Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling
Dies the Fire is owned by SM Stirling
Slytherin Rising was created by J.L. Matthews

Chapter 7: Love

At breakfast, the owls came with the mail. For students whose families had not gone to Hogsmeade, mail was greeted with much anticipation. But increasingly, as more and more wizard homes were attacked by gangs of cannibal Muggles, the number of wizards who chose to move to Hogsmeade had risen. Ginny glanced over at Luna and saw that she was reading the first issue of the Quibbler since "the Change." On the cover, it had blurbs about the stories inside in large eye-catching letters. They read: "Ding! Dong! The Wicked Wizard is Dead!" and "The Queen is Dead! Long live the King!" and "Cannibal gangs: Menace or new dietary fad?"
Ginny walked over to the Ravenclaw table. She noticed that Luna didn't stink any more. In anticipation of the Hogsmeade weekend, last night, the Ravenclaw girls had dragged Luna into the shower and forcibly bathed her. They had also made certain that she had put on clean clothes this morning.

"Could I read that issue of the Quibbler after you're done, Luna?" asked Ginny.

"Sure Ginny. Now that the Prophet had burned down, my dad is the only wizarding publication left in Britain," Said Luna in that dreamy singsong voice of hers.

On the carriage ride to Hogsmeade, Ginny, Neville and Luna were sharing a carriage. As Ginny started reading the Quibbler, Neville pretended to yawn and used that as an excuse to put his arm around her. Ginny shifted position so that she was snuggled into the hollow of his shoulder as she started to read:

". . . with the great London fire, all of the wizarding press has passed into oblivion (although the Daily Prophet is trying to build a press in Hogsmeade) leaving the Quibler as the sole news source for the wizarding world. As the last of the wizarding press, we plan to maintain the same high journalistic standards that we have practiced in the past . . ."

Ginny turned the Page.

"DING! DONG! THE WICKED WIZARD IS DEAD! By Levanus Lovegood. On March 18th, in what has already become known as "The Change," Lord Voldemort aka Tom Riddle aka You-no-poo aka He-who must not be named, was killed Harry Potter aka "the Chosen one" and Luella Flint aka the second heir of Slytherin. This Change was the conclusion of a titanic battle involving not only the two above-mentioned heroes but also over two dozen Aurors, Auror trainees, private citizens Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Marla Weasley, and three Hogwarts students. Ginevera Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. In the course of the battle, Lord Thingy cast a spell that negated Muggle technology and precipitated the current crisis. Harry Potter and Luella Flint subsequently vanished into a side effect of this spell, and are missing and presumed dead. . . ."

Ginny turned the page

"THE QUEEN IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING! By Rita Skeeter.
Queen Elizabeth II died recently in riots that swept through London. These same riots started a fire in a Muggle section of London that grew to a firestorm that totally destroyed the city including the wizarding sections of the city.
In the aftermath, King Charles III fled to the Isle of Wight, leaving his muggle subjects to their fate of starvation and death. . . ."

When they got to the Three Broomsticks, they found a table and Luna went to the bar to order them drinks. This gave Ginny and Neville a few minutes alone.

"Neville, I need to talk to you about something" said Ginny. "Every since I agreed to go on this date with you, you have been acting odd. Let me level with you. You know that I was in love with Harry?"

"I know" said a crest-fallen Neville.

Ginny continued: "And over the past year, we've grown quite close as friends. I need that friend that you have become. Still, I have become aware of your unrequited love for me. So I will make you a deal. If you go back to being my best friend, I with agree to become your fiancé and marry you after we graduate. We'll be friends with benefits."

"Why would you do this?" asked a perplexed Neville.

"Because, Harry is dead. If I can't have the man I love, with you, at least, I can be sure of having a husband who loves me. Are you willing to live with that?"

"It's more than I'd hoped for," said Neville.

"Good. Then, stop being so insecure" replied Ginny. "You've already got me."

Just then, Luna got back with their butterbeers. "Here's your drinks," said Luna. "I'll be at the bar so you two can flirt in privacy."

"Oh no, Luna. Please stay with us. You're our friend," said Ginny.

"You two need your privacy and so do I," replied Luna and she returned to the bar and sat next to Tonks, who had reverted to her bubble-gum-pink hair colour.

As she watched Luna walk away, Ginny leaned in close to Neville and said. "You know, I think that she as was in much in love with Harry as I was. Maybe we should think about forming a triad with her?"

"Ginny!" exclaimed Neville. "You are the one and only girl for me!"

"Don't give me that one and only crap!" said Ginny. "If I can marry my best friend when love has not yet bloomed, why couldn't you give our friend some of the affection that she needs. She needs a boyfriend to help her forget Harry."

"Is that what I am to you?" said Neville. "Well, I guess I can live with that."

After finding a table, Luna went to the bar to order drinks for them. She stood next to a woman with bubble-gum-pink hair and said in a despondent voice: "Rosemerta, I would like two butterbeers and a gillywater with onion."

"How are you doing Luna?" said Tonks in a depressed sounding voice.

"Pretty badly" replied Luna. "I miss Harry. I don't think he felt the same way I did, but he did treat me like I was almost a friend."

"At least his killer is not roaming the streets of Hogsmeade like Wormtail is," replied Tonks in a bitter tone.

"You must miss Remus very much," observed Luna.

"Here are your drinks," said Madame Rosemerta.

"Listen, why don't you take your friends their drinks and then, come back here," said Tonks. "I think they could use a little privacy, and I could use a sympathetic ear. Misery loves company, after all."

On the carriage ride back to school, Ginny whispered in Neville's ear. Then he, while resting his hand on Ginny's thigh, started caressing Luna's foot with his own. Luna, who had been absentmindedly staring out the window turned and gave Neville a big smile. She slipped off both of her shoes and started playfully playing footsy with both Neville and Ginny until all three of them were giggling.

The next morning, Ginny was shocked by Luna's appearance. She was freshly bathed, wore a clean robe and had dyed her hair bubble-gum-pink! Luna looked the happiest that Ginny had ever seen her.

One night, Neville was awakened in the middle of the night by a hand reaching into his pajamas. He was lying on his side and could feel a body pressed up behind him and breath in his ear.

"Shh, shh, shh" a feminine voice whispered in his ear.

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Ginny/Neville 'ship removed to make this R rated

unsnip

The next Hogsmeade weekend was greatly anticipated by the trio. Since Luna had dyed her hair, Ginny and Neville had figured out who Luna was looking forward to seeing and the couple had made no further advances towards her. When their carriage got to Hogsmeade Tonks was waiting for them. Tonks took one look at Luna's bubble-gum-pink hair and Luna saw that Tonks had dirty-blonde hair that matched Luna's natural colour and they both burst into laughter!

"Come on, let's go to the Hog's Head" said Tonks taking Luna by the hand and shifting her hair colour to match Luna's.

"And we're going to my brothers' store" said Ginny as she led Neville off by the hand. Once they got to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Ginny went off into the back room with Fred while Neville browsed the store.

"Neville and I have "hooked up" now," explained Ginny. She knew that these two brothers, unlike Ron, were totally cool with her sexuality. "Could we use the bedroom? At school we have to be quiet"

"Hey! Congratulations! Sure, you can use our bed. But just like with Harry, clean up your mess afterwards." Said Fred.

"I've never used it my self. But I've heard that the bathroom in the Hog's Head is a "Tea room", a place where same sex couples go to play. I thought we'd give it a try, if that's okay with you." Said Tonks

"Sounds exciting" said Luna. "You know, this is my first relationship."

"Well, you are my first woman, so we should be on equal footing" said Tonks.
The ladies room of the Hog's Head turned out to be a lot more than a bathroom. In addition to the normal bathroom facilities, there was a separate "play room" There were three adults already in there. Marietta Edgecombe was naked and manacled to the wall. Cho Chang and Millicent Bulstrode were down to their underwear, each of them

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Millicent/Marietta/Cho 'ship removed to make this R rated

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Tonks and Luna sat on a couch and looked into each other's eyes. Tonks reached up and caressed Luna's cheek before pulling her in for a kiss. It was less tentative than their first had been. After they had poured out their hearts to each other at the Three Broomsticks, Luna had escorted Tonks to the restroom. (Ever since Rosemerta's bout with the Imperius Curse, no one went to the Ladies room alone at the Three Broomsticks) After Tonks finished, she came out of the stall and found Luna staring intensely at her with tears streaming down her face. (Their conversation had driven them both to tears) She gave Luna a hug and then looked at her. Tonks didn't know what possessed her to kiss the girl. When she did, the girl jumped with startlement, her eyes wide. Then she closed her eyes and pulled Tonks closer. The kiss had been just what they both needed.
This kiss was less needy and when Tonks parted her lips with her tongue, Luna responded eagerly. She opened the front of Tonks' robe and reached in to

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Luna/Tonks 'ship removed to make this R rated unsnip Ginny and Neville walked out of her brothers' store with their arms around each other. Ginny was glowing while Neville looked drained. But they both wore contented smiles on their faces as they basked in their post-coital happiness. They didn't see her until they bumped into her.

"Watch where you're going you . . .Well! If it isn't ittle wittle Ginny poo and the squib!" sneered Bellatrix LaStrange.

"Sod off Death Eater!" yelled Neville pulling his wand.

"Ooo does the squib think he's ready for the big time?" replied Bellatrix pulling her own wand. "Are you challenging me to a duel?"

"On three" replied Neville, struggling off Ginny. "One. . . "

"Crucio!" Shouted Bellatrix as Neville screamed in agony. "Let's see if you last as long as your parents before you lose your mind. "

"Expeliarmas!" shouted Tonks as she knocked Bellatrix's wand away. "Aunt Bella, you were warned about doing unforgivables in town. Now you will just have to take your chances in the outside world."

By now Tonks, Luna and Ginny all had their wands pointed at her. Bellatrix said not a word as she retrieved her wand, put it back in her sleeve holster and apparated away.

Bellatrix appeared in the bedroom of her house.

"What the fuck?" she said as she saw that someone had been sleeping in her bed and had left her manacles attached to the bedposts. She walked out into the living room and noticed that someone was hiding behind the couch.

"Who ever that is behind the couch, come out with your hands up!" said Bellatrix as she casually reached for her wand.

Then blackness . . .