Professor Slughorn's Christmas Party had been the social event of the term. Although it had not caused quite the same frenzy as the Yule Ball two years before, many students had been looking forward to it. The invitations had made it a lot more exclusive, but to some students, it was a chore rather than a celebration. Harry had been practically besieged by admirers, but he frankly had no desire to spend the evening with some girl that kept staring at his scar as if it was the clue to everything under the sun. Which was how he ended up asking Luna to be his companion for the evening - purely as friends, of course.
Professor Slughorn certainly seemed to relish the opportunity to introduce all guests to each other, and it took almost two hours until a disruption by the door broke that pattern. Harry watched how Snape and Malfoy slipped from the room and he was about to pull out his invisibility cloak and follow them when a voice drew his attention away from the door.
"Are you feeling alright? You look like you might be coming down with something. Or maybe there is a Nargle on your left ear? There's an awful lot of mistletoe here."
It might have been a trick of the light, or maybe the scent of her plum-and-cinnamon perfume, but Harry suddenly found his attention drawn to Luna. Her dress was as odd as her perfume, but the silvery fabric complemented her dirty-blonde hair and the pale blue of her eyes sharply, making both stand out remarkably. From one moment to the next, she was the most interesting person in the room, despite the peculiar look she was giving him. Suddenly, all kinds of new thoughts ran through his mind, from wondering how it would feel to hold her close to the desire to run his hand through her hair and toy with the strands. He wanted to make her smile, to repay her for the kindness she had shown him the previous year, the loyalty which made her follow him to the Department of Mysteries even though everyone but him had suspected a trap. It wasn't until she flicked her finger against his ear that he snapped out of his thoughts, and even then his brain had not caught up with the revelation it was going through.
"Better?"
"Yeah - You know, I regret asking you to come here as a friend."
"But we are friends."
"Yes, but friends don't dance with each other," Harry pointed out, desperate to wipe the frown from her face. After all, he was starting to think of her as more than a friend, not less, but judging by her confused expression, she had misunderstood what he had in mind. And while he was neither a great poet nor Casanova, he excelled whenever circumstances, or his own actions, put him on the spot.
"We have not danced, and by the look on Hermione's face, it does not appear to be particularly enjoyable," Luna pointed out and tilted her head to the side where the aforementioned girl was looking like she wanted to be smitten down rather than spend another minute on the dance floor.
"I don't like dancing, especially not in front of other people. But I want to dance - with you."
Luna's eyes went impossibly wide for a moment before a smile spread across her face, bright enough to illuminate the entire room and give her eyes a silvery glimmer in the dark room. With a spring in her step, she pulled Harry towards the area designated for dancing, which was the only part of the room that was not crowded.
"I hope you do not mind me leading, tales about your inability to dance have been told ever since the Yule Ball," she said, and although her airy voice was as unreadable as always, Luna's eyes sparkled with joy that had not been there before.
In the end, they were amongst the last guests to leave, long past curfew. And while Harry had probably disrupted Professor Slughorn's plans by spending the remaining evening with Luna rather than mingling with the guests, the old man had still cheerfully said goodbye with a knowing grin and issued an invitation to the first Slug Club meeting in the new year. After that, Harry walked Luna back to the Ravenclaw Tower, and it was not until they stood in front of an eagle statue that he realised how often he had walked through that corridor without realising what was behind the door that would not open.
"I had a lovely evening."
"Me too. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Luna echoed, and before he could as much as blink, her lips were on his, unbelievably soft. He had not even registered the sweet taste of ginger and honey when she pulled away and pushed the door open. She was halfway through when a thought flashed through his mind.
"Luna, would you like to go out with me? On a proper date, not just Slughorn's party."
"I would love to," she replied and turned back to Harry, her cheeks tinted pink as much as his. "But I fear the next Hogsmeade weekend is weeks away."
"Ron said that you live on the other side of Ottery St Catchpole, so maybe we could go there - over the holidays I mean."
"The idea sounds lovely, but the village is just a few houses and a bakery. They have the most delicious plum pie - "
"I was hoping to take you out for lunch or dinner, maybe see a movie if you'd like," Harry suggested. Truth be told, other than that accursed tea shop, he had no idea what wizards usually did on dates. Yet given everything, it was probably safer to stay in the Muggle world, where no one would recognise them.
"I have never been to one," Luna said with an eager simile. "That's how Muggles make pictures move without magic, right?"
"Yes. Do you know where the nearest town is?"
"Barnstaple is only fifteen miles from home, Exeter some twenty. Daddy took me there once, but he got horribly lost and after walking in circles for an hour, he apparated us home."
"Great. I'll owl you the details once I have found out when and where we are going, and how we get there."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Harry had asked Mr Weasley for both permission and help to organise the outing, the prospect of using a telephone all the incentive he needed. The Directory Assistance was a new experience for both of them, but it did not take long until Harry had several plans, depending on what Luna would like to do. Hedwig had been practically commuting between the Burrow and the Rookery, much to the amusement of Fleur Delacour. The French witch decided that she owed him a favour or two for the Triwizard Tournament, which she interpreted as giving Harry all sorts of advice when it came to dating and women. Or it might have just been a pretence to tease him mercilessly. But because Fleur had liked his planned date, Mrs Weasley opposed the idea, and only her husband's word stopped her from forbidding the whole endeavour.
However, Monday the 23rd came around simultaneously too fast and slow for Harry's liking. Hedwig had delivered another note, therefore Luna was waiting for him in front of the fireplace when he stumbled out of it. What perplexed Harry was not the peck he received in greeting, but the fact that Luna was standing there in a thick pastel coat, a yellow bobble hat and pink mittens.
"Hello Harry."
"Hi Luna. Aren't you warm?"
"A little, but we will be cold soon."
"It's not that bad, the Weasleys' pond was not frozen."
"The wind is rather unpleasant."
"It can't be worse than some of the Quidditch practices we had," Harry said, unable to find a better reply, no matter how hard he racked his brain.
"If you say so. Come on then, we have a train to catch if I remember your last letter right. I would like to avoid using the Knight Bus if at all possible."
"Not a fan?"
"No, that contraption - it is an insult to magic and good taste."
"I sense a story there."
"I will tell you, in due time."
"Those are for you," Harry said as he remembered the flowers he was holding. Truth be told he found the gesture a little embarrassing, but Fleur had insisted that every girl liked flowers, before she giggled at the unintended pun and admitted that maybe Ginny and Hermione were the exceptions. It was a rather simple bouquet, seven roses around a single sunflower, but it had felt like the one which best suited Luna. Of course, apparating to a shop near Paris had seemed a little excessive, but he could not argue with Fleur that only the best would do for his date.
Luna's eyes lit up as she took the bouquet and a deep breath, her smile contagious. She looked around the room before she reached for what looked like an umbrella stand.
"One moment please."
It took several until Luna returned, carrying what looked like an ornate carafe and began to fill the stand with water, far in excess of what the crystal container should be able to hold. She then placed the flowers inside and spun the makeshift vase until it fit onto a nearby tray table.
"I'll put them in my room later, but we should get going now."
With that, Luna led him through the house, and just the stairwell was enough to convince him that it wasn't just the Burrow that had its quirks. Magical homes seemed to be required to have some. Unlike the Weasleys' house, in which the architecture was so bad that only magic and strong faith kept it from toppling, the walls of the Rookery were covered so thoroughly in various pictures and memorabilia that it appeared like they supported the structure on their own. Harry recognised some of the items, like a pair of binoculars which would have looked titanic even in Hagrid's hands, but there was also a transparent jerry can with what looked like a miniature rainforest inside. An old Ravenclaw Quidditch Jersey hung next to a cracked beater's bat and a golden captain's badge, and from the Jones stitching next to the number 3, he guessed that those had belonged to Luna's mother. Further down hung a device that looked like a radio with a griddle attached to its top, next to a floodlight with an earpiece. Then they came across what looked like an open barrel filled with prickles, except that they were some kind of creature since they moved on their own.
Before Harry could ask what that was all about, they reached the dining room, where large sheets of blank paper were stacked up to the ceiling.
"Daddy ordered them for the Quibbler, but he wasn't home when they were delivered. He will have to put them away before tomorrow so that we can put up the Christmas Tree. It would not be overly Christmas-y otherwise."
"Does he usually order that much paper?" Harry asked as he squeezed himself between two stacks, following her through the maze of paper.
"There was a bulk sale, and it won't take up much space once he applies a few shrinking charms. I think this should last until April."
"How did you even get it all in here?"
"The delivery Goblins brought it here. They fulfilled the letter of the order, but not one step further."
"Delivery Goblins?"
"K'gan, Sons & Sons. Surely you did not think that the Goblins were nothing but bankers."
"Of course not, I just haven't really thought about them at all. They run Gringotts, Binns drones on about their Rebellions, but other than that, I have never seen or heard of them."
"It is funny really, in all the history books the wizards won, but if you add up all the battles and treaties which went in our favour, weirdly the Goblins actually won most of their rebellions."
"Really? Binns made it sound like - well, usually five minutes of his droning put me to sleep."
"The only concession they could not get was the right to wield a wand. Why do you think Fudge baked them into pies?"
"If he feared the Goblins so much, why would he have risked angering them that way?" Harry asked, deciding to humour her theory.
"He is showing strength, making himself look more powerful than he really is. Just look at the mess he made last year with Umbridge. After the Third Task, there was panic so he made you and Dumbledore into public enemies so that he could be seen fighting you. It would not surprise me if he tried the same with the Goblins," Luna replied and Harry realised that for all the weird theory surrounding it, her core message was sound.
They stepped outside, Luna linked her arm with his and then placed her mitten in his hand. Between the thick wool and his own dragonhide glove, it barely counted as hand-holding, but nonetheless, Harry felt a warmth spread through him, a stark contrast to the biting cold of the wind. A few strands of Luna's blonde hair stuck out beneath her woolly hat, dancing in the gale and drawing Harry's attention far more than they should.
With his heart hammering in his chest and a strange lightness in his stomach, he told her about the latest episode of the Weasleys sniping at Fleur, and how Hermione joined in for whatever reason the day before she left to spend Christmas with her parents. In truth, he could barely focus on the story, his attention completely taken up by the flutter of his heart.
Luna had been right about the weather, it might not have been freezing, but the easterly winds swept over the barren hillside. Harsh gusts hit them in the face, making it feel colder than Scotland had been, despite the lack of snow. With a frown, Luna reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a dark blue hat which would have fitted her coat a lot better than her yellow one. Wordlessly, she pulled the woolen hat over his head. For a second, he saw nothing but blue before she adjusted it. He was quite sure that the bobble made him look ridiculous, but he did not care. A warmth spread through him, far in excess of what a simple hat should be able to provide, closely related to the satisfied smile on Luna's face.
When they left Scott Cinemas, Luna's eyes were full of wonder and Harry felt validated for choosing Barnstaple over the larger capital of Devon. It had come down to the fact that the old cinema had offered a special rerun of Jurassic Park during the Christmas season, in anticipation of the sequel which was due to come out the next year. Not that Harry had seen it before, but a movie about dinosaurs seemed just like the thing Luna would enjoy. At first, she had not believed that they were real creatures at all, but a quick whispered conversation put that straight. He had liked the movie as well, but two hours of Luna's head on his shoulder and her hand in his had been the highlight of the day so far, watching her mesmerised face in the pale light of the projector.
Yet Luna was not a Ravenclaw for nothing, and once she learned that dinosaurs were not just muggle imagination but had roamed the earth millions of years ago, she demanded to know more. Harry's primary school knowledge soon reached its limits, which was why they set out in search of a bookstore. However, buying books was one of the few activities he had not foreseen, so Harry had no idea where he could find such a store. The weather was still very unpleasant, the biting wind like a freezing knife that cut across their faces. Barnstaple was not a large town, but it was large enough for two strangers to miss the bookstore. After fifteen minutes of exposure, they slipped into a nearby café on the bank of the River Taw to warm up.
St George's cafe turned out to be a strange place, a Maltese flag hung next to the tattered remains of a Union Jack, above both a collection of medals and a polished rifle. Various trophies hung behind the counter, helmets, a spade, a collection of bayonets and what looked like the tip of an aircraft wing, the faded iron cross riddled with holes. The rich collection of bottles behind the counter was framed by black and white group photographs, each with a small name plaque beneath it.
Unlike the martial atmosphere, the waitress was a chirpy student with dark skin and luscious curls, whose Highland accent was in stark contrast to both the Maltese cafe and the fact that they were in the West Country. Harry had been looking forward to Treacle Tart to go with his tea, but she talked them into ordering something called Tiramisu. And when the waitress delivered them an oddly shaped bowl with one long spoon, her wink was a little too conspiratorial.
"Have you ever eaten this - tiramisu?"
"No, is it Maltese?" Luna asked and tilted her head towards the large flag.
"Italian, I think. I remember my aunt tried to make it once after she saw it in a cooking show, and she got quite angry because hers didn't set properly."
"This looks tasty. But there's only one of everything."
"We are supposed to share it, I think. The waitress seemed to enjoy playing cupid," Harry explained. Luna took the spoon and happily hummed as she tasted the dessert, then offered Harry a spoonful. He scooted around the booth and ate the bite.
"Is this a Muggle thing?"
"I think it is a couple thing," he said. Truth be told, Harry had no idea how he was supposed to act. They had not really talked about what was between them. Luna had kissed him a few times, they had held hands for most of the day, they had danced for the second half of Slughorn's Christmas party and she had laid her head on his shoulder, both in the movie theatre and during the train ride to Barnstaple. That all had been nice, but at the same time the spectre of Cho still hung over him. And the last thing he wanted to do was to overstep some line he didn't even know existed and mess up that way. He - liked - Luna and he'd rather stab himself with the bayonet that hung next to the till than do anything that might hurt her.
Not that he could rely on experience or advice. His previous attempts at dating had been disastrous, and his friends had not fared much better. Ron had laughed at the very idea of going out with Luna, and it took calling him Won Won to shut him up. Neville had not been to a single date. Dean's relationship had been something Harry had been trying to ignore very much until the previous week and Seamus' only wanted to get into witches' robes, so his tales were not helpful. At least not now. Even the wisdom Fleur had -
"Wrackspurt?" Luna asked and Harry was shaken out of his thoughts by something cold and wet touching the tip of his nose. It took him a moment to comprehend what had happened and that a spoonful of Tiramisu was in front of his lips.
"I was just thinking - are we dating, Luna?" he blurted out before he could order the thoughts circling through his head.
"We are on a date, aren't we?"
"Yes, but I mean are we going out - like boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"You have not asked me that, although this could be seen as asking that question in a convoluted manner, in which case my answer is yes."
"Brill."
"I think this is the point where you are supposed to kiss your girlfriend," Luna stage-whispered with a wide grin, her cheeks tinted pink. Harry got the cue and did just that, marvelling at the softness of her skin beneath his fingers before he closed the distance. She had pecked him before, but this was the first time he was to initiate the kiss. After the mess with Cho, the last thing he wanted was to mess up by being impatient. Her lips tasted of coffee, together with a bitter note from the marsala that had soaked the sponge fingers.
Neither the first, nor the second or third kiss lingered, but when they separated, both were smiling and resumed sharing their dessert. Harry in particular felt a lightness, a giddy energy he had not experienced before. He wanted to make her feel the same - somehow. To make her grin even wider, to wrap his arms around her and never let go - he wanted Luna and wondered how he had not seen it before. Out of all the people he got to know in the DA, she had been the one who believed him the most, who had the uncanny ability to read him like an open book, who was refreshingly blunt and honest.
"Have you ever thought about all those Muggles, going on with their life without ever knowing about magic?" Luna asked after a moment where he had been lost in thoughts and she watched the road outside.
"Not really. I didn't know about magic until I turned eleven, so the thought isn't that strange. For the longest time, I was thinking just like them."
"Really?"
"I grew up with my relatives and they, or at least my aunt, were scared of magic. So they told me that my parents were drunks who died in a car accident and hoped that I would not get a Hogwarts letter if they never mentioned magic."
"That is silly, everyone knows that there is an enchanted tome that records all magical births on the Isles. That way, Professor Dumbledore only has to turn a page and he can see whom he has to invite."
"Everyone knows that?" Harry asked with a pointed look. In return, Luna bopped his nose.
"Almost everyone."
"Well, to answer your question, magic seems too fantastical to be true. Not just the spells, but everything that surrounds it. Dragons, unicorns, an enchanted castle - Not even a fairytale would do magic justice."
"And now imagine that you would have never received that letter."
"Well, I would not have known what I was missing out on - " Harry pointed out before something else dawned on him. "I would never have met you."
"I like to think that we would have met eventually. You are quite remarkable, you know, even without a dark wizard and a toad after you," Luna said and Harry could feel his face burning. "As for knowing what you were missing, perhaps not clearly, but don't you think that you would have felt as if there was something more? A part of you which was never there? Was there never something you could not explain?"
"There were a few incidents with accidental magic, for example I once turned my teacher's hair blue. But I did not know that I caused it, I just laughed because the strict teacher suddenly looked funny. And when you don't know or don't believe in magic, you won't consider it a possibility. I once apparated with accidental magic, but since I didn't know about magic I tried to explain it with a strong gust of wind or maybe something springy in the ground from where I jumped."
"I have never thought about it like that. Do you think it is a common occurrence for people who do not know about magic?"
"I don't know. Hermione told me the story of how she summoned a book and it fell on her head, so she just thought that the hit on her head messed with her memory," Harry said and remembered his friend's advice not to talk about her during a date. However, Luna didn't seem fazed, she just sipped her tea before she put down the cup with a small smile. "I haven't really talked about accidental magic with many people since those are not happy memories for me. But I guess you could try asking the other Muggleborn who were in the DA. Katie is in St Mungo's, but Dean and Justin should have a few stories once we're back at Hogwarts."
"Do you think that they would be willing to talk about it? You said that they were not happy memories for you."
"That was due to my relatives, not the events themselves. They were not kind people. I think - hope - that the others in the DA had a better childhood, so they should be fine talking about accidental magic."
Luna did not reply, but reached for her hand and squeezed it before her eyes sought out his. He could not read her look, but it caused a tingle in his stomach completely unrelated to the tiramisu they had shared. He did not want pity, certainly not from his new girlfriend, but he could not deny that the warmth in her gaze made him feel oddly happy.
"We will have to go out there again soon, don't we?" Luna asked once their cups and plate were empty.
"Well - we could order another tea, and a slice of that apple pie they have next to the bar."
"The longer we wait, the colder it will get. I don't like this kind of weather," Luna said in an odd tone. "It is like winter, without the benefits."
"Benefits?"
"At Hogwarts, we had a foot of snow that looked like a blanket of cotton wool. Together with the enchanted lights, it is a truly - magical sight. It is fun to walk over the grounds when they are covered in white. The air has that special crispness, that frozen scent," Luna said and Harry felt his stomach do a flip as he watched her thoughtful, almost dreamy expression, the longing in her silvery eyes. He wasn't sure how, but he wanted to bring out that expression as often as possible. "Here, that scent isn't there. Well, outside of the Café, in here it smells of coffee and fresh pastries. But outside, there is none of that crispness, just rain and mud. The grass is the only green plant left, everything else is a desolate brown or grey. The trees are bleak, the birds have flown south, most of the animals are hibernating and stepping out into a drizzle is nowhere near as fun as jumping over the snow."
"You like winter then?"
"I like the winter up in Scotland, or with Mummy's sister near Nitra. Here, it is just miserable and rainy," Luna said with a small pout.
"Where is Nitra?"
"At the foot of the Carpathian mountains. The muggles there decided to call the country Slovakia a few years ago. Aunty Gwen met a wizard from there and moved to him before I was born. We visit them every year, sometimes on Christmas, sometimes on Easter. I prefer Christmas, because then there's a lot of snow in the nearby mountains, and skiing is fun."
"So I'm guessing that this year it will be an Easter visit?"
"Yes, they went to Uncle Jiri's family over the holidays, and since he has four brothers, it can be rather - crowded and rowdy. We visited twice when Mummy was still alive and I did not like it."
"I didn't notice anything at the Burrow. It felt as festive as ever - given the circumstances."
"The disappearances?"
"No, Fleur being around," Harry replied with a dry chuckle. "The Weasleys don't seem to like her, nor does Hermione, for some reason."
"Is it because she is French?"
"Well, unlike my uncle, I have never heard Mrs Weasley mumble about work-shy, land-burning peasants, but I think it might be part of it. Fleur doesn't like English food, and I think Mrs Weasley took offence to that. And it only went downhill from there on."
"I remember that she was a picky eater during the Triwizard Tournament. And she used to hog the strawberry jam during breakfast."
"Really? Mrs Weasley has a lot of fruit preserves, maybe Fleur would like those."
"A peace offering through the stomach?"
"Hopefully, it will work. I don't think it would be a festive holiday otherwise."
"You could always visit daddy and me if it becomes too much."
"I was hoping to visit you regardless of the cold war with Fleur," Harry said and was rewarded with a kiss.
Following the directions given to them by the chirpy waitress, they found a Waterstones after a short walk. The bookstore was packed full with Christmas shoppers, so they had to wait a solid fifteen minutes before a clerk showed what he considered the best book on dinosaurs, at least outside of academic circles. After Harry had mentioned Jurassic Park, the portly man gave him a knowing smile and dug out another tome on Mesozoic creatures. Luna was engrossed as she thumbed through the first book, and when the clerk took it away to gift wrap it, she pouted at Harry. He however made use of the opportunity to peck her on the lips. Luna tried to pout more, but it was a losing battle with her smile.
Back outside, the weather had not improved. Since it wasn't long until sunset, the pair decided to head back to the train station in the hope to reach Eggesford before it was completely dark since they still needed to hike back to the Rookery. At least if they wanted to avoid the Knight Bus.
Once at the station, they noticed that they had more than half an hour until the next train left, so they decided to see what had attracted a crowd of people out in the miserable weather. It quickly became apparent that there was a Christmas Market, although that term was probably inappropriate for what looked like a garden shed and a pair of white vans. A small stove had been built in the wooden hut, and the sweet smell made Harry step closer. They had not had a proper lunch, but he decided that he'd much rather buy crêpes than try the fish and chips sold out of the left van.
After the incident with his aunt Marge, Harry had spent weeks in Diagon Alley. During that time, he had decided to convert one of the golden summits in his vault into Pound Sterling, just in case Marge decided to visit again. And that money was burning a hole into his pocket. For the first time, he walked past a street fair without his relatives nearby. Which meant he could finally try some of the things he had only watched his cousin devour.
Harry ordered the classic filled with chocolate while Luna asked for additional bananas, cranberries and pineapples to be added to hers, the latter of which turned out to be canned. It looked a bit messy, but she did not seem to mind the fruits almost spilling out of her second dessert of the day. It was still as unpleasant as before, but the hot pancake in his hand was probably the best thing he could hold to stay warm - second best, he amended after a glance at his girlfriend.
"Something funny?"
"Just happy with how things went today - although you have chocolate on your cheek," Harry pointed out and swiped it away. He held up his thumb with the evidence, but he had not expected that Luna would kiss the finger he held up in front of his face. And he definitely had not expected the tingles that ran down his spine when she licked the dried chocolate off his finger.
Once they were done eating, and Harry got his breathing back under control, they moved on to the white vans. The one selling fish and chips looked a bit dodgy, but the other one had a pair of big kettles that smelled of fruits and spices.
"Two cups of punch, please," Harry ordered and gave the woman inside two pounds. She looked at him oddly for a moment before she tapped two plastic cups.
However, once the pair huddled together next to the station entrance, they quickly realised that something was amiss since their drink tasted odd.
"I think this is mulled wine and not punch," Luna pointed out and scrunched her nose before she took another sip. Harry did the same. "Tasty though."
"You are right. It doesn't have the same kick as Firewhiskey, but there is definitely alcohol in it."
"I don't think that one cup will do us any harm," Luna said with a sly smile, tucked a strand of her blonde hair under her hat and Harry felt his stomach do a flip. He had known her for more than a year, but never noticed how cute she could look. The mismatched clothes, the pink flush on her pale skin, the warmth in her eyes, it all was an irresistible combination. And best of all, she was his girlfriend. Therefore, Harry went to steal a kiss, mindful of the full cup of steaming drink in her hand. And another one for good measure.
The sun was setting behind thick, grey clouds and as the train rattled on southbound along the river Taw, Harry reflected on the day. They had been out for five hours, and judging by the fact that Luna had snuggled into his side, things had not gone too badly. There had been a few times when he had had no idea what to say, but the silence had never felt awkward. Right now, they were not talking, and yet it felt nice. More than that, as Luna hummed a tune only she knew and Harry played with the ends of a blonde strand, he felt happier than he had in a long time.
Harry gave in to the urge to hug her and wrapped his arms around Luna before he buried his face in her hair. She seemed surprised but quickly wiggled an arm in between the seat and him. It was not the most comfortable position for either of them, but that hardly mattered. There was a lightness in Harry - a happiness he had almost forgotten existed. There were a thousand things he wanted to tell her, but he found no words to express them. So instead, he said the only thing he could.
"Merry Christmas Luna."
"Merry Christmas Harry," she replied from next to his ear, sounding adorably sleepy as she did her best to burrow into his side. "Does that mean I get my present now?"
"I guess that would be fair - "
"Fair?" Luna asked and he got the sudden urge to hug her again. Remembering how she had been the one to console him after the mess in the Department of Mysteries, Harry did what felt right. Words might fail to convey what he was thinking, but simple gestures did not. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her flush against him, a gesture she mirrored after a moment of surprise and indignation that her pillow had moved, again. His face was in the crook of her neck, resting on her woollen scarf. Only inches separated him from the window of the train and the world outside, yet his eyes were closed as he tried to burn the swirl of feelings into his memory.
"I already got the best present - I got you."
AN:
Beta'ed by LifeEquals42
So, a Luna fanfic. I've been wanting to write one forever, my first idea for a story actually involved her and Harry, but like a lot of ideas afterwards, I was never happy with the story or the characterisation. So have some Christmas fluff instead.
The location of Ottery St Catchpole is never specified in canon, so when looking around in Google Maps and Wikipedia, I noticed that that the North Devon line between Exeter St Davis and Barnstaple is named the Tarka line, after the novel Tarka the Otter who is said to have lived in the area the line runs through. After that discovery, I knew where to place Ottery St Catchpole.
Scott Cinemas actually exists in Barnstaple, dating back to the 1930s according to Google, although I'm fairly sure they were not rerunning Jurassic Park in late 1996. The weather is accurate, the locations other than the cafe are accurate, the bookstore exists, but the movie selection and books are where I invoke creative freedom. Dinosaurs and Luna are simply a combination too good to pass up, even if I'm usually not a huge fan. I've read somewhere that most Italian Cafés in England are actually run by people from Malta, so here's one that is open about its heritage. I've got no clue if you'd find such a martial decoration in Devon, but I've been to similar places elsewhere in the world. The big Christmas Market in Barnstaple is a more recent tradition, but I don't think that a few street vendors around the train station would be unbelievable for 1996.