Cause and Effect by apaidan

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance, Humor
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 10/10/2009
Last Updated: 24/12/2009
Status: Completed

A funny thing happens in the Ravenclaw common room during the Golden Trio's second Seventh
Year. Hermione drops by to thank Luna for something she doesn't remember doing, yet. And
that's just the start of a very interesting day for everyone concerned. Rating just to be
safe.




1. Chapter One - The Cat and The Bag
------------------------------------



A/N - No, I haven't abandoned *Opening Night*, but since a combination of real life and
rampaging plot bunnies have made progress on that story a good deal slower, I thought that this
story might make up for the inordinately long waits that are coming between chapters of that story.
This offering occurs at Hogwarts for the Trio's second Seventh Year.

As usual, I don't own Harry Potter or any of the associated properties and concepts. Those
are all held quite securely by JKR and an assortment of corporate entities. No infringement upon
copyright is intended, this is simply a mental exercise.

The usual spoiler alerts since this story is set after the end of the seventh book (Epilogue?
What epilogue?) Also, consider this a warning label for moderate Ginny bashing and moderate to
severe Dumbledore bashing. Anyone contemplating nominating Molly Weasley for `Mother of the
Year' might not be happy with this story.

Chapter One - The Cat and the Bag

*10 October 1998*

A fire crackled merrily in the open fireplace of the Ravenclaw common room. Leaning back,
seemingly supported by nothing, Luna absentmindedly scratched a few notes onto the scroll of
parchment that rested on the table beside her. Taking full advantage of the combination of the
first Hogsmeade weekend and the excellent weather outside, she had her common room to herself, for
the moment.

Humming softly to herself, she nodded at the ancient tome that floated in front of her and
smiled as the page slowly turned and she began scanning the next page of text written in Old
Gobbledygook for clues to the location of the legendary Graveyard of the Snorkacks. Peering
intently at a passage that could either indicate an underground location or a method for preparing
haggis, depending upon the context and the dynasty the original text was written during, she shook
her head as her wand began to vibrate slightly where it was nestled behind her right ear. Paradox
alarms were never good.

A very slight `pop' of displaced air heralded the arrival of two stone four of ginger
familiar in her lap. Smiling, Luna's free hand began stroking the back of Crookshanks as he
began to purr in a rumbling manner more fitting for a wild predator than a household denizen.
“Lovely afternoon, isn't it Crooks?”

The familiar butted his head against her as he began to settle himself into her lap. “Careful
there, this blouse is silk and while I can repair it, I won't have time before your charge gets
here.”

A soft two-note chime sounded, indicating that someone in Gryffindor had opened the common room
door from the outside corridor, and Luna smiled as she waited. Her patience was rewarded seconds
later as her friend Hermione's voice, sounding happier than she had in a long time, broke the
relative quiet of the room.

Bustling into the room, Hermione Granger stopped a few feet from Luna and stared. “Luna, I just
want to thank you,” she began as she came into the room but stopped as she noticed her familiar
sitting in Luna's lap. “Goodness, how did Crooks get in here? He was in my sitting room when I
left.”

Levitating the tome back to the table, Luna turned and smiled at her friend. “He turned up just
a bit ago. There's been a rumor of some sort of tunnel that runs between the commons for years
now, he could have found it, I suppose.” Watching her friend carefully, Luna relaxed as she saw
that Hermione was looking radiantly happy, something she hadn't seen since Luna had watched her
dancing with Harry that day well over a year ago. Smiling, she gave Crooks a hug before setting him
on the ground and standing up to greet her friend. “I must say you look very pleased. Anything
you'd care to share?”

Blushing, Hermione stared back at her. “Luna, I can't thank you enough. What prompted you to
speak to Harry after what happened at breakfast?”

Guiltily thinking back to what she had been doing all morning after leaving the Great Hall; Luna
called up a smile and shrugged. “Please Hermione; it was time that someone had a talk with one of
you two. I suppose Harry just seemed the more logical choice.” Feeling her way through the
conversation, Luna began to see the patterns of the past several minutes begin to gel into two
possibilities. Keeping a smile on her face, she knelt down and placed her hand on Crookshanks'
back, causing him to pause from winding his way between her feet in a very insistent manner.

Lowering the Occlumency shields that she had kept up as a matter of course since her first year
when she had caught both Professors Snape and Dumbledore attempting to peek into her mind, a vision
of her and a very distraught Harry sitting cross-legged on his old bed up in the Gryffindor dorm,
very intent in a conversation, gave her the broad details about what her conversation with Harry
was about. The fact that Harry was bound with a chain of butterbeer corks told her exactly how
unwilling Harry had been / would be to have this particular conversation.

Raising her shields, Luna looked up at Hermione and smiled warmly. “I'm just glad my little
chat with Harry had the desired effect. He was in a right state when he left the Great Hall
earlier.”

Nodding, Hermione grinned at her as a blush tinged her cheeks. “Well, if your desired effect was
for the both of us to finally admit that we fancied each other, then you were a smash.” Pointing to
a sitting area that surrounded the fireplace, she chuckled. “Care for a chat, I just want to thank
you properly and get your opinion on something else.”

Nodding, Luna kept her a smile on her face while she walked over towards the chesterfield, her
thoughts racing. Accepting the fact that she was walking a tightrope over a very unpleasant landing
zone, Luna realized that her genuine affection for both Harry and Hermione would have led her into
having done what she must do next. Folding herself into a corner seat, she waited until Hermione
seated herself and until Crookshanks had landed in her lap again before chuckling. “I take it Harry
has forgiven me for interfering?”

Looking a bit mystified, Hermione stared for a second. “He told me he was a bit put out when you
shanghaied him into a conversation without so much as a by-your-leave, but he's honestly
thrilled with you and he's touched that you care enough about the two of us to meddle.” Looking
down for a second, Hermione seemed hesitant to continue.

Smiling, Luna waited until the other witch looked up before answering. “Hermione, I'll be
the first to admit that the two of us haven't seen exactly eye to eye over the years, but
I've always cared deeply for the two of you. You're both very important to me, and it's
been almost painful to watch the two of you fumbling around and never getting it quite right. I
really thought the two of you had figured it out at Fleur's wedding at the Burrow.”

Blushing, Hermione stared at her for a second. “Harry said you knew it was him, but he never
said how you did it.”

Nodding, Luna smiled dreamily as she remembered that day. “It was quite easy, actually. I could
see the `true' Harry and while it was kind of cute that he had disguised himself as one of the
local boys from the village, he was still Harry.” Seeing Hermione look at her with a confused look
on her face, she shrugged.

“There's an inner sense to everyone that's unique, and I've been able to see that
since I was a toddler. It usually reflects the inner qualities of the individual. Harry's has
changed a bit since the Battle of Hogwarts, part of his old self was a bit out of focus before
that, but that disappeared just before he defeated Voldemort. He's still the same as he's
always been, just more so.” Giggling a bit, Luna winked at Hermione. “Of course, the way he was
watching you every second would have given it away. He's done that since the end of my first
year, after you got out of the Hospital wing.”

“Why didn't you say something before?” Blushing, Hermione shook her head.

Resisting the urge to explain that she hadn't, yet, Luna smiled mysteriously. “I hate to
meddle; my mum used to say that unless you were certain you knew all the particulars of a
situation, or you didn't have any other choice, you should let events take their course. I
always hoped the two of you would work it out for yourselves.

You and Ronald came to some sort of accommodation earlier in the term, but Ginevra has been very
insistent that she was going to get Harry off the fence she thinks he's been sitting on
regarding restarting their relationship. I've known Ginevra for a long time, but she and Harry
really aren't right for each other, despite her infatuation with him.”

Snorting in disbelief, Hermione rolled her eyes. “Gin's like the younger sister I never had,
but that's one subject she's never been very rational about. There were times during that
month that she and Harry were together before Professor Dumbledore was killed that I almost
suspected she'd used some sort of potion on him.” Shaking her head, she missed the small flash
of guilt that appeared in Luna's eyes before she carefully masked it.

Casually letting her hand brush against her pocket, Luna felt the small vial that she had found
on her desk this morning, with a note that she didn't remember writing yet that stated
`You'll know when' in her own careful script. Sighing, she decided that things had
progressed beyond any reasonable point of return. “I take it Harry's explaining things to
Ginevra now?”

Shaking her head, Hermione smiled ruefully. “Actually, he's up in the Hospital Wing,
Poppy's sorting him out after he had some sort of adverse reaction to some pumpkin juice Ginny
had given him.” Seeing the look on Luna's face, Hermione smiled reassuringly. “It wasn't
anything bad for him; it just turned his hair a curious electric blue. Ginny's reaction to it
was much worse; she got a bit shocky and started purging her stomach almost as soon as Harry took a
sip. I'm certainly glad Harry only had a small sip of it before Ginny's symptoms
started.”

Smiling, Luna nodded. “I'm certain that Harry's fine now that the two of you have sorted
things out.” Watching her friend carefully, Luna arched a delicate eyebrow as the Head Girl's
emotions played across her face. “Are things between you a secret or can I spread the word that
Harry Potter is no longer in play? I know both Padma and her sister have been thinking about seeing
if either of them could raise his spirits, so to speak.”

Blushing Hermione grinned. “If you would warn Padma off, I'll make certain Parvati knows
that Harry's spirits are just fine, and anything of his that needs `raised' I'll be
taking care of that myself.” Luna was a bit shocked by Hermione's deadpan delivery; she never
suspected her longtime friend had this sort of sense of humor.

“I'm certain you'll have everything well in hand concerning Harry once you go collect
him from the Hospital Wing.” Chuckling, Luna nodded wisely. Seeing the blush on Hermione's
face, Luna shrugged. “Are they going to keep Ginny for observation?”

Nodding, Hermione looked a bit troubled. “Poppy was very worried, even after her symptoms
abated. She was closeted in her office with the Headmistress when I left and they were waiting on
Professor Slughorn to make an appearance. Ginny really didn't look as if she wanted company.
Every time Harry went over to check on her, she seemed to suffer a return of some of her symptoms,
if the look on her face was any indication.”

Grimacing a bit, Luna shook her head at the incredible stupidity of her yearmate as she ran the
possibilities over in her mind. Blue hair, repeated purging, and the potion flask in her pocket
could only mean one thing; Ginevra was even more desperately mental than she had thought.

Looking up to see Hermione staring at her with a concerned look on her face, she smiled and took
a deep breath. “Sorry, I was just feeling bad for Ginevra. I remember when she came down with a
case of dryad heaves back in our third year. She really hates being nauseous, and I can imagine
that this is very uncomfortable for her.”

“I don't remember that, but with that ridiculous tournament that Harry got shanghaied into,
I'm surprised I noticed anything that happened that year.” Looking at Luna a bit strangely,
Hermione shook her head.

“Other than the legendary Viktor Krum?” Chuckling, Luna smiled knowingly.

Blushing, Hermione shook her head. “I still can't believe I did that. Can I tell you a
secret?”

Nodding Luna smiled conspiratorially at her friend. “Of course, but if you're going to tell
me that you went with him trying to make Harry notice you, that's really old news.”

Staring at Luna in disbelief, Hermione's brow furrowed. “How could you? I've never
admitted that to a soul, except my mum.”

“Please, it was really obvious.” Smiling, Luna reached over and patted Hermione gently on the
back of her hand. “You kept looking around for Harry all night and then you went and started that
stupid argument with Ronald after the boys' dates abandoned them right in front of him. Why
didn't you just ask him if you wanted to go with him that badly?”

Blushing, Hermione sighed. “I wanted Harry to want me to go with him.”

“Hermione, things like that are much too important to leave in the hands of wizards. I hope
you've learned your lesson on that subject by now.” Giggling, Luna shook her head.

Smiling, Hermione agreed with her friend. “I do believe you're correct. But Harry did seem
to do well enough today.”

Smiling, Luna said a bit vaguely. “Apparently only after a witch had a talk with him, true?”

“True enough. I suppose I'll just have to be a bit more proactive in the future.” Hermione
said, her eyes twinkling.

“But since you're Head Boy and Girl together, and share a sitting room in your apartment,
you won't have to worry about what he's up to in the evenings.” Pausing a few seconds to
allow Hermione to start nodding in agreement, she added, “or at night.”

Looking a bit shocked, Hermione started to stammer. “Luna, I'm certain we're going to
keep up the standards that the Headmistress expects of us…” Breaking off when Luna began laughing
uncontrollably, she began to blush.

Taking a deep breath, Luna looked down at the mildly annoyed familiar in her lap. “I'm sorry
Crooks, but I just couldn't help myself. That was the funniest thing I've heard since
Ronald was going on about Goyle and giving him lines.” Shaking her head, she started snickering.
“Baboon's backside.”

Giggling, Hermione held up her hand. “Please, don't start that again. I never thought I was
going to get that out of my head. Every time I saw Goyle after that, I'd have flashbacks to
those nature documentaries on the Beeb.”

Shaking her head, Luna chuckled. “Before you get all wrapped up in the Headmistress'
expectations, consider this. Why do you think she made the two of you Heads and allowed you to
share an apartment together?” Seeing the gobsmacked look on Hermione's face, she nodded. “The
Headmistress has always considered you `her' student; I'm convinced she's been hoping
something would happen with you two this year.”

“This is most peculiar, seemingly everyone knew about this ages ago, and I just decided to do
something about it after that scene in the Great Hall this morning.” Shaking her head, Hermione
rolled her eyes as she thought about the blowup between Harry and Ginny this morning at breakfast
that ended with Harry storming out, leaving both witches standing there staring at him.

“Do tell.” Smiling, Luna could feel another piece of the puzzle fit into place, which made her
path appear a bit clearer. “You finally got tired of waiting on Harry?”

“No, it was more that I got tired of being confused, I think.” Shaking her head, Hermione
sighed. “It was as if I suddenly realized what I'd been feeling for Harry for all of these
years, and the time had come for the two of us to stop hiding behind the fact we're best mates
and be honest with each other.” Looking up at Luna, she smiled as she remembered that moment when
the two of them had walked into their sitting room and looked at each other. The memory of that
first day they met on the Hogwarts Express came to mind.

Settling down, Luna leaned back and smiled. “You said you wanted my advice on something?”

Nodding, Hermione folded her feet up under her and leaned back into her corner of the
chesterfield. Hugging a throw pillow to her, she sighed. “I want to tell Ron myself, I think
it's proper that he hear about it from me, but I'm not quite certain how to go about
it.”

Her eyes narrowing for a second, Luna resisted the urge to cast a furtive glance at the
stairwell that led up to the dorms and prefect apartments. Nodding, she smiled. “I think you'd
have a better handle on what to say to him than I would.”

Looking down at the pillow in her hand, Hermione blushed. “Even though things didn't work
out between us, and Merlin knows we should have know better than to even try, I still think I owe
him that much courtesy.” Looking up at Luna, she bit her lower lip. “I didn't see him heading
out to Hogsmeade this morning after breakfast, so I tried to find him around the castle after Harry
and I sorted things out, but I couldn't find a trace of him.”

Blushing a bit, Luna smiled thinly. “You're wanting me to help you look for him?”

Shaking her head, Hermione sighed. “No, not exactly. Actually what I was hoping for is that you
might know what he's been getting himself up to the past month or so.

Her face freezing for a second, Luna noted gratefully that Hermione had looked down just as she
had asked her question. “Up to? I've been helping him a bit with class notes, and we've
been revising together, but I'm not totally certain of everything else he's been
doing.”

Nodding Hermione looked up. “I was hoping he'd found someone else and was carrying on some
sort of torrid romance behind the scenes or something like that. I really care about him and
I'd like to see him happy.”

Trying not to smile, Luna shook her head. “With both you and Lavender, Ron was pretty over the
top with letting everyone know how he felt. Prior experience would indicate that if he was involved
with someone, one could reasonably expect that everyone would know about it.”

Sighing, Hermione looked down again. “I suppose you're right. Maybe this will be the impetus
he needs to start looking.” Looking up, Hermione smiled at her. “What do you think of his
chances?”

Nodding thoughtfully, Luna pondered the question for several seconds. “Hermione, I can
truthfully say that if Ronald has his heart set on some witch, I imagine his chances are pretty
good. I know I'd go out with him, if he would ask.”

Looking at Luna peculiarly, Hermione smiled. “You would?”

Nodding thoughtfully, Luna looked off into the distance for a second before she answered.
“I've known Ronald since I was a little girl. When I was growing up, I'd play with him and
Ginevra from time to time.” Shaking her head, her voice hitched a bit as she looked at Hermione.
“The day my mum died, Molly was the first adult on the scene; they could hear the explosion at the
Burrow. She brought Ronald with her and he stayed with me while she took care of things.”

Tears in her eyes, Hermione stared at her friend, “Luna, I'm so sorry, I never knew.”

Nodding, Luna smiled sadly. “Mum told me she loved me just before everything happened, I think
she had a notion that something was about to occur. When Molly got there, I guess I was in shock; I
was just standing there covered in dust and debris. Molly had Ronald take me down to the stream and
he sat with me while he helped me get cleaned up. After about fifteen minutes, I just started
crying and he held me until my father found us an hour later.”

Looking up at Hermione, with tears in her eyes, she nodded. “That's why I always knew he was
better at reading people than he let on. He comes off as mostly clueless, but when it's really
important, he does get it.”

“Luna, would you like me to drop a couple of hints in his direction?”

Smiling, Luna shook her head. “Hermione, I'm content that things are progressing the way
they should. I'm convinced that after this morning's events Ronald will be at a place where
he can think about doing something.” Her eyes became a bit unfocused and her voice got a bit husky.
“Ronald will ask someone out tonight in the Great Hall.” Blinking, she shook her head and smiled
sweetly at Hermione. “What was I saying?”

Watching Luna carefully, Hermione bit her lip for a second. “You were saying that you were
thinking that Ron was close to moving on with his life.”

Nodding, Luna looked over at the enchanted sundial sitting in the corner of the common room.
“Hermione, would you mind? I've got a couple of things I need to do before dinner tonight and
if I don't run right now, I'll be behind the rest of the weekend.” Seeing her friend nod
and begin to stand, she chuckled, “And I think I'm going to run up to the Hospital Wing and see
Ginevra.”

Nodding, Hermione knelt down and waited for Crookshanks to make his way over to her. “I'll
just put Crooks here back where he belongs and then I'll go upstairs and collect Harry.”
Turning to go, she smiled. “Will we see you at dinner tonight?”

Nodding, Luna walked Hermione over to the door. “Of course. I'll be dying to see how
everything is progressing with you two. Wish me luck.”

“Luck?”

Mentally kicking herself, Luna smiled sweetly at Hermione. “I noticed some tracks that belong to
a Blibbering Humdinger near Hagrid's earlier in the week. I'm going to pop over there and
take a look-see.”

Nodding slowly, Hermione smiled. “Well, luck with that then.” As she turned to step into the
corridor, she paused. “Harry told me to tell you `923' when I saw you.”

Nodding, Luna smiled at Hermione. “That's a big help.” Seeing the puzzled look on her face,
she grinned. “Harry was counting nargles for me in Gryffindor Tower earlier. That must be his
count.”

Shaking her head, Hermione rolled her eyes a bit and sighed. “I'm glad Harry could help with
that.” Closing the door behind her, Hermione disappeared into the corridor.

Standing very still for several seconds, Luna waited to see if her friend would return. Turning,
she lazily waved her wand in the direction of the table she had been working at and watched the
tome she had been researching and the parchment make its way up the steps to her apartment.

Once everything was tidy, she walked over to the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. Staring at the
marble statue for several seconds, she cast a minor incantation on the statue and it subtly changed
hue. Nodding to the statue she waited until the statue nodded in return. “You heard?”

“Yes, it seems I've already agreed to this.” Smiling at her, the statue nodded stiffly.

Smiling sadly, Luna sighed. “Thank you very much, I'll return shortly.”

Nodding sagely, the statue smiled. “Relatively speaking, of course.” Reaching a hand into the
bag that hung from her belt, Rowena withdrew a small platinum hourglass on a silver chain and
handed it to Luna. “This one is particularly sensitive. Careful with the decimal points.”

Glancing over at the sundial one more time, she nodded. “I'll give myself four minutes on
this end and six on the other.” Turning and twisting the timeturner, she smiled and nodded. “All
set.”

Placing the device around her neck, she smiled as the statue went back to sleep. Heading out the
door, she made her way up to the seventh floor and the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Looking
around, she didn't see anyone and she stepped back into a convenient alcove. Taking her wand,
she tapped the timeturner around her neck three times and said quietly. “Take me back to 9:17 this
morning.” A brief shimmer of silver light engulfed her, and she was gone.

-->



2. Chapter Two - We Need to Talk
--------------------------------



Chapter Two - We Need to Talk

A shimmer of silvery motes erupted in the alcove behind a dusty suit of armour. Shaking her
head, Luna looked around to see that she was, indeed, alone in the seventh floor hallway. Resisting
the pervy urge to head back to her apartment in Ravenclaw Tower, she nodded and began humming a
song as she stepped out into the hallway. Walking casually over to the portrait hole, Luna smiled
as she let her eyes unfocus a bit as she waited for the Gryffindor guardian to notice her. Seeing
the smiling portrait turn to acknowledge her, Luna blinked twice and nodded.

“Hello Viola, how are you doing today?”

Chuckling, the portrait blushed a bit. “Luna dear, it's good to see you. Dame Gladstone
tells me you've been a naughty witch this term.”

Blushing a bit herself, Luna rolled her eyes as she thought about the gossipy portrait that hung
near the stairwell in the Ravenclaw commons. “Lady G has too much spare time on her hands these
days if she's paying attention to my comings and goings.” Smiling conspiratorially, she leaned
close to the portrait. “Just a secret between us witches, eh?”

Laughing, Viola shrugged. “You know Aribella, she's not got a malicious brush stroke in her,
but she doesn't always think before she gossips. You're pretty much below the horizon for
most of the professional gossips around here, but dear Lavender has been interested in what
you've been keeping yourself up to since the start of term.”

Frowning a bit in concentration, Luna shrugged. “Lav really needs to get a life, or at least
start living the one she's playing at.” Seeing the knowing look on the portrait, she smiled. “I
would have thought that Dean could keep her interest sufficiently to let the rest of us go
unscathed.”

Chortling, the Fat Lady winked. “Haven't you heard? They're rowing right now. It seems
that they were taking a kip together last weekend up in his dorm and he mentioned another
witch's name in his sleep.”

“Anyone I know?” Curious, Luna resisted the urge to grow a bit impatient as her time cushion was
slipping away.

Shrugging, Viola gestured with her hands as her eyes twinkled. “I've never heard directly,
but she did cast a minor tripping jinx in Ginny Weasley's direction as she came storming down
the stairs.”

“That's really old news; they were together back in fourth and fifth years for a couple of
short periods of time.” Resisting the urge to add `along with every other wizard Ginevra could get
her hands on', Luna shook her head. “You know I love to chat, but I do need to get in and speak
to someone.”

Looking a bit surprised, Viola arched an eyebrow at her. “No one's home, right at the
moment. Are you certain the wizard you need to `talk' to is home?”

Widening her eyes, as if she was surprised, Luna smiled. “Really? I need to talk to Harry and I
distinctly thought he was heading up here after he left the Great Hall.” Thinking for a second,
Luna let her mind wander a bit as she thought forward. “The password is `Conium Maculatum'
isn't it?” Seeing the portrait nod, she sighed. “They really need to stop letting Neville pick
the passwords. People are going to think that Gryffindor is vying to replace Slytherin if he keeps
up picking dodgy potions materials.”

As the portrait began to swing open, Luna stepped through into the Gryffindor common room.
Looking around, she saw that the area was indeed as the portrait had indicated empty. Smiling, she
seated herself on the arm of the chesterfield near the fireplace and awaited her quarry.

Allowing her fingers to brush against the vial in her pocket, she nodded and tried to block out
the echoes of what was occurring over in Ravenclaw tower at this precise moment. Only blushing
slightly, she decided that it was slightly ridiculous to feel like a voyeur under the current
circumstances. She smiled as she heard the portrait door open. Glancing down at her watch, she
smiled. Right on time.

Looking up at the entrance, the smile faded as she saw an obviously distraught Harry come
storming into the common room. Seeing him staring blindly towards the entrance from the Head's
quarters across the way, Luna waited for a few seconds before announcing herself. The regret and
longing on Harry's face, mixed with a confused bitterness tugged at her as she dialed up a
neutral smile. “Harry?”

Starting, Harry jerked around and focused his piercing gaze on her. Refusing to look down from
his challenging stare, Luna's silvery gaze matched Harry's emerald stare for a few seconds
before he visibly shook himself. “Luna, I wasn't expecting anyone to be up here.”

Smiling knowingly, she shrugged. “It's a Hogsmeade weekend, the weather is perfect and
Hagrid's allowing thestral rides so I can see why no one's around.” Nodding as if it were
the most natural thing in the world, she smiled warmly at him. “We need to talk, and unlike the
rest of your friends, I'm really not prepared to take `no' for an answer.”

Refusing to be put off by the annoyance on his face, Luna held her impassive gaze on him while
she watched the emotions play across his face. Unfocusing a bit, she could see the fuzziness of his
true self that had appeared during his sixth year was still faintly there. Mentally cursing her
ginger-haired friend, Luna waited until she could see Harry was about to speak before she added.
“Don't make me invoke `Prefect's Privilege'.”

Harry started for a second, staring at Luna with marked curiosity after that. “And just how
would you do that, Prefect Lovegood? Seeing as I'm a Gryffindor and Head Boy, a Ravenclaw
prefect invoking privilege would be very irregular, don't you think?”

Smiling mysteriously, Luna nodded. Knowing that the first round belonged to her once she had
gotten him to actually talk to her, she relaxed a bit. “Harry, I think seven plus years of being
Hermione's best mate would have taught you the folly of arguing with witches who care about
you.” Seeing the slight scowl at the mention of Hermione's name, Luna continued quickly. “You
were appointed Head Boy without being a prefect yourself, correct?”

Nodding warily, seeing where this was going, Harry smile ruefully. “Correct Luna. I never served
as a Gryffindor prefect.”

“And the Heads are supposed to be neutral examples of Hogwarts, correct?” Seeing him nod again
with a bemused expression on his face, she continued. “Which is why *Hogwarts: A History*
details them as `being a member of no House, and all Houses', correct?”

Sighing, Harry nodded. “Yes, it does.”

Smiling impishly, Luna finished. “And since that makes you a non-prefect Ravenclaw, it's
really not outside the scope of my duties for me to claim privilege in a case where a member of my
House is obviously upset and not seeking to resolve the issue in a clear rational manner.”

Bowing to the inevitable, Harry chuckled. “You do know that Hermione occasionally allows me to
win an argument just for the sake of appearances, don't you?”

Nodding wisely, Luna smiled. “Of course she does. That's what love does. But this one is too
important for me to allow my affection for you to override circumstances.” Seeing the sour look on
his face, she mentally rolled her eyes as she pointed up the steps. “Why don't we head up to
your old dorm and talk? No one's going to bother us if we're up there.”

Shaking her head at the look on his face, Luna tried to look positive. “Harry, it won't hurt
a bit.” As he started to head towards the stairwell, she blinked as she remembered something.
“Harry, humor me for a second. What's the current password for the portrait out there?”

Stopping in surprise, Harry peered at Luna for a couple of seconds before speaking. “Luna,
you're already in here, certainly you know the password is `Conium Maculatum', right?”

Nodding, Luna smiled as she felt the ringing in her wand lessen. “I do now.” Seeing Crookshanks
peering at them from the top of the steps, she smiled. “Let's go up and get comfortable while
we talk, shall we?”

Walking up the steps together, Harry trudged like a prisoner heading to his execution while Luna
skipped merrily. Entering the dorm of the current Gryffindor wizards who were the `Seven
Pluses', Luna shook her head at the general disarray to the room. Harry's area was very
neat, since he virtually spent no time there, with Neville's coming in a close second. But
their neatness was more than offset by the untidiness of the other three occupants of the room.

Shaking her head, Luna marveled for a couple of seconds at the level of untidiness of
Ronald's area considering the small amount of time he spent there. Gryffindor didn't afford
separate rooms for their prefects, and Ron's area rivaled Seamus' for intensity of
clutter.

Perching herself on Harry's bed, Luna smiled as Harry begrudgingly set himself on the bed a
couple of feet away from her. Smiling, she waited until he settled in and looked up at her
expectantly. “Harry, I want to talk to you about a couple of witches we both know.”

Looking distinctly displeased, Harry shrugged. “Shouldn't you be talking to them about
whatever this is about?”

Shaking her head, Luna smiled mysteriously. “Actually, no. This will be resolved on your end
much more easily.” Nodding at the scowl Harry flashed her, she shrugged. “But first, care to share
what set you off down in the Great Hall? That really wasn't like you, you know.”

Sighing, Harry blushed a bit. “It's getting a bit much, I suppose I did look like a total
berk down there.” Seeing the encouraging look on Luna's face, he nodded to her. “Between Ginny
not taking any sort of hint that we're not getting back together, including me saying
specifically we're not getting back together, and Hermione thinking I'm some sort of idiot
who can't be let out on his own, I just lost my temper this morning.”

“Harry, Hermione thinks many things about you, but I'm certain that you being an idiot
isn't one of them. It's been a very long while since you two have rowed. What's the
matter this time?”

Leaning back on the bed, Harry stared at the ceiling, as if for inspiration. “I don't know.
And this just proves that I am a world class idiot. Hermione's been there for me for seven very
long, very strange years, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. I just get
frustrated because something just feels off between us, and I can't put a name to it.”

Looking over at Luna, Harry stared at her for several seconds. “Every time I think I'm
getting close to figuring it out, something either comes along and sidetracks me or I run into this
mental wall that won't let me break through to what I need to see to resolve things with
her.”

Nodding, Luna looked at Harry solemnly. “I think I understand, Harry. And this all ties into
what I need to talk to you about.”

“Luna, if you can help me suss this out, I'll be in your debt forever. It's driving me
mental. What is it that you want to talk about? You mentioned `two witches'?”

“Actually Harry, what I need to talk about also directly concerns you, and my needing to ask
your forgiveness for something.” Looking a bit abashed, Luna looked down after telling Harry
that.

Puzzled, Harry sat back up and stared at his friend for almost a minute before he spoke. “Luna,
I'm not certain what this is about, but I am certain of two things. The first is I refuse to
believe that you've ever done something deliberately to hurt me or cause me pain, so I'm
not certain what it is you think you need my forgiveness for.”

Waiting until the younger witch looked up at him, Harry smiled reassuringly at her. When he was
certain he had her attention, he continued. “The second thing I'm certain of is that if you
have inadvertently done something or kept a confidence that you now regret, there isn't any
question about my forgiveness. We've been through too much together to allow regrets to stand
between us.”

Nodding, Luna could feel the tears prickling at her eyes. Realizing that this was long overdue,
she released the breath she had been holding. “I hope you feel that way after all of this is
finished. Just before the start of term our fifth year, Ginevra came to me asking for help
acquiring some potions materials.” Pausing, she watched Harry to see if he was following her.

Looking perplexed, Harry's brows knitted together. “I know that Snape was difficult to deal
with, but why would she think you had access to things she couldn't get down in the potions
dungeon once the term started?”

Sighing, she began toying with the ends of her hair. “The Weasleys live near my house, you know
that. Well, my mum was a certified potions mistress in her day. Actually she applied for the
teaching position here that Professor Snape filled. She kept on working with potions after he got
the position at our house; she had a complete workspace out back from the house in those days.”

Looking up at Harry, she smiled sadly. “The explosion that killed her destroyed the lab, but her
materials storage area survived. Since I inherited some of her hand at potions work, I'd been
able to convince Daddy to rebuild and keep the lab stocked over the years since I've started
Hogwarts.” Pausing a second as she remembered the look on her father's face as she puttered
around in the lab she'd designed, she mentally shook her head and returned to the task at hand.
“Ginny asked me for Dryad's Tears.”

Watching Harry and seeing he was still not following, she sighed. “There are a couple of things
that Dryad's Tears can be used for, and most of them are fairly beneficial and benign for the
most part.”

Still looking a bit confused, Harry smiled. “That's good, I suppose. I'm still not
certain why you feel compelled to think I would need to forgive you for helping Ginny.”

Causally reaching up, Luna removed her wand from behind her ear and began to twirl her hair
around it, causing it to curl slightly. “She said that she wanted to brew a potion that would
cushion her fall if she lost her seat during quidditch...” Pausing for a second, she continued. “I
didn't think anything of it until you and Hermione started to row that next semester over next
to nothing.”

Scowling as he thought back to his sixth year, Harry shook his head slightly. “What did
Ginny's cushioning potion have to do with me being an idiot and a prat and not being there for
Hermione?”

Nodding, Luna lowered her hands to her lap, allowing her wand to point in Harry's direction.
“The problem is, the one potion that isn't benign that requires Dryad's Tears takes the
real emotions that one person feels for another and transfers them to a third person by
contaminating the first relationship. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too
late.”

Shaking his head, Harry stared at Luna. “I don't think I follow. Ginny's potion caused
me to sabotage my friendship with Hermione?”

Sighing, Luna mentally rolled her eyes and muttered an exasperated `boys' to herself before
answering. “Even though you were the only one who took it, the potion would have had an effect on
both you and Hermione. And it wasn't your friendship it was stealing; Ginevra had no need of
that since the two of you were, as far as you knew, friends already.”

Seeing the mystified look on Harry's face, she squared her shoulders and continued. “What
she did was steal the love you two had for each other and redirected it to herself.”

The shock on Harry's face was total. “That's preposterous. Hermione?”

Nodding sadly, Luna continued. “Yes, Harry. Ginevra dosed you for months with a potion called
Dryad's Kiss. It binds a wizard to a witch by subverting the love he feels for another witch.”
Seeing the disbelief in Harry's eyes, she waited to see what he was going to do.

“That's preposterous; Ginny would never do anything like that. And as for the two of us
loving each other, it's ridiculous. She's like a sister to me.”

Laughing, Luna found herself repeating herself from earlier/later. “Oh please, Harry. Don't
be a baboon's backside.” Seeing Harry's determined look, she held up her hand to forestall
his reply. “Let me guess, you started feeling as if there was a presence inside you that reacted
when Ginny was around, correct?”

Stunned, Harry thought back to the `chest monster' that had arisen during his sixth year
when Ginny was around and he paled. “How could you know that?”

“One of the symptoms of Dryad's Kiss, the feeling of some internal force that was beyond the
victim's control whenever the target of the potion was within range.” Shaking her head sadly,
Luna stared at Harry. “I'm so sorry; I didn't suss it out until it was too late.”

Going from stunned to angry, Harry began thinking over the end of his sixth year. “It was all a
lie?”

Nodding sadly, Luna sighed. “What you felt for Ginevra, yes. And the distance it created between
you and Hermione was a lie too. The two of you would have probably figured things out for
yourselves if she hadn't interfered.”

Staring at Luna for several seconds, Harry shook his head. “I'm still having difficulty with
that part of the concept. For this to have worked, the two of us would have to have been in love
with each other. And I broke up with Ginny at Professor Dumbledore's funeral.”

Nodding, Luna kept watching Harry closely as she replied. “The shock of Professor
Dumbledore's death right in front of you broke that part of the charm and severely weakened the
rest of it. The Headmaster was the closest thing you had ever had to a grandparent and the sorrow
from that loss broke most of the connection to Ginevra and partially restored your connection to
Hermione.

The depth of the love the two of you have for each other must be significant considering the
distance that came between the two of you and your infatuation with Ginevra that resulted.” Shaking
her head, Luna sighed. “Not to mention the fact that it seems to be still impacting you.”

Looking thunderous, Harry sat for well over a minute and stared at a space between the two of
them. When he looked back up, Luna could see that he was very disturbed. “How can I be certain of
this?”

Smiling, Luna reached into her pocket with her off hand and removed the small vial that she
didn't remember brewing, yet. Holding it up, she nodded. “With this.”

Tossing the vial to him, Luna waited for Harry to open it. Seeing the sheen of the potion
within, and the spirals that appeared above the open mouth, Harry stared at her in disbelief. “You
want to give me Amortentia? Isn't my being tricked into loving one witch bad enough without
making it two?”

Shaking her head, Luna smiled. “Harry, the Potions Masters here always are a bit deceptive about
Amortentia when they discuss it with their classes. It's true that it's the most powerful
love potion in the world, but it's not because it creates love, it reveals it. A single dose of
Amortentia will strip away all illusions and pretensions and allow the imbiber to instantaneously
realize exactly who it is he or she actually loves.” Seeing the skeptical look on his face, she
nodded encouragingly

“Think about it, the potion smells differently to each person, depending upon what that person
actually desires. How could it do that if it was tied to a specific individual?”

Nodding grudgingly, Harry contemplated the vial in his hand. “If I take this, it will make clear
to me who I'm actually in love with?”

Nodding encouragingly, Luna smiled. “Harry, after you drink that, everything will be crystal
clear.”

Taking the vial, he held it up to his nose; it still reminded him of treacle tart. The
broomstick scent was gone, replaced by the smoky musty smell he associated with the common room
that he and Hermione shared as Head Boy and Girl. The floral scent he remembered was there, but
strangely now it didn't smell like Ginny's perfume, but something that was tantalizingly
familiar.

Looking up at Luna, he studied his friend for several seconds. Seeing the obvious concern and
affection she had for him in her eyes, Harry nodded and said, “Cheers” as he downed the potion in
one gulp.

As the potion hit home, he began to feel a bit disoriented. Suddenly, there was a pop as if
something inside him was expelled. Images began to flash into his mind. The train ride to Hogwarts
when Hermione came into their compartment. Rocketing into the girls' lavatory and issuing a
battle cry as he leaped on the back of a twelve foot troll.

Sitting in the hospital wing, watching her lie there paralyzed. Riding to rescue Sirius on
Buckbeak. The scent of Hermione's shampoo from the bath in the Burrow. Hermione's support
and unconditional acceptance during the tournament.

His heart stopping when she was struck by that curse in the Department of Mysteries and how his
heart restarted when Neville said she had a pulse. The concern she had for him when they rescued
him from Privet Drive. Christmas in the Godric's Hollow. Her being tortured by Bellatrix
Lestrange because of him. The last thing that he thought of before going to die. The one thing that
brought him back.

Taking a deep breath, Harry felt it all come together in his mind. Staring at Luna, Harry
growled, “I'm going to kill that little witch.”

-->



3. Chapter Three - ... But None to Beat This Paradox
----------------------------------------------------



Chapter Three - …But None to Beat This Paradox

“I'm going to kill that little witch.”

As soon as Harry spoke, Luna cast a spell. “Incarcerous butyrum fermentum.” As she spoke, chains
of butterbeer corks erupted from her wand and imprisoned Harry.

Staring at her incredulously, Harry looked down as he struggled to free himself. “Luna, I mean
it; I'm going to throttle that meddling little witch.”

Shaking her head, Luna smiled at Harry. “Harry, I think the word you're looking for starts
with a `b' not a `w', but that's beside the point.” Watching as he stopped and started
shaking his head, Luna smiled at him. “Just calm down for a second, I want to ask you a question or
two.”

Ceasing his struggles, Harry leaned back and stared at Luna. “Exactly what was the point of this
whole exercise? And just why can't I go out and throttle Ginny after what she's done?”

Smiling coldly, Luna waited until she could see Harry was paying attention to her and not
thinking about a way to escape before she answered. “Even being the `Wizard Who Won'
wouldn't keep you from a couple of years in Azkaban, at least, if you rush out and just
throttle her, as much as she richly deserves it.”

Seeing the look in Harry's eyes, she could tell he was listening to her while he plotted his
vengeance. “Harry, once we get a few preliminaries out of the way, I can offer you a way to pay her
back very appropriately and very permanently and you won't have to lift more than a couple of
fingers. Ginevra will do all the work.”

Frowning, Harry sighed as he looked pointedly at the chains that bound him. “I suppose I've
got nothing to lose by listening. Throttling is always a last resort.”

“That's a very Gryffindor way to look at it.” Luna nodded to him, pleased.

Shaking his head, Harry chuckled. “Then proceed, Ms Ravenclaw, and enlighten me.”

Watching Harry for a few seconds, Luna took a deep breath and began. “Harry, the things I'm
going to tell you right now aren't meant to make you feel bad or guilty, but it's so you
can get some things straight in your mind before you talk to Hermione and Ginevra.” Waiting for him
to nod in agreement, Luna plunged on.

“While you were under the influence of that potion, you've been a right prat to Hermione
over the last couple of years. At first, her behavior was influenced also, so pretty much
everything during your sixth year was a wash since you both were acting that way. The closer you
really drew to each other, the more the potion forced you apart.”

Sighing, Harry looked down for a couple of seconds. “I suppose this means that we would have
found a solution to our arguments over Malfoy and that bloody book if we'd have been able to
think about it clearly.”

“Most likely. Though you must remember that the two of you have rowed from time to time over the
years, and you've been pretty bad about not taking her side when she needed you most of the
time. But since you're a wizard, I imagine she's forgiven you for most of that.”

Shifting uncomfortably, Harry looked up at Luna with a quizzical look. “I'm not certain I
follow you.”

“Harry, over the years, you've sided with Ronald more often than not, even when you knew he
was being a bit of an arse about things. I'm certain that Hermione's forgiven you for that,
it's pretty much a guy thing and since you're a guy, she makes allowances for you.”
Smiling, Luna shook her head a bit.

“There's one she shouldn't forgive me for.” Looking at Luna sorrowfully, Harry hung his
head. “There was a time when she was pretty broken up over something Ron did, and I just ignored
her.”

“Something happened in the tent after Ronald left the two of you?”

Looking sharply at her, Harry frowned a bit. “We agreed we weren't going to go into the
specifics of certain things that happened last year.” Watching Luna carefully, Harry was waiting
for her to explain.

“Over the summer, I talked with Ronald a few times. He was very upset about some of the things
he had done, and he wanted someone outside the three of you to talk to, I suppose. He said that he
walked out on the two of you and tried to make Hermione choose between the two of you.” Nodding to
Harry, she sighed. “She chose you, it would seem”

Thinking back to that December night, Harry hung his head in shame. In a voice barely louder
than a whisper, he replied. “She chose me, as she always had, and I turned my back on her, again.
She was crying and all I did was ignore her, wallowing in my own disappointment in Ron.”

“Actually, no.”

Looking up at Luna, Harry could see the concern she had for him. “Luna, I was there. I know what
I did.”

“Harry, you can be an insensitive prat at times. You're a guy and you really can't help
it on occasion. But this time, I think, you had a bit of help acting like a git.” Nodding
encouragingly, Luna smiled. “Let's look at the facts. You were tired, cold, and hungry. Ronald
told me how on edge everyone was because your mission wasn't going well. And the Horcrux,
Slytherin's Locket, was whispering into all of your ears when you wore it. And you were under
the influence of Ginevra's potion as well.”

Seeing the hopeful look in his eye, she shook her head. “It doesn't totally excuse what
happened, but it does help explain it. Hermione had shaken off the effects of the potion before
that night, and her feelings for you were in flux. You were being driven away from her by the
potion's effects, and the part of Voldemort's soul in the locket was intent on causing as
much pain and despair as it could.”

“Things got better.”

Looking thoughtful, Luna nodded. “You were probably able to come to some sort of rapport as time
passed.”

“But I failed her again. It was Christmas and we went to Godric's Hollow. I wouldn't
listen to her when she said it was a trap, and I almost got us captured by Riddle's familiar.
She saved my life and I treated her badly, again.”

“Harry, from what you've told me, you were injured, depressed, and fighting for your life.
Hermione cares deeply for you, I think that particular time you got a pass, as long as you
didn't keep it up too long.”

Leaning forward, Harry gazed intently at her. “Why?”

Smiling, Luna nodded. “She loves you, that's reason enough. It's what love does. She
won't let you stay a git, but she will excuse it while you're a work in progress.”

Seeing the blush on Harry's face, Luna changed track a bit. “Last question. And I'd like
you to be honest this time. What on earth really happened this morning in the Great Hall?” Blushing
slightly since she had already left by the time the blowup occurred; Luna hoped Harry hadn't
noticed she hadn't been a witness to this morning's events given her appeal to honesty.

Blushing, Harry looked away. “Ginny was badgering me about spending time with her in Hogsmeade
today. I kept trying to tell her that Hermione and I were going by ourselves since Ron's got
himself involved in something today and couldn't make it, but she wouldn't listen. Finally
I lost my temper and stormed off, leaving both of them standing there.”

“Why didn't you storm off with Hermione? You were going into the village with her,
anyway?”

Shrugging, Harry sighed. “I don't know. I was annoyed with her, too. Instead of helping, she
was just standing there. It was as if she was waiting to see what I would do.”

Silence, the type that echoes throughout the room, greeted Harry as he saw the disbelieving look
in Luna's eyes.

“Of course she was waiting to see what I was going to do. Not only am I an idiot, but I'm a
hopeless idiot.” Groaning, Harry closed his eyes.

“No Harry, you're not an idiot, you're a guy. It's close, but not quite the same
thing.” Smiling to take some of the sting out of her words, Luna watched him carefully. “She's
already chosen, I think she was waiting to make certain that you have also.”

Putting his head down on his chest, Harry sighed. “And I couldn't tell her I chose until
now, could I.” Looking up at Luna, distress evident in his eyes, he sighed. “How could I have told
her I chose her to love?”

“Harry, we never `choose' the person we love, that's impossible.” Chuckling, Luna shook
her head. “But we do choose to act upon it.” Getting a bit of a dreamy look as she smiled
mysteriously, she sighed. “Sometimes we have to wait for other things to resolve themselves, but we
never choose love, it chooses us.”

Luna twirled her wand as she waited for Harry to relax. “Harry, I don't want you to think
about it, just answer my next question with the first thing that pops into your mind.” Waiting for
Harry to nod his agreement, Luna smiled. “Close your eyes, and let your mind wander.”

Harry closed his eyes and Luna could see he was beginning to relax a bit. “Where is Hermione
right this moment?”

Without a pause, Harry replied. “The Hospital Wing.” Opening his eyes in surprise, he stared at
her. “How did I know that?”

Shrugging Luna smiled mysteriously at him. “We don't know if you do actually know it. It
might just be a wild arse guess. But, if you were going to guess, you probably would have said
`library'.” Looking thoughtful for a second, Luna nodded. “Is that map of your father's in
your room?”

Nodding, Harry smiled. “Interesting. Do you trust me enough to let me go get it without causing
murder and mayhem?”

Laughing, Luna silently canceled the chains that bound him. “Harry I think you've calmed
down enough to not go running off to murder Ginevra right this second, but I think I've got a
faster way to retrieve the map for you.”

Looking over at Ron's bed, Luna smiled at Crookshanks who was watching them intently.
“Crooks, would you go to Harry's room and bring back that map of his?”

Yawning, Crookshanks nodded in Luna's direction and slowly faded from sight.

Staring at the spot Crookshanks had recently occupied, Harry whistled. “Why haven't I ever
seen him do that before?”

Trying to look thoughtful while keeping from laughing at him, Luna paused for several seconds
before giving him an answer. “Well Harry, Crookshanks is a familiar and since you've finally
admitted that you love his mistress, I think you'll be noticing all sorts of different things
about him. That fact, combined with what your dad's map is probably going to reveal to us,
should tell the tale.”

As she finished speaking, a subtle `pop' heralded the return of the kneazel mix. Shaking his
head disdainfully, Crookshanks looked at Harry for several seconds while holding the map in his
teeth. Seeing Harry nod his agreement, Crookshanks turned and dropped the folded piece of parchment
in front of Luna before crossing back over and occupying Harry's lap.

Smiling, Luna unfolded the parchment and spread it so both of them could see it. Seeing
Harry's amused nod, she tapped the map with her wand and said, in a sing-song voice, “I
solemnly swear I'm up to no good.”

As the map began to fill itself in, she looked up at Harry and grinned. “How on earth do you say
that aloud with a straight face?”

Shrugging, Harry winked at her. “I learned how to do it non-verbally?”

“Showoff.” Shaking her head, Luna traced her finger along the third floor corridors until she
came to the Hospital Wing. Pointing towards the mediwitch's office, she smiled. “It looks as if
Poppy and Hermione are having a conversation of some sort.”

As they were watching, Luna noticed Hermione leave the office area and make a detour through the
ward before stopping. Pausing for almost a minute in what was called `the witches' corner'
she smiled knowingly as Hermione's dot retraced her steps and returned to the Matron's
office.

“Well, we now know two things we didn't before.” Folding the map up she pointedly didn't
tap the parchment with her wand as she wandlessly cleared the map with a mental `mischief
managed'.

Snickering, Harry shook his head as he muttered, `Showoff indeed' under his breath. “Exactly
what do we know now that we didn't before?”

Rolling her eyes, she chuckled at him. “Harry, you're such a guy.” Seeing the hurt look on
his face, she smiled. “And I meant that in a good way this time, at least for Hermione's sake.
Since it would seem that you `know' where Hermione is, and I'm willing to bet that she
could do the same if she concentrated on it, the two of you are very much in love with each other.
Finally.”

Nodding slowly, Harry smiled. “And the second thing?”

“I think it's safe to say that Hermione feels the same way and plans on doing something
about it, since she made a point of talking to Poppy today before stopping by the Witches'
Corner.”

Shaking his head, Harry looked at Luna quizzically. “The Witches' Corner? What has that got
to do…” Trailing off, Harry blushed and looked away.

Smiling knowingly, Luna laughed kindly at the look on Harry's face. “Yes Harry, the dreaded
Witches' Corner of the Hospital Wing. That mysterious cabinet in the back of the Hospital Wing
that will only open for witches who have been cleared by Poppy. The place where wizards fear to
tread.”

“Luna, what do you think that means?” Watching the blonde witch across from him carefully, Harry
blushed as he saw the knowing smile on Luna's face.

“Well, it could mean that she's having a particularly difficult time with her monthlies this
time.” Smirking, Luna watched Harry start to shake his head.

“That was last weekend. She was a bit cranky, but she's never really out there.” Seeing the
smirk on Luna's face, Harry looked puzzled. “What?”

“Harry, you two are hopeless. It would be scary to think about both of you if Ginevra hadn't
interfered with things.” Shaking her head, Luna smiled as she thought about her overly controlling
friend and how radiant she was/will be when they talked earlier/later. “Don't worry too much
about it, Harry. I'm certain you two will have everything under control when the time
comes.”

“But how? How can you be certain she feels that way about me? It could be someone else. It could
be Ron.”

Laughing, Luna shook her head. “Trust me Harry, it isn't Ron, it's you. Look down in
your lap for the proof.”

Looking down at Crookshanks, Harry was startled to feel emotional feedback from the kneazel mix
familiar. While he had always been on good terms with the ginger cat, far better than Ron truth be
told, he could feel those same echoes that he had gotten from Hedwig for all those years. While a
feline's perspective on things was different than an owl's, Harry had been bonded with his
familiar long enough to recognize the connection that now existed between him and the massive
cat.

Nodding, Luna smiled. “Even with the potion running interference between the two of you,
you've always had a very good relationship with Crooks there. But once that was purged from
your system, the relationship between the two of you clicked into place as both you and Hermione
accepted your own relationship.”

Looking a bit puzzled, Harry absentmindedly stroked the fur along the familiar's back as he
thought. “You make it sound as if we don't have a choice with this. I won't have her
shanghaied into a relationship with me just because of a bloody potion. That would make me no
better than Ginny.”

“Harry James Potter!” The sharp tone of Luna's voice caused Harry to start and stare at her.
“Haven't you listened to a word I said? Amortentia doesn't cause love, it reveals it. If
Hermione didn't feel anything for you, then you'd have a whopping case of unrequited love
and you'd bloody well know it. Obviously the witch returns your feelings, if you weren't so
insecure you would know that.”

Shaking his head, Harry blushed. “I just want to make certain this is her wanting to be with me,
not something that is being externally created. I can live with the fact I love her and she thinks
of me as her best mate if she's happy.”

“Harry, you're sweet. A bit daft, but sweet. I can see what she sees in you.” Grinning at
the goofy look on his face, she sighed. “Merlin help me, I feel like such a yenta.”

Puzzled, Harry came out of his reverie. “Beg pardon?”

“Never mind. But I'm not matchmaking for every love challenged couple in the school.
Let's just keep this between the three of us.”

“The three of us?” Looking down at Crookshanks he shrugged. “I think Crooks here can keep a
secret.”

“Crooks makes four. I have no hope of you not telling Hermione about my role in this, but
I'd appreciate it if the two of you would refrain from letting everyone else know about
it.”

Nodding Harry smiled. “I think we can manage that.” His face clouded over and he looked
involuntarily over towards the exit to the dorm. “That still leaves us with what to do about Miss
Weasley and her meddling interference.” Shaking his head, Harry sighed. “Isn't dosing someone
with a love potion against their will an offense that could end you up in Azkaban?”

Shaking her head, Luna looked a bit thoughtful as she considered the possibility. “Not for an
underage witch, which is what she was when she did it. “ Mulling it over in her head, she smiled.
“Of course, a good advocate at DMLE could argue that since she turned seventeen this summer and
allowed the condition to continue, she was now an adult accomplice to her underage self's
crime.”

Shaking his head, Harry frowned. “That's too abstract for me. Reminds me of all that
temporal paradox stuff Hermione and you are studying in Advanced Runes and Advanced
Arithmancy.”

“Trust me Harry, the intricacies of Wizarding law, as arcane as they would seem to the two of
us, are not even close to temporal theory.” Ignoring the puzzled look on his face, she nodded. “Do
you want to prank her back and make certain she learns a lesson she can't ignore?”

Smiling coldly, Harry nodded. “That sounds perfect. I'm not certain if and when I'm
going to forgive her for this. And if Hermione ever finds out, I know it will be a snowy day in
July before she does, so a good object lesson through pranking sounds apropos. What do we need to
do?”

Smiling wickedly, Luna looked around once more to make certain they were alone. “Actually, all
you need to do is just take a drink of the pumpkin juice that Ginevra's going to offer you
sometime during lunch today.”

Seeing the shocked look on his face, she nodded. “I have it from a very reliable source that
must remain anonymous that she's going to dose you with a different love potion today, one
called Sylph's Blood.”

“Luna, I just got my head straightened out and I want to make certain Hermione feels the same
way. Why in Merlin's name would I want to take anything from Ginny, much less an actual love
potion?” Staring at his friend in disbelief, Harry shook his head.

Sighing, Luna rolled her eyes. “Harry, the Amortentia has another slight side effect, one which
you'll be profoundly happy about in a second. The potion in your system will take a very dim
view of anything trying to muck around with its stated purpose. The only thing that's going to
happen to you is that your hair is going to change colour to let you know which potion you were
dosed with. Since we know it's going to be Sylph's Blood, your hair will turn a shade of
blue that will be rather noticeable.”

“All right, no harm no foul. But I don't see how that helps me prank Ginny, other than
she'll have instant feedback that her plan failed.” Looking puzzled, Harry began to contemplate
more direct action to teach the youngest Weasley a lesson.

Chuckling, Luna nodded. “Interesting phrase you used there. `Feedback' indeed. The
Amortentia will rebound the Sylph's Blood potion back on the individual who was attempting to
tamper with True Love.” Seeing Harry blush a bit, she nodded. “I believe they call it `The Blave
Effect'. Ginny's going to become instantly and violently nauseous when you drink the
pumpkin juice. The more you drink, the sicker she'll get, so unless you want her heaving her
toenails up, you might want to limit it to just a couple of swallows.”

Smiling evilly, Harry looked beseechingly at her. “Please, can't I chug the entire
thing?”

Shaking her head, Luna laughed. “Harry, you don't want to do that, because of the second
part of the side effect.

“Second part?”

“Oh, yes. What the two of you have will protect you both from the charms of veelas, incubi,
succubi, and the like without any problem.” Seeing the look on his face, she nodded. “You could
willingly cheat on each other, nothing will save you from `guy stupidity', but you can't be
charmed into messing up by normal levels of magical attraction. Hermione will never have to worry
about you and Gabrielle. But as long as the potion is in your system, not only will you be shielded
from potions and spells like we're going to see today, but there's a lingering side effect
for anyone wanting to take advantage of you like that.”

Nodding, Harry smiled at the glint in Luna's eyes. “This sounds good.”

Chuckling, Luna shrugged. “Good is a relative term, you realize. I doubt Ginevra is going to
appreciate the fact that anytime for the next lunar year she's within ten feet of you and
Hermione's not present, she's going to suffer a relapse of her `feedback'
symptoms.”

Eyes twinkling, Harry grinned. “Oh, this is good. Anytime she's around me and Hermione's
not there she's going to relive the moment, all over again?”

“Precisely. I think the muggles call it `aversion therapy'. To keep her thoughts from
straying to things they shouldn't, like how to get you into the nearest broomcloset or bed,
she'll be concentrating on things like not heaving her lunch all over. And the ten foot radius
should make it difficult for her to spew all over you.”

Harry closed his eyes and a beatific smile came across his face as he imagined his former friend
being extremely nauseous every time she tried to come around him while Hermione wasn't present.
Opening his eyes, Harry beamed. “Luna, how can I ever thank you for this?”

Smiling, Luna winked at Harry. “There are a couple of things you can do for me.” Seeing
Harry's enthusiastic nod, Luna smiled. “The first is you can wait a couple of days to let
Hermione know exactly what my role in this was. Tell her we talked, but leave the potions out of
the discussion for a day or two.”

“I can do that, but why?” Looking a bit confused, Harry nodded slowly

Thinking for a second, Luna flipped a mental coin. Deciding that telling Harry it was to avoid a
temporal paradox would defeat the purpose, she temporized. “Well Harry, part of the reason is that
I think it might be best if Hermione has a couple of days to adjust to being in a relationship with
you before you spring it on her about what Ginevra did. You know how she can get sometimes.”

Watching Harry, she could see the wheels turning as he thought about Hermione's tendency to
be a bit protective of him. “If you explain it to her gently, after you two have had some time to
adjust to each other, hopefully we can keep Ginevra off that same list that Pansy Parkinson is
on.”

Sighing, Harry nodded slowly. “Remind me again why I'm doing Ginny any favors after what she
did?”

“Harry, she's the little sister of your best mate, and you're friends with Arthur and
Molly. It would strain your relationship with them a bit if Hermione turns their only daughter into
something that requires a terrarium and steady diet of flies.”

Savoring the moment, Harry's imagination ran away as he pictured Malfoy the ferret chasing
Ginny the toad. Smiling in a manner that was usually reserved for obtaining one's heart's
desire, he shook himself and nodded to Luna. “I can see what you mean; it would probably be bad if
we tell her too soon.”

“I would be much more reassured if you had a look on your face that matched that sentiment.
Right now, you resemble a kneazel being questioned about a missing colony of pixies; very content
and not the least bit contrite.”

“A bloke can daydream, can't he?” Smiling, Harry shook his head to clear it of scenes of
ferret-induced bufocide.

“Harry James Potter, promise me you'll do this the way we talked about.” Trying to sound
stern, Luna was having a difficult time keeping a smile from her lips as she took in the look of
contentment on Harry's face.

“Luna, if it's that important to you, I'll just take a small sip or two of the pumpkin
juice Ginny hands me and I won't mention the potions to Hermione for at least two days.”
Staring into her eyes, Harry smiled as he nodded. “Is there anything else?”

“Just a small thing, really.” Trying to look innocent, Luna dialed up her `Looney Lovegood'
persona. “I've been counting nargles around the castle, and I've got to do a couple of
things before I get back to Ravenclaw Tower. Could you have Hermione tell me `923' when she
sees me later so I'll know what my count was?”

“Erm… I suppose I can do that. If I see you before she does, do you want me to remind you?”
Trying not to look amused, Harry simply nodded in agreement.

Shaking her head, Luna smiled indulgently. “I'm reasonable certain we're not going to
run into each other until after the fact. You're going to be very busy what with stopping by
the hospital wing, having lunch, and sorting out your girlfriend, I think I can wait until Hermione
finds me later.”

Standing, Harry held out his hand and helped Luna to her feet. Stepping close to her, he wrapped
his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, very much” he whispered in her ear as she
brought her arms up around him.

“It really wasn't anything, Harry.” Luna murmured as she returned the hug. “And I can see
why Ginevra is reluctant to give up on you. You're a most extraordinary wizard, you know.”

Chuckling, Harry smiled and glanced around the room. Seeing Crookshanks yawning over on
Ron's bed, he shook his head again. “How is it that you have such a good rapport with Crooks,
if he's Hermione's familiar?”

“When I was a little girl, I was very fond of that ruffian's mum. Ophelia still turns up
from time to time, and for some reason Crooks seems to think of me as family, I suppose.”

“Well, for whatever reason, I can't think of a better person for him to be fond of.”
Smiling, Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they descended the steps from the dorm. “Do
you want me walk you anywhere?”

Looking down at the watch on Harry's wrist, Luna smiled. “I think it's almost time for
you to straighten things out with Hermione. Why don't you head by your Common Room and have a
long overdue chat with Hermione before you two head down to lunch?”

“Good thinking, Luna. I think that there are a few things that Ms Granger and I need to discuss,
and several apologies I need to make to her.” Taking his leave from her, Harry nodded to Luna as
she walked down the hall with him.

“Start with telling her how you feel; the rest of it will work itself out.” Keeping going as
Harry stepped into an alcove masking one of the passageways that honeycombed the school, Luna
looked over her shoulder and waved. “I'll see you two tonight at dinner, promise?”

Opening the passage, Harry smiled. “If we don't see you before. Have fun with your
nargles.”

Shaking her head as Harry disappeared from view, Luna smiled mischievously. Taking out the
timeturner, she tapped the device three times and whispered, “13:27”.

Disappearing in a swirl of lights, Luna left the hallway quiet, except for a startled Mrs.
Norris who came around the corner just as the blonde witch disappeared.

-->



4. Chapter Four - A Moment for Truth
------------------------------------



Chapter Four - A Moment for Truth

A/N - I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. At the suggestion of that very prolific
reviewer Anon, who has read this story on another site, I realized that there was a dearth of
actual Harmony in this story. All of the really good parts occurred offstage, so to speak.

Hopefully, I've corrected that.

-----

Stepping back out into the hallway, Harry turned his head as a flash of light caught his
attention from down the hallway towards the stairs where Luna had been headed moments before.
Blinking in surprise, Harry could see a very annoyed Mrs. Norris, who was glaring at the end of the
hall. Shaking his head, Harry warily watched the disgruntled feline for a second as Mrs. Norris
continued to intently stare at the spot on the floor where the flash presumably occurred.

“You keep an eye on that, I'm just going to go.” Chuckling as the cat gave him a spiteful
glare; Harry turned and made his way back to the Gryffindor portrait entrance. Nodding to Viola,
Harry gave the password and the portrait obediently began to open.

Clambering through the entrance and back into the Gryffindor common room, Harry closed his eyes
and tried to center himself. Concentrating on Hermione, Harry got a brief flash of the entrance to
the Heads quarters on the third floor, just down from the entrance to the Hospital Wing.

Shaking his head, Harry opened his eyes, crossed the common room to the small alcove that held
the entrance to the stairs leading to the Head's quarters and whispered “Harmonices Mundi”. As
the back wall of the alcove slid into the wall, Harry stepped through the portal and began
descending the flight of stairs to the apartments that he and Hermione shared.

Hearing the entrance seal itself behind him, he began to concentrate on what was about to
happen, what he quite frankly hoped would happen. Still a bit in shock over the revelations that
Luna had shared with him, Harry began to worry; despite the assurances Luna had given him regarding
this entirely bewildering mess of dueling potions, a conniving witch whom he had considered a
friend, and the apparent folly of two best friends who had been fooling themselves for several
years about how they really felt about each other.

As his feet carried him down the winding stairs towards the entrance to the commons the two of
them shared, Harry stopped dead as he came around the last turn towards the small entrance area
that was the nexus for the various entrances to the Head's apartments. Standing there, still
dressed in the jeans and jumper she had been wearing earlier when he had stormed out of the Great
Hall, was Hermione.

Her wavy chestnut hair was caught back in a simple plait behind her neck, reaching down to the
middle of her back. Harry could see the look of concentration on her face as she was standing
there, her hand on the door to their apartment, but studying the door as if she had never seen it
before.

As Harry halted his descent at the sight of her, she looked up towards the stairs coming down
from Gryffindor Tower. Harry held his breath as his gaze met hers, and he could see a thousand
emotions and questions in her chocolate brown eyes. Feeling himself being drawn into her gaze,
Harry could see all of the emotions and thoughts that had always been there, her concern for him,
her caring nature, that wry sense of humor that she was very careful to keep hidden from all but a
select few, the part of her that compelled her to succeed because she needed to know not because
she relished being the brightest or first. And other things, things that had long either been
masked or he had been too thick to see.

“Hey there.” Blushing, as both of them began to speak at once, the pair was still lost in each
other's gaze. Feeling a profound sense of déjà-vu, Harry flashed back to that fateful September
first when a much younger Hermione Granger had come into a train compartment looking for a lost
toad, and had ended up coming into his life forever.

Shaking his head, Harry grinned at the thought, and he could see in her eyes and by the silly
grin on her face that she was remembering that moment also.

“God bless Trevor,” Harry began, relishing the look on Hermione's face as he could see he
had preempted her train of thought, “I really do need to ask Neville how he's doing and see if
there's anything I can do for him.”

“We would have met, eventually.” Blushing, Hermione glanced down at the floor for a second
before looking back up and smiling at him. “And I wouldn't have made that horrible first
impression on you. Hopefully.”

“What horrible first impression? I was the one who didn't know anything, and I let Ron be
rude to you, to boot.” Shaking his head, Harry looked down in dismay. “I'm so sorry.”

Crossing the space between them and taking two steps up the stairs, Hermione hesitantly put out
her hand and touched Harry on the forearm. Shaking her head when he didn't look up at her, she
put her fingers beneath his chin and slowly raised his head until she was staring up into his
emerald green eyes. “For?” she asked very softly.

Swallowing, Harry tried to tear his gaze from hers, but found he couldn't. Although her
fingers were very lightly cupping his chin, the connection between the two of them made it
impossible for him to look down or away while she was standing there, peering into his very
soul.

Realizing that much more than he had ever guessed was riding on what he was about to say, and
what her response would be, Harry's mind began to flash back to what that damned Horcrux had
whispered into his mind, how he would never be worthy of anyone, much less the witch standing in
front of him. How the Dursleys had been correct, that he was a freak, never deserving to be
loved.

“Don't,” she whispered as she looked up into his eyes, “don't you dare start to blame
yourself for things that have happened in the past. For whatever reason we've both finally woke
up to the fact that we've been living a lie for the past few years, so I'm not about to let
you retreat back into the hell your relatives tried to put you.”

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Hermione subtly shook her head as she kept her eyes locked on
Harry's. “I can read you like a book, Harry James Potter, and I've spent infinitely more
time reading you than I have *Hogwarts: A History* over the past seven plus years. Voldemort
was wrong, Dumbledore was wrong, the Dursleys were wrong, most of the wizarding world was wrong
about you for the past seven years.”

“You deserve…” Seeing the dangerous glint in her eyes, Harry stopped in mid-sentence, closed his
mouth and tried again. “I don't want to lose you.”

“Silly, how could you possibly lose me?” Keeping her gaze focused on his, Hermione slowly smiled
as she came up one more step, until she was standing on the same step as Harry. Still shorter than
he was, she was closer to his height. “Over the past seven years, we've shared almost
everything two people can share. If you haven't `lost' me by now, I can't think of
anything we're about to do that would drive us apart.” Slowly raising her hand, she placed a
single finger over his lips, more effectively silencing him with that simple gesture than with any
spell she could think of.

“We've both seen each other at our best and at our worst. We haven't gotten everything
right, Merlin knows. But we've gotten more of it right than wrong. Rather than standing out
here in this drafty stairwell, why don't we go home so we can relax and talk about the things I
think we both want to talk about?”

Sliding her hand down from Harry's chin, Hermione allowed her fingers to lightly graze
Harry's check before she slowly allowed her fingertips to trail down Harry's arm. Teasing
his palm with her fingertips, she slid her hand over his, letting her fingers slide between his as
their hands slowly wrapped around each other.

Harry tried to prevent a smile breaking out on his face, as he started to glance down at their
hands. Gently squeezing her hand, he could feel the connection between the two of them grow as they
both began to grin. Looking up, his eyes met hers again, resisting the urge to lean towards her,
Harry nodded down the steps.

“Hermione, going home with you sounds very good right about now.” Seeing the sly smile on her
face, Harry chuckled. “Considering how our morning started, I'm a bit surprised I was able to
even get you to talk to me.”

Walking down the steps, hand in hand, Hermione chuckled and shook her head. “Honestly, I was
going to try to find you. You bolted out of there like a scalded kneazel, though I imagine the only
person who was more shocked than I was, was Ginny.”

Seeing the scowl on Harry's face, and feeling the spike in negative emotion from him,
Hermione watched him carefully as they approached their door. Placing her hand against the door,
Hermione felt the magic of the castle recognize her and she heard the latching mechanism of the
door disengage.

As they stepped into their common area, Hermione squeezed his hand and led Harry over to the
two-seater by their fireplace. Smiling wryly as she remembered the blush on Harry's face when
her mum informed them that the American name for that particular piece of furniture was a loveseat
when her parents had visited earlier in the term, she ushered Harry over to the loveseat and
settled herself in beside him.

“Harry, we've been friends for seven years now, but I'm going to insist on one ground
rule before we go any further.” Seeing the wary look on his face, she smiled reassuringly.
“It's nothing too onerous, but I think it will serve us well as we move forward with
things.”

“At this point, I'd be willing to agree to almost anything you want, considering how much of
a hash I've made of things over the years.” Seeing the surprised look on Hermione's face,
Harry nodded. “As has been pointed out to me, rather forcefully, this morning is that I've been
a right berk to you a great deal of the time, and if nothing else happens, that's come to a
halt, right now.”

“Harry, who have you been talking to, and exactly what have they been saying?” Looking a bit
disturbed, Hermione started to frown. “If someone has been trying to guilt you…”

Shaking his head, Harry took Hermione's hand between his and gently squeezed. “Luna was
concerned after I made a spectacle of myself at breakfast this morning, she tracked me down up in
Gryffindor Tower and `persuaded' me to talk to her about what a prat I'd become.” Smiling
ruefully, Harry chuckled at the look on her face. “Trust me, I'm not certain which was more
surprising Luna insisting that I had to talk to her about this, or the fact that she seemed to know
more about things between you and I than I realized.”

“How did Luna get involved with all of this?” Looking a bit exasperated, Hermione shook her
head. “If you're just doing this…” Stopped by the look in Harry's eyes, she blushed.
“Harry, I'm sorry. I should know better.”

“Let's face facts, I don't exactly have a very good track record when it comes to
witches in general, and you in particular.” Looking up at her, Harry held her gaze for several
seconds. “I've been horrible to you at times, I allowed Ron to be horrible to you. If nothing
else comes out of this, that has ended.”

“Harry, none of that matters anymore. Everything that has happened up until now has brought us
to this point.” Smiling earnestly, Hermione reached down and placed her free hand on top of
Harry's. “I'm certain we'll end up discussing the moments we could have done better
eventually, but I have faith in you. Faith that we're both ready to quit fooling ourselves
about what we feel for each other.” Blushing a bit, she shrugged. “Of course, this means we have to
admit to everyone that we've both been wrong for at least four years.”

“Even Rita?” Smirking at the disgusted look on Hermione's face, Harry leaned over and kissed
her on the cheek. “Face it; she had us pegged during our fourth year. I'm not certain why we
weren't ready to believe it then, but I do now.”

“None of this makes any sense, really.” Closing her eyes, Hermione leaned against Harry as she
toed off her trainers and tucked her feet up underneath her. Settling in, she exhaled and let her
head rest against Harry's chest. “I know how I feel, I know I've been working towards this
for a long time, but it's as if something just clicked into place today and everything became
clearer.”

Draping his arm around her, Harry leaned over and kissed her gently on the top of her head.
Smiling at the contented noise she made, he chuckled as she snuggled closer to him.
“Comfortable?”

“Getting there.” Closing her eyes, Hermione allowed the sounds of their common room to fade into
the background as she listened to Harry's heartbeat. “Any clues as to why today we both figured
things out?”

“Would you believe that it's mostly my fault?” Sensing, rather than seeing, her arch her
eyebrow, Harry smiled. “There were things going on with me that kept me from reaching out to you,
from accepting that I cared about you and you weren't like a sister to me, but something
infinitely more.”

“And Luna helped with that?”

“If you consider not taking `no' for an answer and keeping me from running off until
we'd actually had quite the heart to heart helping, then yes she did.” Watching Hermione
carefully, Harry gently caressed her hair as she sat there, thinking.

Sounding very thoughtful, Hermione began to speak. “Harry, would you say that there's been
adequate reason people have referred to me as `the brightest witch of the age'?”

“I'd say that's a fair understatement.” Rolling his eyes, Harry leaned down and kissed
her hair. “Not that I've ever doubted it.”

“And, since I have a fairly comprehensive knowledge of potions and their effects, you'd be
reasonably certain that I'd eventually recognize the effects of a potion on myself, at least
after it had ceased to function, no?”

Sighing, Harry nodded before answering aloud. “Hermione, I have no doubt in my mind that of the
two of us, you'd be the one to recognize the fact that one or both of us had been under the
effects of a potion.” Reaching down, Harry stroked the side of her neck with his thumb.

“Mmmm, that feels nice.” Chuckling, Hermione waited for almost a minute before continuing as she
simply basked in the attention from Harry. “And I'd certainly remember a conversation I had
with Molly and Ginny regarding Molly's use of a love potion while she was a student here, a
conversation which I'm relatively certain you overheard but we've never directly discussed,
true?”

“Almost certainly.” Smiling ruefully, Harry slowly exhaled as he could feel amusement and
concern from the brown-haired witch nestled in beside him.

“How long?”

“Beg pardon?” Blinking in surprise, Harry shifted a bit so he had a better view of her face.

“How long am I supposed to pretend I haven't noticed that someone meddled in our lives and
stole what could have been two years of us being together?” Shaking her head, Hermione raised her
hand up and slid it behind Harry's neck, pulling his face down to hers. Kissing him gently on
the corner of his mouth, she nodded once before concluding. “A pair of someones unless I miss my
guess.”

“Two days.” Nuzzling her ear, Harry waited while she processed the information they had just
shared with each other. “Annoyed with me?”

“Harry, unless I'm mistaken…” Breaking off at the snort of disbelief from Harry, she
snuggled against him for a second and then restarted. “Harry, unless I'm mistaken, Luna acted
to resolve the interference in our lives less than an hour ago. While I haven't puzzled out all
of the specifics yet, my first thought is that she provided you with a potion to counteract the
potion that Ginny gave you two years ago.” Pausing a moment, Hermione looked up and nodded. “At the
Headmaster's suggestion most likely, but with his blessings at least.”

“If I were to corroborate that, in two days, how long will it take to get you to forgive me?”
Trying to keep himself calm, Harry focused on the heartbeat of the witch whom he had wrapped his
arms around, earlier. While it had sped up briefly, it had settled back into a fairly steady rhythm
that was just a tad scary, considering.

“Silly man.” Shaking her head, she nuzzled closer to him. “I think the question is how long
before I forgive Ron's sister.” Smiling as she could feel his surprise, she closed her eyes.
“Am I to take it that one of you two has a plan to deal with her?”

“Hermione, I'm getting perilously close to crossing a line I told Luna I wouldn't, just
yet. Would it be enough to say that as long as no one interferes, Ginny will, most likely, teach
herself a very pointed lesson at lunch today?”

Seeing that Hermione was considering what he had said with a very thoughtful look on her face,
he nodded. “Ground rules?”

“Ironically enough, it was regarding secrets that we needed to keep for someone else.” Sighing,
she squeezed his hand and traced her thumb over the faint scars that proclaimed `I must not tell
lies'.

Looking a bit worried, Harry nodded. “I was wrong those times I didn't trust you to
understand things, but sometimes it wasn't my story to tell.”

“I know, and there have been times when it hasn't been my tale to tell, either.” Seeing the
surprised look on his face, she smiled. “Harry, all I'm asking is that we acknowledge that
there's something we can't explain or go into with the other, and that we remember that we
do trust each other.”

“I think I can live with that, seeing as I really want to be open with you about things.” Seeing
a knowing look in her eyes, Harry smiled nervously and swallowed once before continuing. “It's
not easy for me, the things that happened when I was growing up have caused me to be a bit less
than forthcoming regarding how I feel about things on occasion.”

Pretending to ignore the indelicate snort from Hermione, Harry chuckled a bit. “All right, I
imagine I'm a lot less than forthcoming, from time to time.”

“Harry, I want to leave your relatives and your childhood for another day.” Seeing the look in
his eyes, she gently placed her hand against his cheek and nodded. “I know there are things there
that you've never told anyone, and you're probably worried about what I'll say or think
if you tell me, but we'll work through all of that and we'll take as long as it takes.”
Smiling reassuringly, Hermione reached back down and took Harry's hand in hers.

“Earlier, I said that we'd shared almost everything two people could share.”

Looking down at their clasped hands, fingers intertwined, Harry smiled. “I take it we can cross
one of those things off your list?” Raising their hands to his lips, he placed a gentle kiss on her
fingers.

“I think that's fair to say.” Blushing a bit, Hermione rolled her eyes. “We've done this
before, just not when both of us were awake.” Seeing Harry's look of surprise, she shrugged.
“Some of those nights we spent sleeping on the sofa at the Burrow this past summer before we went
to find my parents, we ended up like this in our sleep.”

“And you know this how if we were `asleep'?”

“One of us has to wake up first, silly.” Gently squeezing his hand, she smiled. “Apparently,
that's my job.”

Raising his hand, Harry gently cupped her cheek and caressed her face with his thumb. “Is there
something else we can mark off that list of yours?” Leaning towards her, Harry kept his eyes
focused on hers as he moved, very slowly, towards her.

“Possibly,” she whispered as she gently brushed her lips against his.

Moving until their lips were touching, Harry gently began to kiss her. As she raised her arm to
pull him closer, he was a touch surprised when he felt her tongue brush against his lips.

Letting her tongue slide past his, they deepened the kiss as he brought his other hand up to
cradle her face. Feeling her wrap her arms around him, the kiss became more impassioned as their
bodies began to react to the other.

Breaking the kiss, Hermione stared at Harry for several seconds, a very intense look that was
beyond questions, beyond rational thought almost. Taking her hands and placing them on his
shoulders, she gently pushed him into the back of the love seat and moved so she was straddling his
lap, facing him.

Seeing he was about to say something, she shook her head and placed her finger on his lips.
“Hush; there will be more than enough time to discuss this and us, later. I'm certain that
sometime in the near future we'll sit down and talk out how we got here. We both know I'll
overanalyze everything and drive you totally mental in the process. But for right now…”

Breaking off, Hermione leaned forward quickly and kissed Harry, hard. Moving herself against him
on his lap, she began to express everything she'd been feeling and wanting to do for the
longest time.

Harry, after the initial surprise, began to respond to her with equal enthusiasm. Feeling her
thighs clamp tightly outside his, he began to rise up and press against her as she was moving back
and forth on his lap. As she pressed herself more tightly against him, he slid his hands beneath
her jumper and began to run his hands over her smooth skin.

As his hands found the lace that formed her brassiere, he could feel her whimper as he was
kissing her. Following the fabric forward, he slid his fingers over her breasts as she ground
herself against him. Lightly caressing her, the kisses intensified as they both began to explore
the body of the other.

Finally breaking for air, Hermione began to kiss her way down Harry's throat as her hands
began to untuck his shirttails from his jeans.

“Harry, if you even consider stopping what you're doing…” she gasped as his hands unhooked
the brassiere and let it fall away from her.

Feeling her pressed against him, her hands beginning to slid underneath the shirt he was wearing
as he gently teased her with his hands, brushing his thumbs across her sensitive nipples as he
gently squeezed her breasts, Harry placed a kiss on her forehead as they both began to move against
the other. Seeing her look up into his eyes, he leaned down and roughly captured her lips with his,
kissing her deeply as the sensations in their bodies began to grow.

Hermione pulled away from the kiss and stared at Harry for several seconds as they both allowed
their hands to roam over the body of the other. Grinning mischievously, she slowly winked at Harry
and then brought her left hand out from under Harry's shirt, where it had been playing
suggestively with the buckle to his belt and made a strange circular motion with it.

Suddenly, their outer clothes, including footwear and socks, were gone. Dressed in just his
boxers, Harry was suddenly staring a nearly nude Hermione, dressed in black lace knickers and a
lace bra that was hanging open, it's front clasp undone earlier. Stunned, Harry watched as she
began to move against him, the two of them separated by two very thin pieces of cloth as she smiled
seductively.

“See anything you like, Head Boy?” Taking a finger and drawing it down his chest, she kept her
eyes fastened on his as she began playing with the elastic band of his boxers. “Think I'll find
anything worthwhile if I continue?”

Just as Harry was about to answer, their common room was illuminated by a bright flash of silver
light. Suddenly, a glowing silver mare was standing between them and the fireplace, snorting and
pawing the carpet.

“Stars and stones, I'm going to throttle that little witch!” Hermione closed her eyes and
shook her head, missing the smirk on Harry's face as she almost echoed his earlier sentiment
regarding Ginevra Molly Weasley. Before he could say anything, though, the mare patronus looked up
and began to speak.

“Harry, I'm not certain what you thought to accomplish by running off like that, if you were
trying to ditch Hermione so we could go into Hogsmeade together, you really need to let me know
where you're going to be. I've been waiting for you up in the Room of Requirement, since
that would be the easiest place for us to be alone and then slip into the village without someone
interfering.”

Staring at Harry in disbelief, Hermione began reaching for her wand. Harry reached across her
and grabbed her wrist, causing some very interesting sensations for both of them considering their
state of undress and physical states at the moment. Staring into her eyes, Harry shook his head and
gently kissed her on the lips. “Even you can't hex someone through their patronus.”

Looking down at their lack of clothing, he chuckled. “Although, five minutes ago I wouldn't
have said you could have done what you did wandlessly and nonverbally, so you just might.”

Ginny's mare starting to speak again forestalled Hermione's response. “I'll be
waiting down in the Great Hall for you. Lunch starts in seven minutes; I'll be expecting you
down there so we can make plans for the rest of our weekend.” The mare then suggestively winked and
began to fade from view.

“She's out of what passes for her mind.” Staring at Harry, Hermione went from furious to
stunned to giggling in the span of five seconds. Shaking her head, she looked down at the two of
them and their near nudity and shook her head. “Suddenly I'm very thankful that it's very
difficult to see through the eyes of one's patronus.”

“Hermione…” Harry began tentatively, watching her carefully as she tried to compose herself.
“Honestly, I tried my best this morning; all term actually, to convince her that we weren't
going to Hogsmeade or anywhere else together. I'm so ….” Harry's apology was broken off by
Hermione leaning forward and kissing him passionately.

When the kiss finally broke, both of them were breathing heavily, trying to compose themselves.
Shaking her head, Hermione kissed him on the tip of his nose and smiled. “Silly, of course I know
you had nothing to do with that.”

Leaning back, Harry stared at the ceiling for a second, trying to come up with something,
anything, that he could say to express how he felt about the witch that was currently sitting on
his lap. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath and let it out, noisily. “I love you.”

“I should hope so. I don't go around banishing the clothes of just any Tom, Dick, or Harry
around this castle.” Chuckling at the look on his face when his head snapped forward and his eyes
popped open, she nodded. “Unfortunately, she's going to keep it up until she sees you.”

“Can you ward against a patronus?” Smiling ruefully, Harry suddenly shook his head as he
remembered his promise to Luna. “We might as well get dressed and go down to the Great Hall.”
Seeing the look on her face, he involuntarily flinched a bit. “That bloody horse showing up every
three minutes or so until she gets her arse up here and starts pounding on the door is going to be
pretty much of a mood kill.”

“Well, when she does if I go to the door and answer it dressed like this; think she'll get
the hint?” Smirking at the look on Harry's face, Hermione set back and shook her head. Seeing,
and feeling, Harry's reaction to what a headshake did to certain portions of her anatomy; she
leaned forward and placed her hands on his shoulders. “She'll go to the Headmistress if we
ignore her, she'll say that something must be wrong if you're ignoring her.”

Looking thoughtful, Hermione bit her lower lip for a second. “What do I have to ignore to allow
her to start learning her lesson?”

“If Ginny offers me something to drink, it would be best if you didn't hex her or knock it
out of my hand.” Seeing the shocked look on Hermione's face, he nodded. “And, I'd stand
well away from her after I take a drink.”

“Amortentia!?” Staring at Harry in disbelief, Hermione shook her head for a second before
closing her eyes again and taking a deep breath. “I can't believe she's going to try
again.”

“Subtlety isn't really her forte.” Shrugging, Harry smiled. “She really doesn't have a
chance, she never did.”

“Are you certain Luna's plan will work?”

“Can you get us dressed just as easily as you got us undressed?” Smiling at the puzzled look on
her face, Harry reached up and after a couple of fumbles that sent shivers through Hermione,
rehooked the catch for her black lace brassiere.

Biting her lower lip, Hermione sat back and thought for a second. “Yes, but why?”

“Because if we stand up in our current states and move anywhere in the direction of either of
our bedrooms, we won't be going anywhere for a good long while.” Nodding seriously, Harry
leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

Pushing Harry back against the cushions of the loveseat, Hermione reversed the motion she had
made earlier and suddenly they were both clothed. Seeing he was about to say something, she shook
her head. “You'll just have to tie you own trainers back.”

Rolling off his lap, she turned so she was facing forward, sitting beside him. Leaning over, she
started tying her trainers up, trying to keep from laughing at the look on his face.

Standing up, she waited for him to do up his trainers before putting out her hand and helping
him up. Wrapping her arms around him, she pressed herself against him and kissed him. Feeling his
arms on her back, she smiled as she kissed him and then pulled away. “Questions?”

Taking her hand in his, Harry rolled his eyes as they walked towards the door. Opening the door
for her, they stepped out into the entranceway in front of their commons and started heading for
the passage that would take them down to the main floor and the Great Hall. Glancing at her out of
the corner of his eye, he could see the self-satisfied smirk on her face as they started down the
steps.

As they fell into a rhythm of walking together, Harry sighed. “Regimental?”

“It will save ever so much time after we get back to my room after lunch.”

-----

The translation of the password to the entrance to the Heads stairwell in the Gryffindor Commons
is `Harmony of the Worlds'.

-->



5. Chapter Five - Pumpkin Juice, It's Not Just for Breakfast A
--------------------------------------------------------------



Chapter Five - Pumpkin Juice, It's Not Just For Breakfast Anymore

Arriving at the bottom landing of the stairs that led down from the Heads' quarters to the
first floor, they stopped and looked at the square of dark crystal set beside the door that opened
into the passageway. Seeing that no one was in the passageway that led from an alcove near the
Great Hall down to the dungeon level, Harry and Hermione slipped through the sliding door and
headed towards an alcove that would place them near the Great Hall.

“Harry?” Stopping just behind the suit of armor that camouflaged the passageway they were in,
Hermione squeezed Harry's hand gently.

“Yes?” Looking down at their intertwined hands, Harry sighed. “Right, I suppose we should try to
be as normal as possible when we go in there.”

“Harry, we haven't done `normal' since Halloween our first year.” Chuckling,
Hermione's eyes twinkled in the dim light of the passageway. “You don't have to act as if
you've never seen me before when we go in there. However, I think there are three things we
should avoid until we're ready for everyone to know.”

Holding up their hands and placing a tender kiss on the back of hers, Harry smiled. “I take it
this is one?”

Nodding, Hermione bit her lower lip for a second as she squeezed his hand one last time before
letting go. “That's one.”

Taking her hands, she placed them on either side of Harry's face. Rising up on tiptoe,
Hermione gently pulled Harry until his lips were brushing hers. “This is two,” she murmured right
before snogging him passionately.

As his arms encircled her and pulled her close, she slipped her tongue past his and began
dueling with his for supremacy. As they finally broke the kiss and vainly tried to get their
breathing under control, Harry shook his head, ruefully.

“Don't look like that. We should be back upstairs in about an hour, so it's not as if
you're going off to the far side of the planet without me.” Chuckling at the look Harry gave
her; she kissed him quickly on the cheek and grinned.

“I'm almost afraid to ask what number three is.” Shaking his head, Harry nodded back up the
steps. “I think we could learn to ignore that bloody mare if we tried.”

“Harry, you agreed with Luna that you were going to teach Ginny a lesson, and if we don't do
it today, she'll just keep trying until she does something truly desperate.”

“Slipping me a dodgy love potion isn't truly desperate?” Keeping quiet about some of the
other aspects of this, Harry tried to keep his thoughts focused on the task at hand. “You're
remarkably calm about all of this.”

“Honestly Harry, I know that there's more going on here than meets the eye.” Seeing the look
on his face, she smiled. “And I also know that, despite what you think, there's more going on
here than meets your eye.”

“That's distinctly possible. Since I've become accustomed to not knowing what was going
on when the witches I care about are involved, it's not a concept I'm totally unfamiliar
with.” Smiling at the amused look on her face, Harry nodded. “And the third thing?”

“We need to avoid this.” Stepping back, Hermione looked up and locked her gaze with Harry's.
Feeling herself drawn into those emerald eyes, she felt herself being caught up and held by the
love for her she could see there, how the `windows to the soul' seemed to not only reveal the
real Harry Potter, but reflect her presence as well. Forcing herself to blink and break the
contact, she took a deep breath and felt a small shiver run up and down her spine as she looked
away.

“I hope I never get used to that.” Shaking his head, Harry slowly exhaled as he tried to focus
his thoughts. “Would it help if I told you that I'm tempted to chuck my promise and just tell
you everything?”

“Harry James Potter.” Smiling, Hermione stepped forward and gently placed her hand on his cheek.
“We're not going to start this way. I trust you and I trust Luna. We're going to walk in
there, two best mates, and have lunch. Your ex-girlfriend is going to hand you a drink and things
are going to get very confused from there. You're going to do whatever it is that you've
promised Luna you would do to teach Ginny that she shouldn't mess with either of us, and
I'm going to be the supportive best friend who's deeply concerned about both of you. Is
that clear?”

“Except for the part about what I promised Luna that I was going to do was mostly what I
wasn't going to do, I think we're clear.” Leaning forward and placing a gently kiss on the
tip of Hermione's nose; Harry smiled as he watched her eyes try to focus on him.

“Shall we?” As they turned and put their hands on the handles to the entrance to the Great Hall,
Hermione turned and watched Harry carefully. “There's no chance that you'll come to harm
from this?”

“Thanks to the amortentia, all of the effects of the prior potion are gone, and this new one
should simply rebound upon Ginny. Other than a minor and temporary side effect, I should be just
fine.”

As they pulled the doors open, the sounds of the Great Hall on a weekend hit them after the
relative quiet of the corridor. While by no means close to being full, the mostly younger students
who were left behind on a Hogsmeade weekend more than made up for the absence of their older
dormmates with their excited discussions over what was going on in the village and whether their
friends and siblings would remember to bring them back the treats from the village they were
expecting.

As they stepped towards the Gryffindor table, Hermione was suddenly surrounded by a quartet of
Slytherin first and second year students. Looking at them expectantly, Hermione stopped and waited
for a red-haired girl with glasses to nod to each of her companions before smiling at the Head
Girl.

“Head Girl Granger?” Suddenly unsure of herself, the second year redhead began to blush as she
realized she was actually carrying out whatever they had planned to do.

“Yes, Derbail? Can I help you?” Smiling warmly, Hermione paused and looked up as she could feel
someone watching her. Noticing one of the Slytherin prefects glaring at her, she stared at Baddock
for a moment before turning her attention back to the student in front of her.

“One of the prefects said that I and some of the others aren't real Slytherins because
we're not purebloods.” Looking around at the three that were with her, she smiled. “Karrin and
Irving are both muggleborn and Heathcliff's a halfer like I am.”

Seeing the Slytherin prefect drawing nearer, Hermione waited until he was a couple of steps away
and just about to jump into the conversation before she pounced. “Prefect Baddock, would you be so
kind as to assist me with a small problem?”

Staring sullenly at Hermione, Malcolm Baddock looked as if he would rather swallow a pail of
flooberworms rather than assist her, but he was acutely aware of the formidable reputation of the
Head Girl, and the fact that Harry Potter was standing there staring very intently at him.
Swallowing twice, he nodded slowly. “If I can, Head Girl.”

“Would you settle a matter for me?” Seeing the confused look on his face, she smiled wickedly.
“Since you're a prefect from House Slytherin, I'd like you to answer a couple of questions
for your housemates here.” Gesturing with her hand, she included all four of the Slytherin students
that had approached her.

“Wouldn't it be better if I escorted these four back to the dungeons and instruct them to
not waste the time of the Head Girl and Boy with frivolous questions?”

“Oh, it's never a waste of my time, or Harry's, to correct misconceptions that seem to
abound on certain subjects.” Seeing the resigned look on his face, and trying to ignore the chuckle
that was coming from Harry, she smiled. “All four of these students were sorted by the Sorting Hat,
correct?”

“Correct, Head Girl.” Looking as if that admission were drawn from him with hot irons, he
frowned slightly.

“And the Sorting Hat has been the sole authority for the sorting of students here at Hogwarts
since the last of the Founders relinquished their position here at the school, correct?” Smiling
broadly, Hermione nodded to the four students in front of her.

“That is true, Head Girl.” Staring sullenly at her, Baddock attempted to ignore the four
students whose questions had started this questioning.

“And did you know that while the Sorting Hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, all four
of the Founders contributed to the magic that turned his hat into the Sorting Hat. That all four,
including Salazar Slytherin cast the spells that allowed a bit of their essences to be captured in
the hat so that their thoughts would be represented as students were sorted?”

“No Head Girl, I was not aware of that.” Watching Hermione warily, Baddock began to consider the
possibilities as he waited for her to continue.

“So, since Salazar Slytherin was, at least, the equal of the other Founders in magical ability,
it would stand to reason that his input and wishes were just as important as any of the others when
it comes to the decisions of the Sorting Hat, correct?” Smiling sweetly, Hermione resisted the urge
to chuckle at the look on the Slytherin prefect's face as he considered her logic.

“It would seem so, Head Girl.” Nodding grudgingly, Malcolm looked at each of the students before
turning his attention back to her.

“So, it would be your opinion that if anyone were saying that Slytherin students, selected by
the Sorting Hat weren't `real' Slytherins, they would be implying that Salazar Slytherin
was a lesser wizard than Helga Hufflepuff or Godric Gryffindor, correct?” Watching him intently,
Hermione locked her eyes on his. “That wouldn't be a good thing, would it?”

“No, Head Girl. It wouldn't.” Staring intently at her for several seconds, Baddock seemed to
come to some sort of internal decision. “In fact, for Miss Harrington and Mr. Jellicoe to be
selected for this house as two of the first muggleborns in a very long time, they must exemplify
the traits that the Founder was searching for.”

“Excellent, I was certain you felt that way.” Turning to the four who had started this, Hermione
ignored the knowing smirks from the four that disappeared as soon as attention was returned to
them. “I'm certain that should explain any lingering doubts about your authenticity, no?”

Nodding solemnly, her grey eyes sparkling, Derbail O'Connor smiled. “Yes Head Girl, I think
you've answered all of our questions quite satisfactorily.”

“Well then, if you four are done with lunch, why don't you head down to Hagrid's so you
can be first in line for after lunch. Rumor has it, he's going to be giving thestral rides
again.”

Nodding to her, the young Slytherin witch turned and nodded to her house Prefect before turning
in place and heading for the door, her companions in tow. Trying to keep her features from
reflecting her amusement, Hermione nodded to Baddock and caught a knowing smile from him as he
returned to the Slytherin table.

Waiting until Baddock was out of earshot; Harry chuckled and shook his head. “That was rather
well played on their part, don't you think? “

“I don't know if anyone's keeping track of such things, these days, but if they are
I'm going to find them and put five galleons down on that witch to be Head Girl her seventh
year.” Looking at him for a second, Hermione smiled fondly at Harry before gently shaking her head.
“Business first, correct Head Boy?”

“Correct, Head Girl.” As they turned and continued on towards the Gryffindor table, Harry gently
rested his hand on her lower back, as he had done dozens of times since the start of term. This
time, however, Hermione recognized the slight shiver that went up her spine when he did it and
tried desperately to keep a smirk from forming on her face. Murmuring “that's number four” just
loud enough for Harry to hear, they continued on their way without pause.

Seeing Ginny glaring at them from the table, Hermione glanced around to keep her gaze from
locking with the ginger witch's. Looking over at the Staff table, she noticed the Headmistress
paying particular attention to the two of them. Nodding to her, Hermione could have sworn she
caught a glimpse of a smile on the older witch's face when she returned the nod.

Arriving at the Gryffindor table, she and Harry slid into open spots on the bench nearest. Harry
was next to Ginny, with Hermione taking the seat on his other side. Across the table were Neville
and Lavender.

An interesting and eyebrow raising pair, it seemed that the two had become `close' over the
summer for a period of time. While not currently romantically linked, there was an easy rapport
between the two that hinted that *something* had occurred between the two of them, and it had
changed them both.

While Neville had grown up considerably during the war, being a leader of an active Resistance
movement will do that to a bloke, his summer with Lavender had made even more changes in him. Gone
was the painfully shy wizard who could only speak to a handful of witches that he knew, in his
place was one who seemed to be able to chat with anyone, regardless.

Having seen the unwanted attention Harry had received over the years tied to an event that he
really didn't have any control over, Neville played down his actions during the Final Battle
when he used the Sword of Gryffindor to behead Voldemort's familiar. Never mentioning it, he
instead seemed to have some sort of total recall regarding the night, pointing out what others had
done in exacting detail as he deftly turned conversations from what he had done to what had been
done by someone else in whatever group he found himself.

The changes in Lavender were even more pronounced. While still outgoing, fun loving and
flirtatious, the witch who had desperately clung to any wizard who paid attention to her and
relentlessly stalked the ones she was interested in was gone. More mature, she flirted without
falling into physical relationships at the drop of a wand, and she worked diligently on getting to
actually know some of the people she hadn't paid any attention to during her early years at
Hogwarts.

Hermione had only asked the once about her summer after she had gotten released from St.
Mungo's. Nodding towards a nearby Neville, who had just brought Lavender some trifle that she
had forgotten after leaving potions, Hermione had enquired about how she had spent the last part of
the summer after she had been released. Smiling wistfully, Lavender only replied that she had
finally realized what it was like to be valued simply for being herself, and that there was one
very lucky witch running around whom Neville was interested in, once he finally realized it.

Smiling at the pair across from them, and seeing the knowing look on Lavender's face as she
scrutinized both of them very carefully, Hermione turned her attention to the interaction
beginning, just to her right.

“Harry, it's about time you got down here.” Scowling, Ginny tried to drape herself over
Harry as she leaned around to get a look at Hermione. “I hope you've got plans here at the
castle this afternoon, Harry's taking me into the village for the rest of the weekend.” The
fact that Harry leaned back and left her leaning on the table added to Ginny's level of
annoyance.

Turning so that she was facing Ginny, but could still see Lavender and Neville out of the corner
of her eye, Hermione smiled warmly. “That's odd; Harry was just remarking that a study session
tomorrow after breakfast on those Transfiguration exercises that are due by week's end next
week would be good.” Turning slightly towards Harry, she smiled and nodded. “A late breakfast after
we finally get around to getting up, didn't you say?”

“And I do owe you dinner, since we didn't seem to get into the village for lunch, as I'd
promised.” Turning his head so Ginny couldn't see, Harry's raised eyebrow seemed to convey
an unspoken `behave yourself', as he held her gaze for a second. Seeing the mischievous twinkle
in Hermione's eyes, Harry held her gaze for a couple of seconds longer until she gave him a
very slight nod. Turning back towards Ginny, Harry shrugged. “I'm sorry I was so abrupt this
morning at breakfast, I really wasn't myself earlier.”

“Harry I know the stress that dealing with *some* people causes.” Smiling sweetly, Ginny
reached over and picked up a goblet that was sitting beside her plate. “I poured this for you and
put a chilling charm on it.” Casting a haughty smirk in Hermione's direction, she nodded. “I
know how you like things, exactly how you need things to be.”

Looking at her for several seconds, Harry studied the red-haired witch carefully. Seeing her
maintain her wide-eyed innocent look under his scrutiny, Harry reached out his hand. Stopping just
short of the taking the goblet, he smiled sadly. “Are you certain this is what I'll like?”

“Just the thing to put you back on track, clear your mind of all those distractions that keep
nagging you incessantly.” Smiling as Harry took the goblet from her, Ginny watched carefully as he
slowly raised the goblet to his lips.

A look of shock and dismay appeared on Ginny's face as Harry abruptly turned to Hermione,
raised the goblet in a toast and cheekily quipped, “To your health, Mi.”

Raising the goblet to his lips, Harry allowed two swallows of the strangely tart pumpkin juice
to pass his lips and down his throat. Mentally acknowledging the fact that the chilling charm Ginny
had placed on the liquid would have made it very difficult notice a difference in the pumpkin juice
if he hadn't been aware of it, he kept the goblet to his lips after he stopped drinking,
watching Hermione's eyes go wide.

Three things happened within seconds of each other. As the ice-cold juice hit his stomach Harry
felt a warm sensation flow over him, and it seemed to race to the top of his head. Hermione
whispered “Protego” and he felt the touch of her magic as a shield appeared behind him just as a
surprised and very distraught Ginny proclaimed, “I feel…”

The retching sounds that followed told Harry exactly what it was that Ginny was feeling as he
heard, but didn't feel, a series of splattering sounds behind him as Ginny's breakfast and
lunch made an unscheduled reappearance. The looks of disgust on Neville's face and amusement on
Lavender's, and the smirk on Hermione's filled in the details that he was missing.

Chaos broke out at the Gryffindor table as Ginny's sudden predicament became noticed. Harry
stood up and stepped back a bit, moving himself from the scene as he cast a silent scourgify to
clean up the sick as Hermione moved over to assist Ginny. Neville came around the table and began
to assist Hermione as Lavender moved beside Harry.

Giving him a knowing look, she simply nodded. “Nice hair.” Seeing that Harry didn't take the
bait, she smiled. “Hermione certainly was quick on the draw with that shield.”

“She was facing Gin over my shoulder; she probably just noticed the look on her face and reacted
without thinking.” Smiling, Harry noted the Headmistress heading towards the table, a look of
concern on her face. Curiously enough, she seemed to be heading towards him rather than towards the
sick Gryffindor that was in the center of a growing circle of concerned housemates. Raising an
eyebrow, he nodded to Lavender. “Nice hair?”

“Well, it's still got that roguish unkempt look that makes all the witches swoon, but the
sudden vibrant blue coloring is definitely a new look for you.”

“The pumpkin juice must be bad,” Harry replied just as the Headmistress reached them. “I guess
I've got the milder reaction to it, Ginny seems to not be able to stomach a good dose of
pumpkin juice today.” Nodding to the Headmistress, Harry tried to keep his features from breaking
out into a smile as turned. “I think I'll go over and see if I can assist.”

“Mr. Potter, before you go running off to the rescue, would my Head Boy have any opinion
regarding the source of Miss Weasley's sudden discomfort?” Staring at Harry, the
Headmistress' eyes kept going back up to his hair.

“If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that the pumpkin juice she gave me didn't agree
with either of us. Usually, I'm quite a fan, but that one left me with a bit of a sour taste
and a brief flush.” Shrugging, Harry looked over his shoulder to where Ginny was starting to
recover a bit and trying to shake off Hermione's assistance as she was looking around for where
Harry had gotten off to. Looking back to Professor McGonagall, Harry smiled sincerely. “I think
I'll go over and see if I can help. Gin looks as if she's feeling a bit better.”

As Harry stepped closer to her, he could see the look of distress grow on Ginny's face. As
he knelt down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, she was retching once again into a
pail that Hermione had conjured. Winking at Hermione and shaking his head a bit, he leaned over and
began trying to comfort Gin.

“That's a good girl. Ginny, why don't I help you up to the Hospital wing?” Seeing the
hopeful look on her face as she looked up at him, Harry leaned closer as another spasm of nausea
came over Ginny's face. “I'll stay with you until we can get you up to Poppy.”

Gritting her teeth in an effort to control her rebellious stomach, Ginny nodded
enthusiastically. “Harry, I'm so glad you're here. As long as I have you, I'm certain
I'll be fine.”

Missing the indelicate snort from Hermione, Ginny was beaming as Harry helped her to stand.
Beaming around heaving her stomach up, but beaming nevertheless. Slowly walking her over to the
Headmistress, Harry nodded to Hermione, who was accompanying them.

“Professor, we're going to take Ginny up to the Hospital Wing.” Nodding at the pail that
Hermione was carrying, he sighed. “We should be able to get her up there without causing too much
extra work for Mr. Filch.”

“You two take care of that, and ask the Matron to perform an Adscherer test on both you and Miss
Weasley when you get up there.” Seeing the puzzled look on the face of the Head Boy and the
suspiciously blank expression on the face of the Head Girl, she nodded sadly. “It should enable her
to pinpoint exactly what both of you are reacting badly to.”

Casually pointing her wand first at the nauseous Ginny and then at the table after the trio had
turned to head for the main entrance to the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall deftly palmed a small
glass container that sailed out of the suffering witch's pocket as she cast a shimmering silver
globe around both the goblet that Harry had been drinking from and the pitcher that was sitting on
their end of the table. “I think that should help us isolate exactly where the problem originated,”
she said more to herself than anyone else.

Nodding cordially to the DADA professor and Head of House for Gryffindor that was making his way
towards her, the Headmistress stepped away from the students that had gathered to watch their
housemate head towards the infirmary, and greeted one of her newest staff members grimly.
“Professor Weasley, it seems Miss Weasley has suffered a reaction to something that has had a very
different effect on both her and the Head Boy there.” Seeing the disturbed look on Bill
Weasley's face as he took in Harry's blue hair and his sister's obvious discomfort, she
nodded discretely to him.

“Headmistress, do you want me to escort Miss Weasley up to the Hospital Wing?” Although he was
trying to keep his face neutral, his ears were beginning to show the barest tinge of `Weasley
red' as his eyes narrowed as he regarded his sister who was slowly being led away.

“I'll have Professor Sprout check the kitchens to make certain that the source of the
problem isn't down there. I'd like you to check Miss Weasley's trunk and wardrobe to
see if you can find anything that would explain this reaction.” Seeing the shocked look on his
face, she nodded and opened her hand to show him the glass potion vial in her hand. “It's
possible that she brought something from home that was poorly, ill advisedly or carelessly made
that caused this.”

“I see.” Closing his eyes for a second, Bill Weasley took several deep breaths. “Headmistress,
if this turns out the way I fear it will, I'd like to be the one to speak to her parents.”

“Are you certain, Professor?” Watching the young man closely, Minerva saw the concern he had for
his youngest sibling at war with his disbelief that she would do something like this. “This is the
sort of thing that Headmistresses do. I realize as her Head of House you feel a degree of
responsibility for the girl, but sometimes it's better if it's someone with a bit of
perspective.”

Seeing the sharp look he gave her, Minerva smiled sadly. “Years ago, before the first war
against Voldemort, there was an incident with a student in my house. A young Gryffindor decided she
wanted to dabble in love potions, and not just the cheap charm sorts that your brother
peddles.”

“I see. And this Gryffindor wouldn't have had a pair of older brothers, who were prefects?”
Shaking his head, Bill looked up towards the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. The sunny day
displayed warred with the sudden chill he felt.

“I believe she did. Back to the point of my story, I discovered that she had used such a potion,
and countered it at a very inopportune moment for her. Unfortunately, I made a rash decision…”
Seeing the look of disbelief on his face, the Headmistress blushed a bit and nodded in concession.
“It happens. I didn't make an official incident out of it, I simply assigned her a series of
detentions, took away a substantial number of house points from her and instructed her to destroy
her journals and notes regarding this `hobby' of hers.”

“I see.” Shaking his head, Bill sighed. “I take it you never mentioned this to the young wizard
involved, did you?”

“No I didn't. And I never mentioned it to your father, either.” Seeing the startled look on
Bill's face, Minerva shrugged. “There was a young muggleborn wizard in Hufflepuff that a great
number of witches in your mother's year found very charming. He, on the other hand, was greatly
enamored of a young witch a year behind him in Slytherin, which was reciprocated but wasn't
general knowledge since her family would have frowned upon her association with a muggle born. It
seemed young Ted never quite recovered from the shock of your mother's very enthusiastic
greeting in the corridor outside my Transfiguration class after I had countered the potion she had
dosed him with.” Seeing the gobsmacked look on his face, Minerva shrugged.

“Since the Slytherin witch in question was present when your mother discovered, much to her
embarrassment that Mr. Tonks was no longer `infatuated' with her, it was a very awkward
situation, to say the least.

It seems that the major drawback to that particular potion is that the subject has no memory of
anything they did or said due to the potion once its hold was gone, Miss Black simply observed your
mother attempting to poach a kiss from her unwilling wizard and reacted in a very Slytherin manner,
for once. Fortunately Andromeda and your mother have gotten over their respective grievances as
they seem to be amicably coexisting as grandmothers for young Teddy, but I am certainly regretting
not having made certain your mother destroyed her notes and journal.”

“Andromeda? How Slytherin?” Shaking his head, Bill watched sadly as the three Gryffindors made
their way slowly from the Great Hall. Ginny was able to take about six steps before she would
clutch the pail Hermione was holding.

“It was mostly harmless, though your mother did stay confined to the infirmary until her hair
returned to its normal hue two days later.” Shaking her head, the Headmistress sighed as Hermione
looked over her shoulder at them as the three were passing through the door into the corridor
beyond.

“Something I'm not willing to bet on if Hermione finds out what it appears Ginevra did.”

“Horace is on his way to the Hospital Wing using the staff access, if you'd be so kind as to
bring whatever it is you find to the Matron's office, I'll be there with Poppy trying to
determine exactly what our options are.”

Looking grim, Bill nodded once. “For the record, my father `heard' the rumors regarding what
happened at the end of Ginny's fifth year. He had a long discussion with her after they
returned to the Burrow following Albus' funeral. He told her, in no uncertain terms, that if it
turned out to be true, or if she ever did anything like that again, he would be the first to insist
that she would face the consequences of her actions.”

“Bill, it's only because of your parents that I haven't called for aurors on the basis
of what we do know now.” Seeing the three exit from the Great Hall, she squared her shoulders as
she watched the spot where the three had been for almost a minute. “I can only hope that Mr. Potter
will understand and not see it as another betrayal from the Head of this august institution.”

“A betrayal? Albus?”

“Things were not always what they seemed, and Albus never shied away from doing what he felt
best, regardless of the cost.” Shaking her head one last time, Minerva closed her eyes. “To him, or
to anyone else. “

“Then the rumors are true?” Looking mildly disturbed, Bill Weasley shook his head and glanced
over towards the corner where the large throne-like chair that the former Headmaster had used was
sitting. Both Severus Snape and now Headmistress McGonagall had eschewed using the imposing chair,
thought for very different reasons.

Minerva had dubbed the chair `the Siege Ridiculous' because of a hex that Fred Weasley had
cast upon the chair the evening of the Final Battle.

While not normally fatalistic, Fred had decided that if Voldemort's forces were to win the
day that evening, the Dark Lord would be unable to resist the temptation to seat himself in the
imposing chair in the Great Hall. To counter this, the brash young wizard cast a spell of extreme
complexity on the unsuspecting piece of furniture and, since there wasn't a clearly defined
Headmaster/mistress at the moment, he was able to tie the hex into the power reservoir of the
castle itself. Anyone seating themselves in the seat without uttering the phrase, `Voldemort is a
poncy Muggle' at the top of their lungs was transformed into whatever image that would counter
a boggart for that individual.

While Minerva found herself unwilling to undo a piece of magic that was a fitting tribute to a
very talented young wizard who had died much too soon, she found that it made an interesting
addition to the arsenal for teaching that particular lesson in DADA class. Since the castle itself
seemed to consider the chair as part of the Great Hall's décor, the seat found its way back to
the main room within a day or two of its removal for use in Defense.

“There are many rumors floating around about that night, but the ones I believe you are
referring to are true. “ Nodding grimly, Minerva noted the resigned look on the younger
wizard's face. “It's amazing that any of them are doing as well as they are, and then this
had to happen.”

“Speaking of which, I've been trying to figure out just where the missing part of the
`Golden Trio' has been keeping himself this term.” Looking puzzled as he began walking towards
the staff exit to the Great Hall that would take him and the Headmistress to the passages that
facilitated staff movement around the castle. “I can only hope he's keeping himself better
occupied that our sister.”

Smiling for the first time since events had begun to unfold in the Great Hall, the Headmistress
chuckled. “I think the youngest Mr. Weasley has been keeping himself quite profitably
`occupied' this term, both academically and socially.” Seeing the look on Bill's face, she
nodded. “I'm certain it will become apparent in the very near future, but I do believe your
brother has been giving our Head Boy and Girl space to see if they could figure things out between
themselves, which I believe they finally have.”

“Really now?” Looking a bit puzzled, Bill nodded to Minerva as he took the passage that would
take him to the staff entrance into the Gryffindor Common Room. “Hopefully it will be something
that will help take the onus off today; Merlin knows that the family could use a spot of good news
after today's events.”

“Whether or not `everyone' in the family will consider it `good news', is probably up
for debate, but I think that everyone other than your Mother will be very pleased by it, once young
Mr. Weasley gets around to making his relationship with one of my other Prefects public
knowledge.”

“And that's the problem with being on staff; it would be beneath the dignity of a Hogwarts
professor to give a student the mickey regarding a personal relationship.” Seeing the suspicious
look on the Headmistress' face, he shrugged. “I'll just have to live vicariously through my
brothers George and Charlie doing it.”

-->



6. Chapter Six - Operation Bad Chamberlain
------------------------------------------



Chapter Six - Operation Bad Chamberlain

As the hallway reappeared around her in a swirl of light, Luna looked around to make certain she
was alone. Noticing Mrs. Norris sitting there, staring at her, she shook her head.

“We've had this discussion before. Go along and do whatever it is you do during the day. And
stop following me. You can't catch the nargles anyway, so you might as well be useful and go
down and haunt the Slytherin's hallway. They're always good for a few laughs.”

Glaring at her balefully, the grizzled cat snorted once before moving slowly down the hallway,
away from Luna.

Heading down the steps to the third floor, Luna fairly skipped as she made her way to the
Hospital Wing. Coming up the hall, her face lit up with a grin as she saw Harry and Hermione
exiting the double doors that separated the wing from the rest of the floor.

“Luna, didn't you just say you were going to visit Hagrid?” Looking only slightly puzzled,
Hermione beamed as she saw her friend.

“Well, with Ginevra still feeling ill and all, I decided spending time with her trumped
Humdinger's.” Smiling at Harry, Luna nodded gravely at their joined hands. “That looks very
natural, to my point of view.”

“Natural and very long overdue.” Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “I'm certain Ginny's
feeling a bit better if you want to go in and check on her.”

“I think I might do that. While I'm certain Poppy and Professor Slughorn will have her
sorted out in no time, I think I remember a few things that might help her get through this.”
Nodding at Harry, Luna arched a delicate eyebrow at his knowing look.

“I just hope she's feeling better by dinner, I'd hate for her to spend the entire day in
the infirmary.” Seeming a bit too self- satisfied considering the fact that one of her friends was
currently residing in the infirmary, Hermione smiled contentedly as she leaned her head against
Harry's shoulder.

“There are much worse places she could spend the day, but I do know what you mean.” Reaching for
the door handle, Luna smiled as her two friends wandered up the hall, apparently lost in each
other.

Entering the Hospital Wing, Luna stopped just inside the doorway and looked around. Seeing the
youngest Weasley sitting forlornly on a bed in a far corner of the room, Luna unfocused her eyes
slightly and nodded as the wards surrounding her friend's bed came into view. Shaking her head,
the blonde Ravenclaw sighed and stepped lightly towards the matron's office door. Stopping just
out of sight from the office, she listened briefly to the conversation between the three staff
members before stepping into the door and making her presence known.

“Excuse me, Headmistress. Could I trouble you three for a second?” Standing in the doorway, Luna
nodded to each of the three as she waited. The Matron had a harried look on her face that was at
odds with the almost empty state of her ward. Professor Slughorn smiled at her and nodded
encouragingly. Headmistress McGonagall, on the other hand, had a very stern look on her face and
visibly tried not to glare at one of her prefects.

“Miss Lovegood, we're in the middle of a very serious matter here. Could this not wait until
later? Perhaps you could stop by and see me after dinner if the Head Boy and Girl can't solve
your problem for you?” Nodding towards the door to the outside, Professor McGonagall clearly
expected Luna to take the hint and leave as soon as possible.

“Actually, I think I can shed some light on the current matters and offer a solution that
doesn't involve either the aurors or the Wizengamot in Ginevra's future.” Seeing the
shocked look on all three faces, Luna nodded solemnly. “And I do believe the Head Girl and Boy are
going to be very `occupied' until dinner, at least.”

A brief glimmer of a smile ghosted across Minerva McGonagall's face as Luna mentioned the
new status of her favorite student in passing. Schooling her features into her usual severe
demeanor, she narrowed her gaze and studied the young Ravenclaw over the top of her glasses. “Just
what, if anything, do you know about Miss Weasley's current predicament?”

“Other than the fact that she tried to dose Harry with Sylph's Blood?” Seeing the shocked
look on all three adult's faces, she nodded. “The blue hair was a dead giveaway, even if I
didn't know about what was going on.”

Nodding sagely, Professor Slughorn turned to the Headmistress with a glint in his eye. “I told
you that Miss Lovegood had inherited her mother's hand at potions. Both she and Mr. Potter are
examples of how this ability runs in families.”

“Yes Horace, you've said that numerous times. And Severus' mother couldn't brew tea;
much less qualify for advanced potions work, so your theory is a bit thin.” Turning back to Luna
she nodded. “I fail to see how any of this keeps us from having to notify the Ministry. Of all the
imbecilic things, the girl had to wait until she was an adult to do something quite so daft.”

“At least her mother's idiocy manifested itself before she became of age.” Turning her
attention back to Luna, Poppy smiled encouragingly. “Do you know something about this
situation?”

Glaring at the Matron, Minerva shook her head. “Poppy, I don't care to have this story
bandied about the school. It's bad enough that I'm going to have to have Miss Weasley
arrested by the aurors, but I don't need the sordid details of this incident spread around the
school.”

Blinking her eyes twice, Luna snorted in amusement. Turning upon her, the Headmistress glared at
her. “You're Miss Weasley's friend. I didn't realize her spending time in Azkaban would
amuse you.”

“Actually, since no crime has been committed, this time, Ginevra won't be facing any
sanctions from the Ministry, and other than with the `Golden Trio', I have no plans of ever
discussing this matter, once I finish talking to Ginevra in a few minutes.” Seeing the incredulous
look on the Headmistress' face and the surprise on Poppy's Luna shrugged. Professor
Slughorn was sitting back and giving her a very admiring look and shaking his head, as if
anticipating part of what was coming next.

Trying to calm herself, the Headmistress swallowed twice and stared at Luna for almost a minute
before speaking in a deceptively calm voice. “As far as I'm aware, dosing an individual with a
`love potion' without their consent is an offense against the civil order. And, unless my
distinguished colleague is about to contradict me, Sylph's Blood is most assuredly a controlled
potion of the second degree.”

“Of course Sylph's Blood is a controlled potion, Minerva. However, I believe our young
prefect is about to enlighten us to extenuating circumstances in this manner.” Turning a twinkling
eye towards Luna, Professor Slughorn nodded amicably. “Isn't that correct?”

“Very true, Professor Slughorn. The part that you three aren't aware of, and even Ginevra
isn't aware of, is that Harry knew that there was a potion in the pumpkin juice that Ginevra
was offering him. Since his willing sip of the juice was consent, she really can't be
charged.”

“She wasn't aware that Harry knew?” Poppy looked from the Potion's Master to the
Headmistress in confusion. “Why didn't Harry just admit that he knew she was going to try to
dose him?” Turning to Luna, she eyed the Ravenclaw prefect with suspicion. “And just how did Harry
know? For that matter, how do you know that Harry knew?”

A smile broke out on Professor McGonagall's face as she shook her head. “It was mercy,
Poppy.” Seeing the confused look on the Matron's face, she nodded. “You would be sorting out
something much more serious than just reoccurring nausea if Hermione Granger had found out that
Miss Weasley had tried to dose her newly minted boyfriend with a love potion as potent as
Sylph's Blood.” Looking at Luna with a degree of respect, she nodded. “And I think that your
knowing has something to do with Mr. Potter knowing.”

“Well yes, I did alert Harry to Ginevra's intentions.” Smiling dreamily, Luna looked at each
of the adults in turn. “I found out about her plan and decided to administer an appropriate
counteragent to protect Harry and convince Ginevra that she shouldn't meddle in things that are
much bigger than she is.” Nodding, Luna took a quick glance over her shoulder to where Ginny was
sitting, staring forlornly out the window. “If it would be possible, might I speak to Ginevra? I
think I can add some perspective to this to ensure she doesn't do anything quite so foolish
again.”

“I'm not certain that that would be wise, Miss Lovegood. While it appears this isn't an
official Ministry matter, it's still a matter of school discipline.” Sitting back, the
Headmistress lobbed the verbal quaffle into Luna's lap.

“True, and as the prefect who found out about the situation, with the consent of the Head Boy I
might add, I think it would be perfectly appropriate for me to resolve this matter at the prefect
level without making a Ministerial case out of it.” Seeing the amused look in the Headmistress'
eyes, she smiled dreamily. “Arthur and Molly have been through quite enough over the past couple of
years, finding out that their daughter came within a hair's breadth of ending up in Azkaban
would be the wand that broke the blibbering humdinger's back, so to speak.”

“Headmistress, I would like to award eighty points to Ravenclaw in recognition of Miss
Lovegood's exceptional skill and forethought.” Seeing the surprised look on his colleague's
face, he nodded. “Very few students would recognize that Amortentia would be an effective
prophylactic in this circumstance, much less be able to properly brew that tricky potion.” Nodding
to Luna who was looking more surprised than usual, the Potions Master smiled broadly at her.
“You're definitely your mother's daughter and I know she's very proud of you for
looking out for your friends, even those that have gone out of their way to be quarrelsome.”

“Professor, that really isn't necessary, I was only doing what needed to be done.”

“Nonsense, I can't think of more than a handful of students I've had the pleasure of
teaching that could have accomplished what you have.” Turning towards Minerva, he beamed as he
smiled. “Headmistress, I must insist. We won't be specific as to why, but I think `exceptional
skill with potions' should cover it nicely if anyone was to ask about Ravenclaw's sudden
upswing in points.”

Looking over at the Matron, the Headmistress and the mediwitch shared a long look before she
turned back to Luna. “Miss Lovegood, I do believe that we will take your suggestion and give you a
chance at sorting out Miss Weasley's situation.” Becoming grim she nodded. “However, you will
impress upon Miss Weasley that if I ever even think she's considering a repeat performance,
I'll pull every privilege she has, remove her from the Quidditch team and personally inform her
parents of exactly what their daughter has gotten herself into. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes Headmistress, completely clear.” Nodding seriously, Luna's usual carefree expression
was gone, replaced by a look of determination and resolve. “I do believe between the two of us, we
can impress upon Ginevra exactly how close she's come to losing more than she ever considered
possible.”

As Minerva stood up, she looked over at her two colleagues. “Professor Slughorn, Matron Pomfrey,
I'm going to impose upon both of you, you especially Poppy. I'm going to use the Hospital
Wing office for a short conference with Miss Lovegood.” Seeing the sharp looks that both staff
members were giving her, she smiled. “It's nothing serious, just something I want to clear up
with my prefect before she speaks to Miss Weasley.”

Taking the nods from both her colleagues, she waited for them to leave and quietly close the
office door before turning her attention back to Luna. Looking Luna up and down, the Headmistress
waited for several seconds before making a decision.

“Miss Lovegood, are you aware that Dame Gladstone was a Headmistress of this institution just
following the Second Goblin Rebellion?”

“She's mentioned it a couple of times. She made it sound ever so exciting, what with sieges
of the school and the Ministry before things were resolved. Personally, I think it as probably more
like the dreadful times we just went through, but Lady G seems to remember mostly the
highpoints.”

Staring in disbelief, Professor McGonagall shook her head and smiled. “Luna, I do believe
you're correct. Wars are never something to glamorize, even when you're on the side of the
Light. I imagine your friends would agree with you on that account. But that's not why I
brought up Dame Gladstone.”

“You're curious if my personal situation has anything to do with being involved in this
mess, aren't you?”

“Well, yes. I can see how that would involve you in these matters.” Peering at her prefect over
her glasses, Professor McGonagall leaned back against the Matron's desk and crossed her arms in
front of her. “I'm not here to chastise you over anything; I'd just like to be clear in my
mind exactly why you're involved in these matters.”

“May I?” Pointing to the chair recently vacated by Professor Slughorn, Luna waited patiently for
the Headmistress' amused nod before she seated herself on the back of the chair. Settling in,
Luna lost bit of her normally distracted air as she addressed the older witch.

“Harry and Hermione should have been together years ago.” Seeing the knowing look on her
Headmistress's face, she continued. “Unfortunately, due to the interference of Professor
Dumbledore, for what he obviously thought were good reasons, and Ginevra, for obviously not so good
reasons with my unknowing assistance, it didn't come to pass until today. I was given a chance
to redress that issue, and I chose to take it. Other factors really didn't come into play; I
would have done what I did regardless.”

“Unknowing assistance?” Staring at her prefect, certain things that had always mystified her
about the Trio's sixth year started to become clearer to the Headmistress.

“It never occurred to me that Ginevra would attempt to concoct Dryad's Kiss. I believed her
when she said she was working on a potion to help her keep her seat in quidditch. It wasn't
until things started going south between Harry and Hermione that I realized she had deceived
me.”

“And it never occurred to you to mention this to anyone?”

“Actually, I did go to Professor Dumbledore as soon as I realized their relationship was being
destabilized by the potion.” Seeing the disbelieving look in Professor McGonagall's eye, she
nodded solemnly. “I'm prepared to take a Witches' Oath on that. He instructed me not to
speak of it to anyone, especially you and Professor Flitwick. But most especially Hermione.”

Closing her eyes, Professor McGonagall leaned back against the desk and shook her head. Luna
waited patiently as she watched the Headmistress come to terms with her revelation. As the
Headmistress looked up, Luna involuntarily flinched at the look on Professor McGonagall's
face.

“Miss Lovegood, I realize that you did what you thought was best, and I'm in no way upset
with you. I also realize that this experience might make you a bit leery of suggestions not to
inform people about this situation, but I would ask that you refrain from informing either Harry or
Hermione of Professor Dumbledore's dubious judgment in this manner. If you feel you can't,
in good conscience, honor my request, I totally understand. In that case, all I ask is that you
allow me to be present when you tell them so I can assure them that this was a unilateral decision
on Professor Dumbledore's part.”

Luna gazed at Professor McGonagall for several seconds, as if she were weighing this last bit of
advice. Her eyes began to glow slightly as she nodded. “Professor, I don't think any good would
be served by telling Harry and Hermione, at this time. There may come a time when it would be
necessary to tell them, but that would only be because Professor Dumbledore has meddled in their
lives again.”

Nodding in agreement, the Headmistress studied her prefect intently. While the persona Luna
Lovegood presented to the world was still there, Minerva could see the witch behind the façade.
Seeing the look in the younger witches' eyes, she realized that she was being evaluated just as
she was evaluating Luna.

“Miss Lovegood, I've never had a chance to mention this, but I was very fond of your mother
when she was a student here.” Seeing the look on Luna's face, she smiled. “I know people
usually avoid mentioning Aranrhod around you, but your mother was an exceptional witch and student,
and I was proud to have known her. She may not have been in my house, but I was very proud of the
things she accomplished, both here at Hogwarts and after she left.”

“Mum mentioned you when she was telling me about the school. I think she was very fond of you,
also. She said that having been muggleborn she was a bit adrift when she arrived, but you went out
of your way to make certain that she felt included.”

“Miss Lovegood, I hope you can find the words to impress your rash young friend out there that I
won't tolerate any further attempts to interfere with the personal affairs of Miss Granger and
Mr. Potter. I'm sorely tempted to have Poppy give her a referral to St Mungo's, her
behavior borders upon the obsessive.” Shaking her head, the Headmistress closed her eyes. “I'm
not looking forward to that conversation with her parents.”

“Begging your pardon, but she's not the only one who seems to be a bit confused as to how
things should be regarding Harry and Hermione.” Seeing the rueful nod of the Headmistress'
head, Luna continued. “While I'm certain he meant well, Professor Dumbledore both meddled
between them and, I think, encouraged Ginevra in her pursuit of Harry.”

“And that's something I never understood. The man wasn't senile; he could remember how
James and Lily Potter were together, once they resolved their mutual first impressions. Almost from
the start, that was the rapport that existed between Harry and Hermione.”

“If I may be so bold, I think that Professor Dumbledore has had a run in with one to many
wrackspurts, over the years.” Seeing the skeptical look on the Headmistress' face, Luna
continued quickly. “He was focused upon the sacrifice Harry's mum made, trying to instill in
Harry a willingness to do the same.”

“You do know that very few people know all of the particulars of what happened either of those
nights?”

Nodding solemnly, Luna sighed. “And it's another of the things I won't speak of
unnecessarily. Professor Dumbledore pushed Harry towards Ginevra because she resembled his mum,
physically. A bit of a dodgy thing I think, but he was trying to keep Harry mindful of the
sacrifice Lily Potter made. What he failed to realize was that while Harry would risk his life for
Ginevra, it was for Hermione that he would willingly lay it down.”

“I'm going to have to have a very long talk with Professor Dumbledore, and I'm going to
use your insights as a major part of my argument with him.” Looking at Luna shrewdly, she smiled.
“I know that Professor Flitwick, as your head of house, has had several discussions with you
regarding your future. I do hope you'll consider a path that will allow you to return here to
Hogwarts, sometime in the future.”

“I think that I'll have a chance to do that, in the future.” Staring off into the distance,
Luna's normally distracted air intensified, as she appeared to look at something only she could
see. “It won't be soon, but there will come a day when I'll be back here at Hogwarts and
we'll have a chance to talk again about these things.” Blinking slowly, Luna shook herself a
bit and focused on the older witch. “Where were we?”

“You were going to impress upon your young friend the need to end her meddling ways?” Watching
the younger witch warily, the Headmistress sighed as she remembered those moments when Luna's
mother had briefly `disconnected' with the world around her and extraordinary events had
resulted.

“True, the time for appeasement and containment has past.” Turning so she could see her friend,
sitting forlornly staring out the window, Luna nodded sagely. “She has to choose between peace and
destruction. I only hope she's willing to live in peace with her fate, because it will unmake
her if she persists.”

-->



7. Chapter Seven - The Balance Sheet of Life
--------------------------------------------



Chapter Seven - The Balance Sheet of Life

Stepping out into the ward, Luna nodded amicably to Madame Pomfrey, who was sitting at a table
and annotating some parchments. Wandering over to where the youngest Weasley was being confined,
Luna felt the subtle brush of the wards as she neared the bed where Ginny waited.

Seeing that the wards would ignore her as long as she didn't attempt to engineer the freedom
of the witch they had been cast to contain, Luna frowned slightly at the look on Ginny's face
as she looked up to see who was approaching her.

“Sorry, Ginevra, I'm not Harry come to rescue you from durance vile.” Shaking her head at
the look on her friend's face, Luna sat on the foot of the bed, far enough away to not tempt
her volatile friend into attempting to seize her wand and do something rash.

“Luna, has Harry come to his senses and spoken to the Headmistress about me, yet?” Shaking her
head in disbelief, the red-haired witch muttered to herself, “I can't believe its taking this
bloody long to kick in.”

“Ginevra, Harry's totally in his `right mind', although right about now I'd imagine
that he's having a bit of a difficult time focusing on anything too abstract.” Shaking her
head, Luna dropped her normally affable demeanor and glared at her friend. “You used me to harm
those two, and we need to discuss that, among other things.”

“Luna, I have no idea what you're going on about.” Watching her warily, Ginny looked around
the room. “Did the Headmistress say anything about why I'm being held here? My symptoms have
abated and I need to get out of here and take care of a few things.”

Leaning back, Luna studied her friend for almost a minute before answering. Letting her eyes
unfocus for a bit, she gazed at Ginny and slid easily into her surface thoughts. Roiling as if they
were a pool being churned by furious activity deep beneath the surface, Luna noted the images Ginny
was trying to not think about, a cache of restricted potions materials hidden in the false bottom
of her school trunk and a thirty year old journal hidden behind the unmentionables drawer in her
wardrobe.

“I'm certain that the Headmistress has already retrieved your mother's journal and the
cache of potions materials you have in your trunk.” Seeing the shocked look on Ginny's face,
she nodded grimly. “And what I'm talking about is the Dryad's Kiss you dosed Harry with our
fifth year.” Shaking her head, Luna scowled. “You owed that boy a Wizard's Debt and that was
how you thought to repay him?

Blushing, Ginny shook her head. “It was for the best. Harry and I are meant to be together,
everyone knows that. The day we met, at King's Cross, there was a connection. If he hadn't
gotten on the train so quickly, he would have realized I was the one and he would have waited for
me. He would have ignored that bookworm when she came bustling into their compartment to set her
claws into him.” Looking defiantly at Luna, Ginny glared. “Ron told me all about how she came in
there and started working her way into his heart.”

“Enough!” Luna's voice echoed around the room. The nearby window rattled a bit, small
objects on a nearby table shifted, and Ginny looked as if she had been physically slapped.

Gone was the dreamy, otherworldly Luna Lovegood that Ginny had known most of her life. In her
place was a cold, implacable witch that radiated power and menace. Pinned beneath the weight of her
gaze, Ginny visibly shrank back as Luna's silvery gaze bore into her, deep into her soul.

“Ginevra Molly Weasley. You are meddling with things you cannot comprehend. Those two have been
marked for each other since before they were born, that day on the train was the culmination of
almost a century of waiting.” Closing her eyes, briefly, Luna allowed Ginny to slump down as her
gaze left her. Opening them again, she stared at her friend with a look that was both sorrow and
contempt.

“The fates aren't done with those two, but you are. Harry is forever beyond the reach of
your childish plots and games. The witch his heart was made for has claimed it.” Shaking her head,
Luna sighed. Her voice returned to its normal slightly distracted quality. “Do you honestly believe
you can still come between them? Did today teach you nothing?”

Closing her eyes, Ginny began to shake her head from side to side, her long hair flaring out in
a living corona around her; she clenched her fists in front of her. “I must have made a mistake
with the formulation. Once I'm out of here and can keep down a meal, I'll regroup and do it
again. I'll sweep the influence she has over him from him and he'll realize that I'm
the one he needs, the one he wants.”

Luna deliberately placed her wand behind her ear. Glancing over towards the door to the
Matron's Office, she could see the Headmistress watching her with a very attentive look. Coming
to a conclusion, Luna turned back to her childhood friend and cast a nonverbal, wandless spell.
Seeing Ginny freeze in place, only her eyes able to move as they darted back and forth, trying to
discern the source of the spell that had robbed her of her mobility, Luna waited until her
friend's attention returned to her before she spoke again.

“Ginevra, whether or not you spend the next twenty years of your life in Azkaban depends largely
upon how our conversation goes.” Seeing her friend's eyes go wide, Luna nodded and smiled, as
if they were having a normal conversation. “I'm going to explain exactly what happened today
and what will happen next time you attempt anything so incredibly foolish.”

Waiting several seconds for what she had said to sink in, Luna nodded and began in a quiet
voice. “Your potion was perfect. The fact that Harry's hair turned that shocking shade is proof
that you were spot on with your technique.” Nodding in response to Ginny's eyes narrowing at
that revelation, Luna continued.

“Fortunately, for all involved, the Dryad's Kiss you had dosed Harry with years ago was
removed from his system earlier today. If it hadn't, the reaction between the two potions would
have been very severe, potentially fatal.”

Releasing Ginny from the spell holding her in place, Luna watched as she collapsed back on the
bed. Ginny was staring at her in horror. “I checked the miscibility index. The Dryad's Kiss
must have been gone from his system; otherwise he wouldn't have broken up with me at Headmaster
Dumbledore's funeral. He told me that Harry should be with me, promised me.”

“The shock of Professor Dumbledore dying before his eyes and his need for her broke the hold the
Dryad's Kiss had on him, but it was still in his system until this morning.” Not giving Ginny
any time to process that, Luna continued.

“The Headmaster encouraged your infatuation with Harry to further his own agenda, Ginevra. He
knew as well as everyone else did that Harry's destiny was entwined with Hermione's, but he
was hoping an attraction to you, artificial or otherwise, would prod Harry to sacrifice his life to
defeat Voldemort.” Shaking her head, Luna glared at her friend. “I think the technical term for
your role in the Headmaster's plan is `The Judas Goat'.”

“He wouldn't. He loved Harry and wanted him to be happy. He wanted him to be with me.”

“Grow up, Ginevra. Professor Dumbledore wanted Harry with you because you'd remind him of
his dead mother.” Watching her friend shake her head in disbelief, Luna bored in for the kill. “His
mother, whom you're very similar to in physique and hair coloring, sacrificed her life to save
Harry's the night Voldemort attacked and killed Harry's parents. Dumbledore wanted you as a
living, breathing reminder of that sacrifice so Harry would willingly lay down his life to defeat
Voldemort. You were nothing to Dumbledore but a walking, talking ghost; a reminder of what
Harry's ultimate fate was to be. There were no long-term plans from our Headmaster, you were
meant to insure that Harry would die at the appropriate moment.”

“But he came back.” Whispering, Ginny's horrified expression tugged at Luna's
heartstrings. Ignoring the sympathy she felt for how her friend had been used, she prepared to
batter her again with that cruel hammer called `truth'.

“Aye, he came back. For her.” Seeing the look on Ginny's face, Luna nodded. “Harry laid down
his life to defeat Voldemort, he sacrificed himself to someone else a chance to end the nightmare.
But, down deep, he walked out to the forest to give Hermione a chance to live and find happiness.
Without him. He came back because she needed him.” Taking a deep breath, Luna preempted Ginny's
next objection. “He risked his life for you in the Chamber of Secrets, as he would for anyone. He
sacrificed his life for hers, as she would for him.” Shaking her head sadly, she whispered, “As
they both had, before.”

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Ginny stared at Luna. “How do you know, how can you know?”

Nodding, Luna got up from her place at the foot of the bed and moved closer to her friend.
Sitting herself back on the bed, she gathered the crying witch to her and wrapped her arms around
her. Feeling Ginny begin to sob, she held her for several seconds before answering.

“I talked to him, talked to them both. I took the time to get to know the real Harry, something
you never did.” Gently stroking her hair, Luna felt the sobs wracking her friend and smiled.
“Ginevra, Harry cared about you, once upon a time, and he will again, but his heart was always hers
and hers alone. What they have for each other isn't something that you can meddle with. They
truly love each other; the Amortentia confirmed what I always suspected about them.”

Raising her head from Luna's shoulder, Ginny stared at her in bewilderment. “Amortentia? Did
she use that to bind him to her?”

“Silly witch, Amortentia reveals love, it doesn't create it. If you would have used that
potion, it would have swept the Dryad's Kiss from his system and allowed their love to manifest
itself. As it was, if I hadn't intervened, you could have killed Harry and ruined your own life
in the process.”

Seeing the look in Ginny's eyes, Luna nodded. “I gave him the Amortentia earlier today to
make amends for the role I played in keeping the two of them apart.”

“Luna, what can I do? How can I just stop loving him?” Shaking her head, Ginny stared at her
friend. “I've been waiting for him since I was six.”

“Ginny, at six you were told a bedtime story about a little lost boy who disappeared after he
defeated the darkest wizard anyone had ever known. You became enchanted by the concept of Harry
Potter; you imagined he was living somewhere mysterious, learning ancient magics, waiting to save
the wizarding world once again.” Seeing her friend nod in agreement, Luna smiled sadly.

“My mum was a bit of a seer, and she told the story quite differently. She had been friends with
a girl named Lily Evans in school, and she remembered the joy that Lily felt when she finally
realized that James Potter was the wizard for her.

The night Harry's parents were killed, my mum woke up from a nightmare to `seeing' what
was happening in Godric's Hollow. It wasn't Harry who defeated Voldemort that night, it was
Lily Potter. She laid down her life to protect her son, Voldemort had already cruelly murdered her
beloved husband and she knew her time had come. She willingly died to give Harry a chance.

While you were daydreaming about Harry the Champion, the family he lived with was cruelly using
him. His mother's sister allowed her vicious husband to mistreat and abuse him. Your family
filled the Burrow to the rafters, but you had a room that was fit for a little princess witch,
Harry lived beneath the stairs in a cupboard with spiders for company.”

Shaking her head, Luna noted the horror and disbelief in her friend's eyes. Nodding sadly,
Luna softly finished. “The wizard you've been waiting for never existed. He was never `The Boy
Who Lived'. He was always `The Boy Who Survived'. He didn't start to live until after
Tom Riddle was defeated.”

“You've always known, haven't you?” Sitting up, Ginny stared at her friend in disbelief.
“That's why you told me our second year that Harry wasn't who I thought he was.”

“I wasn't going to argue with you about something so obvious.” Smiling, Luna shrugged.
“Hermione wasn't ready to believe about nargles, you weren't ready to believe Harry
wasn't some hero that you could claim for your own.”

“What do I do?” Looking a bit lost, Ginny's shoulders slumped as she looked down at her
hands. “I still love him, what do I do with that?”

“I love Harry, also. He's very easy to love once you get to know him. But that's not the
same thing as being `in love' with him.” Watching her friend carefully, Luna observed how she
was processing this latest piece of news.

“You love Harry? But I thought you said that your mum told you different stories about him?”

“That doesn't have anything to do with it. When I got to Hogwarts, I was interested in
seeing who Harry was, especially since you were going on and on about him. As time passed, my first
three years, I observed him, and how he reacted with his friends and others. I discovered he was
totally different from what you told me, and certainly different from the twaddle that the Prophet
printed about him.

Once I got to know Harry, things began to change. I could see him as an individual, and how he
treated the people around him. Gradually, I began to care about him, not because of what had
happened when he was still in nappies, but because I could see he genuinely cared about those of us
that chose to stand with him. The more I saw of him, and interacted with him, the more I realized I
had begun to love him.”

Seeing the look on Ginny's face, she shook her head. “Not in the sense of `snog him
senseless' love him, but in the sense that he's someone important in my life and I'd go
out of my way to help him and protect him. I love Harry because of who he is as a person, not just
what he's done. And loving him means that I really want him to be happy with his life.”

Pausing a bit while Ginny thought about what she had said, Luna reached out and placed her hand
on Ginny's arm. “Do you want Harry to be happy?”

“Of course. I just always thought I'd be the one to make him happy.” Looking up at Luna,
Ginny stared at the blond witch, waiting to see what would follow.

“You can't make anyone else happy, Ginevra, only yourself. Harry will be happy because
he's where he needs to be, with the one he needs to be with. Hermione can't make Harry
happy, but the two of them allow each other to be happy. And since we both love and care for Harry,
his being happy will contribute to our being happy.”

“Ack!” Shaking her head in frustration, Ginny closed her eyes and tried to think. Opening them
again, she shook her head at Luna. “This was so much easier when all I was trying to do was get
Harry to snog me senseless and then take him to the Room of Requirement for the weekend. Why did
you have to clutter everything up like this?”

“Ginevra, love is never simple. You're talking about passion and lust, which is usually
fairly simple.” Seeing the look on Ginny's face, Luna grinned and nodded in agreement. “All
right, it's wicked fun along with being fairly simple. And there's nothing wrong with
passion and a goodly amount of lust when you're with someone you love. And if everyone agrees
ahead of time, there's nothing wrong with a bit of passion and lust just for its own sake.”

Looking straight at the younger witch, Luna waited until she stopped grinning before continuing.
“Your problem is that you confused the two.”

“But I did love Harry. I do.”

“Ginevra, you loved the concept of Harry. Before you met him at the train that day, you were
over the moon in love with the romantic concept of Harry Potter. If someone had walked up with a
flashing sign that read `This is Harry Potter' you would have swooned all over him. When a
scrawny, lost, eleven year old in thread-bare hand-me-downs, broken glasses and weird hair came up
and asked you mum how to get to the train, did you immediately faint at his feet? Did you swoon?
Did you say, `that's the guy I'm going to shag senseless and marry someday'?”

“Well, no. He was just some geeky kid who couldn't even find his way to the train.”
Blushing, she shook her head. “But that changed.”

“Right. It changed after your brothers told you who he was. Then you wanted to go see him, talk
to him, fawn over him.” Smiling, Luna chuckled at the scowl on Ginny's face.

“You don't have to make it sound so superficial and shallow. I was ten, for Merlin's
sake.”

“True.” Nodding, Luna smiled as she saw Ginny walking straight where she wanted her to be. “Now
let's take a glance at what happened when Hermione met Harry.”

“You weren't there, how would you know?” Looking at her friend suspiciously, Ginny's
eyes narrowed as she frowned at Luna.

“I've talked to both your brother and Neville, who were there. And it made enough of an
impression on both of them that they remember it fairly clearly.” Smiling, Luna nodded her head.
“Hermione came bustling into the compartment with your brother and Harry, Neville in tow, trying to
find Neville's toad Trevor. You know how she is, she was talking a mile a minute, recited from
memory the entry from `Famous Wizards' about Harry to him and then watched your brother try
some ridiculous spell on Scabbers. She noticed Harry's glasses were broken and she fixed them
for him. That's when it happened.”

“What happened?” Chuckling, Ginny could just picture a first-year Hermione coming in and totally
taking over the compartment.

“Neville calls it `The Look' while your brother swears that both of them were attacked by
wrackspurts. They truly noticed each other and it was one of those moments when the two of them
just tuned out the rest of the world, and there was nothing else in the Universe but the other
person. I believe they found each other. Ronald then made some ridiculous silly comment and things
went back to normal, but for that one moment, the two of them only saw each other. Not the
pretenses that we all show to the world, but the real person inside.” Shaking her head, Luna
sighed.

“For what it's worth, I truly believe that they fell in love with each other that day on the
train. The last seven years has just been window dressing, leading up to today.”

“That's just bloody marvelous. Why can't people like that come with some sort of sign or
label that says, `Don't bother, he's just waiting until Hermione gets around to claiming
him'?” Frowning, Ginny started picking the threads on the edge of the blanket that covered the
bed she was sitting on,

“The sign was there, you just refused to look at it.” Smirking a bit, Luna nodded when Ginny
looked up at her in surprise. “Ask George. He's been running a pool since their third year
about when they'd get together. Over half the school, most of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, have
bet on them at one time or another.” Seeing the shocked look on Ginny's face, Luna nodded
again. “Although George insists on maintaining `client confidentiality', rumor has it that
several of the staff members have been known to wager a sickle or two on just when those two were
finally going to get together.”

Falling back onto the bed, Ginny began to moan, covering her eyes with her hands. “Not only do I
not get Harry, but apparently I'm the laughingstock of the school for chasing a wizard who
couldn't be caught.”

“If it's any consolation, a goodly number of witches were rooting for you.” Seeing the
disbelieving look on her face, Luna nodded.

Rolling over on her side, Ginny propped her head on her hand. Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “Out
with it, let's get to the punch line. Why were they rooting for me to snag Harry?”

“Apparently, the reasoning was they didn't think they had a chance at beating out Hermione
if she ever got him, but you were much less of a sure thing.”

“Just bloody marvelous. It's like those frost wolves Hagrid told us about. They wait for a
dire wolf to take down one of those aurochs because they know they don't have a chance against
the auroch. Then they gang up on the single wolf and drive her away to steal the kill.” Shaking her
head, she rolled back onto her back. “What do I do now?”

“What is it that you want?” Looking at Ginny carefully, Luna was starting to have some hope for
the younger witch as she could see she was genuinely considering Luna's question.

“I want my friends back.” Staring at the ceiling, Ginny chewed her lip. “I want to go to them,
admit I've been a rotter and hope they'll, at least, consider forgiving me someday.”
Closing her eyes and sighing, she took several deep breaths before she finished. “I want my life
back.”

“Ginevra, I think that's doable.” Nodding at the surprised look on her face, Luna shrugged.
“Deep down, Harry still cares about you and once he's had a chance to think about it, I think
he can be convinced that you've genuinely learned your lesson and you didn't act out of
malice.” Seeing the hopeful look on Ginny's face, Luna sighed. “You acted stupidly and rashly,
but not maliciously.”

“What should I do?” Sitting up on the bed, Ginny swiveled around and sat facing Luna with a very
earnest look on her face. “How can I get them to forgive me?”

“You can't get them to forgive you, all you can do is see if they will. Which I think will
happen, but the key to this is Harry.” Seeing the look on her face, Luna smiled. “I asked Harry not
to explain to Hermione about the potions and what you did for a couple of days, and he agreed.”

“So I'm going to have to tell both of them? Can't I just talk to Harry first and then
get him to help me break it to her?”

“There are two reasons that won't work. The first is that you acted against both of them;
you need to apologize to both of them. They're together now, and I think that you're going
to find that the concept of `they' is going to be in control from here on out.” Pausing for a
second, Luna watched Ginny mull that over.

“I can see that. If I go to Harry first, Hermione might see it as I'm trying to play him
against her, not to mention she might think I don't consider what I did to her as important as
what I did to him.” Putting her hands on the side of her head, she moaned softly. “This is giving
me such a headache. What's the second reason?”

“The second reason is that it's fairly difficult to sincerely apologize to Harry if
you're heaving your toenails up while you're doing it.”

“What?”

“Side effect of the Amortentia. The initial reaction lasts for a day, nothing we can do about
that. After that, since you tried to meddle with true love, anytime you're knowingly within ten
feet of Harry during the next year and a day, you'll suffer a relapse if Hermione's not
present.”

“Just bloody fantastic. We have classes together. If Hermione skives off a day, I might as well
just go to the hospital wing since I'll truly be sick.” Seeing the look on Luna's face, she
blushed. “Bad example. Since Voldemort's dead and buried, I can't see anything earth
shattering enough for Hermione to consider skiving off for. But what about Quidditch?”

“While I think you're going to find that our Head Girl will now have ample temptations to
miss a class here and there, you do have a problem. However, there's a way around it.
There's a temporary counter-curse that can be cast to allow you to be around Harry unchaperoned
by Hermione.” Seeing the hopeful look on Ginny's face, Luna smiled. “But Hermione's the
only one who can cast it, and she gets to specify the duration and location.”

“Great. This just keeps getting better and better. Anything else I should know.”

Standing up, Luna smiled sweetly as she turned and nodded to the Matron and the Headmistress,
both of whom were doing a very bad job at appearing disinterested in what was transpiring between
Luna and Ginny. Turning back to Ginny, Luna's smile disappeared as she nodded firmly to
Ginny.

“Your real punishment will probably come tonight after dinner.” Seeing the puzzled look on
Ginny's face, she sighed. “If this afternoon is going the way I think it's going for those
two, they're going to walk into the Great Hall, hand in hand, with a sappy look on their faces
that will let anyone, including the first years, know exactly what's happened between
them.”

“Merlin, no. Anything but that.” Shaking her head, Ginny shut her eyes in horror.

“Hermione's probably going to want to gossip with her two best female friends. So you're
going to sit there, listen to all the details about her afternoon with Harry, and you're going
to be very happy for her.” Looking very determined, Luna crossed her arms in front of her and
glared.

“I'm happy for her, but this is just cruel. Can't I be happy for them without the
details?”

“Didn't you tell her about all your snog sessions with Harry back during our fifth
year?”

“Well, yes, but that was different.”

“True, you'd used an illegal potion to steal him from her. It should have been her snogging
Harry senseless all over school.” Staring at Ginny, Luna watched her friend blush as she thought
about it

“Oh, right. Sort of forgot about that. I can see how that weakens my case a bit.”

“Ginevra?”

“Yes Luna?”

“Remember the birds.”

“Right. Happy to get all the gory details about her day with Harry.

Turning away, Luna started walking towards the office. Stopping, she turned around and smiled at
Ginny. Seeing the puzzled look on Ginny's face, she chuckled. “Better pray she forgives you
totally before the wedding.”

“Why? And isn't it a bit soon to be taking about a wedding?”

“Pffft. If those two make it to graduation day unmarried, I'll eat one of Hagrid's
skrewts. Raw. Personally, I'm going to floo your brother and put a galleon on Christmas Eve. If
she's still a bit annoyed with you, just imagine exactly how badly that bridesmaid's dress
is going to clash with your hair.”

“I'm so dead.”

-->



8. Chapter Eight – All’s Well, but it Never Really Ends
-------------------------------------------------------



Chapter Eight - All's Well, but it Never Really Ends

Smiling, Luna bid the Headmistress and Poppy a distracted farewell as she left the Hospital
Wing. Standing in the door, she shook her head as Professor McGonagall walked over to where Ginny
was sitting. In spite of the genuinely contrite and remorseful look on her friend's face, Luna
knew that it was going to be a fairly long afternoon before Ginny would see the outside of the
infirmary.

Skipping back through the halls and up the stairs, Luna finally arrived outside the Ravenclaw
Commons. A couple of giggling first-year witches who were departing just as she arrived held the
door for her, so she thanked them for their courtesy and inquired what was so amusing in the common
room. At their chorused `the dragon in your quarters', Luna shook her head and entered her
familiar common room, chuckling at the blushes coming from the pair who had just left.

Sure enough, a rumbling sound was coming down the stairs from her quarters on the first landing
leading up to the Ravenclaw dorms. While it could be confused with the rumblings of a lurking
dragon, anyone from Gryffindor house from the past seven years would easily be able to place the
sound.

Casting a quick sound-muffling spell at her door from down in the common room, she smiled as the
sounds abruptly ceased. Walking over to the statue of the founder of her House, she smiled ruefully
as she cast a minor enchantment upon the statue. As the statue of Ravenclaw began to shimmer and
change, Luna nodded graciously.

“Again, I thank you for your assistance.” Holding out the timeturner, Luna's eyebrows
threatened to get tangled with her hairline as the avatar shook her head slightly.

“Your daughter can return that bauble to me, all in good time.” Smiling mysteriously at the look
on Luna's face, Ravenclaw's avatar nodded to her. “My daughter came in and told me what you
accomplished, both in Godric's tower and in the infirmary.”

“I missed seeing Helena. Most peculiar, I usually have a good sense of when she's around;
she soothes the nargles if they're upset.” Looking down at the timeturner dangling from her
hand, Luna smiled. “Are you certain?”

“I think you can be trusted with it. And your life is going to have enough paradoxes in it that
it will be useful.” Smiling, the statue shrugged as she glanced up the stairs. “Speaking of which,
you might want to go check on your young man.”

Casting a quick furtive look up the steps, Luna frowned as she turned her attention back to the
avatar statue. Seeing the amused look on Rowena's face, she sighed. “How far forward?”

“Your `cousin' stopped by for a second. Nice young witch, late thirties I'd imagine.”
Smiling, Rowena nodded as Luna rolled her eyes. “Seemed to be dressed for some sort of party, but
she dropped off a couple of items for you on her way.” An almost smirk graced the features of the
Founder of Ravenclaw as she nodded. “She mentioned her daughter would be starting school next fall.
Sounds like a lovely young witch. Named after your mother, with the most striking red hair.”

Blushing, Luna smiled and began to chuckle. As she returned the timeturner to her pocket, she
shook her head ruefully. “I don't suppose my `cousin' mentioned if Aranrhod was an only
child? The oldest? The youngest?”

“Now what would be the fun in that? I think the two of you should leave a few things up to
chance and the whim of the moment, don't you?” The avatar's eyes sparkled as she teased her
protégé. “You might want to mention to your friend that there are some advantages in letting things
happen as they may.”

“You still haven't gotten over the fact that Hermione reasoned the Sorting Hat into putting
her in Gryffindor, have you?” Smiling, Luna nodded at the knowing look on Rowena's face. “I
know, the mere fact she could fashion an argument that would set aside her sorting was evidence
that she belonged with us. But, she's such a Gryffindor when it comes to Harry and I really
don't see her being quite as bold on his behalf if she were in this House.”

“You may be correct, young one. Those two owe me a student, hopefully a witch, so we'll see
how it all sorts out.” Ignoring Luna's bemused chuckle, the avatar began to fade. “Run along,
we'll talk later about how this all plays out.”

Nodding, Luna wandered over to the stairs leading up to the dorms. Stopping about a quarter of
the way up, she looked over at the portrait of Lady Gladstone and shook her head. “I'm not that
interesting.”

Looking up from the scroll she was working on, Headmistress Aribella Gladstone smiled
enigmatically. “Child, you're the most interesting thing to happen to this House since your
mother graduated. Despite what Rowena thinks, brilliant usually doesn't translate to
`interesting' or `quirky'.”

“Actually, I prefer `eccentric' or `enigmatic' but `quirky' will do.” Trying to look
severe, Luna shook her head. “I know Viola's a friend of yours, but you could at least keep the
cross house gossip to a minimum.” Heading up the stairs, Luna stopped just outside her door on the
landing before entering. “The Headmistress?”

“She was concerned about one of her Gryffindors. Seems he hasn't been seen with his friends
all that much this term and she was wondering what he was keeping himself busy with, since his
romance with Miss Granger came to naught. Minerva's a dear, I thought I'd set her mind at
ease.”

Luna rolled her eyes as she gently opened the door to her quarters. Slipping quickly in and
shutting the door behind her, she shook her head at the amount of noise one sleeping wizard could
generate.

Crossing the sitting room, she knelt down beside where Ron Weasley was sleeping on the divan.
Watching him for several minutes, she smiled as he slept peacefully, while snoring loudly enough to
wake his housemates over in Gryffindor Tower. Conjuring a feather, Luna began to tickle his nose
and ears with it, gently teasing him awake.

As he came awake with a start, his eyes popped open and he found himself staring into the silver
orbs of his girlfriend. Smiling, he reached out a hand and gently cupped her cheek. “Finished
studying?”

“All done for today, Ronald. Although we're still going to check over your Charms essay
tonight after dinner.” Smiling, she toed off her shoes and joined him on the divan. Snuggling into
him, she waited until his arms were wrapped around her before continuing.

“You're going to ask me out tonight at dinner.” Matter of fact, Luna smiled as Ron nuzzled
her ear.

“Really now?” Chuckling, he hugged her briefly. “We've finally gotten tired of waiting for
those two to get their act together and you think this might prompt them to act?”

“Actually, I'm fairly certain that there are several `Notice Me Not', `Do Not
Disturb', and noise canceling charms active on the access doors to the Heads quarters at this
very moment.” Turning around, Luna faced her boyfriend and watched his face as he processed the
news.

“Bloody Hell.”

“Language Ronald.” Smirking as he rolled his eyes, she nodded. “See what happens when you take a
kip, you miss all the good stuff.”

Shaking his head, Ron leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips. As the kiss deepened,
their bodies began to move against each other as their hands began to roam freely. Flipping him
onto his back, Luna straddled Ron and smiled down at him. “We're going to behave ourselves this
afternoon so we don't look too pleased with ourselves when we go to dinner.” Seeing the look on
his face, she nodded. “Remember, you haven't officially asked me out yet. Technically, shagging
before the first date is considered a bit outré.”

Sitting up, Ron kissed her deeply before allowing her to turn herself so she was sitting on his
lap. Putting his feet on the floor, he leaned back and sighed as Luna snuggled herself against him.
“What about those two? Unless they had the quickest date on record, aren't they a bit
`outré' themselves?”

“Pffft. Those two? They've been dating for seven years now. They've just finally gotten
around to realizing it.” Smiling, Luna snuggled her head into Ron's chest and sighed. “I had to
smack Ginevra down a bit.”

“Finally got her to see reason about Harry?” Closing his eyes, Ron wrapped his arms around her
and smiled. “I hate to say it, but between Mum and Dumbledore I'd given up hope she was ever
going to see reason. Both of them encouraged her in this obsession with Harry far too long.”

“I thought you were worried Harry was going to break her heart, lead her on, and all that.”
Looking up at him, Luna smiled at the sheepish grin on Ron's face.

“Truth be told, most of that was an act. Harry's a pretty good guy, and all of us decided
that if that's what the two of them wanted, then who were we to stand in their way. I got
picked as the token `irate brother' back in our sixth year simply because the twins didn't
have the heart, Bill couldn't keep a straight face doing it, Charlie was too far away and no
one would take Percy seriously. I was upset that summer at Harry's birthday when I found them
in her room, but I thought Harry was having second thoughts about breaking up with her and I really
couldn't see Gin coming along with us since she was underage and all.”

“She tried to do it again.” Holding her breath, Luna could feel Ron's flinch as he processed
that news.

“Is she absolutely bloody mental?” Cracking open one eye, Ron stared at his girlfriend. “Dad
told her if she pulled a stupid stunt like that again, once she was seventeen, he'd be the
first one to suggest she spend time locked up to Kingsley. Harry's finally over that first
potion she gave him, I can't believe she'd try again.”

“Hush, my little Nargle trap. I found out about it and took care of things. Ginevra's in a
bit of hot water with the Headmistress, and she's going to have to grovel to Hermione for a
while, but I think it's all worked out for the best.” Deciding that Ron didn't really need
to know that his sister came within a hair of killing his best mate, Luna decided to divert the
subject. “Lady G said that someone stopped by while I was sorting Ginevra out?”

“Your cousin came by.” Looking at her with a curious look in his eye, Ron shook his head for a
second. “You never mentioned a cousin before. She dropped off an envelope and a box for you;
they're over on your desk.”

Looking over at her desk, Luna could see a small wooden box and an envelope sitting on top of
her Arithmancy texts. Frowning, she summoned them to her and opened the box first. Inside were two
small potion vials. One, with a peculiar gold sheen, was labeled `HJG' and the other, with an
interesting mother of pearl sheen to it, was labeled `GMW'. Shaking her head, she wondered
about that particular combination. Smiling at Ronald, she shrugged as she opened the letter, hoping
she'd had the foresight to stay in character for this.

*Cousin Luna,*

*Just a quick note. I was finishing up some potions this morning and I dropped off one for you
earlier, which you must be out delivering. Sorry I missed you, but it's probably for the best
since if we got into a long conversation; I'd be late getting back for a friend's
anniversary party.*

*As I was finishing off these two, I realized that I had planned on dropping them by for you
to deliver also. I'm not certain where my mind is these days, never certain what day it is, or
if I'm coming or going. The one you need to get to our mutual friend at dinner tonight,
she'll have need of it before the end of the meal. The other can be delivered anytime
convenient, but it would be of a great boon to resolve any lingering issues from earlier.*

*Bracket your bet with George.*

*Your cousin*

*Selene*

Luna chuckled as she reread the note from her `cousin'. Looking up, she could see Ron
reading the note over her shoulder, looking very puzzled. Waiting until he nodded, indicating he
was done, she kissed him quickly on the cheek before folding the note and closing the box.

“Should I ask why you have potions for Hermione and my sister?” Closing his eyes, he leaned back
into the divan's cushions and smiled as Luna settled down on his lap. “If it's a witch
thing, then I don't really need to know.”

Looking thoughtful, Luna was furiously pondering why Hermione would need a dose of a gold
colored potion tonight of all nights. Earlier today she could have understood, but tonight? And the
other potion for Ginevra was even more curious. “I think you'd consider it a witch thing,
Ronald. I'll just get it to her at dinner as my cousin suggested.”

“Fancy a kip before dinner?”

“Ronald I just woke you up. You can't possibly be tired.” Shaking her head, Luna was still
thinking about how she was going to slip the second potion to Ginevra, though after the events of
the day, the younger witch would probably take the potion without questioning.

“Who said anything about being tired? I was wondering if you wanted to go into your bedroom and
spend some time before dinner.” Opening one eye, Ron grinned at the blush on Luna's cheeks.

“Ronald, I thought we decided we were going to behave before dinner, since you're finally
going to ask me out and we're going let people know we're seeing each other starting
tomorrow.”

“You decided that we were going to behave ourselves before dinner. You were also the one who
came up to me in the library that night and said we were destined to get a certain number of shags
in during our life, and if we didn't start right then, we'd run the risk of leaving some of
them unshagged.” Seeing the sly smile on her face, he nodded. “I can't help it if I agree with
you; a shag is a terrible thing to waste”

Luna unfolded herself from his lap and pulled him to his feet. “You're such a romantic,
Ronald.” Looking over at the sundial in the corner, she smiled. “I do believe we have time to go
and see if we can get caught up on some of our lost time from last year.” Smiling as she took him
by the hand and drew him along after her into her sleeping chamber, she nodded. “Isn't it
convenient there's a sound muffling charm on my door? Saves ever so much time for other more
important things.

-----

Evening meal on a Hogsmeade weekend was a drawn out affair, as couples and individuals straggled
in from the village and wherever they had spent the day around the grounds. Ron was sitting at his
usual spot at the Gryffindor table when he spotted Harry and Hermione entering the Great Hall, hand
in hand.

Their body language was unmistakably that of a couple very much together and very much
comfortable with being with each other told everyone who cared to look that the two of them were
together finally. And the almost indecently pleased looks on their faces told anyone third year and
up, and a few of the more precocious second-years, exactly how the two had spent their
afternoon.

Ever the social cheerleaders, spontaneous applause started at the Hufflepuff table, and was
rapidly picked up by the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Even the Slytherin table exhibited some
interest, with the first and second-years enthusiastically joining in despite the glares the couple
was receiving from some of the seventh year students.

Blushing furiously, the pair glared at Hannah Abbot who was standing on a bench and whistling in
encouragement as the made their way to the Gryffindor table. Shaking their heads, they slipped into
a pair of seats across from Ron and looked around, trying to will their housemates into
silence.

“Oy, it looks as if you two have something you'd like to share with the rest of us.”
Grinning, Ron nodded at their hands, which were still intertwined and resting on the table. “I
spend one afternoon working on my Charms essay and I find out that the muggle Hell has turned into
an ice-skating rink.” Looking over at Seamus who was rolling his eyes, Ron shrugged. “Or something
like that.”

“I believe that you're trying to say that Hell has frozen over Ronald.” Staring at him,
Hermione tried not to smile as she could see a certain blonde Ravenclaw coming over to their table.
Waiting until Luna was a couple of paces behind him, she sighed. “You do realize that there's
no reason why you can't just pluck up your Gryffindor courage and ask the witch you want out,
don't you?”

“I suppose you'd like me to just turn around and ask the first witch I see out, is that it?”
Ignoring the shocked look on Hermione's face, Ron spun around and locked eyes with Luna who was
standing there, as if waiting for something. “Luna? Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me
tomorrow after breakfast and spend the day?”

Rocking back and forth, Luna smiled faintly as she tilted her head to the side, ignoring the
shocked sputtering that was coming from Hermione and the laughter that was coming from Harry.
Thinking for almost a minute, she looked back at Ron. “Will you be wearing your lucky boxers
tomorrow?” Seeing Ron nod, she smiled. “Of course Ronald. As long as you realize we'll be
making up for lost time.”

Smiling as Luna slid onto the bench beside him, Ron looked up at the gobsmacked expressions on
his best mates' faces. “What?”

Glaring at Luna, realizing she'd been had, Hermione picked up her goblet of pumpkin juice
and drained it. Setting it down on the table she looked around for a pitcher.

“Let me, you seem to be a bit out of sorts for someone who just spent the afternoon with Harry.”
Smiling smugly, Luna picked up Hermione's goblet and shifted down the table to grab a pitcher
of pumpkin juice to refill it. While she was pouring the juice, she deftly emptied the small potion
vial into the goblet, watching as the golden liquid mixed with the pumpkin juice.

Handing the goblet back to her friend, she smiled as Hermione downed the second goblet without
pausing. Banishing the vial in her hand back to her room, Luna nodded to Hermione as the older
witch was obviously trying to formulate a response to what had just happened. “Questions
Hermione?”

“Not really I suppose.” Shaking her head, Hermione leaned over and rested her head against
Harry's shoulder for a second. “Although, there's one thing I'd like to know.” Arching
an eyebrow, she glanced significantly at Ron before turning her gaze back to Luna.

“That's simple. All wizards have a lucky pair of boxers.” Smiling impishly, Luna nodded to
Harry who was trying not to laugh at the scandalized look on Hermione's face. “In fact, I'd
be willing to wager that if the pair Harry's wearing today wasn't his lucky pair, they are
now.”

The Gryffindor table erupted into laughter at the furious shade of red Hermione's face
turned at that remark. Eyeing Harry's attempt to ignore the laughing and teasing that was going
on around him; she shook her head and winked at him. Seeing the curious look on his face, she
nodded to him and leaned over the table. When Harry followed suit, she watched Hermione's
blushes continue as she stage whispered “Bad Harry, I didn't take you for the regimental type.”
As Harry hurriedly sat back in his seat and gave her a horrified look, Luna smiled and started to
return to hers.

Just then, several things happened at once. As Ginny was making her way, very determinedly,
towards where Harry and Hermione were sitting, a sixth-year student that had transferred in from
Durmstrang to Hogwarts during the past month and had been sorted into Slytherin started walking
down the aisleway beside the Gryffindor house table. Hermione, seeing Ginny approaching, started to
stand just as Seamus' goblet of pumpkin juice flew onto the floor at her feat as Lavender Brown
slipped and ended up sitting on Seamus' lap.

As Hermione ducked to the side to avoid the flying juice, Ginny's eyes went wide as she
shouted “knife”. Launching herself at Hermione, Ginny tackled the brunette around her waist and
twisted just as the transfer student launched himself at Hermione, shouting “Death to the
Mudblood!”

The wickedly curved dagger sliced through where Hermione had been standing, slashing across
Ginny's shoulder and cheek as she wrestled a stunned Hermione to the ground.

The members of Dumbledore's Army, under the direction of Ginny, Neville, and Luna the
previous year, had trained with various reaction drills, and a lone assassin/attacker with a deadly
weapon was one of them. Reflexes took over and members of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff
reacted without thinking, finding their old protection assignments. Protecting younger members of
their houses, and efficiently dealing with the identified threat.

After the initial barrage of spells ended, a double handful of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff members
who had studied healing and first aid under the covert after hour's guidance of Poppy converged
upon the area of the attack. Once the dagger was separated from what was left of the assassin's
right hand, the only attention paid to the attacker was from a pair of Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw
who were detailed to insure that he continued to not be a threat to anyone.

Determining quickly that Hermione was more bruised and shaken than anything else, the ad-hoc
medical team began to cast elementary scans on Ginny's wounds and began to analyze the greenish
substance that covered the blade of the dagger.

Once she was able to convince a frantic Harry that she was fine, Hermione joined in with the
analysis group. By the time Poppy had arrived on the scene, Professor Slughorn had begun to
supervise the analysis of the dagger and the first aurors began arriving, the situation was well
under control.

St. Mungo's forensic healers were never able to reconstruct the exact sequence of what
happened, but they were definite that seventy-four hexes and jinxes of varying degrees of severity
struck the would-be assassin within an extremely short period of time.

While most of the spells were traced back to wands belonging to members of Gryffindor and
Ravenclaw, two hexes that almost skirted the definition of `dark' were tracked back to the
wands of Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. Both of the senior Slytherin students had explained that
they had been watching the unfortunate Mr. Hasslich since his arrival since `there was something
off about him, even for this lot' according to a defiant Malfoy who was impatiently waiting for
the aurors to finish questioning him.

Under the supervision of the mediwitch and Potions Master, Hermione began administering an
antidote for a poison that, while painful and draining for Ginny, would have been lethal in a
matter of seconds for a muggle-born such as herself. Known as `renblod' it was a poison banned
in all civilized wizarding nations for its extreme toxicity to muggles and muggle-borns.

Once Ginny's color had returned to normal and Madam Pomfrey had begun to treat the shallow
slices that the dagger had left, the emotional rollercoaster of the day caught up to Hermione.
First hugging the youngest Weasley for several minutes, whispering encouragingly in her ear, the
brunette finally sat back and looked around. Seeing Harry staring at her with a strange look in his
eyes, she got up, marched over to where he was standing, and began to snog him for all she was
worth.

As the Great Hall erupted into catcalls and cheering, Luna knelt down beside Ginny. Since
everyone was staring at the snogging couple a few feet away, except for Dennis Creevey, who had
assigned himself as Ginny's designated bodyguard after his return to school since she was one
of the co-leaders of `The Hogwarts Resistance' and her previous protector hadn't returned
for the current term, Luna smiled reassuringly to Dennis and then nodded to Ginny and handed her
the potion vial with her initials on it from the box.

Seeing the genuine compassion and affection in Luna's eyes, Ginny nodded, removed the sealed
stopper and drained the potion in one pull. A silver aura pulsed around her for a second, followed
by a `ping' that was barely audible under the noise from the student body cheering on their
Head Boy and Girl.

The noise quickly subsided as the Headmistress came up to the oblivious pair. Shaking her head,
she glared around until there was silence in the room. As Harry and Hermione came up for air, she
nodded grimly as they both blushed and looked at her.

“Never in all my days at this august institution have I witnessed such a flagrant display of
public affection between a Head Boy and Girl.” Shaking her head, she smiled. “Do you have anything
to say, Miss Granger?”

Hermione stared at the Headmistress for several seconds. Nodding her head, she looked over to
where Luna was kneeling beside Ginny. As tears began to mist her eyes, she waited until Ginny
nodded back before she turned back to the waiting Professor McGonagall.

“Just one thing and it's something that should have been said a while ago.” Turning to Harry
she grabbed his hand. “Harry, I don't care where we are or how we do it. Marry me.”

Seeing the gobsmacked look on his face she nodded. “There are no doubts, no need to wait. We
know we both want this. And if the last twenty minutes have taught us anything, we don't know
that we have time to do things in a normal and dignified manner. If you think being `Mrs. Harry
Potter' will make me more of a target than being the muggle-born part of the bloody `Golden
Trio',” she turned and pointed to the sheet covered corpse of her would-be assassin and
shrugged. “Someone didn't get the memo; this was planned before anyone knew we'd finally
gotten together.”

“Hermione, are you certain?” Smiling, Harry took both of her hands in his.

“Harry, if you don't say `yes', right this minute, I'm going to ask you in every
class, at every meal, and every time we're together until you do.” Waiting, Hermione smiled
sweetly. “And you know how determined I can be.”

Harry looked over to where Ron was standing behind Luna, shaking his head in disbelief. Looking
back to the Headmistress, he was taken aback by the look on her face. “Professor, can students even
get married?”

Before she could answer, Hermione jumped in. “Honestly Harry, don't you think I've
checked this out? There's an entire wing of married student housing available, not that we need
it since we share an apartment.” Blushing a bit as the catcalls and whistles erupted again,
Hermione seemed to finally realize that not only had she just proposed to the `Boy Who Lived'
in front of the entire student body, but she had outed their newly minted physical relationship as
well.

Turning a brilliant shade of red, she rolled her eyes. “The Board of Governors instituted a
waiting period for students when one of them is Muggleborn in 1904, but it's doable.” Doubt
began to creep into her eyes as she realized he still hadn't answered her. “That is, if you
want me.”

Stepping over to her, Harry wrapped his arms around her. Looking over to the Headmistress, he
nodded. “How many additional points will we lose if I kiss her again after I say `yes'?”
Feeling Hermione's arms tighten around him, he nodded to her as he waited for the
Headmistress' answer.

“Mr. Potter, unless you want Gryffindor to lose one hundred points, you had better answer the
question you've been asked by the Head Girl. I will not tolerate such a display of
insubordination much longer, not to mention sheer rudeness since all of your classmates seem to be
waiting on your answer. It's highly impolite to keep everyone waiting.” Smiling, the
Headmistress nodded at the pair.

“Well, in that case, I had better give her an answer and smartly.” Turning back to Hermione,
Harry grinned. “Of course, I'll marry you. I was standing there, trying to figure out how to
get you alone to ask you, when you decided to take matters into your own hands.” Shaking his head
he whispered as the Great Hall erupted into cheering. “I can't wait to see what the Prophet and
Rita does with this.”

Postlude

*23 December 2018*

“Sweetheart, have you seen my wand?”

Shaking her head, Luna had just reappeared in her bedroom when her husband's voice rang out.
Tucking the timeturner into her purse and concealing it in the unplottable compartment where she
usually kept it, she took a second to compose herself before walking over to her bedroom door.
“Ronald, the last time I saw it, you were trying to explain to the twins why they can't take
extendable ears with them to the Burrow down in the kitchen.”

Smiling, she went back to her dressing table and started putting her earrings in. Looking down
at the framed copy of *The Sunday Prophet* that turned out to be the last headline ever to
carry Rita Skeeter's byline, she chuckled at the “Illegal Love Potion Snares `Boy That
Lives'!” headline floating over a photograph of Hermione working as student proctor in one of
Professor Slughorn's second-year potions labs from earlier that fall.

Luna began whistling `Weasley is Our King' as she gathered up the stack of framed articles
that she had gathered from the archives of both the Prophet and the Quibbler for tonight's
party. Glancing over at her desk, she smiled at the picture of the original wedding party.

With a mandatory seventy-five day waiting period enforced by the Board of Governors of the
school, the 23rd of December was the earliest that the wedding could take place.
Adhering to the letter of the law, but in keeping with her desire that they be married as soon as
possible, Hermione had insisted that the wedding ceremony begin at one minute after midnight on the
22nd, with the new day just seconds old.

Despite the lateness of the hour, none of the members of the wedding party looked the least bit
tired. Minerva would call it `one of the most prophetic weddings in recent memory' since every
one of the couples from the wedding party went on to marry within the next four years.

Smiling wistfully, she nodded to the waving wizards and witches in the photo. Harry and Hermione
were both too involved with each other to notice anything happening around them, but the other
couples were joyfully expressing their happiness for the newlyweds.

Seamus and Lavender were playfully bantering back and forth, which had typified their
announcement to their friends during a DA drill that they had eloped to Las Vegas in America during
summer hols in 2000. She and Ronald were smiling and blushing since they'd been called out of
the vestry by a very embarrassed Helen Granger just seconds before the pictures were taken, both of
them were looking over and waving to their wedding picture in the neighboring frame that had been
taken in June of 2001.

Neville and Hannah were sneaking cautious looks at each other, not realizing at that time they
would be married within a week of graduation in June of 1999. Dean and Parvati were smiling at each
other, as if they knew that they would marry on New Year's Eve 1999, a few short minutes before
all the muggle Millennium Madness would begin.

And Ginny was standing there, shaking her head ruefully at the pumpkin orange dress that
Hermione had insisted she wear, with Dennis Creevey. Smirking at each other, they were laughing at
the couples around them. They were the last couple of the wedding party to marry, and they had
mercilessly teased Harry and Hermione as each of the other couples wed.

Ginny had gone on to a stellar career with the Holyhead Harpies as a chaser, and Dennis had
gotten a job with the team as a photographer, partially due to Gin's urging. While they
jokingly referred to themselves as the only survivors of the “Potter Wedding Curse”, no one was
really surprised when Dennis proposed to her the during the post-game celebrations of England
taking the World Cup in 2002.

Of course, no one was ever really certain whether or not they knew the WWN microphones were
live, giving them a slightly bigger audience for their proposal than Harry and Hermione had, but it
did make for a bit of an interesting headline since Ginny had substituted for an injured Cho Chang
during the thirty-seventh hour of the match and had caught the snitch to end the game, giving
England the win over Bulgaria. Side by side photos of Ginny grabbing the snitch and then, minutes
later snogging a beaming Dennis were both covered by the headline “Nice Catch”

Standing up as she felt her husband's arms wrap around her, she smiled as he nuzzled her
neck.

“If you keep that up, we'll be late for their party.” Chuckling throatily, Luna pressed
herself against him as his arms tightened around her. “We'll end up like we did in the wedding
photos, getting there at the very last second.”

“Oy, I can still remember the look on Hermione's mum's face when she came into that
little room to find us.” Chuckling, Ron shook his head. “Did you ever go back to get your knickers
after the photos were done?”

“Ronald, be serious. It was our best friends' wedding, and I was walking down the aisle with
you in the wedding party.” Smirking she gave him a quick kiss before she sidestepped around him to
grab her wand. “Why on earth would I have been wearing knickers that night?”

Flopping back onto their bed, Ron gave his wife an appreciative look. “Or tonight, for that
matter, apparently.” Studying the dress she was wearing, he shook his head. “Strangest thing, that
dress looks very familiar.”

“It shouldn't dear. Padma just sent it over today. It's part of her new winter
collection and she designed an original one for each of us from the wedding to wear for the
Anniversary Party tonight.” Looking down at the dress, she smiled as she did a graceful pirouette.
“Do you like it?”

“I think it will look better on the floor at the foot of our bed tonight since all of the
grandchildren are staying at the Burrow with Mum and Dad tonight, but I do remember liking how it
looked on your `cousin' when she dropped off that package of potions the day Hermione proposed
to Harry.” Smirking, Ron nodded as Luna started blushing. “Anything you feel the need to tell me
since I don't see that little wooden box those potions came in on your dressing table
tonight?”

“Ronald, I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm certain we can find a
suitable broom or utility closet at the place they've rented for the party tonight to discuss
exactly how much you enjoy seeing this dress not on me.” Stepping onto the bed, Luna straddled Ron
and leaned over to kiss him. “But we don't have time just yet because we need to get the
children to the Burrow and I need to finish getting my gift ready for Hermione for tonight.”

Smiling at the frustrated smirk on her husband's face, Luna bounced off the bed and headed
for her desk. Reaching into the battered old backpack she kept for her expeditions, she pulled out
an old leather-bound journal and a small black bag.

Sitting up, Ron sighed. “Isn't getting Hermione a book a tad predictable?”

“I didn't `get' if for her, I'm giving it to her. I found it on that expedition to
Paris I did about seven years ago, and this seems like the perfect time to give it to her.” She
gently untied the strings holding the bag closed and removed a pair of rings and a crystal that
glowed faintly. “I also found these, and I think they'll be apropos for tonight.”

Smiling as she watched her husband come towards her in the small mirror she kept on her desk for
communicating with colleagues at Hogwarts when she was away from the castle, she smiled as he
gently placed his hands on her shoulders and began massaging them. “You're being awfully quiet
about my `cousin' tonight.”

“I may have `the emotional range of a teaspoon', but I'm not daft, you know.” Smiling,
Ron continued to work on the knots that had worked their way into his wife's shoulders. “Your
mum was an only child; your grandmother was an only child as far as I can tell. Your `cousin'
was a blue eyed blonde who looks nothing like anyone on your Father's side of the family.”

“Very good Ronald. And exactly when did your reason all of this out?” Smiling mysteriously, Luna
began idly leafing through the journal as she relaxed into his massage.

“It was Hermione's Muggle-born Levis Home Project that gave me those answers, but I knew
that day it was you that came into the room. I just never figured out exactly which you it was
until I noticed that you weren't in the house and that box was gone when I came up here looking
for my wand about twenty minutes ago.”

“It's the Muggle-born Genome Project, and how did you know it was me? Why didn't you say
anything?” Thinking back to the interaction she had had with him not that long ago in the past, she
shook her head in amazement.

“Back then I thought it was just a witch thing.” Seeing the puzzled look on his wife's face
in the mirror, Ron smiled. “You were using magic to see if I was tosser enough to hit on my
girlfriend's cousin the minute your back was turned.”

“And would you?” Smiling contently as she leafed through the journal, Luna slipped a marker
between two pages at the section she wanted Hermione to start with.

Leaning over, Ron gently kissed his wife on the neck. Seeing her shiver, he smiled. “You're
more than enough witch for me, you always have been.” Seeing her smile, he smirked. “Besides,
patience has its rewards. I've got the sexy older cousin now all to myself.”

Reading over her shoulder, he made a small noise as he noticed the dates in the journal. “Where
did you say you found that old journal?”

“Sealed behind some very powerful spells in the sewers of Paris, near the Eiffel Tower.” Smiling
sadly, Luna closed the book and then closed her eyes.

“It's the journal of an American auror, they call them `marshals', who was in Paris on a
long-term assignment with their Embassy back in the nineteenth century. She was assigned an English
Auror as a partner for several years; they were part of the magical protections of the Exposition
Universelle, the muggle World's Fair, in 1900.”

“Doesn't Hermione have American relatives?” Speaking softly, Ron had learned that his wife
would tell her tales at her own pace and gentle suggestions sometime helped her to move along.

“Yes, and this may have been an American cousin, so to speak. Jane Martin and James Peverell
were assigned to work together after what happened at the Chicago Exposition of 1893, and they
became a very close and effective team and were still providing security to large muggle events
seven years later.”

“Oy, seven years.” Looking thoughtful, Ron smiled and shook his head. “Let me guess. They were
very close friends, spookily close. Never actually dated, but never really saw anyone else. Drove
everyone else crazy with how they interacted with each other?”

“Something like that.” Smiling, Luna bounced the two rings in the palm of her hand. “Of course,
we never knew anyone like that.”

“True. What happened to that pair?”

“During that summer of 1900, they began to see what they actually felt about each other. They
kept it a secret, but they realized they were very much in love with each other. After the
Exposition ended in November, they were going to find safer work so they could marry and start a
family together.

But first they had to track down a crazy young wizard who was threatening to kill thousands of
muggles at the Exposition using magic.” Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “A young wizard named
Gellert Grindelwald.”

Kneeling beside her, Ron gently squeezed her hand. “This doesn't end well, does it?”

“Things like this, the love those two had for each other, the love that Harry and Hermione
have,” smiling she blushed and leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. “The love we have, it
doesn't really end, I suppose.” Wiping a tear from her eye, she nodded sadly. “But things ended
badly for them, though they saved tens of thousands of lives that day.”

“At the very end of August, the found out that young Grindelwald had unearthed a ritual to allow
him to raise thousands of inferni from Paris' catacombs. He was planning on releasing them
through a sewer entrance to the middle of the Exposition. You can well imagine the destruction and
loss of life with tens of thousands of inferni pouring out into the hoards of muggles who were
attending the Exposition that day.” Closing her hand over the rings, Luna swallowed and then
continued in a softer voice.

“Jane had commissioned a Paris jeweler to craft a pair of soul rings for her and James.
Inscribed with the symbols of their respective patronuses, the manifestation of their souls in the
physical world if you will, she had just picked them up that morning when they realized the ritual
had started. Racing through the sewers, the two of them were able to seal off most of the exits
from the catacombs, forcing the hordes of mindless undead to funnel through one tunnel that would
open onto the Grande Concourse near the Eiffel Tower.

Unable to find any backup, the pair made a stand beneath the Tower. Combining their power, they
were able to cast wards containing the only spell that could destroy that many inferni and leave
none to break through the seals.”

“Fiendfyre.” Shaking his head, Ron remembered the out of control, almost sentient, blaze that
destroyed the tiara of Ravenclaw and had almost killed the Golden Trio the night of the Final
Battle.

“Yes, fiendfyre. They held the final barrier to the sewers while the inferno they released
destroyed the mindless hordes of Grindelwald. Just before the fires reached them, standing beneath
the entrance to the Concourse, battling the leading edge of the undead, Jane placed her journal and
the rings into a small side tunnel that she sealed. She then turned and stood beside her lover and
soulmate as they prevented the last of the inferni from escaping the onrushing flames.

As they fell, they both promised that someday, somewhere, they would get their chance, and they
would live the life they had put-off in favor of duty.”

“How?” Wrapping his arm around Luna as tears rolled down her cheeks, Ron waited for her to
compose herself enough to answer.

“How do I know?” Smiling sadly, Luna took a small crystal from the bag. “The memories of their
last moments were trapped in this crystal. I found a small colony of nargles down in the sewers,
guarding this and waiting for someone to rescue it, to tell the story of Jane and James to the
world.”

Sadly opening the journal to its final entry, Luna began to read aloud. *“September
1**st**, 1900. A break in the battle, it seems even those abominations pause
now and again. James and I have completed our trap for those monsters. Back home, down in New
Orleans, they'd call them zombies, but the English have named them Inferni. I'm afraid that
we won't be able to stop the wizard who created them from the Catacombs that lie beneath the
streets of Paris, but we're sent word to England to be on the lookout for Gellert
Grindelwald.*

*If we fail to survive this, the calling of the Demon's Fire to cleanse the sewers of
these foul abominations, our Love will remain. Once we finished trapping the last of the tunnel
entrances to the sewer line leading to the Exposition, James and I exchanged these rings and our
vows.*

*Oh, just for ten minutes to undo the seven years we wasted denying what we felt. These rings
and this journal will await the outcome; our beloved patronuses will stand beside us, as we become
Horatius on this bridge from damnation, protecting a city and a world that doesn't believe we,
or their doom, exists.*

*I don't know how this will end, but I fear that the fire we shall call forth will consume
us as we make certain that none of these abominations spill forth among the innocents
above.*

*Hopefully, we'll retrieve this journal, the rings and this stone once the crisis has
passed, preparing to live a long quiet life in James' childhood home in England.*

*However, if you find these rings and this journal, don't think harshly of us for we have
done what we could with the time we had, and while we would have relished more time, we know that
our chance will come again.*

*If you are reading this and we are gone, one piece of advice I would afford you. While Love
is patient, Fate is not. Regardless of where or how, take the opportunity afforded you by Love, for
it is impossible to say when one will find themselves standing alone against Evil, and Love will
see you through*

*Jane Helen Martin-Peverell,*

*Marshal”*

Opening her hand Luna held up the pair of rings for Ron to inspect. Simple bands of platinum,
they were engraved with celtic knotwork that surrounded a stylized creature on each band. The
smaller of the two bore the likeness of a stag standing watch, while the larger was engraved with a
playful otter, sporting in the waves. Inside the bands, were two words `Together always'.

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