A/N: Usual disclaimer applies. This chapter fought me a bit, so rather than trying to force things to an ending, I let it stop where it wanted, which may feel a bit abrupt.
kalverliefde - (n.) the temporary affection and infatuation usually experienced by two young people in love [dutch]
Bonding over deaths of loved ones was an odd way to fall in love, but then few would have ever thought of Luna as anything but odd. Having lost her mother early in life, and then watching her father spiral into madness during the war, Luna knew very well the pain of losing loved ones. To her, it came as no surprise that when Harry Potter finally confided in someone, it would be someone who knew similar pain, not someone whose family was mostly untouched by the violence.
He found her, sitting by the Black Lake, staring out at nothing and everything. He joined her, and for a long time nothing was said between them. Both processing the horrors the Death Eaters had visited upon them, and what they had needed to do to survive. Neither was sure when their hands intertwined, but by the time they returned to the castle, both were glad they had. A few odd looks were directed their way, but no one paid much mind, having plenty of other recent events to think and talk about.
More looks came their way the next morning, when they came down to breakfast still hand in hand, still in their battle-worn clothing, having spent the night together. Though few would believe it, they had talked through most of the night, and only fallen asleep due to sheer exhaustion. One particular redhead tried to make her opinions about the two of them together known, but two blank, hollow stares back convinced her that now was not the time to interject. It would not be her last attempt, but the last time either of them paid it any mind.
The pair breakfasted together, with friends seated closely around them, but the chatter was kept light. Once sated, they left the Great Hall together, and returned to their spot by the Lake from the day before. Someone was sent to fetch them for lunch, only to discover that they were no longer there. A note had been left in Harry's handwriting, saying that they were going back to London, and would send word when they were ready for visitors.
A week passed, and then another. A third week had nearly expired as well before an owl arrived to Hermione Granger. It was a fairly short letter, basically explaining that Harry and Luna were now ready to accept guests, but could she please come alone the first time? A few guesses as to why that might be ran through Hermione's brain, but she decided to wait and see which idea would be confirmed. She left the Burrow straight away, only pausing to tell Arthur that she would be back later so that her absence wouldn't be worried about.
Arriving outside of Grimmauld Place, Hermione noted that the house looked a bit more cheerful than it had the last time she was here. Of course, the last time she had visited was when fleeing from the Ministry after stealing a Horcrux from that horrid Umbridge woman, so she might just be imagining things. She knocked politely on the front door, and only a moment later, it was opened by Luna. She was led into a comfortable living room she was fairly certain hadn't been present on her last visit, where Harry was already seated on a couch. She picked a cozy chair across from him, while Luna took a place on his left side. As she sat, their hands found each other, just as they had by the lake.
Hermione took a moment to simply study the pair, and found something very interesting: both looked visibly happier in this moment than any time she could recall. They seemed to be drawing comfort from each other, and a slow smile was her only visible reaction. She was quite happy for them, and only hoped that others would be as well. If anyone deserved happiness, it was the pair sitting in front of her.
"I'm glad you've finally reconnected with the outside world. We weren't sure we were ever going to hear back from you two. Is it safe to assume you have some important things to tell me that certain friends of ours might not react well to?" she queried cheekily, gesturing at their joined hands. To her surprise, neither of them showed even a hint of a blush, only scooting closer together on the couch and resting their heads on each other.
"She always has been a perceptive one, hasn't she, my love?" said Luna softly. Harry nodded, never breaking contact with Luna. "Too perceptive for her own good, sometimes, if you ask me," he replied, grinning and winking at Hermione. She responded the only way she could: by sticking her tongue out at the couple who rather easily redirected her teasing.
"To answer your question, Hermione, yes, we have important things to tell you, and also things that we expect some of the Weasley family might not want to hear. The most obvious, as you've already guessed, is that Luna and I are now dating," said Harry, pausing to kiss their still entwined hands. "We fully expect that people will be up in arms over this, but we've had a long time to think this over, and we couldn't be happier with this choice. It didn't just happen overnight, and we're still working to perfect it, but it feels right to us."
A beaming Hermione nodded her understanding. "And my congratulations to you. It sounded like you had more to say, though?"
Harry sighed, and Luna moved her head to rest more on his shoulder, her expression darkening slightly. "As it happens, your teasing was almost spot on. The reason it's taken us so long to get in contact is that we honestly weren't sure if we were ever going to. We worked through a lot of things in the weeks since the battle, and quite a lot of them are still unresolved. Luna still doesn't know what happened to her father, and all we've been able to determine is that he hasn't rebuilt the Rookery since we were last there. We were going to check St. Mungo's, but Luna didn't want to go alone, and you know if I showed up there now everyone would want a word or a moment or just more of my time than they should get, and we'd get nothing done."
"We only know that much because Harry and I attempted a visit to Gringotts, and that exact thing happened. If it wasn't for the fact that the Goblins also wanted to speak with Harry as much as he wanted to meet with them, we might still be there. A settlement was reached that all parties agreed to, but that visit took an entire day, when it should have been an hour or two at most. That was two weeks ago, and we've rarely left here since. It's just fortunate that Kreacher is still capable of performing most basic shopping tasks." Luna traced circles on the back of their joined hands, her eyes distant.
A frown crossed Hermione's face. "I had no idea. The couple of times I've gone into Diagon, I've gotten a few well-wishers, but nothing on this scale at all. I suppose that makes sense, though; I'm not the one who ended a Dark Lord's reign of terror for a second time." Her attempt at humor fell flat, with Harry bowing his head and Luna gently caressing his face. They sat like that for a while, Hermione unable to think of how to progress the conversation, and Harry and Luna unwilling to do so.
"We've all been damaged by the war, Hermione, and it's going to take us a while to recover. You have Ron and the rest of the Weasley family, and eventually your parents will return from Oz and you'll have them as well. Right now, Luna and I have each other, and it's going to take us some time to move beyond that. We'll try to keep in touch with you and Ron, but for now, we need time for us, and until the rest of Magical Britain can respect that, we'll be spending a lot of time here. For most people, this would be their honeymoon phase; for us, some time to heal would do wonders."
Luna drew him in for a brief kiss, regretfully breaking it to lay her head on his chest.