Luna was asleep, curled up against Harry's side. He rested his chin on her scraggly blond hair. The world seemed suddenly very empty and vast without Xenophilious as an anchor to keep things in place. The Gryffindor wondered where they would live. Surely, they wouldn't be allowed to stay at home by themselves. And what of their father's many projects. There were dozens of magical plants and animals that made their home with the Lovegoods. Harry would need to be sure to ask Snape. The Billywigs would need fed and the Dirgibal Plums flowered in the fall.

A tear tracked down the eleven year old's face and he sniffed, wiping it away with the sleeve of his school robe. Now he was an orphan. His breath hitched in his chest and he hugged Luna tighter. As long as he had his sister things would be okay. They had to be.

-

"What happened?"

"Is everything okay, Harry?"

Hermione and Ron asked, crowd the boy when he walked through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. Harry didn't feel like talking. He wanted to just go up to his bed and sleep for a year. He and Luna had been given orders to pack up their trunks and go to Snape's quarters where they would be staying for a while - though they were still welcome to visit their houses during the day. The temporary measure would be lifted the moment their father's killer was found.

"What happened?" Hermione asked again, her voice low.

Harry wiped at his eyes, glad that no one else was in the common room to see him cry. "My dad is d-dead."

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered, his eyes widening.

Hermione surged forward and wrapped her arms around Harry in a tight hug. "I am so sorry, Harry. We're here for you no matter what. If you need anything just ask," the girl's voice wobbled toward the end and when she pulled back tears were tracking down her face. She blushed and wiped them away with the back of her hand, giving Harry a soppy smile. He tried to return the gesture, but the muscles around his mouth refused to cooperate. She gave him a knowing look and took his arm in her own.

"I'm suppose to pack up...me and Luna are going to be staying with Snape for a while," Harry said glumly.

"Bloody hell!" Ron's mouth fell open as he tried to work through the news. "That greasy git? Why not McGonagall. She's old, but at least she washes her hair," the redhead said with an exaggerated shudder.

"I guess because of what happened to m-my dad," Harry said.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked uncertainly.

"It's just...someone killed him."

Hermione gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Harry," she murmured gently.

"Would you guys help me pack?" Harry asked after a moment. He didn't think he could do it alone, there were too many things around his bed and trunk that reminded him of his father. Hermione and Ron nodded while simultaneously saying, "Of course!"

The trio trudge up the stairs into the boy's dorm.

-

Luna stared down at the inside of her trunk. It was half-full with the other half of her belongings mysteriously missing from where she had last put them. A dark haired boy had snickered at her when she'd entered the common room earlier and she knew that he was responsible, but there was still a bit of doubt. Maybe she had just misplaced...two dozen things. With a sigh, the blond girl closed her trunk and sat on top of it. She bit her lip, staring down at the toes of her socks. Her shoes had gone missing that morning. A fat tear tipped off the edge of her eyelash and plunged down onto her robes followed by another and another. Before long Luna was sobbing into her hands, hunched over the trunk that her father had given her for her ninth birthday.

He couldn't be gone. He just couldn't. Luna knew that her mother was in on the other side, but her father wouldn't leave the twins all alone. Luna's chin trembled as she finally got control of her crying. A few other girls in the dorm were giving her sideways glances, but none said anything or moved to help the girl. Deciding that there was no point in staying in her dorm room and being gawked at, Luna grabbed one handle of her luggage and walked out, the trunk sliding along the stones behind her socked feet.

"Where are you going?" the dark haired boy from earlier asked. He had a sneer and a prefect badge.

Luna sniffed and looked him straight in the eye. "I'm going to stay with Severus Snape. Now, please, get out of my way."

There must have been something in her eyes or the tone of her voice, because the boy paled and took a few stumbling steps back. Satisfied, Luna stalked out of the common room and into the hall. Her house had never been friendly to her and she was almost glad to be moving in with Snape. At least he would be safe and wouldn't steal her undergarments. Remembering the glow of white magic that had whirled around Snape during potion's class left her feeling even more hopeful. He was a teacher at Hogwarts and she trusted him.

-

Snape growled under his breath and cursed the damn bloody idiot who had decided he would make a good guardian. Two children of dubious character would be arriving any moment and he still hadn't figured out where to put the lengthening charm which would add another room to his quarters. Harry and Luna were twins so surely they shared a room even if they were different genders. Snape hesitated. Or would being it be taboo? After all, the house dorms were segregated. Now uncertain, the potion's master tapped his wand against the outer thigh of his robes.

A knock sounded at the front door.

"Merlin's saggy shorts," he grumbled with vehemence, "I'm not ready yet."

Schooling his features, the professor walked over to the door and opened it. He found himself looking down into the impossibly wide, silver eyes of one Luna Lovegood. She had dried tear tracks on her cheeks and her hair was sticking up in odd directions. He gave what he hoped was a smile and motioned for her to come inside. She did, pulling a silver and blue trunk over the threshold.

"Where do I put it?" the girl asked after a moment of looking around the large living and dining room area.

Snape pointed vaguely to the left. "Uh, over there."

"Where's Harry?" Luna asked after depositing her trunk next to the black leather couch by the fireplace.

Obsidian eyes narrowed. "He's not with you?" The man glanced back out the open door into the hall as if to confirm that Harry Lovegood wasn't loitering out there like a muggle.

"No." Luna shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, getting the fingers caught in some tangles. "You do know that we're in different houses, right? He had to go to Gryffindor."

An involuntary sneer broke through the professor's cool facade. "Gryffindor," he said the word as if it were poison.

Luna's eyebrows shot up at this, but she simply nodded. "Yes."

She plopped down on the couch and drew her feet up off the cold floor. Snape was just about to make a harsh comment about not putting shoes on the furniture when he noticed that she was not actually wearing any.

"Why are you walking the castle barefoot?" he asked, nonplussed. Luna's face fell and her eyes grew damp. Horrified at the thought of dealing with a crying girl, Snape waved his hands in a motion of dismissal. "Never mind. I'm sure you have a perfectly good reason."

"Luna, are you okay?"

They both turned to see Harry standing in the doorway, hand raised as if to knock on the open door, a trunk sitting at his feet. He was watching his sister, concerning wrinkling his brow. Harry shot a suspicious look at Snape and entered, closing the door behind him.

"He hasn't done anything to you has he?" Harry asked.

Luna blushed. "No! Don't be stupid, Harry."

"He's right here," Snape added droly.

The boy walked inside without being invited and let his trunk slide over next to Luna's. Sitting down on the couch next to her, Harry settled on watching the potion's master with squinted eyes.

"What now?" Harry asked.

Luna looked over at Snape. "Where do we sleep? Should we unpack? How long will we be here?"

Snape raised a hand to stop the flow of questions. "I am currently making arrangments, you can unpack when I'm finished, and I'm not entirely sure how long you will be staying with me."

Harry worried his lip between his teeth. The last thing the boy wanted was to spend a lot of time with Severus Snape - he still hadn't gotten his revenge for what had happened class, after all - but Luna had actually looked relieved to be staying with the professor. Harry knew that she was very sensitive so there must be something about Snape that she found comforting. A pang of jealousy on their father's behalf lanced through the boy's chest. She shouldn't be looking for support from anyone else when their father hadn't even been buried yet. His throat hurt and he swallowed against a growing lump. He refused to cry in front of Snape, so Harry contented himself with focusing on the professor's every move. If he could find some way to convince McGonagall that Snape just wasn't a suitable guardian then things might be okay.

Luna watched with a dreamy gaze as Snape rolled up the sleeves of his robes and got to work muttering and waving spells, directing them at a blank stone wall. It wasn't long before a doorway had popped into existence and a room beyond. Snape disappeared inside of it followed the sound of wood cracking, metal squealing, and Snape's dulcet tones. Eventually, the teacher came back out. He was wiping beads of sweat off his forehead.

"There. You will both stay in there," Snape said, sounding a bit pleased with his workmanship.

Luna frowned, her . "You don't mean we're rooming together? Eeew." She shook her head, shuddering. "We haven't shared a room since we were four, right, Harry?"

Harry didn't want admit that he kind of wanted her to be nearby. At night was when he missed their dad the most and he was afraid of facing that great silent darkness alone. He made a noncommittal sound deep in his throat and looked into the fireplace. Snape glanced between the two children, utterly confused. The girl seemed adamant, but the boy didn't care. Growling, Snape pointed his wand behind his shoulder and muttered a spell.

"The room is now divided. You will share the space, but have your privacy. Is that sufficient, Ms. Lovegood?" Snape asked.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, her gaze once again falling back into a placid calm.

Both children stood and Harry took a trunk handle in each hand and pulled them both into the bedroom without being told. Snape watched with satisfaction and then retired to his bedroom for a much needed drink.

-

Harry's stomach growled. He rubbed it. "I'm hungry."

Luna was laying on his bed, reading a herbology textbook. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about us," she reassured him.

Snape had disappeared nearly four hours before and with them having missed the last meal, Harry was ready to sneak out and go hunting for the kitchens. Luna seemed content to wait, certain that the professor would return soon enough.

-

Snape emptied his latest glass of fire whiskey and hissed at the warm burn traveling down his throat. He didn't know what being a guardian entailed exactly, but he felt proud of his accomplishments so far. He had made them a room to their specifications, had invited them into his house without threatening even once to dismember them or turn them into potion ingredients.

That was when he realized his mistake. Eyes widening, Snape twisted his neck around so that he could see the wall clock. He hissed again, but this time out of disgust. It had been nearly four hours and the little brats hadn't eaten yet. Of course he would forget something as mundane as feeding the children.

His drunk brain floating a bit left of center, Snape stumbled out of his room while attempting to scrounge up a last ounce of dignity. He had planned to fall straight into a firewhiskey coma, but now he had to provide for the children. That thought made him giggle while also stoking the self-anger that always seemed to be simmering below the surface.