springsmutfairy (springsmutfairy) wrote in hp_springsmut, @ 2008-03-13 08:15:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | fic, harry/luna, het |
Happy Springsmut, cutecoati!
Author: Irthunder
Recipient: cutecoati
Title: The Lovers' Ring
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Harry/Luna
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Luna helps Harry obtain a ring to propose to Ginny, but something happens he does not expect.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 4,493
Diagon Alley was empty. Harry Potter remembered how packed the stores and streets had been when he made his first visit with Hagrid. Hagrid had been big enough to steer people out of their path when Harry was 11, but now Harry didn’t need anyone to move people from his path. Witches and wizards were too scared to emerge from their homes, and consequently, Diagon Alley was deserted.
The war with Voldemort had frightened people. From what Harry knew about the first war, it was nothing compared to the second. During the second war, Voldemort had seized power and controlled the Ministry of Magic. Consequently, the Ministry began passing laws that targeted Muggle-borns. Witches and wizards were too scared to emerge from their homes. Fortunately, the laws had been overturned, but a distrust of the Ministry continued to exist.
The last time he had been in Diagon Alley, he was with Ron, Hermione and Griphook, infiltrating Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault to get Hufflepuff’s Cup. Hagrid, ever the dragon lover, would have loved to have seen them, escaping on the back of a dragon.
As he continued to walk down the street, he could still sense the anxiety left from that ghastly year, when Death Eaters have overrun the Ministry and, certainly also Diagon Alley. People knew Voldemort was gone, but then again, they’d thought he was gone after that fateful Halloween night in 1981. That was the night that made Harry famous. He’d managed to kill Voldemort for good this time, but it took the Elder Wand and the elimination of his Horcruxes to do it.
Harry was also feeling anxious, but for a different reason. He was not on a secret mission to follow a Death Eater or infiltrate Gringotts. The anxiety was more personal in nature. He was going to buy an engagement ring. He was going to propose to Ginny Weasley. He knew Ginny would agree to be his wife, but he almost felt that he was obligated to propose to Ginny. He suspected Molly Weasley had started planning the wedding as soon as she’d learned that they had begun dating again.
As he walked down the street, he had the feeling someone was watching him. He looked behind him, but couldn’t see anybody. Maybe he was being paranoid. If it was a Death Eater or another dark wizard, he hoped they would think twice before attacking him. He gripped his wand tightly in case he needed it.
He finally arrived at his destination, Worthington’s Rings, a jewelry shop opened up shortly after the war by it’s namesake, William Worthington. With the downfall of Voldemort, some witches and wizards had been opening new stores, hoping to bring back the crowds of shoppers that had once existed.
He started to go in, but he noticed the door was locked. A note was on the door. It read: Closed for the week. I am visiting family. W. Worthington.
Harry let out a sigh of frustration. Now, what was he supposed to do? He supposed he could go to a Muggle jewelry store, but he didn’t have any Muggle currency. He’d never actually had any since he lived with the Dursleys. He knew Galleons, Knuts and Sickles wouldn’t be accepted in the Muggle world.
“What’s the matter, Harry?” a voice asked from behind him. He turned and saw Luna Lovegood standing there.
“Hi, Luna! I haven’t seen you in a long time!” he said, hugging her as a greeting. As they hugged, he noticed how nice she smelled. Was she wearing perfume? Pulling away, he said, “I was hoping to buy a ring for Ginny.”
“That’s so sweet, Harry. What kind of ring?”
“An engagement ring. Unfortunately, the owner of the shop is out for the week,” he said, pointing to the sign on the door.
“I can help,” she said brightly.
Harry smiled. “I’m sure you can, but I don’t know if there are any other shops that sell rings,” he replied.
“You won’t have to buy one. I’ll ask dad if he could give you mum’s,” she replied.
Harry frowned slightly. Her father, Xenophilius Lovegood, was a nice but eccentric man. He also remembered how Mr. Lovegood had tried to turn him into the Death Eaters.
Luna must have noticed his frown. “If you’re thinking about what happened earlier, you can’t really blame him, can you?”
He couldn’t. Luna had been captured by the Death Eaters. He hoped he could win her freedom by turning in Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
“Would that be a good idea? After all, your dad gave it to your mum,” Harry said.
“I’m your friend, Harry. Friends help each other,” she replied.
Harry didn’t know what to do. The idea of using Luna’s mum’s ring was unusual and a little morbid, but if Luna was offering to do this, maybe he should placate her.
“Sure,” he replied.
“No problem, Harry. Maybe we both should go to my house,” she suggested.
Harry checked his watch. It was still a few hours before he had to meet Ginny at the Burrow for dinner. Mrs. Weasley had invited the entire family. He was planning to propose to Ginny there, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs. Weasley had invited the family for that purpose.
“That sounds good,” he agreed.
“Then I’ll see you there. You do remember where my house is?” she asked airily. Before Harry could respond, a sharp crack sounded and Luna was gone. He had to think for a minute and then remembered. Keeping his focus on his destination, he Disapparated.
He arrived right on the doorstep, where the door was open, inviting him in. “Luna, are you here?” he called. He heard footsteps and looked up. Mr. Lovegood was standing there with a strained smile on his face. Harry understood Mr. Lovegood’s discomfort; the last time they met, Mr. Lovegood had tried to turn Harry over to the Death Eaters. “How are you, Mr. Lovegood?” Harry asked as politely as he could.
“I’m fine. Luna tells me you need some help getting an engagement ring?” he asked warily, not at all like the person he was at Bill and Fleur’s wedding.
Harry sighed. “Yes, I am. I assume Luna’s looking for the ring right now,” he said. Mr. Lovegood nodded. “Look, I really don’t want to discuss what happened during my last visit here.”
Mr. Lovegood’s nodded again. He was about to speak when Luna came into the room. “Dad, I wasn’t able to find the ring. Are you sure it was in the box?” She was holding a box in her left hand. It was small and decorated with the name Lovegood in tiny letters.
Mr. Lovegood frowned. “I think I know where it is. Harry, do you have time for me to tell you something?”
Harry checked his watch. “I’m meeting Ginny and her family for dinner at six, but I have some free time.”
They sat down at the table. The last time Harry had sat there, Mr. Lovegood was talking about the Deathly Hallows. Harry noticed that Luna was looking at him with a slight smile on her face. She looked away when she caught her looking. Harry was strongly reminded of Ginny when he had first stayed at the Burrow. He wondered if Luna had developed a similar crush on him. He wondered how this was going to affect his proposal to Ginny, which he was feeling increasingly nervous about.
“Tell me, Harry, have you ever heard of the Lovers’ Ring?” Mr. Lovegood asked. Harry shook his head. “It was a special ring given by Rowena Ravenclaw to Salazar Slytherin.” Harry’s eyes widened. “I know what you’re thinking, but Ravenclaw and Slytherin were in love. At least, they were in love until Slytherin left Hogwarts over the issue of Muggle-borns. Ravenclaw was so heartbroken that she cast a spell on her ring. Only those who truly loved each other would be able to use it.”
“Really?” Harry asked. He didn’t know anything about this. However, Mr. Lovegood was proven correct about the Deathly Hallows, so he was willing to keep an open mind.
“Really. Once one of the lovers passes away, the ring returns to where it was, waiting to be chosen by another pair of lovers.”
“So, where is it?”
“I know where it is, but it is a short distance away. I believe you can use a Portkey or Apparate to the general location. It’s located in a cave near the coast.”
“I’ll help him find it, dad! I’ll do anything to help Harry.” Luna said, still looking at him with a particularly odd look. It was almost a look of longing.
Harry agreed. He stood up and left the room. As he was about to walk outside to wait for Luna, he heard Mr. Lovegood speaking to her. He started to walk, but then he heard his name being mentioned.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Luna? You know what it takes to get the ring,” Mr. Lovegood cautioned.
“I know, dad. I think I love Harry. I think the Nargles will see it that he gets the ring,” she replied.
Harry was stunned. Luna loved him? He should’ve guessed by the way she kept looking at him during her dad’s tale. He also had had that feeling that somebody was watching him earlier in Diagon Alley. Harry shook his head. He liked Luna; she was one of the only students at Hogwarts to stand by him during Umbridge’s reign of tyranny. But he was in love with Ginny. Wasn’t he?
Before he could think about this further, he heard Luna hurrying to meet him. “Are you ready, Harry?” she asked.
He nodded. “Do you have a Portkey?” he asked.
Luna shook her head. “I think we had better go using Side-Along Apparation,” she suggested. Harry nodded nervously and allowed her to hold on to him. He tried to think of his moments with Ginny, but Luna’s closeness was making it difficult. Before he could think any further about Ginny, he felt the familiar sensation of Apparation.
At Luna’s house, there was a fresh aroma of flowers with a gentle breeze swaying the trees nearby. All he could sense now was a harsher wind and a familiar biting cold. They had landed on solid rock, and they tried to keep from slipping. Harry looked down, and saw the waves of the water crashing against the boulders. He thought it was the same place where he and Professor Dumbledore had tried to retrieve the locket Horcrux. But Luna led him in a different direction.
They arrived at what appeared to be a small cave. Luna examined a rock near the cave with interest. “I think, this is it, Harry,” she said excitedly. She stepped into the mouth of the cave and Harry saw her body relax. “I know it is.”
“How can you tell?” he asked. It didn’t look any different from any other cave. For all he knew, this particular cave could have similar dangerous spells protecting the locket Horcrux. He tightened his grip on his wand.
“There’s a warm breeze in here. I know it’s strange considering that it’s a cave, but it’s magic that’s causing it.”
Harry was too busy following her that he didn’t notice she had taken off her shoes and socks. He tried to follow her into the cave, but was immediately repelled by a magical barrier. He tried again, but the barrier wouldn’t let him pass. How did Luna get through? “Luna?” he called out.
She stopped and turned. “Why aren’t you coming in, Harry?” Then she saw that he was trying to enter and giggled a little bit. “I should’ve told you, or my dad should’ve told you. You need to take off your shoes and socks.”
Harry looked at her suspiciously. “Why?”
“It’s part of the magic,” she said mysteriously and began walking even further into the cave.
What wasn’t she telling him? Maybe he should end this right now. He was strongly tempted to suggest he could wait for the jewelry shop to reopen. However, he remembered Luna’s earnest expression when she volunteered to help him. He had no choice but to comply. He didn’t think it would work, but he took off his shoes and socks anyway. When he reached the barrier, he was able to walk right into the cave this time. He took out his wand and whispered, “Lumos.” A light shone from the tip of his wand, enabling him to see a few more feet in front of him. He saw Luna standing in front of what appeared to be a door. What was a door doing in a cave? “What do we do now?”
Luna giggled. “What do you think? We go in,” she replied as she reached for the doorknob.
Harry raised an eyebrow. “You mean we don’t have to remove a shirt or something like that?” he asked.
Luna withdrew her hand from the doorknob and turned to face him, smiling. “Thanks for reminding me, Harry. I probably would’ve gotten a nasty burn on my hand,” she replied. Before he could say anything, she began unbuttoning her yellow blouse and slid it off her body.
Harry closed his eyes and immediately began to think of Ginny. He opened them again to see Luna’s bra drop to the ground next to her blouse. “Your turn, Harry,” she said, blushing furiously. Harry unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his chest. Luna smiled and nodded. As she turned away from him, he couldn’t help but notice how attractive she looked without her shirt and bra on. She opened the door and they walked through.
He noticed the next chamber was even warmer. This definitely had to be a magical cave. He noticed that instead of rock walls, the walls were composed of wood and timber. Did somebody construct a room within a cave? Harry wanted to have a chance to examine this room more closely, but he was pressed for time. They walked for what seemed like a half-hour, causing him to question just how deep this cave was.
Finally, they came to a stop. There was a pedestal with a small box perched on it. Harry turned to Luna. “Is this it?”
“This is it,” she confirmed.
Harry looked around to make sure there were no magical creatures. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luna removing her skirt. He reluctantly began to unbuckle his belt and pushed his trousers to the ground. “I don’t suppose I can just open the box and remove the ring?” She shook her head. “I didn’t think so. So what do we have to do now?”
Luna raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Haven’t you guessed by now?”
Harry felt a spear plunge into his heart. “Have sex,” he guessed.
Luna shook her head slightly. “Yes and no. We do have to make love, but the box will only open if it feels true love,” she explained.
“What do you mean by true love?”
“It’s the magic surrounding the ring. It will only allow itself to be used by couples who are truly in love with each other. It’s like the Nargles in mistletoes,” she explained.
“But what happens if a couple is not in love with each other?” he asked, confusion still evident in his voice.
“The box won’t open.”
Harry’s jaw tensed. “So in order for the box to open in front of us, we have to show we’re in love with each other. If we don’t, it won’t open.” His heart ached for Ginny. Was getting her a ring worth the hurt he was going to put her through. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” he said, stooping down to pick up his trousers, but a hand stopped him.
He looked up and saw the earnest expression on her face. “Please, Harry. Can we at least find out for certain? I am in love with you.”
“I heard your conversation with your father. I like you, but I don’t know if it’s love,” he whispered.
“Let’s at least find out,” she said again and kissed him.
Harry felt himself being pushed to the ground as Luna tugged on his pants. She grabbed his cock in her hand and began to stroke it. He moaned as her hand continued its motion. “Luna, if you continue doing that, I won’t last long,” he said, hoping Ginny could forgive him. She smiled. Instead of releasing it, she began to suck on it. Harry’s hands flung wildly, trying to grab something. All his hands could find were cold, hard rock. He moaned louder as her tongue flicked on the tip of his cock. He tried placing his hands on her to stop her, but she pushed them aside.
Before he knew it, she had let go and was now straddling him. Her hands roamed over his naked chest while kissing him passionately. Harry’s hands traveled up to her breasts and began to caress them. As their hands continued to explore each other, Harry noticed that something was wrong.
“Your knickers are still on,” he said and flipped her over. Now he was the one on top and she was the one on the floor. As he pulled her underwear off of her, he reminded himself that he wasn’t in love with Luna. It was just lust that was driving him at the moment and he only hoped he could forgive himself later. And yet, a part of him thought this was right. He looked at Luna and she nodded her head.
She wrapped her legs around him as he entered her. A look of pain shot across her face. When he made love with Ginny for the first time, something similar happened. “Are you alright?” he asked, beginning to pull out. Luna gripped his arms to stop him. After a couple of seconds, she nodded and he reentered her.
Her arms wrapped around his torso, bringing him closer to her. They kissed as Harry continued to slowly thrust into her. She squirmed wildly, moaning loudly. “Harry, please!”
“Please what?”
“Please make love to me!” she cried.
He began to thrust faster as she began taking quick and shallow breaths. Her moans almost matched the rate of his thrusts. Harry saw her eyes were burning with lust and desire. He quickly pulled out, but before she could protest, flipped them so that she was now on top so she could lower herself onto his cock.
“So beautiful,” Harry whispered, massaging her breasts as Luna continued to ride him. She leaned towards him and kissed him passionately. He loved how her breasts were touching his chest, but then a spark of shame hit him. This wasn’t Ginny. He shouldn’t be doing this. “Ginny, forgive me,” he whispered even more softly. Luna’s eyes were closed and she tilted her head back.
“Yes!” she cried out. “That’s it, Harry. Almost there!”
She was right. Harry was almost there. He felt his approaching orgasm, but wanted to hold off so Luna could come first. But he couldn’t. “LUNA!” he cried out as he came. She soon joined him and screamed out his name.
They were breathing deeply out of exhaustion as Luna slid off of Harry and lay down next to him on the cave floor. She placed her head across his chest as Harry wrapped his arm around her. “I love you, Harry,” she said softly. Harry couldn’t respond. That was the best sex he had ever had and was feeling very guilty. He felt like he had totally betrayed Ginny. Speaking of Ginny…
He checked his watch. It was 5:30! Had Harry and Luna spent that much time in the cave? He looked up at the pedestal. He turned to look at Luna. She was looking at him and gesturing toward the pedestal. He still had time to get dressed and return to his flat. But he needed to do this first. He knew what the presence or the absence of the ring would mean. He stood up, walked toward the pedestal, and opened the box.
The kitchen at the Burrow was filled with noisy chatter as Molly Weasley put away the dishes. Hermione and Ginny helped clean up the table while Fleur sat in the living room, nursing Victoire. Harry watched as Ginny chatted happily with Hermione as they returned to the table. His stomach was uneasy and it wasn’t due to the food. It was guilt. It wasn’t just having sex with Luna, but also what he found in the box. The ring was there. According to Luna and Mr. Lovegood, he was in love with Luna, but not Ginny. He still didn’t completely understand how the ring worked. Did it sense the pressure he felt? How was he going to tell her this?
Ginny must’ve noticed Harry’s expression because she gestured for him to follow her. “Is something the matter, Harry?” she asked once they reached her room.
Harry shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “Yes, but I don’t know how to tell you this…”
Ginny interrupted him. “Maybe I should tell you.” She sighed and sat down on her bed. “Harry, you might want to have a seat.” Harry was surprised. Was she the one that was going to break some bad news? Maybe that would sting the ease of her anger a little. “Let me begin by saying I will always love you as a friend, but I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
Harry’s heart dropped an inch. “Why?” he asked cautiously, concealing some relief, while showing some distress to her statement.
“I think it has to do with my infatuation with you as Harry Potter not you as Harry,” she explained. Harry could tell this was hurting her to tell him this.
“Well, as long as we’re being honest, I think my initially liking you was because of my teenage hormones,” Harry replied. “It’s not that I hated you, but I had never thought of you as girlfriend material before I started sixth year. In fact…”
Ginny interrupted him. “If you’re going to tell me you’re in love with someone else, I already know. I think I know who. The reason I know is how you looked when you arrived this evening for dinner. You were carrying at least one burden, perhaps more.”
Harry nodded. “You’re right. But who do you think I’m in love with?”
“Luna Lovegood,” Ginny replied, smiling slightly.
“How did you know?” Harry asked, surprised.
“Before you arrived for dinner, Luna dropped by quickly. She told me everything, including the sex. I was furious at first, but I began to understand when she told me you had found the Lovers’ Ring,” Ginny explained.
Harry looked at her suspiciously. “You believed in its existence?”
Ginny gave him a pointed look. “If something as evil as the Chamber of Secrets could exist, why not something as good as the Lovers’ Ring? In fact, there was more evidence to support the ring’s existence than the Chamber’s existence. Only some people choose to look for it and an even smaller number of people manage to find it. I know my parents were in love, but they don’t need a magical ring to tell them that. They just know.”
Harry nodded. “But I thought I was in love with you, and you thought you were in love with me. Does that mean a ring knows more about our emotions than we do?”
Ginny shrugged. “It seems unlikely, but that’s magic.”
The door was closed and locked when Harry arrived at Luna’s flat. He tried to peak inside the window, but she must have magically charmed her drapes to close when she wasn’t there. He kept toying with the ring in his pocket. Now that he knew it was Luna who he was in love with, he didn’t want to waste anymore time.
Ten minutes later, and Luna still hadn’t returned to her flat. Harry checked his watch and decided to return to his flat. He was walking down the stairs to the alley when he looked up and saw Luna walking towards him. “Harry!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Did Ginny get angry?”
Harry shook his head. “No, but of course you could’ve mentioned that you were going to talk with her about this,” he replied.
Luna shrugged her shoulders. “I wasn’t planning on it, but when I saw you find the ring in the box, I knew I had to let Ginny know.”
Harry was puzzled. “I thought you were getting dressed while I checked out the box. Did you see my take the ring out of it?”
Luna shook her head. “No, but I saw the expression on your face,” she said. “Harry!”
Harry had just dropped to one knee. He was not going to waste time anymore. He pulled the ring from his pocket. It was gold with some words inscribed on it. “Luna, thanks to this ring, I finally realize that it’s you that I’ve fallen in love with. I should’ve realized after my fifth year when you were one of the few to stand with me against Umbridge and Voldemort. Luna, I love you. Will you marry me?”
Harry was expecting a joyful shout of “Yes!” But he didn’t expect Luna to tackle him to the ground, kissing him passionately. When she finally pulled away, she was still straddling him. Harry chuckled. “I take it that’s a yes.”
Luna laughed. “It’s a yes.”
He looked around. “We might want to move this inside,” he said.
She also looked around. “Somebody might see us in this position.”
“It’s also beginning to rain,” he said as raindrops began hitting his face, but the lovers didn’t care.
The only light in the room came from the candles. Clothes lay scattered on the floor, showing a trail from the door to the bed. The bed creaked as Harry made love to Luna. She sighed softly as he kisses and caressed her breasts. As he continued to move within her, she grasped the sheets with one hand and ruffled Harry’s hair with the other. They called out each other’s name as they came.
Harry moved to sleep beside her, pulling the blanket to cover them both. As he did, he noticed the gold ring on Luna’s finger. It was a perfect fit; a perfect fit for a perfect witch.
“I love you, Harry.”
“I love you, Luna.”
They drifted off to sleep together, looking forward to what would await them in the future.
THE END