Harry's POV
Harry sat in front of the fire with Luna curled up into his side as he went over the daily ward reports. After the war he’d set up wards around known properties of his that would register visitors and provide him with a list at the end of the day. If it was someone legitimately visiting him or just scouting the place to see if he lived there, he’d know about it. He was surprised to see the name on the ward list for Grimmauld Place.
Hermione Granger
Harry frowned down at the name, remembering the fight just before she left to find her parents in Australia.
--Flashback--
“Hermione, Ron, have either of you seen Luna?” Harry asked, walking up to his friends after the battle.
“No sorry, mate, I haven’t seen her,” Ron said.
“She’s probably somewhere talking to her imaginary animals,” Hermione responded, shrugging as if it didn’t matter.
Harry frowned at her. The last year of horcrux hunting had brought them a lot closer together and in some ways pushed them further apart. Harry had realised that he could only handle Hermione’s bossiness and know-it-all attitude for so long, especially with no breaks in between, and while she happened to be one of his closest and oldest friends, he wouldn’t allow her to insult his betrothed.
“That’s not a nice thing to say, Hermione,” he rebuked.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. “There’s a reason people call her Loony Lovegood, Harry.”
Harry glared at her, “Don’t call her that! Her name is Luna, not Loony! She is an Heiress and deserves respect, not to be ridiculed because she sees things you don’t.”
Hermione blinked in surprise before her eyes narrowed and she got a stubborn look on her face.
Oh great, she’s about to go off on some rant because she thinks she’s right.
“Just because she’s some sort of Heiress doesn’t make her better than anyone else! If she’s supposed to be an Heiress then maybe she should act like one and not pretend to see things just to get attention!”
Hermione kept ranting, her hands on her hips, but Harry had tuned her out. He looked at her and waited for her to run out of steam.
“I’m going to go to Australia to get my parents, which one of you will come with me?”
“I won’t,” Harry replied immediately.
“We almost lost Fred so I’m going to stay with my family,” Ron added.
Hermione huffed. “Fine, I’ll just go by myself and when I come back I expect an apology from both of you!” She turned around and stormed off in the direction of the gates.
“Good thing we grabbed our stuff from her earlier or she’d be leaving with a lot of our belongings in her bag,” Ron said, staring as she walked away.
Harry snorted. “I hate to say it, because I know how you feel about her, but I think you can do better than her, Ron.”
Ron gave him a non-committal hum as the two stood and watched her leave.
--End Flashback--
“What’s wrong, Harry?” Luna asked from his side.
Turning to face her, Harry smiled and leaned down to kiss her briefly before wrapping an arm around her and pulling her even closer.
“According to the ward reports, Hermione showed up at Grimmauld Place today.”
Luna frowned. “Why would she think you’d be at Grimmauld Place? The fidelius charm crashed and you hated that place.”
Harry shrugged. “I don’t know if she’s even considered that, she probably thought I’d be there and hasn’t considered any other option. She didn’t even send an owl to ask if I’d be home or where I was staying.”
“She is very bright but very stubborn. She never would have survived in Ravenclaw,” Luna said.
“What do you mean, love?”
Luna tilted her head and smiled brightly as she always did when he called her love. “She relies on a single source of information and ignores all others. We Ravenclaws value learning, we obtain multiple sources of information, not just the one that gives us the answer we want.”
Harry paused and thought back to their time at Hogwarts. “You’re right, she relied heavily on what was written in books and once she had her answer she’d hold onto it tightly and refuse to listen to any arguments against it.”
Luna nodded, “Her thoughts on the magical world and what it means to be a Lord or Lady, or even an Heir or Heiress, are very much skewed. She’s going to struggle if she doesn’t realise that this is the magical world and while Magical Britain is a bit behind the times, her muggle views are going to alienate her especially if she wants a job in the Ministry.”
“Yeah, it was a shock to me when I found out all I had to learn and I had help and a Lordship. She’s not going to have either.”
“You could help her you know?” Luna said softly.
Harry snorted. “No, I will not help her unless she apologises for the horrible things she said about you and the names she’s called you, even then I might not help teach her. She was my friend but by the time she left I didn’t really like her as a person.”
“Fair enough.” After a few seconds of silence Luna spoke again, “You do know she’s in love with you, right?”
“WHAT?”
Luna laughed and Harry wasn’t sure if she was laughing at his reaction or his obliviousness.
Probably both, he thought ruefully.