On the first of January – ten days after arriving back at King's Cross Station – Harry enjoyed blowing the Dursleys away once again. At exactly five o'clock in the evening, just as Petunia was starting dinner, there was a knock at the door. Petunia frowned at the intrusion and looked at the calendar –she wasn't expecting anybody…
She took off her kitchen mittens and walked quickly to the door, opening it to find…a beautiful girl with flowing blonde hair standing on her doorstep; a number of bags beside her on the stairs. Petunia almost cried for joy, "You must be here for Dud-"
The young woman pushed inside and dragged her bags with her before stopping at the bottom of the stairs and calling up them. "Harry!" Petunia's eyes bugged out of her head at that, and Vernon rushed out of the kitchen – freezing in his tracks when he saw the stunning blonde at the stairs. His eyes widened when Harry's head peaked over the top of the staircase, and grinned widely at her. Wearing smart jeans and a t-shit that neither Vernon nor Petunia had given him permission to wear; he jogged down the steps and pulled the woman into his arms, squeezing tightly. "You look beautiful."
She kissed him on the lips, causing Dudley who had poked his fat head out of the lounge to gurgle in shock. She winked suggestively at the raven-haired Wizard. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, BOY?" Harry was happy he wouldn't have to answer the same question from Dumbledore until the start of the next term, due to the not-notice-me charm he had cast permanently on his doorstep where Luna had apparated.
Harry smiled sweetly at the assembled Dursleys, and Luna happily snuggled closer to his side. "This, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley, is my fiancé Luna." With a tingle, Fawkes raised Harry's and Luna's protective wards around the house, and Harry calmed considerably.
"A freak like you has a girlfriend?"
"No Dudley, you useless whale, I have a fiancé; it means I'm engaged to be married."
"You dare bring another FREAK into my house?" Roared his Uncle, and Harry's eyes darkened when his hand rose to hit his lover.
Harry forced his memory into the air around them, and held onto Luna as the house disappeared into flame and was replaced by mere ruins. Once again they were surrounded by terror, and all three of Harry's relatives screamed at the horrific demons circling above them – they knew exactly where they were. With a flash, Harry broke the illusion and faced his shaking relatives with a steely look in his eyes. "Don't ever call Luna a freak ever again - and if any of you so much as raise a finger against her I will not hesitate to send you back into Hell." Seeing that his relatives most definitely got the message, his eyes softened instantly and he smiled joyously as he embraced Luna again, feeling his heart lift at her elated giggle when he swung her around. "I've missed you."
Over the next three weeks, the members of the Order of the Phoenix – or more specifically Auror Tonks and Remus Lupin who had been given the duty of watching over Harry – noticed some odd occurrences. Harry had begun taking regular runs in the mornings, and seemed to have taken to sitting at the local park watching sunsets, sprawled out on the grass with a peaceful smile on his lips. It was after they noticed these unusual happenings that they began to observe the Dursleys more carefully – and were shocked at their behaviour.
Dudley actively avoided Harry now, and always hurried quickly away whenever he accidently stumbled across the young Wizard. This was strange enough, but the fearful looks that Petunia and Vernon cast at the boy's window whenever they left the house had the two Order members worried, and so they decided to pay the young man a visit.
Harry was just about to begin cooking the eggs for his and Luna's lunch when Fawkes flamed into existence beside the stove. "Harry, Tonks and Remus are about to enter the wards – should I let them in?"
Harry nodded, having thought about the possibility beforehand and discussing it with Luna. "Make sure to erect the anti-apparation and portkey wards though; I don't want Dumbledore discovering our relationship until I allow it." With a nod, Fawkes disappeared from sight, and Harry felt the tingle of the extra wards fall over the house. A moment later the expected knocks came at the door, and Harry yelled from the kitchen "Come in!"
A moment later Tonks' worried voice reached his ears from the hallway. "Harry?"
"I'm in the kitchen!" The older Witch and Wizard looked warily at each other when they heard the cherry tone in Harry's voice, and flicked their wands into their hands before following the smell of cooking. When they entered the kitchen and saw Harry standing by the stove unharmed, they relaxed slightly – and Harry raised his eyebrows inquiringly at their drawn wands. "Expecting somebody else?"
The second plate on the table didn't miss Remus' or Tonks' sharp eyes, and they both sat down at the table before questioning Harry further. "Are you okay Harry?"
The Wizard in question expertly flipped the eggs and then turned, resting his back against the bench and looking at them quizzically. "I'm perfectly fine – wonderful actually. Why?"
Remus hurriedly smiled. "Oh, just wondering Harry – you know we worry about how those muggles treat you."
Harry grinned and walked towards the oven when it dinged. "Yes…they've been rather accommodating lately."
"Oh, why is that?"
He shrugged his shoulders mysteriously and then began slicing the steaming Ham he had been cooking, dishing it up onto the two plates. Remus frowned again, but tried to keep his tone light. "Expecting a visitor Harry?"
The young Wizard chuckled and slid an egg onto each of the plates, turning his head slightly to look at Remus before shaking it a bit. "I'm waiting for my roommate – we were just about to have breakfast when you knocked."
Remus and Tonks tensed at the mention of another person in the house – immediately worried that they had missed something crucially important. "Who's your roommate Harry?"
He turned to face Remus, but then caught a movement from the stairs and moved to hug the blonde woman, smiling when he saw her fully-clothed and ready to go. "Perfect timing Love, I just dished lunch."
She took in a deep breath through her nose and grinned up at him. "I thought something smelt good." Harry moved to the side and let her grab her plate before taking his own to the table. Luna glanced up at Tonks' and Remus' identical horror-stricken expressions with a smile. "Good morning Remus, Tonks. You don't look too well, would you like a glass of water? It looks as if you might have an infestation of Wrackspurts."
Harry slapped his hand lightly on the table. "I knew I'd forgotten to do something – I meant to clear them out of the house last night but you had me distracted."
Luna guwaffed at him. "So now it's my fault?"
Harry snickered and forked a piece of ham into his mouth before answering. "You know how irresistible I find you in that stunning white nightie."
Remus pushed his chair hurriedly out, and was followed shortly after by Tonks, a worried look on his face. "I just remembered, we have an appointment that we have to be at-"
"The Order's headquarters to inform Albus Dumbledore and the other members of this new development I presume?" Harry calmly looked up at the two shocked adults and began chewing on another mouthful of egg with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean Harry; we're not spying on you!"
Harry scoffed. "Really Moony, you were never the best liar – now how's about both of you sit down and listen to what I have to say."
Reluctantly the pair returned to their chairs, and Harry summoned two extra plates with some hot ham on them – surprising the two adults. "Harry, you'll be expelled!"
"Uh-uh." He finished his mouthful and nodded around them. "Got wards to stop that from happening – blocked the trace."
Tonks was the first to notice the subtle clue that hinted at a deeper conspiracy than just the presence of Luna. "Harry, where's your wand?"
He frowned and turned to Luna, who pointed upstairs. Harry opened his mouth in an O and turned back to the Auror. "On the bedside table."
"Harry, how did you make the pla-"
With a whoosh of sound, and the crackling of fire, Fawkes appeared in the middle of the table and glanced hopefully up at Harry, who rolled his eyes in exasperation before pointing at the large hunk of Ham on the bench. "There's yours."
The Phoenix's eyes lit up happily, and he jumped over to the bench to begin devouring the tasty morsel. Remus cast a sideways glance at Tonks, who nodded covertly, before yelling at the red and gold bird. "Fawkes, go and tell Dumbledore about Harry and Luna right now – it's imperative that he know!" Neither Harry, Luna nor Fawkes stopped their chewing, but the Phoenix did take a moment to send the werewolf a disparaging look before returning to his rather large chunk of meat.
Remus opened his mouth in vexation and Harry finished his plate before explaining the bird's lack of action regarding Remus' orders. "He's my Familiar Remus, and he hates Dumbledore's guts." Fawkes looked up at the two adults and nodded seriously, although the piece of meat hanging out of his beak did inject some humour into the expression – at least for the younger Witch and Wizard. "So, if you are quite done attempting to contact Dumbledore then-" He watched as Remus hurriedly tapped a badge on his lapel. "Anti-apparation and portkey wards I'm afraid."
Tonks immediately began looking worried and started scanning the room for escape routes. Luna noticed her frantic searching and shook her head serenely. "I'd really suggest just listening for a few minutes Auror Tonks; we do have something quite important to tell the two of you."
Seeing that they really had no choice in the matter, the two adults calmed down and listened to what the two had to say. The Auror, and Harry's ex-DADA teacher were the latest people the couple had exposed Dumbledore's true identity to – and although Harry had had to show them his memories to fully convince them – the two Order members had much the same reaction to all the others they had told. "Oh my god…"
Harry nodded, as he had done all the other times, and leant forward. "Glad you didn't tell Dumbledore about me now?"
Remus looked horrified at what he had nearly done. "Harry, oh my goodness; you've had enough betrayal in your like and I nearly-"
"But you didn't Moony, so there's nothing for me to forgive." Harry frowned as Fawkes belched loudly behind them, and clapped him softly over the back of his bony head.
Turning back to the enemies-turned-allies, Harry grinned and placed his hand on the table; the sun streaming through the window causing the brilliant ring to glint brightly. Only Remus and Luna understood its significance, and the werewolf gasped. "Harry – that's you fathers…" His eyes flicked hurriedly to Luna's left finger the next moment, and he damn near fainted when he saw Lilly's ring glisten radiantly against her pale finger. "Harry you're-"
Harry smiled warmly at the older man and laughed. "Yes Remus, I am."
Tonks had only just put it all together, and so missed when Remus stood from his seat and embraced his dead friend's Son firmly before pulling a happy Luna into a group hug as well. The teary man pulled back from the young couple and smiled at them. "Lilly and James would be so proud of both of you."
The two lovers shared a secret smile and laughed when Tonks belatedly stated the obvious. "Your engaged!"
Harry shook his head with a chuckle, and reached over to pat her softly on the top of her head. "Thanks for noticing Tonks."
Needless to say, the report that Harry and Luna were together, and were both immensely more powerful than they should have been, never reached Dumbledore's desk, and so the Chess Master continued to relax in his family home, comfortably plotting his next move towards his ultimate goal. Harry and Luna had invited Tonks and Remus to dinner that night, and they both grinned when the older magicians told them of their blossoming relationship – before laughing at the Dursleys' disgusted looks that such 'folk' could be loved by anybody at all.
The last of the holidays passed comfortably, with Remus and Tonks finally seeing why Harry looked so peaceful lying on the ground at sunset – Luna curled comfortably against his chest - and just who accompanied him on his morning runs. It was one morning that Remus and Tonks had scheduled a visit that they got the fright of their lives however. They opened the door to the house, and were promptly knocked into the flower garden by the doorstep by a startlingly green-eyed Phoenix that shot out of the house, chased closely by an equally speeding grey-eyed eagle – her eyes glinting mischievously as it took chase after the fiery bird. The two adults watched in absolute astonishment as the two birds ducked, dived and manoeuvred almost so fast that they turned into a mere blur. After about five minutes, the two birds sped back towards the house and flared their wings when they reached the front lawn before morphing fluidly into their two human forms and collapsing on top of one another – laughing uproariously.
Remus had seen fit to sit them down for a right telling off after that little demonstration, and the two young teens had sheepishly been forced to admit that they hadn't cast a not-notice-me charm before they left.
The last three days of their holidays had been slightly less eventful, but the newly-engaged couple enjoyed the peace and quiet among their two new allies – smiling when they caught Tonks, Remus, Dilys and Armando deep in conversation on the Sunday. It was with barely concealed excitement that the couple jumped in the Dursley's car to return to Hogwarts. Both Dilys and Armando had agreed that the two teenagers had been trained more than enough to safely reveal their true colours at Hogwarts, but should continue their tutoring anyway – much to the happiness of the young magicians. The two removed their bags from the trunk of the modest Toyota Camry, and amusedly watched as it sped off the mark – happy to be rid of its 'Freakish' passengers. Harry smiled down at Luna and winked, before taking off ahead of her – just as they had planned. Harry strolled through King's Cross Station, whistling happily as he wheeled his luggage behind him.
He stopped to say hello to Neville, who had just arrived with his grandmother, and then proceeded to walk confidently through the wall leading to Platform 9¾. As soon as he emerged from the other side, he was assaulted by a flurry of red, and instinctively flung his hand out; sending the person flying away from him. As soon as he had cast the charm, he had realized with a sigh that the culprit had been the youngest of the Weasley's. The group of red-heads that had been standing by the steaming train all had their mouths hanging open in shock, and Harry shrugged sheepishly before boarding the nearest carriage. He quickly found the one containing Hermione and sat down on the soft seat with a depressed sigh. The brown-haired Witch raised one of her eyebrows. "Was it just me, or did I see Ginny get flung down the platform?"
Harry shook his head and stared out the window as the young Weasley re-join her family – a furious look on her face. "No, it wasn't just you. I didn't mean to – I just acted on instinct."
Hermione grinned. "Why do I get the feeling that if it was Luna, you would've happily embraced her?" Harry pretended not to hear that particular statement, and whistled innocently – causing his bookish companion to laugh humorously. After a moment she remembered something, and her eyes snapped to look at his left hand – gasping when she saw the ring. "Wow, it's beautiful!"
He followed her eyes and nodded in agreement, before smiling up at her. "You should see Luna's – it's stunning."
It was at that moment that a rather agitated red-haired boy entered the compartment and glared at Harry. "Why'd you do that to Ginny?"
Harry looked up at him, a little angry at his tone. "I've been training to face Voldemort Ron, what do you think I do when I get assaulted?"
"But she wasn't assaulting you mate, she just wanted to hug you!"
Harry nodded, "That may be, but she should probably learn to wait until I can see her before jumping on me." So that I can blast her twice as far. Hermione could guess what he was thinking and snickered covertly behind her hand – hiding it behind a cough. Ron seemed to accept Harry's explanation – not that the raven-haired youth really cared – and sat down beside Hermione; who tensed at his close proximity, now that she knew of his betrayal. Before long, he was intensely reading the exact same Chudley Cannons book he had been pouring over at the end of the previous year, and much to Hermione's, Harry's, and the just-entering Neville's amusement, it seemed that he had only managed to read through one more chapter during his time in the holidays.
With a slight jolt, the train began to move down the tracks, and Harry smiled when he felt Luna's presence at the opposite end of the train to him. He settled down in his seat and pulled his hood over his eyes – pleased that Ron was stupid enough to have missed the fact that he had blown his sister away without a wand – and lightly dozed, making up for the slight lack of sleep due to intense snuggling and sweet words that he and Luna had shared earlier that morning.
Hermione noticed the blissful grin on Harry's face, and smiled herself – catching Neville's eye in the process and blushing slightly. Ten minutes into the trip, Ron flung his book down on the table in the centre of the cabin and growled angrily – causing most of the people to jolt, and Harry to crack open his eye. "I just don't get it!" He stabbed his finger accusingly at the book, his ears beginning to turn red. "They say that they used a modified sonorous charm to stabilize the latest Firebolt! That's just plain stupid; why would they use a voice spell on a broom?"
"A modified voice charm, Ron." Corrected Hermione, and she received a glare.
Harry shocked the entire room by spouting off a three minute mathematical equation off the top of his head, and finished calmly with a, "And that is why they used the sonorous charm to stabilize the Firebolt Mk. II."
That really did shut everybody up, and Harry had three blissful minutes of silence before Ron whistled appreciatively. "Bloody hell mate, how did you know that?"
"Harry and I study, Ron, very much unlike you." Harry smiled at Hermione's terse reply, and decided that he needn't add anything more to the conversation – she had summed it up quite well. The majority of the train ride was unusually peaceful; much to the joy of Harry – who was busy reliving some of Fawkes' memories – Hermione – who was reading a rather heavy tome – and Neville, who was sitting next to her discussing the information in the book.
The peace couldn't last forever however, and Malfoy apparently felt the need to at least annoy Harry once before reaching school. As soon as he poked his head through the door, Harry expertly changed the subject of conversation to how nice the weather was at Azkaban currently. Malfoy's face contorted angrily, and Harry turned to him; mock-surprise on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry Draco; I didn't realize you were eavesdropping."
"You have no right to talk about my father Potter!" He spat bitterly, and Harry raised his eyebrow – tempted to inform the sleazy Slytherin that he actually did have the right…since he had sent him there. Alas, the smirk that seemed to feature so prominently on the younger Malfoy's face couldn't stay at peace for long, and it spread across his features as he looked at the assembled group. "So, poor as usual I see, Weasley." Ron tried to get to his feet, but Neville pushed him back, causing the Malfoy to turn his attention to him instead. "Ah, Neville…still here. Shame your parents weren't here to see you off…" This time it was Harry's turn to hold the black-haired Gryffindor back – waving his fingers inconspicuously and causing a great weight to push him back into his chair.
This, of course, turned the blonde-haired man to look at Harry, sitting by himself on one side of the cabin; his legs stretched out – using the seat almost like a bed; his green eyes regarding Malfoy with a look that the Slytherin couldn't quite place. "Potter." He spat. He looked at the cabin again, and his smirk became even more twisted. "Looks like even your friends don't want to sit with you anymore."
Harry looked over at his companions, a light look on his face, before turning back to Malfoy – his face expressionless. "I really don't think it's that they don't want to sit with me – it's that Hermione and Neville want to sit together and read, and I wanted a seat to myself so that I could sleep – besides," He patted his lap lightly, "I'm saving a place for someone."
Malfoy spluttered humourlessly, and Crab and Goyle; his two faithful companions; snickered mirthfully. "You, Potter, actually saving a seat for someone?" He laughed again, "Who the hell would want to sit on your la-"
His question was answered a moment later when an Eagle zipped over his head, into the cabin, and quickly morphed into a young woman before landing on Harry's lap with a gently thud. Everybody except Harry sat with their mouths wide open in complete and utter shock, while the raven-haired boy smiled at his visitor and pecked her quickly on the lips. "I was wondering when you'd drop in – although I wasn't really expecting you to drop." Six pairs of eyes watched, shell-shocked, as the blonde-haired Ravenclaw curled comfortably into Harry's embrace and let out a contented sigh – her grey eyes closed and a small smile on her face. Harry watched – amused – as Malfoy's face paled at what he had just seen, and Ron's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish's.
Malfoy – being the considerably more intelligent of the two – spat out a number of obscenities, cursing both Harry and his Animagus lap-mate before finding the cabin door slammed violently shut in his face. The next words to be said in the cabin truly proved just how unbelievably dim-witted the red-head was. "What the hell is she doing here?" He pointed accusingly at Harry. "You betrayed my sister Harry, you stabbed her in the back and-"
"Gave her an illegal love potion, and kept quiet about Dumbledore modifying her memories, and making sure she didn't find out who she truly loved- blah blah blah." Harry paused and frowned for a moment – not missing the open-jawed looks he was receiving from Ron and Neville. "Oh – hold on; it was the other way round, wasn't it?"
Ron's face slowly reddened until it was almost the same shade as his hair before shooting up from his seat, ripping open the cabin door, and running down the train to – Harry assumed – tell his sister and send an owl to his mother. A quick, wandless memory charm took care of that danger, and Ron was left walking down the train with a sudden urge to visit Pansy Parkinson. Neville's mouth-gaping was quickly fixed by a speedy explanation by Hermione as to what exactly was happening, but at the end of it all – while Neville processed the massive implications of what he had learned – Hermione turned to the comfortable-looking lovers and asked just how long Luna had been an Animagus. Harry had given Luna a quick grin before turning into his Phoenix form, causing another round of gasps, and then quickly returning to his human-form to pull his bonded back into his arms.
It took the rest of the train ride to answer all of Neville and Hermione's questions, but it was worth it in Harry's opinion; having another friend who knew about Dumbledore's true intentions was a weight of his shoulders – knowing that another person could be trusted in his and Luna's fight. A quick discussion ensued about perhaps starting secret lessons on Occlumency for the seventh years so that more could be recruited against Dumbledore, and the foursome promised to discuss it in more detail when they next had time.
The opening feast was a joyful affair, and Luna and Harry talked to one another over their bond frequently – laughing at each other's jokes without reservation; their laughter hidden by the loud talking and jokes being told by other students. Neville had joined the 'golden trio' which now probably consisted of him more than Ron, and was talking animatedly with Hermione about a new plant he had discovered in his family's forest. Harry hadn't missed the subtle probes that Dumbledore had sent into his 'mind', and Luna informed him that she had experienced much the same – which didn't worry Harry in the least. Harry and Luna had left their rings on, and had decided to let fate take its course; if somebody made the connection then so be it. Because of Luna's house placement, and the fact that she was a year behind Harry in school, the pair enjoyed relative peace – and a comfortable first few weeks at Hogwarts.
Harry had expected for Dumbledore to once again slack on his duties to train him against the Dark Lord, and so was surprised when Dumbledore informed Harry that he would be resuming his Occlumency training with Severus Snape…and nothing else. Just enough interest to make Harry think that he was being trained, but in all actuality making him weaker – as Harry could see in his first session back with the Potion's Master. Rather than 'testing' the shields of Harry's mind, the death eater actively went out of his way to demolish them – making it clear to Harry just why he had ended up with the horrific migraines the last time he had trained with the Legilimens.
The reason for only a small time of comfort at Hogwarts was, in part, his fault. Hermione, Harry, Luna and Neville had agreed to start their secret Occlumency training of the seventh years, and so on their first night in the Room of Requirement with over one hundred students present – every seventh year except for the Slytherins- it was a little bit hard for the Bonded couple to hide their rings. A cannon-blast charm had ensued when the shouting of questions had reached a feverish pitch, and Harry had calmly informed them that once they had completed their training all would be explained. The fifty students had split into four groups of varying skill. Hermione took the people who had absolutely no previous training, Neville the people who knew the basics, Harry for the advanced group, and Luna took the last group, where she helped them construct a protective mind which they could use as a shield.
Harry had noticed at the beginning of the training that quite a few of the students gave his fiancé rather poignant glances, but had been pleased to notice the student body slowly warm to her once they realized that the rather odd, dreamy act that she projected was simply a mask – minus the frequent mentions of Wrackspurt infestations and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks among other creatures which still featured frequently in her conversations.
Their training stayed a complete secret from all parties not involved – mostly because of the powerful precaution's the organizers had taken to hide their activities from the staff and other students – but also because Albus Dumbledore had become slightly too cocky for his own good, and had dropped his guard somewhat; paying less attention to the students than he had previously. Likewise, the teachers of the seventh years didn't notice the sly glances between the students as they tried to penetrate each other's minds, although Severus Snape had thoroughly enjoyed taking points away from the students that had their wands out without his permission – notably everybody not in Slytherin House. It was in late June – just after all the students had returned after their Summer holidays – and a rather large scale escape had occurred at Azkaban – than Luna took Harry aside after one of their Occlumency sessions and told him that they were ready.
A special meeting for the Occlumency Witches and Wizards was organized through the use of covertly delivered code words, and so, on the 22nd of June, an illegal gathering of exactly one hundred and eight seventh year students occurred. During the next three hours, Harry, Luna, Hermione and Neville had provided their pupils with the memories that they had been training to keep hidden, and the hour after that was spent calming them all down and restraining them from marching en masse to the Headmaster's office and hexing him silly – mostly for the reason that they would be on the receiving end of said hexes rather than the aging Wizard. It was well past midnight that the group dispersed back to their respective houses, and Harry collapsed into a beanbag at the corner of the room – groaning in mock-pain. Luna had quickly dealt to that, informing him that he was sitting on a nest of Wrackspurts, and he shot upwards, flying warily around the room in his Animagus form until he heard the laughter of his three friends below.
Eventually they settled around the fire that the Room had so nicely provided, and discussed the next day. "Are we really going to do what you said?"
Harry turned to Hermione and winked at her. "Well I don't see why we have to make it a sombre matter."
"But he'll surely notice!"
Harry nodded and rested his chin on Luna's head. "That's the point; he'll be completely and utterly at a loss as to why he can't gain access, and he'll be fuming until I drop the bomb at dinner."
Luna smiled dreamily and curled up closed to Harry. "Mmm, I think even the Nargles would be proud of your plan Harry."
He smiled warmly down at her. "They just might at that."
