Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys, they mean alot. Okay, this chapter might have alot of spelling errors bacuse my spell check and word are down. Please don't shoot me!
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-Cole
Two weeks after their trip to Diagon Alley, Luna and Harry were packing, along with Hestia and Draco, to return to Grimmauld Place. Remusn and Tonks were coming to get them later on. Harry argued that they could just apparate or floo, but Remus said he wanted to take Hestia there himself. Hermione was staying at the Burrow a bit longer so she could halp Fleur with the wedding and Mrs. Weasley with the housework now that Ginny was gone.
"Lu, love, what are you doing?" Harry asked as he watched his girlfriend carry a rather large suitcase on her head as she levitated two lighter suitcases in front of her. Luna's birthday was in February, so she had been of age for almost six months. She had went for her Apparation License last week, and passed with full marks.
"Huh?" Luna asked, not truly paying atention, "Oh, this, I've been working on my posture. Professor Delgario says I don't have good enough posture for an Auror, and even though I don't want that job, I want to be good enough to get in if I have to."
This caused Harry to smile. He pointed his wand at Luna and whispered, "Locomotus Suitcase." Luna, who was unaware of the fact that her suitcase was now floating just baove her head looked at Harry confused.
"Um, Harry, why is the bag lighter?" she asked, curiously.
"No reason Lu, no reason at all," Harry responded happily. They made their way downstairs and sat down for breakfast. Molly smiled at them and served them some bacon and eggs.
After breakfast, Harry, Luna, Hestia, and Draco said thier goodbyes and promised to write and visit often. Fleur had given both Harry and Draco a kiss on the cheek, and both were walking around rather dazed. Luna, who wasn't jealous but didn't like her boyfriend looking so happy about being kissed by a part Veela, hit him over the head with the suitcase she had been balancing, and smiled happily to herself. This caused Hermione to laugh and envelope her younger friend in a hug. Then Remus and Tonks arrived and brought them back to Grimmauld.
Harry and Luna were wrapped together on the Drawing Room couch. Remus had just finished giving them the grand tour, along with Draco and Hestia. Draco was sitting on the recliner reading a book on Auror training that he had borrowed from Moody. Tonks was reviewing a case she had gotten the other day, and Hestia and Remus had gone out earlier on their date.
"So," Tonks said a few minutes later, looking up from her notes, "What are you guys going to do tomorrow?"
Harry and Draco shrugged, but Luna looked up happily and said, "I was thinking of testing these two since their training starts in a little over two months, you wouldn't mind helping me, would you Nymphadora?"
Tonks smiled, if it had been anyone else she would have chewed their head off for calling her Nymphadora, but Luna was Luna, you couldn't yell at her for her strange ways, "Of course I'll help.""Good," Luna continued, "Because Draco here still needs alot of work on his Occlumency, and I heard from Harry that you're a really good Legilimensist. And Harry's reflexes need some fine tuning. I think Nott would've had him if Neville hadn't hexed him from behind."
"Speaking of Neville," Harry interrupted, "Where is he?" Neville hadn't been seen since the end of school, he hadn't visited or anything. Harry knew that he was staying with his uncle or something since his grandmother's death, but that didn't mean he couldn't visit them.
"Well, let's see Potter," Draco started in his sarcastic tone of voice, "He just lost the one girl that meant the world to him, would you want to be hanging around the poeple she considered family?"
"Wow," Luna replied in an equally sarcastic voice, a voice so unlike Luna, you wouldn't have known it was her if you weren't looking at her, "Malfoy's got a backbone, imagine that."
"Knock it off you two," Tonks commanded, lazily. She was a bit suprised with Luna's sarcasm, but as an Auror she had learned not to show her emotions.
"Sorry," Draco muttered, but Luna juat smiled at Tonks an looked down to the book she was reading.
"Maybe you're right, Draco," Harry admitted after Luna had gone back to reading, "We should invite him over."
"Er...yeah, okay," Tonks agreed after thinking about it, "McGonagall and Mad-Eye are coming over tomorrow, and Hestia and Remus are going out with Bill and Fleur on Wednesday, How about Friday, and he can stay the weekend?"
"Okay," Harry said. They now needed to cheer Neville up, this should be interesting.
Friday came soon enough, and Neville arrived around two. He apparated over and rang the doorbell, fully expecting the screams of Mrs. Black toreach his ears as he entered. However, the screams never came, and he smiled sadly at Tonks, who had opened the door for him.
Tonks, who was now sporting electrifying blue hair and pure white eyes, smiled back and led him to the Drawing Room. Harry greeted him with a handshake and Luna pulled him into a hug. Draco smiled at him and Neville offered him his hand, which Draco shook heartily.
"How've ya been?" Draco asked nonchalantly.
"Alright," Neville lied. Of course, everyone knew he was lying, since he was so very bed at it.
"Neville," Luna said expectantly, "You can tell us, we miss her, too."
"I know," Neville whispered, "I just can't believe she's gone."
It had been almost four motnhs since Ginny's death, and Neville still hadn't gotten over it. The last words she ever said to him were, "I won't get hurt." And what did she do? Get herself killed. Ginny was the only person that had ever loved Neville besides his parents and grandmother. And now she was gone, and she wasn't coming back.
"I loved her," Neville stated, "No, scratch that, I love her. I'll never stop loving her." His eyes stung with tears that he refused to cry.
Luna gave him another hug and said, "I know, Neville, I know," soothingly. She missed Ginny too. Ginny had been like a sister to Luna, and now she was gone, dead, and Luna would never see her again, not until she too, had gone beyond the veil.
Harry went into the kitchen to get some hot tea and biscuts, if he knew Neville, which he liked to believe he did, tea could cure almost anything. Harry walked back into the drawing room and placed them down on the table. Then he sat down next to Luna who was still comforting Neville.
"Harry you understand, don't you. You lost your mum, your dad, aunt, uncle, godfather, grandfather-"
He was interrupted by Harry, who didn't want to go through the list again, "Yes Neville, I know exactly what it feels like to never want to love someone again because you don't want to hurt them. I know exactly what it feels like to have your heart ripped out and torn apart. I know what you're going through, but that doesn't mean I can make it any better."
Luna smiled at him comfortingly as Draco picked up another book and started to read it. "Does it ever go away?" Neville asked pleadingly. He needed this pain to go away, it was killing him. He needed to see Ginny, she could always make the pain go away, but she was dead.
"You want the truth?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Neville decided frimly.
"No," Harry answered, "It'll be dulled, it'll almost feel normal-"
He was cut off by Draco, who had also felt pain in his lifetime, "But it'll never go away."
"Exactly," Tonks and Remus agreed from the other side of the room where they were sitting with Hestia and Kinglsey Shacklebolt.
"Well," Neville said, gloomily, "Glad to know I'm allowed to be cynicall about it."
"Oh no you're not," Luna argued, "You have to let go, Neville, if you don't let go, it'll eat you up inside."
"And you'll feel empty, worthless. All you'll have left is grief and pain," Draco agreed, a painful expression on his face.
Harry clapped his new friend on the back and asked, "You still feel that way, Mate?"
"No," Draco replied truthfully. Then he smiled at Harry, Luna, and Neville and said, "Not anymore."
