Happy Thanksgiving all! (Unless you aren't from the U.S., then Happy Thursday with no school!) I hope you have lots to be thankful for. =) Granted, a lot of you probably won't be reading this ON Thanksgiving, since there's only forty minutes left of today here in my Midwestern city, but anyway... here's chapter 6! I like this one, lots of inner turmoil. =)

Disclaimer: Don't own My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne, don't own HP.


"Hi, Draco!" Luna greeted him brightly the next Monday, the first day that she was allowed to return to classes. Draco had been avoiding her since that night in the hospital wing; although she had been allowed out of the hospital wing, they hadn't spoken a word since... the incident. Now, Draco smiled shakily, staring uneasily at Luna's hand, which was outstretched, as though she wanted him to hold it.

And the strange thing was that he almost wanted to take it. It had felt so nice to hold Luna when she had been sick, to feel her smaller body pressed up against his. Draco wanted to feel that warmth again. He reached out slightly, his finger catching on hers and causing a radiant smile to light her face. But then he realized what he was doing and abruptly pulled away. The hurt on Luna's face was so poignant that he had to look away. What the hell? he thought angrily. I can't hold hands with Loony Lovegood! That would be like... like we're a couple. He felt a pang. Why can't we be a couple? half of him whined.

Be a couple? Are you crazy? With Loony Lovegood? As if!the other half of him scoffed back.

I want her... I want to love her so much... his sympathetic side protested weakly.

Love? Draco, love has never been the plan. Remember? The plan is to be a Malfoy. Marry a pureblood. Have a son to bear the Malfoy name. Never has love been part of the plan, his stronger side insisted.

Luna's the daughter of a witch and wizard, his weak side told him, gaining a little bit of strength.

Draco - do you realize you are saying you want to fall in love with and marry Loony Lovegood? the arrogant Draco sneered. And with that the battle was won.

"I'm sorry, Luna," he said in after a long, awkward silence. "But I don't want anything... like that. We're friends. Best friends."

Luna's face was so crushed that Draco could feel his heart being compressed and frozen. She pursed her lips and blinked as though trying to hold back tears. Draco's stomach turned cold, for he wished he could wipe that heartbroken look off her face with a... Wait, what had he been about to think? A kiss? No... No... Draco couldn't let himself think like that.

He shook his head and closed his eyes, and by the time he opened them again, Luna's eyes were misty again and her smile had regained its dreamy quality. Relaxing, Draco smiled back, hoping that that was the end of the subject. They began to walk towards their first class of the day, together, but it was a long, frigid silence between them. Draco began to grow uneasy again, as it was unlike Luna not to reply to him at all. He kept casting worried glances at her, but her eyes were fixed straight ahead, as if she were gazing into a world that no one but herself could see.

"Welcome, Miss Lovegood. How are those Snickering Sassafras plants I gave you a few weeks ago? Are they growing well?" It was Professor Slughorn, beaming at her.

"Oh, yes, Professor. They're absolutely lovely! I think they're doing a great job of attracting the Sassies." Suddenly, Luna's smile grew much larger as she rifled through her bag. "I think I might have some here!" She began removing objects: first a small telescope (Draco's present to her for the school's 'Presents for Partners' Week), a weird yellow rock, a bundle of purple pencils... Draco smiled fondly at that one. He remembered the first day he'd seen the pencils - he'd made a big joke out of it, having never seen pencils before. And Luna had braved all of the snickers from the Slytherins, calmly explaining that she bought a purple pencil every time she visited an important Muggle monument, just to remind her of the moment.

Draco's eyes felt strangely damp, as his memories finally let him access the night at the hospital wing, which he'd been blocking out for so long. You're the first person I've ever really cared about. It was true. No, it wasn't. What was he thinking? No, he cared about Luna. As a friend. That was it. He didn't... like her. Okay, so maybe he thought she was attractive. Maybe. But that didn't mean he liked her - no, of course not. How could he ever think such a thing?

"Draco? Draco, m'boy, are you feeling alright?" It was Slughorn, who appeared to be shaking his shoulders lightly.

"What?" Draco sputtered, realizing he'd had his eyes closed while he reminisced. "No, no, I'm... I'm just fine."

But as Potions progressed, the things he'd thought that night in the hospital wing kept flooding back to him, reminding him of how much his heart had hurt when he'd thought Luna was dying. But... she was his friend. Of course he'd cared when she'd been that sick. It was... a friendly feeling. Nothing more.

Draco could've gone on all day, but unfortunately, his potion did not benefit from his negligence. It began emitting blue smoke that smelled rather like rotten eggs, at which Granger cast a contemptuous glance at him and elicited a smirk from Potter and the Weasleys, who were all sitting with their respective partners - all of whom looked sympathetic. Draco muttered a quick spell, which evaporated his potion, earning him yet another D for the day. And Potions wasn't the only class in which his grades were slipping - with Luna as his partner, he couldn't seem to concentrate. No, it wasn't Luna. What did Luna have to with anything? It was his dad, who'd sent another letter begging for information, this one even crazier than the last:

"Howdy, Draco! It's been an exciting last few days! Your information was the best thing to happen to me since your mother nearly died - oh, relax, I'm just kidding. Come on, just a little more? I need to know where and when the Order's next meeting will be. I know that Lovegood girl is juicy - in the information way, of course. Oh, Draco, have some fun! Because all those girls will be gone once our master's in power again! Come on! Information? Pretty please? Sincerely, your dear old Dad, Lucius Malfoy."

Draco had gagged on his eggs benedict when he read this letter. It was so ludicrous, nonsensical and borderline perverted that he was surprised any version of his dad could have written it. As Draco sat in Potions and watched Luna stir her potion with a dreamy look (in both of their eyes), he shook his head bitterly. He had been trying to help his dad with the information, but clearly, it had made things worse. His mother reported strange incidents around the house - a magically conjured stuffed rooster toy hung from the rafters in the kitchens, a strange stuffed wolf's head found in the refrigerator. They weren't even bad - just creepy. Very, very creepy. Apparently, half the staff had already quit.

But what to do? Maybe he should give his dad the information. If it really was the last, as Lucius said, perhaps it would end it all. Draco was certainly scared for himself and his mother, if he didn't hand over the information. Especially for his mother. Who knew what his insane dad would do to her if he was driven even madder by a refusal? Draco shuddered, tracing Luna's curls with his eyes, as though they could cure them from his anxiety.

"Draco, why are you staring at me like that?" Luna asked serenely as she stoppered a bottle of her potion.

Draco jumped back to reality, startled. "Oh, no, I'm not, I'm just..." he stuttered, unable to come up with an excuse.

"You have feelings for me, Draco," she informed him, in her most matter-of-fact voice.

Draco's eyes widened. "What? No! Why would you think that?"

This time, Luna didn't seem at all put off by his vehement denial of any non-platonic feelings. In fact, she seemed even more certain. "It's alright, Draco. I accept it. I think I may be developing similar feelings."

Putting his hands up and standing, Draco stepped back and shook his head firmly. "Nope. Nope. I really, really don't feel anything of the kind..." he told her, though his instincts were screaming at him to swallow his pride and man up. But he couldn't. Malfoys, by nature, were much too cowardly for anything of the kind...


The ferocious November wind whipped around him as he ascended the steps to the Owlery. His freezing fingers held a letter, a letter that Draco wished he wasn't sending. It was as though some other force commanded him, while repeated in his head, like a mantra, For mother. I don't like Luna. For mother. I don't like her. For mother. I could never love her...

And so, an owl took flight into the cloudy sky, buffeted by the same wind that caused Draco's eyes to tear up as he gazed at the slowly receding speck that carried the marks of his own horrendous nature.


Oooo. =) REVIEW and tell me what y'all think!