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It was quiet in the small Manor. The only noise that could be heard, should one choose to listen, was the faint ticking of the Muggle clock that hung on the wall in the master bathroom. Pandora Black had all types of muggle oddities throughout the home she shared with her husband, Regulus Black. It was a new way of life for the pureblood man, but for Regulus, Pandora’s wonder for an unfamiliar world only made his love grow every day. The couple slept soundly in their bed, Pandora with the blanket snuggled up to her chin, Regulus with the blanket half tossed off. There were silent footsteps, in the plush carpet of the bedroom, and a small hand reached out to tap at her father’s arm gently.
Regulus let out a small groan, shifting in the bed to turn on his side, peeking one eye open in the darkness. “Luna?” he whispered groggily, looking at the four year old. “What’s wrong, little love?”
“Daddy…” Her voice tapered off, but even in the darkness, Regulus could see her lip quiver. “I had a nightmare.” Regulus let out a small sigh, rubbing his face as he sat up. “The pixies,” Luna uttered out, fear in her little voice. “They stole me from my birthday party.”
Regulus tried not to chuckle at this, because despite the vast garden behind the Manor, Kreacher did an outstanding job keeping out unwanted creatures from the flowers and trees. Regulus scooped his daughter up into his arms before standing up. He peered over his shoulder, his wife still sleeping, kissing Luna softly on her head as she wrapped her small arms around his neck, clinging to her father.
“Well now, we can’t have that, now can we?” He murmured to her softly, rubbing her back as he walked for the door to go back down the hall to the little blonde’s bedroom. “I will have Kreacher check all the wards in the morning before your friends arrive for your party and personally see to it myself that we are pixie proof. What do you think of that, little moon?”
Luna sniffled in Regulus’ arms, but he could feel her nodding against his neck where she had buried her face. The raven-haired male pushed open the second door to Luna’s bedroom, firing off a quick spell to make her projector night light start up again, casting a beautiful display of constellations on her ceiling, bringing a warm glow to the room.
“Alright, let’s tuck you back in,” he murmured softly, sitting down on the girl’s bed, he laid her down slowly, pulling the blanket up to her stomach, tucking her in with care. “Will you stay with me until I fall back asleep?” Luna looked up at him, wiping both the small tears and the tired from her eyes.
“Of course, little moon. I will stay and talk all about your party,” Regulus assured her. “I know we finally decided on a unicorn theme according to your mother,” he smiled, brushing her hair from her face softly. Luna nodded, yawning, “Mumma said that there might even be a real unicorn coming tomorrow,” she whispered, excitement at the end of her tone.
“Now won’t that be a sight to behold?” Regulus smiled. “And all of your friends will be here, plus your cousin Draco. Do we have any other animals for the boys?”
“Everybody loves unicorns, daddy,” Luna whispered in a matter-of-fact tone, yawning again, her eyes beginning to flutter close.
“I know your Uncle Barty is afraid of them,” Regulus began. “Got poked in the bum once during care of magical creatures class and was never the same.” Luna giggled at this, reaching for her unicorn plush. Regulus leaned across the bed, grabbing the stuffy that had been pushed off to the corner during his daughter’s first sleep session, putting it in the girls’ arms.
“I’ll teach Uncle Barty tomorrow not to be afraid,” she informed her father, watching as he stretched out on the bed next to her, turning on his side so he could still look at Luna. “I’m sleepy now, goodnight Daddy,” she whispered, kissing Regulus’ nose before snuggling into her pillow.
“Goodnight, little moon,” Regulus whispered. He would just stay for a few moments until he was sure that Luna was sleeping again, then he would slip out and go back to bed.
At least, that had been the plan, but when Pandora woke the next morning, she found Regulus and Luna both still sleeping in Luna’s room, Luna tucked into Regulus’ side.