A / n: Sorry I've been so lazy...
"Come on Milly, hurry upཀ We'll want to find a seat before the train starts moving, unless you're keen on the idea of sitting in the hallway," Brody called to a distressed Milly, who was having more than a little trouble dragging her luggage down the hall. Niveous's feathers were ruffled and his eyes narrowed in discomfort. He didn't like all this being lugged about.
Milly wrapped her hands tightly around the handle of her suitcase and gave a powerful heave. Unfortunately, she heaved right into the door of a compartment, which in turn slid open with a loud bang. Milly and her luggage proved a perfect example of the laws of physics as girl, owl, and suitcase hurtled forcefully into the tiny compartment. Milly landed with a shriek.
"Millyཀ Are you alright?" Brody appeared in the doorway, an anxious look on his face.
Milly gave an inarticulate groan and realized that she had landed on something rather soft. Something covered by black robes. Wincing, she looked up. A familiar girl and a boy smiled down at her.
"Good to see you, cousin dear," the girl greeted warmly, giggling. Milly propped herself up and hugged her cousins.
"Yeah, I'm alright, Brody. Come on in," she laughed, easing herself back into the seat opposite her smiling cousins. Brody reluctantly stepped in, closed the door behind him, and then hastily sat down next to Milly. Their luggage lay scattered at their feet, and Niveous had gotten out of his cage. The rumpled-looking owl had taken Milly's place in the lap of the girl, who was stroking him comfortingly.
"These are my cousins, my Uncle Charlie's kids, Chloe and Jack," Milly said to a nervous-looking Brody. She realized, with a slight lurch of something like annoyance, that her new friend was staring rather stupidly at Chloe. But then, Milly was used to this; Chloe's mother was part veela, and the fifteen-year-old had inherited a lot of the same features from her, save for the amber-brown eyes. Jack, two years the younger, was quite the opposite. He was relatively good-looking, with Charlie's sturdy features, the only exception being the pale blue of his eyes.
"N-nice to meet you," Brody murmured, blushing.
Chloe gave a small smile. Jack clapped poor Brody on the shoulder, saying jokingly, "So you're our Millicent's new beau, are you?"
Brody's face was now as red as the scarlet sweater he was wearing. "Jackཀ I only just met him, and he isn't my 'beau'ཀ And my name certainly isn't Millicent," Milly scolded him sharply, her own face burning with embarrassment. She should have expected Jack to make a remark like that. He always was the teasing sort.
Jack caved in, as he always did. "Alright, alright little Milly, I was only joking," he apologized, still grinning like an idiot. Chloe rolled her eyes. "But give it time..." she barely heard him mutter.
"It really is nice to meet you, Brody. I'm sorry my brother's such a prat. He can't really help it. We try and try, but the medication just does nothing for him," she said seriously, a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. She shook Brody's hand firmly, causing another wave of crimson to blossom on the poor boy's cheeks. Milly stifled an uncharacteristic growl.
"I suppose you must be quite excited, starting your first year," Chloe began her welcoming speech, "Hogwarts is such a wonderful school. You should probably get into your robes before too long, you won't want to be rushed once the train's got there. There's always a wild scuffle when you get there, all the—"
"Little first-year midgets are always in the way. They always have to be FIRST off the train, FIRST to get their luggage safely away from us older kids—" Jack cut in viciously, seeming to forget in his eagerness to vocally bash first-years that there were two such specimens sitting directly across from him. Brody and Milly blinked at each other in slight fear.
"JACK!" Chloe screeched reproachfully, her brown eyes flashing. Jack at once ceased his tirade with a baleful look at Chloe, and slumped back onto the seat. Had he been a tad younger, Milly imagined his bottom lip would have stuck out in a pout. "Annoying little buggers," he grumbled.
"Anyway," Chloe continued peacefully, "you should go and change into your robes now."
"Alright. See you in a minute then," Milly said as she left the room, dragging Brody behind her.
When they were in the hallway and the door was shut, Brody tossed Milly a questioning look. "Milly... your cousin Chloe... she's..." he began quietly, seeming unsure of what he was trying to say. Milly knew.
"Beautiful, I know. She's got veela blood," Milly explained irritably. She pulled him down the hallway to the restrooms. When she turned to him she was surprised to see the confused expression on his face.
"Veela? What's that?" he asked her, puzzled. Milly blinked. How could he not know?
"Erm, well they're Bulgarian, I believe. They're like really beautiful women, but they aren't human, and they've got violent shifting tempers," she told him, also baffled. "Didn't you know?"
"Well, actually, no... I'm from a Muggle family, you see..." He blushed. Milly was startled. It hadn't crossed her mind that Brody might be Muggle-born. It wasn't as though she minded, why, her favorite aunt was a Muggle-born. But it was somehow surprising nonetheless.
"Oh. Well that would make sense then," Milly said. "Anyway, let's get changed into our robes."
They split and went into their gender-appropriate bathrooms to change at once.
"Mr. Potter, are you absolutely sure this is the smartest way to handle this situation?" Luna Lovegood inquired, looking at him quizzically from behind her jeweled spectacles. The dark-haired man looked up at her, his familiar green eyes full of determination.
"Can you think of a better solution?" he demanded, running a hand through his rumpled hair. It was at this moment that Luna noticed for the first time the grey streaks that were never there before.
"Well----no. But Mr. Potter—"
"Ms. Lovegood, there is no other way I can protect my daughter. I am aware of the suspicions it might stir, but I find it to be a feasible plan, in the least," he interrupted smoothly.
"Sir, I know you're worried about her, but perhaps—"
"Luna." His voice, though it was soft and gentle, like a summer's zephyr, chilled her to the bone. She had never been quite able to resist him. Her name sounded so much sweeter when he said it. She felt her heart flutter.
No, Luna, steady girl. You're an old maid. Harry's married now. You've had your chance at love, and it wasn't meant to be. Now it's far too late.
She thought about her own love life. Or, rather, the lack thereof. She'd been married, true enough, to none other than Blaise Zabini. She'd had a daughter, now eleven, beginning her first year at Hogwarts just like Harry's daughter was. But that relationship with Blaise ended not long after Zephyr's birth. After he left her, Luna had attempted to form a new relationship with someone, believing herself too weak to be a single parent to her newborn baby. The first she'd dated was Neville Longbottom, but it wasn't too long before she realized that they weren't meant to be. She realized the same thing with Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and all the others who followed. It had been four years since she'd been on a date. Luna Lovegood had given up on love. It just seemed like no one was good enough.
But Harry.
Having him there in her office, talking about his children, his home, his wife, his life... it made Luna's stomach lurch. She knew she was too late. Fate had decided long ago that Luna was to be denied love for the rest of her life (excepting her only daughter, of course). But really, it was too cruel of Fate to rub it in that she couldn't have Harry. Curse you, Fate. She mentally shook her fist.
"Luna," his voice came again, like a song, pulling her back to reality. She blushed, realizing that she must have zoned out in the middle of their serious conversation.
Trying to compose herself, she stammered, "Ye-yes?"
"Please help me to do this. Please. I will beg you if I must," his voice itself was pleading, tugging at her heart. She gave in reluctantly (though the prospect of watching him beg on his knees was rather inviting).
"Oh alright. But Milly will resent it, you know."
"Yes, yes, of course she will. I expect that. But I'll do whatever is necessary to keep my little girl safe," Harry answered firmly. " Nice doing business with you, Luna. See you around."
He got up and left the room. Luna shook her head, the sound of his shoes on the stone floor echoing in the hallway. She pushed her glasses farther up on her nose and returned to her paperwork, wondering just how long Milly Potter would remain a 'little girl'.
A/N: There we go! I've finally updated. I really couldn't help but add in a little Luna, seeing as she's one of my favorite characters. And there are some cousins for you people who wanted to know where Milly's cousins were.
Please review!