Chapter 22

The same time, at The Ministry of Magic

" Can I ask you a question, Lovegood?" Draco said quietly. They were working at the labels again, bent over a long table together.

Luna carefully lettered a pair of names before answering, " Sure, why not?"

" What… if someone were to tell you that they wanted to start a… they wanted to sleep with you just for… that they wanted to sleep with you for a while…" Draco had been entirely without words since Granger's pronouncement. He'd been trying to find a way to ask Lovegood all afternoon. In frustration, he scribbled out a label in record time

" Do you mean Hermione?" Luna said sweetly.

" No," Draco lied.

" Really?" She responded lightly, " Because usually when you're talking about a someone recently you mean Hermione."

He was astonished, " I don't think I talk about her that much."

Luna put on a much-too-deep-grumble, " 'I'm Draco Malfoy and someone doesn't think I care about protesting the marriage law,' ' Someone was flirting back with me, although they just won't admit it to save face.'"

" First of all, I do not talk about Granger that much," Draco protested, " And second your impression really is coming along nicely."

" Really?"

" Yes, I felt very perturbed. Not quite insulted yet, but you'll get there," He assured her.

Luna just smiled, " No I meant 'Really, you don't think you talk about Hermione that much?'"

" I think I talk about her… the right amount," He defended, " Besides she's part of the problem, so of course I'm talking about her!"

" Which is?"

" The marriage law of course. A year may seem like a lot of time, but it's not," Draco took out his frustration on another label, almost piercing through the paper with every stroke of his quill.

" Hermione didn't do that though," Luna reasoned, deliberately slowing her quill to counter his speed.

" Yes, but she certainly makes it a lot more bloody difficult," He gritted his teeth, " How much easier it would be if my soulmate was some nice girl who didn't know anything about my past. Like a foreigner. Or a muggle or something."

" Yes," Luna added, " Or if you weren't so attracted to Hermione."

He hesitated, before replying, " Well it certainly doesn't help, I'll tell you that much."

" And Hermione wants to date you? What's so wrong with that," Luna asked innocuously.

" Well ignoring that everything is wrong with that, she doesn't want to date me, she wants to have a fling with me, I guess," He explained.

" Why?" Luna asked gently, " Not that you're so un-flingable, Draco, I'm just surprised."

" I was too. I don't know, she said she was attracted to me and she wanted…" He hoped that by repeating it out loud it would start to make any kind of sense for him, watching her reactions carefully, " to do something reckless, I guess, because she can't control her future."

Luna stopped writing labels and sat back in her chair, thinking.

" It must be really hard for her," Luna mused at last, tapping her quill on her lips, and getting a tiny feather caught in her sparkling green lipstick.

" What do you mean?"

" She's used to being able to change something if she doesn't like it," Luna scrapped a label and started again, " But the Ministry hasn't even acknowledged the protest."

" Ah," Draco echoed, " She's frustrated."

" So you're thinking of turning her down?"

" Well that's what I was really asking about," He answered sheepishly.

Luna " Well what do you want to do?"

" I want to sleep with her, obviously," He answered, " She said she wanted to get it out of her system, and I agree."

" But…?" Luna prompted, her doll-like blue eyes boring into him.

" But… I mean I don't know what's wrong exactly, but I guess… something just feels risky about it," He ran a hand through his hair, " Or odd or something. I thought at first that she was playing a trick on me, but at the same time it feels serious."

" I don't think she's playing a trick. Hermione…" Luna paused to think, " Hermione likes to think of herself as very logical and careful, but she's human like everyone else. It's a difficult situation, so it makes sense to look for an escape."

" But actually wanting to sleep with me, doesn't that seem very extreme. Couldn't she just take up dragon training?" He exclaimed.

" Ah, Draco, isn't that what she's looking to do?" Luna punched his shoulder softly.

" It's more like dragon charming, in this case," He added with a wink.

" Dragon wrestling," Luna said with a knowing smile.

Draco laughed, and instantly tried to quiet down. Something about the Department of Mysteries inspired silence, although there was no rule against talking.

After his chuckles died down he pondered Lovegood's hypothesis. Was Granger trying to wrangle him? Or just blow off some steam about the marriage law? The Granger he knew was level-headed and not prone to reckless, useless endeavors like flings with former enemies.

Although when she punched him in third year, that hadn't been very cautious or level-headed.

Draco could only conclude that Granger's motives were elusive unless he knew her better or had more information. An embarrassingly obvious conclusion, but one he had to come to.

He'd been contemplating in silence for a long time when Luna interrupted.

" The advice I'd give, Draco," She said thoughtfully, eyeing the ceiling and playing with her miniature snitch shaped earrings, " Is that if you want to have a fling with Hermione, you'll likely not have a chance again. I know it isn't a part of your 'plan' but… the only thing getting in the way of what you want is that you think you shouldn't want it."

" That's true," Draco replied.

" I once had a chance to be with someone I really liked, and I didn't take it. I regret that much more than my failed relationships," Luna said simply in conclusion.

" You know, I know who you're talking about, you could just say it's like you and Dean Thomas, Lovegood," Draco smirked.

" Oh really, are you comfortable using people's names instead of 'someone' now?" She sang innocently.

" Merlin, was that sarcasm?" He gasped exaggeratedly, " Somebody brew an anti-fainting potion, I fear I may go under!"

" I'm perfectly capable of sarcasm if I so wish, Draco," She scolded airily.

He chuckled, " I'm rubbing off on you, Lovegood."