The
Lovegood Way
Chapter
1: Attempting normality
This is my first attempt at a HP fanfic since DH was released. The inspiration came from the TV show Gilmore Girls and reading a lot of responses regarding the epilogue in DH. I'm a pretty dedicated H/L shipper, who doesn't consider it sunk just because Harry married Ginny and had three kids or because Luna married Rolf Scamander according to JKR's interviews. I've done my share of AU stories already (I hope the readers of Verso will accept my sincere apology for not updating in a long time) so I thought that I would try writing H/L set after the epilogue. I hope that you will enjoy this and any feedback is appreciated!
Teddy Lupin had brought Victoire Weasley to The Three Broomsticks many times. When he was still at Hogwarts they used to go there all the time with their friends. Even now in the summer it felt only natural for them to meet up there before heading off somewhere else. But one day near the end of the summer, when he was holding Victoire's hand and preparing to leave The Three Broomsticks, he suddenly stopped and bumped his foot into the table leg in the process.
"What's wrong?" Victoire asked.
Holding back a curse, Teddy just winced and ignored the pain in his foot. Instead he looked up and towards the corner of the pub.
"I recognize that girl," he answered.
Victoire looked into the same direction as Teddy. Near the corner was a small table and sitting over there was a girl. Her long, blonde hair that fell over her shoulders as she practically leaned into the book she was reading. Victoire almost found it a little unusual how the girl's large, blue eyes were so fixated on the book like it was all that mattered to the girl.
"I saw a book or something that she wrote... her picture was on it," Teddy continued.
"Teddy, she looks like she's fifteen or something." Victoire shook her head. "She couldn't have written a book."
"No, it really looked like it was her on the picture on the back of the book," Teddy insisted, still looking at the girl. "The book was... I can't remember, 'beasts and why they can exist' or something."
The girl was seemingly unaware of how there were two people openly talking about and looking at her. Instead she went on just as before, reading the book as if she was engulfed by it. Occasionally she reached for a glass of gillywater standing on the table but other than that her movements were strictly confined to turning the pages of her book.
"We've probably seen her at Hogwarts before," Victoire reasoned. "Your grandmother is waiting, we should get going."
Teddy felt Victoire squeeze his hand lightly and knew that it was time to go. Still, as they walked out of The Three Broomsticks, he was still convinced that he had seen that girl's picture on the back of a book.
Minutes passed without anything interesting happening in the tavern. Customers came and left, none of them arriving or leaving in any way that caught the blonde girl's attention. Half an hour later the door opened and another customer entered The Three Broomsticks. Had Teddy Lupin stayed for another half an hour and seen her, he would have known that she was the woman whose picture he had seen on the back of a book. The resemblance between the woman and the girl in the corner was clear, they had the same hair colour, their faces looked similar and their eyes had the same shape. On a closer look one would have seen that the woman's eyes were silver and her hair was slightly wavy while the girl's was completely straight.
Spotting the person she was looking for, the woman headed straight to the corner where the girl sat. The girl looked up upon hearing the footsteps.
"Mum, you're here already?" the girl asked, almost surprised.
Her mother smiled at her and sat down on the chair opposite of hers.
"I think I got everything I need now," she replied. "I met up with my source at the Hog's Head. It's incredible how much of the Goblin rebellion was covered up... and no one has ever questioned it before. I think I am on my way of uncovering the truth about it."
The girl closed her book and set it aside.
"Victoire Weasley and her boyfriend were here before and they kept looking at me," she told. "I think they were talking about me too."
"Oh. Did they tell you why?"
The girl shrugged. "No, they just left."
Her mother leaned forward and onto the table. "Maybe they'll send you an owl saying 'We have been watching you, we know where you live'."
"...and we would just like to say that you have lovely curtains," the girl finished, smiling.
The owner of the pub, Madam Rosmerta recognized a new customer when she saw one. She walked over the table where mother and daughter sat.
"What can I get you today, dear?" she asked automatically.
But before anyone had the chance to say anything else, Madam Rosmerta took her first proper look at her two customers. She recognized them immediately and a much warmer smile appeared on her weary face.
"If it's not the Lovegoods!" she exclaimed. "What a lovely surprise to see you two here! I would have thought that you would still be travelling around Asia or somewhere!"
"We came back yesterday," the mother informed. "Lacus starts school again in a few days."
"And after that you are off to some exotic place again?" Rosmerta asked. "You have probably been all around the world already, travelling ever since you left school and never settling down. Have you decided where you are going next?"
"No," the mother answered, her lips curving into a smile. "Not going anywhere this time... I'm going to stay here for a while."
Rosmerta looked surprised at her answer, but quickly regained her composure and returned the smile.
"Well, Luna Lovegood... I think it's about time that you did that. A person needs to come back home now and then and we're glad to see you back. Now, you two stay right here, I'll get you another gillywater."
Luna watched Rosmerta leave and then turned to face her daughter again.
"She remembers what I used to drink whenever I came here," she said with a hint of surprise in her voice.
Lacus smiled at her mother, reaching for her own glass of gillywater.
"Well, it's not like she doesn't have something to remind her."
She was dreaming of flying saucers and cows grazing on the surface of the moon. Out of the flying saucers came aliens with green tentacles and the cows stopped their grazing to greet them, dancing to Indian temple chants.
Lacus sat up quickly in her bed, panting. She wasn't dreaming. The aliens and the cows were luckily only a part of her dream but the Indian temple chants were not. Glancing to her left, her eyes settled on her bedroom door. The door itself was closed but that did not mean that it shut all the noise out. Taking a deep breath, Lacus threw the duvet off her and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She slipped her feet into a pair of bunny slippers and yawned as she dragged herself towards the door.
As she opened it, the music practically blasted into her room. It was a mixture of flutes and village women chanting, in a way that made Lacus feel slightly queasy, with the occasional fast and erratic drum beat. Making a face, Lacus stepped out her room.
She entered the kitchen, which was short of a complete mess that morning. Pots and pans lay stacked in the sink. Bags of flour, sugar and more exotic ginger and cardamom stood on the table along with mysterious jars labelled in Chinese and half of the contents of the fridge. In the middle of the kitchen was Luna. She was holding a large bowl in her arms, mixing the ingredients as she danced to the music. Lacus noticed how there were smudges of flour over her face and her clothes and how she was leaving traces of flour in the path of her dance.
"Morning mum," Lacus yawned.
It was a good thing that Luna was in the middle of a twirl; otherwise she would have never even heard Lacus because of the music. Stopping with her twirling, Luna smiled at Lacus.
"Good morning!" she chirped cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"
Lacus made a face.
"Splendidly," she answered and covered her mouth as she yawned again. She walked over to the kitchen table and, after lifting up a jar with brown powder, sat down on a chair. "What's for breakfast?"
"Baozi," Luna replied, smiling wider. "Look!"
Waltzing over to Lacus, Luna lowered the bowl so that Lacus could see what was in it. Lacus had a very clear idea about what baozi was. She had it often last time they had travelled to China. To her it was a white, somewhat sweet steamed bun that bore no resemblance to the brown, lumpy liquid in the bowl. The strong smelled of ginger filled her nostrils.
"Are baozi supposed to have cardamom and ginger?" Lacus questioned, glancing at the jars on the table next to her.
Shrugging, Luna began to stir in the bowl again.
"I thought I'd try it and see what it tastes like."
Smiling, Lacus left her mother to keep working on making baozi and walked over to the cupboard. Her mother was always like that, she never wanted to follow a recipe to every last detail. She preferred experimenting with food, sometimes it worked out for the better but very often for the worst. It was the nice part about often travelling and being away from the house, it kept Luna from experimenting too much with their meals.
Opening the cupboard, Lacus scouted a box of cereal kept in the back. Taking the box out, she returned to the chair she had been sitting on before.
"So you know what came this morning?" Luna asked.
Popping a pink, snitch shaped cereal into her mouth, Lacus shook her head. Luna stopped stirring and set down the bowl on the table. She walked around the table and towards the shelves hanging on the wall. From there she pulled out a small package wrapped in brown paper.
"What is it?" Lacus wondered, looking at the package curiously.
Luna didn't answer her question; she pushed at the package and nodded at Lacus. Putting aside the cereal box, Lacus began to open the package. She pulled off the brown paper and once it was off she saw a small stack of cards tied together with a thin piece of string. The cards were black and the silver, shimmering text read:
Luna Lovegood
Editor of the
Quibbler
"Wow," Lacus breathed. "Those are some shiny business cards."
Propping her elbows against the surface of the table, Luna leaned over a bag of flour to look at the business cards.
"I guess that makes it official doesn't it?" she smiled. "I'm finally going to work there."
Lacus looked up at her mother. The truth was that Luna could have started to work at The Quibbler years ago. From what Lacus had been told, her grandfather Xenophilius Lovegood died when Luna was barely of age. She had inherited the business from her father but instead of starting to work there she had left it in the hands of a capable staff and gone travelling around the world. It was because of that decision that Luna had ended up on some island in the Pacific Ocean, met Rolf Scamander and married him. Lacus had been born out of that marriage though she could not remember the time her parents were together. They were divorced since several years back and Luna had just kept travelling with Lacus after that. Even when Lacus started to attend Hogwarts Luna had not stopped her travelling, something that worked well with her job as a naturalist.
It was just a week ago Luna had told her that she had accepted the job as the editor of The Quibbler after the previous one had retired. As much as it puzzled Lacus, she guessed that her mother had decided that she had travelled enough and it was time to settle down. It was something that Lacus thought most people did when they got married and had kids rather than after, but with her mother nothing was conventional anyway.
"So when do you start?" Lacus asked.
"I thought I'd go into the office tomorrow, just to see how things are," Luna answered. "We could get your school supplies too. I have so many ideas to run by the staff, especially about our latest snorkack findings... I'd like to run a series of articles on where they have been spotted and theories of their origins..."
Her musings were interrupted as the door bell rang. Lacus exchanged a look with Luna, both of them looking equally surprised. During the school year Lacus stayed at Hogwarts and whenever she was on holiday she always followed Luna wherever she was going. They rarely spent time in the cottage they called home, much less hearing someone ring their door bell.
"Oh, I didn't know someone was coming over."
Luna wiped off her hands with a towel. Lacus cast a worried glance at her.
"I even didn't know we had a door bell," she admitted honestly.
She waited in the kitchen while Luna left the kitchen to answer the door. Before she even had a chance to think about whom it might be, she heard the door open and an all too familiar voice reached her ears.
"Oh goodness. Did the kitchen blow up?"
"Good morning, Mrs. Longbottom."
Lacus jumped up from the chair just as the sound of heavy heels sounded against the wooden floor. A few moments later Augusta Longbottom entered the kitchen, dressed in her usual green robes and with the hat with the stuffed vulture. Upon seeing Lacus she smiled.
"Oh hello, Lacus!" she greeted cheerfully, reaching out her arms and giving Lacus a hug. "How are you?"
Mrs. Longbottom had looked the same for as long as Lacus could remember, not to mention worn the hat with the stuffed vulture. It had a distinct smell to it that Lacus was not too fond of, but she forced herself to smile anyway when Mrs. Longbottom released her from the hug.
"I'm fine, and you?" she asked in return as Luna came back into the kitchen.
"Oh, life goes on as usual," Mrs. Longbottom answered with a wave. "The weather has been nice this summer, a little too hot sometimes... I haven't had much to do, had I known you girls were back then I would have come over to see you sooner. I hope you two are happy with the way the house has been kept, I personally planted the roses in the garden."
Lacus nodded.
"The roses look great," she complimented.
Mrs. Longbottom looked pleased to her that. The cottage Lacus and Luna in did not really belong to them, but to her. Mrs. Longbottom lived in a grander and bigger house two miles away from the cottage. Lacus was not sure how they had come to live in the cottage but she knew that Luna and Mrs. Longbottom's son knew each other from their time at Hogwarts and that Luna had rented this cottage from the Longbottoms even before she got married. As their landlady Mrs. Longbottom looked after the cottage while they were away, which was pretty much all year. Now that Lacus thought about it she couldn't remember one time when she and her mother had stayed in the cottage more than one week at the time.
Stepping back, Mrs Longbottom took a good look at Lacus.
"My, I swear you get taller every time I see you. You must get that from your father. But you are too skinny! All this travelling that you do, it keeps you from getting good, filling food on table at the end of the day. Luna, you don't feed the child well enough!"
Mrs. Longbottom turned around to Luna, waiting for some explanation. Luna stood there, covered in flour all over and could only smile.
"I'm making baozi," she told, picking up the bowl and continued to stir. "You are more than welcome to stay. I think they will be done in an hour or so."
Mrs. Longbottom looked into the bowl and saw the lumpy, brown goo that was the dough.
"No thank you dear, I've already had breakfast," she replied. "And do you really have time to stand here and bake?"
Luna looked up at Mrs. Longbottom and Lacus shared the feeling of not knowing what the older woman was talking about.
"Why wouldn't I have the time?" Luna asked.
"Well, shouldn't you be in Diagon Alley getting the supplies that Lacus need for school?" Mrs. Longbottom questioned.
"We were thinking about going tomorrow," Lacus answered. "Mum is heading to the Quibbler's office anyway."
Mrs. Longbottom stared at Lacus, her eyes wide in shock.
"Tomorrow is Sunday!" she pointed out. "The shops won't be open then and school starts on Monday!"
Lacus dropped her jaw, staring back at Mrs. Longbottom in shock. A few moments later her brain started to function again and she rushed back into her bedroom and closed the door after her. She rushed to the trunk standing in the corner of the room, still unpacked and sandy from being dragged across the beach in Sardinia. As she rummaged through her trunk for something to wear, she heard her mother's and Mrs. Longbottom's voices in the kitchen.
"Goodness, you really should have gone and gotten her supplies days ago!"
"It's not too late now. I'm already dressed and can go any time."
"Luna, you can't wear that, you're covered in flour. Go and change into something quick. I guess I'll be going now, you girls need to hurry anyway."
Lacus did not hear the rest of the conversation. Finding a clean pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt, she quickly put them on. After that she stumbled out of her room trying to put her socks on at the same time.
Luna had left the kitchen once Lacus came out and only Mrs. Longbottom was standing there.
"Your mother went upstairs to change," she informed, with a hint of triumph in her voice.
Lacus smiled sheepishly. Mrs. Longbottom was a forceful woman who was used to getting things done her way.
"Anyway, I shall be going now," Mrs. Longbottom continued. "Do you and your mother have any plans for tomorrow night?"
Lacus thought for a while.
"No, I don't think so."
"Good, I'll be expecting you two for dinner at my house at seven o'clock then," Mrs. Longbottom decided. "Neville will be there as well."
Upon hearing the mention of Neville, Lacus lit up.
"Really? It will be great seeing him again."
Mrs. Longbottom smiled and patted Lacus on the shoulder. She used to pat her on the head all the time but in the last few years Lacus had grown so tall that patting her on the head looked out of place.
"See you tomorrow night, Lacus. Tell your mother I said goodbye."
"I will." Lacus nodded.
She followed Mrs. Longbottom to the door and once she had waved goodbye, she immediately ran over to the stairs. Waiting at the foot of the stairs, Lacus tapped her fingers against the wooden banister. Leaning forward she glanced at the cuckoo clock hanging on the wall, the only device in the house that actually showed the accurate time. Luna had never been a fan of living life after fixed schedules and time. It was only at Lacus' insistence that the cuckoo clock was still hanging there. Right now it came in handy, because the clock showed that it was half past one. Sighing, Lacus stepped up on the first step of the stairs.
"Mum, we're going to be late!" Lacus called, looking upstairs. "Aren't you done yet?"
"Being late is only a matter of being unexpected!" was the only answer that came from above.
"No one is going to be there to not expect us if we don't get there before all the shops close!" Lacus retorted.
Light footsteps tread across the floor upstairs and shortly afterwards Luna skipped down the stairs. There was no flour on her face, she had changed into clean clothes and her long hair tied up in a messy braid.
"There, I'm done," she announced.
Taking her mother's hand, Lacus dragged her with her as she entered the living room. They walked across the small landscape of unpacked trunks and piles of books until they reached the fireplace at the other side of the living room.
"Oh, and Mrs. Longbottom invited us for dinner at seven tomorrow," Lacus told as she reached for the jar of floo powder.
She passed the jar to her mother, who despite sporting her usual calm face expression was not looking too happy about what Lacus had just told her.
"And you said yes?" Luna asked.
Lacus opened her mouth to say that she had, but when she thought about it she remembered that she hadn't. It was Mrs. Longbottom who had decided that they should come for dinner, she had not exactly asked.
"At least Neville will be there," Lacus said.
Much like Lacus, Luna's expression brightened upon hearing Neville's name. Lacus looked at Luna and they exchanged a knowing smile. With Neville there the dinner would not be a complete disaster.
Diagon Alley was experiencing its busiest day ever. At least that what it seemed like to Lacus, who could barely get anywhere without accidentally elbowing people. Luna seemed to have it easier for some reason; she strolled along quietly without paying much attention to the busy crowd around her.
"Okay, I need to get to Flourish and Blott's," Lacus spoke as she looked at the list of supplies that had come with the Hogwarts letter. "Then I have to pick up some ingredients for potions... they're making us get so much this year! Oh, and I need a new scale too and..."
Lacus turned to the right to look at Luna, but she found herself looking at a ginger haired witch who was passing by. Luna was no longer walking with her. Feeling her heart race faster, Lacus stopped and looked into every direction to see where her mother was. Standing on her toes, she tried to look over the crowd. Where was she?
Then, she suddenly caught sight of Luna.
"Mum!"
Elbowing her way through the crowd, Lacus made her way to the window outside Eyelids Owl Emporium, where Luna was standing in front of the window and engaged in a staring contest with a white owl.
"Mum!"
Luna put her index finger to her lip, still not taking her eyes off the owl.
"Hush, Lacus... don't startle her," she whispered. "She's beautiful isn't she?"
Lacus threw a quick glance at the owl. Luna was right in that it was beautiful; the white feathers of the owl were as pure as snow. But the owl could have been rainbow coloured for all she cared, the most important thing was to get all the supplies in time.
"Here, take this," she said, giving her mother the list of books. "Go to Flourish and Blott's and pick these up and I'll go get the potion ingredients."
Luna accepted the list from Lacus and smiled.
"You know that the plimpies will be drawn to you and bite you on the forehead if you frown too much?" she said, poking her finger against Lacus' forehead.
Not feeling like she had the time to joke around, Lacus waved her hand away.
"Mum, be serious," she urged. "Meet me here back in twenty minutes tops, okay?"
Luna poked at Lacus' forehead again.
"Be wary of the plimpies, don't go near any rivers!" she warned cheerfully and then easily slipped into the crowd. She was gone within moments.
Sighing, Lacus turned around and headed the other way. Slug & Jigger's Apothecary was just a few buildings away but it felt like it took forever before Lacus managed to get there with all the people around. No matter how she walked her foot got stepped on constantly and people bumped against her accidentally. When she finally entered the apothecary, she was relieved to find that while it was crowded inside, at least people were mostly standing still than walking.
Taking a deep breath, something she instantly regretted because of the strong smells, Lacus made her way through the store and walked up to the counter. Several clerks were working today, climbing up and down the ladders to reach jars standing on the highest shelves. Lacus was lucky in that one of the clerks had just received a payment from the customer when she got there and he instantly turned to her.
"May I help you?"
Lacus handed him the list of potion ingredients.
"I'd like everything on this list, please. Thank you."
After reading through the list quickly, the clerk walked off to get her things. Lacus stood by the counter and waited. She turned around and looked over the store. The clerks were all running around behind the counter trying to get the orders done as soon as possible. Aside from her there were at least two dozen other customers in the store waiting for their order. All of them looked impatient, as if they had somewhere else to be. Lacus could not help but to feel the same way, she hoped that her order would be done as soon as possible.
She turned around to see where the clerk with her order had gone to. As she turned around she felt something hard bump against her shoulder and the next moment something heavy fell down and landed right on her foot. Instinctively pulling her foot up, Lacus jumped back and let out a gasp of pain. She instinctively grabbed the counter to support herself.
"I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
The pain in her foot was not that serious. It had started to fade almost right away. But pain was the last thing on Lacus' mind as she looked up. Standing before her, was Nathan Montague.
Nathan Montague was difficult to describe. Most people would use the words handsome, charming, gorgeous, dreamy or something else that attributed to his physical appearance. But as Lacus was standing there, staring right into his eyes, her mind went blank. Nathan Montague was in Ravenclaw, in the same year as her, but despite having spent four years at Hogwarts Lacus had never talked to him. With his chiselled features and bright smile he was the most popular guy in her year.
"Um.. I..." Lacus stuttered. "I'm fine."
Nathan smiled and Lacus felt stupid for not being able to talk coherently. He bent down and picked up the thing he had dropped on Lacus' foot, it was a thick potions book.
"Sorry, it just slipped out of my hand," Nathan apologized as he stood up straight and faced Lacus again.
She had to say something; she couldn't just stand there and be quiet while Nathan Montague was taking to her. But her heart was beating so fast.
"Maybe it tried to make a dash for freedom," Lacus blurted out suddenly.
Nathan frowned, looking puzzled.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
Lacus bit her lip and felt her face become ten shades redder. She could not believe that she had just said that to Nathan Montague, even to her ears it had sounded weird. Her eyes looked down so that she wouldn't have to face Nathan and she studied a mysterious spot on the floor.
"Hey, you're in Hufflepuff, aren't you?" Nathan said after a while. "Elaine Moran's friend?"
Upon hearing her friend's name being mentioned, Lacus dared to look up again.
"Yeah... you know Elaine?"
Nathan nodded.
"Well, sort of," he answered. "She was with my friends when we went to the Bashing Banshees concert a few weeks ago... I'm sorry if I don't remember you from that, a lot of people were going..."
Nathan's face reddened slightly like he was embarrassed but despite that Lacus only felt worse.
"Um..." she began, cutting him off. "I wasn't there actually."
"Oh."
The hint of a blush disappeared from Nathan's face and instead he looked relieved now that he knew that he wasn't talking to someone he had met before and forgotten about. A strange knot formed in Lacus' stomach. Just because she had corrected him didn't mean that it made her feel better.
"Well, you should have been there then," Nathan smiled. "It was crazy... Have you been to a Bashing Banshees' concert before?"
Lacus shook her head. She got the distinct feeling that it was something that she should have done, that every one person in her age went to Bashing Banshees' concert. But she couldn't have gone even if she had known about it; she had been in abroad with her mother. It was like that, it was how they spent every summer and every holiday.
"Um... you should go sometime," Nathan encouraged, his tone starting to sound unsure. "It's worth it."
Lacus nodded slowly. She was sure that it was from the way Nathan was starting to talk about it before he realized that she wouldn't know what he was talking about. Lacus knew that the Bashing Banshees were some kind of band, but she had never heard their songs. It wasn't that she didn't listen to their music. It was just that Luna seemed to listen to music coming from every corner of the globe except for Britain.
"So..." she began, trying to figure out something to say. "Are you here to get potion ingredients too?"
The moment she had asked the question she felt like slapping herself on the head. What kind of question was that to ask when they were standing in an apothecary? It was stupid, she felt stupid.
"Yeah," Nathan answered. "My mom went and got the other stuff a few days ago but she forgot some things so I'm getting them today."
Just when Lacus opened her mouth and was about to continue the conversation, the door to the apothecary opened. Coming in from the busy street was Luna, carrying a stack of books in her arms. Despite that she had no problems navigating through the store and breezed past all the waiting customers all the way to where Lacus was standing with Nathan.
"Hey!" Luna greeted, not noticing Nathan. "I got you the books... did you know there's a new book about heliopaths out? It looks like the public is starting to open their eyes to the truth; perhaps in time people will start uncovering all the truths that the ministry have been burying for years. I hope it will mean that it will help the snorkack findings be taken more seriously..."
Luna stopped suddenly as she noticed that Nathan was looking rather strangely at her. Rather than feeling uncomfortable, Luna just looked right back at him.
"Hello, do you want something?" she asked calmly.
Nathan looked taken back by her question.
"No, um... I... I just..." he stammered and then looked at Lacus for some sort of explanation.
Lacus looked down, avoiding Nathan's eyes. Luna's sudden appearance and all the ranting about conspiracies really couldn't have come at a worse time. Even though she wasn't facing Nathan she could feel how he was taken back by Luna's sudden appearance and found all her talk about heliopaths and snorkacks strange and abnormal. Lacus could have given anything to sink through the ground.
That did not happen, but the next moment the clerk appeared and placed a package on the counter.
"There you go, it's all in there," he said, putting the list that Lacus had given him before on top of the package.
Digging some coins out of her pockets, Lacus paid him. She grabbed the package quickly and barely mumbled a "Bye" to Nathan before she rushed out of the apothecary.
Lacus didn't feel better even when she and Luna came home from Diagon Alley. She instantly put down all the things she had bought on the living room floor, then proceeded to head towards her room as soon as possible. Luna followed her, much to her chagrin. It was in the kitchen that Lacus felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and turned to face her mother.
"What?" she demanded, crossing her arms.
There was a slight frown on Luna's face, one that Lacus rarely saw on her mother's face. But at the moment she did not care, all she could think of was what it had felt like standing in that store with Nathan Montague.
"What's wrong with you?" Luna asked frankly. "You're in a bad mood."
"Well, maybe I am," Lacus challenged. "Did you ever think about who was there with me?"
Luna blinked obliviously, something that only made Lacus feel more irritated about the whole situation. She sighed and looked away from her mother.
"Like it's not enough that I have no idea what he was talking about because I haven't been to concerts and stuff like he and every other person has..." she muttered, staring down the floor. There was still flour here and there.
Luna stepped forward and reached out to place a hand on Lacus' arm.
"What's bothering you?" she asked. "You can tell me about it, you know that..."
"No, mum!" Lacus exclaimed, swatting Luna's hand away. "There are just some... some things! Did you even consider all the things that I missed because you've travelled so much and always taken me with you?"
"If you wanted to do something else then I would have known," Luna stated calmly.
"How?" Lacus questioned.
"You would have told me."
Lacus rolled her eyes.
"I don't tell you everything!" she said instinctively.
Luna said nothing; she merely crossed her arms and looked at Lacus intensely. What was going on in her head Lacus did not know, because she turned her eyes away from her mother. All the years she had been travelling with her mother she had missed so many opportunities to spend time with other people her age. Perhaps then she would have known what to say when Nathan Montague was talking to her, perhaps she would not have felt so stupid.
After a while, Luna spoke again.
"Why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"
Lacus sighed deeply. She didn't even want to think about what Nathan must be thinking about her, what he had thought when Luna had just interrupted their conversation with all the talk of heliopaths and snorkacks. He must think that she was the weirdest girl on the planet. Lacus turned around and continued into her room. As she entered her room, her hand resting on the door handle, she sighed one more time in annoyance.
"Sometimes I wish that you could just be more normal!"
She shut the door after herself, closing Luna out.
Standing on the doorstep of Augusta Longbottom's house the next night felt very weird.
It even felt weird to Luna, who for as long she could remember had rarely felt uncomfortable no matter what situation she was in. But as she was standing on the doorstep, with Lacus at her side and staring at the giant, white wooden door before her, she knew that she felt uncomfortable.
It was the whole situation, she knew that. It was that her daughter was standing with her arms crossed and still feeling sour from the day before. It was that she was so used to being best friends with Lacus that she was rarely reminded of the fact that the latter was also a fifteen year old girl who saw and experienced things different from Luna. It had been her and Lacus for so long, just the two of them. Sometimes Luna forgot to think that Lacus' needs differentiated from hers.
But it was also this house. This old house. Whenever Mrs. Longbottom knew that they were home she invited them over for dinner. Luna went every time she was invited, but every time she was standing in front of the house she would think about the first time she had entered that house and the time after that. It had been nineteen years since then.
Nineteen years ago... had it really been so long?
"So are we going to go in or not?" Lacus muttered sourly, still standing with her arms crossed.
Luna turned to Lacus.
"Are you going to stop attracting plimpies to you or not?" she asked. "You know they are drawn to everything that's sour."
Lacus rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Fine."
She uncrossed her arms. Pleased with that simple action, Luna turned back to the door and rung the doorbell. They hardly waited a minute before the door opened, showing a familiar face standing on the other side.
"Luna! Lacus! You're here!"
"Hello Neville," Luna greeted and smiled warmly.
She stepped forward and gave him a hug. Neville Longbottom was her oldest friend, ever since that year when they had both joined DA. It was Neville and his grandmother who had helped her most that time after battle at Hogwarts, the ones who had taken her in when she had no where to go. Though she did not seem Neville often these days, he was still one of her dearest friends.
The sour expression on Lacus' face had disappeared the moment she had seen Neville. When Luna released him from the hug, Lacus stepped up and gave him one.
"Hello uncle Neville," Lacus smiled.
Neville ruffled Lacus' hair playfully. Though he was Professor Longbottom at Hogwarts, before that he had been uncle Neville to Lacus since she had been born. Luna watched the two of them. Neville meant as much to Lacus as he did to Luna.
"Gran wasn't joking, you have grown taller," Neville commented as he looked at Lacus. "But to me you'll always be that little girl who cried because she thought that I had actually got her nose for real."
Lacus tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I'm not even through the door and you're already bringing up embarrassing memories," she mumbled, smiling.
Neville smiled back in return and stepped aside so that they could come in. They took off their coats and Neville hung them up on the coat rack.
"Hannah and the girls couldn't make it tonight," he told as he led them into the sitting room. "It's their cousin's birthday so they had to attend the party. I, on the other hand, get a free pass because Gran told me to come over for dinner."
"And instead you are here with us," Luna said.
"Well, I haven't seen you two for a while... well, I see you all year around," Neville answered, glancing at Lacus as they entered the living room. "But I haven't seen you, Luna, in a while. So where did you two go this summer?"
"Sardinia," Luna replied. "There's been a new species of doxies living among the smaller islands there. They were very interesting to study."
"So Sardinia... I bet you had a lot of gelato while you were there," Neville smiled at Lacus.
Lacus said nothing, but she forced a smile in return. The three of them entered the sitting room. It was the largest room in the house, with creaking wooden floorboards and rustic furniture. Two beige couches stood in the middle of the room with a large wooden chest in the middle acting as a coffee table. Sitting on one of the couches was Mrs. Longbottom whose robes were a slightly brighter shade of green than usual tonight.
"Good evening, Mrs. Longbottom," Lacus greeted.
"It's lovely having you two here," Mrs. Longbottom said, motioning for them to sit down. "I was just telling Neville that how nice it would be if you two stayed here more often."
"As you always do, Gran," Neville finished and sat down next to her while Luna and Lacus sat down on the other couch. He winked at Luna, who smiled knowingly in return.
"Well, I don't see the wrong in that," Mrs. Longbottom protested. "After all, what good is going back and forth all across the world when you have a perfectly good home here? Don't you agree, Lacus?"
Luna turned her eyes to Lacus. Surprised by the direct question, Lacus seemed to be at a loss of what to say. Her eyes darted back and forth between Mrs. Longbottom and Neville. Luna waited for her answer.
"Oh, I don't know..." Lacus began uncertainly. "I guess."
Mrs. Longbottom smiled triumphantly at Luna.
"There you go, even your child has said it now."
Neville and Luna looked at each other, the smile they had exchanged before fading. The topic that came up every year had started already and they hadn't even eaten yet. Luna watched as Neville leaned back in the couch, not wanting to take an active stand in the whole thing. She then turned back to Mrs. Longbottom.
This was going to be a long night.
The dining room felt bigger than what Luna remembered. Perhaps it was that the dining table was made to accommodate at least ten people and with the four of them sitting on each side it felt slightly awkward. But perhaps it was the silence, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of forks scraping against porcelain. Luna looked at Lacus, who was sitting on the other side of the table, eating quietly. She had no said much the entire night, something that Luna herself was guilty of too.
But she could not help it. It was being back in this house, remembering everything that time after the battle that she had spent here. As grateful as she was to Mrs. Longbottom and Neville for taking her in, it was not enough to take away all the memories of that time.
"The roast beef is lovely, Gran," Neville complimented after a while, just to break the silence.
"Thank you," Mrs. Longbottom replied and looked up over the table, at Neville, then Luna and finally Lacus. "I must say again how lovely it is to have all of you here. You are all away so often, I feel I don't see you enough. I've always said this, there is nothing more important in life than family."
"And pudding."
Neville nearly choked on his food.
Luna looked up to see three pairs of eyes staring intensely at her in silence. Mrs. Longbottom's gaze felt particularly sharp. Luna smiled awkwardly; her fork stopping as it was halfway to her mouth.
"Never mind."
Neville reached for his glass of water while Lacus slowly resumed her eating. But Mrs. Longbottom did not take her eyes off her. Instead she put down her fork and leaned forward just slightly.
"So how long are you really staying for, Luna?" she asked.
"I don't know," Luna answered, poking the vegetables on her plate. "I'll be here fore a while though."
"So does that mean until at least the end of next week or might it even be until next Sunday?"
Neville put down his fork.
"Gran!"
Mrs. Longbottom looked at Neville, who was sitting across her on the other side of the table.
"It's a legitimate question," she defended. "Luna has barely stayed more than a week in a row before going off to Uzbekistan or Merlin knows where!"
Feeling like her appetite was gone; Luna put down her fork and looked straight at Mrs. Longbottom.
"Mrs. Longbottom," she said. "Can I speak to you privately?"
The words she had uttered made it sound like a request, but the tone in her voice implied that it was not. Mrs. Longbottom looked at her in surprise, then set down her knife and fork on the table. She got up and headed into the kitchen, Luna followed her shortly afterwards.
"Is there something you would like to say to me?" Luna confronted directly, crossing her arms. "It appears to me that there's something that you're not that happy with."
She fearlessly looked into Mrs. Longbottom's eyes, waiting for an answer. Mrs. Longbottom also crossed her arms, refusing to back down. It was not in her nature to deny things or be anything but completely frank and honest with what she was thinking.
"I don't see how this is different from any other time you've come back," Mrs. Longbottom said. "All this talk about staying here a little longer? You'll be gone in a week or two again!"
"And what's wrong with that?" Luna questioned. "What's so wrong about going off somewhere else? I like travelling!"
Mrs. Longbottom snorted.
"If that boy hadn't broken your heart then you would have never gone away in the first place," she muttered.
Luna felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of the boy. She watched Mrs. Longbottom silently. The latter shook her head, looking not angry but regretful. Mrs. Longbottom straightened her robes slightly and sighed.
"You could have stayed here, you could have..." she began.
"Married Neville?" Luna finished.
Mrs. Longbottom said nothing but Luna could tell that it was exactly what she was thinking. Now it was Luna's turn to sigh. She walked over to the other side of the kitchen. It was the same thing; Mrs. Longbottom's opinions had not changed one bit in nineteen years.
"Neville and I are friends," Luna clarified. "We always will be, but we were never in love."
At the moment the door to the dining room opened and Neville came in. He looked at both his grandmother and Luna. When neither of them said anything, he walked in and closed the door carefully after himself.
"What's going on with you two?" he asked, looking at both of them for some kind of explanation.
Luna just looked away. Neville turned to his grandmother, but she did not concern herself with explaining things to him either.
"And then you got married to Rolf and we thought that you would be alright," Mrs. Longbottom went on. "But then you insisted that you would keep travelling around and your husband left you because you didn't want to settle down... if you had just done that then Lacus could have grown up in a safe and stable environment with two parents."
Neville stared at her in shock.
"Gran!"
Luna turned around, facing Mrs. Longbottom again.
"That is not fair," she pointed out. "It's my life and those were my choices. And Lacus turned out just fine, didn't she?"
Upon hearing the last few words, the expression on Mrs. Longbottom's face softened slightly. Silence fell over the kitchen, with Luna staring down at Mrs. Longbottom and Neville standing between the two, confused as to what was going on. Luna said nothing; she had nothing more to say. Mrs. Longbottom had her opinions and as strong as they were, the choices Luna had made in the past had been her own. She knew that Mrs. Longbottom cared for her and Lacus but in the long run Luna had no one but herself to answer to. No one but Lacus and herself.
After what felt like an eternity, Mrs. Longbottom sighed again.
"Yes, she did," she admitted. "But that doesn't mean that she won't want a real place to call home in the future."
Luna thought back to the day before when she and Lacus had returned to the cottage from Diagon Alley. The words that Lacus had said were still fresh in her mind. She was a mother after all and what kind of mother would forget so easily?
"Don't worry..." Luna murmured, looking downwards. "The job at The Quibbler means that I will be here much longer than usual."
Mrs. Longbottom looked at her cautiously.
"Are you sure?"
"I don't have a choice," Luna answered and forced a smile. "The Quibbler isn't doing that well these days."
Neville frowned.
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Is it in trouble?"
Luna shook her head.
"No, it's not..." she began. "Not if I can get it back on its feet and make sure it does as good as it used to do."
Mrs. Longbottom opened her mouth to say something, but whatever it was she held it back. Rather than saying anything, she walked over to Luna. At first she did nothing but stand there but after a while she reached out and took Luna's hand. Her hand was callous but warm and comforting.
Luna looked up to see Mrs. Longbottom smiling gently at her. The memory of nineteen years ago, the day she had first entered this house came back to her. She had been younger then, more idealistic yet felt so lost and lonely. She had not known where to go, who to turn to. But Mrs. Longbottom had taken her hand and held it the same way she did not.
Luna managed a smile in return and squeezed her hand back.
A few hours later, as the door to the Longbottom house closed behind them, Luna stopped and took a deep breath. Lacus looked at her, feeling nothing but sympathy for her mother.
"That was one weird night wasn't it?" she said.
Luna turned her eyes towards her.
"How much did you hear?"
"Pretty much everything."
Luna smiled and put her arm around Lacus' shoulder. Lacus didn't return her smile; instead she looked at her mother with concern.
"Why didn't you tell me that The Quibbler is in trouble?" Lacus asked.
"I don't tell you everything," Luna smiled.
Upon hearing her own words being said back to her, Lacus couldn't resist letting out a chuckle. Leaning her head slightly against her mother's shoulder, the two of them slowly began to walk away from the house.
"We got some communication issues here," Lacus pointed out lightly. "We need to work on that."
"Let's start by that boy, the one you were standing with in the apothecary yesterday," Luna suggested cheerfully, already looking less weary than before.
Lacus' face went slightly red.
"You know what I like about us, mum?" she said. "The fact that we spent so much time around each other that we don't really need to talk about everything like everyone else."
"So who was the boy?"
"No one!"
"You wouldn't be blushing if it was no one!"
"Hey, mum?"
The two of them stopped and Lacus turned to look at her mother.
"What Mrs. Longbottom said before when you were in the kitchen..." she began. "That boy who broke your heart... that wasn't dad, right? That was someone else?"
Summer was fading; the leaves on the trees had already turned gold and red. The sun had almost set, leaving only a little light for those who were still outdoors. Standing there on the outskirts of Mrs. Longbottom's garden, Luna grinned widely at her daughter.
"You know what I like about us? The fact that we spent so much time around each other that we don't need to talk about everything."
She ruffled Lacus' neatly brushed hair and ran off. Reaching up to her head and trying to straighten her hair out, Lacus set off after her, laughing.
"Mum, wait!"
It was said that autumn arrived suddenly that year. For many it was a rude awakening, a sign that summer was truly over and for the children it was time to go back to Hogwarts. But for the Lovegoods it came more suddenly than ever, as it was only the day after the dinner at Mrs. Longbottom's house that it was September 1st.
Lacus came through the barrier, pushing a trolley with her trunk ahead of her. She was met by the sight of the Hogwarts Express, thick steam and fumes coming out of the engine. The platform was crowded with people, children saying goodbye to their parents and their siblings. She caught sight of a family walking by with owl cages rattling on top of the trolley, the youngest girl whining about wanting to go to Hogwarts. It was like this every year.
Luna appeared behind her, having just crossed the barrier. The two of them kept walking down the platform, until they found a section of the train that was not too crowded and full. After loading her trunk into the train, Lacus returned to the platform where Luna was waiting for her.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Lacus said.
Smiling, Luna reached into the pockets of her coat and took out a small brown paper bag.
"Here, I made this for you."
Receiving the bag from Luna, Lacus looked at it curiously and opened it. Inside the bag were two neatly steamed white buns. Bringing the bag up, Lacus inhaled the smell of cardamom and ginger from the buns.
"So I guess those baozi turned out edible after all?" she smiled. "They smell pretty good."
"Oh, I don't know about edible," Luna answered. "I haven't actually tried one yet."
Looking at the bag with a lot more caution than before, Lacus closed it and put it inside the pocket of her robe. All around them children were hugging their parents goodbye and getting on the train. It was time to leave. Biting her lip, Lacus played with the hem of her sleeve nervously.
"Mum..." she began quietly. "I'm sorry about what I said... about wishing that you were more normal. I didn't mean it like that."
Luna smiled and drew her into a hug. She smelled of cardamom and ginger, like she had been baking baozi all morning.
"I know." Luna released Lacus from the hug but she kept her hands on her shoulder. "And things will be a little different this year... I'll be staying here for a while after all. Who knows, I might even become more normal."
Lacus chuckled.
"I don't think we would want that... none of the other mums makes baozi for their daughters."
The doors at the other end of the train were beginning to close. Lacus looked around and saw that and most of the children had already gotten on the train.
"Gotta go!" She hugged Luna tightly. "I'll write often!"
Luna squeezed her tightly in her arms.
"Three times a week?"
"Four!"
Smiling, Luna let go of Lacus and watched as her daughter jumped onto the train just before the door closed behind her. Staying on the platform, Luna tried to look through the windows of the train. The windows were open, children were practically hanging out of them and waving goodbye to their families one last time.
Luna felt a sting in her heart watching them. It was like this every year, saying goodbye to Lacus and knowing that it would be a long time until they saw each other again. But this year would be different. Working at The Quibbler would keep her around, this time she wouldn't be in another country. It was a small thing; she would not see Lacus more often because of this. But for some reason it felt like t least they would be a little closer.
She saw a flash of blonde hair somewhere and suddenly Lacus managed to elbow her way to a spot near the window. There were a couple of first years standing in front of her and she couldn't get all the way to the window and shout her last goodbyes. But Luna watched as Lacus pulled out the bag with the baozi from her jacket and pointed at it. She smiled as Lacus clearly took a big bite of the bun. The smile stayed on her lips even when Lacus spit out the bite two seconds later in a very unladylike way and shook her head while pointing at the bag.
Apparently it was not that edible.
The train slowly began to roll away. Luna waved until Lacus was out of sight and the train was halfway out of the platform. She stood there watching as the train rolled further and further away from her, carrying her daughter away. The train disappeared out of sight as it rounded a corner. All the bustle and busy excitement that had characterised atmosphere the platform just a few minutes ago died down as all the were left were the families of the children on the train.
Taking a deep breath, Luna put her hands in her pockets.
Things would be different this year. How different, she didn't not know.
But she would soon find out.
Just as she turned around to leave, her shoulder bumped into something hard and sent her stumbling back a step. Regaining her balance quickly, Luna looked up only to stare right into a pair of familiar green eyes.
"Pardon me, I didn't see you..."
Her heart stopped.
His eyes were just the same, that is how she recognized him. But when she looked beyond the eyes she saw the glasses, the dark hair, and the scar on his forehead just barely hidden behind his it. He was older, his face had more wrinkles, but it was him. She knew that right away.
He paused right in the middle of the apology, suddenly staring at her the same way she was staring at him.
"Luna?"
When the shock had faded just slightly, Luna's lips automatically curved into what was almost smile.
"Harry," she stated breathlessly.
Standing before her, Harry Potter looked equally surprised like he couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at her closely, from bottom to top. It was like it was only then that he realized that she was real.
"Wow, it's really you," he said. "I haven't seen you in years."
Luna shrugged lightly.
"I've been away," she answered truthfully.
She was still looking into his eyes. They had not changed a bit. In spite of all the years that had passed, they had still recognized each other. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly an arm snaked around his and they were no longer alone.
Ginny Potter came into view, Luna recognized her old friend straight away. The same thing could not have gone for Ginny, who regarded Luna with a cautious look in the beginning.
"Ginny, it's Luna!" Harry pointed out enthusiastically.
Looking at Harry first, Ginny then turned to Luna. The look on her face changed instantly and she was looking at Luna in a considerably warmer way than she was before.
"Luna... how nice to see you again," she smiled. "What are you doing here?"
She stayed by Harry's side, not releasing his arm for one moment. Luna glanced down quickly and saw the identical wedding rings on their fingers.
"I just escorted my daughter to the train," Luna told.
Both Harry's and Ginny's eyes widened in surprise.
"You have a daughter?" Harry's mouth was half open in shock.
Luna nodded.
"Lacus, she's in her fifth year."
"Our James is in his third year," Ginny told. "And Albus is just starting his first year."
Luna smiled.
"So you have two children?"
"Three," Ginny corrected. "We have a daughter too."
Luna's eyes drifted back to Harry. Looking at him she remembered the boy she had known a long time ago. In all these years she had never once encountered Harry or Ginny. It had been best that way to not seek them out, considering what things had been like the last time the three of them had been in the same room. Nineteen years later, who would have known that this was how they would meet again?
"I have to get going," Luna lied, smiling. "It's great seeing you two again."
"Yes, same here," Ginny replied and smiled back.
Luna didn't feel that Ginny's smile was entirely real. Then again, neither was hers. She looked at Harry one last time and their eyes automatically met. The secrets memories of the past coming to mind, Luna could not help but to smile for real, before walking past the couple and away from them.
Harry turned around, watching Luna go.
Nineteen years. Had it really been that long? Deep inside, he knew that it was. As he was watching her walk away, it felt like it had been another lifetime when he had watched her walk away from him at the bulletin board in his fifth year after Sirius' death. So much had happened since then, so much had changed.
"Harry? Harry?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Harry turned back to his wife. Ginny was looking rather impatiently at him.
"Let's go, Lily's waiting for us with Ron and Hermione," she reminded, giving his arm a little tug.
Harry turned his eyes back to the direction that Luna had walked towards but he could no longer see her. She was gone.
After another tug from Ginny, he gave up and walked away with her in silence.
