In the very last carriage, they met Neville Longbottom, Harry's fellow fifth-year Gryffindor, his round face shining with the effort of pulling his trunk along and maintaining a one-handed grip on his struggling toad, Trevor.

"Hi, Harry," he panted. "Hi, Ginny...Everywhere's full...I can't find a seat..."

"What are you talking about," said Ginny, who had squeezed past Neville to peer into the compartment behind him. "There's room in this one, there's only Loony Lovegood in here-"

Neville mumbled something about not wanting to disturb anyone.

"Don't be silly," said Ginny, laughing, "she's all right."

She slid the door open and pulled her trunk inside it. Harry and Neville followed.

"Hi, Luna," said Ginny. "Is it okay if we take these seats?"

The girl beside the window looked up. She had straggly, waist-length dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. Harry knew at once why Neville had chosen to pass this compartment by. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness.

"Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous," he added nervously, as Harry spat a mouthful on the floor.

At that precise moment, the door of their compartment slid open.

"Oh, hello Harry," said a nervous voice. "Um, bad time?"

Harry wiped the lenses of his glasses with his Trevor-free hand. A very pretty girl with long, shiny black hair was standing in the doorway smiling at him: Cho Chang, the Seeker on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

"Oh...hi," said Harry blankly.

"Um..." said Cho. "Well...just thought I'd say hello…'bye then."

She closed the door again, rather pink in the face, and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. He would have liked Cho to discover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told; he would not have chosen to be sitting with Neville and Loony Lovegood, clutching a toad and dripping in Stinksap.*

"When we first met, I thought you were-"

"Mental?"

"No, not exactly-"

"Loony?"Luna's face looks completely guileless, but there is a bit of a twinkle in her eye.

"No! Not-"

"Unusual."

"Yes, unusual. I wasn't sure what to make of you." Harry puts his hand over Luna's and she smiles, her cheeks growing pink. "Well, you were wearing a butterbeer cork neckace."

"Which my mother made for me, when I was a girl."

"Yeah, well, that does explain it. It doesn't surprise me at all, actually. But either way, you grew on me."

"Eventually."

"Hi, Harry, I'm Romilda, Romilda Vane," she said loudly and confidently. "Why don't you join us in our compartment? You don't have to sit with them," she added in a stage whisper, indicating Neville's bottom, which was sticking out from under the seat again as he groped around for Trevor, and Luna, who was now wearing her Spectrespecs, which gave her the look of a demented, multicouloured, owl.

"They're friends of mine," said Harry coldly.

"Oh," said the girl, looking very surprised. "Oh. Okay."

And she withdrew, sliding the door closed behind her.

"People expect you to have cooler friends than us," said Luna, once again displaying her knack for embarrassing honesty.

"You are cool," said Harry shortly. "None of them was at the Ministry, They didn't fight with me."

"That's a very nice thing to say," beamed Luna. Then she pushed her Spectrespecs farther up her nose and settled down to read The Quibbler. *

"Yeah, you grew on me."

"Of course, you still thought I was odd."

"But I did ask you out, didn't I?"

"I always suspected it was only because Ginny was unavailable."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And you did sort of ditch me halfway through."

"Only because I was trying to work out what Draco was up to-"

"Yes, you were sort of obsessive about him that year."

"I don't want them to hear about that particular theory of yours, thank you very much."

Luna doesn't reply but instead, looks away as though there were something fascinating just beyond the camera.

"And then the war happened, and I didn't see you for a long time."

"He was off Horcrux-hunting." Luna says, squeezing his hand.

"And you were organizing the resistance to Snape and the Carrows," Harry adds proudly.

"Well, Ginny and Neville were mostly in charge, but I did help-"

"And I met your dad and we accidentally blew up your house and found out you'd been taken-"

"And you rescued me from the Malfoys' dungeon."

"Well, Dobby did."

"Yes, Dobby." Luna leans forward to kiss Harry's cheek and he puts his arm around her. "He was very brave."

"Anyway, the war ended-"

"And you saved the world-"

"Lots of people saved the world. And you helped me fight off Dementors."

"Well, you looked so sad, I was afraid you'd been attacked by a Umgubular Slashkilter."

"Huh? Oh, right...and then you helped me get away, after it was all over."

"Your heart was heavy and you needed rest."

"I did, thanks."

"You're welcome, Harry."

Their eyes meet and they both smile.

A hundred dementors were advancing, gliding toward them, sucking their way closer to Harry's despair, which was like the promise of a feast...

He saw Ron's silver terrier burst into the air, flicker freely, and expire, he saw Hermione's otter twist in midair and fade; and his own wand trembled in his hand, and he almost welcomed the oncoming oblivion, the promise of nothing, no feeling...

And then, a silver hare, a boar, and a fox soared past Harry, Ron, and Hermione's heads: The dementors fell back before the creatures' approach, Three more people had arrived out of the darkness to stand beside them, their wands outstretched, continuing to cast their Patronuses: Luna, Ernie, and Seamus.

"That's right," said Luna encouragingly, as if they were back in the Room of Requirement and this was simply spell practice for the D.A. "That's right, Harry...come on, think of something happy..."

"Something happy?" he said, his voice cracked.

"We're all still here," she whispered, "we're still fighting, come on now..."

There was a silver spark, and a wavering light, and then, with the greatest effort it had ever cost him, the stag burst forth out of Harry's wand. **

Harry blinks, his eyes glittering suspiciously. "Anyway," he says, clearing his throat, "the war ended. And you went back to school."

"And you went back to Ginny."

"Who also went back to school. And you were a really good friend to her that year."

"Well, she missed Fred terribly-"

"Yeah, I imagine she did-"

"And you started training to become an Auror."

"And you went off to Sweden."

"To look for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."Harry chimes in with Luna at the end, and they say the words in harmony.

"Which I didn't find, unfortunately..."

"But you did find Rolf."

"Ah, yes, Rolf. He was really quite good looking, wasn't he? Such lovely blue eyes."

"Erm-"

"And rather well-endowed-"

"I'll take your word for it-"

"But his social skills left a bit to be desired."

"So I noticed."

Luna blinks at the camera. "He was much more comfortable in a laboratory than at a party. None of my friends liked him very much."

"Yeah, well, it was a bit of a shock. You run off to Scandinavia after Hogwarts and come back less than a year later with a husband. Who turns out to be a total boffin," he adds under his breath.

"Well, it was very isolated up there-"

"Cold, too, I imagine." Harry snickers under his breath as Luna looks at the camera guilelessly.

"And you moved in with Ginny."

"When she wasn't staying up at Holyhead."

"And I was working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"So we ran into each other a lot. At the Ministry Tea Room and such."

"And the elevators."

Harry chuckles. "Yeah, the elevators. Seems like I spend half my life in elevators, and it's always a relief to be stuck in one with someone you actually like."

"Hey, Luna, wait up!"

Luna, who was carrying a tray filled with a small green salad, a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and a glass of gillywater, turned at the sound of Harry's voice. "Oh, hello, Harry," she says, smiling warmly. "You look tired."

"Oh, thanks," Harry said, before realizing that it wasn't precisely a compliment. "Let me help you with that," he added, taking her tray from her before she could object. He himself was carrying a box lunch that Ginny had packed for him (likely with Kreacher's help) possibly out of guilt for the fight they had the night before.

Luna looked at him oddly, considering him for a moment. "Would you like to eat lunch together, Harry?"

"Yeah, that's what I...yeah."

It occured to Harry that it might have seemed out of the ordinary for him to chase after her that way since the last time they ate lunch together had been weeks ago, and Ron was there. But that was before he'd had a really nice conversation with her the last time they had spoken, which happened to be at Ron and Hermione's wedding. At the time, he'd been considering getting thoroughly pissed, as Ginny was hardly speaking to him and he was suddenly having an attack of the 'feeling-the-third-wheel-and-wondering-why-Hermione-and-Ron-had-got-it-together-and-he, who-so-desperately-wanted-a-family-of-his-own-couldn'ts'. But, as he was knocking back his second Draught of Living Firewhiskey, Luna had sat down next to him and squeezed his hand. "You look sad, Harry," she said. "Is it because you love Ron and wish he loved you instead of Hermione?"

Harry spat out his drink. "What the-NO! Whatever gave you thatidea?"

"Oh, then was it because you love Hermione and wish-"

"NO! I love Ginny, Luna! Ginny"

"Oh, so she doesn't love you that way, then?"

"I don't-why would you say something like that, Luna?"

"Because you look heartsick, Harry," she had said simply.

Harry hadn't been quite sure how to respond. He ought to have jumped at the chance to tell her that he and Ginny were madly in love, thank you very much, but he hadn't had the heart, somehow. Besides, it wasn't easy to lie to Luna.

"I'm all right," he had finally said lamely.

"I know all about being heartsick," she had said, and after smiling at him, she looked out towards the dance floor.

At first, he had tried to think of something to say in response, but then it occurred to him that she didn't seem to be waiting for a response, and after a while, her hand had closed around his. They had sat there, watching the crowd, in companionable silence for nearly half an hour.

He hadn't been able to get their conversation out of his head for weeks now, but she hadn't seemed inclined to pursue it. Eventually, he gave up on it, thinking it was a can of worms best left unopened, but when he'd seen her leaving the lift headed toward the Ministry canteen, he took a chance. Heaven knew he didn't have anybody else to talk to about it.

"I'd really enjoy having lunch with you, Luna. I've been meaning to ask you how you've been."

Luna still looked bewildered, but she was also undeniably pleased. "That would be lovely, Harry. There's nothing better than lunch with a good friend."

"It wasn't long after that that Ginny moved out."

"That's right, it was just after I got promoted." Harry frowns. "It was just…I was working late every night, and she was alone a lot and wanted to stay closer to where the rest of her team was staying. So she would have someone to hang out with. You know-"

"Of course," Luna says, smiling at Harry and squeezing his hand. "And then a few weeks after that, Rolf went back to Sweden."

"He left her a bloody eight-word note," Harry grumbles under his breath.

"He never was much for talking," Luna says airily, and Harry's face reddens.

"Which meant that we got together on purpose more often."

"Well, nearly all our friends had paired off by then, and-"

"Harry's an excellent listener,"

Harry smiles at her. "So are you."

"And he tried to make me laugh."

"I tried, anyway. She actually succeeded on occasion."

"So, what are we doing next week, Luna?" I've got Molly and Arthur's anniversary on Tuesday, the Werewolf Alliance fundraiser on Saturday and nothing on Sunday. You were invited to the anniversary party already, of course, they told me to tell you, but I thought-"

"I'd love to go with you to the Weasleys' party, Harry. As your friend and theirs."

"Right. Good. Then," Harry said, looking back down at his appointment book.

"I have the Society of Magical Zoologists banquet on Friday, and Rolf is going to be there-"

"Of course," he said quickly. "I'll even get a hair cut."

Luna looked down at her schedule, pouring a bit more syrup on her pancakes as she did. Harry found himself staring as she caught the last drop of syrup with her fingertip, then put the same finger in her mouth, then continued, "And Lavender is thinking of giving Neville and Parvati a surprise housewarming on Sunday afternoon. Would you like to go to that?"

"Yeah, that's probably the thing I'm most looking forward to on this blasted list. Dunno how I'd manage without you, Luna."

"Well, you'd manage, but the Prophet would have gotten a few pictures of you sitting miserably alone at a ball as they gleefully report that the Girl-Who-Chucked-the-Boy-Who-Lived was seeing the star Seeker of the Tutshill Tornadoes or the lead singer of the Wilted Wands."

"Too true," he replied, laughing. "Which pretty much qualifies you as my best friend right now." He held his glass of pumpkin juice up to toast her. "Cheers!"

"You're very funny, Harry," Luna reassures him before turning back to the camera. "And then he convinced me to try and get funding for the Enchanted Forest."

(Off-camera) "What's the Enchanted Forest?"

"It's sort of a magical nature preserve," Luna explains.

"Right in the middle of London," Harry adds. "Under the ground. It's brilliant.My godson practically lives there."

Luna blushes. "You know, for children to see magical plants and creatures up close, in a safe environment. It's been open for over a year now."

"Harry?"

"Yes, Luna?"

"Would you like to be my date for the Enchanted Forest grand opening gala?"

"Oh-"

"Just as friends, of course,"

Harry chuckled, remembering (as always) a very similar conversation back in sixth year. "I'd love to go...as your friend. I'd be honoured actually."

With anyone else, he might have thought she was asking him because she was hoping for a bit of extra publicity. But not Luna. The fact that she wanted him at her side for what might be the most important moment of her life truly was an honour. Why it had started bothering him that she always felt the need to take any possibility of romance out of it, he didn't know. It wasn't as though he'd ever tried anything with her. He wasn't stupid enough to ruin a perfectly good friendship that way. Maybe it had worked out for Ron and Hermione, but from what he'd seen, friends-to-lovers was generally disastrous. And he needed Luna in his life.

He found himself looking forward to the opening as it approached. It was curiosity, of course-she hadn't let him see any of it for months, and he wanted to see if it lived up to his (and her) expectations. But he also wanted to be there to see Luna (finally) get the respect she deserved. He'd grown accustomed to seeing people's eyes roll whenever Luna was mentioned. 'Brilliant girl, you know, but a bit mental.' 'Deluded.' 'Oh, Luna's all right-just don't get her started on Crumple -horned whatsists.'

Luna took the scorn that people gave her in good humour, but it bothered Harry a lot. He really hoped that this project-which was going to bring so much pleasure to so many people-would allow Luna to truly shine.

By the time the day rolled around, he was nearly sick with nerves, and he could only imagine how she was feeling. What if no one else showed up? What if she'd gone to all this trouble and it completely flopped? The staff would be there, of course. And Neville, as he'd been her partner. Perhaps the press would come, but Harry prayed that they wouldn't send Rita Skeeter. Skeeter didn't have the soul to appreciate something like this. Rolf was supposed to come, along with his father, as they had been consulted over the habitats created for the animals. And Harry knew that the Weasleys would all come, if only for Luna's sake. They would at least pad the numbers and make lots of noise.

He decided to take the street entrance, if only because he didn't want to arrive covered in soot. The entrance was beneath a statue of Charles Darwin in a park next to the Crystal Palace Museum, which was, fortunately, closed, so people were unlikely to wonder why so many people were milling around in dress robes. And people were milling around, too, much to Harry's satisfaction. He had to wait for three couples to use the entrance before he had his turn.

As he exited the lift, Harry felt as though he were eleven years old again, walking in Diagon Alley for the first time. 'Magical' was the only way to describe it. The place practically hummed with magical energy. Luna had charmed the ceiling to look like the night sky, and thick, lush foliage filled the cavern. Vines moved above them, wrapping themselves around trees, and from time to time, the shadow of an owl or a Phoenix or some other magical bird passed over, blocking the stars. The air was filled with the fragrance of exotic flowers, and the forest around them was noisy with the assorted chirps, squeaks, grunts and snuffles of the magical creatures that inhabited the cavern.

A waterfall could be seen at the far end, and in the center of the room, a magical pavilion had been erected, adorned with twinkling fairies and floating candles.

In the middle of it all, there was Luna, looking radiant and otherworldly in pale bluish-silver, with gemstones sparkling in her hair. Harry felt his heart constrict as she caught sight of him and smiled widely.

"That was our first date, actually."

"Well, not precisely our first date, but it did change things."

"Luna was brilliant. It was a huge hit straightaway."

"Even Rolf had a good time. He told me so."

Harry looks skeptical, and Luna continues, "And everyone from Dumbledore's Army came!"

"Everyone who was left," Harry adds.

"Well, yes, but it was the first time we'd all been together in ages. It was lovely to be surrounded by friends."

As Harry shook hands with a fawning stranger for what had to be the millionth time, he tried to locate Luna again in the crowd. They hadn't had much chance to talk, as she was surrounded by well-wishers and those who wanted to make use of the facilities for school trips, private galas and research studies. He suddenly had a mental picture of her childhood room, remembering how she fell asleep at night surrounded by painted images of friends. That ceiling would have been absurdly crowded if she tried to put in all the people that cared about her now.

She seemed to be handling the pressure gracefully, or at least with better humour than he handled being in the spotlight.

There was a dance floor and a respectable group of twirling couples making use of it-including, he noticed, his two best friends. Hermione waved cheerfully at him, and he nodded his head and smiled in response. While he normally did everything possible to avoid displaying his meager terpsichorean powers, the idea of rescuing Luna from her hangers-on to give her a bit of a break had undeniable appeal, and a dance was the perfect excuse. Well, he had always had that 'saving people' thing, hadn't he?

He had nearly made up his mind to do it when he spotted his former girlfriend making her way to him determinedly. Lately, she had taken to introducing him to random girls. He wasn't sure why; maybe it was a way to make up for having chucked him or maybe she was trying to soften the blow when she told him she was seeing someone new. Of course, seeing as Ron was complete bollocks at keeping a secret, he already knew it and really hadn't felt as bad about it as he'd thought he would. Especially considering that the person in question was a girl.

Still, he had no desire for a fix-up of any sort, and he disappeared behind a passing waiter, making his way over to the last place he'd seen Luna. He caught sight her disappearing around the corner from the bathrooms.

"Luna!" he called, and as she turned, he ran after her.

"Oh, Harry," she said, looking relieved to see him.

"Where are you going?"

"I hardly know," she replied. "I couldn't breathe, for a moment, back there." He'd never seen her look so uneasy.

"I know what you mean," he said. "Seems to me I remember a time when someone really nice noticed I was overwhelmed and helped me escape for a bit."

Luna's eyes crinkled up as she smiled at him. He'd learned to tell the difference between the vague, serene smiles she gave people in general and the warm, genuine ones she gave the people she trusted like himself.

"I was going to ask you for a dance," he said, reaching down to take her hand. "But I suppose the last thing you want is to be surrounded by people right now. Fancy a walk?"

Luna's smile widened. "That would be lovely. Not for long, just for long enough to let me catch my breath."

"It really is brilliant, Luna" he said, heading in the direction of the path towards the forest. "I can't wait to have a proper look around. Can't wait to bring Teddy here, too. I got him a ticket, but he had a stomach flu, and Andromeda reckons she doesn't want him vomiting over all the dress robes."

"That would be terrible," Luna said somberly. "I'm sorry I didn't get to meet him."

He'd meant to give her a bit of a laugh, but he really wasn't good at making jokes off the cuff, like Ron. At least not when he was nervous, which he was, oddly enough. Most of the time, he found conversation with Luna was easy. But whether it was because she'd so impressed him with what she'd accomplished or the fact that this really did resemble an actual date-what with the nice dinner and the dress robes and the orchestra playing in the moonlight-or the fact that Luna, looking the way she did tonight, seemed to be reminding his body that she was, in fact a girl, and a rather good-looking one at that, and it had been a very, very long time since he'd got his hands on one of those.

As if reading his thoughts, Luna looped her arm through his, her shoulder bumping against his arm as they walked away from the pavilion and toward the trees He could smell her perfume even over the rich scents of the forest. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Harry turned toward her, stopping them in the middle of the path. "What's wrong, Luna? Is it Rolf? Has he said anything-"

"No, Rolf has been just fine. Actually, he said that my Modified Disillusionment Charms were adequate." She laughed under her breath. "For him, that's tantamount to a rave review."

"Prick,"Harry muttered under his breath.

Luna shook her head. "It's all right, Harry. He didn't hurt my feelings. He is who he is, and I was wrong to think I could change it. It wasn't as though he lured me in by pretending to be one way and then changing. Some people just aren't meant for love, no matter how much you think it would benefit them. He'll never be blissfully happy, but then again, he'll never be devastated by pain when he loses someone. He'll just be, and that's fine with him.

"But not you," Harry said, reaching up to stroke her hair absentmindedly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he hasn't scared you off."

Luna shook her head, puzzled. "Of love?"

"Or men, or relationships, or..."

"Not-" She looked down at Harry's mouth then away. "Not entirely But that's the very last time I fall in love with somebody who doesn't love me back."

Harry laughed, startled to discover that he'd been holding his breath as he waited for her answer. "Luna?"

"Harry?"

"I've been thinking-remember when you asked me here tonight, all that business about 'just as friends'?"

Luna gave him a familiar solemn nod.

"Is that negotiable?"

Luna considered his question for a moment, then her eyes widened, and her cheeks went pink. Suddenly, she seemed unable to meet Harry's eyes, though her eyes kept dropping down to his lips as she bit her own.

Harry licked his lips, stepping closer to her. Putting his knuckle under her chin, he lifted her face, and for one glorious moment, he got to witness her silvery eyes darken with arousal before they drifted shut. As he inhaled, he moved his lips over hers, noticing that the hand still holding up her chin was trembling. He opened his hand, cupping her face and stroking her jaw with his thumb, pulling her closer as he repeated the movement on the other side of her face. He could feel her pulse fluttering under the pads of his thumbs. Luna sighed against his lips, her breath sweet, tasting of the strawberry punch that had been served during the cocktail hour. He turned his head to the side, needing to taste more, closing his eyes and groaning as he wrapped his arms around her. She stepped into his embrace, opening her mouth under his.

Deep down, Harry wondered why it never occurred to him to kiss her before. How could he possibly have imagined how perfectly she'd fit against him, how brilliant it would be to taste her, how those odd little breathy noises she was always making could be so unbearably sexy when he was hearing them against his ear? He pulled away for a moment, needing a moment to breathe.

Apparently, Luna had been similarly affected.

"You were supposed to let me catch my breath, Harry," she said, giggling.

"Wasn't exactly in the script," Harry replied. "But it got you smiling again anyway."

"It was very pleasant, Harry...but we should probably get back."

As much as Harry would have liked to convince her to just skive off for a bit more snogging, he knew that she was right. "I suppose so..."

As they returned to the pavilion, Luna took a fortifying breath and squeezed Harry's hand. "Will you wait for me, Harry? Until everyone's gone? I think perhaps we need to-"

"Yeah, I suppose we do," Harry said, squeezing back just before she let go of it to take Deldalus Diggle's offered hand. "I'll be here."

It was agony. His mind was completely scrambled. He had kissed her. She'd kissed him. It had seemed natural at the time, but now that they were apart, with what seemed like the whole world wanting something from them, he couldn't be at ease with what had happened. It had been so long since he had even remotely considered their relationship as anything other than friendship that his mind was having trouble wrapping around the idea of more. Luna had been his anchor as he'd wallowed about in heartbreak. What if he fucked this up too-who would he have to help him move on then? Well, Ron and Hermione, of course, and some of his mates on the squad, and Arthur, too (oddly enough had come to be a confidant) but he'd come to depend on Luna so much lately, partially because he'd pushed the others away for being too close to the situation.

And as for Luna-Rolf had made her wary of deep attachments. She'd so recently lost her father, and Rolf had been unable to give her the warmth and support she'd so desperately needed. She'd given her heart unreservedly to him, only to repeatedly crash into a wall of his indifference. She'd never lost her warm heart, her tranquility, her ingenuousness, but she'd lost a great deal of her optimism. Harry couldn't imagine deliberately hurting her, but he had a sinking suspicion he'd let her down, somehow, no matter how he decided to proceed. Which would entirely depend upon how she was feeling about what had happened, of course. Which was another thing that was torturing him as he endured hours and hours of mindless chitchat, not-so-subtle flirtation and an unsuccessful attempt to engage him in a political debate.

And now, finally, he could hear the last few stragglers wandering toward the exit. At this point his heart was beating like mad, and every nerve in his body was screaming with an odd mixture of tension and anticipation. The pavilion was empty, and he could hear the clicking of his own heels on the marble floor over the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.

Off in the distance, he heard a familiar tune. Luna was always humming under her breath; sometimes it was a song he'd heard before, but more often than not, it was some variation of a melody he was fairly sure he'd only heard from her. Or at least now, he'd always associate with her. It echoed off the cavern ceiling, where it mingled with the sounds of the forest, seeming to harmonize perfectly with them.

"Har-ry," she called out, turning his name into a song.

"Luna? Where are you?" He turned and began walking into the forest, following her voice. He knew that spells had been cast to make sure that guest never came upon a dangerous creature without protection, but it didn't make the dark woods any less foreboding as the light of the pavilion diminished and the dark swallowed him up. Bad things lurked in forests, sometimes, and he'd come across more than his fair share of them. Snatchers, Death Eaters, Acromantulas, Werewolves, the Dark Lord himself, his own death...

But ahead, he could hear Luna's song, and after a few minutes, he stumbled over one of her silver shoes. Picking it up, he continued, finding another one some ten meters away. He held them together by their ankle straps and continued, and when he came across a silvery blue puddle of fabric, he hardly had time to make a conscious decision before he'd dropped both shoes next to it and was working on the collar of his own dress robes.

"Har-ry,"she sang, and he thought he spotted a flash of silver up ahead between the trees. It could have been the waterfall, or her hair, or her skin in the moonlight. He took his shoes off on a run, leaving his socks on the trail not far ahead of them. It seemed to him that the path was growing brighter, there was an odd silvery glow coming from some of the plants.

"Har-ry!" Her voice seemed closer as he ran past a bra hanging from a low tree branch and knickers draping a lacy fern.

The eerie light was becoming more noticeable now, the forest floor was covered with what looked like iridescent clovers, and they wound up the trees, clinging to some of the moving vines. And in a clearing beyond, he could see Luna up to her knees in the plants, gazing serenely up at the moon, which was making her skin glow silver.

"Luna,"he whispered, almost afraid to break the spell.

She looked over and smiled at him as if she'd known he was there all along. Come to think of it, she probably had. "Isn't it lovely, Harry?"

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," he said, finding his throat was oddly constricted. He'd been in the process of dropping his pants when he'd spotted her, and it seemed silly to stop and finish the job when she was so close, but he felt that entering the clearing wearing Union Jack-covered boxers seemed almost...sacrilegious. Perhaps this was Heaven or the Garden of Eden or something. Or perhaps he was losing his mind.

Luna reached out towards him and Harry shook himself out of his reverie. "What is this place?" he whispered as he carefully made his way through the clover.

"Oh, it's Irish Dittany. Isn't it beautiful? It only glows like this at the quarter moon. They're quite lucky, actually, and probably are the reason that Muggles are so (mistakenly, as it turns out) mad for four-leafed clovers. They're at their most potent on quarter moon nights, and they're said to have aphrodisiac properties, too."

As reached her, he put his arms around her, and it occurred to him (very, very briefly) that if any of the reporters who'd attended the opening had decided to stick around, they were about to get a couple of 'million galleon' photographs. And just as quickly the thought fled his mind because Luna's soft lips and hands were on his skin and his already oversensitive nerves were positively singing with the glory of her kisses. 'Bloody hell,' he thought, as she made her way down to lap at his nipple, 'if she keeps it up, I'm not going to last very long.' It suddenly became vitally important to him that he kiss her again, if only to have a moment of eye contact and possibly some reassurance. How could she be so bloody calm about the whole thing when he was fucking terrified? Didn't she know what a huge step this was, what a risk?

He cupped her face in his hands, lifting her chin and looking into her eyes. They'd never been particularly easy to read, as misty as they were, but it was reassuring to see that they were heavy-lidded with desire and the question in his own eyes seemed to be answered in the affirmative. She wasn't avoiding his gaze, anyway. And her lips were parted, curved ever so slightly at each end. He bent lower to brush his lower lip over hers. She sighed in response, leaning closer. He did it again, pausing long enough to let their lips catch. Luna slid her arms around his waist, pulling him closer. His body, which was already beginning to respond to the feel of her body heat, reacted very quickly to the sensation of her bare skin against his. He covered her mouth with his, gathering her close as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and buried his fingers in her hair. She parted her lips, touching the tip of her tongue to his lower lip as her hands moved over the widest part of his back, then down the length of his spine, dipping towards his buttocks.

Harry groaned, pulling her even closer, pressing his rapidly hardening cock into her stomach. With one hand still buried in her hair, he bent lower to kiss her jaw, to taste her shoulder, to cup her breast. Luna shivered, closing her eyes and tilting her head back as she pressed into his caress.

Harry sank slowly to his knees, reluctantly letting his fingers slide free of her hair as he trailed kisses over her breasts, finally taking a nipple between his lips. Luna moaned, reaching down to hold him there, the fingers of one hand buried in his hair as she carefully removed his glasses with the other. He looked up at her, blinking as the lines of her body became a blur. Now it really felt as though he was in a dream.

"Your eyes are really quite beautiful, Harry."

"I can hardly see you."

"But you can still feel me."

That he could do, and he sank lower on his knees to kiss her stomach, sliding his hands behind her, kneading her bottom. "Beautiful," he murmured against her skin.

He moved lower, kissing her navel, her hipbone, and finally the curly hair at the top of her thighs. Luna's grip in his hair tightened, and she threw her head back with a moan as he darted his tongue between her legs.

He stroked the inside of her thighs, and Luna widened her stance, making it easier for him to lap at her properly. Her scent and taste surrounded him, blending with the heady fragrance of the flowers in the clearing. He reached between her legs, trailing his finger back and forth over her slick folds as her took her clit between his lips.

"Oh," she cried out, and her fingers were desperately gripping his hair now, making him wonder if she wasn't having a bit of trouble standing up. He pulled away and looked up at her, teasing her with his fingers, almost but not quite pressing them inside her.

Sitting back on his haunches, he gently tried to pry her fingers from his hair, finally taking her hand as he sat back in the soft clover, pulling her down with him. The ground was cool and damp, but Luna was warm and soft against him as they stretched out on the forest floor. He'd meant to pick up where he left off, but Luna had climbed on top of him, and she was kissing him again, licking his lips and nipping at his jaw as she moved to straddle him.

She was wet and hot, and she moved her hips in slow circles, grinding her slick cunt over his painfully hard cock. Harry gripped at her thighs, moaning, arching his body, convinced that if he moved just so, he might slide inside her by accident. But every time he got close, she moved again, and he found himself pleading for her to just let him inside, and stop with the delicious torture. With a smile, Luna complied, taking him all the way inside with one movement, grinding down hard and making him howl with the sheer joy of it-after which she pulled completely off of him, making him howl at the loss. Then she began moving down his body, sucking at his neck, licking a circle around his nipple and making him jump by scraping it with her teeth.

She moved lower, her fingers and lips following the trail of his hair from his navel to his groin, and before long, she was licking circles around the head of his cock, licking a trail from the head to the root, taking his bollocks between her lips and sucking gently. By the time she took him all the way inside her mouth, he was writhing beneath her, grasping at whatever bit of her he could reach.

Just as the roaring increased in his ears and he felt the pressure in his body building up, Luna released him with a soft 'pop.' She moved over his body again, straddling him, and Harry sat up to kiss her, moving his thumbs over her nipple as she positioned herself above his cock. As she slid down on him, Harry took her face between his hands, watching her eyes widen as she settled into place around him, swallowing up her cry of pleasure with his mouth.

Luna began to move, and he moved with her, his head buried in her neck, surrounded by her hair. She began to move faster, and Harry lay back to look at her, to see her throw her head back and arch her back, to watch her breasts bounce as her tempo increased, to watch her draw up and then cry out, collapsing and trembling against him as he spilled inside her.

As her body stilled, he wrapped his arms around her, encouraging her to lay her head against his chest.

"That was lovely," she murmured, and he tightened his embrace. "I don't think I want to go on any more 'just as friends' dates with you, Harry."

Harry frowned, wondering if he'd heard her correctly. "You don't?"

"No. This is a much pleasanter way to end the evening."

Harry smiled. "That's the bloody understatement of the year."

"Especially if we always finish this way," she added, as she turned plant a soft kiss on his chest.

Harry tightened his embrace.

"Yeah," he said. "I could definitely support that arrangement."

"And then we fell in love."

"We're getting married next week." Harry says.

(off camera) "Congratulations!"

"Ten years to the day since we met."

"It took me a while to convince her," Harry says.

"I just wanted to be certain," Luna says.

(off camera) "Any special wedding plans?"

"Oh, yeah, " Harry says. "It's going to be brilliant."

(off camera) "At the Enchanted Forest?"

"Of course,'" Luna says. "My gown is really beautiful-it was made from the silk of flobberworms and Mr. Weasley is going to give me away since daddy is gone and Teddy is our ring-bearer and during the reception, Rolf is going to show us slides of his latest expedition and actual proof of the existence of the Crumple Horned Snorkack!"She can hardly contain her excitement, and Harry looks at the camera with a very suspect smile on his face.

"Yeah, won't that be fun! But the really brilliant thing is that now that we don't have to go to Scandinavia to find them, we're going to be honeymooning in Greece."

"We're going to be looking for the Cretan Codswollop!" Luna adds, bouncing in her seat.

"And swimming," Harry says, putting his arm around her.

"Oh, yes, that too!" Luna adds. "And sex, too. Lots and lots of sex."

Harry grins. "I could definitely support that arrangement."

*Lifted word for word from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I take no credit for the brilliancy of JK Rowling's assortment of words and phrases.

**Lifted word for word from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I take no credit for the brilliancy of a scene that made me weep just typing it out, three years and countless readings later.