Remus closed the door quietly behind him and sagged onto it for support. He let out a long breath and ran his fingers through his hair. 'What a night.' He thought to himself. 'Here you are, thinking that everything you felt had long gone, but no! Right as you walk back into her life they pop up again.' He closed his eyes and thought about the day: His joy of seeing Luna again, her warm smile…she had truly grown up. He thought back to dinner, his near irrepressible urge to hold her as she examined his neck, her breath, warm and hazy streaming down his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and he stood up. 'Sleep.' He thought, 'that'll clear my head, sleep.' He donned his pajamas quickly and squirmed into bed. The soft sheets enveloped him and he drifted off quickly into wild and colourful dreams…
Remus rose at about five in the morning due to the strange and restless dreams that often ended with him waking up on the floor. He conjured up a steaming pot of tea and drew a hot bath before settling into his daily routine. Once he was fully awake, he went downstairs and began to make breakfast. Luna came down shortly afterwards in her favorite strapless white sun dress with flowers printed in black. She yawned gigantically and murmured 'Good Morning' as Remus began to set the table and he busily hummed a 'Good Morning' back. They ate as the sunlight poured into the room, chasing away the shadows and early morning cobwebs. Luna stretched as far as she could, tilting her chair back to balance on two legs.
"That was yummy! Who knew that I loved waffles, it really has been such a long time since I've had a proper breakfast." She smiled and rested her chin on her hand, "So, what shall we do today? The Quibbler was sent out this morning, so I've got nothing to do for two splendid days!" Remus smiled back,
"Well, we could go for a walk and visit some old friends. Oh, and elbows off the table."
"Well, I didn't know that Molly Weasley was back in my kitchen!" she laughed and placed her arm in her lap. "But I think we should do just that…There's a park right down the street we can disapperate from, or we can flu from the house. I do need to get some books back from Ginny, so we'll definitely visit them first, and then we can go and see Severus and Minerva at school by flu. Supposedly Harry set up a flu network from here to Gryffindor Tower with Sirius…and I guess we can go from there." Remus nodded and they summoned Genevieve to clean up their plates.
It was a bright and warm day with a slight breeze that tossed Luna's hair lightly about her face. She smiled at Remus from under her colossal sun hat, the wind adding a blush to her cheeks. They found an enclosure of trees near the middle and dissaperated quickly.
Luna teetered on her ankles as she had apperated onto the edge of Molly's sink. She had always loved everything about Molly's kitchen, but the sink was the only thing that came to mind, and she apperated on that thought in fear of being left behind by Remus. She balanced herself quickly and hopped off the sink next to Remus who looked slightly ruffled and was more than amused. Molly bounded into the kitchen and, upon seeing Luna and Remus standing there, attempted to envelope them both in a tight hug.
"Hello Mrs. Weasley, how are you?" Luna smiled as Remus caught his breath. "I'm sorry we came unannounced, but we just wanted to pop in and say hello." Mrs. Weasley smiled,
"No problem at all dear, Harry and Ginny will be in for dinner, will you two stay?" Remus looked at Luna, who shrugged and smiled.
"Well, we'd planned on visiting them anyway, so yes, we'll stay." Remus sat down as Mrs. Weasley and Luna caught up on the happenings inside the Weasley family. Ron and Hermione were off at her parents, while Ginny and Harry had finally gotten everything fixed up in their new home. Mr. Weasley had been given a promotion as the new Minister for Magic's right hand man. Mrs. Weasley was simply delighted and was arranging plans for a surprise party, and she and Luna went upstairs to discuss things further while showing Luna the renovations they'd made on the house. There was a crack near the fireplace, as Harry and Ginny apperated into the room.
"Hey Remus, where's my mum?" Ginny asked, smiling her hellos.
"She's upstairs with Luna, they're looking at the renovations." Remus replied, and Ginny hurried up the stairs. Remus stood up to shake Harry's hand,
"Hello Harry, how are you?"
"Good Remus, you?"
"Never been better." They sat opposite each other, as Remus began to pour some tea. "Luna and I are staying for dinner. Molly told us you'd be dropping by." Harry nodded, sipping his tea.
"Yea, Ginny insists that we stop by at least once a week. So much has been happening in the family right now, it's hard to keep up, even if you're gone for only a day." Remus smiled,
"Sounds like when we were in the Order…You miss a day, you miss a century." They laughed pleasantly, though hurt hovered in the air. The woman came bustling in, ready to cook; and talked pleasantly of their recent endeavors in the world of love. They stopped once they noticed the two men in the room and giggled pleasantly behind their hands.
"Harry," said Mrs. Weasley happily, "How are you my dear?" Harry stood up and gave her a hug before replying,
"I'm much better than when you last saw me, that's for sure. How are you Mrs. Weasley?" She smiled at Harry and bustled about the kitchen using her wand to get everything set up. Ginny and Luna got up to help, but Molly shooed them to the table where food sat ready to be cut. Ginny and Harry took a few things and a cutting board outside, while Luna and Remus hung back to keep an eye on Molly. Every once and a while she could get distracted, and then she always needed the most help she could get. Luna began to set up an area of activities to be done around her as Remus looked on, occasionally catching a stray piece of food that tried to run away. Molly left the kitchen in search of her boys and Luna began her tasks. It wasn't until she got to the Grapefruit that problems arose…The Grapefruit loved to slide sideways whenever she tried to cut it, and Luna was getting frustrated fast. It got to the point were she was stabbing it to pieces just to keep it in place, while she thought of a good way to cut it without killing herself OR the Grapefruit.
Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong, yet gentle arms wrap around her and clasp her hands. Remus entwined his fingers around the knife and Luna's own, while his left hand moved to hold the opposite side of the Grapefruit, as Luna held the other. Luna closed her eyes and leaned back slightly, releasing the tension from her agonizing fight with the Grapefruit just moments before. Remus was still guiding her hands, smoothly cutting the Grapefruit into bite sized pieces as she sighed and looked on.
"Thank you Remus." She whispered, and his face appeared next to hers from over her shoulder.
"Not a problem, although it was quite entertaining watching your attempts…" Lupin replied, finally finishing. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and smiled, "Don't kill yourself next time alright? I'm always here to help." Luna smiled up at him and turned towards the other Grapefruit waiting to be cut,
"Dear sir, would you mind assisting me with the other Grapefruit?" she giggled.
"Yes, I believe I will…" Remus mused.