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Title: For Want of Fire
Author: Oracleholly
Gift For: Cnary_crem_dght
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Harry/Luna
Summary: A few months after the events of the Half-Blood Prince, Harry has distanced himself from everyone, save one person who he can't seem to shake.
Warnings: Language, Sexual situations
Author's notes: Enjoy! **crosses fingers** Beta by Spikeslovebite

Written for the Smutty_Claus LJ Community (Christmas 2006)

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Harry couldn't take it anymore; more specifically, he couldn't take her anymore. She was everywhere he turned. He wanted to wipe that faraway, wistful look off her face. She had no right to look like that - like everything would be fine. Nothing would ever be fine again - not with Dumbledore dead, Snape in the wind, and Voldemort planning Voldemort-knows-what. He scar burned him now all the time, and he could tell that Voldemort was taking great pleasure in that fact.

Harry had taken great pains to distance himself from his friends…from Ginny. Sure, they all pledged to be with him during the war that was coming. That was the problem - everyone thought the war was coming - the war was already here. And Voldemort was winning. Although Harry hated feeling alone, he understood with utmost clarity that in the end he had to face Voldemort alone.

In the last few months, he succeeded in creating a wall around his heart. Voldemort had taken everyone he ever cared about from him - his parents, Sirius, and Dumbledore. He couldn't afford to lose anyone else; his heart couldn't survive the loss. Therefore, Harry needed distance from everyone. He required time to prepare and train for the day he would soon face first Snape and then Voldemort. If he happened upon other Death Eaters before that time, especially those named Malfoy, all the better.

For his own safety, he called upon all the Muggle spy novels he ever read and instituted a policy of never spending the night in the same place two nights in a row. He tended to seek out Muggle establishments, knowing how unlikely Voldemort's goons would search for him in such places. As he once embraced the wizarding world when he first learned of Hogwarts, he welcomed the technology the Muggle world offered and its ignorance of such names as Harry Potter and Voldemort. He had converted some of his fortune to Muggle money and traveled thus.

Tonight, he found himself biding his time in a country inn staring into the fire of the fireplace. Times like these he longed for Sirius most. He normally shunned fireplaces on the off chance that someone would try to connect it to the Floo network. However, thanks to the ingenuity of Fred and George, he no longer feared that possibility. They had managed to craft a charm to block any attempts at intrusion. Harry likened it to blocking calls from certain phone numbers on the telephone.

Still, no matter what he tried, she remained, like a constant butterfly flittering about his space. His friends and those former members of the DA had begun training with the surviving members of the Order, but not her. No, she found new ways every day to annoy him with questions, suggestions, or some of the most ludicrous ideas he'd ever heard.

This moment was indeed the last straw. Standing before him with a silver pasta strainer on her head, holding another strainer in her tiny hands, necklaces of garlic and butter beer corks adorning her slender neck, ears decorated with radishes, and wearing a blue pinafore and red trainers, she had finally broken the tenuous hold on his last nerve. It was the pasta strainer and what she was babbling about that had done it.

"…and I was able to get you one too at that great Muggle store. Last year, in The Quibbler, my father did a story on the ways to prevent mind control using Muggle means…"

"Luna! Shut it, will you," Harry exclaimed. "What in the bloody hell are you doing with those pasta strainers?" His mind kept nudging him not to ask, that deep down he knew what she was doing, but his mind couldn't control his tongue.

"What's a pasta strainer, Harry?" Luna asked, eyes bright with confusion and wonder.

"There…um…nevermind. What's on your head and in your hands?"

"Oh! These are Occlu-visors. They can be used to enhance one's skill as an Occlumens and prevent a Legilimens' attack. They say that He Who Must Not Be Named is a highly skilled Legilimens," she replied sincerely.

"Voldemort. His name is Voldemort. Look, I said it, nothing happened. Say it, Luna, say it!"

Luna bit her lower lip, looked cautiously about, and then quietly whispered in stark contrast to Harry's yelling, "Voldemort."

In a more normal tone of voice, Luna continued, "Really, Harry. I think you should start wearing this. I've already performed the proper protective charms to enhance its shielding power. I know you get those awful headaches lately."

Harry was all prepared to cruelly dismiss Luna's gift. He'd become quite known recently for his biting remarks. Some had started to liken his temper to that of Draco Malfoy. However, just as the words wanted to free themselves, he paused letting what she said sink into his brain.

"You've noticed my headaches?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes," Luna answered simply. "Your skin turns more pale, your eyes cross, and when you are sure no one is looking, you rub at your scar."

Embarrassed and angered, Harry sputtered, "What? You've been spying on me?" Harry started to pace the floor.

"Oh no, Harry."

"Are you watching me for the Order? I can't believe them!" Seeing Luna shake her head in denial, Harry hazarded a different guess. "Hermione! She's always…."

Luna grabbed Harry's shoulders, causing him to stop pacing and effectively putting an end to yet another rant. "Harry, you stupid git."

Never hearing Luna ever speak in such a way before stunned Harry. His mouth dropped open in amazement. Taking advantage of the situation, Luna on impulse planted a hard and fast kiss on Harry's lips.

Luna opened her eyes after kissing Harry to find him too close for comfort. Her skin felt quite warm, and she became acutely aware of the feel of Harry's broad shoulders under her fingers, the smell of butter beer on his breath, and how green his eyes were in the firelight. "Harry…I…I didn't mean…"

For his part, Harry was gobsmacked. Luna Lovegood had bloody well kissed him! Why the hell had she done that? His lips felt tingly, like a firecracker had exploded across his skin. Her fiery kiss contradicted everything about her - her pale coloring, her fair, dirty blonde hair, her icy blue eyes, and her eccentric nature. It was like she was ice, but her kiss was made of fire. Neither with Ginny, nor Cho, had he experienced such intensity. He had to have more.

He grabbed Luna by the waist before she could back away any further. After studying her flushed cheeks and tiny mouth, he closed the narrow gap between their bodies to taste her once again. Her brief kiss ignited his desire; this time he wanted to savor the experience.

"Luna," he whispered softly before pressing his lips to hers.

Her happy moan opened her mouth, and Harry took full advantage, dipping his tongue into the sweet promise of hope. His forehead bumped into something hard, making him growl. Without removing his lips he opened his eyes and looked up to find the forgotten pasta strainer. Rolling his eyes, he reluctantly removed his right hand from Luna's waist and grabbed the offending hat.

Luna pressed strongly against Harry's chest, separating their mouths. "Harry! No. That prevents Voldemort from finding me…from finding us."

"Luna, my sweet Luna," Harry consoled, stroking for the first time the silky strands of her blonde hair. "Trust me when I tell you, your 'hat' doesn't work that way. Maybe later, much later, I'll show you how Muggles actually use it."

"But Harry, I've seen Muggles wear them for protection from-" At this point, Luna wrinkled her nose in thought. "Brain waves and aliens."

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed. For the first time, in a very, long time, he genuinely laughed. That is, Harry carried on until he saw Luna's angered expression.

Quickly, Harry tugged Luna close by the waist to his front and rained kisses over her cheeks and lips. "Luna," he said between kisses, "you watched a Muggle Sci-Fi movie. A bad one at that. But you know, I appreciate the thought behind this 'hat."

As Luna's ire melted from Harry's kisses, she began to caress his chest and become aware of a hardness hitting the apex of her thighs. Curiously, Luna reached down to touch that hardness causing a throaty moan to erupt from Harry.

"Yes, Luna!"

With his encouragement, she continued her venture, testing out different caresses. Harry snaked his fingers down Luna's spine and buttocks, eventually finding the hem of her pinafore. Traveling around the hem, Harry's hands found themselves feeling the fabric of Luna's underwear.

He began teasing the elastic, running a finger it on both sides of her legs until they met at her cleft. The hint of her curls already moistened taunted him, making him want more. He wondered if she tasted like fire there as well.

Without any warning, Harry dropped to his knees and raised the front of Luna's pinafore to her waist. Grabbing her panties with both hands, he hesitated long enough to look up into Luna's eyes and ask permission.

"Please, Luna, may I?"

Gasping, Luna eagerly nodded her head. She'd heard the other girls at Hogwarts talk about things like this. Even Ginny had whispered into her ear about Michael and what they used to do together. Whenever the talk was about Harry, however, Luna never wanted to know. She'd secretly harbored her love for the only guy to ever treat her like a real person. She knew she wasn't like the other girls; she felt pride about that.

Over the last few months, she treasured her time with Harry. Everyone else seemed to finally have enough of his verbal abuse and leave, but not her. Luna understood what Harry was doing. However, unlike the others, she wasn't about to leave Harry alone. She would never forgive herself if something happened and she couldn't have tried to help him in some way.

And now, he was kneeling before her like some fantasy come to life asking her if he could taste her! Luna fought to keep her eyes open to watch Harry. If she closed them, she was afraid that when she reopened them, she'd discover this was all a dream or some torture technique.

The first feel of Harry's tongue caused the both of them to quiver. Luna gripped Harry's hair to keep from falling. Harry was lost in her taste. He'd found home. He gripped her buttocks tightly to bring her closer.

Harry vowed he would never let anything happen to Luna. Voldemort would never touch or harm a single hair on her precious head. She was his. He wouldn't push her too fast; he could tell from her reactions, all this was new to her. Yet, someday soon he would take her and make her completely his.

As he continued to devour her essence, he recalled their first meeting. He should have known then the effect she would have on his life. She never treated him like anything other than plain ol' Harry.

Harry felt Luna's legs begin to tremble and gently nudged allowing her release. Letting her fall into his arms, he gently laid her on the rug before the fireplace and kissed her his thank you.

"Harry," Luna started to say, before Harry stopped her with two fingers on her lips.

"Shh, Luna. Thank you for putting up with me. You were right. I can be a bloody stupid git."

Realizing that's what she said before all this began, she giggled and blushed. Harry snuggled her head to his chest and started to laugh with her.

The End

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