"Table for five, Rosie!" Sam McKenzie led the way into the Three Broomsticks, while Harry held the door for Hermione and her parents. The Grangers' heads had been on a swivel as they tried to take in all the sights of the only purely magical settlement in the United Kingdom.
"Sam, you old scamp, how long has it been? Two years?"
"Closer to three, I think." Harry grinned as Madam Rosmerta came out from behind the bar to hug the lawyer before leading them to a large table off to one side. Mr. Granger was trying not to stare at the very curvy witch. "A round of butterbeers to start, if you please. We are celebrating, after all."
"Another winning case?"
"You wouldn't expect anything less of me, would you Rosie?"
"I'll be back in a minute. Look over the menu, dearies." Once she was out of ear shot, Hermione's mum elbowed her husband in the side.
"What was that for?"
"You know exactly what that was for."
"Sorry, dear."
Harry chuckled while Hermione shook her head in disgust. "Your reaction wasn't nearly as bad as some I've seen, Mr. Granger. The first time we came here, our friend Ron's eyes almost bulged out like a cartoon character."
"Rosie's been turning heads for almost as long as I can remember," Sam added with a smile. "I went to school with her older brother, Donald, and she was a handful from the first time I met her. She was one of those girls who sprouted young. I remember him threatening a sixth year who tried to ask her out when she was not yet thirteen. Sad thing was, I don't think that boy could have handled her even then."
"Huh," Harry muttered. "She's older than I thought."
"That's one of the benefits of being magical," Sam shrugged.
"The headmaster is well over one hundred," Hermione replied. "Professor Slughorn is nearing it too, and both of them are still fairly spritely."
"Yes, but both of them actually look like old men at least," Harry argued. He looked over at the tavern keeper who was making a drink for someone at the bar. "Madam Rosmerta must be in her sixties."
"No way!" Mr. Granger said, looking stunned.
"Old enough to be your mum," his wife teased, now looking less likely to force her husband to sleep on the couch. Taking the piss out of him would be plenty of fun for her- Harry knew that feeling quite well.
The conversation died off as the afore-mentioned sixty-something hottie brought out the drinks and then took their orders.
"I bet professor McGonagall would be pretty nice looking if she'd ever take her hair down and smile for once," Harry offered. Sam nodded in agreement.
"She turned a lot of heads when she first started out at Hogwarts."
"I think professor McGonagall is perfectly lovely as she is," Hermione replied, clearly annoyed.
"She was hotter as a redhead," Sam said, making her stammer in response. "Oh, don't be like that, miss Granger. I've known Minerva since before she was a teacher. She had more than a few wizards interested in courting her when she was young. The problem was that some of the older students were also attracted to her- she was still in her early twenties when she first taught, you know. I think she gave herself such a severe makeover to try to discourage that sort of thing.
"Rumors say she had some sort of heartbreak when she was young and poured herself into her career." Sam had a wistful look for a moment. "I can certainly relate. But enough of that now. We're here to celebrate your exoneration."
"Yeah, Hermione, now you can start preparing to terrorize everyone as a prefect," Harry needled her gently. "Just imagine how many rules you can catch Ron breaking this upcoming term."
"I think I'll probably need to keep a close eye on at least one of my fellow prefects. Probably more than anyone else."
"Anyone I know?" Harry asked with a grin.
"One of my best friends who just can't seem to keep himself from getting in trouble."
"I'll have you know that I had three perfectly calm months last year. September, March, and April. That's three times as many as our third year."
"Your standards aren't very high for a good year, Harry."
"At least this way you know I'll keep you in business, Sam." Harry was getting pretty hungry as he waited for the food to arrive. "Speaking of keeping busy, have you decided on the protections we're going to put up at your home, Hermione?"
"I've made a list, organized from most to least necessary. I just don't know how many we'll be able to inscribe. From what Sirius told me, the size of the keystone can vary, and the larger ones are fairly expensive. Not to mention the cost of having someone do the enchanting itself."
"Don't worry about that part," Harry answered. "Since we're going to have Tonks meet us there anyway to keep any more ridiculous ministry harassment to a minimum, Sirius and I can probably handle the runes."
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Granger asked and Harry nodded. "We'll be able to purchase a fairly large stone then. We were worried from what your godfather was telling us about hiring someone to do that sort of work for us."
"That's what friends are for. Besides, it will be good practice for the future. One of these days, I'll have to do something like that for my own home."
"Will we see you on Monday then?"
"Whenever Tonks can get off work," Harry replied.
"You'll have to stay for dinner, then."
"It would be my pleasure."
"Honey, I'm home!"
Pansy came out of their bedroom wearing only pants and a bra while holding up two different shirts. "Which looks less dignified?"
"Umm..." That was not the type of greeting he expected. "The purple one, I guess. It's a bit more, uh, flirty?"
"You mean sexy?"
"Yeah."
"Perfect," Pansy purred as she put it on and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror.
"Why are you trying on clothes?"
"As much as I like the looks of you when you're all dressed up, Harry, tonight we're dining with the Lovegoods. I don't think formal robes would ever be appropriate in their house."
"Okay."
"Which is why there's a change of clothes for you on the bed," Pansy added. "Jeans and your Bends shirt. Simple, but I can't wait for you to try to explain Radiohead to Xeno."
"That should be fun," Harry chuckled. "We're going to be playing a lot of music for Luna this weekend, aren't we?"
"Of course. I'm considering trying to get her to go out dancing with us."
"Luna at a club. That should be fun."
"We need to show her some movies too. I was thinking Dracula would be a good starter. Luna will love it."
"Because of the vampires?" Harry asked. "I guess they are sort of like the magical race."
"No, I meant because of the sex and violence," Pansy replied with a smirk. "Stop trying to convince yourself that our girl's innocent, Harry."
"Fine."
"Don't pout, either."
"Just for that, maybe I shouldn't tell you about what happened with the prophecy." Harry waited as Pansy came close to him and began to run her hands down his chest.
"I'm sure I can make it worth your while," she grinned. Harry took her hand and pulled her towards the bed where they began to snog. Pansy kept him from unbuttoning her jeans though.
"I wish I could talk you out of those clothes," he said.
"Not today, Harry. If you had painful cramps, you wouldn't want to be having sex tonight either."
"Yeah, I know."
"Besides, it will only be a couple more days. The timing is actually good in a way. We couldn't shag relentlessly with Luna coming over for the weekend anyway."
"I don't know, I think we could. Luna's never been bothered by that sort of thing."
"Maybe not, but I don't always feel like putting on a show."
"Fair enough."
"So, tell me the good news about the prophecy then."
"How do you know it's good news?" Harry asked.
"I can read you like a book, Potter."
"Alright. For starters, let me take you back to April, 1994. Specifically, the night when we first met Sirius. You and Hermione talked me out of letting him just kill Pettigrew, remember?"
"Yes. What about it?"
"I don't know if you also remember the next morning, but Ron told us that Trelawney had apparently given a real prophecy about how the Dark Lord's servant would break free and rejoin his master just before all that happened."
"Right."
"Except, Pettigrew didn't break free. He was arrested and carted off to Azkaban. The prophecy was broken. Thanks to you. Well, and Hermione helped too."
"But it was mostly because you listened to me," Pansy added.
"Exactly."
"So, what about the other prophecy? The one Snape overheard?"
"That one is even more interesting. First of all, apparently it was also made by Trelawney. As the unspeakable we met, Bode I think his name was, said she has two failed prophecies now. The original one, which Dumbledore said was about how I would defeat Riddle because of love and some other nonsense, was nullified on the thirteenth of June, 1993."
"Why is that date familiar?" Pansy asked.
"Let me fill in the final piece for you. Dumbledore decided to tell me the whole thing since now everything is in flux. He seemed almost lost with the idea that things had changed. Anyway, here's the whole prophecy:
"'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...' That was the part Snape had heard."
"And because of your birthday, Riddle went after you and your parents," Pansy added.
"Yep. Anyway, now for the rest:
"'and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.'"
"Right, so your scar is the marking you bit and Dumbledore thought love would be the power Riddle knows not. Which is retarded, but moving on. The last bit seems to suggest that only you can kill him."
"And that last bit is also why you nullified the prophecy. You're like Trelawney's nemesis, " Harry giggled. "I think we should start calling you Pansy, Defier of Fate. Or maybe, the Destroyer of Destiny."
"What?" she asked, stunned by Harry's giddy declaration.
"Neither can live while the other survives. Get it? Riddle was still surviving, sort of, as that wraith thing while I was stuck with the Dursleys. I didn't get a chance to live, at least not any decent sort of life." Harry had a brilliant smile as he continued.
"Then, shortly after I survived the basilisk and Riddle's magical diary, I met this amazing girl. A girl who saved me from those evil fucking monsters and gave me a chance to start living a real life. Not just surviving, but actually living. Neither could live while the other survived, but that all changed because of you. Riddle was still clinging onto survival, but I was finally alive.
"I often think of everything before I met you as this awful dream that I woke up from. If I had to go back to those bastards one more summer, a year after they had locked me up in my room and tried to starve me, I think I would have killed them. But instead, you saved me and freed me. And not just from the Dursleys, it turns out, but also from this stupid notion of a destiny as the chosen defeater of the Dark Lord.
"You changed everything, Pansy. I loved you then, and I love you even more now."
"June thirteenth, that was the night before we left for the summer." She realized and shared Harry's smile. "That was the night we first kissed."
"Exactly. I was alive. Really alive. Because of you." Harry chuckled to himself. "I guess Dumbledore was close- love was actually the power that vanquished the prophecy instead of Riddle."
"This means someone else can kill him. It's not all on your shoulders." Pansy threw her arms around him and snuggled in close. "Oh, thank fucking Christ, or Morgana, or Kali, or anyone else."
"Kali?"
"One of the Hindu goddesses that Parvati told me about. She's apparently this wicked blue chick who cuts people's heads off."
"That sounds like a much more interesting religion than what little I learned from the Dursleys."
"There was probably some boring stuff too, but I focused on the bloodthirsty bits."
"That's probably why Parvati told you about her."
"Probably," Pansy snorted. "I think she'll be someone who will want to join in with your fighting club. Probably a lot of Gryffindors, I would guess."
"And considering it's some Slytherin girls who first asked me to teach them how to defend themselves-"
"I think there will be several more, not just the Carrows," Pansy added.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. If the group is largely Slytherins and Gryffindors, that could be a mess just waiting to implode. I'll have to think of some ways to keep everybody in line."
"Let's not think any more, Harry. We've got more than an hour, let's relax before it's time to go see Luna."
"That sounds wonderful."
As much as she loved Luna, Pansy didn't think she would ever be able to get used to dinner with the Lovegoods. For one thing, no topic was taboo, not even some that probably shouldn't be discussed while eating. It figured that Luna would have a strong stomach, but who knew it was something that ran in her family.
Xenophilius was thrilled to have a supposedly strong lead on the magnificent, mystical, magenta monkey of Mongolia. It was said to have the ability to grant good luck to those who were able to find and speak with it- despite not speaking a language itself, it could apparently read good intentions and would bestow a kiss on those who found its favor.
Luna immediately started wondering about where exactly the monkey might kiss someone, and her father suggested several highly inappropriate places that made his daughter roar with laughter. Pansy could only imagine what the typical stuffy purebloods she had been raised around would have thought of the scene.
And apparently, it was mandatory that you had to use the entire tongue-twisting phrase for the magnificent, mystical, magenta monkey of Mongolia. To do otherwise would be to not grant it the respect it deserved.
Even for something that likely didn't exist, Harry was still happy to follow Xeno's cue on the matter. He was gracious and kind like that- and it seemed to be rubbing off on her, as Pansy found herself doing the same.
The fact that it was for Luna's sake was a factor too. Pansy wouldn't bother with most other people she knew.
But now, thankfully, they were back at the flat and she could kick off her shoes and settle in on the couch to relax for awhile before bed. Harry had led Luna to Hedwig's room, which once had been his mother's bedroom many, many years ago. Harry was playing the role of the good host as Pansy wasn't feeling up to it. Sometimes, the stress of her life could make her cycle much worse, and the nonsense about dementors and a trial and a prophecy had all combined to do a number on her this month.
Dobby was a lifesaver as usual, already making a pot of tea. Something with mint in it probably, as that often soothed her, and he knew just how to take care of his family.
"Now, what shall we do for the rest of the night?" Luna asked as she led Harry back into the living room. "Oh, tea, goody. That should hit the spot. I hope I won't be keeping you up too late, but I am pretty excited about the next few days."
"Don't worry about it, Luna. I don't know if I could get mad at you if I tried," Pansy moaned, but with a grin. "Look what you've turned me into- someone actually pleasant who cares about other people."
"I won't tell a soul. Besides, I think Harry should share in the blame."
"Of course we start things off with the two of you picking on me."
"I don't think it would be polite to pick on Pansy right now," Luna suggested.
"She's right. Be a good boyfriend and get over it. Also, help me think of what we should do to entertain Luna tonight."
"Maybe watch a movie?"
"Ooh, could we have popcorn?" Luna asked.
"Dobby can make some after the tea is finished, miss Luna."
"Thank you, Dobby, that would be lovely."
"I was suggesting we watch Dracula with you," Pansy said as she scooted over into the middle of the couch, patting the cushion to her left as Luna came over to sit. "I am sure you will love it."
"Based on the historical figure or the novel?"
"Mostly on the book, I think," Harry replied. "I don't know much about the historical figure."
"I know some," Pansy added while Harry looked at her questioningly. "It really shouldn't surprise you that I'm more well read than you. A large library was one of the only good things about growing up with my parents."
"Fair enough." Harry sat down on her other side and she leaned into his side as he wrapped his left arm around her. "I got the tape ready last night since I knew you had it in mind.
"Oh, and this means we can introduce Luna to the wonders of the remote control."
"Harry, that's such a guy thing to say," Pansy said as she rolled her eyes.
"It is?"
"According to Vanessa, it is. Something about how Steven hogs the remote and can get obsessed with certain shows and whatnot. Honestly, some of it flew over my head. But she was clear that it was very much a guy thing."
"Well, I guess Dudley and Vernon did tend to control the telly, so I guess that fits with what I know. But, anyway, the point was that if we need to pause the movie or rewind it or anything, we can do so. That makes things much more convenient." Harry said the last bit to Luna, who nodded.
"Like using a bookmark, when you have to take a break from reading."
"Sort of. You'll see."
"We'll turn the lights down once Dobby is finished with everything. That will help set the mood." Pansy thanked the elf as he floated a tray with cups of tea over for all of them. "It is a rather dark movie too, and in color palette, not just its mood."
"This is going to be a lot of fun," Luna giggled. "I'm so glad you invited me over. I've really missed you this summer."
"We've missed you too. Harry should have something that will help with that in the future though." Pansy squeezed his hand before he could start to get up. She was comfy. "I'll make sure he gives it to you later. Sirius told him all about these magical mirrors that he and Harry's father used when they were teenagers to talk to each other."
"He taught me how to make them, so I've got a pair enchanted that we can use to talk to you any time," Harry added.
"That sounds like something we will make great use of in the future."
"I thought so too. I've been practicing the charm work on them. I think I've got it down so that I could make more in the future if we need more of them."
"And chances are, we will need them," Pansy finished. "That's the sort of thing Sirius should teach that group about. You would think it would be of great help to let the members of Dumbledore's Order keep in touch like that, especially if some of them were on some sort of important mission."
"True. I'll mention it to him the next time I see him."
"Good," Pansy said as she snuggled back into his side. She had her feet curled up on the couch beside her and Luna had tucked them under her thigh, seemingly not caring about how cold they were. "That's enough serious business for now. On with the movie!"
Harry woke up the next morning feeling incredibly comfortable and relaxed despite the usual morning wood that would have to go unheeded again. Hopefully it would only be one more day before Pansy was feeling up to some fun. She had his hand clasped over her lower abdomen in the ritual they had developed almost two years prior every time her cramps were bothering her. If it helped, and she insisted that it did, then he wasn't going to argue.
Pansy being in a better mood tended to mean that she would reward him with fun times in bed.
However, as his grogginess fell away, Harry noticed something that was very much out of the ordinary. Namely, what could only be a pair of breasts pressed up against his back and a lot of extra hair tickling the back of his neck.
His erection reacted before his mind was aware of what was causing it all, and as it pushed at Pansy's rear, she let out a chuckle which revealed that he wasn't the only one awake.
"I, uh..." Harry was his normally verbose self early in the morning, but Pansy just gave his hand a soft squeeze and that helped him to focus. Luna. That's who had caused him such a confusing start to the morning. He was just glad that extra hand wrapped around his chest hadn't slipped down any lower.
"Are you aware that Luna decided to come sleep with us?"
"Of course I am. She said she had a nightmare. I told her that as long as she didn't wake you up that she could climb in with us. Why?"
"Are you aware that she apparently sleeps in the nude?"
"So do we a lot of the time."
"You're messing with me," Harry stated and Pansy's snort gave it away. "It's too early in the morning for this."
"But Harry, you said we could go to the zoo today." Luna's perky tone of voice alerted him that she had been awake longer than he had realized.
"Was your nightmare bad, Luna?"
"Oh, it was just awful. You know that part in Dracula where he was all furry and bestial and he was ravishing Lucy out in the garden?"
"Yes?" He didn't like where this was going.
"Well, he came to me in my dreams, and I thought for sure he was going to shag me senseless."
Harry tried and failed to come up with a response to that before Luna could continue.
"But he just wanted to sit down and talk about nargles over tea with me. It was so frustrating!" Pansy started to giggle madly, which didn't help Harry's arousal as her bum wiggled up against him. "I tried telling him that I wasn't wearing any panties, and I even let my skirt ride all the way up to show him proof, but he just wouldn't take the hint. Not even when I flat out told him that I was going to hex him into next week if he didn't immediately bend me over and get to work. He was so offended, though, that I did pull my wand on him and started cursing him. That's when I woke up, thoroughly frustrated."
"It's always better when the guy doesn't have to be told to use his wand on you," Pansy agreed. Harry just buried his head, half in his pillow and half in her hair. "That's one of the best things about Harry. I have him properly trained."
"You have had a couple of years to get him molded just right."
"I'm going back to sleep," Harry insisted. "It's not fair to have both of you fucking with me first thing when I wake up."
"I am sure that we are not fucking with you," Luna argued. "We'd all be a lot sweatier if that was the case."
Pansy's laughter rang out. "I've really missed you this summer, Luna. You should probably get up though if we are going to do anything today other than tease Harry."
"I do want to go see all the animals." Luna rolled over and hopped out of bed. Harry would have seen her pout in disappointment when he didn't roll over to peek at her. "I guess I'll go get dressed. Do you think Dobby could make us french toast for breakfast?"
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Pansy replied. Harry groaned once he heard the door shut. "Something wrong Harry?"
"I... just, why?"
"Two reasons. First, and most importantly, is that it was funny. Secondly, Luna wants you to relax this fixation you have of being her overly-protective big brother. Our girl is all grown up."
"You don't have to tell me that," Harry snorted.
"I suppose you did get a feel of things, huh?" Pansy patted his hand even as he burrowed his head deeper into his pillow. "She is interested in learning to fight maybe as much as Flora and Hestia are. Luna wants to be able to help protect us too. Did I tell you that she's already planning on being our future childrens' godmother?"
Harry chuckled. "I have a feeling they will love their Aunty Luna. I can just imagine her bringing them way too many sweets and spoiling them rotten."
"If she follows in her father's footsteps, it could be sweets from all over the world too. Do you ever wonder what type of candy they might have in Tajikistan?"
"I've never even heard of Tajikistan."
"Neither had I until Luna asked me that very same question. I suppose someday she'll find out and we'll hear all about it."
"Well, that's something to look forward to." Harry sighed and rolled over. "I guess we do need to get up."
"Yes, we do. Luna's not the only one excited to go to the zoo. There are a lot of animals I've never seen in the flesh before."
"Your parents never took you to one, huh?"
"Zoos are run by muggles, Harry. What do you think?"
"Right." His stomach rumbled as Pansy stretched and sat up. "I guess french toast does sound pretty good."
Harry could be forgiven if he didn't want to go back to the zoo in Surrey, the only one he was familiar with, due to what had happened years ago. It was also no surprise that he really didn't want to go near any sort of reptile house either. Snakes weren't usually all that interesting to talk to anyway.
After doing a bit of research, they ended up heading to Colchester, a zoo said to house many rare and endangered species. Harry thought that would be something that Luna would appreciate.
That also meant he had to explain what he knew about endangered species and how one of the things zoos did was help keep many animals from going extinct. He could see that it was a thought that bothered Pansy as well as Luna. While his girlfriend had a tendency to dislike most of the people she met, she held a secret soft spot for animals. It was one of the reasons that she enjoyed their Care of Magical Creatures class despite how she sometimes criticized Hagrid's teaching style.
He was really grateful that he was emancipated that day, as the weather was very warm even in the morning when they first arrived. Harry had to discreetly cast cooling charms on the three of them as soon as they could find a place without any witnesses.
Shortly after they ate lunch, their exploration ground to a halt as Pansy stopped and stared at the elephants.
"They're so beautiful," she whispered in awe. "Did you know they bury their own dead? They're supposed to be one of the only animals other than humans that do that."
"Elephants are also the largest non-magical mammals in the world. They can weigh up to something like six or seven tons. That's almost as much as the... um," Luna paused as she pulled Harry and Pansy in close so no one else would hear her, "almost as much as the Chinese Fireball from last year. I got a chance to see them several years ago with my parents. It was the summer before my mum died, and we went to India. We were never able to get this close though.
"The ones in India don't grow quite as large as these though. They had smaller ears too."
"Their families are matriarchal, which just shows how sophisticated they are," Pansy added while Harry grinned at her enthusiasm. "They like to play with water- they'll use their trunks to spray water over each other, like they are at a fountain."
"You know a lot about them," a middle aged woman said off to their side. Turning, they realized one of the zookeepers had noticed them. "It's nice to see young people who care that much about animals."
"I've always wanted to see elephants," Pansy admitted. "My family had journals written by some of my ancestors that had gone to Africa centuries ago and wrote of seeing them in the wild."
"They are magnificent," the zookeeper agreed. She pointed at one of the elephants. "Do you see the one off to the right there? Her name is Celeste. She's almost six months pregnant."
"She doesn't look any bigger," Harry said.
"Celeste still has more than a year to go before she gives birth."
"That's one thing in our favor then," Luna replied.
"They're still better than most of the people I've met," Pansy insisted. The zookeeper chuckled at her response.
"If you want to come back in about half an hour, that's when we're going to feed them."
"Thank you, but I think I'll just stick around and watch them for awhile," Pansy answered as the older woman nodded and walked off back towards a section of the zoo not open to the public. "You two don't have to stay with me."
"I've got my mirror," Luna whispered, pointing down to the purse she was borrowing from Pansy for the day.
"Then Harry can escort you around the rest of the park for awhile."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"I'll be fine. You can always have Dobby keep an eye on me," she said quietly. "Besides, I don't need you distracting me from watching the elephants."
"Alright. We'll swing back by here in awhile."
"Have fun."
Luna and Harry explored on their own for more than an hour, and they saw all sorts of things. From lions and tigers and bears to flamingos, spider monkeys, and giant tortoises. The last of which was maybe the most hilarious of all because they happened to get there as a couple were mating.
If you haven't seen it before, there is nothing quite like watching turtles fuck. Especially if you are there with your best friend who had slept in the nude behind you and made you very uncomfortable only a few hours previously.
Luna didn't make things too awkward for Harry though, as she found it hilarious and tried to cheer the slow, old reptiles on. Three different mothers pulled their young children away, clearly horrified at the idea of having to try to explain what they had just seen.
Once everyone else had left the area, the humor did wear off as neither of them could think of that many strange or awful things to say about what they were watching.
"Do you think humans could have sex that slowly?" Luna asked.
"You mean without losing interest or getting bored?"
"Among other things. I would assume both men and women would lose arousal if they weren't being stimulated enough. Sex is supposed to be sweaty and fun."
"They might speed up if we weren't watching them," Harry suggested. "Maybe they aren't into exhibitionism."
"I hope the poor creatures wouldn't have a hang up like that." Luna took his hand and turned the two of them around so the tortoises could have a bit more privacy. "That might help them. I wonder if turtles even can sweat."
"It is pretty hot out, but I don't know what it would take to make them work up a sweat."
"Maybe they need some turtle erotica." Harry laughed at Luna's suggestion, even though she said it completely straight faced. "What time is it, Harry?"
"Almost four."
"We should go check on Pansy. I had no idea she liked elephants so much."
"She mentioned something once about going to Africa when we've talked about going on vacation. She wasn't interested until we were both of age though, as it gets even hotter there in the summer. If we were to try to go on a safari, we'd definitely want to keep our wands at the ready."
"I suppose some animals could be quite dangerous."
"Not just the animals. There are poachers too and other people who could cause trouble."
"That is the sad thing about traveling," Luna agreed. "My father and I wanted to go to Bosnia the summer after my first year, but the muggles in the country were fighting a war over something or other. There are always violent people causing problems for others. I suppose we have that in common regardless of magic."
"Yeah," Harry sighed. "I just hope to not have to be a part of it someday. I'd like to have a nice, quiet, boring life."
"I don't think things will ever be boring for you, Harry. I would take you on one of the Lovegood family quests to find something remarkable before I'd let you get bored."
"Well, maybe not boring but at least peaceful."
"Peaceful would be nice," Luna replied. "We'll have to keep that in mind as something to look forward to. Besides, there are still all those countries you and Pansy haven't shagged in yet."
Harry could only chuckle. "She told you that, huh?"
"It was one of the things that made me want to go to a beach this summer. I still haven't had a chance yet though."
"Pansy and I haven't either."
"Then that's something we should rectify," Luna suggested. "Do you have anything in particular planned for tomorrow?"
"I guess we do now."
"Oh, goodie!" Luna squealed and hugged Harry. "I was hoping I hadn't packed my swimsuit in vain."
"I'm not sure what beach we should go to. I've really only ever been to the ones in Nice."
"Why not go back there then?"
"Sure," Harry shrugged.
"This means we'll need to go to a store tonight. You need to have plenty of sunscreen." Harry blushed as Luna smiled at him. "Yes, Pansy told me all about that too."
"I need to spend more time around Sirius, I think."
"Why?"
"So I'll have someone to gossip with about things like that." Luna nodded in agreement as Harry had a grin. "Sometimes it's more like bragging really. I do have a way of cheating according to him."
"The thing with parseltongue?"
"Pansy really does tell you everything, doesn't she?"
"She likes to brag too, Harry. You should take it as a compliment. I would think it would be much worse if she wasn't interested in talking about your sex life."
"I guess so."
Pansy was still happily enthralled watching the elephants when Harry and Luna came back around to find her. The three of them spent the last half hour there before the zoo closed for the day. The rumble of her stomach finally reminded Pansy that there was more to life than huge pachyderms.
They decided to go to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Not only would it be delicious and filling, but Luna would get to have tiramisu again. That made her day almost as much as seeing so many different types of animals.
Since she wasn't interested in going out for the evening, and Pansy was a little too tired and sore for a club anyway, the trio stopped at the local video store to rent some movies for the weekend. One of the clerks there recognized them, and knowing they had enjoyed David Lynch's Blue Velvet, he recommended they try out his first movie, Eraserhead. He told them it was a pretty weird movie, but he called it essential viewing for any serious movie fan.
Luna was sold when he said weird, so they grabbed it as well as the first couple of Hellraiser movies. Harry had originally grabbed all three, but Gary (the clerk) told him that the third wasn't really on par with the first two, so it was put back on the shelf.
He really should have known better than to grab a bunch of horror movies, but Pansy saved the day by telling Luna that she would have to cuddle on her side of the bed so as to not break Harry if she had a nightmare.
Harry was pretty sure that she was going to, or at least claim to, so this way he wasn't worried about anything inappropriate happening with his favorite Ravenclaw. Pansy still wasn't ready for sex anyway. But this was a bit closer for having a friend sleep over than what he had expected.
Then again, it was Luna, so he really should have known better.
It was well past midnight by the time they went to bed, and Harry hadn't yet fallen asleep when the door opened.
"Nightmare?" Pansy asked quietly and Luna murmured in agreement.
Harry snorted in her ear, which earned him a growl. He was curled up behind Pansy, and she got the new experience of being the bigger spoon as Luna squeezed in front of her. It was a tight fit for the three of them in the bed together.
They slept in the next day, but Harry still ended up feeling a bit odd when he woke up. Not only was he aroused, as usual, but his hand was squished at the very bottom of Pansy's abdomen (but kept out of her panties for at least one more day), and pressing against it was Luna's bum, which he really, really tried to not think about.
And he definitely kept his eyes closed when she got out of bed to go get dressed.
Pansy took it all in stride, other than giggling slightly at his discomfort.
Sadly, the beaches of Nice were not an option for the day, as Dobby said he wouldn't be able to take all of them there, at least not without making several stops and potentially exhausting himself. Instead, they decided to find a pool closer to home. The weather was still plenty hot in England.
They ran into a slight complication in that the best pool available (and nothing but the best would do for Pansy) was at the most expensive hotel around. That pool was only for paying customers, of course.
One little Confundus charm took care of the issue. Harry justified himself by saying that they would be spending money eating lunch at the attached bar and grill. A late lunch, though.
It was almost noon by the time they arrived, having made sure to stop for sunscreen on the way. The girls wore sundresses, Pansy in dark green and Luna in light blue, over their swimsuits, while Harry's trunks were close enough to shorts to not stand out.
They had a large beach bag with them for things like towels that Harry held out when Pansy and Luna both took off their dresses. He was certainly not alone in gawking at the two bikini clad girls, and Luna smiled when she caught him noticing her curves as they were much more defined than he had expected. Even as he looked away almost immediately, staring at Pansy certainly wasn't going to do anything to keep him from growing erect. He did his best to adjust himself behind the bag.
Not that anyone was paying any attention to him comparatively.
Pansy and Luna were a contrast, his girlfriend's black bikini matching her ebony hair while the blonde Luna wore white. They both were fairly pale though, which wasn't too surprising due to all the time spent up north in Scotland.
"Sunscreen time," he happily suggested and Pansy smiled as she sat down on a lounge chair with plenty of room behind her for Harry to start with her back and shoulders.
"Will you do me next?" Luna asked, and Pansy giggled as Harry's hands slipped nervously.
"Sit down in front of me, Luna. I'll get your back while Harry does mine."
"Okay."
The next few minutes were very fun for Harry even as his mind and his hormones disagreed about whether it was alright to ogle one of his best friends. He was focused enough on Pansy while his hands were busy, but Luna was still very slowly rubbing down her own legs when he was finished.
Being a Gryffindor, he of course did the brave thing- he ran off and jumped into the pool.
"Why does Harry think it would bother me if I caught him looking at my legs?"
"I've tried to warn him against his whole big brother idea," Pansy sighed. "It really isn't necessary. You're tougher than Harry gives you credit."
"Thank you," Luna smiled. "I think it's a compliment actually for him to find me attractive. I hope that doesn't bother you."
"I'm not nearly as jealous as I used to be," Pansy shrugged.
"I've noticed. Ever since you started being open about dating him, you've been a lot more confident."
"The night of the Yule Ball was very satisfying. In more ways than one. Not just because of how fun everything was, but Harry seriously didn't even glance at Fleur Delacour the entire night. Not any other girl, either- he was focused entirely on me and how much he wanted to show me off as his girlfriend. It did wonders for my ego."
"He is very devoted to you," Luna agreed. "I would think it would be obvious that I wouldn't try to cause any problems for the two of you. You're my best friends. That doesn't mean I would be in denial about thinking that you're an attractive couple though. I just don't see why he has to have a hang up about these things."
"I think part of it is that he's still worried about making me angry or jealous. Harry does enough that I know how much I mean to him. Don't tell him I said that though- I don't want him to stop spoiling me."
"I can't blame you for that. I sort of thought that if he got a glimpse of my breasts or butt that things might have been less awkward for Harry today. That's part of the reason I wanted to sleep with you both."
"And the nightmares, of course," Pansy laughed.
"Oh yes, they were quite terrible." Luna had that inscrutable deadpan delivery once again. "Speaking of which, I hope neither of you were bothered too much about Eraserhead."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems obvious to me that whoever made the movie was horrified by the idea of becoming a parent. That can't happen for you and Harry. I have already claimed the right to be Aunty Luna someday."
"Don't worry, we're both still looking forward to that. We were actually talking about the idea the other day of you spoiling our future children with sweets from around the world."
"Ooh, that is a good idea. Daddy is in Mongolia, and I remember that the last time we went there they had these yummy little fried bread treats. They're called boortsog, and they were so good with honey drizzled over them. I hope he brings some back when he comes home."
"Honey, huh?"
"Yes. Why, what's with that look?" Luna had seen her brief blush, of course, so there was no getting out of this, but Pansy lowered her voice anyway. Thankfully none of the guys that were staring at them had come over to bother them yet.
"We tried something like that once in bed. Harry really liked the idea of drizzling honey all over me and licking me clean."
"Maybe you should tell me the rest later," Luna replied, coming over even more flush. "I think I'll need a decent amount of alone time to process this."
"There isn't really too much to tell."
"I'm sure I could coax a more detailed version out of you. Purely for research purposes, naturally."
"Naturally," Pansy grinned. "It was fun, but really, really sticky. As you can probably imagine. We had to take a shower right afterwards, and I was very, very thankful for Dobby, because he had changed all of the bedding by the time we were cleaned up."
"That does sound like fun. I guess it's a good thing you don't believe in having pubic hair." Luna wasn't paying too much attention, but Pansy saw the teenage guy that was obviously coming over to try to chat them up, and watching him stumble and spill his drink all over himself was just another reason why she enjoyed spending so much time with Luna. Once he turned around in his embarrassment, Pansy responded.
"I don't believe in having any body hair. That's one of the things I pity about muggles. If not for depilatory charms, I would be very grumpy. Even Harry has learned not to tease me about this."
"I guess he hasn't had any complaints about shaving you, huh?"
"You mean during the summer? No. He certainly enjoys the results. He did try to poke fun at me about doing my arms once, but I just threatened to make him sleep on the couch and he shut right up. Do you want to know one of the best things about how powerful his magic usually is?"
"What?"
"His depilatory charms last a long, long time. I tend to have to refresh them about twice a month, but Harry did them at the beginning of summer and they haven't worn off yet."
"He's almost like your own personal spa service," Luna teased with a smile.
"His massages are pretty nice," Pansy sighed. "They usually lead to sex because Harry only believes in sensual massages, but then, that's true of a lot of things with him. I wouldn't trust him to do a pedicure though. He tried painting my toenails once, and only once. It was a disaster."
"You never can trust boys with the details."
"Exactly."
"Speaking of details, did you know that I saw Harry cast a charm on himself before we left to protect against sunburn?"
"Don't tell him then. Harry likes to pretend that such a thing doesn't exist so that he can rub his hands all over me."
"And it feels too good for you to make him stop, right?"
"He does have his uses. His hands-"
"And a few other parts, I imagine," Luna teased. "Have you noticed how many people have been staring at us?"
"We're teenage girls in bikinis, sweetie. It kind of goes with the territory. I just don't like the ones who leer a little too much. Or the really gross guys; I don't like to think about people like that finding me attractive."
"I can understand that. If someone like Hagrid was to gawk at me, it would be very upsetting. Not only because it would ruin one of my favorite classes, but I think that he might be able to kill me via sex." Pansy snorted while Luna looked ponderous before shaking her head.
"You know that Harry told me his father was human. Can you imagine just what he must have done to be able to have sex with a giant? Or is it giantess?"
"Giantess. I would think he must have been quite skilled with the Engorgement charm. He still would have needed either a ladder or an enormous bed. Speaking of which, you two should think about getting a bigger bed."
"Before the next time you come for a sleep over?" Pansy grinned. "I'll talk to Harry about it. I seem to be stuck at this size, but Harry has grown a couple of inches over the last year. I wonder how tall he'll eventually end up."
"I don't understand why you're bothered about being short. You fit so well with Harry, the two of you just look perfect together."
"It's not about that. I can still be insecure or envious of other people no matter what he does. I have to say that how he acted when I did my little polyjuice experiment was enlightening. But you have several advantages over me, Luna. You're roughly, what five foot five or so?"
"Five foot six now."
"Exactly. You're becoming a leggy blonde. All guys like leggy blondes. And your breasts are bigger than mine. If I didn't love you so much, I would have wanted to hex you when I found out you were up to a C-cup at your last birthday."
"I guess I'm just different that way. I don't see the need to compete with other people about things like that. Or, well, much of anything really. Competition in general is never as interesting as cooperation as far as I'm concerned. Besides, doesn't Harry adore your breasts?"
"Only every time he sees them," Pansy chuckled. "He gets the silliest look on his face."
"Right, and I know that Harry loves your legs. Did you know what he told me? He said that his absolute favorite thing in the world is having your legs wrapped around him, either his head or his waist. I don't think any leggy blonde is competition for you in that regard."
"Maybe not." Pansy looked over with a smile as Harry got out of the pool and water dripped off his body as he walked over towards them. He looked so yummy, still lean but with a bit more definition and... apparently he wasn't the only one who had missed out on sex the last few days. Pansy tried to clear those thoughts away as he was saying something. "What was that?"
"I asked what you two were talking about."
"Sex," Luna answered with a grin. "Did you really need to ask?"
"I guess not," Harry snorted. "One might think that you both have filthy minds."
"One would be correct," Luna replied cheerily. She turned to Pansy and asked, "Is it time to get in the pool, now?"
"You go on. I want to enjoy sunbathing for awhile longer. Harry, go play with Luna."
"As you wish."
"Yay!" Luna squealed as she squeezed Harry's hand briefly before running for the water.
"I never should have watched that Princess Bride movie with you," Pansy muttered.
"Should I stop quoting that?"
"No," she gasped. "It just does something when you say that to me, and we aren't in private where I can take advantage of it."
"I'll have to remember that for tonight," he smirked.
"Harry!" Luna drew his attention with a yell.
"Go on. Be sure to keep any of the riff raff away from our girl."
"As you wish."
Pansy groaned as he walked off. She was going to fuck that smirk right off his face tonight. Luna was going to have to sleep in her own room. Pansy had plans that involved seeing if she could destroy Harry's ability to function. She would have to keep him from doing that parseltongue trick though.
Sirius was right, it really was cheating.
And she thought that Luna, for all she loved her, was wrong. Sometimes there was even more fun in competition than cooperation. She was going to do whatever it took to triumph over Harry tonight.
Then she could spend all of Sunday looking smug and bragging to Luna while he blushed. It sounded like the perfect end to their long weekend.
The first part of Pansy's plans ending up working better than she had expected. Harry and Luna leaving her to swim for a while eventually led to a gross, swarthy looking guy trying to hit on her. Right on cue, Harry came over and told him to fuck off and Pansy proceeded to show just how taken she was by snogging him halfway to sex before the obnoxious jerk took the hint and left.
They had to have a quickie in a bathroom (and thank Kali for Harry's proficiency with the notice-me-not charm) before dinner, and Luna understood that they were going to need privacy when it was time for bed. She just asked that they not come out to the living room, as she wanted to watch Dracula again. She was going to use masturbation to prove to her subconscious that she was more than woman enough to handle something as primal and lascivious as the bestial form of the monster that ravished Lucy in the film.
Pansy left her to it as she made a start at shagging Harry into a coma.
By the time they were done, he woke up without his standard morning wood. He had a dopey look all throughout breakfast. Luna was in a pleasant mood too as she told them that she only had to watch that certain scene three times before being able to get to sleep.
However, Winky soon popped in with an urgent message that she needed to come home to see her father.
Harry and Pansy grabbed hold of Dobby as they followed Luna back to the Lovegood residence.
"I have good news and bad news, dumpling," Xeno said as they all raced inside.
"You're alright?" Luna asked.
"Of course."
"We thought something serious had happened."
"Oh, it was something very serious," her father answered. "I found the magnificent, mystical, magenta monkey of Mongolia!"
"That's wonderful. I'm very happy for you."
"Oh, but then I have to get to the good news and bad news. The bad news is that I couldn't get him to kiss me for good luck. The good news is that he did speak to me, though. He told me that he would consent to give my daughter good fortune if I could bring her to visit him. Isn't this exciting?"
"That sounds wonderful," Luna agreed with a smile. "Winky, could you gather my things from Harry and Pansy's home? We left there in a hurry."
"Of course, miss Luna."
"Thank you. Do you still have the international portkey?"
"Ready and waiting."
"I guess this means our weekend is at an end," Harry said.
"I'm sorry to pull you away from your friends sweetheart, but this sort of thing doesn't happen every day."
"It's alright, daddy. We understand."
"We are still going to go to Diagon Alley for shopping together on Thursday, right?" Pansy asked.
"Yes- aren't we?"
"I have the day off," Xeno confirmed. "In fact, I'm hoping to have a new issue ready to print so I can have some to pass out while we're there. I just have to finish off the headline story now, which means we need to head back to Mongolia."
"Of course." Luna pulled Harry and Pansy both into a hug. "I'll see you both later this week."
"Write to us about what happens," Pansy replied.
"Here's some good luck from me," Harry added, as he kissed Luna's forehead. "Have fun with your dad."
"Thanks, Harry. I'm sure we will."
"My turn," Pansy said, as she kissed Luna's cheek. "Now you'll have three times as much good luck by the time the day is through."
"I love you two. I had a lot of fun this weekend. We'll have to do it again some time."
Harry and Pansy stepped back and Dobby took hold of their hands.
"See you Thursday, Luna."