Yours, Luna Lovegood

Jack

For weeks they planned, with white chalk on a slate chalkboard Lupin had conjured in the drawing room of Ravenswood Hall. It had expanded as they had need, and by the end of a fortnight, it had grown over twenty feet in both direction, filling the far wall with lists and branch diagrams, the artifacts of brainstorming sessions stretched into the early hours of the morning.

Lupin's was right, Harry reflected, Tonks was a valuable addition. She contributed at least as much as Lupin to strategy sessions, especially those related to the running list of death eaters. Her awareness of the movements of former Voldemort associates - a result of her position in the auror office in the ministry - was becoming key in articulating a path toward subterfuge. Harry nearly felt bad for what would unfold as soon as Voldemort's return became public.

Lupin's experience in the war, and his first-hand encounters with dark magic since, had left him with an innate understanding of the elements of war. Harry could hardly have antiipated the list they'd developed - a list that felt so basic that he was embarrased to have thought this long about the impending crises and not prepared at all. Safe houses, stocks of healing potions, polyjuice, invisibility cloaks, and warded cloaks, basic food and water holds, underground networks, magical and mundane communication devices. Even weapons of the most basic variety. Harry'd never forget Tonk's words, as she threw back a shot of firewhiskey - "Nothing like a quick shiv in a tricky situation."

The muggle money that Harry had brought became immediately necessary, as they purchased three suburban homes in key locations to operate as safehouses for the resistance. Dobby's expertise in managing the expenditures of the Malfoy family became particularly helpful in routing and rerouting funds for the purchase of supplies and the bribing of imports regulators as they stocked the homes with war supplies of every variety. The days were quiet, mostly. Harry read and researched as Tonk's returned to her job at the ministry. Lupin came and went, visiting witches and wizards in his network of associates, measuring interest and evaluating ability.

Harry had found six volumes on dark soul magic, four of which explicitly mentioned horcruxes. Two were theory texts, exploring the nature of the soul, how two souls relate to one another in affection and in animosity, and how a soul might bind or consume another. The darkest means of binding or consumption involved violence, blood, and often sacrifice. Harry's growing awareness of the pagan paths of dark sorcery often overwhelmed him, and he found himself pacing the garden regularly to clear his head. It was here that he encountered a black tabby cat, wandering the grounds at a leisurely pace. He was deeply affectionate, curling playfully around Harry's ankles as he walked, falling before him to beg attention when he paused.

"What's your name, sir?"

There was no collar, but Harry felt deeply that the answer was "Jack."

"Hi Jack. I think you'll do quite nicely."

***

It took a solid four days to find the local tin can. Harry knew, because the Lovegood's had been allies for generation, that there must be a stop nearby. He was right. Two miles west of Ravenswood Hall, in a hamlet called Amberley Ford, just beside a public telephone booth. He looked carefuly about, threw on his invisibility cloak, picked up the rusting can, punctured on one end, with a string of loose thread attached. "Luna Lovegood."

***

Luna Lovegood was perched on the tallest branch broad enough to support her weight, patiently awaiting the introduction of a local wood fairy community, having offered handfuls of blueberries and bottlecaps all summer. She'd just caught a glimpse of what can only be descripbed as an absence, when she heard a cat's meow, tentative and curious, from a few branches below. A moment later, there was a black tabby in her lap, with a curious white marking just above his eyes, purring affectionately.

"My goodness! Hello, handsome. Look at you!" She scratched his chin, nuzzling his face with her's. "We haven't met. I'm Luna. What's you're name?"

There was no collar, but Luna felt deeply that the answer was "Harry."

"We'll call you Harry. You remind me of another Harry, did you know that?" She nuzzled him again as he leaned into her, curling into her lap. "I'm so glad you're here!"

For hours he just sat with her, curled into her lap, nuzzling into her palm, occasionally standing and stretching, and then pressing into her neck. She cuddled him profusely, and they sat together, watching the wood fairies. Harry hadn't been happier in weeks.

***

Harry had wandered off when it got dark. Luna invited him in for milk, but he wasn't sure how long the potion's effect would maintain and he'd been desperate not to compromise his cover. He'd decided to visit her often, at home and eventually in school, but he wasn't yet familiar enough with the potions's effect, and there was some calculus related to weight transference he wasn't super confident in. He decided to wander the willows, a stone's throw from Luna's home, after dark, until the potion's effect wore off. He'd laid down beneath the invisibility cloak (working his weight under the feather-light material was a chore on its own) and fallen asleep by the time he began to shift. Two minutes of uncomfortable transition later, he was whispering into a rusty tin can.