The Second Moony (Sirius Black)

Ch 11

Luna had never been more excited for anything in her life than she was to go back to Hogwarts. Ever since the incident at the beginning of the summer, her parents had been incredibly overbearing despite the fact that St. Mungo's healed her completely; she only had a few minor scars. They hardly ever let her out of their sight, and when they did, they made sure to check on her every single hour. 

Even worse, she was quarantined in the house with Remus. Sure, she didn't exactly want to go back to the village to play with the other children. She was traumatized from the earlier encounter. But her parents didn't even let her into the nearby meadow. It took them a month to let her wander in the fenced backyard. 

But the worst thing of all was that it was incredibly difficult for her to stargaze. Her parents fortified the entire house for Remus, but Luna had long ago managed to open her window to sit on the roof. A classic bit of accidental underage magic. So that wasn't the problem. Not originally anyways. The problem was that Luna tended to zone out hard when she stargazed and she often lost track of time. This created a problem for her parents and their new obsession with Luna's whereabouts. One night, they had walked in to check on Luna and found her bed empty. 

They knew Luna enjoyed looking at the night sky, but they didn't know she did it on the roof. So they frantically searched the entire house before going outside and yelling out her name. Luna responded to this and leaned over the edge to get her parent's attention. Seeing their daughter in such a precarious situation less than a week after she had been hospitalized sent Hope into an even greater hysteria and just about gave Lyall a heart attack. The pair raced back upstairs and dragged Luna inside. Then Lyall used every spell he could think of to ever prevent Luna from getting onto the roof again, effectively cutting her off from her favorite spot. 

Luna tried for weeks to break the spell. She casts her own and even tried using sheer force of will. But it didn't work. So she resigned to sneaking out the front door, a task that got easier with experience and with her parent's dwindling concern as the summer continued. The only problem with this was that she could only be out there for a maximum of ten minutes if she didn't want to get caught. This wasn't nearly enough time for such an enthusiastic stargazer, but it would have to do. 

The day was another problem. She loved her family with her whole heart, but by the end of the summer she wasn't sure if she liked them anymore. If she had to spend one more day in the house with no one but her brother and her mother, she was going to live in the woods. 

Remus and her had a lot of fun in the beginning. They played games, even creating a few of their own. One was tastefully called "Kill the Werewolf" and was shut down within an hour of its creation by Hope. Another was called true witch. This one was so complicated that when the twins tried to recruit their parents, both adults had to take some headache medication for it. Hope and Lyall are convinced that the twins just make up rules on the spot with a vague theme running through them all. Luna and Remus also learned how to play piano with the guidance of their mother. 

But it's safe to say that Luna wanted nothing more than to be back in the comfort of Hogwarts with all her friends and lack of parental observation. She missed them so much and had been writing them all summer. Her parents banned her from seeing them, not wanting her to leave the house. It was suffocating really. 

--- September 1, 1962

"Luna, will you please stop bouncing up and down. You're shaking the entire table."

"Sorry, Remus. I'm just excited to go back. Want to see my friends. Guess it's something you wouldn't understand."

"Luna! Be nice" Hope shouted at her youngest. 

"I would hope you'd be a little less excited to leave us for so long. We hardly see you now that you go to that school. Can't believe you don't love us anymore. Remember when you were just a little itty bitty child and you used to hug us and never dream of going away" Lyall started on a long monologue of how his children don't love him anymore.

"We still love you, dad." Remus said. 

"Speak for yourself." Luna replied. To be fair, her mother hadn't finished making breakfast yet. 

"Oh now you're going to get it little lady. You better start running. 3...2...1..." When Lyall reached one, he stood up from the table. Luna was already out of the kitchen, sprinting away from her father, screeching. Remus just sat there and Hope continued to make breakfast. 

"I'm coming to get you, Luna! You may be fast, but your legs are about half the size of mine." Luna already knew this, which is why she was now hiding inside the couch. Hopefully no one tries to sit on it because they'll find an unpleasant surprise. 

"Hiding are we? I thought you were supposed to be a brave Gryffindor. Ready or not, here I come!" Lyall started searching the bottom floor. It was obvious she hadn't sprinted downstairs since he didn't hear any of the characteristic creaks from the old wood. 

It didn't take him long to narrow it down to the living room. After doing a cursory observation, Lyall got down on his hands and knees to carefully examine every nook and cranny. Luna was small, so there were a lot of places she could fit. When Lyall finally made his way over to the couch, he almost missed it. Almost. A few strands of brown hair had fallen through the hole Luna used to get into the couch. 

In classic dad fashion, Lyall decided to pretend he hadn't spotted her. "Hope! Do you know where she'd be. I can't find her!"

"Sorry, honey. No idea" 

"Damn. Well, she'll be back eventually. Might as well sit down." Luna's eyes grew wide. Hopefully her father would choose one of the other two cushions. But of course not. Lyall plunked down right on top of his daughter. Luna almost fell out of the couch, but her legs were stuck. 

"Strawberry shortcake." She muttered to herself. What a predicament. She started shimmying and eventually got her head and shoulders out. But her legs were still stuck. 

"My My, this couch is wiggly. I think we need a new one. Seems to be getting a life of its own" 

"Daaaaaaaaaad I can't move." Luna gave up. She knew her father knew she was there. Why else would he be doing this? 

"It speaks! Hope, my god, you must come hear this! The couch, it speaks!" Lyall shouted to the kitchen. 

"Stop messing around you two and come get some breakfast. We have to leave in ten minutes if we want to catch the train." 

Lyall finally stood up, allowing Luna to come out of her hiding spot. She was unable to move her legs. She came crawling out from under the couch. 

"Luna, what were you doing down there? Did you hear the couch? it spoke." Luna just scowled at her father. "Well someone's in a bad mood. Better cheer up after that breakfast." 

Luna ate quickly and quietly, just wanting to get to Hogwarts already. After a few minutes, the Lupins packed up and apparated to Kings Cross Station. 

"Alright children. This is where we leave you. Take care" Lyall turned and started walking out of the station, but his children ran up to him and gave him the tightest hugs they could. "So you DO love me!" 

"Of course we do, Dad." The twins replied. Next they went to their mom. 

"Bye Luna, Bye Remus. Be good this year. No more detentions, you hear? I love you both so so much"

"Love you too."

"Now go on, don't want to keep you from your friends any longer."

With that, Remus and Luna went sprinting onto the train to find their friends. Remus set off towards the back; James, Sirius, and Peter had written to each other to meet in one of the last compartments. They hoped to get the same one as last year since it was far away from any teacher riding. 

Luna didn't know where to go. Surprisingly, her brother's friends were more organized than her own. But it didn't take too long for her to find her fellow Gryffindor second years. Alice and Lily were sitting on one side, Marlene on the other. 

"Luna!" The group exclaimed. They took turns hugging each other before settling down to explain their summers. Luna had missed all her friends dearly. They were her second family and everything she would ever need.