Luna stood alone in an empty compartment of the Hogwart's Express, her trunk at her side. She turned as somebody entered behind her, a serene smile on her face. It didn't waver as Draco Malfoy lifted his own trunk onto a rack above the seats.
"Get out, Loony," he said, sneering at her as he sat down directly in front of her.
"Oh, no," Luna said wistfully, "You have to go. I'm saving this compartment for friends." She gave him a soft smile and stared out the window from where she stood, curiously watching the families on Platform Nine and Three Quarters get their final goodbyes in.
Draco snorted, running a hand through his perfectly ruffled hair. He looked her up and down, taking in her pretty blonde hair and great figure, which were masked by the huge broomstick earrings and tacky bottle cap necklace. Her hair was in four ponytails and her clothes were disheveled and mismatched. Honestly, Draco thought, if she weren't such a bloody freak she wouldn't be such a horror to look at.
"You don't have any friends, Loony," Draco smirked at her pointedly.
"Well I might this year, though," Luna said vaguely, thinking of the DA and their adventures in the Department of Mysteries. While she didn't think she'd ever truly be an important friend to Harry Potter and his circle of friends, she thought perhaps she'd at least have some friendly conversation to look forward to this year. "By the way," she added, "I read that your father's been seen over in Ireland. Shouldn't he still be in Azkaban?"
Draco's mouth dropped open and he began to respond, but the train gave a sudden lurch forward. Luna lost her balance and collapsed in Draco's lap. Her lips grazed his cheek as she braced her hands on the wall either side of his head to soften her landing.
"Ooh!" she gasped. He could feel her breath on his face and swallowed hard as she wriggled in his lap trying to get up quickly.
Luna could feel her face getting warm. Was she blushing? She never blushed!
"Hmm…"she said, looking at his neutral expression, "I think I enjoyed that a bit too much. Maybe I should go before I do anything crazy. I mean, people don't call me Loony for nothing. I might try to kiss you or something even more ridiculous!" She laughed hard at her own sense of humor and grabbed her trunk, leaving Draco Malfoy staring after her, his mouth slightly open as he was, for the first time he could remember, at a loss for words.
Later, as the trolley lady brought the sweets cart along the train, she left quite a good amount of treats in the compartment filled with Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Ginny, Neville, and Luna.
Ron had just mentioned something regarding Sirius Black, and Neville and Ginny looked away awkwardly as Harry became stony faced. Luna continued to flip through her book entitled Sneedle-deedles (and other wondrous imaginary creatures). Hermoine, however, rounded on Ron, causing him to mutter an apology.
"Honestly Ronald! You are so insensitive! I've met your mother! I know you weren't raised by a pack of wild dogs!"
As soon as the words were out of her mouth she immediately turned bright red. "Oh, I'm so sorry Harry! Wild dogs…I'm as bad as Ron!"
Meanwhile, Ron was nearly choking on his pumpkin juice he was trying to contain his laughter so poorly. Luna knew Sirius Black had been very important to Harry (though she wasn't quite sure about Hermoine's apparent blunder.) However, Luna was quite relieved when Harry tightly smiled and told them it was okay. Harry was one of the few people who only looked at her like she was an alien part of the time. The rest of the people who treated her decent were in the compartment as well. Well, except for maybe Ron. Luna sighed, wishing again that the handful of people who weren't annoyed by her mere presence weren't all in a different House.
Distractedly she left the compartment to go to the ladies room, not noticing that she glided past Malfoy, as usual lost in her own world.
How dare she snub me! Draco thought angrily And as if there would ever be the chance of me kissing that freak! Unfortunately, though, the thought didn't disgust him the way he wanted it to. Remembering something else that was bothering him, he stalked after her. He waited until she was about to emerge, then swooped towards the door and pushed her back in, locking the door behind them. Luna's eyes widened as she stared at the Prince of Slytherin locking her in the loo with him.
"Can I help you, Draco?" she asked, fully composed, as if this sort of thing happened quite often.
That caught him off guard. "Why are you calling me Draco? We're not best mates or anything!" He scoffed at her.
"That's your name, isn't it?" Luna looked confused, "I can call you Martin if you'd like, but I think Draco much better suits you. It's all dark and mysterious sounding."
Draco made a sound somewhere between a snort and a choking sound. Grimacing, he decided to get straight to the point.
"What the bloody hell were you saying about my father? That he's in Ireland?"
"Oh that," Luna looked at him suspiciously, "You probably already know this, but
he was seen in Dublin, in a karaoke bar called 'Simon Sings' dancing on a table and singing a muggle song by a group called the Beatles." She muttered to herself "I would've pegged him more of a Stones kind of guy." She looked up at him, staring with her wide guiless eyes, "Anyway, the whole thing was reported in Daddy's newspaper." She tilted her face up further and looked at him solemnly. Draco stared silently back at her with his eyebrows slightly raised for a full minute.
Then he laughed.
A real, genuine laugh. It was without malice or sarcasm, and he couldn't remember ever doing it before. He pictured his wretched father singing karaoke with his long hair flying around and it made him laugh until his side ached. As his laughter died, he noticed Luna still standing in front of him, her eyes narrowed.
"You're not taking the story seriously, are you?" she said in a tone he couldn't read, "That's okay, a lot of people don't. Daddy just does what he can to keep the magical community informed. We can't help it if people don't apprec-"
Suddenly she found herself pressed against the wall, underneath a painting of moving countryside scenery, reflecting what the train was passing by. She felt his hands on her waist and couldn't look away from his burning grey eyes. He was looking at her with an intensity that made her struggle for breath.
"Nobody has every made me laugh like that." He said it softly, staring at her, "Ever. In my whole life I never realized that I've basically never laughed."
"I-I'm sorry," her voice was almost a whisper, "You really needed it, though. You are, without a doubt, the most tense person I've ever met."
"You don't know the half of it," he muttered.
"Kiss me, then" Luna said softly, not even believing her own daring, just knowing that her stomach felt tied in a thousand knots, "and ease some of that tension."
It was as though something had snapped inside both of them at the same time. Draco groaned and leaned into her, pressing himself against her, and ran his hands up and down Luna's sides.
Luna matched his groan as she felt her insides explode with butterflies, and she reached up and put her palms on either side of his face, pulling him closer. Neither noticed the gentle rocking of the train, as they deepened their kiss, and rubbed against each other more urgently.
"Oi! Where's my trunk? We're almost there!" They heard a shout from somewhere outside the door. Both pulled back, Luna looking bemused and dazed, Draco looking a little ill.
"Oh God! I've done it now!" he sounded disgusted, "Snogging the school lunatic!"
"LUNA-tic" she giggled.
"Oh, she's bonkers," he muttered. Then, to her, "Don't tell anyone about this, Loony! I'll completely deny, and then I'll hex you!"
This snapped her out of her reverie. "As if you could! Besides, you think I want people to know about this! No thank you! I mean, that was perfectly fabulous, but I will not have you talking to your fellow snakes about it! So you just be a gentleman for once in your life!"
With that scolding, Luna leaned up on tiptoe and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and very casually left him standing in the girls' loo. Again, very much at a loss for words.
The ride in the carriages to the castle was nice, Luna thought as she pleasantly remembered Draco's lips. The rain was pouring down; splattering on the window Luna stared out of. Ron and Hermoine were with the other prefects, so Luna sat squashed next to Harry and their combined luggage, and across from Ginny and Neville.
"Are you okay, Luna?" Harry asked, looking fearful of receiving a long explanation filled with nonsense.
Instead Luna just looked at him and smiled. "I'm fine, Harry. Why do you ask?"
"Weeell..." he said slowly, "You're being quieter than usual, and you look a little flushed." Concern filled his green eyes.
She looked at him in wonderment. "Nobody's ever cared how I felt before. You are such a good person, Harry Potter."
Harry looked extremely uncomfortable as a blush crept up his neck, so Luna gave him a beaming smile and turned back to looking out the carriage window.
All throughout Professor Dumbledore's speech Luna could feel Malfoy's piercing grey eyes on her. Once she looked over and Pansy Parkinson was hanging on his side. Pansy was chattering away; however Draco's eyes were on Luna. His eyes met hers and he stared even more intensely. Luna could feel a faint smile playing at her lips, and one of his eyebrows shot up as he smirked at her. Luna was very glad to be heading back to her room in the Ravenclaw tower. This was the most exhausted she could remember being, and she fell asleep almost immediately.
The first few days of classes passed uneventfully, and thankfully Malfoy was staring at her less at meals and in the hallways. This had been the first time in Luna's life that she had ever felt self conscious. She definitely did not like the feeling, and since she knew that Prince Slytherin wouldn't ever approach her, she would prefer it if he could at least ignore her with his eyes as well.
As for Draco, he was convinced that he was completely mad. To be lusting after Luna Lovegood proved that he was out of his mind. Pansy was not helping his sanity with her incessant chatter and the constant attempts to drape herself on him. Quite frankly, Luna's complete indifference to him was intriguing him all the more in the face of Pansy's annoying habit of clinging to him. As well, he was noticing how much prettier he thought Loony was than most of the other girls. And, he wanted to check himself into St. Mungo's for all the times he remembered what it felt like to be pressed against her.
He growled in frustration as he pushed people out of the way to get to Advanced Potions. He was going to be very late, and Snape would not be pleased. Luna Lovegood was the freak of Hogwarts. She was completely ignoring him since snogging him shamelessly on the train, she was a muggle loving supporter of Dumbledore, and by far the worst of all, in Draco's opinion – she was a friend of Saint Potter, the Weasels, pathetic Longbottom and the Mudblood. He told himself all of this, and yet he couldn't get the freak of nature out of his mind. He stepped into Snape's dungeon classroom and almost screamed at the injustice of it all. The only seat open was next to the one and only Loony Lovegood.
What is she even doing here? He thought furiously. She's a bloody year behind
me!
"Thank you for joining us, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said blandly from his desk at the front of the room, "I would dock points from your House, however I think being seated with Miss Lovegood shall be punishment enough."
Draco heard a few outraged gasps from the Gryffindors, and felt his arrogant smirk slide into place as he sauntered over to the open seat. He dropped his bag to the floor and sat down next to Luna at the table they were to share.
He heard Pansy stage whisper from somewhere in the back of the room "Oh poor Draco! My poor baby!"
He made an effort not to roll his eyes and glanced at Loony Lovegood, noticing that none of what was going on around her was bothering her in the least. Either she was oblivious, or she really just did not care at all what people thought of her.
Snape wanted them to get right to the Potion making, so he waved his wand and the instructions appeared on the board.
"Are you any good?" Draco asked rudely "Potions is my best class, and I don't need you bringing me down." He glared at her menacingly, trying not to imagine kissing her neck.
Luna stared at him for a moment, her face expressionless. Finally she answered simply, "I'm in Ravenclaw. Don't worry."
Draco nearly yanked his hair out in frustration. How did this girl make him feel so inadequate? He was a Malfoy. She should be stammering and stuttering at the very least. Maybe simpering as well. She should not be always be getting the last bloody word in!
"What are you doing in this class anyway?" he snarled, "You're a fifth year."
Not looking up at him, she replied airily, "Oh, I skipped forward in Potions. I'm very good. Like I said."
Draco aggressively leaned forward, so that he was well into Luna's personal space, and when his lips were an inch from hers he said coldly, "See that you make good on that."
He saw a faint blush appear on her cheeks and was thrilled when she backed away and started preparing ingredients for their assignment. Satisfied with himself, Draco grinned and started helping her cut the whistleroots.
Luna moved gracefully, but was fuming inside. It was the first time she could ever remember feeling so riled up, and she tried to swallow it down. She knew he was an arse, and she also knew he was an immature prat who kissed lots of girls and bragged about, but really. Did he need to display such horrid behavior towards her? It was not her fault that he obviously had enjoyed kissing her. He was just feeling grumpy that he couldn't repeat it, because he was who he was and she was who she was. She grimaced, knowing that he wasn't likely to have any insight on the matter any time soon. Well, fine! Luna thought If he's going to be such a wretch, then he's MALFOY to me! No more Draco! Not that it really made her feel any better.
The class ended and both raced out, headed for their respective Houses. They both were happy with the Outstanding they received, but were tense from the close proximity they were in for, for the rest of the year. More than once their hands or arms had brushed accidentally, and for the remainder of the period the only exchange had been an occasional muttered 'Sorry'. It's going to be a long year, both shared the same thought.
The next few weeks passed quickly. Advanced Potions was the only time they were near each other, and both avoided eye contact, keeping conversation limited to whatever potion they happened to be working on.
The first Hogsmeade trip soon arrived one warm October Saturday morning, and Luna wandered out of the castle with Ginny. As they walked past Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, Luna couldn't help but notice Harry giving her an appreciative look up and down. Looking down she realized that she looked fairly conventional for once. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in one simple ponytail and she wore fitted jeans, a plain grey t-shirt and grey trainers. In fact, the only thing that anyone could tease her about was her bottle cap necklace. Raising her eyes to meet his, she gave him a smile to thank him for his silent compliment. Once they reached the town, she wandered away from the group, saying that she'd meet up with them later. Luna then headed for Jewel's Jewelry.
Draco had yet to find his mother a suitable birthday gift, so he was in a foul mood when he entered Jewel's Jewelry shortly after Luna. He didn't immediately notice her, and when he did his eyes narrowed as he studied her for a few minutes. Her clothes looked bloody fantastic on her, in his opinion. Draco noticed her chewing her lip thoughtfully as she looked at a display of necklaces, one arm bent up behind her, the hand gently touching the wand in her back pocket. Sauntering over, Draco came up right behind her and leaned in.
"Don't you already have a necklace, Loony?" he asked, chuckling as she jumped.
"What the haystack, Malfoy!" she exclaimed, surprising him by laughing, "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not polite to sneak up on people?"
"
Who ever said I was polite?" he smirked.
"Well, certainly not me." Luna said absently, turning back to the display case. She gave a disappointed cluck of her tongue.
"Why am I 'Malfoy' all of a sudden, eh? What happened to your good buddy 'Draco'" he asked, putting his elbow on the glass and shifting his weight so he leaned against it.
Luna looked at him skeptically and said as though speaking to a child, "When you behave better, I'll treat you better."
He fought the warmth creeping up his neck and asked with a rapid change of subject, "What are you looking for anyway?"
"Oh, just my mother's necklace," Luna said, smiling up at him, and turning regretfully away from him and the counter.
"Why don't you just ask your mum?" he asked blankly, still thinking on her previous comment about his behavior.
"She's dead," Luna said, with a slight trace of sadness. She saw him jerk his eyes to hers and the extreme discomfort come over his features, "Oh, she's been dead for years. I miss her, obviously, but I'm not going to burst into hysterics or anything."
She bit the inside of her cheek trying not to laugh at how relieved he looked that there would be no emotional outburst.
"Okay, then," he asked, "Then why don't you have her necklace? What's the deal?"
"Nothing really," she sighed, "She just had a necklace that I always loved. She wore it whenever she and Daddy went out on a dinner date. It got lost a couple of years ago, and since then I've been looking for something that looks exactly like it, but I can't seem to find a match. That why I wear this, you know," Luna leaned in conspiratorially, "I don't want to settle for anything less than a perfect match." She toyed with the bottle caps, "This sort of…reserves a place on my neck."
Draco stared at her. She was bizarre. She was a nut. She was so interesting. He thought to himself that he wanted to know everything about this girl, and that realization made him turn on his heels and walk right out of the shop muttering to himself.
Luna left the shop and turned right. She passed the narrow alleyway on the side of Jewel's Jewelry. Draco was leaning against the wall silently fuming about how interested – borderline obsessed - he was with Loony Lovegood, official school outcast. As she tried to pass by, casting a wary look his way, he grabbed her arm, dragging her into the alley and pressed her against the brick wall. She stared at him unblinking.
"What do you want now, Malfoy?" Luna asked, seemingly oblivious to the angry tension radiating from his body.
"I want you to stay away from me." He breathed.
She gave a little laugh, making his scowl deepen. "You are so absurd! You approached me and started a conversation. Then you left with no goodbye. Then you yanked me into this alley. This very tiny alley. What is it with you always dragging me into cramped places?" she leaned into him and squinted at him like he was an interesting specimen, "And they say I'm the crazy one."
"You are insane." Draco said, placing one hand flat on the bricks beside her head, and the other rested on her hip, "Your own housemates think that you're bonkers. They don't even like you."
"They don't even know me." Luna answered softly.
"I want to know you," he said, sounding completely disgusted with himself.
"And you always get what you want, eh?" A soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and the fog cleared from her silver eyes as she looked straight into his grey eyes, "Do you want me to know you?"
Draco's lips were then on hers again. He pressed himself closer, and their tongues danced as their breathing quickly turned ragged.
Draco ran both hands up and down Luna's sides, as she took his face in her palms and kissed him hard, grinding her chest against his. He lowered his lips to her neck, causing her to shudder.
"Oh," she moaned, "you make my so squirmy inside!"
He moaned and chuckled and found her lips again. Their hands were groping and he had her crushed against the wall.
"It figures Malfoy takes his ladies to a back alley for a date." They heard the mocking tone and instinctively turned their faces toward the street where the voice came from.
"LUNA!" Hermoine gasped. Harry and Ron stared dumbstruck with their mouths hanging open.Harry recovered first, and whipped out his wand, pointing at the Slytherin.
"Get the hell away from her, Malfoy," he spat.
"Now, Potter, that is just not polite," Draco drawled, his hands still slightly up the back of Luna's shirt.
"I'm not fooling around." Harry's voice was ice.
"Well, I was, so just bugger off so I can continue."
Harry had started to throw a curse, but before he could get the words out, Luna shoved Draco away and looked over at Hermoine and Ron, noticing that they were holding hands.
"Oh! You two are together!" she said happily and sincerely, smiling at both of them. At the still frozen looks of disbelief and horror, she sighed, realizing that perhaps they would not be so easily distracted. "Oh, now, it's not as if you all just spotted a three legged spinach toad. Stop looking so shocked. We were just having a bit of fun."
Hermoine said helplessly, "But, Luna, you were snogging Draco Malfoy in an alley! Friends don't let friends do that!"
Luna beamed at Draco, who had no expression on his face, "See? I told you on the train that I might have friends this year!" Draco pursed his lips and looked angrily at the trio. "Ah, yes," Luna said thoughtfully, "I guess you all don't really get on too well." They heard a strangled sound coming from Ron. Luna wisely ignored it."Oh, well. Malfoy, I'm sure I'll be seeing you sooner or later. For now I should go with my friends back to the castle. I mean, we obviously don't want rumors to start flying about us." With that, she leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips and touched his face lightly before dragging Harry out onto the street, pushing the other two ahead of them.
Draco leaned against the wall opposite where he had had Luna pressed up against, and slid down so he was sitting on the ground. He pulled his knees up and stared at the bricks, trying to sort his thoughts.
He was a Malfoy. He should be more in control here. Thank God his father was in Azkaban, or else there would hell to pay for his association with Luna. Not for the first time did he think of the irony that Saint Potter, who he truly loathed, had done him a favor by getting Lucius Malfoy locked away. Of course, Potter probably thought that Draco was plotting against him for it, but the truth was that Draco's life had improved dramatically in the past few months.
He and his mother were getting along better than ever – though with no discussions about Lucius – and Draco felt free for the first time in his life. Perhaps that was why he was acting the way he was. There were no more biting remarks of what a disappointment he was to the family name. No more pressure to be something that he didn't feel he was deep down – evil.
Sure, he loved taunting other students. And he really did not like Potter and his groupies. A favorite pastime of his was to push their buttons to see how angry he could get them. But the fact of the matter was that he didn't get off on other people's pain the way his father did. Plus, he didn't particularly care that much about purebloods or mudbloods (despite how great it was to piss off Weasel and Granger by mocking the little mudblood herself) though he knew his father would spit on him if he ever admitted it. With his father in prison, he didn't need to make so many malicious remarks to get a laugh, knowing that the comments would get back to his father for approval. His life was so much easier now. Of course, he'd marry Granger before he'd ever admit any of that to Saint Potter. The superstar's head was already too big by far with the ego he had.
Luna, on the other had, he cursed himself. She was someone he wanted to confide everything in. It horrified him how miserable he was that their kisses kept getting interrupted. It angered him how she always seemed one step ahead of him. And it downright scared him how much he liked her.
There was no talking on the way to Hogwarts as the four walked back. Just the sound of Luna humming 'Weasley is Our King' dreamily to herself. Finally Ron broke the silence.
"This just proves it, you know," he said loudly.
"Proves what?" Harry asked curtly, staring at his feet as he walked.
"She's ruddy bonkers!"
Hermoine made a sound of disgust at Ron's outburst, but Luna merely laughed, throwing her head back in her mirth. A few more moments passed in silence.
"Luna?" Hermoine asked tentatively.
"Hmm?"
"Is...uh..." Hermoine stuttered, "that is, I mean…what is it like to kiss Malfoy?" The words came out in a rush.
"Hermoine!" Ron and Harry both shouted, their voices filled with both utter disgust and the tiniest bit of amusement.
"I was just wondering." She muttered.
"That's it." Harry stopped walking, holding Luna's wrist to stop her too. "The gates are right there, so you two go on ahead. I need to talk to Luna alone."
Ron and Hermoine looked apprehensive, but continued on through the castle gates. Harry led Luna to the edge of the woods, away from the road and the curious looks of students on their way back to school. Luna waited patiently as various emotions passed across Harry's face. Finally he looked at her.
"Why him? Why Malfoy?" he sounded hurt – the emotion Luna wasn't expecting. She stared at him with her wide eyes.
"I'm not sure." Her voice was soft, "I feel different when I'm with him."
"Which is what I don't get! Shouldn't you feel nauseous? He's such a complete git! Unworthy of you! He's complete rubbish!"
"Oh Harry," Luna said, pulling her eyes away from his and staring up thoughtfully at the clouds, "He's not as bad as you all think. He's a jerk, yes, but he's not bad deep down. There's no Dark Mark on his arm, "she added, "He's not his father."
"But he's using you!" Harry grabbed his messy hair in frustration.
"Of course there's no other explanation." The words were sharp, but her tone kept its gentle lilt. "What if I'm using him instead?"
"You're not." He answered firmly, "You're not that type of girl." He reached out and took her hand, "You're sweet. And brilliant. And fun. And just so much better than Malfoy in every way imaginable."
"Stop, Potter, you're making me blush." Draco's cold voice came from a few feet away. He had his arms crossed in front of him and he glared at them as he leaned slightly back.
"Let's just go inside." Luna's voice slipped from softness, taking on an edge that both could tell meant she wanted no nonsense. Coming from her, Harry almost grinned. However instead he kept his eyes locked with Draco's.
"Luna, I'll see you at supper. Ginny was looking for you anyway. Go on in."
She sighed. "This really is just so ridiculous." She pulled her hand from his and tapped him on the cheek to get his attention, "I'm fine, really. Harry, you are an outstanding friend. Please just leave it, though."
Observing the obvious energy between the two boys, Luna shook her head slightly and started to cross over through the castle gates, taking a moment to lock eyes with Draco with what she hoped came across as a strong silent warning.
Harry swallowed hard at the exchange, wishing he had talked at least a small amount of sense into her, at least where Malfoy was concerned. When Luna's form disappeared well onto school grounds, Harry stormed over to Malfoy, standing in front of him.
"Malfoy, you scumbag, stay away from Luna." His voice shook with anger.
"Oh, what is it to you anyway, Potter?" Draco kept his voice cold and distant, but he found himself wondering if there was something more going on between Saint Potter and Loony. The thought made him distinctly displeased.
"She's my friend," Harry answered tightly, "You're tainting her just by looking at her. You don't deserve to touch her with your filthy hands. I will it say it one more time, slowly, so you understand. Stay. Away. From. Her." Harry couldn't ever recall being this livid. Not even when Dudley destroyed everything Harry owned when they were about eight years old.
"Well, well," Malfoy said softly, his voice laced with malice, "I suppose before it was just a bit of sport. To know that I'm doing something that irritates you so much is definitely icing on the cake." He gleefully took in Harry's enraged expression, "Or maybe you'd like Loony to be more than your friend? Oh, that would be like my birthday and Christmas rolled into one!"
"Shut your face, Malfoy."
"Oh, I'll definitely enjoy the girl now. She's a bloody fantastic kisser, you know." He taunted.
"Shut it, Malfoy." Harry's hands were shaking as his voice vibrated with rage.
"Can't wait to shag her-" Draco didn't finish his sentence because Harry had punched him in the face. He tasted blood and there was a slight ringing in his ears, but it was so worth it. He laughed as he heard Professor Sprout yelling from down the road. He heard her order Saint Potter directly to McGonagall's office. He grinned as he followed Potter onto castle grounds at a much more leisurely pace, feeling more giddy than he had in ages.
Draco glared at the Gryffindor table that night at dinner. Weekends were more relaxed, with students from different Houses mingling at the various tables. Well, except for the Slytherins. Draco sat in his usual seat, glaring at Luna's back. She sat facing Potter, and Draco wanted to throw something because she hadn't even glanced in his direction when she had entered the Great Hall. His face was still throbbing from Potter's punch, so he was slightly regretting taunting him, especially in the light of this treatment – or lack thereof - that he was receiving from Luna. He was not used to being ignored. He preferred to be babied and coddled. This was not acceptable. He seethed as he watched her.
"You shouldn't have hit him," Luna said, as though discussing the weather. She reached for a roll as Harry glared at her.
"He had it coming. I just wish I had done more damage. You don't know what he was saying about you."
"Oh, I can imagine," Luna replied, her tone uncharacteristically dry. She paused and looked at him earnestly, "Really, Harry, you needn't worry so much about me. And," she added as sternly as Luna Lovegood could be, "I wouldn't have left you two alone if I had thought a brawl would break out."
Harry could feel a slight blush creep up his neck, but looked at her accusingly, leaning in and speaking quietly "You never totally answered my question, you know. Why bloody Malfoy? He's the worst possible person you could ever take up with. Ever."
"I don't know," she answered wistfully, "I suppose it's just chemistry." She looked at him, her wide eyes even wider. "Though there's really nothing for you to worry about. It's not as if we're planning on running off together anytime soon. It'll probably never even happen again. I get the impression he thinks I'm odd. But even if it does happen again – it's just kissing. No boy has ever wanted to kiss me before."
"Okaaay…" Harry said slowly, torn between his undeveloped feelings for her and pity for her that she had just admitted that so openly, "I'll kiss you. Whenever you want." His eyes met her silver ones with a seriousness that made her laugh loudly.
"Oh! That WOULD be nice!" she couldn't stop giggling, "But Harry, it doesn't work like that! Besides," she added, innocently finishing her pumpkin juice, "You belong to someone else." His eyes were questioning as his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Luna gave him a smile that barely concealed her excitement "Oh you know who I mean, silly! A certain redhead who is a mutual friend of ours. Whose brother you think will be temperamental about it if you two became a couple, though I personally think he'll be thrilled.Who you've been spending extra time at Quidditch practice with. Who you-"
"Okay, okay, I get the idea," Harry said hastily, looking around to make sure nobody had heard her.
Luna beamed at him, "Just keep talking to her a lot, and it will all work out."
He looked at her bemusedly, "You think?"
"Absolutely." She answered with no trace of doubt in her voice. "So," she added as she stood up, "stop worrying about me and my nonsense, and start focusing on her!"
He smiled at her, shaking his head as she left the Hall, thinking that for someone so dotty, she could be utterly brilliant with her insight.
Draco stood abruptly to follow Luna out. He spared a glance at Saint Potter, but saw he was sliding down the bench to sit next to the youngest Weasley brat.
"Draco, do you want some company?"
The Slytherin looked down, surprised to see Pansy tugging on his sleeve. He hadn't even realized she'd been sitting next to him.
He leaned down and said quietly, "Pansy, I've told you many times, third year is not going to repeat itself. Sod off."
With a smirk, he left her glaring at him as he made his way hastily out into the hallway. He needn't have hurried, though, because he spotted Luna immediately. She was wandering, seemingly aimless, towards the front doors. Draco followed her out on the grounds, a few yards behind her. He didn't want to catch up immediately, content as he was to stroll after her watching her. He paused as she stopped to look at the sunset, spreading her arms to stretch out on either side as she tilted her head back to breath in the smell of the wood stove drifting up from Hagrid's Hut. Mesmerized, he still didn't say anything, but kept her a few yards of him. He faltered as he thought she might be heading towards the Forbidden Forest, but sighed in relief as she turned down towards the Quidditch pitch. He followed her quietly up the stairs to the topmost announcers box, and stared at her a moment. Luna sat on the floor, a copy of the Quibbler spread out on her legs with her knees bent so that she didn't have to bend over to read. She had her wand tucked behind her ear, and her hair was down and messy from the wind.
"You shouldn't have provoked him." Luna said it softly in a sing song voice without looking up.
Draco gave a startled look at her face, and snarled as he dropped down gracefully next to her.
"So it that what you and Potty were laughing about?" he spat the words out, "What a fool Malfoy was to mess with your hero?"
She turned the page and shook her head in amusement, "If you're jealous, you could just ask what we were talking about. I always tell the truth. It makes life much easier to live."
Draco sputtered and grunted "No."
"I was telling him," she went on as if he had eagerly begged for every last detail, "that he shouldn't have hit you." Finally she looked over at him, her eyes widening at the sight of his swollen lip. "Oh dear! I like your face much better in the non-beaten sense." Softly she lifted one hand and touched his face.
Finally getting the attention he felt he deserved, Draco gave her his trademark smirk. "You like my face, eh?"
"You know I do," she said slightly grumpy about it, "I may not like your attitude, arrogance or animosity towards non-Slytherins – ha! That was alliteration! – but I definitely like your face. And your kisses."
Draco scowled at her, "So you don't like me but you think I'm smoking hot, eh? Well, I suppose that's nothing new to me." He paused and glared, "Besides, most non-Slytherins are idiots anyway. I mean, Saint Potter and his followers? I've hated them even before I set foot at Hogwarts."
Luna pulled her hand away from his and looked at him unblinking. "As one of Saint Potter's followers, I have to say that I wouldn't be bragging about your friends either, Malfoy."
The unusual sarcasm from Luna, combined with the continued use of his surname caused Draco's scowl to deepen as he looked away. "Ok, well both our groups of friends are rubbish, though I honestly don't see you as a follower of anything or anyone." He ignored her continuous stare, "The fact remains, though, that we have a strong attraction to each other. Maybe…maybe we could just continue to hang out the two of us and not bother to be around anyone else."
A knowing smile tugged at Luna's lips, "I understand, don't worry. You want to keep meeting up with me, but you don't want anyone else to know about it. We just have to be much more careful than we were in Hogsmeade today."
Draco's grey eyes gleamed in the moonlight. "So to clarify, we're doing this, no strings attached, and it's not public knowledge. Is that the gist?" He held his breath, praying that she'd agree. He didn't want to be talking anymore – he'd much rather be kissing her and exploring her curves, however he knew that what he'd just said could possibly get him rightfully slapped across the face.
Luna met his gaze without any indication of what she was thinking. "That works for me." Draco let out an audible sigh of relief, ignoring the voice in the back of his mind that was asking why she was agreeing to this. She could do so much better than such piggish conditions.
"But," Luna continued softly, "I'm not sleeping with you. Ever. Don't expect it, don't ask for it, and don't try to coerce me into."
Draco tried to look indignant that she would think that was all he was after, but ended up asking "Why not?" in a small grunt.
"Because," she answered, her eyes glossing over as she tilted her head back to look at the stars. "I've never done that before, and my first time isn't going to be with someone who won't hold my hand in public."
Draco swallowed the knot in his throat and leaned towards her, "That's fair." He moved his face closer until their lips were touching to seal the deal.
The next few months passed quickly for them both. Draco and Luna very rarely acknowledged each other in the Great Hall or between classes. However in Advanced Potions feet very often touched under the table, knees bumped, and notes were exchanged secretly. When they snuck away to abandoned classrooms and the grounds surrounding the castle they could not keep their hands off each other.
One evening, Luna managed to drag Draco into the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest for a walk. "It's like us – forbidden – so we obviously belong here!" She said cheekily, wrapping her arm comfortably around his waist and giving a squeeze. Draco laughed, and upon encountering no dangers he was persuaded to go for walks with her regularly in there, holding hands and laughing together. They spent a lot of time talking, and he opened up to her like had nobody else before. It was easy to be themselves without the prying eyes of judgmental students watching them.
On a cold January day Luna was walking down to Potions, daydreaming as usual. She was about to reach the door when she felt a shove from behind her and lost her balance. She reached out and grabbed the wall, letting her books crash to the floor. Pansy Parkinson shrieked with laughter and her cronies cackled with her. Draco had been a few feet behind the Slytherin girls, and his natural reaction was to rush to Luna's side to help her, but as he made the move towards her he bit his tongue hard as Saint Potter reached her first, coming from the other direction. Potter put his hand on her arm and glared at the Slytherins.
"Are you alright, Luna?"
"Oh yes," she said, giving Harry a dazed smile, "I believe I dropped my books."
"Yeah," Harry said, bending to help her pick up scattered papers that had flown loose, "It seems that Slytherins are all pretty rotten. They never seem to change, do they?" His eyes burned on Malfoy as he said this.
Draco scowled back at Potter. He wanted to defend himself and inform the bloody know it all that he just happened to be walking behind the dimwits that shoved Luna. He wanted even more to just shove him out of the way, and wrap Luna in his arms and help her any way he could. Good lord, what was wrong with him? Draco bit his tongue harder, managing to refrain from saying anything as he breezed past the lot of them into the dungeon classroom.
He sat down heavily and stared at the blank board at the front of the room. He didn't look over at Luna as she sat down.
"I'm sorry about that." He said so quietly she barely heard him.
"Oh, that's alright. I'm used to it." She answered just as softly.
He glanced over at her and took in the faraway look in her eyes. He knew she was trying already to distance herself from the incident, so that she could pretend it hadn't actually happened to her. She had told him one night when they had snuggled at the edge of the lake that it was her way of dealing with all of the teasing. It wouldn't bother her, as long as she could pretend that the stuff happened to other people. He suppressed a smile at the memory of that night, when they had spent literally hours sharing their secrets. They had had to sneak into the castle well after midnight, and he had nearly been busted by Mrs. Norris following him down to his dormitory.
His lightheartedness at the memory faded, as he remembered how sad she had been as she confided in him about how sometimes the teasing really stung. He had done nothing today to prevent the teasing. At the very least, he could have told off his fellow Slytherins. Instead, once again Saint Potter was Luna's hero. He had heard all about the romance starting between Potter and the littlest Weasley brat, but he could also tell just be watching at mealtimes and in the halls that if Luna ever decided to pursue Potter, that he might just consider it.
Oh God, Draco thought If she ever breaks it off with me, please don't let her end up with Potter!
"Are you okay?" Luna asked, looking at him with concern.
"Hmm?" he looked at her, paler than usual.
"You look sick," she whispered, as Snape entered the classroom. Draco shook his head and managed a small smile.
What had happened to him? He had gone from being the self assured Prince of Slytherin to fretting about what would happen if the school outcast decided to break off their secret interludes. He wasn't the same person, and he hated feeling weak and uncertain. Most of all, he hated feeling so vulnerable. That was how he viewed his feelings for Luna – a vulnerability that his father would be disgusted by and that his fellow Slytherins would mock him for. No matter that she was pure bred and wealthy – the school lunatic was simply not an appropriate choice for the Malfoy heir.
He glanced at Luna out of the corner of his eye and felt warmth spread in his chest and the tension ease away as he watched her gaze with her dreamy stare at the ceiling. Her fingers absently twisted her blond hair and he thought she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on.
He let out a slow breath. He couldn't break it off. Realistically he knew they would probably never work out, but it was the "probably" that left him considering so many happy possibilities. It wasn't a definite no. He couldn't give her up, he realized. He shook his head slightly, and rested his forehead on the palm of his hand. His head was starting to ache from trying to analyze what was originally meant to be a fun lark of a way to pass some spare time, while pissing off Potter as well.
Luna kept glancing over at Draco. She could tell he wasn't feeling well. She hoped he wasn't adding to it by worrying about the earlier problem with Pansy. It really was no harm done. Actually, she should've been better aware of her surroundings. Normally she wouldn't be caught so close to a group of girls known for their bullying tendencies. She gave a soft sigh. She knew Draco was most likely done with their…well, relationship was the most appropriate unlikely term. She knew he was starting to notice that they were becoming careless. Just last night they'd come off the Quidditch field together. Usually they tried to take separate routes in order to avoid suspicion that they were together, however it was dark, and Draco hadn't wanted her to walk to the castle by herself. They also couldn't help but occasionally stare at each other a little at meal times, and they'd started the risky business of passing notes as they slid by each other in the hallways, as they knew the other's schedule as well as their own. She knew it was only a matter of time before they either got caught, or Draco freaked out and put a stop to it. She knew the pressure he was under to maintain appearances for the Malfoy name. She bit her lower lip. It really was too bad. She'd gone and completely fallen in love with the bastard.
The problem, she knew, was that because what they shared existed solely to each other, that their relationship wasn't flawed. They were able to be so private and personal, and he could be honest and true to himself with her, without the outside influences that tended to drastically change his personality. Of course, that meant they lived in a bubble. A relationship with no outside influence was pure, but it wasn't in the real world. A lazy smile touched her mouth. How she'd love to stay isolated with Draco forever. She knew that she'd love him until she died. That was, of course, unless he decided to make her hate him. Which, considering who he was, was a distinct possibility.
She gave another sigh. Why hadn't she just hexed him on the train to school, when he had pushed her back into the loo? The last few months wouldn't have been the happiest in her life, and she wouldn't be facing this inevitable heartbreak. She looked over at him thoughtfully and sadly, knowing what had to happen. She wrote quickly on a scrap of parchment, then handed it to him under the table.
'Meet me at the top of the Astronomy tower tonight at 8:30.'
Draco glanced at Luna and raised one eyebrow. She bit down on her knuckles, trying not to giggle. He knew she loved it when he did that.
Draco didn't really pay attention for the rest of the day. He was too focused on his impending appointment with Luna. He was a little surprised – usually it was he who set when and where they met. He was a Prefect and still the Seeker for the Slytherins, so his schedule was a bit more hairy than hers. Though, since she was in her O.W.L year, he knew his busy schedule really wasn't a problem for her.
He went to the library immediately after supper. He managed to get a tiny amount of homework done, however Draco knew he was done trying to pass the time when he realized he was glancing at the clock every two minutes. He gave up the pretense and shoved his books into his bag as he left the library thinking that he'd just be a little early meeting Luna. He started walking towards his destination, but before he'd even gone five steps he heard his name from behind him.
"Malfoy. Wait up."
Sighing with exaggeration Draco stopped and slowly turned around to see Potter jogging over to him.
"What is it Potter?" Draco snarled, "I'm busy."
Harry curled his lip with contempt. "Believe me, Malfoy, spending any amount of time with you is no treat for me either." Harry adjusted his bag higher on his shoulder and stared at Malfoy. "I just wanted to tell you that I know you're still carrying on with Luna."
"It's not like it's some huge secret," Draco lied, "Your super sleuthing is just so wasted."
"Bull." Harry said flatly, "I know you would rather spend a whole day in the Forbidden Forest than have any of your goons know about it."
Thoughts of holding hands as they walked through the forest flashed into Draco's
mind, but he shoved the memories away. "Not that it's any of your business if it were true, Potter, but I'm just curious about where you heard this story. Is Loony spouting off about imaginary trysts with yours truly?" He smirked, but inside he could feel his chest tighten. The thought that Luna was telling anyone about what they shared left him feeling very disappointed, and he had to admit that he felt hurt that she may have betrayed him.
"No," Harry said, plainly disgusted, "If Luna had told me she was seeing you I would have her checked in with Madam Pomfrey, since she knows I would try to talk sense into her every chance I'd get." His eyes narrowed, "I saw the two of you walking up to the castle late last night holding hands and looking cozy. All day today I saw you looking at each other in the most sickening way, and passing notes in bloody Potions."
Relief that Luna hadn't betrayed him caused to Draco give a genuine smile. "Well, Potter, as much as it, well, does not pain me to say this – bugger off! It's none of your concern. She's a big girl. Leave it. The End. Focus on your own little red haired demon."
"You know, Malfoy," Harry said softly, "I will never approve of you being with someone so nice, because you just don't deserve her," he ignored Draco's sneer, "however I will say –only this once- that I have noticed that this whole school year you've behaved almost human. I don't know it's because Luna's being a good influence, or if it's because your scumbag father's still locked up. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still can't stand your guts, but you've definitely lost a lot of your obnoxious meanness." Harry paused, "Just don't hurt her, or I'll have a whole slew of students hexing and cursing you all day every day. Just imagine what Hermoine could come up with if I gave her free reign to plan diabolical schemes to torture you without any teachers ever finding out or being able to trace it to us." He chuckled as Draco visibly shuddered.
Draco's eyes narrowed, angry that he'd let his apprehension show, and terrified of what indeed Granger could come up with. As much as he couldn't stand the know it all, he knew she was a brilliant witch. "Potter, you're really bloody annoying. I've stood here and listened to your threats, now you listen to me. Leave. Me. Alone."
He stalked off, angry that he could hear Potter chuckling from where he still stood. Potter had most definitely won that little verbal battle. A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered that he was on his way to meet Luna. Really, he had won.
Draco made his way up to the top of the Astronomy tower. He let the door close softly behind him and looked around for Luna. Spotting her sitting on a ledge, he walked over and sat down next to her.
"Don't jump." He said joking quietly, taking her cool hand in his warm hand, and settling himself so he faced the grounds as she did.
"Draco, we can't do this anymore." Luna was abrupt, but her voice was soft and dreamy as she continued to stare out at the land surrounding the castle.
"Wha-what do you mean?" he asked incredulously, "I think everything's pretty good right now."
She turned her face towards him and he could see her eyes glistening. She looked down at her hand being held by his.
"Draco, you know the idea of us as a couple is just silliness. I find myself wanting more than what we are, though. I want more than I think you can give me."
Though he was quite used to her straightforwardness by now, Draco was still taken a little aback whenever she talked so freely about her feelings. He had never had anyone open up to him the way that Luna did.
"Luna," he met her gaze steadily, "I'm right there with you. I've already decided that I want to give you whatever you want."
A sad smile flickered across her features briefly. "That's wonderful, but impossible. The war is coming. You-know-who is back. You know I'm going to be fighting the good fight. I've always known what side you've been raised to fight on. There's a place on your arm waiting for the Dark Mark."
"Well, you're certainly right about how I was raised. But Luna," he leaned toward her with a trace of desperation, "because of you I've made peace with my childhood. There's never been a doubt of what is expected of me, but I don't want it. I want you, and I want to fight with you, by your side, wherever you are." He never broke eye contact, and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he still didn't look away. He wanted her to see the truth in his eyes, "I've only known you for, what, four months? But, Luna, I've been happier recently than I ever thought possible. It's happiness not based on power or manipulation." He leaned back. "God, I can't believe I'm saying all this crap!"
Luna giggled and looked at him with wonder, "Are you sure, Draco? I mean, I know you feel it strongly right now, but I mean…well, I'm not very popular. You'll be giving up a lot of admiration, and getting a lot of heckling from your Housemates in return. And your mother! In case you didn't know, quite a few people tend to think I'm, um, loony. Are you sure you won't be ashamed to be seen with me?"
"Well yeah," he gave her a sly grin, "That's what I like about you. Plus, I can't get you off my mind, so I might as well deal with the shame of it openly, rather than hide my shame." His fingers locked tightly with hers.
Laughing with the unbelievable joy of it all, Luna moved herself closer to him, "You really are the worst tease! I'm just trying to break this off, because I can't live secretly anymore, and you're mucking it all up!"
"Loony," Draco said lazily, drawing his arm around her shoulders to pull her even closer, "I won't let you break it off for such a crazy reason. I know it won't be easy, but I just don't care what anybody thinks anymore. I only want you." He bent his head and brushed her lips for a gentle kiss.
Luna stared at him. "You know, you have a slightly obsessive personality. That's not a very well rounded statement." He chuckled and nuzzled her neck, "I mean, I'm letting it slide because I've fallen for you. I've fallen for the Prince of freaking Slytherin," she said with wonder, her tone clearly indicating that she thought she may indeed be insane.
Making a gurgling sound of laughter, Draco squeezed her again and lifted his face from her neck. "And I've fallen for the school freaking nutcase, so we're both mental."
Luna beamed at him until he added, "and, as a bonus, it's going to drive Potter completely livid!" Luna tried to look at him sternly.
"Malf-" but he cut her off with a kiss, before he could hear yet another lecture of how her friends were good people. Sighing happily, Luna let herself be distracted, knowing that whatever bickering they were going to do could wait.