Disclaimer: Not JK…
A/n: written for the New Horizons Challenge. The country was Italy and the setting was running away. Hope you like it.
Blasie Zabini sat swirling the mug of black coffee he held in his hand. Steam arose from the cup and he breathed in the refreshing smell. He'd have preferred to have been drinking a goblet of something stronger, but this was Italy and the wizarding community here was becoming almost extinct and he couldn't exactly ask for a goblet of firewhiskey from a muggle waitress, could he now? Though the sight would be quite amusing. As he was chuckling to himself, he heard the sorrowful tinkle of the bell which had been hung at the door of the café. He didn't know why he distinguished this noise from all the previous ones but somehow, the person who had been entering seemed to have been hesitant and hasty at the same time making the bell sound wrongly and alerting him. Shaking aside his reasoning, he looked at the girl who had entered.
She was short and petite but her face, or the side of it that he was able to see, was British. Curious, he observed her further. Her waist-length thick blond hair which swung around her in ringlets like a life size halo were her one dominating feature and Blaise waited for her to turn around.
Her eyes were an almost translucent shade of blue, reminding him of a dreamy expression from long ago. Blaise shook his head to clear his thoughts. Just because he had been fascinated by one such pair of entrancing eyes…
But as she turned completely in his line of vision, Blaise had all his doubts washed away. It was Luna Lovegood, the girl he had been looking for for a long time now. She had gone missing after the battle and noone had known her whereabouts. The most he had been able to ground out of Ginny Weasley had been the Christmas cards she had sent them every year.
As he was watching, she took a seat at the far corner of the café and began sipping from her cup before she took out what appeared to be an old, frayed newspaper from her bag and began reading it intently. Her face was smiling as she went through the first few lines and then she let out a low sound that was half laugh half choke. She was trying hard to stem her tears, but noone except him seemed to notice.
Blaise had seen his share of weepy females. Previously though, whenever he happened to encounter one, he'd simply turn and walk in the other direction. But now, he found himself negotiating the crowd towards her table, his mug of coffee forgotten.
As she heard the chair before her scrap against the floor, Luna lowered her eyes further, knowing who it would be.
"I'm fine John. I'm getting better at it. I don't even cry anymore. Much. You should go look after the other customers." There was no reply from him and Luna imagined that he was being stubborn as usual and refused to look at him.
"Who's John?" she snapped her head up at the voice and sure enough, Blaise Zabini was seated before her in all his glory. The smirk that was an ever present mark was playing out on his face but Luna thought she saw a hint of concern behind them. Sighing in exasperation, she shook her head to clear her vision. This wasn't the first time she was having such illusions. But each time, it struck her just a bit worse and his face would take a second longer to fade. So Luna waited for the same to happen again, but this particular hallucination stayed put.
"You never answered my question" his low voice was very much like the real one she had heard a few times years back. He had never been one to talk much. May be that was what had drawn her to him when he did happen to say something. After so many years, she could finally admit honestly to herself that she had been fascinated by him; as she had been with Nargles and Wrackspurts. They had been non-existent, just like the emotions she had thought she had seen in the eyes of the mirage before her.
"The owner of this café. He's a good friend of mine" she whispered, not wanting people to note her speaking to thin air. Not that anyone took notice of her anyway. Her bold tastes and flamboyant senses had gone out the window of her now dilapidated house right behind her father…
Luna closed her eyes to dispel the tears that so easily clogged her sight now-a-days. She was becoming homesick and was afraid that she'd begin to want to go back.
"Oh! How are you? I haven't seen you since the war" he inquired relaxedly, and Luna began to realize that he wasn't her figment of imagination playing havoc with her. She raised an eyebrow in response and he seemed to be amused by the gesture.
"Alright, I admit we weren't exactly friends or even acquaintances before but war changes things, isn't that what people say?" he remarked casually. If only he knew how much the dreaded battle had changed her normal life…
"I guess" she looked up tentatively, and seeing that he wasn't fading, lifted her head fully to face his eyes.
"Is it your general practice to avoid answering questions or is it just with me?"
"I was a bit surprised, that was all" she replied off handedly.
"So, how come you're in this part of the world when the rest of your friends are worried sick about you?" she thought she sensed an underlying sternness in his voice but ignored it.
"How would you know that?"
"You're evading the question again" he cut her question short, and she lapsed into silence. Why should she answer him anyway? Who was he to her? Why was he even bothering?
"I'll answer that if you tell me why you are so interested in knowing all this? And how do you know that my friends are upset about me? Last time I saw, we were on opposite sides of the war and you considered my friends your nemeses" it was his turn to hesitate and she was feeling almost triumphant when he replied.
"I was never on any side of the war. I was a neutral. And as for your other question, aren't friends supposed to look after each other? Or has that rule been abolished since the war too?" he asked sarcastically, quietly hiding the fact that he had gone in search of her.
"It's your turn to answer now. Why are you hiding away here?"
"I'm not hiding away. I decided to take a break from life."
"So you decided to just up and disappear all of a sudden. Why does that sound like running away to me?" he was being annoyingly interfering and her irritation sprung up.
"You have your answer." Was all she said before she stood up abruptly, leaving him seated at the table.
XXXX
Luna paced the length of her apartment, which wasn't much of a distance anyway. Her room could be called stuffy at best. She had wanted a bland house. Not a big one, not a tall one, not a colorful one that would remind her of her childhood haven.
She sat on the small bed that occupied a major portion of her house, hiding her face in her palms. She could almost hear her previous dreamy self tell her that the Nargles were attacking her brain and a wry chuckle escaped her. The sound of a door being opened was heard and Luna jumped up. Her subconscious told her that it was just the owner who was probably returning from a late shift. But she waited with bated breath and a thumping heart until her instinct was proven right. She then flopped back on the bed dejectedly. It was no use trying to calm herself. Ever since she had met Blaise Zabini at the café, she had been alternatively disinterested and anxious, but more tensed than anything else. For the first two days, she had stayed up the whole night, listening for sounds of someone entering the building. Her fears had faded by the end of the week, but it had been filled with a curious void and she thought she felt the first pricks of pain that loneliness brought. She was beginning to give in…
Luna's eyes widened at the thought of the implications. Did she actually want to go back to the shattered mess that had been her life back in England? What did she have waiting there but even more hurt? Why was she still considering the burned down structure her home, rather than the compact room she had here? The reason was apparent. This was a building, that was home.
But of course, that wasn't the only string that was pulling at her. There were several other; her friends for one, her old school, her father's magazine that she had dreamt of taking over,… those were only the beginning. But there was something inside of her, a wise voice that oddly sounded like Professor Dumbledore, that was nudging her to go. There were a thousand and one reasons why she shouldn't return, but Luna knew that the very moment she began considering the option, her resolve had melted down. Having come to a conclusion, Luna fell asleep in the awkward position she had been sitting in.
The next day was bright and the sun was miraculously out. Luna tried to suck enthusiasm out of Mother Nature as she walked the now familiar lane to the café. It was stupid to hope that he'd still be here after she had acted so rude to him but her 'Dumbledore' voice wouldn't leave her alone until she tried.
XXXX
He was an idiot to still wait here. If she hadn't shown up for a week, she wasn't going to today. Atleast for the past one week, he had had the excuse that his place of work had been nearby. But his business had been completed yesterday and he knew he was wasting time by not apparating to Britain straight away. His cause was hopeless and he knew that. That was why he had promised himself that if she did not come today, he'll leave.
But as soon as he had seated himself in a booth at the corner of the café, the bell tinkled in the melancholic manner again. Blaise looked up and sure enough, there she was. He averted his eyes away from her, trying to shrink back into the shadows. She must have thought the coast would be clear by now. He spotted her wandering eyes with curiosity but didn't dare reveal himself. It was only when he saw her turn around with a defeated look on her face that he stood up and called to her.
Hearing her name called, Luna turned towards him and her surprise was clear on her face as she identified him. She made a bee line for his table and sat abruptly in the opposite chair, much like he had done a week ago. Both of them remained silent for a while; Luna trying to think up a way to bring up the subject of his return to England and he, trying to find an argument that would convince her.
"You're still here?" she asked, finally and Blaise's lips formed a smirk.
"One would think you wanted me gone from the country, the way you greet me" Luna remained silent, clearly not in the mood for his witty remarks. Seeing that she wasn't going to reply, Blaise deigned to give her an answer.
"No, I'm still here. I was here on work and…"
"When do you leave?" Luna's voice was expectant and Blaise wondered why she was so interested. Was his presence here that annoying to her? Though that suggestion brought him hurt and pain, he couldn't make himself believe that. If that had been the case, she definitely wouldn't have sought him out now.
"Tomorrow" he replied curtly.
"Tomorrow?" her voice was a mix of surprise and trepidation and Blaise couldn't help but ask.
"You seem so worried?"
"Worried? No, no I'm not" she was quick to deny it, though Blaise thought he saw a sliver of regret run through her lucid blue eyes.
"Do you want me to deliver a message or something? Is that why you came to see me?"
"I'd thought you'd have been gone by now" so he had been right. She had expected him to leave. It was a few minutes before Blaise could gather his thoughts. So, he had fancied her a few years back. It hadn't worked out. If he hadn't been brave enough to tell her, then that meant that his stupid crush hadn't been strong enough, right? So, why again was he feeling as if he had been dumped in the cruelest of manners? Before he could even think of a retort, she continued.
"I think that came out wrong. Somehow, I seem to say and do exactly the wrong things now-a-days" she sighed and Blaise, seeing his opportunity, interjected.
"I'd have to agree" he commented simply, opting to look at his mug of coffee rather than at Luna who was looking quizzically at him.
"I should be going anyway. This is a hopeless cause" Luna sighed and stood up. Blaise realized that this would be the last time he ever saw her and did not want her gone so soon. Call him masochistic, and he wouldn't disagree.
"I'm sorry" she did stop but did not sit back in the chair.
"I'd prefer it if you'd atleast look at my face and tell me one last time that you don't want to go back. I need a definite answer" he needed a closure and one from her would help him get over her. Finally.
"I'll do no such thing, Zabini" she turned around and there was a certain light in her eyes. A glow he had thought had been lost when she had seen her father die.
"I wasn't sending you off when I asked when you were leaving" her voice was sharp and it brought out his instinctive reaction.
"Weren't you?" his voice was the usual patronizing drawl though inside he was almost bursting with the hope her words had given her. Of course, he daren't expect too much. May be she was just trying to draw information out of him, or something.
"No, I wasn't." she seemed to be searching for words and if he hadn't been so dependent on her answer, he'd have laughed at their predicament.
"Give me an answer, Luna. Are you or are you not coming back?" there was no smirk or the usual derision in his voice and Luna was stumped. She had banked on him asking her that, yes, but how could she answer a question she was still contemplating herself? Sure, she knew she'd go back. But she was unsure about what people would think. What if they had come to hate her for deserting them like that? Granted, she knew her friends weren't that kind of people but still, she felt embarrassed. And the ever present problem of Blaise Zabini's interest in her 'running away' as he had termed it.
"What if I am? How would that bother you?"
"In no way. I'd only have the credit of bringing back a war hero to her homeland" he shrugged non chalantly, but his eyes were twinkling. Luna was not amused.
"I'm not a martyr, or some kind or a hero or, whatever" she denied vehemently. She had done what she had because she had believed in the cause, not because she had wanted the fame or name.
"If you say so. So, do I get to announce the news to people or…"
"When do you start?"
"Thought so. You wouldn't give me the chance to brag about it, would you?" though he sounded annoyed, his tone expressed such relief as almost suppressed it.
"Can't have your head bloating anymore than normal can we?" she said in an almost perfect imitation and he grinned.
"Do you think they'll be okay?" For all the smart talk she made, Luna was shaking with tension when they apparated outside the neighborhood of the Burrow and it was only Blaise's grip on her hand that had her walking forward rather than running in the opposite direction. She had sent her Patronus before her and could almost hear the commotion that would now be reigning inside the house.
"May be…" he really wasn't helping with the 'I don't car a knut what they think and neither should you' attitude. He was being insensitive. Not that he had a sensitive side, so to speak, but during the past week, he had atleast acted as if he comprehended her. So his sudden change of behavior surprised her. Seeing her narrowed eyes, Zabini straightened himself and replied.
"I do think the Weasleys would be delighted to have you back. Is that cheery enough or should I have a few fairies circling your head too?" Blaise asked expectantly, and Luna rolled her eyes. Trust him to make the world's worst pep talk. She really regretted agreeing to let him accompany her.
Frankly, his presence did calm her down, as long as he kept that sarcastic mouth of his shut. But of course, she had told him that she was taking him along so that he could do his rightful 'bragging'. What there was to boast about, she did not know.
"Come on. Let's go" he urged, but she remained hesitant. Seeing that, he stopped pulling her hand and came to stand before her, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her from fidgeting.
"Look Luna. These people you're going to meet, are they Death Eaters in disguise?"
"No"
"Are they the reincarnates of the Dark Lord?"
"I hope not"
"Do they even know about Dark Magic"
"If he did, Harry never taught us" her responses were becoming steadily snarkier and Blaise couldn't help but smirk. He was rubbing off on her already.
"Are you sure you'll come out of that building alive?"
"The Burrow is a bit shaky, but if Fred and George lived there and survived, I could"
"Then what are you afraid of? Crumpled horned Snorkaks?"
"No. Nargles." She smiled back. He was the only person who could get away with making fun of her 'pet zoo' as he called it.
"Let's go" he grabbed her hand once again and she didn't object this time.
Or for the rest of their lives.
A/n: I've become almost addicted to this pairing and I'd like to know what you guys think. Is Luna too OOC or is Blaise too stupid, or, anything else. Please review!