[Open] You stick to your yoghurts, I'll stick to my apple pie.

[magicandpudding]

Luna Lovegood came to Chicago almost a week ago. She was sleepwalking at the time and found herself no longer at Hogwarts, but in the middle of a busy, foreign city instead. She was lucky enough to come across someone who was Wanderer-friendly and was lead to Kashtta

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[fortisleo]

Harry Potter has been in Chicago for over a year at this point. It makes it difficult to measure how old he is, because his own time line is such a mess. He steps through the sidewalks, looking for monsters. While he is here, he takes that responsibility on himself. It is what he would have done if he had stayed in his own universe and been able to live.

He thinks he would have become an Auror, fighting dark magic. This is the closest he will get to that. There's no restriction to magic use in a universe that doesn't acknowledge it, and it makes it fairly easy for him to keep monsters from hurting people.

Luna Lovegood is absolutely the last person he expects to see when he passes through Grant Park. The fact that she's talking to a squirrel is not at all surprising to Harry. It's the fact that she's here at all that has him staring.

"...Luna?" There's slight hesitation before he steps forward. "Is that really you?"

[magicandpudding]

“Hello, Harry,” Luna turns her head at the sound of his voice, eyes a little wider in pleasant surprise - but the dreamily vacant expression that rarely leaves her face still intact. She didn’t think anyone else she knew would be here, but it’s nice to discover she has one of her friends around.

She smiles fondly, “Did you fall through the Rift too?”

She turns her head back to the squirrel in the tree, “Please excuse me, this is one of my friends from home,” she says with a small bow, “It was very nice talking to you,”

She turns round to face Harry. At his question, she even pauses for a few moments to consider this. “I’m pretty sure I’m still me,” she tells him with a nod. “I don’t think I could be anyone else,”

[fortisleo]

Harry knows that it is her from the sound of her voice alone. If there was ever any doubt, it is gone now, because no one else would respond quite like that in this situation. No one but Luna. He smiles at the sight of her, and he doesn't know if he should be so happy to see someone from his own universe considering what it means.

However, he always is. He nods, adjusting his glasses. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. Around a year ago," Harry offers, shaking his head in disbelief as he closes the distance between them. "How long have you been here?"

There's some confusion as she addresses the squirrel again. That's a bit off even for Luna. He'll have to ask about that later.

Her response makes him smile. "No, I don't think you could either," Harry agrees, looking back at the squirrel. "Were you talking to that squirrel? I don't believe I knew you... could."

[magicandpudding]

Luna has definitely been taking things in her stride; she’s never been to Chicago before so there’s so much to discover. She has been a little sad, but she knows it’s not best to dwell on that

[fortisleo]

Harry would expect nothing else from Luna. She has a way of taking nearly everything in stride even being locked in the basement of Malfoy mansion. He remembers her face distinctly then.

"I'm really glad someone nice found you and brought you to that Tower," he says, smiling back at her and adjusting his glasses as he looks at her.

He pauses when she says the last time that she saw him. "It works... differently here, Luna," Harry says softly, and he looks away from her before meeting her gaze again. "I fell through the Rift... a year after Dumbledore's funeral and then I've been here a year. I'm two years older than the Harry that you last saw

[magicandpudding]

“Yes, the nice lady did say we’re not particularly welcomed here,” she says with a simple shrug of her shoulders, not sounding too worried about this. “It’s quite sad, really,”

She finds the apparent hatred of Wanderers similar to Purebloods and their hatred of Halfbloods and more specifically Muggleborns. There seems to be no escape of such a hatred, which does sadden her.

Luna tilts her head to one side as he talks, she looks a little more focused than usual. As he looks away from her, she reaches forward and takes his hand with hers, offering him a small smile. It’s alright, Harry. She understands in her own quiet way. She knows life for him is never easy, she’s learnt that in the two years she’s had his friendship. And while she might not know what the future has held for him in their own world, the impression she gets of this city is that it too is filled with sadness and hardships of its own

[fortisleo]

"That is one way of putting it," Harry says with something of a wince though he is not surprised Luna doesn't sound too worried at all. She rarely does. It's the type of person that she is, and Harry can worry enough for two people. Hermione can worry enough for five. "It is. It can be really dangerous if you're not careful

[magicandpudding]

"It's alright, Harry. I'll be fine," she assures him with a soft smile. "And things are always better with friends

[fortisleo]

Harry opens his mouth at the assurance but closes it again. She wasn't fine before. She was locked away, wasn't she? He can't forget that. It's nothing he wants to inform her of

[magicandpudding]

"That's nice to hear," she says with a small nod of her head. It is nice know that she has friends and that they think the same about her too. "And thank you, I'm sure I'll be alright - but I will come to you for help, of course

[fortisleo]

"Thank you. I'd want you to come to me. It's what friends do for each other, Luna," Harry says with a small smile, adjusting his glasses again and looking down at the grass, out at the streets.

Strange, how this place has become home for him.

"I've-- Yes, I have. I've seen Remus. He's here. Hermione. Tonks too. Dunno if you really got the opportunity to meet her ever, but she's brilliant. They're all from different times as well," Harry admits. "Makes it rather difficult. Think I'm the furthest along."

So he knows everyone's futures but can't quite bring himself to tell them. It seems better that they don't know.

"I'd imagine it would be. You'd have loved having that power back home too." To tell the truth, Harry would too. He'd have liked to know what Hedwig would have to say. Fang too. "It did. Gave me the ability to use anything as a wand. I've tried chairs, pencils... a hot dog once

[magicandpudding]

"Remus...?" she tilts her head to the side, "As in Professor Lupin? Oh, I do like him very much. I believe he was our best Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, asides from you of course

[fortisleo]

"Yes, that would be him," Harry says. "I spent a lot of time with him outside of school so I suppose I've a habit of not always referring to him as professor Lupin. He's much younger than the one that you met though, don't think he believes he was ever able to become a professor

[magicandpudding]

"Oh, that's a shame," she says, her smile faltering a little. Poor Professor Lupin, she really does like him as a teacher. The lack of confidence in him does make her sad

[fortisleo]

"It is a shame except for the fact that he was able to become a Professor in the end," Harry reminds her so someday he'll believe, he'll have the confidence. "And there are three of us here to say what a good teacher he was