94

CHAPTER NINETY FOUR:

"What's up with the tattoo, anyway?"

Harry let his head loll to the side to look at his younger self. He and Severus had headed outside for some fresh air and ended up lying in the grass together – something Severus had clearly felt awkward doing at first, but had gradually relaxed into – and attracted a small group of students.

"Ah – this?" Harry pulled his right hand out from under his head and held the arm aloft; it was warm in the sun, so he'd rolled up his sleeve, and the tattoo of a lion was clearly visible.

"Well," he said with a slight smile, "I got a twofold tattoo sometime after Dumbledore died, to represent… well, my personality, I suppose." Harry picked up his wand with his left hand and tapped his wrist, holding it up so that the others could see the tattoo of a snake.

"Not only Gryffindor, not only Slytherin – cunning and bravery, selflessness and self-preservation, plans and spontaneous action; there's a need for all of that in war, especially in a leader." His expression was bittersweet as he touched a finger to the tattoo, but he continued speaking evenly. "Sometimes I wonder whether it's a bad idea to sort us into Houses – all of us should naturally have more than one defining trait, and as soon as we're sorted we conform to the expectations of the House. Had I been sorted into Ravenclaw I would have most likely started acting like a bookworm right away, just to fit in. I'd probably be smarter for it," the others echoed his laugh.

"Besides, the best teams have a variety of players – though that sometimes works out even within the Houses. I mean, look at us three," he grinned, gesturing at Harry, Hermione and Ron. The trio exchanged grins, though Hermione shook her head ruefully.

"But yeah, that's why I have this tattoo," Harry said, putting away his wand and pillowing his head on his arms again. Deciding that was enough of that topic, he observed, "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" It really was, too – sunny and warm, with puffy white clouds drifting in the blue sky.

"The Grindelumps are coming," Luna remarked dreamily, and Harry smiled.

"Lunch, then?" He sat upright, looking down at Severus with a soft smile and ignoring the students' bewilderment.

"They say there's ice cream for dessert today," Luna hummed as she climbed down from the tree she'd perched in. "I do love ice cream. I hope they have vanilla."

"Don't they always?" Harry smiled as he brushed off his robes, giving Severus a hand up from the grass.

"Well, one time they had raspberry ice cream," Luna remarked absently, appearing to stroke thin air. "That was nice, too."

Harry hummed and joined her, reaching out to pet whatever creature she was petting, but his hand went right through it.

"I'm always disappointed when I can't pet them," Harry sighed, placing an arm around Luna's shoulders instead, and she leaned her head against him as she stroked the invisible creature.

"Oh, I can't either," she remarked dreamily. "But even imaginary things need affection."

"That makes sense," Harry said, and reached out again to pet the air the same way Luna was. "Do they mind that I can't see them?"

"Grindelumps don't," Luna hummed, "but the Lump-legged Urgles get quite cross when their warnings aren't heeded. They wonder why they bother at all."

Harry sighed slightly. "I can understand that. We're lucky you can see them, you know?"

"Of course," the blonde agreed lightly. "Will you sit with Severus for lunch?"

Unfazed by the abrupt change of topic, Harry craned his neck to look at Severus. "I don't know; we haven't made any plans for the day. It's up to Severus, I guess."

"I do not currently feel a need to eat," the Potions Master replied blandly. "You are welcome to join your friends for lunch; I would return to my lab to take advantage of your absence," he smirked.

Harry laughed. "That reminds me, actually – when I first got back to this time I found a scroll I meant to give you again. I think I'll wait till Tuesday to give it to you," he sauntered over to Severus and wrapped his arms around the taller man's neck, "because otherwise you won't pay me any attention." He pouted up at his lover.

"Oh?" Severus raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps you should go fetch it and spend the rest of your day off with your friends," he suggested smoothly, the intrigued glint in his eye belying his disinterested expression. "I can think of better things to do with my time than entertain a bunch of teenagers."

Harry laughed again and drew closer to Severus, pressing his body up against the taller man. "But they're such fun teenagers," he grinned teasingly. "Besides," he leaned up to whisper in Severus's ear, "I promised you the day…"

Severus finally moved his hands to rest lightly on Harry's hips. "While I am flattered, the truth is that I have a potion to prepare for class tomorrow. You would be better served using that time to enjoy the company of your friends. It should not take me very long; you might consider inviting Luna, at least, over for a cup of hot chocolate once you have finished your lunch."

"You're sure?" Harry pulled back slightly, and Severus nodded.

"I would have prepared the potion yesterday had I known in advance that you would have the day off."

Harry smiled. "All right then. I'll meet you back in your quarters after lunch?"

"Our quarters," Severus corrected, pressing a kiss to Harry's jaw before pulling away. "Luna, Hermione, Weasley, Potter, Longbottom," he said curtly before striding away to the castle, leaving Harry looking after him with a crooked smile.

"Our quarters," Harry whispered to himself.

"I wonder if I could keep a Kimdinger in a jar," Luna mused beside him, startling a laugh out of the young man.

"You're welcome to try," he grinned at her, offering her his arm and leading the way back to the castle.

OoOoO

Lunch was a fun affair – Luna joined the Gryffindors at their table, and Harry ended up spending most of the meal discussing recipes and the weather with the thin blonde. Ginny joined in on their conversation when she arrived, her boyfriend mainly focusing on his meal after shaking Harry's hand, and though she was used to Luna's oddities Harry realized that Ginny had never understood that Luna's creatures actually existed. She seemed rather taken aback when Harry made references to strange creatures himself.

"Look at all the Hantvents," Luna remarked absently as she gazed up at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall.

"Any chance the Dimpvel Piskies might make a reappearance tomorrow?" Harry asked, following Luna's gaze to the clouds that were beginning to move more briskly in a far-away wind. "I've got tomorrow morning off, you see."

Luna hummed pensively. "You'll probably want to stay inside," she advised, and Harry nodded reluctantly.

"I knew the sunny weather was too good to last," he grumbled. Noticing Ginny's odd look, he explained, "Hantvents are cold breezes or winds, and Dimpvel Piskies are… what, sunbeams?" Harry asked Luna, who hummed in confirmation. "Right. We were discussing the weather."

"I… see," Ginny said slowly, shooting a look up at the ceiling. "That explains a lot." Harry just smiled and asked Luna if she'd like another scoop of ice cream.

OoOoO

Harry could hear faint sounds of industry from Severus's private lab as he prepared two mugs of hot chocolate – one for himself, and one for Luna. He had opted against inviting any of his other friends, feeling that this should be a moment shared between the two of them, and Luna's delighted smile at being invited for a cup of hot chocolate had been heart-warming.

"Dimpvel Piskies, vanilla ice cream, and hot chocolate? Today is going to be a simply perfect day, isn't it? Those are so rare," she had said happily, and Harry smiled at the memory of her happiness as he slipped a stick of cinnamon into each of the mugs.

"Alright, here we go!" the young lord said cheerfully as he carried the mugs into the living room, finding Luna sitting on the flagstone in front of the fire hugging her legs and gazing into the flames. At his call her head shot up, delight dancing in her eyes, and with a bound she was on her feet and beside him.

"Oh," she exhaled, a luminous smile spreading across her face. "It looks perfect."

"I aim to please," Harry replied fondly, handing her one of the mugs and sitting down. It was a fairly simple recipe, really – once you knew what Luna liked! The 'special' hot chocolate was a sweetened dark cocoa powder stirred into hot milk, topped off with whipped cream that had a shot of rum and both white and vanilla sugar whipped into it, and finished with a dusting of chocolate flakes and a cinnamon stick. It was incredibly rich and sweet – and not something to be enjoyed except on rare occasions.

Luna closed her eyes and inhaled deeply over her mug, the familiar expression tugging at Harry's heartstrings. Oh, how he had missed Luna.

Then silver eyes were on his, silky hair swinging forward as Luna stooped to ghost a kiss over his cheek. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered, straightening with a tinkling laugh. "How wonderful!" she exclaimed, twirling briefly in place before carefully perching on the edge of the couch and licking a chocolate flake off the top of the mug. "But how did you know the recipe?"

Harry laughed at that, remembering the very strange afternoon spent with Xenophilius Lovegood so long ago. "Your Dad taught me," he informed Luna merrily. "He seemed to think I was going to marry you!" Harry had no clue how Xeno had arrived at that conclusion, but he had learned a lot about Luna that afternoon, so he hadn't protested much. He'd never told Daphne, though – she wouldn't have appreciated the man's assumption.

"I see," Luna smiled, her eyes twinkling as she turned her attention back to her mug. Rather than explain why her father might have thought she would marry Harry, she just smiled that mischievous smile and lapped at her whipped cream in true Luna fashion. It was with a fond smile that Harry bent over his mug and used his own tongue to lick up the chocolate flakes. He knew how Luna liked her hot chocolate.