Don't Let the Bells End

Chapter One: December 21st – The Burrow Christmas Party

There were a multitude of terms to describe herself that Luna would use right now: agitated, nervous, high-strung, anxious. At the moment, she was favouring a term that Ron Weasley had taught her during a night of drinking with friends, a good few months ago.

At this moment in time, and in the words of her boyfriend's best friend, Luna Lovegood was shitting herself.

The last time Ron and Hermione had been round to see her and Harry was when the shitting of the self started occurring. It was all nice at first, normal things occurred; a bit of drinking, watching horror films that everyone but Hermione (though she enjoyed how tightly she'd end up hugging Ron during) enjoyed, debates about the best Metallica album (that Hermione decidedly did NOT enjoy). It was all going swimmingly until Ron had asked the immortal, immutable question.

"I thought I'd ask, since you're basically family now Luna. Mum hosts a party every year on the 21st, and as well as Harry, she's asked me to invite you. Your dad is welcome as well, but she understands if he wants to stay at home. No pressure, but she'd really love to see you and Harry there."

Parties. Weasley parties. Weasley, Granger, Delacour, Potter and Tonks parties. She remembered concerts and parties back in Bristol being great, but she was also with friends and for more than a few occasions being rather intoxicated in order to let her hair down. As well as that, she'd never been to a proper, family Christmas party before. The closest she got was having Christmas dinner with Xenophilius and then reading until bed-time. "Party hard..." She mumbled to herself as she remembered fondly.

She gave herself the once-over in her mirror, for possibly the nineteenth time in 5 minutes. She wanted to look somewhat nicer than normal on top of the normal braided ponytail, old band shirt and trainers, so she unearthed an old pinafore dress from her Bristol days and opted for tights instead of baggy jeans. A bit more 'adult' she thought.

"Sweets… are you alright?"

Luna looked from her mirror to the doorway and smiled when she saw Harry. "Aye… just… ugh, a bit nervous. Wrackspurts, you know." Clad in a black long-sleeve shirt – "I love when he rolls the sleeves up..." she thought to herself – and jeans himself, not much changed from his normal get up. Well, aside from his ponytail having to be neater than usual in fear of an ear-bashing from Molly.

"I thought Wrackspurts were all about forgetfulness and confusion, not outright anxiety?" Harry sat down next to her on the bed and put his hand on her leg, giving a short, comforting squeeze. "And anyway… what's got you all nervous?"

Luna sighed and laid her head on Harry's shoulder, linking her hand with his. "Nervous about tonight. Well… I say tonight… we're due there in twenty minutes but saying 'nervous for twenty minutes time' doesn't quite roll off the tongue or make much sense in the way of grammar."

"Ah… I get what you mean. Anything in particular?" He kissed the top of her head and ran his thumb over her hand affectionately. "Or is it just general 'Oh no, shitloads of people' anxiety?"

"Mostly the latter, if I'm perfectly honest. About twenty people in the house… all very loud and boisterous and… admittedly friendly, but loud and boisterous nonetheless."

"I know you're nervous sweets. I don't blame you for it at all. But you know… mostly everyone who's going to be there. Hell, Molly herself wants you there. I've had a few letters back and forth with her and I think she'll bloody love you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She can't wait to see you."

Luna beamed, and she wrapped her arms around Harry's neck to pull him in for a hug. "That's lovely… Though I still feel like people will be funny around me."

"Look… if anyone is funny towards you, either come get me or go and tell Molly. They'll have to deal with her 'right hook of doom'."

They had a small fit of giggles together before Luna stood up in front of Harry expectantly. "All the anxiety aside… how do I look? I thought I'd follow Ginny's lead and try a bit of make-up for the occasion but I didn't want to do too much so I thought just some mascara-"

Harry smirked and interrupted. "You think I'm going to do anything other than tell the truth?"

"Which is?"

"That you look lovely?"

Luna blushed and turned away, mumbling a "thankyouandyoulooklovelyaswell"

Harry grinned and got up to give her a peck on the lips. "Thanks sweets. Let's get a move on, Molly will have started the third batch of food by now, she doesn't ask anyone else to help her after that."

With a soft pop, Luna and Harry found themselves outside on a dirt path, a certain house full to the brim with members of a certain red-headed family in the distance. The sounds of merriment carried easily despite being a breeze-less night, a testament to how loud the Weasleys could be. The chill of the early evening and the warmth of the Burrow in front of her did nothing to dissuade her nerves though, and she let out a short "Eep!" before stopping in her tracks.

"Sweets? You alright?"

Luna simply stood still, and nodded towards the house. "That's a lot of people in there Harry. It's… well, I'm relatively calm on the outside but inside I can assure you I'm screaming."

Harry took her hand and gave it a soft squeeze, cupping her face with his free hand. "It's alright Luna. You've met most of them before. They all love you, and if they don't they'll deal with Molly and I. Okay?"

Luna sighed and gave Harry a short peck on the lips. "Alright. Alright, let's head down."

They walked slowly towards the house as the chill of the night grew lesser, the warmth exuding from the Burrow reaching them in no short order. Harry started grinning as they got closer, and it spread to Luna as well, finding herself already mirthful.

"Out of interest Luna, and forgive me for throwing out a theory… this is like… you meeting MY family, isn't it?"

Luna looked up at Harry for a second then took a bit to think. "But… well, I sort of met your mum and dad. I mean, it was their headstones, but-"

"No, no… I mean, Molly and Arthur. I've told you how much the Weasleys love the bones of me. And I've met your dad; he loves me to death. You're nervous because… well, again, forgive me for throwing out the theory, but I get the sense that you see this as YOUR 'Meet the Parents' moment. Am I wrong?"

Luna smirked and nudged him softly in the side, causing him to chuckle quietly.

"I'll take that as a yes then. I don't think you've got to worry though. Like I said at home, Molly can't wait."

They didn't have to walk much closer before the door opened and a short, dumpy red-headed woman moved with unnatural speed to wrap Harry in a hug; if Luna hadn't seen her before, she'd have guessed she were a ginger cannonball.

"Harry! Oh my word! I haven't seen you for months!" Molly cried out as she squeezed him hard, lifting him up off the ground and making Luna grin so wide it started to ache. "Oh, you've gained weight at last! I kept telling you you should use the Ministry gym more!" Luna started to grin even more when Molly's expression turned stormy, and giggled as Molly started to thump him on the arm.

"You absolute pain in the arse Harry Potter! All those weeks at the start of the year with no bloody contact! I sent you at LEAST a dozen letters, nearly sent a howler and was going to apparate in to Grimmauld Place myself if it wasn't for Kingsley!" She turned to Luna and gave her a warm smile as her tone softened. "Lovely to see you Luna dear, Harry's sung your praises in every letter he's sent me so far. Ooh, he mentioned you were vegetarian so I made you a quiche. Is tomato and basil alright?"

Luna nodded in stunned and amused thanks, watching with even more amusement as Molly thumped Harry harder, throwing in some comments about "that bloody hair" and "you have as much consideration as Ronald when he's hungry!" - that last one causing Luna to start giggling as she followed them inside. Harry was right about her worries regarding Molly… they were definitely unneeded. Luna could already tell she was more than welcome.

Harry took a moment to step outside with his pint, breathing in the crisp, chill night air. He loved these Christmas parties, but if he said that they didn't tire him out quickly, he'd be lying. Animated discussions with Ron and Ginny about Quidditch, good-natured but undoubtedly irritating questions from Arthur about Muggle items and occasionally being forced by Molly to taste some food. He needed air.

He'd been out there for a minute or two when George stepped out, a cigarette already in the process of being lit. "Sorry to interrupt the private time matey, mind if I join you?"

"Nah…" Harry mumbled, looking off into the distance. "Nah, not at all."

"Excellent." George took a short puff on the cigarette and breathed it out through his nose. "How are you, you mopey little sod? Or, not so mopey any more, from what I hear on the grapevine? Courtesy of a certain blonde oddball?"

Harry grinned and nursed his drink before replying. "Yeah, I'm doing pretty good. A good chunk of it thanks to that 'certain blonde oddball', funnily enough. How are you getting on? Angelina's fit to burst soon!"

"Yeah… Roxanne's due in January. Little Freddie is… really excited. I thought he was gonna be a bit of a little fucker and get all jealous. But, no, he can't wait to be a big brother."

Harry and George shared a smile, looking up into the sky as they respectively drank and puffed on the cigarette. It was George who broke the silence after a while, a slight lump in his throat.

"It's around this time of year that I really miss him, you know."

Harry didn't need to ask who it was, and his smile became slightly sadder. "Yeah. Yeah, I can empathise with that. I still think about Sirius, and Remus… I know it's not quite the same as losing your twin though."

George shook his head and flicked his cigarette into the bin, immediately grabbing another one from his jacket pocket and lightning up. "Loss is loss mate. It's relative. Fred would have been the first to tell you that. He was always the more philosophical out of the pair of us. Well… the first to get philosophical after a few dozen drinks, I can say that much." George sighed and sat down next to Harry on the bench. "I think he'd have loved Luna as well."

Harry turned to George. "You think so?" He grinned as George nodded in affirmation, and continued talking. "She was really panicky tonight, actually. Before we left, and actually as we were walking up the path here, she was quite worried that no one would like her, or really want her there."

"Mate, we fucking love her. She's got nothing to worry about at all. I think Fleur and Bill were the most surprised though. Did you see how Fleur lit up when Luna started speaking French? Did you even KNOW she spoke French?"

"I knew that she spoke Swedish and Irish Gaelic… but the French came totally out of left field. She doesn't big herself up much, however much she aught to. Last I saw before I came out here, she was talking to Charlie about Romania and the dragon sanctuary. She fits right in."

"You really are one soppy fucker, aren't you Harry?" George chuckled, accepting the dead arm from Harry with a wince through the laughing. "Nah… she's wicked. I was gonna ask but I already know the answer… she's the one for you, isn't she?"

Harry nodded and finished his drink, resting the glass on the arm of the bench. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. She's… oh, I can't really put it in words. That's a good sign, isn't it? I mean, you're married for fuck's sake. You'd know."

"Oh yeah. Actual, proper love isn't really something you put into words. I know you loved Ginny, but… you two came to a natural end. That happens, that's life. You're both adults and you were amicable about it, that's a lot better than some people. I can tell, just LOOKING at how you and Luna look at each other, that you two are… a good fit, so to speak. When are you popping the question?"

Harry panicked for a second. How did George know? He'd only told Hermione, and she was as likely to blab as Ron was to put down the food for a minute. "Who told you?"

"You did mate. Just this second."

"...I should hex you right now."

Luna sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in her hands, feeling a tiny bit of unease. She'd definitely felt unsettled at the start of the evening, but when she'd been greeted so warmly, accepted so nicely by the rest of the Weasleys, she'd felt that unease start to melt.

So why was it that right now, was Luna shitting herself again? Luna had been busy talking to Charlie about the dragons in Romania when she'd been tapped on the shoulder by Molly, who wanted "A little talk in private." In Luna's mind, one of Ron's other favourite phrases kept repeating itself: "Oh bollocks."

As Molly closed the kitchen door, Luna took a sip of tea, and gave Molly a nervous smile as she sat down. Was she going to get put on blast? Was she going to be treated as 'not being good enough'? Luna nearly shook with subtle terror. So when Molly first started speaking, Luna was surprised, relieved and expertly calmed in a single sentence: "How are you?"

"Oh… Oh, I'm doing alright, thank you Molly. Daddy told me to say sorry that he couldn't come this year. He's finishing the Christmas edition of the Quibbler."

"Oh, that's fine dear. I like to invite him anyway, let him know that he's welcome at any time, and all that. Now… I just wanted a chat about Harry and you." Luna's breath caught in her mouth, prompting a visible giggle from Molly. "No no dear, it's nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about at all."

Luna nodded, but still kept a nervous air about her, holding on to her mug of tea as if it were an anchor.

"Hold on dear… before I ask further… are you okay? You seem a little bit agitated, like you were when you arrived. What's wrong?"

Luna scratched the back of her neck and looked away for a second, before replying. "Um… oh my… c-can I just be completely candid with you Molly?" Molly nodded and took a sip from her own cup of tea. "Alright… I was quite anxious earlier, and I suppose I'm anxious now, because I'm scared shitless – pardon the language – that, I wouldn't be sort of, accepted? Like, none of you would actually like me or think that Harry was better off with Ginny and all that malarkey-"

"Oh Luna dear, that's what was bothering you? Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I suppose… I'm scared of slipping up. Giving you all a reason to dislike me. Harry thinks that I see it as him bringing me home to meet the parents, and I'm scared of making a bad impression."

Molly smiled warmly. "You've made the farthest thing from a bad impression you could have possibly made my dear. I never knew you to be anything bad at all, even when you were a little girl and your dad would bring you over to play with Ginny. And, it's no secret that Arthur and I treat Harry as if he were one of our own. We are VERY protective of him, as is the rest of the family. But with that protectiveness… comes accepting whoever he chooses to be with. And we knew as soon as we heard that he'd made an excellent choice."

Luna started grinning, uncontrollably, and blushed at how warmly she'd already been received. "Y-you wouldn't prefer that he stayed with Ginny?"

"Luna, I love Ginny dearly but she'll be the first to tell you that she goes through boys – and sometimes girls – like it's no one's business. Yes, we were initially sad that they separated but, they're adults. We're more glad that there's no bad blood at all. Ginny actually told me how much she hoped you two would get together back in May, so it's safe to say you got her seal of approval."

Luna giggled and finished her cup of tea. "Thank you Molly. It means an awful lot."

"Any time dear."

Their conversation was interrupted when Harry knocked on the door and gently pushed it ajar, a sleepy young boy with technicolour hair rubbing their eyes and hugging into Harry's chest, fussing quietly. "Sorry Molly, can I get Teddy a glass of water? Andromeda wants me to tuck Teddy in and read him a bedtime story."

Molly jumped up and accio'ed a glass to her hand, filling it with water from the faucet and handing it to Harry. "I'm just going to check on little Freddie and give Angelina a hand. I'll let you get on with Teddy." She gave them all a short wave and headed off.

"What did you and Molly talk about then sweets?" Harry sat down and perched Teddy on his knee, gently handing him the glass. "Drink up matey… be careful though and don't spill it, or else Nana Andie will make you change your pyjamas again."

Luna smiled wider as Harry fussed over Teddy. He was so affectionate, so gentle, so naturally paternal with Teddy. She found herself wondering about their future, all the possibilities that could come; marriage, a quiet ceremony of course, followed by the pitter-patter of maybe half a dozen pairs of feet, the bags under the eyes as well as the crows feet that form in the corner of them when you end up with about five kids – maybe even a set of twins in there – before the age of 26. A bit ambitious maybe, a bit twee and overly saccharine… but isn't that what fantasy was for?

Her daydreaming was curtailed when Harry nudged her with his foot, Teddy's sleepy giggles helping pull her out of it fully. "Ah, you're back on Earth at last. For probably the fifth time… what were you and Molly talking about?"

Luna, suddenly feeling rather bashful, hid behind her fringe and looked away. "Oh… nothing important. Woman things, something you and Teddy wouldn't understand."

Harry gave her a sly smile but didn't press further. "I'll ask a bit later when younger ears aren't present. Teddy, do you want to say goodnight to Luna?"

Teddy nodded, and slid off of Harry's knee to hop up onto Luna's, giving her as tight a hug as a five year old can muster and said with a yawn "Night-night Auntie Luna." Teddy didn't see how much wider Luna's smile grew, but he felt how tightly Luna hugged him back.

Harry leaned down to give Luna a peck on the lips then tucked Teddy back up into his arms. "I'll be back down in about quarter of an hour sweets. See you in a bit."

"See you in a bit sweetheart." Luna watched Harry walk off with Teddy in his arms, and let out a quiet, happy sigh as she got up to make another cup of tea. Approval from the family? Excellent. Approval from a nephew that absolutely idolises your boyfriend? Even better.

Harry and Luna were the last of the visiting guests at the Burrow, busy having a cup of tea and a small supper with Molly as Arthur cleaned up the mess and went to bed, leaving Molly and the pair in the front room, decompressing from the party.

"Molly, thank you so much again for that quiche. That was feckin' lovely."

"Not a problem dear. I went and got the eggs for it this morning. I almost put bacon in before Arthur stopped me though. Very glad you liked it though."

Harry smirked and squeezed Luna's hand, finishing his cup of tea. "It was lovely tonight Molly. Cheers for hosting. Very kind of you to let Andromeda and Teddy stay for the season as well."

"I think Andie appreciates it as well. She was so thankful that it almost got irritating after a while, but I know it's hard for her and Teddy on their own. Teddy took a liking to you though, didn't he Luna?"

"Oh he's such a sweetheart! How can a five year old boy be so affectionate?! You know he called me Auntie Luna before Harry took him to bed?"

"That's a very good sign, right there. Anyway..." Molly finished her cup of tea and pulled out her wand. "I've got something to give you Luna dear, before you leave." She muttered an accio under her breath, and a package slowly floated over from Molly's normal chair in the corner of the room, next to the radio. "Consider it an early Christmas gift from me."

Luna took the gift from the air, and looked up at Molly. "Are you sure? I mean, it's not even Christmas Eve yet?" Molly simply nodded and gestured for her to open it. "Alright…" Luna mumbled, slowly and carefully pulling the spellotape apart and opening up the package to feel something… soft. Soft and rather woolly. She didn't have to feel much more, before she knew, and her mouth dropped into a perfect 'o' shape.

Slowly sliding the wrapping paper away, she picked up the present inside and pulled it out to reveal a jumper. Not a standard jumper, not one you could get in Diagon Alley, or any muggle shop. Molly Weasley had knitted her, her own Weasley family jumper. Perfect, deep Ravenclaw blue, with a striking, golden 'L' marking it as hers.

"Oh… oh Molly… Oh my word, I really don't know what to say. I'm… oh no, I'm getting teary..." Luna started to babble, and Harry wrapped her in a hug as she softly started to sniff.

Molly got up from the sofa opposite and sat down next to Luna, putting an arm around her and patting her gently. "Oh… it's alright dear. Your reaction is thanks enough. Thank you for being so good to Harry, and being so warm to us tonight. You're a credit to your mum and dad, and I hope you know that."

The smile on Luna's face couldn't be wiped after; not as Harry and Luna took the Floo Network home, not as they brushed their teeth before bed, not even as Luna wore the jumper to bed and got entirely too warm to be comfortable. That smile was near permanent after tonight, and Luna wasn't worried if the wind changed and her face stayed like that at all. As far as 'first Christmases with the boyfriend' go, hers was up there.