Author's Note: This is the progeny of much too much time spent on Unredeemed.net, discussing how Draco and Luna would be good for each other. I'm Commander of the Draco/Luna ship. ^_^
A/N II: You may recognise the first part of the first scene. It's taken from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, (Canadian/UK Ed.) Ch. 38 p. 749-752, and has been tweaked to suit the needs of this fic. I've put it in Italics, just in case.
Disclaimer: As usual, I own none of the characters, names, places, etc. I'm just playing with JKR's world, and making no profit from it.
Draco led the way into the Entrance Hall as usual. He spotted
Potter, who had stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced around, checking for
signs of teachers then looked back at Harry and said in a low voice, "You're
dead, Potter."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Funny," he said, "you'd think I'd have stopped walking around…"
The absolute nerve! The cheek of that scrawny pathetic loser that had put his father in prison! Lucius Malfoy in prison! Draco's face contorted with rage. "You're going to pay," he said in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to my father…"
"Well, I'm terrified now," said Harry sarcastically. "I s'pose Lord Voldemort's just a warm-up act compared to you three – what's the matter? Draco had paled at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. "He's a mate of your dad, isn't he? Not scared of him, are you?"
"You think you're such a big man, Potter," he said advancing now, with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. "You wait. I'll have you. You can't land my father in prison-"
"I thought I just had." said Harry.
"The Dementors have left Azkaban," he said quietly. "Dad and the others'll be out in no time…"
"Yeah, I expect they will." Said Harry. "Still, at least everyone knows what scumbags they are now-"
Draco's hand flew towards his wand, but Harry was too quick for him; he had drawn his own wand before Draco's fingers had even entered the pocket of his robes.
"Potter!"
The voice rang across the Entrance Hall. Snape had emerged from the staircase leading down to his office and at sight of him Draco felt a rush of relief.
"What are you doing, Potter?" asked Snape as coldly as ever, as he strode over to the four of them.
"I'm trying to decide what curse to use on Malfoy, sir." Said Harry fiercely.
Snape stared at him.
"Put that wand away at once," he said curtly, "ten points from Gryff-" Snape looked towards the giant hourglasses on the walls and smiled.
"Ah. I see that there are no longer any points left in the Gryffindor hourglass to take away. In that case, Potter, we will simply have to-"
"Add some more?"
Professor McGonagall had just stumped up the stone steps into the castle; she was carrying a tartan carpetbag in one hand and leaning heavily on a walking stick with her other, but otherwise looked quite well.
"Professor McGonagall!" exclaimed Snape, striding forwards. "Out of St. Mungo's, I see!"
"Yes, Professor Snape," said Professor McGonagall, shrugging off her travelling cloak, "I'm quite as good as new. You two – Crabbe – Goyle-" She beckoned them forwards imperiously and they came, shuffling their feet. "Here," she said as she thrust her carpetbag into Crabbe's chest and her cloak into Goyle's, "take these up to my office for me."
They turned and stumped away up the marble staircase.
"Right then," said Professor McGonagall, looking up at the hourglasses on the wall. "Well, I think Potter and his friends ought to have fifty points apiece for alerting the world to the return of You-Know-Who! What say you, Professor Snape?"
"What?" Snapped Snape, though Harry knew he had heard perfectly well. "Oh – well – I suppose…"
"So that's fifty each for Potter, the two Weasleys, Longbottom and Miss Granger." Said Professor McGonagall, and a shower of rubies fell down into the bottom bulb of Gryffindor's hourglass as she spoke. "Oh – and fifty for Miss Lovegood, I suppose," she added, and a number of sapphires fell into Ravenclaw's glass. "Now, you wanted to take ten from Mr. Potter, I think, Professor Snape – so there we are…"
A few rubies retreated into the upper bulb, leaving a respectable amount below nevertheless.
"Well, Potter, Malfoy, I think you ought to be outside on a glorious day like this." Professor McGonagall continued briskly. Harry thrust his wand back inside his robes and headed straight for the front doors without another glance. Draco turned and went up the marble staircase, not caring where he was going but not wanting to be around Snape or McGonagall any longer.
The nerve of McGonagall! But what could you expect from the Head of a House of morons? Stupid Potter... Who did he think he was? Dumbledore's pet student, a seeker whom he had never defeated, and everyone's bloody hero that's what. Bloody perfect Potter with his bloody perfect life!
"Nobody's life is perfect"
"What? Who said that?" Draco asked.
"I did," replied a girl who was taping up a poster of some sort. "You just said that Harry had a perfect life, and I informed you that he doesn't." she explained as she smoothed out the last piece of tape. Draco just stared at her, dumbfounded.
She turned around and smiled dreamily at him. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
"You were thinking out loud, and I overheard you." She paused and tilted her head a bit to the side and added "You know Draco, you aren't a git. You're just another Stubby Boardman."
"I was NOT talking to myself! Who in Merlin's name is Stubby Boardman?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. If it were possible for her eyes to look more surprised, they had managed to achieve it at that moment.
"Stubby Boardman is the singer of The Hobgoblins, who everyone thinks is a escaped prisoner Sirius Black. There's no one around with the last name Black. It was in my father's magazine. You mean you didn't read that article?"
It was Draco's turn to look surprised again. "No. You're a bit mad, aren't you? All the wizards of the Black family are dead. The witches married into other families, like my mother did. She was a Black before she became a Malfoy." What witch wouldn't know the genealogy of all the major wizarding families? Didn't her tutor teach her anything? "Hang on, what do you mean I'm not a git? Who said I was a git?" He asked indignantly.
"Ronald. He always calls you things like that. It doesn't matter. Some people call me Loony Lovegood." With that, she walked off, leaving Draco with his mouth hanging open.
No wonder they called her Loony. That girl was off her rocker. Stubby Boardman is really Sirius Black? He actually chuckled out loud at that one. As he turned to leave, he caught sight of the poster she had put up. He walked up to it, intending to rip it down if it was for some stupid party or some other freak gathering. He saw that it was asking for the return of her possessions which had 'gone missing', and the list of them below it. For a second, he almost felt sorry for her. He shook his head. What was he thinking? She was a freak, and should be treated as such. He walked off to the Slytherin common room plotting what to do to Potter on the train back to London.
A/N III: Thanks to my beta (and Captain of the Draco/Luna ship), jesabelle who got this back to me rather quickly, even with a hectic life. *Pounce hugglez Char. *