Unofficial Portkey Archive

A Rather Indecent Proposal

Chapter 3: Mooveing Pictures

Author: Carla, aka cali-chan
Rating: PG, so far. Rating might go up, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.
Genre: Romance, humor, drama.
Pairings: Will probably end up R/LL, with H/Hr and D/G on the side.
Canon/timeline: Post-DH, though I haven't read any of the post-DH interviews so I might have a few facts off. I wouldn't say it disregards the epilogue (an open ending is always a possibility), but time-wise this story happens a year after chapter 36 of DH. So the epilogue hasn't happened yet.

Warnings: There's some H/G interaction... *shudder*

Summary: 'I need you to be my boyfriend.' 'Luna, you... do know I'm with Hermione... don't you?' 'Yes, but don't worry, it's okay. I'm not a jealous person.' Ron's eyes almost bugged out. Every time he thought he'd seen her at her limit of craziness, she managed to surprise him yet again.

Harry closed the door behind him and looked around his flat, sighing deeply. It was a bit of a routine he had for Friday evenings, actually. They didn't live in a mansion or anything, but the cozy living room was a sight for sore eyes; it never failed to remind him of how life had started anew, after Voldemort. He was sure coming home when he was done with a week of hard work wouldn't feel as good if he were still living at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

He chuckled at the thought. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that after working all day, having to deal with the worst part of the Wizarding World, the last thing he needed was to go back to such a dark, dreary place-- and of course, after the location was compromised during the war, the Death Eaters had made sure to leave it even more dark and dreary than it even used to be; Harry and Kreacher's combined efforts could not make a dent in the insane pile of work that place needed. True to his personality he tried to deal with it himself, but after a while he had started looking unrested and haggard, and snapping at everyone, and finally his friends had confronted him and he'd come out with it. At some point of the conversation someone came up with the idea of him moving (Hermione, probably), and soon enough both of his best friends were jumping on board, and plans were made, and money was pooled, and when Ron was finally able to shake his mother off, they moved in to their new flat. It was that easy; it almost seemed like they'd all been thinking it and just waiting until someone else spoke out, they all agreed so quickly.

Well, except one. Kreacher had been behaving rather well up to that point, getting accustomed to the three of them and their lifestyle... he almost didn't stutter anymore when saying Hermione's name. However, when he heard the news that they were moving, he practically had a stroke. He started ranting and raving, and muttering and whining, and just being overall annoying, all because he couldn't believe they were leaving the ancestral home of the Black family to rot just like that. Said he was tied to the structure of the place, and at one point he DID try to tie himself up to a railing so they couldn't move him-- not that it did him any good, of course. By then Harry didn't know how else to explain his motivations for the move. Hermione kept reminding them that although he was setting them back, they couldn't deny what an incredible display of loyalty and commitment it was, that he still cared so much for a family that hadn't even treated him well. Ron couldn't quite use the same nouns to describe the situation. Harry agreed with him. They kept quiet around Hermione, but Harry was sure that if Kreacher couldn't cook, Ron wouldn't have minded leaving him tied up to that railing for a long while.

In the end, and only because Kreacher's magical pull to his actual master was stronger than any emotional tie to his former mistress, they managed to get him to move. Months had passed since then and he was doing much better, although he still got depressed once in a while. Hermione always went out of her way to make sure the disgruntled Elf was doing okay.

And speaking of Hermione... that reminded Harry of something he had to do. He looked around for her but didn't see her; he figured she must be in her room working, so he decided to go back to his room and change before going to talk to her.

All of this started because, as soon as 6 o'clock rolled around, Ron had gotten up from his cubicle and, already tugging off his itchy uniform robes, made his way to Harry's. "Hey, mate, you going home?"

"For a little bit, yeah. Why? You're not?" Harry had answered, looking up from the file he was reading.

"I've got, uh, there's something I gotta do. Listen, could you tell Hermione that something came up? Tell her that... that thing I told her a few days ago that maybe could come up but I wasn't sure it would, so it was better if we didn't make any plans just in case it DID come up, it came up. Tell her not to wait for me, okay?"

Harry had replied that he wasn't sure he could manage to get that... whatever Ron had said... to ever come out of his mouth. Ron let him know that he could paraphrase if he wanted to, so long as the main idea was relayed to Hermione in the end. Then he promptly ran out of the Auror Department, leaving Harry behind to ponder if he had even understood what the main idea was, and wonder just where Ron was going in such a hurry.

He walked back out to the living room, now wearing fresh clothes. He was saved of having to look for Hermione when she walked out of the kitchen with some silverware in her hands. "Oh, Harry! You're home already, good. Dinner is almost ready."

He followed her to the dining room. "You cooked dinner?" he asked, curious. Hermione didn't usually cook; she said that, even if she could cook-- she was perfectly able to follow a recipe, honestly-- the role shouldn't fall on her by default just because she was the only girl. The boys didn't much care; after all, that's what Kreacher was there for.

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah, we made dinner. Kreacher wasn't feeling too good, so I asked him if we could work on it together." She left the forks and knives on the table and promptly pointed her wand at them, so that they set themselves up in their respective positions, beside the plates and glasses that were already there. "I think we did a good job of it," she said with a half-shrug, but Harry wasn't fooled; she had the same expression she often had back at Hogwarts when you asked her what grade she had gotten on the last Charms test and she said it wasn't important, but you found out later she had gotten 112 percent on it. No, she was excited about this dinner, probably because of the House Elf's cooperation. Kreacher had never allowed anybody to cook with him, much less Hermione. That was surely a milestone, even beyond the household. "So... where's Ron?" she asked, before she went back to the kitchen to get more stuff.

Her question brought Harry back to the task at hand. He didn't follow her into the kitchen, but turned in her direction so that she would hear him. "Yeah, I was going to tell you about that. He said something came up. Supposedly he'd already told you something about it? He said not to wait for him," he explained, putting his hands in his pockets as he waited for her to come back out.

"Oh, yeah, the Seamus thing... Well, I guess I can store up the food..." She was walking out of the kitchen, carrying a pile of napkins, but she slowly stopped as she thought to herself.

"Wait, what Seamus thing? Where's Ron going?" Harry asked, now confused. For all he knew, Seamus was still out of the country doing some sort of recruiting job for the Ministry. What was this all about now?

Hermione threw him a surprised look. "What do you mean? Seamus is back in town and he, Ron and some other guys are going out for a drink. You didn't know? I assumed you were going with them."

He crossed his arms, thinking of how strange it all was. "No, I had no idea. Seamus is back? Huh, I wonder why they didn't invite me..." he asked, feeling a bit torn. He was too curious to be angry, but he did feel a bit miffed that he wasn't in the loop for this one. Especially since Seamus was so rarely in London. He'd have to have a talk with Ron about this.

"I'm sure there's a good reason, Harry," she reassured him, moving on to take the napkins to the table, as well. She smiled at him when she was done. "Take a seat, then! The food is just about ready, I just have to go and tell Kreacher. I'll save Ron's portion, he can eat it tomorrow..."

"Erm, actually, I'm going on a date with Ginny," he interrupted her before she could continue making plans. "I just came home to change. Sorry."

"Oh." She looked so dejected, he might as well have just told her he didn't want to knit hats for the Hogwarts House Elves with her. "That's okay. I understand. I can-- I can save the food for tomorrow, I guess."

At her expression, Harry started feeling something funny in the pit of his stomach. "Uh, but you know what? Maybe I can come back early... we can have a late dinner. You and Kreacher worked hard on this," he rushed to offer, hoping this made her feel better, so he could stop feeling guilty for leaving. Damn Ron for not being here; he could've used some back-up.

"No, no, that's okay, Harry, don't worry. You don't have to do that for me, it's not like this is important, it's just a silly dinner... Just go with Ginny, have some fun," she told him, with a small smile. Harry noticed that it didn't quite reach her eyes, and the twinge in his gut intensified.

"No, it's not a problem. I mean, we have to go to the gallery, because today's the last day of the exhibition... And I was planning on eating out and then going to see a movie afterward, but now that I think about it, we can just skip the movie, come back and have dinner here. You made food for Ron, right? Then I'm sure there'll be more than enough for Gin." He put on his most convincing face, while mentally calculating if he'd even have time to do such a thing.

Hermione looked like she was going to argue, but stayed quiet for a while, looking back at him. He threw in a smile and she finally relented. "Okay, if you really want to, I guess I can wait a while. But if it bothers Ginny, don't even try, you hear? If you're not here by ten, I'll just go ahead and eat without you. Got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he grinned, and quickly went back to his room so he could finish getting ready for his date. Hermione, for her part, went back to the kitchen to check on Kreacher and the food, and let him know of their dinner plans.

--

As soon as the squeezing sensation in his gut disappeared, Ron let go of Luna's arm and turned to check himself. He'd gotten better at apparition and disapparition than when he first learned, of course, but he'd gotten splinched enough times that he knew you could never be too careful. Especially since Luna had side-alonged him, so he wanted to be absolutely sure he was in one piece.

After concluding that he was, indeed, whole, he looked around, to see where Luna had brought him. Curiously enough, they were now standing on a sidewalk in what seemed to be Muggle London. Had anybody seen them appear out of thin air? He hoped not, or they would be in big trouble. The street was pretty much empty, though, and all the small, quaint shops that were around were closed by now. He could see it clearly because the night was clear and bright, a very nice late-summer night. He wasn't exactly sure where they were or why they were there, but the place seemed very secluded.

He went to ask Luna about their location, and saw her similarly looking around at the buildings, down the street, up at the starry sky. For one frantic second he was scared that even Luna herself didn't know where she'd apparated them; however, the fright passed quickly as he remembered that her seemingly-curious exploration of their surroundings was just the way she usually behaved. So he just put his hands in his pockets and decided to ask anyway. However, she spoke before he could open his mouth.

"Well, this place looks nice enough. You can go home, now."

That caught him off-guard. "Go h-- What? I thought we were going to... go somewhere...?" he asked, confused. "We can't just go back, we just left. Your dad will think..." He trailed off, noticing that Luna didn't look at all affected by anything he was saying. "What d'you mean?"

Luna continued gazing up and about. "Daddy was only required to see us walk out together," she said in her usual dreamy tone, as if that simple phrase explained all.

He scrunched up his face in even greater confusion. She didn't offer any more comments, but instead quieted down and started shifting her weight from leg to leg as she looked straight up at the sky, hands lightly extended at her sides. This girl is completely barmy, he thought. "So... we're not going anywhere," he stated, more than asked.

He almost thought she wasn't going to reply, until she spun on her heel and stopped abruptly towards him, her skirt and straggly hair half-wrapping around her torso as she did. She regarded him with an amused smile, leaning slightly toward him. "Silly Ronald, it's not like we're really dating," she said, lightly chuckling. Ron immediately felt a warm blush start to rise up his neck, though he wasn't exactly sure why he felt embarrassed. "Daddy can't see what we do after we leave the house. You don't have to be here; can't keep disappearing on them like this, right?"

Now he could see what she was doing, and he admittedly felt a little stupid for not having understood from the get-go. He had just assumed that they'd be doing something else, not just leaving together. But this worked, too. "Yeah, that... makes sense, I guess," he finally said, sheepishly taking his hand to the back of his head. Luna took this as an adequate reply and quickly went back to twirling and looking up at the stars. Ron kind of wished she would just stay still for a second; at times talking to Luna was like talking to-- air, or something like it. You couldn't be sure she was actually there, or somewhere else altogether.

Something crossed his mind then: "Wait. But you can't just go back to your place. What are you going to do until the date's supposedly done?"

She let out a noncommittal hum, which Ron took to mean she had heard his question, but other than that, her position didn't change at all. He leaned against the light post that was beside him, waiting for her to reply. It wasn't until a while later that she did. "Maybe I'll take a walk. It is a nice night for a walk, don't you think?"

"By yourself? Here?" he questioned immediately, a little concerned. The night was clear, and the streets were deserted, but it was late and it wasn't right for a girl to be out there alone. "Do you even know where we are?"

Luna nodded to his last question, but said nothing else. Ron wondered to himself what she would say was the most accurate description of their location-- A muggle neighbourhood? London? Planet Earth? It wasn't like she was standing in some place she knew; there was nothing here. They were just standing at some corner. "I don't think that's a good idea, Luna. It could be dangerous. I'll stay with you."

"I am a witch, you know," she said, pointing to the wand that she carried behind her ear.

Ron knew she had a point. She wasn't likely to be approached by any wizards on this street that seemed so removed from the Wizarding World, and she probably could take care of any muggle that came near her; he remembered that she had been the only one to come out mostly unscathed from the Department of Mysteries battle, although how much that had to do with her just not engaging in confrontation, he wasn't sure. He was pretty sure she could defend herself if it came down to it... but no, it was just wrong. He couldn't just leave her like this. There were all kinds of crazies out there; and of course, his mother would kill him if he left her alone and something happened to her. If his mother ever found out, that was. But still, he couldn't bring himself to just go. "It's not that," he tried to convince her. "It's alright for me to stay. I thought we were going to hang out, so I already told Harry and Hermione not to wait up for me. Really, it's not a problem."

"You don't have to do that," she said, her tone now a little matter-of-fact. She had stopped spinning, although she was still looking up. He wondered if that made her neck hurt-- she'd been looking up for a long time. "You already did what you said you'd do, and that's enough. I don't want to waste more of your time. You don't need to stay now, if you'd rather be somewhere else." She sounded rather detached, but not in her usual way; she was putting emphasis on her words, really trying to get her point across. It was... unusual to hear her like this.

"But I wouldn't," he told her, and he actually meant it. He would be feeling concerned all night if he couldn't make sure she got home safe. "Honestly, I don't mind staying. Just humour me here, okay? I had fun the last time. And I'll feel better knowing you're not roaming the streets by yourself. Not to mention that Hermione would probably be even more suspicious if I got home early after saying I wouldn't. If she yells at me, I'm putting the blame on you," he chortled, just thinking of what Hermione's expression would be if he came out with "Luna forced me to come back home!" as an excuse. Last words that would ever come out of his mouth, for sure.

Luna laughed as well, heartily, almost too heartily (as she often did), finally looking down and at him again. "You're funny, Ron."

She still hadn't accepted his company, though. "Unless... you don't want me to be here? If you don't want to be around me, you can say it," he threw out, wondering if it could be true. She was being a little distant tonight, but he had no idea if he'd done anything to make her mad at him. Could Luna even get mad at anyone? He doubted it. Which would make him feel even worse if he had screwed up somehow.

She shook her head as her laughter subsided. "So you'll walk with me, then?" she finally conceded, taking her wand out from behind her ear and twirling it between her fingers, somewhat like a baton.

He grinned at her agreement. "Wicked. Actually, I was thinking that maybe, since we're in the muggle world and all, we could go to a cinema. It's been a while since I've seen one of those moovey things," he offered.

Luna's eyes widened in curiosity. "Moovey? I've never been to one," she said, her tone half-amazed and half-excited.

"What, Dean never took you to a cinema?" She shook her head emphatically. "Wow. We definitely need to go, then. You'll love this, I'm sure. You have to see the things muggles come up with..." He started looking around in his pockets, muttering something about Hermione exchanging some of his galleons into muggle currency in case of an emergency. When he finally found what he was looking for, he led her by her wrist down the street, looking for a better apparition point than just out there, on the sidewalk. She skipped beside him, eager.

--

"...And I really had no idea that still photography could be so evocative! They didn't actually move, but they captured the essence of the movement so clearly. It was everything there is to love about Quidditch really: the intensity, the ardour, the thrill... I don't know how she did it, I tell you, but clearly Marlene is a wonderful artist. Every photo-- the whole thing-- was just so beautiful! It's amazing."

Ginny blabbed excitedly about the exhibit they had just visited, her hand intertwined with Harry's, swinging back and forth in wide arcs, showing just how delighted she felt at the moment. She wasn't usually into art or photography, but her team's official photographer, who was a friend of hers, had embarked on a project based on describing Quidditch through muggle photography, and it had just this week reached the exhibition stage, so Ginny couldn't miss it. And she was glad she didn't, for she had loved it. She had even made it into a few of the pictures! Much like any little girl in the world, at one point in her life it had been Ginny's dream to become a model. She had outgrown that particular fantasy fairly quickly, but now at least she could say one of her childhood dreams had come true, albeit in an offhanded kind of way.

She turned to her boyfriend to ask his opinion, only to notice with a twinge of annoyance that he wasn't really paying attention to her. Oh, he was nodding at all the right moments, yes, but she caught him right in the middle of looking down at his watch... for maybe the hundredth time that evening. She let go of his hand and asked, half curious and half irritated: "Alright, what is it?"

Harry caught himself in mid-step, surprised at her actions, like he hadn't quite noticed that she wasn't talking anymore. "Uh, what is what?"

"You've been fidgety all night." She examined his profile. He wasn't looking straight at her; instead, his gaze was sketchy at best, sometimes on her, then shifting away, like he was nervous about something. "You know, if you have more important matters to attend to..."

Harry cringed. She could see he was trying to come up with an explanation, or at least one last attempt to pretend he hadn't been busted. "Not more important. Not-- more important..." was what he eventually used as a reply, rather weakly, but shaking his head emphatically as he spoke.

Ginny's hands went to her hips. Not a sign of good things to come, if her mother's behavioural pattern was used for comparison. "That's good to know. Now, really, what's going on?"

"Promise me you won't get mad." They both knew it was a really stupid thing to ask for; she wouldn't go for it, and people always got mad anyway. It was Murphy's Law or something. Still, he felt compelled to make the request, and she humoured him.

"Okay."

"Really?" He sounded so surprised, it was almost funny.

"No. Out with it, Harry. Please, before I turn eighty?"

He sighed, and ran a hand through his messy hair, resignedly. Having no other way out, he proceeded to tell her everything that had led up to that moment, from Ron's strange escape from the Ministry to Hermione convincing Kreacher to let her help him cook dinner, and her disappointment that nobody would be there to eat their food. He finished by explaining his promise to come back and have dinner with Hermione. When he came to an end, he stepped back and looked expectantly at his girlfriend, hands in his pockets.

Ginny listened to him attentively, wondering why it took so much prodding just to get him to tell. Now he was looking like he was dreading her reply, and it was starting to amuse her. She knew he sometimes panicked when it came to understanding girls, but to be this scared? The more she delayed her reply, the more frightened he looked, and she found it a bit hilarious. Finally she decided to put him out of his misery. "That's all? I don't know why you'd think I'd be mad about going back to your place and having dinner with Hermione," she replied, with a small smile. Harry let out the breath he'd been holding at her words. The tension in his shoulders was released and Ginny couldn't help but chuckle out loud at his expression. "Harry, if it'll make her happy, then I have no problem with it! She's my friend too, you know."

Harry sheepishly scratched his neck at her laughter. "Sorry. I know. It's just that the last time I was roped into something like this, the girl I was with went bonkers on me, and... Well. I, uh, didn't want you to feel bad, or that I prefer Hermione over you or anything. I know girls don't like to hear about other girls while they're on a date with a bloke. I guess I didn't want a repeat-- you know, I've learned since Cho," he finished, his chest puffing out a bit.

It promptly deflated as she mock-frowned at him, crossing her arms. "Oh, please! Geez, Harry, I'm not Cho. Really, I should feel offended."

He smiled at her, pulling one of her hands into his and tugging her closer to him. "I know you're not. She would've been bawling her eyes out by now." As she twined her hands behind his neck, holding him lightly, he was hit with inspiration. "And I'll definitely make it up to you. You really wanted to watch a movie, right?"

"Yes?" she answered, wondering where this was going. She'd already agreed to go back to Harry's flat and join him and Hermione for dinner, after all.

"Well, then we'll just swing by a video store and rent one, and all three of us can watch it after dinner. How's that sound?" he said, untangling her arms from his form and starting to lead her in the direction of the nearest Blockbuster.

"Wait, but how can that be? You don't have a moovey theatre at home." Ginny pulled him back, confused. She'd never heard of such a thing. She thought mooveys were only shown in theatres; that's what they're built for, right? If you could watch mooveys at home, then why build theatres at all?

Harry stopped, understanding that she'd never heard of videos before, and tried to explain as simply as possible. "It's like this: movies aren't on theatres forever. After a few weeks of showing, theatres take them down. But then a few months after they're taken down, the movie companies release them as videotapes-- just a little black rectangular thing that has the movie stored on it. You can rent these tapes, or buy them, and take them home; then, if you have a video player, you can watch them on the telly whenever you want. Get it?"

Ginny's eyes opened so wide, it was almost comical. She wasn't usually much too interested in muggle stuff (Harry was always far more interested in her explaining to him some aspects of magic he hadn't yet been introduced to) but this particular tidbit apparently fascinated her. Never had she seemed more Arthur Weasley's daughter than at that moment. "On the tellyvision? You can do that?"

Harry laughed at her expression. "Yes, we can do that. Now come on, or Hermione will think we're not coming." She nodded at him, and they continued to stroll down the street, chattering pleasantly.

--

They left the theatre in a flurry of excitement, all big eyes and wild gesturing (well, mostly on Ron's part) as they commented how much fun that movie was and discussed just how was it that muggles managed to make things fly in their mooveys. Ron was struggling to retell Hermione's lecture about muggle kormpyooters to Luna, but his effort to remember his girlfriend's words was lost on the blond girl anyway, as she was quite convinced that the people in the movie were able to hover above the ground because they had some... floating zoo-whatsits (he couldn't be bothered remembering the name)... stuck to the soles of their shoes. "They're flat, like hotcakes. So it doesn't bother them, you know."

It was about ten-ish, and they thought it'd be okay to call it a night and go home-- or they were planning to, until they were interrupted by Ron's growling stomach. He knew Luna didn't want to leave her father alone at their house for too long, so he sheepishly asked if they could instead grab a quick bite somewhere before going back. She agreed to this request, and promptly suggested a restaurant where she'd used to go with her parents when she was younger. He'd never heard of the place, but he was really hungry so he quickly agreed. Which led him to his current position...

...which was sitting in an octagonal table with Mars poking at his ear every once in a while. Literally.

I should've known, was the mantra that was currently running through his head, and had been, really, since this whole fake-boyfriend business with Luna had started. At times he forgot who he was with, and so the eccentricity of the situations he found himself in caught him by surprise.

The restaurant was, as it often happened with wizarding locales, far bigger on the inside than it seemed on the outside. It was astronomy-themed, but it was more than your usual rotating star chart on the ceiling; it was more of an actual sidereal experience than just a simple décor. The whole place was dark, the only light coming from the stars that scintillated in their surroundings. Even the floor was, as far as his eye could see, not there at all; he was standing, yes, but to anyone looking it would seem as if he was floating in the dark void of space. It wasn't cold, though, and for that he was thankful. Deathly silent, though; he couldn't even hear a murmur of what other people were saying, although he could see the patrons conversing among themselves in each table. There were random bursts of shimmering dust clouds as galaxies extended their arms from the furthest reaches of the establishment. And of course, a glowing, transparent, almost Patronus-like small-scale model of the Solar System-- complete with a tiny Sun sitting comfortably at one of the foci-- orbited around each octagonal table.

Normally Ron wouldn't have made a big deal out of this, as weird as the place was, but it seemed the little planets each had a personality of its own. Not only did some of them attempt to race each other down their orbits, which effectively distracted even the most focused of patrons, but some of them even cozied up to people and decided to gravitate around them instead, as evidenced by ickle Marsie right there, with the incessant poking. The orbs weren't substantial enough for it to hurt, but it made his ear itch a little and after a while it started to get annoying.

The place was so off-the-charts that he could do nothing but stare in bewilderment at his companion, who sat closer to the Sun and seemed completely unconcerned with the celestial bodies hovering around them, even as Uranus remained stagnant near her left shoulder, its rings lightly tangling through her hair. "I think I'm too dizzy to eat," he said, a bit overwhelmed.

Luna blinked her large grey eyes a couple of times, head slightly tilted as she regarded him. "Are you, really?"

Ron could imagine that, had any of his mates asked the same question-- Harry, Seamus, even his brothers-- a mocking tone would be present. Ronald Weasley has lost his appetite? Alert the media! The world must be ending! But when the question came from Luna, he only got the feeling that she was genuinely curious. That, or just asking something for the sake of asking. Either way, it didn't make him feel defensive so he had no qualms about answering truthfully. "Uh, no," he admitted, with a chuckle. With a flick of his wrist, he lightly shooed Mars away from him, and then looked down at the table, eagerly reading the menu that was on display there. As crazy as the place was, if the food was good, he had no problem with it.

"So, you used to come here with your folks?" Ron asked a while later, as he licked his fingers clean of cheese sauce. He had cringed a little at the price, but now he decided that the Milky Way chicken on rocket leaves was worth every penny. He'd have to come here more often... if he could convince any of his friends to ignore the décor of the place, that is.

Luna nodded as she picked up some of her own food on her fork. "I've always liked astronomy. When I was little, Daddy and I would sit back and look at the stars, wondering what kinds of creatures could be living in each of them." She paused to take the food to her mouth, her dreamy gaze lingering around the place until it settled on the little blue planet that flittered by her shoulder. "Many nights, I'd stay up until very late, waiting for each planet to tell me its story. There's so much to learn from them..." she added, finally putting her fork down. Her plate, along with Ron's, disappeared a second later.

"That one seems to've taken a liking to you," he quipped, laughing as Luna petted the phosphorescent orb. Dimly he wondered if they'd be getting a menu of desserts soon; he was craving something sweet, like pie or maybe some ice cream... or pie with ice cream...

She nodded as Uranus started rapidly rotating under her hand, almost like it was happy. "It is the domicile of my sun sign, that must be the reason," she tried to explain. Ron, however, had no idea what that meant, and so it kind of went over his head. Her next move, however, did call his attention. "But I always had a soft spot for... this one," she said, stretching her hand until the smallest of the globes nearly flew into it. The little planet seemed content to remain orbiting around one of her fingers.

"What's so great about it?" he asked. He wasn't even sure which planet that was-- it was either Mercury or Pluto, but he always got those two confused because they were so small. Either way he didn't see the appeal, they were both pretty plain, grey, no rings, they didn't even shine...

Luna didn't seem to share his opinion, though. "Oh, Pluto is very special," she affirmed, nodding with wide eyes at the overexcited vaporous sphere. As if understanding her, the thing started circling her hand even faster. "Many people don't really see Pluto, because it's the smallest planet and it's so far away. They never get close enough to see that it can also be very beautiful."

Something about the certainty in her voice drew him in. "What do you mean?"

"Well, do you know the history of Pluto?" Ron shook his head. He figured he should know this stuff, having taken Astronomy classes for quite a few years at Hogwarts (he could hear Hermione's voice reprimanding him in his head-- "Honestly, Ronald!") but the little details escaped him. Luna then started her explanation, which he would usually have found dull, as he was never into history, but somehow the way she put it made it seem more of a tale than a lecture, so he listened attentively, entertained. "Many centuries ago, people didn't even know Pluto existed. Everybody was interested in knowing more about our system, but since they couldn't see that far away, nobody knew there was anything beyond Uranus. These wonderful, gigantic new worlds were so amazing, all the attention was focused on them. Then mathematicians and arithmancers began to describe the movements of each planet with numbers and formulas. One day they realized that the formulas for Uranus didn't fit well enough. There had to be something beyond," she concluded.

He had to laugh at her dramatic tone at the end. It was like she was reciting epic poetry instead of spouting off facts. Still, he remembered enough of his astronomy classes to remember that Neptune come right after Uranus. She continued, explaining that Neptune wasn't big enough to explain the disturbance; people still thought there was a bigger planet back there. "When they found it, many, many years later, they realized that it was actually much smaller than they expected. Suddenly the discovery wasn't as exciting as they had hoped."

It was ironic: The girl was usually so weird that you wouldn't expect her to know these things, but now that he thought about it, he realized there must've been a reason for the Sorting Hat to put her in Ravenclaw. In fact, it almost seemed like a topic Hermione would bring on, but Luna delivered in a way completely unlike Hermione's. But one thing was for sure: this tale had driven all thoughts of sorbets and pastry out of his head. Something tugged at Ron's heart at her words. He felt a bit ridiculous for it, but he was starting to feel for the little guy. If there was one thing he understood, it was being overshadowed by your bigger, more talented brothers. He didn't voice such personal thoughts aloud, though, except for a neutral (or so he hoped) "That's... a bit pathetic, really."

Luna looked at him, almost with a frown. "Oh, but I don't think so! In fact, at first glance it seems very common and ordinary, but Pluto has many of the characteristics that make the other planets interesting." She grabbed the model of the planet and started bouncing it between her hands like a ball. "It's mostly solid, like the inner planets." Soon enough she stopped her movements, holding the sphere in the palm of her hand as it started shining intermittently. "It can reflect the Sun's rays, like Venus, so it's amazingly bright for its size." After one more, brighter burst of light, the little ball started spinning on itself quite rapidly. "And its axis is tilted by more than ninety degrees, so it's almost laying horizontally, like Uranus."

She blew on the planet and it zoomed away from her, until it started orbiting again, this time around both of their heads. She smiled as she saw it move, leaning on the table so she could see it better. Ron was equally mystified by the small object, eyes solely on it as it flew by him. "And then there are the things that make it different from all the others," Luna continued, and it was only then that he realized she had moved closer. She wasn't looking at him, but, as unrelated as the words were, he felt like she was trying to drive a point. He didn't know why it felt like that, though. "Like, for example, its orbit is very irregular. The formulas can describe it most of the time, but in the long run, nobody really knows how it'll act. It could change its mind and go down roads nobody ever expected."

"Really?" he prodded, deciding not to comment on the fact that planets don't have minds. He was starting to get the feeling that they weren't talking exclusively about Pluto anymore.

She nodded energetically. "Yes! And there's Charon, its moon. It's almost the same size as Pluto, so in reality they both spin around one axis, like a carrousel. It's an unusual find, but the force between them is so strong, that it keeps Pluto's orbit a little more stable. Without Charon, Pluto might have been expelled to outer space at some point." That didn't sound all that great to Ron, and as she swept her gaze by him, Luna noticed he was frowning. "It's a good thing, really. Mutual help. There's nothing else like it in the Solar System," she assured him. He coughed weakly, trying to diffuse his expression, knowing that it would be foolish of him to be affected at all by Pluto's co-dependant situation-- it was just a story, after all, it had nothing to do with him personally... For some reason he was getting way too involved in this tale...

"...And then there's the best part." Ron almost jumped. He'd gotten so caught up on his own musings that he'd forgotten to keep listening. Her voice had surprised him a little. "Did you know that sometimes Pluto isn't the last planet of the System?" His eyes were fixated on her as she spoke. She wasn't looking at him, although she was facing him; her gaze was instead fixated somewhere behind him, but her eyes held a special shine that, much like the high tone of her voice, betrayed just how excited she was to be sharing this story with someone. Not wanting to bring down her elation, he didn't comment, although he was mostly sure such a thing wasn't possible: Pluto was the last planet, and that was it. He'd never heard anything about it crossing over Neptune's orbit, as Neptune was bigger and more powerful.

She must've seen his disbelief. She rolled her eyes amusedly, and smiled. "It's the truth, really. It has something to do with the angles of the orbits, and their gravities fixing the disturbances that exist between them. At some point, the two orbits cross, and for a little while, Pluto is the eight planet, and Neptune is the last. Perfect collaboration."

She sounded so certain that he couldn't help but feel convinced. In his head he let out a cheer for the little planet-- not always last, that was good. Then he felt that tug at his heart again; through Luna's narrative, she'd somehow made him feel as if the planets were really characters in a story. Which shouldn't happen, not at his age at least, when he should be over children's tales. Yet he felt for these "characters," little Pluto especially, perhaps because he identified with them somewhat... being overshadowed and wanting to be acknowledged... perhaps even more than that... He was entranced. "You... said this happens... for a little while?" he asked, his throat feeling somewhat parched all of a sudden.

She nodded. "Their orbits are erratic. For a few years, they may cross and be stable, but after some time, they will each go back to their respective trajectory and position. They help each other, and influence each other, and accommodate for each other in their way, but in the end, they're individual entities, even if somewhere in time, they worked as one complex."

Ron didn't understand why this last piece of information made him feel... bad. Like it had hit a nerve he didn't know existed. He started feeling very uncomfortable with this topic. It made him want to just ask her to stop talking and go back to whatever it is they were doing before this Pluto thing started.

And he would have, but she spoke before he could. "It's rather sad, though..." At that moment she stopped looking at the vast space behind him, and her eyes fixed on his, no longer excited but... empathetic, somehow, even if he couldn't say what it was she was understanding about him, and he wasn't sure he wanted her to understand whatever it was... yet he couldn't look away.

"Sad?"

She nodded, not once looking away. "Yes, it's sad... because their orbits may cross, but they're both still revolving around the Sun..."

He didn't know how long they sat there, gazing at each other in silence, her expression contemplative, while he seemed bothered. After a while her last words finally started to sink in, and he found himself straightening up in his seat (he hadn't even noticed he'd been sitting at the edge of it) and clearing his throat nervously. "That's, uh, interesting, Luna. So, do you think you'll want dessert? I think I can go for something sweet right now..."

At the word "dessert," the after-dinner menu popped up in front of each of them, and Ron dove right in, thankful for a distraction. That conversation had, unexpectedly, left him thinking about... things... and he really didn't want to go into that at this moment. He didn't want to admit that her seemingly irrelevant story had hit so close to home. All this information made his head feel heavy. At this time he really just wanted to go home, and get some sleep, and maybe, just maybe, he'd go back to this in the morning. Or some other day. Or not at all.

After they were done with dessert (a bread and butter pudding with custard and caramel that was every bit as delicious as their entrées were, he had to give them that) he accompanied Luna home, both noticing with relief that all the lights were off, which meant that her father was probably sleeping and well.

He waited until he was sure Luna got in alright, and then apparated back to his flat. He was received by the television still on, showing some preview of a moovey, while Harry and Hermione slept comfortably in front of it. Hermione was sitting on the couch, legs up to one side, with her head resting against the armrest. Harry, on the other hand, sat on the floor, just a couple of inches removed from where Hermione's legs were. He'd probably sat there with Ginny, they usually curled up down there while watching the telly. Harry's head, in his sleep, had rolled back and now rested against Hermione's calves.

It gave him pause for a moment, what with all that he'd been trying not to think about, and in his head there were flashes of orbits crossing and Merlin knows what else, but after a second Ron simply walked in, shook Harry's shoulder lightly so he'd wake up and figure out what to do with Hermione, and then turned off the television. With no words spoken, he marched on to his room and fell asleep as soon as his body touched the bedspread. He fell asleep so quickly that he didn't even hear when his two best friends went back to their respective rooms.

Loooong and pointless author's notes!--

Told ya it would take longer. Forewarned is forearmed.

I set out to make this chapter different than the last one, and I don't think I got it. Firstly, I ended up with the exact same PoVs that I had in last chapter, which really bothered me. As for the rest, most of it I really like, but at parts it seems to go up and down, and there's bipolar Ginny and sissy Harry and it kinda irks me a bit, but since you've all been waiting so patiently I'll just leave it as is for the moment. And why, yes, I had watched Goblet Of Fire right before I wrote that first scene. How did you know? ;3

Now, if there's one thing I love almost as much as I do writing, it's astronomy. I'm sure you noticed. That restaurant Ron and Luna went to might just be my natural habitat ;) So I might've gone a little overboard here-- I hope it doesn't discourage anybody, I promise it won't be this heavy for the rest of the fic. I just needed Luna to use analogies to make certain points and get Ron thinking about stuff. Let me know if you understood the analogies, or if you didn't, feel free to ask me questions, whether through a review or via my fic-LJ. Preferrably the latter, since there I can make my answers longer if needed. BTW, pretty much every fact stated about space in this chapter is true, although some were over-simplified for Ron's benefit (and of course, that of my readers). Yes, I compare inanimate celestial objects to fictional characters and use the comparisons as plot devices. Feel free to call me the biggest nerd on Earth.

Little nerdy facts that only a geek like me would include in a fanfic:

--Weekly DVD-video rentals only first outnumbered VHS cassette rentals in June 2003. (Remember, in this fic the calendar currently marks some day in late August, 1999).

--In September 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the term "planet" and as a consequence, Pluto was classified, not as a planet, but as a "dwarf planet." Before that, Pluto was always considered a planet, since its discovery. (Again, remember that we're in 1999 in this fic).

--Totally random but fun bit of information: The verb "to pluto" exists. It's been approved by the American Dialect Society and it means "to demote or devalue something." So be sure to speak up if you're being plutoed. Also, March 13 is Pluto Planet day in New Mexico (the state where the discoverer of Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh, lived in for over fifty years).

If you ask me, while I understand and respect the IAU's decision regarding Pluto, and think it correct and a long time coming, Pluto will always have a special place in my heart, as a planet. *whips out pompoms* I LOVE YOU, LITTLE GUY! My mnemonics can't work without you :)

As for Luna mentioning something about her sun sign: I'm so anal about my canon, that I often need to know even the smallest detail, like a birthday, to feel comfortable. Luna doesn't have an official birthday, so I just mentally assigned her one. I always thought a February 29 birthday would be absolutely perfect for her, but alas, it's impossible, for 1981 wasn't a leap year. So I continued my search. You know, as much as I think astrology is just a bunch of bull, I have to admit it's the easiest way to assign a birthday to someone. And Luna, IMHO, is like the perfect Pisces person. (I would know, I've had to go through almost 23 years of my life being the worst Pisces in existance-- well, me and Ron, I guess, since we're both pretty similar). However, Aquarius also fit her pretty well, so I selected a random day in February (the 7th, because I like that number) and decided, hey, that'll be Luna's birthday for me, from now on! It was only later that I found out that, for a person born at any hour on February 7th, 1981, his or her Sun sign is Aquarius, while his or her Moon sign is Pisces. Don't ask me what the heck a Moon sign is, because I haven't the foggiest idea... I just thought it was way cool! xD

Thank you all so much for your kind and helpful reviews! I've tried my best to reply to each and every one of them, and answer your questions if it was in my power. Your comments definitely make me feel like writing more of this :) I'm very glad you're all liking it so far. I got 17 reviews after posting chapter 2, and I kinda lost count of the hits so the number of reviews seems pretty good anyway :3 Please continue to let me know what you like or don't like in my fic! Any comment, no matter how small, is appreciated.

As for next chapter... I'm afraid I can't give you an ETA or even promise it'll come soon. I don't have it as well-thought out as I did this one, or the ones after. In truth, it's more of a filler chapter. I can tell you one thing, though, and maybe it'll keep you interested: Chapter 4 takes place during September 19th. Does that give you any ideas? ;) See you when I see you! -Carla.