Led by the Spirits

A/N: Heya, heres the second chapter! not as lighthearted as the first, but some backstory is revealed. hope you liked!

please R&R

disclaimer: Jk's world, i'm still just living here.

-oOo-

Chapter One

Marriage!

-oOo-

Harry felt his pulse begin to thunder in his veins. He jumped to his feet … only to notice that he was completely naked, too.

"Shit!" He reached for a sheet to wrap around himself, only to see that Luna was already tangled up in them … and that she was awake.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully. Harry grabbed a pillow and held it before himself quickly. He felt his cheeks heat up once again.

"Good morning?" he spluttered. "Look at your finger!"

Luna stretched lazily and Harry bit his lip, looking up at the ceiling as the sheets fell free. She closed her eyes and smiled as the sunlight warmed her face. Opening them as she rolled back over, she looked at her hand with interest. She inspected the thin band of gold and smiled.

"A wedding ring," she said. She tried to pull it off her finger, but the gold flashed white for a moment and didn't budge. Her eyes widened ever so slightly. "My wedding ring." She looked over at Harry's hand, which was still holding the pillow in place. "Why Harry … I do believe we're married," she said, sitting up and making the sheets fall away completely.

Harry looked away quickly. "Luna!" he said, feeling his cheeks heat up even more. He heard the soft 'thump, thump' as two feet were lowered to the wooden floor. A second later a cool hand clasped his cheek gently and turned his head back towards the bed. He suddenly found himself looking down into Luna's eyes. She was smiling slightly.

"Harry. If we're married, you will have to get over this … and by the looks of things, I saw it all last night."

Harry didn't know it was humanly possible to blush so much. A clock began to chime and Harry looked up quickly. Any colour that may have been present in his face drained away in an instant.

"I'm three hours late for work!" he gasped, spinning away and running towards his walk-in closet. He began scrounging around for his Auror's robes as he heard soft giggling.

"What is it?" he asked as he continued his search.

"You have got to have the nicest arse I have ever seen," Luna stated. Harry bit his lip as his face heated up again. A second later he found his robes, he grabbed a shirt and trousers, and threw them on quickly, pulling the red robes on top. He emerged from the closet at a brisk walk, searching for his wand and glasses.

"Here," Luna said, holding both up for him.

Harry took them from her quickly, slipping the wand into a holster at his belt, and putting his glasses back on his face. Everything that was too far away now quickly focused for him. He blinked a few times, taking in the sight of his hotel room.

It was an utter mess. Clothes were strewn everywhere, a broken chair was on its side, and for some reason a bright green boa was draped around the table. The same green feathers were everywhere. I have to clean this up! If the cleaners find it like this … he cut that thought off quickly. Newspaper articles always gave him nightmares … that and seeing all of my friends dead. He looked back at the clock before he began to race around the room, straightening things and shoving others into corners. He heard the bed sink as Luna sat back down.

"Stop that. Here." He turned in time to see her wave her wand, and everything jumped back into its proper place.

"Thanks," he said, looking around quickly to make sure her spell hadn't missed anything.

"Harry?" Harry turned to her slowly. She'd pulled the sheets around herself, which he was glad to see, and was sitting with her legs tucked beneath herself. She looked vulnerable … defenceless.

"What?" he asked, his eyes still darting to the clock on the wall. Grady was going to kill him.

"Can I stay here? I don't really have a place at the moment …" Her voice trailed off, and Harry knew she wasn't telling the whole story. Normally he would have pressed for more information … but normally I'm not three hours late for work!

"Sure. Make yourself at home. I'll be back at ten," he said as he turned to the door.

"Ten? Isn't that a bit late?" Luna asked calmly as she tilted her head to one side.

Harry turned back to her. "Knowing my boss, he's going to keep me in for awhile for being this late," Harry said quickly.

"Oh … good luck then," she said.

Harry was just about to turn back to the door when the weight of the situation suddenly crashed down on him. His knees collapsed beneath him, and he slammed against the door before sinking to the ground.

Oh my God … I'm married.

"Harry!" The floor shook beneath him as someone jumped from the bed and ran towards him. A second later someone clad in white fell to her knees by Harry's side. He blinked up at her for a few moments before his wits returned to him.

"Are you okay! What happened?" Luna demanded.

Harry blinked again, not sure his voice was back yet. Luna -my wife!- slid her cool hands beneath his head and lifted it so it could rest on her thigh. She looked down at him, the pale curtain of her hair falling around his face so the only thing he could see clearly was her features.

Her hair was mussed from sleep, and her cheeks still slightly rosy from the night before. The smooth planes of her face caught the sunlight and kept it there, making her look like she was glowing. But her blue eyes were filled with worry and concern … for me?

"Harry?" Luna asked, and Harry found his voice.

"Sorry," he muttered, sitting up slowly, but Luna didn't lean back as he'd expected. Instead she leaned down and kissed his brow, her lips touching his scar lightly. A second later she was helping him to his feet. Harry leaned against her for a moment as he found his balance, his knees still weak.

I'm married, I'm married, I'm married, the two words began to echo around in his head as he reached back for the door.

"Are you okay? ... It must be hard," Luna said.

Harry couldn't help the question that escaped his lips. "What is?"

"Being 'The Boy Who Lived'. Everyone is depending unfairly on you, they're putting all of their worries and fears on your back, and then telling you that you have to fix them. It must be hard … being the wizarding world's saviour."

Harry couldn't turn to face her. His face was so white he was sure someone could mistake him for a ghost. His hand was gripping the door knob so tightly that he could hear his knuckles popping; he forced himself to let it go.

"I …" He didn't know what to say. No one had ever said anything like that, and if they did, never to him. Everyone thought that he enjoyed it all, that he enjoyed 'showing off-… slim arms circled his waist from behind.

"But I think that everyone put their trust in you wisely," Luna said.

Harry couldn't take it. "I really have to go. I'll see you later, Luna," he said as he opened the door and broke from her grip. A moment later a sharp 'pop' echoed around the empty hall, signalling that he had apparated away.

Luna bit her lip for a moment before she closed the door, a single tear falling to the floor.

-oOo-

Harry appeared in his cubicle at exactly ten o'clock … exactly three hours late. He sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose as he collapsed into his chair. Oh crap … He crossed his arms on his desk and rested his head against them. How the hell did this happen? He looked at his ring, just a small gold band wrapped around his finger. How can you mean so much! How can you be real? he thought at it. He tried to pull it from his finger but, just like Luna's had, it flashed white and didn't budge. Oh crap. He groaned again, thumping his head against the desk. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

The ring was the genuine article. And like tradition called for, after the ceremony the Bond Fast Charm had been put into place. The ring wasn't coming off. Not until …

"Potter!"

Harry closed his eyes tightly. I'm not here; go away, he thought at his boss, Head Auror Grady. He kept his head buried in his crossed arms, wishing himself invisible.

"Potter!" the voice was right behind him. Biting back another groan he lifted his head and turned around.

Head Auror Grady was a big man, with large beefy arms and a barrel chest that always seemed to be stretching the seams of his robes. He wasn't fat; he was far from it. It was all lean muscle, trained and sculptured to be as deadly as his sturdy oak wand. His hair was dark brown and cropped short, his bushy moustache the same … and as usual, his small beady eyes were glaring down at him, contempt glittering in their mud-coloured depths.

Grady had despised Harry since the moment he joined the Aurors. Harry had 'risen through the ranks too fast,' he said, and he hated Harry because of it. Harry had worked his way up quickly; in fact he had broken a few records. In less than two years after completing an accelerated one-year training, he had been given the title of Inspector, just two titles below Head. Grady believed that the only reason Harry was an Inspector was because of his other title: 'The Boy Who Lived'. But it wasn't. Harry had worked his arse off to get to where he was, and he had the scars to prove it … literally. He had sent two hundred and twenty-four Death Eaters to Azkaban during his time in the Auror office, and none of them had come quietly.

"Yes sir?" he asked politely, trying to hold back his grimace of distaste. Grady's face was turning a strange plum colour. He pointed over his shoulder at a door with a small gold plaque on it, proclaiming 'Head Auror' in bold letters.

"In my office! Now!" he spat. With that he turned and stalked off to the teak door, slamming it shut behind him. Harry turned back to his desk and let his head fall to it with a loud 'Thud' … How can this day get any worse? he asked, and it did.

"Harry!" Harry sat up with a start and turned to face a tall angry redhead. Ron Weasley hadn't changed that much over the years. He was still a head and shoulders taller than Harry, he was still a tad gangly, and he still had a freckled face. But one difference was hard to miss. He now had a thin scar running from his chin to his left eye, and that eye wasn't his normal brown. It was bright blue. Ron was an Auror like himself, and during an assignment … not everything had gone to plan. They'd been given false information, and stepped right into a trap. Ron lost his eye in the mayhem; Harry stopped the bleeding, but couldn't save the eye.

Ron got an upgrade. His eye was made by the same wizard who gave Moody his nickname … with some modifications, of course. It was the same size as his other eye for a start, and could see through walls just like Moody's, but it could also see the makings of spells and how they were laid. It was very useful. It had saved a few lives over the years.

"Ron? Wha-"

"Shut up!" Harry felt his heart plummet at his friend's tone. "Do you know what you did to my sister! You broke her heart!" Ron thundered. Harry cringed, unconsciously rubbing at his ring.

"I have to-" Harry began, but once again Ron cut him off.

"You have to apologise to my sister! That is what you have to do! She came to my flat after, since she didn't want to be alone! She cried all last night!" he continued to yell. Harry opened his mouth but Ron shook his head. "I don't want to hear excuses!"

Harry's temper began to flare. "Do you know the whole story! Do you know why she dumped me!" Harry demanded. Ron opened his mouth to yell a retort, but stopped quickly, frowning.

"Dumped … you?" he asked quietly, confusion written on his face.

Harry got to his feet. "Yes, Ron. She dumped me. Now shut up. I'm off to get yelled at by Grady," Harry snapped as he pushed past his friend and stormed into his boss's office.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" Grady screamed as soon as the door was closed behind Harry. Harry seriously considered walking back out, but he knew that would only lead to more strife.

"You wanted to talk to me, sir?" Harry asked while shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn't want Grady to see the ring.

"Have you seen the paper this morning?" Grady asked, his voice suddenly quiet. Harry's head snapped up at the big man's words.

"Paper?" he asked slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. Not today … not ever! Please, don't let it be what I think it is!

Grady opened a drawer and placed a copy of the Daily Prophet on his desk. Harry looked from it to Grady's face … for the first time there was no animosity in his eyes.

"You're lucky, boy. I caught this before it was released. I can't say much about tomorrow's issue, but for today it's only been seen by my, and now your eyes," he said, pushing the paper towards him.

Harry didn't realise he'd been holding his breath until his vision began to swim. He breathed out quickly and stepped forward, taking the paper from the desk. He closed his eyes for a moment, bracing himself for the worst, before looking at the headline. He opened his eyes.

Shit.

-oOo-

Luna looked around at Harry's hotel room quietly, pulling her sheet tighter around herself as she shivered. It was very nice, she realised, expensive, but not over the top, and it was furnished for comfort. He'd obviously lived there for awhile. Everything was very … Luna found herself smiling … very Gryffindor, Very Harry. Her smile widened as she noticed an old scarf draped on top of a large painting of rolling Irish hills. It was the same one he'd worn at school, red and gold striped … and there was the large stain on the tassels, from when he'd leant over his homework in seventh year to talk to Ron, and it had fallen in his ink pot. Luna suddenly found herself on her feet, her sheet still wrapped around herself, standing in front of the painting. She couldn't remember getting up. Of course, I don't remember anything of last night either… she reminded herself. But even as she thought that, a memory came forward in her mind.

- Harry smiled at her, his hair even messier than usual, a large grin on his face. "You may now kiss the bride," a male voice said from Luna's left, but she didn't look to see who had spoken. Harry was leaning down to her … that was much more important, much more interesting. Harry kissed her, long and deep … much more world-changing …

… almost nothing she corrected herself as her heart began to flutter wildly in her chest. She shook the memory from her head, but Harry refused to budge from her head. I've liked him since my fifth year, so it's not that odd really … he's never really left my head … Luna shook that thought from her head, too.

Instead, she reached out and ran her fingers over the soft woollen length of the scarf; she curled her fingers into the old fabric, and lifted it gently from its place atop the painting's frame. It smells like Harry, she realised as she wrapped it around her neck.

A sudden knock on the door made Luna jump, and her heart began to pound ... Could it be them? How could they have found me? Her breath began to shudder, but without a sound she drew her wand from behind her ear and twirled it around herself, muttering silently under her breath. A second later she disappeared.

"Cleaning!" a brisk female voice called. Cleaning? No, that's not going to work on me. I'm NOT going to open that door for them! A gentle shushing of material sweeping against the carpet showed Luna's progress across the room. She crouched down as she reached the gap between the bed and the wall, her mind racing as she began to rock back and forth.

Surely I'm safe here!

Silent tears began to trickle down Luna's cheeks.

"Mr Potter! I can't come in to clean without you saying I can while you're in," the 'cleaning' lady called as she knocked again.

You're not going to fool me! Luna thought at the door, more tears falling.

You're not going to hurt me!

-oOo-

I CONDUCTED THE CEREMONY FOR THE BOY WHO LIVED!

"Is it true, boy?" Grady asked. His tone sounded almost fatherly.

Harry looked down at the picture below the bold headline, ignoring Grady's question for the moment. There was a moving picture of himself and Luna, standing under an arch of white lilies … kissing passionately. Please tell me this is a joke! Grady's just setting me up … that's all, just a joke … it's not going to be tomorrow's paper … of course not. He looked up at Grady, hoping he would start laughing, yell 'April Fools' despite the fact that it was August. He didn't, there wasn't anything on his face that would be considered a smile … or even a smirk. He looked … disappointed, or is that pity?

"Is it true?" he asked again. Harry breathed out deeply and nodded, not trusting his voice. He clenched his fist for a moment before he brought out his left hand from his pocket, displaying the ring. Grady sighed.

"Read the article," he said, Harry nodded numbly; it had been an order.

I CONDUCTED THE CEREMONY FOR THE BOY WHO LIVED!

Official McBree of an unnamed chapel came to me, Rita Skeeter, (Harry's hands began to shake) in the early hours of the 1st of August. He told me that he had just conducted the bonding of that most eligible bachelor, the Boy Who Lived, with some unknown woman, Lana Lovegood. My faithful readers can imagine my reaction to such a claim. 'Harry Potter? Married?' I demanded.

It is a well known fact that Harry Potter has been seeing long-time sweetheart Ginerva Weasley for two years now. So why was Official McBree at my doorstep before dawn? I told him politely that he should go home, until he brought out a photograph from his pocket. It is the same picture you can see below. I was amazed! The Boy Who Lived was off the market! And it wasn't Ginerva who had bought him!

I ushered McBree inside, and he told me what had happened. "It was very late - I mean early," he said. "I was packing up when someone knocked on the door. Being the nice fellow I am, I went and opened it. Before me stood The Boy Who Lived, and a beautiful blond woman hanging off his side. They were both beaming at each other. Harry Potter turned to me and told me that he would like to be married. But I was stunned. I could smell alcohol on his breath! - Harry stopped quickly, feeling his stomach roll and churn …he placed the paper back on Grady's desk, head hung low …

"What happened?" Grady asked. Harry knew that if he spoke it would come out as a strange gurgle. So he nodded at the paper mutely instead. Grady groaned.

"You stupid boy!" he snarled, he suddenly held his breath, calming himself quickly. "Sit," he ordered, his voice calm and level. Harry did so, collapsing into the chair Grady offered.

-oOo-

Grady sat forward, leaning his elbows against his desk as he stared at the young man before him.

Potter was tall and lean, with a swimmer's build. He was fast on his feet and draw, and had agility and reflexes that Grady envied. His black hair was cut long and sat messily atop his head, his fringe was long enough to hide his eyes and brow … and his scar, Grady realised. His emerald eyes were hidden behind rectangular glasses, but he only wore them when he was in the office. When he was on an assignment he cast a charm on his eyes. The spell only lasted a few hours, and could only be cast once a day, but an hour was all Potter usually needed to finish whatever it was he was doing.

Despite all that, he was just a young man, with none of the experiences that most had at his age … he spent most of his time in his cubicle, researching escapees and tracking known offenders, making sure that they weren't up to no good. The boy didn't trust easily.

But when he was on the field, he was transformed. He turned into a different person, shooting spells left, right, and centre, dodging and weaving. However, let one of his men go down and he was defending them, healing them, and getting them to safety before he returned to his objective. Grady had been there the day Auror Weasley lost his eye. Potter had been truly terrifying when he heard the redhead yell. He had knocked twenty men aside with just one spell so he could get to Weasley's side ….

Hugo Grady sighed again, pushing his wandering thoughts aside as he rubbed his eyes. "I've read that, all of it, and not one word puts you in a good light. As soon as that comes out, there's going to be mayhem around here. First off, where's this girl?" Grady pointed at the picture of the girl. He watched as Potter's eyes looked down at her, his expression blank.

"In my hotel room," he mumbled, eyes still glued to the picture. Grady felt a pang in his chest and quickly put the paper back in his drawer. The boy reminded him far too much of his own son, who had died four years ago. He'd made wrong choices, too.

"Look. Once this comes out, it's going to be everywhere. She's going to be hunted down for an interview, and so are you …" Hugo's voice trailed off. Potter was still staring at the point where the photo had been a moment ago, his eyes blank and vacant. Hugo held back a sigh of impatience, definitely like my son …

-oOo-

I can't believe this … this can't be happening … Harry continued to look at the blank bit of desk which a moment ago had been covered with the photo. I can wake up now … he pinched his arm. It hurt. He closed his eyes for a second before looking up at the ceiling. Why don't I ever wake up?

"Potter. Go home." The three words surprised him. He looked back over at Mr Grady in confusion.

"Home?" he repeated.

Grady rolled his brown eyes as he got to his feet. "Yes, Potter. Home. Go prepare for tomorrow's paper."

Harry suddenly found himself at the door. As Mr Grady's words sunk in, his stomach churned. He didn't remember even getting to his feet, let alone walking. He turned back to his Head who was still standing beside his desk.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said before he escaped the office silently.

Grady shook his head as he shuffled a pile of papers on his desk. It's going to be a long day for him tomorrow. I hope he gets some sleep.

-oOo-

heheh, this fic is fun to write! i really hope you all enjoyed, and i hope you like Mr Grady. please leave a review!

Mali

(edited 16-Sep-2006 - td4)