Author's Note: After a longer-than-intended hiatus, Third Eye is back! I've got pretty much everything else planned out, and I think it comes to about 21 chapters. There may be a few more that get tossed in, but those are the ones officially mapped out. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: discussion of tattooing/piercing process; discussion of extensive traumatic scarring

"Who do we have left on the schedule today?" Luna asked as she tucked her wand behind her ear.

Ginny glanced down at their appointment book. "I think you're finished. I've got Sirius coming in about five minutes."

"Oooh, what does Sirius want?"

"I don't really know," Ginny explained. "He stopped by last week to see when we had an opening at the end of the day and just told me to put him down for a piercing. Another customer came in, and he left before I could get anything else out of him."

Luna nodded. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

A few minutes later, Sirius Black came breezing through their front door with Remus Lupin hot on his heels.

"Honestly, Padfoot, you said you needed to stop by the post office," Remus huffed.

"I do," Sirius said with a pout. "I just have something else to do first."

He turned to Ginny and opened his arms wide. "How is my favorite Weasley doing today?"

Ginny shook her head and laughed. "You're only saying that because I'm about to stab you with a needle," she said as they embraced.

"Ginny, Luna. It's good to see you both," Remus said, nodding to each of the girls in turn.

Luna opened her mouth to respond, but her eyes glazed over before she could get a single word out.

"It's good to see you too, Remus," Ginny said quickly. Luna hated having people staring at her when she came around from a vision. "It's been too long."

Remus shrugged and smiled softly. "Teddy and Dora keep me busy."

"So does his research for the Ministry," Sirius said emphatically. "I practically had to drag him out of the house today."

"Well then," Luna murmured, shaking her head to clear the residual fog. "Let's do what you came here for."

"What are we doing today?" Ginny asked.

Sirius shot her a roguish grin. "We're piercing my septum. I want one of those really cool, textured silver rings, the kind with a design on it."

"Really?" Remus said incredulously. "That's what you made me leave the house for?"

"You can't spend all your time in your study," Sirius tutted. "Besides, Dora told me you needed to do something other than work on that bit of research for you've been so focused on."

"It's important," Remus grumbled.

Sirius sniffed. "So is having a life. Now, let's see what you've got for me, Gin."

Ginny nodded and walked behind the case. She gestured to a small section of the enchanted jewelry. "Take a look at these. I think you'll find something you like in there."

As Sirius studied the variety of hoops and horseshoes, Ginny heard Luna start up a conversation with Remus about the various enchantments and runes she used in the tattoo process. She watched the tension leave Remus' shoulders as he sank into the comfort of a deep academic discussion.

"That'll keep him busy for a while," Sirius said, nodding at the pair.

"Even if it doesn't, this shouldn't take too long," Ginny assured him. "Have you decided which one you want?"

Sirius indicated a small silver hoop. The bottom half was decorated with a series of arching loops, each of which was topped with a tiny silver ball.

"Kind of looks like a set of brass knuckles," he commented.

"It should," Ginny explained. "It's got a mild protective enchantment engraved on the back side."

"Perfect! Let's do this!" Sirius cried.

Ginny led him back to her station and began pulling out the necessary instruments.

"What made you decide on a septum piercing?" she asked quietly.

He shrugged and said, "I just think they look cool. It doesn't hurt that it will probably have dear old mum and dad turning over in their graves. I was considering a tattoo, but I want a little more time to think about what I want."

"Well, Luna knows her stuff. Whenever you decide what you want, or even if you just need to hammer out the details, have a chat with her about it," Ginny advised.

"I know she does amazing work," he said. "Harry's dragon is incredible, and I've been blown away by the few other designs of hers I've seen as well. Really impressive stuff."

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing," she said with a dreamy sigh. She absentmindedly swiped at his nose with an alcohol pad.

"You really caught a good one, Gin," Sirius said. "Smart, brave, creative, and sweet as pie."

That was enough to make Ginny snort with laughter. "Okay, you had me until the sweet part."

He frowned, his brows knitting together. "I've never seen Luna be anything other than disgustingly sweet to someone."

"You've never had a fight with her," Ginny argued. "And you weren't at Hogwarts when the Carrows were in charge. Don't get me wrong, Luna's precious most of the time, but she isn't perfect. The girl has a vindictive streak that occasionally rears its head, especially if she thinks you've been cruel."

"I never would have guessed," Sirius murmured.

She shrugged, pulling the needle from its packaging. "Luckily it's mostly directed at people who are actually evil or at least really mean. Though I do make it point not to cross her at that time of the month."

Ginny tapped his nose and numbed it before carefully piercing it and inserting the jewelry. When she was finished, she passed Sirius a small mirror.

"What do you think?"

Sirius turned his head back and forth, admiring his reflection. "It's perfect. I love it!"

Ginny smiled in satisfaction.

When they returned to the lobby of the shop, Luna and Remus were still deeply entrenched in their discussion.

Sirius cleared his throat loudly. "Well? What do you think?"

Remus looked over at his friend, shook his head, and smiled. "Very you, Padfoot."

"If you ever want to come back and take a closer look at the specifics of our process, you're more than welcome," Luna said, patting Remus on the arm.

"I'll take you up on that," he replied. "I've always wanted a tattoo, but with all these scars…"

Luna perked up. "With our process, that might not matter. Do you mind if we step back into my office so I can take a look?"

Remus' eyes grew wide, but he simply nodded and followed her behind the beaded curtain, Sirius and Ginny hot on their heels.

Luna took Remus' arm in her hands and studied it for a moment, running her fingers gently along the crescent shaped scars that criss-crossed his skin. After a moment, she removed her wand and slowly waved it back and forth across his forearm.

"How would you describe the nature of your scars?" she asked, her voice clear and clinical. "Do they behave more like Muggle scars or regular magical scars?"

Remus chewed his lip. "There's no dark magic to it, if that's what you're asking."

"No, of course not," Luna said with a wave of her hand. "I just wanted to know if you were capable of removing them with magic, like you would a Muggle scar, or if they behaved like a regular, non-cursed magical scar."

"I certainly can't heal them away," Remus said darkly. "Believe me, I've tried."

Luna traced one of the freshest marks. "I really think you could be a good candidate for a magical tattoo, Remus. I can't cover dark magic, but I knew that wouldn't be a concern with you. I also have a hard time tattooing over Muggle scars because they move and change and grow as they age. Magical scars are much more stable. Yes, I really think I could tattoo over these, if that's something you're interested in."

"Absolutely!" Remus blurted out. Realizing his outburst, he clapped a hand over his mouth and chuckled nervously. "I'm not ashamed of them or anything. I'm just… I'm tired of them being my defining feature. I'd love to have something beautiful beside them."

She smiled knowingly. "Of course. What were you thinking of having done? Anything in particular?"

"Well, I'm not completely sure…"

"A sun," Sirius interjected quietly.

Remus turned to look at him oddly. "That… Why, Pads?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "First, it's the very antithesis of the thing that brings you the most pain. You should be able to carry the antidote—the lightness of the sun—with you wherever you go. Second, you are the sun, Moony."

"I don't follow," Remus whispered.

Sirius sighed. "No matter what life throws at you, no matter how many times you get knocked down, you always rise. In spite of the fear, in spite of the ache, in spite of every adversity you've faced. You persevere in a way rivaled only by the most constant star in our sky."

A single tear dripped down Remus' cheek. "You sappy bugger. And all this time I thought you only loved me for my pranking skills."

Sirius sniffed. "I've got to keep up appearances you know."

"I believe that settles it," Luna said, rising from her stool. "Let's do this."

"Now?" Remus squeaked.

"Now," Sirius agreed.

Ginny watched the three of them disappear into Luna's work room and tried to occupy herself with the bookkeeping. She fiddled with her necklace, trying not to glance down at the ticking clock pendant. As much as she wanted to focus on the shop's accounting, she was too busy wondering if Luna was right. For Remus' sake, Ginny hoped she was.

A few hours later, long after the shop had technically closed, Luna, Remus, and Sirius finally emerged.

"Let me see! Let me see!" Ginny cried.

Remus unbuttoned the top of his shirt and tugged it to the side. There, on his right pectoral muscle, was a swirling, lively sun.

"It's lovely," she breathed, resisting the urge to reach out and touch it.

"Best of all, you can't see any of my scars through it," Remus said.

He turned to Luna and held out his hands in supplication. "I don't have the words to thank you."

"Don't worry about thanking me," she replied. "Just come back again and let me do something else for you. You'll make a great billboard."

Sirius and Remus both laughed.

"Well, we'd best be going. I've got to get this one back to his wife and child," Sirius said, jerking a thumb at Remus.

Remus paled. "Shit. What is Dora going to say?"

"Come on, man," Sirius scoffed. "Whose idea do you think this little trip was?"

"You didn't…"

Luna smiled serenely. "Let's just say this wasn't the first time I'd considered your particular situation."

"Padfoot!"

"How easily you forget that we were both raised to be Blacks," Sirius replied.

Ginny and Luna watched them shuffle out the door, bickering and teasing like the best friends they were.

"Reckon we sound like that when we fight?" Ginny asked.

"No," Luna assured her, "you're much louder."

"Hey!"

"You asked," she said with a laugh.

"Whatever," Ginny grumbled. "Oh, I mean to ask you earlier: did you see Neville today? I know we talked yesterday about telling him we wanted to move in, but…"

"We never made it over there," Luna finished with a gleam in her eye.

"Exactly."

Luna shook her head. "I didn't see him today, and I'm sure he's already gone home for now. We'll have to pop in early tomorrow and let him know."

"Sounds like a plan," Ginny said. She dropped a kiss on top of Luna's blonde curls, and then on the tip of her nose, and then on each cheek. "But if I'm getting up early, I need to go home and get to sleep very soon. Well, maybe after some cuddling."

Luna let out a tinkling laugh and grabbed her hand as they walked toward the Floo. "I can't think of a better way to end today."

...

MC4A Challenge Block

Stacked with: BAON; Fence; FPC; Star; Chimera Creator; Shipping War; Spring Bingo

Individual Challenge(s): Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Neurodivergant (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); The 3rd Rule; Old Shoes (Y); Gryffindor MCx3; Ravenclaw MC; Magical MCx4; Artist MCx2; Ship Sails (Y); Zed Era; Inks & Stinks; Beauty of the Abstract (Y);

Representation(s): Luna Lovegood x Ginny Weasley; Sirius Black; Remus Lupin; Post-War Fluff; Everyone Lives; Tattooing Over Scars

Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenge(s): Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Bee Haven; Machismo; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress); Chorus (Endless Wonder; Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi)

Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenge(s): T3 (Thimble)

Word Count: 1971

...

Chimera Creator

Chimera: Mars

Parts (Prompts): Tattoo Shop AU; Arguing/Debating; "Rise Up" by Andra Day

Shipping War

Ship (Team): Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley (Blazing Moonlight)

List (Prompt): Spring Big 1 (Necklace)

Spring Bingo

Space Address (Prompt): 5A (Sweet)