Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! You guys keep me alive! (And don't
get any ideas from that!)
The Dark Wanderer: hmmmm.yah, u're rite, may b a little 2 fast.u'll find out y tho..
Jade Bear: nope, no Harry relatives. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! WITH MY EVIL AUTHOR POWERS, I WILL KEEP EVERYONE IN SUSPENSE!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA- *choke.need.water.* random gopher: *pops out of nowhere with water* evilsquirrel: GIVE ME THAT!!!!*glug, glug, glug* where was I? Oh, yes- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
CHAPTER 8
Draco's legs ached. He climbed the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, following the stout witch with the amber eyes. Luna followed him. His chest burned. The stairs seemed longer than usual. His head throbbed. Maybe he was hallucinating. His temples were sore. The stairs were longer. His skin was raw and pink, and hurt whenever his robes brushed it. Damn it, these stairs WERE longer. Luna was tired. Who the hell designed these stairs anyways? Draco could feel her exhaustion weighing down in the back of his mind; it felt like he was dragging a piano. He was going to KILL the architect. His knees were bleeding from the rug burn he had gotten when he tackled Luna. The architect was long-dead. Images of the man's head splitting like a watermelon ran through his head. He would bring the architect back to life and THEN kill him! The girl's sightless eyes stared into his.
Draco stopped dead, and Luna ran in to him. The force, however light, made his knees buckle. He was exhausted.
"Sorry." Luna's whisper was hoarse. She was terrified. Even if the link that connected their minds somehow had not been there, he would have seen it on her face.
"My fault." Draco's voice had almost a caress in it. After spending six hours crammed under books and splintered wood with two dead bodies and searching teachers less than ten feet away, Luna's voice had been the only thing that kept him sane. She was easy to talk to. She had been the fire that melted the dragon's icy heart. He had fallen in love.
For Draco, there had been no such thing as love in his life. No one had cared for him, and he had cared for no one. Except Luna. He had found her intriguing at first, a person who had at least enough backbone to stare him down. Strength enough to not flee when faced with horrible tortures.
Luna had saved his life, no small thing, and although he saved hers, Draco did not consider them even. He thought himself deeply in her debt. She did not have to save him, and that marked the difference between them. She could have let him die. If he had let her die, the man would have killed him too. Two had a better chance of survival than one.
But now he loved her. Six hours with a person, with fear and every weakness exposed and laid bare, with trust forged and love budding, formed an unbreakable connection. Draco would have laid the world at Luna's feet, died for her, done anything. He loved her more deeply than his own life. She was his life. He had let her feel only a tiny bit of his tremendous affection, however. It would seem to her that he was merely her friend. He could not let her know how deeply he loved her. It would have been dangerous. If Voldermort, he winced at the name, knew of Draco's love, he would use Luna to force Draco into doing things he had no desire to do. For all his acting, Draco was not a cruel person. He enjoyed angering people, toying with their emotions, leaving them feeling empty and embarrassed, their confidence destroyed; but he shirked at actually hurting people physically. Voldermort knew this, and he would use anything to swell the ranks of his Death Eaters. Draco shivered at the thought.
"Only another two hundred steps to go." The short witch was watching them impatiently.
"Wha-oh." Draco realized he had stopped. With his muscles screaming in protest, he resumed his climb up the stairs. Anger flared in him. They had passed the Tower entrance three hundred steps ago! He was sure! Two bloody hundred bloody steps to bloody go? Damn it! Damn her!
He linked his mind to Luna's, the way he had discovered, and sent a sharp tingle down it. He felt Luna jump and then he heard her talk.
~Temper, temper, Draco! What is it? ~ She wasn't really talking; it was sort of a way of sharing their thoughts. They could communicate with their minds.
Draco realized he must have hit her pretty hard. ~Sorry. I just wanted to talk. ~
~Fair enough. S'up? ~
~Was it just me, or did we pass the Astronomy Tower three hundred and fifty-seven steps ago? ~
Luna chuckled. ~Been keeping count? ~
~Nothing better to do. ~
~What about talking to me? ~
~I am. ~
The silence stretched.
~Draco? ~
~Yeah? ~
~Where are we going? ~
~I don't know. ~
~Do you want to play I-Spy? ~
Draco burst out laughing. Just when he had thought she was normal! ~Sure. I mean, heck why not? ~
~Okay. You go first. ~
~Um.I spy with my little eye something that is.gray. ~
~The wall? ~
~How did you ever guess? ~
~Lucky guess. I spy with my little eye something that is...gay! ~
~Don't tell me Potter and Weasley are up here!! I told them to stop snogging each other last week! ~
Luna whacked him over the back of the head. ~Gay means colorful! Pretty! Happy! ~
~Oh. That kind of gay. Um.~ Draco racked his brains. ~I give up. ~
~Whatever happened to Slytherin ambition? It's that painting over there, the one that's following us! ~
Draco raised an eyebrow. The painting was hideous. ~No comment. ~
~Shut up. ~
~My turn. I spy with my little eye something that is..blonde. ~
~You? ~
~Nope. ~
~Me? ~
~How did you guess? ~
~Watch the sarcasm! I went to the I-Spy World championships two years ago! I was sixth! ~
Draco sniggered. Luna whacked him again.
Shaking her head, the stout witch led them up the stairs. There were fifty left.
Forty-nine.
Forty-eight.
Forty-seven.
Forty-six.
Forty-five..
The Dark Wanderer: hmmmm.yah, u're rite, may b a little 2 fast.u'll find out y tho..
Jade Bear: nope, no Harry relatives. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! WITH MY EVIL AUTHOR POWERS, I WILL KEEP EVERYONE IN SUSPENSE!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA- *choke.need.water.* random gopher: *pops out of nowhere with water* evilsquirrel: GIVE ME THAT!!!!*glug, glug, glug* where was I? Oh, yes- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
CHAPTER 8
Draco's legs ached. He climbed the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, following the stout witch with the amber eyes. Luna followed him. His chest burned. The stairs seemed longer than usual. His head throbbed. Maybe he was hallucinating. His temples were sore. The stairs were longer. His skin was raw and pink, and hurt whenever his robes brushed it. Damn it, these stairs WERE longer. Luna was tired. Who the hell designed these stairs anyways? Draco could feel her exhaustion weighing down in the back of his mind; it felt like he was dragging a piano. He was going to KILL the architect. His knees were bleeding from the rug burn he had gotten when he tackled Luna. The architect was long-dead. Images of the man's head splitting like a watermelon ran through his head. He would bring the architect back to life and THEN kill him! The girl's sightless eyes stared into his.
Draco stopped dead, and Luna ran in to him. The force, however light, made his knees buckle. He was exhausted.
"Sorry." Luna's whisper was hoarse. She was terrified. Even if the link that connected their minds somehow had not been there, he would have seen it on her face.
"My fault." Draco's voice had almost a caress in it. After spending six hours crammed under books and splintered wood with two dead bodies and searching teachers less than ten feet away, Luna's voice had been the only thing that kept him sane. She was easy to talk to. She had been the fire that melted the dragon's icy heart. He had fallen in love.
For Draco, there had been no such thing as love in his life. No one had cared for him, and he had cared for no one. Except Luna. He had found her intriguing at first, a person who had at least enough backbone to stare him down. Strength enough to not flee when faced with horrible tortures.
Luna had saved his life, no small thing, and although he saved hers, Draco did not consider them even. He thought himself deeply in her debt. She did not have to save him, and that marked the difference between them. She could have let him die. If he had let her die, the man would have killed him too. Two had a better chance of survival than one.
But now he loved her. Six hours with a person, with fear and every weakness exposed and laid bare, with trust forged and love budding, formed an unbreakable connection. Draco would have laid the world at Luna's feet, died for her, done anything. He loved her more deeply than his own life. She was his life. He had let her feel only a tiny bit of his tremendous affection, however. It would seem to her that he was merely her friend. He could not let her know how deeply he loved her. It would have been dangerous. If Voldermort, he winced at the name, knew of Draco's love, he would use Luna to force Draco into doing things he had no desire to do. For all his acting, Draco was not a cruel person. He enjoyed angering people, toying with their emotions, leaving them feeling empty and embarrassed, their confidence destroyed; but he shirked at actually hurting people physically. Voldermort knew this, and he would use anything to swell the ranks of his Death Eaters. Draco shivered at the thought.
"Only another two hundred steps to go." The short witch was watching them impatiently.
"Wha-oh." Draco realized he had stopped. With his muscles screaming in protest, he resumed his climb up the stairs. Anger flared in him. They had passed the Tower entrance three hundred steps ago! He was sure! Two bloody hundred bloody steps to bloody go? Damn it! Damn her!
He linked his mind to Luna's, the way he had discovered, and sent a sharp tingle down it. He felt Luna jump and then he heard her talk.
~Temper, temper, Draco! What is it? ~ She wasn't really talking; it was sort of a way of sharing their thoughts. They could communicate with their minds.
Draco realized he must have hit her pretty hard. ~Sorry. I just wanted to talk. ~
~Fair enough. S'up? ~
~Was it just me, or did we pass the Astronomy Tower three hundred and fifty-seven steps ago? ~
Luna chuckled. ~Been keeping count? ~
~Nothing better to do. ~
~What about talking to me? ~
~I am. ~
The silence stretched.
~Draco? ~
~Yeah? ~
~Where are we going? ~
~I don't know. ~
~Do you want to play I-Spy? ~
Draco burst out laughing. Just when he had thought she was normal! ~Sure. I mean, heck why not? ~
~Okay. You go first. ~
~Um.I spy with my little eye something that is.gray. ~
~The wall? ~
~How did you ever guess? ~
~Lucky guess. I spy with my little eye something that is...gay! ~
~Don't tell me Potter and Weasley are up here!! I told them to stop snogging each other last week! ~
Luna whacked him over the back of the head. ~Gay means colorful! Pretty! Happy! ~
~Oh. That kind of gay. Um.~ Draco racked his brains. ~I give up. ~
~Whatever happened to Slytherin ambition? It's that painting over there, the one that's following us! ~
Draco raised an eyebrow. The painting was hideous. ~No comment. ~
~Shut up. ~
~My turn. I spy with my little eye something that is..blonde. ~
~You? ~
~Nope. ~
~Me? ~
~How did you guess? ~
~Watch the sarcasm! I went to the I-Spy World championships two years ago! I was sixth! ~
Draco sniggered. Luna whacked him again.
Shaking her head, the stout witch led them up the stairs. There were fifty left.
Forty-nine.
Forty-eight.
Forty-seven.
Forty-six.
Forty-five..
