I'm thrilled that people are enjoying the story and have reviewed. Here's the second chapter, and I will have more soon. Please review!!


Two: The Boy and the Butterfly

"You missed a great party last night," Adrian was boasting, but Draco was barely listening. "Everyone went! Millicent came with us and we ran into Daphne Greengrass and Marcus Flint there. Daphne got drunk off just three shots of Firewhisky, you should've seen her mate...vomit everywhere, there was! I imagine she's having a rough morning."

Goyle and Bulstrode sniggered as they remembered the antics of the previous night. Draco scowled in jealousy, irritated at having missed out on the fun. "Fine one, that girl. I should've shagged her," Goyle broke in. "She was so out of it, and I could tell she wanted it. There were too many people around...otherwise we would've done it."

Adrian and Ajax howled with laughter. "Yes Gregory, I'm sure that she, being a magnificent babe and all, was just aching to bang you," Draco snickered, rolling his eyes.

He took a swig of his Butterbeer while the others laughed. Gregory turned scarlet as he insisted that she was indeed interested in him. Seeing that no one would believe him, he shrugged and took a chug of his own Butterbeer. Goyle had certainly lost a lot of weight since he had left Hogwarts, but he was still large and awkward in stature. He had broad shoulders and a haggard face with a scruffy beard. Draco couldn't imagine any girl being attracted to him.

Draco heard the tinkling of the doorbell behind him, signalling that a customer had just stepped inside Onyx, the new dress robe shop Lucious had bought for his son. Draco didn't even bother looking up. "Twieck!" he snarled, and a nervous looking house elf rushed over to help the customer.

"Well, forget about Daphne," said Ajax. "You should've seen what that bar lady was wearing – damn! Her robe was so tight and low-cut, and she kept bending over...Now that is a fine woman. I wouldn't mind having a go at that."

The others nodded in agreement. "And Marcus has gone and found himself a nice looking chick too," Ajax continued. "She was there at the tavern too. The rack on that one –"

"I was shagging Pansy all right," Draco broke in, finally sick of hearing about their night. "I wouldn't have missed that for some lame night at the pub which we visit all the time."

Adrian whistled. "I guess it must be nice not to have to go out for a shag."

Draco smirked. "Not that you losers would know what it's like to shag."

"I could get plenty if I wanted to," Gregory boasted. "I just haven't found the right girl yet."

The others sniggered loudly. Draco opened his mouth to reply but he found his voice leave him as he caught a glimpse of something interesting outside the shop window.

He felt as if he was a young child following a pretty butterfly. He had first caught the sight of her long golden hair, shimmering like diamonds under the rays of the sun. She had a small waist, yet her figure was full and plump in all the right areas. "Now there is a real woman," he murmured.

The other boys had stopped and were now watching Draco. "She's wearing a bloody Hippogriff!" Adrian howled as more of her figure came into view.

"Fuck off, it doesn't matter what she's wearing," Draco argued, though Adrian was right. The girl was wearing a rather large, feathery garment which not only hid her perfect figure but also obstructed the prettiness of her face (which could only be assumed from the angle Draco was seeing her at) and shiny locks. She had also donned a large bonnet which was colourful and also decked heavily with feathers. In her strange clothing combination she looked strikingly like a large, colourful cocoon. The others began roaring with laughter, but Draco ignored them, his gaze not leaving the girl for even a second.

Indeed, the girl's terrible clothes did not obstruct her beauty and elegance in the slightest. It wasn't even her hair or her fleshy body which was striking about her, but the pure grace and poise with which she walked. "Just look at the way she walks," Draco continued. "And the way she holds herself...now this is a woman with confidence. She looks like she knows exactly what she wants and how to get it...and I'm ready to give it to her, alright, so fast and hard that I'll leave her breathless. She'll be limping after one night with me!"

The other boys whistled. "If only I could see her face!" Draco moaned. "Man, how much I would give to see that gorgeous thing's face right now."

As if to answer his wish, the girl drew farther away from the window and turned towards the shop door. "I think she's coming in!" Ajax said. "Bet you ten Galleons that you can't score with her."

"I'll bet you twenty that I can get her begging on her knees to see what a Malfoy tastes like!" Malfoy retorted, as the girl inched closer and closer to the door.

The others waited with bated breath for her to enter the store, and when she finally did, Draco's jaw dropped and the others let out loud hoots of laughter.

"Looney Lovegood?!" Draco spluttered.

Luna smiled, walking towards them in the same elegant manner. "Hi Draco," she said cheerfully, though she looked almost as surprised as he was.

"Wha – you – since when do you shop at designer stores?!" Draco exclaimed.

Luna did not answer but looked around curiously at the plethora of garments displayed across the room. She wrinkled her nose. "I admit that it's not exactly my taste –"

"You, Looney, have no taste and thus shouldn't be in a shop as refined and expensive as this one," snarled Draco, who had now overcome his initial shock. "If you want clothes of your class, try sorting through the waste bins at the Weasley's shack. You'll find that their torn rags and potato sacks will suit you perfectly and will be in exactly your price range."

To Draco's annoyance, Luna did not look at all affected by his cruelty and instead wandered over to a lime green dress robe. Angrily, Draco darted after her, determined to chase her out of his shop. "Don't touch that!" he snapped, "that's very delicate fabric, and far beyond what you can afford. There are other shops nearby; go pester one of them!"

"Oh, I'm not here to shop," Luna said in her dreamy, oblivious voice. "I want to apply for a job here."

Draco gaped at her momentarily then burst into laughter. "A job? Here?" That's a good one, Looney."

Adrian, Gregory, and Ajax laughed louder at Luna's comment, but there was no change in Luna's dreamy expression. "Wait – you're actually serious?" Draco replied in disbelief. It took him a moment to grasp his thoughts, and then he plainly replied, "we don't need any help here, especially from someone as – er, someone like you. As you can see, I have plenty of house-elves to manage the shop, so if you would just do us a favour and get the fuck out –"

"Manners, Draco!" came a sharp barking from behind him. Draco turned to see that Lucius had entered the shop from the back door and was now glowering at him with intense disapproval.

"Father," answered Draco in relief, "father, Looney here has barged in looking for a job. I don't know how to get rid of her!"

To Draco's shock, his father approached Luna and spoke, "I am very sorry for my son's impudence, Miss Lovegood. Please, shall we continue our interview in the back room?"

Luna nodded, tearing away from the dress robes and making her way into the back room of the shop. Draco stood, dumbfounded, and he could tell that the others were equally puzzled. "Wait – what?"

Lucius glared at his son. "Luna here is interested in working at Onyx, and I've invited her for a formal interview to review her qualifications. Now, do not ever let me hear you insult another customer in here again, or I can take the shop away from you in an instant."

Draco's jaws dropped open once more. Lucius's eyes wandered over to the other boys and then to the pile of empty Butterbeer bottles lying idly next to the cash register. "Need I remind you again, Draco," he snapped in irritation, "that I did not give you this shop so that you could hang around with your idiot friends and drink all day! Clear out these bottles at once and get back to work! And you lot," he turned, now glaring at the three boys, "either buy some robes or get out; this is no place for loitering!"

He turned sharply and followed Luna into the workers' room, shutting the door tightly behind them. For a moment, no one spoke. "Tell me that this is a belated April Fool's joke," Draco stammered finally.

"I think he's serious," Gregory answered, stunned.

"Well, I for one don't want to stick around and find out if he's joking or not," broke in Ajax. He picked up the remaining full bottles of Butterbeer. "Cheers, Draco. Have a pleasant time with your new co-worker!" He snickered and left the shop with Gregory and Adrian trailing behind him.

"I'll see you at our next pub outing," Adrian called. "Or whenever you decide to grow some balls and tell Pansy to fuck off!"

Their loud snickers drowned out the tinkling of the doorbell as they poured out of the shop. Angrily, Draco emptied the empty bottles in the dust bin with a flick of his wand and seated himself at the cash register. All he could do now was wait for this job interview to finish.