February 12th and 13th, 2003

Before he went to bed that night, Ron sent Pig out to George with a note:

Wanker (and Angelina and Sprog),

I won't be in tomorrow. I will, however, be back on Friday to interview more help and deal with the Valentine's rush. Hopefully this is OK, since I'll be covering you after the baby is born. If it's not OK, please kindly roll this note up and insert it rectally. Or Floo me and I'll make it in. Whatever works for you.

Your favorite brother

His mind raced most of the night, but he kept coming up blank. It was Luna's birthday, and she hadn't said a word. The problem with Luna was that he couldn't tell if it was a test (like any normal girl), if she didn't care that it was her birthday, or if she'd simply forgotten. His galleons were on the last one.

The cooking thing was a brilliant idea, of course. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He had vague plans for Valentines Day already (dinner out? A trip to Hogsmeade? Developing a sanity testing potion for both of them?), but if he used those for Luna's birthday, what would he do Friday?

Bloody hell, of course you had to find a girlfriend whose birthday was the day before Valentines.

It wasn't that he was afraid Luna would be angry. She didn't seem like the type. But he had this odd urge to do something special for her. The question was what. He couldn't even think of a gift, let alone somewhere to take her or something fun to do.

Around 7:00 the next morning, he floo-ed over to Harry and Ginny's. Harry sat blearily at the table, nursing a cup of coffee.

"Morning, Ron," he said as Ron shook off the ash.

"Where's your wife?"

"Probably sleeping. Particular reason you're barging over here so early? I didn't think you woke before 9 anymore."

Ron grabbed a pasty off the table. "Did you know about this?"

Harry smiled cheeky grin, half into his coffee cup. "Luna's birthday? Found out on Sunday when Ginny told me. Bit of bad luck, that. You're lucky she owled you last night. She wanted to wait until today around noon."

"Ha. Ha. Jokes on her. Now she's gotta help me figure out what to get Luna."

Harry looked at him, thinking. "Before all that, I want to run something by you."

"Like what?"

"I did something…"

"With your life? Finally, Potter. We've all been sitting around wondering, 'when is Harry going to finally do something with his life?!'"

Harry snorted and continued, "the training job came up again. Since they made Hestia head of the department, no one really fit there. Johnson wants back in the field. So I applied to train all the new aurors."

"You'd be good in that spot."

"And they called me in for an interview today."

Ron grinned at him. "Good for you. You were good in the DA…you'll be good at this, too."

"Yeah, well, I haven't told Ginny."

"So?"

Harry looked at him like he'd grown an Erumpet horn. "You've met her lately. I'm pretty sure I should have asked her before I poured this cup of coffee, let alone applied for a whole new job!"

Ron shuddered at the thought of Ginny's current emotional state. "You just have to present it right. She's bound to be happy; you'll only be in the field a few days a month. It's much safer and your hours will be better…"

"Yeah, yeah. But I should probably tell her before the interview, right?"

"Or lose your balls. Either way, I need to talk to her in the next…oh…15 minutes."

"She's sleeping," Harry said.

"Not anymore!" Ron called, halfway up the stairs already.

He opened the door (maybe a bit too quickly) and a disheveled Ginny scrambled for her wand. Ron ducked a Bat Bogey hex.

"Merlin's hairy nutsack, Ginny. On edge a bit?"

She sat cross-legged, blinking as she woke. "You burst into my bedroom! What were you thinking?"

"YOU decided to owl me last night that today was my girlfriend's birthday. When I said you owed me one, I didn't mean a heart attack!"

She stowed the wand back on her nightstand and laid back down, burrowing under the duvet. "Too early for this. Come back later."

"Please?" Ron wasn't above groveling this morning. "I just need one more favor, then we're even."

Ginny plopped the pillow over her head. The words "don't care, making a pancreas or something. Too tired," came from beneath it.

"I just need an idea of what to get her," Ron whined. Ugh, he hated whining, but this situation was definitely whine-worthy. "Then I'll be out of your room and your house and your life, and you can go back to whatever it is you do now."

"I sleep. And eat bread. And make a person. Enough for you?" The pillow was still on her face.

"As soon as you tell me what to get Luna…"

She flung the pillow off her face and rolled off the bed. Her hair stuck in all directions. Ginny rummaged in the closet for a bit, then tossed a bag in Ron's direction. "Enjoy," she said with a scowl, "somewhere other than my bedroom."

Ron peered into the bag. "Seeds?" He was going to show up on his girlfriend's birthday with a sack of squirrel food?

From under the duvet, Ginny murmered, "yeah, she gave Neville a whole list of what she wanted for her garden…he gave the bag to Harry to give to you. You owe him 10 Galleons." Ron sorted through the back for a moment. He didn't even recognize half of what was in there. Ginny's snores soon filled the room.

Ron held up the bag for Harry as he walked back through Grimmauld's kitchen. "Thanks for this...good luck with your balls."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, looking marginally more awake. "Good, you got the present."

Ron rummaged in his pouch for some money to pass on to Neville, feeling a bit disgruntled. "Fair warning would have been nice."

"Sorry, mate. You don't have to live with her. It's like a completely different person. Bill says they go back to normal a few months after the baby comes…can't imagine dealing with that in Veela form."

Ron couldn't imagine Luna becoming a shrieking Harpy just because of a few hormones, not like Ginny. And Angelina hadn't been as bad as Ginny either. So it wasn't all witches. Luna would probably be all one-with-nature and want to give birth in the lake with the giant squid or something.

He had to stop and shake off the thought of his girlfriend pregnant. Not happening.

Ron pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked back to Harry. "Yeah, sucks to be Bill. So I'm just gonna…" he gestured at the sack of seeds (seeds? If it's what she wanted…). "Uh, and figure out what else to do with her."

"You could always ask her what she wants to do." Harry paused and grinned into his coffee. "And you'll end up in Japan hunting for a Grimblybump or whatever. Have fun!"

Ron just shook his head and threw the floo powder. When he landed in Luna's living room, it was quiet. Good, I can surprise her, he thought, heading for the stairs.

But when he got there, her room was empty. The bed was made. And Luna was nowhere to be found.

"Luna?!" He called into the empty house. Nothing but silence answered.

Before he could panic, Ron pulled out his wand and conjured his patronus. "Luna! I came to see you, but you're not home. Where are you?" And sent it away.

Within moments the hare bounded back into the room. "Just visiting with Fleur up at Shell Cottage. Stay there, we'll come to say hi!"

He made himself comfortable on the couch, and conjured up a bouquet of flowers. After rummaging under the sink for a vase, he settled on a drinking glass in the shape of a mermaid and arranged it on the table with the flowers and the sack of seeds.

Just as he checked his watch again, wondering where she was, the floo lit up green.

Instead of Luna, however, Victoire tumbled out of the hearth and into his arms. "Oncle Ron! Oncle Ron! Tante Luna was showing me all about nargles!" She handed him a drawing of what was, apparently, a nargle, and Ron once again wondered at his own sanity. Hermione often mentioned muggle doctors who specialized in healing the mind…perhaps dating a lunatic was a sign that something was wrong with him.

Fleur stepped elegantly out of the floo next, in spite of her growing stomach. "I am so sorry, Ronald. We taught 'er to use zee floo just in case. When she heard you were at Luna's, she jumped in before we could catch 'er." Fleur's face became stern. "Cherie, you must 'ave someone with you unless it eez an emergency." She had a basket slung over her arm, and she took it toward the kitchen.

Victoir looked at her mother defiantly, then back at Ron. "We saw your dog. It sounded worried." Victoire's eyes were wide. "Is your dog okay?"

Ron simply smiled and thought of cold evenings snuggled with Luna before the fire. His Patronus shot from his wand and began snuffling around Victoire's legs. She shrieked and giggled before chasing it into the kitchen.

The floo lit up a third time, and Luna breezed itno the room, carrying a heavy-looking crock and wearing a crown of half-dead seaweed. She looked at him quizzically. "You were looking for me?"

Ron fidgeted and tried to find the words to explain. "So Ginny owled me last night with some interesting info…" Fleur had stepped back into the living room, and was watching with interest, like Hermione's muggle aunt when her favorite TV programme came on. He didn't want any audience for this, but here goes nothing. "She said today's your birthday. So…happy birthday!"

Luna's face lit up. "Oh! That was nice of her."

"Yeah…nice…Ginny." Ron could swear that Fleur coughed back a giggle. "Anyway, I wanted to do something for you for your birthday."

"Like what?"

Ron paused in a panic. "I hadn't gotten that far yet." He rustled around his brain for an idea. Any idea. He came up short. But he had the seeds! "I got you these." He thrust them toward her, cringing when he realized that he probably should have wrapped them or gotten a card or something.

Luna opened the sack with a smile, "seeds!" She threw her arms around him.

With that, Fleur choked back another laugh and glided out of the room, presumably to track down Victoire.

Luna squealed as she looked through the sack. "Oh, Rosethorn! Chomping Cabbage! Tentacula! Thank you, Ron!"

Ron tried not to think of how many of those things could injure him. "You should probably thank Neville and Ginny. They orchestrated the whole thing. I suppose that's as good as an endorsement from my sister."

Luna wrapped her arms around him and kissed him thouroughly. The couple didn't hear Fleur come in the room until she coughed sharply.

"Maybe eet would be good for us to take thees, non?" she said, taking the crock from Luna's arm and with a significant look toward Victoire. "Zen we shall be on our way."

Ron, feeling very much as if he'd been caught snogging by a professor, ducked his head. He could feel his ears getting red. "Sorry, Fleur."

Luna didn't seem bothered, simply began to hum as she followed Fleur and Victoire into the kitchen, putting the seeds into a cupboard. Ron followed, feeling like a puppy dog.

Fleur finished bustling about the kitchen quickly, as Victoire asked Luna dozens of questions about Nargles, ("why is their snout so long? Could they be friends with a mouse? Where do they go when it snows?") which Luna patiently answered. Victoire was still asking questions as Fleur ushered her into the floo. Fleur wished Luna a "bon anniversaire" and glided her way into the floo as well. The room was finally silent.

"What were you doing over here, anyway?" Ron asked. He didn't think Luna and Fleur were particularly close.

"I'm painting a mural for the baby's room and helping with Vic. In exchange Fleur's letting me practice my French and sending me home with food." She settled them onto the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I like it there. It reminds me of safety."

Ron felt a flood of realization. "You spent your 17th birthday…"

"In the dungeons." Luna finished.

Ron put his arm around her tightly. "You should have told me. About your birthday and…"

"Sometimes it's hard to be surrounded by so many Gryffindors. I don't always know how to say when I'm scared or why it's hard to talk about my birthday. Some years I don't even celebrate."

"I can't be that brave, remember? I sleep at Harry's when my mum and dad are gone."

She hummed in acknowledgement and looked at the clock. "Don't you need to get to work? Those love potions aren't going to sell themselves."

"Those? Those are a bunch of bollucks. And anyway, I took the rest of the day off. What would you like to do?"

"Well then," said Luna, looking a bit surprised, "I do have plans, you know. I told Mr. Ollivander that we could have lunch together, but I suppose you could come with. And I have a floo-call with daddy tonight…"

"So we have a few more hours this morning, then all afternoon." Ron wasn't quite thrilled about eating lunch with the slightly-creepy wandmaker, but he'd do it for Luna.

"You'll come with?" She sounded surprised.

"Of course, it's your birthday." Then he grinned down at her. "On my birthday we'll go watch 10 hours of Quidditch."

Hey, look! I'm alive! :)