Author's Notes: Thank you so much to my beta aigooism!
One
Luna always knew that Harry and Draco would become friends. She knew it from the first time she saw them in Diagon Alley buying robes. Of course, she didn't know who they were back then, but she still knew that there was a spark of interest between the two boys that she recognised immediately as friendship. She didn't even need her special glasses to see their auras. Luna just knew. That was why she was so surprised when Harry walked away from Draco and never looked back. It was as if the sky had gotten up and walked away from the planet. It just wasn't something that Luna had expected.
Luna was pleased when years later, she saw them having coffee together at the Ministry. "Harry," she said as she came up to them. She pulled out a chair and sat down. "Draco," she said, turning to the other man. "It's good to see both of you."
Harry blinked at her. He looked rather owlish whenever he blinked like that, she thought. "Luna! What're you doing here?"
"I work here," Luna said. She was always rather puzzled whenever people asked obvious things like that.
Draco was scrutinising her through lowered lashes so she looked over and held his gaze. She was rather amused when he looked aside. "You don't look surprised to see us having lunch together," he finally said.
"Surprised?" she repeated. "I think it's long overdue!"
Both their faces took on the same expression that Luna remembered from Hogwarts whenever she spoke to her classmates. It made her feel vaguely uncomfortable for half a second before she remembered that she had chocolate cake at home and the next several issues of The Quibbler to work on. She immediately brightened and grinned at both of them.
"Where do you work?" Harry asked.
Luna beamed at him. "Here." There was that blank look on both their faces again. She waved her arms around to encompass the entire cafeteria. "I'm working right here."
Draco understood it first. "Oh, you're working here in the cafeteria," he said, with a raised eyebrow.
Luna nodded. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and then you know how I've taken over The Quibbler?" From the expressions on their faces, she realised that they didn't. It was obvious that there was some sort of supply mishap somewhere along the production line because she always made sure that the Ministry had enough copies. Rummaging around in her bag, Luna pulled out a couple of copies of The Quibbler. "Here you go."
"Thank you," Harry said, sounding dubious. He stared at the copies she handed him.
"It's only a little bit of orange juice. And some hair from my cat," she reassured him. "The articles are still readable and very exciting. There's a brilliant one about leaping lemurs."
"I'm sure it'll be fascinating," Draco said.
Luna tilted her head to stare at him. "Thank you," she said brightly. "The last issue was created entirely by me. I've taken over the production and distribution. I found that I needed a job with flexible hours and this was perfect." She suddenly spotted several tables that needed to be cleared. "I should be getting back to work."
Harry waved as she walked off. She couldn't help but sneak a peek over her shoulder as she saw both of them turn back to their previous conversation.
Luna beamed. It was so satisfying to have been right all along.
-***-
Two
Luna always knew that there was more to the Muggles than everybody else thought. They mightn't know about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks but -- then again -- neither did the rest of the wizarding world. Muggles always wore queer things like trousers and bras and they tended to frown upon wizards who wore such things. Luna never understood why the Muggles she had met on her trip into Muggle London back when she was ten had objected so terribly to her father's bra. It was a lovely lacy pink one that Luna had helped him pick out. Whenever she told this story to any of her Muggle-born friends, they all turned terribly red and snorted into their drinks.
Despite these eccentricities, the Muggles had come up with some marvellous inventions like electricity and microwaves. It had taken her two months to convince the Ministry cafeteria to install a microwave and another month before they could come up with the right shielding spells for magical interference.
"I have a surprise for you," she told Harry one lunch time when he sat down.
He stared at her, a dubious look on his face.
"You'll love it," she reassured him. "I have one for Draco as well, is he here today?"
"No," Harry said quickly.
"Too bad," she said and turned away. Behind her, it sounded as though Harry was flapping his arms about and mouthing something. "Are you alright, Harry?" She turned around and looked at him with concern.
"I'm fine!" he said with a smile.
"I was wondering for a minute whether you were trying a new incantation," she confided. "With all that arm waving and whispering, you might have been trying for a new method of flight."
Harry's mouth fell open.
"Don't worry," she said quickly. "I promise I won't give away your secret. You might want to have a look into what Muggles do with their aeroplanes though." She lifted the cover of her trolley with a flourish and deposited a tray onto the table in front of Harry.
Harry took up his fork and poked it into the container. "What's this?"
"It's what Muggles call a Frozen Meal," Luna said, beaming. She was quite proud of herself for finding one of them in a Muggle supermarket. Those supermarkets were full of flashing lights and scurrying people wearing trousers; it was a surprise that Muggles ever managed to eat at all! "Do you like it?"
"Uh," Harry said. "How'd you manage to heat it up?"
Luna pulled out a chair and sat down. She leaned forward to whisper into Harry's ear. "We have a microwave. A most excellent Muggle invention." As she sat back, she couldn't help but notice that Harry looked rather faint. He was obviously in need of the nourishment of the Muggle Frozen Meal.
-***-
Three
Luna always knew that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks existed. She knew it with the same certainty that she knew that Red-Tailed Roosters liked to eat chocolate and that Bobble-Tailed Rabbits hated lettuce.
"How can you be so sure?" Harry asked, one lunch time.
She sat down next to him. "Before the Triwizard Tournament, you'd never seen a dragon before. How'd you know that they existed?"
Harry stared at her. "They were in my textbooks," he protested. "I knew Charlie who worked with them."
Luna waved her hand. "Dragons are huge and very bad at hiding. There are plenty of signs that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks exist, you just need to look for them. Besides, I'm telling you that they exist. Don't you believe me?"
She was amused by the look on his face. "I, uh," Harry said.
She grinned. "Read the next issue of The Quibbler. I'll be taking you into the lair of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. I even have photos!"
"I'm looking forward to it," Harry said cautiously.
-***-
Four
Luna always knew it whenever she had made a new friend. She always had the same warm feelings inside whenever she found somebody new to talk to and who wanted to talk to her. She had been friends with Harry back at Hogwarts, but they had lost touch when he had left. Now she was glad that they seemed to be friends again. She enjoyed talking to him almost as much as she enjoyed talking to George.
"Surprise!" George said, beaming as he gave her a flower.
Luna looked at the flower suspiciously. It seemed like an ordinary daisy, but she could never be sure with George Weasley. "Let me guess?" she teased. "This one's going to turn me green? I enjoyed being purple last month.
George feigned a mock innocent expression. "Would I give one of my friends a joke daisy?" he asked.
Behind him, Angelina wrapped her arms around him and kissed his ear. "My husband would never play a prank on anybody," she said, with a grin. "Would he?"
Luna rolled her eyes and carefully set the daisy on a table. She would figure out what sort of spells George had put on it later. "I'm ravenous," she said as she grabbed a coat.
"I hear that Harry's been spending a lot of time with you lately," George teased as the three of them walked to the nearest Apparation Point.
Luna lifted an eyebrow. "So have most of our Ministry employees, then," she pointed out. Besides, she had her own theories about Harry.
-***-
Five
Luna always knew the look on somebody's face when they were in love. It was a mixture of happiness, anticipation, nervousness and it always lit up somebody's features. She saw it on Hermione's face whenever she turned to speak to her husband Ron. She saw it on Harry's face a few years ago when he talked about Ginny and now she was seeing it again. There was a sparkle in his eyes and a grin threatening to burst out every time he talked.
"How's Draco?" she asked casually.
Harry blinked owlishly at her. "Draco's fine," he said. "We've both been working hard on that new Muggle Technology Integration project." He smiled at her. "It seems your microwave idea has caught on. Hermione's over the moon about the whole project."
"I'm glad," she said. "I haven't seen Draco for a while. Are you two okay?"
There was a brief flash of something that seemed like hurt over Harry's features before his face cleared. "He's just been busy," Harry said.
Luna frowned. She hoped that they weren't having problems. She quite enjoyed her daily lunch conversations with Harry and her occasional talks with Draco whenever they were here together. She thought that they made a cute couple. "You two aren't having problems, are you?"
Harry just stared at her, open-mouthed.
"Because if you are," she continued, "I could take you into the lair of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. It's said that the Crumple-Horned Snorkack releases chemicals that are an aphrodisiac to many human couples."
"An aphrodisiac?" Harry repeated, sounding faint.
"Yes," Luna said with a tiny frown. Harry didn't seem to understand that she was trying to help here. "It'll help your relationship."
"Luna," Harry interrupted, suddenly. "I think you're getting this all wrong."
It was her turn to blink at him.
"Draco and I," Harry said, clearing his throat, looking supremely uncomfortable. "We're just friends. We're not ... together. Not that way."
"You're saying that you aren't lovers?" Luna asked in surprise. She was astounded. She could have sworn that Harry had that look about him that suggested that he was in love. And the amount of time he seemed to spend with Draco, and the way he looked at Draco... well, she had just put two and two together.
"No, we're not," Harry said quietly.
"But you have that look about you," she said, a matter-of-factly. "You look like you're in love."
Harry turned red and began fiddling with his napkin. "I'm not in love," he muttered.
Luna considered this. It was possible that she could have been wrong. She had been wrong before. "Okay then," she said cheerfully. "Sorry about the misunderstanding." She pushed her chair back. "I'm going to have to get back to work," she said apologetically. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"
She was about to walk off when Harry put a hand on her arm. "Luna," he said, sounding awkward. "Do you want to go to dinner tonight?"
Luna paused, looking down at the blush colouring Harry's cheeks. "Sure," she said brightly. "But I really should be getting back to work." As she walked off, she couldn't help but grin. She had been right after all.