Chapter Twenty

The next few days were spent visiting friends, going to follow up appointments with Luna's healers and resting (with a fair amount of snogging in between). Draco had some concern that Luna was pushing herself a bit much but he had to admit that the visits, especially the ones with Teddy and the thestrals, were extremely therapeutic for her.

On her fifth day home from hospital, Luna sent word to Harry asking if she could come in and give her official statement in order to formally close the case. Draco went to the Ministry with her and sat quietly as she gave a detailed account of her attack to Harry and Kingsley. It took every trick he had learned during the war to channel his pain and anger into a separate part of his brain and remain calm as he heard her describe all that had been done to her. He managed to make it through the entire session without screaming, cursing or blasting anything so he decided to count that as a success.

Before they left he noticed Luna whispering to Kingsley. The Minister appeared surprised but seemed to agree to whatever she had requested. She motioned for Draco to follow her into the hallway where she advised him they had a stop to make before returning to the cottage. She side apparated them away and Draco soon found himself standing in the hallway outside Luna's former flat.

"What are we doing here?" Draco eyed the door as if it might spring at them at any moment.

"I asked Kingsley if it would be okay if we went back inside for a little bit. He said since it was no longer an active crime scene and it hadn't been rented out again yet that it would be okay."

"Why in the world do you want to go back in there?"

"I have to," Luna explained. "It's like when we were first learning to fly, Draco. If you fell off, you had to get right back on the broom or else the fear would stop you from trying again. I need to go back in there. We need to go back in there." She took his hand. "If we don't face this and talk about it, then it will become a 'thing' and I don't want 'things' to come between us."

With a flick of her wand the door opened and she stepped inside. Draco held back until she implored, "Please?"

He squared his shoulders and forced himself to walk into the room. He paced about before stopping in front of the fireplace. "Is this where they..."

"Yes," Luna said quietly. "Yes, it is."

Draco stared at the spot on the floor then slammed his fist hard against the wall. He let out an strangled cry before dropping onto the sofa and burying his head in his hands. Luna sat beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for several minutes before she spoke again.

"Draco, do you know why I asked you to sit in on my statement and to come back here with me?"

Draco kept his eyes down and shrugged. "Emotional support?"

"Partly but the main reason is because I needed you to hear it. All of it. Consider it...a gift."

Draco struggled for the right words. Taking her hands he said, "No offense, Luna. I love you very much but if this is what you consider a 'gift' then I think we need to have a long talk before Christmas arrives."

"Not that kind..." She shook her head. "I'm not explaining this very well, am I?" She looked at the ceiling and bit her lip. "You see, Draco, when my father was in Azkaban I wasn't allowed to visit and I had no idea what was happening to him. That's when I learned that, in the absence of facts, your mind tries to fill in the blanks - whether you want it to or not." She closed her eyes tightly. "It turns out that I am capable of imagining quite a lot."

Draco mentally kicked himself for never considering how her father's stay in Azkaban might have affected her. Luna's voice trembled slightly. "I was trying to spare you that, Draco. I thought if you had all the information about what happened to me then you wouldn't lie awake at night imagining all kinds of horrible..." A tear ran down her face. "I'm sorry if I did the wrong thing."

Draco wiped her cheek. "No, Luna. Don't apologize. You're right. I have been picturing all kinds of awful..." He fought to keep his emotions under control. "It is just really hard for me to come to terms with the fact that someone hurt you and I wasn't able to do a damn thing about it."

"But you did do something about it, Draco. You stayed beside me the whole time at St Mungo's and made sure I was safe there. You kept talking to me and giving me a reason to fight."

"You could hear me?"

Luna nodded. "It was like...being wrapped in a spider's cocoon or under heavy wet blankets. Everything was dark and muffled and there were voices inside my head trying to drown out the outside world. But I could hear you loud and clear. Your voice was a like a lifeline so I held tight to every word and that's what gave me the strength to hang on."

"You heard everything I said?" He looked away in embarrassment.

She turned his face back towards her. "Everything. It was what kept me going when the potion was trying to convince me to give up. More than anything I wanted to get back to you and the future you were describing to me."

She kissed him softly. "So you're right, Draco. Something bad happened here. Something really bad that affected both of us. But loads of good things happened in this flat as well and we can't forget those because of one horrible incident. Please don't let them take those times as well."

She cupped his face in her hands. "Draco, those men took four days of my life and I refuse to let them take one minute more. I will reclaim the good memories of this place - inch by inch if I have to - because I will not let them win. Will you help me do that?"

Draco nodded so Luna sat up very straight and said, "Very well, then. I'll start." She tipped her head towards the front door. "I remember the first time you visited me here. I had almost convinced myself that you weren't going to show up." She nudged his arm. "I never told you this but I was so excited when you knocked that, in my rush to answer, I fell down and got a cut on my knee. I sat through that entire meal with blood on my leg."

"Why didn't you fix yourself up?"

Luna blushed. "I was worried that it would turn out to be a dream - that you would vanish if I used magic or left the room. I really enjoyed your company and didn't want it to end so I waited until you left."

Draco stared at her then asked, "Which one?" Luna looked confused so he clarified, "Which knee?" She pointed to her right side. Draco knelt down and gently lifted her right trouser leg before pressing his lips against her kneecap. "There," he said with a wink, "better late than never, eh?"

Luna wiped another tear from her eye. "Thank you."

"For what, love?"

"For another lovely memory."

She took him by the hand and they walked around the room, reminiscing about the times they had spent together - the dinners, the discussions, the nights reading by the fire.

They went into the kitchen and laughed about the time they attempted Stew ala Lovegood - a dish that contained only the ingredients in the right hand cupboard. As they stood by the counter he saw her gaze drop to the floor in front of the sink. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "I was so afraid the day we heard about your father. I didn't know what to do to help you then either."

"You were there for me. That was the most important thing." Luna shook her head. "I have often wondered what I would have done if I had been alone when I received that letter. I don't know that I would have survived it. You held me, you sent for Ginny, you took on the Daily Prophet..."

"I don't know what you..." Draco started to protest but Luna cut him off with a look.

"Oh - come on, Draco. The Prophet leaves me alone, prints a beautiful obituary about my father and a week later an interview with Harry, Ron, Hermione and yourself appears on the front page? It didn't take a mind reader or a Ravenclaw to deduce what happened there. I knew it had to be your idea because the others wouldn't have thought of it. Their plans would have been less...subtle."

Draco muttered. "Which is why you don't leave strategy to the bloody Gryffindors..."

Luna grinned and lead him back into the living room. "Come on. It's time you saw the most significant place in this entire flat." She took great pains to find an exact location then declared, "Here. Right here."

Slightly embarrassed that he didn't recognize the significance of the spot, Draco asked, "Why? What happened here?"

"This is where I was standing the moment I decided to apparate to your flat to tell you that I loved you." She pointed at the mirror over the fireplace. "I looked at myself and said, 'What are you waiting for? The worst that can happen is he laughs at you and plenty of people have done that.' So I grabbed the hat and...well, you know the rest."

"I most certainly do." He ran his fingers through her hair. "We should place some sort of monument right here."

"I think the next occupants might have an issue with that."

Draco lowered his face towards hers and whispered, "Bugger them" before kissing her fervently.

After several minutes she stepped back and smiled. "I think that is the perfect memory to leave on, don't you?"

Draco was touched as Luna then moved to the middle of the room and announced, "Thank you, flat, for all of the time we shared together. I hope your next occupants enjoy and respect you as much as we have." With that she took Draco's arm and led him into the hallway.

Then they shut the door, taking with them happy memories and hope for a much brighter future.