The envelope lay quietly on the table, stark white against the cluttered living room.
Three humans—and one cat—stared at it in silence.
The air itself seemed frozen, thick with an indescribable tension, as though something impossibly absurd had just slipped into reality.
Tom stared hardest of all.
His gaze was locked on the name written neatly on the front of the envelope, his mind buzzing with disbelief.
Tom Lovegood.
"(⊙ˍ⊙) Tom Lovegood? Surely they don't mean me!"
No. No way. There was absolutely no way Hogwarts would send an acceptance letter to a cat. That would be ridiculous. Utterly insane.
And yet…
There was no other Tom in this house.
Tom's whiskers twitched.
But I'm not even surnamed Lovegood…
A sudden, horrifying thought struck him.
Could this Tom be Xenophilius's illegitimate son?! (￣ω￣)
The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed.
Reluctant as he was to admit it, the old man was… annoyingly handsome.
With that realization, Tom's eyes slid toward Xenophilius Lovegood, his expression subtly shifting into one of amused suspicion.
Hmm. If that's true, I wonder what Pandora would say.
As for why a nonexistent bastard—one who had never appeared in canon—would suddenly exist in reality? Who cared?
This wasn't a novel. This was the real world. And reality, Tom knew all too well, was far stranger than fiction.
Still, no matter how he twisted it, one thing remained obvious.
This letter cannot possibly be meant for a cat.
Unfortunately, the rest of the household seemed to have reached a very different conclusion.
"Oh, Merlin's beard!"
Xenophilius broke the silence, eyes sparkling as though he'd just discovered a new species of Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
"Dumbledore must have finally lost his mind—sending an acceptance letter to a cat! This will be front-page news in the next issue of The Quibbler!"
He shoved his chair back and leapt to his feet, already halfway toward his study, clearly envisioning headlines, illustrations, and scandalous speculation.
But then he caught sight of Luna and Pandora standing beside him.
Xenophilius paused.
His shoulders sagged slightly, and after a moment's hesitation, he sat back down.
Articles could wait. His daughter's tenth birthday could not.
Pandora, meanwhile, had been staring back and forth between the envelope and Luna. Suddenly, she smiled brightly and swept her daughter into a hug.
"Our little moon," she said warmly, "your wish came true! Quick—make another one. Wish that Mummy stays young and beautiful forever!"
Luna's silver eyes sparkled. She looked from the envelope to Tom, her joy unmistakable.
"(^▽^) Wonderful, Tom! We'll be going to school together!"
"(╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻ Seriously? Is no one in this house thinking straight?!"
Tom's whiskers quivered violently. He wanted to argue—no, to scream—but his thoughts tangled together, overwhelming him.
In the end, only one sound escaped.
"Meow…"
"Mm, Tom, don't be naughty," Luna said gently, tilting her head. "(｡･ˇ_ˇ･｡)"
Her voice was dreamy as ever.
"Mummy and Daddy love each other very much. Daddy would never have a secret child."
She paused, then added thoughtfully,
"But were you right? Would Minister Fudge really mind if Daddy prints something against Professor Dumbledore?" (･_･?)
Tom froze.
"(°ー°〃)"
He stared at Luna, every single hair on his body standing on end.
I only meowed, he thought in panic. I didn't even know what I meant! How did she extract all that information?!
"Come to think of it…"
Xenophilius rubbed his chin and leaned closer to Tom, peering at him with renewed interest.
"The Quibbler has never featured a magical creature quite like you. Perhaps I could change the topic altogether—let you be the headline?"
"Meow!"
Tom recoiled as Xenophilius's face loomed closer. Acting on pure instinct, he reached into nowhere and yanked out an enormous wooden mallet.
BONK.
The mallet came down squarely on Xenophilius's head.
A swollen lump blossomed instantly.
Xenophilius winced, pressing a hand to his head, his expression darkening.
"Oh, stop it," Pandora sighed, already flicking her wand. "A grown man bickering with a cat?"
The lump vanished as if it had never been there.
"And I know you'd never do that," she added calmly. "Now, Tom, come and apologize to Daddy. That was your fault."
"(ㄒoㄒ) Mew~"
Tom lowered his head pitifully.
He was innocent. He truly was. He'd only thought it—how was he supposed to know Luna could hear that too?
After the brief chaos subsided, everyone's attention returned to the envelope.
Pandora studied it closely.
"Let's see what it actually says," she suggested. "We might all be wrong. Perhaps it isn't an acceptance letter."
It was, of course, a deliberate distraction. As a former Hogwarts student, she recognized the envelope immediately.
Luna, however, did not.
Nervous that it might be something else entirely, she carefully slit the envelope open and scanned the parchment inside.
Her face lit up.
"(*๓´╰╯`๓) Congratulations, Tom! From now on, you're my senior!"
She handed the letter to him.
Tom took it hesitantly and began to read.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class; Supreme Mugwump; Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot)
Dear Mr. Lovegood,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of the necessary books and equipment.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
The letter was both familiar and alien, and it threw Tom's emotions into complete turmoil.
Excitement surged—his childhood dream of studying magic was finally within reach.
But hesitation followed just as quickly.
I'm a cat.
A cat attending Hogwarts?
Was that even possible?
"It will be fine," Luna said softly, as though answering his thoughts.
"Daddy wrote in The Quibbler that Hogwarts is very open-minded. Professor Dumbledore is a tolerant headmaster. Everyone is treated the same."
She smiled serenely.
"Death Eaters, werewolves, magical beasts—if you're part of Hogwarts, you're equal."
Tom understood that much.
Though he remained skeptical about Dumbledore's perfect impartiality, Hogwarts' inclusiveness was undeniable.
Snape the double agent.
Remus the werewolf.
Rubeus the half-giant.
Even Firenze the centaur.
But was he the same?
He wasn't a magical beast. Just an ordinary—well, not quite ordinary—cat.
Could Hogwarts truly accept him?
Even if the letter was real?
"Meow?"
"I don't think you need to worry," Luna said after a moment. "But if you insist…"
She turned to her father.
"Daddy, when we write back, could we ask a professor to visit and see Tom? He's afraid they'll revoke his place."
Xenophilius glanced at Tom, then at his hopeful daughter. He sighed.
"Very well. If Luna asks."
He flicked his wand.
A quill lifted into the air and began to write on its own.
Tom watched it, heart pounding.
Whether absurd or miraculous, one thing was now certain—
His life would never be the same again.
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