Chapter Text
Over the next few weeks, Theo and Luna met together nearly every day. The goal, originally, was to sort out the details of their whirlwind marriage so that no one would be the wiser about the details leading up to it. But it also ended up working in their favor, as Theo and Luna still hoped to date each other, as much as they could, before they signed their marriage license.
“How soon are you trying to do this?” Luna asked one evening as she and Theo sat together at a muggle pub Luna liked to frequent that was near the Quibbler office.
“I think if we do it too fast, my family will get suspicious,” Theo said, taking a bite of food while thinking through his answer. They had agreed, pretty much immediately, that they were going to keep the fact that this was more of an arrangement than a romance under wraps. Theo worried that his family wouldn’t accept his help if they figured they only got married so he could have the money, and Luna was sure her friends would protest the whole thing if they knew the truth. She especially didn’t want to see the look of worry on Harry’s face if he knew the truth. Or worse, a look of disappointment. “I don’t actually know what a proper amount of time would be, even for a short engagement.”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Harry and Ginny got married almost immediately after finishing school. But Neville and Hannah only got engaged last fall, and they’ve been together for years.” She drew a little rune shape into the condensation of her drink. “I don’t think timing matters as long as it makes sense.”
“It may help if people believe we’ve been seeing each other a while,” Theo said. He reached over and stole a chip off her plate. “I’m a relatively private person, my friends wouldn’t be too surprised that I’ve been seeing you and hadn’t mentioned anything about it.”
“Ginny will be hard to keep that from,” Luna said thoughtfully. “But the others would believe it.”
“Maybe you should tell Ginny the truth,” Theo suggested. “Blaise knows since he’s the one at the bank dealing with the will funds. It’s only fair you have someone too.” He stole another chip and this time Luna leveled him with a look.
“You had your own,” she pointed to his empty plate.
“Yours looked better,” he said with a wink, which made her laugh. She pushed her plate closer to him and Theo smiled triumphantly.
“If I can tell Ginny the truth, then I may be able to pull off keeping the others in the dark,” Luna said. She didn’t like the idea of lying to the others, but Theo was right, their friends wouldn’t understand, and there wasn’t a lot of time for them to work with. If the goal was to fulfill the terms of the will - getting married and producing a Nott heir before Theo turned 25 - then they really only had six months or so to work with. Luna shook her head and gulped down more of her drink. She wasn’t fully ready to think about that yet. “We should be seen in public together then,” she said. Theo looked at her quizzically and gestured around the pub. “In Wizarding public,” Luna clarified. “By our friends.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard,” Theo chuckled to himself. “Most of my friends are involved with your friends now anyway. We all should do a pub night or something anyway.”
“I like that idea,” Luna said. “Are you free Friday?” She reached into her purse and left muggle money on the table. Theo could never get the hang of paper bills and tiny flat coins.
“I can make myself free on Friday,” Theo said. He’d been putting in extra face-time at work, hoping his boss would see the effort he was putting in and wouldn’t forget about him when it was time to name someone for the upcoming promotion. “My boss typically leaves around four on Fridays at the latest.”
“Good, let’s get everyone to the Leaky Cauldron then and see how it goes,” she finished off the last of her drink and watched Theo do the same. He stood then and offered her his hand, easing her to her feet and walking together out of the pub in the direction of Diagon Ally.
“How’s the article coming?” Theo asked. Theo’s boss asked Monday morning if there was any cause for concern, and he assured him there wasn’t, only that the elevators seemed to stop working late Friday evening. That didn’t seem to phase the director at all, and he was only asked to find out when Luna would supply him with a copy of the article for Ministry approval.
“It’s going pretty well,” Luna said happily. “I like the week after publication, things are a little calmer, just for a moment, while everyone sorts out what they’re going to prepare for the next issue.”
“Is the editor’s office still fighting you?” Theo asked, and Luna sighed deeply.
“I’m surprised it hasn’t locked me out,” Luna said. “Instead it just fills my chair with old correspondences of my father’s. I even brought the whole stack home and locked it in a chest, and it still ended up back in my chair at the Quibbler.” Theo wrapped an arm around Luna’s shoulder comfortingly, kissing the top of her head.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Maybe it just needs time to get used to you.”
“You’re likely right,” she said. “But I’d be doing a better job as Editor if the darn office let me do my job.”
“You’re doing fantastic,” Theo insisted. “You’re way too hard on yourself, Luna. I read this month’s copy, it’s really good.”
“Thank you,” Luna said, her cheeks turning pink. “You know, I’ll marry you regardless, you don’t have to buy a Quibbler, I know it’s not everyone's cup of tea.”
“First off, I’ll have you know, I have been a loyal subscriber for years now,” Theo said. “And even if I wasn’t, what monster would I be if my future wife produced a magazine and I didn’t even bother to buy a copy each month?” Luna stopped in her tracks and Theo stumbled a little, turning to look at her. “What?”
“You subscribe to the Quibbler?” she asked, shock and surprise dripping from her tone.
“I…yes?” Theo said, confused. “There was a series of articles a couple years ago about this magical circus that shows up in different places in the dead of night and then is gone by morning and I was very invested in…”
“That was my article!” Luna shouted, making Theo jump. “Sorry sorry,” she pressed a hand to his arm. “You just caught me by surprise.”
“Like I said, you’re very good at this Luna,” Theo said, squeezing her hand. “It’ll all come together soon, I’m sure of it.” Luna’s cheeks darkened even more.
“Thank you, Theo,” she said. Theo was smiling fondly down at her, and Luna - realizing that she was indeed dating Theo and they were in fact getting married soon - stood up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips.
Theo was initially surprised, but he quickly recovered as he pulled Luna in close, smiling against her lips before returning the kiss. They had kissed only a handful of times since their Ministry lift adventure and each time they both were overwhelmed with the feeling of absolute belonging when they were together.
Someone across the street wolf-whistled at them and they pulled apart. This time it was Theo who was blushing.
“We should uh…” He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Luna looked at him, her eyes doing the thing they did where Theo was sure she could see through him to his very core.
“I live this way,” Luna said, gesturing in the direction of her flat. “You should walk me home.”
“Okay,” Theo nodded, still recovering from kissing her. Luna smiled and wrapped her fingers around his.
“And then you should come inside when we get to my place,” Luna said, clearly determined. “And kiss me like that again.” Theo’s jaw dropped a little and it made Luna grin as she pulled him along happily in the direction of home.
###
“Theodore Alexander Nott!” His aunt’s voice shrilled from the direction of the kitchen when Theo came through the door late that evening. It was well past dark, and he had stayed at Luna’s much later than anticipated, kissing her on her blue sofa, only stopping to grin or laugh at something one or the other said. When he realized how late it had gotten, he reluctantly pulled away, promising to see her again tomorrow before rushing home. “You better have a good reason for working this late. I have half a mind to find that director of yours and…”
Theo rushed into the kitchen. “Aunt Clara!” he shouted. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, feeling sheepish. He hated making them worry. “I’m so sorry, I lost track of time, I thought I would be home hours ago.”
“They work you too hard at that Unflappable job,” Clara said sternly. Theo looked up at his uncle who just shook his head and shrugged.
“I wasn’t working,” Theo said. “I met a friend for dinner and we got caught up. I wrote to tell you I would be missing dinner…” He looked around the kitchen, confused. Didn’t he?
“You did,” Uncle Des confirmed with a little nod. “She just got worked up when it got dark is all. Everything is fine.” Theo frowned at his uncle who only responded with a silent shrug, a sign for Theo they could talk about it later.
“I’m sorry, Auntie,” Theo said, sitting on a chair at the dining table. Clara patted his cheek.
“It’s alright, Dory,” she said. “Who did you have dinner with? Blaise? Draco? Pansy?” Theo cocked his head to the side. He was going to comment that he had other friends, but that wasn’t particularly true.
“I actually…” Theo bit his lip, planning his words. “I was out with my…my girlfriend,” Theo stumbled over the words, testing them out.
When he said it, Clara and Desmond looked surprised. Clara looked like he was about to burst. “A girlfriend?” she said excitedly. She hurried over to the chair next to Theo and grabbed his hands, squeezing tight. “Tell us everything!” Theo tried not to roll his eyes at his aunt’s eccentricities.
“Ah…” His face turned red and he pulled at his hair at the back of his head. “Well her name is Luna…” Clara clapped her hands together, grinning like mad.
“Oh Luna ,” Clara looked over at her husband, who was watching the two of them with his usual quiet amusement. “Did you hear that Des?”
“I’m trying love,” he said, kissing the top of Clara’s head. “Let the poor boy speak will you?”
And so Theo told them all he could about Luna, using as much of the truth as he could. They’d gone to school together. He started having feelings for her when school was ending. They found each other again later…
“You’ll have to have her over for dinner,” Clara said when she couldn’t stand the excitement any longer. “Tomorrow night! I’ll make your favorites. Is she free?” Theo laughed.
“I’ll ask,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m sure she’d be happy to meet you both.”
“Oh this is so exciting,” Clara hurried to her feet and started checking the cupboards, pulling things out for the next night’s dinner already.
“Auntie I haven’t even asked if she can yet…” Theo tried to stop her but to no avail. Desmond took the empty seat and patted Theo’s shoulder.
“Best to just let her be, son,” Desmond said. “She’s just very happy for you.” They watched as Clara flitted around happily, muttering about preparing for dinner and cleaning the house. “For what it’s worth, you seem very happy as well.”
“I do?” Theo asked, surprised. Desmond winked at him and then got up, following his wife to the kitchen.
“Clara I don’t think Theo’s friend needs us pulling out the good dishes just for dinner…” he called after her. Theo just watched his family in amusement, enjoying the fact that his uncle was right, he was feeling rather happy.
###
Luna nervously fixed her hair for the dozenth time as she walked along the street to Theo’s home. She’d never cared much what people thought of how she looked. She dressed in ways that made her happy and comfortable.
But this was Theo’s family. They were the people he loved more than anything else in the world! And she wanted more than anything for them to like her.
Tonight for dinner she wore iridescent bauble earrings and a peach-colored wrap dress with navy trimming. Both were items that originally belonged to her mother, and she hoped they’d bring her some comfort.
“Hey!” Luna looked up from being lost in thought to see Theo sitting on the front stoop of a home, waving at her. He hopped to his feet and approached her as she made her way to the house. “You made it!” He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You look lovely.”
Luna blushed. “Thank you,” she said. She held up a bouquet of tulips. “These are for your aunt.”
“She’ll love them,” Theo said. He squeezed her hand. “To be honest, she already loves you. My aunt has been ecstatic since I told her about you.” Luna relaxed a little when he said that. “Ready? I apologize in advance, they can be a lot.”
“I can’t believe I’m already meeting your family,” Luna teased, making Theo snort. “It’s a little fast don’t you think?”
“Well our first kiss was six years ago,” Theo reasoned. “But I also proposed before our first date, so I think this is actually pretty on par for us.” Luna threw her head back in a laugh. Theo offered her his arm, escorting her into the house.
“Aunt Clara? Uncle Desmond?” Theo called as he brought Luna inside. Luna looked around, taking it all in. Theo’s aunt and uncle’s home was so much more bright and cheerful than she expected. There were family photos on the wall going in the same direction as the stairs. The walls were papered in a pale yellow. The whole space smelled like a home-cooked dinner, and there was music playing from a radio somewhere Luna couldn’t see. Luna was reminded of the comforts of the Burrow, the happiness of the home permeating from every little detail.
No wonder Theo loved it here.
“In the kitchen, Theo,” a man called out, and Theo led her through the house to the back where a tall man with balding hair and thick glasses was helping a shorter scrawny woman cook. She was standing on a stool to see into the pot she was stirring, but when Theo and Luna walked in, she tapped the pot with her wand to have it stir on its own.
“Oh, you must be Luna,” Clara exclaimed happily, coming up to them. She instantly hugged Luna close and squeezed her tight.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Hale,” Luna said, hugging Theo’s aunt back.
“Oh please call me Clara,” she said. She cupped Luna’s cheek in her hand. “Oh, you’re so lovely. Theodore, you didn’t tell us how pretty she is!”
“Aunt Clara!” Theo blushed furiously. Then he looked at Luna. “She’s lying, I definitely told them you’re pretty.” Luna couldn’t help but giggle.
“This is my husband, Desmond,” Clara pulled Luna away from Theo deeper into the kitchen. Luna shook Desmond’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure,” he said with a soft smile. “Sorry about Clara, she’s excited to meet you.”
“Well the feeling is mutual,” Luna said. “These are for you, Clara,” Luna offered the flowers up to them. “I’ve checked for nargles or any other mischievous things, they’re creature free.”
“Well aren’t you sweet,” Clara said, beaming. “I’ll put these in some water. Dory, sweetheart,” she looked over to Theo who reacted to the nickname by going very stiff, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. “Want to give Luna a quick tour? Dinner is almost ready.” She turned back to Luna. “I made lamb stew, it’s his favorite. Theo said you eat everything?”
“It sounds lovely,” Luna insisted.
“Good, hurry along then,” she shooed them out of the kitchen as swiftly as they were brought in, finding themselves back in the foyer where they started. Luna took one look at Theo’s shocked face and burst into a fit of giggles, burying her face in his chest.
“Well you did wonderfully,” Theo shook his head. “I can’t say I survived…”
“I thought you did quite well, Dory ,” Luna teased and Theo groaned.
“That nickname can never leave this house, Luna, promise me,” he practically begged. Luna could only laugh as she took his hand and he guided her through the house. The place was small, just enough space for the three of them to live comfortably, and they made it through the house quickly. Theo’s last stop on the tour was his own bedroom.
“It’s a bit cluttered,” Theo said. “Uncle Des had it as his office, but they made room for me when I moved in.” He opened the door and Luna walked in. He was right, the space was cluttered, but the spaces Theo occupied were very him . The bed was neat, and there were shelves of books and knick-knacks above the bed. There was a desk in the corner and a broken pocket watch was spread out over the desktop. Luna could tell it was something Theo was fiddling with just by noticing the great care that was taken to take apart each piece and place it accordingly. On top of the dresser were a few photos that drew Luna’s attention.
One photo was of Clara and Desmond. They were much younger here, smiling and waving brightly while clearly on some sort of hike, nothing but forest greenery behind them. Another was of Theo, maybe around the time of his first or second year of Hogwarts, balancing precariously on a broom. The little Theo in the photo was gripping on for dear life and his toes were still touching the ground.
“Not one for flying?” Luna asked, turning to Theo who was watching her from the doorway.
“I’m terrified of heights,” he admitted. “I leave the flying to Blaise and Draco.” Luna smiled and turned back to the photos. The last one was old and torn in the corner. It clearly had been folded many times before finally finding home in the frame it was in. The subject of the photo was a woman with long chocolate-brown hair and wide green eyes, beaming at the camera and twirling around, occasionally hiding behind an oversized sunhat.
“My mother,” Theo explained when Luna traced the edge of the frame. “Ellanora.”
“You look so much like her,” Luna said. Theo had the same curls, the same eyes, the same smile. “She was beautiful, Theo.”
“Yeah, she was,” Theo said, smiling fondly as he walked up beside her. “Clara gave me that when I wrote her during my first year asking questions about her. They were sisters,” he explained. Luna nodded. “She died when I was about five.”
“I only have photos of my mother,” Luna said. “Not many people around these days who can share stories about her. My father used to talk about her for ages.” She gave him a sad smile, knowing he felt the same pang of sadness she did. She walked away from the photos and sat on the end of the bed, looking around. “How long have you lived here?” she asked.
“On and off over my whole life,” Theo said, sitting beside her. “I was born here. Mum came to stay when she was pregnant with me. The first war was still in full swing, and she and my father thought it was safer if she stayed away.” Luna only hummed to acknowledge it, taking his hand in hers as he continued. “Mum and I came back for a short time when I was little…” he shook his head. Luna could tell there was more to the story, but he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, and Luna knew well enough not to pry. “I ran away from home the summer after fourth year and stayed here until I had to go back to Hogwarts, I came back after fifth year when my father was arrested, but when he…got out, I agreed to go with him. And then it was a long time until I came back. I didn’t see them for a while. It…wasn’t safe.” Luna squeezed his hand, understanding. “I kinda showed up on their doorstep with all my things after the Battle of Hogwarts, and they didn’t comment on the time at all, just brought me in, set me up in my old room, like nothing changed.” He was looking down at his knees, chewing his bottom lip.
“They love you so much,” Luna said, reaching over and lifting his chin to face her. “You didn’t need to convince me more than you already had to help you help them,” Luna said. “But I understand now, why you were so desperate to find a way to help. They’re as much your parents as your actual parents are.”
“They’re more,” Theo said with a sigh. “Senior was always distant and cold. Mum was gone too soon… Clara and Des are my parents.” Luna nodded. Theo let out a sigh and pressed his forehead to hers.
“Have I thanked you yet,” he asked. “For all of this?”
“You have,” Luna said. “Multiple times. But it’s not necessary. I’m glad I could help.”
“Thank you anyway,” he said. Theo leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers, making Luna smile. She hadn’t done a lot of kissing in her lifetime, (really she hadn’t done any kissing until lately) but she found herself constantly wanting to kiss Theodore Nott, and she was glad to see he seemed to feel the same way about her. She leaned into the kiss, deepening it slowly, letting Theo’s tongue pass her lips and his free hand gently gripping the back of her neck.
“We probably shouldn’t…” Luna said when they paused for air. “Your aunt and uncle…”
“Sent us away in the hopes we’d have a private moment,” Theo said before leaning in to kiss her again. “Ten more minutes…”
“Theo!” Luna giggled.
“Okay, okay, five,” Theo said, kissing her cheek and then trailing down her neck. Luna’s toes curled and she shivered. She was about to ask him to keep going when Clara’s voice called up the stairs.
“Dinner’s on, kids,” she called out. Theo and Luna jumped apart and then immediately started to laugh at their reaction.
“C’mon,” he stood up and offered her his hand. “Let’s see how long it takes for them to completely embarrass me again.”
“Oh I'm sure it won’t be long, Dory,” Luna winked and took his hand, practically skipping out of the room with him in tow.
###
Theo didn’t know why he’d been so nervous to introduce Luna to his aunt and uncle. They were both instantly enamored with her and continued to be all through dinner. Luna didn’t even have to try, her natural cheer and pleasant demeanor charmed Clara and Desmond immediately, and all Theo had to do was sit back and watch.
Luna was telling Clara a story about a summer adventure where she and her father were in Wales searching for some fantastical creature while Theo helped his uncle clear the dinner dishes.
“I’ll wash, you dry,” Desmond offered, tossing a drying rag to Theo. They fell into a routine as they always did, Theo taking the dishes handed to him.
“So what do you think of Luna,” Theo asked. Everyone and their mother could see how Clara felt, but Desmond was always more quiet and reserved, and Theo was anxious for his thoughts.
“She’s lovely, Theo,” Des said. He dunked another plate into the sudsy water. “You two make a very good pair.”
“You think?” He asked, surprised.
“You’re both very smitten with each other,” Des said. “Clara and I were the same when we were young and newly in love.” Theo almost let the plate in his hand slip onto the floor, but he caught it in the nick of time. “I actually uh…” Des took his hands out of the sink of water. “I owe you an apology, Theo.”
“What?” Theo asked, placing the dry plate on the counter. “What for?”
“When you told us yesterday you’d been seeing someone,” Des shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well… I was worried you had…ulterior motives, for suddenly revealing her to us.”
“Ulterior motives,” Theo asked slowly.
“The will,” Des sighed. “I know you told us before that you didn’t want to bother with the conditions anymore, but then Clara’s illness started to get worse and I thought you’d do something extreme, like marry a random woman to try and fulfill the terms of the contract.” Theo swallowed dryly, feeling a pit in his gut. “But now I’ve seen you and Luna together, and I realized I couldn’t be more wrong. So I’m sorry,” he clapped his hand on Theo’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t have doubted you.” The guilt-pit in Theo’s gut grew bigger.
“It’s okay, Uncle Des, I understand,” Theo said. There was a wave of laughter from the dining room and Theo looked in their direction for a moment, contemplating. If he was a better person, he’d come clean right then and tell Des he wasn’t completely wrong. That Luna was marrying him for the will conditions so he could help Clara. But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t risk the chance that his aunt and uncle would end up turning down his help if they thought he’d only done it to trick the system. “How is she?” Theo asked, changing the subject.
“Ah…she’s hanging in there,” his uncle said, going back to the dishes. “The healers in diagnostic medicine gave her a new treatment to try, but it makes her very tired.” He handed Theo the last dish.
“When did that start?” Theo asked. He should find out what it is and ask his friends about it.
“A few days ago,” Des shook his head. “They also suggested one of the memory clinics.” Theo opened his mouth to offer help, but Des shook his head. “We’ll figure it out. You just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“But I…”
“We’re so proud of you, Theo,” Des said earnestly. “Everything you’re doing with work, with your friends, with your life,” Des squeezed his shoulder tight. “And now you have someone you may be able to share it with? That’s all Clara and I ever wanted for you.”
Theo thought he was going to cry. Instead, he swallowed down the knot in his throat and, looked down at his shoes, willing his face to keep from blushing. “Thanks, Uncle Des.”
“Of course,” Des said, “Now let’s go rescue your lovely Luna from your aunt, shall we?” Theo nodded in agreement and led the way out to the dining room, taking his seat beside Luna again.
“Hi,” he said, taking her hand. “You two are having too much fun, it’s making me nervous.”
“Clara was telling me about an incident with you and a box of chocolate frogs one Christmas,” Luna said, smiling coyly at him. Theo ran his hand down his face.
“I was four!” he shouted, making Luna laugh. “I didn’t understand they weren’t real!”
“Is this the time he tried to set the chocolate frogs free?” Desmond asked, smirking. “Our front porch was littered with half-melted chocolate. There’s still stains out there.”
“Again, I was four,” Theo looked up at the ceiling. Luna only laughed again and leaned over to kiss his cheek.
“It’s an adorable story,” Luna said.
“I imagine you have an arsenal of cute stories now,” Theo teased. Luna just shrugged and smiled.
“Don’t worry,” Clara reached over and patted both of their hands. “I saved some good ones for the next time you come around.”
“I look forward to it,” Luna said, and Theo knew that she meant it.
“I should probably get you home,” Theo said. “It’s getting late.”
“Is it?” Clara looked over at the clock on the wall.
“Theo is just hoping he can pause our fun and try to salvage his reputation,” Luna said, making his aunt and uncle laugh. “But he’s also right, I have an early morning tomorrow.”
“Oh it was lovely to meet you, Luna,” Clara got out of her seat and embraced Luna tightly. As she did, she looked over Luna’s shoulder and winked at Theo. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. When they finished hugging, Luna got up and embraced Desmond as well.
“You’re welcome anytime,” Desmond said.
“Thank you,” Luna said. “I’ll bring the ingredients for that tea next time.”
“Please do,” Desmond said. “Use the floo, if you’d like. Theo, you’ll make sure she gets home safe?” Theo nodded and stood to join Luna. They gathered their things and Theo took a handful of floo powder.
“Until next time,” Luna said again, standing in the hearth.
“Until next time dear,” Clara waved. “Dory, we won’t wait up for you tonight.” she winked.
“Auntie!” Theo gaped. Luna laughed and pulled him into the hearth with her. She took the floo powder out of his hand, and they vanished into the floo network.
When they were gone, Clara turned to Desmond, beaming. “Oh she’s so perfect for him, Des,” she said, tears in her eyes. “He looked so happy, didn’t he?”
“He did,” Des said, kissing his wife. “He really did.”