I hope you all like this one! I think you'll find it sweet. Anyway, I'm leaving on Monday as I already said, and I'm saving the best chapter for my last update (until September). Please review!
Twenty-one: A Gown Made for Royalty
Draco didn't expect Pansy to be talking to him the following morning, but she apparently had forgotten their quarrel. She was at the Manor first thing in the morning, waiting for Draco. He groaned loudly as soon as he saw her. "Is there anybody in the world thicker than you? You really can't take a hint, can you?"
"Draco, stop teasing," Pansy giggled, failing to realize that Draco was serious.
Draco sat at the table next to his mother. Pansy seated herself beside him as the house elves brought them breakfast. "Pansy tells me that you still haven't bought her anything to wear to the party," Narcissa said disapprovingly. "Today you will find her a gown to wear, and you're not coming home without a bill for the most beautiful dress in the shop. I don't want just any gown for my future daughter-in-law, but one that's been made for royalty."
Draco groaned again. Pansy looked utterly delighted. She followed him excitedly to the shop. "I can't wait to see Loony in her uniform again!" she exclaimed.
Draco felt a wave of fury as she said this, but he tried his best to ignore her. There was something very disturbing about the way she was so delighted.
Upon reaching the shop, Draco spotted Luna buried under a pile of dress robes, arranging them neatly on the shelf. Twieck was at the till helping a customer. "Luna," he called, and she turned around. He hurried over, Pansy following him. "Listen, that robe was a mistake. Father said the company sent the wrong one. You don't have to wear that horrid piece of –"
Luna stood up, and Draco realized that she wasn't wearing the uniform today. She was wearing a short, dark frock which was sleeveless and had layers of lace and beads at the bottom. There were elegant ruffles at the square neckline. Pansy's mouth dropped open. So did Draco's.
"Wow," he breathed, examining Luna's new frock. It looked unbelievably expensive, and he wasn't sure where Luna had gotten it. "You look incre – I mean, wow – Er, where did you get that dress?"
Luna looked puzzled. "This is the uniform you gave me yesterday. I found it rather bulky so I modified it a bit. I hope that it's alright."
"What? Those hideous rags? You made that heap of rubbish look like – like this?"
Luna shrugged. "I make my clothes all the time. I just never can afford nice fabric for them, so I end up using feathers and leaves and other silly things like that."
Draco was amazed. Once again, Luna had turned something impossibly useless into gold. He couldn't get over how beautiful she looked. The frock looked so pretty that it was an effort to stop himself from grabbing her full, luscious body and shamelessly caressing her.
Pansy scoffed. "I think you look hideous. That frock is the ugliest thing I've ever seen."
Neither of them paid attention to her jealous words, and Pansy's face contorted into fury. "Well don't just stand there gawking!" she snapped. "I need a new dress robe, and it has to be the most beautiful one in the shop!"
Luna snapped to attention and scanned the rack. She pulled out a couple of robes and offered them to Pansy. "These ones are new. Perhaps one of them –"
Pansy snatched them out of her hands in haste. "Don't soil these dresses with your filthy hands," she scolded, rummaging through them.
Draco was too engrossed in Luna's shining beauty to heed Pansy any attention. He ached desperately to take her back to that lovely gorge where they had picnicked, just to have her alone to himself and away from the rest of the world...
"How about this one, Draco?" Pansy squealed.
"Erm, yeah, sure," he mumbled, not having the slightest idea what was going on except that Luna was pushing her golden locks out of her face and that she looked absolutely scrumptious.
Pansy disappeared, then stepped out wearing a long gown of pale green. This was enough to pull Draco out of his reverie and both he and Luna stared at Pansy, open mouthed. "Well?" said Pansy, pleased with this attention. "How do I look?"
Draco suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, and he could hear Luna holding back her own giggles. "You look like a pile of vomit, my dear," Draco chortled.
Pansy was horrified. "It's this stupid girl's fault for picking out such a hideous dress for me in the first place!" she snarled, and she stomped back to the changing cabin.
Draco couldn't help thinking that Luna would have looked wonderful in that dress, even if it was vomit colored.
Thus the day passed. Pansy tried on robe after robe after robe, but none of them was the right one. She looked equally awful in all of them, in Draco's opinion, whereas Luna would have shined like diamonds in any of them. All of the robes were marvellous, but Pansy soiled their beauty and made them appear unpleasant and tasteless. Her figure was so shapeless and her face so plain that nothing looked good on her. Both Pansy and Draco grew frustrated as this went on.
Finally, Luna thrust a heavy violet gown into Pansy's hands. "Here. This is likely the most beautiful gown in the entire shop."
Pansy gasped in delight. Luna had not been exaggerating. The top of the silk gown was a tight glittery corset with silver jewels and sequins. The bottom was large and flamboyant with white lace and ruffles. The bottom was lined with large roses made out of violet lace. Pansy hurried off to change into it, and returned within minutes.
The robe itself was stunning. Just like everything else Pansy had worn, however, it hung unattractively over her bland, shapeless body. Pansy looked irritated as she held the corset over her flat chest, trying to tie the lace tighter. "It won't stay up! It's far too loose," she complained.
"It's perfect," said Draco. "It's just your body that's too small."
Pansy pouted. "Draco! I want this one!"
"You look horrendous in purple," was Draco's response.
"Draco! This isn't the time to make jokes." Pansy sighed, looking herself in the mirror. "I want this one. It's gorgeous. I won't have anything but this, Draco. My mind is made up."
Draco frowned. He felt that Pansy wasn't doing the gown justice. A frock this exquisite deserved to belong to someone just as exquisite. Someone like Luna... Draco shut his eyes and tried to picture it on Luna's voluptuous figure. Her full, plump chest would look ravishing in the corset, and the lace roses on the hem would sweep the ground so elegantly over Luna's long, graceful legs... Draco sighed, wishing he could make this reverie come true.
He opened his eyes and stole a look at Luna, who suddenly looked sombre. They way she was poring over the frock in utter longing was enough to make Draco rip it right off Pansy's lanky body.
Luna finally spoke. "It's wonderful. Congratulations, Pansy," she said, her eyes glistening. Draco thought he saw a tiny tear emerge from her sombre eyes, but Luna made no notice of it.
Pansy looked satisfied. After she had changed back to her own frock, she haughtily handed the robe to Luna. "Pack this up, and don't get your disgusting fingerprints anywhere on my gown!" she ordered curtly.
Luna obeyed silently, and did not say another word to either Draco or Pansy.
"Did you find a gown, dear?" were Narcissa's first words when Draco arrived home that evening.
Draco nodded, handing her the bill. His mother beamed. "Did you give it to Pansy already?"
"Er, no..."
His mother smiled. "I see. You want to surprise her."
"I guess you could say that, mum."
His mother sniffed, a small tear escaping her eyes. "Oh, I'm so proud of you two, darling."
A smile escaped Draco's lips. He quietly escaped to his room, feeling as if he had done something right today.
Luna was nearly in tears when she reached home. It had been hard to see Pansy in that ravishing gown, knowing that she would one day be Draco's. Luna knew it was foolish to become so upset over a silly thing such as this, but she couldn't help wondering what it would be like to be in Pansy's place; to have absolutely everything she could ever desire. Not only both her parents and all the money she ever could need, but a husband that was as handsome and charming as Draco.
Luna wiped away a tear, feeling foolish. "Life doesn't work out like that for people like me," she told herself weakly, and then she suddenly burst into tears. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. First her mother had left her, and now her father was leaving her too! Her sobs were dry and bitter, and she cried out her heart for hours.
A loud knocking at her door jerked her and she hastily wiped away her tears. "Maybe it's Ginny," she said aloud, trying to cheer herself up. Ginny used to visit her frequently, though she hadn't in a long time. Ever since she and Harry had become a couple after the war, Ginny no longer had much time for Luna.
Holding her hopes dangerously high, Luna darted to the door. Her face fell when she opened it. It was only Twieck the house elf.
"Hello Twieck. Is there something wrong? Do you need me at the shop?"
"No, miss," the elf squeaked. "Master Malfoy sent me to deliver your robe, miss. I do hope that I've not interrupted you, miss." He bowed nervously.
"No, of course you haven't," Luna assured the elf. "But you must have made a mistake. I didn't order any robes."
"No, miss, this is yours! It has your name on it!" The house elf thrust the parcel into her hands. "I must get going miss, I'm terribly sorry," Twieck explained, and he disappeared instantly.
Luna was confused. She checked the parcel and saw that it was indeed her own name on the box. Perhaps it was a new set of uniforms, she realized, and she closed the door and went back inside to unwrap it.
It wasn't her uniform, however.
As soon as she ripped open the parcel and caught sight of sparkling violet silk, she burst into tears of joy and disbelief. She pulled the dress robe out of the box and hugged it tightly, allowing happy tears to cascade down her ecstatic face.