Luckily Draco had been found, though from the rumors she had heard he hadn't been found so much as he walked into the Ministry buck naked. She wasn't quite sure if she believed that, though knowing him even the little bit that she did, any part of the rumor could be true.

She wondered idly if the two of them were going to go to the big to do. She knew Harry had been invited it Miss Capper's party since he had briefly discussed going with her. Very briefly. She had no hard feelings towards the woman who had been with Harry before her, but she thought it best to stay away from that particular quicksand pit for now. Harry had been visibly relieved that she had expressed no desire to go. He was so obvious in his distaste for social events.

Instead she was filling the time before he arrived at Orchard's Gate with the little tasks she had been putting off. A feather duster was dutifully going over every surface and a mop was applying itself to the floor. The dishes were the only part she had not used magic on. She never had managed to get that particular charm down. She always managed to break at least one dish when she tried it.

The Wireless was on and one of her favorite songs started to play. With a laugh she spun around the kitchen, long skirt knocking the mop off balance for a moment as she swirled. She giggled as she continued to dance to the music, he worries about Gin and Draco momentarily forgotten. A bit of silliness never went amiss. It chased away the dulldrums. Even someone who thought the Quib was a rag would agree to that gem of knowledge.

Harry had frozen in the doorway to the kitchen to watch her move. Their nights had been rather stressful for the last few days. He knew she was worried about Ginny, and he felt the same way. Even after Draco had showed up at Healing Hands, there'd been stress. They still hadn't found Monatague. They didn't know where to start looking, either. Everyone was still searching. It was still stressful.

Except here.

Watching her move around the kitchen, her blond hair flowing behind her as she danced, made everything seem a bit better. He didn't know how she could do it. She just did. The fact that she'd been alright with not going to the bloody ball had made him immensely happy. Her dancing barefoot in the kitchen was better than seeing her in a dress surrounded by people. She was prettier here than anyone would have been there.

Luna spotted Harry watching her and sent him a smile before twirling over and grabbing his hand. "Dance with me," she said, tugging him into the middle of the kitchen as the wireless obligingly changed to something slower. She wrapped her other hand around the back of his neck and smiled up at him. He hated dancing, she knew, but she also knew he hated it because he felt awkward and like he was the center of attention. But they were alone in the kitchen, just the two of them. Surely he would relax into the rhythm easily enough.

"How was your day," she asked as they swayed back and forth.

"Fine," he said, moving awkwardly with her. He hated dancing, but mostly it was because he embarrassed himself whenever he did so. He was fairly sure he wouldn't do that here. "Busy. Yours?"

"Always busy," she said, fingers curling into the hair at the back of his neck. "Right now we're concentrating on dealing with the owls about this month's issue. One woman in Oingo Boingo claims that she's had a santaer as a pet for at least two decades," she said, referring to the creature she had reported on most recently. "Daddy's going to send Adam off to look into that, I think. He said that Adam's gotten more and more paranoid since he started looking into the Librarians. Did you eat today?"

"I had an apple," he said, smiling at how easily the names of places and creatures roll off her tongue. He had no idea where or what she was talking about, but it sounded great as it fell from her mouth. "I wouldn't mind some dinner, though. Are you wanting to cook, or go out?"

"Order in," she promptly answered. "In fact, I took the liberty of ordering pizza. It should be here in about ten minutes. It seemed like a pretty safe bet that you would be hungry. And, if not, cold pizza makes for a pleasant enough lunch tomorrow. Would you like to watch a movie while we eat? Or stare into space?"

"Maybe a bit of both?" Staying in sounded perfect to him. "I'm not sure what movie we'd watch. I think we've watched everything you guys have," he said, dipping her back a bit, part of McGonagall's teaching filtering into his mind.

Luna could help the giggle that escaped as he dipped her. He'd never be suave like that Bond fellow in the movies, but when he relaxed he wasn't a total loss.

"Maybe something mindless, then? Where things go boom and you don't actually need to pay attention to the plot to understand it?" She ran through the list of movies as she waited for him to answer. Any of the three with the bloke and the whip would serve, she thought. Montana Jones?

"Boom sounds good." Harry looked up as there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get it and you get drinks? Meet you downstairs?" At her nod, he made his way to the door, paying the man and grabbing the pizza. He'd gotten used to being here at night. Dobby had already asked when the next time he'd be bringing Miss Moon by again. Soon had been Harry's only answer. He liked spending his nights with Luna. He liked laying on the couch and losing himself in her stories, or her lips, just for a little while. She quieted everything from the day for him, when nothing else could.

She gathered a couple of butterbeers out of the icebox and hurried down the stairs, flicking on lights as she went. Normally she would make sure that the door shut behind him, to give them a little but of extra privacy, but since Gin wasn't likely to come home she didn't bother. Not that they needed that extra barrier against the world. Now that she had snared him she was perfectly content to take things slow. He seemed to be of a like mind and they had yet to move past light petting.

"Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark?" she asked as soon as he had set the pizza down. "Or one of those other movies?" She ran a finger over the titles. "The Mask of Zorro, The Road Warrior? You know, for a girl Ginny does seem to have a lot of action movies."

"She likes fire," he said, setting the pizza down on the table. "Anything with fire." Sitting back on the couch, popping the top off a butterbeer, he nodded. "Indiana Jones is fine for me. I've seen it before, so I don't have to worry about actually paying attention." He grinned as she set about putting it on. His eyes lingered on her when she bent over, pushing the disc into the player. "Ginny not coming home again tonight?"

"Not that I know of," she said, settling down next to him and reaching for a slice of pizza. "I've not actually seen her this week. Not that I would expect to. If you were kidnapped I'd probably have a problem letting you out of my sight when you came back. It's..." She blushed as she realized how much she had just given away. Yes, they were dating, but nowhere near saying the "L" word. "It's not surprising that she's staying with him.

"Do you think the American Military did horde mystical objects," she asked, hoping to draw his attention away from her slip. "Maybe they have Merlin's wand stuck away in a warehouse somewhere, gathering dust."

Harry snorted as she sat beside him, folding herself against his side as she did so. "I don't think so. If they had Merlin's wand, the Americans would have it out on display, waving it in our faces." When she flicked the lights off, Harry finally had the chance to think about what she'd said. She understood what Ginny was doing, wanting to stay with Malfoy right now. She'd want to do the same. Part of Harry thought it very morbid that he was glad of that. If he ever were kidnapped, she'd be worried. Someone shouldn't be happy about that, right? He was, though. Very happy.

"I'm sure Gin will come home eventually. All her clothes are here."

"If nothing else she'll have to show up to move everything," she agreed, keeping her voice light. Gin moving would mean searching for a new roommate. Luna forced the troubling thoughts away and concentrated on enjoying her time with Harry instead.

Frowning, Harry turned his attention to the TV as the movie began to play. He pulled the pizza into his lap, putting an arm around Luna's shoulders as she sat back against the cushions. "I don't like the idea of you living here all by yourself if Gin were to move." His face blanched when he realized that what he just said might have been taken to mean he wanted her to move in with him. "You should look for someone else to take her room," he added quickly. He mentally slapped himself. She's going to think you don't want her to live with you now! Not that you do just yet, but still!

"I'll have to, if she does. I can't afford the rent on my own." She cycled through her short list of friends, trying to think of who could possibly be looking for a new place to stay and that she would get along with. Not that she was home all that often, but enough that compatibility was a consideration. Hermione? No, she's got a flat and I think things might still be awkward between her and Harry. Mac? Has the run of the Sticks. She drew a blank on any other names.

"Maybe I should look for a smaller place instead," she mused, idly watching Indiana Jones as he prevented his guide from stepping into poison darts. She would hate to move from Orchard's Gate; she loved the house and garden. But sometimes change could not be avoided.

"Get a little flat in Diagon? It would be the first time I ever lived alone."

"I think we can find someone. I wouldn't worry about it. It probably won't happen for a long time. They've only been dating a few months." Harry frowned as he said that, looking back at the screen as he took a bite of his pizza. His other hand absently ran along the skin on her arm. Soft.

"Probably not," she agreed, though part of her still wondered. He hadn't seen them together, not like she had. "I'll deal with it when the time comes." Finished with her slice of pizza, and not feeling like eating more, she settled her head against the hollow of Harry's shoulder. He smelled nice. Male with a hint of wood smoke. Maybe he'd used the Floo earlier.

Laying his head against the top of hers, Harry took in a deep breath. He'd never been able to pinpoint what exactly she smelled like. Her shampoo was somewhat flowery, but her smell was a mystery of physical chemistry and he just had no idea. He knew that he liked it, though, and that was all that mattered. Harry had used to being with her like this. The awkward beginning stages had passed, but Harry had been to afraid to push this past anything more than kissing. His last two relationships had been Ginny and Simone. He'd been with Ginny for ages before progression into a physical relationship. With Simone, it'd been the opposite. The last had not turned out well at all, and he was afraid the same would happen with Luna.

He knew that was impossible. He'd known Luna for years. He'd only known Simone for a few scant weeks. Still, he was hesitant and while he knew what he'd like to do with Luna, he was afraid to take the next step. Mindful of how her body was pressed against his, Harry adjusted, more of her body moved onto his.

He had thrown his feet up onto the coffee table and wriggled down into a recline, which unfortunately disrupted her comfortable position. To compensate, she pulled her legs up onto the sofa and let his chest support her upper body. The natural result was his arm slipping from around her shoulders and onto her ribs. Content in the new position, she idly played with his arm, focused more on losing herself in the quiet than anything else.

She was all but in his lap. Harry was having a hard time focusing on anything else. The way her skin felt against his was amazing, and he was using a lot of his willpower to keep from pulling her atop him. Shaking his head to clear they very vivid image of him doing just that, he cleared his throat, running his hand along her ribs slowly.

Luna giggled and twisted away from his fingers. "Tickles," she said, explaining the motion. When he showed no signs of intentionally tickling her, she snuggled back against him and sighed contentedly. "Much better than a silly masquerade ball."

"Yeah."


[Summary: Harry and Luna spend a quiet night at Orchard's Gate instead of going to Simone's ball.]