Andromache’s mistress appreciated the patience of the tawny owl, as with her practiced editor’s eye she reviewed the page in her hand. After the letter had passed her inspection, Luna Lovegood folded the page, inserted it in an envelope and pulled the wand from behind her left ear to magically seal the envelope. Luna dipped her quill into the ink and wrote on the envelope in her precise, yet always slanting handwriting, an address
Harry Potter
Godric’s Hollow
Luna carefully caressed the owl’s head as she spoke to her bird. “If he is not home when you arrive, you should wait only one hour. No one else gets this letter, understand?” Luna softly instructed. Once certain that the ink had dried, Luna attached the letter to the owl’s leg and released the bird out of her office window. Standing with her arms on the sill, Luna watched her messenger fly away into an overcast mid-morning London sky.
After the owl had vanished from sight, Luna turned around and looked at her office to ensure that it was presentable after her two-week stay. She waved her wand. The clothes that had been on the chair by her desk packed themselves into her luggage and the locks on the bags clicked shut. With another flick of her wand, a calendar with all of her appointments appeared in the center of the desk. She reviewed the day’s itinerary while taking off her radish earrings and placing them on the shelf behind her desk. Luna opened the closet door to check her image in the mirror and adjusted the cork necklace to disguise its presence in her robes. Luna’s daily transformation was complete. Finally, Luna took a deep breath before she waved her wand and calmly spoke, ‘Alohomora’. The door to the world was opened.
The world reentered the office in the form of Millicent, who was already talking as she walked in the room. “I’ve got a list of the RSVPs for the ceremony, Miss Lovegood,” she said as she handed the scroll of parchment to her boss. Luna’s eyes went straight to the top of her list where all the important people had already replied. All of the important people had replied that is, except for one: Neville.
“We’ll give Mr. Longbottom until Tuesday, and if he hasn’t responded by then, let me know and I’ll contact him,” instructed Luna as she handed the list back to her assistant.
As the secretary left, a harried and stooped man entered. “Miss, the new office manager at W3 Limited has refused to pay the bill for the advertisements. He claims they are too good of a customer to pay full price,” spoke Cuthbert the billing clerk as he handed her the office manager’s letter. “To tell you the truth, Miss, the man is a bit of a git,” the older man added apologetically.
Luna thought for a moment and escorted Cuthbert through the office door into her waiting room. She handed the note back to her accountant and said, “Tell the office manager that W3 is not paying the full price. And the price they are paying was negotiated by the owners themselves. So he will pay the bill in full or,” Luna paused, considering her options. “I’ll send an owl to The Burrow with a note telling what Moaning Myrtle saw a certain Head Boy and Girl do in the Prefect’s bathroom. Also, add that we’ll expect the gold by Wednesday at the latest or the same letter will go to W3’s owners, and I bet his younger brothers will enjoy reading it,” she added with a smile.
As the clerk exited, Luna stayed with her arms folded just above her waist awaiting the attack. She was not disappointed. She felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and the accoster whispered in her ear, “Is that how you’ll be treating me after we’re married?”
“Well, there are three accepted ways to train a Crumple-Horned Snorkack: the radish, the stick, and Mimbulus mimbletonia. I haven’t decided which method to use on you yet,” Luna deadpanned as she leaned back into his welcoming arms. “A good trainer never lets the beast know what’s coming next,” she added oft-handedly.
A delicious moment of silence followed as both parties relished these all too few minutes together. He broke the silence, “So after two weeks of keeping me waiting, my little blonde boggart has decided to come out of her wardrobe. I was afraid you would just stay in there and miss the whole ceremony,” he admitted.
“Wait on me? I’m the one that had to wait two months for you to ask me out on a date,” Luna reminded him in mock anger.
“You know that doesn’t count; you were in a coma for half that time. And I visited you everyday even when I was on duty. Ask Neville or your father,” he answered defensibly.
A giggle escaped Luna’s lips, and from somewhere, a vision from her past bubbled to the surface: a young girl looking at her parents locked in an embrace. When her mom had died, Luna had buried all such memories because they brought only sad feelings that threatened to drown her. However, since Albi had come into her life, the memories of her mother now only brought back the feeling of her mother’s love. Luna was taking the change as a kind of posthumous approval of their coupling.
Albi looked through the door into her office at the six large and seventh even larger packages on the table wrapped for owl delivery. “Do you think it will matter? I mean do any real good?” he questioned.
“Truth and love always matter,” she firmly answered. “And I owe it to him and those who fell to tell the truth. I was there for most of it, you know. It’s just the timing. I thought we’d have until the fall.” Luna turned to face Albi, looking into the face that had only lied to her once and began to speak softly, “You know I have to publish before the Prophet does. And for a while, the Quibbler and I will be the target of some powerful people”. She swallowed as her throat became suddenly very tight and offered, “I’d understand if you want to postpone the wedding until it all blows over.” Luna looked at him and silently prayed.
“Postpone, never! Now if you want to move it up to this afternoon, I’d agree to that,” teased Albi. Luna’s prayer had been answered. She launched herself into his loving arms as moisture came to her eyes. The two of them stood there in her waiting room locked in the embrace.
Luna knew that soon there would be interlopers coming to her office door once word got out that the boss was available. It was now or never. “Doctor Pomfrey, you’ve got to start rounds in about an hour and I’ve got a newspaper to run. However if you come into my office I might have a small reward for all your patience,” Luna offered pulling out of his arms but holding firmly onto his right hand.
Eagerly allowing himself to be lead by his fiancée, Albus Dumbledore Pomfrey gave a big smile to Millicent and entered the editor in chief’s office of The Quibbler. The door was closed softly and the couple was safe from the world once more.
Luna Lovegood and the Charmed Circle by Hotrav
Chapter Notes:Note: Gabrielle Delacour’s age has not been exactly established in the Harry Potter books. Harry estimates her to be around eight at the time of Tri-Wizard Tourney. For this story, I establish Gabrielle’s age to have been ten years old at the Tri-Wizard Tourney.