"Here it is!" exclaimed Hermione, staring intently at a large leather_bound tome splayed open across her lap, Crookshanks curled up contentedly next to her on the divan's plush armrest. "It's known as a Claustrum Sphere..listen to this...originally created by the Dark Wizard Grindelwald around the turn of the century, they were designed to hold captive members of the Hapsburg Dynasty...Professor Dumbledore was right, then..."

"How's that?" said Ron lazily from the hearthrug near the fireplace, his gaze unwavering from the chessboard between him and Harry.

"I thought there wasn't any doubt what it was," echoed Harry. "After Dumbledore found Luna's dad in there, I mean."

Hermione looked over at them. "Not about what it was, I meant where it came from," she corrected. "He did say it was likely one of Grindelwald's artifacts, didn't he? Which means that Voldemort must have discovered the location of the old castle somehow."

"Oh," said Harry, though he really wasn't interested in more theories at the moment. So much had happened over the last two days that his mind was still reeling, his thoughts still drifting back to Luna, currently laid up at St. Mungo's for at least another day, according to the Healers.

Harry had wanted to stay and keep Luna company, though the Healers had insisted she get complete rest, and he'd very reluctantly agreed to return to Hogwarts with the others. He consoled himself with the knowledge that she'd gotten to spend some time with her adoring father, at the very least. Harry and Dumbledore had brought him up to speed, having had no awareness of the events of the preceding weeks.

It had been an awkward business for Harry, Mr. Lovegood falling into a state of shock after being made aware of everything his daughter had been through...the intense adoration he had for her being most evident. Luna, on the other hand, had seemed less concerned about recounting her adventure and more intent on getting Hermione and her father engaged in a discussion of Wizard cryptozoology, which the young Gryffindor managed to repeatedly (though politely) sidestep by bringing up her ideas for further articles about House_Elf rights.

"Checkmate," uttered Ron with satisfaction, having just moved his queen into a threatening position near Harry's king.

Harry blinked. He hadn't seen that coming at all. "Hold on," he said, scanning the board for a possible out.

"Nope, it's done," assured Ron, leaning back against the foot of the chair behind him and stretching his arms. "That's twice in the last half hour...your concentration's slipping tonight, mate. Well, not that I can blame you there - " he added quickly following a reproachful glance from Hermione. Hermione closed her book. "That's all it says," she said, looking disappointed. She glanced at her unfinished schoolwork on the table before her. "Well, this can wait till tomorrow, I suppose."

Harry and Ron both turned to look at her, bemused expressions on their faces.

"What?" asked Hermione.

Ron leaned close to Harry and adopted a secretive tone. "I think someone's abducted Hermione and left a Metamorphmagus in her place," he whispered. "Doing a pretty rotten job impersonating her, isn't it?"

"You okay, Hermione?" asked Harry.

She stared at him in surprise. "Yes of course, I - oh look," she said, "I just don't feel up to it tonight, that's all. There's so much to think about right now..."

"Well, don't forget that assignment," cautioned Ron. "We're counting on you to, er, verify our essays too."

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh relax, Ron," she said tiredly, "You can copy off mine just this one time." Ron beamed.

She stood and gathered her books. "You know, you'll never stand up on your own two feet scholastically unless you take your schoolwork more seriously. I won't be able to help you when it comes time for the N.E.W.T exams next year, you know, we'll all be sequestered. Honestly, I don't know why I let you two keep getting away with this - "

" 'Cause we'd fail miserably without you," said Ron plainly, getting up from the floor.

Hermione seemed at least partially mollified at his frank admission. "No you wouldn't," she said. "If you just tried to apply yourself a little more - "

Ron stretched his arms out over his head, not bothering to stifle a yawn. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack," he announced. "We don't need to go patrolling tonight, do we?"

"What? Oh, no..." answered Hermione distractedly. "No, I'm not really...we can skip tonight, Ron, sure..."

Ron looked at her strangely for a moment before bidding his goodnights and marching up to the boys' dormitory. Hermione seemed likewise ready to call it a night but was standing before the hearth and staring into the fire, seemingly lost in thought. Harry rose and joined her

"Hey, you all right?" he asked with concern. Something in her countenance troubled him.

Hermione remained silent for several moments before sighing dispiritedly. She turned to face him. "I...I'm just so mad at myself, Harry..."

He blinked. "What? Why?" As far as he knew, there was nothing Hermione had to be upset about, least of all at herself.

She swallowed hard. "I came up with this supposedly great plan to get Luna's father back, and instead I almost got both of you killed!"

"Hey listen," said Harry consolingly, "That was Malfoy's fault, not yours. You couldn't have known he was going to go blabbing like that."

"Couldn't I?" said Hermione angrily, though Harry knew it wasn't directed at him. "He's treacherous, Harry! I should've known he'd do something like that - I swear, I am going to give him such a piece of my mind __ "

"Well, that wouldn't be a bad thing, I guess," said Harry. "But I think you're forgetting something...we did get Luna's dad back, didn't we?"

"Yes, but Harry," she said earnestly, her eyes welling up, "That was just by chance, really. I didn't think things through, I was careless, I should've taken all the possibilities into account, if I'd listened to Ron we would have noticed you were missing a lot sooner and you wouldn't have gone off on your own to confront Voldemort and Luna wouldn't have nearly died and you wouldn't - " the words came spilling out faster and faster until they became an overwhelming torrent of intense self_recrimination.

"Whoa, Hermione, Hold it!" said Harry, witnessing the anguish spilling out of his friend with dismay. "If it wasn't for Malfoy everything would have worked out. Especially with Dumbledore and the Order being in on it, and that was your idea too. You can't blame yourself for what that git did!"

Hermione shook her head, tears spilling down her face. "I should have...it's not..." she said hoarsely. "So much for Hermione Granger and her brilliant plan!"

She threw her books violently against the wall, narrowly missing the blazing fireplace. She dropped down heavily into her chair, buried her face in her hands and proceeded to weep uncontrollably, shoulders shaking.

Harry stood there, aghast. Comforting crying people was hardly his forte, but he couldn't stand seeing her like this. He couldn't understand why she was reacting so badly...

He took a tentative step forward. "Uh...Hermione?" "It's my fault," she said in a muffled and squeaky voice, head still buried in her arms. "If...if I hadn't...tried to get you two..."

Harry knelt down before her and hesitantly took her hand in his. "Hey, c'mon...this isn't the Hermione I know..."

She raised her head to peer at him tearfully over her elbow. "Harry...you...you don't know..."

"What don't I know?" he asked, slightly apprehensive at the sound of those words. Had something happened during his convalescence?

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Ron would have gotten you out in time if it wasn't for me," she said painfully. "I wanted to leave the two of you alone because...I thought...oh, I'll never go sticking my nose in someone else's business again!"

"Eh? You've lost me...what are you talking about?"

Hermione swallowed and wiped her eyes again. "Oh...I just...I thought that if I could get you and Luna to spend some time together...it might...well..."

She stared down at the empty space between her feet. "I shouldn't have meddled," she whispered gravely. "I almost lost you both because I stuck my nose in someone else's..."

Harry felt his heart go out to her. Meddle she may have, but it was all with the very best of intentions. He couldn't let her wallow in despair like this.

"Well, I wouldn't call that 'sticking your nose in' exactly," he said. "And anyway, I'm glad you did. It made me realize something..."

Hermione raised her head and met his gaze, an uncertain look on her tear_stained face.

"Harry?" she whispered.

He took a deep breath. "You were right," he said solemnly, "About Luna...I guess I just didn't...I mean, I was just..."

"Oh Harry," said Hermione, her face brightening a little, "I know you don't like to talk about things like that - "

"No, it's okay," insisted Harry. "It's so different than with Cho. It's more like...well...with Luna I actually care, about what she says, what she feels...it's more than it ever was with Cho...with her I was always wondering how to act, or not make a fool out of myself. I was always trying to impress her, you know?"

"Well, that's natural, Harry," said Hermione, "Wanting to make a good impression and all...boys do feel a lot of pressure when - "

"But that's the rub," said Harry, "There's none of that with Luna. I don't feel like I have to be somebody else, or say stupid things...it's..."

"It just feels right," finished Hermione.

"It does," said Harry, "I...I thought I'd lost her in Hogsemade. it made me realize how much I...well..."

Hermione grabbed hold of his hand. "Harry...when are you going to tell her?"

"Er, I already did."

Hermione's eyes widened and she leaned closer. "Really? Goodness Harry, I'm impressed! How'd she react?"

An idea flashed in Harry's mind. He sighed deeply. "She was really upset," he said. "She said she never wanted to see or speak to me again."

Hermione drew back, a horrified look on her face, both hands covering her mouth in shock. "Holy Cricket, no! Oh, no, Harry!!"

"Whoa, relax!" said Harry, laughing. "I was just kidding! She's fine!"

Hermione's eyes widened even further, at which moment Harry felt a painful, jarring impact on his cheek, sending him tumbling onto his backside.

"OW!" he cried, rubbing the left side of his face, "Cripes, Ron wasn't exaggerating!! Maybe you should become a beater!"

Hermione was standing now, arms held stiffly at her sides and shaking with fury. "How dare you trifle with my emotions like that, Harry??" she said hoarsely.

Harry scrambled to his feet. "Hey, sorry," he said quickly, "I just wanted to get you off track there, you were coming down pretty hard on yourself..."

Hermione gaped at him, standing frozen and speechless for several seconds before launching forward and enveloping him in her arms.

"Oh, Harry!" she cried.

* * *

"Are you sure, Snookums?" Luna's father asked, kcking the snow from his boots in the entrance hall. "You shouldn't be wandering the corridors alone at this time of night; I'm sure there's still got that curfew going - "

Luna gazed up at him. "Oh don't worry, Daddy," she said dreamily, "I think I'll run down to the kitchen and have a cup of hot chocolate before turning in. The coco they had in St. Mungo's wasn't very good, was it?"

"Not very, now that you mention it," said Mr. Lovegood, producing such an exaggeratedly pained grimace that it elicited a loud giggle from his daughter. "But then, hospital food isn't supposed to taste good. It's a tradition of sorts, you know."

"Why not?" asked Luna curiously.

He looked at her, a bemused smile creasing his features. "Well, I'd imagine they don't want people deliberately getting themselves injured to get some free food, so they purposely give everything a deplorable taste."

"Well that hardly seems very nice," said Luna reprovingly. "People go to St. Mungo's to get better, after all. I think patients should get the best food they can find. Couldn't they just offer better food and charge a few sickles for it instead? I for one would be quite willing to give over a Knut or two for a good hot chocolate..."

Mr. Lovegood's smile widened as a look of deep affection crossed his features. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Luna's shoulders and pulled her next to him in a colossal hug.

"Oh, how I missed listening to all your questions, Snookums," he said sadly, kissing her on her forehead. "For a while there I thought I was going to leave you all alone in this world..."

"Daddy?" asked Luna with concern, seeing her father getting a bit misty_eyed. She squeezed him hard, ignoring the soreness in her side. Seeing her father sad brought back painful memories of the dark times following her Mother's death...

"And you," he said, his voice sounding a bit strained, "Don't you ever go and put yourself in that kind of danger again, not even for me. I won't lose you like I did your mother, young lady..."

His voice broke and he gave Luna a monumental hug, crouching slightly and burying his face in her long, snow_speckled hair.

Luna could feel her father's shaking shoulders through the pain in her side; she recalled vividly his very similar reaction when the shock of her mother's death had hit him full force six years before.

"You won't ever lose me," she whispered, hugging back as tightly as she could. "But I have to help my friends, Daddy, I really do...I can't falter now..."

"I know...so like your mother," he blubbered into her sand_coloured locks.

They held the embrace for a long time until finally her father drew back and squeezed her hand.

"Snooks, you know I trust your judgement," he said sadly, "I always have...but Luna, please promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks!"

"I never do...I only take the necessary ones," she replied, smiling serenely.

He choked in surprise. "Snookums, you're having fun with me! You've never been one to play it safe, remember when dove off that rock? How many bones did you beak that day, thirty_two I think, wasn't it? The healers said you nearly - "

"Oh but Daddy, I was six!" she said, laughing. "And anyway, the Nightingale looked so happy soaring about, I just had to try - "

Mr. Lovegood put up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, all right, I'm not going to get into this again, I know when I'm licked. Well at least promise me you won't go trying to mimic a Nightingale again, at least!"

Luna smiled and put one hand over her heart and raised the other. "I solemnly swear that I will at no time in the future attempt to duplicate the soaring flight of a Nightingale."

Her father looked pensive. "Or any other bird," he added.

Her smile brightened. "Or any other bird," she repeated serenely.

He sighed. "Well, that'll have to do, I suppose," he said. He looked down the long hallway. "I might as well go see Dumbledore now, I expect he'll be waiting - "

Luna squeezed his fingers. "Please don't be sad, Daddy," she said serenely. "A lot of good came from this, you know. I got Hermione Granger to believe in Heliopaths, after all."

He stared at her for a moment. "It's important to you, what she thinks, isn't it?"

Luna nodded sagely. "She has the brains for Ravenclaw, Daddy, and then some. She's a really sweet person, truly she is. I think I just might get her to believe in the Snorkack one day! And perhaps the Blibbering Humdinger too!" Her eyes widened excitedly at the prospect.

Her father grinned and leaned close. "Well, it was all for the good then, wasn't it?"

He ran a hand roughly through her hair, mussing it up vigorously and sending Luna into a fit of giggles.

"I'll see you in the morning, Snookums. Sleep tight," he said as he planted one last kiss on her forehead and left in the direction of Dumbledore's office.

Luna watched him go until he turned the corner out of sight, a dawning awareness that everything was right in her world slowly creeping into her consciousness. She sighed softly and smiled at nothing in particular, running one hand back through her hair to undo the worst of the tangles her father had playfully created. Her fingers drifted down to the end of one of her pale locks, noting its length with satisfaction. Despite the constant teasing and incessant tangles, she liked her hair as it was; it reminded Luna of her mother's glorious flaxen tresses, although hers were imbued with a rather more sandy hue.

Or the colour of dirt, if her dormitory roommates were to be believed. She quickly pushed the inference back into her psychological drawer of verboten thoughts and slammed it shut. How it had managed to let itself out, she couldn't fathom. She wished for a secret key that would allow her to lock it forever, to never again peer into its murky depths.

She supposed that she managed well enough, though, even without such a key. Though that never stopped her from wishing...

No, not dirt, she decided, as she held a long stray lock up to her eyes for closer inspection. Sandy_hued is a much nicer term for it, she concuded resolutely.

She sighed again, looking about the deserted hall. The inhabitant of her favorite portrait, Wendelin the Weird, was currently absent, presumably off on one her midnight romps with that Felix Summerby fellow. Well, no matter. She'd just have to recount her adventure some other time.

My adventure, she thought, how odd. She'd gotten her father back, of course, but not only had she recovered what she'd so painfully lost, she'd also gained something she'd never had -

Of course, her Mum and Dad loved her dearly, that she knew. But outside of her dearly beloved parents, no one had ever expressed such affection for her.

She wondered why Harry would say such a thing. He certainly wasn't a deceitful boy, that was clear. He was a truly sincere soul, despite his occasional recklessness...

Her thoughts drifted back to the end of the previous term, when he'd seemed to appear out of nowhere. He'd offered to help her look for her belongings, twice no less. At the time, Luna had been a bit taken aback by his desire to help, but she'd attributed it at first to his anguised state. He'd seemed so lost that day...

She'd felt sad for him, even letting him glimpse one of her most sacred, deep_rooted beliefs about her mother in an effort to reassure him. For some reason she even told him of her missing belongings, something she generally avoided discussing, but with Harry...

Happily, he'd made the connection between Luna's convictions of her mother's fate and his Godfather, despite his initial bemusement; he'd heard the voices too, after all. Once she'd seen the gears turning inside his head she knew she'd had a positive effect, taking quiet satisfaction in lifting him from his doldrums, even if ever so slightly.

Still, she thought, absent_mindedly running a finger along the corrugated ridge of one of the butterbeer caps hanging from her neck, so much has happened since then...

She'd had felt an odd but growing affection for Harry throughout the year, there could be no denying it. Of course, she'd attributed it, sensibly enough, to their flourishing friendship, despite Ginny's not so subtle hints to the contrary. And yet, she'd felt a strong sense of release upon Harry's revelation of his feelings for her...had she been subconsciously trying to blind herself to it?

Why was she trying to analyze it in the first place? She shook her head. What was there to analyze? One of the most mysterious and powerful forces in the universe...that strange room in the Department of Mysteries was reason enough not to try; if the best wizards and witches in the Wizarding World hadn't made any headway in understanding that power over all these years, she could hardly be expected to do very much better standing in the middle of a deserted corridor in the middle of the night with nothing to go on but a bunch of overflowing drawers of ether.

Overflowing they might be, but still, she'd rather do her own inner housekeeping than rely on that bizarre pensieve the Headmaster used.

Take life as it comes, her Mum had told her countless times. So she carefully pushed her curious thoughts into her packed drawer of unsolved mysteries for later perusal.

Oops, wrong drawer, sorry. That one, in you go.

She glanced around the deserted hall. What was it she'd decided to do again?

Oh yes, she thought. Hot chocolate! How could I forget? She chastised herself silently; it was one of her Mum's favourite treats, after all. Many_a_time they'd bundled themselves together before the fireplace back home under a warm blanket, contentedly drinking their hot cocos and recounting stories. It was one of Luna's fondest memories; needless to say, that particular drawer was quite worn from being opened with decided regularity.

She proceeded serenely off to the kitchens, offering whispered greetings to those few portraits whose inhabitants were not in slumber.

She'd gotten her hot chocolate and had just bade a heartfelt goodnight to Winky when she met Dobby on her way out, the House Elf returning from his late night rounds cleaning the Gryffindor dormitories. He seemed intensely relieved to see her, his eyes bulging excitedly.

"Dobby, what's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Harry Potter, Miss Luna," answered the House Elf worriedly in his squeaky voice. "Dobby has just returned from cleaning, and Harry Potter still stays in the Common Room. Very distraught, he is!"

Luna held her breath for a moment. Harry, distraught? But why? He couldn't be regretting his decision about telling her his feelings, could he? Sweet muffins, no...

Luna crouched down to look at the House Elf face_to_face. "Dobby," she asked, "I'd really like to go see him, could you please let me in? I promise I won't tell - "

Dobby's did not need any prodding as his face lit up like a coastal beacon as he scurried out of the kitchen, Luna in tow. She had to walk briskly to keep up with him, despite his much shorter legs.

When he'd opened the entrance behind the Fat Lady's portrait (who'd complained vehemently, incidentally, thinking her work had been done for the night), he wished Luna luck and quietly slipped off.

Luna quietly slipped into the Gryffindor Common Room, seeing Harry sprawled out on one of the large divans near the fireplace, a crumpled parchment clenched tightly in his fist. He was staring distractedly into the flames, evidently not noticing her entrance.

Luna drifted closer, noting the dried tears on his cheeks and his generally miserable appearance. Something was definitely wrong, she could tell. She felt her heart rise slightly as she bit her lip.

"Harry?"

He jumped in his chair and spun around, clearly not expecting to see anyone there at this hour.

"L_Luna?" he said, a look of total surprise on his face. "I...I thought...aren't you supposed to be at St. Mungo's?"

"Oh, well," said Luna, smiling serenely, "Daddy had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore and the Order here at school, and I really wasn't very keen on staying over there, anyway. Their hot chocolate is rather bad, you know."

She gingerly sat down on the table Harry had been using to perch his feet on, being mindful of her still sore ribs.

Harry straightened up and looked at her worriedly. "I didn't know...how are you feeling? Are you sure it's safe for you to be out so soon?"

Her smile brightened. At least he didn't seem to be upset at her, she noted, as she gratefully stuffed that disturbing theory away in her drawer of discarded thoughts and disproven hypotheses. "Oh, I'm rather well," she said. "Just suffering from a mild case of cocoa withdrawal, actually. Anyway...how are you feeling, Harry?"

"Me?" he replied, "I'm...uh...I couldn't sleep..."

"I gathered," said Luna softly. She titled her head unconsciously and stared at him for several moments, trying to read his eyes...

He was hurting, that much she could tell. But why? Things had turned out so well!

Her eyes drifted down to the parchment he still clenched in his hand. A realization dawned within her as she recalled where she'd seen that document before -

"That's your Godfather's letter, isn't it?" she asked softly.

Harry hesitated. He looked up from the parchment and caught her eyes, staring at him earnestly.

"Yeah," he said, relaxing his shoulders slightly. "I just can't bring myself to read it...stupid I know..."

"Well, I don't think it is," said Luna. She wished there was a way she could somehow siphon off some of Harry's sadness and lock it away in one of her ethereal drawers.

Harry stared down at his trembling hand. "You know...I thought it might get easier by now..."

"Buttered bread can only go so far," said Luna sadly. He looked up at her.

"Harry," she said, "would you like me to read it to you? I really don't mind."

He swallowed deeply, slowly turning his anguished gaze down to the crumpled paper. "That's...I think...I'd like that..."

She gently took the parchment from his trembling hand, smoothing it out on her lap so she could make out the rather coarse handwriting more easily.

She glanced over the top of the paper at Harry. All the colour had drained from his face; he looked for all the world as someone waiting to be marched off to the guillotine. She felt a sharp pain in her chest at the sight of him -

"Harry, if you'd rather not - "

He quickly shook his head. "No, go ahead," he croaked.

She bit her lip and turned her luminous gaze to the parchment. She took a deep breath.

"Dear Harry,

I guess if you're reading this it means I'm not around anymore. You
know from my letters over the past couple of years that I'm not much
for the written word. But there's a few things I have to say, seeing
as this is the last chance I'll have to say them.

A few days ago, you asked me about your father. You didn't seem
convinced about what I had to say, and with things going the way they
are, I don't know if I'll ever get a second chance to remedy that. So
here goes.

I would never have befriended your father if he wasn't a good person,
Harry, please know that. Don't judge James from that one little
incident you saw in the pensieve. Don't forget, your mother didn't
think much of him at first, either, and yet they turned out to be the
most happily married couple I've ever known. I knew your mother pretty
well, I think, and she wouldn't have married someone of bad character.

Now I know what your Dad did that day wasn't very nile,"

Luna peered over the parchment at Harry. "I think he meant 'nice', there." Harry smiled weakly as she returned to her reading.

"But please understand, he was fifteen years old! Now I know you're
fifteen too (when I wrote this, anyway), and I'm not insinuating
anything, but when we're that age, we all make mistakes, we do stupid
things sometimes, and generally don't subscribe to Merlin's Book of
Wisdom. Trust me, James was a good man. The best.

Now, I don't know when you'll be reading this (personally, I'm hoping
you'll be an old coot sitting in a rocking chair when you do) but if
the worst should happen, I want you to know that you can always turn
to Dumbledore for anything. Now I know I've criticized him a bit in
the past, but really, that's just frustration at being cooped up in
here. He has his reasons, and in the end, I can't argue with the man's
logic.

I'll say the same about Remus, only even more so. He was like a
brother to me, Harry, so he's like an uncle to you, really. You can
take that to Gringotts. He's got a good head on his shoulders too,
better than I ever had. Don't tell him I said that though, he'll never
let me live it down.

Harry, always keep your friends close to your heart. If there's one
thing that life has taught me, is that good friends are just like
family. And in my case, even better! Molly Weasley and I might
disagree on some things, but I'm very grateful to her; she considers
you as one of her own, you know that right?

Seriously though, Harry, never give up hope. I know you're going
through a lot, especially so early on in life, but your friends will
always be there for you, never forget that. And for God's sake don't
try to be a hero and do everything on your own; draw from their
strengths. They care for you a lot, even I could see that, and I'm not
exactly what you'd call a psychology major. I'd never have been able
to get through school as easily as I did if it wasn't for your Dad and
Remus.

Well, that's that...I'll cross my fingers and hope you don't read this
anytime soon. Of course, saying that is useless really. If you don't,
and I get to live to a ripe_old age, I'm obviously going to have to
re_write some of this...

Take care, Harry. I'll say hi to your folks for you.

Sirius"

Luna lowered the parchment as her eyes fell on Harry, bent over with his head in his hands, shaking uncontrollably.

In an instant Luna was with him, squeezing herself into the plush chair and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, drawing him into her and holding him close as his grief erupted in a torrent of tears and anguish.

Several of Luna's most deeply buried drawers shook and threatened to fly open, letting loose the terrible memories trapped therein. They came perilously close to succeeding before she slammed them shut, closing her eyes tight and opening her mind to her friend's sorrow.

She continued to hold Harry protectively for a long while, her own emotions rising precariously close to the surface, each time pushing them back down with determination. She had to be strong, for Harry's sake...her own anguish was hers to bear, and hers alone.

One solitary image managed to escape its confinement, drifting up through the darkness and into her consciousness...

Her father was crying uncontrollably in the kitchen, Luna clutching him desperately close, knowing she had to be strong, though her own heart had just been wrenched horribly asunder...she still had her father, she kept telling herself over and over again, pressing the conviction down atop all the burning emotions trying to rise up and dominate her consciousness...

The memories were threatening to overwhelm her. Luna opened her eyes and swallowed hard, clearing her thoughts lest they succeed.

They held their embrace for a long while, eventually Harry drawing back, his cheeks stained with tears. Though for all that his countenance had visibly improved.

"Luna," he said hoarsely before clearing his throat, "do you remember what you told me that day by the lake? When you were picking gillyweed, about my still having family here?"

She smiled at him. "I rather do," she said. "And it's true, you know."

He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye, taking her hand in his. "Luna...you're as much family to me as anyone's ever been," he said earnestly. "I mean it."

Luna blinked. She became aware of her mouth slightly open, and a strange sensation overtook her, though it was not an unpleasant one.

"Harry," she said softly, "that's...so sweet of you to say..."

They stared at each other, a deafening quiet hanging in the air...

Propelled by some mysterious force Luna pitched forward and pressed her lips against his, locking them for several moments before drawing back, wide_eyed, as surprised by her own reaction as Harry obviously was.

Actually surprised was not really the word, if his reaction was any gauge. He was gaping openly at her and blinking repeatedly, a shocked expression on his face. Oh fiddlesticks, she thought, I've stupefied him somehow...

"Whoa," said Harry in a voice that sounded strongly awestruck, "What was that??"

"Oh...well...it was supposed to be a kiss, actually," answered Luna. "I've never really - "

"Kiss??" he exclaimed. "Are you kidding? That wasn't just a kiss, that was...that was a...that was..."

"That's rather vague, Harry," said Luna.

"Huh?"

"You'll have to be more specific," she said, smiling.

Harry searched for words, though he seemingly couldn't find any to describe what he'd felt.

"That was...extraordinary," he finally whispered.

Luna stared at him. "Oh...was it...good?"

"Good?" he asked disbelievingly. "Are you kidding? Didn't you feel that?"

She blinked. Suddenly one drawer opened up and something her Mum had told her once long ago came drifting up, filtering through her underlying thoughts...

"Oh," she said sheepishly. "I think it's...something Mum told me about once..."

She suddenly noticed her mug of hot chocolate she'd left on the table had been joined by a twin. When had that arrived?

"Hey," said Harry, following her gaze and noticing the same thing, "did you - "

"No," she said dreamily. "But I think I know who did."

She reached over and grasped the two mugs, handing one to Harry as she nestled close, staring into the fire.

They stayed like that, unmoving, for a long while, staring into the flickering embers. The silence that most would find unbearable only served to make them more at ease.

"I won't lose you," whispered Harry suddenly, squeezing her hand protectively. "I'm done losing people I care about..."

"You won't," said Luna serenely. "I'll be at your side forever, Harry Potter. Through the brightest days and the darkest nights, even when the Sun and the Moon no longer paint the sky...always..."

She felt his arm tighten around her.

"She was there, Harry," she whispered. "I could feel her..."

She felt Harry turn his head. "At the Veil...that...was her?"

"Yes," she whispered, a smile formed of distant memories drawing upon her face.

"What was it she told you?" asked Harry. "What is it about her, anyway? You never got a chance - "

Luna sighed contentedly, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Well," she began dreamily, "Mum had what you might call a very interesting ancestry, Harry. It all stems from her Gran, especially, who was rather extraordinary..."

THE END