Nine Years Later: München
Title: Nine Years Later: München
Author: kanedax
Word Count: 4,766
Spoilers: Deathly Hallows & Previous Chapters
Rating: R for language and sexual content
Characters/Pairings: H/G, R/Hr, Neville/Luna, Seamus/Lavender, Dean, Parvati
Summary: Everyone deserves a break
Notes: This is a milestone: Officially the last chapter that takes place before November 3rd, 2007. From this point on we journey into the future!
I own none of these characters. They belong to JK Rowling.
Your Last Chance / Previous Chapters / Everybody's Pregnant
Dean Thomas stopped at the entrance to the hotel’s dining area. He scanned the room, lit with the morning sun streaming in through numerous windows, until he came upon his target, leaning forward on the table. A steaming cup sat beside her, and she was reading a newspaper folded neatly in the middle of the white clothed table.
“Good morning,” he said as he sat down next to Parvati Patil.
“Morning,” Parvati replied, glancing up briefly before returning to her reading. “Hope I didn’t wake you up. I’m kind of an early riser.”
“Didn’t even know you were gone until I got out of the shower,” said Dean. “Besides, that’s one of the miserable things about working for a living. Your body doesn’t let you sleep in anymore.” He flipped over the cup on its saucer and poured himself some tea. “How is it?” he asked.
“Meh,” Parvati shrugged. “There’s a reason that Germany’s not known for its tea.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said after he took a sip. “Nothing to write home about.”
“Told you.”
“Where’d you get the paper?”
“I ran across the street while you were still asleep.”
“Muggle?”
”No, I picked it up in the wizard district,” she said after glancing around to make sure no one was in hearing range. “Das Tagliche Orakel, Munich’s wizard paper.”
“I didn’t know you read German.”
“I dabble a bit,” said Parvati. “You kind of have to speak some other European languages to work on the stock market. But not enough to read this.”
“Below-average tea and a newspaper you can’t read,” Dean sighed. “This is what I call vacation.”
“I used a spell,” Parvati replied. “A translation spell?”
“Oh, right,” Dean said, leaning in and speaking quietly. “But… we’re in public. Muggle public.” The only hotel on the Asgardstrasse, Munich’s wizarding district had unfortunately been booked up, so they were currently staying in a nearby Muggle establishment.
“So?”
“So what if saw you cast the spell? And what if someone sees you reading an English newspaper?”
“Then they’ll think I bought some little independent publisher,” said Parvati. “I walked by a Muggle newsstand. If they had thirty different types of papers it would be a conservative guess. I could have picked up The Times if I wanted to.
“Besides, I cast the spell beneath the table. And it’s mostly stock futures I’m reading about. Your average waiter would be bored to tears just glancing over my shoulder.”
“And if only they knew what that really meant,” Dean chuckled. Parvati’s interest in Divination at Hogwarts had pushed her into a lucrative career with the London Galleon Exchange. While your average Muggle stock trader had to deal with buying and selling what they thought would be the more profitable stocks, wizard trading companies hired various soothsayers and fortunetellers, each competing with other companies to predict what would be a successful company six months, two years, ten years down the line.
Many Diviners, as they were called on the LGE, were quickly discovered to be frauds. Parvati wasn’t one of them. Like most, she was hit or miss on her predictions. It just helped that she was more hit.
“I promise I’ll bring it with me when we leave,” Parvati said patiently.
“I just don’t want to cause an international incident, that’s all,” said Dean. “Not with so many high-ranking officials on our trip.”
“I thought that would mean it would be easier to clear things up?”
“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” Dean smiled. “Speaking of the ‘ambassadors,’ have we seen any of them yet this morning?”
“Not yet,” said Parvati. “You’re the second one down after me, unless Hermione dragged Ron out to sightsee at the crack of dawn.”
“She wouldn’t do that, would she?” said Dean as he took another sip of tea. “I mean, this is the big Gryffindor reunion weekend. You’d think she’d wait for the rest of us.”
“Well, this is Hermione,” said Parvati. “She turns 28 in two months, you’d think she’d be off her edutainment kick by now.”
Dean snorted. “Not bloody likely.”
“Oh, who are we kidding?” Parvati sighed. “It’s their first weekend in God knows how long without a kid to interrupt them.”
“Yeah, they’re probably shagging like rabbits,” said Dean. “We should probably get a menu.”
“Good idea,” said Parvati. “I could use some breakfast.”
“Who’s talking about breakfast?” Dean asked as he glanced around the room and waived over a waiter. “Get comfortable. If we’re waiting for everyone before we head out on the town, we might as well start figuring out what we’re doing for lunch.”
Ring! Ring!
Ron Weasley felt himself pulled from a dreamless sleep, but refused to accept reality just yet.
Ring! Ring!
“’Mione, I changed her last time, is your turn...”
Ring! Ring!
Click.
Ron opened his eyes, and then closed them again quickly as daggers of sunlight punched into his retinas. Slowly, he pulled them open just enough to see his wife’s arm poking out of the bundle of blankets beside him. It was resting on the… the…
“Wazzat the fellytone?”
“Telephone,” came Hermione Weasley’s muffled voice from beneath the covers.
“Why dinyou talk to it?” he asked groggily.
“Wake up service,” said Hermione. “Set it to call at eight.”
“Why’d you do that?”
“Because I’m an idiot,” she grumbled, still completely covered. “Go back to sleep.”
“Shouldn’t we be getting up?” Ron asked.
“Few more hours… No one’ll miss us…”
“You sure?”
Hermione answered with a noise that Ron recognized as either a groan or a growl. He shrugged and threw the blanket back over himself, curling up next to Hermione.
“Don’ have to ask me twice.”
Parvati sighed as the waiter placed her breakfast in front of her. “We’re the only singles on this trip, aren’t we?”
“Well,” said Dean, “We are the only ones in a room with two beds.”
“How long has it been for you, anyway?” asked Parvati as Dean took a bite of his roll.
He looked off behind Parvati thoughtfully as he chewed. “Trying to do the math,” he said after most of it was swallowed. “Three years this October since Alison and I broke up. You?”
“Longer,” said Parvati. “Padma keeps trying to hook me up with one of her co-workers, but I’m just not that desperate yet.”
“Fair viewpoint,” said Dean. “I should look into that.”
“Padma’s co-worker?” said Parvati with a raised eyebrow. “Dean Thomas, I didn’t know you swung that way.”
“No, not being desperate,” Dean said with a chuckle. “Keeps getting me into trouble.”
“Can you cite your examples?” she asked, digging in her purse. “Hang on, let me get my quill.”
“A man allowed a few secrets, isn’t he?” Dean said with a wink. “Besides, I know how you feel about getting hooked up with someone. Hermione keeps trying to pawn her cousin off on me.”
“Which one?”
“Gretchen.”
“Gretchen Wainwright?” asked Parvati. “Why not? Dean, she’s cute! And she’s really nice. I saw you two flirting at the wedding.”
“Yeah, we did,” Dean said with a shrug. “But she’s older than me.”
“So?”
“So I can’t do that.”
Parvati laughed in disbelief. “Dean, she’s older by, what, six months? A year?”
“Older is older,” Dean said as he took a bite of ham.
“And you call yourself desperate...” she said, shaking her head.
“I am desperate,” Dean said through his full mouth. “But I still have standards.”
Before she could reply, Parvati was interrupted by Dean being nearly pulled off his chair.
“Morning, Thomas,” said Seamus Finnigan, his large arm wrapped playfully around Dean’s neck.
“Hey, no fair sneaking up!” Dean said, elbowing Seamus in the stomach.
“Come on, boys,” Lavender Brown said as she sat down beside Parvati. “We’re in public.”
“Hey, just giving him my love, love,” said Seamus, rubbing his knuckles into Dean’s head before sitting down.
“I swear to God, they’re like this every time they get together,” Lavender said, rolling her eyes. Parvati could tell in Lavender’s voice that she wasn’t as frustrated with it as she was letting on.
“You can take the boys out of Hogwarts…” said Parvati.
“Whenever Dean comes over I have to clean up at least a dozen prank spells between the two of them.”
“See, Dean?” Parvati said, pointing her fork at Lavender, “There is something to be said about maturity.”
“Hey, I’m all about maturity,” Dean said. “Just not… umm… more mature than I am?”
“Ah, Dean’s a big softie,” said Seamus, punching Dean in the arm. “He only lets out his dark side when I’m around.”
“There’s a difference between letting out my dark side and defending against the Dark Arts, Finnigan,” said Dean. “You usually get the first shot in.”
“Oy!” said Seamus in mock betrayal. “You can’t blame me if I have faster reflexes…”
“Are you sure you want to marry this one?” Parvati asked Lavender.
Lavender, who, despite being more comfortable showing off her scars around her friends and family, still wore nothing but long-sleeved turtlenecks in public, smiled and idly twisted the diamond engagement ring on her finger. “I like them tough,” she said. She still wasn’t the outgoing girl that Parvati knew before the attack, but, unlike before, she made her words count.
“You want a menu?” Dean asked the couple as the waiter approached.
“No, I think I should be okay,” said Seamus, turning to the waiter. “I’ll have two of whatever he’s having,” he said, pointing to Dean’s plate of ham, rolls, and fruit. “And what would you suggest for a breakfast pint?”
“Seamus!” said Parvati. “Beer already?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s eight thirty!”
“Hey, I’m on vacation,” said Seamus with a smile. “In Germany. I want to absorb some local flavor.” He turned back to the waiter. “Give me your best Maerzen. I’m missing Oktoberfest, I might as well try its beer.”
“Und for you?” the waiter asked in thickly-accented English.
“Das Joghurtfrühstück, bitte,” said Lavender after glancing at Parvati’s menu.
“Everyone knows German but me,” Dean said, shaking his head as the waiter departed.
“Ah, we’re only here for two more days,” said Seamus. “I think you can make it without being mocked as a tourist.”
“If we ever get around to being tourists,” said Lavender. “Where are the others?”
“Still waiting on them,” said Dean. “Parvati and I are of the opinion that everyone’s taking advantage of their temporary freedoms from children or school.”
“Or they’re just sleeping,” said Lavender. “A lot. Once the kids show up, the sex drives disappear with the sleep.”
“And you know this from personal experience?” Seamus said with a raised eyebrow.
“Not personal,” said Lavender. “But my cousins have a few kids. You can see it in their eyes. This constant weariness of being woken up night after night. The Potters and the Weasleys all have that same look. This is their first weekend away from it since James was born.”
“Oh, please,” said Parvati. “Rose is a little angel. So’s Albus.”
“Even little angels poop their nappies,” said Seamus. “Besides, we’re in the room right next to Ron and Hermione. Didn’t hear one moan or pounding of the headboard all night.”
“Right, because they can’t do it unless they’re screaming,” said Dean.
Seamus’s mouth dropped open. “You mean people do it without screaming?”
“Funny…”
“Lav, we have to try this ‘quiet shag’ thing that Thomas is talking about,” said Seamus playfully. “Sounds kinky.”
Lavender snorted laughter as Dean’s head fell back against the chair. “And once again I’m reminded of the lack of any female contact in years.”
“Ah, don’t worry, Thomas,” said Seamus. “Just so long as you haven’t given your hand a name yet, there’s still hope.”
“I won’t cross it off my To-Do List quite yet.”
“Anyway, they’ll wake up when they wake up,” said Lavender. “We just have to give them a little time to catch up.”
“Get off,” Ginny Potter panted, smacking her husband on his bare back, morning sun shining into the hotel bedroom.
“But I’m comfortable here,” Harry replied, playfully snuggling himself into her bare breasts, considerably larger after two children.
“Well, I just had three orgasms, and I’m hyperventilating,” she said. “Having your fat arse on top of me isn’t helping.”
“Oh, all right,” Harry chuckled, flopping over onto the bed beside her. The couple laid in silence, staring up at the ceiling while attempting to catch their breath.
“God, it’s been a while,” Ginny said eventually, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“When’s the last time we were able to do something like this?” Harry asked.
“You mean be able to have sex for more than thirty seconds before someone starts crying?” Ginny replied. “I don’t even remember.”
“Crying or coming into our room,” said Harry. Now that James was out of his crib and in a regular bed, Harry and Ginny had frequent nighttime visits from their eldest son.
“Thank God we haven’t had to explain our ‘special hug’ to James yet,” Ginny smirked.
“Is that what your parents called it?”
“That’s what they told Fred and George,” she said. “I, thankfully, have never had the pleasure of walking in on them.”
“You wouldn’t think being locked in a cupboard would have its advantages,” said Harry. “But at least I can say that it kept me from exploring. Even the mere thought of Petunia and Vernon getting it on makes me lose my appetite. It’s a flab thing.”
“And that’s a mental picture I’ll treasure forever, thanks, love,” Ginny said with a shudder.
“You know I aim to please,” said Harry, rolling over and throwing his arm across Ginny’s chest. “I know it’s a conversation we’re going to have to have eventually. I’m just hoping they at least reach double digits before we get there.”
“It will be nice when the kids get old enough to sleep through the night, is all.”
Harry chuckled. “We’re getting tired of having babies wake us up at night. And yet when’s the last time we used a protection spell?”
“Just because I want them to get older doesn’t mean I don’t want another,” said Ginny, pinching his arm.
“I know exactly how you feel,” said Harry, rolling back over again. “Anyway, we should probably be thinking about a shower. I’m sure everyone’s downstairs waiting for us.”
“Nnnnnn,” Ginny groaned, throwing herself on top of Harry. “I don’t want to stop naked time yet. Thirty seconds of sex at home is bad enough. Having to do it clothed is something else.”
“You can have naked time in the shower.”
“Co-ed naked time.”
“You can have co-ed naked time in the shower,” Harry winked.
“Don’t tempt me,” Ginny said with a crooked grin. “The way I’m feeling we’ll probably run out of hot water before we even grab the soap.”
“We’re in a hotel,” said Harry. “It may be a Muggle hotel, but they’re still advanced enough to not run out of hot water.”
“But I don’t want to leave the bed…”
“We still get another night before we go back,” said Harry. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
Ginny pushed herself up to her elbows and glared down at Harry. “You raise many valid points,” she said. “And I concede defeat in this debate. Come on. Let’s shower.”
“Well, I want to see the Residenz, that’s for sure,” said Hermione, scribbling notes on her pad.
“What’s that?” asked Seamus.
“It’s an old palace that was converted into a museum.”
“A museum of what?”
“Room decorations.”
“Oh, good, an interior design museum,” Seamus said. “That’s just what I wanted to come to Germany for. Couches and drapes.”
“It was built in the 14th century,” Hermione explained.
“She says, fully knowing that we all went to a school that’s a thousand years old.”
“It’s absolutely fascinating. Oh!” Hermione flipped to a new page. “I want to get to the Marienplatz, obviously--”
“Obviously…”
“-And all of the churches around it,” she continued unabated. “The Frauenkirche, the Peterskirche, the Asamkirche…”
“Was she like this when you all were touring?” asked Lavender.
“This is only a day’s worth,” said Dean. “You should have seen her planning months of stops on every continent. She was relentless.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having a good plan,” said Hermione. “That way we can get the most out of our vacation.”
“But it’s a vacation,” said Seamus. “I’m all for finding a club and partying it up. If I wanted structure I’d go back to the office.”
“I’d stand back, mate,” Ron said to Seamus as Hermione glared at the Irishman. “Trust me, I’ve been married to her almost six years. You learn when to argue and when to duck and cover.”
“I’m all for it,” said Parvati. “I don’t know anything about this city. At least someone knows where all the hot spots are.”
“Thank you, Parvati,” said Hermione, returning to her notes.
“Oh, good, someone to break the tension,” said Ron loudly as Harry and Ginny entered the dining room.
“That’s a difficult position to put a girl into, big brother,” said Ginny, sitting down beside him.
“Have a good night?” Hermione asked.
“Great night,” said Harry with a wink to Ginny. “Very relaxing. You?”
“Slept like a bloody rock,” said Ron. “But I could still use another twenty hours. I feel like I have about a year’s worth to catch up on.”
“Yeah, you look it…”
“Rookies,” said Ginny. “Once you get into your second kid, it’ll be a lot easier. Sleep hasn’t been an issue with Albus. Our bodies are already programmed to use what rest we can get.”
“Probably doesn’t hurt that you don’t have to run up three flights of stairs every time, either,” said Parvati.
“It wasn’t that bad,” said Harry. “And it wasn’t three flights. But, yes, it’s definitely easier since we moved out of Grimmauld Place. We only have to go across the hall for James now…”
“And we were actually smart enough to set up the crib in our room for Albus in the beginning,” said Ginny, grabbing a piece of Ron’s roll. “Less running back and forth.”
“Speaking of,” said Harry, leaning over Hermione’s notes, “mind if we make a stop by the wizard district before we get too far today? I want to Floo Molly and check on the boys.”
“Only after I talk to her first,” said Hermione. “Asgardstrasse’s already on the schedule. I want to make sure Rose is doing okay on her first night away from home.”
“And I told you that you don’t have to worry about her,” said Ron. “These are my folks we’re talking about. They’ve been begging us to go on this trip for a while so they can have time to play Grandparents.”
“Yes, but all three of them at once?” asked Hermione. “Isn’t that a bit much for Molly and Arthur?”
“They raised seven kids,” said Ginny. “Three’s nothing. Besides, they’re not going at it alone. Mum mentioned that Caroline’s having a sleepover at Teddy’s, so Dan and Charlotte conveniently arranged a dinner date at the Burrow to spend time with Rose. If Mum and Dad are too overwhelmed, you wouldn’t complain if Rose spent the night at your parents’ place, would you?”
“I don’t know…” Hermione still looked strained.
“Look, I don’t know about you, but I pumped about a bathtub full of breast milk,” said Ginny. “So I know Albus won’t be going hungry.”
“Thanks for the information, by the way,” said Seamus.
“They’ll be fine.”
“How about this?” said Parvati. “Why don’t you four run over to Asgardstrasse now? We’ll stick around here and wait for Neville and Luna. It’s not like we’re going to start sightseeing until they’re down here.”
“Should we call them?” asked Dean, glancing at his watch. “It’s almost ten. If we want to get as much out of this trip as we can before the Portkey leaves tomorrow we should probably get started soon.”
“That might be a good idea,” said Harry. “Hermione and I can head over to Asgardstrasse now. Ginny, Ron, want to come with?”
“Yes, please,” said Ginny, standing up quickly, her voice hinting at relief. Ron stood up with her.
“See?” said Harry to his wife, “I knew you were nervous.”
“I trust my parents,” Ginny said with a small smile, “but I still want to check on my boys.”
“Here,” said Seamus, grabbing a sweet roll from Dean’s plate and handing it to Harry. “You haven’t eaten yet. Nosh away.”
“Hey!” Dean shouted, smacking Seamus on the back of the head.
“God, you’re like an old married couple,” said Ron to the two men, “only with a little less violence.”
“I’ll find a shop when I get there,” said Harry. “I’m in a schnitzel kind of mood, anyway, and I found a great little place here after a meeting with the German Ministry about a year ago. Thanks for offering Dean’s food, though, Seamus. I’m sure he appreciates it.”
“Yeah, don’t mention it,” Seamus replied, taking a bite of the roll.
“You go check on the children,” said Lavender. “We’ll come find you when Neville and Luna arrive.”
“Meet us at the Owl Post,” said Hermione. “I’ve already looked at the map, it’s easy enough to find.”
“Or maybe Neville and Luna can arrive before we leave,” said Ron, pointing to the front of the dining hall, where Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were entering. Ginny and Parvati waved to them, and they waved back and walked to the table.
“Leaving already?” asked Luna, who saw that the Weasleys and the Potters were all standing around.
“We were just going to make a trip to the Floo,” said Ginny. “We were getting impatient. Did you oversleep?”
“We’re sorry,” said Luna. “We have been awake since eight or so. We just lost track of the time.”
“Sure you did,” said Ginny with a smirk. “I know how that can happen.”
“No, it’s not like that,” said Neville. “Okay, maybe it is like that. A little... I think?” He glanced over at Luna, his face turning pink.
“Is everything okay?” asked Hermione, suddenly concerned.
“Oh, yeah, totally,” Neville said quickly. “Everything’s fine.” Again, he turned to Luna. “I mean, it’s fine for me. You’re okay, right?”
“I’m very okay,” said Luna. “We just had break-up sex.”
Seamus, who was taking a drink, made a choking noise, and beer foam splattered around the tablecloth. “God damn it,” he croaked. “You were waiting for me to have my mouth full before you said that, I know it.”
“Oh, my God,” Ginny gasped, falling back into her chair.
“Just aiming for a spit take, weren’t you?”
“Seamus, shut up,” said Parvati before turning back to Neville and Luna. “Oh, my God, you broke up? What happened?”
“This isn’t going to get weird again, is it?” asked Dean nervously. “I mean, when Ron and Hermione broke up, it… well, the vacation took a turn for the worse.”
“I’m not going to have to fight you, too, am I, Nev?” Seamus asked. “Because, I swear to God, I’m not going to make any moves on your old girl.” Lavender slapped him on the arm.
”No, it’s nothing like that!” Neville said, sitting down at the table. “Nothing bad happened. Or… well… nothing really bad. It’s complicated.”
“But… but…” Hermione glanced helplessly between the two. “But you two are so good together!”
“We were… kind of…” said Neville. “But… but I don’t know how to explain it....”
“It wasn’t enough,” said Luna calmly. “We love each other. We may always love each other. But sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“Luna…” said Ginny, grabbing her hand. “I don’t know what to say…”
“You don’t have to say anything,” said Luna. “You don’t have to comfort us. Really. We’re fine. We came to this decision together.”
“It wasn’t easy, believe me,” said Neville. “But in the end we were both making each other more miserable because we were together.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense…” said Harry.
“Sure it does,” said Ron. “Harry, how did you feel when we were out horcruxing? When you couldn’t see Ginny?”
“And multiply that by six years,” said Neville to Harry. “Luna and I barely saw each other. When we weren’t together we spent half of our time wishing that the other one was there, and the other half being jealous of all of the other couples that could be together when we weren’t. That’s no way to have a relationship.”
“He knew that I wasn’t going to stop traveling for the Quibbler and the Prophet,” said Luna. “And I knew that he wasn’t going to leave Hogwarts. Our lives are going in two separate directions.”
“In the meantime, you had, what, a dozen different guys that you had to turn down?” asked Neville.
Luna nodded. “And seven women.”
“Damn,” Seamus said again as he wiped up more beer. “Another spit take moment. Someone make me stop drinking.”
“Can do,” said Dean, grabbing the stein. Seamus watched it be pulled away, but only put up a weak resistance before turning back to the now ex-couple.
“I didn’t know you were bi, Luna,” said Seamus.
“I like people,” Luna said, shrugging. “And, since the road is no place to start a family, I don’t have to limit myself to finding a male partner.”
“Steve Perry couldn’t have stated it any better,” Dean chuckled.
“Who is that?”
“A Muggle singer,” said Dean. “For a band from the 80’s called Journey. Great songs, horrible music videos.”
“Wow,” Seamus slurred. “Luna’s…”
“Back to the topic at hand…” Lavender said loudly, breaking Seamus from his distant gaze.
“I was holding myself back because of my feelings for Neville,” said Luna. “Which is something we had promised ourselves we would not do. Plus there is Uriela…”
“Who’s that?” asked Parvati.
“New Hogwarts professor,” Ginny said, giving a hard glance at Neville. “Longbottom, if you cheated on Luna…”
“No, I didn’t!” said Neville. “There was no cheating.”
“You did kiss her once,” said Luna.
“He what?” Ginny growled, and Harry threw his arm out, grabbing hers.
“We’re in Muggle territory, love,” he said calmly. “No wands.”
“They kissed once,” said Luna. “About a year and a half ago. But it’s fine, I understand how it can happen.”
“Especially since Luna’s been kissed by two guys and three girls since we started dating,” Neville said to Ginny, trying his best to calm the fire burning in her eyes. “Ginny, it happens. When you’re alone, when you miss being with someone, it happens. There wasn’t any sex, though, I promise. It was purely lip on lip. Clothes stayed on, hands stayed above the equator.”
“Alright,” said Ginny, slowly lowering her hand from her pocket. “Just so long as you both aren’t fighting about it, I suppose…”
“Well, at least you got two hours of break-up sex out of the deal,” said Dean.
“We actually talked for the first of those,” said Neville.
“An hour’s still better than I’ve had…”
“It’s not your pity party, sweetie,” said Parvati, patting Dean’s leg. “We can get drunk and bitch about our single lives more tonight, if you want.”
“You promise?”
“But if you try making a move on me, my wand’s going up your--”
“So you two are okay?” said Harry. “No bad blood?”
“We’re still friends,” said Neville. “And just so long as she’s happy, then I’m happy.”
“I feel the same way,” said Luna, grabbing Neville’s hand. “I even told him that I approve of Uriela, if he decides to go down that path.”
“Good,” said Harry. “Then I’m personally going to leave it at that.”
“Hear hear,” said Ron. “So when do we leave? There’s a Munich waiting for us.”
“After we stop by the Floo, of course,” said Ginny.
“Of course,” said Hermione as the group stood. They dug through their pockets and tossed their share of Euros onto the table to pay for breakfast and walked to the lobby.
“So,” Ron said to Hermione as they trailed behind, quietly enough so the others couldn’t hear, “Why didn’t we have break-up sex?”
“Because we weren’t having sex at the time,” she replied as they walked out to the street. “And because I was hating you, remember?”
“Oh, yeah…” said Ron. “Well… I guess I didn’t even know there was such a thing.”
“And?” asked Hermione with a raised eyebrow.
“And I think we need to catch up.”
“You want to have the break-up sex that we didn’t have?”
“With interest?”
Hermione burst into laughter. “And what’s the interest rate on eight years?”
“I don’t know,” Ron said, putting his arm around her waist. “Probably a lot, though.”
Hermione reached over and squeezed the hand resting on her hip. “We’ll do the calculations tonight.”
Your Last Chance / Previous Chapters / Everybody's Pregnant
Author: kanedax
Word Count: 4,766
Spoilers: Deathly Hallows & Previous Chapters
Rating: R for language and sexual content
Characters/Pairings: H/G, R/Hr, Neville/Luna, Seamus/Lavender, Dean, Parvati
Summary: Everyone deserves a break
Notes: This is a milestone: Officially the last chapter that takes place before November 3rd, 2007. From this point on we journey into the future!
I own none of these characters. They belong to JK Rowling.
Your Last Chance / Previous Chapters / Everybody's Pregnant
Dean Thomas stopped at the entrance to the hotel’s dining area. He scanned the room, lit with the morning sun streaming in through numerous windows, until he came upon his target, leaning forward on the table. A steaming cup sat beside her, and she was reading a newspaper folded neatly in the middle of the white clothed table.
“Good morning,” he said as he sat down next to Parvati Patil.
“Morning,” Parvati replied, glancing up briefly before returning to her reading. “Hope I didn’t wake you up. I’m kind of an early riser.”
“Didn’t even know you were gone until I got out of the shower,” said Dean. “Besides, that’s one of the miserable things about working for a living. Your body doesn’t let you sleep in anymore.” He flipped over the cup on its saucer and poured himself some tea. “How is it?” he asked.
“Meh,” Parvati shrugged. “There’s a reason that Germany’s not known for its tea.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said after he took a sip. “Nothing to write home about.”
“Told you.”
“Where’d you get the paper?”
“I ran across the street while you were still asleep.”
“Muggle?”
”No, I picked it up in the wizard district,” she said after glancing around to make sure no one was in hearing range. “Das Tagliche Orakel, Munich’s wizard paper.”
“I didn’t know you read German.”
“I dabble a bit,” said Parvati. “You kind of have to speak some other European languages to work on the stock market. But not enough to read this.”
“Below-average tea and a newspaper you can’t read,” Dean sighed. “This is what I call vacation.”
“I used a spell,” Parvati replied. “A translation spell?”
“Oh, right,” Dean said, leaning in and speaking quietly. “But… we’re in public. Muggle public.” The only hotel on the Asgardstrasse, Munich’s wizarding district had unfortunately been booked up, so they were currently staying in a nearby Muggle establishment.
“So?”
“So what if saw you cast the spell? And what if someone sees you reading an English newspaper?”
“Then they’ll think I bought some little independent publisher,” said Parvati. “I walked by a Muggle newsstand. If they had thirty different types of papers it would be a conservative guess. I could have picked up The Times if I wanted to.
“Besides, I cast the spell beneath the table. And it’s mostly stock futures I’m reading about. Your average waiter would be bored to tears just glancing over my shoulder.”
“And if only they knew what that really meant,” Dean chuckled. Parvati’s interest in Divination at Hogwarts had pushed her into a lucrative career with the London Galleon Exchange. While your average Muggle stock trader had to deal with buying and selling what they thought would be the more profitable stocks, wizard trading companies hired various soothsayers and fortunetellers, each competing with other companies to predict what would be a successful company six months, two years, ten years down the line.
Many Diviners, as they were called on the LGE, were quickly discovered to be frauds. Parvati wasn’t one of them. Like most, she was hit or miss on her predictions. It just helped that she was more hit.
“I promise I’ll bring it with me when we leave,” Parvati said patiently.
“I just don’t want to cause an international incident, that’s all,” said Dean. “Not with so many high-ranking officials on our trip.”
“I thought that would mean it would be easier to clear things up?”
“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” Dean smiled. “Speaking of the ‘ambassadors,’ have we seen any of them yet this morning?”
“Not yet,” said Parvati. “You’re the second one down after me, unless Hermione dragged Ron out to sightsee at the crack of dawn.”
“She wouldn’t do that, would she?” said Dean as he took another sip of tea. “I mean, this is the big Gryffindor reunion weekend. You’d think she’d wait for the rest of us.”
“Well, this is Hermione,” said Parvati. “She turns 28 in two months, you’d think she’d be off her edutainment kick by now.”
Dean snorted. “Not bloody likely.”
“Oh, who are we kidding?” Parvati sighed. “It’s their first weekend in God knows how long without a kid to interrupt them.”
“Yeah, they’re probably shagging like rabbits,” said Dean. “We should probably get a menu.”
“Good idea,” said Parvati. “I could use some breakfast.”
“Who’s talking about breakfast?” Dean asked as he glanced around the room and waived over a waiter. “Get comfortable. If we’re waiting for everyone before we head out on the town, we might as well start figuring out what we’re doing for lunch.”
Ring! Ring!
Ron Weasley felt himself pulled from a dreamless sleep, but refused to accept reality just yet.
Ring! Ring!
“’Mione, I changed her last time, is your turn...”
Ring! Ring!
Click.
Ron opened his eyes, and then closed them again quickly as daggers of sunlight punched into his retinas. Slowly, he pulled them open just enough to see his wife’s arm poking out of the bundle of blankets beside him. It was resting on the… the…
“Wazzat the fellytone?”
“Telephone,” came Hermione Weasley’s muffled voice from beneath the covers.
“Why dinyou talk to it?” he asked groggily.
“Wake up service,” said Hermione. “Set it to call at eight.”
“Why’d you do that?”
“Because I’m an idiot,” she grumbled, still completely covered. “Go back to sleep.”
“Shouldn’t we be getting up?” Ron asked.
“Few more hours… No one’ll miss us…”
“You sure?”
Hermione answered with a noise that Ron recognized as either a groan or a growl. He shrugged and threw the blanket back over himself, curling up next to Hermione.
“Don’ have to ask me twice.”
Parvati sighed as the waiter placed her breakfast in front of her. “We’re the only singles on this trip, aren’t we?”
“Well,” said Dean, “We are the only ones in a room with two beds.”
“How long has it been for you, anyway?” asked Parvati as Dean took a bite of his roll.
He looked off behind Parvati thoughtfully as he chewed. “Trying to do the math,” he said after most of it was swallowed. “Three years this October since Alison and I broke up. You?”
“Longer,” said Parvati. “Padma keeps trying to hook me up with one of her co-workers, but I’m just not that desperate yet.”
“Fair viewpoint,” said Dean. “I should look into that.”
“Padma’s co-worker?” said Parvati with a raised eyebrow. “Dean Thomas, I didn’t know you swung that way.”
“No, not being desperate,” Dean said with a chuckle. “Keeps getting me into trouble.”
“Can you cite your examples?” she asked, digging in her purse. “Hang on, let me get my quill.”
“A man allowed a few secrets, isn’t he?” Dean said with a wink. “Besides, I know how you feel about getting hooked up with someone. Hermione keeps trying to pawn her cousin off on me.”
“Which one?”
“Gretchen.”
“Gretchen Wainwright?” asked Parvati. “Why not? Dean, she’s cute! And she’s really nice. I saw you two flirting at the wedding.”
“Yeah, we did,” Dean said with a shrug. “But she’s older than me.”
“So?”
“So I can’t do that.”
Parvati laughed in disbelief. “Dean, she’s older by, what, six months? A year?”
“Older is older,” Dean said as he took a bite of ham.
“And you call yourself desperate...” she said, shaking her head.
“I am desperate,” Dean said through his full mouth. “But I still have standards.”
Before she could reply, Parvati was interrupted by Dean being nearly pulled off his chair.
“Morning, Thomas,” said Seamus Finnigan, his large arm wrapped playfully around Dean’s neck.
“Hey, no fair sneaking up!” Dean said, elbowing Seamus in the stomach.
“Come on, boys,” Lavender Brown said as she sat down beside Parvati. “We’re in public.”
“Hey, just giving him my love, love,” said Seamus, rubbing his knuckles into Dean’s head before sitting down.
“I swear to God, they’re like this every time they get together,” Lavender said, rolling her eyes. Parvati could tell in Lavender’s voice that she wasn’t as frustrated with it as she was letting on.
“You can take the boys out of Hogwarts…” said Parvati.
“Whenever Dean comes over I have to clean up at least a dozen prank spells between the two of them.”
“See, Dean?” Parvati said, pointing her fork at Lavender, “There is something to be said about maturity.”
“Hey, I’m all about maturity,” Dean said. “Just not… umm… more mature than I am?”
“Ah, Dean’s a big softie,” said Seamus, punching Dean in the arm. “He only lets out his dark side when I’m around.”
“There’s a difference between letting out my dark side and defending against the Dark Arts, Finnigan,” said Dean. “You usually get the first shot in.”
“Oy!” said Seamus in mock betrayal. “You can’t blame me if I have faster reflexes…”
“Are you sure you want to marry this one?” Parvati asked Lavender.
Lavender, who, despite being more comfortable showing off her scars around her friends and family, still wore nothing but long-sleeved turtlenecks in public, smiled and idly twisted the diamond engagement ring on her finger. “I like them tough,” she said. She still wasn’t the outgoing girl that Parvati knew before the attack, but, unlike before, she made her words count.
“You want a menu?” Dean asked the couple as the waiter approached.
“No, I think I should be okay,” said Seamus, turning to the waiter. “I’ll have two of whatever he’s having,” he said, pointing to Dean’s plate of ham, rolls, and fruit. “And what would you suggest for a breakfast pint?”
“Seamus!” said Parvati. “Beer already?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s eight thirty!”
“Hey, I’m on vacation,” said Seamus with a smile. “In Germany. I want to absorb some local flavor.” He turned back to the waiter. “Give me your best Maerzen. I’m missing Oktoberfest, I might as well try its beer.”
“Und for you?” the waiter asked in thickly-accented English.
“Das Joghurtfrühstück, bitte,” said Lavender after glancing at Parvati’s menu.
“Everyone knows German but me,” Dean said, shaking his head as the waiter departed.
“Ah, we’re only here for two more days,” said Seamus. “I think you can make it without being mocked as a tourist.”
“If we ever get around to being tourists,” said Lavender. “Where are the others?”
“Still waiting on them,” said Dean. “Parvati and I are of the opinion that everyone’s taking advantage of their temporary freedoms from children or school.”
“Or they’re just sleeping,” said Lavender. “A lot. Once the kids show up, the sex drives disappear with the sleep.”
“And you know this from personal experience?” Seamus said with a raised eyebrow.
“Not personal,” said Lavender. “But my cousins have a few kids. You can see it in their eyes. This constant weariness of being woken up night after night. The Potters and the Weasleys all have that same look. This is their first weekend away from it since James was born.”
“Oh, please,” said Parvati. “Rose is a little angel. So’s Albus.”
“Even little angels poop their nappies,” said Seamus. “Besides, we’re in the room right next to Ron and Hermione. Didn’t hear one moan or pounding of the headboard all night.”
“Right, because they can’t do it unless they’re screaming,” said Dean.
Seamus’s mouth dropped open. “You mean people do it without screaming?”
“Funny…”
“Lav, we have to try this ‘quiet shag’ thing that Thomas is talking about,” said Seamus playfully. “Sounds kinky.”
Lavender snorted laughter as Dean’s head fell back against the chair. “And once again I’m reminded of the lack of any female contact in years.”
“Ah, don’t worry, Thomas,” said Seamus. “Just so long as you haven’t given your hand a name yet, there’s still hope.”
“I won’t cross it off my To-Do List quite yet.”
“Anyway, they’ll wake up when they wake up,” said Lavender. “We just have to give them a little time to catch up.”
“Get off,” Ginny Potter panted, smacking her husband on his bare back, morning sun shining into the hotel bedroom.
“But I’m comfortable here,” Harry replied, playfully snuggling himself into her bare breasts, considerably larger after two children.
“Well, I just had three orgasms, and I’m hyperventilating,” she said. “Having your fat arse on top of me isn’t helping.”
“Oh, all right,” Harry chuckled, flopping over onto the bed beside her. The couple laid in silence, staring up at the ceiling while attempting to catch their breath.
“God, it’s been a while,” Ginny said eventually, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“When’s the last time we were able to do something like this?” Harry asked.
“You mean be able to have sex for more than thirty seconds before someone starts crying?” Ginny replied. “I don’t even remember.”
“Crying or coming into our room,” said Harry. Now that James was out of his crib and in a regular bed, Harry and Ginny had frequent nighttime visits from their eldest son.
“Thank God we haven’t had to explain our ‘special hug’ to James yet,” Ginny smirked.
“Is that what your parents called it?”
“That’s what they told Fred and George,” she said. “I, thankfully, have never had the pleasure of walking in on them.”
“You wouldn’t think being locked in a cupboard would have its advantages,” said Harry. “But at least I can say that it kept me from exploring. Even the mere thought of Petunia and Vernon getting it on makes me lose my appetite. It’s a flab thing.”
“And that’s a mental picture I’ll treasure forever, thanks, love,” Ginny said with a shudder.
“You know I aim to please,” said Harry, rolling over and throwing his arm across Ginny’s chest. “I know it’s a conversation we’re going to have to have eventually. I’m just hoping they at least reach double digits before we get there.”
“It will be nice when the kids get old enough to sleep through the night, is all.”
Harry chuckled. “We’re getting tired of having babies wake us up at night. And yet when’s the last time we used a protection spell?”
“Just because I want them to get older doesn’t mean I don’t want another,” said Ginny, pinching his arm.
“I know exactly how you feel,” said Harry, rolling back over again. “Anyway, we should probably be thinking about a shower. I’m sure everyone’s downstairs waiting for us.”
“Nnnnnn,” Ginny groaned, throwing herself on top of Harry. “I don’t want to stop naked time yet. Thirty seconds of sex at home is bad enough. Having to do it clothed is something else.”
“You can have naked time in the shower.”
“Co-ed naked time.”
“You can have co-ed naked time in the shower,” Harry winked.
“Don’t tempt me,” Ginny said with a crooked grin. “The way I’m feeling we’ll probably run out of hot water before we even grab the soap.”
“We’re in a hotel,” said Harry. “It may be a Muggle hotel, but they’re still advanced enough to not run out of hot water.”
“But I don’t want to leave the bed…”
“We still get another night before we go back,” said Harry. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
Ginny pushed herself up to her elbows and glared down at Harry. “You raise many valid points,” she said. “And I concede defeat in this debate. Come on. Let’s shower.”
“Well, I want to see the Residenz, that’s for sure,” said Hermione, scribbling notes on her pad.
“What’s that?” asked Seamus.
“It’s an old palace that was converted into a museum.”
“A museum of what?”
“Room decorations.”
“Oh, good, an interior design museum,” Seamus said. “That’s just what I wanted to come to Germany for. Couches and drapes.”
“It was built in the 14th century,” Hermione explained.
“She says, fully knowing that we all went to a school that’s a thousand years old.”
“It’s absolutely fascinating. Oh!” Hermione flipped to a new page. “I want to get to the Marienplatz, obviously--”
“Obviously…”
“-And all of the churches around it,” she continued unabated. “The Frauenkirche, the Peterskirche, the Asamkirche…”
“Was she like this when you all were touring?” asked Lavender.
“This is only a day’s worth,” said Dean. “You should have seen her planning months of stops on every continent. She was relentless.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having a good plan,” said Hermione. “That way we can get the most out of our vacation.”
“But it’s a vacation,” said Seamus. “I’m all for finding a club and partying it up. If I wanted structure I’d go back to the office.”
“I’d stand back, mate,” Ron said to Seamus as Hermione glared at the Irishman. “Trust me, I’ve been married to her almost six years. You learn when to argue and when to duck and cover.”
“I’m all for it,” said Parvati. “I don’t know anything about this city. At least someone knows where all the hot spots are.”
“Thank you, Parvati,” said Hermione, returning to her notes.
“Oh, good, someone to break the tension,” said Ron loudly as Harry and Ginny entered the dining room.
“That’s a difficult position to put a girl into, big brother,” said Ginny, sitting down beside him.
“Have a good night?” Hermione asked.
“Great night,” said Harry with a wink to Ginny. “Very relaxing. You?”
“Slept like a bloody rock,” said Ron. “But I could still use another twenty hours. I feel like I have about a year’s worth to catch up on.”
“Yeah, you look it…”
“Rookies,” said Ginny. “Once you get into your second kid, it’ll be a lot easier. Sleep hasn’t been an issue with Albus. Our bodies are already programmed to use what rest we can get.”
“Probably doesn’t hurt that you don’t have to run up three flights of stairs every time, either,” said Parvati.
“It wasn’t that bad,” said Harry. “And it wasn’t three flights. But, yes, it’s definitely easier since we moved out of Grimmauld Place. We only have to go across the hall for James now…”
“And we were actually smart enough to set up the crib in our room for Albus in the beginning,” said Ginny, grabbing a piece of Ron’s roll. “Less running back and forth.”
“Speaking of,” said Harry, leaning over Hermione’s notes, “mind if we make a stop by the wizard district before we get too far today? I want to Floo Molly and check on the boys.”
“Only after I talk to her first,” said Hermione. “Asgardstrasse’s already on the schedule. I want to make sure Rose is doing okay on her first night away from home.”
“And I told you that you don’t have to worry about her,” said Ron. “These are my folks we’re talking about. They’ve been begging us to go on this trip for a while so they can have time to play Grandparents.”
“Yes, but all three of them at once?” asked Hermione. “Isn’t that a bit much for Molly and Arthur?”
“They raised seven kids,” said Ginny. “Three’s nothing. Besides, they’re not going at it alone. Mum mentioned that Caroline’s having a sleepover at Teddy’s, so Dan and Charlotte conveniently arranged a dinner date at the Burrow to spend time with Rose. If Mum and Dad are too overwhelmed, you wouldn’t complain if Rose spent the night at your parents’ place, would you?”
“I don’t know…” Hermione still looked strained.
“Look, I don’t know about you, but I pumped about a bathtub full of breast milk,” said Ginny. “So I know Albus won’t be going hungry.”
“Thanks for the information, by the way,” said Seamus.
“They’ll be fine.”
“How about this?” said Parvati. “Why don’t you four run over to Asgardstrasse now? We’ll stick around here and wait for Neville and Luna. It’s not like we’re going to start sightseeing until they’re down here.”
“Should we call them?” asked Dean, glancing at his watch. “It’s almost ten. If we want to get as much out of this trip as we can before the Portkey leaves tomorrow we should probably get started soon.”
“That might be a good idea,” said Harry. “Hermione and I can head over to Asgardstrasse now. Ginny, Ron, want to come with?”
“Yes, please,” said Ginny, standing up quickly, her voice hinting at relief. Ron stood up with her.
“See?” said Harry to his wife, “I knew you were nervous.”
“I trust my parents,” Ginny said with a small smile, “but I still want to check on my boys.”
“Here,” said Seamus, grabbing a sweet roll from Dean’s plate and handing it to Harry. “You haven’t eaten yet. Nosh away.”
“Hey!” Dean shouted, smacking Seamus on the back of the head.
“God, you’re like an old married couple,” said Ron to the two men, “only with a little less violence.”
“I’ll find a shop when I get there,” said Harry. “I’m in a schnitzel kind of mood, anyway, and I found a great little place here after a meeting with the German Ministry about a year ago. Thanks for offering Dean’s food, though, Seamus. I’m sure he appreciates it.”
“Yeah, don’t mention it,” Seamus replied, taking a bite of the roll.
“You go check on the children,” said Lavender. “We’ll come find you when Neville and Luna arrive.”
“Meet us at the Owl Post,” said Hermione. “I’ve already looked at the map, it’s easy enough to find.”
“Or maybe Neville and Luna can arrive before we leave,” said Ron, pointing to the front of the dining hall, where Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were entering. Ginny and Parvati waved to them, and they waved back and walked to the table.
“Leaving already?” asked Luna, who saw that the Weasleys and the Potters were all standing around.
“We were just going to make a trip to the Floo,” said Ginny. “We were getting impatient. Did you oversleep?”
“We’re sorry,” said Luna. “We have been awake since eight or so. We just lost track of the time.”
“Sure you did,” said Ginny with a smirk. “I know how that can happen.”
“No, it’s not like that,” said Neville. “Okay, maybe it is like that. A little... I think?” He glanced over at Luna, his face turning pink.
“Is everything okay?” asked Hermione, suddenly concerned.
“Oh, yeah, totally,” Neville said quickly. “Everything’s fine.” Again, he turned to Luna. “I mean, it’s fine for me. You’re okay, right?”
“I’m very okay,” said Luna. “We just had break-up sex.”
Seamus, who was taking a drink, made a choking noise, and beer foam splattered around the tablecloth. “God damn it,” he croaked. “You were waiting for me to have my mouth full before you said that, I know it.”
“Oh, my God,” Ginny gasped, falling back into her chair.
“Just aiming for a spit take, weren’t you?”
“Seamus, shut up,” said Parvati before turning back to Neville and Luna. “Oh, my God, you broke up? What happened?”
“This isn’t going to get weird again, is it?” asked Dean nervously. “I mean, when Ron and Hermione broke up, it… well, the vacation took a turn for the worse.”
“I’m not going to have to fight you, too, am I, Nev?” Seamus asked. “Because, I swear to God, I’m not going to make any moves on your old girl.” Lavender slapped him on the arm.
”No, it’s nothing like that!” Neville said, sitting down at the table. “Nothing bad happened. Or… well… nothing really bad. It’s complicated.”
“But… but…” Hermione glanced helplessly between the two. “But you two are so good together!”
“We were… kind of…” said Neville. “But… but I don’t know how to explain it....”
“It wasn’t enough,” said Luna calmly. “We love each other. We may always love each other. But sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“Luna…” said Ginny, grabbing her hand. “I don’t know what to say…”
“You don’t have to say anything,” said Luna. “You don’t have to comfort us. Really. We’re fine. We came to this decision together.”
“It wasn’t easy, believe me,” said Neville. “But in the end we were both making each other more miserable because we were together.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense…” said Harry.
“Sure it does,” said Ron. “Harry, how did you feel when we were out horcruxing? When you couldn’t see Ginny?”
“And multiply that by six years,” said Neville to Harry. “Luna and I barely saw each other. When we weren’t together we spent half of our time wishing that the other one was there, and the other half being jealous of all of the other couples that could be together when we weren’t. That’s no way to have a relationship.”
“He knew that I wasn’t going to stop traveling for the Quibbler and the Prophet,” said Luna. “And I knew that he wasn’t going to leave Hogwarts. Our lives are going in two separate directions.”
“In the meantime, you had, what, a dozen different guys that you had to turn down?” asked Neville.
Luna nodded. “And seven women.”
“Damn,” Seamus said again as he wiped up more beer. “Another spit take moment. Someone make me stop drinking.”
“Can do,” said Dean, grabbing the stein. Seamus watched it be pulled away, but only put up a weak resistance before turning back to the now ex-couple.
“I didn’t know you were bi, Luna,” said Seamus.
“I like people,” Luna said, shrugging. “And, since the road is no place to start a family, I don’t have to limit myself to finding a male partner.”
“Steve Perry couldn’t have stated it any better,” Dean chuckled.
“Who is that?”
“A Muggle singer,” said Dean. “For a band from the 80’s called Journey. Great songs, horrible music videos.”
“Wow,” Seamus slurred. “Luna’s…”
“Back to the topic at hand…” Lavender said loudly, breaking Seamus from his distant gaze.
“I was holding myself back because of my feelings for Neville,” said Luna. “Which is something we had promised ourselves we would not do. Plus there is Uriela…”
“Who’s that?” asked Parvati.
“New Hogwarts professor,” Ginny said, giving a hard glance at Neville. “Longbottom, if you cheated on Luna…”
“No, I didn’t!” said Neville. “There was no cheating.”
“You did kiss her once,” said Luna.
“He what?” Ginny growled, and Harry threw his arm out, grabbing hers.
“We’re in Muggle territory, love,” he said calmly. “No wands.”
“They kissed once,” said Luna. “About a year and a half ago. But it’s fine, I understand how it can happen.”
“Especially since Luna’s been kissed by two guys and three girls since we started dating,” Neville said to Ginny, trying his best to calm the fire burning in her eyes. “Ginny, it happens. When you’re alone, when you miss being with someone, it happens. There wasn’t any sex, though, I promise. It was purely lip on lip. Clothes stayed on, hands stayed above the equator.”
“Alright,” said Ginny, slowly lowering her hand from her pocket. “Just so long as you both aren’t fighting about it, I suppose…”
“Well, at least you got two hours of break-up sex out of the deal,” said Dean.
“We actually talked for the first of those,” said Neville.
“An hour’s still better than I’ve had…”
“It’s not your pity party, sweetie,” said Parvati, patting Dean’s leg. “We can get drunk and bitch about our single lives more tonight, if you want.”
“You promise?”
“But if you try making a move on me, my wand’s going up your--”
“So you two are okay?” said Harry. “No bad blood?”
“We’re still friends,” said Neville. “And just so long as she’s happy, then I’m happy.”
“I feel the same way,” said Luna, grabbing Neville’s hand. “I even told him that I approve of Uriela, if he decides to go down that path.”
“Good,” said Harry. “Then I’m personally going to leave it at that.”
“Hear hear,” said Ron. “So when do we leave? There’s a Munich waiting for us.”
“After we stop by the Floo, of course,” said Ginny.
“Of course,” said Hermione as the group stood. They dug through their pockets and tossed their share of Euros onto the table to pay for breakfast and walked to the lobby.
“So,” Ron said to Hermione as they trailed behind, quietly enough so the others couldn’t hear, “Why didn’t we have break-up sex?”
“Because we weren’t having sex at the time,” she replied as they walked out to the street. “And because I was hating you, remember?”
“Oh, yeah…” said Ron. “Well… I guess I didn’t even know there was such a thing.”
“And?” asked Hermione with a raised eyebrow.
“And I think we need to catch up.”
“You want to have the break-up sex that we didn’t have?”
“With interest?”
Hermione burst into laughter. “And what’s the interest rate on eight years?”
“I don’t know,” Ron said, putting his arm around her waist. “Probably a lot, though.”
Hermione reached over and squeezed the hand resting on her hip. “We’ll do the calculations tonight.”
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