Daphne Greengrass was in shock as she looked down at the present in her hands. She hadn't really had a lot of interactions this year with her secret friend, because there had been a fundamental shift in both his personality and his best friend. That Luna girl had pretty much taken over his life. He spent all of his time with her and his other friends, leaving his old friend Hermione Granger out in the cold.
She had tried to discreetly inquire about what had happened and no one knew anything. Even the Slytherins were distant and wouldn't speak to her for more than a few moments before they made an excuse to leave. It wasn't just in her year, either. She knew something big was going on and she wasn't sure what that could be.
At the moment, those concerns were absent from her mind as she looked at the small vial of deep red fluid. She had read the note ten times already and she didn't know what to think.
'Just in case Astoria starts feeling bad again. H.'
“What is it?” Astoria asked.
“It... it's this.” Daphne whispered and showed it to her.
Astoria gasped and plucked the vial out of the box. “I love him, too!”
Daphne was too shocked to correct her sister's assumption as she thought back to Harry's birthday during the summer. It had taken about a week for Astoria to start changing after drinking that first dose. Harry had been right that it would take a while before it kicked in and it was quite the change. Astoria started eating more food than a little bird would and she started moving around like she wasn't as weak as a kitten.
They had both been lucky that their parents hadn't noticed a thing and kept treating them the same way as they always did. Daphne had been worried that Astoria's antics would have gained their attention by now and was surprised that it was all ignored by her busy parents. She wouldn't discover until years later that they had written off Astoria as too weak to last long and hadn't invested in her like they should have. Like she had.
“I'm putting this where it'll be safe.” Astoria stood up and gave her sister a kiss on the cheek. “As soon as I get to school, I'm asking him to be my boyfriend.”
“He has a girlfriend.” Daphne said, almost automatically.
“Competition! She doesn't stand a chance! My blonde hair and pretty face will win him over! He can't resist!” Astoria giggled and ran off.
Daphne didn't have the heart to tell her that Luna looked a lot like her with long blonde hair and a pretty face. Her hair was straight and not curly, though. She almost always wore it pinned back and Daphne had seen Harry kissing that long neck and nibbling Luna's ear the one time she had opened a broom closet.
She had slammed the door and ran off before they had seen her, though. She had been about to tell whoever was in there to keep the noise down and saw it was them. Her heart had been beating fast and she wasn't sure why she had pangs of jealousy. It wasn't until she saw Granger's face and it matched her own, that she realized it was because Harry wasn't as available to her as he had been last year.
Daphne looked down in the little box saw another note. She opened it and caught her breath as she read it.
'Now that Astoria has run off to hide her present, here's yours. H.'
Daphne lifted up the beautiful locket with a snake wrapped around the outside of it. It looked suspiciously like the famous Slytherin locket owned by Salazar Slytherin himself, except it had a stylized G in the middle. She was almost afraid to open it, then took a deep breath and clicked the little clasp.
Inside were two moving pictures. Hers was on the left and Astoria's was on the right and they were wearing the nice dresses they had worn at his birthday party. She had no idea how he had gotten them or had them made into moving pictures. She didn't remember anyone at the party having a camera or any flashes or anything.
Without thinking about it, she slipped the locket over her head and it settled down on her chest. It was a comforting weight and she put her hands on it and held it.
He hasn't forgotten about us. Daphne thought and that little bit of jealousy had a little more heat added to it. He was smart to not sign the notes with more than an initial. She closed the little box and tucked it into a pocket. Maybe I can ask to borrow some class notes after New Years.
“Come on, Daphne! We can make breakfast together!” Astoria said as she ran back into the living room, her energy at a level that no one had seen before. A normal one.
Daphne nodded and followed her sister into the kitchen. She would have to go to Astoria's obvious hiding spot for things and she would actually hide Harry's present to keep it safe for her. She didn't want anyone else finding such a precious gift. Her hand touched the locket and she smiled. She would wait and see how long it took for Astoria to notice it before mentioning it.
*
Sirius was almost a different person for the rest of the Christmas holidays. Or Yule holidays. It depended on what you wanted to call them. Either way, it was a time of celebration as presents and good cheer was spread around liberally.
Harry had gotten a bunch of kisses from both Luna and Ela and he didn't ask why. He just enjoyed them and usually kissed them back. It didn't matter to him that they carried a piece of mistletoe around with them and held it over his head when they were near him. Ela would kiss his cheek or his forehead while Luna usually snogged the heck out of him, just to make Sirius laugh.
Amelia and Susan showed up with three days left before New Years Eve and they were greeted like family. Harry was mysteriously kissed by the both of them and still didn't question it. No one would tell him that Luna had slipped mistletoe to them and let them in on the game. Sirius laughed his ass off when he found out. He loved a good prank.
New Years arrived and it was like a little party. A few of Harry's friends were invited and they politely declined, their own families and plans making them too busy to accept. Harry sent them notes saying he was too busy as well, thanked them for even considering visiting, and would see them at school. He really was an extremely nice boy that was considerate of his friends.
Harry even sent Hermione a present and wasn't surprised that he hadn't received one in return. He hadn't expected one, because that wasn't the point of giving a gift. He still cared about her and he suspected that he always would. Just because she had overreacted from his other presents, it didn't mean they couldn't be friends again when she apologized for real and actually meant it.
That night at midnight, Sirius was having a very difficult time not laughing his ass off again. Harry had a line of girls waiting to kiss him for New Years. Of course, Luna was first and gave him a good going over before stepping aside and letting Ela give Harry a peck on the lips for everything he had done or her. Susan went next and she gave him the same kiss that she had the year before. She even blushed a little.
“Just to be clear, this is only a New Year's kiss.” Amelia said to him.
“You're just returning the one I gave you last year.” Harry said, quite cheekily.
Sirius couldn't hold his laugh in anymore and laughed and laughed. “That... that's... my godson!”
Susan and Luna giggled and Ela laughed softly.
Amelia let a little laugh escape. “So cheeky.” She said and bent down to return Harry's kiss, just as he wanted.
“Thank you.” Harry said, his face a little red. “Thank you all. This has been the best Christmas and New Years I've ever had so far.”
“So far?” Luna asked.
“It just keeps getting better and better.” Harry said and hugged her. “I've got family that love me, great friends that care about me, and more people in my life than I ever had before. I couldn't ask for anything more, except for more of it.”
“You've got that right, Harry.” Sirius said and pat his shoulder. “Just don't expect me or Remus to start showing up at New Years for a turn! Ha ha!”
“Blech!” Harry said and made a gagging sound, which made everyone laugh.
“Come on, you lot. Time for bed.” Ela said.
“I love slumber parties!” Susan said and grabbed Luna's and Harry's hands before she dragged them up the stairs towards the huge bed in Harry's room. “Hannah was busy with her own family this holiday, so I haven't had any good pillow talk in a looooong time!”
The adults laughed at her wording, because to them, pillow talk had an entirely different meaning.
“Maybe I'll tell her the difference someday.” Amelia kind of promised, which made Sirius laugh some more.
Harry shut the door and locked it, because he didn't want anyone seeing what was going to happen next. He, Susan, and Luna stripped off down to their underwear and climbed into bed.
“They look sore, don't they?” Luna asked Harry and he nodded.
“We're sorry that we can't to anything like this at school.” Harry said, his voice sad.
“Me, too.” Susan responded. “I don't know why they hurt so much.”
“I think it's because they're growing too fast.” Luna said, wisely.
“Thank you both for giving me a hand with them.” Susan said and then giggled. “One each! Ha ha!”
Harry laughed and Luna giggled as well, then they carefully placed their hands on Susan's tender bits. She gasped, half in pain and half in surprise. They made sad sounds to make sure that Susan knew they knew it was painful, then they started to give her a massage like they had looked up in the book.
Unlike Neville's amateurish movements, Harry and Luna had practised on dinner buns to make sure that they didn't cause pain or made Susan uncomfortable. They wanted to help ease her soreness and they knew the best ways to do that after studying up on it.
Susan's breathing sped up as her friends helped her rub her chest. She had heard about Neville and Lavender doing it and wished she had someone to help her like that, because Lavender always looked so happy afterwards. She never suspected anyone else knew until both Harry and Luna came to her and asked her if she needed their help. They explained their research and Harry ordering a muggle book.
When they showed it to her, Susan agreed immediately. She had no idea what was going on with her body lately and having a book helped her so much. Reading a book about puberty, and growth hormones, and changes inside and outside a girl's body, had made her want to do as much as she could to alleviate her symptoms. Susan couldn't have felt more grateful to Harry and Luna.
“Are you okay?” Harry asked her.
“I... I don't know.” Susan said, her voice breathy. “Are they supposed to tingle?”
Luna grabbed the book from under Harry's pillow and flipped through it. “Tingling can be one of the sensations. It signifies a slight blood loss to the tissue.”
“Are we rubbing too hard?” Harry asked and eased off with his movements.
“Don't... don't stop.” Susan whispered and caught his hand.
“No, it says it's one of the reasons to massage. It's to stimulate and increase blood flow to them.” Luna said and put the book down. “If the tingling gets worse, we should stop and let her rest.”
“Okay.” Harry said and both he and Luna went back to massaging Susan's breasts.
Susan didn't know what she was feeling. Her breasts were still sore and also felt really, really good. She had touched them herself and it never made her feel like this. She tried to not squirm as her friends made her feel happy and feel weird at the same time. It was all very confusing.
“How do you feel now?” Luna asked.
“I don't... I feel... it's sore and good at the same time... I don't know.” Susan whispered.
“The tingling?” Harry asked.
“Not too bad.” Susan breathed. “It's like... I don't know. I've never... why does it...”
“It's okay.” Luna said. “It's one of the warnings. Your body is confused about what we're doing.”
“So am I.” Susan said. “It's great and weird and I need you to stop before I go crazy and I never want you to stop because I want to see what crazy is like.”
Luna giggled and Harry chuckled.
“You're definitely confused.” Harry said. “Maybe we should take a break and let you relax a little.”
Susan nodded and Harry started to pull his hand away. “No! Leave... leave it there.” She said and looked at Luna. “You, too. Just touching it seems to be okay and not too sore.”
“Cuddle time.” Luna said and she and Harry slid in close to half-hug Susan between them and left their hands on her chest.
“Mmmm.” Susan moaned as their body warmth joined with her own. “Thank you.”
“Harry, grab the blanket.” Luna said and Harry sat up, flicked his wand that he had stashed nearby, and the blanket jumped up onto the bed and covered them up to the neck.
“That's... a great... spell.” Susan whispered and closed her eyes.
“We'll teach it to you tomorrow.” Harry promised and Susan smiled, then she fell right to sleep.
“We wore her out.” Luna whispered.
“She's been suffering since the summer, according to Amelia.” Harry whispered back. “I feel really bad that we couldn't help her back then.”
“Me, too.” Luna whispered. “There is only one of me, though. You needed me more then.”
Harry half sat up and leaned across Susan. “I really did. Thank you, Luna.”
Luna copied him and leaned across Susan. “You're welcome.”
They gave each other a brief kiss and then laid down. It didn't take long before the warmth settled into their bodies as well and they fell asleep.
A short time later, the bedroom door unlocked and swung open. Two women stood there with smiles on their faces.
“Are you sure you want to let this go on, Amelia?” Ela asked in a whisper, even behind the silence spell she had cast at the doorway.
“You heard them. They are being responsible and making sure to not hurt Susan.” Amelia said. “Thank you for telling me about that book Harry bought.”
Ela chuckled. “I wasn't going to let Harry do anything medical related, not even something muggle, without checking it out first.”
“It's a great book.” Amelia admitted. “I wish I had something like that when I was growing up.”
Ela looked down at Amelia's chest. “I can imagine.”
Amelia laughed softly. “I didn't have good friends to help me back then, so wishing for it is pointless.”
Ela nodded. “I'm finding it hard to believe that Harry, as nice of a boy as he is, is not taking advantage of either his girlfriend or his friend right now.”
Amelia shook her head. “Harry's been sharing a bed with Luna since... the incident. Even completely unsupervised, he didn't take liberties with her. They've been in every broom cupboard in the school and a few empty classrooms; but, it's all just snogging and a bit of butt grabbing.”
Ela gave her a searching look. “How do you know that?”
“I asked him, of course.” Amelia said and saw Ela's surprised face. “Harry's never lied to me and he knows he never has to. After what he's been through, there's no point in him lying about anything.”
Ela nodded and closed the door before locking it and cancelling the silence spell. They walked back downstairs and Sirius seemed to be asleep on the couch.
“The poor thing. He already laughed himself to sleep.” Amelia joked and Ela laughed softly.
“He's had a lot of things to laugh at tonight.” Ela said. “I'll be joining him on the couch in a minute.”
“I'll head to the guest room to get some sleep myself.” Amelia said. “Goodnight, Ela.”
“Goodnight, Amelia.” Ela said and glanced at the man on the couch, then looked at Amelia with a smile on her face. “Happy New Year.”
Amelia chuckled at the obvious clue and leaned in to briefly kiss her. “Happy New Year. To you both.”
Ela watched her walk away and then looked down at her soon-to-be husband.
“She's definitely a great friend.” Sirius whispered and moved the blanket to show he was hard for her.
“She really is.” Ela said and slipped her dress off to show him that she wasn't wearing panties.
“Oh, you dirty little healer, you.” Sirius whispered in appreciation and then he pulled her down on top of himself and covered them with the blanket.
*
The return to school was uneventful for the first time in a while. The students weren't attacked, or harassed, or even threatened by either the death eaters or their children on the train. What the general population didn't know was that a lot of the death eater's active members had been killed and a bunch had been found and captured, thanks to Amelia's specifically directed Aurors.
They had even found several safe houses, thanks to Severus Snape's information of their old hideouts. The Aurors were surprised to discover Lucius Malfoy and several other inner circle death eaters as they recovered from their exposure to Dementors in Azkaban. They also found a hysterical Lord Voldemort that was locked up inside a silenced room.
Amelia was shocked at hearing that and immediately investigated. It didn't take her long to discover the death eater's plans to create a dark lord for everyone to fear and that the man in front of her was not Voldemort as they had magicked him up to be. It was Albus Dumbledore.
“Well, I hope you're happy about how things are turning out, Voldemort.” Amelia said with satisfaction and enjoyed Dumbledore sputtering. “Your very public trial will be happening right in front of the Veil of Death and then I am going to personally kick your old arse hard enough to shove you through it!”
It took Dumbledore a moment to shake that image out of his head. “Amelia, it's me! Dumbledore!”
Amelia stood up and leaned across the table to whisper. “I know.”
Dumbledore's mouth dropped open from shock.
Amelia stood up straight and smiled. “Keep him bound and gagged. We don't know what kind of curses and magic this criminal knows.”
“NOOO!” Dumbledore yelled and then he was gagged, blindfolded, manacled, and dragged out of the interrogation room.
“I'm going to enjoy seeing him finally being dealt with properly.” Amelia said and went back to her office. She had a press conference to set up, several personal calls to make about the farce she was going to perpetuate, and a wizarding world that was going to be so grateful to her and her department for saving them from Voldemort's return.
*
A month later, it was a spectacle worthy of the ages. Everyone turned out into the streets to be outside as Voldemort was sentenced and then literally kicked in the ass and pushed through the Veil of Death. When the announcement was made, everyone cheered.
*
In time, things became much better in the wizarding world. Less violent crime, less evil things were being perpetrated, and more death eaters were being sentenced to the Veil of Death instead of Azkaban. No one wanted their kind around, so they were dealt with permanently.
With no Albus Dumbledore and Ex-Minister Fudge pushing for it, the Tri-Wizard Tournament didn't happen. In fact, Minister Augusta Longbottom ensured that the tournament would never be resurrected and had the Goblet of Fire buried in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries.
*
Harry and Luna stayed together as they grew up. Their school life was one of happiness and joy, with lots of friends and interesting schoolwork to keep them busy. When Luna turned fifteen, she had grown in a very nice chest for Harry to enjoy and she practically begged him to keep playing with them. Harry and Susan had helped her when they were growing in and they were just as diligent in caring for her as Luna and Harry had been for Susan.
They never made anything official between the three of them, because Luna was Harry's girlfriend and had been for years. That didn't stop them from having fun together, mainly because Susan had always loved Harry and regretted that she hadn't been friends with him before he had met Hermione.
Susan told him when she was sixteen that if he hadn't been so devoted to Hermione when Susan had confessed to him the first time, she would have been his girlfriend first and wouldn't have screwed up like Hermione had. Harry gave Luna a significant look at the time and she beamed a smile at him and nodded.
Harry looked at Susan. “I was just a dumb kid back then and I didn't realize what I was passing up.”
Susan gasped. “Harry! You don't mean...”
“I didn't really know what love was until I spent all that time with you and Amelia.” Harry admitted. “It wasn't until Hermione hurt me like she did and Luna saved me, that I started to realize what real love was.” He turned and kissed Luna. “Thank you for that.”
“I had to save you. No one else was going to.” Luna said, matter of factly.
Harry chuckled and looked back at Susan. “It took me years to understand my own emotions enough and looking back, I can see that you really liked me and I was an idiot.”
Susan lightly touched his chest. “Harry, you... you don't have to say...”
“I love you, too.” Harry said. “In that way. Not like a friend or a sister.”
Susan sucked in a breath. “Harry...”
“Just so you know, Luna and I were planning on something really neat tonight.” Harry said and Luna blushed. “We want to know if you want to be there with us.”
“Yes.” Susan whispered.
“You don't even know what it is.” Harry asked.
“It doesn't matter.” Susan said and her other hand touched Luna's face. “We've snuck around for years, pretending we didn't care so much about each other while we took care of each other, because people would look at us funny if they knew we were so close.”
Harry nodded and Luna blushed.
“Whatever it is, I want to be a part of it.” Susan said, completely sure of her decision.
That night, three people lost their virginity.
*
Sirius and Ela had three children, two boys and a girl. They were both ecstatic about it. The Black family was growing for the first time in years.
Draco Malfoy graduated from Hogwarts at the bottom of his class rankings, just above his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle. A month later, they were caught trying to kidnap a muggle teenager and shot by the muggle police. The Aurors swept the whole thing away and covered it up. They ended up in Azkaban prison for ten years. They barely lasted two before they died.
Harry and Luna were married the day Luna turned seventeen and they moved in together at the Rookery. They spent two years fixing the place up and took care of her ailing father. They both made up fantastical stories to keep him entertained and he published them as children's books. They made a fortune in both the wizarding world and the muggle world.
Susan moved in as well and didn't tell anyone, not even her aunt, Amelia Bones. At least, not until Susan became pregnant. Then she had to tell her, because Harry had agreed that if it ever happened, the child would become a Bones if it was a boy. It was.
Amelia was both really angry and extremely happy, so she declared them both idiots and hugged Susan as if to choke her and then she kissed Harry right on the lips. “You better keep her happy!”
“Y-yes, mom. I will.” Harry said with a blush.
“AWW!” Susan and Luna shouted as one and Harry was soon covered in kisses. Amelia couldn't stop her smile and gave him another quick kiss herself. She loved him a lot.
Needless to say, Luna was pregnant after the celebration that night.
Neville and Lavender soon followed suit by getting married and they bought the Leaky Cauldron. It had a large clientele and they made their money back in only three years by offering cheaper rooms and better meals. They also cleaned the place up and made it more welcoming and not so dark and dingy.
No one questioned why the Dursleys mysteriously disappeared one night. The house was emptied of their belongings, cleaned up, and sold to a nice family. When the cupboard under the stairs was checked, it was once again a cupboard. No trace of magic was left inside the house.
If anyone from the wizarding world had cared to even look into it, and none of them did, they would have found several black dog hairs on the new doormat outside. Harry didn't even notice the funds being put into his vaults.
Ron managed to get onto his favorite Quiddich team, the Chudley Cannons. He played for three years as a goaltender and then moved up to assistant coach, then head coach for ten years. The day he brought them to their very first Quiddich World Cup game, he had a heart attack. He died with a smile on his face, because it didn't matter to him if they won at that point. He had achieved his lifelong dream and that was good enough for him.
Hermione never did accept that what she did was wrong. She accepted that she overreacted and that was all. She felt fully justified in her resolve and she also worked hard to pay off the loan agreement. She wasn't sure why she cried silent tears as she sealed the final payment into the envelope to send to Harry.
Her aged and grey-haired mother walked into the room and touched her shoulder. “It's finally over.”
“M-mom, I... why am I crying?” Hermione asked and wiped at her wet eyes.
“It's because what you have in your hand, is the very last thing you have to connect you to your old friend.” Emma said and kissed her daughter's forehead. “He loved you and you loved him.”
“But... why...”
“Because deep down you know that believing you were right wasn't worth it.” Emma said and took the envelope from her. “Go to bed and get some rest. I'll send this along.”
Hermione nodded and changed to go to bed. Her father had died years ago and her mother asked her to move back home. She agreed because the floo made going to work every day at the Ministry quick and easy.
Emma turned off the light and walked down the stairs and went to the kitchen. A very pretty snowy owl was waiting there. “You knew, did you?”
“Hoot!” Hedwig said.
“Well, you tell Harry she still loves him and misses him.” Emma said and gave her the envelope. “Tell him I miss him, too.”
“Hoot.” Hedwig said and lightly touched Emma cheek with a wingtip to caress it, then she took the letter and flew off.
“I thought owls only lived for 20 years or so.” Emma said with a shrug and closed the window.
*
Ten more years later, Harry laughed as he received another request for a giant cauldron of Elixir of Life. “You Old Bag of Bones! You're still kicking around?” He asked and shook his head. “What am I saying? Of course he is.”
Harry quickly conjured a cauldron and used the Philosopher's Stone to convert it into gold, enlarged it, and then brewed up the batch. He wasn't stupid, so he made another and stuck it into his expanded storage closet that was charmed with a permanent stasis charm. He had run out of it a little while ago and Nick's request reminded him that he needed more of it to give to Hedwig and Astoria.
“I smell peppermint and ambrosia.” Luna said as she ran into the potions room and then she planted a big kiss on his lips. “Hi, my love!”
“Hi, Lily.” Harry said and took out a galleon from his pocket.
“Aww! How did you know it was me?” Lily said and the glamour covering her hair faded to show that it was a deep brown like his own. She still looked exactly like Luna, though.
“You missed the second skip before kissing me.” Harry said. He had long ago accepted that his daughter had a wicked sense of humor when it came to tricking him into showing her more affection than he usually gave her.
“Oh, pooh! I keep forgetting that!” Lily said and pouted.
Luna laughed as she ran into the room, doing the second skip like she always did, and planted a big kiss on her husband's lips. “Hi, my love!”
“Hi, Emily.” Harry said and both girls gasped.
“How did you know?” They asked as Emily's glamour faded and revealed that she looked like a much younger Susan Bones.
“Luna's hair is pinned up on the other side.” Harry said and looked at Lily. “You must have glamoured up from looking at Lily and forgot to switch sides.”
“Oh, pooh!” Both girls pouted and walked out of the kitchen as they talked about what to do the next time.
The real Luna walked in and gave him a deep and passionate kiss that she only did when the kids weren't looking, which was the real reason Harry knew that the girls weren't really Luna.
“Are you ever going to tell them the secret?” Luna asked with amusement on her face.
“Maybe next year.” Harry said and she laughed. “Portus.” He said and used a sticking charm on the galleon before he tossed it at the side of the large cauldron. It glowed and popped away to go right into Nick's own storage closet.
“He still hasn't asked for the stone back?” Luna asked.
“No, he knows I'll make him tons of potion whenever he wants and won't use it for anything else.” Harry said. “I'm just glad he convinced his wife to buy out Madam Primpernelle's Beauty Shoppe and now he and his wife look like they're forty again.”
Luna smiled and rubbed her own cheek. “She really did do good work.”
Harry chuckled. “I'm just sorry that her potion wasn't approved for the public and she didn't become famous on her own.”
Luna laughed and kissed him again. “She had to suffer with just you as a client, the poor thing!”
Harry hugged her and they walked out of the potions room together.
“I heard the muttering of the dastardly duo.” Susan said from the kitchen table. “They failed again?”
Harry nodded and gave her a passionate kiss.
“They would have more luck if they pretended to be you.” Luna said and sat down. “Is Jason coming over today?”
“He wants to show off his new baby, so yes.” Susan said and gave her a pointed look. “Are you saying I'm easier to imitate than you are?”
“I really should patent my dreamy smile.” Luna said and showed it off, making Susan laugh.
Harry sat between them and tapped the table to switch the empty bowls and plates with full ones. “You would have people ripping you off left and right, as the muggles would say.”
“That's so sweet to say!” Luna said and kissed him again.
“Kids! Lunch!” Susan shouted and six people entered the kitchen. Lily was the oldest at 20, Emily was the next at 19, Jenna was 15, James was 10, Harry Junior was 8 and little Amelia was 6.
The place was crowded and none of them wanted it any other way, especially Harry.