Harry groaned wondering how he slept when the bed was far too soft. His futon wasn't very cushioning and he never used a pillow either. His pounding head and aching body protested every movement. Moving his head he was surprised to have the sun shine directly in his eyes when he opened them. He always made sure to have no the blinds closed. Then the bed moved and a light weight on his core moved. He stared at a slender female hand with nail polish on it before it got out of his immediate sight. Sunlight was in his eyes and he was fully aware of his surroundings turning his head to see a woman's head facing away from him. She had blonde hair and he let out a yelp.
Luna was all too aware of what others might think of lending a stranger her bed. She didn't care as certain he wouldn't hurt her and she didn't have a sofa or couch to put him on. She didn't bring him to safety only to let him sleep on the floor. Laying on the other side of the queen bed- her one indulgence as twin was too small, she only slept when exhaustion took her. Harry was snoring rather loudly and she was a fairly light sleeper after Hogwarts.
It was inevitable that she woke up fully after Harry gave his strangled pitiful scream. It sounded like a piteous puppy but he wasn't fully awake and functioning either yet. Rolling her eyes she berated herself for being so impulsive as to bring him to her place. Turning her body towards him she glared at him as her brain rebooted into awareness. Her first attempts to speak even to her ears was a mumble.
"Pipe down, Potter, some of us need beauty sleep before life wreaks havoc," she said.
"Who are you? Where am I? How do you know who I am? Where is my wand!" he said getting less panicked as he spoke until it was hard and a demand.
"My name is Luna Lovegood, and this is my humble one bedroom apartment. We went to school together and why would I leave the wand on you so that you could curse me?" she asked.
"I... I.. Luna? Why am I at your place?" he stumbled over words and was staring at her wild eyed.
"You were being an obnoxious drunk and causing a scene. I saw you being booted out of a bar while the bartender yelled something about keeping your stick. I politely requested the stick back for you and he gave it back to me. I think he was muttering about using it for firewood. Want to know anything else before I get ready for work, Potter?" she said in a bored tone.
"I wasn't..." he stopped himself from protesting as he tried to remember last night, "I'm sorry. I'm being terribly rude to someone who saved my hide and wand"
Luna laughed and patted his head, "It's okay. Your cute butt is safe now and I won't tell anyone about this."
"Are you saying that I needed you to protect me?" he said.
"You were highly intoxicated to the point of passing out. This is a dangerous neighborhood to leave a wallet unguarded. Between pick pockets and opportunists you would have woken up without a wallet or any valuables," she said.
"If I was drunk and passed out, why would you take me home?" Harry honestly seemed confused at the gesture.
"You were nice to me in Hogwarts. I owe you my life as do many people from Britain as you were on the front lines of the war. I couldn't stand by and watch you get robbed while passed out and I didn't want to wake you," she said.
"Right... Well, thank you. Is there anything I can do to repay you?" he asked earnestly.
"Clean the sheets, make me breakfast, then leave so that I can get to work? I would appreciated it if you took your quidditch celebration with your team instead." she said.
"They wanted to go to a strip club and 'get lucky' and 'score' a few times before bed. I'm getting to old for that," Harry said.
"They are in the eighteen to twenty four league. As coach shouldn't you lead by example and not end up drunk enough to be kicked out of the bar forcefully?" she asked.
"They respect that I'm one of Britain's top seekers and my experience in the game but that's about all right now since it's a brand new season and this is my first year actually being main coach," he said.
"You can still play professionally at 35." she said.
"I broke by left arm after got hit. It shattered the bones in my arm. It can't handle the stress anymore and I couldn't take any more Skele gro." he said.
"I always thought you were tiring of the spotlight," she said teasing.
"That too," he said laughing as she got up, "I'll cast some cleaning charms and cook you some breakfast. It's the least I can do since you went out of your way to help me. If you have the ingredients I'll make you an omelette then I'll be going, I promise."
She nodded saying she was certain she had the ingredients, her head turned towards him, before she walked to the bathroom. He stared as she walked away in blue and gold pajamas. Shaking his head he got up and located his wand on the table near the small kitchen. Using his wand he cast a few charms on himself then the bed. Finally he opened the fridge then checked the cupboards. He grabbed the ingredients and frying pan and bowl and set them on the counter. Quickly whipping up a vegetable cheese omelette he set it on the table. Remembering where the glasses were he put it on the table. Casting a spell to mask the smell of booze he waited until Luna was out of the bathroom and left.
It wasn't long before he sent her a thank you card with a ticket and a small debit card. It was for a game in Las Vegas. Harry's team versus the Washington team. She checked the box number according to the pamphlet and saw it was in a good seating area. The game was in a few days and it was on a half day so she could attend. She smiled and put the card in her wallet. The card said it was spendable at the stadium. Looking around there weren't many in her box and she had all the food and the binoculars needed for the game.
Harry met her in the box after the game. They talked about the match and Hogwarts. He was very handsome cleaned up and sober. The outfit he wore as coach was fairly tight and showed that he kept in shape. A light sheet of sweat covered him and she teased him about getting so worked up yelling. He grinned at her saying he got it from working with his team because he ran laps and did stretches with them. Her cell beeped as she received a text. He saw it and they exchanged numbers as he asked for hers while giving his. Closing the distance between them he escorted her down holding her arm.
Promising to call he took her to the exit and she walked to her car she drove home. It was a two week wait until he called her asking for a lunch date. He asked where to meet and she gave the name of a restaurant she liked but couldn't eat at often. He agreed to meet her outside and they went in and were seated. Alone they spoke of more personal matters.
As it turned out instead of marrying Ginny, he connected with Gabriel Delacour. They liked each other enjoyed each others company. One date turned into two and once Harry became a quidditch star and she was a top model they made a pact. They would date exclusively for their careers as a quidditch player and model. Despite sensational headlines and speculations when he retired from being a professional, they split amicably, and were still good friends. It was his short romance with Ginny that ruined his public reputation. Ginny was a rising star while his was falling. He was apparently a scumbag for rebounding so quickly and sleeping with her. They were having orgies before they actually slept together once. She didn't say anything but the tabloid speculated that she slept with nearly a dozen players but she was to his knowledge slept with 3 at that point. He couldn't blame her because it was hard to find the right person even in a normal situation.
For her part, Luna had in her post-Hogwarts had married a fellow cryptozoologist. It didn't work out and she left Britain for good and they were divorced before she got her master in cryptozoology. She moved permanently to Las Vegas through the Ministry of magic. Las Vegas had the largest collection of magical and non-magical animals in a zoo. She got a job there and was integrated into the magical community. It was a culture shock to have a nearly blended magic and mundane city. There were only some areas that were purely magical or purely mundane. Las Vegas was a city of broken dreams, you paid for whatever shard you got of those dreams. The City of Sin, one that never slept, where she rebuilt herself and found her dreams became real.
