III. Anacrusis

3 days ago

A few stray rays of sunlight shone through dusty windows of the Leaky Cauldron. Specks of dust suspended peacefully in the air were interrupted by a cloud of smoke. Harry sat in the dimly lit corner of the bar, still operated by old Tom, inattentively watched streams of witches and wizards enter and come out of Diagon alley on this lazy Tuesday afternoon as his thoughts drifted in and out of his conversation with Dennis Creevey.

Harry's thoughts were derailed by an array of dazzling colors. He stared as a witch with long, dirty blonde hair, walked…no, floated through the front door in a sundress with diamond patterned that gave the impression of large, rainbow colored scales from a distance. The abundance of colors fought with each other to fit into the gravity of her small frame. Her presence disrupted the monotony of the various shades of grey that went through Harry's field of vision as he brooded over yesterdays.

Luna Lovegood approached Harry's table without looking directly at him. Harry noticed her signature radish earrings have been replaced with pearls. But knowing Luna, she probably thought they belonged to some magical creature far more outrageous than clams. Either way, Harry considered it an improvement.

"Clams have magical qualities, you know," It was almost as if she could read his mind.

"Luna! Hello!" Caught off guard, Harry nearly spilled his firewiskey, but he quickly recovered, "Are you in a hurry?" Luna shook her head, "Come, I'll buy you a drink. It's nice to see an old friend."

Luna's smile grew brighter at the word 'friend.'

"So what brings you here?" Harry asked after he finished his latest shot of Firewhiskey.

"Well, I'm going to Gringotts to exchange some money. I'm going on an excursion to America to study Re'ems. Rolf found a small herd in Wyoming. They are very rare these days."

What the hell is a Re'em? "I take you like being a magizoologist?" Harry asked instead.

"Yes, it is most fascinating."

"Cheers to that," Harry refilled his glass, only to empty it again.

"So why are you drinking so heavily at 3 in the afternoon? On a Tuesday, no less," Luna asked after taking a sip of butterbeer.

"I saw Dennis Creevey the other day. It reminded me of some things I didn't want reminding of."

"The war," Luna said matter-of-factly, "but that's not all, is it?"

Harry shook his head. There was no dancing around with Luna.

"How'd you run into him?"

"He contacted me to do a job," seeing Luna raise an eyebrow, Harry elaborated, "I've sort of became an necromancer. Let me explain! I figured out how to raise ghosts, and since I quit the ministry, it sort of became my job."

But Luna still looked skeptical, so Harry continued, "Some people needed wills of their relatives verified, what's a better source than the original creator? Sometimes Williamson needed help to solve a murder over at the ministry. Some people just miss the ones they lost and they want to see them again. It's not dishonest work."

"It's not honest work, either. Harry, the ones who moved on don't belong back in this world. There's no knowing what the consequence would be!"

"I'm not going around and randomly making new ghosts. They're only anchored to my magic temporarily," Harry defended, "You know, that's what Hermione said too when she found out." He knew it was below the belt, but the effect of comparing her to Hermione was instantaneous. Luna never did like her close-mindedness.

"How did you learn all of this? I don't imagine there are a lot of books in this subject, or anyone to ask, for that matter," it seemed that Luna's curiosity won out.

"Not legal ones, anyway…Luna, you know the Deathly Hallows?"

"Of course," Luna lowered her voice, with excitement in her eyes, and whispered, "You have the Resurrection Stone?"

"Not anymore. I sort of dropped it in the Forbidden Forest during the Battle of Hogwarts. But I've done some research on ghosts, what they're made of, how they're anchored and all that, and worked my way backwards from there," of course, Harry left some of the more sensitive details out. He wasn't going to mention who had been helping him with this research, especially not with Luna.

Harry did research quite a lot about ghosts, and did a lot of the legwork on his own (Hermione would be proud). After all, that was how he raised the spirits of Remus and Tonks. Once he figured out the physical manifestation of a summoned ghost draws its presence from the summoner's emotions, he had to re-approach his study in Occlumency, which he found to be much easier now that he became more emotionally mature (or perhaps he was just drained, but he doesn't know anymore). But even with the ghosts emotionally stable, he still didn't know how to send them away without acting as a human dementor, exorcising their souls into nonexistence. So he found a promising magical theorist who died young enough to not object to his nonsense, recent enough to care about his horribly justified reasons, and unconventional enough to help him achieve his goal. Enter Pandora Lovegood, magical theorist, spell crafter, unofficial consultant to the Department of Mysteries. She also happened to be Luna's mother, whom she witnessed the death of when she was nine.

He wouldn't dare telling Luna.

The conversation shifted to lighter subjects. They talked of their mutual friends. About George and now Ron's joke shop and the booming business. About Hermione's latest push for magical creature rights, and the backlash it received in the Wizengamot. About Ginny's rising stardom as one of the premier Quidditch players in Europe. And no, they were not dating anymore. Yes, Ginny was still family, just that their lives were just going in different directions but that was okay. Luna's "very charming" colleague, the grandson of the famous Newt Scamander, and soon to be fiancé, as she believed he will propose sometime during their research in America.

"Re'em blood gives its drinker strength, you see. The Natives were hunting them for centuries, and later the Americans started to. Even the muggles joined in, they think they're the same as bisons, but you can differentiate them by the texture of their horns. That's why their number is so low now. It's quite sad, really. I really don't think being strong is all that important. I mean, Hermione did carry all your books for you at Hogwarts," Luna said, they both had a few (Harry had a few more) drinks.

"Oi! She carried them because she wanted to."

Luna couldn't keep a straight face any longer, and soon they were both laughing a little too loudly, slightly annoying the other patrons and a few passersby.

"We've been here for two hours! I really should get going. Gringotts will be closing soon, and I need muggle money to travel."

"Well come on then, Lady Lovegood, it will be an honor for me to walk with you," Harry offered his arm with an excessive flurry of embellishments. When Luna humored him and took it, he lurched downwards and took an exaggerated fall as if the weight was too much to bear. This drew even more looks. Harry turned around and waved to Tom, who returned it with a wink, causing Luna to laugh even harder, and together they walked through the magical gateway. With the bright orange sun half hidden by Gringotts, Diagon Alley was gilded by the rays. They walked down the warmly lit cobblestone street, between long shadows casted by buildings on both sides of them, creating a river of light amidst the bustling street. They strolled through the alley with only the slightest hint of urgency and arrived at the doorsteps of the marble bank.

"Now, if you ever change your mind about this Rolf fella, owl me so I can be the first in what would sure to be a very long line to court your favor."

"I think I'd rather be on trial," Luna laughed, before she more or less composed herself, "but thank you, I've had a wonderful time this afternoon. It was nice to see an old friend."

"Safe travels, Luna," Harry gave her a departing hug, she stilled for half a second, surprised by this act of unfamiliar familiarity, but returned it wholeheartedly. In their close proximity, Harry had a sudden urge to steal a kiss, instead he smirked, "for luck," Harry added.

"Bye Harry, I'll see you again," she smiled vaguely. With a final wave, Luna Lovegood walked through the heavy wooden doors.