Blame it on the Radishes

By

Pokepotterfan93

Luna Lovegood was a carefree girl. Her mother and father had raised her as such and she was full of life and full of love for her friends. One friend in particular was on Luna's mind, her raven haired, green eyed Seeker, Harry Potter. She was there when his godfather, Sirius Black had fallen through the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries. The pain in Harry's voice was so heart-breaking that Luna herself had cried when she heard him scream.

Arriving at the old scarlet engine, Luna entered the train and after getting tucked into a compartment with her Spectrespecs on. Ginny was there, talking about her new boyfriend Dean and going on about a trip to Muggle London. As Ginny spoke, Luna wondered what it was like to have a boyfriend. She had never had one, or been on a date for that matter, and it seemed like a very curious prospect.

Taking the stack of Quibbler magazines from her trunk, she set out to try sell some for her father. Her friendship with Harry and his interview with them had many people enjoying the odd magazine. After selling one to Cho Chang, who was surprisingly friendly, she went to a compartment with Harry, Hermione, and Ron, watching them talk animatedly when she saw something distressing around Harry's head – Wrackspurts – those pesky little things that lived off depression.

"Hello Harry," she greeted dreamily. "Did you have an enjoyable summer?"

"Oh, hi Luna," Harry turned to face her. "It was all right, I sort of kept to myself. You?"

"I went to Sweden with Daddy," she replied. "We were looking for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"Did you have any luck?" Harry asked, ignoring Hermione's small snort. Unlike her, he believed that some of the creatures Luna talked about existed. After all, he was under the impression at one point in time that unicorns were fake, and now he knew this to be untrue.

"No, unfortunately I was wearing my charm necklace, and they don't like wood," she answered sadly. "Would anyone like a Quibbler?"

Harry smiled. "I'll take one." He handed the three sickles for payment.

Once Luna left, Hermione turned to him with a look.

"What? I like some of the articles!"

"Harry, as much as I love Luna as a friend, those creatures are as real as Malfoy's good side." Hermione said with a scowl as she opened one of her textbooks.

The term was hard enough for Harry, given his mission from Professor Dumbledore to get close to Professor Slughorn. Now, on top of this, he had to make an appearance at the Slug Club holiday party hosted by Professor Slughorn himself. At least with the help of the mysterious Half-blood Prince he was better at potions, much to Hermione's annoyance and his joy. He had never beaten Hermione in potions before, and he quite enjoyed the feeling. Thankfully, topping his bushy haired friend in class hadn't affected her ways of looking out for him. She warned him earlier that day as they walked through the halls that some girl named Romilda Vane was going to try to sneak him a love potion.

Harry's thoughts went back to the holiday party, trying to think through the list of people he could ask to go with him. There was Ginny...but she was going with Dean. There was Cho…but that would be awkward, given everything that had happened. Susan Bones from Hufflepuff was a friend of his, but she was going through a depression over her Aunt Amelia's death. Finally, he remembered someone who'd love to go with him – Luna. She was a friend, he could talk to her, and she was pretty. She was pretty? Where'd that come from? Luna's just my friend…right?

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he went in search of Luna and found her outside, feeding Thestrals. Harry's mind turned to that day when they flew to London - the pain, the guilt. If only he had been stronger. "Hey Luna, can I ask you something?"

Luna wasn't surprised when she heard his voice, but then again, Harry had never seen her surprised. "Of course you can Harry. What is it?"

"Well I was thinking, maybe you'd like to come with me to Slughorn's Christmas party?" he asked quickly, taking a deep breath when he finished.

"I'd like that Harry." Luna smiled softly. Turning to face him, she wished she had her Spectrespecs to see if he had any Wrackspurts infecting him.

"Great. It's a date!" he grinned, feeling his cheeks heat up with a blush.

"It's a date," Luna repeated with a nod, her own cheeks appearing to be just warm as Harry's.

Unusual but still pretty– that was the only thought that came to Harry's mind when he saw her. The spangled silver dress suited her frame perfectly, bringing out the colour in her eyes. Her blonde hair was oddly perfect, and her radish earrings looked amazingly in sync with the rest of her outfit. "Is the lady ready to be escorted?" he asked, holding his arm out which she gratefully took.

"I am indeed, milord," Luna giggled absentmindedly, walking to the room with her date. The room was quite large, and Luna noticed that Slughorn kept trying to nab her date away for one thing or another. She finally decided to save him by pulling him to the small dance floor and doing a jig her father had taught her.

Harry had a hard time following her movements but he was glad for the chance to break away from the people and just enjoy himself. "Luna, what am I supposed to do?"

"Take my left hand with your right one, and spin me," Luna instructed, twirling and smiling. Then deciding it was the perfect time, she mustered all of her courage and looked at him. "Harry, how are you dealing with Sirius's passing?"

"Um," the simple question had him floored. No one had asked that. True, Hermione had asked if he was okay – but not how he was dealing with it. "I'm fine Luna; thanks for the concern."

Luna took out her Spectrespecs and placed them on the bridge of her nose, seeing the cloud of Wrackspurts which seemed to have actually grown larger since term began. "Harry, you're absolutely covered in Wrackspurts! There is no way you're fine!"

"Wrackspurts – Luna, what the bloody hell is a Wrackspurt?" Harry asked immediately.

"They're little creatures that go in your ears and make your brain go fuzzy. They're known for going after people in emotional distress," Luna explained with no hint of her usual dreaminess, Harry had never seen her so serious about something in all the time he had known her. "I had a serious infection when my mother died. They're repelled by love – my father's constant cuddles and comforting saved me from them."

"How can I get rid of them then?" Harry asked with a slight tone of panic in his voice.

"Do you trust me, Harry?" Luna asked, closing the distance between them.

"I do." Harry nodded, and suddenly, he felt a soft pair of lips connect with his own.

Magical could describe a lot of things in Harry's mind – the castle, the way you could fit a whole family into a tent, or the way a simple wave of a wand could turn a table into a pig – but the previous night eclipsed every previous definition of the word. Luna was right; the love she had shown him had repelled whatever dizzying fog that had been clouding his mind, and he was feeling a lot better. He hoped the black mist that escaped his scar wasn't quite as dangerous as Luna had let on, though she warned him countless times that she'd never seen an infestation as big as his before. They had gingerly gotten dressed and left the Room of Requirement together, but not before Harry thanked Luna with a kiss and wasn't too surprised when Luna suddenly declared that she was now his girlfriend.

The passing weeks had brought many different things. By using a little Liquid Luck Harry had gotten an important memory from Slughorn for Professor Dumbledore and managed to walk into the Room of Requirement to find Luna swimming, sans clothing. Luna had confided in Harry a lot of her life and insecurities that night, and he did the same, and by the end of it all they were a closer couple.

Seeing the two holding hands or spotting The Chosen One's arms around Luna Lovegood's waist was now a common sight for all the students and one that most couldn't believe. Potter had the chance with every witch in the castle, but somehow he'd gone after Loony Lovegood.

Professor Dumbledore had revealed that the black mist was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and that with it now gone; Harry's part of that dreaded prophecy was now complete. That had gotten a great reaction from Luna who announced Harry would have to come Crumple-Horned Snorkack hunting with her and her father – whom Harry had yet to meet.

"Oh, Daddy will love you, Harry," Luna smiled and ruffled her boyfriend's always messy hair.

"I'm sure he will, especially in Sweden where he can kill me and hide the body," Harry chuckled nervously.

"Harry, don't be silly, he'd probably feed it to the Snorkack; they love human flesh," Luna said matter-of-factly but still kissing his cheek to offer a bit of reassurance.

Luna was late, and when she noticed it the first time, she had a list of reasons as to why. She was stressed out, Professor Dumbledore had just been killed, and Harry declared that he was not returning to Hogwarts next year. he knew something was wrong, however, when her favorite pudding made her ill, and that's when the realisation hit her. A quick visit to Madam Pomfrey confirmed her suspicions, leaving her alone on the cot with her thoughts. Her father had always warned her that radishes increased a woman's fertility, and at least now she had something to take the blame.

Once she reached the Room of Requirement – or the bedroom as they called it now – she snuggled into the sleeping form of her boyfriend. When she woke she felt the familiar sensation of Harry's fingers stroking her hair softly. "What did Madam Pomfrey say?" he whispered, kissing her forehead gently.

"What I already knew. The radish earrings should've come off on Valentine's Day." Luna giggled and smiled warmly at her boyfriend as she looked him in the eye. "We're having a baby, Harry, a little us." She couldn't say another word as her boyfriend's lips connected with hers.

"That's amazing," Harry grinned and then turned serious. Now he was scared, but more importantly, he had to think about the situation they were in objectively. Luna and the baby had just been elevated to number two on Lord Voldemort's radar since it would be the smartest thing to do. Harry would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat to save Luna and the baby and everyone who knew him would confirm that. "Your father and the two of you," he spoke, placing his hand on her stomach, "you'll need to flee the country for now. We'll find you a nice place in Sweden, just until the war is over."

"Harry—" Luna tried to protest until his finger stopped her lips from moving.

"No, you and that baby are my family – as is your father now – so go, and I promise you, no matter what, I will be there when the baby comes." He kissed her softly, placing as much love in the kiss as he could to reassure her fears.

A promise like the one Harry made is usually hard to keep, but he kept it anyway. On the day Luna was due, he appeared in the small house in the Swedish countryside, clutching her hand as she felt her first contraction. It took eleven hours, two dilation spells and a broken hand before the new parents welcomed their twins, James Lysander and Lily Selene Lovegood-Potter into the world. The moment the two babies stared at their father, Harry was forever grateful that Luna knew the way to get rid of Wrackspurts.

A/N: Round 4 prompt given: Pregnant. I hope you all enjoyed it.