Chapter Two

Much to Draco's frustration, the same thing repeated itself every time he found himself at the Hogshead Inn. He didn't go every day and he tried to vary his schedule enough to seem unpredictable and yet whenever he arrived he would invariably find himself sharing a table with Luna Lovegood. She didn't seem to care that he rarely - if ever - contributed to the conversation. She always reacted as if he was just the person that she had hoped to see that day and that the two of them eating together was the most natural thing in the world.

He kept trying to figure out what her angle was but he simply couldn't devise any scenario where eating in public with him would be advantageous to her. The entire situation baffled him. He ultimately decided to avoid the Inn altogether, thinking that would solve the problem.

He was wrong about that as well.

Not long after making that decision he was stunned to find Luna sitting cross legged beside the door to his flat, eating out of a large takeaway container.

"What are you doing?" Draco snapped.

Luna looked up and answered with food still in her mouth. "Eating curry."

"What?"

She swallowed and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Curry. It's spicy dish originally from India."

Draco shook his head. "Wh…No. I know what curry is. I meant why are you eating it on the floor outside my flat?"

She took another bite. "I was looking for you. Seemed like the best place to do that."

He glared at her. "Why were you looking for me?"

"You missed our last couple of lunch dates. I was worried you might be hungry."

Draco folded his arms. "We don't have lunch dates. You just... sit near me sometimes while I eat."

"Call it what you like. Still thought you might be hungry."

"Why would you care if I'm hungry or not?"

She responded as if the answer was obvious. "Because that's what friends do."

"We aren't friends," Draco scoffed.

"Sure we are. You just haven't realized it yet."

He shook his head. "I don't need you. I have my own friends."

Her expression brightened. "Oh good! Let me know when they get here so I can introduce myself."

He rolled his eyes and started to respond but thought better of it. Before he could give himself a chance to get sucked into one of her insensible conversations, he went into his flat and slammed the door behind him. From the other side he heard a cheerful voice call out, "You forgot your curry!"

xoxox

The same scenario played out the following day. Luna was sitting outside his door with another order of curry, insisting they were friends.

"Get it through your thick skull, Loony. I don't need friends," snarled Draco.

She crinkled her nose and laughed. "Silly boy. That's like saying you don't need oxygen. You may not think about it all the time but you would die without it."

"If I wanted friends I could find my own," Draco said.

Luna peered down the empty hallway. "Okay. Let me know when the other applicants are scheduled to arrive and I'll bring extra food."

SLAM!

xoxoxox

By the third day Draco was at his wit's end. "What is it going to take for you to leave me alone?!"

Luna shrugged. "Invite me in for some curry. Try the meal and the company. If you don't like either after that I will go away and never bother you again."

He considered his options. Not seeing any other way to resolve the situation he pushed the door open and gestured for her to enter. She grabbed the bags of takeaway and made her way into the flat. Draco followed after her, wondering when he had taken leave of his senses.

"Okay!" Luna said, "Would you like to use formal place settings or should we do this picnic style?" He hesitated so she proceeded to answer her own question. "You're right. Picnic style will be much easier to clean up afterwards." She removed the containers from the bags and flattened the paper sacks into make shift place mats. "I'm guessing you have some butter beer in the icebox?"

Without waiting for a response, she went into the kitchen and reappeared a moment later with two cold beverages. She used her wand as an opener and handed one over to him. She clinked the bottles together. "Cheers!"

She sat down and began eating, looking expectantly at him. He lowered himself into the chair across from her and picked at the dish in front of him. He gave it a sniff. The aroma was enticing. He took a small bite and was forced to admit, "This is good."

Luna grinned. "Told you."

Draco took the opportunity of being in familiar surroundings to better observe the changes that had taken place in her. Gone was the fuzzy, dreamy expression that had defined her at school. Her eyes, while still large and watery pale gray, were now more focused somehow. The best way he could describe it was that she seemed more "present" than she had before the war.

As she talked he found out that she had gone back to Hogwarts to sit her N.E.W.T.s then moved into a flat of her own in order to give herself some independence. "I love Daddy but a bird has to leave the nest at some point, you know."

He found himself asking, "Do you like it? Living on your own, I mean."

"For the most part. It's exciting to make all of the decisions for once but it can also be a bit lonely at times. I've never lived by myself before. That's why I eat out so often." She took a sip of her butter beer as she looked around the room. "What about you? Does this place suit you?"

"For the most part. What I'm doing now requires a great deal of concentration."

She nodded. "Alchemical research does take a lot of focus."

His eyes flew open. "How did you know I was researching alchemy?"

"It really doesn't take a mind reader, Draco," she laughed. "You carry at least two books with you every time you visit the Inn. They are always on alchemy but are far too advanced for the casual reader. You make notes in the margins as well as in a separate notebook. All signs of a serious researcher. It's also part of how I figured out where you lived."

He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Yeah - I was wondering about that as well."

She wiped sauce off her fingers with one of the paper napkins lying next to the takeout container. "Well, I knew you had to live close to the Hogshead. I mean, you obviously weren't there for the ambience so it had to be the handiest place for you to get a hot meal. You weren't arriving by floo and I saw you walking up to the door one day so that meant you weren't apparating. That also showed me which direction you likely lived. The last time it rained your shoes weren't very wet when you got there so that gave me a general idea of how far you had to walk. You aren't particularly fond of human interaction so I assumed you would want a building without a lot of neighbors which narrowed down the possibilities. The lone flat above a specialty bookshop like the Tomes and Scrolls seemed like the place for someone needing resources on an ancient magic like alchemy."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."

Luna replied, "Ravenclaw," as if that somehow explained everything and returned to her meal.

Draco's initial misgivings were slowly turning into a grudging respect for the witch. She wasn't as dotty as she allowed people to believe. He had always assumed that her acceptance of creatures that he considered imaginary combined with a complete lack of fear in dire situations must have been signs of a severe mental deficiency. However it was becoming clear to him that, while the girl was undoubtedly odd, she was also very clever. He could see how an opponent could seriously underestimate her. He imagined that she could be a force to be reckoned with if she so desired. If she had an agenda, as he suspected, he would need to be extremely careful in how he proceeded.

"So why do you eat so often at the Hogshead?" he asked. "I would have thought the Three Broomsticks would be more your style."

Luna helped herself to another serving of curry. "Aberforth and I became friends during the war. I trade some of the more exotic herbs that I come across in my travels for the occasional meal so everyone wins." She took another bite and asked, "What about you? You obviously don't like being around people so why do you eat there so often?"

Draco hesitated then confessed, "My cooking skills are a bit limited and people tend to leave me alone there." He scowled. "At least they used to."

Luna seemed unphased by the comment and simply said, "Really? You should speak to Aberforth about that.".

They talked a bit longer then Luna stood and began to tidy up. "Well, thank you very much for inviting me into your home, Draco Malfoy. I enjoyed the company. Next time at my place?"

Draco's gut instinct was to decline but at the same time, he was now thoroughly convinced that she was up to something. He decided that it made sense to find out more. Remembering the old adage about keeping your enemies close he said, "Yes, thank you, Luna. I would like that."

"Excellent! I'll expect you tomorrow at seven." She scribbled her address on the back of one of the paper bags before letting herself out with a wave over her shoulder. Draco stood in stunned silence, looking about his kitchen, wishing he had a witness to verify what had just happened.