"Hey, d'you think I should ask Luna to go with me to Slughorn's Christmas party?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned the page of her textbook to the next set of diagrams they were supposed to be studying. "Why on earth haven't you asked her already? Of course she'll want to go."

"I dunno, a night stuck with the Slug Club seems more like a punishment than a fun time," Harry said, frowning down at his own notes. Hermione snorted.

"She'll go because you're going, not to hear any of Slughorn's stupid stories or because the refreshments are anything special." At the sight of Harry's flushed face, she gave him a wry grin.

"I sure hope you're not this dense in your lessons with Dumbledore, or we're all doomed."

l*~*~*l

"So what do you think? Do you want to go?"

Luna beamed. "It sounds like fun! Do you think there will be any exotic animals there? I heard Professor Slughorn is financing a secret Ministry Project that's breeding fire-breathing snails."

Feeling relieved, Harry grinned. "You should definitely ask him about that when we get there."

l*~*~*l

Still chortling, Harry led Luna through the crowd, away from Slughorn and Snape, Filch and Malfoy, and out into the empty corridor. "The Rotfang Conspiracy, huh? Hermione's parents are dentists, did you know that? I'll bet she'd have some ideas on how to fight back."

They had stopped in front of a small window overlooking the lake; the light from a handful of stars glimmered on its' surface. He glanced over at Luna, who continued to gaze out across the shadowy grounds. Harry watched her a moment more, then, gathering his courage, voiced a question he had been pondering for some time.

"If we hadn't smashed all of those Time-Turners, I mean, if there was a way to go back and change things, make things better, would you do it?" He held his breath, knowing what this question meant for her.

She turned to him then, standing silently a moment, a small frown on her face. Before Harry could begin a frantic apology, she said quietly, "We all have things we'd like to change, I suppose. But even though it's tempting to go back and fix the bad things, we can never appreciate the good of today if we're always looking back."

Harry was still a moment, then nodded slowly. "It is tempting sometimes, but you're right." He swallowed. "You think about going back to save…people, to change people's minds, but it's really up to us to do that right now, isn't it?" He paused, hoping his words made sense, and plunged on. "We do what we can to make things better for tomorrow, and enjoy the good even as we deal with the bad."

Luna's eyes shone. "Those of us who have lost things learn to appreciate when a good thing comes along."

He took a small step toward her, tilted his head, took a deep breath, and placed a careful kiss on her cheek. As he pulled away, he felt her hand take his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Making a mental note to commend Slughorn on his spectacular party, Harry led Luna down the shadowy hallway, unable to keep the smile off his face, in pursuit of a window that would afford them a better view of the stars.

l*~*~*l

On the 9th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...an ending to Come Wonder With Me!

I am sooooo sorry this took so long to get up, but I moved cross-country right after I put up the first few chapters and time got away from me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and subscribed, I'm so glad I got to share this with all you HP fans out there. Thanks for sticking with me! I had been planning this ending for so long, I'm glad it finally came together! Any more Larry stories I write will be one shots; I have a few ideas, but I am always open to suggestions! Any ideas for awesome/adorable/hilarious Larry Adventures?

Special thanks to M and W again for their real-world support. Happy reading!

Mighty Amphitrite