Fan Fiction ❯ Stepping on my Foot ❯ What is Right. ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
[Oneshot] Harry and Luna hide out in a closet, why you ask? Because there just aren't enough Harry/Luna shippers writing fanfiction. Allergy Warning: Contains fluff.

"Ouch, you're stepping on my foot, Luna." a dark-haired boy said, his voice muffled by the mop in his face. This closet was actually bigger than the last closet he had shared with this particular girl, not that they made any special effort to spend time specifically in closets.

"Oh am I? I am very sorry, Harry." Luna repositioned her foot and sat down on an upturned bucket. Luna had become rather fond of the conversations she had with Harry Potter. There were very few people she felt comfortable talking about less than mainstream topics with. On some level, Luna felt as if Harry understood her often controversial point of view and even if he didn't, he was neither alarmed by it nor did he think less of her for it.

Since they were from different houses and thus did not share a Common Room, when the pair first began meeting, they had used the Room of Requirement. This quickly proved a poor choice as it was often over run with DA members either practicing spells or using it as a private place for snogging depending on the time of day. Due to the eccentric nature of many of their topics, Harry and Luna decided that a reasonable bit of privacy was needed. This proved difficult when they realized that 90% of the student population wanted to shake one or both or their hands because of the role each of them had already played in the war against Lord Voldemort and his followers.

"Too bad that all of those 'well-wishers' found that passage by Galvin the Glomped's portrait. It was the perfect size and it didn't smell like this place does." Harry sighed. This had been the 4th time in as many weeks they had had to change their meeting place; it was to the point where Harry suspected that Ron, Hermione, Neville, or Ginny may have been feeding information to the congratulatory mobs.

"Yes, too bad, though I suspect that passage had a nargle infestation anyway." Luna said matter of factly, "Harry? Do you ever think about Cho Chang?"

"I used too; when we first broke up I wanted nothing more that to get back together. But, I started realizing that she didn't really want me, she wanted The Harry Potter." Harry didn't find her sudden question odd in the least. If there was one thing he'd learned since the beginning of the term, it was that Luna's mind worked in strange ways; somehow nargles reminded her of romance. He continued, "I decided that I want a girlfriend who can forget for 20 minutes that I'm the wondrous 'Boy who Lived' and have a real conversation that doesn't involve some ulterior motive."

"How very interesting. I must say that I am looking for similar traits in a boyfriend." Luna explained, "I have had several potential suitors ask me, but I could tell it was only because they consider me a strange novelty, worthy of one date simply so they could say they had gone out with 'Loony Lovegood'. None of them wanted to have such interesting conversations as we have. Most of them only wanted to talk about mundane things like Quiddich and the level of hatred they have for potions class, the others only wanted to talk about themselves."

It suddenly came to Harry's attention the he and Luna were really very much alike. A year ago, he would have found this realization to be rather alarming, but now, he found it comforting. Luna understood what it was like to be on public display. The more he thought about this, the more Harry realized something else.

"Luna, do you know what else I want in a girlfriend? I want someone who doesn't care about the conventions of society. Someone who won't parade me around like Parvati Patil did at the Yule ball two years ago. Most of all I don't want a cookie cutter. I want a girl who has quirks, strange little things only she does, like wearing a necklace of butterbeer caps, or keeping her wand behind her ear."

"It's safer there; keeping it in your pocket you risk loosing a buttock. And my mother made me the necklace right before she died; wearing it is how I remember her." Luna defended almost absent mindedly.

There again was something they shared; both had lost people they cared deeply for, Luna her mother, Harry his parents and, more recently, Sirius. Harry could talk to her about death in a way he never could with Ron and Hermione. They didn't really understand what it was like to lose someone so close. They tried to tell him everything would be okay, and then they tried to solemnly comfort him. Luna understood that it never would be 'okay' that a loved one was gone, but also that the wound would heal. Then she would make him laugh. Laughter was what helped most; it was a concrete example that life could still hold joy.

"Harry, what are you thinking about right now? You look a little far away." Luna's voice snapped Harry out of his internal monologue.

"Actually, I was thinking about you, about how much our friendship means to me." Harry looked into Luna's eyes, "I was thinking about what my life would be like if I didn't have you."

"Why? Why waste time on the "what ifs". We're here together right now, and I don't know about you, but I don't plan on leaving." Luna continued, "Live in the moment, Harry. Don't think too far into the future because nothing ever happens how you plan it, anyway. What is your heart telling you to do right now?"

"I'll show you." Harry whispered. Harry took Luna's hands and gently pulled her to her feet. One of his hands went under her chin, tilting her head towards his; the other went around her waist pulling her close. Leaning in for what seemed like an eternity, their lips met in a quick peck.

"Liar." Luna said simply, "I don't think that's what your heart was telling you to do at all."

"If you're such an expert on my mind, you tell me what I was thinking then." Harry replied, still holding Luna. "That's your problem, Harry. You've got your brain and your heart mixed up. You did what your head told you to do, <<this>> is what your heart told you." with a speed Harry didn't know she possessed, Luna's hand shot behind his head and pulled him in for a significantly more passionate kiss.

It was several minutes later before they broke apart, lips tingling. They sat in silence, still very close together, but neither daring to break the stillness. Finally, Luna spoke.

"Just remember, your head may tell you what's smart, but your heart will tell you what's right." with that, Luna opened the door to the closet, as she walked out she asked "Same time tomorrow, Harry?"

But she didn't need an answer.