Nearly one thousand kilometres away, a middle-aged, brown-haired man was walking along a leaf-covered path, breathing in the fresh, country air with a smile on his face, whistling merrily as the leaves crunched under his black, shined shoes. He twirled his cane deftly in his hand, and proceeded to drop his jaw and freeze when he turned the next corner.

The house that faced the man was perhaps the oddest structure he had ever seen. Sitting in the middle of a beautiful, flower-filled meadow was what resembled half a sphere, with odd semi-circular protrusions poking out of its dimpled surface. The man, after a few minutes of astounded gazing, likened it to a mutant golf ball. Pulling himself back together, he straightened his dress robes and tie, took a deep breath, and began his approach on the house. Three steps into the meadow however, the Wizard discovered that getting to the doorstep would not be quite as easy as he had originally anticipated.

Unaware of the two-person audience he had acquired, the Wizard begun to fight his way through the vines and plants that sprang up to trap him – deftly flipping and gliding through the dangers, almost as if participating in a delicate dance. To be honest, the suited man was thoroughly enjoying himself, and laughed happily as he somersaulted over a rather large flower which had tried to bite off his leg. He even went back for seconds, diving back through the meadow to give it another chance to catch him. The golden-haired man on the porch raised an eyebrow at the intruder's antics, and watched as he finally reached the gate to his house.

The man once again tidied himself, brushing a stray vine off his shoulder in the process, and then opened the gate. He finally realized the audience he had produced, and he calmly walked towards the balcony – raising his eyebrow when he saw the young Witch pull out her wand and tense slightly. He stopped at the bottom of the steps and bowed slightly to the man above him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mr Lovegood. My name is Artemis Coleman, and I have some information which may be of interest to the Quibbler's followers."

The slight suspicion from the older man disappeared almost instantaneously, but Artemis noted that the blonde Witch didn't relax in the slightest. Xenophilius Lovegood walked down the stairs with a wide smile on his face and firmly took Artemis' hand before shaking it warmly. "Wonderful to meet you too Artemis, please feel free to call me Xeno." He motioned for Artemis to follow him inside, and led him into the kitchen before asking Luna to put the kettle on.

She slid her wand back up her sleeve and nodded to her father, but made sure to keep an eye on the man as he talked with her only living parent. Xenophilius leant forward excitedly in his chair, his hands clasped together in front of him on the table. "So, what have you found?"

"Well it's not so much what I've found, rather it is more what I have kept hidden."

Xenophilius frowned at that, and cocked his head inquisitively to the side. "How so?"

Artemis reached into his pocket, and Luna tensed until she saw the small slip of paper in his hand. He slid the yellowed parchment across the table, and Xeno's eyes widened when he saw what it was. "My family has owned the Whipshield Woods for the past twenty generations Mr Lovegood, and we have made sure that it is properly warded from intruders and pests."

The Quibbler's author raised his head eagerly. "You've warded against pests, which means there is a creature in the woods."

Artemis nodded. "Indeed. My ancestor found six Pekingese Spatbelchers when he first brought the property." Xeno's eyes widened at the mention of the long-extinct creatures, and even Luna gasped. Artemis nodded at the two of them and smiled. "We've been breeding them ever since. We have over five thousand in our forests, and I heard that both you and your daughter are always interested in breeding near-extinct animals. I would like – with your permission of course – to start a colony in your woods."

A silence followed the breeder's statement, but in a flurry of activity Xenophilius Lovegood sprung from his chair and pulled Artemis into a bear-hug, nearly in tears. "Yes, yes, yes Mr Coleman!" Artemis laughed and gently pushed the teary man away. After a moment's recovery, Xeno asked the question he'd been dying to inquire about since the mention of the creatures. "Can I see them?"

It was at this point that Artemis' ulterior motives were allowed to move forward, and he gave the blonde-haired man a grin. "Of course Mr Lovegood, but before I do, as a security measure, I will need to test your mental shields – only if you are agreeable of course." At the author's nod, and under Luna's suspicious eye, Artemis pulled out his wand and cast the spell. "Legilimens!" Not pushing a hundredth of how hard he could have, Artemis probed the man's defences before slowly increasing his power until he pierced the mental blockade. It took the Legilimens only a split second to feel what he had been looking for, and he immediately pulled out.

Xenophilius looked at Artemis with no small amount of surprise. "You broke in awfully fast; I only know of one other man who can match your speed." Artemis frowned and inquired who it was, only mildly surprised at the answer. "Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Artemis forced a humbled expression onto his face and smiled at Luna's father. "I'm honoured that you hold my skills in the same stead Mr Lovegood; our family rarely gets complimented on out talents, although our secrecy probably has something to do with it."

Xenophilius smiled understandingly, and Artemis nodded to him, motioning that he should look into his mind. The blonde-haired Lovegood pulled his wand from his pocket and intoned the same words that Artemis had said only minutes previously. With a flash, he found himself inside the mind of Artemis, and immediately he tried to pull back when he realized that it was a fake. Artemis held him there however, and quickly spoke to calm the man. "I'm not here to harm you or your daughter Mr Lovegood, relax and calm your face."

Luna had instantly brought her wand to bear when she saw the worried look on her father's face, but relaxed when it calmed. In Artemis' head, an interesting conversation was taking place. "Who are you really Mr Coleman?"

"I am a man who care deeply for your daughter sir." With a flash, Xeno found himself walking down a country lane with Artemis at his side.

"What kind of relationship do you have with my daughter?"

Artemis frowned, and answered with a question of his own. "Are you a member of the Order of the Phoenix Mr Lovegood?"

Xenophilius froze mid-step, and looked at Artemis – his suspicion increasing tenfold. "How do you know of the Order?"

"Because they are constantly watching me."

Luna's father paled, and he took a fearful step backwards, hissing out one word. "Voldemort."

Artemis himself froze at this, and turned slowly around to face the man – quite a put-out expression on his face. "I take great insult to that – Voldemort is an ugly, sadistic snake, and is far more evil than I could ever be."

Xenophilius' fearful look faded slightly, and he took a step towards the brown-haired man. "The who are you?"

"First answer my question; are you a member of the Order?"

With only a moment's pause, he answered. "Yes, I am."

"and do you trust Albus Dumbledore?"

Again, his answer was preceded by no hesitation at all. "With my life."

Artemis frowned at that, and took a seat at the side of the road, carefully regarding the Order member in front of him. "What if I give you proof that he is not worthy of trust?"

"If it was valid proof, then I would rethink my views."

Artemis nodded, and thought for a moment before opening his mouth and his mind. "Then be prepared."

The mysterious Wizard guided the older Lovegood through his memories, skipping some more personal ones, and twenty minutes later Xenophilius had relived several hours of the Wizard's life. He found himself back on the country road a moment later, and looked up at the man in front of him. "Harry Potter?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Yes sir." He leant down and helped the man to his feet, then shook his hand warmly. "Luna speaks very highly of you sir."

"Bu- but you shouldn't be here Harry! The Order will be in absolute chaos!"

"Oh I highly doubt that sir; I created a clone of myself back at my lovely home that will keep the Order occupied for quite some time."

"But Dumbledore-"

"Is a traitor sir, and I did have Fawkes' help with the wards."

Over the next five minutes, Harry answered Xenophilius' myriad of questions, and eventually the man sat down in shock. "He tricked us all!" Harry nodded solemnly, and waited for the Lovegood to speak again. When he did, Harry was surprised to see a small smile on his face. "You still haven't answered my question Harry; what is your relationship with my daughter?"

Harry turned beet-red at that point, and proceeded to nervously stutter out his answer. "Well sir, you see, umm – Luna and I are… very good friends, and umm, well sir, she's my girlfriend.

Harry winced, waiting for what he considered the inevitable fury from the older Lovegood, and thus was completely unprepared for the friendly slap on the back. He looked up, surprised, and saw the long blonde-haired man smiling warmly down at him. "So it was you. I can now understand why you two have kept your relationship a secret – but I could tell from the new happiness in Luna's letters home that she had found someone."

Harry let his breath out in relief and Xeno laughed. "Well I'm guessing you have a plan to surprise my daughter judging by your disguise?" Harry grinned and nodded enthusiastically before quickly filling him in on the details.

Luna sighed in relief when her father's eyes opened again, and judging by his amazed expression, the mysterious man had made good on his word. The astounded author shook himself after a second and smiled happily at Artemis. "Good lord, they are wonderful! You must stay for dinner tonight and tell me more afterwards!"

Luna tensed at her father's suggestion, and Artemis' slight grin did nothing to ease her nerves. The three magical folk sat down at the dinner table two hours later, and Luna covertly pointed her wand at the brown-haired intruder underneath the wooden bench. Harry had pushed a little magic into his eyes and could see the faint glowing of her wand through the wood, which caused him to smile slightly; Mad-eye Moody would be proud. It was halfway through the meal that Luna had cooked that Artemis begun to disappear. At first it was barely recognizable; his dark-brown hair fading to black, and his frame shrinking slightly – but even that was enough to catch the Witch's wary eye. Harry grinned as he allowed his forehead to form correctly, and acted completely indifferent when the young woman's mouth fell open at the sight of his scar. Likewise, Luna's father seemed to act as if nothing was wrong either – and Luna shook her head rather forcefully before looking back at the changing man.

Xenophilius frowned at her, concerned. "Luna, are you alright?" Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes, and she turned quickly away after standing from the table to hide her face. "I just need a glass of water, I'll be back in a moment." Hurriedly she left the room and entered the kitchen before falling to her knees and allowing the tears to stream down her face, crying out to her bonded through their connection. "Harry, I can't stand it anymore; I need you!"

His reply was fainter than she had anticipated, and carried a slight echo with it. "I love you so much Luna, but I didn't think that you'd miss me by just leaving to get a drink of water." Her sobs caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat – her eyes wide open and staring at the blank wall in front of her in shock. It took a few seconds for her to unfreeze, but when she did, her legs carried her as fast as they could back to the dining room. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Harry's green eyes shining lovingly back at her, and tears began to roll down her cheeks once again.

Harry stood from his seat and walked quickly over to her, and with a deep sob Luna launched herself at him – wrapping her arms tightly around his back; clinging to him as if he would disappear any second. Harry clung to her just as fiercely – having fought valiantly from doing so earlier in the day, and tenderly stroked her hair while whispering quietly in her ear. "Shhh, I'm here now, I promised I would always be by your side, and I would never leave you. Shhh now love." He continued soothing her for the next ten minutes, and finally her shaking stopped.

He placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head – not having forgotten the presence of her father – and then gently lifted her chin with his finger and looking deep into her relieved eyes. "I love you Harry, you are everything to me."

Harry's eyes softened even more, and he pulled her back to his chest again; muttering softly into her hair. "I missed you so much Luna – it felt as if my soul had been torn from my chest. I love you Luna – so, so much."

All throughout their tender exchange, Xenophilius had been watching the couple with a smile on his face and joy in his eyes, but he felt the need to talk to them both. He cleared his throat and Harry gently pulled back from Luna before leading her back to the table – sitting her in the chair beside his and not letting go of her hand once. Xeno smiled at their dedication to one another. "It looks to me, Harry, that you're a bit past the simple boyfriend/girlfriend stage." Said raven-haired Wizard opened his mouth to correct the man, but was stopped by a warm smile. "But I don't care; the love you two hold for each other is clearly eternal and genuine – and I know that neither you nor my daughter would take such a step without being serious about it."

Harry's eyes widened at the man's statement. "You know we're bonded?"

"You're what?"