Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling

The Fractured Fairy Tale

Chapter Eight

Light of Day

It was much nicer here, away from Diagon Alley, away from the noisy shoppers and busy hustle and bustle - away from him. Despite the circumstance behind her buying the little house on the lake, Luna was quite happy that she had.

It had been three months since Ginny's wedding and at last Luna had come to accept her situation. She was nearly six months pregnant and she had a nice little bump that was now fairly noticeable, not that anyone had noticed. She stayed here in seclusion, not as much because she was hiding, but because it was necessary. Her father was dying, soon he would be gone. It was a miracle that he had held on this long.

It was late February when she'd had to remove him from Faulkner Center. His health had become too poor and they simply did not have the facilities to care for a dying man. Despite their encouragement to admit him to a hospice, Luna bought the house, and then brought him to her new home. A healer came every few days to make sure they had all they needed, and Cass - who had taken over at the Quibbler again temporarily- was there every night, but most of the time they spent alone. She would read to him, though he barely knew she was there, and when he did he saw Carina. Luna took comfort in knowing that soon he would be with her mother for real.

"And so, when he was an old man the third brother took off the cloak and gave it to his son, then greeted death as an old friend …" She paused, looking over to find that he had fallen asleep. He had always loved the tale of "The Three Brothers" It seemed to sooth him now, as if it were a promise that, soon, he too would be meeting an old friend soon.

She closed the book and lay it on the table, then leaned over and brushed the hair from his face wistfully.

"It's okay Daddy," she whispered "You don't have to hold on for me anymore. I want you to be at peace. Tell Mummy I love her okay?"

Despite her worry, Cass had been right, he had not even noticed. Xenophilius Lovegood noticed nothing these days, not the passing of time, not the tubes in his hand that took away his pain and hydrated him. Over the past few days, he didn't even seem to notice that she read to him. The end was coming not in months, but rather in days.

Sure that he was sleeping soundly, she picked her wand up from he table, then pointed it at his neck. "Sonorus" she lay it on the pillow, propping it up so it would amplify his voice if he woke and called out. She needed to get out for a bit, a walk to the lake was just what she needed.

She left the door open slightly, welcoming the April breeze, it would freshen the rooms. She followed the stone path, smiling a little when the baby began to kick inside of her. She had found out recently that she was having a girl, and in keeping with the Corvis family tradition of giving their children celestial names, she would name the baby Aurora.

"Are you excited to be going to the lake too Aurora?" She spoke softly, rubbing the small bulge in her stomach under her maternity blouse.

"Can you hear the birds singing? I hope so, it sounds so lovely." She stuck her arms out, pushing the trees aside before breaking into the clearing that lead to the dock. This had become her favorite place in the world; when Cass was home, she spent long hours here, just watching the stars and the ripples on the lake.

She needed to enjoy the peace, there was no telling how long it was going to last, or how long she would be able to keep her secret safe. Cass had been firmly on her side since the night she returned from Ginny's wedding, there was no chance that she would be the one to blab. These days, she disliked George almost as much as Luna did. Except, Luna was not sure how much she disliked him anymore. What she really was, was hurt. She felt used, like he had used her to strike back at Alicia. Yes, she had done the same thing, but she and Rolf had been broken up at the time. There was no commitment between the two. There were times when she felt wrong keeping the secret, but he had made his wishes clear the night of Ginny's wedding. He wanted her to stay away from him, end of story. Her conscience niggled at her, forcing her to remember that it was her fault that he felt that way, because she had been so terrible to him since October. She knew he would feel different if he knew that she was carrying his child, yet she couldn't make herself go see him.

But what about after the baby was born? He would be suspicious when she started being seen around with a child in tow, particularly if that child had the Weasley trademarks. Surely he would put two and two together if she started being seen around Diagon Alley with a little red haired, brown eyed four. There was no sense in worrying about that now. She had her father to care for, and the Quibbler. Elliot had turned out to be good as gold and Cass was training him to take over as editor while Luna took leave to have the baby. Cass couldn't stay forever, Luna wouldn't let her, she had put her life on hold long enough. She would stay until Xenophilius was gone, and then she would go on to Jamaica. Luna knew she would be lonely, but it was for the best.

"I won't be alone anyway, will I Aurora?" She said softly, leaning against the rail at the end of the dock "Mummy is going to have you."

Aurora gave her a hearty kick in agreement.

It was one of those rare occasions that he had company in the flat. Usually, they got together at Fred and Angelina's, or at the Burrow, but Ginny and Angelina had gotten together and decided to throw him a surprise for his birthday. He had been woken by their loud and rowdy cheers, his bed being filled with glitter and confetti. He rolled over and cursed at them, telling them that they damned well better be planning on cleaning it up.

"Oh don't be so grumpy." Ginny teased, sitting on the bed by his head and ruffling his hair. "We did the same thing to Fred, and he just laughed."

He rolled over, an unconvincing frown on his face "Yeah, but Fred's nicer than I am. I have decided to be the family curmudgeon."

"That will be the day!" Angelina giggled, sitting on the foot of the bed and bouncing up and down. "You know, we got special permission to come down today, just to see you, a person would think you would be nicer to us."

"I know," He sat up on his elbow, yanking on his pillow and jostling Ginny so she almost slid to the floor. "I appreciate it."

"Hey!" Ginny grabbed onto the headboard, sliding herself back up. A painful grimace twisted her face, and she reached behind her. "Ow, what the hell?" She dug under the pillow and came up with a shoe.

"George!" Angelina gaped at him "You're sleeping with it under your pillow now?"

"I…" He considered denying it, but it wasn't exactly like he could. Ginny held the proof in her hand. It wouldn't do him any good to tell them that he had been holding it last night while he sat in the moonlight thinking about her. Remembering her hair as it lay, spread over his pillows, the feel of her lips on his. Touching her, making love to her. In all this time, he had not forgotten the feelings of that night, not a single bit.

Despite his words the night of Ginny's wedding, George hadn't been able to push her from his mind. The dancing girl still held her grip on him. Though he knew Luna Lovegood was involved in some way, he hadn't gone to her demanding answers. He was being a coward, and he knew it. Whether it was because Luna knew the girl or because she was the girl, the fact remained the same. She disliked him and nothing was going to change that. Besides, he had promised he would stay away from her.

"A shoe," Ginny, who was not privy to all the details, looked between George and Angelina. "I don't understand. Why do you have a woman's shoe, and why are you sleeping with it?"

"I'm not sleeping with it," He said, sliding out of bed and going to his dresser to pull out clothes. "I just…fell asleep with it in my hand."

"Still lost."

"She left it behind," Angelina said "The girl he was with Halloween night. He's obsessed with her, but he can't remember who she was."

"Oh," Ginny looked at him, disgust warring with the heart of the romantic inside. A man longing for his lost love, sleeping with her shoe under his pillow. But this was George, it was just too…

And then she realized, the shoe was familiar, she had seen it somewhere before. She looked at it closer.

"I know this shoe." She sat up, examining the shoe in the sunlight through the window, searching her memory for the one that mattered.

And then it hit her, the day they went to be fitted for the wedding. Wondering why anyone would keep a shoebox with a single shoe. She looked up at George, her face white, her stomach doing flip-flops. Why would Luna do such a thing? Why would she sleep with her brother and then pretend it never happened?

"George, this is Luna's shoe."

He stared at her while the pile of clothes slipped from his hands to the floor. It was the confirmation of what he had been suspecting for months, and yet it did not add up.

He had seen her with Rolf Scamander the next day…

Maybe she had been cheating on him.

The woman had dark hair…

She changed it with magic.

Luna hated him…

But not before Halloween.

Halloween, that was when everything changed. Before that, she smiled when they passed on the street, she had been friendly the few times he went into the office. That all changed after Halloween. He had attributed it all to Alicia's rumors…but now that he thought about it, why would that make her so angry? Why would that make her hate him?

"George, wait." She reached out for his arm, desperate to stop him. "We need to talk, there is something…"

"Luna, whatever it is, I don't give a shit."

"George, please…"

"Just go Luna. Stay away from me."

Had she been trying to tell him?

"Are you sure?" He asked, his face so pale Angelina was afraid he might pass out. He crossed the room and pulled the shoe from Ginny's hand. "Are you positive this shoe is Luna's?"

"It's not exactly your average shoe George," Angelina sat rigidly on the end of the bed, worried now. Part of her was glad the mystery was solved at last, but a bigger part was worried about what it would mean. There had been so much animosity between the two, it could get even uglier now. But on the other hand - maybe it could be a start, a beginning for something more.

"I knew it," He bent down and picked up the pile of clothes before going into the bathroom to change. "I knew it!"

"George what are you doing?" Ginny and Angelina followed behind him, a little afraid now by his reaction. This just wasn't George, he had never been so obsessed before. Given the lengths Luna had taken to keep the truth from him, the coming confrontation was not going to be pretty.

"What do you think I'm doing?" He came from the bathroom, fully dressed, a wild and somewhat scary look on his face. He pulled his jacket on, picked up the shoe, then stormed out the door.

They watched him go, waiting for the sound of the door slamming shut at the bottom of the stairs. Angelina turned to Ginny, her eyes huge.

"This is a good thing, right?"

"He's finally found her, happily ever after and all that. But…" Ginny shrugged

"I have a feeling this thing is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed "Me too."

Cass sat quietly at her desk, quill in hand, proof reading a submission. She was not sure why she was even here, they had gone to print the day before and now they were enjoying the quiet lull in the small break they allowed themselves in between ending and starting each issue. It was only a couple of days, they didn't dare take more than that, but it was always badly needed.

Yet, she couldn't relax, and she could not make herself go home. It was hard being there, watching Xenophilius slowly waste away, watching Luna watch him waste away. After buying the house, Luna had rented out the flat to Elliot and his brother Edwin - Edwin had been hired on in January. With a baby on the way, Luna was going to need all the help she could get. It was not like she could count on George Weasley for a single blessed thing.

Cass cursed under her breath, thinking again of the night of Ginny Weasley's wedding and how upset Luna had been upon her return. She had never seen her niece cry like that, not even on the night they buried Carina, and that had been pretty bad. It had been nearly dawn before Luna cried herself into a fitful sleep, and Cass had sworn as she watched her tossing and turning, he would never hurt her like that again.

Her conscience worked on her though, Luna had been unfair to George Weasley in the months since Halloween. She was as much to blame for what happened as he was. She had a mouth, she had the power to say no. He was not the type of man who would have pushed her. But she was finding it hard to find any crime in what they had done, they were two lonely hurting people, what was so bad about coming together to comfort one another? Okay, so maybe he had still been technically engaged to Alicia Spinnett, but not where it mattered, not in his heart. If he had been, he wouldn't have cheated so easily, no matter how much he had to drink.

She turned, closing off her thoughts when the bells tinkled over the door. Her fingers came down hard, bending the quill she held when she saw who stood at the counter.

"George," She bit back the urge to call him a nasty name, despite the place her thoughts had been just a moment before. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to see Luna," His tone was strange, a mixture of anger and longing, puzzlement and surprise. "I need to see her now."

"She isn't here." She said, turning away from the counter, dismissing him.

"Where is she?"

"She's not here, she's at home."

"I thought this was home."

Cass shook her head, amused. Either he was horribly unobservant, or Luna had done a better job at keeping her secret than she had realized. Perhaps it was a little bit of both. Considering the nasty way things had been left between the two, she doubted George had gone out of his way to pay attention to the office.

"We haven't lived here in months, and after the way you treated her at your sisters wedding, the last thing I am going to do is tell you where she is living now." Cass leaned over the counter to glare at him, she may have been a small woman, but her eyes could be lethal when she wanted them to be. "Go away and leave her alone."

"She owes me answers," He reached into his pocket, pulled out the shoe and slapped it down hard on the counter "And I am not leaving her alone until I get them."

Cass's eyes locked on the shoe, her reaction speaking volumes. She had never been particularly good at hiding her feelings.

"You should leave …" She shook her head, unable to look up from the shoe. "Just leave it be."

"Tell me," His voice was softer now, laced with something that Cass would almost call pain. "Is this Luna's shoe?"

"It's not my place," Cass forced her eyes up to his, and then had to look away. His eyes were sad, pleading - begging her for answers that were not her right to give him. "I'm not the person you need to have this conversation with."

"Then tell me where to find her," He reached out, touching her hand with his. "I have been waiting for a long time, too long, please, tell me where Luna is."

"She'll be so angry with me." Cass shook her head, thinking of all that rested on this. It was not just about Halloween, there was more involved, more secrets. There was a child involved, a child who had a right to know her father - and a father who had a right to know her.

"She has a little house on the lake, just past the fishers village."

George pulled his hand away, picked up the shoe and turned for the door. He stopped, turned back and nodded. "Thank you."

She nodded and watched him disappear into the morning sunlight, turning his red hair into flame. It was not the only fire he would see that day, Luna was going to be livid when she saw him - and he when he saw her, so obviously pregnant.

"I hope I did the right thing," She whispered to the empty office. "I honest to God hope so."

George shifted the delicate shoe from hand to hand while he watched her from the safety of the trees. She stood with her back to him in the quiet, the sole being at the end of the mossy dock that rose over the lake. She looked so peaceful that it seemed almost a shame to disturb her, but disturb her he must. He had been searching for her for far too long to turn away now.

And yet, he was unable to move. His feet stood glued to the spot, refusing the take the first step the remove the vast space between the two of them. Instead, he watched her silently while her hair blew in the wind, a curtain of blonde that whispered over her shoulders and back, and he found it captivating. Even in the beginning, when there had been so little that he remembered, he had remembered her hair - the glossy strands spread over his pillows in the moonlight.

It was it's true color now as she stood in the sunshine and as he looked at her, he wondered why he had not figured it out sooner. She had been right under his nose all this time, working just two doors down from him - and yet, all this time, she had escaped his notice. That she had done it on purpose mattered little. He should have known, should have realized…

She shifted slightly, causing the boards of the dock to creak, breaking him out of his thoughts. He gripped the shoe he held tightly, wrapping a fist around the delicate clear acrylic heel, then took a step onto the dock. Each step brought him closer, the moment that was so long overdue - now moments away. Only a few yards separated them when he stepped on a loose board and it creaked loudly under his foot. She turned to face him and in that second he knew. It was her. It really and truly was her.

George stopped and they stared into one another's eyes, silver into brown, while the moments ticked away in silence. Questions were heavy in the air, rushing forward where they were met with resistance, and he realized - had it been up to her, he never would have found out that she was the one. She was afraid of something; he realized that as he looked at her closer. Yes - they had argued, yes it had been nasty, but she should look angry - she should not look as if her world was about to come crashing down around her.

And then he noticed something that he had not noticed before. Something that she could no longer hide - though she was desperately trying.

His body began to shake and the shoe fell from his hand and landed with a thud upon the dock.

"Bloody hell," he burst out, his eyes bulging as he took in her swollen stomach "Bloody fucking hell Luna!"

She stared at him, still shocked at his appearance. What was he doing here? A glimmer from the dock reflected up and she realized - the shoe - he had brought the shoe.

He knew.

That didn't mean she had to admit it. He could accuse all he wanted, he had no proof. She would say the baby was Rolf's, then she would tell him to leave and never come back. Once her father was gone, she would let Elliot run the Quibbler, she would leave and raise Aurora somewhere else. She would let him think that she had gone to be with Rolf.

"What do you want George," She said coldly, stiffening her back as she began down the dock. "This is not a good time and I thought we said all we needed to say to one another at Ginny's wedding."

He stopped her as she tried to brush past him, taking her elbow in hand firmly, making clear she would not easily get away. If it was a fight she wanted, it was a fight she was going to get. As he looked at her in the sunlight, the girl of his memories developed a face. The same eyes that he had seen through the peacock mask, her lips, the soft skin under his fingers - it was her. Without a single doubt, it was her.

The dancing girl.

"It was you. Halloween night, it was you."

"Halloween?" She shrugged, trying to pull her arm free "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me!" He bent down, picking up the shoe from the dock. "This is yours, I know it is. Ginny saw the other in your closet."

Luna laughed "I think Ginny may have been hit with one too many quaffles, I don't…"

He picked her up in his arms, then carried her to a bench at the end of the dock, sat her down and pulled her loafer off. She fought him, but he held her leg firmly in place, then slid on the clear acrylic shoe - it was a perfect fit.

"This doesn't mean anything, Just go away George. We have nothing to say to one another." Luna rose from the bench, kicking the shoe off yet ignoring the loafer. She started down the dock, but stopped when George spoke.

"Please Luna, I can't stand this anymore. Can't we please just stop running from this?"

She too couldn't stand anymore. The secrets and lies, the animosity. The time for hiding was over, now it was time for honesty. She turned around and returned to the bench, picking up the sparkling shoe as she sat.

"My Aunt will be happy to see this returned."

George looked at her quietly for a moment, wondering how to proceed. They had spent the last few months tiptoeing around things, if he had questioned her when he had his first suspicions, they could have saved them both so much agony.

"Why didn't you tell me it was you?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask Lana" She sighed tiredly. If they were going to clear the air, they were going to clear all of it. "Or better yet, maybe you should ask your fiancée."

George looked at her, considering her words, he was surprised to see the hateful look on her face gone. Instead, she looked like she was in pain. It was worse than the hateful look, it was heartbreaking.

"I'm sorry, you have every right to be angry with me."

Luna sighed deeply, exhaling her last hope to be blameless in all this. "It's not as if you acted alone." Luna shrugged. For the first time in months, she felt okay. She had accepted her culpability. " I just…I felt so cheap, and guilty. Knowing what we had done had hurt Alicia, it was unbearable. I'm not the sort of person who can easily hurt others, and she must have been so..."

"Alicia and I…" He shook his head "It was over long before Halloween. We just hadn't admitted it to ourselves. If she was hurt, it didn't last very long."

Luna nodded a little. The Daily Prophet had, and still was, bearing proof of that. It seemed every week Alicia was photographed with a different man on her arm and if the smile on her face any indication, she was far from suffering.

"That doesn't make it okay."

"You're right, it doesn't." George rose from the deck and slid onto the bench next to her, his nose was brushed with the scent of her hair. Bright, fresh and clean, like the sunlight that shone around them. The scent he remembered had clung to his sheets.

"But what's done is done," he shrugged, turning to look at her. "There's no point in dwelling on the past, particularly since it seems we have more important things to talk about."

The baby. He was talking about the baby, and Luna knew she had no right to keep the truth from him, she never had.

"Yes," She released another deep breath. She wanted to turn her face, to look at him and gauge his mood. He should be extremely angry with her and she wouldn't deny his right to be so.

"The baby's yours."

She caught his nod from the corner of her eye, but he remained silent while he ingested the news. She remembered her own feelings upon learning she was pregnant. Punched in the stomach, hit with a brick, the world falling from beneath her feet. George had so much more to comprehend.

"I should be saying something." He spoke at last "I just don't…this is so much at once."

"It's okay, I understand." She braved a look at him. Their eyes met again and she attempted a slight smile. "I've had months to get used to the idea, you've just had…"

"Minutes." George finished, his attempt to match her smile failed, but heartened her just the same. The time for anger was past them now. They were both willing to move on.

"I'm truly sorry George, for not telling you sooner."

"You tried though, didn't you? At Ginny's wedding."

"I'd planned to go to you the next day, to tell you everything, but…"

"I acted like an arse." Now he did manage a small sad smile "I'm sorry too."

They were quiet for several long minutes, neither sure where to go from there. George wasn't sure how to move past this, and he hadn't quite had time to fully absorb it all. Not only had he found the dancing girl, but they had created a child.

"So," Luna leaned back against the bench, fixing her eyes on a distant tree, watching it sway in the wind. "Where do we go from here?"

"I'm not sure. There's so much to think about, so much to decide..." George looked at her and reached over for her hand, pulling it away from the heel of the delicate shoe.

"But whatever happens, I'll be with you the whole way."

"Thank you George." Luna looked back at him, quietly accepting his promise. She smiled and gently squeezed his hand. "Frankly, I'm tired of carrying this alone."

"You're not alone," He returned her squeeze "Not anymore."