Chapter 9
Luna looked at the dog. She tilted her head to the side, blinked once, then sat down.
"Aren't you supposed to run screaming or have a heart attack or something?" said Harry.
"Why would I do that?" she asked, confusion clear.
"Snuffles looks like a grim."
"I like grims," she announced. "Mummy got me a grim puppy from the cemetery once. I miss Ripper. She was a good grim. Then she followed Mummy to the other side."
"So what do you want to do today? We finished all the essays."
"Daddy said I need to talk to Mr. Queen. Can we do that and then got to a-what was that word-arcade?"
"Sure," said Harry. He turned to Snuffles. "Are you going back?" The dog barked. "Then I'll call you tonight."
"Hey Mia, Luna and I are going to the cinema tomorrow night. Do you want to come with us? We're going to go see Dracula: Dead and Loving It."
Harry stopped short. "And you are definitely not Mia."
Luna stared unblinkingly at the people on the couch. Nobody spoke as Harry's hand slowly moved toward his wand. Finally a voice broke the silence.
"Did you know that you look just like Superboy?"
"Luna," Harry said, trying to stop her before she stumbled upon something she shouldn't know. It was entirely possible that one of the three boys was Superboy. Mia was a member of the Teen Titans, after all. "If you ask me-wait-was that a Jackalope?!"
Luna looked around then sat down on the coffee table with a sigh. "I think there's a Wrackspurt in your mind again."
"Maybe Luna, they are invisible, after all," he said, grabbing a seat on the one free armchair. "Oh, I'm Harry and this is Luna. Are you friends of Mia's?"
"Yeah," said a teenager with black hair and blue eyes. "I'm Tim, the guy with red hair is Bart, Rachel is the girl on the loveseat, the blonde is Cassie and she's sitting on Connor's lap."
"How do you know Mia?" asked Cassie.
"Foster brother," he said. "Uncle Ollie is my legal guardian."
"'Uncle Ollie'?"
"His maternal grandmother and Ollie's mother were sisters," said Mia as she came out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of popcorn.
"Hey Luna. Doesn't your father generally want you back by moonrise?"
"Daddy's talking to a man about a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," she said. "I'm supposed to find someplace else to spend the night. Mr. Queen already said I could stay until Daddy was done with his business."
"We were planning on having a horror movie night," said Mia. "Child's Play one through three, Bride of Chucky, and Seed of Chucky."
"Luna, I'm not sure you want to see this," said Harry. "The movies are about a possessed doll that kills people."
"Does it kill with magic?" she asked in a small voice.
"No, I don't think so," said Harry. Tim gave him a questioning look. Harry gave a barely noticeable shake of the head. "I just wasn't sure if seeing people die would make you… uncomfortable."
"I'll be fine," said Luna. "You'll protect me, right?"
"Sure."
Mia grabbed a seat next to Tim and handed him the remote. As Tim started the movie, Luna moved to sit at Harry's feet, her head on his knee. After the first couple of minutes, she wrapped her arms around his leg.
"Cassie, can you do me a favor?"
"Yeah, Mia?"
"While I take Harry out of the room, could you tell Luna…"
In between Child's Play One and Child's Play Two, Mia pulled Harry out of the room.
Making sure nobody was listening, she asked, "What's up with Luna?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Asking her if she was alright to watch the movie."
Harry turned to look away from her. "Luna was there when her mother died, five years ago. I don't know the specifics, but it was a messy death."
Mia nodded. "If she seems to get-"
"I'm taking her out of the room if one of the movies start to bother her."
Carrying a bowl of popcorn for himself and Luna, he sat back down in the chair. Before he realized what she was doing, Luna had sat herself across his lap.
Her head rested on his left shoulder just below his head. Luna's behind was between his legs and her own legs were thrown over the arm of the chair. Somehow, her knee length skirt managed to remain in place.
"I love popcorn," Luna said, plucking the bowl from his hands.
"Uh-uh," was all Harry managed to say, still trying to process what had happened. "Wha-when-ho…"
She was on his lap. She was sitting. On. His. Lap. She was all soft and warm and her hair smelled really nice. No. No! Stop thinking about her hair! Even if it did smell like strawberries.
Harry glanced around frantically, trying to figure out what to do. Mia and Cassie wore rather smug smiles. Rachel and Bart seemed rather intent on watching the movie. Connor was snickering, until Cassie elbowed him. Tim just gave him a sort of shrug that said there was nothing to be done.
Why was she sitting on his lap? Obviously Mia and Cassie had put her up to this, but why? The only time he ever saw girls sitting on somebody's lap was if they were… scarlet women, as Mrs. Weasley would say, or they were sitting on their boyfriend's lap.
Wait-Did Luna want to be his girlfriend? But she was-and he-and… Harry shifted slightly so that Luna was no longer so close to a certain delicate part of his body.
It wasn't so bad, he supposed. Luna did smell rather nice. She was rather pretty too. She had long blonde hair and those silvery eyes that didn't seem to blink as often as a normal person did. And she was that nice sort of soft. Not all stringy like Mia, Cassie, Rachel, and even Ginny. And she had a really first-rate bum. The way it swayed back and forth when she walked…
For a moment Harry's eyes were drawn to the top of Luna's shirt. He had to admit that her other… assets were pleasant. Only a handful or so each, but that wasn't so bad.
Without realizing it, his arms moved to rest around her waist.
Did he like Luna? She was kind and smart enough to be entering fifth year instead of fourth. She was always talking about all of those strange creatures and she had those really weird radish earrings.
She didn't seem to care about his fame. He knew that was the only reason Parvati had gone to the Yule Ball with him. He liked talking to her. It was nice to be able to talk to somebody without have facts or Quidditch strategy spouted at him. And she really was very pretty in a soft sort of way, so long as you didn't mind her perpetually surprised look.
Maybe he would ask Luna out to the cinema without Mia along. Or to the first Hogsmeade weekend. No, that was too long to wait. The first Hogsmeade weekend was months away. To the cinema. That was it, he would ask her to the cinema.
Now he just had to find some way to get revenge against Mia for putting him on the spot like this. He was the son of a Marauder. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out something that didn't involve magic.
By the time Mia's friends left, it was nearly dawn. Thinking that Harry and Luna were soundly asleep on the chair, Mia went upstairs.
After Mia left, Harry opened his eyes. The idea was perfect. He just had to wait until Luna awoke.
He could move, he supposed, but it was rather comfortable. His legs weren't even asleep or anything. And Luna did smell really nice.
"Harry? Why are you still awake?" asked Luna.
Even better, Luna wasn't asleep. "Plotting my evil master plan."
"What sort of evil master plan? Can I be your Hench Girl?" Luna asked. "I don't have any dark clothing, but I suppose I could find something-"
"Don't see why not," said Harry. "Come on, we should do this while Mia is asleep."
Finding the ingredients he needed, Harry led Luna to the bathroom he shared with Mia and Connor. Finished with what he had planned, Harry took Luna to the guest bedroom. Technically, it was Roy's bedroom for when he visited.
"Luna?"
"Yes Harry?"
"Would you go with me to the movies tonight?"
She blinked at him. "I already said I would."
Gathering his courage, Harry said, "As a date, not as friends."
Luna smiled at him, eyes lighting up. "Yes."
Harry cooked breakfast, waiting patiently for Mia to appear. Connor and Uncle Ollie were busy trying to decipher something Luna had said.
"Well Hermione thinks that the legend of Jackalopes is the result of some spell gone wrong," said Luna. "But Daddy and I think they're a well hidden hybrid of the rare killer rabbit and the pygmy deer. I want to have one as a pet. Daddy said I could keep one when we found a warren of Jackalopes."
Hearing a loud, feminine scream from the second floor, Harry smirked. "Luna, finish up eating. I already packed us a lunch."
"What did you-" Uncle Ollie started to say.
At that moment Mia burst into the kitchen. Clad only in a towel, the reason for her distress was clear. Her skin was green.
"I'm going to kill you!" she growled at Harry.
"It's your own fault for messing with other people's love lives," said Harry.
As Mia reached for Harry, he vaulted over the counter. He grabbed Luna's arm and ran out the door.
As he left, he called out, "We'll be back for dinner!"
