Authors Note: Welcome to another chapter. I would like to thank my first ever beta for helping with this chapter. The Scribbler was very happy to help with my punctuation issues. Hopefully this chapter reads a little easier. I have also upped the rating of this story and will repost chapter 3 with, as The Scribbler put it, the heat!
Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.
Standard Disclaimer: This story may contain sexually graphic and explicit material and it is not suitable for minors. If you are a minor, please leave now, as it is illegal for you to be here. If it is illegal for you to read or view sexually explicit material in the community you view such material, please leave now. This story and characters are purely fictional and any resemblance to events or persons (living or dead) is purely coincidental. If you are offended by sexually explicit stories, please read no further. These stories are just that, stories, and may or may not reflect the opinions of the author.
Chapter 4
She thought of the perfect way to wake him. Hermione you are a wicked witch.
* * *
She was a wicked witch! But damn, she was his. Since when had he become possessive of her? He shrugged mentally and smiled at his own answer: always. She was pressed against him as the train pulled to a stop. He glanced at the signs outside: not their stop, three more to go. She snuggled closer to him as more people packed into the train around them. Their left hands were holding the support pole, his right held her firmly against his chest, a blue backpack hung from her right.
She did it again! Some twitch of her rear, pressed hard against him already, it was driving him insane. How could he concentrate on Horcruxes with her constantly arousing him? He whispered into her ear, his lips barely moving, "Wicked witch."
She smiled and spun to face him; her arms went around his waist and held on tightly. She put her mouth to his left ear, away from the other passengers and moaned, "Yours though."
Damn he needed to learn Occulmency. The train jerked into motion he strained to keep them both from hitting the business man who stood close beside them. The movement of the train forced welcome air through the cars. He had been sweating almost from the moment they came into the underground. At the next stop most of the passengers climbed out and they grabbed a pair of seats at last. They only had two more stops before they had to walk again but he was glad of the chance to rest his legs.
She leaned against him and put her head on his left shoulder, his arm went around her. Since yesterday she almost never broke contact. That simple fact reassured him that she was happy and all was right with their new relationship.
She had been unusually quiet since they left the hotel. So long as she was not pushing him away he was content in their silence. Silence from Hermione usually meant she was deep in thought. About what he wasn't going to speculate, well, ok, he was speculating. It could be she was putting together clues on the Horcruxes, wondering what their children's hair would end up like or, WAIT! He stopped there, children's hair? Where had that thought come from? Back-tracking his own thoughts was hard. Sex, sex, sex. Hermione telling him she wanted his children; lobby clerk welcoming them back; time turner! He had it! Damn, he nearly leapt from his seat at that thought. No hiding his discovery from her now. Idiot!
She looked at him with that knowing smile. He simply had to learn Occulmency. "Glad to see your brain can still function. Did you suss my plan out?"
She had him so he answered honestly, "I think so, when we're alone."
"Of course. This is our stop." She stood and he followed her to the doors. The train was stopping. Yep, this was King's Cross station. He had missed the last stop while he was thinking. They stepped onto the deserted platform. He had a strange urge to check out platform 9 ¾ while they were here. Hand in hand, they walked up several hundred stairs and onto the street. Hermione pulled a street map from the backpack and handed the bag to him, he zipped it closed and put it on. She got oriented and they walked down the street, away from the lights of London. She folded the map and handed it to him. He dutifully stored it in the backpack while he followed her.
They seriously had to talk. She wanted children in the middle of this war? Granted she had a time turner so she, scratch that, they could go back in time and finish the pregnancy before anyone even knew about it, that made him rethink his reasoning. The fact that they could do that made the prospect almost appealing, he still desperately wanted a family, something to belong to. He could see her reasoning and it seemed damn solid. Not that he had expected to punch holes in Hermione Granger's reasoning. But, what to do with the baby here and now? Someone would have to take care of it while they were off fighting the war, someone whom they knew and whom would take good care of the child and above all keep it safe.
Ahh. Hermione's parents, they were already as safe as they could be. Now he had her sussed out. He wasn't against her plan, in fact he found himself agreeing with it, she could give him everything he had wanted. There was one thing he had to do though before they had a baby. He had to make her his wife.
She didn't care, that was merely a formality to her. She had given herself to him, he carried her blood oath in his pocket because he just couldn't believe this angel loved him. He had in fact given her all rights to his considerable fortune before he came to her house two days ago. In effect, he had made all the financial arrangements of marriage before she had even revealed her feelings for him. His trust in her was absolute.
They crossed another street and turned down another road. The feel of the street changed, it got chilly and oppressive. He looked at the street sign. Yes, Grimmauld Place. He shelved the rest of his thinking and gripped the handle of his wand. He stepped a little in front of her and she dropped his hand, she would need it for her own wand. Around the bend and twelve was missing. The Fidelus was still in effect? He concentrated on that long ago note. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London. Bam! The dilapidated house sprang into existence and squeezed itself between Number 10 and Number 14.
He looked at Hermione; she looked at him, shrugged and pulled out her wand. Once it was out she held it flush against her arm to conceal it. He did the same and they walked up the overgrown path to the door.
He opened the door and walked in. It looked even worse than the last time he was here. Hermione quietly closed the door behind them. He looked at Mrs. Black's portrait. It was covered by a tapestry, and he walked quietly around it and to the kitchen. The kitchen was also in disarray. What had happened here? Most of the cupboards were hanging open, a few pots and pans lay upon the ground. He looked at the table, it was mostly clean, no notes from Bill today.
Hermione closed the door to the hallway and their eyes met. She cast, a Coloportus, on the door and came over to him, "This is not what I expected, you?"
He shook his head, "What do you think it means that the Fidelus is still in effect?"
"Well it hasn't been re-cast or we would not be able to see it. The spell is tied to the life of the secret keeper." She shrugged. "It should be gone. I'm afraid that Dumbledore knew an awful lot more about it than I do. Maybe he did something to keep it functioning after his death."
He had been mulling over a few things since that night on the astronomy tower, suddenly it all gelled together. "I think he's alive, somewhere."
A pained expression crossed her face and she stepped close to him, "But Harry…"
He held up his hand, "Hear me out, this isn't just wishful thinking on my part."
She motioned with her wand for him to continue.
"First the Fidelus is still in place, the wards on Hogwarts are still in place, Fawkes is not on my shoulder, his portrait is still sleeping and I did not actually see him die, no one did."
She looked confused, "Explain."
He started pacing, reliving that night on the tower. "First, Bill said that Fawkes hasn't been seen. He speculated that he may be searching for someone else whom he felt worthy of his help." He pointed at his own chest, "Fawkes came to my rescue in the Chamber. I'm the "Chosen one of the Light', and I damn sure need his help." She grinned at him though he had spoken with some heat, "Since when does the killing curse knock someone thirty feet? They just crumple to the ground, I saw Cedric killed, remember."
"You're making sense so far, continue."
A dreadful though came to him, "If I'm right then we have to trust Snape. Follow me. Dumbledore had an arrangement with Snape to help him fake his death. This would improve Snapes standing with Voldemort and get him closer to him. I don't quite follow how it would be good for our side though. Anyway here, say you do the killing curse but don't really hate the person, what would happen?"
She thought for a minute, "You might stun them. You said the Cruciatus curse you used on Bellatrix hurt her for a moment right?"
He nodded, "Yes, so if Snape didn't hate Dumbledore, he couldn't kill him with the killing curse. Say he silently cast a charm to shove him off the tower at the same time he cast the non-killing curse?"
"That would mean someone had to be waiting to catch him before he hit the ground, Snape would have had to know that and they had to have a 'fake' body to leave at the base of the tower."
He smiled, "Right, I say that someone was us."
She shook her head, obviously not yet convinced by his reasoning. "What benefit would his faked death have to the side of Light?"
He crumpled into one of the chairs at the table. She had the one hole in his entire argument, all the rest of it could stand. "I haven't a clue; I can only take it so far. Apply that legendary brain of yours. If you were Dumbledore why would you fake your own death?"
She sat in the chair nearest him and looked off into the corner of the room. He looked around; Hermione in deep thought mode could take several hours. She started talking to herself, "Headmaster of Hogwarts, maybe, Grand Wizard, no, Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, no, Supreme Mugwump, no, Order of Merlin First class, no, Defeated Grindelwald, maybe, Head of the Order of the Phoenix, no, 12 uses for Dragons blood, maybe, helped Flamel make the Philosophers Stone, maybe, the one Voldemort feared the most."
She sat there muttering for another ten minutes. He got up and started sorting through the things in the kitchen. He closed the drawers and cupboards, careful not to slam anything lest it disturb her. Then he picked up all the loose dishes, pots and pans and collected them on the counter next to the sink. None of them looked dirty, but he wasn't going to put them back on the shelves until they had been washed. He had never learned just where the actual food was kept; there was no icebox in the kitchen. She twisted to look at him and grinned.
He came back to stand in front of her, "What, you got it didn't you?"
She nodded, "Yes, the only thing that makes any sense is to get Voldemort to come out into the open. He always feared Professor Dumbledore's power and knowledge. With him out of the way only you have caused him any trouble. You don't have the experience or knowledge to scare Voldemort. He figured out why you didn't die, now he must think of you as just a nuisance, not a real threat."
He thought about that for a bit. "But if he was faking his death then he had to know someone would catch his stunned, poisoned body before he hit the ground."
They suddenly locked eyes and both said in one voice, "Aberforth!"
He continued, hot on the topic again, "We'll have to send him an owl, no that's too risky, it will have to be a house elf."
She was nodding, "You saw a picture of him once didn't you?"
"Ya, Moody showed me a picture from the original Order of the Phoenix. He was in the picture with my parents. No one's seems to know where he is."
"Well if I was going to plan something as important as that then my mysterious hidden brother would be one of my top selections for helping me recover. You said he was poisoned?"
"Yes, the locket was hidden at the bottom of a chalice. He said one of us had to drink the liquid so we could get the locket out. I'm sure it was poison, pity I didn't have a bezoar on me."
"We have two choices with that, one when we go back in time to have the baby we can replace the liquid in the chalice with something similar but which isn't poison, or two we can have a cure ready when he comes flying off of the tower. How long had it been since he drank it?"
He hesitated before answering, she had brought up the baby, now was not the time for that discussion, "Thirty minutes or so, likely too long for a bezoar to work. We'll have to visit the cave and change the fluid."
They both sat silently for a moment, looking around the room. Harry was sure Hermione was thinking the same thing he was. Would Dumbledore appear to them now that they had figured it out? He could be invisible without a cloak, he could be standing right here in the room with them, it didn't feel like it though and the moment passed. He turned back to face her, "…About the baby…."
She leapt to her feet and stood directly in front of him, holding both of his hands, "I want to do this for us Harry."
He just nodded, knowing what was coming next.
She forged on, looking into his eyes, "We may not survive this. Odds of both of us making it are not very good. If we have a child now, and have my parents take care of it, when this is all over we, or the one which survives, will at least have him." Her voice had broken towards the end of that sentence. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and snarled in frustration, "I'm such a girl!"
He pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment, slowly swaying. He had to let her finish and think about it all before he said anything. She was the one he trusted to guide him. If this is where she led, he would follow.
She pulled back her hands clenched into fists pressed against his chest, "Sorry, I know you need me to be strong for you and I am. I will go with you through Hell if that's what it takes to have a future together. I know we go back, I know when we go back to, or at least one point in the past that we visit. I just don't know the "when" we leave the present, yet." She snuggled into him again, her arms wrapping around his waist.
He tightened his hold on her. In more ways than one she was his rock and anchor. She made total sense, everything logical and in its place. He nodded, his head pressed against the side of hers. "I can help with the when."
She looked at him carefully, "No arguments against this? No reasons not to do it?"
He laughed briefly at the expression on her face, "As much as you understand me even you can't see some things I guess." Her left eyebrow rose, he kissed her, not as they had when they made love but soft, long and lovingly.
She moaned into him and pulled back, "It's just hard for me to accept. I do understand. You trust me as completely as I trust you."
"Damn another to you. Will I ever win a discussion with you woman?"
She grinned, "With those kisses, certainly." She claimed his lips for another slow kiss. When she pulled back she thought a moment then seemed to realize what he had said earlier. "So when do we go back?"
He released her and stepped back, looking at the floor as he did so. "After my birthday, hell it could be on my birthday."
She stepped up to him and put her hand on his cheek, he looked up into her eyes, "Why?"
This was suddenly the most important thing he had ever said in his life and suddenly he desperately needed to pee. "Becausethenyoucanmarryme." It all came out in a rush and he held his hand up. "Sorry that didn't come out right." He took a deep breath and let it all out and tried again. "After my birthday we can get married. I want to get married before we have a baby." He did not form it as a question on purpose; it was a statement of fact.
She collapsed into him, "Oh Harry!" Her arms around his waist again and he had to hold her up as she collected herself. When she had recovered she looked into his eyes again, "That wasn't a proper question but I guess we don't really need one. We passed that stage at some point didn't we. All right Harry, we'll do it your way. So, now we know the when of our travel back in time. The next question is what date do we go back to? I see no reason not to do the maximum to which the turner will go, in this case eighteen months. That would give us nine or ten months with him after he is born before we arrive at the present."
"You keep saying he, what if it's a girl?"
She shook her head, "Nope. We're going to have a boy first, and then we'll see about the rest."
"You're amazing you know?"
"No, I was just a bookworm before you dragged me out into the light of day. So it's all your fault that I am who I am."
He really needed to get her back to the hotel and shag her brains out for that. "We shaped one another: you're my guide, my conscience, and my hope for the future."
She kissed him again, another slow lingering kiss, before stating simply, "As you are my hero, my strength and my hope."
They had been standing for over half an hour while they talked, he slipped back into one of the chairs, she went back to hers and they held hands on the table and looked at one another. She exhaled swiftly and said, "That's a relief to discuss it. I was worried how you would take it all"
He shrugged, "I was pretty shocked when I figured it out on the train. Then I thought about it on the walk here. Having children in the middle of a war is risky, but we must go on with our life. If we give in to the fear then Voldemort wins, I refuse to let him win on any level."
She patted his hand and smiled at him, "So we have nearly six weeks before we go back. We need to search this house from top to bottom for any evidence. I figure it's still unplottable so it should be ok to do magic here. Can you get Kreacher to clean up this mess?"
"I really have no desire to do that. Now Dobby on the other hand would enjoy the challenge. Kreacher should be here though, he should have come back here when Hogwarts closed for the summer."
Hermione said, "We have another mission for Dobby." She then stated clearly, "Dobby!"
A moment later he was there, "You called Misses?" He looked around the kitchen in obvious disgust.
"Yes Dobby, We have just made some decisions and wanted to get your help with some of it."
"Dobby be needing more hands Misses to clean this house."
She put her hand on his shoulder, "No Dobby, we're likely to leave that to Kreacher. I need you to take a message to my parents. Can you find them, out in the muggle world?"
He smiled, "Yes Misses, Dobby can be doing that. It will not be too hard, may take some time though but Dobby can do it."
Harry suddenly had a thought and snapped his fingers, "Dobby can you tell me where Tom Riddle is?"
Dobby shivered and cringed, "Master must not send Dobby there." He stepped away from them and groveled.
Harry and Hermione were both on the ground. Each had a hand on one of his shoulders. "You don't have to go anywhere near him Dobby. I was just asking a question. I won't send you to find him. I swear I will not."
Dobby looked relieved but still quite shaken. Hermione asked, "Why do you fear him so much?"
"Nasty snake man kills all house elves he finds. He knows when we are around and kills us."
Harry said, "Sorry Dobby, I didn't know."
Hermione patted the little elf's shoulder, "We're trying to get rid of him Dobby. We need to find his Horcruxes and destroy them first."
Dobby's ears perked up, "Dobby knows what those are Misses. Dobby knows where two of them is Dobby does."
Harry had been kneeling on the kitchen floor. He collapsed onto his rear and stared at his friend. Harry pulled his jaw from the ground and asked, "What are they and where are they Dobby?"
"There is a plaque at Hogwarts in the trophy room that is one of snake man's and Misses Ravenclaws' brooch is on display in her common room. They are powerful evil magic things. Dobby cannot touch them but Dobby can see them."
Hermione hugged the elf he squeaked before he realized what was happening and hugged her back. "Dobby you're wonderful. Forget the message to my parents. We need you to go find Bill Weasley and tell him about those two items."
Hermione let Dobby go and he nodded.
Harry asked, "Can you search this house for one first please? I know there were a lot of dark objects Mrs. Weasley helped pull out of here but I don't think they actually got removed. I think they got stored somewhere. We are looking for Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket."
"Yes Harry Potter sir. Wait here I will search." He vanished.
Hermione looked at Harry, "Well that's quite a revelation isn't it?"
He laughed, "From now on I ask Dobby about anything I need to find first. How they know where these things are I don't understand."
Hermione stood and offered him a hand up. He took it and she said, "They are magical beings, much more so than wizards are. They probably see the aura's of magic. I read once about a spell that lets us see the patterns of the enchantments on an item. Apparently those who enchant items like broomsticks use them to make sure the spells line up correctly."
Dobby appeared in the middle of the kitchen floor, wrestling with Kreacher.
Harry shouted at Kreacher, "I command you to stop Kreacher!"
The mangled elf froze; Dobby pulled his arm out of Kreachers grasp and vanished. He appeared four seconds later with another house elf; this one was much taller than Dobby and held a staff that was about four feet tall and roughly carved. He was dressed in a small tapestry which looked very much like a uniform.
Kreacher immediately began groveling at Harry's feet. "Kreacher was guarding it for master Kreacher was."
The new elf tapped his staff on the ground once and Kreacher spun to face him, his face wild.
"Through this free elf I have learned that you helped others plot to kill your master. Now you will not do your new masters bidding. You are shackled Kreacher."
Kreacher screamed, "NO MASTER NO!" a pair of iron shackles appeared on Kreachers ankles and the elf vanished."
Hermione looked about to burst but with a visible effort sat and took several deep breaths.
The elf with the staff turned to Harry. "I am the Mugwump. We will provide you with an un-corrupt elf to serve you. Kreacher was twisted by a dark object that we are forbidden to touch."
Harry stepped closer to The Mugwump. "I do not require the services of another elf. I am happy with my friend, Dobby."
The Mugwump looked at Dobby who stood at attention a broad smile plastered to this face. "It is you, Harry Potter, who caused Dobby's freedom. This was done not in punishment but in honor. We are honored to meet you."
"Thank you, can you tell me what happened to Kreacher?"
"He was corrupted by a dark object you call a Horcrux. His spirit like his body is twisted by its evil. He has been removed to prevent harm to others. When the evil has left him he may return to you, or he may die before it leaves him."
Hermione asked, "Is there anything we can do to help him?"
The Mugwump looked at her sharply; a roughly knit hat appeared in his hand. "This was not honorably done Misses Granger. Only a master may free an elf, these caused Dobby much extra work as the other elves shunned you. You have escaped punishment only through Dobby's graces."
Hermione burst into tears and knelt before the Mugwump She looked at him and said, "I thought they would be happier if they were free. I did not understand, nor do I yet, why elves are slaves to wizards. I think it is wrong for one to cause another abuse as Dobby suffered under the Malfoy's. I sought only to help them. Is there another way we can help the elves who are being abused?"
Harry swelled with pride in her. She not only had admitted she didn't know something but that she still wanted to help. He moved and stood behind her, his hands firmly on her shoulders. "This is my mate; I will share in her punishment."
Before the Mugwump could speak Dobby stepped between them, "These are my friends. They are good."
The Mugwump looked at Hermione, "I am the judge; I do not set the rules. They are set by our contract which we must abide by. Since Dobby is a free elf he is not subject to the rules." With that he vanished.
Harry sat with her on the floor and held her while she cried for several minutes. He didn't say anything he just held her.
Dobby scooped up the hat that the Mugwump had dropped and added it to the stack on his head then he started cleaning the kitchen as fast as he could.
Soon Harry and Hermione were sitting in the only dirty spot in the room. Harry stood and helped Hermione up. She seemed to be mostly recovered. This had been a great shock to her firmly held beliefs. He sat her in the freshly polished chair at the table that now gleamed when it was new. "Dobby? Can you find us something to eat and drink please?"
A pair of butter beers appeared on the table followed by two corned beef sandwiches. Harry watched in amazement as the spot on the floor was polished a moment later.
Harry said, "Stop, Dobby."
The now exhausted elf appeared in front of them. Hermione said, "Join us, you can have half of my sandwich, I'm not very hungry."
Dobby smiled proudly and climbed up onto the chair next to Harry. Hermione's sandwich was magically cut in half and a third plate and cup of pumpkin juice appeared for Dobby.
Hermione said, "I'm sorry Dobby. I didn't know I was making you do extra work. I thought I was helping."
Dobby said, "Mistress is forgiven. Dobby likes to work."
Hermione cocked her head at him, "Why am I now Mistress and not Misses?"
Dobby pointed at Harry, "Master said you were his mate. That makes you Mistress."
She smiled at Dobby then Harry and said simply, "Thanks."
They ate their sandwiches and when they were done Harry asked, "Is there another Horcrux here in the house?"
"Yes Master, in Kreachers' den. It is the locket one. I do not know where the cup is."
Harry stood and wiped his suddenly clammy hands on the legs of his jeans. "Ok, show me. I need to collect it."
Dobby slipped from the chair and led them down into the basement where Kreachers' hovel lay. Dobby pulled back the sheet and the locket lay under it with many other things. Harry reached down and picked up the locket by its chain. It was just as he remembered it from when they were cleaning the house. This was the locket they couldn't open.
He slipped it into his pocket. "Ok, Dobby. Please go tell Bill Weasley we have the locket and tell him where the two are at Hogwarts. It is ok if you tell him when Ron and Fleur are there but no one else. Then come find us at the Hotel tonight. We'll have that letter ready for Hermione's parents."
Dobby bowed and vanished.
Hermione wrapped her arm around his waist, "Let's head back to the hotel and rest a bit. I need a nap after all this."
* * *
Luna turned to her father and hugged him, "Thanks, dad."
"Welcome dear. I'll be back in an hour to see if you need a lift home and then an hour after that."
"Ok dad, but I'll find him."
He knelt and wrapped his muscular arms around her slight frame. "Just be careful, you're not used to the rules of the world you're walking into."
"He'll help, he was raised in it."
Her father nodded, "When you find him." His voice dropped to a more serious tone, "Read the signs dear."
She nodded and walked out of the apparition area and into Kings Cross Station. She went right, unlike her usual destination of Platform 9 ¾. Her quarry was not that way. He was close though, she knew it. She exited the station and stood there in the flow of muggles while she read the signs. Someone bumped into her and she nearly fell. A strange looking man in a suit and hat said, "Sorry," as he hurried away towards the edge of the walkway. He stopped near where the metal carriages, no cars, where the cars zoomed past in both directions narrowly missing one another. He pushed a button on one of the poles and moved to wait with a group by the poles.
She was mesmerized by the sounds and smells, it was almost too much. She always studied and absorbed everything around her but she couldn't keep up. The cars had stopped and the group with the man who had bumped her crossed while the cars waited impatiently. She didn't know which way to go to find him.
Two people stepped in front of her, one man and one woman. They were both dressed the same, in a crisp blue uniform, huge wands hung at their belts with lots of other things. The woman smiled at her and asked, "Are you lost, dear?"
These must be muggle Aurors, no, that wasn't the right name for them. Police - that was it. It said so on their sleeves and the crest on their shirts. She nodded. The woman guided her off to the side out of the bustle of people exiting the station. The man walked with them but turned his back to watch the other way while the woman talked to her.
"Are you trying to get home?"
She shook her head, "No. I need to find a friend of mine. He's near here. Mum said I could find him at the grim old place but I wouldn't be able to see it." Oops she had said too much.
The woman thought for a moment then turned and tapped the man on the shoulder. For a moment they talked but she couldn't hear what they said. The man glanced at Luna and smiled and nodded to something the woman had said. He picked up one of the boxes hanging at his waist, it had a floppy wand on it and he talked to it. When the box started talking back to him the woman turned to her again.
"There's a street called Grimmauld Place, that could be your grim old place. It's not a place for a young lady to be walking in alone though. We'll walk you there and help look for your friend. Is he in trouble?"
"He's always in some trouble." She had said too much again so she quickly added, "Oh, but it's not his fault."
The woman laughed, "Boys are like that sometimes."
The man stopped talking to the box and looked at the woman, "Let's go." He walked past Luna down the side of the street, opposite the way the man in the suit and hat had gone.
Luna followed directly behind him.
The woman walked beside her, on the side where the cars were. She asked, "What's your name dear? I'm Liz."
"I'm Luna, Luna Lovegood. Nice to meet you."
"Thank you Luna, can you tell me where you live?"
"Oh sure: Ottery St.Catchpole, with my father. He got me to the station here but had to go."
The woman nodded, "Ok Luna what's this boy look like that you need to find and is he lost as well?"
"No, I'm sure he knows where he is. He's got piercing green eyes and messy black hair. He's about a year older than me and has a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. His name's Harry Potter."
"Sounds like a good description; do you know what he's wearing?"
She shook her head as they continued walking. "I haven't seen him in a few days."
The woman patted her on the shoulder, "That's ok dear; he'll know you though when he sees you right?"
Luna just nodded and looked around. What would he think when she found him? Mum probably hadn't told him that she was coming. Then again mum was dead and probably hadn't thought of that. They had walked for a quarter of an hour, there were fewer people here and the houses were looking run down.
A few minutes later the man turned around and said, "Ok, we're here." He pointed up at the street sign which read 'Grimmauld Place'.
Luna looked across to the other side of the street and there was Harry. She yelled his name and started running towards him. She saw him look at her then the man snatched her up into his arms. He and the woman were yelling at her to stop. She struggled for a minute before she realized they were not hurting her. She had done something stupid. She lay still in his arms softly repeating, "Sorry, sorry, sorry."
Then she heard a girl ask firmly, "Is there a problem, officers?" It was Hermione! She had found Harry already. Relief flashed through her.
The man was setting her back on her feet. He said, "Girl you can't go running in front of the cars. You could have been killed."
Luna realized her mistake at once; she hadn't hit the button to stop the cars. She looked at her shoes then back at the man. Two hands gently rested on her shoulders. Luna said, "Sorry I forgot, these are my friends; Harry and Hermione."
Liz stood beside Hermione and asked, "Well we're glad to find you. I hope you are alright; this isn't a place for a young couple to be strolling. May I ask what you were doing in this neighborhood?"
Harry said, "My fiancée and I were visiting my godfather's house. I lived here with him a while ago but he died. I had to come collect some of my things I had left here."
Hermione held his hand and said, "We'll take care of Luna from here Officers. We can get her home or get her a hotel room with us for the night."
Liz nodded, "Sorry to hear about your godfather."
The male officer asked, "Can you tell us where you're staying?"
Hermione answered, "The Hyde Park Hilton officer, we'll be there a few more days."
He nodded, "Enjoy your stay in London."
Luna joined in when Harry and Hermione said, "Thank you, officer."
They walked on either side of her and the three of them started walking back towards Kings Cross Station. Luna was just bursting to tell them things, but it would have to wait until they were away from the muggles. She grinned at Harry and then Hermione on her other side and walked on. She had found him.