[A/N: I know the beginning of this might seem like a departure from the story, but I've had this idea about Luna's future that just wouldn't let go of me. I hope you like it, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Oh, and no apologies for the rest of the chapter. Fuck all TERFs. Just a couple more chapters now, folks. Thanks for reading!]
Luna was very, very tired. Although she'd been publishing the Quibbler on her own for years, nothing had prepared her for running the Daily Prophet. She had only just started working there as the junior magizooligy reporter when the layoffs had come down. Many on the Board of Governors of the paper had been prominent Death Eaters, and ended up in Azkaban. The few remaining made it their goal to reform the paper, to refocus it on being a reliable news source. As a result, almost everyone on the existing staff had been laid off. Almost everyone - but not Luna. The Daily Prophet was no longer a large conglomerate, but a ragtag group of people trying their best to get a paper out the door every day.
Luna had been made Editor in Chief almost by default. It couldn't have been Patricia, Terry, or Susan, who had been assistants only entrusted with checking spelling before the layoffs. They simply didn't have the experience. Brian Sutherland had the experience, but didn't want the job. He was more than content to keep to the Quidditch beat, which only operated a few months out of the year, and was more traveling in his ancient enchanted motorhome than it was worrying about deadlines. He didn't even show up to the office most days. Her only real competitors for the job were Clarice Withers-Bones and Rolf Scamander.
Clarice was a mousy bookworm in her mid thirties, who was not at all interested in a leadership position. She was grateful to become the defacto assistant editor, where her skills were better utilized honing the younger writer's talents. And then…there was Rolf.
Before the layoffs, Rolf had been the senior magizooligy reporter, Luna's direct supervisor, and their relationship had been contentious from the beginning. Rolf was overly confident in his knowledge of magical creatures, and was quick to put down anything Luna brought to the table that was not detailed in his grandfather's books. He had fought the Board tooth and nail when they had named Luna Editor in Chief, believing himself far more deserving of the position. But in the end, he had never published anything of his own, and the Board liked the idea having a close personal friend of the Chosen One running the paper. Rolf took great pleasure in reminding her constantly that her friendship with Harry was the only reason she got the job. Despite his tall, dark, and handsome features, Luna despised the man.
When she found Lily and James that night, Luna was almost out of her mind with exhaustion. For months, every day she was up at the crack of dawn to load up the owls distribute papers to thousands of subscribers worldwide. Then, it was time for the pitch meeting, then researching and writing articles, then finally getting them to the printers sometime before midnight. Then she fell into bed, asleep before her head hit the pillow, to be up before dawn the next day. It was hard work, but she enjoyed it. It would have been almost fun working every day with her compliant and hardworking staff by her side, except for Rolf. Rolf spent the days he wasn't out on assignment breathing down Luna's neck, sometimes literally, distracting the staff with rants on her inadequacy, and commenting on every little thing she did. As soon as she reentered the store front office, intent on reaching the Floo before he could interrupt her, he was on her tail.
"Oh wonderful, our esteemed leader has deigned to join us," Rolf commented drolly as she strode purposefully across the room, as if she hadn't been there since the crack of dawn. Luna ignored him, tossing a handful of Floo Powder into the grate and quietly stating that she wanted Number 12, Grimmauld Place, before sticking her head through.
On the other side of the fireplace, Luna found Harry and Ginny engaged in a serious conversation in the family room. Ginny leapt off the couch upon seeing her friend's face in the fire.
"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed, delighted. "It's been forever, how are you?"
"I'm fine. Do you two mind coming to the Prophet office? There's a bit of a situation."
Ginny looked back at Harry, and they had a conversation through looks.
"Yeah, Luna, we'll be there right away. Let me just get some clothes on." Harry replied, standing now.
"Thanks! See you soon." Luna withdrew her head from the fire to find her staff crowded around her.
"Was that really Harry Potter?" squealed Susan McDevlin, a former assistant-turned-reporter.
"Yeah, that's him," replied Terry Boot, former D.A. member, and Luna's strongest ally at the paper. "I should know, he was in my year."
"Eavesdroppers are more likely to be attacked by wrackspurts than droppers of any other kind," Luna reminded them absently. They scurried back to their desks, both having the decency to look ashamed. Rolf snorted from his desk, which Luna pointedly ignored as she looked over the current layout of tomorrow's paper, waiting for her friends. Just a few minutes later, the fire went bright green and Harry and Ginny came through. Harry was now in his most intimidating pitch black robes, no longer the awkward nineteen year old. This Harry was the savior of the wizarding world.
Luna greeted them both with quick hugs, ignoring gasps from her staff, and led them outside. Harry nodded to Terry on the way out, and Susan fainted in Patricia's arms. Hagrid was watching over Lily and James, still bound. Ginny's face turned bright red, and anger flared in her brown eyes.
"What are you two doing here?" She demanded in a whisper. "You had Harry and I scared to death! How dare you run off like that!" Harry pulled her back and gave her a look. She stood there steaming as Hagrid greeted them both warmly and explained how he had found Lily and James.
"So I had Luna tie 'em up, seeing as I'm not supposed ter use magic. But now I see tha you lot know 'em…they can't really be who they look like, can they, Harry?" Hagrid asked them, trying his best to whisper.
Harry sighed, but made quick work of quietly explaining the situation to Hagrid and Luna. Both were lost for words for a moment.
"Now I see why you wanted to write an article," Luna remarked to Harry.
Harry let out a short laugh. "Sorry about that, by the way. It's coming, I'm just trying to get it right."
Luna smiled guilelessly. "I'm here if you want some help. It's easier said than done, trying to get your point across on a page. I'm going to untie your parents now." She left Harry and Ginny with Hagrid, who had great fat tears rolling down his face.
"Oh Harry…I can't believe it. Yer parents lived, and ye never knew. I could kick meself fer not believin 'em."
Harry awkwardly patted Hagrid as far up on his arm as he could reach. "No, Hagrid. You would have been mad to take them at face value. You did the right thing by calling me, please don't beat yourself up."
Once Luna had released Lily and James, Hagrid swept them up in a large hug, his tears becoming a makeshift shower over their heads. When he released them, Harry decided to ask what had been on his mind this whole time.
"Hagrid, what were you even doing here in Diagon Alley?"
"Oh me?" Hagrid flushed pink. "Well…I love Hogwarts, don't get me wrong, but with Dumbledore gone, it just hasn't been the same. I had a bit saved up over the years, an' poor Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop come up for sale. I just bought it a month ago. I'm going to reopen it as a cafe, an' have it act as a sort of a welcome center for muggleborns. I've been talkin' to McGonagall about putting it in their letters and everythin', real official-like. This'll be me last year teaching full time at the school."
Lily gasped. "Oh Hagrid, you finally got to teach?"
"I've been teaching Care of Magical Creatures for almost ten years now," Hagrid replied, beetle black eyes shining with pride. "Tha's what I'll miss most of all, but Professor McGonagall said I could come back to help with the animals whenever I want. An' she said I can keep me cottage."
"That's wonderful, Hagrid," Harry said, surveying the street intently. "We'd better get going before anyone else sees us, though. You let me know if you want any help with the cafe, Hagrid. It's an amazing idea, and you're just the right person to do it."
Hagrid put a trash can lid hand on Harry's shoulder. "Alrigh', but only because ye offered. Ye may regret that!"
Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes to Hagrid, and along with Luna, they reentered the Daily Prophet office. The reporters scrambled back to their desks, desperately trying not to look like they had been watching through the window the whole time.
Harry suddenly turned on his savior persona, and shook Luna's hand firmly. "I'd appreciate it if this wasn't mentioned in the paper tomorrow," he said loudly enough for the other reporters to hear.
Luna eyed Rolf, and responded, "You won't have to worry about that, Harry. Whenever you're ready." He nodded, and he and Ginny were gone in the green flames.
Rolf stood abruptly. "Well, there you have it folks, our faithful editor kowtows not to lady truth, but to celebrity. And the Minister applauds her for it." His vengeful stare burned into the side of her head as she calmly walked past him into her office.
"Rolf," she said quietly, "Would you kindly join me in my office?"
He faltered, then strutted into her office among titters and jeers.
She shut the door behind him, and took her seat behind the desk. It wasn't much more than a broom closet, but she did enjoy being able to shut the door and be alone with her thoughts.
"I think it's about time we spoke frankly. I'm happy to hear your complaints, but I'd appreciate it if you did it respectfully in private, rather than in front of everyone else. It's distracting the other writers, and it's unproductive. Please, tell me what you honestly think of me. I can take it." Rolf fidgeted in his seat.
"You don't want to hear what I really think of you," he muttered tersely under his breath.
"No, I really do. Let's clear the air so we can get back to work. All of this tension only attracts jabbersaws, and we both know that's not helpful for anyone. I'll start: I don't appreciate you undermining my authority constantly. I understand that you're disappointed, but if you were really concerned for the fate of the paper, then you know that we need to work together," she said, desperately trying to remain calm.
He sat and glared at her. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" She tilted her head and looked at him with wide eyes.
"How do you stay so calm all the time? Why don't you ever fight back?"
She blinked. "I guess I just don't see the point in fighting. We spent all those years fighting You-Know-Who, and I didn't like it. Fighting didn't solve anything in the end. Cleverness did."
He snorted. "So you're telling me that you've never let go, let your emotions take control?" Rolf sat back in his chair, leg jiggling with pent up energy. "You've never fought anyone? Not even a Death Eater attacking you?"
"Of course not. I'm saying I don't like being out of control of my emotions, not that it's never happened. Of course I've fought Death Eaters," she snapped at him, "But that was a different situation. That was life and death. This is a newspaper. No one will die if it isn't perfect every single day. Why can't we just enjoy the fact that we get to do this job? Isn't life supposed to be good now that the war is over?"
"Ah!" He was gripping the arms of his chair now, smirking intently. "So she can get mad. You know," Rolf relaxed back into his chair, "a little anger isn't always a bad thing. Anger can be destructive, yes, but it also shows how much you care. Anger is passion, for better or for worse." He stared at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher. It was her turn to fidget under the intense heat of his liquid amber eyes. "I apologize if I came across as insubordinate. I just couldn't stand the thought of someone running this paper who didn't share my passion for it."
Luna gaped at him, finally letting her feelings simmer to the surface. "That's it?" she hissed at him, deathly quiet. "You antagonize me for months, bully me in front of my own staff, humiliate me in front of the Board of Governors, and all I get is 'I apologize if I came across as insubordinate?' What you came across like was a full blown ass, Rolf Scamander. I have tried to be professional, but you insist on continuing with this childish behavior. I'm ordering you, as your superior, to take the rest of the week off, and reevaluate what kind of person you are. If you find that you have nothing to change, you will not have a job come Monday morning." Luna leaned across the desk, giving him her sweetest Loony Lovegood smile. "You may go now."
Rolf sat motionless, mouth agape, until he let out a short laugh. "You still want to know what I really think of you?" He muttered quietly. She gulped, and nodded her head definitively.
Rolf crossed the small room in two strides. He leaned down, and gently, ever so gently, took her face in his hands, and kissed her. Her stomach turned to red hot fire, and Luna was very glad she was sitting down, because her legs would not have kept her standing otherwise. When she got over the shock, she deepened the kiss, clinging on to his muscular arms for dear life. When he finally let her go, she was breathless and a little lightheaded.
"That's what I really think of you," Rolf said, panting, and left her office before she had a chance to reply. She sat there for a while, running her fingertips disbelievingly over the place his lips had been.
The morning of Tuesday, August 31st, dawned bright and beautiful. While Ginny still had a week and a half before the Quidditch season started, it was Harry's last day before his auror training. It was already starting to get a little colder, but they were determined to take advantage of the last of their summer freedom.
The four of them waited for their guest in the courtyard, lounging in the chilly sunshine, enjoying fruity drinks with little umbrellas. Soon enough, Kreacher brought Dr. Sarah Albright out to join them.
"Sarah!" Lily greeted her old friend with a brief hug. "Come, sit, have a drink."
The two women hugged, and Kreacher handed Sarah her drink, then winked out of existence. She shivered.
"I don't think I could ever get used to having a house elf around," she commented, "They'd scare the living daylights out of me every time they'd apparate without warning."
"You get used to it," said Ginny.
"And he really only shows up when I call for him, so it never catches me off guard," Harry reassured her.
Sarah smiled at him, and changed the subject. "I hope you don't mind, I invited my daughter. She's been begging to meet you since she was little. She's Lily Potter's biggest fan."
"Of course we don't mind!" Lily almost shouted. "I can't believe you have a daughter, I'm so excited to meet her!"
"Tell us everything about her," James said, settling in for a good story. "Who's the lucky man?"
Sarah tucked a proud smile into the corner of her mouth. "Her name is Patricia. Her father and I aren't together anymore, so she has my last name. She's a couple years older than you, Harry. You probably knew her at Hogwarts."
Harry scratched his head. "I don't think I remember a Patricia Albright, sorry. I was a little preoccupied at Hogwarts," he joked.
"I remember a Patrick Albright," Ginny said, frowning. "About three years ahead of me, he was a Hufflepuff prefect. But I don't remember a Patricia."
"No," Sarah took a deep breath. "That's her. I'm sure she won't mind my telling you, she's very proud of her story. Patricia…was born differently than she is now. Because of the way her body was, we thought she was a boy. She had a hard time growing up, never feeling right in her skin. Thankfully, once she graduated, we figured out what the issue was, and I was able to help her become who she truly is."
The four sat in stunned silence for a moment.
"Wow," Lily finally said. "That sounds so hard to go through. I bet she's quite the tough cookie. Just like her mum." Sarah laughed, and took her old friend's hand.
"She is," Sarah replied.
"I think it's rather beautiful," said Ginny, "You two must have a very special relationship to help her with something so personal."
"Yeah, I'm not sure every parent would be so understanding," James said, running a hand through his messy hair. "I mean, you know Sirius' parents tossed him out for thinking differently than they did. I don't even want to imagine them dealing with something as delicate as his gender."
"I'm ashamed to say I didn't always take it so well myself. But the more I did my research, and talked to her, the more sense it made to me. It's more common in the muggle world than it is in the wizarding world. The word for it is 'transgender.' Most transgender witches and wizards just live their life in glamour charms. And muggles… well, that's a much sadder story. You're right, James, it can cause parents to do terrible, unthinkable things. It's very hard to have a child tell you that you got something wrong, that something you thought you knew so concretely wasn't true. But it's always harder for the child to experience."
"I can't wait to meet her," Harry remarked after a silence. "I have some experience in discovering your body doesn't match your idea of yourself…I only knew about the horcrux in me for about an hour before it was gone. I can't imagine knowing your body is wrong your entire life. She's remarkable to have made it through that."
"You remind me of her, Harry," Sarah replied with a sad smile. "Both too young to have to be so strong. And, like you, she'd doing work to try and make the world better. She actually works at the Daily Prophet now. Once they get more staff, she and the Editor plan to have her focus on human interest stories about other wizard and witches who don't fit the ideals on normalcy. She's got a wonderful boyfriend. She's thriving. The same could be said of you."
Ginny shook her head, grinning. "That's our Luna. Not a day goes by that I'm not grateful that she's running the Prophet now. That is such a fantastic idea."
James took a sip of his drink, and shot Sarah a knowing look. "This is all great, but don't think we haven't noticed you avoiding the question of who her father is."
Sarah threw back her head and laughed, as Kreacher arrived with a young woman. Patricia Albright had her mother's angular features, although slightly softened by youth. A conservative A-line dress revealed her curvy figure. Her pin straight hair hung in a shiny curtain, almost identical to Sarah's, but for its color. Where Sarah's hair was a deep, honeyed blonde, Patricia's hair was jet black. Her laughing grey eyes were immediately recognizable; the collected friends would have known his eyes anywhere.
All five of them got up, James slower than the rest, and went to greet her. They took turns introducing themselves, and chatted warmly while James hung back.
"You're Sirius' kid, aren't you?" James finally asked, at a break in their conversation. Patricia nodded hesitantly. James walked over to her shakily, before wrapping his arms around her. Both of their shoulders shook with sobs.
A little while later, Ron and Hermione showed up, and Kreacher set up a table outside for them to have a late lunch. As the meal wound down, they sat around chatting over iced tea, passing around bowls of sliced watermelon, plums, cherries, and much fought over pineapple. The talk slowly shifted to more serious matters, and eventually to the war.
"I'd already transitioned by the time the war started in earnest, so I went into hiding in '96. A halfblooded transwoman? If the Death Eaters had found out about me…" Patricia shivered, "Anyway, that's when I started writing seriously. Seemed like the only thing I could do, cooped up in the safe house all day. After about a year, Mum started collecting other misfits, and I finally got some company. That's where I met Terry Boot." Patricia smiled dreamily. "He became my unofficial editor, and we fell in love."
"Terry's a top notch bloke," said Ron in approval.
"I know where I've seen your name before! You wrote that wonderful piece on Aberforth Dumbledore a week or two ago, didn't you? I thought it was just beautiful." Hermione suddenly interjected.
Patricia nodded energetically. "I did, thank you! He actually introduced me to a few transgender friends of his while I was still in school, and they really helped me understand better what I was going through. I will always be grateful to him."
"Did you ever meet him?" James asked quietly. He hadn't talked much since Patricia arrived.
Patricia went sober, and shook her head. Sarah took her hand across the table, and squeezed.
"Not to be indelicate, but…what happened, Sarah?" Lily asked, trying to restrain her curiosity.
Sarah sighed, and Patricia patted her hand before pulling away. "I've got this, Mum. Mum found out she was pregnant a couple weeks before she graduated, but didn't tell Dad. They broke up because she wanted to move back to the muggle world for a while, to get her psychology degree. He couldn't imagine not doing magic for that many years. I was born in December of '78, and she started uni the next year. We lived like muggles with her Mum until I was eleven. We only moved to Hogsmeade when I it was time for me to go to Hogwarts. That's when we learned about Dad being in Azkaban. I planned to try and meet him once he escaped, but I was still in school, so I had to wait. I graduated just after he died." She scoffed. "I had all these plans…I was going to fight alongside him in the Order. I was going to clear his name. I wrote a book about my life to give to him. Anyway," she shook the thought from her mind, "meeting you two helps a lot. Makes me feel a little closer to him." Lily and James smiled at her sadly.
"You know, I just thought…this is technically your house," Harry said. "You can have it, if you want. I got to spend time with him, however little it was. The very least I can do is give you his house."
"Oh God, Harry, that's not necessary at all," Patricia waved him off. "I have a house. This is your home, and it's lovely, by the way. I want to learn about him, I don't need a whole house to do that."
Hermione bit her lip. "Do you still have the book you wrote? Because I know quite a few people who would be interested to hear your story."
Patricia nodded hesitantly. "I do. Do you mean that you think I should publish it?"
Hermione shrugged. "I understand if it feels too personal, but it sounds like a story that people should hear. I, for one, knew about transgender people in the muggle world, but never thought that they might exist in the wizarding world too. I'd certainly buy a copy."
The older girl nodded slowly. "I'll think about it. Thanks, Hermione."
James smiled, and sat back in his chair. "Did your Mum ever tell you about the time your dad and I broke into the girl's dormitory to see these two?" Sarah hid behind her hands, blushing crimson red, and Lily almost fell off her chair laughing.
Patricia shook her head, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Well, it was really all Padfoot's idea, but Moony was the one who figured out how to get in…"
After lunch, those who wanted to played a little quidditch. Patricia turned out to be a fair-to-middling flier, and she and Lily were happy to bow out once the game started to get serious. Eventually, it got too cold to stay outside anymore, and they all retired to the cozy family room, huddled around the fire. Harry was the first to head up to bed, claiming he'd need all the rest he could get before training started the next day. Ron had a similar idea, but had instead conked out on the sofa, head resting on Hermione's shoulder. Sarah and Patricia went home not long after, and Lily and James stuck it out for a while longer before heading up to bed. When they were gone, Ginny sighed and stood up.
"Alright, I'd better get to bed too. Tomorrow I'm going to have to start getting in shape for the season again. I was meant to be practicing this whole time, and I'm way behind. Want any help waking him up?" Ginny yawned and motioned to Ron, still drooling on Hermione's blouse.
"Actually, Ginny, do you mind staying just a few more minutes? I've been wanting to talk to you alone for a while, but I never found the right time."
"Uh, yeah, sure. What's up?" Ginny sat back down next to Hermione.
"Well, I just wanted to apologize to you. I'm sorry for not wanting to help with Harry's parents from the beginning. I feel just horrible about everything I said to you that day when you came to me for help. The truth is that we were still getting used to marriage, and I didn't feel like I could handle one more thing on top of that."
Ginny grimaced. "It's alright. I appreciate you saying that. And you did help eventually."
"Yes, but…I just can't help thinking that things might so different if you'd hadn't had to handle it all yourself."
"Don't say that, Hermione. You didn't cause me to have a miscarriage," Ginny snapped at her, before softening. "It's probably for the best anyway. We're not really ready for that. Harry and I are still just kids ourselves, at the end of the day."
Hermione sighed. "I'm beginning to feel the same way about Ron and myself. I don't regret that we got married, but looking back, we may have rushed into it a little bit. We've been in love for years, and I know I'll never love anyone like I do Ron, but rushing into marrying him did not make me behave like my best self." She sniffed, and straightened. "It's silly, but I envy you and Harry a bit for dating and being young."
"You're still young, Hermione," Ginny said with a smile. "You may not act like it, but you are. Just have fun, enjoy being with him. We're doing the same things you're doing, having all the same fights, we just don't have rings on our fingers. Well, he doesn't, anyway," she gestured to the engagement ring with a smile. "Thank you for the apology, even though it wasn't necessary. You're a good friend, Hermione."
Hermione smiled, and said, "If your great lump of a brother wasn't crushing me, I'd hug you right now."
"Speaking of which, let's get him up. I know you've both got work tomorrow."
Hermione and Ginny shoved a barely conscious Ron through the Floo, and Ginny quietly padded upstairs and changed into her pajamas. As she snuck into bed and spooned Harry, she reflected that she couldn't remember having such a nice day all summer long.