Chapter Nine

It all started one morning as they were preparing for another excursion into the forest. An unfamiliar owl arrived at Luna's kitchen window, holding what appeared to be an official document. In order to give her some privacy, Draco stepped into the other room to check their rucksacks for supplies. He had just opened his bag when he heard a dull thud followed by a gut wrenching cry. He dashed back into the kitchen and found Luna slumped on the floor in front of the sink, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Luna! Bloody Hell! What happened?" He dropped to his knees, pried the letter from her grasp and read the words:

Dear Miss Lovegood,

It is with deepest sympathy that we write to inform you of the sudden passing of your father, Xenophilius Lovegood, this morning in Switzerland. Please contact us as soon as possible regarding arrangements for repatriation and transportation of the body...

Draco's hands shook and his stomach gave a violent turn. He had never been comfortable around strong displays of emotion and seeing his normally calm and collected friend in this condition terrified him. He hesitated then gently pulled her into his arms and held her as she wept. He didn't say anything. It was all that he could think to do.

After she had cried herself to sleep, Draco sent word to Luna's friend, Ginny Weasley. The petite redhead soon arrived accompanied by her boyfriend, Harry Potter, and there was an awkward moment at the door of Luna's flat. The couple was aware that Luna had been spending a lot of time with Draco and were still wary of the situation.

Draco stepped aside and gestured down the hall. "She's asleep in her room." As Ginny and Harry started in that direction, Draco said, "Potter? A word?" He cleared his throat and managed to add, "Please?"

The dark haired man gave Ginny a nod before following Draco into the kitchen. Draco took a deep breath. "Listen - I know that you don't like me. But there is something that needs to be attended to immediately and I need your assistance for it to work." He extended his arm. "So, I am willing to do whatever it takes to make you believe my intentions are in Luna's best interest. Veritaserum, Unbreakable Vow, whatever you want, only...please... help me to help her."

Out of respect for Luna, Harry resisted the urge to make a snide remark. He realized what an effort it would take for Draco to request his help with anything. He paused then said, "I'm listening."

Draco quickly laid out his concern and the plan for dealing with it. A moment later Harry stuck his head inside Luna's room, waved Ginny over to the door and whispered, "Malfoy and I are going to step out for a little while." Ginny gave him a questioning look but Harry reassured her. "It's okay. We just need to take care of something. I'll see you back at the Burrow this evening."

Harry walked back to the kitchen. "Right. I'll get the others and meet you in say, half an hour?"

Draco nodded. "I'll see you there."

xoxoxox

Thirty minutes later a most unlikely group of people marched into the building housing the Daily Prophet and headed straight to the editor's office. The man looked up and almost fainted when he realized that Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy were all standing in front of his desk.

"Well! To what do I owe the tremendous honor..."

Draco cut him off. "Xenophilius Lovegood has died."

The man oozed false sympathy. "I know. We heard. So sad. Still, what can you expect when mentally unbalanced people dash around the globe risking their life for imaginary..."

Draco swiftly leaned over the desk and got in the man's face. "The Daily Prophet is going to write a very kind and very respectful obituary for Mr. Lovegood. The entire text of said death announcement as well as any other articles regarding Mr. Lovegood and his family will be submitted to Miss Granger here for review before publication. This is to also include any photographs and captions that are being printed as well."

The man opened his mouth to speak but Draco plowed on. "His daughter, Miss Lovegood, will be left alone during her period of grief. There will be no reporters or photographers bothering her and no one sneaking into her father's funeral. They will not be lying in wait at her residence, her family's place of business or anywhere else trying to get a statement from her. She is completely off limits."

The editor retorted in a bemused tone, "And why in the world would we do that?"

"The goodness of your heart?" Draco gripped the sides of the desk with such force that his knuckles turned white. "The fact that Miss Lovegood has a group of very close and slightly...unstable...friends that are quite protective of her?"

The other three edged forward with hard stares on their faces. Draco stood and folded his arms. "Of course we assumed there would need to be a bit of quid pro quo. So here is the deal - you agree to all of the aforementioned terms in regards the Lovegoods and you get an exclusive interview - with all of us."

The editor glanced at the others, who nodded in agreement. He immediately jumped up and proffered his hand. "Deal."

A sickly sweet voice drifted over from the doorway. "My! What a sight this is! Such a display in regards to little Miss Luna. One wonders what inspires such dedication. One can only imagine what the five of you must get up to. Oh, to be a fly on the wall..."

Rita Skeeter stopped abruptly as she found herself on the business end of four angrily drawn wands. Draco's pushed into the side of her neck as he leaned very close and hissed in her ear. "Did you ever have the opportunity, Miss Skeeter, to meet my late Aunt Bellatrix? I won't say 'the pleasure' because no one found her company enjoyable but I will say that being in her presence I did learn some rather creative curses. If you would like to become acquainted with any of them then do, please, finish that thought."

The reporter paled as Draco twisted the wand into her neck a quarter of a turn. "You will not come near Miss Lovegood. You will not write a single line about Miss Lovegood. If I learn that you have even mentioned Miss Lovegood's name in casual conversation down at the pub then you will find yourself missing for far longer than a year, you vile little insect." He pronounced each of the last four words very distinctly, sounding eerily like his late potions master.

The reporter's eyes darted briefly over to Hermione, who gave her a tight smile in return. Draco pulled back slightly. "Now. Please indicate to me that you understand what I just said." She gave him a defiant stare so Draco twisted his wand another quarter turn and snarled, "Sorry. I didn't quite hear you."

Her lip quivered and she croaked, "Understood."

Draco dropped his arm and adjusted his jacket sleeve. "Good." He turned back at the editor. "We will be in touch to schedule the interviews and Miss Granger will return promptly at four o'clock to review the submissions for publication. Please do not waste her time by being unprepared."

With that he turned sharply and stormed out of the office followed closely by the others. Once they were back on the street the trio gave Draco a curious look and Harry grasped him by the shoulder. "Never thought I'd say this but, well done, Malfoy. Luna will appreciate that."

Draco shook his head. "Luna can never know we did this. She deserves to believe that the wizarding community loved and respected her father, not that we had to force the press to be kind to his memory."

The other three exchanged surprised expressions. Luna had been telling them that Draco had changed. Perhaps he had or perhaps not. Either way they certainly were not prepared for what he said next. "Thank you all very much for doing this. It would not have worked without your participation. I am under no illusions about your feelings towards me. What's done is done and I accept the consequences for my past actions. However, I am grateful you were willing to look beyond all of that for Luna's sake."

Harry nodded. "That's true, Malfoy. We can't change the past but we can make choices about the future. And you're right. Luna is important to all of us. So here's our deal. Treat Luna well and we won't give you any problems." His gaze narrowed as he added, "However, if you hurt her, in any way, you will wish that you had never been born. Understood?"

Draco's eyes turned cold. "Let's get one thing perfectly clear, Potter. If I ever hurt Luna, I would expect - and deserve - nothing less than the worst you could throw at me. Quite frankly, under those circumstances, I would think less of you if you didn't try to kill me. Considering everything Luna has done, she warrants at least that kind of devotion. Now if you will excuse me," Draco stepped back and raised his wand, "I am going to check and see how she is doing."

Without another word he disappeared, leaving the three friends to make their way to the Leaky Cauldron to share a drink and sort through the events of the day.