A/N: Hola! Here's another challenge piece for Skye's Challenge. Enjoy! R&R!

The sun's powerful rays glared down at the depths of the Black Lake. It's reflection shimmered like an overflowing pile of galleons. The lights sparkled in Luna's crystal blue eyes. Her eyebrows arched in curiosity at the world around her. There were so many mysterious creatures that were hidden from the unimaginative, wizarding mind. But Luna kept herself opened to all possibilities, because nothing was impossible to her; absolutely nothing.

She sat there, under the trees that touched the Black Lake's shores with their revealing roots. An open textbook sat in her lap, several other interesting books were stacked next to her. Luna absorbed the knowledge written in the pages like a sponge absorbed water. She loved the feeling of learning; how the bizarre words filled into her mind and planted themselves in solidly. Luna turned the page, unaware of what was happening around her. All of her focus was on that book.

"Such a typical Ravenclaw," someone sneered.

Though Luna's eyes didn't leave the page, she knew who was there.

"Hello Blaise," she said smoothly.

"How did you know it was me?" he frowned.

"There's been a pesky little Bibbering Humdinger following you around for a while," Luna explained. "I heard it just now, so I guessed it was you."

Blaise chuckled at Luna's strange explanation.

"Oh, Lovegood," he sighed as he sat down next to her. "Those imaginary creatures of yours are getting to your head."

"Oh, they're not imaginary," Luna said. "They're as real as you and me."

"Think what you want," Blaise shrugged. He decided long ago to not fight with Luna about illusory creatures, such as Nargles or Crumble-Horned Snorkacks. Blaise was the exact opposite of Luna. While she believed in almost everything, he believed in nothing; absolutely nothing. Blaise didn't have time for such foolish things, like parallel universes or unexplained wonders of the world. His mother told him, "That's what muggles are for; to be stupid."

He didn't even believe in love. Yes, not even love. Blaise had his own theory about love; it's lust. Lust disguises itself as love to trick the naive minds of helpless romantics into falling for cruel man-whores and heartless bitches. Then they get smacked in the face by harsh reality and their hearts are broken. Blaise had told Luna his theory once, which made her giggle and lightly kiss his nose.

"And you say I believe in silly things," she had told him.

Of course he was insulted by the fact someone like Luna Lovegood was laughing at him, but he had let roll of his shoulders, because his thoughts were still blurred by the sweet sound of Luna's laugh and the soft touch of her lips on his skin.

The memory made Blaise sigh and look back at the oddity that was sitting next to him. Luna and Blaise had been together for almost three months; but the sad part of it was that it was kept secret. Every day they walked by each other in the halls, shared flirtatious glances and then would meet each other in the Astronomy Tower during dinner. Not once had they been caught when she kissed him or when he held her lovingly in his arms. Luna loved being with him; she didn't care that Blaise was a closed-minded Slytherin who got away with everything by his good looks and place in society. And the fact that she didn't care made him irritated. Even on the gloomiest days he'd see Luna skipping down the school hallways, smiling happily. How could she not care about anything? How could she be so naive? How could she have lived so long without facing the real world?

"What are you reading?" Blaise asked.

"My Potions book," she replied.

Blaise scrunched his nose in disgust the moment he heard the word 'potions.' "Why would you want to read that?"

"It's fun," she lightly smiled.

"How do you do that?" he finally asked.

"Do what?"

"You make almost anything seem interesting. How is that even possible?"

"Anything's possible."

"That's not true."

"Of course it is."

"Oh, so I'm guessing you could jump off the Astronomy Tower and suddenly grow the wings of a butterfly and flutter away to a world hidden in a cloud?"

Luna shrugged. "It's possible. Besides, if Alice can chase a rabbit down a rabbit hole and find Wonderland, then I why can't I grow wings and find a Wonderland of my own?"

"Luna," Blaise rolled his eyes, "Alice is a fictional character that some muggle made up."

"It's a good book," she defended. "And it's not fiction."

"How do you know that?" Blaise asked.

"Well isn't it obvious?" Luna asked. "Alice entered the wizarding world. There might not be such things as talking rabbits and big-headed queens in the muggle world, but here those things are possible. Which makes it clear that Alice in Wonderland is non-fiction."

"Merlin's beard," Blaise muttered. "You might be one of the smartest people I know, but you can be a complete idiot sometimes."

"If what I believe makes me an idiot, then I'll happily be the jester."

Blaise didn't understand what that meant, but he let it pass by him instead of continuing the arguement. He could still feel his blood boiling from trying to reason with her. Trying to reason with Luna Lovegood was like trying to fight someone invisible; there was no point because you'd always lose. At this point, Blaise would usually give in and let Luna believe whatever she wanted to, but there was something about this specific debate that made him not want to stop. He wanted to win for once.

"You are full of nonsense," he snapped. "Everything you say doesn't make any sense at all. Snap out of this fantasy world of yours and face reality, Luna. Alice in Wonderland is fiction, there isn't a Blubbering Whatever-You-Call-It following me, and there is no such thing as Nargles! Honestly, didn't your mother ever teach you to be realistic?"

And then it happened. For the first time, Blaise saw something change in Luna. Her eyes no longer sparkled with wonder, and her distant smile had disappeared. He didn't know what, but something he said had made her finally snap. An angry fire that was buried deep within her was uncovered; and then she exploded.

"What about you?" she shouted. "How can you live in such a depressing life when there is so much more out there? At least I'm happy with my life, while you just sit in your corner and mutter and complain about how pathetic everyone else's life is! You're the one with a pathetic life! You were raised by an egotistic bitch of a mother and are friends with guys who pick on your own girlfriend; who by the way you're afraid to be seen in public with! And at least I believe in something. You don't believe in anything! You think you can't take it anymore? I'm the one who can't take it! I've had to put up with your pessimistic bullshit for too long..."

Luna stopped and breathed deeply. Blaise's eyes were wide with shock. He'd never thought that she would go off on a furious rage like...like that. He thought it was impossible. He'd never even seen her raise her voice at someone. It was like all of her hidden emotions were slowly building up to this sudden eruption; almost like an active volcano.

"And you know what," she continued, "I've had it. I'm done. So you can save yourself another 'reality lecture' and shove it up your ass!"

Luna huffed madly like a dragon and gathered her books into her bag. She stood up and started to walk away. Blaise immediately stood up, ready to call her back to him, but she had already stopped. She then turned back to him, her eyes glassy with forming tears.

"When I was nine my mother told me to always keep my mind opened," she said. "That was the last thing she ever said to me; the next day she died."

A single tear spilled from the corner of her eye and slid down her pale cheek. Blaise desperately wanted to rush over to and wipe that tear away; he wanted to hold when she cried and say he was sorry over and over again. But Luna was already gone.

Blaise sat by the window in the Slytherin common room. The sky had darkened into a deep blue night. A fire was still roaring in the fireplace. It was such a peaceful night, but it was unsettling and made Blaise even more depressed. No one knew why he wasn't his usual self. He rarely talked and only looked out the window with a dull face. Of course no one thought to wonder if it was a girl that was troubling him; and definitely no one wondered if it was Luna Lovegood.

He felt that all of this was unfair. He wasn't supposed to feel heartbreak. He was supposed to be the one to tell Luna it was over; he was never the one dumped. But here he was, sitting by the window, with an heavy feeling in his chest. He had never felt this pain before. It was only yesterday when they had fought, and already he was desperately missing her.

"Oi, Zabini!" a cold voice called him over. It was Draco Malfoy. One of his many friends that have bullied Luna. "The guys and I are going to the Astronomy Tower. Crabbe managed to get some fire whiskey from the kitchen. You in?"

Blaise sighed in reply. Of course he wasn't going.

"Why are you so gloomy all of a sudden?" Malfoy frowned. "I've never seen you like this."

"It's nothing," Blaise mumbled.

"Then come on," Malfoy said. "There's a pint of fire whiskey with your name on it."

Blaise sighed again and slowly rose from his place by the window. He dragged himself over to his group of friends and they all slipped out of the common room and crept up to the Astronomy Tower. The crisp night air hit Blaise's skin and sent a chill down his spine. He immediately put his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. The boys were already pouring glasses and passing them around. A smirking Goyle walked over to Blaise and handed him a glass. He hesitated but finally grabbed onto the glass handle. After all he needed something to make him forget.

He was desperate to forget everything that happened that day. He wished it never happened. He wished that this was all a nightmare and he would just wake up. He forced himself to believe that it was just dream. He would wake up and see Luna first thing. He would kiss her passionately and hold her until the end of the world.

But he wouldn't wake up, because it wasn't dream. If there was anything he was going to wake up to, it would be a hangover. This nightmare was sadly reality. He couldn't change what had happened, it was now the past. He couldn't hold Luna anymore. He couldn't kiss her or listen to her laugh. He couldn't listen to her stories of imaginary creatures. Damn those stupid Nargles. He couldn't see her smile at him, because now when she would see him, her beautiful blue eyes would be glaring red. She hated him now, and he couldn't fix it.

He finished off the whiskey in his cup. It burned as it ran down his throat. One drink down, thousands of more to go. He refilled his glass and walked away from the crowd of obnoxious, chuckling Slytherins. For the first time ever, he hated who he was. He hated his mother, what house he was in, his friends, even his style of clothes. Maybe if he was different, Luna would have liked him more. Maybe that stupid wouldn't have happened if he wasn't the way he was.

He remembered something; something that Luna had told him once. They were at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Blaise's arms were wrapped around Luna's waist, and she was looking up at him happily. The stars were reflected in her eyes and it made him smile. He then told her that he wished he was someone else; he wanted to live a completely different life. That way he could be with her and no one would care.

"I'm glad you're not someone else," she told him.

"Why?"

"Because if you were someone else I wouldn't be in love with you," she said.

He laughed and then kissed her. But he didn't respond to her. She had said that she loved him, and he said nothing; absolutely nothing.

Looking back at the sweet memory almost made Blaise cry. He chugged down another cup of whiskey, holding back his tears. He then casually rubbed his eyes. He started to feel the buzz from the alcohol. His legs felt numb and his spine was tingling. His throat was on fire, but he didn't care. He almost felt invincible at the moment. He almost forgot what had happened; almost.

Five glasses down. Six glasses. Seven. Eight...He was planning to get pissed drunk that night; hopefully drunk enough to think he could jump off the tower and grow butterfly wings and fly away to Wonderland. Or maybe finally find that Crumble-Horned Snorkack that Luna has been dreaming to find. Or maybe he could get rid of the Bibbering Humdinger that's been following him.

But even a couple hundred pints of fire whiskey wasn't going make him forget Luna forever. He would wake up the next morning with a piercing headache, the urge to vomit, and the memory of Luna crying returning to him. He was dreading that morning. He wanted her back. But instead of getting off his drunk ass and begging Luna for forgiveness, he was going to sit, drink and do nothing; absolutely nothing.