Chapter 7: Preparations

The school year was fast approaching, and for once Harry had decided to follow Hermione's advice and try to get things done ahead of time. He loved the Weasleys but they were hopeless when it came to planning things, always leaving it for a last minute rush. So this year instead of waiting to go with them like he had in the past Harry owled Luna and asked if she would like to go shopping with him, explaining his predicament with the Weasleys and not really feeling comfortable enough to go alone. Attacks were starting to ramp up from the Death Eaters everywhere, and much as he loathed to admit it he knew that not even Diagon Alley was completely safe anymore. He also added that if her father felt it best to come along he wouldn't mind, since he reasoned the man was probably fairly protective of her after losing his wife so suddenly.

Luna smiled when she saw Hedwig and waited patiently for her to land before untying the letter, feeding Hedwig a snack of sausage before writing him back. It seemed that this time Hedwig had been instructed to wait for a reply and she was all too happy to give him one. She explained that she had already gotten her things but would still be more than happy to join him. They hadn't really gotten to spend a day alone together since their trip to Ottery St. Catchpole, and she was looking forward to spending some time together as a couple. A brief visit or two under the watchful eyes of Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow didn't really count as quality time together in her book. She loved the Weasleys, but having a mum watching your every move made it awkward when you wanted to kiss your boyfriend so they hadn't done that since the day they got together. After asking her daddy she told him that Saturday morning around nine would be perfect, and that they could floo from her place if he wanted. She also added that while her daddy would like to come with he was actually making a short trip and wouldn't be back until the Monday after their excursion. With that settled she sent Hedwig on her way, and Luna tried to make a list of various odds and ends she thought she would need for the upcoming year at Hogwarts. While she'd gotten everything she thought she would need, there were always things you forgot and it didn't hurt to go over it all again to look for things she had possibly missed.

Saturday rolled around and Harry appeared right on time after having breakfast with the Weasleys. Luna was dressed in muggle jeans and a weird sisters t-shirt, and she couldn't keep from bouncing on her feet a little in anticipation. "Today you're all mine...and for shopping." she said, with a scary smile as she took his arm and dragged him over to the fireplace. We'll get your things first, and then we'll start on the list I compiled of odds and ends I need." she informed him, taking a pinch of floo powder and tossing it into the fire. "Diagon Alley!" she called out clearly, before letting go and stepping into the flames. Harry followed suit a moment later, much more successful this time than the first time he'd tried it. Luna linked her arm through his and led the way. "Come on Harry, robes first. That will take the longest." she said, patting his elbow possessively. She wasn't trying to boss him around, but boys (especially teenage ones) were notoriously bad shoppers. They would just go where they wanted in a random order, while Luna thought it much smarter to have a plan of attack and stick to it.

They spent just over an hour at Madam Malkin's, Luna making sure he had a presentable pair of dress robes, as well as three new pairs of school robes that fit better and one casual pair of dress robes for lounging around if he didn't want to wear muggle clothes. Harry of course protested the entire time, saying this was all too much. Luna just told Madam Malkin to ignore him and that she knew best in these matters, which the older witch wholeheartedly agreed with. Not only was the girl right, but it was better for her business to agree with the customer who wanted more. Harry groaned when they finally got out of there, and looked at her with a pout. "That wore me out, can we get a snack or something before the next shop?" Harry asked hopefully.

Luna felt a little sorry for him as whined and nodded, kissing his cheek. "Of course we can, Harry. Thanks for behaving in there, I know it was a challenge for you. Since you were so patient of course I don't mind giving you a break." she told him. She led them to a little vendor that had incredible fresh donuts and she bought one for each of them. Hers was a raspberry filled one where as he had opted for the chocolate glazed. They were cooked to perfection and she thought the burst of raspberry filling was delicious, and when she looked over at Harry he noticed his donut had rapidly disappeared as well and she giggled, handing him a napkin. "Here, you have chocolate on your face." she said. Of course, she couldn't really judge, having gotten some filling on her face as well that she wiped off before tossing their rubbish in a bin.

Once they'd had their snack and cleaned their faces and sticky fingers she looked at the next shop on their list. "Okay, looks like next is getting your books out of the way at Flourish and Blott's. Come along." she said, hopping up from the bench they'd taken a break on and leading the way. There were fewer shoppers out here than normal because of the state of things with the war on Voldemort, but most students were still going back to school and Diagon Alley was the premier place to shop so it wasn't completely empty by any means. "I almost forgot to ask, how'd you manage to get the time to do this? Ottery St. Catchpole was one thing but this will probably take longer than that little adventure." Luna was a curious person in nature, and she knew that Mrs. Weasley would definitely get suspicious if he was late for lunch if not before then. They could try to rush through their list, but even so shopping took time and she wasn't sure if they would get back before lunch.

Harry actually looked a little guilty when she asked him that, letting out a sigh. "I lied and said Remus was taking me shopping after explaining how I wanted to get things done ahead of time. She actually floo called him after and asked him about it, and he covered for me. He still hasn't asked me why I was lying about it. When I get back I really owe him an apology and an explanation, he's a good man." he said. He'd known it wasn't the best way to go about getting time with his girlfriend, but he hadn't really thought it through at first and as soon as he told Mrs. Weasley her plan she'd gone straight to the floo to make sure that was really the case. Things had just spun out of control, and it left him feeling like he'd taken advantage of a man he respected. Which, he kind of had in a way.

It was obvious that Harry felt awful about the way things had happened and she grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, all this means is that Remus trusts you to be mature and responsible. Write him and explain things, you can even tell him about us starting dating if you want. I'm sure he'll understand that us teenagers aren't perfect and it was a mistake you don't intend on repeating." Luna told him, giving him a smile. "Remus loves you, I'm sure he'll understand. Just try to be a little more careful about accidentally hurting other people's feelings and think things through more in future. You Gryffindors, always just diving right in." she chided him, but with a fond smile as she did.

Her words sunk in and Harry visibly relaxed a little, giving her a nod. "I suppose you're right. Usually I simply react to the crazy things that are happening and there's no time for planning, I guess that's something both you and Hermione can help me work on." he admitted. Both of them were organized, though Hermione went about it in the much more traditional sense with planners and a strict schedule whereas Luna seemed to keep her plans in her head. Honestly it was a little scary the way she could do that and seemingly not forget bits and pieces of what she had planned like he was sure he would if he tried, but whatever works he supposed.

The stop at Flourish and Blott's went by much faster than Madam Malkin's, they simply had to go down the list of classes he was taking and find the required books. Since he wouldn't be taking all the classes he had in previous years that definitely helped the shopping go by quicker. Before they left though, Luna browsed for a bit and found two books of her own. One was on ancient runes and the other was specifically about using transfiguration in combat. She'd combed through it briefly and it looked like it would definitely be helpful to her. "So Harry, I meant to ask have you given any thought to continuing the DA this year?" she asked, looking over at him as they waited in the line.

Harry was caught off guard by Luna's question, since he assumed they would have a competent DADA teacher he hadn't even considered the possibility of keeping it going. "Umm no offense Luna, but why would people still want to learn from me when we get an actual teacher this year? Besides, I've already taught you all most of what I know." he explained. He hoped she wouldn't be upset with him because of his answer, but he was trying to be honest about how he felt.

Luna listened and nodded, giving his hand a squeeze as she laced her fingers through his. "Okay. I'm not trying to force you to do anything, I just know that a lot of people really appreciated your help." she said, leaving the matter at that. "Not to mention, the teacher is Snape this year isn't it? Didn't you say that Slughorn fellow Dumbledore had you meet was taking up Potions?" she asked him. While Snape probably knew a lot about the Dark Arts and how to counter them having practiced them himself, she doubted that he would be the most pleasant of teachers. She highly doubted someone like Neville would benefit much under his tutelage, and would probably prefer Harry's help if offered. "You don't have to answer now, just something to think about." she told him, not wanting to push him and have him say no simply because she rushed the issue. The two of them waited patiently after that, paying for their books and shrinking them down so they were easy to carry before looking at the next stop on their list. "Okay, you really don't have a lot left just going by Eeylops to get things for Hedwig, getting some Quidditch gear that fits you a little better, and making sure you have plenty of writing supplies. After that is we still have time we can swing by the twins' joke shop." she said, flashing him a smile. "You can pick which we do next this time." she told him, wanting him to enjoy himself too.

Harry thought about it for a minute before laughing. "Well, we should definitely save the twins' shop for last so I say Quidditch time." he said, leading the way this time as he headed for Quality Quidditch Supplies. He got himself a new pair of gloves and a set of pads, as well as a new broom repair and polish kit as his old one was starting to run out of things. His firebolt was in pretty good condition, but he knew it would take a banging over the course of the season this year. Plus he had been named Captain of the team this year and he thought it was probably best to look the part. He may not be a fanatic about the game like Wood was but he still wanted to do a good job. "I don't think I've ever asked, do you like flying Luna." he asked, looking over at her and noticing she was standing in front of one of the newer Cleansweep models.

"Hmm? Oh, yes I enjoy flying quite a bit. Actual Quidditch games I enjoy watching, but not really to play in. For me I prefer just flying around, taking in the scenery and feeling the rush of the wind. Everything looks so different from up on a broom. It's...well, it's kind of a freeing experience, you know?" Luna asked, hoping he would understand what she meant. There was something special about being up in the air, having all that open space around you and the beautiful sights to see both above and below. Wherever you looked you couldn't help but feel like you were in another world altogether, always so much to see. You might be in the same place, but the vantage point made things look so different.

When she explained what she enjoyed about flying Harry had a knowing smile on his face as he nodded. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Even flying on Buckbeak or on the Thestral when I wasn't even in control...there's nothing quite like it. We'll definitely have to make some time to go flying together sometime." he said. Harry took a moment to make a mental note of which model she'd been looking at before they went and paid for his things. Since he was going to have fewer classes this year he was surprised at how fast this was going. They were nearly done already, that is unless Luna had other shops planned that she hadn't told him about yet. "On to Eeylops?" he asked still intent on saving the joke shop for last. He didn't really care too much about the writing supplies, so fitting that in whenever was fine with him.

Luna was happy to go to Eeylops next, always enjoying looking at the different types of owl. They went over to the owl emporium and Harry got some basic owl food as well as some treats for her. Usually he just gave her a little bit of whatever he was eating but he didn't always have free access to bacon so figured it was a good idea to have some other things as well. He also got some things to help keep her cage nice and clean, because Hedwig turned to get upset with him when it got too messy. Once it was all paid for and packaged he smiled, knowing they were about done with the boring things on their list and that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was fast approaching. Harry was about to ask if she was ready to go Scribbulus Writing Implements when Luna spoke up . "I do have one other stop on my list I was hoping to go to. Only thing is, it's in Knockturn Alley. That place called Borgin and Burke's really does get some of the most unique things there. I just wanted to browse a little if that's okay. Scribbulus Writing Implements is near there so we can hit it on the way or after, if you want." she told him, hoping it wouldn't be a big deal.

Now going into Knockturn Alley at the best of the times was rather dicey, let alone now with everything else going on. Harry thought it over for a full minute and a half before eventually nodding. "I suppose it couldn't hurt as long as we're quick about it." he said, before moving his messy hair over a bit to make sure it fully covered his scar. "Does that hide it?" he asked her, knowing she would know what he meant. If people didn't recognize him as Harry Potter he knew that would definitely be for the better. He had accidentally been to Borgin and Burke's once, and he knew that they would have to keep their heads about them to avoid any incident. Even two children doing some shopping who weren't able to be recognized as people who actively fought the dark weren't necessarily safe. He was sure their little trip to the Ministry had probably been talked about in places like Knockturn Alley, and he doubted some of them would be happy with him and the order thwarting Voldemort's plan.

Luna smiled and looked at his forehead, messing with his fringe a little before nodding to herself. "That should do it. Thanks Harry, I would just do it myself but I didn't want to go alone." she admitted, putting her arm securely through his before they set off together into the dark unknown of Knockturn Alley. Once they'd gotten to Knockturn Alley they had decided to leave the writing shop for after, just wanting to get it out of the way. They got a few looks because they looked to be a bit too respectable for the area, but nobody actually gave them any undue trouble on their way to the shop. Harry had been there once before (on accident admittedly) so he had a decent idea of where to go. The bell on the top of the door rang as they swung the door open, and they stuck close together as Luna began to sate her curiosity.

After about five minutes of searching the shop Luna was about ready to give up. She knew there was more to look through, but at the same time she knew they were both rather out of their depth. Just as she turned to go something silver glinted in a bit of firelight and drew her attention. Walking over, she found a small Raven statue that had sapphires for eyes that was clearly very old. She looked at the tag and her eyes widened. Supposedly this belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, the Grey Lady herself. Whether or not that was true she wasn't sure, but even if it wasn't the piece was still impressive. She looked at the price though, shaking her head. It was 250 galleons, there was no way she could afford that. Her shoulders slumping in defeat, she turned to Harry. "Come on, we should be leaving." she said, and they started towards the door.

Right at that moment Draco Malfoy and his mother burst into the shop, making their foul presence known immediately. Draco proceeded to berate the shopkeeper for being unable to fix an item, though he didn't specify what that item was. He told him that since he was clearly incompetent he would fix it himself, but at the price of using it free of charge. The man clearly didn't seem to like the situation but nodded. "That's fine lad, just get out of my shop before I toss you out. You might be Lucius' golden child but that doesn't make you invincible." he said, spitting at his feet.

Harry snuck a glance and saw Draco's face turn red with fury at that insult. Quick as a snake, he drew his wand and held it right between the man's eyes. "Careful now, I'll soon be making a name for myself that's separate from my father. He's not the only one capable of making himself useful to the dark lord, and once I complete my task I'll be admitted into the ranks." he said, before slowly lowering his wand. Draco motioned to his mother and the two of them left without another word.

As soon as he was gone the man, Harry thought his name was Borgin slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Damn kid. I never cared much for the Dark Lord and his lot, but they're too powerful to say no to." he grumbled, disappearing into a room behind the counter and leaving Harry and Luna alone in the shop. As far as they could tell, the Malfoys hadn't noticed their presence which was probably a good thing. Draco was never one to pass by a chance to taunt and make fun of him, and he really didn't want people knowing who he was if they didn't already.

Luna looked at Harry and tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, we need to be going." she said, but Harry wasn't budging. Draco Malfoy apparently had some task to do, that upon completion would make him a death eater. His rival had always been overly confident before, but if he was telling the truth he could become a dangerous enemy. He knew that underestimating people like Malfoy could come back to bite him if he wasn't careful. Harry closed his eyes for a moment to clear his thoughts before looking at the Raven Luna had found. It was beautifully made, and definitely looked old even though he wasn't sure how to tell if it was as ancient as it claimed.

"Do you know what it does? Most of the items in here have some sort of magic about them." he said, gently running a hand over the silver feathers of the beautiful bird. Harry had never seen anything like it before. If this had really belonged the Grey Lady, there probably wasn't anything else like it. All things considered, even though 250 galleons was a lot it was probably a decent deal. Well, provided the item wasn't a fake at least.

"No, I don't know what it does Harry. Even if I did, it's far too expensive. We should go before that man comes back, he won't like being reminded that other people saw Draco humiliate him." Luna said quietly, and Harry nodded. This time when she tugged on his sleeve he went with her, and they exited Knockturn Alley in a rush. It seemed that the Malfoys had been there just for that because they didn't see them anywhere on their way out. As she saw the opening to Diagon Alley Luna started to speed up, not quite going into a run but a bit of a light jog as she headed for the much brighter and safer area.

The two of them emerged into the light of Diagon Alley and as they breathed in the fresh air they felt the tension start to ease out of them. Luna turned so she was facing Harry and put her arms around his neck. "Thanks for going with me Harry, I don't think I would have had the courage to go there alone." she told him. Before he could reply she leaned in, closing her eyes as she gave him a long, slow kiss. As their lips pressed together she could feel the anxiety she'd just had replaced with a mix of other emotions. There was desire to try more, a warm feeling of happiness and safety knowing that he cared for her, and a large amount of curiosity about what other things kissing could lead to and wondering when she would be ready to try them. She smiled, finally opening her baby blues as she stared into his green ones and giving him a satisfied smile. "All in all, I'd say this was a successful venture wouldn't you?" she asked him.

It took both Harry's senses and his brain a good minute or so before they started to work again, and he laughed. "Yeah, I'd say it was definitely my favorite trip to Diagon Alley yet. But it's not over yet, if you're going to be dating me you need pranking equipment. After all, I am the heir of the Marauders. Plus I should really get some writing supplies for the school year." he told her, and turned to head into the Scribbulus Writing Implements shop but stopped dead in his tracks. The glass of the front window was broken, the door looked to be rotting, and no lights were on. He wasn't sure if the shop was looted or abandoned first, either by Death Eaters or someone else. Regardless, there was definitely no way he would be getting his supplies there. It was a stark reminder that Knockturn Alley wasn't the only dangerous place at Diagon any longer, and one of his hands balled up into a tight first, the whites of his knuckles showing. "Well, I guess it's on to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after all." he said, angry that even a business that dealt in writing supplies wasn't safe these.

Luna looked at him curiously. She'd never heard anything about the Marauders before. "Harry, you can't just say something mysterious like being the heir of a group called the Marauders and not fill me in. Who are the Marauders and why are you their heir? I would think the twins would be the heirs of any pranking group around here." she said, waiting to get her answers. Seeing the shop in such a state had shocked her too, but she was much more curious about this group that Harry had mentioned out of nowhere. Ginny had never talked about it when discussing Harry with her, so he didn't think she knew what they were either.

Harry blushed a bit, realizing his mistake as he hadn't told her about that yet. He didn't mind filling her in though, having had much more challenging talks with her already. "Well, you see when my dad and Sirius were in school they had two other friends they spent a lot of time with. One was named Remus Lupin who was a werewolf, and the other was Peter Pettigrew. They all worked hard to become animagi so they could stay with Remus and help with his transformation during the full moon. Their nicknames were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs after their Animagus forms. My father was a stag, thus prongs. Peter Pettigrew was a rat, thus Wormtail. Padfoot was a black dog that looked like the grim, and that was Sirius. Moony was of course Professor Lupin. Not only did they teach themselves to transform, they also created a map of Hogwarts, including the hidden passageways, that shows the name of every person in Hogwarts and where they currently are. The twins found it in detention, and gave it to me because they'd already memorized all the passages and figured I would need it more than they did. To be honest, it's been dead useful and I don't know what I'd do without the Marauder's Map. One of the best parts about it is, if you don't know how to open it properly than it insults whoever is trying to get inside like a joke parchment. Makes it look a lot less suspicious and incredible than it actually is." he explained.

Now Luna wasn't often surprised, but that story left her with her jaw hanging open. "That's...that's incredible, Harry. Animagus transformation is incredibly difficult, not to mention dangerous...and I can't even imagine how one would make a map like that. Any other secrets I should know?" she asked him. The level of work it would take to make something like that was probably well above Newt, she wouldn't even know where to start.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "None that I haven't already told you about. Now come on, I'm itching to see if they have anything new in the shop since last I checked." he said, dragging her along so they could go and explore the twins' amazing shop. Most of it he'd seen before, but he did get some of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder because that seemed dead useful if he ever needed to get out of a tight spot. Luna browsed for a while, settling on getting some extendable ears, a Weasleys' snowstorm, and a Happy Bubble Box. The snowstorm was a little snowglobe that had the shrieking shack in it, and supposedly produced snow when you sprayed the pump on top. The bubbles were simply magical bubbles that would change color and shape when you blew them. Of course the extendable ears would allow you to listen in on whatever conversation was happening where you threw the other end of the ear, working when you held up the opposite end to your own. Harry had used them before and said they were fantastic.

They paid and left, though the twins refused to charge Harry for anything because he had given them their startup funds. They went back to the Leaky Cauldron and flooed to The Rookery. Luna pulled Harry into a tight hug, smiling as she looked at him. "I don't know if things are going to change when we go back, but thank you so much. This summer has been perfect." she told him.

Harry was more than happy to hug her back, his fingers combing through her long, messy blonde hair as he did. "I think so too. I know things are going to change soon, but we just can't let them change this. No matter what happens I know we'll be there for each other." he said, pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes as he simply enjoyed being with her for a moment. After the moment passed he kissed her on the cheek. "I'll save a spot for you on the train, okay?" he asked, and Luna nodded. Reluctantly letting go of her, Harry left to go head towards the burrow and she headed up to her room. They'd been gone almost three hours, so he headed off in a bit of a rush. Usually Mrs. Weasley had them eating right around noon, and he didn't want to miss the meal. She would probably be curious why Remus wasn't joining them but he had thought about it and planned to say that he had something to do for Dumbledore and the Order that couldn't wait. Hopefully that would keep her from asking too many questions about dropping him off without stopping to say hello.

Luna put her things away and stared up at the painting of Harry on her ceiling, smiling to herself. "He's always full of surprises, I wonder what else I'll find out about him." she said to herself. Since she was bored and had nothing else to do, she tried to imagine the wildest possible secrets he could be hiding, entertaining herself before taking a short nap. All the excitement had kind of worn her out.

A/N: Hello all! I don't usually do the whole author's note thing but here goes nothing. Just wanted to say thank you to all my readers out there. This has officially become the longest story I've ever written this week and I've been really happy with the way it's progressing. For those of you who are getting tired of the fluff, I can assure you the angst and tragedy will becoming shortly. Before you destroy things though it usually helps to build them up a bit first, so that's what I've been attempting to do. Would love to hear what you all have to think of the story so don't be shy if you have something to say. I'll try to post again soon, Potterheads 3