Tales of a Spiritual Warrior

Chapter Twelve: Facing the Last Year and the Greatest Loss

The school year started off well enough. The article about the half-breed act had run in the August edition of the Quibbler, and the article about the werewolf legislation ran in the September issue. They were picked up by other publications and caused quite a lot of debate. The French edition of the Quibbler picked up the stories first, and Mr. Lovegood made sure that the wizards he was dealing with in Germany, Spain and Scandinavia also heard about them. Quite a bit of pressure came to bear on the Ministry. Some of it came from within Britain, and some of it came from leaders in other wizarding communities in Europe, who were not as conservative as some of British Ministers of Magic were.

The offensive laws were repealed, and in November, Professor Dumbledore was happy to announce from the staff table that Professor Lupin would be coming back after the Christmas holidays to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry noticed Snape sigh with disgust, and lean over to talk to Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to be trying to settle him down.

Harry assumed that meant Lupin would also be taking over his curse work, and for that Harry was grateful. The lessons were very interesting, and Harry was making progress, but Dumbledore was a very intimidating teacher. Dumbledore was so pleased with Harry's progress, however, that as a treat, it looked like Harry would be able to spend another happy Christmas with Luna and her father. Mr. Lovegood sent them an owl that he was going to the cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole the day before the holidays started to open it up. He assured them he would meet the train in as usual and take them to Diagon Alley, and Harry had his usual reservation made at the Leaky Cauldron. When he and Luna arrived at platform nine and three-quarters, however, they couldn't find Mr. Lovegood.

"Harry," Luna said, looking up at him with concern. "Something's wrong. I have a bad feeling about this."

Mr. Weasley, who had been helping Ron and Ginny load their luggage onto carts, noticed them standing there and came over to them. "What's the matter?"

"Daddy was supposed to meet us. He's late," Luna said in an unLuna-like panic.

"Is he? I saw him yesterday in the village. He said he was going to drop off some things at the cottage, and then was heading right back to Diagon Alley. He signed a lease in Germany for his new Quibbler office, you know, and he's already hired most of the staff," Arthur Weasley told them.

"That must be it, then," Harry said, relieved. "He's probably talking to someone in Germany right now and has lost track of time."

"Do you want us to wait with you?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"No, we'll be fine. We'll stay here on the platform until Luna's father comes. We won't go into muggle London. I promise," Harry replied.

"All right," said Arthur, "but I'm going to have the guard at the barrier keep an eye on you until her father gets here." He went off to speak to the old, wizened guard, who eyed Harry and Luna with exasperation, but then nodded in their direction. Harry and Luna dragged their things over to a bench, and sat down. She was still extremely agitated, and Harry put his arm around her shoulders in a comforting way.

"Maybe," Harry whispered in her ear, "we can go to Germany together over Easter break. Since you're getting so good at it, you can be my translator and show me the sights."

Luna smiled faintly. "Mensch, du bist ein schatz. Wie hast du nur hingekreigt?"

"What's that mean?"

"You're a treasure. How do you do this?"

"What did I do?"

"No matter what, you always make me feel better."

"You do the same for me, Luna. I must admit, when I first got to know you, I was very fond of you, but I wasn't at all in love with you for a long time. I saw in you, though, the person I was most capable of loving, and I began to hope you could love me as well. I had to try to understand you, and to know you, and it was worth it. What I know now is that I do love you, with all my heart." Harry leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips, and then seeing the train station nearly deserted, kissed her again, much more deeply.

"Harry, that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." Luna sighed with pleasure, and leaned up against his shoulder.

They sat for such a long time that Harry was beginning to worry, too. He thought of asking Hedwig or Pyske to fly to the Quibbler office, but when he was just about to see if Luna had a quill on her, several people came through the barrier. Harry's blood froze when he saw it was Moody, Tonks, and Lupin. The combination did not look encouraging to him. He and Luna automatically stood as they were approached, holding onto each other's hands tightly. Moody looked angry, Lupin looked grave, and Tonks looked like she was about to cry. He could almost feel his heart breaking as Lupin, as gently as possible, told Luna her father was dead.

Harry stayed at the Lovegood apartment that night, a decision no one dared question. He held Luna tightly. The stricken girl frightened him. Her face was white and drawn, and her hair hung lank and lifeless. Her eyes had no shine. They were wide and fearful, like those of a wounded animal. "Now," she said, over and over, "I'm all alone." Out of those still, animal eyes, tears fell constantly.

"You'll never have to be alone, Lu," Harry said fiercely, kissing the top of her head.

She gave him one weak smile, and fell at last into a troubled sleep. Harry slid off the bed went out into the kitchen, which was filled with members of the Order and staff from the Quibbler. They had asked Luna about the funeral, and she had listlessly told Libby to do whatever had to be done, and the young woman was trying her best to get things organized. When Harry walked in, everyone looked up. "She's asleep," Harry told them. He looked at Lupin and Moody, and asked them straight out what had happened.

"We don't know exactly what happened, Harry," Lupin said cautiously. "When Emmitt didn't return to the Quibbler office yesterday, the staff got worried. He was found dead in the hallway of his home. There were no signs of a struggle, and no marks on him."

"The Avada Kedavra?" asked Harry.

"Could be," said Moody gruffly.

Albert Braddock was pacing, almost hysterical. "I don't know what we're going to do! We just opened our German office! We were in final negotiations for the Spanish and Swedish offices! What can we do now? Luna will inherit 70% of the Quibbler stock, but she won't know what to do with it!"

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, outraged. "She hasn't even buried her father yet and you're worried about what's going to happen to the Quibbler?"

Braddock glared at Harry. "This magazine was Emmitt Lovegood's whole life. Aside from his daughter, we were his only family. Dozens of people depend on this magazine for a living. He would not want to see it fail."

Harry relented. "I don't want to see it fail, either. I know how much it meant to him, but we can't decide anything tonight. We will honor our friend by continuing his work, but first we must see him laid to rest, and his daughter taken care of." He turned and went back into the bedroom to sleep beside Luna.

Braddock watched him leave, a dark look clouding his face. "Is the boy always that arrogant?"

"Harry's right," Moody snapped. "One thing at a time, and don't underestimate him. He loves that girl and has her best interests at heart, and he's smarter than a lot of young men his age."

Stanley Bell, the Quibbler accountant, looked at Braddock and added, "Moody's right. I've seen Harry working with Emmitt. He's got a good head on his shoulders. He can help us."

Many Hogwarts students and members of the staff attended Mr. Lovegood's funeral, and Luna was comforted to see how many friends she and her father had made. When the time came a few days later to discuss the future of the magazine, she pulled herself together and was prepared to do what had to be done. Harry had not left her side for a moment, and she talked with him for a long while the night before the meeting about what they expected to see happen, and what they wanted to see happen.

"Don't worry, Lu," Harry said, as they got ready for bed. "We'll keep your magazine running."

"Yours, too."

"Mine?"

"If you're going to do the work and take the risks, then you should get the rewards as well. That is, if you feel like being my business partner, as well as my life partner, and I do want you for both!" She kissed him, and pulling at his collar, she continued to kiss him. She stepped back, pulling him with her. The back of her knees bumped the edge of the bed. "I want you," she repeated, as she fell back onto the bed, dragging a stunned Harry along, kissing him furiously once again. Things had only gone so far, however, when she suddenly rolled over and began to cry.

Harry brushed her hair off her face tenderly. "Lu, what are you doing? What do you REALLY want?"

"This isn't right. Daddy's dead, and I'm using you to prove I'm still alive. It just isn't right. I'm sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry."

Harry propped himself up on one elbow, and putting out his other hand, turned her face toward his. "You're right. This isn't appropriate, but you don't have to be sorry. I know you're kind of emotional right now. Who wouldn't be? It'll be okay, though. Think of it this way...we're on a long journey together, and I know we'll eventually get where we're meant to go. Now, just relax, all right?"

"I do love you, Harry Potter," Luna said, curling up exhausted at his side. She drifted off to sleep, and Harry wished he could do the same, but it was a long time before he could get to sleep himself. He was used to finding himself in difficult situations, but some were definitely more difficult than others.

Bill Weasley attended the meeting, representing Gringotts. He spoke first. Mr. Lovegood's coworkers were stunned to hear that instead of owning a large part of the Quibbler assets, Lovegood had gone deeply into debt for cash he had invested in the hopes of expansion. Had he lived, he would have quickly brought most of his plans to fruition, but now the magazine was practically knutless.

Braddock spoke next. "The British edition is running in the black, and the French edition is holding its own. The first German edition is not ready to go to print until next month, but we can't back out of that. The lease is signed, the staff is hired and all of the equipment has been paid for. We can't pull out of Germany without suffering further losses."

"Then don't," Harry said firmly. 'If the German staff was chosen as carefully as I believe it was, they should be able to have a successful launch. However, I would advise dropping any further expansion plans at this time."

"Obviously, that will be necessary," Braddock said, glaring at Harry, "but we still need cash, and we have to decide where we're going to get it."

"You need to cut costs," Harry answered. "I would advice moving the Quibbler out of Diagon Alley for one thing. Premises there are twice what it would cost for a similar facility elsewhere. Hogsmeade is a possibility. How would that work for everyone?"

The art director and articles editor, who both lived in Hogsmeade, were pleased with that suggestion, but Braddock said flatly, "It won't be enough. We have to either sell off some off our remaining assets, or take in new investors."

Luna spoke for the first time. "Daddy was always opposed to having outside partners. I can sell the cottage to get cash. My mum and dad both died there. I never want to live there again. I'll invest that money into the business. I own most of the stock anyway. It's only fair that I should take some of the risk."

"Any additional needed funds will be mine," Harry added. "Bill, I want you to check my account and see exactly what I have to work with."

"And what control will you have in return for your investment?" Braddock asked him, white-faced and furious.

"I'm giving Harry half of my interest in return for his help," Luna said. "He and I will each own 35% of the stock, making us the major shareholders. You have five percent. Nothing will change for you financially at this time. For the other senior editors who also have stock, nothing will change. Everyone will remain on staff and you will become managing editor. We'll announce that immediately. Harry and I are equals and will have final say in what happens from now on, but for the time being, Harry's involvement must not be publicized. So start working on the proposed move. That's where we'll start."

The meeting ended and the other members of the Quibbler staff filed out, hoping that their jobs would stay secure, but Braddock remained. Luna followed Libby out to thank her again for her help with the funeral plans. He watched Luna as she spoke softly to Libby outside the door, and certain she could not hear him, snapped at Harry. "You seem to have planned this very well. Did you decide to wanted to be in the magazine business before you started shagging the boss's daughter, or was that a bonus?"

Harry glared at the older man, and Braddock felt the full effect of the power of Harry's personality for the first time. "You're an excellent editor, but if you ever say anything like that to me again, I'll see you out on the street. For one thing, Luna's a virgin. I love that girl, and I loved her father. I will never to anything to hurt her or damage his memory. I have other things to worry about right now besides your disappointment and your jealousy. For her sake and the sake of the magazine, let us be at peace. Hogwarts and Hogsmeade are close enough that we will have to deal with each other often next year, and I would prefer not to have another conversation like this one."

Braddock looked at Harry carefully, then smiled slightly. "You know, Mr. Potter, I believe you. I would not have thought it possible, but I do. Very well, then, I will do what you ask." He hesitated, and said seriously, "You were right about Diagon Alley, you know."

"I was," Harry said, "wasn't I?" and he smiled slightly, too.