White Ribbon

Draco/Luna ONESHOT

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter. That honour belongs solely to JK Rowling.

Synopsis: Luna doesn't know why she keeps losing white ribbon. Draco doesn't know why he keeps finding it.

A/N: Just something that flashed through my mind today. Thought I'd write a little something. (I adore this pairing!)


Luna Lovegood always wore a white ribbon in her long blonde hair. As with most of her possessions, they tended to disappear at the slightest opportunity, so she kept a roll of ribbon, the width of her thumbnail, on the shelf with all of her homemade charms. She supposed, in her calm way, that the lost ribbons must accumulate somewhere, in a frayed tumble of soft fabric, but she could never be bothered to look for them. She just cut herself a new piece from the roll.

Draco Malfoy never wore ribbon in his hair. So it seemed strange to him that he should be constantly finding white ribbon floating about the halls of Hogwarts. For some reason, he always picked it up, tucking it absentmindedly in his pocket as he walked to his next class. At night, he would take it out, adding it to the tangled ball placed delicately in the bottom of his cupboard. Sometimes he woke in the middle of the night just to open the door and check it was still there.

The ribbons in Draco's cupboard often shared secret giggles with one another. Sometimes, one would disentangle itself from the others and find its way to Luna's room, where it would have a conspiratorial conversation with the roll sitting on the shelf.

Once, Luna saw Draco shoving his hand into his pocket as she passed him on the way to dinner. She could have been mistaken, but she thought she saw a flash of white in his hand. She reached up absentmindedly to check the ribbon in her hair, then lowered her hand, satisfied that it was still where it was supposed to be. By the end of dinner, it was gone.

Once, Draco saw Luna skipping down the hall towards the potions classroom. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a white ribbon in the waves of her almost luminescent hair. He reached into his pocket, fingering the soft piece of material he had squirreled away earlier that week. The next day, he found another ribbon floating around near the dungeons.

The ribbons were getting quite impatient, and had taken to arguing amongst themselves when they thought no one was looking. The ones in Draco's cupboard thought they should take more direct action, while the roll in Luna's room still maintained that patience was a virtue. Grumbling, the tangled ribbons conceded to the roll's point.

Luna was in the courtyard, idly reading the latest issue of the Quibbler, when she suddenly felt her hair loosen. She set her magazine down, patting her hair and looking about her for the runaway ribbon. She couldn't find it. She had just given up and started to pick up the Quibbler again, when a hand entered her vision, holding the white ribbon in its fingers. She looked up.

Draco was in the courtyard when he saw her. Her heavy hair was held back loosely by a white ribbon. Convulsively, he felt his hand reach out to pluck the ribbon from her hair, but he stilled it quickly. The ribbon had other ideas, slipping from the girl's hair while she read. It blew to a stop at Draco's feet, and he bent to pick it up. He had just decided to pocket it, when he found himself in front of her, holding the ribbon out in his hand. She looked up.

The ribbons were remarkably pleased. All their careful scheming was finally working, and not before time. Draco's bundle was steadily growing, while Luna's roll was rapidly shrinking. The ribbons thought it wouldn't be long now.

Luna was surprised when Draco returned a tangled bundle of white ribbon to her just before the Christmas holidays. They were outside in the snow, alone. All the other students were inside eating lunch. Normally, Luna would've been with them. But she had been looking for her ribbon. She was pleased that Draco had found them for her, and thanked him with a kiss on the cheek. He blushed.

Draco was surprised when Luna kissed him on the cheek. He had debated whether or not to return the ribbons, but something in his chest had demanded that he do so. He would miss their soft, silky feel against his fingers. He brushed some hair back from her face. It was soft and silky too. He thanked Luna for the kiss with one of his own, not nearly so chaste as hers. She blushed.

The ribbons were crowing exultantly. It was working. Very well. Very well indeed. And Draco's bundle was pleased to be reunited with Luna's roll.