The Trowel and Telegraph

The Trowel and Telegraph

As they sat on the tube, Dean noted that Luna looked nervous. He'd never really seen her look nervous before. They had been seeing each other for eighteen months now, more or less, and there had been many times over the course of the relationship that he'd felt wracked with nerves whilst Luna had remained her ever-calm self.

The time he had been the most nervous was when she had left for India on a three month trip to do some research on the aggressiveness of the Occamy. The 'aggressive' aspect aside, he had wondered if their relationship would survive them being parted. But it had, and Luna had returned the same as she ever was. She was more tanned, of course, had many photographs and drawings of her trip, as well as some strange ideas she'd picked up, but she was his Luna. And the 'welcome home' sex was fantastic.

But her departure for India was only the occasion on which he was the most nervous by a small margin. Coming in a close second was the time when he'd stayed at her house for a week, and met her father for the first time. So Dean understood why Luna might be feeling a little apprehensive at the moment, he was just shocked that she was.

They got up a couple of moments later when their train pulled in at Embankment, and some giggling girls took their seats. Dean squeezed Luna's hand as they moved through the crowds of people to their platform.

'Dean,' said Luna, in a hushed voice, 'why aren't we doing this magically?'

'There's no where safe to, you know, appear.' He looked at the Muggles around them, but no one seemed suspicious. 'The houses are all very close together. Besides, this way, you get to learn what it's like for Muggles.'

Luna considered this for a moment, and then smiled at him warmly. 'Learn', Dean knew, was the key word in easing Luna's tensions - she was a Ravenclaw in the purest sense of the word. As they boarded the train to West Ham, Luna looked much happier about their journey, scanning the adverts on the walls with much interest (he ended up promising to take her to see Les Miserables at some point), but there was still something in her eyes that betrayed how distracted she was.

They stood silently by the doors for a while, crammed in like a can of sardines. Luna seemed to be listening in on conversations between Muggles. Dean smiled when she caught him watching her do so, and swept some stray hair behind her ear. The further east they moved, the less crammed it became. When they reached Whitechapel Dean located some seats, and Luna muttered something about Jack the Ripper conspiracy theories as they took them.

Three stops later, and they were at West Ham tube station. They headed down Manor Road towards the house that Dean would always know as home. After a short while, they turned off, and Dean squeezed Luna's hand again.

'Are you ready?' he asked, and Luna smiled.

'Yes Dean, and I'm very excited.'

They walked up the short drive, and knocked on the door. A moment later, it swung open to reveal a round black woman, wearing a messy apron that seemed to be in opposition with her perfectly styled bob haircut. She had one of the biggest smiles you could come across: this was Jeannie, Dean's mother.

'Dean!' she cried immediately, pulling him into a tight hug. Behind her in the doorway appeared his dad - stepdad really - Michael, who was white, fairly tall (though shorter than Dean), skinny, with greying brown hair and dressed in his claret and blue West Ham United shirt.

'This will be Luna then,' said Michael, surveying her with a smile.

'It's lovely to meet you, Mr and Mrs Thomas,' said Luna, fumbling in her bag. 'I brought you some Dirigible Plums.' She pulled out a bag of the little orange fruits and offered them to Jeannie, who accepted them with a kind (if a little bemused) smile. Dean smiled proudly.

'Well come in, come in,' Jeannie ushered, and they were led into the hall of the little terraced house. 'It's going to be a bit crowded.'

'Oh,' said Luna, 'I like to be part of a crowd sometimes.'

They moved into the living room, and were greeted by an array of coffee coloured children, whose eyes lit up at the sight of their older brother. Having greeted them all he turned to introduce them each to Luna.

The oldest was Maya, who was seventeen. She had curly hair that fell around her shoulders, grey eyes like her father, and her mother's smile. She greeted Luna warmly, and asked her which house she had been in at Hogwarts.

'I'm a Ravenclaw,' Luna told her, and added: 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure!'

'Oh, well that's something Shannon can certainly agree with,' proclaimed Michael, putting his arm round his youngest child, who was eight, with wild curly hair and was indeed carrying a book at that very moment.

The boys were Asher and Luke, aged eleven and ten respectively, and were as misbehaved as boys their age are generally expected to be. Though sometimes, Dean saw something he didn't like in the way that they treated Shannon, it reminded him irresistibly of the way so many had treated Luna at school. He hadn't done anything back then to prevent her misery, but he had decided to prevent his sister's now.

Lastly, sitting on the sofa, watching television despite the crowd of excited people, was Sarah. She was fourteen, her dark hair straightened to within an inch of its life and pulled back into a high ponytail. She had hugged Dean on his entrance, but was no longer paying attention. He didn't really mind as such - he had become used to fourteen year old girls and their evil hormones when he'd been at Hogwarts - but she could at least make an effort for Luna. Even with his prompting, she only turned her head slightly and muttered 'Hi'. Luckily, Luna didn't seem to notice Sarah's frostiness, and was positively beaming at having met his family. The distracted look had gone from her eyes, and he was expecting chatter about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks to begin any minute.

There was not time for chat though, as soon Maya led Luna upstairs so that she and Dean could unpack, whilst Jeannie and Michael disappeared into the kitchen.

'You'll be staying in here,' said Maya as she opened the door to the room where the girls slept.

'It's beautiful,' breathed Luna, and Dean laughed. The room was painted to be a blue sky, with clouds on the ceiling and a rainbow crossing the wall behind a double bed. In the corner were some bunk beds.

'You'll have to share a bed with me, I'm afraid,' Maya explained.

'I don't mind,' Luna smiled. 'Although, when Dean came to stay with me, we shared a bed.'

'Our parents are very open minded,' Dean told her, 'but they're not quite that open minded.'

'I'm not even allowed boyfriends to stay over at all,' said Maya. Dean narrowed his eyes.

'Of course you're not,' he said. 'And what boyfriends?'

'Why don't we show Luna your room?'

The room that Dean had always shared with Asher and Luke was smaller than the one belonging to the girls, and sky blue with a claret border - unsurprisingly. Looking at it, he remembered again how glad he was to have his own space now. As much as he loved his family, living in such a small house with so many of them was difficult.

Jeannie called them down to dinner, and the nine of them crowded round the dining table, which was pulled out in the middle of the living room. They were having lamb, one of Jeannie's specialties, and Dean noticed Luna eyeing it curiously as she sat down opposite him.

'What is it?' he asked, hoping that she hadn't turned vegetarian on a whim the day before or something, as she had been known to do from time to time.

'That's not leg of Nogtail, is it?' she asked not only Dean, but the room at large.

'No dear,' said Jeannie, as she served the vegetables, 'it's lamb.' She exchanged an uncertain glance with Michael. 'Why do you ask?'

'It's unlucky to eat Nogtail during winter,' Luna advised them. 'I wouldn't really recommend it at any time, though.'

'What's a Nogtail?' piped up Shannon, from where she was sitting next to Dean. It was the first time she had spoken since Luna's arrival.

'It's like a little pig,' Dean told her, 'but it's not a pig.'

'It sucks the blood of mother pigs by pretending to be their offspring,' Luna added. There was something of a stunned silence. Dean laughed, and Luna grinned at him.

Jeannie sat down, and Michael moved around the table filling glasses with what Dean presumed was cava. Asher and Luke complained that they, along with Shannon, had to have apple juice. Sarah looked impressed with herself when her father filled her glass, whilst Maya was unaffected, and simply asked Luna if she drank much.

'Oh yes,' said Luna with a nod, 'one must stay hydrated at all times.'

Dean was about to explain that wasn't what his sister had meant, but he was cut off when his dad, who was standing at the head of the table, coughed to gain their attention.

'This evening is very special,' he said with a smile. 'We have Dean back with us - who doesn't visit nearly enough.'

'Hear, hear!' agreed Jeannie and Maya.

'We are also welcoming Luna into our home for the first time.'

Dean's eyes moved across the table, and he saw Luna with a look on her face not unlike the one he remembered seeing her with during their first D.A meetings, back in his fifth year.

'I must admit, though,' continued Michael, 'that I'm at a loss.'

'Why are you at a loss, daddy?' asked Shannon, quietly.

'Well, Shannon, I just can't figure out why Dean took so long to bring the lovely Luna to meet us all.'

'I went to India for three months, not long ago,' said Luna. 'To research the Occamy.'

Michael clearly took this to be a reason why Luna had not been introduced to them before this evening, but Dean suspected she had merely been changing the subject.

'Dean's been talking about you for much longer than three months, my dear.'

'I've been busy, with the flat,' Dean said quickly, masking the true reason why he had not brought her. As the evening drew on, he realised it was stupid. He had thought that his family would embarrass him, being Muggle. It hadn't been like that when Seamus had come to visit, because he was half and half. But as Luna interacted with his family, he realised that Muggles who were aware of the wizarding world were some of the best people to introduce her to; they were extremely interested in tales of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, and didn't suspect in the slightest that their existence might be somewhat disputed. Dean thought it unkind to mention this to anyone, and simply enjoyed Luna's stories and his family's reactions to them.

After dinner, Luna and Dean did the washing up. Everyone had protested this until Luna pointed out that it was much quicker with magic.

'Do you want to go to the pub?' Dean asked, as they finished putting away the newly clean plates.

'Oh yes please. I've never been to a Muggle pub before.'

'Then I'd better take you to a good one.'

They fell silent, but the sounds of the television and his family talking filtered in from the living room beyond the door.

Luna tilted her head, surveying him. 'What?' she asked. He must have looked confused, for she elaborated. 'You had a look in your eyes - a little twinkle.'

Dean moved closer to her, and pulled her into a hug. After a moment of surprise, she wrapped her arms around him and leant her head on his chest. After a few moments, she pulled back, her arms still around his waist.

'Sorry,' she said, after a moment, 'I thought I felt a Wrackspurt, but it's gone now.'

'Luna, you're amazing. Totally completely amazing,' Dean told her, and he kissed her softly.

They headed into the hall, putting on their coats in order to walk to the pub. Sarah was sitting on the stairs, talking on the telephone. Luna watched her, fascinated, as Dean stuck his head into the living room to explain where they were going. Maya came into the hall to ask Luna if it would be okay for her to join them later. Jeannie bustled into the hall and gave them ten pounds, which Dean spent five minutes attempting to refuse.

They walked towards the pub mostly in silence. As they approached it though, Luna said, 'I like your family Dean. They've been very nice to me.'

Suddenly, a vision of a somewhat far off future burst forth in Dean's head, of Luna's father meeting Dean's mother, and Luna in a wedding dress, Maya a bridesmaid and Seamus giving a speech. He shook it off, but he wasn't exactly scared by this vision. Perhaps that was scary in itself.

'Hmm, The Trowel and Telegraph,' said Luna, as they passed under the sign and inside. 'What a strange name for a pub. I think I like it here, Dean.'