A/N: This cookie is based on the throw away line in the end of the chapter, where Harry asks Ron if he is
going to go back to Hogwarts after the near disastrous mission to acquire what they learn, later, is a fake Horcrux.
Ron replies that he's going to see if Luna can sneak out, and Mission Impossible fun ensues. Thanks as usual to
Lady Starlight for her work here, and much of the idea for these ficlets. If you care to look back at the chapter here
it is: http://fanfiction.portkey.org/story/4941/16
Chapter 16: Merry Old Sherwood
*********************Hogwarts****************************
(Ron sneaks Luna out of Hogwarts)
2:35 am
A slight gust of wind accompanied the opening and closing of a portrait of a tall man wearing a small pair of spectacles. He yawned, muttering about bloody pets not staying in the tower, and settled back in the comfortable, painted-in armchair to read.
The door closed on a round, comfortable room. Tall, dark wood bookshelves lined the walls surrounding several comfortably-worn blue couches. A small fire burned in a corner brazier, lighting the two closest couches with a faint orange glow. A book that was propped on the corner of a study table fell to the ground suddenly with a loud thump.
"Bloody Hell," a soft, muffled curse, almost as if the speaker was behind several layers of cloth, came from out of nowhere. A quiet scuff, like that of a trainer on flagstone, and a rustle of cloth... A large, jet-black Kneazle with a white patch decorating his chest jumped up on the top of the couch nearest the fire and merrowed noisily. It looked around the room suspiciously, sniffed the air once and jumped down, heading up the right-side stairs.
A head of fiery-red hair appeared next to the left hand stairs, looking up. He frowned, looking to each side, before he smiled slightly and took a three-inch long toy broom from a pocket in his cloak. He balanced it on the palm of his hand, admiring the perfect craftsmanship of the replica. He flicked his wand, a faint shimmer of magic, and it grew; stretching and flowing until where a tiny toy had been, a full-sized, world-class broom hovered silently.
Ron smirked slightly, touched his wand to the broom and watched as it faded away, leaving only a faint outline. He jumped on top, raised his hood and vanished. Ron held his breath as he slowly navigated the broom up the spiraling stairs finally stopping outside of a door marked sixth years. Several nameplates hung next to the door, he grinned as he read, L. Lovegood and opened the door with a flick of his wand.
Ron stepped off his broom and slowly crept past two other beds to stop next to a fully curtained one, with a large, Lion's-Head hat sitting on the bedside table. A poster of a very familiar redheaded Keeper hung over the bed, Ron grinned as he saw it and slowly moved to the bed, leaving his broom hovering behind him, it bounced slightly in the light breeze from an open window in the tower. He slowly reached through the curtain, leaning his head through the hangings, and froze as the tip of a wand dimpled the skin in the exact center of his forehead.
Her huge, silvery-grey eyes grew, shining like a pair of tiny moons in the light coming in from the window from their larger sister. She grinned and reached up, pulling him down to her. "Ronnie..."
"Wanna go for a ride, luv?" Ron whispered, his breath moving the light hairs next to her ear. She rolled over slightly, blinking at him in the moonlight. Ron slowly pulled her curtains back, just enough to show the faint outline of his broom. She smirked, tossing off her covers and sliding out of bed. She jumped up on him, letting him catch her as she grabbed his neck and leaned in to kiss him.
"I need to put some clothes on," Luna whispered very softly, as Ron slowly ran his hand down a bare leg, which was wrapped around his. She glanced down at the t-shirt she had slept in, a very large, on her anyway, a bright orange shirt with a large picture of Chudley the Cannoner on the front.
Ron swallowed slightly as she dropped down from him and leaned back against her bed, her, or rather his, once, shirt riding up with the movement to reveal a pair of lacy black knickers that barely covered the relevant parts. Merlin, that shirt looks better on her than it ever did on me... "I'll just take them off," Ron replied quietly, leaning over her on his extended arms, causing her to roll back on her back. He leaned in and kissed her softly, then pulled back, smirking.
Luna pouted slightly and slowly stood, and pulled her hair up to a knot on the back of her head and securing it with her wand like a giant pin, before stalking to him like a large blonde cat. She molded her front to his, as she reached down and lightly trailed her fingers along the front of his pants, "Sounds brilliant to me," she purred. Ron twirled his cloak around them both and they vanished.
A beat later the almost invisible outline of a broom floated out of the open window, and disappeared into the night. A minute later, a swirl of color briefly lit the sky over the sleeping castle; not a sentient, except a pair of dark brown school owls, noticed.
********************12 Grimmauld Place, Ron's Suite*************************
Luna giggled as Ron caught her, as she tumbled from under the cloak, even as the swirl of color faded from her eyes. She looked up at him, her eyes shining, before she rested her head against his chest. Luna closed her eyes, and sighed softly, leaning against him almost bonelessly, trusting him to hold her up. "Ronnie?" she murmured without moving more than an inch.
"Yeah, Luna?" Ron replied, bending his neck to kiss her hair idly.
"How did it go?" she inquired with the faintest quaver in her voice. She took a step back from his arms and turned, pacing over to the bed and sitting down on the edge of it. "Did...my idea work?" she frowned as she watched him, "to get the book?" He looked away, towards the room where his best friends lay sleeping. She pulled her wand from her hair, letting it fall down behind her, before she flicked her wand at the wall; then pointed it at her belly. She closed her eyes, a small happy look on her face as she felt the warmth of the charm dance along her nerves.
Ron sighed; he kicked off his boots towards the corner and paced over to his closet. He stripped out of the blacks he was still wearing, glancing back and catching Luna's eye as she watched him intently before he slipped on a pair of sleep pants and crawled into bed behind her. She continued to watch him as he slid under the sheets and shrugged slightly. Luna crawled up the length of the bed and slid her wand under the pillow next to Ron's before she peeled off her t-shirt and burrowed under the covers next to him. "Your part worked perfectly, Love," Ron said finally as Luna settled her head against his shoulder and snuggled down on her belly, half on and half off of him. "Nox. The rest was almost a disaster, though."
Luna perked up almost imperceptibly, as he went on, "Your plan for grabbing the book worked like a charm...but he had Inferi set up to attack when we moved it...Hermione got to try out her new spell, it works but it took her out of it...she was still unconscious when I left, it was a close one."
"I'm going with you on the next one," Luna replied after a minute. Ron stiffened, and she placed her hand, palm down on his belly and pressed slightly, "Don't you dare argue with me, Ronald," Luna muttered firmly, as the steel hid behind the fog of her normal air appeared, "You needed me there."
"Luna, I..."
"I don't want you to get hurt, either, Ron," Luna interrupted in her more normal tone, though the slight anguish in her words was clear to his ears. "Not if I can help it. I couldn't stand it," she added almost inaudibly.
"Luna...even if...Harry didn't let Ginny come along, he won't let..."
"Your sister is a twit, Ronnie, and Harry knows it," Luna murmured hotly, for her at least, "She's playing with powers that she has no comprehension of." Ron frowned slightly but did not disagree, suddenly realizing that, if anyone else had said that, he would have already punched them, instead of slowly running his hands through her hair as he was now doing to Luna. "She is not only wanting to steal Harry away, she wants Hermione back with you...I like Hermione a lot, usually, but I'm not sharing, Ron."
Ron laughed, "Not even for one night?" he asked hopefully. Luna slapped his stomach lightly and stretched enough to kiss him quickly. Ron yawned and looked over at the clock, faintly glowing in the dim room. It read: "Only Fools and Vampires are up at this hour...Why are you?" Ron muttered something under his breath, "Luna, love," he whispered softly as she snuggled in tighter to him, "I need to get some sleep if I'm to...properly entertain you. You don't mind if we don't..."
"You promised;" Luna pouted unconvincingly, Ron snorted softly and she smiled quickly before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "You owe me in the morning, Ronnie," she whispered, with sleep already clouding her words. "Love you, Ronnie," she murmured.
"Love you, Loony," Ron muttered into her hair as he felt her breathing relaxing into sleep. He followed a moment later, vaguely feeling his head flopping to the side to rest against hers.