The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

6. Caught In The Act

Although Luna was sad that she couldn't be with her dad for the holidays, she had the most amazing Christmas at Hogwarts with Carly.
Since Hogwarts was hosting the Triwizard Tournament, the school had gone all out with the Christmas decorations.
So the castle looked like something out of a fairytale.
Both Carly and Luna had bought new dresses for their own mini Yule Ball, completing the fantasy element of their Christmas celebrations.
Luna had bought a midnight blue gown, and Carly had chosen a dark green dress.

"Wow, you look beautiful" complimented Carly, when Luna stepped into the Room of Requirement, all glammed up.
Luna blushed, "Thank you. You look fabulous as well, like some kind of Slytherin queen".
"Well, it made sense for us both to wear our house colours, since we are so proud of our Hogwarts houses. Green is my favourite colour anyway, and when I saw this dress, I knew it had to be mine" admitted Carly.
"It suits you perfectly. You made the right choice".

"Yes, I think I did. Now, we have the perfect outfits, the perfect location, and the perfect decor" said Carly, as she gestured around, to the Room of Requirement, which had decorated itself for them.
"All we need now is food" continued Carly.
"Well, the room won't be able to make that appear, because food is exempt from Gamp's law. You can't make food out of nothing" informed Luna.
"That's a shame. We will just have to sneak down to the kitchens later, and take some food from the house-elves. But for now, we dance" replied Carly, as she stretched out her hand to Luna.

Luna smiled and took hold of Carly's hand, allowing Carly to lead her into the middle of the room.
Carly then flicked her wand at the vinyl player, and a romantic slow song began playing from it. She then started leading her and Luna in a dance.
"You know, you're really quite good at this" complimented Luna.
"Thanks. Aunt Andy put both me and Nym in formal dance classes, when we were younger, just like her parents had done for her. But Andy pulled Nym out pretty quickly, as she is very clumsy and has no grace whatsoever. I, on the other hand, sailed through those classes. And even though it has been quite some time since my dance lessons, I think I managed to retain most of what I was taught" admitted Carly.

"My parents used to dance in the kitchen together sometimes, but it was nothing like this" said Luna.
"I wish I could have gotten to meet your mum" sighed Carly.
"She would've loved you, especially since she was best friends with your dad at school" replied Luna.
"It's just a shame that all of my parents friends died before I could get to know them. Remus is the only one still alive, who's not an escaped convict, and he's Merlin knows where. He doesn't care about me"
"Hey, don't concern yourself with such sad things, not today. Today is the one day where he can just be happy, together, without any interuptions"
"You're right, I'm sorry"
"You're forgiven".

****

Later that evening when the girls got hungry, they headed down to the kitchens to get some food.
Once they had filled up their plates, they left, passing by the great hall on the way, to peer in at the Yule Ball.
"We could always sneak in and have a quick look around" suggested Carly.
"No, we couldn't" replied Luna sternly.
"But the Weird Sisters are playing, and I want to see them" pleaded Carly.
"It's too risky, since we weren't invited".

"I doubt the teachers are taking attendance, and making sure that no underage students are sneaking in. Besides, they are probably all too drunk right now, to pay attention to things like that" grinned Carly.
"We can't go into the hall, and you know it... But if you really want to listen to the Weird Sisters, we could hide in an empty corridor or something, and dance without anyone seeing us" suggested Luna.
"That's a brilliant idea. Come on, let's find somewhere to hide, where we can still hear the music" encouraged Carly, as she sprinted off down a corridor.

Once they had found an empty classroom, they put down their plates of food down on a table, and began to dance.
"This is much better than being in the Room of Requirement, because listening to live music, will always trump recorded things" said Carly.
"I'm glad you're happy" replied Luna.
"I am happy if you are, my Atlantis" whispered Carly, before leaning forward and pressing her lips against Luna's.

Suddenly the classroom door swung open, banging hard against the wall, causing Luna and Carly to leap apart.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Demanded Harry, as he stepped inside the room.
"Well?" He asked again, when no one answered.
"Keep your voice down" hissed Carly, before flicking her wand, and causing the door to slam shut.
"So, are you going to tell me what you were up to?" Questioned Harry.
"Why, are you some kind of idiot, who can't see what's right in front of him? Me and Luna were dancing together, there is a ball going on afterall" snapped Carly.

"You were doing a lot more than dancing. You were kissing" announced Harry.
"And do you have a problem with that?" Asked Carly.
"It's illegal" reminded Harry.
"Maybe in the wizarding world, but you were raised in the Muggle world, where things like this are more normal. So, you must be O.K with two people of the same gender, kissing each other"
"Being O.K with something, and seeing it happen between two people you know, are completely different things. Besides, we are in the wizarding world right now, and not the Muggle world. And what you are doing is against the law. You can get sent to prison, for having a relationship with someone of the same gender".

"I don't care if it's illegal. I love Luna, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to change that" announced Carly.
Luna stepped forward and placed her hand in Carly's, "She's right. We love each other, so what could be wrong with that?".
"It's not natural" insisted Harry.
"Says the boy who has survived death multiple times" replied Carly.
"Look, what you get up to in private, is no one else's business, but yours. However, doing things like this in public, is risky" warned Harry.

"We were in a private room, until you barged in here. What were you up to, anyway?" Asked Carly.
"I was looking for Ron. He left in a strop, after seeing Hermione dance with Krum, one too many times" answered Harry.
"Well, you should've knocked first, in case you interupted some of the older students, who are making out in these classrooms" replied Carly.
"That's a horrifying thought. But you still shouldn't be doing this in a classroom"
"We were only dancing and kissing"
"Yes, but anybody could have walked in, and seen you".

"Harry, I need to know that you aren't going to tell anybody about this. You have to keep this a secret" informed Carly.
"Like you kept my private life a secret from Rita Skeeter?" Harry said sarcastically.
"I didn't have a choice. I had to feed her information on you, to stop her looking too closely at my life. I couldn't risk her discovering that me and Luna are dating. I had to keep Luna safe" admitted Carly.
"You mean you had to keep yourself safe, and protect your dirty little secret".

"Does us being together, really offend you that much?" Asked Luna quietly.
"I suppose not. It's just a bit weird" mumbled Harry.
"Then please don't tell anyone about us. If you do, we will get sent to Azkaban" replied Luna.
"You've seen the Dementors Harry, and you can't send your only sister to them, just for falling in love with a girl" added Carly.

"Alright fine, I won't tell anyone about this. But if your secret does come out, and someone asks me about it, then I won't lie and I will tell them that I knew about this, but that I didn't approve" informed Harry.
"It won't come out, if you don't tell anyone about it" replied Carly.
"You won't be able to keep this a secret forever. Eventually everyone will know, because some things cannot always be kept hidden" warned Harry.