A/N: Just so everyone is aware, the small pieces of McGonagall's back story are true. They were revealed on Pottermore. Also, I wanted to add a bit more of Luna's thoughts and feelings throughout this chapter but it was getting kind of long. More of how she is feeling and thinking will be revealed in the next chapter. Please review to let me know what you think.
I start off this chapter with addressing the Cruciatus Curse issue. I realized when I wrote the previous chapter that it was a very serious infringement of Wizarding Law to use an Unforgivable Curse and I was planning on just casually mentioning how it was dealt with, but because some readers noticed it as well, I thought of a slightly better plot and wrote a short flash-back memory for Sirius. I'm glad it was brought to my attention, otherwise the small amusing snippet probably would not have made its way into the chapter so please tell me if my explanation is satisfactory.
Another (shorter) author's note will be at the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling.
…..
Sirius Black couldn't fall asleep. The girl in his arms had long ago succumbed to peaceful oblivion, though that probably had something to do with the sleeping draught she had been given by the school nurse.
With nothing better to do to pass the time, his mind began to wander to revenge. He very clearly remembered the conversation he had had with James just a few hours previously. After Luna had fainted, the duel had ended quickly. Snape was the only one who got away; retreating after all of the boys with him had gone down.
"Prongs, get Moony up to the Hospital Wing! I'll take Luna!" Sirius very gently lifted her limp body, his hands trembling. Behind him, he heard James attempting to direct Remus in the right direction. Anger swelled in him as he thought of what had just taken place. "I can't wait to see that bastard expelled for this! I can't believe he would use an Unforgivable Curse!"
"Padfoot," James's voice was gently, "we can't get him expelled."
"What do you mean?" Sirius thundered, "you saw it as well as I did! He can't lie his way out of this! They could use the Truth Potion or Prior Incantatem. They'll get to the bottom of this."
"We can't get him expelled," explained James, "because we can't tell any of the professors what Curse Raleigh hit her with. Raleigh is seventeen. He's of age. What do you think will happen if they find out he's used the Cruciatus Curse?"
"I forgot he was of age," said Sirius with a grin, "not only will he be expelled, but he'll also be carted off to Azkaban!" this was said with obvious relish.
"Exactly," James was beginning to think Sirius would never understand where he was going with this, "and with one of their best mates in prison because we ratted him out, what do you think all of the other Death Eaters in this school will do? They'll target us, Padfoot."
"They already target us," Sirius growled, gesturing to the girl in his arms as he began to climb a staircase. Behind them, they heard an audible, "ouch!" James turned to see Remus repeatedly running into a suit of armor.
"Oi! Moony! This way! Follow my voice or something," James called to him. Remus turned toward James and began walking. He reached the steps, tripped, and began climbing them on his hands and knees. James sighed. "Maybe they do a bit. But if we get one of them sent to Azkaban, they're going to come after us big time. We might not be cowards, but those Snakes and Eagles are a patient and cunning lot. You know as well as I do they would do something particularly nasty to the unconscious girl you're carrying. How would you feel if they spiked her tea with a poison? Poisons are hard to trace, the culprit would probably never be caught and Luna would be dead all because you went running to the professors the moment someone shot an Unforgivable Curse your way. What are you going to do when we're in The Order, mate? We're joining as soon as we graduate. We'll be facing Death Eaters daily, and guess what? They've got nastier things up their sleeves than the Cruciatus Curse."
Sirius considered the wisdom of his best friend's words for a while before replying, "I reckon you're right. We'll just tell Promfrey that we don't know what she was hit with or who did it."
Before James could reply, several girly shrieks reached his ears. Sirius and James spun around. Remus was nowhere to be seen, but the door to the girl's toilet was open and they could hear Remus saying, "Whoopsies."
James charged into the lavatory saying, "Sorry, ladies, excuse us, poor bloke has been Confunded, continue with your business," and he yanked Remus out of the bathroom. With a shake of his head, James proceeded to frog-march Remus the rest of the way to the Hospital Wing with Sirius right beside them.
Sirius gave a wide yawn and stretched. It was very late into the night. Normally he would try counting Hippogriffs to relax his mind, but he knew that wouldn't work tonight. He would make sure that Raleigh paid for what he did, even if it was justice delivered by his own hand than the hand of the Hogwarts Staff. Without even having realized it, he had fallen asleep.
…..
"Mr. Black," the reprimand is what woke him. Madam Pomfrey looked positively livid. Sirius looked down at himself and realized the Cloak had slipped off of him while he had slept. Well damn.
"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey," he said in what he obviously thought was a winning voice.
"You know perfectly well that you have broken several school rules! Visiting patients after hours, sleeping in a bed with a patient, leaving the Hospital Wing without my authorization, shall I go on?"
"Please do," said Sirius, "I always enjoy hearing an oral recount of my achievements."
"Mr. Black, if you are not out of my sight within the next ten seconds, I will give you a detention!"
"But I thought you just said that I was in trouble for leaving the Hospital Wing? Now you want me to leave?" Sirius was shocked that Luna hadn't woken up. Then his thoughts went to the sleeping potion she had taken the previous night. Of course it would knock out a small thing like Luna for all night and at least half of the day.
Truthfully, he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to be there when she woke up. Even though they had only shared a few heated kisses the previous night, he felt like it had been an exceptionally intimate and vulnerable time for both of them. She had finally given in and let herself feel something for him. Which had only confirmed his suspicions that she had previously been trying to ignore her feelings for him; but why?
More important than anything to him was the fact that she had asked him to stay. If he had only kept a better grip on that blasted Cloak while he had slept! "OUT!" yelled Madam Pomfrey. Sirius stood, "Alright, but I'll be back at the start of visiting hours, which will be when, exactly?" He had never paid any attention to the rules before and truthfully had no idea when he was allowed and not allowed to visit people in the Hospital Wing.
"Noon," she replied tersely. Attempting to stay on her good side at least a little bit, Sirius nodded, thanked her, and scampered. He figured it was in his best interest to continue sleeping up in his dormitory but only after setting his alarm clock for quarter to noon so he would be there as soon as he could to see her.
…
Disappointed. That was the best word she could think of to describe how she was feeling when she woke up. Sirius wasn't there. Then she reprimanded herself silently for being so selfish. She shouldn't want him there. Knowing that she needed to study for the Charms quiz coming up, she was dismissed by Madam Pomfrey after a thorough inspection and went quickly to the library.
Her Charms textbook was up in the dormitory but she wasn't ready to face Sirius yet. She was browsing the library aisles at her leisure, every once in a while pulling a book from the shelf to read the description on the back and then replacing the book. For some reason, nothing was catching her interest that day.
She had been stuck in this time for weeks now. Weeks! How long did it take to create a time travel device for Godric's sake? Still, she was content. She wouldn't even mind being stuck here forever except for the small fact that she missed her family. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of her father and mother; of her brothers and cousins and aunts and uncles.
Brushing the tears away with the back of her hand, she sniffled and shoved a book back into its place hard. A pale hand came out of nowhere, wrapped around her wrist and spun her around. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt the tip of a wand dig into her neck.
"Sev-Severus?" she stuttered in surprise, her eyes widening in surprise at this harsh greeting.
"You," he spat venomously, "are a lying little coward!"
"What?"
"I've been doing some research," he sneered, "I've been using every piece of information I have gleaned from you to try to determine what was different about you. Do you know what my research turned up? Absolutely nothing. There is no record of any Granger having ever been in the auror office, yet you claimed your father was an auror; there aren't even any records of there being a wizard with the surname of Granger who could possibly be your father. Furthermore, there have been absolutely no recent deaths involving a married witch and wizard. In addition, there is no record of someone by the name of Lily Luna Granger even existing at all. Curious, I went one step further. I took a strand of your hair and concocted a powerful potion that would connect your DNA with any surviving wizard relatives and guess what I discovered? You're very closely related to Potter!"
Not knowing what to say in response, she blinked at him, still feeling his wand tip pressing into her throat, "I'm sorry, Severus, but I wasn't supposed to tell anyone."
"Tell anyone what?" he hissed.
"I'm not Lily Luna Granger," she said quietly, "my name is Lily Luna Potter."
"So, what? Are you some estranged love child of Potter's father? Is he your half-brother?"
"Actually," she said slowly, still deliberating. Should she tell him the truth? Would he believe her? What other explanation was there? He already knew more than enough to realize that there was no reasonable explanation for anything. If she was making a mistake in telling him this, she or Dumbledore could always obliviate him later. "I'm his granddaughter," she finished.
Severus laughed, actually chuckled and said, "That's insane. I'm not that dimwitted, it is obvious that that is a rather weak lie. Despite the fact that your explanation makes no sense, it is also impossible. If it were true, then the only way you could possibly be here would be time travel, which does not exist."
"Well it doesn't exist now," she said sharply, "but it does in the future."
"Alright then," he challenged, "if you're being honest, then you wouldn't mind taking a few sips of this, would you?" he held up a small vial full to the brim with a clear liquid. Severus pulled out the stopper and tilted it toward her lips.
"Veritaserum," she whispered, "the truth potion." Severus nodded and her eyes blazed. She brought her hand up, took hold of the vial, and instead of taking a mere sip, which would have sufficed, downed every last drop.
"What is your real name?"
"Lily Luna Potter."
"Who are your parents?"
"Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley Potter."
Severus' eyes widened slightly; he knew of the Weasleys. They were a pureblood family who he was distantly related to through his mother's side. "Who are your grandparents?" he asked flatly.
Luna frowned, "Sev, you're not going to like-"
"Who," he interrupted, "are your grandparents?"
"On my mother's side, my grandparents are Arthur and Molly Weasley. On my father's side, my grandparents are James and Lily Potter."
"Lily?" the name escaped his lips sounding like a strange mix between a plea, a sob, and a hiss, "My Lily? Lily Evans?"
"Yes."
"How is she in your time? Is she happy and safe?" Those were his main concerns, really. He knew that Lily would never be his, and he had accepted that. One thing he would not accept, however, was if she were being mistreated by Potter.
"She's dead," Luna whispered, watching the horror creep into his expression.
"How? When?"
"Voldemort murdered her personally, when my father was a baby. Only a few short years from now."
"No! I will not allow that to happen!"
"It's inevitable," she knew as she spoke this, it was truth. No matter what Severus Snape did, the outcome would be the same.
"I will make sure it doesn't happen," he insisted.
"You're already a Death Eater, aren't you?" she asked quietly. His eyes flickered with surprise and he nodded slowly, tugging at his robes to reveal his Dark Mark, branded into his forearm. Luna tentatively reached forward, letting her fingers graze across it lightly. An involuntary shiver raked her body and she backed away from him. A part of her wished she had never seen it. The sight of it disgusted her. She snapped her eyes back up to his.
"When He decides to go after her, I will ask him to spare her."
"Why are you a Death Eater, Severus?"
The question surprised him, and in his surprise, he answered truthfully, "The power. The only two things I have ever desired are power and Lily Evans. The moment I knew that Lily was out of my reach, power was all I had left. The Dark Lord has given me a chance to expand my powers, he has given me power, and if there comes a time where he desires to kill Lily Evans, I will use that power to stop him."
Luna knew this story too well, she had heard it many times. The way Severus Snape had pleaded with his master to leave the woman unharmed; kill the husband and child if he must, but leave Lily alone. Voldemort had decided to grant Severus' request, because he had always been a faithful servant, but she had left him no other choice. Lily Evans Potter was the only thing standing between him and his biggest threat.
Severus Snape would even go so far as to go running to Albus Dumbledore to beg him to protect Lily, but that wouldn't work either. Yes, Severus would do everything in his power to keep Lily Evans safe, but in the end, it wouldn't be enough. That was when realization struck Luna; nothing she did in the past would affect her future because she had already been here.
For a moment, this realization made her dizzy and she slid down the bookcase behind her, until her bottom hit the floor and she placed her head into her hands. She was the reason why Severus would go so crazy when he heard the Dark Lord was after the Potters, he would remember her words saying that Voldemort would kill Lily and would try to intervene to save her.
"You're from the future?" he asked quietly, still standing above her, not looking at her.
"Yes," she whispered.
"Please tell me that I am also dead in your time? I do not wish to live in a world where she is gone."
"Yes, you are also dead."
He nodded, accepting his fate far easier than he had accepted the fate of the woman he loved. "She is all that I have ever had," tears leaked out of his eyes, and slowly, he knelt and then sat beside her on the floor of the library, "Lily Evans was my best friend for many years. My only true friend that I've ever had, and I lost her. If I hadn't called her a 'mudblood' that day, we would have stayed friends."
Luna didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. Severus continued, "Potter wouldn't stand a chance at protecting her against the Dark Lord, but I would. I would have been able to protect her," it was weird for Luna to hear Severus talking about the future as if it were already his past.
"Maybe so," Luna consented, "but there's no use dwelling on it, okay?"
"How do you know about me?"
"What?"
"I must be at least somewhat significant in your life. Your first day here, you sought me out to speak with me, and then after that you have attempted to befriend me. What am I to you in the future, Luna?"
Sighing, she opened her mouth to lie, or at the very least tell him she could not say, but the truth potion was still coursing strong in her veins and without her consent, the truth slipped from her lips, "You were a professor at Hogwarts after her death, you became a spy for Dumbledore, you changed sides in the Wizard War. You saved my father's life on more than one occasion, keeping him safe because he was Lily's son, even though you hate him for also being Potter's son. You're a hero in my time, and my older brother is actually named after you."
Severus snorted, "Potter's grandson is named after me?"
"Yes."
"Bloody hell, I find that both ironic and amusing. If only he knew."
"Come on," Luna stood and offered her hand to her friend, "it's inadvisable for you to know too much about your own future, and I don't want to tell you anymore, let's just get to work on studying for that Charms quiz, okay?"
Smiling, and deciding to live in the present and worry about the future…well…later, he took her hand and together, the two of them made their way to an empty table, deposited their schoolbooks and began to study.
…
When Luna inevitably ran into Sirius that evening at dinner he was beside himself with worry. Apparently he had gone to the infirmary to visit her but she had already been released. Just as he feared, Luna was back to being cold with him and he couldn't understand why. He somehow managed to get her to sit between himself and James.
"Well, Granger," said James loudly at the Gryffindor table as they ate, "I heard you had a nice snog with Padfoot."
Luna blushed, "Yes, well, to be fair, I was delirious from the potions."
"That's funny, I didn't see Pomfrey give you anything while I was in there," said James.
"Prongs," Sirius warned.
"Sorry, mate, I didn't realize it was such a touchy subject. You would think she would be proud of snogging such a fine upstanding wizard."
"Black? A fine upstanding wizard you say?" Lily Evans jumped into the conversation, "As Luna's friend I should be keeping her away from blokes like you two! Remus is the only one of you who even comes close to qualifying as a 'fine upstanding wizard' and he is happily taken."
"Not to mention," interjected Mary, "that after the plethora of broom closets you've been caught in with different girls, we're not too keen on believing that you're entirely reformed."
"That's not fair," defended James, "he hadn't even met Luna when he was with those other birds. Maybe she has him as captivated as you have me, Evans," James winked at her. Lily Evans flung a spoonful of pudding at James. It hit him right on the nose and splattered so that some got on Luna's cheek also.
Everyone around the table burst into laughter. "Lily!" whined Luna, "It's in my hair, you twat!"
"And on your face," noted Alice with a smirk.
"I'll get that," Sirius leaned over and very deliberately licked her face, from her jaw all the way up to her temple. Luna sat there frozen. Had he really just done that? "Mmm," he said with relish, "tastes better than usual. Oh, there's still a bit on your lips, here let me-"
He leaned forward, meaning to kiss her, but Luna jumped to her feet and stumbled in her hurried attempt to get over the bench she was sitting on. "I'm-I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I just…I can't." and she hurried up to Gryffindor Tower. She threw herself onto her bed and screamed into her pillows. Why did she have to be stuck here? Why did she have to have feelings for him? Most importantly, how much longer could she deny to herself that she was in love with him?
…..
Two weeks. As it turned out, it took two weeks before she was able to admit to herself that she was in love. Two weeks of Sirius attempting to engage her in conversations. Two weeks of repeatedly dreaming about the kisses they had shared. Two weeks of watching him and day-dreaming about what he would look like without his clothes on. Two weeks of butterflies in her stomach and heart pounding thoughts.
Minerva McGonagall was standing in front of the window in her office reading the Daily Prophet when a knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in," she said immediately. The door swung forward slowly, to reveal the new girl. Lily Granger. The girl was standing in the doorway, hugging herself timidly. "Is something wrong, dear?"
"Oh, Aunt Minnie!" Luna ran to the woman and threw her arms around her. Minerva was so startled she dropped her newspaper and tentatively hugged her back. Suddenly she started rambling, "I don't know what to do or who else to talk to and I just needed you. I miss my family and friends so much and you're the only person around here who I really know and trust."
"Me?" she inquired suspiciously, "why me?"
"You're really close to my family," Luna wiped at her eyes as tears leaked out of them, "really close to me in particular. But to be fair, you were close to my brother, too."
"Dear," Minerva looked uncomfortable, "I'm not supposed to know too much about the future, remember? Perhaps it would be best if you went back to Gryffindor Tower and-"
"No! You don't understand. I need you. I need to talk to you," Luna looked up at the woman through a film of tears and realized that despite the fact that she knew this woman, this woman did not know her. It was an awful feeling. Luna would have to say something to convince her 'Aunt Minnie' to trust her. "Dougal McGregor," it was a bit of a low blow, and Luna knew it, but she couldn't think of anything else that would convince this witch how much Luna would mean to her one day.
Minerva clutched at her throat, her eyes bulging and her face draining of colour. "What did you say?"
"You loved him," said Luna quietly, "but he was a muggle. In the end you chose to live in the Wizard World instead of sacrificing it for him. It was a very brave, but also very hard, decision for you to make."
"How did you…"
"You told me about it once," said Luna, a fire starting in her eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago, "and I brought it up now because you faced the same dilemma that I'm facing. Only, I'm not going to make the right decision, Aunt Minnie. I'm going to make the wrong decision and I'm going to love every minute of it."
"I don't understand."
"I'm in love," said Luna, stretching her arms out wide and smiling, "I've been here for seven weeks now and Merlin knows I've done my best to ignore him, but I love him! Even though I know it's wrong, even though I know it will never work out, I'm done trying to fight it!"
"Why did I tell you about – about Dougal?"
"I wasn't really sure at the time, but now I think it might be because you always knew I would be coming back to this time and you wanted to give me all the advice you could without saying directly what you meant. Also, we're very close. Even though you've retired from Hogwarts, I come visit you often, you live in Hogsmeade."
"Miss Granger! You need to stop telling me these things," Professor McGonagall was getting over her initial shock. She pulled herself up to her full height and squared her shoulders.
"Please," Luna pleaded, "I need your help and you're the only person here that I trust. I want to tell you everything. You're the smartest witch I know. Well, you and my Aunt Hermione, but Aunt Hermione's not here. I know that you are clever enough to keep everything I tell you a secret and that it will not affect any decisions you make in the future. I trust you and now you need to trust me."
The older witch peered down at the younger witch over the tops of her square spectacles and studied her closely. Her eyes were honest, desperate, and so very lonely. Minerva's heart went out to the girl. How terrible it must be to have to keep secrets from everyone all the time. "Alright," she finally said, "you can talk with me."
Luna hugged her again and immediately started talking, "My name is Lily Luna Potter. James Potter marries Lily Evans," Minerva smirked at that, imagining the two of them together, it was a humorous idea indeed. "They have a son, Harry James Potter, who is my father. I have an older brother, James Sirius Potter, who is just like my grandfather," Luna smiled, "my next brother is Albus Severus Potter. My dad, Harry, was really close to Professor Dumbledore."
"As amusing as your family tree is, what relevance is it?"
"None, really, I just thought you might like to know. Now, onto the more important things. My father, Harry James Potter, is the wizard who finally defeats Lord Voldemort." Minerva flinched at the use of Voldemort's name, but Luna continued on as if she hadn't noticed, "There will be a time when it appears that the Dark Lord is gone. But he's not. He comes back, even more powerful than he was before, he takes over the Ministry, he takes over Hogwarts, and finally my father stops him. You were there. Or, I guess I should say you will be there when that happens. You're really close to my dad, too."
"Gracious," she sank into the armchair behind her desk, "I can't believe…he becomes so powerful."
"Well now you know," said Luna sternly, "I'm sure you better understand why I am struggling so much here. Voldemort is still at large; he was defeated a decade before I was born! Then there's the fact that I am looking daily at people who I know are dead in my own time. Worse than that, I know how and when they die. It's terrible. I've become best friends with my grandmother and it hurts so much to know that when I'm back in my own time she won't be there."
"You mentioned a boy. You said you were in love?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she gave a sad smile, "Sirius Black. He's gone in my time, too," she choked back a sob, "I know that eventually I will go home and he won't be there, and it kills me, Aunt Minnie, it kills me. But I don't even care. I want him more than I've ever wanted anyone or anything in my entire life. I love him more than anything in the world."
"And despite the fact that you know how confusing and convoluted it would be, you are going to proceed in your endeavor to have a relationship with him?"
"Absolutely."
Minerva smiled, "I wish you the best of luck, Miss Potter. Merlin knows if there's a girl in the world who could tame that boy, it would be a Potter," she chuckled softly.
"By the way, you were the one who taught me human transfiguration. A few weeks ago, in class, with the cows," Luna had the decency to blush in an ashamed way, "I suppose you could say I was showing off."
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"Not that I can think of, but I'll be sure to let you know if there is. Merlin, it feels good to talk to someone about all of this," Luna expelled a breath of air, blowing her dark hair out of her eyes and pulled the strap of her bag more securely onto her shoulder.
She turned to leave, but just as she reached the door she heard McGonagall say behind her, "I'm sure your parents, and your grandparents, would be exceptionally proud of the young woman you have become, Lily."
Without responding, Luna continued on her way out of the office.
…
Sirius was sitting in James's favorite squashy red armchair by the fire and he was in a rather tetchy mood. The other Marauders knew it was because of Luna. Apparently she had snogged him the night she was in the hospital but had been ardently ignoring him ever since. He had begrudgingly paid ten galleons to James as he had not been able to convince Luna to go on a date with him before the end of the month, but he still hadn't given up.
James and Lily Evans were becoming friendlier with each other though, and Sirius knew it was only a matter of time before they would be a couple. Remus and Mary were the happy lovebirds of Gryffindor Tower and while Sirius was happy for them, he was also filled with jealousy.
Currently, James and Lily were playing an exceptionally loud game of Wizard's Chess, Peter was reading his Transfiguration notes, Remus was on the couch with Mary in his lap, the two of them whispering to each other and occasionally kissing, and Alice was curled on the end of the couch writing a letter to Frank. Sirius paused to note how lucky he was to have such wonderful friends and anger burned in him again as he thought of the Death Eaters who believed such people were beneath them. As if Lily Evans, a muggle-born, was any less of a person than Mary or Alice who were both purebloods.
He stretched his lanky length out on the chair, letting his head loll back. Luna wasn't in the room. Whenever she was in the same room as him he knew it. Before he could even wonder where she was, the Portrait Hole swung open and she clambered in, her raven hair swaying around her hips. Her book bag dropped to the floor and Sirius let his eyes fall on her beautiful face. There was a light blush on her cheeks and she looked startled.
"Sirius Black," she called out loudly and he started at hearing his name being called from her lips. She didn't look happy but she didn't look upset either. The look on her face could only be described as determined.
"Yes?" he replied trying to sound casual. Cautiously he got to his feet and stood facing her. Everyone in the common room was looking at the two of them now.
"Damn it!" she screamed at him angrily, her tiny hands balled into fists at her sides, "I didn't want this to happen!" she was still yelling, and it was obviously frightening several of the first years, "I told you to stay away from me! I told you that you were dangerous!" her voice was shaking and she was starting to cry, "But no! Not you, Black, you decided to blunder on ahead despite my warnings!"
To his shock, she began picking up random objects and throw them at him. An ink well, a quill, two rolls of parchment, even her own shoe, whizzed by him before she finally caught him in the chest with a cushion she had pulled off of the couch. Sirius rushed to her, to stop her from destroying the common room further. He wrapped his hands around her tightly, trying hard not to think about how wonderful she felt in his arms. Her hands were fists again, and they were pounding on his chest. He was sure he would have bruises there later but he couldn't find it in himself to care about that.
"I didn't want to fall in love with you!" she cried, "but I did," she sobbed, "I did. Sirius Orion Black, I love you, and Merlin help me, I'm a fool, but I love you."
Then they were kissing. There was a shocked silence form their avid audience, then a soft whistle, a few cheers, and he heard a distinct, "finally," from an exasperated James. The kiss wasn't like the ones they had shared before. There wasn't any heated fire in these kisses. There was desperation and fear and her lips were wet from her tears. Sirius didn't know why she had reacted this way. He didn't know why she was acting like a crazy bird just because she was in love, but his heart was so full of joy he didn't want to look too deeply into the issue at the moment.
He tried to put everything he was feeling into that kiss; his joy, his bewilderment, his commitment to her, and most importantly, the fact that he loved her, too. When they finally broke apart, many glorious minutes later, she wasn't crying anymore. As a matter of fact she looked just as happy as he felt. Trying to lessen the tension a bit, he brought his hand up to tug on a lock of her hair, as he often did, and asked with a smirk, "Want to go to Hogsmeade with me, Granger?"
Luna laughed, "Absolutely."
…..
"I heard you're dating Black now," commented Severus Snape as he and Luna sat in the library the following evening, working on an essay for McGonagall.
"Yes," she said with a smile, "just happened last night."
"Like grandmother like granddaughter I guess," he quipped darkly, "falling for jackasses."
Luna punched his shoulder, "James and Sirius are not jackasses, Severus. I know you don't get along with them, but you get along with me, don't you?"
"A little," he consented, "but that's only because now you're actually being honest with me about a few things. What are you going to do when you have to go back home?"
"I don't know," she told him honestly, "and quite frankly, I don't want to think about that right now if you don't mind."
"You'll have to think about it eventually, though. As much as I hate the bloke, I have grown a bit fond of you over the past few weeks. I don't want to see you get hurt. Not just because Lily is your grandmother, either, but because I actually think of you as a friend."
"You still hiding our friendship from your other friends?"
"Yes," his reply was terse, "how could I possibly explain to them why I'm friends with a Gryffindor? Even more, how could I possibly explain to them that I'm friends with Sirius Black's girlfriend?" he made a face of disgust.
"I understand. It's not like you can tell them that I'm from the future and you're only friends with me to glean pertinent information that might be important to the Dark Lord," she said mockingly.
Severus scowled, "I'm doing no such thing. If that's what I was after, I would have asked you all of those questions while you were under the influence of Veritaserum. But I didn't. Because I am wise enough to understand that there are some mysteries better left to the future."
"Sirius still wants revenge on Raleigh for cursing me," she said quietly as she gingerly touched her abdomen where the curse had struck her.
"I don't blame him," said Severus curtly.
"To think," she continued as if he hadn't spoken, "this is what you all deal with on a daily basis. I had no idea. I've never been hit with a serious curse before. A few minor hexes from my cousins or brothers, a few magical accidents even, but to have someone try to really hurt me so badly. It was scarier than I thought it would be," she said thoughtfully.
"You get used to it," his tone was hard.
She frowned, "You shouldn't have to."
….
A/N: I'm really excited that Luna and Sirius are a "couple" now. The story can get rolling a bit more. I worry that my readers might get a little bored with the story if they feel like the "climax" of the story is supposed to be Luna and Sirius falling in love, but this is still just the beginning. I'm debating on putting a quick outline of my story in an author's note so you have a good idea of what to expect but without any spoilers. Or I could just keep everything a surprise. What do you think? Do you want a really short outline or do you want to be surprised? Let me know!
Yours,
MofDA