Even though Mrs. Weasley made it quite obvious with her doting on Percy that she wanted him to stay, the atmosphere inside the Weasley's home didn't seem to agree. Percy's brothers were ambivalent to his presence and Ginny wasn't much better, although she did at least speak with him. Meanwhile, Scrimgeour split his time between eyeing Harry and waging a silent war of glares with Luna's father. The tension between the two older men was palpable to her. While others may not have noticed, she could always sense the emotions radiating from her father, much in the same way she had been able to see Harry's when he had confronted Scrimgeour. Like most of the magic surrounding her, it wasn't prevalent to everyone and went along the lines of her bond with someone. The closer their relationship, the clearer the picture of who they were came into focus.
At around the thirty-minute mark of the Weasley's strained holiday get-together, Scrimgeour- realizing that gaining what he wanted from Harry would be impossible- announced he had business to attend to and abruptly left. Percy seemed startled at the Minister's sudden departure, but then closed his eyes with a slow exhale that sounded weary. He appeared much older than Luna remembered. Perhaps working for the Ministry prematurely aged a person. "I need to go with him. If I don't …" Percy didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he opened his eyes and focused on Luna. "You were right."
"I was?"
"Yes, and I'm impressed with how quickly you guessed what he was actually here for, to use Harry as propaganda for the Ministry. I don't think he's used to others being so honest with him." Percy's gaze moved over to Harry sitting beside Luna at the table. "I'm sorry. I didn't want any part in this, but …" he let another sentence trail away, before standing. "Well, goodbye."
Mrs. Weasley flinched like she had been slapped and followed her son to the door. "But you just got here." Silence lingered for a moment as she and Percy shared a heartfelt stare. "Please, stay," was her soft implore. "I'm sure the Minister would understand. It's Christmas."
Percy shook his head and repeated, "I'm sorry." This time he spoke only to his mother, then walked outside.
Mrs. Weasley lingered near the door after Percy left, clearly shaken, and Mr. Weasley went to comfort her while someone mumbled "Git," under their breath. When the faint sounds of Scrimgeour and Percy's disapparition reached their ears, Mrs. Weasley began to cry silent tears, causing a thick layer of awkwardness to blanket the room. Luna took this as their cue to leave. After lightly tugging her father's sleeve, she whispered, "Maybe they want some time alone. As a family."
He agreed with a nod and gave his throat a quick clearing. "I think it's about time Luna and I head home. Thank you for the invitation and a wonderful Christmas meal. Hopefully, we can do this again." Her father stood and then patted the stack of Quibblers still untouched on the table. "Don't forget these. Lots of useful information in here. In fact, there was a particular article ..." He flipped one open and began scanning through the pages. But Luna, moving to stand beside him, gently brushed her father's hand away from the pile of magazines.
A common theme of their relationship was Luna knowing when to step in when her father became too loquacious about the Quibbler. And this was one of those instances. Now was hardly the time for promoting his magazine when Mrs. Weasley was so upset. "Yes, Daddy, I'm sure Harry will see that they get passed around. You'll do that for us won't you?" Luna looked at Harry beseechingly.
"Uh, yeah, I'll do that," he said, rising from his seat.
Her father clasped his hands together and gave them a good shake as a way to show solidarity with Harry. "Ah, of course, you would. Someone bright enough to wear a cork necklace must be a dedicated reader of my magazine and wants to get the word out."
Luna shared a brief knowing smile with Harry, before ushering her father away, not wanting him to go into the value of cork necklaces again.
"So uh, will I see you again?" Harry asked, suddenly appearing beside Luna as she pulled her coat down from a nearby rack. Her father was a few steps away doing the same.
"Most likely we'll see each other at Hogwarts," Luna replied.
Harry looked sheepish. "I meant sooner than that."
She smiled. "I was teasing you, Harry. I know what you meant."
"Heh," Harry softly chuckled. "I'm not always able to catch when you do that."
"I suppose I can be a bit difficult to read at times. Would you like me to wink before I tease you?"
"I dunno, I kind of like it that you keep me guessing."
"Alright then, no winking," Luna agreed, then inclining her head towards him, she lowered her voice. "I would very much like to see you again during the holiday, but I'm afraid it might raise suspicions if I ask my father to come back so quickly."
Harry shoved his hands in his pocket, his expression falling. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
Luna- wanting to erase the disappointment her response had produced in him- tugged at Harry's elbow, until one of his hands was forced free from his pocket. Gently, she sandwiched it between her own, feeling the warmth of their skin-to-skin contact. "It won't be long until we're at school again, and then we can go back to viewing nargles together."
Harry gave her a lopsided grin. "So is that what we're calling it?"
Luna innocently shrugged, which deepened Harry's smirk, and he used his free hand to grasp a loose lock of her hair. Slowly he threaded his fingers through the strands, causing Luna's heartbeat to accelerate.
"Hey, Harry!" A Weasley twin shouted, cutting through the romantic current undulating between Luna and Harry, and she let go of his hand, at the same moment he released her hair. "I thought you were going to hand out these Quibblers."
"Yeah mate, these things aren't going to pass themselves out, you know," the other twin added. Mrs. Weasley was quick to shush them and Luna was happy to hear her sadness over Percy had been replaced with an attempt to reign in her two most mischievous boys.
"Well, I gotta go before they say anything else to really embarrass us," Harry said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.
"And I better go too. My father is incapable of hearing someone mention the Quibbler without offering his unsolicited opinion on the latest issue."
They shared a laugh and Luna was happy she had been able to lift Harry's melancholy. "Soon," she reminded him and found herself lightly touching an exposed portion of the cork necklace along the side of his neck.
"Soon," Harry repeated, and with a nod, he turned around.
"What was that all about?" her father asked, once he and Luna were outside and on their way to find the portkey that would take them back home.
A swooping sensation filled Luna's stomach. "What do you mean?"
"With the Minister."
"Oh," she sighed, her nerves subsiding some. "I'll tell you about it at home." Odd how Scrimgeour had been unable to intimidate her, but the mere thought of discussing her relationship with Harry upset a flock of hummingblarks inside her stomach.
"Such an awful man," her father said, his voice dripping with disgust. "And yet," he added, his tone lightening with a touch of fatherly pride. "I was happy to hear what that Weasley boy had to say, that you stood up to the Minister with your honesty. It's what you and I are known for, stating the truth even when no one wants to hear it or believe us."
"Yes, that is true," Luna agreed as a slow thrum of guilt began drowning out the hummingblarks. She knew her honesty wasn't as pure as her father assumed and the mantra she had recited before confronting Scrimgeour replayed inside her mind.
It's better to be honest. Always.
Luna came to a sudden halt. It took her father a few paces to notice, but eventually, he turned around. "Are you alright, dear?! Is it the mind buggle infection?" he fretfully asked, rushing to inspect the color of her eyes. But Luna knew her irises were still blue because she wasn't ill with a mind buggle infection. She just wasn't being honest, which to Luna was much worse.
"I'm sorry," she said, letting out a soft exhale. "But I have a confession. I haven't been entirely honest with you. There's something you should know, but I want to tell you with Harry. We should go back and resolve this right away."
Her father lifted a brow in suspicion. "You want to go back inside the Weasley's home, so you and Harry can tell me something you haven't been honest about?"
Luna nodded, and a creeping smile tinged with intuition quirked the corners of her father's mouth. Rarely did she feel embarrassment; Luna could withstand almost any insult. But in the face of her father's thinly veiled recognition of her relationship with Harry, she had the odd urge to find a thestral and fly far far away.
The teasing didn't continue after Luna and her father left. Mrs. Weasley wasn't in much of a mood for tomfoolery- not after the surprise visit and sudden departure of Percy- so when Fred opened his mouth, he was only able to get out Harry's name before she ordered all her children to clean up. For Ron and Ginny that meant not using magic, and for a moment Harry wasn't sure if Ron's irritation had manifested itself not only as a grumble but also as a hazy radiance around him. Reaching under his glasses, Harry rubbed his eyes a few times. When he looked at Ron again, the haze was gone.
"What about Harry, Mum? Does he have to help, since he's not one of your kids?" Harry narrowed his gaze at Ron, who was quick to amend his question. "What I meant was it's not fair to make us clean when we can't use magic."
Mrs. Weasley fixed her son with a withering stare and clearly getting the message, Ron hurried to stack a few plates. In an attempt to mock their younger brother, Fred and George began making a ridiculous show of how easy it was cleaning with magic by sweeping their wands dramatically about, and Ron briefly glowered at them. "Sorry 'bout ratting you out," he said to Harry seconds later. "Thought she might change her mind if I brought you into this. I know Mum's only making us clean because of Percy."
Harry raised and lowered his shoulders slightly, not caring enough to be upset. His mind was already too busy stringing together thoughts of his encounters with Scrimgeour and Luna. And then as if reminding him which encounter was the better of the two, Harry saw a nargle looking at him from some mistletoe placed above the kitchen entrance. He smiled at it. Luna and her father may have found the creatures annoying, but Harry didn't. He'd grown to appreciate their presence because they were a reminder of his relationship with Luna. When the nargles left, he became acutely aware of her absence.
After depositing his dishes into the sink, Harry searched for the nargle once again as he exited the kitchen, but it wasn't there, and not until he entered the dining area did he know why. Luna was standing near the table; the nargle perched on her shoulder. With a flick of her fingers, she forced it to fly away and greeted Harry in that whimsical way she always did. "Hello, Harry."
Harry's heart began beating a staccato rhythm against his ribcage as he stared at her. Something had changed in the short time they were apart. She was positively glowing now. "Did you uh, forget something?" he asked.
She smiled demurely. "It seems I have."
"Yeah?"
"I've forgotten who I am. And there is something I should have said out loud already. In front of you all." Luna motioned with her hand towards the group, which included the Weasleys, and her father. They had all gone silent while taking in the scene playing out before them.
Luna's answer had been cryptic, but Harry was still able to guess what direction she was heading in. That unseen connection between them was speaking to him now, causing the sound of Harry's heart to drum loudly in his ears as he approached her. "And what is it you need to say?"
"That I like you quite a lot, so much in fact that I don't want to keep what we are from everyone in an attempt to protect you. I want to be honest. So …" she paused as if mulling something over and then reached up on her toes to kiss Harry. It was only for a moment, but her lips seared his, as if that bond between them was staking its claim.
Harry chuckled nervously. "Well, yeah, I like you too."
Luna's smile, along with her newfound glow, grew brighter and it was then that he understood. This was her magic at work. Magic that was now a part of him as well.
Their magic.