Harry laid eyes on Xenophilius Lovegood, and Harry's first thought was what a strange man he was. Like Luna there were times that Mr. Lovegood wasn't all there, but unlike Luna who was serene and calm about it Xenophilius just seemed off. The man greeted Harry with a crooked smile and a handshake.
His eyes were darker than Luna's, but his hair was a lighter blonde. He had a fine jaw structure and high cheekbones that Harry associated with pure bloods. Harry realized just then that he'd never wondered about Luna's blood status, not like it mattered, but he wondered if she was pure blooded. He filed that away to ask Luna later, but a part of him knew he'd never ask.
"Right this way, children." Xenophilius led Luna and Harry through nine and three quarters, disappearing before Harry and Luna followed closely after. The man was fast, he never once glanced behind him to check if they still were there. Luna didn't seem bothered by this, but Harry was beginning to trail behind. Luna grabbed his hand after noticing his struggle. Her hand was cool, but soft. Harry blushed hoping Luna wouldn't see.
They soon arrived at The Leaky Cauldron, but it was the muggle side of it. Mr. Lovegood tapped the wall with his wand after checking to see if anyone watched him. Just like Harry remembered, the wall disappeared and what was left behind was the entrance to Diagon Alley. Xenophilius walked through, gesturing with his hands for Harry and Luna to follow.
The opening disappeared behind them. The Leaky Cauldron was a busy place. Harry should've guessed it would've been, but Harry had never taken the traditional way back. Either his muggle family drove to pick him up or he had some other magical way of getting to where he needed to be.
"We're taking the Floo." Explained Luna when she noticed Harry's uncertainty. There was a short line that Harry observed, groups of people waiting in front of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace. People would step inside, throw down the Floo powder, and off they went in a cloud of green.
Harry must've zoned out because suddenly Luna was shaking him gently and telling him that it was their turn to step inside. Harry stumbled forward and they all squeezed into the fireplace. Harry wasn't taking his chances in getting lost via Floo again.
A disorientating second later and he was standing in the middle of a peculiar house. It was a beautiful house, but quite puzzling, nonetheless. Lots of light entered through the many windows; the glass panes were colorful, so the light that came through varied in color. It was a huge house too, with lots of open space and not a lot of crowding, quite unlike The Burrow. There was an air of purity about the place, it made Harry feel like an infestation. A drab and dreary intruder in this color bomb of a house.
"What do you think?" Asked Luna with a smile, she admired her own house. Harry was about to open his mouth to say something when Luna's father interrupted him.
"Would you children like tea? I've got Rhubarb, Oolong, and oh a bit of Dragon Well still left. Dragon Well is my favorite." Xenophilius offered happily.
"Do you have normal tea?" Harry questioned while rubbing the back of his neck. The man's expression soured, and he adopted a stormy look. Harry glanced over at Luna, and she had an uncomfortable expression on her face.
"He doesn't like that word, Harry." Whispered Luna in explanation, but that only confused him further.
"What word?" He uttered back.
"Normal. Nothing's 'normal' here." Luna said with a quirky smile. That made Harry understand. I mean if there was one thing about Lovegood's it was that oddities followed them like bees on flowers. One could not exist without the other, but that fact grew on Harry.
"Sorry, what I meant was, is there black tea?" Xenophilius seemed to refocus, and all animosity faded.
"Well, of course not! Much too plain for our tastes right, dewdrop?" Luna's father grinned at Luna, and she grinned back.
"Well, I'll just take some Oolong then." Harry said awkwardly, he wasn't the hugest fan of green tea, but it would be rude to refuse when the man had already offered. Xenophilius gathered the tea leaves and incanted a spell on the kettle that caused steam to rise from the kettle immediately. He placed the leaves into an infuser before throwing them into their respective mugs. After that, he poured the boiling water into the cups, and he cast another wordless spell that darkened steeped the tea instantly. Harry was still realizing that wizards had no patience.
In the brief time that Mr. Lovegood was preparing the tea, Harry had been led over to Luna's rather large dining table. He sat down next to her, feeling far too out of place to sit farther away from the only person he knew.
Mr. Lovegood soon came to the table, levitating three cups beside him. He placed one mug in front of Harry, one in front of Luna, then finally he sat with his. There was silence as they sipped on their glasses, both Lovegood's were deep in thought. Harry found himself enjoying the Oolong a lot more than he thought he would. It was good tea.
Harry found himself comparing this to the Weasleys, he wasn't sure what he liked more. Maybe for now, for where he was at in his life, this felt right. He sat back in the chair and for once just relaxed. He took a deep breath, and the floral notes of Oolong hit his nose.
"So, Harry Potter, is that right?" Xenophilius broke the silence and Harry sat up, alarmed. He wasn't expecting a conversation, but he should've.
"Yes, sir." Harry nodded and Mr. Lovegood chuckled.
"No need to call me sir. Call me Xeno or Mr. Lovegood if you wish to be so proper."
"Yes, Mr. Lovegood." Harry repeated, using the name the man wished him to use. Xenophilius finished the last few drops of his tea and sighed contentedly.
"Was not expecting my little Luna to bring the Chosen One home this Winter." Admitted Luna's father with a laugh. Harry froze; he could feel the resentment towards that name brewing in his gut. He jolted as he felt Luna's hand on his, she always knew.
"Well, I'm here." He said through gritted teeth, hoping the man wouldn't notice his tension.
"Well, I'm glad. We don't have much family left." Said Mr. Lovegood sadly.
"Neither do I." Harry mentioned with a shrug, chugging the last of his tea. Xenophilius's frown deepened.
"It's awful what happened to your parents. I'm so sorry, Harry." The man said, truly remorseful. Harry didn't give a damn. What the fuck was it that made adults think it was okay to talk about that shit? Did Harry have a sign over his head that read 'talk about my dead parents and tragic past'? For Luna's sake he gritted his teeth and bared it, the Gryffindor in him roared in protest.
"Yeah." Harry said bluntly, hopefully cutting off this line of conversation. Luna saved the day, she simply swooped in and gathered their cups.
"I'll send these to the kitchen and show Harry to his room." Harry shot her a grateful look that made her lip twitch upward for a brief moment.
"Okay, dewdrop. After that you can show Harry around, I'll be busy working." Luna kissed the top of her father's head and motioned for Harry to follow her. She led Harry down a strange hallway, before they arrived at many doors.
"Now, there's room A." She offered while opening the door nearest to them. What appeared was a jungle. Or rather, a room that looked like one. A bed that had monkeys bouncing on it, complete with dark green sheets and vines hanging from the ceiling. Harry hoped that the panther he saw in there wasn't real.
"Does it come with the monkeys, or do I have to pay extra for that?" Harry questioned sarcastically. Luna gave him the look and Harry held his hands up in defeat.
"Just asking." He mumbled.
"Many of our guests in the past loved this room." Luna said, as if confused why he wouldn't want it. In the back of his mind, he wondered if she was screwing with him, but he knew Luna too well. She was an upfront and honest kind of girl; he liked that about her.
"What's room B?" Harry decided to ask, not looking forward to the answer. Luna shut the door and moved to the right some until she arrived at the second door along the wall. Harry expected the worst, but when she opened the door, he let his mouth fall open in shock.
Only bad thing about having a depressed author write a depressed character is the depression taking a toll on my writing...
-Lemon Nugget