Standard Disclaimer – Harry Potter and all related works are owned by JK Rowling. This is a work AU Harry Potter fanfiction that takes place shortly after the events Deathly Hallows with the exception of the epilogue. It is AU as it diverges greatly to suit the needs of the story.
Obvious Disclaimer – This is a work of fiction.
A/Ns – This is the last chaper. Chapter five contains author notes.
(An)Other Woman, A HP A/U Fanfic.
By Measashadow
Chapter 4
Daphne confronts Luna about the past.
12 Grimmauld Place
"Luna!" Daphne shouted even before the green glow of the fire was replaced by the light blue wallpaper of the unfamiliar room she now found herself in. The part of her mind that wasn't anxious to talk to Luna noted the great disparity between her current location and what she had heard about the infamous Black Family London Townhouse. It was hard for her to believe that a house with this type of room would contain stuffed Trolls on display and dying elves hanging from their wrists for breathing too loudly. This room was cheerful and bright and Daphne thought she could see Luna's hand in designing and furnishing this room. It wasn't the entry hall of one of the newer manors, but seemed to be sitting or waiting room. Two love seats faced each other with two pair of chairs in two of the corners with tables every where. And on every table, a vase filled with fresh cut flowers. What she took to be plain light blue wallpaper, had images of grass blowing in some unfelt wind. "Luna, it's Daphne. We need to talk." Daphne shouted again as she quickly walked through the only visible doorway in the room.
"NO." Luna responded as she ran down the stairs and started pushing Daphne back towards the room she just left. "You can't be here. Hurry up, floo back to the Ministry. Floo back before it's too late. You should still be able to catch Harry with Susan in her office."
"Luna. We need to talk. I need answers." Daphne said as she grabbed hold of Luna by the shoulders.
"There's no time. Quickly, you need to get back. Go. We can talk after, but not now. Just go."
"I'm not going anywhere until we talk."
Luna broke free from Daphne and ran up the stairs crying. "The plan is ruined."
She followed Luna up the stairs. Daphne lost sight of her but from the sound of her steps Luna ran down the third floor hall. Four doors, two on the left, one on the right, and one at the end. From what she briefly saw on the second floor, expansion charms notwithstanding, the door at the end probably opened into a room or suite taking up roughly half the size of the floor. So master suite, that's probably where Luna went, but Daphne decided to quickly check each room as she went. Right door, bedroom attached bath. Left door opposite, bedroom attached bath, and a door that opened into the next room. A nursery with two cribs. In each room Daphne called out to Luna with no answer. A waiting room with a single door on each wall. A study. The master bedroom with the largest bathroom she's seen since the Perfects Bath at Hogwarts. A smaller bedroom.
"This one thinks Mistress doesn't want to talk to the Lady. Perhaps the Lady should leave before the house begins to take exception." So intent on trying to find Luna, Daphne failed to notice the elderly house-elf standing in the middle of the room.
"Please, I need to talk to her. I remembered something that happened when we were at school, and I need to find out if I need to somehow try to make it right." she begged. "Please, I'm sorry, I don't know your name."
"The Masters have called this one Kreacher. This one doesn't understand trying to right a wrong with a wrong, but since you're wearing the Mistress's necklace," Daphne touched one of the snake heads, she had somehow forgotten she was wearing it. That moment from this morning when Luna asked for her help seemed like ages. "I'll allow you your chance. Mistress is currently in the Naming Room."
"The Naming Room?"
"First door on the left." With those words, Kreacher dissappeared.
When Daphne looked down the hall, she saw a door opposite the nursery that wasn't there before. "Luna sweetie, please, I'm sorry." Daphne opened the door. Luna was laying on the four poster bed, her head buried in a pillow. She sat next to Luna and started stroking her hair. "Here, why don't we do this. You tell me about your plan and I'll think about how we can fix it ok. Then I'll ask my question, ok?"
"You'll hate me if I do." Luna sniffed.
"No I won't sweetie, I promise."
"You promise?" Luna sounded slightly hopeful.
"Yes, I really promise."
"Ok. You're not allowed to hate me after you here this." Daphne nodded, and kept stroking Luna's hair. "So this is what was supposed to have happened. After you left the DMLE, you were supposed to head to Susan's Office."
"Susan Bones? Undersecretary of Records Susan Bones." Daphne asked.
"Yeah, that Susan. But when you get there, her secretary is gone and the door to her office is closed. When you check her door and find out it's locked, you realize that someone put a silencing charm on the door. Playing a hunch, you pull one of those ears out of your purse and slip it through the crack under the door." Luna moved her head from the pillow into Daphne's lap looking up at her. "You know this is my favorite room in this house."
"That Kreacher called this the Naming Room. It's kind of a weird name for a bedroom."
"No it's not. Kreacher told me that in the past when a couple found out they were pregnant, they would come in here, make love, and the first thing they saw after is what they would name the child."
"I guess the windows are why there are so many star names. So, I'm listening at Susan's office, what am I hearing?" Daphne prompted Luna.
"At first, you're not sure. Grunting, heavy breathing, some wet sounds, the creaking of a desk moving back and forth."
"So, I was supposed to catch Harry and Susan having sex in her office. I don't understand how me coming here ruins that plan. I checked his schedule, he has a meeting with her every Monday this month. And if you knew about it, why do you need me to bring you proof?"
Luna sighed. "How is that proof? If some woman off the street came into your office and said, 'I've heard another woman having sex and yelling my husband's name, get me a divorce.' What would you say?"
"In that scenario, I would say I need more proof. In your case, it's I've heard a woman having sex screaming my husband's name while he was there and oh, by the way, here's his schedule and see this entry is when it occured. That I is more than enough to litigate with."
"Oh." Luna seemed to shrink into herself and in a softer voice. "But I don't want a divorce. I love Harry."
"Then I don't understand. What is the point of all this?"
"To make you want to sleep with Harry."
"But why? Why would you want me to sleep with your husband?" Daphne was incedulous. Husbands cheating on their wives she could understand, but wives trying to get other women into his bed of their own occord was something altogether different.
"He needs you. He doesn't realize it, but he needs you in his life. He needs your love, your intimacy."
"You realize I don't have to be intimate with your husband to be in his life. I'll think about ok. Are you willing to answer my questions?"
Luna shook her head yes.
"Why is it that today I'm remember all these things that happened between us, things that now that I remember them, I don't understand how I could have forgotten in the first place?"
"I'm not sure, but I think has something to do with your father? Harry could probably give you a better answer than that?"
"Back in third year, did..." Daphne started.
"My third year, or your third year?" Luna interrupted.
"Mine." Daphne clarified.
"Ok, so my second. Go on."
"Back in third year, did Nott ever.."Daphne was interrupted again, this time by Luna falling asleep.
"I can answer your question, but I'ld rather you didn't finish it in her presence." Daphne looked up from Luna to see Harry standing at the door. "She's suffered enough."
"How long have you been standing there?"
"I got here in time to hear you ask did Nott ever. Please Lady Greengrass, I'm serious when I say I don't want to have this conversation in here. I'll explain everything, but I she is only sleeping and I don't want her hearing what I have to say."
"Alright, but your telling me everything." Daphne carefully moved Luna's head out of her lap, smoothed out Luna's hair and kissed her forehead. "Sleep tight."
As they started walking down the stairs, Harry looked at her and said, "I can't believe you're the other woman."
Daphne stopped on the steps and looked at Harry. "Excuse me. I'm the other woman. Before this morning, I wouldn't have been able to tell you two things about Luna. You on the other hand, have been boning Lady Bones once a week, every week for I don't know how long."
Harry stopped and gave Daphne an incredulous look. "What. How could you even think that? No, nevermind, Luna." He briefly shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, your the other woman she's trying to get me to have sex with. Nothing's happening between me and Susan. When she found out I didn't know anything about that line continuation contract, she was more than happy to forget about it."
"So the 1 o'clock entry for ettiquette, really is for ettiquette."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "Entry? What's this about an entry?"
"In your desk, the little black scheduler." She felt the slight probe of her mind as she said this.
"Hand it over." Harry held his hand out.
"What, no. It's my proof."
"Proof that won't hold up in any court but you can have it back. I just want to the black book that happened to appear in my desk."
Daphne reluctantly handed over the duplicate book. Harry turned it over, inspecting the outside before opening it skimming the beginning, slowing down as he went farther along. Finally, satisfied, he rolled back his head, and laughed. His laugh was more exasperated than joyful. Shaking his head, he handed the book back to Daphne. "I love here but she can be downright infuriating at times."
They started walking back down the stairs. "She is one of the most intelligent, but for the life of me I can't decide if she's cursed with too little or too much of the sight. If you had bothered to check, you would have realized that book was written in Luna's hand. And it wouldn't suprise me to find out the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes mess was her way of giving you free reign in the Pit."
"You lost me there. I don't understand what you mean by Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes mess or free reign in the Pit."
"Sometime this morning, someone broke into Weasley's and scattered every Wizarding Wheeze in stock across every corner of London. So, even as we speak auror, hit-wizard, watch-wizard, and obliviator, retired or not is scouring London with the exception of those required to maintain security at the Ministry, and Auror's Gray, Weasley, and myself."
"I think I understand, but why weren't you recalled?"
"Conflict of interest. I'm part owner of WWW."
"Oh. Where are we going? I thought we were going to talk in that sitting room."
"Basement, that's where I keep the penseive and I think showing you the memory will be better than me telling you. Less chance of a misunderstanding, I think. We're far enough away, so ask your question. It will give me time to gather the memory."
"I wanted to know if she was raped by Nott or Malfoy during third year."
"Crap." Harry stopped. "That wasn't what I thought you were going to ask. No, as far as I know, Luna was never abused that way at Hogwarts."
"You're worried about something. I thought you had just arrived normally, but you're worried about something I might have asked. That report that reminded me of Luna, that memory was actually Luna. You didn't want me asking Luna about that report. Why? Sure it might be painful, but she seems to have recovered well."
"I removed the memory, she wouldn't have any idea of what you're asking about."
"You have no right."
"You haven't seen what she went through."
"Then show me."
Harry released the bludger sized nimbus surrounding his wand into the stone basin they were now standing next to. "Take my hand and place you face in the bowl. We can stop at anytime if this becomes to much."
Death Eaters in full robes, eight of them. Only three appeared to be adults. In the corner, an old man lay crumpled, weeping softly to himself. And there in the center, a small blond teen almost impossible to identify. Unless you knew it was Luna, it could have been anyone with a similiar build.
"This is the memory Croaker recovered from Nott." Harry snapped his fingers and the image shifted. The quality of the image changed and suddenly everyone was a blur moving at more than 10x times normal. "She was captured and had to endure this for almost three months. She was bait to trap me, but since no one bothered to tell me, she suffered."
"YOU TOOK THREE MONTHS. You can't do that, do you have any idea what kind of damage you might do to her. She needs therapy, not this crap." Daphne was livid with Harry.
"Yeah, I'm aware. That's why I wanted to stop you from asking about it."
"You need to give these memories back to her."
No one should suffer through fifteen years of this crap."
Daphne caught the slip. 'Fifteen years. He just admitted to taking three months. Where did fifteen years come from?' she thought to herself. 'Wait, those rumors couldn't have possible been true, could they. He's Harry Potter, the boy who lived. It's inconceivable.' She touched his shoulder, "Oh Harry, what happened to you?" Then she was surrounded by his magic. She sees Harry and he's sitting with Luna, Ginny, Susan, and some witch who didn't look a day over eighteen. There are kids crawling about, one who looks just like a two year old Astoria with bright green eyes. Everything makes sense, is this how Luna sees the world. All this time, she was saying he needed, Luna meant they needed. Daphne and Susan, to comfort and guide Harry. Harry to help and protect them all. As quickly as the image flared, it faded.
"Daphne. Are you alright?" The world around them was a uniform silvery mist.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. Let's go back upstairs to Luna. We'll talk about this later."
"Huh?" Harry was puzzled, he was expecting their argument to last much longer.
Upstairs in bed, Luna smiled.