On Sunday, May 4th, 2020 at 1 P.M. Hogwarts time, James, Albus, Devon, and Lily made it back to the Room of Requirement with Lily taking care of the door as usual. After the familiar locking sound had kicked in and all four them were seated on the long white sofa, the four of them came to an agreement that this would be the last of these meetings of the school year and that they would resume them in September. They had exams coming up and would need to focus on them.
Lily was understandably eager to read chapter five that was titled Why Harry Potter Named His Daughter Lily Luna Potter. James, Albus, and Devon had all opened their books on Potter/Dursley family history to the chapter as well, but it was both clear and predictable that Lily had the most interest in this chapter. James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all read another transcript written in Harry's POV.
...
For a third time in five years I find myself at a table in the Leaky Cauldron preparing to give Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah some big news.
"Well," I say with anticipation, "I have some very big news to deliver."
"You have chosen a name for your daughter who is due in two weeks." guesses Hermione, clearly knowing by now how this routine would work.
"That is correct," I say clearly, "Choosing a first name for her was incredibly easy. I am giving my daughter the first name of Lily after my mother."
I feel a few tears drip down my face after making this announcement.
"Harry, are you okay?" asks Ginny gently.
"I-I well," I begin weakly as a few more tears come down my face, "It's just that of all the names I have selected for my children this one is the most emotional."
"Why is that?" asks Neville in a polite voice, "I thought all of your children's names were chosen either for people who were very important to you or who you really wanted to honor."
"And your first son bears the names of your late father and godfather," pipes up Ron.
"What's so different about this naming?" asks Hannah quietly.
"What's sets this naming apart," I say with emotion, "Is the fact that my mother knowingly and consciously sacrificed her own life for mine. I've never lost sight of the fact that my mother died for me."
The rate of my crying starts to increase. Both Ginny and Luna pat me on the back. Sometimes Ginny and Luna have a way of being able to comfort me when even Ron and Hermione can't. This is one of those times.
"There's something else that needs to be said as well," I say fiercely, "Lily didn't just save me when she laid down her life. She saved the entire Potter line. If it hadn't been for her not only would I have died as an infant but James, Albus, and now Lily wouldn't exist either."
"Harry, when you point all that out, it couldn't be clearer that Lily is the most appropriate name you could choose for your daughter," acknowledges Hermione, looking a little emotional herself.
"Harry, you could not have chosen a better person to honor with your daughter's name than your mother," agrees Ginny.
"I can't begin to express how much it means to me to able to honor my mother by giving my daughter her name," I say in a choked up voice.
I go silent for a few minutes and Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah are respectful enough to give me this time for quiet thought.
"My announcement is only half done," I say after these few minutes.
"Yes, what middle name have you chosen for your daughter?" asks Hannah.
"I am giving my daughter the middle name of Luna after my dear friend Luna Lovegood," I say with conviction.
Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah all sit frozen for few nanoseconds. Then Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Hannah all look between me and Luna.
Finally, Luna looks up at me and says, "That means a lot to me Harry. I am very touched that you value my friendship enough that you would name your daughter for me."
"Why did you choose to name your daughter for Luna?" asks Neville.
"Luna is a very dear friend of mine," I say warmly, "At the end fifth year, when I was struggling to cope with Sirius's death, Luna somehow managed to comfort me even when Ron and Hermione couldn't."
"How?" asks Hannah curiously, "Ron and Hermione are your best friends, shouldn't they be able to comfort you most?"
"In that case," I say clearly, "Luna and I were in a corridor and the topic of Sirius's death came up. I remembered in the moment that Luna could see thestrals. I asked Luna if she'd ever known anyone who had died, and she explained how she lost her mother when she was only nine. In that moment I felt a sort of kindred spirit with Luna. Luna could relate to how I was feeling at the time because she herself had been through the pain of losing someone she had been very close with. I felt less alone after that talk with Luna. Luna was able to comfort me more than Ron or Hermione because she had been in my position before and knew how I was feeling."
A respectful silence follows this, but I quickly get back on task.
"Then there's the fact that Luna was one of the very few people to respond to my D.A. summons on the night Dumbledore died," I say clearly, "I don't forget things like that."
"When I restarted the D.A. in the year you were away," pipes up Ginny "I had to reissue the D.A. galleons because most people had thrown theirs out after Umbridge was removed from Hogwarts. Only three people at Hogwarts that year had kept their coins; Neville, Luna, and me."
"Luna was one of the most loyal members of the D.A.," I say proudly, "That's another good reason for her to receive the honor of my naming my daughter after her. Loyalty is a trait I value dearly, and Luna clearly is a loyal person."
"As a Hufflepuff, I certainly appreciate that," says Hannah.
"You've made a much better choice for the middle name of your daughter than you did for the middle name of your second son," says Ron firmly.
Yes, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah had all disapproved of my decision to give my second son the middle name of Severus, but I made it clear to them that it was my decision and not any of theirs. While I was not going to permit Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah to have any say in my daughter's naming either, I knew perfectly well they would all take it better.
"A key moment for me that told me everything I needed to know about Luna as a person was her very moving tribute to Dobby after Dobby's death," I say with emotion.
"That was a sad time," says Luna quietly.
"Very few witches or wizards have proper respect for house elves," says Hermione fretfully, "But Luna is a witch who does."
"I can still hear Luna's sad and meaningful voice, I say, "Thank you so much, Dobby, for rescuing me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and brave. I'll always remember what you did for us. I hope you're happy now."
"That speech came from here," says Luna, pointing straight at her heart.
"That's the thing that I always have respected about it. It was genuine and so sincere."
Luna nods.
"And perhaps the biggest moment of all, the moment that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt what kind of friend Luna is, was that just after the war had ended when I was tired and unwanting of attention and everyone in the Great Hall was trying to see or touch me, Luna created a distraction that allowed me just enough time to get my Invisibility Cloak on so that I could have some peace and quiet and move freely without everyone bothering me."
You're a great friend yourself, Harry," says Luna softly, "It says a lot about you that you remember all those moments and that you truly appreciate them."
"Luna is a wonderful person and I couldn't be happier that she is being honored by having a baby named after her," says Ginny happily, "Luna was one of my best friends at Hogwarts in spite of our house differences and I've known longer than most what kind of person Luna truly is beneath the radish earrings and butterbeer cork necklaces. I almost find it surreal that of all people, Harry Potter, has chosen to name his daughter after Luna."
"Luna is a special person who truly deserves the honor," agrees Neville, "I can remember her helping me into my seat at Dumbledore's funeral. And during my seventh and her and Ginny's sixth year at Hogwarts, she showed true bravery and loyalty throughout the year."
"I can remember Luna comforting me in times of distress," says Hermione, "Yes, excellent decision, Harry."
I'm not looking for praise. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah have no say in this decision and their input would not have been considered had they given any.
Yet I am gratified that Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah reacted the way they did to my announcement and it makes me feel warm inside that Luna truly appreciates the honor of my daughter bearing her name.
"I have one more announcement," I finally say to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah.
"What is it?" asks Ron.
"Lily Luna Potter will be my final child," I inform Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah, "I actually made the decision many years ago that three would be the number of children I would have."
Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah just nod their heads. None of them seem surprised so there isn't much for them to say about it. Finally, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah all say "Coagulations, Harry" at once, clearly referring to the fact I'd always wanted three children and soon would have three children.
Looking at it now, I am so proud and so glad that I kept the decisions to name James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter, and Lily Luna Potter to myself and did not permit Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah to have a say in my personal decisions.
Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah are indeed those closest to me. That doesn't make them bosses to me, and it does not mean they should have a voice in very intimately personal decisions of mine. I am true to myself and now the naming of Lily Luna Potter is another example of that."
...
Lily did have a few tears in her eyes upon reading Harry's thoughts about naming her Lily. The topic of Lily's sacrifice was always emotional for her.
James, Albus, and Devon knew that this was an emotional subject for her, so they patiently waited until she'd gathered herself.
"So, Lily?' asked Devon once she had, "What do think of the name Luna?"
"To me," said Lily proudly, "Bearing the name Luna means that I should be expected to live up to the traits of compassion, loyalty, respect and kindness."
"You do," chorused James, Albus, and Devon.
"Think about it," continued Lily, "Take the points dad used as evidence as to why Luna deserved the honor of him naming me after Luna: There's the compassion Luna showed dad after Sirius's death. There's the loyalty Luna showed as a D.A. member. There's the respect Luna showed Dobby after Dobby's death. And there's the kindness Luna showed dad in the immediate aftermath of Voldemort's defeat."
"You've certainly shown all of that to me since we've met," Devon told Lily meaningfully. "You showed me great compassion when my Grandma Petunia died unexpectedly. You have shown my great respect since we met by not judging me on my family history and in keeping everything we've learned in here between ourselves. Your loyalty to all your family and friends is unquestionable. And you showed incredible kindness towards me when you helped me with my trunk before we'd even met."
"She's always been all that to me too," said James radiantly, "Ever since we were babies, Lily has been as wonderful a sister to me as any boy could hope for."
"She's been all that to me too even though we aren't close siblings," said Albus matter of factly.
"Can you give examples?" asked Devon.
"I suspect," said Albus, pointing at the book, "That there will be a chapter on the relationship between James, Albus, and Lily. If that turns out not to be the case, we'll tell you more after the book is fully read."
"That's more than fair," agreed Devon, "And you are probably right. Now, you said last week that you three know Luna?"
"We do know her, " explained Lily, "She's a beloved family friend. But our opportunities to see her are rare because she is a wizarding naturalist and that is a profession that requires a lot of travel around the whole world."
At the end of the meeting, Devon shook hands with James, Albus, and Lily, and thanked them for keeping the discussions of the previous week's chapters confined to this room. They also thanked him for keeping his promise not to talk about the book on Potter/Dursley family history outside of the Room of requirement.
James, Albus, Devon and Lily all felt these readings productive and informative and they were more than ready to continue them. It was just that they would need to focus their efforts on studying now that exams were so close. This was especially true for James as he was in O.W.L. year.
Lily lay in bed later that night thinking about her name and what it meant. The more she thought about having the middle name of Luna, the more she realized one thing; to live up to the name of Luna meant having to be a good person and a good friend.
As being a good person and a good friend were high priorities for Lily in and of themselves, Lily had no doubt about her ability to live up to her middle name.
Luna Lovegood could be proud of Lily Luna Potter.