"So let's start with who he knows outside our circle. Seamus and Dean are friends with Ron from where I came from." Harry said while Hermione nodded agreement.
Neville thought, "Dean survived but Seamus didn't."
"So would he visit Dean?"
"They weren't real close. Dean never got into Quidditch and called it a stupid game. To Ron that was pretty much worse than admitting you were a Death Eater." Ginny admitted with a chuckle.
"Okay and Parvati was the only girl he was involved with?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah. She was very into monogamy, as in cutting his wedding tackle off if he cheated level of into it." Ginny said with wide eyed sincerity. Neville nodded beside her.
"Okay so that leaves a second girl out." Harry said.
"Yeah. Ron really didn't hang out with many past us."
"Lavender and him aren't friends?"
"Well yeah somewhat. I mean Lavender is pretty cool with everyone but her girlfriend and her are very happy together."
"Girlfriend? She has a girlfriend. Well that's unexpected." Harry exclaimed in surprise.
Hermione just shrugged, "Okay. Not the way it went in my world but aside from any prurient interest we can move on."
Harry sat back frowning, "Not prurient, just curious about all the differences. I wouldn't want to make a social faux pas. Especially if I saw her and her girlfriend together unexpectedly."
Hermione sighed, "Fine get it over with."
Ginny volunteered, "Its Fay Dunbar. She lived and they're both in the Healer trainee program."
"Thank you now back to the main problem of locating Ron." Hermione said looking intently at Harry until he nodded agreement with her.
Ginny shook her head, "I don't know. He is pretty good at apparating. He can reach London from the backyard."
Hermione considered, "So a circle of around 130 to 150 miles is his maximum."
"Roughly I guess."
"That means he could reach Cardiff, anywhere in Cornwall, all in one jump. Can he make multiple jumps before he crashes?"
"Uh. I don't know." Ginny and Neville conferred for a few moments before shaking their heads.
"He never told us and if anyone would know it was you know, them." Neville sadly said.
"Hey what about Luna?" Harry suddenly sat up.
"What about her? Ron and her were not very close either. I was a better friend to her than Ron, and of course her and Harry." Ginny admitted with a shrug.
"So it sounds like Ron did not have a very large circle of friends here." Hermione observed
"Well when you say it like that it sounds worse than it is."
"Neville's right. None of us really made friends outside our house much. Harry was the one that moved between the houses the most. It was just the way it is." Ginny explained.
"Great. So since the list of people is pretty small what about places. Would he go off to try and get beer or something harder to drink?"
"Well Diagon Alley took a big hit during the war. Fortescue's is closed, the Leaky Cauldron got damaged. And well Hogsmeade is an absolute mess." Neville listed off.
"And well he doesn't know enough about the muggle world to get anything."
"Okay. So is there anywhere he would go to think. To have some quiet time. Some place that was special to him?" Hermione listed off the options.
Ginny shook her head, "Ron is a very emotional person. He can think tactically pretty good, but otherwise thinking and him are not very good friends either. As for the other two questions I don't know. He's never mentioned it to me."
Neville shrugged as well, "Me either. Ron was close to Harry and Hermione. He treated Harry like a brother. He was an honorary Weasley."
Harry sighed back some tears as he remembered his times at the Burrow. How Molly and Arthur had treated him like any of the other boys in the family.
Hermione though frowned, "Well let me sum up. We have no other friends he could have gone to see, he could have apparated to anywhere within a circle of around seventy thousand miles, and he has no where special other than the Burrow and Hogwarts correct?"
"Yeah pretty much." Ginny agreed.
Hermione sat back and thought. She had a frown on her face but was not biting her lip Harry noticed.
"There is not much we can do. I'm sorry. Without more information he could literally be anywhere." Hermione shrugged apologetically.
"What? That's it? You're just washing your hands of him? Not even going to bother trying to look for him? As emotionally upset as he was he could have splinched himself. He could have blind apparated in front of a train or a bus. I know know he wasn't your friend but he is still my brother." Ginny said leaping to her feet to point angrily at Hermione.
Hermione leapt to her feet just as quickly. "Look. I'm not washing my hands of him. I just am not going to expend my time and energy leaping around the southern UK on a wild goose chase for a needle in a haystack. Give me more information to go on and I'll charge into hell itself to get him. But this is nothing. This is less than nothing. I have no clue where he is, or where he could be. Now tell me more about his emotional state so i can understand what is going on. Maybe I can figure something out from that."
Harry had tried to quietly slide his wand out of his belt but Hermione must have noticed the gesture because she held her hand up to him.
"Look. I know you don't know us. You don't know me. I understand and accept that you are used to a different way that Hermione acted. I'm not her. The sooner you accept that the better off we can be. I need more information before I act. I look at the data, I examine the facts then I make a reasonable judgment call a before I act. We're just going to have to trust that Ron was skilled enough he could apparate without splinching himself and that he landed somewhere safe."
Ginny was staring into Hermione's eyes and came to a decision, "Fine. But I don't see how understanding how Ron was acting will help us find him."
"It might not, it might solve everything. Just tell me about Ron's state of mind before he left."
"He was going on about you and Harry being impostors. That we'd been gotten to and they were coming for him."
Hermione started pacing. "He had been operating on pepper-up potions for the last several days. Do your potions use a poly-adeno-active base?"
"A whata what?" Neville asked. Harry had to agree. While Hermione had been smart she had at least always translated what she said into dummy speak for everyone else.
"A Poly-adeno-active. Look what kind of teacher taught you potions?"
"Severus Snape." Neville and Ginny said together.
Hermione smacked her forehead. "Of course right. Around here hiring an untrustworthy child hating murdering rapist is a common practice for a school full of children."
"Look. A pepper-up potion is nothing more than a magical espresso. It wakes you up."
"Does it have the plant Ephedra in it?" Hermione hissed.
"Yes it does." Neville said, "We have to distill an essence of it."
"Okay thank you. Ginny did Hermione ever show muggle movies to Ron?"
"Yeah her Harry and Ron would have what they called movie night once a week at her place over the summer."
"So, do you know if he ever saw a movie called Invasion of the Body Snatchers?"
Ginny shrugged in confusion. "I have no idea. Muggle movies never made much sense to me."
Neville frowned in concentration before saying, "Was that one where the people would go to sleep and a plant would eat them and make a copy?"
Hermione smiled, "Sort of. But yes a copy of the person would be made." She had stopped pacing. "Okay I think I can say WHY Ron reacted the way he did but not where he went yet."
"Okay so why did he react that way?" Harry asked.
"He was suffering grief. He had just seen his closest friends, no offense but I get the feeling he was closer to Harry and Hermione than you guys." Neither Neville nor Ginny disagreed with her. "So when we showed up, he had been abusing pepper-ups. You're not supposed to take more than one or two a day. You said he'd been running on them for several days. He went home to lay down. The potions started coming down out of his system. This can cause confusion, anxiety, hallucinations. It can stimulate the fight or flight response."
"Okay, I'm with you so far." Harry said thinking hard. "So in this confused state he thinks Ginny and Neville are these pod people." Hermione gave him a slight grin, "Yeah I saw that movie too. Dan was a sci-fi geek, so he runs from them before they can get him."
"Right. He remembered the movie Hermione showed him, in a world of magic that plot must not seem too impossible. We show up. We're replacing his friends in the minds of everyone according to his confused and muddled mind. His grief causing his conscious mind to not think clearly, but not so foggy that he forgets how to apparate. He doesn't feel safe at home, he doesn't feel safe at school. So he runs. He runs away. But where? Where would he feel safe?"
Ginny sat down blinking at Hermione, Neville sighed, "That's the problem. There isn't anywhere else we wouldn't have already heard about him showing up at."
"Does his brothers have a joke shop in Diagon Alley?"
"Fred and George's joke shop? Yeah Harry gave them the money from the Tri-wizard tournament." Ginny nodded. "But they had it protected and closed when they joined the battle."
"Could Ron have gotten through their defenses?" Harry wondered.
"Not very likely but we can go ask them." Ginny said.
"Good, Ginny you and Harry go back to the Burrow and see if the twins are still there. If not I guess see if they're at their shop. Either way see if anyone might have any ideas. Neville you and I will go see Luna and ask her if she has any more info she can give us about Ron. After that we'll meet back here in two hours." Hermione said standing up and heading for the floo.
Harry was grinning behind her back. "C'mon guys. Let catch up before she finds Ron without us."
===xxx===xx
Ron was waking up, he was groggy and when he tried to move his right leg he fell back onto the bed in agony. Letting out a loud cry of pain he lay there panting rapidly for several minutes until he heard footsteps coming.
Opening his eyes he saw Pansy Parkinson coming into the room. She stopped and looked at him, "You're awake. Don't try to move you splinched yourself."
"I had to get away from them. Save myself. Are you one of them?"
"One of who Weasley?" Pansy sneered.
"Stop interrogating him Pansy. Let me see him." Ron recognized the voice as Millicent Bulstrode. Where had he landed as he had been trying for Shell Cottage. He thought. Maybe Fleur would be immune with her Veela physiology.
"Where, Where am I?" Ron managed to croak out.
Millicent stripped his covers off and started poking his leg, "You're in my house Weasley. You apparated onto my roof then fell off. Lucky for you Millicent was here and wanted to heal you." Pansy disdainfully sniffed the air.
"Thanks. You're all heart. Glad to see they haven't replaced you yet." Ron panted back.
"Here drink this." Millicent handed him a vial.
"What is this?" He asked looking at it like it was going to explode or poison him.
"Its a healing potion. I manged to get the bleeding stopped but there was a lot of tissue damage. You managed to tear most of your thigh muscle off with your bad apparate. What the hell was you running from?" The chubby girl asked.
"Them. They got to Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville. They're not who they used to be. They're impostors." He slurred
"Riight. Okaay. Sure. And I'm Morgana Lefay." Pansy said mockingly looking at Millicent who was frowning.
"Look Ron, I need you to drink this for me. Please. It'll make you feel better." Millicent cooed stroking his hair.
He nodded, "Okay mum. I'll do this." He said taking the vial and drinking it.
"Here now drink this one too. Then this one." He took and drank the vials she handed him then fell back asleep.
"How long am I going to have him in here?" Pansy grumped.
"Its going to take at least a day for that leg to regrow, anything earlier and he'll be lame for the rest of his life, if he doesn't get an infection and loose it." Millicent said standing up.
"Great, now what the hell do you think he was blathering on about them being replaced and he was glad we hadn't been."
"I have no idea. Maybe something muggle. He was friends with Granger." Millicent shrugged her imposing bosom heaving with the movement.
"Yeah. Great. Now tell me why I haven't just chucked his bloody arse in a rubbish bin?" Pansy grumbled as if she was ready to perform that action right that moment.
"Because the war is over and our side lost. We can't afford to act like that anymore." Millicent reminded the tall slender girl.
"Well great. You can sleep in here with the bloody mental case, I'm taking your room."
"Fine. I'll take care of him." Millicent stated.
"Wow. Who'd have thought the mighty Millicent was getting all soft over a blood traitor."
Millicent grabbed Pansy by the front of her shirt, shoving her hard against the wall, "Look you dumb cunt. The war is over. We LOST. That blood purity shit is going to have to go away. If I save his life he'll owe me and that can put us some place better than this cottage. Your stupid father got himself arrested over that blood purity shit and mine got himself ended. Now you just shut it." She slammed Pansy against the wall a couple more times to remind her that she was still the more physically imposing of the two girls.
When Millicent let go of Pansy she staggered from the room, looking back, "As soon as he is healed I want him and YOU both out of here."
"Great that'll be fine by me." Millicent glared at the retreating figure before sitting by Ron on the floor. Her tall heavyset frame slumped against the bed, Ron's hand against her cheek as she cried.
===xxx===xx
Harry and Ginny stepped out of the floo at the Burrow. The moment Harry was standing in the living room the scents and sounds came flooding back to him. He inhaled deeply. The wood smoke from the fireplace, the food and constant tea on the stove bubbling. The very feel of a house that had love and happiness in the very wood.
Looking around he saw the couch,chairs, and side tables in the living room. All of them mismatched and covered with shawls and doilies. A chess set sat on one table idly moving occasionally as they waited patiently for players to begin. The carpet on the floor had the same stains Harry and Ron had made with their pumpkin juice when they wrestled in the summer of his 2nd year.
"Oh Harry. I thought I heard the floo." Molly exclaimed as she came into the room. Clasping him to her matronly bosom he hugged the woman back. Finally she let him go after sniffling a little bit.
"Hello Molly. How are you doing?"
"I'm worried of course. But the clock says Ron is safe so that is good."
"It doesn't say lost anymore?" Ginny asked.
"No about a half-hour ago it moved to friend's place. I don't know which friend he's with though. I sent the twins to the shop but they said he wasn't there. Bill says he's not at Shell Cottage and Arthur went to the Ministry to see if anyone knew anything, but they are still in such a mess. Minerva has her hands full at the castle and Hogsmeade otherwise I would bother her. So who knows where he is but the clock says he's with a friend so, What will be will be. So unless you have any ideas."
"Oh. Well that's what Hermione and Neville are exploring. A few leads she came up with."
"Good for them. I knew she would figure things out. Right smart girl that one is." Molly said admiringly. "And Neville is such a good young man. I'm sure if Ron is still missing
Ginny rolled her eyes briefly. "And what am I mum. Chopped Flarn."
"No of course not Ginny dear. You're a smart girl too." Molly said, "So Harry what happened to Ron. The way he was acting earlier. I don't understand."
"Hermione thinks he overdosed on pepper-ups. He was hitting them pretty hard over the last few days." Harry explained.
"Oh dear. He always did have a problem with self-restraint. Well once he gets them out of his system and a good long nap into him he'll come home soon enough. Now Harry let's go get some tea and I just baked some biscuits. How is Hermione?"
"She's doing well. And thank you I'd like some tea and biscuits."
"Neither of you died like Ron claimed? You're not some sort of Impostor? Should I put the good silver away?" Molly teased as they moved to the kitchen.
"Not that I noticed. I seem to still be just Harry."
"Well that would be something you would notice. And glad to have you here Harry." Molly shuffled over to the stove to pull plates and cups to her, "Now you sit down young man. You've had quite the strenuous time."
"Uh yes ma'am. Thank you." Harry said sitting at the dining room table and glad this Molly seemed to be the same warm, chatty, maternal person she was in his experience. "We're meeting Hermione and Nev back at Grimmould in a couple hours to see what they found out."
"Oh dear. Well I should call Bill and Fleur they'll want to see you and the twins. We all lost sight of each other last night in that mess. Its amazing any of us came out of that." She sniffled a bit more looking at the clock again before forcing a smile and heading for the living room.
Harry looked at her amazing clock. Arthur's hand was at work, Ginny, Bill, Fleur and the twins all sat at Home. When everyone was scattered meant quite a lot. Harry noticed he and Hermione had a hand on the clock with his at home and Hermione's at friend's place, along with Ron's. Friend's place though, which one. Suddenly Harry realized two hands were sitting to the side of the clock face. The hands of Percy and Charlie stood as frozen sentinels along the face. He looked at Ginny and nodded who gave a sad sigh and mouthed the words "Explain later."
===xxx===xx
Hermione and Neville came out of the floo at the Longbottom estate. "So the Rookery was destroyed?" Hermione asked as they crossed for the front door.
"Well not destroyed but damaged severely. Apparently Xeno had an Erumpent horn rigged to explode when they came after him Luna said." Neville explained as they walked down the front steps.
"Well, while I applaud the dedication to the cause, self immolation is a bit excessive." Hermione shook her head as they walked the lane.
"Yeah I know. Luna said her dad should have survived the explosion but he's gone missing. She thinks he might have been taken."
"Oh no. That's not good." Hermione frowned at the news.
"I know. But she's taking it the way she does everything else. I swear if you told her that the planet was going to explode day after tomorrow all she would do would shrug and cancel her subscription to Witch Weekly."
"She accepts things that calmly?" Hermione chuckled.
"Yeah. Pretty much I've never seen her get angry. Not even when she's been picked on or in battle. She just kinda placidly goes along and does what she has to."
"hunh Really. Quite a bit different than the Luna I knew. She had some anger management issues."
"Oh. Wow. I guess that makes sense. Hermione used to talk about infinite worlds with infinite versions of all of us out there. It made me content I guess to sometimes think there was ever a world where none of this bad stuff happened." Neville quietly said.
"I suppose it does make sense. Mathematically. Before this morning I would have called it poppycock to travel interdimensionally but, well, here I am. And as they say wherever you go there you are." She said with a smile.
"Yeah. I guess so."
Her smile faltered as apparently Neville didn't get the joke. "So you and Ginny are together?"
Neville snorted, "Yeah and we're good together. We both like a lot of the same stuff. She likes animals and plants and flying is more her but yeah we're good."
"Her and Harry though?"
"She's over him. They're more like siblings they discovered. She said kissing him felt like kissing Ron."
"Is that direct experience or a metaphor?" Hermione asked aghast.
"As far as I know its just a metaphor. They joke they may be pure-bloods but their not that kind of pure-bloods. As for her and Harry they never got past the holding hands and kissing phase of things because of that. So yeah she's over him."
"She's over your Harry. This one we're all trying to get used to." Hermione frowned again as they turned onto the lane for Luna.
Neville stopped to consider that, "Yeah I guess, we are. But he has eyes for you."
She raised her eyebrow with a snort. "I suppose so. I'm not sure."
Neville shrugged, "It'll work out. If not we're all still young."
"True there is that." Hermione agreed.
They arrived at the remains of the Rookery. The building was partially collapsed and a burned shell was all that remained. A large bright pink pavilion tent had been erected nearby. Luna was sitting outside reading a book when they walked up.
"Hello Luna, are we interrupting anything?"
"No, I was taking a break from thinking of what course I wanted to do now. I discovered that father was sent to Azkaban this morning. I contacted the Ministry and they will work to bring him back."
"Oh I'm sorry. I never knew your dad but uh. I'm sure he will be fine."
"No more than likely he will not be. However thank you for your polite lie." She said patting Hermione's hand. "If you would like to come inside I will put the kettle on and make some tea."
"Uh yes. We needed to talk to you about Ron." Neville said moving the conversation on as Hermione stared at the svelte blonde.
"Do not worry Hermione. This falls under the same category I mentioned earlier. All we can do is solve the problem in front of us right now. The future will arrive whether we worry about it or not."
"Right. Sorry you're just so different from the girl I knew." Hermione gave a hollow chuckle.
"And you miss her. So how long had you been lovers?" She asked turning to enter the tent.
"Excuse me what makes you think we were lovers?" Hermione huffed.
"A lucky guess. When you mentioned her a small smile tugs at your lips, the same one that you get for Harry. Those are the only two people that you do that for. Everyone else when you mentioned them you either overact with your emotions or you remain controlled and stoic." Luna stopped and turned to smile at Hermione, "I am rather flattered that a version of me became your lover. I find it comforting. Please have a seat and I'll return with the tea. Then we can discus Ron."
Hermione raised her hand with her finger up to stop the girl but she had already skipped out of the room. Turning to look at Neville he just shrugged. "Yeah, she's always been like that. We'd always get some popcorn when her and Hermione would get into a debate. You were the only one that could cross brains with her and come out okay."
"Oh. Okay. But how did she know we wanted to talk about Ron. Is she a seer?"
"No, Hermione. I am not a seer." Luna said walking back in with a tray floating behind her with the tea service on it. "You are here with Neville not Harry. He is looking concerned which means it is more likely Ron as he is the one who has most recently had the troubling behavior. While Harry, no doubt, has issues from the events he experienced I doubt the two of you would come to talk to me about him." She smiled as the tea tray hovered around covering her guests some tea.
"Right. Okay. Yes its about Ron." Hermione explained as she began to tell Luna about what happened with Neville clarifying the things he personally witnessed.
Luna sat sipping her tea listening before nodding, "Yes that does sound like Pepper-up potion. He told me he was being responsible. I wonder how long he had been actually using them."
"Popping like that for an extended time can be very dangerous." Hermione frowned.
"Popping?" Neville asked.
"Sorry slang term in my world. Popping, as in popping a potion. Most specifically a stimulant like a pepper-up potion." Hermione explained quickly.
"Oh." was his reply.
"So Luna do you know where he could have gone?" Hermione turned back to Luna with a hopeful expression.
"No. I'm sorry but I have nothing more than what you do about this." Luna shook her head sadly, "Other than when he does come down from them he will come down hard."
"I know. That's one reason I want to find him quickly." Hermione flatly said.
"The other?" Luna inquired.
"Well I sort of want to make sure he's okay and isn't blabbering on about the big secret."
"In the condition he is in. Only a complete fool would accept anything he says as reality."
"Oh okay. We better get back to Grimmould and tell Harry. You're welcome to come over if you want. Maybe we can all have dinner together."
"If you are not bothered by this." Luna asked calmly.
"No. I might as well get used to everyone and everything."
===xxx===xx
Harry had been greeted by all of the surviving and not missing Weasleys. Fleur hugging and kissing him in gratitude for saving her sister and Bill from the forces of darkness. The twins laughing about her behavior, then telling him that due to the war his share of the profits might be late, which Harry shrugged off.
Looking at the time he exclaimed, "Oh. Hey I need to get back to Grimmould. I was going to meet Hermione there ten minutes ago to see what she learned."
"Well go and come back Harry. Bring her with you. We'll have a good dinner and talk about all of it." Arthur declared.
"True, although with Ron not here I wouldn't want to call it a celebration." Molly said looking at the clock, with his hand still sitting on friend's place.
===xxx===xx
Harry stepped out of the floo at Grimmould and met Luna, Neville and Hermione.
"Did you find out anything?" Hermione immediately asked after Harry had entered the house.
"Well Molly's clock shows him at a friend's house."
"But we already established that it would be highly unlikely for him to be at anyone's house." Hermione frowned
"I know. But that's what her clock is saying. Is it possible her clock is wrong or being fooled?" Harry looked at Neville then Luna for a response.
"It has not been incorrect before to my knowledge. However no one has purposely tried to disrupt its accuracy." Luna explained after thinking for a moment.
"Do you know how it works?" Hermione asked.
"The hands are attuned by placing a drop of the person's blood on them. The clock them registers the flow of fate and how the person interacts with them. That is why it does not provide anything more useful or helpful than Safe, traveling, mortal peril, etc..." Luna considered for a moment. "However perhaps the magic is considering the person he is with as a friend because that is the way they are acting towards him."
"What he randomly landed in some person's house and they're keeping him as a friend?" Neville chuckled incredulously.
"It is possible."
"Well you can all check it out when we get back there. Molly invited us to dinner." Harry happily told them.
"Oh. Uh. You guys go ahead. I need to talk to Harry for a moment about something."
"Did she say what she was making?" Neville asked.
"No but it smelled like a roast of some kind."
"Oh good. Alright meet you there." Neville grinned as he flooed out.
Luna looked at Hermione then at Harry. "As I doubt you wish to have a romantic moment, you could explain what the problem with the Weasleys are."
"I didn't have a problem with the Weasleys per se. We got along just fine. At least the ones I knew. Its just how well did this Molly and Arthur know the me from here. How am I supposed to act in front of them. Did she call them anything special here? Which ones are dead here so I don't react badly." She had begun to slightly hyperventilate.
Harry stepped up and touched her arm gently, "Calm Hermione. Breathe. Its okay." Harry reminded her softly before she calmed her breathing and regained control.
"Sorry. I sometimes have a panic attack."
Harry looked at her, "You took out Voldemort and you get a panic attack before facing Molly Weasley?"
"Yeah I know. Aunt Min and Sister Agnes were the maternal figures in my life. Molly was a nice woman but I never really got along with her. She's just so, so, loud. Ron and Ginny were my friends the others I could handle in smaller doses."
"Oh. Yeah I can understand the Burrow can be a loud and chaotic place. But I'll be there with you. You'll be among friends. With the way everyone is, as long as you don't do anything too out there they'll never notice."
Luna nodded, "They have known me for most of my life and have not responded too negatively to me."
"Okay. Yeah. Combat I can handle. Family dinners not so much." She said with a smile.
Harry held her hand with an encouraging smile. When she didn't yank her hand back or hit him he felt a bit more relaxed.
===xxx===xx
Dinner at the Burrow was quite enjoyable for Harry. He and Hermione sat beside each other with Neville on her other side and George beside Harry. Food passed around the table with hearty portions. Everyone tried chatting with each other at the same time allowing Hermione to give brief non-committal answers. No one seemed to think she was acting too odd or unusual. Although when the twins asked her for an opinion on their new prank toy at the store Ginny had to step in. Giving the explanation she was fatigued from the battle still and the search among a lot of other things she begged off too much after dinner discussion and left for Grimmould Place.
Alone in the living room with Hermione Harry made sure she was going to be alright.
"Yes Harry. I'm just not comfortable with this right now. Maybe when I get to know them better."
"Oh okay. I guess I'll say goodnight too then."
"No, you don't have to. After all of the chaos and everything I think I'd like to be alone to do some thinking. Its kind of what I do."
"Oh okay. If you're sure."
She leaned in and gave him a hug, "Yes I'm sure. It'll be alright."
"Okay. I'll be back after a while then. I guess make yourself comfortable and uh try not to zap me when I come in." he said with a slight grin.
"I'll try." She then vanished into the floo flames.
Turning Harry saw Luna standing in the doorway looking at him with a slight smile.
"You know sneaking up and spying on people is usually considered to be rather rude." Harry pointed out.
"Yes. It is." she amicably agreed.
"So why are you doing so?"
"Would you please walk me home?" Luna changed subjects suddenly to Harry's amusement. When dealing with Luna he had given up on being annoyed, apparently it was a good idea no matter what world he was on.
After some ribbing from the twins about old and new girlfriends he had managed to say good night to Molly, Arthur and the others. Molly hugging him tightly.
Ginny had watched them leave but said nothing.
===xxx===xx
Luna and Harry walked until they reached a small wooden bridge over a stream. Luna stopped halfway across causing Harry to pause beside her.
She turned and stared into the water murmuring its way down the course. Leaning on the rail she sighed deeply.
"Luna? Is something wrong?"
"Yes. Harry I still love you." she said in a soft quavering tone of voice.
"Me. Uh don't you mean your Harry?"
She turned to face him. In the pale half moon filtering through the trees he could see the trace of tears slowly moving down her cheeks. "You are so very much like him. You are impulsive, happy, energetic. Warm. Dedicated, and in love with Hermione."
Harry hung his head before looking at Luna, "I. I loved my Hermione."
"You love this one too Harry. I see how you look at her. You reach out for her even when your hand stays by your side. Its like the two of you have always been together."
Harry sighed through his nose as he thought about her words. When he woke up and saw Hermione in that glade he felt such pure sheer joy that the world had given him another chance with her that not even the first time he flew, he saw Hogwarts, the first spell he cast, all paled in comparison. He liked Luna. His Luna had been a very nice person and this one seemed to be equally wonderful. Hermione though, she completed his world. She was his world. Her smile was the brightness in the dark, her hugs kept him going through the deepest most painful times at Hogwarts. He truly loved Hermione. His Hermione. He hoped he could feel the same about this one.
Luna chuckled, "I can see it in your eyes. You know that you love her too."
"Well yeah. I basically spent the last seven years with her. Grew up together. I owe her my life and this one seems to be just as good a person as the one I knew. You're right . I loved my Hermione so much I can't explain it. I was going to tell her but there never seemed to be a good time. Then time ran out." Harry confessed as he fought to maintain his composure.
"That is why I am telling you about my feelings Harry. I held out hope while they were on the hunt that he would come back to me. That he would love me again. I knew intellectually that it wouldn't happen. I know intellectually that you will not love me the way I would like you to. Yet I could very easily fall in love with you."
Harry looked at her in confusion as his guts made strange fluttering sensations, "Luna. What are you saying. What do you want me to do?"
She inhaled deeply with her eyes scrunched closed. "I want you to love the person your soul calls out for. I want you to be happy Harry. I will recover, and I will move on. I did not get a chance to talk to Harry, my Harry, about this. How could I when the battle was upon us so suddenly and then he was no more."
She had begun to cry great heaving sobs causing Harry to pull her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest twisting her hands in his shirt. They stood like that for several minutes before she slowed, "I have gotten your shirt wet Harry."
"It'll dry."
"Please love her. Be my friend, but be her world. Let her be yours." Luna softly begged.
"I will Luna. I promise. But why?"
"Because I love you enough to let you go. Because I did not get to let go of my Harry yet."
"I do care about you Luna. No matter what world I'm in."
"I know Harry. Your greatest power is your capacity for love. It is what makes you special." She said stepping back as Harry let her go. "Now go home to her. Tell her good night for me."
"I will Luna. We'll see you tomorrow?" Harry asked staring into her glistening eyes. Her soft pale lips pursed slightly as she stared at him, so small and vulnerable looking he thought. He almost leaned in to kiss her but the rational part of his mind stopped him. Made him realize that would not make things better, only confuse them.
She nodded, "If you wish. Only come after lunch. I am going to spend the morning talking to my Harry and Hermione."
Harry nodded, "Okay. Goodnight Luna."
"Goodnight Harry." She turned and vanished with a soft pop of apparation.
Harry composed himself before vanished for Grimmould himself.
===xxx===xx
The first sister turned to her third sister, "He has passed your test. Do you deny it."
"He has passed this one. There are two more yet to come dear sister. Three tests the hero must pass to earn their reward." The third sister declared as she melted and shifted.
"He has already been tested more than any other before." The second sister exclaimed. "Just how much more does he have to endure."
"His life has already been a test. He has passed it time and time again. 35 times he managed to avoid my hand." The first sister coldly declared in a voice form beyond the grave.
"You like him. You like her. You know our charge. We may not play favorites with the mortals sisters. It is my duty to do this. I will do my duty. Two more tests he must face. Then I shall turn my vision upon another." She stated calmly but with finality.
"So be it sister. We shall hold you to this vow. Two more tests of him then no more." The first sister stated.
"Should you break this we shall go to father." The second sister warned ominously.
"You would not dare." The third sister hissed in a gravelly voice from a thousand mouths as she briefly lost control her tenuous control over her form.
"We would." The other two sisters flatly declared before turning back to the pool of radiance in front of them displaying the lives of Harry and Hermione.
===xxx===xx
Harry walked into Grimmould to be met with a wand to the nose. "Hello Hermione. Nice to see your reflexes are still solid."
She raised her eyebrow then laughing slid the wand back into her belt. She was wearing blue and red pajamas, slippers, and her ubiquitous messenger bag. "Having to spend the last several years of my life training and fighting its no surprise. You don't freak out very easily."
"Having multiple people try to kill you kinda breaks you of that." Harry nodded as he moved into the house, shutting and locking the door behind him.
"So how did the visit go?"
"Okay until I walked Luna home. She uh. She misses her Harry."
"Oh. Perhaps we should go sit in the library. I made some coca."
"Sure, thanks. Is it in the kitchen?"
"Yeah." Hermione pulled her wand and a tray with a carafe with two cups on saucers began to float into the library ahead of her.
"Nice. You're pretty talented with that."
"Thank you. I have practiced it a bit, plus the Elder Wand makes casting feel as easy as breathing."
"True I hadn't thought about it."
Once they were seated with the coca in hand Harry felt awkward but he thought Hermione should know about the discussion with Luna. "I walked Luna home. Or most of the way home. We had a talk."
Hermione sipped her coca before asking softly, "Oh is that why your shirt has a large tear stain on it?"
"Yeah. She told me she loved her Harry and did not get a chance to tell him goodbye. That I'm a lot like him and that she could easily fall in love with me." He confessed with a sigh.
She sipped her coca while staring into the fireplace. "Is love a tender thing? it is too rough,
Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn." She chuckled.
"Uh. What?" Harry said dully.
Taking a deep breath to huff she smiled at him, "You love her?"
"I like her. I care about her. I cared about the Luna I knew. If she and Neville hadn't gotten together I might have stayed. I dunno. But, I loved Hermione. I loved her the way the flower loves the sun, I loved her so much it hurt sometimes to be away from her." Harry snorted mirthlessly, "I should have told her but there never seemed to be a good time. Then we ran out of time."
"And now you have me. Sitting in front of the fireplace next to you alone." She stated
"Yeah, but your virtue is safe. Consent is one of my biggest turn-ons." He smirked slightly sipping his mug of coca.
"Good. Last guy who tried to rape me, well he didn't enjoy what happened."
"I'll remember that." Harry said nodding as the smirk vanished off his face like it apparated, "Did that happen often?"
She stared into the fire, "Once was more than enough for a life time."
"Yeah. I can see that." He empathized with her.
"So are you going to transfer the love you had for her to me?" Hermione directly asked.
"I will try not to but Luna wants me to love you. She wants us to stay friends. She will not stand between you and I. And to be honest I hope there is going to be a you and I." Harry earnestly said.
She considered things for several minutes. "I told you how I feel. We will not jump into this. I am not your Hermione. I have had a different set of experiences, a different life. My personality is a wreck. I am a genius, or at least that what everyone has called me. I have social anxiety, I over think things quite frequently, I have trouble with expressing my feelings properly. I'm a very broken and messed up person. I can be a bit bossy and opinionated. You've known me two days. Barely. It took forever for Ron and Harry to decide to be my friends."
"I know. Okay. I just want to make sure you understand where I am at with my feelings. I will be your friend, I will be your lover, I will be whatever you want me to be. Luna tonight made me realize that time is the one thing we never have enough of. I thought I would have plenty of time to tell Hermione I loved her. I didn't. I'm not trying to pressure you. I just think if we are going to have any success we need to talk, and be honest with each other."
She turned to look at Harry. Setting her cup down she leaned forward to bury her face in her hands briefly before resting her elbows on her knees and her hands clasped under her chin. "Thank you. I appreciate your honesty. You're right about the time. Time is an ocean and I am sailing it without a compass. I didn't tell Harry how I felt either. How much I enjoyed and appreciated him. I should have. Maybe we would have. Well who knows what might have happened."
"Right." he said staring into the fire and thinking. "So how do you want to handle getting to know each other better."
Leaning back in the chair as she tucked her legs under her, she smiled, "Well sitting by a fireplace with some hot coca in our Pjs seems like a good start."
"Give me a minute to go change into some and I'll be back." Harry grinned.
===xxx===xx(Review Responses)
toranoashi13691: That is perfectly understandable. I am glad you've enjoyed what I've written for this so far and hope you like the rest of it.
RhysThornberry: Thanks. I don't think it's going to kill Phoenix or the other projects going on right now. Phoenix is one that calls to me. As for the other projects more likely the squirrels in my head will get distracted, come back, throw some more paragraphs up and eventually we'll get there one way or another.
Jslee102:Thank you. I'm hoping it works out as well.Ron is going to be a bit of an issue with things but not the biggest one.
Lucy Maud Montgomery, smnitback: Thanks. Hope you enjoy.
Dennisud: Sorry. No this is NOT, I repeat, This is NOT a DC crossover. I should not have used the designation Earth-3 but didn't think about it. We have three worlds we need to consider, even if we're not going to see two of them again we will hear about them from time to time in relation to things that happened with Harry and Hermione. We have Earth-1/Alpha that Harry Potter came from with his Hermione died, Earth-2/Bravo has Hermione as the child of destiny and her Harry died. They both wound up on Earth-3/Charlie that had both of them die. That's the world we are running on with them in the story and its just the third world in the counting. Thanks coming up with a Hermione that was Hermione enough, without being an identical one was a rather interesting psychological exercise. How her being the Child Of Destiny, the Chosen one, would change things. And yes at some point we will have brief discussion of her prophecy, once I get it totally figured out.
Minerdude: Thank you for the compliment. Yes. Ron has been running on pepper-up potions (Aka magical stims), not processing the grief of his best friends death, not processing the pain of the war, the stress he and his friends have been under. Merely having a psychotic break like this is a pretty amazing thing, a lot of stronger people would have wound up much worse.
OfficerDonNZ: indeed. PTSD at the very least. I'm trying for a story that shows them accepting the things that happened, grieving for their friends, and learning to love each other for each other. I'm also trying not to bog down in too much talky, but not have action or angst for just the sake of avoiding too much dialogue.