Fertility had been the late Mrs. Lovegood's field and her daughter and made it a mission of hers to know her mother's work. And where the magical world was bounds ahead of the Muggle, the departed Lovegood was bounds ahead of the magical.
A single hair - that was all Luna had needed - a single dark hair off the brush from rooms no one had ever had the heart to clean. (And a quick spell to double check who the hair belonged to - Hermione had made that mistake before and wasn't about to again. Especially not with something this imporatnt.)
She made the decision that they wouldn't tell Harry until after it was done. Hermione knew he would do anything to get his Godfater back but he would probably argue against her doing this (it was sweet, in a way, but this was her decision and she was going to make it). All she showed him was the answer she had found in the Veela book and said that Luna and her were finding a way to get around the blood connection needed.
Which wasn't exactly a lie...they were doing that in a way.
The preperation prior to the casting consisted of two potions carefully brewed that needed almost the entirety of a month - one absorbing the light of the moon through it's cycle and the other the sun's rays. On the night of the full moon Luna knocked on her door in the middle of the night and before she could ask any questions simply grabbed her hand and led her downstairs and into the back gardens. There she had already brought the cauldrons and had laid out an old floral blanket and her favorite mug (the one with the Muggle depictions of dragons on it) that they had cleaned just hours ago after dinner in the kitchen, like a bizzare moonlit picknick.
Hemione was distracted from her observations by Luna asking her simply, "Are you sure?"
She didn't try to talk her out of it, didn't try to lecture on the reasons why this was a horrible idea, how permenant this was for everyone, how many lives this would effect. She simply asked Hermione the one question. And that is why she didn't automatically snap at her and instead took a deep breath and thought it through one last time. She was then utterly at peace with her decision when she said, "Yes."
Luna smiled and nodded, releasing her hand to kneel on the ground, grab the mug and fill it up from the first cauldron. She handed it to Hermione.
"Drink," she said simply. And Hermione did.
It tasted dark and smokey. She never thought she would think anything would taste like darkness - like night, but this did. She finished off the mug and it had the aftertaste in her mouth of stars. Eyes wide she handed back the mug to Luna.
Re-filling it the othe woman said in the same tone she said everything, "You'll need to take your clothes off for this, Hermione."
Her whole body freezing, she just stared for a moment. During her pause Luna had set the drink down on the ground and began to strip as well. Swallowing hard, Hermione made the decision in her mind to gather up her Gryfindor courage and go with this - it was necessary and she trusted Luna; it would all be alright. Slowly she pulled off her clothes dropping them in a pile beside the blanket. When she was done, Luna was staring at her calmly, all silvery pale skin glowing under her namesake, and handed her the full mug once again.
With the second cup, Hermione could feel her mind drifting - and something was building, something big. But she had agreed to this, was all in now, so the next time it was empty she went ahead and walked over dipping her familiar chipped dragon mug in the cauldron again and brought it to her lips. And she drank watching raptly as Luna's arms disapeared elbow deep in the second cauldron. Coming out dripping with rippling gold that seemed to quickly absorb into her skin.
She drank of the night as the Lady of the Moon dipped her hands in sunlight again and this time reached out and touched her with the borrowed warmth.
She tilted her head back finishing off the potion that now seemed dear to her. Luna followed the line of her throat with her slick fingers, spreading golden potion as she went, ending with taking the mug away from her lips. Kneeling again, she set the mug beside her and looking up at Hermione with eyes that had never looked more like opals (so silvery white and reflecting every color to her dazed gaze) she offered her a glittering hand. And Hermione took it, going to her knees and joining her on the blanket. Luna dipped her hands in the second cauldron again hands coming out bright and metallic once more. She placed them on Hermione's shoulders and urged her on her back; she went without resistance. Luna settled herself over top of her, a weight keeping her grounded in this moment sitting astride her stomach, and their eyes met - and helplessly they both smiled at one another easy and free for just a second in the middle of this.
Still smiling Luna placed one gentle hand on her forhead and began to slowly move it downward. She closed her eyes as she felt the potion dripping all over her face towards her eyelids, instantly absorbing into her skin. Reaching her shoulders the other hand joined spreading the golden warmth everywhere. Luna shifted her body as her reach became impared and Hermione just laid their and breathed deep feeling the warmth build, feeling the magic build, as her whole body was covered. After both legs got the same treatment she heard Luna rise and opened her eyes in time to see the other woman, pick up the cauldron and simply pour whatever remained over her head. It seemed to take a long time for the small amount left to drip down and be absorbed by her skin and hair (Moon Woman shifting seamlessly to Sun). But only when it had did Luna again kneel down over her, this time she kept eye contact but their were no little smiles - they could both feel the tension in the air, the magic built up ready for release.
With ancient knowledge in her gaze (eyes so different, so old, but still somehow - somehow still her) Luna placed her hands firmly on her hips and she felt...she felt the magic give. She felt it all coalese and go into her.
It felt like fire. (She thought of Fawkes burning bright and becoming new.)
It felt like death. (She thought of Remus. She thought of Tonks. She thought of George. She thought of Severus. She thought of so many bodies across the Hogwarts grounds.)
It felt like rebirth. (She thought of Harry.)
She threw her head back and gasped, her eyes wide and unseeing.
It felt like life. (She thought about Sirius. She thought about the child she was now creating.)
She clawed at the blanket and Luna stopped the frentic movement twining their fingers together, slick with potion, and placed them over her stomach instead. A pulse went through her, the magic building to a crescendo (music and colors and words all blended together yet still managed to escaped her in this single moment that is nothing like she has ever experinced, nothing but magic but somehow more than what she has ever known that word to mean since becoming a witch), and Hermione felt her entire back arch up off the blanket.
It felt like what she used to think magic was.
Then it is done.
And she is now pregnant.