"I'm just killing time till you're by my side. Too many places get in the way of bringing you back into view."

-Kris Allen (My Weakness)

"Yes, and they have little ears, like a hippo, Daddy says, only purple and furry," I told Dean. It was a few weeks into April now and I was helping Dean bring in some driftwood for a fire later on. Fleur was making dinner while Harry, Hermione and Ron set the table. "And if you want to call them, you have to hum. They prefer a waltz. Nothing too fast."

"Ah," Dean said, placing his pile of driftwood by the fireplace. I did the same and then followed him into the dining room.

"And if you ever come to our house I'll be able to show you the horn. Daddy wrote to me about it but I haven't seen it yet, because the Death Eaters took me off the Hogwarts Express and I never got home for Christmas."

"Luna," Hermione said, "I told you already that the horn exploded. It came from an Erumpent, not a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"No, it was definitely a Snorkack horn," I insisted serenely. "Daddy told me. It will probably have re-formed by now. They mend themselves, you know."

Hermione didn't get a chance to say anything because Bill appeared at the bottom of the stairs, leading Mr. Ollivander. The wand maker was leaving today and I found myself feeling somewhat sad. I had spent so much time with him that it seemed strange to see him go.

"I'm going to miss you," I told him, gently hugging him goodbye.

"And I you, my dear," he said, patting my back. "You were such a comfort to me in that cellar. I'll never forget it, or you."

I smiled. "Don't forget that if you get bored at Muriel's, you can always count the number of floorboards in your bedroom."

"Of course," Ollivander said with a smile. "And I'll send you your new wand as soon as possible. I didn't forget my promise to make you one."

"Thank you so much," I answered with a grin.

"Goodbye, Mr. Ollivander," Fleur said, leaning forward and kissing both of his cheeks. "I was wondering if you could deliver a package to Bill's Auntie Muriel when you get there. I never returned zee tiara she lent me for zee wedding." She held out a small case and Ollivander took it.

"It will be my pleasure," he said, "and the very least I can do after such generous hospitality."

We all waved goodbye as Bill led Mr. Ollivander out into the windy night and disappeared.

"Come on, let's eat," Fleur said with a sigh, glancing out the window. I knew she wouldn't relax until Bill made it home safely.

We squeezed in around the table and within fifteen minutes, Bill had returned. "Everything's fine," he told Fleur as he took his seat at the table. "Ollivander's settled in, Mum and Dad say hello. Ginny sends you all her love. Fred and George are driving Muriel up the wall. They're still operating an Owl-Order business out of her back room. It cheered her up to have her tiara back, though. She said she thought we'd stolen it."

"Ah," Fleur said curtly, standing up and waving her wand, causing the dirty dishes to rise and form a stack in midair. Catching them, she headed into the kitchen, using her back to push open the door.

"Daddy's made a tiara," I piped up to fill the silence. "He's trying to re-create the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. He thinks he's identified most of the main elements now. Adding the billywig wings really made a difference."

Suddenly, there came a loud series of knocks on the door. Bill jumped up and pointed his wand in that direction. Fleur came running out of the kitchen, her eyes wide.

I leaned back slightly so that I could see out of the window behind me. "Oh, look, it's just Professor Lupin," I said with a smile.

"Is he all right?" Fleur asked.

"He looks it to me," I answered

Bill glanced at Fleur, then at me. "We don't know for sure, though," he answered. "Who is it?" he called towards the door,

"It is I, Remus John Lupin! I am a werewolf, married to Nymphadora Tonks, and you, the Secret-Keeper of Shell Cottage, told me the address and invited me to come in an emergency!"

Bill gave a small nod, lowered his wand, and flung open the door. Lupin toppled inside, looking pale, but grinning.

"It's a boy! We've named him Ted, after Dora's father!"

Fleur and Hermione let out shrieks of joy.

"What? Tonks had the baby?" Bill asked.

Lupin nodded. "Yes, yes, she's had the baby! Just a few hours ago! Seven pounds, seven ounces, twenty one inches long."

"Ah, what lucky numbers," I said happily as Lupin grinned. "Still, I'd buy a Nargle Net to protect the baby when he's sleeping."

"Congratulations, Remus," Bill said.

Lupin looked across the room at Harry. "You'll be godfather?"

"Me?" asked Harry, dropping his fork.

"Yes, Dora and I both agree that there's nobody better."

"I—well—yes, of course!" Harry laughed.

"Excellent," Lupin grinned as Bill began pouring drinks. "I can't stay long. I have to get back. Thank you, Bill."

"Who does he look like?" Fleur asked.

"I think he looks like Dora, but she thinks he looks like me. Not much hair. It looked black when he was born, but I swear it's turned ginger in the hour since. Probably be blond by the time I get back. Andromeda says Tonks's hair started changing color the day that she was born." He finished his drink and set it on the table. "Now, I really must get back. I'll try to bring pictures in a few days. Tonks and her mother will both be so glad to know I've seen you all!"

"Godfather, Harry, wow!" Bill said after the door had shut behind my old professor.

"Yes, congratulations!" Fleur said.

"That's a real honor," Bill continued, grinning.

"Yes," I agreed. "Daddy says that…"

With that, nearly everyone stood up and began bringing their dishes to the kitchen in a great hurry. I didn't say anything. Instead, I simply shrugged before standing up to follow them.

It was the last day of April when I finally headed back to Hogwarts with Dean. I had received my new wand from Ollivander a few days after he had left for Murial's. It was very beautiful and it suited me just as well as my old wand, if not better.

I held the wand tightly in my hand as I stood by the front door of Shell Cottage. Bill and Fleur had given me and Dean each a small suitcase of things that we might need and followed us to the door to say goodbye. Hermione and Ron were there as well.

"Don't forget to come back and veesit," Fleur whispered when I hugged her.

"Of course," I told her. "I said I would, didn't I?"

"Bring Neville," she said. "It would be lovely to see him again. I haven't seen him seence zee wedding."

I nodded before hugging Bill. "Thank you for everything, Bill."

"It was nothing," he told me. "It was good to have you here. Don't give up on those Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, okay?" He grinned.

"I'm not planning on it," I assured him. I hugged Hermione and Ron goodbye and told them I'd see them both soon. "Where's Harry?" I finally asked.

"Out by Dobby's grave," Bill said, pointing out the window.

I turned to Dean. "I'll be back in a moment. I'm just going to say goodbye."

Dean nodded. "I'll wait for you out front."

When I reached Harry, he didn't look up, but I knew he must have seen me approach. "The sky has lost a star," I finally said, looking at the spot where Dobby was buried. "That's what my dad said when my mum died." Harry still didn't answer, so I filled the silence. "It's funny how Dobby knew exactly where to find us."

Finally, Harry looked at me and stood up. "Yeah, funny," he muttered. "Hogwarts?" he asked after a short pause, gesturing to my suitcase.

"Yes," I nodded.

"It's not the place you left, you know. It's not the same."

I looked at him for a moment, a small smile on my face. "Neither am I." With that, I walked away, back towards Dean. When I reached him, we both turned to look back at Harry.

"Is he okay?" Dean asked.

"Oh, yes, I think he'll be fine."

Dean nodded and held out his hand to me. "Come on."

I looked down at his outstretched hand before taking it. As soon as I did, he Apparated us into the Hog's Head.

"Hey, Neville, can you come help me with this?" Michael Corner asked as I passed by.

"Sure, Michael, what's up?" I asked as I sat down beside him and leaned against the wall.

"My Herbology homework," he said. "I just can't seem to understand it."

"Homework?" I asked, blinking. It almost seemed like a foreign topic to me.

"Yeah, you did say we could go to classes," Michael said. He looked at me. "I've actually only been going to Herbology, though. At first, it was almost torture to skip all of my classes, but in the end, I ended up deciding to go to Herbology and only Herbology."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it's my worst class. I want to try and get my grade to go up."

"Of course you do," I said, smiling.

"True Ravenclaw, I guess," Michael said with a grin.

I smiled back, but somewhat sadly this time as I thought of Luna. It had been a month since I found out she was okay and while I occasionally was able to get messages to and from her by means of Dean and Seamus, it wasn't the same. I guess some communication was better than none, though.

"Okay," I finally said to Michael. "What do you need help with?"

He showed me his homework and I immediately began explaining it to him. I had done this stuff in class such a long time ago, but it came flooding back incredibly quickly.

"So the flowers that come from a puffapod aren't poisonous?" Michael asked.

"No," I answered, "it's quite the opposite, really. They're actually known to have really good healing powers."

Michael sighed. "I don't know how you keep all of it straight. I just find it all so hard to remember. And even if I don't get to take my exams this year, I'm going to want to come back to school to catch up on all that I've missed."

I didn't answer for a moment, but then I was struck with a sudden idea. "Have you ever thought of color coding?"

"What?" Michael asked.

"You get different colored paper for every subject you want to study for. Then, you write out a question on one side of a piece of paper with the answers on the back. After that, you tape them on things you typically use every day, such as your pillow or the bathroom mirror. You try to answer the question and you can't use the item you taped it to until you get the question right. It's a really good study method. I've been using it for a few years now."

"Where did you learn that?" Michael asked. "It sounds like a very good idea."

"Luna," I answered. "She used it to help me prepare for my O.W.L. exams."

"Really?" Michael asked.

I nodded. "She's a smart girl."

"I never really doubted that," Michael answered. "I've been in her classes for years and she managed to beat me on nearly every single exam. It was quite a shock at first. I mean, she spent a lot of class time either drawing or looking out the window and then on exams or homework, she got nearly full marks every single time."

I laughed. "That's Luna for you."

Michael paused. "You really like her, don't you?"

I nodded and began fiddling with my shirt sleeve. "Of course. Don't you?" I was almost a little afraid to hear the answer.

"She's never given me a reason to dislike her," Michael said. "I've never actually had a real conversation with her. I just think a lot of people figure she's difficult to relate to and they don't know what to say when she's rambling on about things people don't believe exist."

"That's not all she talks about," I said. "And she's not all that hard to relate to. She's really a lot like everyone else. She just thinks a little differently."

Michael didn't answer right away. "Do you believe her? You know, when she talks about Nargles and all of those other things she believes in?"

I didn't answer right away. "I'm not sure," I said. "I like hearing about them and I don't mind that she talks about them, but I don't know if I'll ever fully believe until I see one. And who knows? Maybe Nargles do exist. I'm not against keeping an open mind."

Michael smirked. "Maybe she's been right all along and one day she'll prove everyone else wrong."

I smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised."

Michael smiled back before turning back to his homework. "Okay, so can you explain to me what exactly a venomous tentacula does besides sit around looking scary?"

I nodded and started to help him again. Ten minutes later, I heard a loud cheer from Seamus that I ignored. He had been playing an intense game of wizard's chess earlier, a game he never won, so I just assumed that he had won or made a good move. That is, until he yelled over to me. "Hey, Neville!"

I looked up in the direction of his voice and saw him standing by the portrait that led to the Hog's Head. My eyes then snapped to Dean, who was right beside Seamus. Dean was back! And if Dean was back, that meant…

"Hello, Neville." Luna waved cheerily at me from where she stood next to Dean. She had a small suitcase in her hand and she looked tinier than the last time I had seen her. Her hair was longer than ever and she had a bruise on her cheek, but she looked so incredibly beautiful all the same. I could have sworn I stopped breathing the moment I saw her. After she waved, all I could do was stare at her, wide-eyed.

"I think the Nargles have got him," Seamus said, smirking.

"Wrackspurts," Luna corrected in a whisper. Seamus shrugged.

Michael's Herbology textbook fell from my hands and hit the floor as I jumped up and ran towards Luna. I moved so fast it was like the Carrows were chasing me again. In a matter of seconds, I had reached Luna, grabbed her in my arms and spun her around. She let out a giggle in my ear before I set her down again.

"Luna!" I exclaimed happily, giving her another hug.

"Hello," she said happily. She frowned slightly as we broke apart. "You look awful."

I actually let out a laugh. "What a greeting."

"It's the truth." She reached up and lightly touched my cheek. I winced as her fingers brushed over a nasty cut. "It's even worse than before I left."

"Well, after you left, he got crazy," Seamus said. "I mean, he'd been pretty rebellious all year, but after you left he really put his foot down. He was taking detentions for the rest of us and sneaking out to write on the walls every chance he got. It was sort of awesome."

"Sounds like I missed quite a bit, then," Luna said with a smile.

I shrugged. "I can fill you in later. What's more important right now is what happened to you." I cupped her face in my hands and started examining her face. I frowned as my eyes fell on the bruise just under her eye. "Where did this bruise come from?" I gently rubbed my thumb over it.

"I'm not sure," she said, thinking about it. "I must have got it when I was in the cellar, but I'm not entirely sure how…"

"Cellar? What cellar?" I asked.

"Malfoy Manor," Dean piped up.

"You were at the Malfoy's?" Seamus asked incredulously.

"Yes, and it wasn't very pleasant," Luna said. "I arrived in December and when I got there, Mr. Ollivander had already been there for quite some time."

"The wand maker?" I asked. When Luna nodded, I smiled. "He's alive, then?"

She nodded. "Oh, yes, he's alive. When I got there he was weak and he was only getting worse. Then, at the end of March, Dean showed up with Harry, Ron and Hermione-,"

"What?" Seamus and I yelped at the same time.

"Yes, what, did you think they were dead?"

"No," I answered, "but we didn't have any information on them at all. We've been listening to Potterwatch nonstop."

"Potterwatch?" Dean asked.

"A radio station Lee Jordan's running with Fred and George. They report everything that all the other stations aren't. We heard about you when you went missing."

"Really?" Dean asked. "Yeah the Snatchers caught me and dragged me around with them for a while until they caught Harry and brought us all to Malfoy Manor."

"So, where are they now? Harry, Ron and Hermione, I mean. Are they all okay?"

"They're at Shell Cottage," Luna answered. "It's Bill and Fleur's house. I don't know how it happened, exactly, or how he knew where we were, but while we were in the cellar, Dobby arrived and took me, Dean and Mr. Ollivander to Shell Cottage. Then, he went back to get Harry, and Ron who were rescuing Hermione because Bellatrix Lestrange was torturing her."

I felt myself grow pale. "Is Hermione all right?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, she's fine. Bellatrix used the Cruciatus curse on her and carved the word 'mudblood' into her arm and it hasn't gone away yet. Bill couldn't heal it. He thinks the knife was charmed or something along those lines."

I felt sick. That was definitely a new kind of torture. It was similar to Umbridge's quill, but much, much worse. "Will it ever go away?" I asked.

Luna shrugged. "I expect it will eventually."

"So, what happened after Dobby rescued you?"

"We just stayed at Bill and Fleur's to rest. Mr. Ollivander was moved to the Weasley's Aunt Murial's. Her house has more room."

"And they never tortured you while you were at Malfoy Manor?" I asked.

"No, not once, thankfully," Luna answered. "Ollivander said he was tortured a few times, but he wasn't tortured while I was there. I don't think they really had any use for me other than to try and force my dad to behave."

"Oh," I said, satisfied. So they hadn't done anything to her after all. Keeping her locked in a cellar was far from okay, but at least they hadn't tortured her. And she was with me now, which was really all that mattered. She was back where she should be, she was safe, and I couldn't have felt happier at that moment.

A/N: They're together again! Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to leave a review!