Harry wandered away from the Burrow seething. "How dare they betray me like that? Making plans behind my back, sneaking around. They don't care about anyone else now that they've got each other. I don't need them either, let them go to Australia together, let them shack up. I'll go find my own way." Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't paid attention to where he had walked and found himself lost near what he thought was the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole. He knew he could always Apparate away, but was curious to see more of the town. When he had passed through it with Ron and Hermione, he hadn't really looked at the town, caught up in the chase for information on the symbol that Luna's father had worn to Bill's wedding.
Harry set off swiftly in the direction that he thought led to the town, but soon had to admit to himself that he was hopelessly lost. Coming to a crossroads, he chose the path that led up a hill, figuring he could use the higher vantage point to get his bearings. He quickly realized that this path was incorrect, but it seemed familiar somehow, so he continued on for a bit. Coming around a bend in the path, he remembered why it looked familiar. This was the path that led to Luna's house. Harry quickened his pace even further, his anger dissipating. Soon, Luna's house came into view.
The strange house looked much the worse for wear, with a large hole still in its side from the exploding Erumpent horn, and the gardens that had been so neatly tended were overgrown with weeds. As he neared the house, he saw a figure kneeling in the garden and could hear the figure singing a song from Fiddler on the Roof, a Muggle musical, "Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match." The voice definitely belonged to Luna. As he got nearer, he could see her more clearly. She had her back to him and was kneeling with a trowel, digging at the soil. Her jeans were muddy on the butt, like she had been sitting in the mud, she was wearing a man's tank top undershirt, and had a boater on her head covered in fishing flies. Harry approached stealthily, attempting to surprise her, figuring she could never hear him over her own singing.
When Harry had snuck up to about ten feet away, she said, without turning around, "Hello Harry, what brings you out my way?"
"How'd you know I was here, Luna?"
Luna turned and pierced him with a penetrating gaze. "I can always tell when you're near me. You could no more sneak up on me than a Crumple Horned Snorkack could," she told him.
Luna's entire front side was covered in mud as well, and her wet shirt clung to her skin in ways intriguing to Harry. Luna noticed Harry's gaze and arched her eyebrows at him. Harry looked away embarrassed, and spoke, "I-I was wandering near the town, got lost and found my way here."
"Come on in, Harry, you can talk to my Dad and Dean while I change into some clean clothes."
"Dean's here?"
Luna grabbed Harry's hand and started dragging him off toward the house. "Yep, Dean is going to stay the summer here. His Mum's missing, and he couldn't face living alone in his house, so he's going to stay here with Daddy and me to help rebuild our house, replant our Dirigible Plums, and help Daddy run the Quibbler."
"So, Er, are you and Dean a couple now?" Harry asked, with a streak of jealousy rising in him. His emotions were a confused mess. "Why would I be jealous of Dean and Luna?" he thought to himself.
Luna paused a moment before replying, stopped in her tracks and looked Harry directly in the eyes, "Would it bother you if I told you that, yes, Dean and I are a couple?"
Harry blinked, felt himself getting a little red and lied, "No Luna, not at all. I only wish you both the best."
Luna gave a girlish laugh, slapped him playfully on the cheek and said, "Harry, you've never been a good liar. Why does it bother you to know that I'm with Dean?"
"Luna, I don't know. I've been trying to start over with Ginny, but things keep getting in the way. All these funerals and ceremonies don't give me much time to talk with her privately. Also, everywhere I go in the Burrow, Ron and Hermione are right there, watching me. It's like they're afraid to let me out of their sight."
Luna dropped his hand and started walking back to the house, waiting for Harry to catch up before she spoke in a quiet voice, "Do you think you might be having trouble with Ginny because she might not be the one?"
"The one what?" he asked.
"Your true love," she said simply. "You should think about that. Is Ginny the one that you dream about, the one you want to wake up to every morning? Is Ginny the one that understands you and loves you unconditionally? Are you the right one for Ginny? Will you nurture her gifts, give her all the love and attention she needs? She's my friend and I only want what's best for her."
They reached the house and Luna shouted into the open door, "Daddy! Harry Potter's come to visit!" Turning to Harry, she told him, "Go ahead and go upstairs and wait for me there. Daddy and Dean will be there." Luna turned and headed for her room at the back of the house. Harry went up the stairs and found himself confronted by a snarling lion. Overcoming his surprise, he skirted the stuffed lion and continued into the sitting room. "Calling this a mess would be charitable," he thought. There were boxes and crates of building materials everywhere in the room. Hearing voices from behind a large crate of lumber, he worked his way carefully through the mess. As he came around a crate, he could see Mr. Lovegood and Dean wrestling a large building stone into position in the wall. After what seemed an eternity of finagling and making small adjustments they got the block positioned correctly, Mr. Lovegood pulled out his wand, pointed it at the block and incanted, "Collopetrus." Mortar immediately filled the spaces around the stone, joining it to the rest of the wall.
Harry cleared his throat, causing both Mr. Lovegood and Dean to jump. Dean almost fell out the hole in the side of building, but was saved by the quick reflexes of Harry grabbing his shoulder. Dean looked relieved to see Harry, but Harry couldn't tell if it was just being saved from a nasty fall or something else.
"You must be Harry Potter, it's good to finally meet you." declaimed Mr. Lovegood as he clapped his hand on Harry's back. Dean stepped forward, shook Harry's hand and told him, "Yeah, good to see you, mate."
Harry thought for a moment confused. Then he remembered: The first time he'd met Mr. Lovegood, he was disguised as a Weasley and the second time they met, Hermione had hit him with a Memory Charm afterward. "Good to see you both as well. I was in the area, saw Luna in the front garden and decided to visit. I'm surprised I didn't see any of you at the Lupins' funeral service this morning."
"Sorry Harry, but we had to go make sure all these building materials were properly delivered, you know how contractors will rip you off if you let them, it's a well known conspiracy." Mr. Lovegood continued on, barely pausing for a breath, "Besides, according to my horoscope, I should not undertake any social calls today. Why don't we all go down and get a cup of tea?"
They all turned and walked back to the small seating area crammed into the kitchen and found Luna already preparing tea. Miraculously, she was clean of mud and dressed now in a bright saffron coloured robe, with her wand tucked up behind her ear. Harry was distracted by how her unbound hair caught the light and made her look as if she had a halo. When she moved her head, he heard a light tinkling coming from her radish shaped earrings, as if they had small bells in them now. Harry noticed Dean looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Instead of looking angry at the way Harry was staring at Luna, Dean looked relieved.
They all took tea (disgusting herbal tea again from Luna's Dad), and made small talk about the weather, the state of the Ministry and the possibility of getting another Crumple Horned Snorkack horn to replace the one that supposedly blew up. After about an hour, Mr. Lovegood stood up and declared, "Well boys, that was a nice rest break, but I've got to get back to work or vampires will fly in through that open hole. Luna, you should probably be getting ready for the wake."
"O.K. Daddy. Harry, Dean, I'm going to go get ready, why don't you boys catch up?"
As soon as both Luna and Mr. Lovegood had left, Dean bent over the table and whispered conspiratorially into Harry's ear, "Look, get the hell out of here while you can. They're both around the bend." Harry looked shocked at Dean, and whispered back, "What do you mean? I know Luna's a bit strange, but she's not dangerous."
"She's a fucking nutter, Harry. So's her Dad. These are two of the most mental people I've ever seen. If I had anywhere else to go I would. You should escape before Luna sets her sights on you too."
"What are you talking about, Dean? Luna's O.K."
Dean half-whispered, half-shouted, "SHE'S NOT ALRIGHT; SHE'S FUCKING CRAZY, CRACKED, DEMENTED!"
Harry looked at Dean and offered, "Dean, you can stay at my place, 12 Grimmauld Place, or I'm sure that the Weasleys would welcome you to stay at the Burrow if you're so uncomfortable here."
"Thanks, Harry, I think I'll head for the Burrow after the wake. If the Weasleys won't have me, then I'll hole up at your place. You're a good friend to do that for me."
"Now tell me, Dean, what's so bad about staying here?"
"Look Harry, I got close to Luna during D.A. meetings. She's always been strange, but in a fun way. Later at the Shell Cottage, we got even closer, but she hasn't been the same since that last battle at Hogwarts. Right after we chased those Dementors off you and you went down to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named's camp, she got caught by a Dementor. When I came up to save her with a Patronus, something had already happened to the Dementor. I would swear I saw it giving her the Dementor's Kiss, but instead of sucking her soul out, she sucked its soul out."
"Come on, Dean! You're telling me she sucked out a Dementor's soul?" asked Harry.
Dean was about to reply when Luna returned. She was now wearing a white tennis skirt with pink pleats, platform tennis shoes with knee-high athletic socks, a pink Hello Kitty T-Shirt, and a matching pink Hello Kitty snood around her hair. Dean and Harry both looked at her and her outfit speechless. Luna spoke up, "Hurry up and get ready boys, we've only got half an hour until the wake and we need time to get there."
Harry regained his voice first, "Actually, Luna, I can Apparate so we don't need to allow time for travel. I can take Dean first, return here and take you with a side-along Apparition. Since the invitation for the wake said casual dress, I'm ready."
Dean answered, "Thanks Harry, I never did get a chance to pass my Apparition test." Dean went off toward the bathroom to change, leaving Harry alone with Luna.
"Like my outfit, Harry?" Luna asked, twirling so the pleats on the skirt flared open.
"I didn't know they made Hello Kitty hairnets," Harry replied with a laugh in his voice. "Your sense of style is certainly unique."
"Silly, it's not a hairnet, it's a snood. A hairnet's for wearing in a restaurant's kitchen. This is for elegance."
Dean returned from the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt. He nodded at Harry, and then told Luna, "See you at the wake, love." As Harry was taking his hand to Disapparate, Luna gave Dean a quick kiss and Harry a peck on the cheek. His cheek burning, Harry Disapparated with Dean. A gut-wrenching few seconds later, they were in Hogsmeade. Harry saw Dean off and Disapparated back to Luna's. Luna was waiting for Harry impatiently, pacing to and fro. When she saw him Apparate back, she jumped into his arms and snuggled her head up into his chest. Harry wrapped his free arm around her, turned and Disapparated back to Hogsmeade.