Chapter Eleven

It didn't take long for them to figure out how daunting their undertaking was going to be, so Luna was relieved when Draco offered to stay with her until they had everything sorted out. After lunch he floo'd back to his flat, packed up a few items and temporarily moved into the guest room at the cottage.

They soon determined that many of the forms required dates and other information that Luna did not know off hand, so the first step was going through her father's files and deciphering his rather mystifying organizational system. Some things made perfect sense but others made even Luna shake her head in bewilderment. (For example, they found research materials on thestrals under the letter 'B' in the file cabinet with the heading, 'Black, Things that Are.")

It was slow going but after a couple of days they began to make progress. One afternoon while searching for the deed to the property, Draco found a box containing a series of paintings done by Luna in a back closet. When he brought them into the living room, she practically danced with delight. "I thought these got destroyed when our old house exploded!"

Draco held one up and studied it. "These are really well done, Luna. I didn't realize you were so artistic." He smiled as he thumbed through the stack, noticing a distinct theme in subject matter. "Or that you were so fond of rabbits."

"They represent my patronus – the hare." She looked at him and asked, "What's your patronus, Draco?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. I was never able to conjure one. I don't really have a large catalog of the required happy memories to choose from so it seemed pointless to keep trying."

Luna perked up and said, "Well, that was a long time ago. You have new memories and a new wand now. Want to give it a go?"

Draco started to refuse but seeing her expression he realized that what she really wanted was a distraction from the task at hand. "Sure, why not?"

Step by step, Luna reviewed the requirements for casting the spell. They tried the rest of the afternoon with no result. They broke for dinner and afterwards she had him make another attempt. They worked a while longer before Draco flopped down on the divan. "It's hopeless, Luna. I can't do it."

Luna sat next to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Of course you can. You are a brilliant wizard so you obviously just have a kink in your aura blocking the memory we need to access. I think I can help with that, if you are willing to try something bit...unconventional."

Draco made a face. "You mean like you crawling around in my head again?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing like that. It's a little game Daddy and I would sometimes play when we were stuck on a problem. I ask you a series of questions and you answer them as quickly as you can with the very first thing that comes to mind."

Draco sighed, "Luna..."

Luna giggled. "How sweet!"

"What?"

"It's very sweet that I was the very first thing to come to your mind but you really need to wait until I ask the questions." She leaned in. "Right - now relax, take a deep breath and clear your mind."

Draco huffed and rolled his eyes. Luna grinned. "Excellent! Like that. Now – pick one -coffee or tea?"

Draco answered resignedly "Tea."

Satisfied with that answer, Luna began throwing out questions in rapid succession. "Potions or charms?"

"Potions."

"Snorkacks or Humdingers?"

Draco looked confused. "Umm...what..."

Luna snapped her fingers in front of his face. "No. No thinking. Answer as quick as you can with the first thing that comes to mind - snorkacks or humdingers?"

Draco stammered, "S-snorkacks?"

Luna nodded her approval. "Chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate."

"Inside or outside?"

"Inside."

"Wine or ale?"

"Wine."

"Cats or dogs?"

"Cats"

"Chicken or fish?"

"Fish."

"Seeker or chaser?"

"Seeker."

"Apparating or flying?"

"Flying"

"Train or Portkey?"

"Train."

"Blue or green?"

"Green."

"Angry or sad?"

"Angry."

Luna latched onto that answer. "Why are you angry right now?"

"Because your father died and mine is still alive." Draco stopped. Where had that come from?

Luna pressed on. "Why does that make you angry?"

The words seemed to fall out of his mouth. "Because you loved your father and you still had much to share with him. He should have danced at your wedding and been here to play with his grandchildren. I'm angry that I didn't get to apologize to him in person. I'm angry because it isn't fair."

He sat back in shock at his own outburst. Luna ruffled his hair. "Oh, Draco. Who told you that life was going to be fair?"

Draco folded his arms. "It...it ought to be."

"Well, I am very sorry to be the one to inform you that it isn't." Luna stared at the fire then said, "It is fair in one respect, I suppose."

"And that is...?"

"Life is not fair but it's not fair to anyone which is what makes it fair to everyone in the long run."

Draco tried to unspool that sentence in his mind. "I'm sorry. Come again?"

"Don't you see? If it's not fair to anyone then that makes it fair to everyone."

Draco wanted to pose another question but was so far lost that he wasn't even sure what to ask. He once again wondered if she was the most brilliant thinker of her time or if she was certifiably insane. He considered the possibility that perhaps she was both.

Luna didn't give him time to brood over the question. She pulled him up from the divan and ordered, "Right – close your eyes. First happy memory that comes to mind. Don't think – go!"

He closed his eyes and the first thing that came to mind was the night of his birthday. He let the memory fill him up – the sensation of Luna next to him on the broom, her scent, her laughter, her smile, the feeling of having someone actually consider him as a friend. He made the required motion with his wand, opened his eyes and whispered "Expecto Patronum."

The room erupted in bright light and a large, silvery eagle soared gracefully around them. Luna squealed with delight before tackling him in a big bear hug. "You did it, Draco! You did it! That was wonderful! I knew you could do it!"

In his excitement he picked her up and spun her around the room. In that moment Draco was quite certain that he could have produced a patronus strong enough to take on every dementor in Azkaban.

xoxoxox

The exhilaration regarding the patronus made it impossible for Draco to fall asleep that night so he stayed up late reading. About two in the morning he was finally getting ready to extinguish the lights when he saw movement in the field next to the cottage. He grabbed his wand and slipped over to the window, expecting to see Rita Skeeter or one of her cronies. Instead he witnessed Luna engaged in a joyous dance under the stars.

She was barefoot and wore a long white nightgown covered with a green dressing robe. He strained his ears but was unable to hear anything other than the normal night noises of the countryside so apparently the music existed only in her head as she stepped and spun around the field.

He watched until she slowed then stopped and he grinned as he saw her curtsey to the four ordinal points – North, South, East and West. He ducked behind the curtain as she turned back to the cottage and waited until he heard the kitchen door open and close safely before going to bed.

Despite his best efforts, curiosity got the better of Draco over breakfast. "Luna, I didn't mean to pry but I couldn't sleep last night and saw something out of the window…"

Luna's expression brightened. "Oh! You saw my attempt at siog damhsa!"

"What?"

"Siog damsha. At least I think that's what you call it. Irish is a very complicated language." She shook her head. "It's a fairy dance. When Daddy bought this place he wrote and told me that if you dance in that field on a certain night then the fairies will join you. Unfortunately I never learned the exact date that it is supposed to happen, so whenever I have the opportunity I give it a try, hoping I'll get lucky and have a dance with the fey folk." She sighed. "But I either haven't found the right day or my performance hasn't been acceptable because it always ends up being just me out there."

Draco smiled. "Your dancing was beautiful so I'm sure that the only problem is that you haven't found the proper date yet."

"Thank you, Draco!" She leaned across the table and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I was beginning to think it was because I wasn't dancing naked!"

Draco choked on his pumpkin juice, mumbled something incoherent and dug into his breakfast, at a complete loss as how to respond to that statement.