Madness Most Discreet

"Well, hello Harry," said Snape as he pulled a robe over himself. "I suppose Dumbledore sent you?"
He waited for Harry to answer him as he fretted about what he was going to say about him having a naked Luna in the kitchen.

Harry couldn't believe what he Apparated into. He'd been taught that the kitchen was the best place to appear, as most people were civilised enough to be fully clothed in that room. Oh how wrong they were!

A naked Luna, while not necessarily a bad sight, was very shocking. A naked Snape was worse. So very much worse. Harry shuddered. It was, in fact, the worst thing he'd seen since joining the Auror programme.

When the thankfully robed Professor asked him what he was doing there, he suddenly clued into the fact that Luna Lovegood and Severus Snape had been naked, eating breakfast in a kitchen together.

"Err...I uh, thought I'd visit Luna...figured she might be, uh, lonely? Guess not." Harry repressed the urge to gag.

Luna had fled to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She didn't think she could've been in a worse position, sitting cross legged on a table! What must he be thinking!? No one knew of their relationship but Professor Dumbledore, and she was still a student! Severus could be in serious trouble if Harry told anyone what he saw.

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. "Harry... what you saw here today..." he stopped, not knowing what to say. Then he remembered catching a certain Seventh Year in the bathroom once....

"This may look bad but it's not as bad as catching you and Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom last year," he said with a grin. "Now, what's the real reason you're here Potter."

Harry laughed uncomfortably at the mention of Moaning Myrtle. No need to go there.

"Seriously, Professor. Albus told me that you two were hiding out here, and I thought, well..I thought she would be either bored out of her mind or severely angry...at..being.....herewithyou," he ended as quickly as possible, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Luna walked into the kitchen, catching only the last part. There had been some robes in the bedroom, so she was able to be properly dressed.

"Harry, I, we...argh, just keep your mouth shut, all right?"

Snape looked over at Luna and grinned at her. "You see Potter, Luna found out that I actually had a heart," he said with a small laugh. "Now that you've seen that Miss Lovegood is all right, maybe you should leave so we can finish breakfast."

Harry snorted at the thought of Snape having a heart. Then he noticed the dark look on Luna's face, and quickly shut up.

"Err, yeah, guess I'll be going then."

He patted Luna on the arm, telling her to owl him if she needed anything. Stepping well out of the reach of both of them, he made ready to Disapparate.

"Thanks for the show Luna, " he said the second before he left.

Gaping at the space where Harry Potter had once been, she couldn't believe what she just heard. Literally. She turned to Snape and asked, "What did he just say!?"

Snape grinned. "He thanked you for the show," he said as he stood and picked the plate up off the ground. "After all, you do have a nice body... too bad Potter will never see it again."

He then walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Would you like to owl your father? Just to let him know you're all right?"

Luna shook her head in amazement. What a crazy day.

"Yes, Daddy will be wondering." she got out a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill to write, not sure what to say.

"Do you think I should tell him, Monkey?"

"That decision is yours my love. I can't make it for you," he said as he kissed her on top of the head.

She looked up and smiled, and then got set to write a very difficult letter.

Dearest Daddy,

I'm fine Daddy, don't worry. We got out safely, Professor Snape took good care of me.

I have to tell you something, something you may not want to know. I don't want to hide it from you anymore. Please Daddy, try to understand.

You know I was upset this summer. Well, it was because, in the last few months of school, I fell in love. Things went wonderfully, then we had to separate. There were misunderstandings, things were said. It wasn't easy. We went away, and I couldn't stop thinking about him. I love him so.

I'm so happy today, because even though you were VERY SILLY to write that article, it brought my love back into my life. What I'm trying to tell you is that Severus Snape and I are, well, a couple. We're in love, Daddy, so very deeply. I know he's older, but it doesn't matter to us. We fit together. He understands me, and I him.

I know this must come as a huge surprise to you, and I'm sorry for having kept it a secret. Please at least give him a chance.

I love you Daddy,

your baby girl,

Luna

She handed the letter to Snape, to see what he thought.

Snape took the letter from Luna and read it. He couldn't believe all the wonderful things she'd said about it. "It's prefect," he said as he handed it back. He gave her a small kiss on the head and quietly slipped out of the kitchen while she was tying the letter to the owl.

He hoped she wouldn't follow him since he had a lot to think about. Everything had came rushing toward them earlier and now he needed to figure things out. Maybe he was being silly, considering they were in a safe house but part of him felt they needed a plan; just in case.

When he got to the flight of stairs, he started to climb them. He'd never been to this safe house before and didn't know what to expect. Usually the Order used houses that had belonged to other witches and wizards for safe houses. When he got to the top, he turned to his right and pushed open a door.

Inside was a large master bedroom (a lot nicer than the one downstairs). The bed was elegantly made with a soft quilt and silk sheets underneath. Snape stepped further into the room and noticed the large closet. He went over to it and looked through the clothes. There was a large selection and Snape figured that most of it would fit him and Luna.

After picking out a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt for Luna and a pair of tan trousers and white T-shirt for himself, Snape closed the closet door. He was about to step out of the room when he heard a faint nice coming from under the bed.

"Better not be a bloody boggart," he muttered as he pulled his wand out and took a peek under the bed. It wasn't a boggart; instead it was a black kitten.

Snape rolled his eyes and grabbed the kitten before pulling him out. He held it out in front of him and looked it in the eyes. He used his skills with legilimency to make sure the kitten wasn't really a human. Once he was satisfied that it was a kitten, Snape stood up and grabbed the clothes off the bed.

He quietly walked downstairs, one arm carrying the kitten and the other carrying the clothes. He pushed the kitchen door open, in hopes of surprising Luna with his find but she was in there.

After sending the owl off to her father, Luna felt the urge for some alone time. She realised she didn't even know where they were, not even what country!

Considering the amount of time she spent in the floo travel, she thought she might've been sent back to England. Stepping out the kitchen door, she was pleased to see a somewhat familiar countryside. It must be Britain!

She decided to take a little walk, just around the field that neighboured the house. She couldn't see any other houses, so felt it was safe to do so in her robes. Hopefully no muggles would see her.

When she reached the border of the field, she could see a familiar sight down the bordering slope. An abbey! A ruined abbey! She knew immediately where she was. Glastonbury

The Glastonbury Abbey had been the burial site of King Arthur and Guinevere. Their graves had been disturbed by the monks who found them, centuries ago, and no one, not even wizards, knew where they lay anymore. Still, the town had such an air of mystery, and so many ties to mythology, history and religion that it was one of Luna's favourite spots. She sat in the grass and gazed at the Tor, the abbey, and the small town surrounding it and felt at peace.

Snape furrowed his brow and started his search for her. He went from room to room, calling out her name. When she didn't answer and when he couldn't find her, he felt his breath catch his throat.

I shouldn't have left her alone. Gods, why did I leave her alone?

He quickly pulled his wand out, thinking that Death Eaters had taken her and stepped outside. He thought that maybe they left a trail for him to follow. He scanned the countryside and that's when he saw her, sitting in the grass.

"Luna!" he called out as he ran over to her. When he got to her and saw that she was all right, a mixture of emotions ran over his body. Part of him was relieved that she was all right but the other part was angry that she had wandered off.

"Are you stupid?!" he roared as he looked down at her. "Don't you know that when you're hiding you don't go wandering off? What if there were Death Eaters out here?!"

Startled when he called her name, then yelled at her, she stared up at his angry face.

"Sit with me a moment Sev. Do you see where we are?"

Snape sneered at her and sat down. He looked in front of him and snorted.

"It's The Glastonbury Abbey. My mum used to bring me here as a child," he said as he crossed his arms.

"Did she? My dad took me here a lot as well. It's so peaceful, don't you find?" She ignored his sneer and took his arm in hers. "I'm so pleased we ended up here."

"Yes she did," he said as he pulled away from her, a nasty look crossing his face. "Luna, you can't be wandering off like this. It's not safe!"

Luna grimaced and stood up. "Very well, Severus, let's head back to the house then."

She started walking fast, then slowed so he could catch up.

"Sorry, Sev. I just needed to be alone to process things, and it was so nice to be back home."

Snape looked down at Luna and sighed. "No, lets sit. I'm sorry for worrying too much but next time leave a note," he said as he pulled her back down. He turned toward the abbey and took in its simple beauty.

"My mum didn't know much about this place but she liked coming here because it was quiet. This place actually saved my life," he mused.

"Saved your life? How so?" she asked, sitting back down on the grass with him.

Snape wrapped his arms around her and brought her close to him. He'd never told anyone this story because it was plain silly to him.

"It was about three of four years after the Potters died and the magical world was still buzzing about what happened. I'd been at Hogwarts for a few years by then and well, I wanted the Defence Against The Darks position but Dumbledore said no," he began as he looked toward the abbey. "I felt like a failure because I had made the mistake of becoming a Death Eater and I thought it would be best if I joined them again.

"I had it all planned out but I needed to come here first because my mother loved it here and I wanted to apologise for what I was about to do. When I got here, there was a little girl and her mother walking around. The girl couldn't have been more than three."

Snape took a deep breath and smiled, remembering that day as if it happened yesterday.

"The little girl was dressed in this blue dress and was wearing this witch-type hat. She was clenching this purple teddy bear and her mum looked so happy. It reminded me of the time I spent here with my mum and at the moment I knew I couldn't go back to being a Death Eater. So, this place and that little girl saved me. I know, it's a silly story," he said with a weak smile.

Luna returned his hug and laughed hard. She laughed until she couldn't breathe, and then just gasped. She could see he wasn't pleased with her, assuming she wasn't taking him seriously, but she couldn't stop. Tears streamed down her face and her shoulders shook hard.

"Don't you see..." she gasped, "it was me! Me and my mum!" She shook her head, amazed at the coincidence. "I still have the purple bear!"

Snape's mouth opened. Why hadn't he seen it before? Of course it was her! No wonder he felt so connected to her all these years.

"You saved my life Luna and for that, I thank you," he said as he kissed her on the cheek. "I want to be with you forever..."

~*~

Larry Lovegood sat between Tonks and Lupin on the couch. He'd just spoken to Dumbledore, yet he had no idea what the old man was trying to tell him. He was about to stand when a barn owl swooped in and dropped a letter on his lap. The handwriting on the envelope was Luna's so he quietly excused himself to read it.

After he read it, Larry finally understood what Dumbledore was talking about. He was trying to tell him that his little girl was in love with an older man. Part of him hated it; knowing that Luna had someone else in her life to take care of her. But Severus Snape seemed like a good man; after all he had saved them.

Larry sighed to himself and began his letter back to his daughter, knowing he was about to give her up to another man.

Dear Luna,

Thank you for the letter. I'm so glad that you're all right and you got out safely.

I am so very sorry pumpkin about what I did. I don't know what I was thinking; I thought maybe I could save someone's life.

Albus Dumbledore came by and talked to me about your relationship with Mr. Snape. I will admit that I was a bit upset at first but I'm now over it. It's obvious that you care for him very much. Oh Luna, I've been dreading this day for so long! It's going to be hard to give you up but I will if it'll make you happy.

Mr. Lupin went back to our cabin and then house and got some of our personal effects. I'm sending some of your things with the owl and tomorrow, Mr. Lupin will bring your trunk.

Please keep in touch and post often.

With love,

Your father

Larry carefully folded the letter up and tied it to the owl's leg along with a small package. He watched it soar off, hoping he was making the right decision.

~*~

Severus' comments were interrupted by a hooting owl. It came to Luna directly and perched on her shoulder. She saw it was carrying a note and package from her father, and eagerly untied it.

"Oh Sev, Daddy's OK with us! This is wonderful!" She jumped up, pulling him with her, and bounced through the field, back to the house.

Writing her father a quick note of gratitude for the support, she informed Snape that Lupin would be arriving the next day. She then tore into the package, smiling brightly.

"Look who it is Sev," she said, taking out the worn, purple teddybear, "it's Wesley!"

Snape smiled at the teddy bear and at how happy Luna was. He hugged her closely but then quickly pulled back. "I'm still mad at you for wandering off!" he firmly said. "But I got a present for you. Close your eyes..."

"Yay a present!" She shut her large eyes, hopping lightly from foot to foot. She heard Severus leave the room, then minutes later re-enter.

Luna giggled when she felt something soft touch her hands, and couldn't keep her eyes closed anymore. She saw a tiny black kitten being placed in her hands.

"Ohh, kitty!!"

I found him upstairs and thought you'd like him," he blushed slightly. "Luna, this has been the most wonderful day of my life. All my emotions have exploded and I want to be with you forever."

He took a deep breath and stepped away from her. "Remember our first date in my chambers?" he asked as he chuckled, "I was so scared that night. I kept wondering why someone as beautiful as you was with me. But I'm glad you showed me the way and taught me how to love again. I know we are going to fight sometimes but I think we're strong enough to get through it."

He dropped his eyes down to the floor and took a deep breath. "But next time we fight," he quietly said, "don't hit me in the nose. That really hurt."

Luna flushed red at the thought of her hitting him. "Err..yes, next time, no physical violence."

Petting the kitten, who she discovered was a girl, she said, "I'm going to name her Cordelia, if that's all right with you." She pulled a string off of her robe to dangle in front of the cat, and laughed while it swatted.

"Severus, how long are we going to be here for?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "No longer than two months since school will be starting then and Hogwarts will be safe."

He then looked over at her and smiled. "And for the record, I'm not going to take it easy on you in Potions class because I'm in love with you," he said as he gave her a small kiss.