Chapter Fourteen
Draco sat at his kitchen table, mulling over the conversation with his aunt. Her words were forcing him to examine certain feelings he had been experiencing recently.
It occurred to him, for instance, that it had become second nature for him to be touching Luna whenever they were together - holding her hand, placing his arm around her shoulder, stroking her hair as she sat next to him on the sofa.
His mind went back to the evening he had first cast a Patronus and the joyous embrace they had shared. He then thought about the night he carried her inside from the storm and how natural it had felt for her to be in his arms.
Andromeda had likened dealing with her husband's absence to phantom limb syndrome and Draco found himself in agreement with that comparison. Last night he had tried to dismiss the feeling as the product of repetitive conditioning. He had spent several days alone with Luna and simply became habituated to her presence. Now he had to admit there was much more to it than that.
He attempted to break the problem down in a scientific manner. He acknowledged that one of the difficulties he was facing was a lack of prior experience with this particular emotion. He had never been truly in love before - nothing more than schoolboy crushes and a brief fling with a pureblood witch his parent's had deemed 'acceptable' - so he felt a bit out of his depth trying to define his feelings about Luna.
He remembered Andromeda's description of love and he had to admit that he felt all of those things about Luna but he wanted a more definitive conclusion before risking a move. After careful consideration he decided upon a plan. He was a scientist and if a scientist wanted to test a particular theory he conducted experiments and noted the results of certain actions.
He glanced at the clock and saw that it was a little after seven. He grabbed his wand and the top hat off the mantle and apparated away.
A few minutes later, Luna heard a knock at her door. She opened it to find Draco leaning against the doorframe wearing the hat at a jaunty angle. "Draco! What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"
"Helping you pack," he said. "Friends don't wait to be asked to help, you know. That is on the list." He tipped the hat and pulled a bag of takeout from inside. "Besides, I thought you might be hungry after your first day. I hope curry is okay?"
"Okay? It's fabulous! Thank you so much!" She gave him a big hug and he felt an involuntary shiver run up his spine. He took the opportunity to breath in her unique scent before collecting himself and stepping back. He noticed that action had most definitely produced a result.
"Right." He looked around and saw she had made a good start on boxing up her belongings. "It would be a shame to have you reopen what you've already packed up so picnic style it is then?"
They settled down on the floor and for the next couple of hours Draco listened as Luna shared the events of her first day at the institute, enjoying the sparkle in her eyes and laughing as she provided vivid descriptions of the people she had met. He felt an odd tug in his stomach, however, when she mentioned how helpful some of her male co-workers had been.
When they finished eating, he offered to help her finish packing. They started off quite efficiently but in short order they found themselves curled up on the sofa as Luna shared stories of how she and her father had acquired various items. At one point, she laid her head on his shoulder and nuzzled against him.
The sensation that flowed through Draco at that moment was beyond his capacity to describe. He wanted nothing more than to sink into that feeling and never come back up. He ventured a glance at her just as she turned her face up towards him. The urge to kiss her almost overwhelmed him and it took every ounce of restraint he could summon to control himself.
At that moment the clock struck ten and Draco leapt to his feet. "Oh. My. Look at the time. I best leave you to it. You said you have an early day ahead of you." He took two quick steps back. "Hope all goes well tomorrow. Be sure and give me an update. See you soon. Good night." There was a loud pop and he was gone.
Seconds later he materialized in his flat and collapsed into a chair. He stared at the wall and groaned loudly before admitting to himself that his experiment had indeed produced a definitive outcome - he had fallen in love with his best friend. This conclusion brought up yet another predicament - determining how to proceed.
As he saw it there were two options - declare his feelings or keep quiet. He briefly considered staying silent on the matter but he remembered Andromeda's comment about the possibility of seeing Edward with another witch. Draco tried to imagine how he would feel if some other wizard pursued Luna and he recalled her mentions of the male co-workers at the Institute. The mere thought of watching another man hold her made him physically ill so he quickly nixed that option.
That left admitting his feelings to her, which proved to be an equally terrifying notion. His main concern was the loss of their friendship. He knew that he couldn't bear that but it occurred to him that she also valued the relationship and she was terribly clever when it came to other people's feelings. If she didn't feel the same way she would find a way for them to overcome the awkwardness. Hell, he thought, she would probably offer to obliviate the memory to save him the embarrassment of an unrequited declaration.
He was trying to work out the best way of broaching the subject with her when there was a knock at the door. He looked through the peep hole and was surprised to see Luna standing in the hallway, holding the top hat. He opened the door and she marched into his living room.
"Luna? What are you doing here?"
"You forgot this." She reached up and planted the hat on his head. "And this." She placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed her lips firmly against his. Draco froze as his brain tried to process what was happening. After a moment with no response Luna pulled back and stared at her shoes.
Draco stammered, "W-why did you do that?"
"Because I wanted to." She looked up at him. "Because I liked it." She placed her hand on his cheek. "Because I am in love with you, Draco Malfoy and I have been for quite some time now."
Draco stared at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. Taking his silence for rejection she began to move away. "It's okay if you don't feel the same, Draco. You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know how..."
She never got to finish that sentence. Finally regaining his senses, Draco pulled her back and kissed her - tentatively at first and then with more confidence as he felt her respond. When they finally broke apart Luna whispered, "Why did you do that, Draco Malfoy?"
"Because I wanted to." He brushed his hand lightly over her cheek. "Because I liked it." He cradled her face in his hands. "Because I am in love with you, Luna Lovegood, and I think I have been for quite some time now."
Luna raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then why didn't you do something about it?"
"Apparently, I'm a little slow on the uptake," Draco admitted. "And once I did realize it, I didn't know what to do - that particular scenario was not mentioned anywhere on the list."
Luna wound her arms around his neck. "True. My oversight. I shall have to correct that immediately." She drew his face towards hers and kissed him once more - a kiss much slower and deeper than the ones before.
Draco felt his knees go weak. When they finally parted he rested his forehead on hers and gasped, "Merlin's beard! Is it supposed to feel like this?"
Luna giggled. "Like what?"
Draco blushed. "Like my heart is going to burst out of my chest."
Luna nodded in mock solemnity. "Afraid so. Feel that?" She placed his fingers on her neck so he could feel the blood coursing just below the surface. "Pulse racing, heart pounding, dizziness, difficulty thinking straight?" Draco nodded. "Sounds like we both have the classic symptoms, then."
Draco pulled her close and cradled her in his arms. "Bloody hell, how do people live through it?"
"Best I can tell they hold on tight and fall into it together."
He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. "Together, huh?"
"Yes," Luna said. "Of course it doesn't stay like this forever."
Draco pulled back slightly. "No?"
Luna shook her head. "No. I can remember Mum saying that it was like when you learned to fly. At first, every time you left the ground there was an overwhelming rush of adrenaline but over time it turned into something different, something better - a deep sense of contentment. Something calm and peaceful yet still exciting at the same time."
Draco smiled. "That sounds wonderful."
"I think so too." Luna's lips lightly skimmed his as she whispered, "So what do you say, Draco Malfoy? Want to learn to fly together?"
"I would love to," Draco murmured. This time when he kissed her, he forced himself to focus as he tried to memorize everything about the moment - how she felt, smelled, tasted - so he could relive it forever.
Eventually Luna stepped back and sighed, "If I don't leave now then I won't be able to leave at all."
Draco's arms remained around her waist. "For the record, I am okay with that option."
Luna grinned. "So am I, but I have a commitment in the morning, remember? I have to complete my orientation and after that...well, twenty five student instructors are not going to teach themselves the proper protocols for breeding Blast Ended Skrewts."
"No, I suppose not." Draco kissed her forehead. "May I take you to dinner tomorrow night?"
Luna shook her head. "Sorry. I already have plans with Ginny. She's been so busy with Quidditch that I promised her weeks ago that the first open date on her schedule was set aside for Girl's Night." She straightened his collar. "The day after tomorrow, however, my calendar is completely open. How about meeting me for brunch at the cottage and we can see where the day takes us?"
Draco nodded. "It's a date then."
They embraced once more before Luna stepped to the center of the room and raised her wand. She whispered "Sweet Dreams, Draco Malfoy" then apparated away. After she left, Draco stayed awake for a long time, replaying the events of the evening in his mind over and over. Eventually he went to bed without changing because her scent was still lingering on his clothes.
Draco woke the next morning snuggling his pillow and murmuring her name. Thirty minutes and one very cold shower later he found himself sitting in his kitchen trying to convince himself that the previous night had not been a dream. He laughed when Luna's owl arrived moments later with a note that read, "You weren't dreaming and I meant every word. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. All My Love, Luna."
Draco pressed the parchment to his lips, grabbed the top hat and did a giddy little dance around the room. He spent much of the day prowling through the Tomes and Scrolls looking for a gift for Luna, settling upon a rare, signed first edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that he had noticed her admiring on a previous trip. He deliberately went to bed early that evening in anticipation of more sweet dreams.
Instead, he woke up inside of a nightmare.