Chapter Text
Harry walked back to Slughorn’s party, still mulling over what he had overheard from the conversation between Snape and Draco.
That night had been a complete disaster, and he sincerely wished he could just go to bed. First of all, he hadn’t even wanted to be there. And he certainly didn’t want to have spent the entire party jealous of Ginny, simply because he hadn’t had the courage to ask her out.
He saw the party door open at the end of the corridor, and Luna stepping out. Guilt hit him—he had abandoned her alone at the party. He was a terrible date.
“Luna, I’m sorry.” He started to apologize as he approached her in the corridor.
Luna didn’t slow her gentle steps as she replied.
“Apology accepted, Harry Potter.” She smiled at him and walked right past, continuing on her way.
He stood there, confused.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.” She answered simply.
Guilt struck him hard. “Luna, wait.” He ran after her.
Luna stopped and turned to him, waiting.
Harry looked at her, slightly dazed.
“I’m sorry for leaving you alone.” He felt embarrassed for not even realizing how rude he had been. “I had to deal with something important.”
“I already said you’re forgiven.” She spoke in her straightforward, simple way, without a trace of anger in her voice.
Harry didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to act in that situation.
“Good night, Harry Potter.” She spoke softly and continued walking.
It felt so wrong to just let her go.
“Luna, let me accompany you.” He asked.
“It’s not necessary.” She answered gently, without stopping.
“I invited you; it’s my duty to bring you back.” He insisted, quickening his pace to catch up to her.
Luna stopped and looked him directly in the eyes.
“You should start doing what you want, not what you think you ought to do.”
She spoke softly, but Harry felt as if he had been hit in the head by a bullet.
“I do what I want.” He lied defensively.
Luna tilted her head, as if reading his thoughts.
“Did you come to this party because you wanted to?”
His face flushed. “Er… it was important that I came.” He defended himself.
Luna continued, relentless. “And you invited me because you wanted to, not because you didn’t have the courage to ask Ginny?”
Harry felt his face turn even redder; he hadn’t realized he had been so obvious.
“You’re my friend, of course I wanted to invite you.” He tried to save himself from the embarrassment.
“Hmmm… Then is that why you spent the whole night looking at her while ignoring me?” She had a small smile on her lips, as if she knew she had caught him.
Harry stood with his mouth open, like a fish. His face burning with shame. For being so obvious and for having treated her that way. It had been so rude. He had invited her and then treated her with disdain.
She nodded affirmatively, as if he had answered her. Then she resumed walking.
“It’s not as simple as you think.” He spoke loudly, defensive once again. He didn’t want to admit she was right.
Luna stopped again, her face more serious than he had ever seen.
“I think I know exactly how hard it is.”
“It’s different.” He spoke weakly, knowing what it had cost her, but unable to accept that he was a person who always bent to the will of others.
“Yes, it is. Doing what I want cost me years of isolation and ridicule. No friends. What would it cost you?”
Her words were like sharp knives, but she spoke gently, without any accusation. Which was even worse. She was just stating facts as they were.
“I’m your friend.” He hated the idea of her being alone, suffering bullying.
“You are, and yet I was abandoned in the middle of the party.” She smiled, as if amused by it. With a kind of disturbing acceptance.
Harry opened his mouth to apologize again, but she spoke first.
“You don’t need to apologize again. You were doing what you ought to; I know that.” She looked at him with full attention. “When will you do what you want?”
He felt his heart tighten, as if she were squeezing it with her own hands. She was right—he had spent his life doing what he was told, both before and after Hogwarts. Always doing the “right thing.” Always following his “duty.”
“Good night, Harry.”
She returned to her path while Harry watched her gentle steps and her hair shine in the moonlight streaming through the windows. The emptiness he felt seeing her leave was overwhelming.
“Luna.” He called out impulsively. She turned to him again. “I know what I want now.”
She just waited, as calm as ever.
“I would like to end the night by making up to my friend for the terrible night I caused.” He hoped she would agree.
He didn’t deserve to ask anything of her after this night, but she deserved that he at least tried to make it better than it had been.
“You don’t have to.” She spoke kindly.
“But I want to.” He emphasized the last word. “Besides, I would love to talk with my friend.”
He had gone through hellish weeks—Hermione and Ron fighting, and even Ginny. He wanted to talk with her. She was the only person who made him feel truly free to be who he wanted and say what he wanted.
Her smile grew. Beautifully, in a way he had never noticed before.
“That’s good, because I would love to talk with my friend.”
Harry felt immense relief as he smiled at her, his heart leaping with a nearly childish joy.
“That’s great.” He walked up to her. “Just don’t complain later when you discover I’m annoying and whiny.”
“I would never find you annoying, Harry Potter.” She laughed.
He reached out his arm, and Luna held it. Her delicate hand resting on his arm.
“Where shall we go?” She asked, as if the curfew didn’t exist.
Harry looked at the sky outside. “How about a walk by the lake?” He decided to do what he wanted.
Luna smiled even more. “Excellent choice.”
They walked for a few moments in comfortable silence. Only now did he realize that since meeting her, they shared this kind of silence. It was something he couldn’t share with anyone else. There was always a need to fill the emptiness. An awkwardness in the air. But not with her.
“Will you tell me what made you leave the party?” She asked, curious.
Harry thought for a second about lying, but then remembered this was Luna. He could trust her.
“I went after Malfoy and Snape.”
“Was it worth it?”
He sighed. “I heard a few things. I think Malfoy is plotting something, but Ron and Hermione don’t agree.”
“He doesn’t seem well this year.” She remarked in her observant way.
“You noticed too?” He asked, surprised. “I thought I was the only one.”
“The less we talk, the more we notice things around us.” She observed wisely.
“And what have you noticed around you?” Harry teased.
“It depends.” She spoke thoughtfully. “About you?”
“Maybe… about me.” He smiled, hoping she’d say his mind was full of those confusing creatures.
Luna looked at him the exact moment they stepped into the gardens, the full moon reflecting in her eyes. He thought she could read his soul with those supernatural eyes.
“You’re hurt because of your godfather, but you pretend you’re not, so you don’t worry your friends.”
Harry felt a knot in his throat. His chest shrank. He hadn’t expected that.
Luna continued, without waiting for a response.
“You’re angry about Hermione and Ron’s quarrels and confused about your jealousy over Ginny, since you never paid attention to her until you saw her kiss Dean. And whatever you’re doing with the headmaster is overloading you. More than physically.”
When she finished, silence remained. Harry was stunned.
“WOW…” He said after a while. “You got everything right.” He laughed weakly. “How do you do that?”
Luna looked at him again. “Just observing… you’re interesting to watch.” She spoke almost innocently.
Harry laughed. If it were another girl, he would have thought she was flirting, but it was Luna.
“I highly doubt that.”
Luna just smiled as they walked.
“You know… it’s okay to be sad. To miss him.” She squeezed his hand on her arm reassuringly. “There’s no deadline for grieving.”
Harry felt her words in his bones. He couldn’t talk to anyone about Sirius. His friends were always worried about him being okay, so he tried to bury his suffering, even if sometimes it felt like he was burying himself with them.
His first instinct was to say he was fine, as he had been doing all semester. But something in the gentle way she spoke, and how her hand held his arm firmly, made him speak before he even realized it.
“I miss him every day. It’s like this pain will never go away.”
He took a deep breath, trying to hold back emotion.
“It never goes away.” She spoke softly. “But there comes a day when the memories of what you had are stronger than the pain of losing him. You’ll start thinking of him with enough joy to warm your soul, and then you can be grateful for the time you had, even if it was short.”
She spoke with the conviction of someone who knew what they were saying. She had a soft smile on her lips and looked at him with immense kindness.
He knew she was remembering her mother.
“Was it like that with your mother?” He asked.
“Yes.” She looked at the sky. “Sometimes it hurts so much you can’t breathe, but most days, the memory of her smile is the best thing I have.”
Harry placed his hand over hers on his arm and squeezed.
No need to say he was sorry; she already knew that.
“Thank you, Luna.” Her words somehow eased some of the pain.
She smiled, and they continued walking. The full moon shone over the lake; it was beautiful.
“Observing shows us a lot, but not everything.” Luna remarked after a moment. “There’s something I want to ask you.”
Harry felt a spark of fear. He didn’t want her interested in the Chosen One. Anyone else, but not her.
He didn’t know where the feeling came from. Perhaps from the fact that she was the only one who acted toward him exactly as she acted toward anyone else.
“You really talk to snakes?”
Her voice was full of curiosity, her face glowing with excitement. Harry felt immense relief.
“Yes.” He laughed at how wide her eyes opened.
Just because he wanted to see her smile a bit more, he said a sentence.
Her eyes grew even bigger, and her smile was like a Christmas morning. She bobbed up and down, almost jumping, out of pure excitement.
“Wow. That was amazing!!” She was impressed.
It was the first time anyone had heard him speak Parseltongue and wasn’t afraid.
“What did you say?”
“I can talk to snakes.” He shrugged. He hadn’t thought of anything else to say, but Luna didn’t mind. She was too excited for that.
“I would love to talk to snakes.” She said dreamily.
Harry looked at her, thinking she might actually be crazy. Nobody wanted that; it was like a curse.
Luna noticed his look. “I think snakes are misunderstood.”
Harry laughed. “I think you may be right. I freed a snake from the London zoo; it seemed fine.”
“See.” She made a ‘know-it-all’ face. “Maybe they need more people who can talk to them.”
“Yes, maybe.” Harry smiled. She had a rare way of caring. It was simply beautiful. He was realizing Luna Lovegood was one of the most beautiful people he had ever met. And he wasn’t even talking about her appearance.
“Since I just told you something about me…” He continued, getting excited with his own idea. “… it’s your turn to tell me something about you.”
Luna looked at him, momentarily surprised.
“That’s fair.” She seemed thoughtful for a moment. “Since we’re talking about this… I can speak five languages.”
Harry looked at her, shocked. Luna was only fifteen; how could she speak so many languages?
And she spoke naturally, as if it were normal.
“Which ones?” He asked, still incredulous.
“English, of course, Gaelic—my mother is from Ireland—French, German, and Mandarin.”
“You speak Mandarin?” He asked, even more shocked, and she nodded in confirmation. “Okay… say something in each language.”
Luna thought for a moment, then turned to him and began speaking:
Tá an ghealach álainn.
La lune est belle.
Der Mond ist schön.
(Yuèliang hěn měi)
Harry laughed, impressed. “What did you say?”
“The moon is beautiful.”
“How did you learn all this?” He asked, curious.
“My mother and father loved to travel, so they thought it was important for me to learn more than English. They both taught me some languages, and I studied the others myself when I got older.”
“I’m impressed.” Harry said, with a kind of pride burning in his chest.
“Now it’s your turn.” Luna said.
He didn’t know it would become a game, but he was enjoying playing.
“I’m good in the kitchen. I started paying attention to pots when I was four.”
He didn’t know why he had said that. It wasn’t a very good memory, but somehow, in that conversation, it didn’t feel bad.
“That’s impressive.” She responded.
“Your turn.” He was getting more excited by the second to learn more about her.
“I can draw and paint. I taught myself, and it’s one of my favorite things.”
“You’ll have to show me.” He said, excited to see what she painted.
“I can show you any day.”
“Alright… now it’s me.” He said, thoughtful. “I’ve never left England until I came to Hogwarts.”
“That’s a shame; there are really beautiful places out there.” She smiled kindly.
“And you?” She seemed to have traveled a few times already.
“Well… I’ve been to 25 countries.” Harry couldn’t believe she could say things like that as if it were completely normal. “Dad really likes to travel.”
“That’s amazing, Luna.” He said, totally impressed. “When we leave here, you’ll have to take me with you on your trips.” He joked, but deep down wished it would happen. He knew so little of the world.
“There’s nothing that would make me happier than traveling with you.” She smiled so honestly and openly that something inside him stirred.
“Deal.” He really wanted that to happen.
Their steps were slow. Even unconsciously, they both wanted to prolong the moment.
He thought of the next thing he would say. “I only discovered I was a wizard when I received my Hogwarts letter.”
Luna was sensitive enough to know that this was a delicate topic and shouldn’t ask questions. It was enough that he was sharing it.
“I thought everyone was a wizard, so once my mother let me go to a Muggle playground, and I told the girls I was a witch. They didn’t believe me; I was very upset, so I dyed their hair orange.”
Harry let out a loud, completely spontaneous laugh. Luna’s guilty face made it even funnier.
“Mom got mad at me.”
“I once dyed my teacher’s hair blue. And once, while running from my cousin and his stupid friends, I ended up on the roof.”
Luna laughed. “I like blue hair.”
Harry smiled. “Of course you do.” He said fondly.
“I’m a sleepwalker; sometimes I sleep with my shoes on.” She offered another piece of information.
“Sleeping with shoes on is a great idea.” Harry agreed.
“In second year, I came to Hogwarts in a flying car from Mr. Weasley.”
“So that’s true…” She smiled. “It must have been a great adventure.”
“More like a deadly adventure.” He laughed.
Luna thought for a moment, then smiled. “Once, we were in a forest in Central Africa. Dad and Mom were distracted by some rare animals the guide showed, and when they looked for me, I had disappeared. They were desperate; twenty minutes later, they found me with a family of chimpanzees. Mom said I was sitting on one of them while it was picking lice from me.”
Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He burst into almost hysterical laughter, imagining a little Luna in a monkey’s lap.
Luna watched him for a moment, then started laughing too.
“That can’t be true.” Harry said between laughs.
“Mom had to convince the chimpanzee that I was her baby. They didn’t want to give me back.”
Harry clutched his stomach, trying to breathe while laughing.
“Did she manage to convince them?” He asked, still laughing.
“Yes. I think they realized my fur was too white.” She shrugged, with a cheeky smile.
“Luna Lovegood, you are the most interesting person I’ve ever met.” He said without thinking. But he didn’t regret it.
“I think the same of you, Harry Potter.”
They arrived at the lake with huge smiles on their faces.
Luna watched the shimmering surface attentively while Harry observed her. She had a smile on her lips and a serenity around her, as if she was perfectly at ease in her own skin.
“You know what I think?”
“What?” He asked.
“We should go for a swim.” She looked at him with excitement shining in her eyes.
“You’ve gone mad.” He looked at her incredulously. “The lake is almost frozen.”
“Exactly why we should swim.”
“We’ll freeze to death.” He stated the obvious.
“Harry Potter, I didn’t know you were a scaredy-cat.” She teased, taking a step back and starting to open her coat.
“Luna, you must be joking.”
“Have you ever entered an almost frozen lake?” She removed her coat.
“Of course not.” He said, louder.
“Me neither. And that’s exactly why we should go in.”
She smiled as if there were some logic to what she said. Harry watched her take off her shoes, not believing she was actually serious.
When she started removing her socks, he realized she meant it.
“Luna, they’ll catch us out here,” he tried another angle.
“As far as I know, you live breaking the rules.” She smiled, then held the hem of her dress.
“What are you doing?” Harry asked, completely shocked, when she started to lift her dress.
“I can’t go into the lake in a dress.”
She answered simply, then pulled the dress over her head and stood in front of him only in her knickers and bra.
Harry stared at her, mouth agape, unable to form any coherent thought.
Her bra and knickers were light blue with small flowers. He looked at her body, wondering how she had hidden it. She had large breasts, but not too big, a flat stomach, and toned legs, like someone who exercised or, in her case, walked a lot.
Her body was beautiful. Her fair skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. She was simply perfect.
His throat went dry, and he knew his mouth was still open, but he couldn't look away.
“Are you going to keep staring or are you going to take your clothes off too?” she asked with a smile that bordered on mischievousness.
Harry blinked, closed his mouth, and felt his face heat up.
“Sorry, Luna.” He was still looking at her. “I’ll take off my clothes,” he said without thinking too clearly.
He quickly took off his coat, trying not to stare at her, but failing. In seconds, he took off his shoes and shirt. When it came time to take off his trousers, he looked away and took a deep breath. He needed to focus; he couldn't get an erection in front of her. He was grateful for the cold.
“Come on,” Luna held his hand when he was just in his boxers.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” he lamented.
“We better run in. So we don’t lose our nerve when we wet our feet.”
She smiled at him, so happy. She was beautiful. He had never seen a girl as beautiful as her. And he didn’t know how he hadn't noticed before. She had an almost magical smile. It was so fitting that her name was Luna, because her hair, her eyes, and her skin shone with the moon. In a delicate and sexy way.
“Let’s go,” she pulled him.
They both ran, holding hands. When they entered the water, it felt like needles were pricking his body. It was cold to the bone.
“Bloody hell,” he yelled.
Luna laughed out loud, stopping them when the water reached above their waists.
“It really is quite icy,” she said as if it were cool summer water and not literally freezing water.
“I can’t feel my body,” he complained.
Luna swirled her hand in the water, as if playing in the summer sun. “It’s a curious sensation.”
“You have to be kidding,” he complained. “I think I’ll never walk again; I can’t feel my legs.”
“Don’t be a whiner, Harry Potter,” she teased, but he could see her skin covered in goosebumps and her nipples hardened through her bra.
It was a good thing the lake was icy, because he would be having an erection otherwise.
“Now let’s dive.”
“No way.” He shook his head, vehemently denying it. “Let’s get out of here.” He turned to leave the lake.
He also couldn't keep disguising his gaze at her body any longer.
“You’re a coward,” she accused, smiling, then simply plunged her hand into the water and splashed a jet of water onto his back.
“Lunaaa,” he screamed, almost breathless from the cold water. “I’m going to kill you.”
She laughed loudly as the water streamed down his back.
Harry plunged his hand into the water and quickly splashed water onto her body, getting his revenge.
She screamed and laughed at the same time. Then she slapped the water, splashing more water onto him. In seconds, the two entered a war. Both trembling to the bone and laughing at each other.
“Luna, enoughhh,” he lamented, but she splashed another jet onto his back.
Harry walked quickly to her and held her arms, trapping her arms by her sides with a hug.
She laughed like a little child, soaking wet. Up close, it was possible to see that her bra was slightly transparent, showing the outline of her nipples.
“I’m going to die of frostbite,” he complained, water running down his body, but smiling. “I’m going to have to drag you out of here.”
“You look like a drowned rat,” she tried to pull free, but he tightened his grip.
“I thought the same thing about you,” he accused.
They both laughed together. Then Harry realized their situation: he was hugging her, their bodies almost glued together, while they were nearly naked.
He looked at her face, her eyes shining, and the smile on her face changed, to something small, intimate.
He looked at her outlined lips, red, laughing. He wanted to know what it would be like to kiss them. What would they taste like? It was a feeling that caught him off guard. Completely new, but impossible to ignore. He was so close to her.
He looked at her eyes, then at her lips. Then he blinked a few times, realizing what he was about to do.
Luna was watching him closely.
He should release her and get out of that cold water, but her body was warm, and it felt so good to feel the closeness of their bodies.
“I think we already agreed that you should do what you want, Harry Potter,” she said quietly, softly.
Harry looked at her stunned, needing a second to understand what she was saying.
Then, for the second time that night, he did what he wanted.
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. At first they were cold, then warm, soft. He released her arms and ran one hand into her wet hair. Luna wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him until their bodies were completely glued together.
In the beginning, the kiss was slow, hesitant, exploratory. But the more they kissed, the more they wanted to kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth, and hers rubbed against his, in a sensual dance that warmed their bodies, even inside a nearly freezing lake. She lightly bit his lower lip. Harry sucked on her lip. They both groaned softly. His erection was palpable between them. It was exciting, embarrassing, and very good.
They spent a long time kissing, as if nothing else mattered. Almost forgetting they were in the middle of the night, nearly naked, inside a lake about to freeze.
When they needed air, they reluctantly pulled apart. They breathed with their faces close, their eyes in a kind of silent conversation.
“I don’t think the water is that cold after all,” Luna said softly, looking down. At his erection, which was still glued to her.
Harry felt his face heat up, but he didn't pull away from her.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” she teased with a side smile. A smile he had never seen on her.
He chuckled. “Not as much as I should be.”
She shivered in his arms, and he didn't know if it was from the cold or from the way he made her feel. “I think we should get out of the water,” she observed, still with her arms around him.
“I’ve been saying that for ages,” but he didn't move either.
They both laughed together. Then Harry sighed and took a step back.
They got out of the water. Harry didn't hide his eyes this time. He watched her wet, goose-pimpled body. Her nipples distinctly hard, her round backside. He wanted to remove those knickers and bra and kiss all of that beautiful body.
Luna used the Drying Charm and started getting dressed. He sighed and did the same. They dressed in silence, but each looking at the other’s body. Without disguise.
They started walking back to the castle in an expectant, but comfortable, silence.
“I think we better use the cloak,” Harry said when they reached the castle.
“That cloak is incredible.” She said in admiration, watching him cover himself, then said without any shame: “Especially because now I’ll have an excuse to hug you.”
Harry laughed, putting his arm around her waist, pulling her against his body, even though it wasn't necessary.
“You don’t need an excuse to hug me,” he spoke close to her ear as they started walking through the corridors.
“Good to know.”
They walked the long way, happy to remain embraced. This was new, but a feeling he had never felt before was blossoming.
When they reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room, they emerged from the cloak.
“Thank you, Harry. I loved this night.” She smiled at him. An open, unprotected, innocent, beautiful smile.
“I should thank you. Without you, I would have had a terrible night. I’m happy I invited you.”
They stared at each other for a moment, both feeling the tension that sparked like fire between them. They both wanted to continue what they had started by the lake, but neither of them moved.
“Good night, Harry,” Luna said her goodbye after a long time, then turned to enter the room.
She had already answered the knocker when Harry called her.
“Luna…” She turned around. “You should do what you want too.”
She stared at him, surprised, then in a few quick steps she was in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her mouth to his. Harry held her waist, pulling her against his body and pushing them against the corridor wall.
The kiss this time was more intense, more needy. Her tongue slid against his, demanding, hungry. The heat between them increased, breathless and unstable. Her hand slid through his hair, his hand slid down her waist, almost to her backside. His erection was palpable again. And Luna liked it. She liked that he was like this because of her. He bit her lip, making her groan softly, setting his veins even more on fire. His hand went down to her backside as she pressed herself against him, making his erection rub against her. Harry was the one who groaned this time.
When the two couldn't breathe anymore, they pulled away minimally, her lips shining with his saliva. Swollen and red.
They were both breathing with difficulty, looking at each other with a kind of fire they had never felt before.
“I think you better go,” Harry said. The way things were going, they would end up doing something stupid right there in the corridor.
Luna sighed. “Yes.” She agreed, but instead of pulling away, she kissed him again. Slow, sensual, a kind of contained promise. Then she pulled away.
“Good night, Harry Potter.” She kissed his cheek and entered the common room.
Harry leaned his forehead against the cold stone, breathing deeply to control himself.
He had no idea what he had just done, but he was certain of one thing: he wanted more.