A/N: Written for Eternaromantica03 who wanted a multi-chapter Harry/Luna story for the Christmas Gift Giveaway 2013.
Prompt: "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage"
Chapter 1
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The Great Hall
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
9 May, 1998
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Harry grinned widely, too widely for his smile to be real, but it didn't seem to matter. Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped aside to introduce him to another Minister from a long line of officials who had been waiting for months to see the great Harry Potter in person. Harry had no doubt that at least half of these officials led the charge against him when the Death Eaters had first taken over the Ministry of Magic all those months ago. Now, here they stood, humbled by the loss, claiming that their actions were due to coercion, blackmail or the imperius curse.
"It's very good to meet you, Mr Potter," Ronston Fleeble said with a happy grin as he shook Harry's hand. He was a tall man with greying hair, who seemed to have lived a better part of his life hunched over a desk. "Very well indeed. We hope to see you adding Auror to your name soon."
Kingsley stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "Mr Feeble is in charge of recruitment, Harry. He heads the Human Resources Department at the Ministry."
"A very good job indeed, Minister," Fleeble said with a click of his teeth. "I am honoured that you allowed me to stay on after the nastiness that happened."
Kingsley stiffened beside Harry, even though his smile seemed warm and forgiving. "That is all in the past. You have proved to be an important addition to our new Ministry, and we are all glad to have you."
"Yes indeed, Minister," Fleeble said with a grand bow. "Very good to meet you, Harry."
Harry said the same, even though he couldn't help but think it was a bit presumptuous about the Minister to assume that he could call him by his first name. After the Minister was out of earshot, Kingsley squeezed Harry's shoulder for support.
"What is that they say, Harry? Keep your friends close but your enemies closer?" With a wink, the Minister for Magic tipped his head and made a move to greet the other officials who had come to celebrate the fall of Voldemort.
"Are you okay?"
Harry turned around and smiled, although, he could sense that it didn't fool his best friends as much as it would fool anyone else.
Hermione's expression softened. "Oh, Harry." She practically jumped him with the fierceness of her hug.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Blimey, Hermione. Don't kill him."
Hermione pulled back to glare at Ron, even though the fire behind her eyes were somewhat diffused by the fact that she grinned when he smiled sheepishly at her.
"I can't do this," Harry said strongly, effectively breaking the shared moment between his best friends.
Hermione took his hand in hers and eyed him pleadingly. "Yes, you can. Promise me that you won't leave."
Harry shared an exasperated look with Ron, which Hermione couldn't help but notice.
"If not for yourself, at least for everyone who we lost at the war. Promise me, Harry."
Harry let out a low breath, even though he felt the familiar twitch to leave. "I promise."
Hermione smiled brilliantly at him. "Good. I think it's better if Ron and I go get ourselves settled. We'll keep a place for you."
Harry nodded, watching as Hermione turned around and came face to face with one of their previous classmates and immediately start up a conversation. Ron rubbed the back of his neck nervously. They were never good with affectionate things the way he and Hermione were.
"Look, I'm sorry you have to do this. I'm sure I would have never been able to go up there and talk as if we won the war, as if we didn't…" He trailed off, his gaze flitting to George who was standing silently in the corner with his parents, hands in his pockets and gaze fixed somewhere outside the window.
"I know, Ron."
They shared a small smile just in time for Hermione to step forward and pull Ron by the arm. "It's almost time, Harry. See you in an hour, after your speech?"
Harry nodded. As he watched them lead the way towards the front of the Great Hall, where the wooden chairs have been placed in straight rows of fifteen per row on each side, Harry felt that uneasy feeling he had been fighting the past week settle in his stomach.
He pulled at the collar of his robes, feeling the panic settle in as he watched everyone he had ever known, even some he had never met before begin taking their seats in preparation to celebrate a time in his life that he would rather forget.
"Ah! Mr Potter!" the gruff voice of a wizard drew his attention. "I've been meaning to meet you for quite a while now. My name is Torinton Avery. I'm the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts."
Harry looked down at the man's outstretched hand, and blinked. "I'm sorry." He watched as Avery's brows furrowed in confusion. "I have to go."
Without letting him say another word, Harry rushed out of the Great Hall as fast as his feet could carry him.
He wasn't sure where he was running, but the moment he hit the cool air outside, he took in a heaving breath and breathed a little easier. Maybe later he would laugh at how ridiculous he was. When he had to face down a Dark Lord intent on his death, he hadn't batted an eyelash before leaving for the Forbidden Forest with every intention of losing his life. But, the prospect of standing in front of a crowd, half of them who were once his enemies, and pretend that the war is over was something that made him panic.
He couldn't do it the way they wanted him to do it, because for him, the war wasn't over.
Every night, he dreamt of it. He didn't feel safe yet. He felt like he was on the edge, on a precipice about to jump. He thought of each and every person who gave their lives so that he had a fighting chance. The list was too long in his mind. He wished he could make it shorter with each passing day.
Seeing the Black Lake from the corner of his eye, he made his way towards to the edge of the water. Perhaps the ripples that came up on the surface of the wind could have a calming effect on him. Perhaps this would enable him to have a heart of iron as he marched back into that school and gave the speech he was meant to give.
He sat down on the edge of the lake, choosing to rest his elbows on his knees as he took in a few deep, calming breaths. That sense of panic in his gut didn't reduce or disappear. So he tried again, with another deep breath, choking on the air when a familiar voice said, "Oh, hello, Harry."
Harry's eyes flitted up fast to see Luna smiling down at him, her hair taking on an ethereal quality in the moonlight. "Hello, Luna. What are you doing here?" He decided not to comment on the deep red robes she wore that had blossoming and retracting flowers on the material. It was a bit festive for an occasion celebrating the dead, but Harry couldn't help but smile at the fact that she wore what she wanted to wear and no one would ever have the courage to tell her not to.
She looked down at her arms, which Harry suddenly noticed held a squirming bundle of something that looked too fluffy to exist. "I thought I'd bring my Hoodliwink for a swim. He was getting antsy, you see. They are not meant to stay out in land more than a day or so."
"A Hoodliwink?" he asked in surprise, all of his troubles suddenly forgotten as he eyed the purple, fluffy thing with curiosity.
"Father and I found him a week ago. He's the last of his kind." She got on her knees beside him and placed the bundle, which was no more than the size of her palm, onto the surface of the water.
Harry watched as the Hooliwink, or whatever it is called, floated for a bit before dropping through the water as if it had the weight of the rock.
"Don't worry," Luna said from beside him. "He'll surface soon."
Harry stared at her as she leant forward and lightly graced her fingertips onto the surface of the Great Lake, creating ripples that he watched catch the light of the moon. Regardless of how upset he had been, he found himself suddenly curious about the creature she had brought to the lake.
"Where did you find a Hoodliwink from?"
"Peru," she said lightly as her attention seemed focused on the ripples.
"Peru? When did you go to Peru?"
"Right after the war. Father wanted to look for the Zumderphil. It's a very rare plant that can catch someone's dreams and keep them forever. It's said that if you take the dream back the Zumderphil will turn into a Rewing and take away the nightmares as well. We found the Hoodliwink on our second week there. Now that we found a Hoodliwink, father intends to search for the lost arc of Pholistis. That's in Ghana. We'll be leaving tomorrow."
Harry blinked at her, unsure where to start with the questions. Deciding that it might be best for his own sanity not to ask too many questions, he started with a safer one.
"Do you enjoy travelling?"
Her fingers stopped moving so she could look at him. "Yes," she said seriously. "Don't you?"
"I don't know," he said sadly, his mind preoccupied by the assault of memories he had tried hard to forget. "The only travelling I ever did was during last year."
"Try it, Harry."
He blinked in surprise only to see Luna had resumed the invisible trail she followed with her fingertips over the Black Lake. A part of him wanted to try it, another part of him thought he was being ridiculous. As far as he was concerned, no one could get away doing half the things Luna did. She was the only one who could. She was unique. Harry Potter attempting to do the things that Luna Lovegood did was a laughable concept.
She continued to watch the ripples, the moonlight shining in her eyes, as Harry found himself inexplicably entranced by her. He couldn't help but study the set of her shoulders, as if she was in the middle of a shrug, but decided against it because it was the norm. He looked at the way her eyes studied her own hands, pale and freckled as they ran over the Black Lake as if it wasn't the most dangerous lake in Scotland.
After a moment of hesitation, he did as she did. Leaning forward, he let the tips of his fingers lightly run over the surface of the Black Lake in the pattern she was moving her hand, and without really noticing it, his shoulders relaxed under the gentle sounds of the water and the wind.
They stayed like that for a while, Harry smiling at the scene without even knowing that he was.
"I'm looking forward to your speech, Harry," she said softly, breaking him out of his reverie.
Harry stiffened, and felt the need to pull back his hand, but something stopped him, and he felt himself relax once again as he continued the slow motion of his fingers over the water. "I'm not."
"I am."
She pulled away her hand. Confused, Harry did the same just in time to see a large, purple creature the size of a baby whale break the surface. Just as it appeared, it disappeared, before the tiny, fluffy ball popped back into the surface and started moving on the ripples towards them.
Luna picked it up and settled it on her lap, a soft smile gracing her face when the creature shook itself dry. Harry was sure about one thing, Hoodliwink was not a proper name for a creature that could become so large.
"You shouldn't let them tell you what to say."
Harry managed to tear his attention away from the creature to focus on Luna. It took him a few seconds to realise that she was continuing the conversation. "Yeah?"
Luna looked up at him and smiled softly at him. "You tell the truth, Harry. That's what I like about you." She stood up with the creature in tow. "I'll see you around."
Harry watched her leave, that sense of agitation that had disappeared when Luna had first sat down beside him, appearing again with full force. He pulled out the rolled up parchment that he had kept in his robes and eyed it warily. It held the speech Kingsley had written for him, the speech that he was supposed to read, even though he felt uneasy about it.
He stood up, took a deep breath, and tossed the parchment onto the Black Lake, watching it take in water before it disappeared before his eyes.
The war hadn't ended yet, not for him, and not for the countless people who had fought the Dark Lord alongside him. He owed it to those who had died to keep their memories alive.
And if Kingsley didn't like it, he could take it up with him after his speech was done.