I meant, how about we go visit the Weasleys?"
Luna nodded indifferently, as if she didn't really care where they went.
BOOM!
Not long after, once the two had tidied up the dining table and kitchen, Marcel watched as Luna vanished into the somewhat grimy fireplace in a burst of green flame.
"Okay, grab a handful, say the destination, and then throw it down." Marcel muttered to himself as he walked toward the fireplace. He suddenly stopped, as if he'd remembered something.
"Right, I have to say it clearly." It seemed he had recalled Harry's disastrous trip to Knockturn Alley.
"The Burrow." BOOM!
For some reason, the green flames Marcel produced were much more abundant than Luna's. Fortunately, this particular magical fire didn't have the ability to transport inanimate objects. Otherwise, given the inferno that surged to the ceiling, the entire fireplace might have been moved to the Weasley house.
When Marcel emerged from the Weasleys' fireplace, Luna was talking with Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh! You must be Marcel. Miss Luna was just telling me about you," Mrs. Weasley said, immediately turning to greet him as he stepped out. "Welcome to our home."
As she spoke, Mrs. Weasley suddenly walked over and opened the window. "Fred, George, Ron! Get inside, now! We have guests!"
Marcel craned his neck to look and happened to see a freckle-faced boy holding a large, balding rat upside down, with a slightly shorter boy seemingly following behind him.
"Fred, give Scabbers back! Percy gave him to me!"
"Hey, Ron, hold on! I just think he needs a bit of hair growth potion."
"Stop your squabbling! Can't you see we have guests? Can you two be quiet for one minute!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "And where's George?"
Fred threw up his hands and said, "Mum, I am George."
"Alright then, where's Fred?" Mrs. Weasley said, taken aback for a second.
Suddenly, someone pushed both boys aside and strode in, saying insistently, "Hey, Mum! I'mGeorge, you've mixed us up again."
Mrs. Weasley's expression changed instantly, and she launched into a new round of scolding. Luna, standing to the side, was laughing like a mad person and couldn't stop.
Marcel watched the scene, sighed, and put a hand to his forehead.
"Sorry, er... Mr. Marcel?" a timid voice suddenly spoke from the other side of the fireplace, not far behind him. "It's always so noisy here."
Hearing the voice, Marcel turned around and saw that the speaker was a young girl, who also had a head of fiery red hair. She looked younger than the other children.
"Ah, it's nothing. I'm just not used to such lively scenes." He guessed that the girl before him must be the youngest Weasley child, Ginny.
Marcel looked at her, then glanced back at the three boys being lectured by Mrs. Weasley, and couldn't help but sigh again. He really couldn't figure out how one family could produce siblings with such extreme and diverse personalities.
The eldest son, Bill, always had a rock-and-roll vibe; Percy was full of ambition and obsessed with his image; the twin brothers did nothing but cause mischief; and even Ron tended to be a bit insecure.
Only the second son, Charlie, and the youngest, Ginny, seemed relatively normal.
Of course, he wasn't sure if his memories were accurate. It had been too long, and he really couldn't remember clearly.
"Anyway, thank you. I appreciate your concern, Miss Ginny."
Seeing Marcel's smile, Ginny felt a little strange. Had someone told him about her? She hadn't even had a chance to introduce herself.
"Alright, alright, come and meet our guests." Mrs. Weasley finally finished her long tirade and gestured for her children to come over.
The Burrow quieted down a little, with only Luna still laughing uncontrollably, her awkward giggles echoing through the room.