From Whence the Future Cometh

By minamimegumi

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Harry Potter. I just have an inquisitive mind that needed to explore the idea of Usagi Tsukino pretending to be Luna Lovegood.

It still surprises me how much more control I wield over my lunar powers than all the rest of my senshi do theirs. Not even Sailor Pluto, lone survivor of the Silver Millennium, has as tight a harness over her power as I do mine. But it is not their fault. They did not have to do what I did. They did not spend the time between Chaos' defeat and the advent of the Great Ice immersed in a society of magic users. They did not masquerade for nearly a decade as a student in the midst of a war zone. The time I spent in that world has changed me, for the better, and I am grateful it did.

The persona I assumed upon entry into that magical world was eventually assimilated into my own personality. Looking back on little Usa's trips into the past, it is no wonder that she did not recognize me as her own mother. I now strive to broaden my knowledge at every opportunity, and encourage all others to do so. How does one reconcile that image of the Queen of Crystal Tokyo with the below-average student who graduated from Juuban Municipal High? The breadth of my magical knowledge forced her to come to the conclusion that I had spent my formative years in the still-renowned British magical academy, and that I could not have been the Japanese heroine, Sailor Moon.

If I were to reflect further on the past, that second coming-of-age helped teach me quite a few lessons that I did not always have to learn the hard way. Thankfully my true identity was never discovered, though it wasn't from "constant vigilance" on my part. It took some quick thinking on my part to come up with some way to explain how I could see thestrals, before I settled on the story that everyone in that magical community is familiar with. I couldn't help but assume the name of my familiar, my mentor of so many years. I couldn't choose a different patronus form - it is my given name in this life: Usagi, a bunny. And I couldn't help but be near the forefront of the resistance when the war did escalate. It's just not in my nature to leave defenseless people to be slaughtered.

After the Great Ice thawed, not all wizards and witches in magical society were able to cope with the changes. Some were unable to be awoken, and others could no longer perform magic. Still others were so affected by the way others' magical auras touched theirs that they went insane, often killing themselves and those around them. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to take advantage of this chaos, and I used this brief period of turmoil to extricate "Luna Lovegood" from the British wizarding community. But now I'm not so sure of my decision.

I am supposed to grant an audience to one from that world late this afternoon. If she truly does know who I am, I hope she can understand what and why I did, or rather, did not do. I personally did not stop Voldemort, and this forced her to postpone her last year of schooling. I did not escape Malfoy Manor on my own. I did not prevent her from being tormented by Death Eaters. All I did was act as a normal magical person would act if under the same circumstances.

A voice rings from the security intercom, announcing my visitor. I take a deep breath and wait for her. She walks through the entrance to the throne room and stops in front of my throne. I vaguely hear the guard announce her name as she bows. I smile and greet her, careful to emphasize the Japanese pronunciation of her name. "Greetings, Mrs. Hermione Weasley. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Quit the act Luna, or Queen Serenity, whatever you want to call yourself now." Hermione's were featured scrunched up in an unreadable expression. My momentarily shocked expression gives way to a soft smile.

"When did you figure this out?" I ask.

She sighs and says "I figured it out about a year after you ascended to the throne, but I didn't want to confront you since no one else suspected. In fact, I wouldn't have bothered you, but Harry and Ginny's twins' seventeenth birthdays are coming up and they've wanted to hold a birthday party somewhere magnificent for quite a while. I wanted to surprise them by holding their party in your palace in England, and I was hoping you'd agree to it."

I smile. "I think I can do better. Why not have their birthday celebrations here? After all, they are the firstborns of the British wizarding world's savior," I finish wryly.

Hermione's eyes light up and she launches into a long-winded speech of gratitude and a laundry list of things she's started to plan out. I wait for her to run out of breath before I gently butt in. "I'll let you host their birthday party here if you agree to fill me in on what has been happening in England. I left so suddenly and I'm afraid I've begun to lose track of everyone there over the years. "

She presses her lips together. "About that, why did you disappear when the wizarding community was in chaos? Why didn't you let anyone know you were alive and safe? Where are your twins? And," she glances up at my odango with an odd look on her face, "why is your hair always like that now?"

I laugh softly at the last question. "My hair is in the style of my ancestors. I've always had it up like this, except when I traveled to England. As for why I disappeared, it was always my destiny to rule, and it was my destiny to remain in your magical world long enough to learn, and to make sure that your enemy was eventually destroyed. I was bound to not interfere and was forbidden from directly engaging in combat, until I could fight with the skills I learned from your world. I thought it would be easier to leave your world ignorant of how, years ago, their Queen could have prevented much heartache and death, if she had but disobeyed a single order and broken an oath placed upon her most cherished possessions: the lives of her family and friends. If I had killed Voldemort before he rose to power again, the wizarding world would not have learned a much-needed lesson in tolerance."

Sadness mixed with understanding fills Hermione's eyes as she understands the full impact. I continue, "This was the hardest lesson I have ever had to learn. I had to learn to watch and look at the big picture, rather than reacting to the initial impact. Tolerance is what has turned the magical and non-magical societies into this final utopia we are now living in, but it had to come with a price. The hardest lessons always do. The initial acceptance of muggleborns by all magic society is what lead to their tolerance and eventual acceptance of muggles, and later, the integration of the two societies back into one. As for the twins, they were never really there."

Upon seeing her confused expression, I quickly continue. "The twins were nothing more than constructs, fueled by pure lunar magic. I kept their spells going only until I left England. When I left, they vanished." I paused, momentarily saddened by the unexpected emotional side-effects of pretending to be a mother to two magically-created children.

"Now, getting back to this party - you must swear not to divulge my identity as Luna Lovegood, and you are forbidden from revealing how you know me. Tell the twins that I am simply allowing their party to be held here as gratitude for their father's actions which helped to lead to the utopia we are now enjoying." She nods before spending the next three hours telling me about the twin's antics at school, the next generation of children, the jobs that various schoolmates began after my unannounced departure, and the new staff at Hogwarts.

After thanking me profusely, she bids me farewell. I am glad to see that Hermione understands me, and does not harbor any ill will towards me. The Potter twins will get a grand birthday party, and my secret will remain safe. I stand from my throne and walk out to the gardens that Makoto so carefully keeps. I look up at the moon and smile as it baths me in its beams of light. All is right in this world.

Author's Note: I thought the previous chapter was to remain a simple oneshot, but upon the suggestion that Jay FicLover kindly supplied, I have now added a final chapter to wrap up the loose ends and give a proper conclusion.