((AN- This is the revised first chapter of the story guys, and I will be editing and fixing up the other two chapters as I get ready to start back on this fic. I apologize to you guys for not writing in such a long time, a ton of stuff has been going on the last few months. I should be updating regularly now that everything is settled, though. ))
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of Harry Potter or any of the characters involved. JK Rowling is to thank for that :P
Luna gazed up at the stars. It was one of the warmest nights of the year at Hogwarts. The castle was quiet, with just a few students still sitting up talking in their common rooms. A slight breeze whispered through the trees nearby, and she heard the soft hoots of the Hogwarts messengers as they left the Owlery to hunt. It was unusually bright out with the full moon perched directly overhead.
A door opened and closed nearby. She jumped up, startled, as Malfoy walked through the tall grass, looking back over his shoulder.
"Hello, Draco," she said in her misty voice as he got closer.
His head whipped around, surprised. "Loony! What are you doing here?" he asked, curling his lip.
"What are you doing here?" the blonde said in reply, speaking in her usual dreamlike tone.
He glared at her. He was used to getting straight answers from everyone, but for some reason he could never faze this girl. Malfoy looked her over, noticing she had bare feet. "Too poor for shoes, Lovegood?" he said with a sneer.
"No," she answered, looking back at the moon.
He cleared his throat impatiently. "Then where are your shoes?"
She looked back at him like she had forgotten he was there. "People in my house have been taking my things and hiding them," she said. "It's happened before, it's all just good fun."
Malfoy felt an alien twinge of pity for the strange girl, before quickly hiding it behind an expressionless mask. "Oh…" he said.
Suddenly the white light of the moon escaped the clutches of the sparse black clouds, striking Luna's face. Her eyes were puffy and drying tears streaked her face, welling from her cobalt eyes. He stared at her, not having a clue of what to do. "Luna, why are you crying?" He asked, realizing that he had used her real name, not the usual 'Loony' when he spoke.
Her shoulders tensed and she looked at the ground as fresh tears sprung to her eyes. A muffled sob escaped her throat as she pressed her hands over her face.
His breath caught in his throat and numbly, unaware of his own actions, he reached out and wrapped his arms around the weeping Ravenclaw. She stiffened in shock, but soon gave into the embrace, leaning into his strangely welcoming arms.
Malfoy's mind was blank. What in Merlin's name was he doing? But he realized, for once in his life, not a thought entered his mind about her traitor father or her crazy conspiracies. He didn't care just then that he was a Slytherin prince and the girl he was holding was Loony Lovegood. He just kept his arms around her.
Gradually Luna's tears stopped, reducing to sniffles every now and then. She pulled out of his arms and sat on the ground, staring at her hands resting in her lap. He hesitated, then sat beside her and propped his elbows on his knees.
They watched the stars move slowly across the sky in silence, hearing crickets chirping around them. Suddenly she broke the quiet. "Tonight is the anniversary of my mother's death."
Draco bit his lip and tried to quell the feeling that his heart was just ripped out of his chest.