Chapter 8: Changes

Luna had packed everything she needed the Hogwarts so that all she would have to do the morning of was hop in the floo with her father. When she woke up she felt the familiar stirring of excitement she always did at the start of a new school year. Not to mention she was more than a little excited to spend hours alone with Harry in a compartment on the train. They hadn't tried snogging yet and she wasn't sure if they would today, but even if they didn't they would have the time together which was the main thing anyway. Since she was traveling she put on a comfortable pair of muggle jeans and a light purple sweater that she loved. Her change of clothes for when they got close to Hogwarts was right on top of her luggage in a bag that she'd tied to the handle.

The day she went back to Hogwarts always had certain traditions that the Lovegood family followed, the first of them being a blueberry pancake breakfast. The pancakes were buttermilk, and there were the tiny sausage links that she loved to go with. She followed her nose downstairs and found a loaded plate waiting for her at the table. "Mmm, those look delicious. Thank you, daddy." she said, going over and giving him a kiss on the cheek before taking her seat and digging in. There was of course maple syrup and copious amounts of butter to go with the pancakes, and to drink she had orange juice. She was aware of the fact she was a tad bit spoiled, but she wasn't going to complain. They spoiled each other, went on adventures, and had all sorts of interesting theories they discussed about unusual creatures and what made them so difficult to find. She wouldn't trade what she had with her daddy for anything, not even Harry

Her father quickly joined her and although he didn't eat quite as fast as she did he packed in quite a few before leaning back in his chair with a satisfied smile. "You're very welcome dear, this is after all one of our most important traditions. We couldn't very well skip it, now could we?" he asked, laughing a little before looking at her. "I can't help but remember that you're now dating Harry Potter, and I still haven't had a proper conversation with the boy. Before you get on the train I'll need to have a talk with him." he said pointedly.

To be honest Luna had been putting this off because she was a little nervous about how Harry would react. They hadn't done anything to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, but aside from the Weasleys Harry didn't really have any examples of what a relationship should look like. Maybe Sirius had talked to him about this sort of thing before he passed, but she couldn't be sure and definitely didn't want to ask and bring up painful memories for him. She supposed she would just have to trust that he would make it through on his Gryffindor courage. "Sorry about that, I meant to have him come over to meet you properly but I just got distracted with the coming school year. Plus you know how protective Mrs. Weasley is of everybody, I'm lucky I got as much time with him as I did. I'm sure he won't mind chatting for a bit though, we agreed to meet up half past 10 on the platform." Luna told him. If everything went according to plan that should be plenty of time for them to have a little chat before they hopped on the train.

Xeno nodded and put the dishes in the sink, he could wash them later. "Alright, that sounds like a plan then. I'll try to go easy on him, so don't worry too much. Go ahead and get your things, dear. We should be leaving soon if we're going to be there on time." he said, throwing on his own robes to look a little more presentable and running a brush through his long hair. It didn't take long before they were both ready and they went to the floo. "Ladies first." he motioned, stepping back so she could go through ahead of him.

Luna nodded and stepped through with her trunk, going to The Leaky Cauldron as the only other floo she knew of near King's Cross was the Ministry atrium and that would be too busy to be worth the trouble. The fire flared green as she stepped through, and soon enough she was in the familiar little pub connected to Diagon Alley. Her father joined her shortly after, and they exited into the light rain of London as they headed towards King's Cross station. She noticed a handful of other wizarding families with children presumably heading to the same place, and she couldn't help but smile. While she loved spending time with her daddy there really was no place in the world like Hogwarts. Interesting classes, a magical castle, good friends, and one of the most powerful wizards in the world to watch over it, if not the most. There really was no other place that could compare in her opinion. She couldn't believe that including this year she only had three left inside as a student. Perhaps one day when she was older she could come back and teach. To be honest Luna hadn't thought about that possibility before, but she would definitely have to consider it now that she had.

They reached the station at about fifteen after ten and went through the magical section of wall to gain entrance to the platform. There were some families milling around, mainly ones with younger children who hadn't been on the train before and wanted to allow extra time. With nothing else to do they simply found a bench and waited, enjoying the past time of people watching as they did. There was one family in particular that had an adorable little toddler who kept looking at her. He had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes and she smiled, waving back at him when he gave her a shy wave and then hid behind his parent's leg. A part of her had always wanted a little brother or sister, but it simply hadn't been in the cards. She wasn't bitter about it really, just a little sad. As far as she knew she didn't have any family aside from her daddy, and even though he was great she'd always wondered what it would be like to live in a bigger family. Having a family like the Weasleys next to her was probably part of the reason why she had been so curious. However, it had made it easier to relate to Harry. He might have some family still but for all intents and purposes they'd never behaved like one and having grown up a bit lonely had helped her to understand some of what he went through. Not all by any means, but at least an idea.

While she was distracted and thinking about Harry of course he chose that moment to appear and set his trunk and cage down. "Luna, Mr. Lovegood." he said, holding out his hand to the older man. "Your daughter tells me you had some things you wanted to talk about with me." Harry told him. Having never dated anybody before he didn't really know what to expect. Luna assured him that her daddy wouldn't actually hurt him, but even he could see that the man cared for his daughter a great deal. "I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" he asked, a little nervous.

Xenophilius Lovegood laughed and looked over at Luna with an amused smile. "Not so far as I'm aware of, and I'm sure Luna would have told me if you had. Since neither of you have dated before I simply wanted to go over a couple of rules that I have. First and foremost the two of you are not to spend the night together. I don't care if it's with other friends or not, I know how teenagers can be and I don't want any grandchildren before either of you are ready to take care of one." he said, staring at Harry to drive the point home before moving on. "Second, I would ask that you speak to me first before buying her any expensive gifts. Small things I'm not worried about, but I don't want to worry about you buying your way into her heart." he explained. "My last rule is quite simple. If Luna says no to something, that's the final answer. No persuading her or guilting her into anything she's not comfortable with. Now, if you break any of those rules...I break you." he told Harry.

Harry did his best to listen closely to everything Luna's dad was telling him. At the end he couldn't help but gulp at the not so subtle threat, nodding. "I understand, sir. Your daughter is a very special person, and I wouldn't ever try to hurt her intentionally." he said, not sure what else there was to say on the matter. "Sir, if I do have questions about dating...would you mind terribly if I asked you? My godfather died, and I really don't have anybody I feel comfortable talking to about it. Luna says you're good with that sort of thing, though." he told him, hoping that it wasn't too awkward of a thing to say. Was it a bad idea to ask the father of your girlfriend for dating advice? Probably not the best one, but the only other person he'd even consider asking was Remus and he wasn't sure the man had all that much experience. Perhaps he was wrong, but he'd never heard him mention any ex-girlfriends or anything.

Luna let out a giggle when Harry asked that and Xeno rolled his eyes at her before smiling. "Of course you can ask me, Harry. Feel free to write or pay me a visit if you need to, I'm usually home working on the magazine." he told him, before turning to Luna. "Now you behave, and don't tease poor Harry too much. I know this is all fun and exciting, but you still have to keep your head about you." he said, before pulling her into a tight hug and kissing the top of your head. "Okay, that's enough for now, you two should go ahead and board before things start gettng too busy." he told them. Sure enough, more and more families were starting to arrive as the train's departure was fast approaching. It was good advice, and they were more than happy to take it. tSince Ron and Hermione had prefect duties, they were looking forward to some alone time together.

The two of them made their way onto the train, lugging their heavy trunks behind them. It didn't take long to find an empty compartment about halfway down the train since they were still there earlier than a lot of the students who had already been to Hogwarts a few times. They stored their trunks, and Harry opened the window before letting Hedwig out of her cage. "Go on ahead to Hogwarts, girl. I'll meet you there soon." Harry told her, petting her gently before watching her soar into the sky. "If I ever became an Animagus I would definitely want it to be an animal that could fly." he said, before looking over at Luna and smiling. "What about you? What kind of animal would you want to become?" he asked.

Now that was an interesting question, and Luna had to admit she'd never really thought about it before now. So, she took the time to do so...weighing her options in her head as she tried to think what would suit her best. "You know, I think I'd love to be a penguin. For one thing they are among the cutest creatures on this planet, but they're also really cool. They mate for life, and are extremely protective of their young. Plus they can dive underwater and hunt for fish, live on the ice, and look they are wearing little tuxedos. Yeah, definitely penguin for me." Luna answered, laughing a little because she knew it sounded rather silly.

"Well, I guess we'll have to make time to go visit a zoo next summer. Most of them have penguin exhibits where you could go and see them." Harry told her. The answer was just out there enough to really suit Luna, and after she'd said it he couldn't picture her being anything else. He could almost imagine her expression upon seeing them and picture her playing with them if given the opportunity. He would have to make an effort to do some research and find out which zoo near them had the best penguin exhibit for her to enjoy.

Before they could think of anything else to say Hermione and Ron found their compartment, and Hermione opened the door. Both her and Ron looked to be rather out of breath from hauling their trunks around. "Do you mind if we join you?" she asked them. "We'll have to go to the prefects' carriage for a meeting soon so we won't intrude on you for too long." Hermione said, waiting for their answer instead of just barging in. Ron clearly looked like he wanted to, but actually followed Hermione's lead and waited patiently for his friends to reply.

Luna and Harry looked at each before both of them shrugged. "Sure, why not? We're not to the snogging stage yet so you haven't interrupted anything." Luna told them both, her face a perfect deadpan. The comment caused Harry to blush a bright red, and Ron nearly choked as he tried to stop from laughing too hard. Harry was his best friend, but Luna always did the most unexpected things. Hermione gave him a hard smack on the back to help him out and stored her luggage before sitting down.

Hermione took the seat next to Luna, leaving the boys to sit next to each other. Her head swiveled between them, as if unsure who she wanted to talk to. "Okay, so how on earth did this happen? Harry leaves for two months, doesn't write at all, and then all of a sudden you two are dating. I mean...what?" she asked, looking at both of them and awaiting the answers she was looking for. "You weren't dating before his birthday party were you?" Hermione asked, clearly wanting some answers. She was used to knowing everything about Harry, and this had definitely caught her off guard. If anything she had thought Ginny might finally make a move on Harry, but clearly she had been wrong about that.

"It's like I told you, Hermione. They kept going off to spend time together while he was staying with us. Things just...well, they escalated woman." Ron said, giving her a 'well now you have it' look as he settled in next to his best mate. Apparently Ron thought he didn't need to add any more detail to that and Hermione just sighed and rolled her eyes before looking at Harry expectantly. All of them could tell that she wasn't going to let this go until she was satisfied with their answers.

Harry laughed, not sure he would have phrased it quite that way. "I mean, he's not far off really. We started spending more time together, and then one day we went to Ottery St. Catchpole. We had a lot of fun, and before we left the village Luna here kissed me out of the blue. By that time I'd already started to like her quite a bit, so I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes. We even talked to Mr. Lovegood about things before getting on the train and he seems okay with things for the most part if a little protective of her." he explained, not sure what else she wanted to know.

Hermione just nodded along as she listened to Harry, and when he finished she looked to Luna. She blinked, her sky blue eyes sparking a little with mischief as she met Hermione's gaze. "What? I spent some time with Harry and decided I wanted him. So I got him. It was quite simple, really. I don't understand why people say teen dating is so difficult." she told her. She then reached into her bag and pulled out her spectrespecs, slipping them on. "Oh, dear. You have loads of wrackspurts swarming you, Hermione." she informed her friend.

All Hermione could do was stare at Luna as if she'd grown a third head. "Dating? Simple? I wish I had your outlook on things, Luna." she said, slumping down into her seat and looking over at Ron. She almost made a comment saying he should take notes but decided against it. Before they knew it the train started rolling down the tracks and she looked over at Ron. "Come on, we need to go to our meeting. Have fun, you two. Try not to do anything I wouldn't do." she said, waving before she left, dragging a protesting Ron with her.

Once they left Luna moved over to sit next to Harry, laying so her head rested on his shoulder. "You know, I think I almost broke Hermione with that comment. Do you think she'll be okay?" she asked him quietly. She of course thought of Hermione as her friend too, and hoped she hadn't unintentionally hurt her feelings. It was obvious that she cared about Ron but wasn't willing to make the first move. Ron was either oblivious or didn't know where to start, so simply had chosen not to. It was a situation that was bound to take a turn for the worse in terms of their friendship if nothing changed, at least that was her assessment of things.

Harry thought that Luna was really sweet for asking and he nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be okay. She just had a rough time fourth year with Ron and Viktor Krum. Plus Ron still hasn't worked up the nerve to properly ask her out yet, so that hasn't helped things." Harry explained, running his fingers through her hair as he pulled her a little closer against him. "I think I'm going to look over this year's defense book on the way, can you pass it to me it's on the other side of the seat." he said, not wanting to get up from his comfortable position. It wasn't every day he could hold his girlfriend without being interrupted, after all. Best not to waste it.

Smiling, Luna reached over and got it for him, but she didn't hand it over yet. "Ah, ah, ah, you have to earn the use of this book. First, I require a kiss and a poem." she told him, hugging the book to her chest so he wouldn't be able to reach it. Well, at least not without getting rather inappropriate. She was appreciative of the fact that he wanted to study and respected that, but she also wanted some attention and thought it was a perfectly reasonable request. Clearly, her boyfriend didn't share that opinion, though.

Harry gaped at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Oh come on, isn't that a bit overkill?" he asked, looking at Luna who just gave him a blank stare. "Oh bloody hell, give me a minute..." he said, and got up to get some paper from his trunk. He didn't have a lot left from last year but he had a little and was planning on replenishing his supplies as soon as he could by sending Hedwig to Scrivenshaft's in Hogsmeade. Once he'd gotten paper, quill, and ink he started composing a short poem. He kept scratching out lines before eventually having something that he still thought was awful but hoped would be at least acceptable to his girlfriend.

"A girl with blue eyes ever lost in a dream
Whose smile warms my heart like a sunbeam
She pries away my secrets with kind words or a kiss
Yet each day I spend with her is always spent in bliss"

By the time he finished reciting his poem he was blushing a bright red, but Harry pushed through it and leaned down to give her a soft kiss. Eventually he pulled away and leaned back into his seat, smiling like an idiot. "Good boy, you can have your book back now." Luna said, giving it to him before pulling a copy of the Quibbler out of her bag. They spent a good hour like that, leaning against each other while she read her magazine and he studied defense. Eventually though, Harry set the book aside and Luna looked over at him. "Something wrong?" she asked.

Harry shook his head, chuckling. "No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to focus on you for a while if that's alright. After all, how many other times during the year are we going to have a space like this all to ourselves?" he asked her. Looking at her, he reached out and cupped her cheek gently. "I was also kind of hoping we could practice our kissing. It's already wonderful, but there's always room for improvement don't you think?" he asked. He knew that it sounded cheesy but he didn't really care at the moment.

Luna looked into his eyes and blushed a faint pink before nodding. "It's sweet of you to ask before kissing me, but it's a fair bet most of the time that I'll probably say yes. Sometimes you just need to take what you want." she said, leading by example as she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him forwards into a kiss. This time it wasn't a light peck or a gentle kiss, she decided to let Harry know that she wanted him and felt that desire. After a few moments she bit his lip before pulling back, gasping for air. "See what I mean, Harry?" she asked.

Her aggressive tactics were not something he was expecting but Harry most definitely enjoyed it and simply nodded when she asked if he saw her point. "Wow, yeah...I think I see what you mean." he admitted. The kiss had left him reeling and it took him a minute to focus. "We'll definitely have to keep at it, but I think we're coming along quite nicely in that area." he said. Harry was about to lean in for another kiss when they were interrupted by their compartment open and Ron entering, followed by Hermione. He settled back into his seat, but grabbed Luna's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. He was starting to learn that little things like that were important to show that you cared, and was doing his best to keep at it because she was easily the best thing to happen to him in a long time, possibly ever.

"Why did Dumbledore make me a prefect? I really don't care enough to do a proper job of it." Ron whined, going and sitting across from Harry in the empty seat, Hermione following after with an annoyed look. It was plain as day that she really wasn't keen on his attitude towards his new position. Prefects were supposed to be role models for the younger students and while Hermione took that seriously she wasn't sure if Ron was ever going to.

"If you really feel that way you should tell McGonagall to find a replacement when we get there. Neville would do a great job if given the opportunity." she said, letting out a sigh as she sat next to Ron since everywhere else was taken. "Looks like you two have had a good train ride at least. We really should start changing into our robes though, before you know it we'll be there.

The girls got changed first, and then the boys after. Once everybody was all settled into their school clothes they looked at each other. "So, a new school year. Not to mention an open war with Voldemort. This year's going to be quite a bit different, isn't it?" Hermione asked, looking at her friends rather nervously as she bit her lip. Anybody who knew Hermione was aware that she struggled with big chances, but this one wasn't something they really had a choice about.

Harry took the opportunity to reach out and grab her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Yes, there are a lot of changes happening. But we have each other. As long as we stick together, I know we'll be alright." he told them, the words even helping convince himself a little as he spoke. Hermione was his best friend, and he was sure Luna would understand he was simply trying to support her. She was like a sister to him, and was easily the person he trusted most after Luna. Knowing how good Luna was at reading people, he was pretty certain she knew that was the way things were.

Ron nodded, sticking his hand in over the top of theirs. "We've survived more than any students have a right to already. Whatever comes our way, we'll be ready." he told Hermione, and gave Harry a nod. Ron could be lazy and temperamental sometimes, but when it came to sticking by his friends he usually did right by them. The incident in fourth year had been an exception, but he had eventually come round and hadn't let them down since. Hermione shot them both grateful smiles and nodded.

Luna was a little bit late, but she took off her spectrespecs and set her Quibbler down. "It's weird to see the golden trio in action, usually we have to make up stories about what goes on." she told them all, before smiling. "Friends are stronger together than apart, that's why I painted all of us together with the chain linking us. They can't break us." she said confidently, putting her hand in as well. While it may have been a bit of an unusual start, Luna got there in the end and Harry laughed a little, appreciating her quirks.

Hermione spoke last, happy that she had such great friends. "I know that with you all we'll make it through this okay. No matter what happens...better together." she said, looking at them all before feeling some of the tension and fear begin to ease up. She was still anxious about things, but it was at a more manageable level, down to something she could face.

The four of them simply stayed like that for a few moments, before Harry finally spoke up. "And so the Order of the Phoenix is reborn in our generation. Let the flame never go out." he said quietly. He let the words sink in before removing his hand and relaxing back into his seat, the others doing the same. After having that serious moment, they decided to have some fun and played some exploding snap for the remainder of their trip. Each of them won a few rounds and before they knew it they were rolling into Hogsmeade.

"It's almost time. I'll see you guys at the Gryffindor table, Luna and I will get our own carriage this year." he told them with a smile. Hermione and Ron just nodded. They had prefect duties to attend to after the feast, but would definitely sit with Harry like they always did. Harry got up and got down both his and Luna's trunks from the overhead compartments. Ron did the same for him and Hermione and they were soon all on their way.

Once they got off the train they split off from each other Luna and Harry picked a carriage. It was a pretty short carriage ride and got out, heading towards the main gates. Everybody was being screened by the teachers as they went through, supposedly to look for any dark objects. "I guess there really are a lot of changes." he told Luna, as they walked for their turn. One thing hadn't changed though, and that was Hogwarts feeling like home to him.

Luna was surprised that Hogwarts was going to such lengths, but she had to admit that it did make her feel a bit safer. "Yes, but it's still Hogwarts. Don't forget that you owe me an adventure in that invisibility cloak of yours." she reminded him with a wink. She had been looking forward to it for a while now and she definitely wasn't going to let him forget or wiggle out of it with an excuse.

"Luna, I'm excited about going on a late night adventure with you too, you know. It's not like it's some serious hardship for me that I'm trying to get out of." he told her. Harry leaned over and gave her a brief kiss before they stepped up to be screened by Professor Flitwick. Luna went first followed by Harry and they both passed without issue and began heading towards the great hall to watch the sorting.

"Good answer, Harry. I'll make you a proper boyfriend yet." she told him with a proud smile. Harry just laughed at that, causing Luna to break into a fit of giggles as well. Before they knew it they were at the great hall and Luna reluctantly let go of his hand. "See you later, Harry. Try not to get into any trouble without me there with you." she said, before breaking off to go towards the Ravenclaw table to watch the sorting while Harry went to join the Gryffindors. Ron and Hermione had saved him a seat and he slid in next to hem. Once they'd all found their places, Dumbledore stood up to begin his speech and so began another year at Hogwarts.

A/N: Please Read and Review!