Happenstance

Chapter 7: Wake Up Call

Luna and her father had spent a great deal of time the evening before, discussing her plan's to move in with her son's father. Though Mr. Lovegood thought that it was a brilliant idea, he wasn't sure how his daughter would handle being in such close quarters with Draco. Luna had made it abundantly clear that she did not want to have a relationship with Draco, but her father didn't really think there was a way to avoid it. He was quite sure that Draco could be rather charming when he wanted to be and if he wanted Luna, he'd find a way to have her.

When her father voiced his concern over Draco's tentative attempts at forging a romantic relationship between them, Luna had assured him that he was over thinking things. Deep down, Luna knew her father was right, as the same thoughts had been running through her own mind ever since she'd run into Draco the previous day. While she didn't want to admit that there was a chance that Draco would consider pursuing her even after she had told him that there was no chance, Luna wasn't thoughtless enough to even think about letting her guard down.

The following morning, as Luna's father sat in the breakfast room enjoying his first cup of coffee, he was startled to hear someone knocking at the front door. It was only six o'clock, neither he or Luna had ever had guests this early. Sitting down that mornings issue of the Prophet, Mr. Lovegood left the breakfast room and went to answer the door. Upon opening it, he was shocked at who he saw.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood," Draco said, cheerfully, as he entered the house, not waiting to be invited inside. "I was hoping to see Landon this morning. Is Luna up yet?"

"No, it's just now six o'clock," Mr. Lovegood said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with the hem of his untucked oxford before placing them back on. "She doesn't usually come downstairs until about seven-thirty, after she's showered and ready to wake Lanny."

"Lanny?" Draco said, testing the nickname out for himself. "I like that... mind if I use it?"

"Not at all," Mr. Lovegood said, smiling at the casually dressed wizard. Thanks to Draco's friendly demeanor, he couldn't help but become a great deal more comfortable around the boy than he had previously been. Regardless of their involvement with the Dark Lord, the Malfoy family was as close to royalty as it came in their world, so Mr. Lovegood had been quietly unsettled to have Draco standing in his foyer. "Aren't you a little underdressed for work?"

"Oh, I took two weeks off so that I could get the manor ready for Luna and my son. My son... I just like saying that," Draco said, a huge grin on his face.

"That's wonderful, Draco," Mr. Lovegood said, genuinely glad to see the young father so excited to have a child of his own. "I'm relieved to hear it."

"You're probably pretty pissed that I got your daughter pregnant, aren't you?" Draco asked, nervously tucking his hands into the pockets of his khaki trousers. "Mr. Lovegood, I really didn't plan for any of this to happen but I can't say that I'm too upset that it did."

"You can call me Luke," Mr. Lovegood offered. "and I'm not at all upset. My daughter makes her own decisions, and like I told her when she came to me and told me that she was pregnant; I would have preferred that she had waited until she was older to become a mother, but she didn't. It just goes to show that things don't always go as planned and when they go astray, you've just got to adapt. Personally, I haven't been this happy in quite some time."

"That's a relief," Draco said, laughing awkwardly. "I half expected you to castrate me or something."

"Of course not," Luke said, laughing at the young wizards statement. "So, you've decided to take two weeks off?" Luke asked, as he ushered Draco towards the breakfast room. Mr. Lovegood planned on making good use of his time alone with the father of his grandson, knowing that when Luna awoke he would have limited opportunities to get to know the man.

"Yes. I bought the manor about a month ago but I never put anything in it except for my bed. I didn't think Luna would go for that." Draco laughed, as he settled into one of the comfortable chairs at the table while Mr. Lovegood poured him a cup of tea and prepared him some toast. "The decorator's are working as we speak, to make sure that everything is in order before they arrive this weekend."

"I'm sure Luna will appreciate it," her father said, seating himself across from the boy. "What exactly are your plans for my Luna?"

"What do you mean?"

"My daughter is the most important person in my life. She's all I've got left, and I'd like to know exactly what your intentions are. She's made it quite clear that she does not want a romantic relationship with you."

"Oh, that's not even an issue. My old girlfriend, Pansy, said I wasn't at all romantic. So, I don't think Luna will have anything to worry about." Draco couldn't help but laugh at his clever remark.

"So you mean to say that you've no intention of trying to woo my daughter?"

"No, I'm saying that I probably won't be romantic when I try to woo your daughter."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know," Mr. Lovegood replied, a satisfied grin on his face. Draco was shocked to hear that her father was willing to help him convince Luna that they'd be good together. It wasn't like he planned on marrying her right away, or anything, but since she'd already had his child he didn't see the point in avoiding it forever.

"Will do," Draco assured him. "Do you think it's okay to wake Landon up now?"

"Not if you want to live," Mr. Lovegood said, chuckling as he spread jam on his toast. "Luna has finally gotten Landon used to when he's supposed to sleep and when he's supposed to be awake. If she finds out you woke him before you were supposed to, she'd probably castrate you herself."

"Good to know," Draco whispered, deciding to wait for Luna to wake Landon, instead of putting his boy bits on the line. "Do you think she'll start working on her research for a cure for Obliviate, again?"

"I don't know. I hope so," the sandy haired wizard said, a sad expression taking over his usually cheerful face. "I think she was really close to something great, this last time. Luna was really counting on Professor Snape's input. She was crushed when he chucked her research into the fire like it was nothing. I've never seen her so overwrought. She hasn't been the same ever since... and I don't think she ever will be."

"Why won't she just start over again?" Draco asked, puzzled by how hard she had taken it. Everyone knew that Professor Snape was an ass. Hell, he was a close family friend and even Draco found him to be quite cruel at times.

"Luna has always been very optimistic about people," Mr. Lovegood explained. "Her mother always told her to assume that everyone is a good decent person, until they prove otherwise. When Severus Snape did what he did, he showed her his worst. He pissed on her hopes and dreams, not to mention five years worth of tireless research. You don't really recover from something like that, and unfortunately, its completely devastated her opinion of everyone else. If I could get my hands on him..."

"I never really thought about it like that," Draco mumbled, feeling terrible for Luna all over again. "Well, I hope she does decided to give it another go."

"Me too," her father said, smiling at the young wizard. "I can see why she found comfort in you that, night. You may not be romantic but you're a good listener."

"Thanks," Draco said, feeling a bit proud at that proclamation. Glancing down at his watch, Draco saw that it was nearing seven o'clock. He couldn't help but get excited at the thought of Landon's getting up soon. He hadn't been able to sleep a wink last night because thoughts of the little tyke kept his mind reeling. "It's almost seven."

"Yes, it is... Luna get's up around this time, not Landon. She wakes him at about eight or eight-thirty."

"Ughhh," Draco grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in a very childish manner.

"Is my company that unbearable?" Mr. Lovegood said, laughing.

"No, but I've been waiting for so long."

"It's only been a few hours since you told him goodnight," Mr. Lovegood commented. "But I must admit, I am glad that you are seemingly obsessed with him. It's comforting to know that you adore him as much as his mother and I do."

"I know I've only just met him, but I can't help it," Draco admitted. "I always thought that my mother was nutters when she'd go on and on about the bond between a parent and their child, but now I think I might have to tell her she was right... and that's the last thing you want to tell that woman. You'll never hear the end of it."

"I tell you what," the older wizard said, standing. "I'll go wake Landon and when his mother throws a fit, I'll take the fall... this time. That way, you get some alone time with your boy and you don't have to start things off with Luna on a bad note."

"You're the best," Draco enthused, standing and following behind his son's grandfather. As the two quietly crept up the staircase, making sure not to alert Luna to their approaching the nursery, Draco couldn't help but understand why Luna had been such a free spirit for all those years. Her father encouraged it. There's no way in hell his own father would have snuck upstairs with him to do something he knew that they weren't supposed to do, especially if it meant that they'd have to listen to his mother's displeasure.

Draco had to admit, if he'd been raised in so free and nurturing an environment, he'd probably have been as spazzy as she'd been. The more he thought about it, the more he hoped that his son felt comfortable enough with himself to act as freely as his mother used to. Draco was taken aback by the kindness that Luna's father was showing him and he didn't quite know how to let the man know it. All he knew was that he hoped that he could be half as decent to his own son, as Mr. Lovegood was being to him. Luna's father had only known Draco for a few minutes but he'd already gone out on a limb for the boy more than his own father ever had, and it wasn't for any reason other than to make him happy.

"Mr. Lovegood?" Draco said, just as they reached the door that led to Landon's nursery.

"Luke," he corrected.

"Luke... thank you," Draco said, causing Luna's father to turn and face him, slightly caught off guard by his words. "You're being awfully nice to someone who you should probably be livid with. Most fathers would have slammed the door in my face when I showed up, not offer me breakfast and volunteer to take the brunt of his daughters anger just because I was too impatient to wait until she woke the baby up."

"It's nothing, Draco." Mr. Lovegood assured him. "I remember how excited I was when Luna was born. Her mother nearly left me because I wouldn't let Luna sleep. If I wasn't fussing over my girl, I wasn't satisfied. Needless to say, I know what you're feeling."

"Thanks again," Draco said, still unable to communicate just how grateful he really was.

"When we go inside, be really quite, otherwise you'll scare him and he'll start screaming something terrible, and that will definitely wake his mother. I'll get him and then we can take him down to the playroom so the two of you can have some time together," Mr. Lovegood explained, as he gently turned the handle on the door.

As they approached the round crib that was situated in the center of the room, Draco and Luke were greeted by the baby's icy blue eyes staring up at them. Apparently, Landon had been awake for quite some time as he was wide eyed and alert. At the sight of his guests, little Landon's baby blue clothed body began wiggling about happily, his hands and feet moving back and forth as he showed them a toothless smile. Draco's heart nearly melted at the sight of the boys grin.

"He's got the Malfoy smirk down pat," Draco whispered, causing Mr. Lovegood to stifle the laugh that threatened to come out. After signaling for Draco to be quiet, Mr. Lovegood reached down and picked up the squirming bundle and cradled him in his arms. Quickly, but quietly, the trio rushed out of the nursery and headed downstairs towards Landon's nursery. Once inside the safety of the playroom, Mr. Lovegood handed Landon over to his father. For nearly twenty minutes, he watched as the two interacted but when he saw that it was nearly seven twenty, Mr. Lovegood decided to go to the kitchen and wait for Luna to come downstairs. He had hoped to let her know that he had woken Landon before she discovered it for herself.

"Good morning, Daddy," Luna said, as she entered the kitchen, still clad in her bathrobe since she had just gotten out of the shower. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a rock," her father said, bending down and pressing a kiss against her forehead. "And you?"

"Fitfully," she grumbled, shaking her head solemnly, her wet hair swinging back and forth. "I had this terrible dream that I was marrying Draco and when we said I do, Landon turned into a monkey..."

"So, you mean to say that you had a nightmare, not a dream," her father corrected.

"No, it would have been a nightmare if my dress hadn't been gorgeous, but it was. And Landon made such a cute monkey," Luna said, laughing. Granted she was making jokes about it now, her dream had made getting any real rest, nearly impossible.

"Speaking of Draco and Landon," Mr. Lovegood said, smiling down at his beautiful, though tired looking, daughter. "Guess who showed up at six o'clock this morning?"

"He didn't?" she groaned.

"Yes, he did. I must say, love, he is a very nice boy. You could have done a great deal worse for yourself."

"Did he say when he was coming back. I'll need to make sure that Landon's up and has been fed."

"Technically, he hasn't left... yet."

"What do you mean he hasn't left!" Luna exclaimed, nearly dropping her porcelain tea cup. "He's still here?"

"He's in the playroom."

"Why on earth is he in the... you didn't," Luna groaned, her hands firmly on her hips as she glared at her father, reproachfully.

"I might have," he admitted.

"How long has he been up?"

"Just a few minutes," Mr. Lovegood replied, playfully pinching her nose. Just as he had hoped, his daughter's glare melted away only to be replaced by a reluctant smile. He was sure that no matter how old she was, or how mad she got, pinching her nose would always manage to ease her temper. That was a trick he'd developed while he and Luna's mother were dating; one thing was for sure, Luna certainly inherited her mother's temper. It was difficult to make her angry but once you did, you'd certainly regret it; unless of course you knew how to calm her.

Mentally making a note to teach that move to Draco, Mr. Lovegood took her by the hand and led her towards Landon's playroom. "Try not to be too hard on him. He's just so excited about Landon. It's a huge comfort for me to know that he really does care for the baby. You can see it in his eyes; he's in love."

"I don't doubt that, but you know how hard it was to get Landon to sleep at halfway decent times, and it'll only take a few screw ups to get him off of his schedule," Luna whined.

"I know, Love," her father cooed. "But he looked so pitiful. The seconds seemed like minutes, the minutes seemed like hours and so on and so on..."

"Oh, fine," Luna huffed, stomping towards the playroom doors. Barging in, Luna gave Draco the meanest glare she could muster. "I thought you were going to owl and see what time was okay for you to come by?"

"I was going to but then I changed my mind," he said, laughing at her as he rocked Landon playfully.

"You changed you mind..." she grumbled, stalking towards him and holding out her hands. "I need to feed him."

"I'll feed him," Draco offered, pulling Landon closer against his chest and further away from his mother.

"How?"

"Right... forgot about that," he mumbled, handing the baby over. Settling into the rocker next to the window, Luna kissed Landon on the forehead before loosening her robe. Upon realizing exactly what was happening, Draco muttered something about needing to make sure that he cleaned up his teacup from breakfast that morning, and dashed out of the room as quickly as possible. It seemed, to Luna at least, that the Slytherins Ladies Man, himself, was just a bit unsettled when it came to viewing a woman's breast as something other than a sexual stimulant; even if it was his son's only source of sustenance.

Once Landon had been fed and changed, Mr. Lovegood suggested that Luna show Draco how to properly bathe the baby, since he was sure that the young father had never been required to give a baby a bath. At first, she thought that her father's suggestion was a good idea but after just a few minutes in the lavatory with him, Luna was ready to ring his neck. On three occasions he had bumped her out of the way and had taken over the task of bathing Landon. She was half tempted to bite him just to get Draco to knock it off. Thanks to his constant interruptions, what would normally take fifteen minutes somehow managed to take twice as long.

After Landon was dried and dressed, the very agitated mother and oblivious father, returned to the nursery where Luna began explaining some of the uses of the many baby products underneath his changing table. As she explained their uses, Luna couldn't help but feel like she was talking to herself. Glancing over at Draco, who had officially become a baby hog, Luna's suspicions were confirmed, as he wasn't even pretending to listen. Instead he was making silly faces at Landon.

"Draco!" she snapped. "Could you pay attention, please?"

"I am," he assured her, never even looking at her.

"No, you're not, and I really need you to know this stuff!"

"Could you stop nagging me for five minutes and let me enjoy spending some time with my son?" he asked, sarcastically. "Its not exactly Arithmancy. The nappy goes on the bum... what more do you need to know! It's not like I ever planned on putting it on his head."

"You have to put baby powder on his bum to prevent chaffing. But he doesn't like it, so you have to distract him when you do it...

"Okay, I get it, there are some tricks that I've got to learn but can we do it another time?" he asked, politely. "Please?"

"When will you have time, Draco?" she asked, softening her tone a bit. "You've got a job and I won't always be there when he needs to be changed."

"Trust me, I'll find you. I've no intention of changing nappies," he said, laughing. "Not really my thing."

"Well you had better make it 'your thing'," Luna warned him. "You don't just get the good, you get the bad too... and that includes soiled nappies." Draco rolled his eyes, just as Mr. Lovegood was entering the nursery.

"I was thinking," he began. "Draco, you mentioned that you had the decorators working on your house for the next week. So, instead of staying at home where its sure to be chaotic, why don't you stay here with us?" Luna looked at her father as if he had lost his mind, while Draco's face lit up with glee.

"That would be..." Draco began, but Luna interrupted him.

"Terrible, that would be terrible," she said, sounding flabbergasted.

"No, Luna, I think it would be wonderful," her father assured her. "Think of it this way, Draco will have a week to ease into his role as a father while under our supervision. You can make sure that he learns everything that he would needs to know in order to care for Landon, if you aren't there. It would give me some peace of mind to see that Draco knew what he was doing before my only daughter and grandson went to live with him."

"Daddy!" she whined, her arms crossed over her chest as she pouted. After having seen both Draco and his daughter do the exact same, childish thing, he was suddenly reminded of just how young they both were.

"For an old wizards peace of mind?" her father pleaded, looking down at her thoughtfully.

"Oh, fine," she muttered, before storming towards the door. "I'm going to go get dressed."

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Now, thanks to her father's suggestion, no matter where she went or how quietly she went there, Luna was sure to run into Draco. The worst part was that every morning when she came downstairs to make herself a cup of hot tea, Draco was already sitting at the breakfast table with Landon wide awake in his arms. Luna had no qualms about admitting that she wasn't a morning person, but adding to that, her having to deal with someone who was beginning to agitate her to no end, was proving to be a little more than she could bear. Luna had expected Draco's participation in his son's upbringing to affect quite a few aspects of her life, but Landon's sleep pattern was not one of them. Draco was unable to keep his hands off of the boy. No sooner than she would lay him down, his father would dash up to the nursery claiming that he 'wasn't done playing with him just yet'. Apparently, Draco didn't seem to understand that if he kept disrupting Landon's sleeping pattern the way he was, the poor boy would never let them go to sleep. As it was, Luna was already spending half of her nights awake with the baby, and she certainly wasn't looking forward to making it the entire night. Even after sitting him down and explaining to him why he needed to let Landon take his naps, Draco still insisted on waking him up. Luna was half tempted to put something in Draco's drink that would make him fall asleep, so that he couldn't wake the baby, but after thinking it through she figured that it would probably be a bad idea, not mention illegal.

One good thing that did come from Draco's constant presence was that he was now fully aware of just how much work went into raising a child. The first night that Draco stayed over at Luna's house, he decided to be nice, and told her that if Landon woke up and started crying, he would attend to him so that she could get some sleep. When he said that, Luna couldn't help but think that maybe this arrangement wouldn't be so bad, however, a rather sinister part of her subconscious was laughing at him for making such an offer. It appeared that Draco didn't have the slightest idea just what he was getting himself into.

Luna wasn't surprised in the least, when Draco gently shook her awake just after midnight that night, complaining about not being able to figure out what the boy wanted. He had claimed to have tried everything to quiet Landon, but Luna knew that his statement couldn't possibly be true. Sitting up, Luna readied herself to feed the baby. Just as he had done earlier that day, Draco freaked out and muttered a pathetic excuse to leave before nearly running out of the room. She didn't see him again that night, and the following morning at breakfast, he refused to even look at her. That was when she discovered how best to steal a few Draco-free moments. All she had to do was announce that it was time for Landon to eat, and off he would go. You'd think that Draco would have been clever enough to figure out what she was doing, especially since she was claiming to feed Landon upwards of twelve times a day, but as of yet, he hadn't.

As moving day approached, Luna began to get more and more nervous. In just a few hours time, she would no longer live in her childhood home and would instead be taking up residence with Draco Malfoy, of all people! It was at that moment that she really realized that she was not only going to be living with him but that she'd given birth to his son. The strangeness of the situation finally began to seep in. Luna had always thought that it was an odd predicament she had gotten herself into, but the permanency of her situation finally hit her. Not only would she forever be a mother, but she would forever be tied to her child's father. For the rest of her life, Draco Malfoy would be around, and Luna wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.

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AFTER CHECKING THE STATS ON THIS STORY , I'VE FOUND THAT MY ORIGINAL ASSUMPTION, THAT PEOPLE JUST WEREN'T INTERESTED IN THIS STORY, WAS WRONG. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE READING THIS STORY AND SIGNING UP FOR ALERTS ON IT, BUT JUST AREN'T REVIEWING.

SO FROM NOW ON, I WILL NOT BE POSTING A NEW CHAPTER UNTIL THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER HAS RECEIVED AT LEAST FIVE REVIEWS, WHICH BASED ON THE STATS, ISN'T VERY MUCH. SORRY TO BE SO WHINY BUT DESPERATE WRITERS, DO DESPERATE THINGS.

FYI: I'm not really desperate... well, maybe just a little : )

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