Author's Note: After a short chapter last week, this one is nearly the double the length. I also feel like I have my writing groove back. Thanks everyone who is reading and reviewing. MNF

Chapter 38:

Plucking Fruit

The next day Harry paced as he waited for his Pater and Remus to return with Luna and possibly her father. Neville and Hermione would sit with him while he gave the interview. Neville wanted to set the record straight about the magic they'd been using with plants and growing them and Hermione because she kept Harry sane. Lately the lad felt as if his sanity was waning.

The Floo activated and first through was Remus, then Luna and finally Sirius, who was laughing heartily. "Your father is a hoot, Luna."

"He truly believes you're Stubby Boardman," Luna said. "I tried to put him right, especially after I saw you prowling through the forest in my second year."

"Sirius was never in his human form that year, Luna, except when we were in the Shrieking Shack," Remus said calmly.

"Oh, I know," she replied dreamily. "But I could see the human in his dog just as I can see the dog in his human."

"Really?" Harry said. "Can you see if I'll become an Animagus like my dads? Can you tell what animal I am?"

"I can, but I'm not going to tell you, Harry, because then you won't put in the work that's needed to find it. You like short cuts, and sometimes with magic you can't take them. I honestly believe you're more susceptible to Nargles than anyone else I've ever known."

"Nargle?" Remus asked.

"It's a fly-like creature that can infect your head and make you confused. Harry has had a terrible case since we met last summer at the Burrow. I asked Daddy for a cure for them, but he said none have been created yet. I'm determined to find one for Harry. They make him rash and unpredictable."

"Okay," Remus said slowly and confused.

"So, where should we do this?" Harry asked, wanting to move off the Nargles.

"Anywhere you're comfortable," Luna said. "Neville needs to be near plants right now, so perhaps somewhere with some greenery?"

"How do you know that?" the boy in question asked.

"Your aura is very green. It gets like that just before you head to the greenhouses at school."

"Orangery it is," Harry said, and the four teens headed off to one of his favourite rooms.

"She's an interesting young woman," Sirius said to his friend after the four were gone.

"She is," Remus replied. "She saw her mother's death and since then, her father has been lost in a world of his own creation and he's brought Luna with him. I think for the girl its safer to believe in these fantastic creatures than accept the pain the real world offers. She's powerfully magical and I have no doubt she has the true gift of sight. That said, she's quite intelligent, a faithful friend – the only one who stood by Ginny Weasley after the incident at the end of Harry's second year – and honest. I'm glad Harry chose her to give his interview to."

"Let's hope that it doesn't blow up in his face," Sirius said very seriously. "Remus, sometimes I just want to take him and our family away from Great Britain and let him have a calm, relaxing life. Somewhere he can explore his magic, learn and grow, get a mastery if he chooses, or not. I just want him to have chances."

"What about Amy's career? Your seats on the Wizengamot? You're spearheading the movement to become a more equitable society!"

"Do you think any of that matters when compared to the happiness and health of my family? Amy is losing her hair from the stress of being Minister. She is looking forward to handing the reins over and then returning to the DMLE or leaving the Ministry all together. We want to have children, and somehow, I'm still able to have kids."

"What do you mean? Was there a concern there?"

"There was. Usually the Dementor exposure make impossible for you to, well, er, rise to the occasion ever again," Sirius said without a trace of laughter. "I suppose since I was able to hide from the worst they could do, I was spared. Some of the torture could have… anyway, I can father a child and Amy can mother one, we just need her to be a bit less stressed. We think it's affecting her ability to get pregnant. We certainly have been trying."

"Well, I wish you all the best. I will not be fathering any children, ever. I don't know if I could pass on my illness, so I'm not going to find out. I'm happy with my life as it is."

"Then may we both have the lives we want going forward. Lord knows we deserve some happiness," Sirius said. "Shall we sit in the library and have a fine beverage while we await the teens?"

"Roaring fire too, old chap, and it sounds perfect!" Remus wrapped his armed around his friend's shoulders and they walked off, talking about how silly some of the dreams they had when they were teens in Gryffindor tower sound to their adult ears.

Inside the orangery, Harry was twisting the hem of his jumper to the point where a spot was beginning to unravel. Hermione stilled his hands and he looked at her and she gently kissed him.

"Oh, the two of you are together," Luna said happily. "I always thought it made the most sense, although Ronald spoke of you almost territorially at the Burrow. It used to make me very angry. You'd never do well with someone who didn't study or thirst for knowledge, Hermione. As for you Harry, Ginny might have professed to loving you, but she didn't know you at all. I like her, she's my friend, but she was always much too loud for someone like you. You prefer the quiet."

"You're right, Luna, I do." Harry regarded the slight girl and appreciated her ability to read people. "So how should we do this?"

"Daddy says the best interviews are when people just talk about why they're granting permission for their story to be told. After you, and Hermione and Neville if they have something to add, are done I might ask a few questions for clarification."

"That sounds great, Luna. The only other interview I ever gave was with Rita Skeeter, and she didn't exactly let me talk," Harry explained.

"Well, if she listened, she'd need to tell the truth, and that woman wouldn't know the truth if it bit her in the bum," Luna said bluntly. "So, where do you want to start?"

"How about the beginning, the last task of the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Okay, tell me about it," Luna said, taking out a pencil and her pad. She didn't look at Harry, knowing it would make it easier for him to talk. Harry hated when he was the centre of attention. For almost an hour Harry told her about that night, the next morning and onward. He spoke about his adoption, moving into the house they were in and Sirius and Madame Longbottom ensuring they could have the best education money could buy.

Hermione added in about the classes they were taking and how advanced they were, and while Luna listened, she wished she could be with them in their studies. She wasn't looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. At least she had until fall. She'd been doing self-study of her fourth year materials while she was away.

"That's remarkable," she wondered. "Daddy can do some wandless earth magic, but he's never been able to manipulate wind or water. Can either of you work with fire?"

"I can't, but Harry might have an affinity for it," Neville answered when Harry wouldn't.

"How lovely," she remarked. "So, this is the magic that you're 'dark' because of? It's life magic, there is nothing dark about it!"

"That's it," Harry said with a scoff. "We've been making things grow. We've helped dying plants come back to life or bear fruits and vegetables. It's just tandem magic. Two wizards with one goal, and it's usually something like an orange or persimmon."

"Those were very good, weren't they," Neville chirped in.

"They were," Hermione answered.

"Can you show me?" Luna asked and Harry and Neville nodded. The orangery always had blossoms on the trees due to the use of magic. There was one tiny orange on the tree behind Luna no larger than Harry's thumbnail. Harry and Neville stood on either side of the tree, took three breaths and then found a spot to place their hands on the branch holding the baby orange. Then they took in a deep breath in tandem before exhaling and releasing their magic. You could see it flow down the branch, making leaves unfurl and blossoms bloom. Then the little orange began to grow, first getting larger and then changing from green to yellow and finally to a deep orange. Both wizards removed their hands and Harry twisted the fruit and it came off the tree. Neville used a cutting spell on the rind and then peeled and shared the sections.

"That might be the sweetest orange I've ever had," Luna said. "It's amazing! There are flurries outside and I am eating tree-ripened fruit!"

"That's the magic someone wants the world to think is dark," Harry said softly. "Beyond the obvious culinary benefits, Neville and I have gone into the nearby forest and cleared away dead trees and then helped saplings grow so they were strong enough to withstand the winter. The floods around here last year did a great deal of damage."

"The implications of this are quite extensive," Hermione said. "Imagine if we had a whole squad who would secretly move into areas where there has been ecological damage under the cover of night and heal it."

"Well," Harry said, taking his girlfriend's hand. "We would need to see about that, since we can't overturn the Statute of Secrecy." Hermione sometimes became far too excited about magic and using it in the Muggle world. While it was a fine idea, the practical implementation of the idea was a nightmare.

"Right, but, well I think it's brilliant," Hermione said.

Luna looked at the two boys and then put her finger to her chin. "That's not you long term goal, is it? I can see there is something much more important that the two of you want to do."

"Luna, this isn't for the story. We have only ever told Maia, our wandless magic teacher," Neville explained. "Most adults would think us mad, but Harry and I feel sure we can do it."

"Well, we feel sure we can try," Harry said with a cautionary tone. Harry thought it was odd that he was the patient, conservative one suddenly. His Nargles must be gone.

"You can tell me," Luna said. "I promise to keep your secrets. We are friends, aren't we?"

"Of course we are, Luna," Hermione said. "You're always so kind when you're at the Burrow."

"And you are great help when I get lost," Neville said. "Sometimes the castle gets me so turned around and you always seem to find me."

"You've usually left a trail for me," she replied dreamily. "So, tell me what your grand plan is, please?"

Wednesday 14 February 1996

Two days later The Quibbler was published. Harry sat at the breakfast table with Remus, Sirius and Hermione long after they'd finished eating. Their first lesson that morning was Defence, so if they were running late Remus was sure to understand. With just the three of them continuing at the house, lessons had taken on a less structured tone. Usually, they were in the library or the classroom, depending upon how much research was needed for the lesson. Both rooms had large tables they could spread out at, and it was a more conversational form of learning. Except when it came to Wizarding culture and politics with Madame Longbottom; she was exceptionally formal.

Neville was down earlier than usual, already dressed for the day. "I take it nothing has happened yet?" he asked while pouring a cup of coffee.

"Pater gave me a massive box of chocolates for Valentine's Day, direct from Belgium. He stopped off in France to buy pastries too," Harry answered as he dipped one into his very milky coffee.

"Awesome!" Neville said, taking a pastry and a few bits of chocolate."

"The pastries are really for Amy," Sirius said, "but I bought four dozen so there are enough for us all. I made sure to clear it with the kitchen staff. They were fine with it, since they are making four different romantic dinners for this evening and a special meal for Augusta to have in her rooms."

"Hannah coming to visit?" Hermione asked and Neville shook his head.

"I'm going up there and we're going to dine in an empty classroom. I already cleared it with Headmistress McGonagall," he explained.

"Things getting serious, Neville?" Sirius asked.

"We're only dating each other, if that's what you mean by serious. I'm not ready to discuss marriage or anything."

"Marriage between two ennobled houses is tricky," Sirius said. "Thankfully when Amy and I married we already had heirs for both houses, so it was less complicated. If the time comes, please feel free to ask for my help."

"Thanks. I feel bad for Gran, being surrounded by all these happy couples on a day like today. I sometimes wonder what Gran would have been like if she'd ever remarried," Neville admitted. "I know she's lonely. Grandfather passed not long after my dad was born."

"Sometimes when people lose the person they love, they don't recover and loving someone new is hard," Remus said.

"Also, your grandmother was protecting your inheritance," Sirius interjected. "If she'd remarried, she would no longer have been a Longbottom and unable to serve as the Dowager Lady of the House. You would always be the heir, but you might not have been able to live with her. Who would have become the regent in her place?"

"My grandfather's brother, Uncle Algie. He hates me; well, he hated my grandfather, so he hated my father and now he hates me. He thought the title should have been his when my father was…incapacitated. He's the one who threw me out a window trying to prove I was a squib."

"He did what?" Sirius said, outraged.

"I was little when it happened," Neville said. "He tried to drown me too."

"Unbelievable. I –"

Sirius stopped as Hedwig, Astraeus—Remus's, and Schwar – Sirius's, came flying in, their own little parliament of owls, all carrying a copy of The Quibbler. Hedwig had two. Each owner untied their copy, Harry giving his to Neville and reading with Hermione instead.

"We didn't make the cover," Neville said with a half-laugh. The cover story was about the Woolly White Gnawer, an animal only found in Alaska and northern Canada. Luna and her father had taken off for the Americas when the wands all disappeared from the UK. The animal was the size of a lamb and could be sheared in a similar fashion. The wool, however, shimmered and produced a fine, glimmering yarn that when knit made highly fashionable capes and other accessories for women. The muggle world believed it was a combination of Merino wool, cashmere and silk that produced the soft, almost sparkling yarn.

While Luna and her dad had not found the animal, the article stated they believed it was out there, and Luna had purchased a full-length cape made of the yarn from the creature. She didn't mention she'd bought it from a Muggle shop.

The story on Harry and Neville was on the second and third page, and it was accompanied by a beautiful drawing of the young men holding onto the tree branch and making the orange grow. There was another on the fourth page of the three friends sitting on the couch, smiling and laughing with one another.

It was nearly silent in the small breakfast nook while the quintet read. Sirius was the first one done. "That was remarkably well written and very fair," he said.

"She captured what we said without using a quill of any sort," Neville said. "Remarkable memory, and those drawings she did are amazing."

"I didn't know she had any artistic talent," Hermione said.

"I did," Remus said. "Her drawings on her parchments, even her doodles were impressive. This is a good article."

"It really is," Harry said.

"I feel bad that all she asked for were two oranges to take home to her father," Neville remarked. "I could have sent her home with a whole fruit basket."

"We can still do that," Harry said. "Now, we just need to hope this is what gets out and that stupid article from the Prophet is forgotten."