Disclaimer: As usual, nothing's mine, everything belongs to the wonderful JKR.



Author's note: This was written as a Secret Santa for miss padfoot. Thanks goes to my lovely beta Faile, you're the best, hun.





The Dance





Laughter filled the air, dancing on the slight breeze and travelling even to the farthest corners of the garden.



Harry sat alone under a big apple tree, content to watch his friends have a good time. He couldn’t understand how they could be this carefree after everything that had happened but he was glad that at least they were enjoying themselves. He had only agreed to attend Bill and Fleur’s wedding to make Ron and Hermione happy, and so Mrs Weasley would stop worrying about him all the time. Since Ron had let their plans to search the Horcruxes slip, she had been on their case constantly, trying to get them to change their minds.



After the funeral – Harry still felt tears threatening to spill whenever he thought about it – he had done what Dumbledore had asked him to and gone back to the Dursleys for two weeks. He had avoided them mostly, only coming out of his room at mealtimes and never speaking even a single word to any of them. They, in turn, had pretended he wasn’t there at all. All in all it had been one of his more pleasant stays at 4 Privet Drive.



Even though the two weeks hadn’t been all that bad, Harry had been more than ready to leave when Arthur Weasley and a small group of Aurors had come to pick him up. The journey to Ottery St. Catchpole had been a swift and silent one. The uneasiness had only left him when they had stepped into the Burrow’s cramped kitchen. The whole place was a mess, more so than usual because Mrs Weasley had been in the midst of preparing her ‘darling son’s’ wedding.



The next few days had been marked by some rather vicious fights and a lot of hard work. Before his arrival, Harry had dreaded seeing Ginny again, but when he finally did, he was surprised that he didn’t think about them or what could have been for more than a second. His immense workload surely kept his thoughts from straying to the small redhead during the day, but he found that even at night, right before he fell asleep, other matters occupied his mind, leaving no room for any thoughts about Ginny.



Ginny herself treated him no different than before they got together. She seemed to accept his reasons for breaking things off and didn’t try to push him into getting back with her. Harry respected her even more for this and admonished himself for thinking her weaker than he knew she was.



~°~



“Harry, dear, you shouldn’t be sitting here on your own. This is not the time to entertain gloomy thoughts. Have some fun, go ask Luna to dance, she’s all alone as well.� Without giving him the time to reply, Mrs Weasley hauled him up and pushed him towards Luna



He had been so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed her standing no more than 5 feet away from him. She was indeed on her own, although she didn’t seem to mind the lack of attention being paid to her. She was idly gazing at the couples, swaying to the music, but Harry doubted that she was actually aware of them.



Mrs Weasley gave him another push and he finally gave up on the notion of getting some peace and quiet while staying at the Burrow. He approached Luna rather hesitantly, not knowing what exactly he should say to her. He never quite knew what to expect when talking to her. On a first glance she seemed to be absorbed in a world of her own, totally removed from reality, but there was more to Luna than her weirdness, if one wanted to call it that. Luna had proved to be a good judge of character and, although it made Harry uncomfortable at times, he respected her for always being brutally honest. He had to deal with enough lies and half-truths to consider honesty to be one of the more, if not the most, important value. He knew he could trust Luna entirely, it just wasn’t in her nature to lie and to deceive.



“Erm … Luna, do you want to dance?� Harry felt heat rise into his cheeks.



Luna’s wandering gaze settled on Harry after a moment, and she blinked serenely. “You know, you don’t have to dance with me if you don’t want to. I don’t mind.�



“Oh … but I do, I really want to dance with you.� Harry wasn’t sure why he hadn’t taken the easy way out Luna had given him. He didn’t even like dancing. Nonetheless he held his hand out to her, just like he had seen in the movies.



Luna eyed his hand for a long moment and Harry was about to drop it when she finally put her hand in his. Together they stepped onto the dance floor. Harry took one of her hands in his and put the other one on her hip while drawing her closer to him. They started moving to the beat awkwardly. Harry had only danced once before, at the Yule Ball, and it had been a complete disaster.



Neither Harry nor Luna knew what to say so they just stayed quiet. To Harry’s surprise the silence that set in wasn’t strained. He rather enjoyed Luna’s presence and having her in his arms felt surprisingly good. As he got more and more comfortable in her company, his moves became smoother and he eased his almost rigid posture.



After several minutes the song changed and a rather slow one was put on. Harry wasn’t sure if he was supposed to keep dancing or leave the dance floor with Luna. Before he could ask her, Luna made the decision for him and pulled him towards some seats.



“Do you want something to drink?� Harry asked. Luna turned big, surprised eyes on him but he merely shrugged.



“Yes, please. I’d like that.�



Harry nodded and went towards the refreshment table. On the was there he caught Mrs Weasley’s eye, who smiled brightly before turning back to Fleur and Bill. Harry filled two glasses with punch - he felt that they were old enough to drink a little alcohol - and returned to Luna.



Luna accepted the glass without looking up. She was staring at a nearby cluster of trees intently, lost in her own world once again. Harry wasn’t put off by her behaviour, but chose to watch the dancing couples for a while. Tonks and Remus were swaying on the spot, whispering in each other’s ears and oblivious to their surroundings. Fleur’s parents, Madame and Monsieur Delacour, seemed to be taken right out of one of the movies Aunt Petunia had always watched. Their steps were timed perfectly and they varied constantly. Harry’s gaze drifted onwards, passed a few couples he didn’t know and finally landed on Ron and Hermione. A chuckle escaped him as he watched Ron step on Hermione’s foot by accident. The almost comical look of frustration on Hermione’s face showed that this hadn’t been the first time that such a misstep had occurred.



“You’re not coming back to Hogwarts, are you?� Luna’s dreamy voice cut through his mirth like a blade. It was more of a statement than a question but Harry still felt compelled to answer. Usually, when a conversation turned to his plans for the next few months, he shut down completely; but now, with Luna, he felt as though he could and should talk. He wouldn't discuss details, but he could at least tell her the main points.



“No, I’m not. Ron and Hermione will come with me.�



Luna nodded as if it was the most normal thing in the world to drop out of school to fight an evil lord. “You have to be careful when you travel through woods. There are lots of Fairies around at the moment and everyone knows that they like nothing more than to confuse travellers and make them lose their way. People have died in the woods because they couldn’t find their way out. You wouldn’t want that to happen to you!�



Harry was speechless. Sure, he was used to Luna’s weird theories by now, but that didn’t mean he knew how to react to them any better than the first time. They were just too bizarre to be prepared for. He could feel Luna’s eyes on him and fought his protesting muscles to at least nod his head. “I’ll be careful,� was all he could manage to mutter.



He was saved from any further advice by Ron and Hermione who had decided to take a break from dancing and join them instead. They were less than five feet away from where Harry and Luna were sitting, when Harry blurted out the one thing that had been on his mind ever since they started dancing earlier.



“You know, Luna, I’m really going to miss you!�