Chapter 18: Reasons to Be With Someone

The storm had been raging outside for hours, the light from the greenhouse piercing the gloom. The warm climate was even hotter than usual, the interior steaming up. All at once, a silky hand slapped against the glass and then slid away, leaving behind a dewey print.

"Huhhhh….. Uhhhhhh…. Ugggh….." Legs spread wide, Luna squirmed as Harry thrust into her madly. She wasn't sure what she had expected exactly, for middle-age sex to be like. She and Harry had both had partners before, both been married, had children, before. And yet they shagged as ardently and amorously as if they were still both twenty-five years younger.

She admitted she liked how passionately Harry fucked her. When she and Rolf had gone to bed, her husband had been shy and sweet, even beyond the early days of their marriage. Her hands now encircled Harry's rippling shoulders, clutching and clawing at his back. Harry buried his face in her cleavage, lovingly fondled one breast while taking the nipple of the other deep into his mouth, and she keened.

"Hmmmmmm….. H-Harry….. Oh, my Merlin…. Ohhhhhhhhhh, my Merlin, Harry!" Luna's moans were piteous. Though she would never pretend that she had ever carried her calm, placid demeanor into the bedroom, into bed with a man.

The couple kissed deeply, lips digging and swallowing, and Luna smirked against her lover's mouth when she heard him let out a choked grunt of shock as she flipped them both, swinging creamy, if no longer quite as youthful thighs over his hips as she moved to straddle him. She swayed and bounced on his member, her silky hands resting lightly on his chest as she rode him, and when she felt him harden to his fullest inside her, she threw her head back with a cry and came. Gripping her supple buttocks in his fists, Harry grunted and jerked up into her, growling, determined to follow her over the edge. His balls slapped with a delicious squelching sound against her flooded pussy.

Instead, Luna languidly rose off of him, crawled down him, eliciting a whine. Studying his angry, red, firm stalk, she licked her lips before going down on him. Rearing forward, she took him deep into her mouth, curling a palm along the base of his shaft. His tip touched the back of her throat and she swallowed him in deeper still. Somehow, she managed to hungrily lick his balls in past her puckered lips.

Harry was quivering, shaking, and Luna didn't mind how his fingers now tangled in her curly blonde hair, down to her scalp hard enough to pinch as he frantically began to fuck her face.

"Luna….. Merlin's pants, Luna! You wonderful, wonderful woman….."

Luna smiled around his cock, his cock which now filled her mouth and she began to bob her head as she worked, sucking him faster.

A shout was all the warning she had and Harry's body went rigid beneath her as he spilt all his seed into her warm and wet cavern, flooding it. Luna gamely swallowed it all, like the attentive lover she was. Licking his length, she finally released him, tasting the salt of him on her tongue.

Draping a canvas over their naked bodies post-coitus, Luna curled against Harry, pondering how they had just had sex…. and despite getting older, how they had both liked it.

Harry grinned, kissing Luna's face, which had gone back to sporting a dreamy smile, content and perfectly calm.

"I must admit, I rather enjoyed that," Luna cooed. "Shagging you." She lifted her head up and grinned at him.

Harry laughed and kissed that little smile right off, causing her to suck in a breath and giggle a little.

Rolling off of the greenhouse table on which they had just shagged, Luna was dignified as she pulled her jeans back up over her slim hips and cute little bum. Harry zipped up his pants.

"Want me to go check on the boys?" he offered. Lorcan and Lysander had been in the sitting room watching the telly. While he and Luna hadn't yet gotten caught in the act by either of the twins, they had both been very cautious about where and when they hooked up. The greenhouse here on the property, where either of the boys – or anyone else, really – could walk in on them at any moment, had been a riskier place to make love.

"Actually, they're what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Who? The boys?" Harry frowned.

Luna smirked in amusement. "Who else?"

"What about them?"

Drifting into him, Luna gently took his hand. "I think we should tell them about us."

"While I'm still technically married to Ginny?" Harry frowned. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Lu." At how hurt she looked, he quickly tried to explain himself. "I'm just saying that even a couple of 8 and 9 year olds are going to have a basic understanding of what adultery is!"

"Is that what we're doing?" Luna asked, her brow furrowed.

"By the legal definition of the term, yes!"

"Except your marriage is over! Or it will be, once your lawyer has drawn up the papers and Ginny has gone to trial!"

Harry cringed. "About that…"

"What….?" Luna murmured warily.

"First of all, please understand, I am going to divorce Ginny no matter what, no matter whether she is found guilty or innocent."

"But she's going to be found guilty," Luna stated. "Right? The evidence you have is air-tight."

"Yes, but suppose that we get a less-educated or even uneducated jury that might be susceptible to any lies Ginny's lawyers tell. There could be a hung jury, or even an acquittal."

Luna bit her lip. "It would be a grave miscarriage of justice." The thought of Ginny walking free after what she did…

"Yes, but miscarriages of justice have happened before! If Ginny were somehow found innocent, I'd still divorce her, but the optics would look worse."

Luna drew back a bit, bemused but also almost…. disappointed. "Since when have you ever cared about optics?"

"Never, but every word I've ever said, every move I've made, has always been scrutinized, Luna. That hasn't changed since the end of the war – if anything, since I became Head Auror, it's only gotten worse!"

Luna nodded slowly. "You're worried how the media might perceive you. Especially if you and Ginny were to divorce and you were to turn right around and be with me."

Harry nodded. Luna sighed.

"I suppose that makes sense. I just thought that you and the boys and I could have a fun time together, that's all."

"Doing what?" Harry wanted to know.

"A Quidditch match, if you fancied that. The Portree Patronuses are playing Kenmare Kappas in the play-offs." She bit her lip. "I just thought it would be something…. different for us to do." She shrugged. "Besides, I am always more of the opinion that you should do what you want without worrying about how other people might judge you!"

Harry chuckled and stepped into her, looping his arms about her waist. "You have at that, and no mistake!" They both laughed. He thought it over. "Tell you what: if you can get tickets, I'd love to spend a day with you and the boys. But let's not tell them that we're together; we can act like we're going as friends."

Luna worried her bottom lip for a moment, and then smiled. "I can live with that." Balancing up on her tiptoes, she kissed Harry lightly on the lips. "I'll place an order with Lee Jordan, then. He's calling the match."

The Quidditch pitch and stadium was packed and noisy when Harry, Luna and her sons arrived for the playoff between Portree and Kenmare. In return for her footing the bill on the tickets, Harry bought Lorcan and Lysander whatever they wanted.

"This is bloody bully!" Lorcan grinned with relish, tucking into his tin of Bertie Botts Every-Flavor Beans. "Thanks, Uncle Harry!"

Harry grinned down at the boy, even as he felt a new kind of bristling at being called 'Uncle.'

Supposing that if one day, after he was free from his wife, he and Luna did go public with a relationship. Sit the boys down and talk to them, wondering how they would feel about their mother dating again. Would Lorcan and Lysander still call him Uncle Harry then?

Next to him, Harry felt Luna loop her arm through his and squeeze it. She smiled brightly at him. "You OK?" she mouthed.

Harry nodded.

Luna grinned, removing her arm from his. A beat, and then he suddenly heard her voice reverberating through his head.

Thank you for making the boys' day. I'd kiss you, but there would be hundreds of people watching.

Harry chuckled at this, though he was more stunned by the fact that:

"You never told me you could do wandless magic like that!"

Luna just beamed brightly at him. "You never asked, love." Harry smiled.

"Harry?"

Harry glanced down their row, startled to find Hermione here, glancing between him, Luna and the boys with bemusement. There was something else in her chocolate-brown eyes that he couldn't quite place. Face alighting with warmth, Luna leapt out of her seat.

"Hermione! Fancy seeing you here! It's been too long!"

"Hi, Luna," Hermione murmured, and the women kissed cheeks lightly.

"And what brings you by, Madame Minister? Overseeing the match? How come we didn't hear you announcing the opening?" Harry wondered.

Hermione brushed this aside with a wave of her hand. "I had my Deputy do it. I have to leave Percy with something to do!"

Harry smirked. "I bet Percy just loved that." Brown-noser, even after all these years. Course, Percy wasn't a bad bloke, he just came off as a little too…. officious sometimes.

Harry's smirk immediately dipped into a frown when he now caught who was behind Hermione on the stair. Stiffening, he nodded curtly. "Krum."

"Potter." Viktor Krum nodded back. The man was hovering, looking like he wanted to place his hand on the small of Hermione's back. As if the Minister of Magic needed someone to keep her steady on the stadium stair! Glancing between the men, Hermione flushed awkwardly.

"Viktor is just here as my guest," she explained, though from the timbre in her voice, it felt like she was babbling, trying to justify herself. "There was an extra ticket, and he's due back to Bulgaria soon…."

"How nice," Harry clipped, all while trying to keep the coolness out of his voice. He abruptly stood up. "Madame Minister, may I have a word with you please? Alone?"

From the way her expression pinched, it was clear that Hermione understood that this would not be a casual chit-chat between siblings-in-law. Viktor shuffled awkwardly on the balls of his feet. Even Luna could sense the tension, as she now looked uncomfortable.

"Of course," Hermione acquiesced. She turned back to Viktor. "Wait for me in the Minister's box."

Viktor nodded, looked as if he wanted to go in and kiss her, (and in front of a stadium full of people, the bastard!) but thought better of it, ambling away. Squirming out his row, Harry and Hermione climbed higher and higher into the stands.

They finally found an alcove at the very top of the stadium. Glancing out over the edge, the view was breathtaking for miles around.

"What?" Hermione snipped tightly, her lips pursing into a frown as she folded her arms crossly under her breasts. Harry tried not to ogle her or how this motion accentuated and pushed out her tits. At the moment, all he could see in his mind's eye was Krum touching her, Krum kissing her, Krum having his way with her over her desk…

For the first time in years, he found himself sympathizing with how Ron must have felt, the night of the Yule Ball decades before.

"I can't even believe you!" he blasted out.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Bringing that…. grunting beefcake along to an official function like he's your date or something!"

Hermione let out an offended little laugh. "Viktor's not my date!" she hissed at him, seething and leaning in directly into her brother-in-law's face. "He is here as an official representative of the Bulgarian government! As a former Quidditch star who still carries a lot of clout! As a friend!"

"Yeah? Well, I know for a fact that he was a bit more than friendship on his mind!" Harry sneered.

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, looking as though Harry had slapped her. Her cheeks were flush with a combination of embarrassment and anger, even as inside, she felt a twinge of pain over what Harry had seen when he and Rose had walked in on her and Viktor having sex in her office.

"Setting aside the fact that he's way too old for you…"

"What?! What, that's what you think? Harry, we are 45, not 15! You know, you're starting to sound an awful lot like Ronald!"

"Good," Harry snorted. "At least one of us is…."

She spluttered, unable to come up with a good enough retort to that. "And what about you and Luna?"

"What are you on about, woman, talking about me and Luna?" Harry frowned hard.

"Bringing her and the boys to such a public event like this. The way that the media tries to dissect everything…." She flushed. "You know…. people talk."

"You don't think I know that?" Harry barked. "Luna and I agreed to come here as friends! The boys don't even know anything!"

Hermione threw back her head and cackled with derisive laughter. "Oh, so two very impressionable young boys don't even know that you're…." She glanced about, her voice dropping to a whisper. "…. shagging their mother behind their backs?"

"That's not all Luna and I do together!" Harry stuttered.

"Oh, really?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow. "So what else do you and Looney Lovegood do, besides roll around in bed?"

"First of all: don't call her that! You're better than that!" Harry snapped heatedly. "Second of all, Lun and I….. do…. other stuff. We're here, aren't we?"

"Hmm: so the things you do with your mistress start with shagging and end with Quidditch," Hermione counted off on her fingers. "Gee, Harry, that sounds like a really solid basis for a relationship! Have you ever done anything that Luna wants to do, like…. going on safari for Crumple-Horned…. Snorckacks?!" She was practically spitting, and she wasn't sure why the sight of Harry and Luna together was making her so hot and bothered. It couldn't be because she was…

She thought of what Harry had accused of her, when he had first told her about sleeping with Luna: Don't tell me you're jealous!

"Well, what about you and Viktor?" Harry shot back. "I don't think a relationship can exactly be based on attending official Ministry functions as 'friends' and 'colleagues'" he made air quotes mockingly. "…. and having late-night office sex!"

"What's your point?" Hermione huffed.

"The point is, Madame Minister, that if you want to move on and be with someone new, start by thinking about why you want to be with them! Because if you want to be with someone like that, love them, you'd better have some pretty good reasons!"

And with that, Harry stomped away, leaving a shell-shocked Hermione to stare after him. Yet as he scrunched back into his seat, fuming, Harry couldn't help but wonder if, stealing a glance at Luna, he should be taking his own advice.