"I can't believe you told that idiot." Severus wasn't even looking at her. No, instead he was glaring at his Potions essay.
Luna yawned and leaned back in her chair. "Like you, he figured it out for himself."
"Took him long enough."
"Be nice," Luna wasn't looking at him, either. Her eyes were scanning the shelves of books on either side of where they sat at their usual table in the back of the library.
"They won't try anything while I'm with you," his words were whispered, but she caught them all clearly. The Death Eaters she had offended at the beginning of term were almost constantly stalking around her. She knew they were there now, hiding just out of her sight, behind the stacks of books.
Severus muttered a quiet muffliato Charm to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. "Something's bothering you. What is it?" He set his quill down and quirked his head to the side as he finally let his gaze fall on her.
"How could you tell?"
"As skilled as you are at Occlumency, I can still get a general feeling off of you." His eyebrows furrowed together in concern and concentration. Luna met his eyes steadily.
"Sirius doesn't know...everything. Just the basics," her words came out rushed together, but she could tell as his frown deepened that he understood her perfectly. "I'm a time traveling witch from the future. A future in which he is deceased."
"Ah," he drawled with smug superiorness. "You're worried about him finding out that you're the granddaughter of his best mate. In general, nothing would turn a bloke off more than knowing he was shagging a bird who was descended from James Potter. However, this is Black we're talking about. He's a disgusting tosser who would probably find some twisted pleasure in knowing he was bedding someone who was forbidden on so many levels."
"Shut up, Sev!" Luna punched his arm hard but he was still chuckling. "He's not a pervert like that! And we're not having sex! I'm worried he'll be disgusted by me once he finds out."
"Honestly, Potter," he sneered at her, "I'm not sure whether to comfort you as your friend or to take this opportunity to insult my enemies."
"Severus," she sighed, "you're the only friend I have here who knows the truth. I need you to be here for me. Please."
"God damn it, wench! What is it with you and Lily that always has me so fucking willing to do whatever you ask?" his words were growled, but there was no venom in his expression.
"We're just gifted that way. People love us. Must run in the family." she quipped.
"I know that I tease you about resembling James so much, but there must be some of Lily in you, too, because nobody else in the world has ever affected me the way you two have."
As if on cue, Lily Evans appeared with James and Sirius. Noticing at once who Luna was with, Lily stopped short and said stiffly, "Severus."
"Lily." he inclined his head politely, but the anguish in his eyes was obvious to both Lily and Luna in that moment.
It was James who cleared his throat and said in the most 'peace making' voice he could muster, "Luna, we were wondering if you wanted to go down to the match with us? Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw. Should be brutal."
"Ignoring me, Potter?" Severus inquired.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Snape," said James mockingly, "I would have invited you to come with us, you see, it's just that I was concerned none of us would be able to see the match past that giant nose of yours."
It was a moment that James Potter, Severus Snape, and Sirius Black would all three remember for the rest of their lives. Because it was in that moment that Lily Evans and Luna Granger showed the most resemblance. In identical movements, they both spun toward James, glaring at him in unison.
Feeling rather caught off guard, James frowned and blinked rapidly as he glanced between his girlfriend and Luna. Despite the fact that they looked almost nothing alike, that one glare had hidden in it a thousand tiny similarities.
Sirius looked like he'd been clubbed in the back of the head and Severus was momentarily breathless. Completely oblivious to the boys's reactions, both girls said at the same time in the same bloody way, "James Harold Potter! Don't you dare-"
They stopped in surprise and turned to each other before bursting into laughter together. "That was scary," said Sirius to James. James nodded in agreement.
Still smiling, Luna said, "Yes, I'll come to the match, just let me grab my things."
...
Regulus Black was amongst the group of boys who were still waiting for a good opportunity to attack Luna Granger, Lily Evans, or Mary MacDonald. It would have been idiotic for them to attack one of the Marauders and hurting one of their girlfriends would be worse than any hex or curse that was thrown directly at them.
However, Regulus also had his own personal vendetta against Granger. As much as he sometimes tried not to, he really did love his older brother. It was with a heavy heart that Regulus contemplated the path his brother set himself on. Gryffindor. Blood Traitor. Inevitably, eventually, member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Somewhere deep down Regulus always believed that Sirius would see the error of his ways and come back groveling at his parent's feet, begging for their forgiveness.
But damn it, he really was head over heels for that stupid half-blood bint. If Regulus couldn't get Sirius to drop that fucking slag then he would never have his brother back.
He was there, in the library, while Luna studied with Severus. Everyone in their group were beyond exasperation at Severus Snape. If he weren't so loyal to them, and to the Dark Lord, they would have been concerned. It was no secret that Lily Evans had been his best friend and object of his affection their first five years of school.
Now it was Luna Granger. But there were differences. For one, Severus never sought her out, she always sought him out. Then there was the fact that Severus was very obviously not interested in a romantic relationship with her. But Sirius was jealous and his brother could tell. When Sirius, James, and Lily approached the studying duo Regulus stood up a little straighter. The glint in his brother's eyes proved his theory.
Even though Sev and Granger were clearly just friends, Sirius was jealous. Hardly daring to believe his luck, Regulus had rushed out of the library, away from his friends, so that he could form his plans of revenge.
...
"Sirius," Regulus approached the Gryffindor table with trepidation. His eyes were constantly scanning his surroundings to make sure nobody was trying to hex him as he spoke to his brother.
"Regulus," said Sirius in a clipped tone.
"I got an owl from Mum asking if you'd be home for Christmas this year," it was a lie, but a good one. Regulus hadn't received any such letter from their mother.
"I hope you replied telling her that I already have plans to spend Christmas with my real family."
Regulus's gaze flicked up and saw Mulciber inching toward the Gryffindor table, vial of potion in hand. Steeling himself to cause a scene, he sucked in a big breath of air and yelled loudly, "I'M YOUR BROTHER, SIRIUS ORION BLACK! NOT JAMES FUCKING POTTER!"
His words had the desired effect. Every head in the Great Hall turned to look at him in shock. Sirius gaped at him for a moment and Mulciber used the distraction to pour the contents of the potions bottle into Luna's glass of pumpkin juice. "JAMES IS MORE OF A BROTHER TO ME THAN YOU, YOU IGNORANT TOSSER!"
Knowing the job was done, Regulus was anxious to put an end to this confrontation. "If that's how you feel, then FUCK you!" and he stormed off.
"What the hell was that about?" grumbled James as he raked a hand through his hair.
"Beats me," Sirius shrugged with a frown.
Luna gave him a small smile and said, "Maybe you should talk to him later, yeah? No matter what he's done or what he believes in, he's still your little brother, Sirius."
She tipped her glass up and drained it in a few gulps.
...
Immediately after finishing her meal, Luna made her way to the library. Since she had abandoned their study session earlier that morning she was on her way to finish that essay with Severus.
As she walked through the quiet Hogwarts corridors, her thoughts began to wander. Severus Snape. So much different than she had imagined. He was so distant and cold. Yet also handsome. Brave. Powerful. She shivered.
Yes, she had to admit all of those things were accurate assessments of him. His hair was lanky, it was true, but it wasn't greasy, just silky. And okay, maybe his nose was just a bit big, but aside from that his face was perfect. He had a strong defined jaw, perfect cheek bones, deep dark (almost black) eyes that were windows into his very soul.
Luna's steps quickened as she became increasingly more anxious to see him. He was intelligent, too. So intelligent. Brave. And he always smelled deliciously like ink and parchment. Images crept into her mind of Severus bent over his cauldron in Potions class or his manly supple fingers gliding across the pages of a book as he read.
Any girl would be lucky to have him. Why didn't every girl want him? Didn't they see him the way she did? Didn't they realize just how perfect he was? By the time she reached the library she wouldn't have been able to pick Sirius Black out of a crowd. Severus Snape was the only man on her mind.
He was sitting in a chair toward the back corner of the library. A large tome was hiding his face from her view, but she knew it was him. Drawn to him as if by an invisible force her pace slowed and each step felt heavy.
"Hullo," she breathed the word.
He lowered the book just enough to see over the top of it and quirked an eyebrow at her. That was usually as close to a smile as he could muster. At the moment she found it to be an endearing gesture. "You're early," he said.
"I couldn't wait to see you," she admitted as she blushed.
Severus set the heavy book down onto the table with a soft thud and studied her carefully. Something wasn't right with this. Luna never blushed. "What has gotten into you?"
"Bravery."
"Bravery? Haven't you been insisting for the past few months that you're full of bravery already?"
"I meant bravery to tell you how I truly feel. I...I'm in love with you, Severus. I can't stop thinking about you and I want to be with you all the time and I was practically running the whole way here just to be able to see you sooner."
"I see," Severus stroked his chin thoughtfully while she stared at him with wide eyes and a heaving chest. He had reached a point where he trusted and believed the girl before him. However, something wasn't quite adding up.
Before he could figure out what that something was, she leaned down to kiss him. Realizing her intent just a moment before their lips met, he turned his head to the side so she kissed the corner of his mouth. "You can't say that you don't feel anything for me, too," she sounded vulnerable.
"I don't think that you're in your right mind, Luna," he growled.
"I love it when you speak in that tone. It's so sexy," she stepped up to him so that her legs were on either side of his, straddling him as he sat in the library chair.
"Would you trust me enough to allow me to check your words with a glimpse into your mind?"
Luna nodded without any hesitation. Sighing, Severus prodded at the barriers around her mind and with fascination noticed just how intricate and advanced her defenses were. She was a Master Occlumens. He sifted through her mind briefly. He knew it could sometimes be a painful experience and he did his best to just skim over things and search for what he was looking for.
Two things became shockingly obvious to him. The first was that she was definitely not under the Imperius Curse, for there was not a trace of another's mind or will influencing her own. The second thing was that she was, to her knowledge, telling him the truth.
If Luna was not Impurised then the only other possibility was that she had been slipped a love potion. As he sifted through her thoughts and memories and began contemplation of the possibility of a love potion, Luna had made quick work of loosening his tie and sucking on his neck. To be honest he'd barely noticed.
"Stop that," he snapped quickly.
"I'm-I'm sorry," she stuttered, "I want to so badly. Please, Sev?" Damn those pleading eyes! He jerked his head in acknowledgement and Luna resumed kissing her way from his ear down his jaw.
Again his thoughts were elsewhere. The only people he knew who would be up to brewing a love potion had no motive or means to do this. None of the Gryffindors would dare do this to Luna or Sirius. None of the Slytherins would dare do this to Severus. None of the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs had any motive.
The only people who came to mind who would have the aptitude for brewing such a potion aside from Severus himself was Lily Evans, James Potter, Remus Lupin, probably Sirius Black, a select few number of Ravenclaws, a girl in his dorm he'd never spoken to, and perhaps Regulus Black. But none of those were real possibilities because he couldn't think of a damn motive they might have.
With all of those options eliminated, the only logical conclusion to draw was that Luna Potter honestly wanted him. Either that or he'd miscalculated something. At that precise moment Luna sat herself down onto his lap, with her legs wrapped around him, and rocked her hips against his growing erection.
A groan slipped between his lips as his attention snapped immediately back to the situation at hand. "I don't love you," he told her bluntly, "I don't even fancy you. You're nothing more to me than an annoying eccentric friend who reminds me just a little too much of James Potter and not enough of Lily Evans."
"Even if you feel that way now," she whispered, "you might not always. Maybe I can make you fall in love with me, Severus. Let me at least try," her hands were working on the top few buttons of his shirt.
"If we continue what's happening now, I can promise you that sex won't make me love you. I'm far from being a virgin, Potter, so don't think I'm going to start trailing after you like a love-sick puppy if I fuck you."
"I know that, Sev. I think that we've gotten close enough the past few months for me to know a little bit about your personality. I know that shagging won't force any emotions on you, but I still want to do it. I want you so badly I can't stand it."
Her hands pulled open his now unbuttoned shirt to reveal his bare chest. It wasn't muscular like Sirius's, but it was flat and smooth, with a small patch of dark hair in the center. She raked her nails lightly down his chest and used this distraction to finally connect their lips.
The kiss was passionate. It was so sudden and raw that he couldn't help but respond to it. Before he knew what was happening, he was kissing her back. She was an excellent snog and Severus eagerly showed off his own skills, matching her nip for nip and lick for lick.
Severus could think of no objections to this. He knew she wasn't cursed, and the chances of her being under the effects of a love potion were slim, so why not enjoy this? Giving in with a low grunt, he slid his hands under her skirt to grasp her arse and pull her harder against him.
Not to mention, there was a part of him that was deeply satisfied at the possibility of shagging this girl for three twisted reasons. One was that she was the girlfriend of Sirius Black and he hated Black. Second, she was the granddaughter of Potter and he hated Potter. Third, she was the granddaughter of Lily and this would be as close as he would ever get to being with his Lily.
...
"Luna off studying with Snivellus?" James asked with distaste.
"Yeah, I reckon so. She mentioned earlier that they were going to work on their Potions essays together," Sirius scratched the back of his head as he wondered why the hell his girlfriend was trying so hard to befriend the Dark Slytherin.
"Sirius!"
Both boys turned at the shout and saw Remus Lupin running toward them panting, reaching a hand out, with horror etched on his face. "What's up, Moony?"
"I just came from the kitchens," he said between pants as he regained his breath. He laid a hand on Sirius's shoulder to support himself, "the House Elves called me down there, seeing as how I'm Head Boy and a Gryffindor..."
"Get to the point," said James impatiently.
"The House Elves...they found traces of an illegal potion in Luna's goblet from dinner tonight."
"WHAT?" Sirius bellowed as he grabbed Remus by the upper arms. "What potion, Moony?"
"Stop shaking me, Padfoot! Bloody hell! It was a love potion. But not just any love potion. It was Amortentia, in it's undiluted form. I don't know who it was supposed to make her fall in love with, Sirius, but if the potion was undiluted..."
"Oh fucking hell," James clapped a hand to his forehead in understanding as Sirius's mouth dropped open in disbelief, "Sirius, we have to find her before she finds whatever bloke's essence was in that potion! If she finds him, she'll jump his bones! Poor sod won't have a chance if she tries to seduce him!"
"Do you have an antidote?" Sirius's question was barely above a whisper as he looked back and forth between his friends.
"Slughorn will," said Remus assuredly.
"Find him," said Sirius, "James and I will look for Luna, you find Slughorn! Run, for fuck's sake, Lupin, run!"
As Remus tore off down the corridor, Sirius turned to James, "If that potion was undiluted, it will take both of us to pull her off of whatever man she's with. Where do you reckon she might be?"
"Well she was supposed to be heading toward the library, right? Let's go there first. Maybe Snape will still be there and he can tell us where she went if she ran into him before the potion kicked in."
Sirius nodded and the boys took off running toward the library.
...
"That feels so good," she told him breathlessly as he palmed the lace cups of her bra. By this point her shirt had been removed and his trousers were now unbuckled. While his hands teased her breasts, hers pushed his shirt off of his shoulders. Just as she leaned in to kiss his shoulder, her body was jerked violently backward.
Luna let out a sharp cry and Severus was on his feet with his wand drawn. "Snivellus," hissed James Potter, "we should have known it was you! Proficient with potions, spends a lot of time around her, someone she would trust enough to let near her goblet at dinner," he was listing off all of the clues that led him to the conclusion that Severus was the person who poisoned her drink.
"I'm going to kill him!" Sirius looked like he would have charged at Snape if he hadn't otherwise been occupied with keeping a firm hold on his girlfriend who was writhing in his grasp, struggling to get back to Severus.
"What the fuck are you tossers talking about?"
"Oh?" James feigned innocence, "It's news to you, is it, that someone spiked her evening pumpkin juice with undiluted Amortentia?"
"What?" Severus did sound sincerely surprised, even to their ears, though they were loathe to admit it. "I did suspect...but who would have done such a thing?"
"Can you think of no one who might have a vendetta against Luna or Sirius?" James asked rhetorically.
"Of course," Severus snarled, "but none of them would do such a thing against me, Potter! If someone wanted to hurt Luna and Sirius by use of a love potion, they would have given it to Sirius for him to throw himself at some random bird or they would have put quite an interesting turn on it and put your essence into the potion, Potter, so she'd fawn over you instead of your best mate."
"Thought all of this through quite thoroughly, haven't you?" Sirius growled.
"As I said," repeated Snape calmly, "I suspected she wasn't acting of her own free will, but I checked her for any traces of a curse and dismissed the idea of a love potion because I couldn't think of anyone who would have the motive to do this."
"You mother fucking liar!"
"Stop it! All of you!" Luna spoke for the first time. The effects of the potion were still causing her body to ache for Severus's, but her mind was catching every word of their conversation. "I want Severus. I'm in love with Severus. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Sirius, but it's true!"
"It's not!" he hadn't meant to snap at her. He knew she wasn't in her right mind. But he was so mad at Snape, visions of his girlfriend all over his worst enemy still fresh in his mind, that his words were drowning with venom, "You've been poisoned, Luna! Don't you understand what the fuck that means?"
Luna finally gave up fighting as Sirius had her arms locked securely behind her back and let her body drop down to her knees, forcing Sirius to the ground behind her. James just stood to the side glancing back and forth between Sirius and Snape as if waiting for one to attack the other. "I didn't do this," Severus said clearly.
"James," Sirius grunted, "get her shirt."
James nodded and quickly retrieved the garment from an empty candle bracket on the wall and together they worked to get it back on her body and buttoned up properly. James was careful to not touch any inappropriate part of her anatomy as he helped Sirius with this task.
"I've got it," Remus froze as he entered the library, vial in hand, to see James, Sirius, and Luna on the floor after clearly having struggled together, and Snape standing before them with his trousers unbuckled, shirt hanging open, and wand aimed at the trio on the floor.
"Give it here," Sirius stretched out his free hand and Remus thrusted the antidote into it. Sirius uncorked the bottle roughly with his teeth, shoved the opening between her plump red lips and forced her to swallow it down.
Luna blinked rapidly before her eyes seemed to come into clearer focus and she whispered the words, "Oh shit." Sirius's grip on her was removed and everyone stepped back, away from her, unsure of what her reaction would be to her own actions.
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked with a tenderness that made Severus roll his eyes.
"Yes," she told him, her big brown eyes filling with tears, "I'm so so so sorry, love," she told him as she wrapped her arms around herself. "It wasn't Sev, though. He didn't spike my pumpkin juice."
"How do you know?" inquired James.
"Because when I arrived at the library and started coming onto him he kept spurning my advances. He kept trying to push me away. He kept telling me 'no.'"
"Why would he deny you?" snarled Sirius meanly, "He's a fucking snake. Why wouldn't he shag a girl who was throwing herself at him?"
"I suspected at first that she wasn't acting of her own accord," said Snape quickly in explanation. "I looked for any evidence of an Imperius Curse but found none. I didn't think anyone would be daft enough to slip her a potion. She's my friend, Black. I wouldn't do anything to ever purposefully hurt her."
"Right, just like you wouldn't do anything to ever hurt Lily," James threw in.
"Once," Severus hissed, his eyes narrowing, "Once I hurt her by letting that vile word slip from my mouth in a moment of stress and frustration. I will never be so callous again."
"Calm down, everyone," said Remus as he moved to stand between the two boys who were inching progressively closer toward each other. "It wasn't any of our faults what happened tonight. Snape, you should return to your dormitory for the evening. We will figure out who did this, but not now when all of our emotions are frayed and overcharged. Luna, how do you feel? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"
"No, Remus, I'm fine, thank you."
"Very well. Let's all return to our dormitories." Without another word, Severus marched out of the library while straightening his clothes. Remus and James exited together, talking in whispers about their suspicions as to who the culprit was.
"Let me help you," Sirius knelt down and reached for her, but Luna flinched away from him.
"Don't touch me," her voice was hoarse.
Sirius leaned back, "I'm sorry that I snapped at you."
"You think I'm mad at you?" the tears that had been building up finally came spilling over. "Oh Sirius, the reason I don't want you to touch me is because I feel so...so dirty! I've never cheated before in my life," tears streamed down her face in big droplets as she spoke but she didn't move to wipe them away. "I don't deserve your kindness. I don't deserve your understanding. I don't deserve you. Spare me your pity, Sirius, and just leave me here."
"Luna...Lu-Lu...I..." he didn't know what to say. Sirius Black was at a loss for words. How could she possibly think that he held any of this disaster against her? As if reading his thoughts, she looked up at him.
"You can't tell me that you're not disgusted by what I did. I'm disgusted by what I did! Severus has been a good friend to me, but to...to do what I was doing with him," she shook her head violently back and forth and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"You weren't you, Love," Sirius sat down beside her but was careful to keep his hands to himself. "Of course it was disconcerting to see you in your bra with your tongue down Snivellus's throat, but...well, okay, so I might ask you to please brush your teeth and put some mouth wash to use before I kiss you again, but darling, I love you. I'm going to absolutely kill whoever did this to you!"
"I don't think they meant to hurt me as much as they meant to hurt you," she sniffed, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. "I think it was one of the Death Eater blokes that Severus hangs around with. Whoever it was probably thought they were doing Sev a favor while also managing to hurt you."
...
Regulus Black couldn't believe how his plan had turned out. Damn those House Elves for foiling his plot! He didn't know they could detect poisons so easily. Then there was the fact that if Sirius and James had been just a little bit delayed in finding her, they may have very well stumbled across Luna and Snape shagging in the library.
Regulus didn't want to hurt his brother. Oppositely, he wanted to help him. If he were being honest with himself, he didn't want to hurt that Luna bitch, either. That was why he had asked his friends to let him handle this situation. They were still angry about the altercation a couple of months previously. Regulus had volunteered to extract their revenge.
Now he would have to try to come up with something else. Even as he watched and eavesdropped on their conversation he had a hard time believing the words they spoke to each other. Sirius was obviously smitten with her but Regulus had no way of knowing if she was putting on an act with him or not. Did she really care for him the way she claimed?
To his displeasure, Sirius reached out a hand to help Granger up off of the floor and they exited the library hand-in-hand. At least Regulus would have all of Christmas holiday to devise a new plan.
...
"It would seem that this is where our paths diverge," said Severus casually as he approached Luna for the first time since that disastrous evening in the library. The following morning they were all departing for the holidays.
"What are you talking about?" she asked sharply as she glanced up from the book in her hands. They hadn't planned on meeting up, it had just happened accidentally. She was curled up in a chair in the library. Unknown to anyone else, Sirius was currently tutoring a few third and fourth years in the Charms classroom so she had decided to spend her free time reading for pleasure as opposed to all of the school textbooks she'd been reading lately.
"I'm taking my NEWT's in January, remember? I'll be back for one week sitting my exams and then I'll be out of here."
"If you pass them," she admonished gently.
He snorted and rolled his eyes, "Do you really think I could possibly fail any subject? You've been my study partner for most of this term, you should know better than anyone else the vast extent of my knowledge and ability."
"And the boundless limits of your massive ego," she mocked with a little smile. "I'm going to miss you."
"You really shouldn't. You already know where my life is heading, Miss Potter. Even as I stand before you, a branded Death Eater, you dare to think that I am a good man. You think that being drunk with power is a thing of my future, but I assure you it is a thing of my present. I like being a Death Eater. I like having power over people. Why do you think I took advantage of you the other night? I knew that there was a possibility you weren't in your right mind, but I went ahead with it anyway. Do you know why? Because as much as I value our friendship, I wanted to hurt Potter and Black even more. Every time I am presented with a choice, my darker side wins. Don't forget that, Lily Luna Potter. Naïve innocent girl that you are, never forget not only what I am capable of but also what my past record forewarns. I chose anger and pride over the love of my life. I chose revenge and sexual satisfaction over our friendship. Yet here you sit telling me that you will miss my presence in your life and that you still care for me as a close friend."
Startled by such a speech, Luna collected her thoughts before replying evenly, "When I first came here I thought of you as an ally and someone who saved my father's life on several occasions. Now I think of you as a close personal friend, Severus, not because of your sins, but because of your virtues. You see mostly darkness in yourself and I see mostly light. Even when your darker side prevails, a part of you is still sickened by it and eventually, when Lily dies, there will be a catalyst and the dark parts of your soul will be conquered by love and light."
Swiftly, before he could quite figure out what was going on, she was on her feet. Luna kissed both of his cheeks, hugged him fiercely and whispered a final parting sentence. "Thank you, Severus Snape, for being the man I know you will one day become."
…..
Things between Luna and Sirius were perfectly fine and she was more surprised than anyone else about this. Contrary to what everyone thought would happen, Sirius did not attempt any sort of revenge on Snape as they had deduced it was not him who had a hand in the love potion debacle.
When she'd inquired about his less than hostile attitude about the whole thing he'd merely shrugged and told her, "I have my priorities straight, Pet. You, you, you, my friends, and you."
Pleased with the maturity he was exhibiting, she accepted his answer and they moved forward together. Tomorrow she would be on a train to Potter Manor. She would be meeting her great-grandparents. Charlus and Dorea. Apparently Dorea's maiden name was Black and she was a distant relative of Sirius's which reminded Luna of the conversation they'd had about being related somewhere down the line. All witches and wizards had intersecting family trees and none more than the purebloods.
"Has anyone seen my white skirt? Not that one, the one with the little pink flowers along the hemline?" Lily Evans was nervously fluttering around the room packing all last minute items.
"I haven't seen anything of the sort," said Alice kindly, knowing that Lily's nerves were frayed with worry over meeting James's parents.
"Oh no! I think I left it at home! I wanted to wear it when I met them!"
"Lils, calm down, you're going home before you go to James's house. Pick it up there."
"You don't understand," groaned Lily, "if I left it at home, Petunia probably took it! I wouldn't be surprised if that bint had her stupid chicken legs in it right now."
"Don't fret, you can just throw all sorts of hexes and jinxes at her until she gives it back. You're of age now so you won't even get into trouble for it. Unless you use one of the Unforgivable Curses, of course," said Mary with a shrug of her slim shoulders.
"I highly doubt the Ministry would punish me for using an Unforgivable Curse on Petunia. They would probably thank me with an Order of Merlin First Class for ridding the world of such an annoying slag," Lily replied scathingly.
"She's your sister!" said a surprised Alice.
"That doesn't stop her from being a twat," Mary and Luna giggled at Lily's words while Alice rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut. Luna didn't say anything. She'd met her great-aunt Petunia, of course, and didn't think too highly of her but she couldn't say that.
"When will James be picking you up?" Luna inquired.
"Christmas day. I wanted to invite him to Christmas dinner, but Petunia is bringing a boy and Mum and Dad are nervous enough having me around let alone another magical person."
"I thought your parents were proud of you being a witch?" Luna was glad that Mary had asked this.
"They are, but it also makes them nervous because I sometimes accidentally slip and say something about magic or Hogwarts without thinking around my muggle family. According to the Ministry, the only people who can know I am a witch are close family members, which basically means my parents and sister. Of course if Petunia gets married I can tell my brother-in-law, though I doubt any man would ever want to marry Petunia, I don't even know how she has a boyfriend." Lily let out a snort of laughter at the thought.
"What's his name?" Luna hoped she sounded politely curious while inside she was dying to know if this man was the one Petunia would marry.
"Vernon. Vernon Dursley. At least that's what Mum wrote in her letter. I wouldn't be surprised if Petunia made him up."
"Hmm, Dursley, you say? I have a feeling that this one just might stick around," with a knowing look in her eye, Luna smiled before returning to packing her own things.
….
A/N: Next chapter is the beginning of the holidays! Do you think Luna will see Severus again? What plan will Regulus devise for Sirius and Luna?
As far as canon is concerned, I have only deviated from it a bit. In canon James was Head boy. The reason I made Lupin Head boy is simply because that's what I wanted to do. It made more sense to me for Remus to become Head boy. I know that being a Prefect is not a prerequisite for the position, but it just seems logical. Plus Remus is a lot more responsible than James in this story.
It is unknown who James's parents were or what his middle name was. It is suspected that Charlus and Dorea are James's parents but it is not a fact. Dorea Potter (nee Black) died in 1977 in canon, but as I am making her James's mother, she is still alive in my story even though it is about to be 1978. Also in canon James's parents die of a wizarding illness, but I am going to handle their lives just a bit differently so be prepared for that in a later chapter.
To my knowledge, this is the only canon I have altered. I hope that is okay with everyone.
As always, please let me know what you think of this story so far!
Yours,
MofDA