THC: Round 2

House: Ravenclaw

Class subject: Herbology

Story Category: Standard

Prompt(s): [Positive Pairing] Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood

Word count: 1262

Between the Shelves

The towering shelves in the library were Luna's safe space. Between them, she could hide from the unsavory people that seemed to litter Hogwarts' grounds. In the very depths of the library, she'd sit for hours either doing her schoolwork or working her way through wonderful fantasy. Tales of creatures not seen by the naked eye and harrowing stories of people fighting for what they believed in. She felt like she was invisible hidden within the sturdy oaks of the shelves and the written words of others.

No one had ever wandered back far enough into the library to see her. At least, no one ever had while she was there. Luna could not be sure about the times that she wasn't of course.

It had been a clear spring day where could hear the shouts of her classmates outside the castle, but Luna decided to hide away inside. As she approached her usual place, she stumbled upon a different blond-headed person (not that she could stumble upon herself, but it was quite odd to see).

"Excuse me," her voice lilted out, "I don't mean to interrupt, but that is usually my spot." She didn't want to go into detail about how the energy of that particular spot was ideal and hoped the stranger would move without question.

"Find a different spot, wacko." The voice sneered at her. The blond head didn't lift from the arms that currently shielded it from view.

"Now that's quite rude," She huffed as she sat down across from the stranger. The aura was not ideal on this side, but it would have to do.

"Didn't I tell you to go away," Luna could now hear the dampness in the other person's voice and see the way their shoulders sagged.

"No, you said to find another spot, and this is the one I've chosen," She opened the book she was holding. The stranger sniffled, and she tried to pay them no mind but couldn't help herself, "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," They spat back, "Not that a weirdo like you would know what that looks like."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She stated softly, "You don't have to reveal who you are. It'll be fun. You can get whatever it is you need to off your chest, and I'll never know who you are."

She heard a muffled scoff, "I find it very surprising that you don't know who I am."

"I observe many things, but I don't really care to keep track of people," She mused.

"Are you an only child?"

Luna hadn't expected the question, and it caught her off guard, "Yes, why?"

"It's just that my parents put so much pressure on me because I'm the only one who can carry on the family name," The voice was still muffled as the stranger refused to lift their head. "Last year, my first year, they expected me to be the top of the class right off the bat. I fought my way through my classes and now I'm in my second year and it still doesn't seem to be enough for them. Are your parents like that?"

The word parents stung a bit, and Luna tried to push it away to focus on the classmate in front of her, "My dad doesn't really pay attention to me in that way. I suppose it's because he's focused elsewhere." She decided to leave out anything about her mother and hoped the person wouldn't ask.

The stranger's head shifted, and Luna got a glimpse of their face, she was surprised that she recognized it. Draco Malfoy sat in front of her with clear tear marks down his cheeks. His eyes landed on her and she tried her best to school her face to not clue him into knowing that she recognized him.

"What about your mom?"

"She died," Luna almost left it at that. "Although I'm not sure she'd be like that either. To be honest, I wish my dad paid more attention to me. I like having my freedom, but sometimes it feels like he's too carefree when it comes to my schoolwork and such."

"So my parents are too high-strung, and your father gives you too much freedom," Draco scoffed again, "I guess we both have issues then."

Luna smiled at him, "I guess so."

They continued to talk about anything they could think of. Luna still sat on the other side of the aisle from Draco, their backs pressed to the respective bookcases they sat in front of. The sun outside began to set, and still, neither of them moved. It had only been after they were yelled at by Madame Pince that they both stood to leave the library in the effort to not lose house points.


Their meetups in the library weren't frequent, but Luna kept an eye out for Draco any time she made her way back to her spot. Their conversations hadn't reached the same depth as the first one, but it did build an odd friendship between the two. Although, anytime Draco did show up to the library his face was always half-hidden. Luna was okay with that though because she knew it made him comfortable. When she saw him around Hogwarts, she pretended she didn't know him in an effort to not scare him off.

A week or so before the year ended, she saw Draco in the library for the last time. Except for this time, he hadn't attempted to obscure his face.

"You're not hiding," She hadn't meant to blurt it out, but she couldn't help herself.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Draco motioned for her to sit not across from him like usual but next to him. "You were there for me even though you didn't need to be, and you didn't know who I was."

"Sometimes you just need to know someone is rooting for you no matter the circumstance," Luna decided not to reveal her secret of knowing the whole time. "I'm assuming this is somewhat of a goodbye?"

She always knew their friendship wouldn't progress past this year. It would be tough for them to hide away like this as they grew older. Luna also knew from observation that for Draco keeping up pretenses was what mattered more than their strange friendship. She accepted it though. More strife would occur if they became friends in the open, and Luna didn't want to add to the stress that Draco was already dealing with.

"It is," He reached for her hand and held it for a moment before letting it fall to her side. "I think you already know why."

"I do, and I'm telling you that it's okay," She leaned her head to rest against the bookshelf, "Just know that I'll be here when you need me."

"I can't promise I'll be here but if you need me for whatever reason just write to me," Draco stood from his spot, "Just make sure to use a code name, any name will work, I'll figure it out."

She smiled softly as she watched Draco walk away from their safe place. Their goodbye calmed her in the sense that it meant they both had someone to go to if they needed it but the room to grow outside of it. She wasn't sure that Draco would ever reach out to her again, but she hoped he would. On the other side, Luna also wasn't sure if she would write to Draco in the future, but she felt secure in their agreement.