For Lily MJ Fae. I hope you like it!
He was enchanted from the very beginning. She was different and beautiful in an unconventional way, all blue eyes and intelligence and she smiled.
And he was gone on her.
…
The pine tree on the far side of the hill sat next to a lake. Cattails and frogs inhabited it. The waters were never still, a river leading into the mountains pooling in the dip between the hills. A forest behind it- The Forbidden Forest- and it was a perfect spot.
He took her there once.
But only once- he had a girlfriend in Cho Chang, and he was afraid. Afraid that he would find her and use her.
He needn't have worried, of course. She was one of the top fighters in the end.
"I want to kiss you," she said, bold for a single minute, and he obliged. It was the first of only six kisses between them. He cherished each one like they were the holy grail.
…
He loved her, he really did.
And one night, a week before his wedding, he told her so.
She was married to another and he was about to be, but that hadn't mattered. Not then.
"Oh, Harry- we can't. Not now. Not ever."
"I know," he said. He looked at her, in her pale pink dress her husband bought her, and he felt as though the whole world was against them.
He never felt the same way around Ginny- but she was different. She was electric and alluring, but Luna- she was magnetic and she operated on a different wavelength than everyone else.
It only made sense that their secret remained a secret, then, he supposed. A different wavelength.
"Just once more," she relented, "but know this isn't wise."
"You're supposed to be the Ravenclaw," he whispered against her mouth. He pressed a single butterfly kiss there, and then he pulled away. And he walked away, pretending it didn't hurt at least a little.
…
"How are you feeling?" she asked, her long, pale hair glinting in the light of the dawn.
"Honestly? Like I'm going to puke," he said. She smiled in sympathy but didn't reach for him in any way, instead; she curled her finger and wound her hair around it, her head tilting and eyes softening.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned, patting the thestral without much thought. "I hope you're happy," she said.
He smiled, fleetingly. "I am, Luna. I love Ginny. I love her so much."
"I'm glad."
The sun flickered as it shone over the forest behind them. It laid on the water, twinkling like the stars were still there. A breeze blew gently, shifting their hair and their clothes, but their gazes did not falter.
"I love you, too, you know," Harry said. Here, Luna's smile became more genuine.
She swayed, hesitating, but he made the choice for her.
Their lips met in the blaze of the sun, the sky turning pale as the last of night's hold was broken. He reached for her, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck to tug her closer, tongue sweeping across her lips. She gripped her shawl and kissed back, but did not reach for him.
Being in love with two different people at one time made life a little difficult.
He pulled away and her wedding ring- Rolf Scamander- sparkled in a mocking light. So many diamonds, and pure gold, and he took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Are you happy, Luna?" he asked.
"I am," she said. "I love him. And I love you."
"Will he do right by you, you think?"
"He already has."
…
A year passed. Ginny just gave birth to their first- second?- child, a son, James Sirius.
He met with her again. Alone. In the same spot as always.
"This has to stop," he said, tugging her close. He kissed her with abandon, elated and empowered by the secret, and she kissed him back, guilty and in the same boat.
"It does," she agreed, her voice gone and the words only a breath. He kissed her again and then released her.
"Rolf and I want a baby, too," she said, and he nodded. It was a gift- one he didn't deserve.
He felt sick at the thought, then. Here he was, kissing her best friend while she recuperated in hospital after having his child- and.
He tried to regret it, but he looked at Luna and found he couldn't.
This was a whole other world- another universe, maybe this could have worked.
"No more," she said.
"No more," he agreed. And she nodded, and she cried, and he didn't reach for her. She didn't reach for him, either.
…
"I still see it every once in a while. It flashes in my memory. It's hard."
He agreed. "It is for me, too."
It's been seventeen years. Twenty since their war ended and twenty two since their first kiss.
But here they were, once again by the cursed lake, and he couldn't move.
Couldn't leave her.
She just buried her father.
It shouldn't have been a surprise that she called for him, that she reached for this familiarity. But it was.
"I thought-" he started, but didn't finish, because he didn't have to. She knew.
"Just kiss me. One last time, Harry. For old time's sake."
"For old time's sake," he repeated, and for the first time, they both reached out at once. They met and it was magnetic as always, and they both operated for the first time on the same wavelength.
"Rolf," she breathed, and he didn't mind.
He pulled her against his chest and she cried. "I'm sorry, Harry. I am. Oh, dear. The wrakspurts-"
"I'll keep them away," he vowed.
"Oh, thank you."
…
They never spoke of it. They never told anyone about their unfaithfulness. But after that day, it never happened again. Rolf whisked her away like she was never there to begin with. But she was happy and so was he, and if sometimes he looked at Ginny and pictured blue eyes instead of brown, well.
No one would know, would they?