It's the fourth chapter now, and I'm loving everyone's reviews. Things are going to pick up a bit now...
Harry was sitting in the kitchen, the table covered in notes and books. He was making lesson plans for the DA. He was quite liking the idea of continuing the group- he really did enjoy it. It seemed like the Order hadn't quite gotten rid of all of the Black's stash of dark books, and they proved to be an invaluable resource. He had felt a bit uncomfortable reading them at first, but now he was finding them to be much more interesting than his other Defense books.
He was in the middle of trying to figure out a lesson plan on how to block most cutting curses when he heard Remus and Tonks come in.
"Wotcher Harry."
"Hey. Food's on the stove, if you want some."
"Ooh, pasta….nom." The auror filled up a bowl quickly. Remus smiled, looking over Harry's notes.
"What are you working on, Harry?"
"DA lesson plans. Dumbledore told me he's going to make the group open to the school."
"Nice!" Tonks said, sitting down in a chair. Harry moved his notes away from her, in case she spilled anything. Remus continued to stand, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"We heard you went out. Clubbing?"
Harry sighed. "Ginny, right?"
"How'd you know?" Tonks said in between mouthfuls.
"Ginny was there when Luna got the letter."
"Ooh, you and that Lovegood girl? She's a pretty one, eh Harry?" Tonks said with a wink.
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not like that, we're just friends." He looked at Remus. "What, am I in trouble or something? I didn't do anything wrong."
"Harry, it's not safe." Remus said gently. "There are still a lot of people out there that were followers of Voldemort."
"They're not about to go to a muggle nightclub, are they?"
"Which one did you go to?" Tonks asked, getting up to refill her bowl.
"Save some for me. And, I'm not telling. I don't want you guys following me there. Can't I just have a little space?"
"Harry, I just want you to be safe."
"The only reason you guys know in the first place is because Ginny happened to be there when Luna got her letter. From now on, I'll just make sure to do my writing when the recipient is alone."
"Harry-"
"I'm sick and tired of everyone being in my business, okay? I just want to be left alone. You guys are welcome here during the day, but not all the time- I want privacy just like you guys."
Remus sighed, and sat down. "I'm sorry. We'll give you space." He rummaged through his pockets. "If you are going to be out, just use this portkey if something happens, okay? It'll take you back to the Burrow."
Harry took the gaudy looking plastic ring that was wrapped up in bag. "Okay, I'll carry it just in case. But I'm still going to go out and stuff- I just want to be normal, Remus."
Remus gave him a sad smile. "I know, Harry."
"Normal is a relative thing, anyways." Tonks said, leaning back in her chair. "That was good. Thanks for lunch, by the way."
"I should start charging you."
Harry stopped getting letters from Fudge when the man was kicked out of office. Served him right. Harry had no desire to help that man, not after the crap he'd been through. Madam Bones was sworn in as the new Minister of Magic, and Rufus Scrimengour was to take her place as Head of the DMLE.
One of the first things she did was to add more funds to the search for Voldemort's remaining Deatheaters, and re-question all of the suspected Death Eaters from the first war. Let's just say that there were going to be many students without their Fathers at Hogwarts this year. It was their own fault really- he hoped that they saw it that way. He didn't fancy having a ton of his classmates after him for revenge.
Still, Harry breathed a bit easier with every Death Eater sent to Azkaban. Most of them he hadn't even met, but some, like Malfoy and Nott, were going to Azkaban for a long, long time.
Harry trailed after Luna, watching her go through the dress racks. She laughed in delight at a pretty orange sarong dress, and added it to the stack of dresses on her arm.
"Luna, I think you have enough-"
"Oh, certainly not!" She added a blue sparkly one to the pile. She glanced over her shoulder. "Haven't you found anything yet?"
"Luna, this is the girl's section."
"Oh, well, does it really matter? I mean, in our world, both witches and wizards wear robes-" Harry motioned for her to lower her voice.
"I know that Luna." He whispered. "But I don't think this is the same. Anyways, I wouldn't look good in any of this stuff."
"How do you know?"
Harry raised a brow. "I'm a boy, Luna."
"Some of those girls at the club used to be boys. What's the difference?"
Harry wanted to argue with her logic, he really did, but he knew Luna would find another way to get him to do whatever she wanted him to do.
"What, you want me to try on a dress or something?"
She giggled. "Why don't you start with some jeans and shirts, and we can work our way up to the dresses?"
Harry sighed, and left the blonde to her search, and halfheartedly looked through the jeans. A clerk approached him with a smile. "Hi, can I help you?"
"Um…I'm looking for some jeans. I don't know what I'd look good in, though."
The girl furrowed a brow. "Oh, well, if you want something a bit more fitted…" She trailed off, looking him up and down. "Perhaps a dark indigo will go well with your coloring, and some black- how do you feel about a lighter wash?"
Harry stared at the jeans she held out. "Um…"
She recognized his confusion. "Why don't we try a pair of each? With your…figure, I think a skinny or a relaxed fit will go best…size?"
Harry shrugged.
With a sigh, she pulled out a few more pairs. Soon, she had a stack in her arms. "Try these on, see what size and color is best. Alright?"
Harry went to the dressing room, and tried on the pairs of jeans. Some of them were way too tight, while others weren't long enough in the leg. He quite liked how the low rise jeans fit on him too. The boot cuts were nice, and would be especially good for the winter-
What was he thinking? He couldn't wear girl clothes to school, even if they were jeans. He was about to take them off when he heard Luna outside his dressing room door.
"Let me see, Harry!"
Harry stepped out of the dressing room, and stared at Luna. She was wearing a pretty black dress with short sleeves, that fell just below her knees. Buttons went all the way down the front. There was a bit of black lace at the cuffs of the sleeves, and the black fabric just shined a tiny bit. That was a really, really pretty dress, he realized.
"Wow, those pants look nice on you Harry."
"Uh…thanks. I like that dress."
Luna grinned. "I can see that. Wanna trade?"
"Uh…no…"
"I suppose not, I don't really like wearing jeans all that much, but I bet you'd look smashing in this-"
"Luna, I can't-" She shoved him into the dressing room, and closed the door.
"I'll hand it over." Luna said from the next stall. "Just give me a second."
Harry took off his jeans, shaking his head. How the hell had he gotten into this mess?
The dress flew over the wall, and landed on his head. He struggled a bit to put it on, but managed. He buttoned up the buttons in the front, and turned to stare at the mirror.
He leant against the wall for support, just…staring. A million things went through his head, all at once, and he couldn't deciper a single thing.
He had no idea about how long he'd spent just staring at himself. All he knew was...he looked...good.
"Harry?" Luna whispered, poking her head underneath the stall.
"Luna!" He whispered back, covering himself, even though he was fully dressed. "What are you-"
"Aw, you look cute." Luna crawled into his stall, clapping delightedly. "I think you should get it."
He shook his head. "No."
"Fine, I'll get it, and give it to you on your birthday." Luna said with a smile. She had been invited to Harry's birthday party which was to be held at the Burrow in two days.
If she gave a dress to him in front of everybody, that would just be asking for trouble.
"Um…that's okay. I'll get it." Harry said quickly, thinking of all the teasing he would get.
"Fantastic. Ooh, maybe you should get one in pink too-"
"No."
"Oh, well it would be a nice birthday present-"
"Luna!"
He ended up getting four pairs of jeans, three t-shirts, the black dress, and a couple pairs of shoes for school. Luna had gotten far more than that, making Harry thankful she'd brought her own money.
They walked along the street with some ice cream, window shopping.
"Oh, look at that picture. Isn't she pretty?" Luna breathed, looking in a window. There was a large photo of a model, wearing brightly colored makeup. Harry thought she looked a bit weird.
"She looks like a bird." Luna breathed, and started to drag Harry into the store.
"Luna, we can't go in there with our ice cream."
"Finish it, then!" She ate the last of her ice cream, and Harry hurried to do so. They went inside, and he started to get the signs of a brain freeze. He winced, following Luna as she darted from makeup counter to makeup counter.
"Oh, I love this color!" Luna cried joyfully. The makeup counter girls were oohing and ahhing over her color choice combinations, and Harry knew that Luna was going to have some wild makeup this year at school.
He sighed, leaning against the counter, shaking his head.
"Can I help you?" A man asked.
Harry shook his head. "No, I'm here with her." He motioned to the blonde.
The man smiled. "Your friend is very pretty. Good skin."
Harry shrugged, eyes flicking down to the boxes on the counter. Perfume. He looked back over to Luna as he heard her squeal. He grinned, seeing her dancing around with a tube of some sort.
"Harry, they've got gold mascara here! Isn't that great? I can wear it to your games!"
Harry blushed, and heard the man chuckle.
"So, your girlfriend?"
Harry shook his head. "Just a friend."
The man gave him an odd smile. "Ah." He took out a bottle of perfume. "Perhaps you or your friend would be interested in this? It's new- just came out."
He held out his hand to Harry expectantly. "Allow me."
He sprayed Harry's wrist. "Rub your wrists together, like so-" Harry did that. "And put a bit…" He sprayed his finger. "Here on your temples-" He touched Harry's temples. "And here on your neck."
Harry moved away slightly, feeling a bit nervous as the man's fingers lingered. Was this guy flirting with him? He wasn't...sure.
"Like it?"
"Uh…it's nice." Harry thought it was nice, but a bit strong. He couldn't stop blushing! He lowered his eyes, feeling nervous around this guy.
"You put the perfume on your pulse points- that's how it stays stronger for longer."
"Um…uh…" Harry stammered, and turned to see Luna at the register. "I…uh, have to go."
The man watched him walk away with a little smile.
As he approached Luna, the girl sniffed the air. "You smell nice Harry."
"Hmm."
The morning of his birthday, he wore a new pair of jeans, and one of his new t-shirts and shoes. The jeans were a dark blue color, fitted low rises, and the t-shirt was black, and tight across his body. He wore his new school shoes- black leather shoes.
Tonks whistled as she saw him that morning, trying to adjust his hair in the Foyer mirror.
"Wotcher Harry."
"You look nice, Harry." Remus said, smiling. "Are you ready?"
Harry ran a hand through his hair again. With his new shampoo, his hair definitely looked nicer than it used to- not so messy. With the growth formula in the shampoo, his hair had grown an inch since he'd started to use it. It brushed just at chin length now. That magazine he'd gotten the recipe from was pretty cool. Why didn't they teach stuff like this in Potions class? Oh yeah, because Snape would never teach something so 'impractical'.
They used a portkey to get to the Burrow. Immediately, balloons and streamers went up in Gryffindor colors. The majority of the members from the DA and the Order were there. Harry was hugged tightly by Mrs. Weasley, and then by Hermione.
Hermione pulled away, looking at him approvingly. "You look good. I was so worried at the end of term…are you okay?"
Harry grinned. "I'm great- better than ever, Hermione. Don't worry about me."
She nodded, and she sighed. "I heard from Ginny you went out someplace with Luna. Luna, Harry?"
Harry saw Luna was talking to Dean and Seamus, and by the looks on their faces, they were trying their best to keep from laughing.
"I thought she might like the place that we went to. I knew you'd never want to go to a club, and Ron…er…well, I thought he might have had a problem with it. With Luna, I knew she'd fit right in."
"Maybe next time I can go?" She spoke softly, her tone hopeful.
"Really?" Harry asked incredulously.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes- I can cut loose just like anyone else. I'd just have to be back before midnight. That's my curfew."
"Oh. Um, okay. Well, let's talk to Luna later on and see when we can get together, alright?"
Hermione smiled at this.
The party was fun, although he'd spent part of it trying to avoid the Headmaster. He'd noticed more than a few girls all staring at him admiringly.
"Love the clothes, Harry. Where did you get them?" Lavender asked, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
"Luna and I went shopping in the muggle world." Harry said, looking over to the girl, who was dancing with the Creevey brothers on the table. He smiled as she saw Mrs. Weasley practically sprint over there to stop them.
Lavender's brows raised. "Wow, how come she was so good at picking out your clothes, and not hers?"
Harry frowned. "I happen to like Luna's clothes. They suit her. And I chose this stuff."
"Oh. Well, you have good taste." The girl said, realizing she'd made a mistake. "I didn't mean anything by…it's just, she's a bit odd, that's all."
"Luna's my friend. She can wear whatever the hell she wants- I could care less. Maybe if you saw her past the clothes, maybe you could see how nice of a girl she is."
He stalked away from her, and bumped into the twins.
"Look at you, all spiffy! Love the hair mate-"
"How'd it grow so fast?"
"A new shampoo."
"It's doin' well-"
"Looks good on you, mate."
As the party slowed down, people began to leave, with only Harry, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and the Weasleys still about.
The teenagers sat on the patio, sipping their butterbeers and having the last remnants of birthday cake.
"Harry told me you want to go out with us, Hermione?" Luna asked, and Harry sighed as he saw Ginny and Ron perk up as well.
"Oh, well, yes. I wouldn't mind going. I think it would be fun."
"I want to go-" Ron and Ginny both started.
"Mum would never let you, Gin-Gin." George said, taking a swig of his butterbeer.
"You're too young." Fred added.
"I'm the same age as Luna!" Ginny protested.
"Ask your Mum, Ginny, I'm sure she'd be happy to let you go." Luna said.
"Fine then, I will." Ginny got up, and went into the house to ask her Mother.
Harry sighed, noting Ron's hopeful look. "Um…guys…this isn't like the Three Broomsticks or something. There's dancing, loud music, tons of people-"
"Sounds like our kind of place, mate." Fred said with a grin.
"It's a gay bar." Harry said flatly, and Hermione choked on her butterbeer, while the Weasley brothers were blank faced.
"Huh?"
Ginny came back, scowling. "Mum says we can't go, Ron." She said with a huff. She turned to the others. "And she said that it's not a good idea for any of you to go either."
The twins rolled their eyes, and Neville spoke up hesitantly.
"What's a gay bar? Everyone's just really happy or something?"
Luna giggled. "A homosexual bar. But yes, they are very happy!"
Ron's face turned pale, and then a bit green. Ginny looked as though she was about to faint, and the twins were grinning wickedly. Hermione buried her face in her hands.
Neville was looking at Harry in an entirely new way, looking a bit shocked.
"Oh."
"You guys don't have to come if you don't want to. I usually just hang out at the bar and drink some soda while watching everyone dance. Um…Luna dances, though."
Luna giggled. "It's lots of fun, they have great music."
"We're game. We've been to a couple of muggle pubs, right George?" Fred asked.
"Right-o. Girls in miniskirts and long, long legs. What more could a guy ask for?"
"But they're….you know what!" Ron finally spoke. "Mum would kill us if we went to a place like that."
Ginny nodded quickly, and looked to Harry. "Harry, why would you go to a place like that anyways?"
Everyone stared at him. "Um…well…" Harry shifted where he sat. "It's just a fun place to be, that's all."
Ron looked a little relieved, while neither Ginny or Hermione looked as though they believed him.
"Harry and I even went shopping to get some clothes to go there! Everyone has such lovely clothes there-" Luna said, bouncing in place.
"Uh…I don't think my Gran will let me go, Harry." Neville said quietly.
"That's okay, Nev."
"Well, we've got the perfect outfits- so, when are we going to go?"
"Ooh! Tomorrow! They've got a special thing going on tomorrow, something about a contest-"
"What sort of contest?"
"A tightie-whitie contest…what is that anyways?" Luna asked. Hermione's eyes went round, and Harry hid his face behind his hands.
Hehe. How'd you like the chappie? Please review, it makes me happy- I will do a fan-girl dance if you do.
