Chapter 6: Luna

—

The scene with Susan paused and the third window began to play. Seventeen year-old Harry was uncertain if the scenes of Hermione and the scenes of Susan were actually different simulations or if they were possibly the same one.

Before now, every window he'd seen had been a separate simulation than the other windows around them, though these two scenes definitely could have fit in the same timeline. When he refocused his attention on the new window, however, it became abundantly clear that all three windows were, indeed, the same timeline simulation.

—

"What do you mean they're not coming?" Harry asked, sounding distraught.

He and Neville were standing in full dress robes in the hall just outside the Hufflepuff common room. Hannah had stepped out a moment ago, not dressed for the ball, but rather dressed quite casually. She'd pulled Neville aside, whispered something to him, and then disappeared back into the common room.

"She, uh… she told me she's really, really sorry, but she can't come," Neville said. "She didn't say why. But she swore she'd make it up to me and this wasn't her way of breaking up with me. She told me to go have fun at the ball and dance with whomever I like."

"Okay… and what did she say about Susan?" Harry asked.

"Susan's not coming," Neville said. "Hannah said… uh… she said she doesn't want to talk to you right now. I… hope they're both okay. I wish they'd just tell us what's going on."

"Well I'll tell you what it feels like," Harry said. "It feels like Susan's breaking up with me and doesn't have enough courage to tell me to my face."

"Well… do you want to go to the ball with me then, Harry?" Neville said awkwardly. Harry knew this was Neville's awkward attempt at a joke to calm him down. Harry realized that his temper was flaring but decided to take a breath and laugh at Neville's joke. Harry was half tempted to just go with Neville. Maybe he'd try to get a dance or two from some girls from Beauxbatons…

"Wait… Nev, I have a better idea," Harry sighed. "Come on."

Harry led Neville all the way back up to the seventh floor to the study alcove at the top of the main stairway. This area was like a classroom except it was open concept. There are no doors or walls. Instead it was basically a small version of the great hall. Gryffindors and Ravenclaws often met here to study together or socialize as it's halfway between their dormitories.

It was here that Harry had seen Ginny with one of her friends from Ravenclaw half an hour ago, and it was here that he found them again. As third years, they were not allowed to the ball unless they were asked.

"Hi, Ginny. Hi… Leia?" Harry said, suddenly unsure of the other girl's name.

"Hello Harry Potter. I do like that name, but I'm afraid it's not my name," the girl said dreamily.

"Harry, this is Luna," Ginny giggled. "You really should know her name by now. She's our neighbor."

"Well why haven't I ever met her yet?" Harry asked.

"I met you this summer, Harry Potter" Luna said. "I came over to the Burrow three times. I believe that the last time I came to visit, you, Ron, and the twins were at the lake swimming. It was June."

"Also, Luna and I grew apart the past couple years, which I feel bad about," Ginny said. "It wasn't intentional. I'm trying to reconnect with her this year."

"Oh, that's right, I remember you now. Sorry," Harry said. "Anyway, would the two of you like to go with us to the ball?"

"Oh my goodness, yes! I would love to come to the ball with you, Harry Potter," Luna smiled.

Harry's eyes darted to Ginny. He'd intended for Ginny to be his date and have Luna go with Neville. Ginny just looked confused.

"Where are your girlfriends?" Ginny asked.

"I think Susan's dumped me," Harry frowned, "but I'm not sure. Hannah was really apologetic and she had the decency to come out of her common room to tell Neville she had to cancel. Susan didn't seem to be able to do that for me though."

"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that, Harry Potter," Luna smiled. "Do you need me to fill the role of girlfriend tonight? I would be happy to do so."

Harry was taken aback by her forwardness. "I, um… well, for starters, could you please call me just Harry? But also, I was thinking this would be just as friends."

"Alright, Just Harry," Luna smiled. "I can be your date to the ball as friends."

"Ginny?" Neville said, looking mostly at his shoes. "Will you go with me as well then?"

"I, um… I don't have anything to wear," Ginny frowned.

"Ginny, didn't you open my Christmas gift yet?" Harry smirked.

"I wanted to wait and open it with you," Ginny said.

"Oh, well go and open it now and put it on," Harry said. "Also, don't worry about your hair or your makeup. I know girls like to worry about that stuff. You both look great and you don't need to do anything special.

"Put it… on?" she asked. "Put what on? Harry, what did you get me?"

"I got you a dress, silly," Harry said. "Two dresses actually. I couldn't pick between a few. The last time I got you a dress was years ago so I thought it was past time to get your a few more. It's a lucky coincidence that the day you get the dresses you suddenly have an occasion to wear one."

"I… okay! Thanks Harry! And yes, Neville, I'll go to the dance with you!" Ginny squealed.

"I don't have anything nice to wear," Luna said sadly.

"Yes you do! Harry got me two dresses, silly! You're about my size. I don't need two dresses…" Ginny smiled. Luna and Ginny both ran to Ginny's room to get dressed.

—

Harry had danced both fast and slow dances. He and Neville kept trading dance partners and he had danced with both Luna and Ginny several times. He even managed to steal Hermione away from Victor Krum for one dance.

Early on Harry spotted Ron, Dean, and Seamus off to the side, sort of just standing around with Lavender, Parvati, and Padma. He spotted Ron again an hour later having an awkward slow dance with Lavender. Harry did eventually make his way over to Ron and check in on him. Luna then asked Ron to dance and Harry asked Lavender the same.

Harry then thanked Lavender again for going with Ron and asked her how the date was going. The answer was not great, but Harry encouraged her to relax and also be a bit more assertive with Ron. Harry had no idea what Luna and Ron had talked about, but by the time he and Luna were reunited, Ron and Lavender both seemed a lot more relaxed around one another.

"Are you enjoying yourself this evening, Just Harry?" Luna asked a while later as they danced a slow dance. They'd been at the ball for nearly three hours at this point.

"I am, Luna, thank you for asking," Harry smiled, rolling his eyes at her continuing to call him 'Just Harry'. He'd corrected her three times throughout the evening but then had given up. He knew she was joking which he didn't mind…

Except that joking with Luna made him think of joking with Susan. His heart panged and he tried to brush away his feelings but he found himself looking around the hall in the general direction of the door for, perhaps, the hundredth time that evening. Luna, of course, had noticed.

"I'm sorry I'm not her," Luna said softly.

"No, you're not her, but I like you just as you are, Luna," Harry smiled. "You're quirky and fun and I'd really like to continue to spend time with you after tonight. And if Susan really is done with me then maybe we can go to Hogsmeade some time."

"I'd like that very much," she smiled. "You were probably expecting a kiss tonight from her," she added abruptly.

"I… well, yes, I suppose I did assume we'd kiss at some point," Harry said, biting his lip.

"The offer still stands," Luna said. "I can play the role of girlfriend tonight, Just Harry."

"You want to kiss me?" Harry asked, feeling blindsided.

"I like you very much, Just Harry," she smiled. "I've admired you from afar for two and a half years. So yes, I would enjoy kissing you very much. I know we barely know each other, so I'm not asking you to be my boyfriend or anything… I just want you to have a good night tonight."

"You're beautiful, Luna, and I do really like you, but you're right, I barely know you," Harry said. "How about a kiss on the cheek? That's harmless, yeah?"

"That would also be very nice," Luna smiled. "Alright then," and she quickly leaned up and kissed him, though she missed his cheek and kissed his jaw. Harry chuckled. It was sweet and nice and friendly. He was looking forward to continuing to get to know Luna after tonight.

As Harry looked up from Luna, the sight that met his eyes stunned him.

It was Susan. Susan and Hannah had arrived nearly three hours late but they were finally here. Harry thought Susan looked beautiful and he would be excited to see her if it weren't for the look of utter sorrow and distress on her face.

"Harry! I…" but she didn't get any more words out. Her eyes welled up with tears before she bolted back towards the door, encumbered slightly by her heels.

Harry looked down at the girl in his arms. "Go to her, Harry" Luna said sweetly, dropping the joke of calling him 'Just Harry' for once. Harry nodded and pulled away from Luna before approaching a dumbstruck Hannah. Luna just slid over towards Neville and Ginny.

"What's going on, Hannah? I assumed she'd dumped me, but now she's upset to see me with another girl? Which is it? Does she want to date me or not?" Harry asked Hannah, a little more gruffly than he normally would speak to a girl.

"Harry, she's… she's been having a breakdown," Hannah whispered softly. Harry's expression changed immediately. "It took me forever to convince her that you actually wanted to be with her tonight, but then she saw you… um… let that girl kiss you… She thinks you deserve better than her and that she's not good enough for you." she said, gesturing towards Luna.

"Shit," Harry grumbled. "Luna's just a friend, that kiss was nothing. What should I do?"

"Chase after her, Harry," Hannah said. "I can't convince her that you want to date her. You have to do that."

Harry nodded and took off after Susan, who'd only got about a ten second head start. He caught up to her halfway back to the Hufflepuff common room.

"Sue! Wait! Please!" He called out, the last word sounding much more desperate than he was used to hearing himself sound.

Susan didn't stop. When he caught up to her he grabbed her by the arm and turned her to face him. In doing so he pushed her up against a wall slightly, though he did not pin her there or anything like that. All he'd really done was make her stop.

"Go be with her, Harry," Susan sniffed, leaning back against the wall. "She's beautiful. You deserve someone like her."

"Don't be ridiculous, Susan, you're stunning," Harry said. "Please, tell me why you ditched me today. I've been looking at the doors to the hall every few seconds for the past three hours hoping to see you walking through them."

"I… really?" Susan asked, sounding stunned.

"I wanted to spend this evening with my girlfriend," Harry said.

"I don't know why you want me to be your girlfriend, Harry," Susan said, looking at her shoes. "I'm not smart like Hermione or pretty like that Beauxbatons girl who was kissing you."

"Okay, first of all," Harry said, releasing her and putting his hands on his hips. "I'm not smart either, so forget about that talking point. And secondly, that was Luna Lovegood and she's in Ravenclaw. She's a close friend of Ginny's whom I've met a few times before. She and Ginny were gracious enough to accompany me and Neville to the ball as friends after you ditched us. That kiss on the cheek was a friend-kiss to say thank you for a nice night. I'd have thought you'd have recognized a friend-kiss. You invented friend-kisses, did you not?"

Susan smiled briefly at Harry's mention of a friend-kiss. "Why do you like me, Harry?" she said sadly.

"Susan, I've had more fun this past month dating you than all the rest of the months of my life combined," Harry said. Susan's eyes went wide at this proclamation. "You're so funny and witty and clever! You make me happy. You make me feel silly and fun. There's no one I'd rather hang out with or talk to. I'm… I'm crazy about you, Sue."

"Do you… really mean that, Harry?" Susan said, wiping away her tears and doing her best not to smile (though she was failing at this). "Don't say nice things to me out of pity. Don't tell me you like me just because I'm crying."

"If I wasn't crazy about you, Sue… would I do this?" He stepped towards her and placed a hand on her cheek. His other hand found her waist and he pushed her up again the wall a little. Susan swooned as he caressed her cheek for a moment before moving his hand down a little to angle her chin up. Their eyes met and Harry smirked as he pulled her up into a kiss.

This kiss was like nothing he'd ever done before. They were hungry for each other. Harry attacked her lip by sucking and nibbling on it. (Both actions were suggestions from Seamus during their pre-ball boy talks.)

Susan melted into him. Her hands found the front of his robes and she pulled him into her. It was she who was the first one to introduce tongue into the equation, though Harry responded quickly and their tongue dueled for dominance. Harry won easily.

After several minutes the two parted. Harry's smirk returned and he refused to look away from her. Their eyes were locked once again. Susan was finally smiling again.

"Okay, fine… maybe you do actually want me," Susan sighed. "You still deserve better than me, but I promise to do my best to be my best for you."

"I didn't realize you felt so insecure about yourself, Sue," Harry responded. "I'm going to remind you every day just how desirable you are to me…got it?"

Susan bit her lip and nodded shyly. "How are you going to do that?" she asked innocently.

"Not just kisses, if that's what you're thinking," he smirked. "You can expect encouraging words from me more often in the future as well. And I swear I'll never say anything just because I think that's what you want to hear. I mean everything I say."

Susan smiled and nodded again. "Thank you, Harry," she said before pulling him into a hug.

"I'm… tempted to ask you not to talk about yourself so negatively anymore," Harry said. "But I think telling you not to say the bad thoughts out loud would equate to me ignoring your feelings. So, when you feel inadequate, I want you to tell Hannah or me, okay? We'll talk you back up and remind you that your thoughts can sometimes lie to you. Okay, babe?"

"I don't know what I did to deserve your kindness, Harry, and I'm sorry for pushing you away," Susan said.

"Was there something I said or did that made you feel unwanted, babe?" Harry asked, as the two began to rock from side to side. They were close enough to the hall still to hear the music and their hug had morphed into a slow dance.

"Yesterday, when you asked Hannah and me for help with getting Ron a date… you called me your girlfriend," Susan said. "You hadn't called me that before. We'd never talked about it really. I saw us as… I don't know… as friends that kiss… We were casual and things were fun and lighthearted… and then you called me that and things felt real… things got serious. I panicked."

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way," Harry said. "And I should have asked you out properly instead of just assuming. If you don't want to be my girlfriend, we can be friends that kiss."

"Harry, I'm… I'm so sorry," she said. "Can we please call each other friends? I still want to see you and kiss you and spend time with you, just like we have been doing… I just… the title scares me."

"I understand," Harry sighed, "and I don't want to pressure you into anything. Let's just keep doing what we've been doing, yeah? Being partners in Herbology… hanging out on free periods and weekends… and sneaking away from our friends to kiss. Sound good?"

"Well, yes, but Harry, there's just one thing," Susan began. "You're ready to date. I'm not. What if you meet someone else and you want to date her? You know, like Lauri. I could tell just watching you with her."

"You mean Luna? Well, I'm not a player or a cheater," Harry said. "I wouldn't do anything with anyone else. I only let Luna kiss me on the cheek because I thought you were through with me. I can avoid Luna if you like. She's cool but I barely know her, so if you don't like her-"

"No, Harry, you misunderstand me," Susan said, cutting him off. "I don't want to hold you back. I want you to date other people if that's what you want to do. I would hate for you to avoid getting in relationships waiting around for me to be ready for you."

"Any idea when you'll be ready?" Harry asked.

"I don't feel worthy of love, Harry," Susan replied. "Hannah says I need to work on my self esteem. I'm working on that, okay? So, like, until I can figure myself out, I don't need a boyfriend. But I'm more than happy to have a friend with kissing rights."

"A friend with kissing rights?" Harry chuckled. "Okay, Sue. If that's what you need from me then that's what I'll be. But, uh… if i do start dating someone else, then we obviously can't kiss anymore."

"Oh, I know," Susan sighed. "If you do start dating Luna, will you introduce me? If you like her, then she must be pretty great."

"Yeah…" Harry said. "She's pretty great. I'll introduce you tonight."

Harry and Susan eventually made their way back to the ball. Hannah was very relieved to see them as she'd been quite worried for Susan all evening. Harry introduced Susan and Luna. Luna then danced with Ginny for several dances while Harry focused on Susan for about an hour. After this, Harry and both of his dates stood off to the side to talk and joke around. The last dance of the night was a slow dance and Luna and Susan argued briefly over who should have a final dance with Harry, both insisting it should be the other girl. Harry solved the issue by asking them to dance with each other before walking over to Ginny and sharing his last dance with her. Luna and Susan did end up sharing a dance as well.