August 2006

Harry walked through the front door and was instantly bombarded by a room filled with pink and purple streamers and balloons and began to feel as though he were suddenly a baby, and not just a celebrant of the soon to arrive Granger-Weasley. Harry turned to his best friend and fixed him with a side long glance.

"I'm guessing that you're having a daughter," Harry said dryly. Ron shrugged as though embarrassed but Harry could tell by his smile that he was truly excited. Harry clapped a hand onto Ron's shoulder and the two men made their way further into the Burrow where the shower was being held.

"Mum went a little overboard… I guess after six boys and only one girl, granddaughters are basically miracles," Ron replied. "I can't really blame her but she did promise that this would be the type of shower that a man could attend and not feel... weird." The two entered into the family room, into the party proper. With all of the attendees and the general over decoration of Molly Weasley, the Burrow seemed impossibly small and Harry glanced out a window to the back garden, hoping to see an indication that the party could or would be moved outside.

"I'm guessing that's where we're meant to be," Harry said, nodding his chin towards the window. Outside, the rest of the Weasley brothers milled about, ales in hand. Ron followed Harry's gaze and nodded earnestly.

"Let me say hi and then I'll meet you out there," Ron said before slipping away to find his wife. Harry cast another glance around the room and chuckled softly to himself. Molly had covered every single open surface with baby decorations… crepe paper flowers hung from strings overhead, every table surface was filled with confetti shaped like tiny little bottles…

"Hey there, welcome to the madness," a voice said from behind and Harry turned, smiling down at Ginny. "What'd you think?" she asked, motioning to the general girly-ness of the room.

Harry laughed. "It's all very feminine," he responded and Ginny nodded, smiling.

"Mum's excited… but I secretly think Ron is over the moon about the whole thing," she said, looking towards her brother who was standing behind a very pregnant Hermione, beaming. Harry agreed with her – he'd never seen his friend look so content and that included the day of his wedding.

"Just wait until their daughter is ready to start dating," Harry remarked and Ginny laughed.

"Oh, Merlin. Please don't bring that thought up to him… I think his head would explode," Ginny said and turned back to Harry. "I just wanted to tip you off that Luna is supposedly coming today. Mum put me in charge of the invitations and she RSVP'd yes."

At the mention of Luna's name, Harry felt his stomach do a back flip and couldn't decide if he was excited or suddenly ill. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Oh, okay. Thanks." Ginny narrowed her eyes as she studied his face.

"You haven't seen her, have you?" she asked with an accusing tone. Harry shook his head.

"No… not since her Dad died," he said quietly. Ginny's jaw dropped.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What'd you mean, what's wrong with me," Harry snapped, suddenly defensive.

"You've done all of this," Ginny said, motioning towards him. "And you haven't tried to make things right?"

Harry frowned at Ginny. "Step off, Gin. It's up to her now. If she wants to seek me out, great. But if not… I at least owe her that right," Harry said, stepping back from Ginny. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Ginny rolled her eyes and let out her breath in a huff. "And to think I wasted an entire afternoon singing your praises… but hey, far be it from me or anyone else to tell Harry Potter when he's got his head up his arse-"

Harry froze and turned back towards Ginny, his entire body rigid and tense. "What did you just say?" Harry asked through clenched teeth. Ginny rolled her eyes again.

"Obviously you heard me-"

Harry stepped even closer towards Ginny and glared down at her. "What gave you the right?!"

"Oh, I don't know… maybe I didn't have the right to go talk to her but maybe I was tired of watching you-"

"Oi, oi, oi," Ron said, stepping between the two and placing his arms around both of their shoulders, and turned them away from the party where more than a few people were starting to look their way. "Come now. You really don't want little Rose to hear about how her Uncle Harry and Auntie Gin nearly had it out at her shower, do you?" Ron pressed a kiss to Ginny's forehead, who was still glaring at Harry.

"Give my apologies to Rosie but also remind her that her Uncle here is a daft ass," Ginny said and ducked away from Ron's arm and returned to the party. Ron chuckled and turned to his friend.

"She's got a point, mate," Ron conceded and Harry narrowed his eyes at Ron. "Is this about the Luna thing?"

Harry's jaw dropped. "You knew? You knew and you didn't tell me?"

Ron merely shrugged. "It's not like I've been busy with other things like, oh you know, preparing for the arrival of my daughter but yes. I knew. To my credit, I told Gin that it wasn't a good idea and that you'd react exactly like this but I can't say that I disagree with why she did it." Ron smiled at his friend. "You deserve a second chance from her."

"I don't deserve anything from her," Harry snapped.

"Let yourself off of the hook, would you? From what I understand, Ginny just told her what you've been up to since she left. How would she have found out otherwise?"

Harry groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "It never ends well when you guys interfere," he muttered. He took in a deep breath and willed himself to calm down and let go of the anger that Ginny had conjured. Harry only began to speak again when he felt the pounding pressure in his temples subside.

"See?" Ron said, happily. "What you did just there. Two years ago and you would have flipped a table and slugged me." Ron's voice became serious again. "And maybe you don't deserve anything from her… but she sure as hell deserves to have the whole picture of you now. And look – perfect timing. There she is." Ron nodded towards Luna, who had just emerged into the pink and purple of the living room. Ron squeezed Harry's shoulder before disappearing behind him.

Luna looked around, instantly overstimulated by everything that was going on. All around her, women were chattering and laughing excitedly and every single inch of the room seemed to shimmer with a general pinkness… Luna's survey stopped instantly when she noticed Harry standing across the room, in the doorway between the party and inner kitchen. He was staring at her as if he'd seen a ghost and Luna felt her cheeks instantly warm.

Shaking her head and forcing herself to focus, Luna made her way to the center of the room to greet and congratulate Hermione. The two women exchanged pleasantries and small talk before Hermione's attention was whisked away by the next well-wisher. Luna made her way to the edge of the room and wondered how long she would have to stay before she could excuse herself without seeming rude… Being in the same house as Harry made her head swim and the sudden nervousness sent her hands trembling. Luna had spent the last two weeks reading and rereading every single one of Harry's letters to her, and with each passing day, she felt more and more like a young girl with a silly crush.

The very thought of him sent butterflies erupting in her tummy and now that he was actually here, somewhere… Luna closed her eyes and steadied herself.

"Luna?" His low voice sounded right next to her right ear and Luna could feel his breath tickle against her skin. She jumped and let out a small yelp and felt Harry's hand against her arm, steadying her balance. Luna briefly wondered if Ginny had not come to her, if his touching her arm like that would have sent her into a panic… Luna opened her eyes and turned, coming face to face with Harry for the first time in weeks. She sighed softly.

Harry's very appearance devastated her. Apparently his circular glasses were a thing of the past because once again he was looking at her without them. His eyes were so green and Luna noticed how clear they looked, how she could see his emotions flitting across this pupils… Harry looked good. There was no haze of darkness surrounding him and no drunkenness to cloud over his features.

Harry dropped his hand from Luna's arm and she instantly moved closer to him, mourning the loss of contact. Harry's eyebrows lifted in surprise and he stepped back, opening the distance between the two of them once more.

"May I speak with you?" he asked. "Alone? Well, just through there… in the kitchen," he clarified, nodding with his head towards the same door way that he just occupied. "We won't be totally alone…" Luna must have seemed confused as his sudden obsession with isolation because Harry added, "I just want you to feel safe." And he led her back into the kitchen.

Luna entered into Molly Weasley's kitchen and took a seat at the long kitchen table. Harry continued to maintain a safe distance and leaned back against the kitchen sink, watching Luna with wary eyes. He seemed troubled and Luna couldn't account for it. The last time they were alone together, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. The very air between them seemed charged with frantic energy. Perhaps that's why he's staying away. He regrets what happened, Luna thought.

"I just want to apologize for Ginny," Harry said, interrupting Luna's troubled thoughts. "I didn't know that she came to see you until a few moments ago. I definitely didn't give her permission to do that or to say whatever it was that she did." Harry's voice dropped down and Luna got the impression that he was confessing to her. "I'm not trying to convince you of my character… and I don't want you to feel like I'm manipulating you by sending my family after you."

Luna opened her mouth to respond but Harry shook his head, pleading with her to let him go on. "I'm sorry about what happened at the memorial… I should have stopped it before it began. It was inappropriate and I should have given you space. It won't happen again, I promise. And whatever Ginny said… just forget it, okay?"

Luna finally found her voice and interrupted. "She said that you were a completely new man and it was because of me," she said and then in a softer voice, "That it was for me." Harry looked up at her, caught off guard by the sound of her voice.

"Well," he said, suddenly unsure of what to say. He pushed himself away from the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "Luna, I meant every single word that I said to you that day… but I'm also painfully aware of all of the shit I've put you through in the past few years. I guess Ginny is right… I am a better man now because…" Harry paused, frowning down at his shoes. Luna watched him collect his thoughts and when he looked back at her, his face was resolute. "I'm taking myself out of the running. Rolf seems like a good person and it's obvious that he loves you. You deserve happiness after what we've been through and it seems like the two of you could be happy together. You don't have to worry about me interfering anymore."

Harry moved towards the door that led out to the back garden and Luna became vaguely aware of the figures out on the lawn. Harry nodded towards her. "I'll be seeing you around, Luna," he said, and stepped outside. Luna watched him go and felt the world suddenly closing in around her. She couldn't breathe.