Waxing Pale
By Twin Kats

It was bustling at the Weasley-Granger home. Ginny and Hermione were both in the kitchen finishing up a meal while Ron set the table and chatted amicable with Neville. Luna was perusing through the bookshelves of Hermiones rather impressive collection of books. George sat at a modest desk near the fireplace, looking over the bookkeeping for the joke shop in Diagon. The crackling fire in the fireplace rose a brilliant green for a moment and out stepped Draco Malfoy.

"You're late," Luna sang lightly, as she tugged a book down.

"Don't listen to her, Malfoy, dinner's almost done!" Hermione called from the kitchen.

If any wizard or witch were to look in on this abode they would be surprised at the lack of pure animosity from all present. In fact they would be completely shocked at the companionable comfortableness that seemed to encompass the entire group as Draco took a seat at the edge of George's desk.

"Long day at the Ministry," the Malfoy scion drawled. "I apologize for the late hour."

"Apology accepted," Luna replied primly and dropped the book on Draco's lap. She walked past him and sat down at the table just as Ginny came out from the kitchen with the first platter. Everyone moved in a well timed dance. This wasn't new to them; they had dinners like this quite frequently.

Draco would always be late, work at the Ministry would keep him for far longer than he would desire. Luna would always take affront in jest, and Hermione would try to smooth things over. Ron would do his best to ignore Draco's presence, as he always had done since they were thirteen. Neville would be amicable to everyone, Ginny motherly, sisterly, and everything inbetween, and George would be their jokster of an older brother.

Once dinner was over, with all the practical jokes and small talk out of the way, they would pass to drinks and reminisce about the old days which weren't that old, really.

"Who would have thought it's been a year already," Neville said.

"Yes, seems like nothings changed," Draco replied.

Legislation was as it always was; Purebloods in power, Muggleborns suppressed. Nothing had changed. Nobody would think just a year ago the entire Wizarding World had been at war.

"Bet you things would have been different if Harry hadn't vanished," Ron pointed out. "Bet you he would have changed things, he would. Bet you they wouldn't have forgot him so quick if he were still here."

"Ron!" Ginny snapped. "You know he only wanted his normal life. He didn't want all this. He didn't want the fame."

Luna snorted into her glass of wine. "Didn't want to be so human more like," she said softly and ignored the glare Ginny sent her way.

"Well at least the joke shops running good, and McGonagall's got things in hand up at the school," George put in cheerfully, or as cheerfully as he could.

Hermione had been silent through most of the exchange. She took a sip of her glass, almost imperiously, and then set it down. "We are in agreement though, aren't we," she said after a minute. "Things...would be different with Harry around."

"They'd be better," Ron corrected, taking Hermione's hand. Hermione tugged it back after a minute and looked away. Ron frowned but let her be with a sigh. It may be the Weasley-Granger household, but that wasn't because of a marriage; perhaps, at one point, it could have been but not now.

Ginny nodded emphatically to Ron's comment. Draco closed his eyes in almost regret, a bit of anger, a bit of sorrow, a bit of something.

"So much unfinished business," he muttered disdainfully. "Bloody Potter."

"Better, different, sure," Neville agreed lightly. "He was leader. He knew how to get things done."

"Great for a laugh," George rolled his eyes, but that was all he said. Harry was kin in some ways, and in other ways not. George was still recovering from the loss of Fred, and all of them knew that well in hand. They gave him his space in that regard and didn't push as much as they could.

"Different, yes, better...perhaps, perhaps not," Luna interjected, her eyes weren't dreamy but sharp with something that the others could not quite fathom in a knowledge they could not quite see. That knowledge faded away, the sharpness bled back into the dreamy spaced Luna they'd all come to know and in some ways love. "But that is not why you brought it up is it, Hermione?"

"No..." Hermione shook her head. "It's...been a year."

"Yes, Granger, get on with it," Draco drawled, and then winced at the slight glare Ron sent his way. Luna snapped her fingers twice to draw attention back to Hermione so that she could begin speaking once more.

"It's been a year and nothing has changed," Hermione continued. "We know Harry didn't...we know he didn't just run away. He defeated Voldemort-"

"Defeated?" George interrupted. "'Mione, the bloody wanker went ripped that bastard right in two! Then spit on the pieces, pissed on them, and burnt them to shreds. I think he did a mite bit more than defeated."

"Yes, well, we all know Harry had a bit of a temper..." Hermione coughed lightly. "Anyway, right after that he just...fell asleep which we also know he was wont to do and all and then he just sort of vanished."

"In little gay sparkles," Draco interjected blandly. "Yes, we know. You've been researching it since. So?"

"So," Hermione continued archly. "I think I found us a way to get Harry."

Luna sighed. "Finally. I thought you'd never figure it out." The entire room fell into hushed silence as Luna snapped her fingers. Luggage, shrunken and prepared showed up right at her feet, and she relaxed back in her chair with a dreamy smile as she swirled her drink. "When do we leave?"

It took a year of preparations, much to Luna's utter disappointment. She had much higher hopes for Hermione than this, and a portion of her just desired to reach out across the expanse of space, and time, through the void and into the vast reaches of the Furthest Ring where there resided dream bubbles and Messiahs and everything that awaited them and call upon dark powers that the others couldn't comprehend and just speed things up. Luna refrained; she had more restraint than most people she knew and could See, and the Wrackspurts would clear around Hermione's head eventually. It would take a year, and they'd be older and perhaps wiser maybe and it'd all work out.

One would hope.

So it was another year of the same old same old. Draco set his affairs in order. All of his monies and properties were to be given to Astoria Greengrass on the off chance that he didn't return in twenty years, with the chance that he did return within Astoria or any of her children or grandchildren's lifetime the monies and properties would be returned to him. The Weasley's made peace with their family in some respects—they hinted and the prospects of studying abroad, and begin to slink away from their Mum's grasping fingers, slowly cutting off contact with guilty expressions. George bequeathed his shop to Lee Jordan, the remaining jokster friend he had with the honest promise to live up to the Marauder name.

Luna already had all her affairs in order, which left Hermione, who hadn't retrieved her parents from Australia after the war so she didn't have to do much, and Neville who only had to set his own vast inheritances to rest. His grandmum had a right fit over everything, but Neville had it all worked out in the end. Apparently old alliances wouldn't let Harry's disappearance to rest and Neville was, by their creed, required to go. So he set his affairs in order so that Susan would take care of his family names and properties and everything, including having any children to carry on his family legacy if he should fail to return. He'd left behind specific ingredient, spells, and potions for that use later down the road, and it was all contractually agreed upon by both parties.

So the year passed, slowly, as each individual member of the odd ragtag group set everything straight and Hermione got the spell and ritual ready to cast until the fateful day, one year later, when everything was prepared. Hermione and Ginny were both in the kitchen, like last time, finishing up dinner. Luna was perusing the bookshelves, only this time she was picking books off and putting them into a rucksack for safekeeping. George was looking over his bookkeeping for the jokeshop one last time, a last minute double check of the figures before he finally handed it over to Lee. Ron and Neville were setting the table with amiable chatter. The fireplace flared green as Draco stepped through, dusting off imaginary soot from his emerald green robes.

"I apologize for the rude hour," Draco drawled. "Last minute paperwork at Gringotts."

Luna looked up from the bookshelf and smiled as Ginny stepped out of the kitchen and set the first of the food on the table. "Oh, don't worry Draco. You're right on time."

Summary: Nobody is displeased to have more help against Lord English or Jack, but everybody is confused as to how this new group of humans showed up on the meteor hurtling through the Furthest Ring. Everybody except Karkat who is just cursing up a storm and facepalming. Repeatedly. Of course they'd crash the party. They can never leave well enough alone, can't they. / Potterstuck

Fuck yes this is a thing now. I will damn well make it a thing if I have to. I'm good at that, I think. Anyway, here's my wicked brand of humor coming into play. With Luna. You gotta love Luna.

I'm not going to go into details about when or what universe of Earth HPverse is or whatever, that'll be explained away eventually. Everything will be explained away eventually. Or you can figure it out on your own. I will say this: Most of the story will take place, from this point, in the past. Why? Because fuck, most of the "present" takes place in the present of the comics and dammit I need more updates to make this story work! Gamzee had BETTER not be evil or you had better bet I will be fixing it! I so will! Cuz while sober he is sexy beast motherfucker he is goddamn not evil no fuck no no no no no. I like Gamzee too much for him to be working for Lord English like everything seems to be hinting towards.

He's just insane. Not...evil. I will be motherfucking PISSED if he is evil.

Anyway, if the title is not a hint, then wake up and smell coffee: this story is obviously gonna mostly be about Karkat and Gamzee's Moirail shit. Hopefully. Although I find it amusing and weird that Kurloz's Moirail was Mituna. That's just...I woulda thought it woulda been Kankri. To mirror Karkat and Gamzee, right? But nope. Weird...guess not everything is the same...

Then again, don't see Nepeta/Gamzee either so eh.

Right. Yeah. Enough about that. Let's just...short chapter. Enough said. Byebye now.