Hogsmeade was just as busy as the last time he'd been there with Hannah. Unlike that time, however, he held hands with a girl. He hadn't expected it to be so completely unlike holding his own hand, though. He was amazed how much communication could be transferred just from a simple squeeze. Hermione managed to say everything from "I'm happy." to "Ooo, look at that!" with nothing but a simple squeeze of his hand.
Even without the communication advantage, he discovered he liked holding her hand. Her hand was soft and thin, but very nearly as strong as his was. He could smell her on his own hand when she let go. For some reason, he quite liked that.
"Scrivenshaft's first I presume?" He raised an eyebrow at Hermione.
She tucked her chin into her scarf and blushed at him. Of course Scrivenshaft's first.
He smiled at her and gave her hand a "Relax" squeeze.
Katie Bell and Penelope Clearwater strolled by while talking to two of the Durmstrang boys, and both of them smiled and said hello to Duncan. They didn't ignore Hermione exactly, they acted more like they tried to figure out who she was and where she'd come from.
Harry shifted his grip from Hermione's hand to her waist as he smiled back and returned their greetings.
"It's a good thing all the other girls in school already hate me, you're making them mad with jealousy." Hermione whispered to him as they continued on to Scrivenshaft's.
"If you mind, I can keep my distance." He whispered back.
"Don't you dare! I'm loving this. Every jealous glare is Ambrosia."
He chuckled and stuck his cold nose in her neck. She squealed and tried to shove him away using just her jaw and shoulder while she laughed.
"Meanie." She mock-pouted. Her arm slid around his waist and only let him go when they entered the shop.
Hermione made a beeline for the fancy parchments and spent ten minutes perusing parchment with floral patterns and scents, different parchment organizers, and small sticking-charm tabs meant to separate different topics within a sheaf of parchment. Harry used her distraction to purchase a Christmas gift for her and then wandered around the store before he joined her and listened to her explain all the different specialty parchments she'd found. He took two sheaves of parchment from the shelf, one with floral designs and scents, and one that was mint-themed.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a frown.
"Buying my date a present. I thought that was a thing that happened?"
She looked like she was going to argue, blushed, frowned, and then bit her lip.
"Just relax and enjoy your new parchment." He whispered.
Her frown lifted and she sighed, then let her lip go and looked annoyed while her neck and cheeks turned pink. "Thank you." She whispered.
He grinned at her. "My pleasure of course. Does it feel like a date yet?"
She smiled at him through lowered lashes. "Yes."
He sought her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers as she wandered about the rest of the shop. She bit her lip again when she looked at some of the fancy enchanted quills, and he knew he'd made a good choice. He paid for her parchment, and the shopkeeper put it into a bag for her.
He thanked the shopkeeper, and they left Scrivenshaft's.
"Tea next or Gladrags?" He asked as her hand slipped into his once again.
"You decide."
"Tea then." He squeezed her hand gently and set off for the tea shop. Apparently Hermione thought they would be going to the pub, but according to Harry's research, that wasn't where you went on a romantic date.
"Where are we -" She started, then figured out where they were headed by thinking of what shops lay in the direction they walked. She blushed again, but didn't say anything else.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the romantic date spot, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is." She said softly.
"I've never been inside, have you?"
She shook her head.
Madam Puddifoot's was a bastion of quiet during a normally sound-laden day, when students were laughing and chatting and playing in the streets. By contrast, the interior of Madam Puddifoot's was crammed with tension so thick you could make trifle from it. There were relatively few words, but hardly a face in the place was its normal colour. It was like the excessively pink interior somehow migrated onto the faces of its patrons.
Hermione chose a table against the far wall that seemed to be slightly more in shadow than the others. Harry was surprised to see Neville sitting at a table for two next to the window with Daphne, and she was the one blushing. In fact, Neville had a look on his face that Harry had never seen there before. Neville looked relaxed, but in control. Like everything that happened around him happened according to his design. Harry thought it odd, but Daphne certainly seemed to like it.
The serving witch approached their table before Harry had a chance to figure out Neville's strange demeanour.
"Good mornin' Luvs, welcome to Madam Puddifoot's. What can I get for such a lovely couple?"
"I'd like some hot chocolate please." Hermione said.
"Ooo. That sounds even better than tea! Me too, please." Harry smiled at the serving witch.
"Could we have some extra marshmallows too please?" Hermione asked. Her hand snaked across the table and her fingers interlaced with his again as she blushed at the serving witch.
"Two chocolate sweethearts with extra sweets it is." She winked at Hermione before she headed back to the kitchen.
Harry chuckled, then leaned over the table and whispered, "That's it, I'm calling you Chocolate Sweetheart now."
Hermione blushed furiously and leaned over the table back at him. "In private you can call me whatever you want. You do that in public and I'll pull your lungs out through your nose."
Harry laughed at that, and every eye in the place turned to him. Neville raised his cup of tea at them with a smile, so he returned the acknowledgement with a nod and a grin.
"I forgot to tell you," He whispered to Hermione afterward, "Neville wants to start training with us Monday morning. I was thinking about asking Luna if she wanted to as well, but I thought I should ask you how you felt about it."
It was small and fleeting, but Harry saw the look of disappointment flash across her face.
"You and I won't stop where we are in training to let them catch up, will we?"
He shook his head. "That wouldn't be fair to you. I thought in the morning you and I could both help them and then after classes you and I could go do what we usually do."
She nodded and smiled again. "That sounds good. I'm loving our training. I love the things you're teaching me to do. I love teaching you what I know as well. It's made me really happy over the last month. Almost as much as breathing fire."
He smiled back at her. "What was the look of disappointment for?"
She quirked her mouth in frustration. "Stop being so observant." She relaxed and smiled back at him. "You weren't supposed to see it. I just... I just like having you to myself, that's all." She said in a small voice, then dropped her voice to a soft whisper. "You make me feel good. Like I'm not a freak."
The serving witch brought their hot chocolate then, so Harry didn't get a chance to say anything right away.
"Thank you, ma'am. How much do I owe you?" He asked her.
"You're welcome, dears. You can call me Nexie, none of that ma'am nonsense, you'll make me feel old. That'll be three sickles, Luv."
Harry fished out a galleon and handed it to her. "Keep it, as thanks for being part of our first date." he smiled at her.
"Aww, Merlin bless ye." She smiled back at him, then turned to Hermione. "Best keep this one." She winked at her again, then wandered off to deliver more treats.
"What do you think was running through my head the first moment I saw you on the train?" He asked Hermione quietly.
She looked down at the table and sipped her hot chocolate before she answered. "Honestly in that first moment I have no idea. I was caught in my own thoughts like a deer in the headlights. I thought you were gorgeous. I thought about kissing you. I thought you were going to attack me. I thought about how I could get away from you if you did. I was furious at you for getting through my defenses like that. After you started talking, I knew you weren't going to do anything mean, and I screamed at myself to say something, but I couldn't. Then I thought you probably thought I was a freak and I was proving you right. Then you left and I thought you were really nice and I kicked myself for being so stupid and afraid. I... actually spent the whole train ride watching you through the window." She blushed again and stared at her drink as she said the last.
He grinned at her. "I thought your hair looked really soft, and I liked how it was wild and free. I thought your eyes were a deep, rich colour that almost glowed in the light from the window. I thought your lips were a perfect shape and I wondered what it might be like to kiss you. I thought you were rather beautiful. That was my first impression. Then I realized the door had been locked for a reason and I was intruding, and you were probably waiting for others, so I excused myself."
Hermione's eyes went glassy. "You really thought all that about me back then?" She asked softly.
"Yes, I did. You're beautiful now Hermione, but not any more so than you were back then. It's just a little different. You were never a freak. You were never in the wrong. You only ever made one mistake, and that's listening to the arseholes who wanted to put you down; to shitmops like Weasley and Malfoy. I understand why you did, but really all you needed was a little confidence. A little belief in yourself. You're brilliant, you know. In every way." He squeezed her hand and smiled.
She sniffed and dried her eyes on her napkin. "Only you, Duncan. Only you. You didn't get to know me because you thought you could give me confidence, did you?"
He frowned and shook his head. "No, not in the least. In retrospect I guess it might look like that, but no. I'm not smart enough to have ulterior motives like that."
"Not false enough you mean. Do you have any idea how disappointed I would be if I found out you only became my friend to try and 'fix' me?"
His face twisted in disgust. "That would be horrible. I would be the worst of the lot if that were the case. I'd have to kick my own arse."
"I'd help... after I finished dehydrating myself with tears." She smiled at him.
"I like your tears on the inside. Once in a while is alright, but I much prefer your smile." He smiled back at her. "Thank you, Hermione."
She frowned slightly. "For what?"
"You're the only one who sees the real me. You know who I really am and to you I'm just... Duncan. For being my best friend. And for being my chocolate sweetheart." He grinned and sipped his hot chocolate, but came away with a marshmallow on the end of his nose.
She laughed and plucked the marshmallow off and popped it in her mouth. "Thank you for being my best friend." She grinned at him.
He took an extra couple of marshmallows from the bowl Nexie had left them and dropped them in his hot chocolate. "No fair, shmallow thief."
"Get used to it, chocolate sweetheart. Yours taste better than mine." Her eyes sparkled.
"Because they're mine?"
She just grinned at him as she sipped her drink.
He put a few more marshmallows in his cup and smirked for a moment. He watched Hermione as she gave her own cup some more marshmallows, and then watched him. It struck him for the first time in that moment he didn't want to find his Mate. Being there with her made him smile inside his chest. He knew it wasn't really a romantic date since she wasn't his Mate, but the feelings she evoked in him, the mood that hung between them, it was new and wonderful. He enjoyed himself more than he ever had, and he didn't want it to end - which it surely would when he knew who his Mate was.
It would be worse if Hermione found hers, he realized then. Any boy could come through those doors and poof, he could lose her just like that. He would be happy for her of course, but at the same time it felt like getting kicked in the stomach.
He finished his hot chocolate then, just to keep the mug between his face and Hermione's eyes so she wouldn't see him being sad when they were supposed to be having a lovely romantic day.
"Anxious to get going?" She asked over the rim of her mug.
"Chocolate sweetheart." he said with a fake smile as he pointed to his empty mug. "I just couldn't keep my lips away." Don't see through me. Don't see through me.
Thankfully, she just blushed and kept her own mug near her face. Did she have the same thoughts?
She finished her hot chocolate not long after, and stole a couple of marshmallows for later as they stood up to leave. Neville and Daphne had already left by the time they made their way to the door. She snuck her hand into his as they wandered down the street.
"Isn't Gladrags the other way?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah. If we go there though, then our date will be closer to over."
"Hrm. You bring up an excellent point. I am a bit thrilled you're not anxious to get rid of me." She shoved his shoulder with hers.
He smiled at her. "I'm enjoying myself too much. I didn't think I would honestly, since I don't have the faintest what I'm doing with regard to romance, but it turns out to be surprisingly easy with the right company."
She gave him a warm smile and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. He didn't have any kind of plan really, he just followed his feet as they meandered. A handful of minutes later, he looked up and realized they were standing at the fence that marked the domain of the Shrieking Shack.
"Oh." He said. "Supposedly the most -"
"Haunted place in Britain, yes, I read it in -"
"Hogwarts: A History. Also happens to be a traditional -" He continued,
"Spot for first kisses, according to -"
"The student poll in the latest issue." He grinned at her and how in synch their thoughts were.
She laughed gently and they wrapped one arm around the other's waist as they stood side by side and examined the rickety shack in the distance. She rested her head on his shoulder, he rested his head on hers. It was just a rickety shack, really. Not much to look at. They were alone just then, without another body in sight, and he found looking at the old dilapidated building to be far less interesting than his date was.
He lifted his head from hers and flexed his right arm as he turned to face her, and turned her to face him. He was saddened by the thought that he and Hermione weren't Mates, but they were best friends, and they were together, and it was supposed to be a romantic experience for her - for them both, really. He decided then he would at least put his curiosity to rest and find out what it was like to kiss her. It would be entirely bland because they weren't Mates, but it was at least something they could share that they would always have between them, no matter what happened later or who they ended up with.
He reached out to cup her cheek with his free hand and looked into her eyes. She trembled slightly then as her eyes locked onto his.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a tiny voice.
"Keeping the tradition." He smiled wryly, and slowly closed the distance between them. Her eyes slid closed in anticipation.
It was the softest of brushes as their lips made tentative contact, but magic crackled between them as it happened. As he pressed his lips firmly to hers, a soundless explosion blew the snow from the ground around them. Hermione's eyes snapped open. His hand flew to his lips. They locked eyes again, this time in shocked recognition.
"It's YOU!" They cried simultaneously.
He wrapped both his arms around her, simply unable to be apart from her.
"I get to stay with you! I don't have to watch you fall in love with another witch!" She sobbed against his chest.
He held her close as he brushed her tears away and beamed his own joy at her. "I thought for sure you saw straight through me in Puddifoot's. The thought that anyone who came through the door could be your Mate made me feel horrible, but we're supposed to have a happy date, and I was determined to make it the best I could... but I get to stay with you! Our date doesn't have to end... ever!" He laughed as pure joy bubbled up through him. "I'm so happy it's you, Hermione. You're so brilliant." He smiled down at her, and she crushed him to her.
She pulled his head down and pressed her mouth to his. He felt her magic Resonate inside him. His magic reacted and he began to Resonate as well. He felt like he was standing in the eye of a hurricane. With every tiny movement of her mouth against his, lightning bolts shot across the sky. He consumed her mouth hungrily as his newly-awakened desire flooded through him. He felt his arms and shoulders grow hot first. Their hair blew around them in the wind they created as their lips slid across each other. He tasted her tongue for the first time. She slid it between his lips and ignited them both. He could feel them both burn in a blazing multicoloured fire that swirled around them and through them. His tongue entwined with hers as they devoured each other at the center of a swirling firestorm.
She felt warm and protected when she woke, mostly due to the arm that draped over her and held her close. She took a deep breath and smelled his unique scent. It put a smile on her face - a smile that shattered in a surge of panic when she opened her eyes and saw she was not in her hideyhole.
She turned into him and curled so that she couldn't see anything but his chest as she waited for the adrenaline spike to pass. She breathed deeply and as evenly as she could. She felt him kiss the top of her head.
"You're in my bed. Curtains are warded and sealed. Privacy shell too."
She looked up at him and he dropped a kiss on her forehead.
"I remember." She smiled, "Just a minor freakout. First time in a long time I've woken up anywhere but my own place." She reached up and captured his lips with hers. "Good morning, my Mate." She nuzzled into his neck.
"Good morning." He rumbled back and stroked her hair back from her face. "Best way to wake up ever."
"Definitely. Unfortunately I'm used to having my own bathroom."
"Take my housecoat, don't use the bathroom over there. Finnegan and Weasley are just disgusting. The girls' dorms would be far nicer smelling."
"Good tip. What happened to my wand?"
He reached up and backward and pulled her wand from the top of the headboard.
"Thanks." She kissed him quickly and pulled his housecoat over her shorts and T-shirt. She belted it and cast her nondetections on herself before she left and closed the curtains behind her.
"Ack, stupid cold floors!" She grumbled, not that anyone could hear her. She did see his slippers at the end of the bed, so she stole them and shuffled with a grin down the stairs and up into the girls' dorms.
She found an empty stall and sat down to relieve herself, and heard other girls enter.
"You see Longbottom yesterday?" One voice said.
"Yeah, with Greengrass for fuck's sake! He actually looked hot in a weird kind of way." Voice number two said. That one sounded like Lavender Brown - at least, Hermione thought so.
"At least Greengrass isn't stealing anything from anyone by lowering herself to Longbottom. You see that fucking slut with Duncan? Who the fuck was she?" That voice she knew. That voice had laughed at her along with Michael. Had probably denigrated her while currying his affection. It belonged to Ginny Weasley.
"Never seen her before. I thought she was one of the foreign tarts." The first voice replied.
"I saw them in Puddifoots." The second voice said. "Duncan was so bloody adorable. He had a marshmallow on his nose and he was so sweet. I'd never seen him laugh like that before. He's so hot and so cute at the same time, I want to cuddlefuck his brains out."
"Hah!" Weasley scoffed. "Get in line. The whole school is desperate to get him in a broom closet. Personally I'm thrilled Greengrass is out of the running at least for now. Somebody's going to hex the tits off that french tart, and it'll be back to free-for-all for the rest of us. I'm already halfway through my own batch of Amortentia."
"Well, the rest of us except for the four idiots." The second voice chuckled.
"Good luck. Didn't you guys hear he can't be potioned? If you come up with something else, let me know." The first voice said. "He did go to Hogsmeade with Bones and Abbott, maybe he'll take someone else today. Did either of you ask him?"
"As if." Weasley said. "He hasn't been seen anywhere for the last month, except at breakfast once, and I wasn't even there."
"Maybe he was busy working his way through four houses' worth of witches?" The first voice suggested with a hopeful tone.
Hermione took her T-shirt off and tucked it in the pocket of the housecoat. She flushed the toilet then and dispelled her nontedections. She pulled her shorts back up, and left the housecoat slightly open so as to suggest her nudity. Then she exited her stall and stood next to Lavender Brown, Ginny Weasley, and Sally-Anne Perks while she washed her hands. She let them stare at her for a long, tense moment.
"I'm not French." She told them, the cold fury in her voice barely restrained, "And Duncan was with me all month. I rather enjoy duelling, so if you'd like to start something, don't hesitate." She dried her hands as she looked each of them in the eyes. As she walked away she swept her hair over her shoulder to the front so they could see "MACFUSTY" embroidered in gold across the back of her housecoat.
She re-applied her nondetections as soon as she was out of sight of the bathroom, heart pounding in her chest, and ran back to Duncan's bed while she grinned like a Cheshire Lion.
"You look happy. Good trip to the loo?" He raised an eyebrow when she climbed onto his bed and closed the curtains.
She straddled him and leaned down to kiss him. "Brilliant." She grinned. "Let's go to Hogsmeade for breakfast and finish wandering around and snog a lot."
"Mmm. Now that is a plan. Turns out I absolutely adore snogging you. Who knew?" He replied with a smile and wrapped his arms around her to kiss her soundly. "Meeting Mister Black today as well, so we'll have to get a lot of snogging in before lunch."
"We can still snog after lunch too, you know."
"True, but I'll need to charge my Hermione battery in order to make it through the dry spell at lunch." He grinned and kissed her again. "I had no idea what I was missing, but now I just can't." He kissed her. "Stop." Kissed her again. "Kissing." And again. "You." And again.
She smiled at him as he showed his affection, and cupped his face in her hands as she kissed him back. "Wait til we start having sex. We won't get out of bed for months." She ground herself against his pelvis and was rewarded with facial contortions as his eyebrows raised, his eyes closed, and he bit his lip all at once as he groaned in pleasure. She could feel him harden beneath her, and it put a smile in her chest again.
"Magic's sake, Hermione. Do that again and we're starting right now. I can barely contain myself as it is." He breathed heavily and she could see wildness in his eyes.
"I wanted you from the first moment I saw you. You know that." She kissed him again. "Get up, get showered, and I'll meet you in the Entry Hall?" She got off him and moved to the opening in the curtains.
"Yeah, that's good. See you in a bit." He kissed her again, and let his fingers trail down her body as she moved away - which sent a shiver up her spine. She blushed at him and vanished as she cast her nondetections, and made her way quickly to her hideyhole.
She draped his housecoat across the back of her loveseat and stripped down to shower. She took perhaps a little longer than she intended to get clean, as the hot water reminded her of Harry's lips on her neck, his touch on her waist. Her efforts to soap herself took a southerly turn and she ended on her knees in the shower while her muscles clenched and quivered involuntarily. Consequently, he was waiting for her in the Entry Hall when she arrived.
He was surrounded by girls, as usual.
She saw Susan and Hannah, GInny Weasley, Eloise Midgen, and several of the Beauxbatons witches crowded around Harry and Luna.
"There you are." He grinned when he saw her, and came forward to kiss her. "Ready to go?"
"If I'm not taking you away from anything...?" She slipped her hand into his, and it put a smile on his face. Luna grabbed his other hand and smiled at her as well.
"No, we were just chatting while I was waiting for you." He smiled back at her, then turned to the crowd. "Talk to you all later, ladies." He gave them a winning smile and then repeated his exit in French.
The three of them exited the school and headed toward Hogsmeade, and Harry whispered in her ear.
"I hope you don't mind if Luna comes along, they were kind of pestering her with questions about me and you and us."
"Not at all." She whispered back. "Luna's my friend too, and we have been kind of hiding from everyone recently. Are you alright with subjecting her to your awkward Godfather meeting? Is she alright with it?"
He kissed her earlobe and turned to Luna.
"I have a meeting with my Godfather at one today. You're welcome if you want to come, but I've never met him before, so it's probably going to be pretty awkward."
Luna smiled back at him. "I'd love to! I thought you knew your whole family?"
"How is your Occlumency coming?" He countered.
"Check me when we get to the village if you want. I've been working really hard on it because I really want to know what you want to tell me." She smiled back at him. "I'm guessing it has something to do with Hermione's new look."
Harry put his arm around Luna's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "You could say that." He said.
"Also, I'm guessing there's been a change between the two of you, since you didn't kiss before." Luna noted.
"That kind of ties into it, Luna." She said.
"Oh, okay. I'll wait impatiently then." Luna frowned with a mock pout.
"Sorry Luna." She let go of Harry's hand and moved to Luna's other side and sandwiched Luna with Harry. It put a smile on Luna's face, so they walked the rest of the way to the village like that.
"Three broomsticks first, so I can reserve the room." Harry said when they arrived.
Madam Rosmerta confirmed the reservation for one that afternoon, and he bought all three of them a butterbeer while he was at the counter, and brought them to the table Luna and Hermione sat at.
"Alright, everything is set for lunch. Are you ready Luna?" Harry said as he sat down.
Luna took a deep breath and let it out as she settled her thoughts and erected her shields. She nodded to Harry.
"Just look into my eyes." He said with a smile.
She did, and Hermione could see the concentration on Harry's face. She could feel his Will focus on Luna. Luna frowned almost immediately, and her look of concentration intensified. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead and upper lip as their mental battle raged. It went on for long seconds, and then Harry relented with a smile.
"That's really good, Luna!" Harry said. "You still need some work, but you'd stand up to a cursory intrusion. A couple more months and you'll be unreadable."
"Is it good enough for you to let me in?" Luna asked with hopeful eyes as she wiped the sweat from her face with a napkin.
"I think so." Harry nodded. "You've waited this long, can you wait until lunch when we have a private spot? I have the feeling Mister Black is going to ask me where I've been and what happened, so we can just fill you both in then."
Luna nodded with a huge grin. "I suppose I can wait that long."
Harry grinned back at her. "Thanks, Luna. I just hope you're not too cross with me for lying to you when I tell you the truth."
She frowned at him again. "You've been lying to me?"
Harry nodded again. "To everyone, really. Not you specifically."
"Oh, about your past and such. That's fine. I thought you were just lying to me. I was going to give you a good hexing."
"You might still want to after you know the truth. It's alright if you do, if I deserve it then I deserve it." He smiled back at her.
"Well maybe just a little then." She winked at him.
Hermione felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle at the thought of Luna hexing him, but even as the anger surged down her shoulders into her arms, she could tell Luna was only teasing and dismissed it. She was not accustomed to having such a strong reaction to possible danger to someone else, and the intensity of it surprised her, even as she was consumed by the need to protect Harry.
Harry, unfortunately, seemed to catch on to her sudden burst of emotion.
"Alright Hermione?" He asked.
She took a sip of her butterbeer and licked her lip to capture the foam stuck there. She nodded back at him after that. "I... Just not used to these feelings yet. I know you were only teasing Luna, I know that, but I still got ready to fight you."
"Yay new feelings!" Luna grinned and hugged her. "Tell me all about it. We haven't ever talked about boys yet."
"Um, I can go wander about if you want a few minutes to yourselves..." Harry offered.
Luna sighed. "You are such the gentleman, Duncan. Thank you but it's unnecessary, we can talk about you while we walk around."
"Oh. Okay then..." He took a swig of his butterbeer to hide the blush. Hermione could feel the hard, sharp feelings in her chest melt and turn gooey when she looked at him like that. A month ago she'd have been enraged and annoyed by that, but at that moment it felt sweet. It felt warm, and it felt right. She couldn't help but smile at him.
"You are so in love with him." Luna whispered to her. "It's obvious. How far have you gone?"
"Am I? Is that what this feeling is?" She whispered back. "I mean, it's like all kinds of different feelings all wrapped up in one big fluffy blanket, and it's easy to confuse with being excited or angry or annoyed."
Luna giggled and hugged her again. "That is exactly how my mum used to tell me what being in love was like. I'm so happy for you Hermione. It's obvious he feels the same about you."
"Really? You're not upset? I see how you look at him too you know."
Luna smiled. "Well... I won't lie, it's hard not to want him. I could tell he didn't feel the same though. Really I'm just happy it's someone I like too. You deserve something good, Hermione. You both look great together."
"Thanks Luna, that means a lot to me. I didn't want to lose you as a friend."
Luna finished her butterbeer and licked off her own foam moustache. "You're important to me too, Hermione. I only have you and Duncan you know. I'm trying to make friends with other nice people, but most of them are going back to Beauxbatons. Nobody here wants to be my friend except you and Duncan."
She smiled at Luna. "Their loss. More Luna for me and Duncan."
Luna grinned back, and Hermione finished her butterbeer.
"Ready to go then?" Harry asked.
All three stood and pushed their chairs in, and exited the Three Broomsticks. Gladrags was only three doors up, so they wandered there with Harry in front while Luna and Hermione whispered.
"So? How far have you gone?" Luna asked.
"Just here to Hogsmeade." Hermione pointed to the far side of the village where the Shrieking Shack stood. "Farthest we've gone is over to the lookout spot."
Luna giggled. "I meant have you done any naked things yet."
"Oh!" She exclaimed, which caused Harry to turn and look at her with an eyebrows raised, as if to inquire whether she were alright. She could feel the heat rise into her cheeks as she remembered feeling him swell beneath her that very morning. "No, nothing like that yet." She whispered back to Luna. "We did sleep together last night, but it was just sleeping. He hasn't even touched my breasts yet, though I could tell he wants to. I want him to as well, but we're both not sure we're ready for that just yet."
"Did you talk about sex then?" Luna asked as they stepped into Gladrags. Harry went to look around while she and Luna continued their whispered conversation.
"Not as such. More like we could each see what the other was feeling, and just didn't do what we obviously wanted to. It was really sweet and tentative. He cares... It's so strange to say, but he cares about me. About my feelings. I'm not... I've never..."
Luna smiled wistfully." I know what you mean. I hope it goes that way for me. Who knows, by the time I find someone interested I might be completely impatient."
"I don't think you'll have long to wait at all, Luna. You're pretty and happy and smart as anything. Don't be afraid to go get one you want too. Duncan likes it when I'm aggressive, I can't imagine he's the only one."
"Oh he does, does he?" Luna waggled her eyebrows at her.
She snuck a glance over the clothing racks at Harry, where he discussed something animatedly with the sales witch. "There's no need to hold back when it's just the two of us, and sometimes I want his arms around me, or his hands on me or... or now, his lips. I don't know if he's just a great kisser or what, but it's amazing what snogging him..." She broke off and fought the heat in her cheeks.
Luna pulled a sparkly sequined dress off the rack and held it against herself as she spun around and looked in the mirror.
"I like that, it suits you." She told Luna. "It would go nicely with your radish earrings as well."
Luna held it up against Hermione then, and wrinkled her nose at it. "I think I agree. You would look better in a light blue... maybe pink? No! Cream. Cream and gold would be perfect with your hair colour."
"Hm. I've never actually considered it before. I've always been more concerned with being invisible entirely."
"Can't have that anymore, it's up to you now to put every other witch to shame so they know they could never compete with you." Luna said fiercely. "You are going to be visible most of the time now, right? Now that you and Duncan will be together all the time?"
She bit her lip at that. She hadn't thought about that. She supposed she would have to stay visible just to sit with him in classes. She had never been slovenly or unkempt, but she supposed it couldn't hurt to spend an extra few minutes on her hair in the morning. She also wouldn't be able to wander about on weekends in her sweats.
"I suppose I'll have to." She sighed, "Help me look for some cute weekend outfits?"
"Yay!" Luna hugged her again and they got down to some serious shopping.
Two hours and half an argument with Harry later, the three of them exited Gladrags with several bags each, including Harry. He had tried to pay for everything, and she had only grudgingly let him have his way after he'd pointed out that Christmas was coming and she should save her money for that. He was right about that, dammit. She had decided to get him something really nice for Christmas, to pay him back as much as she could. It felt nice he wanted to buy things for her, but it rankled as well. She didn't like feeling like she owed anyone, especially Harry. She already owed him more than she could ever repay.
He, on the other hand, wore a happy smile at the outcome. If their positions were reversed, how would she feel? She supposed she would be happy she could do something nice for someone she cared about -
Before she could analyse any further, a large regal-looking owl wearing a black hood with a gold symbol on it dropped out of the sky and hovered before Harry. He put his arm out for it to land on, and it did. He took a letter from the holder on its leg.
"I'm sorry I don't have any treats on me, would you like something from the tavern?" He asked it.
The owl swiveled its head one way then the other with a "Krrr". It then flapped its wings and took off back over the south end of the village.
"I don't think I've ever seen you get mail before." Luna said.
"I've never gotten mail before." Harry said with a big smile. "This is my first time. Did you recognize the emblem on its hood?"
She shook her head. It looked a bit like the insignia at Gringott's over the V.I.P. counter, but she hadn't gotten a good enough look at it before the owl had flown off.
Luna shook her head as well. "No, sorry."
"Here, give me your bags so you can open and read it." She said, and took his bags from him.
"Thanks." He grinned, and kissed her happily. He stole a quick cheeky kiss on the heels of the first, and then unrolled the parchment. He scanned the message and frowned briefly before his eyebrows shot toward his hairline, and he looked up from the parchment directly into her eyes. Shock warred with apology on a background of giddy happiness for a long moment. He finished reading the letter then, and took their bags as he handed her the letter.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't know. I couldn't even imagine that... I mean, I'm completely over the moon, but... If you aren't, then I'm really sorry."
She frowned. She knew the quickest way to understand what he was on about was to read the letter, so she did.
Dear Heir Potter,
I must offer our most sincere apologies on behalf of Gringott's management. Every effort we have made toward breaking the redirection of your mail has failed. This left us no choice but to assume that the redirection of your mail occurred at the highest level of your government. Imagine my surprise when I was alerted this morning that the redirection had simply ended, without any further effort.
This led me to investigate why your redirect had expired, and I was surprised and overjoyed to learn of your recent nuptials. Congratulations on your marriage to Miss Granger yesterday. As she is now a Potter, please bring her with you when you visit over the holidays. She will need to be informed of several of the Potter family provisions, as well as her new responsibilities and privileges.
There is much to discuss, so please visit us as soon as possible. I will make myself available to you at any point over the Christmas holidays, as our discussion may take several sessions.
Congratulations again and our collective best wishes,
Kneescythe, Accounts Manager.
She read it twice to be sure what it said, and looked up at him.
They were married. Married! An excited bubbly feeling filled her chest. His eyes were scared but hopeful. She smiled as the excitement filled her up, and launched herself at him to wrap her arms around him, and she kissed him deeply.
"Looks like we have some talking of our own to do, husband." She whispered in his ear. She kissed his neck after that, and then nibbled his earlobe.
He shivered when she did that, and leaned back to look at her. "You're not cross?" He asked in a small voice.
She kissed his mouth again, as gently and with as much feeling as she could, then pulled back and looked him in his deep green eyes. "Thrilled." She smiled.
"Oh good." He seemed to deflate then, into a relaxed smile. "Me too. We have to talk about your plans for Christmas then. Tonight?"
She nodded and then took her bags back from him.
"Sorry Luna, didn't mean to ignore you. We'll show you the letter at lunch?" She looked at Harry. He nodded.
"That's okay, you're allowed to have private business when you're a couple, you know." Luna said sagely.
"Well I appreciate your patience and accomodation, Club Sister." She said with a grin. Luna smiled back at her.
They spent an hour browsing through Honeydukes before they decided on their purchases - Sugar quills, tooth-flossing stringmints, pink coconut ice, jelly slugs, liquorice wands, and chocolate frogs.
When they left Honeydukes it was close enough to one o'clock that they just headed to the three broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta waved them on into the private room, and they deposited their bags in one corner of the room. Hermione pulled her wand out at the same moment Harry pulled his out, and they interwove privacy shells with intruder charms and protection wards. Harry went to the bar and ordered lunch for four, which was delivered shortly thereafter.
"Now we just have to wait for Mister Black." Harry said as he sat beside Hermione.
Thankfully they didn't have long to wait. There was a knock at the door barely five minutes later. She cast Nullus and Mixtionis Perfectus on herself and stood next to the door with her wand out as Luna opened it.
It was indeed the image of Sirius Black who entered. He closed the door behind him, and turned to face Harry's and Luna's wands pointed at him.
"Wand on the table if you please." Harry said.
Sirius took a sharp breath, then nodded. "Of course." He took a wand out of his robes and lay it on the table.
"And the backups." She whispered from behind him as she touched the tip of her wand to his neck.
He sighed. "I should have expected that, to be honest. You don't disappoint, Miss Witch." He reached around to the small of his back and removed another wand, then one from his ankle. He lay them both beside the first. "I thought for a moment you were Miss Witch." He smiled at Luna.
"That better be all of them." Harry said with a hard edge to his voice and a frown.
Sirius removed his robes and revealed a regular grey button-down shirt and black slacks. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and pantlegs.
"I'm sorry, all of you. I should have just done that first, I didn't think about it from your perspective. You don't know me and have no reason to trust me. May I sit?"
"Go ahead." Harry said. Sirius sat, but Hermione stayed standing and pointed her wand at him, ready to stun.
"How did I keep him from transforming?" She asked him. "Answer incorrectly and you wake up elsewhere."
Sirius smiled as he looked to the source of her voice. "You glued the backs of his hands to the desk, his feet to the floor, and the desk to the floor. Brilliant, really."
She cancelled her nondetections and sat down next to Harry. "It's him."
"Brilliant, capable, and beautiful to boot. A genuine pleasure to meet you finally, Miss Witch." Sirius grinned.
Harry grinned at her and slipped his hand into hers under the table. Then he turned back to Sirius. "So, why don't you start Mister Black? I would love to hear more about my first family and how I came to be alone on a Hebridean bluff as a one-year old."
Sirius blanched. "You what?"
"I'll get to that later, you first. Please, tell me about my first family. We have plenty of time, relax and eat if you want while we talk."
He nodded. "Alright, but please stop the Mister Black stuff. You used to call me Padfoot. I'll take that or Sirius. Mister Black makes me feel like my father is standing nearby." He shivered.
Harry nodded. "As you like, Sirius." He turned to Luna. "In order for this to make more sense Luna, you should know that my first name, the name I was born with, is Harry James Potter. Sorry I had to keep it a secret for so long." He smiled at her.
Luna's eyes went wide, and a little smile played with the corners of her mouth, but she didn't say anything, she just nodded once at Harry and turned rapt attention on Sirius.
"I suppose the first thing you should know is that my family - The Blacks - are horrible, horrible people. Or were, at any rate. I'm the only one left. The family motto is Toujours Pur, which should tell you enough to know they weren't the happy sort. I was the happy sort, and never fit in at home. It wasn't until I met your father on the train to Hogwarts that I learned I wasn't some kind of freak, I was just a good person.
"James opened my eyes. We were friends immediately, but my family wouldn't allow it, so I left them. James's parents - your grandparents - took me in without batting an eyelash, and we became brothers in all but blood. He fell in love with your mother in fourth year, but she hated his guts to begin with. Called him 'An ill-mannered, puerile, overcompensating bully'." Sirius chuckled as he recalled the memory, "To be fair though, we actually sort of were. There were four of us before Lily - your mother. James, me, Remus, and Peter. We called ourselves the Marauders and we were known for pulling pranks that no-one could pin on us."
"Like the Weasley twins." Luna nodded. "Though they haven't attempted anything after their mistake with Dunc- Harry." Luna gave him a little grin.
"What happened?" Sirius asked, concerned.
"I sort of challenged the twins to do their worst, so they made a gift box to throw a pie in my face. That would have been funny, I'd have laughed at that. Their little brother - a bully Hermione and I have the misfortune of being Housemates with - switched their meringue pie filling with bubotuber pus. I managed to keep anyone else from getting hurt by it, so I honestly just let it go and let Ronald have his petty revenge. If it had hurt anyone else I'd have had to take other action, but luckily it was just me." Harry explained.
"To the Veil with anyone else, I'm glad you're alright Harry." Sirius sat forward, pain and worry in his eyes.
Harry actually smiled a little at that. "I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey neutralized it and fed me boil-removing potion. What happened to get mum and dad together?"
Sirius relaxed, and his remembering smile returned. "James did, honestly. After a prank I pulled on Snivellus almost went too far, he sort of grew up overnight. He decided that we were being bullies, and that he would have to get serious about his future if he ever wanted your mother to be part of it. He concentrated on his grades and on being the kind of man he wanted to be. By sixth year you wouldn't have recognized him, and that's when Lily finally accepted his request to take her to Hogsmeade on a date. They were married shortly after graduation, and you came along two years after."
Harry frowned. "I don't like the thought that my father was ever a bully, but at least he grew up. Did he ever apologize to... whoever Snivellus was?"
"You'd call him Professor Snape. Apologize? No, I don't think there was ever... There was a lot of bad blood there, Harry. Snape had designs on your mother and hated James for taking her away."
"Hmph." She scoffed. "As though she were some kind of possession rather than a thinking breathing living person. Lily made her own choices."
Sirius smiled at her then. "You're more right than you know. Nobody could ever make Lily do anything she didn't want to. We used to regularly catch trouble from McGonagall and then Lily after a prank." He turned back to Harry. "Both your parents were the best of people, lad. I miss them more than I have tears to say."
"What happened to them? I mean, Hermione has told me what was in the papers, but you were there, you know the truth." Harry asked softly.
"I found -" Sirius's voice hitched, and he took a deep breath before he continued. "I found your mum and dad after the fact. That snake-sucking sonofabitch murdered them in their own home. That was the night I made the biggest mistake of my life, Harry. I should have taken you from Hagrid by force if necessary and left the country with you and raised you myself. That's what your mother and father wanted. I was - am - your Godfather, for Merlin's sake... but I didn't. I let the fact that you weren't in immediate danger sway me toward killing the traitor, and we've both suffered for it since. I'm so sorry, son. I'm so sorry." Tears tracked down his cheeks as he finished, but he didn't acknowledge them, he only looked at his own clenched fists on the table.
"I don't understand." Harry said. "You say Hagrid had me. You saw that with your own eyes."
Sirius looked up at Harry and nodded.
"Then why would Hagrid give me to some muggle? How and why did I end up there? Why was the muggle then found dead in a jail cell for killing me when I am clearly not dead? How did I get to Mother in the first place?"
"Good questions, Harry. Ones I mean to find the answers to." Sirius replied. "If I might ask... who is Mother? Who did you end up with?"
She squeezed Harry's hand then and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Do the transfiguration again. Luna hasn't seen Mother, and it might help him understand you before you start telling your story."
Harry smiled back at her and whispered in her ear. "She's your mother too now." Then kissed her neck gently. A thrill ran through her, partly from the kiss and partly because she realized he was right. She had a black dragon for a mother-in-law.
Harry pulled his wand out and transfigured his empty plate into a model of Mother six inches high.
"That's Mother." He said. "She raised me until I was ten. She told me I just appeared on a bluff opposite her nest, crying and dying of exposure. She said an eagle landed on me and started to eat me, so she ate it and took me back to her nest. I was leaking bright red, and had started to turn blue by the time she healed me, so she named me Hidden Colours. She taught me to live and to hunt, and how to use my magic to fly and breathe."
"Wait wait..." Sirius interrupted with a hand up, palm toward Harry, "You were taught to use wandless magic by a black dragon as a baby? Is that what I'm hearing?"
"Harry taught me to breathe fire last month. That's what we were doing, Luna. Sorry I couldn't tell you." She said as she squeezed Harry's hand and turned to look at Sirius. "I could demonstrate for you, but you wouldn't like it."
Sirius's face smoothed back from his frown as he saw she was serious.
"Yes, Sirius. That's exactly what you're hearing." Harry said calmly as he turned to Luna. "Now that you know, I can - We - can start teaching you too, if you'd like."
Luna's eyes began to water. "Today just keeps getting better and better. When can we start?"
"Tomorrow morning at five. Neville will be there too."
"Longbottom?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, he's my best mate."
Sirius smiled. "Well at least that went according to plan, if too late. Neville's mother Alice is your Godmother. You were supposed to grow up together."
Harry grew a genuine smile then. "I didn't know that."
"Frank and Alice Longbottom are good people. Your mother and father trusted them, and they trusted your mother and father. Your mother was Neville's Godmother."
"I can see I'm going to have to talk to Nev soon." Harry said.
"How did you come to be Duncan MacFusty if you were raised by a dragon?" Sirius asked.
"I said Mother raised me until I was ten, didn't I?"
Sirius nodded.
"When I was ten, Mother took me to the Conclave to Declare me to the rest of the Svurtr."
"Declare...? For what?" Sirius asked.
"Being Declared is being recognized as an adolescent. It means you can hunt for yourself, you can breathe, you can fly, and you know to respect all the laws. It lets you leave the nest and go build one of your own in order to wait for the time when you meet your Mate. When you're old enough to become a Mated pair, you're considered adult."
"So you were Declared when you were ten?" Luna asked.
Harry nodded to her. "Not without a fight though. Most of the Conclave stood on the very edge of disrespecting Mother because of her choice to raise me, and they did not like the idea of a pinkskin - a human - being Declared as a Svurtr. One adolescent was ready to Challenge me to prove that pinkskins didn't deserve to be accepted."
"Challenge you to what?" Sirius asked.
"Among the Svurtr all Challenges are to the death. It keeps them infrequent."
She frowned as a wave of anger and protectiveness surged through her. "You didn't tell me that! You had to fight for your life naked and weaponless against a Svurtr at ten years old?!"
Harry shrugged at her. "It never came up. Relax Hermione, it's over and done with a long time ago."
"You killed a full-grown black dragon with your bare hands when you were ten years old." Sirius said incredulously.
Harry shook his head. "No no no. No adult may challenge an adolescent, it would be a slaughter. Only an adolescent can challenge an adolescent."
"So you killed an adolescent black dragon with your bare hands when you were ten." Sirius corrected in the same flat tone.
Harry nodded. "Almost died too. I did well dodging his breath until he ran out. I should have stuck close to his body after that, but I tried to get some distance between us and he caught me with a claw across the back, then stuck a talon straight through me right here." He pointed to a spot just under his right ribs next to his breastbone. "Cut a big hole right there all the way through and pinned me to the ground."
She squeezed his hand hard without realizing it as the scene played out in her head. Adrenaline spiked through her and heat began to gather on the backs of her shoulders and neck.
Harry stopped the tale and turned to her. He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. "It's okay, Hermione. It's history. I'm here, we're together. It's okay."
She smiled at him and took a few deep breaths, and the heat began to dissipate. Harry kissed her, and that made everything feel alright again in her chest. The knot of worry that had formed smoothed away.
When Harry moved away again, she saw Sirius's eyes glued on her, wide open and amazed.
"What?" She asked him.
He opened his mouth but didn't seem able to find words.
"That was nothing." Luna said. "You should have seen Harry in the Great Hall. He made half the staff wet themselves."
Sirius licked his lips and took a swig of butterbeer.
"Don't just leave the story there Harry, I'm on tenterhooks here. What happened with the other dragon?" Luna complained.
"Sorry." Harry smiled at Luna. "Usually when a dragon is able to pin something down, the next logical thing to do is bite - it's instinctual. Luckily, Breathes First followed true to form. I waited for him to commit to his bite, then I breathed fire. Caught him with his mouth open and charred his head completely off. He fell over and the claw he had through me pulled me to my feet again. Mother said I had to take his heart if I wanted to live, so I pulled his plates apart, cut a hole in his chest and and took his heart out. I stuffed it into my own chest through the hole he made. Mother told me later that she meant I had to eat his heart, but I was accustomed to listening to her, so I did what she said without really thinking about it. I don't know how long I was unconscious after that, but I woke up healed and the Matriarch Declared me, so my solution worked. That's why my heartbeat sounds like it echoes."
That made sense. She'd heard it last night and that morning. "I did wonder." She told him.
Sirius pointed to his wand. "May I? I know a spell healers use to make parts of the body invisible so they can see what's going on."
"I assume you don't need to be told you won't leave here if you harm him?" She asked Sirius pointedly.
Sirius smiled back at her. "Even if it were possible for me to harm him with the oaths I've taken, I'm not stupid or ungrateful enough to cross you." He winked at her.
She cocked her head at him, unable to decide if he were being genuine and rakish, or if he were being condescending and patronizing. She decided it was in Harry's best interests if she delayed that judgement until she knew him better. She could always spank Sirius later.
A look at her Mate told her he was having the same internal debate. He looked at her. She shrugged.
"Alright, go ahead." Harry said as he pulled his shirt open.
Sirius picked up his wand and waved it at Harry's chest. "Ostende Internus." He incanted. The spell slid off his skin and made part of the wall invisible. She could see the building next door.
"Uhh..." Sirius raised his eyebrows.
"Sorry." Harry said, "Let me try to pull it in. Try again." He concentrated. Sirius tried the spell again, and Harry's chest went transparent through the skin and muscle and bone. His two hearts were clearly visible as they beat away between his lungs. The one on the right was larger and glowed a soft amethyst.
"That's amazing." Luna said in a soft voice as she scooched closer to Harry on the bench and put her ear against his chest. She held it there for a long moment before she sat up again. "Sorry, it's very soothing." She smiled.
"Okay... you had a very interesting childhood." Sirius sighed with raised eyebrows. "How did you come to be a MacFusty?"
"Right, that's where I was going with all that." Harry nodded. "After I was Declared, Mother said I should go to the MacFusty farm. She didn't know what their names were of course, she just called them pinkskins. She thought I should go learn to be one of my own kind, so I reluctantly left her Nest and flew the half hour to the MacFusty farm. I dropped out of the sky, a five-foot tall naked ten year old, and scared them all half to death. I didn't speak a word of English at the time either, so I just stood there mimicking Fergus. After a minute he walked up to me and saw the scar on my head. I put my hand on his forehead and repeated 'Airy fookin' Pottarrh', thinking it was some kind of greeting."
The image of smaller naked Harry happily swearing his own name made her giggle out loud. Luna, too.
Harry grinned in return. "They took me in and taught me English and everything else. I was with them for four years while Maisie - MacFusty Matriarch - brought me up to speed for everything I needed in order to start at Hogwarts this year."
"She's a licensed tutor?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded. "She had to get her tutor's license from the Ministry as they couldn't afford to send their girls here. License is far cheaper."
"That's certainly true." Sirius admitted. "Thank you Harry, for sharing all that with a half-mad stranger who failed you."
"Half mad?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You were completely sane when I met you the first time," She told Sirius, "If a little obsessed. You seem fine now."
"Okay, so I feel half-mad, better?" Sirius smirked.
"People accuse me of being half-mad all the time." Luna smiled. "I don't see what the big deal is."
"You're mad like a sphinx. I don't even know you and that much is obvious." Sirius said as he pointed at Luna. She just smiled back at him.
"Your intellectual stability notwithstanding Sirius, I think we've come to the crux of this meeting." Harry said as he leaned forward and placed his interlaced fingers on the table.
Sirius smiled back at Harry. "Taller and sharper than your father. You look a lot like him, you know - but definitely your mother's eyes." He took something from his pocket the size of a knut and placed it on the table. He waved his wand over it, and it grew into a full-sized, leather-bound album. "You want to know what I want from you, where we go from here."
Harry just nodded.
"That answer changes with your perspective, Harry. I want to be part of your life. To you that may be nothing, or it may be too much to ask. It's up to you."
"Well... To be perfectly honest I never had a Godfather or uncle that I can remember, so I don't really have any kind of way to feel about that. I would be a fool however, to turn down a possible friend just because you were thrown in prison without a trial. I have a lot to figure out in the next while, and I'd appreciate another experienced opinion to turn to. On occasion, I mean - I do have a lot of homework to do too." Harry smiled ruefully.
"I appreciate that, Harry. If there's anything I can do for you or with you - like shopping for certain ladies, just say the word." Sirius grinned. He pushed the leatherbound album across the table to Harry. "This is yours. The original was left at Godric's Hollow and was destroyed by the elements over the years. That one is a copy of the original your mum and dad left with me."
At his touch, the cover of the album changed into a picture frame. The picture in the center of the cover was of a pretty young witch with long, straight red hair and vibrant green eyes the same shade as Harry's. Next to her was a tall, grey-eyed, raven-haired man whose hair couldn't make up its mind which direction to go. They held a green-eyed, raven-haired baby between them.
Harry looked up from the picture to Sirius. His eyes were glassy with tears. "This is the first picture I've ever seen of them. Or me."
"Take it, it's yours. If you have questions, just send your Elf. I'll be on my way and let you get back to your precious weekend. I've taken enough of your time as it is. Thanks for lunch." Sirius smiled.
"Thank you." Harry replied, "I'll write later."
Sirius stood and put his backup wands back where they belonged. He put his robes back on and rolled down his pantlegs and shirtsleeves. Harry stood and offered his hand.
Sirius shook it with a grin. "See you later, Harry."
"See you later, Sirius."
She unsealed the door so he could leave.
"I like him." Luna said after he'd gone. Harry chuckled.
"One last thing to do before we leave too." She said to Harry. He frowned for a moment, then smiled and kissed her. She liked that part.
He turned and handed the Gringott's letter to Luna.
She opened and read it, and then looked up at both of them with a huge grin.
"Congratulations! When? When did this happen?" Luna smiled at them broadly.
"Don't know for sure, but... Well, you saw me get the letter today." Harry said.
"Pretty sure it was our first kiss yesterday." She supplied. Harry turned to her with a smile.
"Definitely an epic snog." He grinned. "Your lips are amazing."
That put a gooey feeling in her stomach.
"People are going to lose their minds when this goes public, you know that don't you?" Luna said.
"Which?" She asked in return, "That we're married or that he's Harry Potter?"
"Both." Luna said.
He caught Neville in the library doing homework. Harry strode quietly up to him and leaned over to whisper.
"Could I have a private word, Nev?"
Neville nodded. "'Course, mate." He stood and followed Harry into the rows of bookshelves, all the way to the back of the room.
Harry pulled out his wand and cast a privacy shell around them so they couldn't be seen or overheard.
"What's up?" Neville asked.
"I wanted to tell you what I haven't told you yet. I know your Occlumency shields are still in progress, and I hope you'll keep working on them, but today at lunch I told Luna, and I thought it wouldn't be very fair to not tell you as well."
"I appreciate that Dunc, but you don't have to. I'm more concerned with keeping your secret than knowing it."
That made him grin, and he couldn't help himself - he hugged Neville. "Spoken like a true brother." He said. "I found out today that's what we are."
He held up his left hand and willed his Heir Ring visible.
Neville frowned for a second, until his eyes focused on the crest. Then they went wide in recognition. "It's you. It's really you!" His eyes began to water. "You're not dead!" He wrapped his arms around Harry and picked him up off the floor and spun him around before he set him back down.
"You son of a troll!" Neville laughed and grinned while tears rolled down his cheeks. He wiped them away on his sleeve.
"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner Nev. If I'd known we were brothers I'd have told you from the start and shields be damned."
Neville shook his head, still grinning. "No. I'm even more concerned with keeping your secret now. I've been practicing not looking people in the eyes until my shields are good enough. Also, on a side note - is it just me or does practicing the Occlumency make your memory better? I find I can remember everything now, even if I've only seen it in passing. "
"No, you're absolutely right. Part of the purpose of it is to organize your thoughts. At least, that's what I've read."
Neville nodded. "Good, glad it's not just me. Daphne's got good shields too. She's been helping me the last couple of days. She's been practicing for years."
Harry grinned back. "Brilliant, mate! I'm so happy you coughed up the courage to go talk to her. You look good together, you know? Actually, that brings up another bit of news. I kissed Hermione in Hogsmeade yesterday."
Neville clapped him on the shoulder. "You bloody go-getter, you. Way to go." He laughed.
"It was a great kiss for sure, but... I found out today we're now married."
"What?" Neville's face fell.
"Yeah. I always thought you know, ceremony and flowers and rings and 'I do' and all that. I'm thrilled, I mean completely over the moon about it, but shocked would be an understatement too."
"Hm. I've heard about spontaneous weddings before. It's incredibly rare, but sometimes magic itself decides it wants you married, so you are. At least, that's how the stories go."
"Hm. I was thinking along the lines of... well. Something else you don't know about me - us - I'm part dragon, Nev. I was raised by a black dragon."
"Fuck off.." Neville grinned, clearly thinking Harry was taking the piss. When his expression didn't change, Neville frowned. "You're serious?"
Harry nodded with a smile at Neville's incredulity. "Yes, I'm serious. I'll take you to meet her if you like. The point is, black dragons only have one Mate. Only one other dragon they can love and have kids with. When I kissed Hermione, we recognized each other as our Mates."
"Oh. I'd say that explains it then. Still..."
"Still?" Harry waited for him to continue.
"Well, you're you. The regular rules that apply to the rest of us seem to go on holiday where you're concerned. Whatever the real reason though, I'm happy for you both. How did Hermione take the news?"
"Pretty well, honestly. I think she's happy about it, but I also can't help but think she's also a little disappointed about not having a wedding. Even if she isn't, I'm planning one for after we graduate. Wanna be my best man?"
Neville grinned. "As though I would say no. Whatever you do, wherever you go, I'm there if you want me."
"I appreciate that, Nev. I really do. I'll amend it to 'unless occupied with Daphne' though." Harry winked, "How did that start, anyway?"
"She's not at all what I expected, if I'm honest. More than I could have hoped or dreamed, but not as I expected. You're to blame for it, indirectly. She was part of the group that cornered Luna and I over there and asked what was going on with you as you hadn't been around at all. I had to give Parkinson some perspective - sternly - and told her she didn't stand a ghost of a chance with you because of her expressed attitude toward Hermione. I won't repeat what she said because you'll want to go thrash her even though you never would. After that, one of the Beauxbatons ladies – Arielle, I think her name is - asked if I was busy for this weekend. Daphne actually grabbed my arm and claimed me for the weekend. Can you believe that?"
Harry grinned back at him. "As a matter of fact, I can Nev. You're a good man. Do you think the two of you will actually get along?"
Neville nodded with a happy smile. "We do. Surprisingly well. We seem almost tailor-made for each other, and I'm... it's a wonderful time getting to know her."
"Brilliant." Harry grinned back. "We'll have to get together sometime just the four of us and see how the girls get along."
"That's a plan then. Not for a while yet, let them get used to the idea of being with us first."
"Agreed. I'll leave it to you to suggest then." He clapped Neville on the shoulder. "I'll let you get back to your homework, mate. We'll talk more later?'
"Definitely." Neville nodded. "Little brother." He grinned.
"Georgie Porgie brother of mine." Fred queried, "Ickle Ronniekins' favourite target, the frizzy-headed Top Spot girl... Her name was Hermione, was it not? Hermione Granger?"
"If I recall correctly, yes. Why? What has the magnificent map shown us today?"
Fred just held their favourite bit of parchment up so George could see what he was looking at. His finger pointed at two names that walked side by side through the halls.
"Oh." George said.
"Oh indeed. Am I to take your sagacious intonation for agreement that this may pose a significant issue in the future?"
"Indubitably. That's a walking blood feud, that is."
"My thoughts exactly. Perhaps it's time we inform dear PaPa of the situation." Fred mused.
"Neither Ron nor Ginny will, so as usual it's down to us. What to tell though?"
"Possible shitstorm brewing, batten down the middens?"
"So droll." George made a sour face.
"It's a filthy business, minding the family shithead."
"Touche, brother mine, touche. However, methinks young Ginevra may just lose her shit at the news as well." George pointed out.
"Oo, a fair point. The wind from that direction is equally asinine."
"I hope father doesn't just dismiss it as our usual flatulence."
"All we need do is detail Ronald's excrement. The flush should roll downhill to Ginny as well." Fred proposed.
"Think it would stick? Or will they both just go back to slinging mud?"
"Well you know what they say..." Fred started,
"Can't polish a turd." They finished simultaneously.