Chapter 14: Hogsmeade

As the days slipped by into October, all of the students third year and up started looking forward to their first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. It was one of the few times they were allowed to go out unchaperoned during the school year which made it special simply for that reason, but there were also a lot of fun shops to explore as well. There was Zonko's for prank items, Honeydukes for candy, The Three Broomsticks for butterbeer and good company, and for those daring enough Madam Puddifoots' Tea Shop. The décor looked like a thirteen year old girl's bedroom, but it was still the most popular spot to go for dates. Why that is was a mystery to most students, but the guys put up with it to make the girls happy. In addition to being a place to grab some tea, it also served as a premier snogging spot which made it quite popular.

Luna received an owl from Hedwig a couple days before they were supposed to go to Hogsmeade, and she smiled as she opened the note. 'Dear Luna, would you please do me the honor of going with me to Hogsmeade this weekend? If yes, meet me the morning of by the Great Hall. Your boyfriend, Harry.' She gave Hedwig some bacon in thanks for delivering the message and gave Harry a thumbs up when she saw him looking her way. Of course she would be more than happy to go with him to Hogsmeade. It was, after all, the place to be.

The rest of the week seemed to drag by, but finally it was the weekend. Luna woke that Saturday with a spring in her step. She took a shower and got dressed in a comfy green sweater since the weather was starting to get a little bit chillier. Once she deemed herself ready she went and grabbed a quick bite to eat, and when she walked out she spotted Harry waiting for her. Ron and Hermione were nowhere in sight, and although she liked them both she was glad that it would be just them for a while. "So, what did you have planned for us?" she asked him, reaching over and taking his hand in one of hers. Since he had sent the note to meet her she was kind of assuming he had at least part of the day planned out.

Harry looked at her before shaking his head. "Nope, you don't need to know where we're going, only I do. You just have to trust me and go along with it." he said, sticking his tongue out at her. It was clear that he was enjoying being childish and Luna couldn't help but let out a laugh at seeing him act so silly. Last year he had seemed to be serious and angry a lot of the time, so seeing the more easygoing side of him was definitely a plus and something she encouraged.

Luna played along, rolling eyes at him and patting him lightly on the shoulder as they started to walk. "As you wish, Harry. But if you're being so secretive about this whole thing I expect great things." she told him with a wink. She was mainly just teasing him because they had quickly become one of her favorite hobbies, but she was also hoping for a wonderful day. So far Harry had yet to disappoint so she was confident that he could deliver.

Her comment had him raise an eyebrow at her, chuckling. "Do you know, Ollivander said the same thing to me when he gave me my wand. He said that we could expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. Because after all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible! But great. And he'd given me a wand that was a brother to his." he explained, that particular vivid memory having never faded. It had been an unusual encounter. "I'm not sure if it will be great by your standards, but I do have a day planned for us to enjoy together. First stop is Honeydukes so we can stock up on candy to enjoy as we go." he told her.

The rest of the walk to Hogsmeade was spent in a companionable silence as they simply enjoyed being together. Before too long passed the little village came into view, and Luna followed Harry's lead as he led them towards Honeydukes. The bell on the door rang as they walked inside and she breathed in the scents of so many different kinds of candy with a happy sigh. "Okay, I definitely want some sugar quills, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. I'll let you know if anything else catches my fancy." she said, smiling.

Harry couldn't help laughing at the fact that she already had a list of things she wanted. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised at all. Luna may seem like she daydreamed a lot of the time, but she was much more organized than people gave her credit for. "Fair enough. As for me I definitely want some fizzing whizbees, pumpkin pasties, and cockroach clusters. Maybe some of the exploding bon-bons too, those are always pretty fun." he said, his eyes scanning the shelves of treats as they walked through the store amidst quite a few other students. They began to pick out what they wanted and soon had quite a collection between them. "Anything else?" Harry asked her, after they'd gathered what they had set out to as well as a few other random things along the way.

Luna paused in thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I think that's everything. The only other sweet things I want today are a few kisses." she told him with a wink, before they went up to the register and paid for their items. Harry insisted on paying for hers even though she told him that he didn't have to. As they exited the shop with some loaded bags of candy, she turned to look at her boyfriend. "Okay, you're off to a decent start. Where to next?" she asked him. She'd already gotten out a sugar quill and was sucking on the nib of the quill as they walked.

Instead of telling her Harry simply dragged her along towards the next place, which turned out to be Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. "I made us a reservation. It might not exactly be my idea of a good time, especially after what happened with Cho...but it's sort of a rite of passage in a way is it not?" he asked her, and Luna couldn't help but smile at that. She was touched that he would do something like this for her, especially after the bad experience they'd all heard about last year.

"It is indeed, thank you Harry." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before entering. They were immediately led to a table, and even Luna had a bit of a difficult time with all the pink that was on display here. She liked some girly things, but this was on a whole different level. For a brief moment she was reminded of Umbridge and her horrid office, but she pinched herself and focused on that until her thoughts refocused. "Well, since we're here I suppose I should ask what kind of teas you like. Any favorites?" she asked him, as she looked at the menu before nodding herself. "Mine would definitely have to be Chai tea, with Peppermint in a close second." she told him.

Harry didn't really drink tea that often, and he thought back to what types his aunt and uncle had that he liked. "I think mine is just standard English Breakfast, but I haven't really tried a wide variety. Since you said you like Chai and Peppermint I'll try one and you can have the other." he suggested. Seemed like a reasonable way to go about it, and this way if he didn't like it Luna could simply have two cups instead of one. Maybe not the most adventurous or perfect solution, but he thought it was a good compromise.

"Works for me." Luna said, and flagged down their waitress to place their order. Once she had gone she looked back over at Harry with a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "You know Harry, this place isn't known just for its tea. It's also one of the premier snogging spots in all of Hogsmeade. It would be a real shame if we didn't enjoy the full experience, don't you think?" she asked him, as she slowly started making her way towards him. She had been giving the matter a lot of thought, and she was fairly certain she was ready to progress to this next step in their relationship.

Of course when she brought that up Harry predictably turned a bright red as thoughts about what that might be like assaulted him. He'd been thinking about that too, and Harry thought that he was ready for that step as well. "I...well, I wouldn't mind giving that a go. The only thing is, I haven't really done that sort of thing before. The closest was Cho last year, and I'm sure you heard how terribly that went." he said, frowning a little as he admitted that. He was certain she already knew though, as he'd been told by more than one person that Cho had gone around telling everyone what a terrible kisser he was. However, as he looked at Luna he didn't see any hint of worry in her eyes, just a burning curiosity and eagerness to explore new territory with him.

Luna closed the rest of the gap between them and put her hand on his cheek, turning him to look into her eyes. "Harry, we all know Cho was just angry and upset it had nothing to do with you. That's all beside the point though, because this is about us. I want this, and I think you do too...so nothing else matters." she said, watching his reaction to see if he got the point. If she didn't think he was emotionally ready she would be happy to wait for him, it just came down to what he was comfortable with.

Harry had to admit that Luna's logic was rather hard to argue with and he nodded. "That makes a lot of sense, and you're right...this is about us. I'm ready if you are." he said, smiling as he stared into her enchanting blue eyes. Something about them seemed to draw him in, and he began to feel more at ease. There was still a nervous sense of anxiety and anticipation making him antsy, but he definitely felt ready. This was Luna after all, not Cho...and everything they'd done together so far had far surpassed any expectations he'd had.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Luna smiled and nodded to herself before leaning in closer. "Of course, this was my idea." she told him softly. She left the hand on his cheek and cupped the back of his neck with the other as she pulled him towards her for a kiss. As their lips met they began a light battle with each other, Luna ending up the slightly more dominant one in the fight. More than happy to control the tempo, she introduced a small amount of tongue before pulling back and moving to his neck. Before he could protest, she began to suck and gave him a rather large hickey...drawing out a moan from him in the process. Her skin prickled slightly as it became more sensitive, and light tingles ran all through her with the intimate contact.

He could scarcely believe that this was really happening, and in public no less. Once Luna stopped sucking on his neck he figured all was fair and leaned down to nibble and suck on her ear. The effect was immediate as Harry gained control and Luna let out a quiet moan of her own. Smiling, Harry moved his lips back to her mouth and resumed the kissing. After a while he stopped, gasping for air as he felt his heart racing and he smiled at her. "That's a good start, but I think I need a break for now." he told her. It had been fantastic, but his nerves felt like they were on fire and he knew if he kept going it would be impossible to stop. No, he needed to calm down and regroup at the moment.

Luna nodded, her cheeks flushed just like his were as she caught her own breath. She looked over at him and gave him a bright smile. "For the record Harry, you are definitely not terrible at kissing. That was fantastic." she said. Looking over, she noticed the waitress bringing them their teas so moved back around to her side of the table. Her chai tea smelled wonderful and she took a long sip, feeling herself start to relax a little as it went down. "Mmm, yummy. We might have to do this again sometime, what do you think?" she asked him.

Harry could only grin back at her, blushing at the compliment. "Why thank you Luna, you were pretty good yourself." he told her. When his Peppermint tea arrived he held his face over the cup for a moment to let the scent wash over him, and he had to admit that it smelled delicious. Copying Luna, he took a long sip and let that sit for a minute before nodding to himself. It was a strong flavor, but it was one that he definitely liked. "You have good taste, it's really good." he told her with a smile. "I am definitely amenable to making another venture here in the future. It's been...enlightening." he told her with a wink.

Luna knew she was still blushing a little as well, but she didn't mind. Being here with Harry felt good, and not just because of the kissing. When she was with him she felt relaxed in addition to knowing he would never make fun of her for her quirks. "It has indeed. Enlightening...and enjoyable." she told him with a smirk. They simply sat there sipping the rest of their tea until it was gone, and left after Harry paid their bill. "What next? So far you're doing rather well." she told him, her hand once again holding firmly onto his.

"Next would be the Shrieking Shack." Harry informed her, as they started heading a short ways out of the actual village. "Remember how I said the place needed remodeling to make it a proper secret hideout?" he asked, receiving a nod from her in response. "Well, I talked to Remus and enlisted his help in sprucing the place up a bit. He should be meeting us there, if everything goes according to plan." he explained. Soon enough they spotted the shack and Remus was there waiting, giving them a wave when he saw them.

"Hello Harry, Miss Lovegood. It's so good to see you both." Remus told them, smiling. He seemed to be in fairly good health, at least not looking as shabby as the last time he'd seen them. "Tackling this place is going to be a bit of a challenge, so I figured I'd lend a hand. A lot of the damage done to this place was because of me, after all." he told them with a chuckle. Harry had informed Remus that he'd told Luna a bit about him and the Marauders, so he knew that she would understand what he meant by that.

Luna smiled, glad to see that her old professor seemed to be doing alright. "Well, we're happy for whatever help you can give us. And please, call me Luna." she told him. If he was half as good at charms as he clearly had been with defense against the dark arts than he would prove dead useful. More importantly though, it was simply good to see him. It was obvious that Harry was rather pleased that he'd been able to get him to come, and anything that made Harry happy was a good thing in her book.

Remus looked at the two teens in front of him and realized that giving them a little place of their own to go to could be rather dangerous in some ways. He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Luna, Harry...by helping you make this place more livable I am by no means trying to give you a place to hook-up in outside of school. I expect you both to be responsible. If you can't do that, tell me now." he said, crossing his arms as he eyed them both and waited for their answer. He might not be responsible for either of them, but it would be remiss of him not to at least attempt to be a responsible adult.

Both Luna and Harry flushed a bright red at the mere notion of them using it as a hook-up spot. She elbowed Harry after giving him a look and he coughed a little before answering. "I assure you, that's not why we asked for your help. We just want a place away from everybody else, it's always so crowded in Hogwarts. A place to relax and unwind, neither of us are remotely ready for the umm...hooking up." he said, forcing himself to fight his way through the awkward words because they needed to be said.

Remus looked at Harry for a long minute before nodding and clapping him on the back. "Excellent. Let's get to work, then." he told them both. Leading the way, he opened up one of the boarded up windows with the use of some simple magic and headed inside. "Okay, I'll work on the walls and repairing the furniture and the kitchen. You two focus on the floors. I trust you've been taught plenty of cleaning charms, Luna?" he asked, being fairly certain that Harry hadn't gotten a chance to learn those yet. She nodded and he smiled, rolling up his sleeves. "Excellent, you show Harry how to get started. I'll get right to it." he told them.

It took about ten minutes for Harry to learn the charms he would need to help her clean the floor. By the time they'd started Remus had already gotten one of the walls almost cleaned and repaired. Heading to separate ends of the shack, they both began to slowly work their way towards the middle. The work was slow, but rewarding as they made progress and began to see a place that could actually be rather cozy. Underneath all the dirt and grime was actually a rather cozy little home, and Harry could see how the Marauders had been able to make it a place of their own. The place had a lot of potential in the right hands.

Eventually they finished the floor and began helping Remus where they could. After about an hour and a half, all three of them were a bit sweaty but pleased as they finished up. While it wasn't perfect, it was much improved and Harry and Luna felt confident they could take it from where they'd gotten the place to and make it their own. They walked back outside, and Remus boarded up the window once more. "Important to maintain appearances, after all. You two behave, and I'll hopefully see you at Christmas." he told them. Before they could reply Remus turned on the spot and apparated away, leaving them alone once more.

Luna looked over to Harry after Remus left and smiled. "That was fun, now we'll have our own hideout. Where to, next?" she asked him, letting out a yawn before leaning her head on his shoulder. She wasn't sleepy just yet, but that had been a rather tiring cleaning experience. At the moment she was ready for something more relaxing maybe.

Harry thought for a moment as he began to gently play with Luna's hair. He loved the feel of it as it ran through his fingers. "I think next up is The Three Broomsticks. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione should be meeting us there." he told her, putting his arm around her as they began to walk back into Hogsmeade. They found The Three Broomsticks to be almost completely packed, but luckily their friends had already snagged them a table and waved them over. "Hope you haven't been waiting too long." he told them, as he slipped into a chair and Luna took the one next to him.

Hermione smiled as she greeted them. "Not at all, good to see you both looking well." she said, before pausing as she noticed the hickey on Harry's neck. "Seems you've been having a rather exciting day." she commented, before laughing a little. "Only natural, of course. I assume you want butterbeers?" she asked, receiving nods from them both before she flagged down Madam Rosmerta and placed an order for two more.

Harry and Luna both felt their faces heat up at Hermione's comment, realizing what she must have seen. "Oh, it's been wonderful. Harry had the whole day planned for us. I think this is our last stop before we head back though, if I'm not mistaken." she said, smiling as she looked over at Harry who gave her a shrug in response. "Anyways, what have you all been up to?" she asked them.

Ron was the one to speak up this time. "Same old, same old, we've done some shopping and just wandering around a bit." he told them, shrugging. As he was about to continue Ginny got up after Dean motioned her over to his table, and he stared at them. "Think those two might be fast becoming an item by the looks of it. Never would have thought it." he said, looking away as Ginny and Dean started to kiss. "I just wish she wouldn't do that where she knows I can see her, or at all, to be honest." he said, causing Luna and Harry to laugh as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Ron. She's not doing anything wrong. You should relax, and maybe think about your own nonexistent love life instead of focusing on the ones around you. Maybe you could find yourself a girlfriend if you put in a little effort." Hermione told him with a pointed look. Part of her had been hoping he would have taken this opportunity to finally ask her out properly, but she'd still gotten nothing from him in that regard. There was only so much waiting she was willing to do, and at this point it was hard not to simply give up on him.

"You may have a point, Hermione. However, she is my little sister. Being protective of her isn't just something I can turn off when it's convenient. Besides, I'm the last of her brothers here at Hogwarts so it's kind of my job to look out for her. I don't think Dean's a bad guy or anything...it's just hard, okay?" Ron asked, downing the rest of his butterbeer. "I think I'm going to head back to Hogwarts, I'll see you all later." he said, before walking out. It was clear that the situation with Dean and Ginny had put him in a sour mood so they let him go without complaint.

Hermione just watched Ron go before looking back at Harry and Luna. "Sorry, he's been touchy ever since he noticed Dean and Ginny flirting earlier." she said, apologizing for him before finishing off her own butterbeer. "I don't know...I was hoping today he might finally make a move, but still nothing. Be honest with me Harry, should I give up on Ron?" she asked him, finally voicing something she'd been wondering herself for a long time. There wasn't anybody else here that she really liked, but she didn't want to waste her time pining after him either.

Harry was a little caught off guard by the abrupt change in the conversation, and sighed as he thought about it. "That's up to you. I know Ron does care, but I have no idea if he's going to grow up and do something about it any time soon. If I had to say I doubt it will be soon though, you see he's...he's rather focused on doing a good job as Keeper at the moment." he explained, hoping she wouldn't be too offended by his honesty. "I've tried to kind of point him in the direction of getting a girlfriend before, but...I don't know, I'm not sure if he knows what he wants right now." he admitted.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Hermione nodded and got up. "It's okay...I thought that might be the case. I'm going to head back as well, enjoy the rest of your day." she said, wiping at her eyes a little as she walked off. It was clear that things really weren't okay, but Harry had no idea of how to help her right now. They would either figure things out or they wouldn't. Right now she obviously wanted some time to herself to sort through her emotions, so Harry would let her have it even though he was rather concerned about her.

Luna and Harry found themselves alone, and slowly drank their butterbeers when they were brought before getting up as well. "Thank you, this really has been an amazing day. Let's head back before it gets too late, though." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek after Harry nodded. They got up and left, starting on their way back. Before they got too far they heard Katie arguing with her friend Leanne about something. A package that they were carrying ripped, and suddenly Katie was held up in the air and began to spin slowly, screaming all the while after touching the package. Her friend was watching on in horror, a look of pure shock and fear on her face. Before they could do anything she fell back to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

"We need to get her back to the school." Harry told her, rushing over to see what was going on with Luna following close behind. Leanne tried to explain but she was crying too much for anything to be coherent. Luckily for them Hagrid came along and once Harry explained the situation he picked Katie up seemingly no trouble. There were definitely some advantages to being a half-giant, and carrying her would be no more difficult for him than it was for Harry to carry a bag of school books.

"You lot need to tell Professor McGonagall what happened. She's a Gryffindor so she's the one who needs to be notified." Hagrid told them in a gruff voice. "Also, pick up that object but don't touch it, use the wrappin's to lift it. Whatever that is, it's dangerous." he told them all before rushing off, his long strides eating up the distance as he headed towards the school.

Leanne, Luna, and Harry all headed back and gave a brief explanation of what had happened to Professor McGonagall. It seemed that Katie had come out of the bathroom at The Three Broomsticks with the package. They'd been arguing because Leanne didn't understand why she was so determined to deliver a package that wasn't hers. Apparently before she went into the bathroom she'd been emptyhanded. After questioning them for a while Professor Mcgonagall dismissed them and Leanne left to towards the hospital wing and check on her Katie. Harry hung back though, and waited for Leanne to leave before walking towards his head of house.

"Okay, I know how this sounds...but I think Malfoy was behind the package." he told her bluntly. Harry could see that McGonagall was about to reprimand him but continued before she could. "Just listen, earlier this summer we saw Malfoy in Knockturn Alley with his mother. We were simply looking for curious items but he claimed to be on a mission that would get him accepted as a Death Eater if he did it right." Harry explained, pausing to let that sink in. "Now...what does Malfoy have access to that other Death Eaters don't. The school. I know it's thin at best, but my gut's telling me he's involved." he finished, looking at her to see how she would take his theory.

Professor McGonagall let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter but you have absolutely no evidence to support your theory. Professor Snape tries to look after him as best he can, and for now that will have to be enough. Now go, I need to inform Professor Dumbledore of what's taken place if he hadn't been told already by Hagrid or Madam Pomfrey." she said, getting up to leave. Clearly, she was of the opinion that this discussion was closed and Harry frowned a little.

"Well, that was an unexpected end to our day. I need a shower after all that cleaning, I'll see you tomorrow Harry." Luna told him, giving him a gentle kiss. "We've done all we can do for now, there's nothing else to do but let the teachers handle this. If Malfoy slips up we can take action then, but we can't do anything now." she told him pointedly, before giving his hand a squeeze and letting go as she walked off towards Ravenclaw tower, leaving Harry in her wake.

Harry thought about the matter for a few more moments before shrugging and starting the walk back to Gryffindor tower, letting out a frustrated grumble as he went. "I suppose she's right. Nobody's perfect, and if it really is him I'm sure we'll have our proof before too much longer." he said. For now, all he could do was watch and wait.