I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

Extended Family

Chapter 134 – Something Like Real Life

Takes place a few years after everyone graduated, a year or two after Chapter 8.

"HI Harry!"

"Hi Luna!" Harry hugged her fondly. "What's up?"

"How do you feel about pretending?"

Harry blinked at her. "Like…pretending something isn't real is real, or do you mean the opposite?"

"Pretending that you are doing something you're not currently doing."

"I get like that during practice sometimes when it's flying drills. Pretend I'm outside. Or during games sometimes when I'm a little rattled from the crowd, I pretend they're not there or are wearing dumb hats."

Luna giggled. "Those are good applications of pretend. But how would you like to pretend you're someone you're not and doing something fantastical?"

"I actually used to do that a lot," Harry said quietly. He shook his head. "Sorry." He smiled a little when Luna hugged him once more and even harder, having caught his meaning. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I found something interesting the other day at a Muggle bookstore and it looked like a lot of fun. It's called a role-playing game and people make characters and play the game pretending to be them. You decide what you do based on rolling dice. Another person tells the story for them to play in and controls the other non-playable characters."

"That does sound interesting."

"And it's something like real life," Luna said. "There's magic and magical things. A different sort of course."

"I gather you're looking for people to play?" He smiled at her enthusiastic nodding. "Well, I'll ask around and see who's interested."

Luna clapped. "This will be so fun!"

-0-

Hermione blinked a few times, looking around the room with astonishment. "Uh…love what you did with the place."

"Did you base it off of school?" Tracy asked. "I swear the bricks look familiar."

Harry had come to Luna's flat with Hermione, Daphne, Tracy, Ron, and Mirabelle. After explaining to them what Luna told him, they had shown the most interest and were willing to try it out. The main room of Luna's flat had been transformed. The walls and floor and ceilings were dark grey fitted stone cut into large blocks and bricks. Torches flickered and flared on the walls and the center was dominated by a very large wooden table.

"I did," Luna said, beaming. "I wandered about the dungeons for inspiration."

"Oh, now I understand," Hermione said, realization dawning. "You were talking about Dungeons and Dragons."

"I got that from what Captain told me," Mirabelle said with a smile. "I'm excited. I love fantasy novels and things like that. Part of the reason why I love Hogwarts so much."

"I did like the feeling of the castle too for similar reasons," Hermione admitted.

"What's so weird about dungeons and dragons?" Ron asked.

"It's a game, the game that Luna and Captain described," Mirabelle said. "That sort of thing is fantastical to Muggles so it's a fairly popular game to imagine magic is real and to have adventures in fantasy settings and all that."

"Sort of the reverse of Martin Miggs the Mad Muggle," Harry said. "Muggles imagining magic and all that."

"Oh gotcha," Ron nodded. "Makes sense."

Luna showed them several books and offered them paper and pencils as well as sets of dice. "First, you create a character based on what you think you would like to play as. Here are options for your race, and here are classes. They are jobs basically that your character do." She hummed serenely while the others looked through the books.

"This doesn't make sense," Hermione said.

"What doesn't?" Luna asked, looking slightly put out.

"The rules for this spell. It says it can go this distance without trouble, and it expands to this radius, and then stops. That's not how magic works," she said.

"There are rules for magic, I know how exactly a Stunning Jinx will work," Daphne argued.

"Sure but there are different degrees of efficacy," Hermione retorted. "Not to mention if you hit someone directly with it versus hitting a limb. But that's one thing. When you cast a fire starting spell, do you know exactly how the resulting fire will react? Will it go five feet and then inexplicably stop and go no further?"

"Of course not, it's fire," Daphne sniffed.

"That's my point!"

"This is a game, Hermione," Harry said. "We're going to have to suspend disbelief here and know that it doesn't work like it would in real life."

"I suppose," she sighed. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be a downer, just you know me."

"Mentally inflexible?" Daphne asked.

"Stickler for rules?" Ron suggested.

"Prickly?" Tracy said.

Everyone snorted and laughed while Hermione glowered at them. "All that apparently," she sniffed.

Harry chuckled and hugged her with one arm. "Just relax Hermione, I'm sure this will be fun."

"There's so many options, not sure what I want to do," Tracy said.

"I took the liberty of finding premade ones if you prefer," Luna said. "I even picked a few out to suit each person. Ones that I think would fit. We can modify them a little too if need be."

"Oh this'll be good. Sure! Tell me who you think I would play as." Tracy took the character sheet and looked at it. "A dwarven barbarian?! You really think I'm a short person with bad manners?!"

"Well I thought dwarf due to your fondness for alcohol and construction and barbarian because you like to hit things with a bat. Like you did during the first Blitz game and in ones since," Luna said with a sweet smile.

"That's…reasonably accurate. And this is about pretending to be someone different, right?" Tracy sat back. "I'm cool with it then! As long as I get to use the shiny metal dice." She smiled when Luna pushed the small pile of shiny silver dice to her.

"Elvish druid," Daphne said, reading hers. "An affinity for nature, noble background, I approve." She frowned. "Why do I have a pet squid?" She glared at a giggling Tracy and a snickering Harry, pinching the both of them. "I would like a different animal companion." She and Luna agreed on a wolf and Daphne took the gold dice to use.

"Half-Orc…bard?" Ron quirked an eyebrow and looked at Luna. "Me? A bard. What have I done that's bard-like? I don't play an instrument."

"Bards don't have to play instruments," Luna said. "You can influence and aid through talking like you do at the Cauldron."

"Okay, that's fair," Ron conceded, looking pleased. "Why half-orc though?"

"You're very tall and broad shouldered."

Ron flexed a little. "I've developed some muscle from hefting the barrels about too."

"Are half-orcs terrible singers?" Harry asked innocently. "Or maybe terribly loud singers?"

Hermione gave Ron and Harry a fondly exasperated look while they pushed and shoved each other. "I see you kept me as a Wizard."

"Well there are no witches sadly," Luna said. "But it still fits. You still have magic, you have to plan your spells, and you get to use your magic in interesting ways."

"What do you mean 'plan my spells'?"

"In this, when you cast a spell, you forget it until the next day when you prepare your spells again."

"Now that makes no sense!"

"Wait, actually, that would explain some things if that applies to us," Ron said. "I forget lots of things after an exam."

"Oh that happens to you too? Thank goodness," Mirabelle sighed.

"Man, that would be terrible if that was like that for us," Tracy said. "Imagine getting something by summoning it to you and then completely forgetting how to do it again until you remember how to do it again."

"It would be terribly inconvenient," Daphne shuddered.

"Oohh yay!" Mirabelle clapped her hands. "I love rogues. I get to nick things and pick locks."

"Usually not a good thing to do in polite company," Luna smiled. "But very useful in the game."

"What's a halfling? Sounds rude," Ron said.

"It's like a hobbit," Hermione said.

"That also sounds rude, or a snack," Ron said.

"They're shorter and petite than most people in comparison," Hermione sighed. "With nimble fingers."

"I'm not petite," Mirabelle sniffed. "I'm compact."

"You also got muscles too," Harry smiled.

"I got back into softball and play Beater for the local league," Mirabelle said proudly.

"Yeah she does. That hit you did the other night was a beaut," Ron said admiringly. "Knocked him clean off his broom."

"You made me a paladin?" Harry asked.

"I always thought you were like a knight, one who protects others," Luna said simply.

Harry hugged her, feeling warm and pleasantly embarrassed.

They went over the basics of the rules together. Once they felt reasonably familiar with them, Luna waved her wand and the torches dimmed ever so slightly and a hidden wireless began to play.

"Ooh, atmospheric," Mirabelle said.

"Like all good stories," Luna began, "this one starts in a bar."

"Damn straight," Ron said.

"Weavley, that's you Ron, you are in the tavern named The Cup of Illumination."

"Ooh, nice name," Ron said. "I'll see what they got and tell them to get the back bottles and not the ones on display."

"Why do you do that?" Daphne asked.

"Most places that display bottles only display the stuff that's really expensive or really watered," Ron said. "Cheating the customers. Bad business you know."

"Aw man, they all do that?" Tracy asked, making a face.

"Well not all, but most do."

"The Cup of Illumination is a fine establishment," Luna said waspishly, "they do not condone cheap tricks like that."

"Oh even better," Ron said.

One by one, the characters met. Ron and Tracy got into the role-playing aspect very easily, becoming loud and boastful and laughing. Daphne was a little more reserved while Hermione kept frowning at spell descriptions. Mirabelle also got into the role-playing part, growing more comfortable as time passed and Harry also grew more comfortable, but happy to let his other friends drive the game along.

"You find yourself at the gates of the ancient castle," Luna said. She waved her wand and they oohed when a small model appeared before them on the table. The model looked grand and imposing and six little figures were arrayed in front. "The gates are barred from the inside."

"I would like to pick it," Mirabelle said.

"There are no locks to be seen from the outside," Luna said. "But you can try to use your spot skill to see if you see anything."

Mirabelle rolled a green twenty-sided die. "Plus my skill modifier, I got an 18!"

"The hinges are internal as well, and no discernable lock sadly," Luna repeated. "But you also managed to find a trap that would be sprung if they were clumsy."

"I should get rid of that." After successfully disarming the trap, the others tried to think of ways to get past the locked door.

"I could hit it with my battle axe," Tracy said.

"You've done that twice already," Daphne smiled.

"And it's worked twice already," Tracy countered.

"The doors are made of heavy solid looking metal," Luna said, "very different from the other two doors you broke open."

"Aww, I wouldn't want to hurt Chopperella," Tracy said.

"Could I use an arithmancy check to see if the door is magical?" Hermione asked.

"Arcana, but yes," Luna said. "The door is indeed magical, lots of layers of spells are on it. You cannot discern all of them but there does appear to be a password spell on it."

"Oooh idea," Ron said. "Can I persuade the door to give us the password?"

"It's a door, it cannot talk," Daphne said.

"We don't know that," Ron said.

"Yeah, a lot of thick objects can still talk," Harry grinned.

"Exactly, thank you," Ron said. He frowned. "Wait. Was that a go at me?"

"It can be if you want it to be."

Luna tilted her head. "How would you persuade the door?"

"Well it's magic like Hermione found. It can hear a password so if it can hear, it might be able to talk or at least communicate," Ron said after kicking Harry. "And bard singing or my bard talking in this case if magical you said, so I was thinking it might help if I'm being persuasive."

"I like that logic," Luna smiled.

"I had to get better at talking out of my arse since being a barman," Ron said and the others laughed appreciatively. He successfully managed to get the door to open, though they had to divine the password with Luna acting like a door, and they went into the castle. The party fought a table full of gelatinous foods, lesser versions of Luna's new favorite magical creature the gelatinous cube, and they plunged deeper into the castle.

"The door opens and you see a giant three-headed hound," Luna said.

"Awww, that's so cute," Daphne said, cooing over the miniature.

"Roll for initiative!" Tracy shouted.

"No! We are not fighting the cute puppy!" Daphne cried.

"Babe! It's gigantic and it's going to kill us first!"

"Harry, you detect that the beast is not evil," Luna said. "Everyone roll a spot check. Okay, Mirabelle and Hermione, you see a music box in the corner, opened and still."

"I use mage hand to turn the key to wind up the music box," Hermione said. "I also want to find a real spell like that. It sounds very useful."

The music box calmed the beast and between it being more calm and it communicating with Daphne's wolf, they managed to pass by without fighting, much to Tracy's disappointment. However, in the next room, she fought a large plant-based monster gleefully and Daphne was able to stop the plant monster with a light spell.

Harry and Ron and Hermione exchanged a look when they went into the next room and found golems of stone fighting each other.

"Uh, question," Harry said.

"Yes?" Luna replied.

"Are half of the golems white and the other half black?" Harry asked.

Luna hummed. "It would appear so."

"Luna."

"Harry."

"Where did you get the idea for this…what do you call it?"

"Adventure module."

"Where did you get the idea for this adventure module?"

Luna hummed some more. "Ginny helped."

"As in Ginny told you about the trials and the Stone," Ron said.

"She might have," Luna said evasively. "I always thought it sounded so grand and well, adventurous."

"What's so funny?" Mirabelle asked, exchanging confused looks with a laughing Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"It happened before your time," Hermione said, shaking her head with a big smile on her lips.

"Our first year," Harry grinned.

"Wait, hold on." Daphne thought hard and she gasped. "That was all true?!"

"All those rumors about you three doing some weird secret thing and fighting Quirrell?!" Tracy gasped.

"Yeah and let me tell you, Fluffy did not look cute in person," Ron snorted.

"The three-headed dog was named Fluffy?" Daphne asked.

"Belonged to Hagrid."

"Oh well that makes sense then," Daphne said, nodding.

"I can't believe you turned that into this," Hermione smiled.

"I was told the best adventures have a basis in real life," Luna said.

Harry hugged her. "I don't mind. I think it's great. But, we kinda know how it ends." He gestured to himself and Hermione and Ron.

"I changed it up a bit," Luna said, brightening. "Not too much, I am a big fan of keeping the source material intact."

"Then let's go on," Harry smiled.

The adventure ended in a grand fashion. The party confronted the evil wizard and defeated him in combat with Harry distracting him and Ron throwing Mirabelle who stabbed the wizard. Hermione immobilized him and Tracy chopped his head off in a grand coup de grace.

"That was quite enjoyable," Daphne said, clapping her hands. "I did not think it would be, but it was! You have quite the dramatic flair, Luna. But we knew that."

"I'm glad you enjoyed! I had a lot of fun," Luna smiled. "It's fun to pretend."

"I'd love to play a campaign," Mirabelle said excitedly.

"So would I," Hermione said. "I might need to not be a wizard though, it's close enough to reality where the differences are really jarring. I'm sure I can find a class I really enjoy though!"

"I'm sure I can keep a game going," Luna said confidently. "I have many ideas."

"You don't actually have a dragon in here though, do you?" Tracy asked, looking around.

"No, rules of the flat, no dragons allowed," Luna said. "I would hate to lose my deposit."

"Yeah, fire hazard," Ron laughed.

-0-0-0-

poka - I vastly prefer sleeping indoors while camping haha. I have been to a friend's cabin in rural Maine and that was nice. I've camped outside in the middle of summer in Florida, that was difficult. Glad you are enjoying it all still.

61394 - She is a fun drunk I like to imagine.

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Pretty much. I didn't think I'd do a winter one but it turned out fun and I'm glad I did.

odonnellzoo99 - There is a commercial bottle of chocolate red wine, forgot the name of it. But it's tasty enough that way. I have a candy palate when it comes to wine so I usually stiuck to white wine.

alix33 - Snowy Hedwig and Snow Hedwig, interchangable wonderful.

FanfictionFanGirl59 - It's so good to see you. I hope you've been well and doing great at college.