Chapter 38

The truth of the matter

Luna was painting the hallway in a light leafy green and Harry was glossing the bedrooms. As Luna stood up, she heard a knock at the door. "Harry, we have a visitor, I think it's Tom"

"I'll be down in a minute, Luna, I have to clean the brushes out."

Luna opened the door and Tom smiled as he entered "You are making real progress with the decorating. Is Harry available?"

"Do you want some tea?" Luna asked "We have earl grey, some decaf coffee, perhaps"

"Yes, thank you miss love-good, that would be most pleasant"

Harry came down the stairs covered in paint. "Hey, Tom, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You know that I am an aide to Professor Hargreaves" Harry nodded suddenly having a feeling he knew what way this conversation was heading.

"Well to get anywhere as a Professor of Physics and chemistry and to teach, you need at least one year's practical experience."

Harry swallowed again "You want me to be Hargreaves new aide?"

"Yes, Harry, you are the youngest graduate at nineteen from Oxford to become a qualified Professor. Hargreaves is looking at retirement in two years. And I am moving on to the history of art department as a Professor's aide there." Harry looked nervous and Luna took his hand "Professor Hargreaves must believe in your ability to do this otherwise he wouldn't be asking for you personally, Harry."

"You would be asked to assist with lectures and lesson plans, marking papers and assignments. Handing out worksheets and mostly you would be covering his lectures if the Professor is ill or at a convention."

"Thanks, Tom, can you give me a couple of days to think this over, In between the wedding plans and the renovations, I have very little time to myself?"

"Sure, no problem, It's just an idea at this stage, no pressure." Tom reached out his hand for Harry to shake in an unspoken agreement giving Harry a week to make a decision.

-Line Break-

Harry and Luna went out on a ring shopping expedition in Oxford Street but could not find anything fitting that suited their natural tastes.

"Hang on, I have an idea!" Harry had a lightbulb moment and he dragged Luna to diagon alley. Luna picked up on Harry's excitement as he led her to Ollivander wandmakers store and went inside. "Well, bless my soul, if it isn't Harry Potter" the old man exclaimed. "I didn't come in here to get mobbed, Ollivander, I wondered if you could recommend a decent wood for a pair of wedding rings?"

"And I assume that the lucky lady standing next to you is the recipient of such a ring. Well, I do have the original Holly-tree wood that from which your wand was made. Let me see" The man called to his apprentice "Miss Chang"

Harry froze as he saw Cho Chang enter the front of the shop. "Relax" Luna whispered as she squeezed his hand "If isn't Loony and Scar-head" the girl sneered openly "Miss Chang, you will apologise to Mr Potter immediately!" Ollivander said harshly and Cho carefully schooled her features and fluttered her eyelashes in a pathetic attempt to seduce Harry. "Sorry, Potter!" she said with gritted teeth. "Get back to your work this instant or you will find yourself out of my premises!" Ollivander snapped. The girl turned up her nose and stalked to the back of the shop. "I am dreadfully sorry for that intolerable display. Now here is the piece of wood that your wand was carved from, is there any specific design you would like carved on these wedding rings?"

Harry thought long and hard as Luna answered "Yes, the symbol of three, a triquetra to represent the maiden, mother and crone"

"I see, and Mr Potter, I would assume you would like the three male symbols of manhood. The Father, the warrior and the smith."

Harry nodded as he smiled at Luna "Very well, Mr Potter, I will send a Patronus when your rings are ready, that will be a deposit of 10 galleons please. And the rest can be paid on collection. I will have your order ready by 5pm tomorrow."

Harry shook the man's hand and led his fiancé out of the shop to grab a quick meal at the leaky cauldron. "Harry! Luna!"

Hermione was ordering a hot beefy soup and sandwiches when she spotted her friends from the bar. Her hand lay across her large stomach as she hugged Harry and Luna then asked them to join her and Severus.

"Where's Severus, then?" Hermione smiled "He is currently seeing a real estate manager about a shop premises for our apothecary in Diagon Alley. It will be perfect, Harry, our own business together but even better than that, we are offering the Wolfsbane potion free to any werewolf who can't afford the potion. But they are obliged to meet certain conditions like having a warded room in their homes to prevent them hurting anyone also the afflicted must have a sponsor to manage their financial and employment responsibilities!"

Harry smirked "So, it's all good then" Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "So, what….!" Hermione keeled over as she clutched her stomach. "Hermione!" Harry yelled and quickly he conjured his Patronus stag to find Severus and summon him to his wife's side. Luna held Hermione's hand as she cried out in agony. "Harry" Luna cried out "Hermione is bleeding!" Harry grabbed her other hand as Luna stroked the distraught young woman's curls.

Severus burst in then "Hermione!" he took over and asked Tom to call for their midwife at St Mungo's.

"Harry, what happened" Severus snapped harshly "I don't know, she was about to ask me something when she just bent over double groaning. Then the blood spotting happened, please tell me she won't lose these babies!" he cried out. "She could, has anything out of the ordinary happened today, Harry?"

"No, yes!" Harry cast his mind back to the incident in Ollivander's "We encountered Cho Chang today, the girl I dated in my fifth year. She works at Ollivander's and was very insulting towards Luna and myself"

"Anything else, Harry?"

"Yes, I saw her in the workshop briefly and as we walked here for lunch, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle like someone was following me." Severus rolled his eyes "You seem to inherit a new enemy every year, Harry." Severus picked up his wife who groaned as her eyes rolled in the back of her eyelids. "Call the Aurors, Harry, I will take my wife to St Mungo's" Severus swallowed the lump in his throat as he apparated to the wizarding hospital.

Luna was crying openly. "How could she do something like that to Hermione?"

"That's just it, Luna, what if Cho wasn't aiming to poison Hermione, what if her target was you? I mean, she was jealous of Hermione in fifth year, sure but she always bullied you along with that Marietta Edgecomb."

"Harry, do you feel like someone is watching us, right now!" Luna whispered. "Smile" Harry whispered back with gritted teeth. "On three, take out your wand!" Harry and Luna copied each other as they counted to three and drew their wands. "Humanus Revelio!" Harry shouted as he flourished his wand

An invisibility cloak flew off the hidden enemy revealing Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe who both stood shocked at the cleverness of the young man in front of them with such a look of fury on his face that they both felt their bladders empty and the rancid yellow urine trickle down their legs creating a puddle on the floor.

"Incarcerous!" Luna incanted wrapping the girls in thick rope-like chains

"Harry, take their wands! Tom, call the aurors!" Luna shouted as she searched the girl's robes for vials of poisons.

"Yes, miss love-good" Tom bowed his head in respect

-Line Break-

It was a long night for the two young lovers as they finally made it home. Hermione had been exposed to the 'Gravitis Expirito' An abortive substance mostly used for young girls who had been raped or persuaded into underage consensual sex but were unmarried. The healer-midwife had used an antidote to the abortive potion and Hermione was confined to complete bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy.

Harry sat down on the sofa and buried his head in his hands as he cried. "Harry, this is not your fault, you know this, they are jealous and bitter young women who picked on the wrong witch."

Harry's eyes were red and puffy as he looked at his fiancé and he came to realise this truth for himself.

"Hermione will be fine and the babes, just have faith and it will be so." Luna pulled Harry into her arms and they fell asleep like that till the next morning.