Finally the end and I still own nothing. Oh well. Hope you have enjoyed.

Chapter Four

Harry was standing at the entrance of a cave. As he peered inside he noticed it was completely dark, he could see nothing, yet he knew that he had to enter. His feet would not move. But he knew he had to go forward. Then he heard the voice; soft and dreamlike.

"Go ahead Harry, you are not alone."

"But it is so dark; I won't be able to see where I am going. And I can't use my wand because I must keep it ready for the attack."

"Don't worry Harry, you will be able to see fine. Now go do what you must do."

Reluctantly Harry stepped into the cave. And sure enough, even though all around him was dark he could see perfectly fine. He continued walking until he came upon what he was looking for. There ahead of him stood a great snake like man with horrible red eyes. Harry braced himself while raising his wand out in front of him.

"Your time on this earth has come to an end Tom."

"Well—we will just have to see how powerful you really are boy, won't we?" The serpent man hissed at him.

Harry felt his wand shake and somewhere, perhaps from in him, he heard the shout of a great magical curse, yet a curse he had never heard before.

Harry had expected a green flash of light to come from his wand, but what irrupted out of his wand was the most beautiful and yet blinding light Harry had ever seen. It flashed before him with such great speed and force that Harry stumble back, but remained standing. When the light disappeared, the serpent man had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of ashes, Tom Marvolo Riddle was dead.

At that moment Harry realized he was not alone. Someone was standing next to him. Someone was holding his hand. It was than that he realized it was Luna who was with him.

"See, I told you , you would not be alone."

Harry woke with a start. It took him a few moments to realize where he was; still on the settee in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place, with Luna Lovegood curled up at his side.

It must have been early morning, because Harry could see the haze of the early morning light streaming down from the enchanted ceiling above.

The fire in the hearth was extinguished and Harry noted that the empty liquor bottle and goblets had been removed from the floor where they had left them the night before and that someone had covered Luna and him with a large very old green duvet.

Harry once again felt Luna's warm breath across his chest. He looked down at the blonde sleeping next to him and then he thought about the dream he had just awoke from.

He had killed Voldemort.

It was the first dream that he could remember where he had actually killed him. Usually his dreams consisted of him watching someone die or him running away. But this time he had actually killed him. And then he thought about Luna standing next to him. Luna had been with him. She said he would not be alone. And he wasn't, she had been with him.

The thought filled him with such a sense of comfort and love, a love like he could never remember ever feeling before and with smile on his face he wrapped his arms around Luna, pulling her closer to him and, after a few moments lost in his thoughts, he once again slipped back to sleep. Silently hoping to return to the part of that dream where Luna was standing at his side holding his hand.

When he awoke again, he noted that the room was much brighter, indicating that it was now, definitely, morning. He also quickly realized that the warm body that had been next to him was gone. A great sense of disappointment and loss filled him. Harry had never before slept so closely next to someone, but he was very much aware of how much he missed the sensation when it was gone. He also thought about what Luna must have been thinking when she slipped out of his embrace without waking him.

Harry quickly tossed the old duvet that was still covering him onto the floor and heading out of the drawing room to look for Luna. When he reached the first floor landing, he could distinctly make out the smell of coffee. Harry tentatively made his way down to the kitchen wondering what he was going to say her when he saw her.

But it was not Luna he needed to worry about when he entered the basement kitchen.

"Wotcher, lover boy!" Tonks greeted him, a little too enthusiastically Harry thought, as he pushed the door open and stuck his head inside to get a look around. She was seated at the table across from Remus Lupin, who had a rather awkward grin on his face. Luna was nowhere to be seen. "D'you and Miss Luna have a good time last night?"

"Er..yeah. Er…why?" Harry answered reluctantly as he entered the kitchen and took a seat at the table next to Remus. Harry got the feeling that Tonks was about to take the mickey out of him.

"No reason, no reason. Remus and I just didn't realize you were a couple is all, and a rather cute one I might add."

"Uh…what? No, we're not a couple—" not that Harry would have minded if they were at this point.

"Well, you could have fooled us the way you were all cozied up on the couch. And what was with the bottle of Firewhiskey and all. It looked like you might have been celebrating or something?"

"Actually, we were celebrating something. Yesterday was Luna's seventeenth birthday."

"What? Why didn't you tell anybody? Remus, did you know it was Luna's birthday?" Remus shook his head. Harry interrupted.

"Listen, I only found out about it yesterday. I just happened to stop by and found Luna …er…celebrating by herself. I joined her so she wouldn't have to…uh …celebrate alone." Harry was silently thankful that this bit of news had completely sidetracked Tonks to the fact that she had found Luna and him asleep together.

"Well, why didn't she tell anyone? I could have gotten off duty last night, and Remus certainly could have stayed home and surely Molly would have made her a cake." The way Tonks was ranting, Harry could tell that she had been spending too much time with Hermione.

"I dunno, she seemed to think everyone had more important things to worry about besides her birthday."

"How could she think such a thing, with all she's done for you and the Order and all of us; that we wouldn't want to help celebrated her birthday?" Tonks stood from the table and with a flick of her wand she cleared the coffee cups that were in front of her and Remus. Harry watched as one mug didn't quite make it to the sink on the other side of the room, but with quick reflexes Remus managed to stop it in mid-air with his wand, just before it hit the floor.

"She has always been a rather private person, bit of a loner at school as I remember." Remus chimed in as he gently floated the cup into the sink. "Maybe celebrating quietly with just her father or a single friend is what she is use to, perhaps what she wanted."

"Well I don't care. Luna is our friend and I'm going to talk to Molly right now and we are going to through her a proper birthday celebration. Better late than never, whether she likes it or not."

At that moment the conversation was interrupted by a loud pop and Dobby appeared standing on the seat immediately to Harry's right.

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby is so glad to see you! Has you been here long?"

"Hullo Dobby. Uh yeah, I came last night. I spent the night here actually."

"Oh Dobby is sad he did not get to see you earlier sir. Yesterday 's Dobby's day off. Dobby just returning now. Dobby will make Harry Potter a big breakfast."

"No time Dobby." Tonks interjected. "We have lots to do. Apparently, Miss Luna's birthday was yesterday, and she didn't bother to tell any of us."

"Miss Luna's birthday? Oh dear, Dobby need to get Miss Luna a present. Dobby likes Miss Luna very much. Miss Luna is a very nice person. Just like you Harry Potter sir"

"Right Dobby, we also need to get over to the Burrow and talk to Molly about throwing her a little birthday party. I want you to come with me so you can help with all the arrangements."

Oh yes, Miss Tonks. Dobby very much wants to help with Miss Luna's party."

Remus got up from the table, "Well, I guess I could go too. I do need to report to Arthur on bit of Order business."

"Anything I should know about Remus?" Harry questioned.

"How about I fill you in later Harry?"

"Fine." Harry stayed seated as Tonks walked over to the hearth and grabbed a handful of flow powdered from a large goblet on the mantle.

"Harry you'd better stay here until Luna comes down. She will probably be wondering were we've all gone off to. Make up an excuse will ya, but don't tell her what we are up to, I think it should be a surprise."

"Er…right." At that Harry watched as Tonks was wisped away into a ball of flames, followed by Remus a moment later.

"Harry Potter sir, Dobby will make you breakfast as soon as Dobby returns." Harry turned his attention to the House Elf still standing next to him.

"Uh…that's alright Dobby, I think I'm just going to get a goblet of pumpkin juice. I'm not really hungry anyway."

"Is Harry Potter certain? Dobby will make Harry Potter whatever he wants."

"Yeah…no Dobby, I really don't want anything. You better get going or Tonks will be wondering what's become of you."

Oh, yes Harry Potter sir, you are right sir. Goodbye Harry Potter sir." And with a loud pop the House Elf was gone.

Harry was only alone for a moment. He had gotten up to pour himself a goblet of pumpkin juice, and just as he was sitting back down Luna came through the kitchen door. She spotted Harry immediately.

"Oh Harry, I see you're awake." She greeted him in her usual dreamy voice as if nothing at all had happen between them the night before.

"Er—Yeah. Good morning Luna." Harry wondered if maybe she had been too drunk last night to remember. But she must have realized something happen when she woke up in his arms this morning.

"Oh yes, good morning to you too Harry. Are you alone in here? I was quite certain I heard Miss Tonks' and Dobby's voices as I was coming down the stairs.

"Uh…yeah, you did and Remus was here as well. They flooed to the Borrow. Uh…er…they needed to talk to Mr and Mrs. Weasley about…er… Order business and all."

"And Dobby went with them?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Mmmm…well that seems odd doesn't it? Dobby usually stays out of Order business." Luna cocked her head and eyed him incredulously making Harry shift a bit in his seat. It's not that Harry really care if Luna suspected him of lying, it was really more the fact that she was looking at him so intently with those large unblinking eyes. He wanted to so badly to ask her about last night; to talk about what had happened.

Without responding to her concerns about Dobby he asked; "So did you sleep alright last night?"

Luna broke her curious stare and smiled, "Oh yes, I slept quite well, I suppose the Firewhiskey had something to do with it of course. I must say though it was quite nice waking up in your arms this morning Harry. Very nice indeed!"

Harry didn't know why he was so surprised that Luna didn't seem at all embarrassed. This was Luna he was talking to; he'd actually never seen Luna get embarrassed before, well except for last night that is, when he had brushed her hair out of her face. And considering that, he thought she might have found this situation to be a bit uncomfortable.

"Harry, did you sleep well? Luna interrupted his thoughts.

"Er…yeah, I did as a matter of fact. I…uh…had a very pleasant dream actually. It…it was about me ridding the world of Voldemort and surviving."

"Well, that is a nice dream, isn't it? Did this dream give you any help as to how you would be able to do that?"

"Er…yeah, well…I dunno, maybe." Harry thought about how Luna was standing next to him in his dream. And about the overwhelming sense of love he had felt. But this train of thought was getting him off track with what he really wanted to talk to Luna about.

"Luna, listen…uh…do you remember much about last night?"

"Of course I do, Harry. I remember everything. I really wasn't as pissed as I may have appeared. And again I want to thank you for a most wonderful evening; it really was one of my very best birthday's in a very long time." Luna cocked her head to one side, "Is there something wrong Harry?" Again, Luna was observing him with those large misty eyes.

"Er…no…uh…not really. It's just that I was wondering…if…well, if you remember me kissing you last night."

"Oh dear, is that why you look like you've just swallowed a Blibbering Humdinger? Harry, there is no need to worry; I understand that those were Firewhiskey induced kisses. I know that we are just friends. You told me so when you invited me to Professor Slughorn's party last year, remember? Don't worry yourself Harry, I know you didn't mean anything by them."

Just friends; his own words had come back to bite him. Is that all that Luna was to him? Just a friend? No, Harry didn't think so, not anymore, not after last night.

"And if you are worried about me telling anyone Harry, don't be. I promise what happened last night will be our little secret. Alright? Although, I must say you are a very good kisser Harry. I see why Ginny and Cho had such a hard time getting over you." Harry couldn't help but smile; Luna thought he was a good kisser. Merlin, he wished he could kiss her right now. He wished he could tell her how he felt about her right now. But something was holding him back; something was stopping him from jumping up and confessing to her that he didn't want to be just friend with her anymore; that what he wanted was for her to be at his side always. He wanted to tell her how much he needed her right now. But all that managed to come out of his mouth was—

"Uh thanks….Listen Luna, I am not embarrassed about what happened, it's just that uh…well…Er.—Hey, wait a minute Luna, if I'm such a good kisser, how come you fell asleep?"

"Oh dear…well you see Harry, I didn't actually fall asleep. I was only pretending to be asleep. It was just better that way, really."

"Pretending? Better? Uh…what?"

"Well, it has been my experience that sometimes when boys have had too much to drink that they do things that they later… regret." Luna stated conversationally but then quickly changed to a serene tone, "I didn't want you Harry to have done anything last night that you would have regretted this morning, Well, I suppose kissing me was bad enough. I also knew that I would not have stopped you if…well…if you had tried. You are a gentleman Harry, even when you are quite drunk, and I knew you would not do anything if I was a sleep. So that is what I did, I pretended to be asleep. I hope you are not angry with me Harry. I just didn't want… anything to hurt our friendship."

"Luna, I…uh…" Harry couldn't believe Luna was saying all these things to him. And at the same time Harry had to wonder how far he would have gone if Luna had not pretended to be asleep. She said she would not have stopped him, but why? Did she like him? And hey, what did she mean by from her experience? Something immediately tugged at Harry's chest. Had someone tried something with Luna before? Had someone used her before? Harry had to suppress the feeling of wanting to attack someone for hurting this young woman. His mind was reeling.

"Listen, Luna; I don't regret kissing you last night. And… I never will. I'm not angry at you. You were probably right, because I…I don't know if I could have stopped myself. But you have to know that I would never have purposely done anything to hurt you. You are one of my closest friends Luna and I hope that you always will be.

Harry stopped there, but what he really wanted to say was; 'I really want to be more than just friends with you, but there are so many reasons why you and I can't be more than friends right now, but you have to know that those reason have nothing to do with how I actually feel about you; because I do really like you, Luna. I want you to know that you are one of the most important persons in my life right now and I don't ever want to lose you. I need you in my life Luna, now and forever. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you Luna.' That is what Harry really wanted to say, but the words just never came out.

"Oh Harry, I am so glad to hear that; because I consider you to be one of my closest friends. And I just never want that to change." Luna looked at Harry intently, and Harry wondered if she could hear what he was thinking.

"Especially because of a little snogging." She continued and Harry assumed not.

"Well, I suppose I should go check on Master Draco and make sure that he has gotten his breakfast. He really gets quite grouchy when we are late with his meals, not unlike Ronald I'm afraid. Are you planning on staying for awhile Harry?"

"Er…no, I guess not. I s'ppose I should get back to the Burrow as well."

"Oh well, I will say good-bye then. It really was nice spending time with you Harry and I do hope that your visits will be more frequent than in the past. It does get a bit lonely around here at times."

"Listen Luna, I will try to come see you more often. But you know you are always welcome to come to the Burrow and even if I'm not there, there is usually always someone there who would love see you."

"Yes, I suppose you are right, Harry. I just don't want to be a bother on anyone."

"Luna Lovegood, you are never a bother!"

"Thank you Harry. And Harry…well, you do know that if you are ever in need of anything that I am always here for you, to help you however I can?"

"Yes Luna, I know. Thanks for that and thanks for…uh…just being you." And with these words the most beautiful smile spread across Luna's face, which in turn made Harry smile. And for what may have seemed like an eternity to Harry they just stopped and stared at each other; large misty silver eyes meeting brilliant emerald ones.

The stare broke when Luna turned on her feet and said, "Well, good-bye then, Harry Potter." And with that Luna bounced out of the room and up the stairs to check on Draco Malfoy.

Harry sat for a moment and thought about Luna Lovegood. He was her friend. But from that moment on he knew he wanted to be so much more to her. But he also knew he was doing the right thing, for now. What if he had confessed his true feelings for her and then something had happened to him? It would be just one more person in her life that had loved her and left her. He couldn't do that to her, not now. The thought of causing Luna Lovegood any more pain was too much for Harry. He had to protect her in whatever way possible no matter how hard.

Harry may not have known a lot of things about how to defeat Voldemort, but one thing Harry did now know was why.

FIN

Thanks for taking the time to read.