Summary - AU. Harry Potter lives an ordinary post-college, non-magical life. Everything is hunky dory until he realizes that he's got feelings for none other than the sister of his roommate, Ron Weasley. Moreover, she's just been swept off her feet by handsome Dean Thomas, who happens to have a grudge against Harry and Ron ever since their best friend, Hermione, punched his cousin (Draco Malfoy) in the face. Contains H/G, R/H, fluff, angst, and a fairly engaging plot line, if I do say so myself.
Disclaimer - I regret to inform you that I am not, cannot, and, unless science makes some major technological advances, will never be JK Rowling. I own none of the characters, terms, references, or places aside from ones I create and my storyline! Also, while I wish I had half the artistic ability of the people who are part of DeviantArt, I do not, and the cover photo is credited to user ~myavi on said site. *In this chapter, I use a quote (modified, but not my words nonetheless) from the books, which is, of course, credited to the wonderful JKR.
Author's note - First of all - thank you for your submissions, they were all wonderful. After much deliberation, I've selected whose character I'm going to use, though she will not show up for a bit. I might run another casting call sometime in the future - perhaps once I've reached, say, 100 followers or 10k views, as I am about halfway to both of those marks!
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Chapter Eleven: Maybe
The voice on the other end sounded like a robot. They would not tell her what was going on, just that she ought to return to the hospital immediately.
Trembling, Luna gathered her things together. She was still living with Xenophilius, and though the house was a living memory of what she was on the precipice of losing, she needed to get away from the hospital's blank white walls. When she went to the car, feeling as if she was floating through some surreal reality dictated by a fear she could not bear, she discovered that it would not turn on. Uttering a bad word for probably the third time in her entire life, she leaned up against it hopelessly.
Why had she left just like that? Why hadn't she stayed with her father? An irrational anger built up inside her, an anger at everything, at her mother for not being there, at Neville for unintentionally tearing her away, at herself for letting him.
Neville. The idea came to her: it was stupid, foolish, and perhaps he would not care, but it was something. She picked up her mobile and called.
He answered on the third ring. "Hi!"
"Neville," she said breathlessly. "Are you - my dad - he's -" And she dissolved into tears.
"Hang in there. Give me five, ten minutes tops."
He hung up, and she was left clutching the phone like it was her last lifeline.
xxx
8 o'clock Saturday morning saw Harry sitting in the kitchen anxiously.
"You're up early, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, coming in and busily lighting up the stove. "I was counting on you lads sleeping until noon at the earliest." He handed her a carton of eggs, which she began deftly cracking into a large mixing bowl. "Is something the matter?"
"No," said Harry. "Would you like me to put the toast in?"
"Not until I've finished the eggs. Pass me the milk? I've some muffins in the freezer, if you'd begin defrosting them."
"No problem." He removed the tray and set them on the table. "Should I pop these in the oven now?"
"Wait until they've thawed a little, then do it." She beamed fondly at him, giving a sigh. "My, you have grown up, haven't you?"
"Er - that's what generally happens, yeah."
"Seems like just yesterday you were a -"
Her stream of nostalgic anecdotes, bound to mortify him, were thankfully cut short by the arrival of Fleur.
"Good morning," Molly said, whisking the yolks together. "Sleep well?"
"Better zan I 'ave before, yes," Fleur replied. "Ginny is leaving today?"
"At Dean's request, she is. I guess he misses her a lot."
"Dean does not sound like a good boyfriend," Fleur said, piling oranges on the counter for juice. "If I were Ginny I would put my foot down. Family is ze most important, no?"
Harry felt a rush of deep gratitude for the woman, and enthusiastically jumped up to help her, pretending not to notice when Mrs. Weasley said, "Yes, well, not everyone can be perfect boyfriend material. Ginny positively raves about him. I'm thinking of visiting soon, just in case."
"You should," said Fleur approvingly, and plugged the blender in.
Molly hummed to herself, then turned suddenly to Harry and said eagerly, "Why, you know him well! What's he like?"
"Who, Dean?"
"Of course."
"Um." This was uncomfortable; he answered reluctantly, "He's really nice. Smart. Talented."
"Is 'e 'andsome?" Fleur asked.
"Quite," Harry responded shortly.
"Hm." Molly stood akimbo for a moment before launching into action once more, ladling scrambled eggs onto the frying pan. "Harry, do you want over-easy?"
"No, don't go to the trouble, it's fine."
"Morning," said George, yawning as he walked into the kitchen. "Looks like you've got enough help as it is, I think I'll sit here and text Angelina. Don't mind me." He nicked an orange from Harry, tossing it up in the air and winking, then spread himself out over the span of three stools.
"Angelina Johnson?" said Mrs. Weasley. "This is the first I've heard of her in years! If I recall correctly, she was your prom -"
"Speak no more of it!" said George, flushing.
"Dear, are you sure -"
"Yes!"
"It's just that after what -"
"Stop it," he said, irritated, and flapped the newspaper open. "We have a date on Thursday."
"Well, congratulations," said Molly. "Just don't embarrass your -"
"It's fine," her son snapped, then got up and stalked to the living room. Being attached only by a wide empty doorframe, this wasn't the most effective of getaways, but, as Ron often said, it was the principle of the thing.
"What 'appened at zis prom?" inquired Fleur.
"Oh, he -"
"As the man's twin, I feel the obligation to protect his reputation around here," Fred interjected loudly, arms outspread in welcome. "Morning."
Eyebrows raised, Mrs. Weasley took advantage of his open hands to shove several tumblers into them.
"No, really, I'm good," he said hastily. "I'm actually tuckered out from -"
"At least one of you has to help, Ginny's leaving -"
"So naturally this is the prime opportunity to force-feed her, because we all know she and Hermione starve back at the flat."
"I just like to make sure my children are well taken care of!" said Mrs. Weasley defensively. Harry snickered slightly, and watched as Fred, resigned to his fate, went into the dining room to set the table.
"I think zat is perfectly acceptable," said Fleur. "Not everyone is lucky enough to 'ave such an attentive maman, you know." This she said swiftly, as though getting the words out there before she could regret them.
Molly looked at her for a full thirty seconds; her gaze softened, and she nodded. "Thank you, Fleur."
Ginny entered the kitchen at this point, pulling her hair absentmindedly into a messy bun. "Morning," she said brightly, coming over to help Harry with the muffins and pecking her mother on the cheek en route.
"Good morning, darling," said Mrs. Weasley. "Are you sure you want to leave?"
"Yes, Mum." She groaned in frustration and grabbed Harry's wrist. His heart jumped, caught off guard; she let go quickly, muttering, "You were about to burn yourself. Here, use a potholder, for god's sake."
"Yeah, yeah," he said distractedly, ducking his head as he carefully pulled a muffin tin out of the oven. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize, it's your own skin that almost got singed," she said; then, to her mother, "So I thought I'd leave sometime before noon."
"Sounds fine to me. I was really counting on you all to be here, that's all."
"I know, I feel really bad, but Dean is pining away for me back home and with work coming up..."
"No, I understand."
I don't, thought Harry sullenly, at the same time that Ginny said in relief, "Thanks. If you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower before we eat. It'll be fast."
"No problem," Molly replied. "Come down when you're done."
"I will."
And Ginny waltzed off, leaving Harry feeling confused and decidedly disgruntled.
xxx
"That's not okay," said Dean heatedly, clutching the phone to his ear. "It's just not, you know that, right?"
"I can't do jack about it," Draco said pleadingly. "Mum's trying hard to forgive him, and I can't do anything!"
"Bullocks! You can talk to an attorney, get them to vouch for you! It's too soon, Dray. You can't - I can't stand to see you like this."
"I'm fine! So what if I'm a bit shaken up? Isn't that natural?"
"What's natural is you having nothing to do with a man like that."
"I'm stuck!"
"You're not!"
"I can't do anything!"
"YOU EFFING CAN!"
Draco's end of the line fell silent.
"I'm sorry."
Nothing.
"Draco?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have - I shouldn't have blown up like that."
"You shouldn't have. It doesn't make things easier on me, you know."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"I just feel like sometimes you forget that it affected me too. I hate him more than you ever could. Do you have any idea - ?"
"Yes, I do. And I regret, and Mum regrets, and I'm sure Lucius regrets, that we dragged you into it. Every day. Every single bloody day. We all know it was our fault. You shouldn't have had to get involved."
"I wanted to get involved."
"You shouldn't have, though."
"I love you and your mum."
"That doesn't mean you should have -"
"It's over now, isn't it?" Resigned, Dean collapsed onto a large packing box. "There's nothing to be done. I am involved, whether you like it or not." He paused. "Dray?"
"Yeah."
"Be careful, okay?"
"I will."
"Don't..." He squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing down the massive lump in his throat that had been there ever since he witnessed his uncle's abuse, and that only resurfaced when he had to think about it again. "Don't give in too easily."
"I won't."
"Okay."
"You're my best friend, Dean, you know that?"
He felt suddenly small, small and very sad, and said simply, "You too, mate. You too."
xxx
Ron acted shifty as he and Harry chopped up a loaf of bread.
"Why are you up so early?" asked Harry, reaching for a knife.
"Why are you up so early?" retorted Ron testily. "Here." He passed him a stick of butter and ceramic container. "Put it in here."
"Lemme heat it up first. Really though," said Harry, heading to the microwave, "is there something wrong?"
"I just - don't hate me, mate, but...I've been thinking, and I reckon I might go back with Ginny."
Harry almost dropped the dish. "What? Why?"
"It's Hermione. I really miss her, man, and I don't want the beginning of our relationship to be Skype calls and texts. I want to see her in person."
"So you're just going to leave me here?"
"Nobody's said you can't come along!"
"Ron! You told your mum, your entire family, that you'd be here! How often do we all get to be together like this?" This was admittedly not his primary complaint against his friend's announcement. Still, it wasn't as if he could say how he actually felt - namely, quite abandoned and increasingly upset.
"I don't feel good about it, trust me. I've barely got to spend time with Dad or Bill because, well, you know."
"You've been talking to Hermione."
The microwave beeped, and Ron extracted a plate from the cupboard. "I'm telling you, this is less than ideal. I just really don't want to mess things up with her."
"Who, your mum or Hermione?"
"Who do you think?"
Harry scrutinized his best friend for a moment, then filled the container with now-melted butter. "Knife, please," he said, and Ron silently handed it over.
"Come with us," he said presently. "I feel bad."
"Breakfast's almost ready," Harry said, turning his back.
"Wait!" Ron stared at him earnestly. "You've got to understand -"
"I do," said Harry quietly. "You and Ginny are running off back into your paramours' arms and -"
"You're not bitter, are you, now?"
"No." He glowered sullenly down at his hands. "I'm fine." And it was supremely evident to both parties that he was lying.
xxx
Neville leapt out of his car, taking Luna by the arm and guiding her into the passenger seat, where she sat dumbly, purse on lap.
"What did they say?" he asked finally, when Luna seemed to have relaxed somewhat.
"That I should get down there as soon as possible."
"So it could be good."
She stared out the window, at the blinking red lights and the crowds of people walking down the street, leading normal, if dull, lives.
"Luna?"
There had been two minutes of silence on her part, and she didn't even realize it. The passage of time was warped, insignificant. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes, fingernails digging into the cloth bag full of useless junk - an iPod, a tube of chapstick, a miniature packet of Kleenex, barely touched. Well, that might end up coming in handy.
"Hey," he said gently. "It could be good."
She blinked rapidly, sniffling and leaning against the door. "Maybe," she whispered.
xxx
Noon came around, and with it a flurry of goodbyes and won't-you-please-come-agains and I'll-stay-in-touches and look-after-yourselves and luggage being dragged downstairs and people mysteriously tripping over their own feet (the twins always seemed to be suspiciously within the vicinity of said victims). Harry heroically kept his cool.
"It was nice to meet you," said Audrey, fist-bumping a taken-aback Ron. "I hope to see you again."
"Yeah," he said, and made a strange whimpering, choking noise as Fleur approached them.
She kissed Ginny on the cheek. Ron came forth hopefully, but she ignored him and he somehow managed to stumble and topple onto the ground.
"Sorry," he said, face burning.
"Well...goodbye." And she backpedaled furiously a safe distance - a good five yards - away.
"Hold on," Ginny said, "I think I left something inside, let me just grab it."
She raced past Harry, who was lurking in the entryway, and then, to his surprise, doubled back.
"Hey," she said. "I was just getting my hair dryer."
"Cool."
She stood before him, twisting her hands together in a very Hermione-ish way.
"I'll see you around then," he said, once she had made the situation sufficiently awkward.
"Yeah," said Ginny.
"Um...have a safe trip."
"You too."
"Well."
She gave a sad sort of smile, and hugged him, a proper hug this time, one hand resting lightly on his neck. He felt his heartbeat accelerate when she didn't let go immediately, and when her grasp slackened, he did the most idiotic thing he'd done in his entire life.
He kissed her.
xxx
"Luna Lovegood," she said faintly.
The nurse glanced up at Neville. "And he is...?"
"My boyfriend," said Luna, urgency turning her head wild. She noticed his shocked expression all too late and said in distress, "You're - I just - I panicked - I didn't mean to -"
"Shh," he said, as they were led down the hallway, and rested his lips tenderly on her head. "It's fine."
She began hyperventilating slightly as the assistant opened the door, and reached for Neville's hand, clutching it so hard he winced.
"Is he okay?" he asked, though he knew there would be no answer for him either.
He was right; the young woman said nothing, and merely gestured for them to go inside.
The curtain opened slowly, and there was Xenophilius. He was sitting up in bed, eyes bright, smile wide, surrounded by the garden she'd planted for him.
"Oh my god," she murmured. "He's - he's better now?"
"He is."
"He's - oh my -"
"Luna!" cried Xenophilius, and never before had his voice sounded so strong.
"Daddy," she exclaimed, throwing herself at him. He wheezed slightly, but received the hug with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
"I would be careful -" the nurse began. Neville shook his head at her.
"Let them be," he said.
"I don't know if that's -"
"Give them five minutes, will you?"
She wrestled with herself. Neville's sincerity, his blatantly obvious integrity, overcame her, as it overcame everyone, and she nodded. "Five minutes."
They retreated, leaving Luna to reunite with her father and tell him about everything that had happened while he was sick. And as they listened just outside in the hallway, Neville was somewhat pleased to discover that he was a substantial part of her account.
xxx
Her mouth was soft, and after a split second of hesitation, yielded beneath his. It was blissful oblivion; he was consumed by every fiber of her being; she was the only real thing in the world.
And then it was over.
"I am so, so sorry -" Harry started huskily.
But she gave a little horrified gasp, pushed him away, forcefully, and retreated backwards at the speed of light until her spine hit the doorway. Blindly, she spun around, sprinted down the steps and out to the car, and was gone, maybe forever.