Harry began to stir as the sun rose over Little Whinging. He blinked awake around six, slowly shifting his weight, pivoted to the edge of the bed, and stretched full as his expression settled into a lazy smile.
Just as he stood, a faint rustle of feathers drew his attention to the perch just beside the broad, open window.
"Hedwig!"
He rushed to her, and for nearly ten minutes showered her with praises and liberally offered treats. Albeit thrown by the sudden extraordinary warmth, Hedwig returned his affection with many gentle nibbles and fond hoots.
After a quick shower, Harry tossed on a simple white tee and a pair of blue jeans, pocketed his wand, and took the stairs two at a time. He was welcomed by the fragrance of piping hot coffee, prepared with cream (as had become his preference, after the style of Remus Lupin). For a moment he sat in silence, slowly sipping, breathing full.
He grinned broadly as he heard a knock at he front door.
Luna stood just beyond the threshold. She was wearing a heather grey loose off-shoulder tee, a pair of frayed denim shorts, and simple leather sandals bound by a narrow strap at the toe and ankle.
"Good morning, Harry Potter."
For a moment he stood before her, struck silent, overcome.
"God, Luna, you're stunning."
She bit her lip, drew near, stood on her tippy toes, and kissed him softly. "I like it when you look at me." She whispered in his ear, just before lacing her fingers through his right hand and leading him into the house.
They were greeted by a platter of warm buttered croissants, several bowls of berries, and an assortment of cheeses and jam.
"I couldn't sleep last night, Harry Potter." As she plated a handful of berries, she eyed him flirtatiously.
"No?"
"No. Do you know why?" She narrowed her gaze in mock annoyance.
Harry laughed. "I'd love to know why."
"It suddenly occurred to me why I've been overcome with pleasure, inexplicably, at least once weekly for nearly a year."
He suddenly flushed, reaching his arm to scratch the back of his head bashfully. "Er..."
"You've been sketching me, all this time. Haven't you, Harry Potter?"
He smiled through a modest blush, and nodded warily.
"Waking me at random, ungodly hours, to pleasure me sexually?" She wrapped her lips slowly around a strawberry. As she bit, her brow playfully furrowed.
He looked down with a wry smile. "Does it help that I found it just as pleasurable?"
She laughed. "I find that hard to believe."
"You know, initially I didn't expect it would effect you." He hesitated. "You know, in the past."
She right eyebrow adopted a sharp angle. "Initially?"
He nodded.
"I distinctly recall confiding in an adorable, innocent black tabby cat, in intimate detail, the mysterious effects of your attention."
He blushed again, looking away. "Right. Perhaps from that point I understood."
Her eyes narrowed. "Perhaps?"
He laughed. "I suppose it is a bit of a trespass..."
She giggled at this. "Indeed, Harry Potter. Although I can't say I regret even a minute of it, heed this warning." She squared her shoulders in flirtatious hostility. "You get what you pay for, and I'm quite the artist."
Thousands of branches of dark green leaves swayed gently against the late summer breeze, a hypnotic dance in time with hushed whispers.
"This is an ancient place." She whispered the words, eyes wide. "Beautiful. Magical."
He stood just to her left, his fingers laced through hers, and drew a deep breath with closed eyes.
"This is my family's home. My home." He couldn't quite account for it, but he felt proud just then.
As they followed the garden's meandering trail, the sound of distant bells was carried by the summer breeze.
"Is that—"
Harry nodded. "Three fairy communities dwell within the bounds of Ravenswood. Do you know what I've learned? There are two fault lines in Britain - two rifts intersecting the plane of man with the plane of Fairy. The Rook lies at the epicenter of one, Ravenswood Hall lies at the epicenter of the other."
Luna's wide eyes scanned the horizon. As she bent her ear toward the distant melodies, she smiled warmly. "It's perfect. Have you..."
He nodded. "They've each introduced themselves to me. They're lovely, Luna. I can't wait for you to see."
He led her from the garden path to the slate stone entryway of his ancestral home. As they entered, they were greeted warmly by the portrait in the foyer. For nearly ten minutes, Luna slowly paced around the perimeter of the foyer, following the movement of the enchanted raven as he flitted from branch to branch in the forest carved into the white stone walls.
As Harry led her through the rooms of the east wing, they discovered that the house was empty.
"I was hoping to say hello to Remus. He'd love to see you again."
She merely smiled with a playful expression. "Perhaps tomorrow? Show me the rest of the house, Harry Potter."
Fingers laced, he led her up the dark stained staircase. A few moments later, he opened the door to his father's room. Luna rushed to the photos of his adolescent father's best friends, to the oval frame on the nightstand showcasing a portrait of Lily Potter.
"She's so beautiful, Harry. Your mother was so beautiful. You have her eyes, you know."
He nodded with a warm smile. "I know."
They rummaged through the contents of his father's chest, entering into a fit of giggles when Luna found the bound stack of risqué notes.
She bit her lip. "Inspiring, actually."
A few moments later, they closed the door to his father's room, and he led her to the West Wing.
"This is, I think, the Potter's equivalent of your defense chamber. Of course I can't use it." He paused, suddenly struck. "Actually, now that I think of it, I couldn't use it… until yesterday."
He drew his wand and whispered "Lumos." A bright light illuminated the room. A moment later, after a few glances over his shoulder, he smirked mischievously. "Seventeen. No more trace."
At this, Luna's expression suddenly shifted, and her features were lit with pain. "Oh, Harry! I can't believe I hadn't put it together. It was your birthday yesterday. We didn't celebrate your birthday!"
He hadn't considered it, honestly, and he shook his head and waved her off. "Luna, honestly, I was so desperate to see you that I hadn't even thought of it."
She shook her head. "Harry Potter, something must be done. Tomorrow. We'll have a proper celebration tomorrow."
He laughed. "As long as you're there, I'm okay with that."
She kissed him at this, and after she pulled away he leaned his forehead to hers. For a moment they stood together, their fingers laced, unblinking.
A moment later, Luna glanced over her right shoulder. "And what is this room?" There was a hint of suggestion in her expression.
"Oh, right! This is the master suite. This is where I've been staying all year."
He opened the door and led her through. As soon as she entered, she halted.
He watched her closely. "What do you think?"
With wide eyes she scanned the enormous room, capturing every detail in her curious expression.
"It's difficult to image you here, Harry Potter, alone. Show me everything."
He led her to the writing desk, the claw-footed tub, the leather wingbacks, finally to the broad four-poster bed.
She bit her lip, her right eyebrow raised suggestively. "Will you show me, Harry?"
He stumbled at this. "Show you?"
"How you sleep, Harry Potter. I've missed so much, and I've spent all morning attempting to imagine your many days, here, mostly alone in this house." She traced his form with her gaze. "And I want to capture, in my imagination, how you slept in this enormous bed. Will you show me?"
He suddenly felt a bit bashful. "Er, I suppose I could, I mean, I typically preferred this side. And I, you know, mostly laid here."
He had stepped to the far side of the large four-poster, and he gestured vaguely.
She laughed. "I want to see, Harry Potter. Show me."
He felt a bit awkward as he laid on the bed, a now quite familiar rhythm, shifting the covers, with his arm bent beneath the pillow, supporting his head. He was facing the broad window overlooking the estate, and the afternoon sun shone brightly, so that Luna was wrapped in something like a glowing aura.
She giggled. "You slept in your clothes?"
His brow furrowed. "No." He laughed. "Do you mean... Luna, I sleep in my boxers."
Her eyes were bright, and she was toying with her lower lip. "Show me."
He laughed, and for a moment merely watched her. Yet all resistance collapsed under the weight of the days he hadn't spent at her side. So he stood, and he unbuttoned his jeans as she watched.
"Harry?"
"Yes, darling?"
"I quite like watching you undress."
He reached for the hem of his tee, and pulled it in a quick movement over his head. Harry stood before her, wearing only a loose pair of cotton boxers.
She exhaled slowly.
He laughed as he climbed back into the bed, though it was only eleven in the morning. He tucked his arm beneath his pillow, feigned a yawn, and closed his eyes. He could hear Luna giggle from the other side of the bed.
When he opened his eyes, she was unbuttoning her denim shorts.
"Luna? Um, what are you doing?"
She met his gaze with playful eyes. "Don't you want to know what it might have been like, if I'd been here with you?"
His pulse quickened, and he swallowed. "You have no idea." Just then, he stumbled. "But, Luna, you don't have to-"
She shifted her hips to one side, and then to another, and in a moment her frayed denim shorts were on the floor beneath her.
Time slowed as she crossed her arms before her, nimbly flipping her tee over her head as her arms stretched above her.
She was wearing a strapless white lace bra, light and without padding or structure. Her panties matched perfectly, white lace hipsters teasing the swell of her bottom stunningly.
For a moment she stood before him, enjoying his unbroken attention, giggling flirtatiously. And then she leaned over, full, so that the slope of her breasts, gently pressed together, loomed within arm's reach. Harry noticed, with racing pulse, that the precise angle allowed him to follow the curve of her hips, the small of her back, the tight swell of her bottom.
"Will you hold me, Harry Potter?"
She nearly whispered the words, and there was a gentle moan behind them.
She climbed into bed, turning away from him and pressing her body against his. He wrapped his free arm around her, and his breath caught as a number of pleasant sensations unfolded simultaneously.
As he pulled her closer, he quickly discovered that the most natural way to hold her was to reach his free arm around her body, and to grip her opposite shoulder. She sighed, with the slightest groan of pleasure, as he pressed her body into his. He stilled as he felt her breasts on either side of his forearm.
This, however, was nothing next to the pleasure that unfolded immediately thereafter. For as Luna snuggled into his embrace, she pressed her hips and bottom into his waist. She stretched into him in this way, and the swell of her bottom drove into his center. He could feel her, with breathtaking pressure, against his now swollen member, and he couldn't think for the pleasure of it.
She exhaled slowly, pursing her lips and closing her eyes. "Harry Potter, I never imagined it would feel this good to be near to you."
He breathed her in, the lavender fragrance washing over him as he whispered in her ear. "I want this every day, Luna. I want you, here with me, every night."
She smiled, eyes still shut. "I want that, too."
A moment later she was sleeping in his arms. He'd never known such peace.