This is my first story that I've ever put online for the world to see. This is just the beginning of a story I felt like experimenting with. I hope you enjoy! There will be more chapters to come... hopefully. I appreciate criticism as long as it's constructive :)
I DON'T OWN ANYTHING, except the plot, sort of. (I hope! I sincerely apologize if there's already a story out there like this.)
Draco's pace was rushed but smooth as he walked the horridly familiar path to the seventh floor corridor. Chills shivered down his spine, his chest close to bursting point with anxiety. He clenched his shaking fists, one hand firmly gripping his wand, low at his sides as he continued to make his way through the dark castle to his destination. It was early January; students would soon be returning to Hogwarts to start classes again after their lovely Christmas holidays, filled to the brim with peppermints and chocolates and Christmastime joy. Draco bitterly thought back to the days when he couldn't wait to go home to mummy and daddy and spend holidays being showered with gifts and affection and delicious Christmas feasts. He scoffed at the memories. If only he had known back then what his life would turn out to look like now...
Starving, yet he hadn't been able to even look at food for days. If he ever did manage to get something down, it was only to result in his echoing retches throughout the boy's lavatory. Constant paranoia, undying voices in his head, burning through his mind like fire. He couldn't remember the last time he slept. He couldn't recall the last time his head was not throbbing and pounding with ceaseless pain. His shoulders felt like they were constantly bearing the weight of at least twelve bloody hippogriffs everywhere he went. Draco didn't recognize himself anymore. He felt ill. Surely this was all just a sick, twisted nightmare. Sometimes he would let himself believe that he would wake up in the morning, shiny and new, without a care in the world, because his reality was too heavy to comprehend. But every now and then, a white-hot burning feeling like needles from the sickening mark on his wrist would remind him that this was real. It was really happening, no matter how much he wanted to believe otherwise. He had a job to do; his life and his parents' lives depended on it.
A fresh wave of panic arose in his throat at this last thought- the only clear thought he could ever seem to think anymore. His heart thumped angrily against his ribs as he found it increasingly difficult to breathe. He was trembling from head to foot as he walked the last few steps around the corner leading to the blank stretch of wall he was headed for.
Draco abruptly came to a halt, as though frozen in place, his heart pounding in his ears. The blank wall he had expected to see, opposite the one with a tapestry depicting a wizard trying to teach trolls ballet, was no longer blank. An old, worn, wooden door engraved with intricate designs was planted into the wall, slowly closing behind a flash of long, wavy, blonde hair. Draco's body reacted before his mind had a chance to register what was happening, and he found himself silently slipping through the doorway just before it gently clicked shut.
The room seemed to be endless in size- it hardly seemed to be a room at all. Draco's mind was blank for the first time in months as he soaked up his new, bizarre surroundings. Soft, cushiony grass covered the ground, from which continuous mist was dancing, high up into the sky, dissolving into a gentle, whispering breeze. Deep periwinkles and lavenders and blues clouded the sky above him; silver stars were dusted across the infinite space overhead. Could there really be a ceiling beneath all of this? An enormous silvery-white moon shone from high in the distance, filling the surreal universe below it with a ghostly glow. Massive willow trees could be made out through the fog, gently swaying in the breeze. The sound of slowly running water could be faintly heard somewhere past the nearest tree.
Draco closed his eyes, feeling a cool breeze lovingly caress his face. He inhaled deeply, his body feeling light as air. Exhaling shakily, he slowly opened his eyes again. His heart filled with a very strange feeling as he felt the corners of his mouth stretch. His hand floated up to his face, lightly touching his lips with fingers that no longer felt like his own. Somewhere, deep inside his brain, Draco vaguely realized that he was smiling. An odd sound escaped his lips, echoing distortedly in his ears. A giggle. Did that really just come out of his body? Draco laughed even harder. He felt positively giddy. He was no longer tied down to the earth; he couldn't seem to remember why he stayed there for so long in the first place.
Draco looked down at his body as if it were somebody else's. The black shoes enclosing his feet suddenly felt like jail cells; he swiftly kicked them aside, sloppily pulling off his socks and stepping onto the smooth grass. He couldn't remember ever feeling a more wonderful sensation than this glorious grass against the bottoms of his feet. Unharnessed laughter happily escaped from his throat once more as he absentmindedly loosened his tie and removed it from around his neck, letting it slither to the ground in a heap amongst his long-forgotten wand, which had slipped out of his hand upon entering this world without Draco even noticing.
As Draco drifted further into this mystical new place, his being completely rid itself of all previous knowledge of life, as he knew it. This place was all he knew now; the present, this world right in front of him, all around him- this was all that mattered.
Two giant, shining, crystal blue eyes suddenly appeared through thin mist from behind a tree that Draco was approaching. He stopped and stared, grass between his toes like soft little feathers, breeze kissing his skin. He watched, mildly curious, as the creature that the eyes belonged to stepped out from behind the tree. A small, dainty, naked girl with silky, pale, glowing skin and waist-length blonde hair that shone brightly in the moonlight stood before Draco, smiling vaguely at him. A fuzzy, fleeting feeling in his chest told him that this creature was familiar somehow. He felt safe and warm. Peaceful. Happy. He smiled back at the girl, fascinated by her skin, her eyes. Her naked body looked so natural in this world- like a piece of its puzzle, without which it would not be whole. She was so serene.
"Hello, Draco Malfoy." The voice sounded airy and unfazed by his presence, yet kind and welcoming.
"Luna," he heard himself say, equally as airy. He didn't know why he called her that, but it just seemed to fit.
"I was just about to go for a swim. You can join if you like. Its very relaxing, you know. Not to mention, it keeps the Wrackspurts away."
Draco watched as Luna turned away from him, her hair cascading down her back as she began to wander off. Mesmerized by the grace of her bare form as she moved, Draco's feet began carrying his body after Luna's, hearing himself agreeing that swimming is widely known for keeping away the Wrackspurts, whatever those are.
Time didn't seem to exist in this world. Draco next found himself standing naked at the edge of a vast, sparkling, periwinkle stream, not remembering removing his clothes, but not caring. The mist in the air was thicker close to the water, and Draco strained his eyes to not lose sight of Luna, who had slid into the water, gliding through it towards a small waterfall. He slowly stepped into the steamy water, wanting to be near beautiful Luna. The water gave every ounce of skin that it touched a wonderful, euphoric sensation. He felt his throat moan in ecstasy as he lowered more of his body into the water, still moving towards the otherworldly girl, who was now standing under the waterfall, letting water pour over her head as she danced beneath it.
He approached the girl, watching her in awe as her captivating wet body shined smoothly in the glow of the moon and moved gracefully in some kind of love dance that Draco soon found himself mimicking. She looked so majestic, so perfect, he wanted nothing more than to touch her, to connect their two bodies and become one.
Draco reached out a hand and slowly, carefully, gently brought the tips of his fingers to the side of her face. Something overpowering coursed through his veins as soon as his skin made contact with hers- an electric shock; fire- all he knew was that he never wanted this moment to end. He needed it like he needed air.
Luna's orb-like eye's locked with Draco's storm cloud grey ones, a vacant smile playing on her face as his hand caressed it tenderly, carefully grazing the tips of his fingers along her jaw line to the corner of her mouth. Luna gently took Draco's long, thin hand in her own small, soft ones, slowly planting a tiny kiss on each of his fingertips, all while keeping unblinking eye contact. She lingered for a moment, his hand still cupped in hers, staring him directly in the eyes, before taking a few steps back, away from the waterfall, away from Draco. Their hands parted, though his was still outstretched, reaching for her.
"I enjoyed your company tonight, Draco," Luna's quiet voice danced into his ears as she continued to glide away. "I really must be going now." She turned from him.
"Please don't leave, Luna," Draco's voice sounded desperate as he watched the beautiful creature steadily move farther out of his reach. She turned her head to look at Draco from over her shoulder and paused for a moment. "Please, stay," he begged.
"Goodnight, Draco Malfoy," Luna replied with a soft smile, before looking back away from him and disappearing into the mist.
Draco stood, unable to move, staring at the place she had been only moments ago. He felt his heart ache for the unusual girl. He felt a distant hollowness inside of his chest. Where did she go? Why did she leave him?
Suddenly Draco felt himself falling through mid-air, his vision clouded by overwhelming darkness. The warm water that had once wrapped him in comforting wetness had now evaporated from existence, leaving him dry. Confusion and panic flooded through his body. But then it was over as quickly as it had begun, and he felt hard, cold stone under his heavy feet. The beautiful meadow had gone; he was now in a cold, dark, empty room, the only source of light coming through a tall, grungy window, out of which Draco could faintly see a half-moon hanging alone in the sky. He whipped his head around just in time to see the only door in the room snap shut behind long, flowing blonde hair.
Draco sank to the ground, panting as though he had just run five miles. His head was spinning. A familiar throbbing pain quickly ebbed its way back to his temples as he tried to sort out what on earth had just happened. A strange, salty wetness was leaking from his eyes. He was crying? He wiped the tears impatiently away from his face and suddenly became painfully aware that he was naked. His eyes frantically searched around the room for his clothes and wand. Some panic slightly subsided in his chest as he located all of his clothes stacked in a neat pile on top of his shoes, his wand at the top of the stack in the corner of the room nearest to the door. He scrambled to his feet and got dressed as fast as he could, body shaking violently.
Once fully clothed, Draco Malfoy glanced back at the room, trying to steady his erratic breaths, a strong current of baffling thoughts and emotions rushing through his insides, swallowing him whole as he saw not a single trace of the strange meadow that he had surely just been in… Had there even been a meadow at all? Had he finally gone completely insane, finally cracked under the unbearable pressure of his horrible reality? The eerily empty room staring back at him held no reassurance of the contrary.
Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck as Draco backed out of the room, a crazed look in his eyes. He ran, terrified, as swiftly as he could manage on trembling knees, all the way to his dormitory, thankfully without any interruptions in the halls or Slytherin common room. His dorm room was empty, allowing him to fall freely onto his bed with a strangled cry escaping his lips as he began to sob.