22 – Sweeter Than Chocolate

Hermione's way of dealing with problems had always been throwing herself into schoolwork or some other new project. Haley suspected she was involved in a project. Well, as long as it made her somewhat happy, she was all for it. Even if it meant, she didn't have much time for her. And since Ron still didn't talk to her, Haley found herself on her own more often than not. Thursday evening after their DA meeting Hermione took her aside and finally shed some light on her secret activities.

"Have you made any plans for Saturday?" She asked excitedly. "Could you come to the Three Broomsticks around noon?"

"I…" She started sheepishly. "I'm… not sure… it's Valentine's Day," she whispered, not looking at her friend.

"Oh." The girl seemed honestly surprised. "I forgot."

"Well…" Haley cleared her throat awkwardly. "I kind of already made plans after quidditch but… we could meet there some other time?"

Hermione shook her head firmly. "I've already arranged everything. Can't you try to make some time around noon? It's really important! And it won't take that long. We should be done by the afternoon." The urgent tone of her voice convinced her. She knew her friend wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.

"All right." She nodded. "I'll be there." Surely, Draco wouldn't be mad if they met up a bit later. Haley simply couldn't refuse her friend this little favour after seeing her break into tears earlier that week.

"Great!" Hermione beamed, clapping her hands together once. It was nice, seeing her this excited.

"Is there a specific reason–" Haley started to ask, when Hermione's head suddenly vanished.

"Hermione, what-!" She cried in horror, while another head appeared behind her, making it look as if she now had a different head. A boy's head.

George Weasley reached for something above the girl's headless body and suddenly her friend's face reappeared. Haley's heart started beating again.

"What the hell?" She exclaimed, staring at the grinning boy in astonishment. He had a strange hat with pink feathers in his hand.

"Oh, that," he commented, glancing at the hat. "Our newest invention. Fun, isn't it?"

"Fun? I almost had a heart attack!" She returned.

"Why? What happened?" Hermione asked, who had obviously not been able to see her own head disappear.

"Well, I turned your head invisible," George explained amusedly. "With this." He held up the hat.

Hermione stared at it sceptically.

"So, anyway." He continued, before the girl could inspect the invention further or get ideas like confiscating it. "Should I make a guess why my dear little brother has stopped talking to you and is now hanging around with his amazing twin brothers all the time?" He raised a mocking eyebrow.

"He didn't tell you?" Haley asked in surprise.

George shook his head. "Adamantly refuses to talk about it. But I think I have an idea, anyway. Does it involve a certain Slytherin?"

Haley sighed. "Yes." She admitted. "He knows about Draco and me," she whispered.

"I figured." He sent her a sympathetic look. "Do you want me to talk some sense into him?"

"Wait a second. Does that mean you know as well?" Hermione glanced at Haley in surprise. Or was it betrayal? "You told him? Before telling me?"

"Er… not exactly." She bit her lips, raising her hands in silent defence. "He kind of saw us… together."

George nodded seriously. "Attached at the lips. On the Astronomy Tower."

Haley's face grew hot. She cleared her throat again, glancing at her feet. She couldn't even deny it.

Hermione looked from George to Haley, as if she wasn't quite sure what to make of this conversation.

"So… I'll talk to Ron if you want to. I mean, he's my brother and all but the constant brooding is really getting annoying. And the way he keeps glaring at everyone for no reason is starting to scare off all our potential customers and test subjects."

"Test subjects?" Hermione echoed with a glare of her own. "Do these poor students even know what they're getting themselves into?"

The boy stepped right in front of Hermione and looked her straight in the eyes. "Of course, they do. We even pay them and inform them about the whole process, possible risks and side effects beforehand."

"Well, that's good, then. I'd hate to have to report you." She said sternly.

George chuckled. "Is that a threat?" He asked in amusement.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, almost grinning. "Do you feel threatened?"

George was definitely grinning. "Are you actually smiling?" He gasped in mock-surprise, pointing at her face.

The girl pushed his hand away, rolling her eyes. "Stop that."

"Seriously, you should try it more often. Suits you."

"Damn it, George, what's taking you so long?" Called a voice from behind them. His twin brother.

"Coming!" George replied, winking at the two girls, before following Fred down the hall. Haley's eyes wandered from the two brothers who were already chuckling over something again to her friend. She was shaking her head disapprovingly but there was the hint of a smile, softening the expression on her face. George was right. It did suit her.

…

DRACO

"What do I do now?" Draco asked, stirring the pot of melted chocolate, that smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. The whole kitchens smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. And chocolate of course.

"Has yours turned to liquid yet?" Luna asked from next to him. He nodded.

"This is looking great, master Draco!" Dobby squeaked, inspecting his pot of chocolate. "Now you choose one of the moulds and pour in the chocolate."

"Hm." This was the hard part. "Which one are you going to use?" He asked the girl beside him, who was stirring a similar pot of chocolate.

She thoughtfully examined the mountain of metal chocolate moulds that were heaped onto the table. "How about this one?" She held up a form that was shaped like an owl. "Everyone likes owls, right?"

"Hm." Draco said again. "A chocolate owl? For Valentine's Day?"

"Why not?" Luna asked. "Of course you could choose something typical like a heart but wouldn't that be boring and predictable?"

The boy glanced at several forms in the shape of a heart. He wasn't predictable. Or boring. But an owl?

"It's a present for Miss Haley Potter, yes?" Dobby squeaked excitedly. Draco nodded. "Maybe you should choose a shape that is making her think of you?"

The boy grinned. That was exactly what he'd had in mind. He needed something meaningful. With a connection to him. But what could that be? A star? A gingerbread man?

"A broomstick?" Luna suggested with a grin, pushing a broom-shaped mould over to him.

He shook his head, groaning. "No. I don't want to remind her of that. Did you find something?" He asked, noticing Dobby staring at a chocolate mould in his big hand.

"Oh, no! That's not – Dobby just thought –" The house elf was hiding the mould behind his back now.

"Show me." He didn't say it unkindly but the house elf already glanced over to a cooking spoon as if he was planning to hit himself with it.

"Mr Dobby? Would you show us the mould please?"

"Of course, Miss Luna," Dobby answered without hesitating. Draco crossed his arms in annoyance. Mr Dobby. Of course, Miss Luna. No, wonder the house elf liked her more than him. In fact, he seemed to have completely forgotten he was even there.

Together they leaned over the chocolate mould that Dobby had placed in the middle of the table.

"It's a dragon." Luna mumbled, while Dobby glanced nervously to his former master.

"It's perfect." Draco breathed, letting his eyes wander across the shape.

"Is master Draco liking it?" The house elf asked carefully.

"Yes," the boy replied, grabbing the dragon mould with a satisfied smile.

"Oh! It's because of your name, right?" Luna commented.

He shook his head. "Not just that. It's also rela-"

"Master Draco! Your chocolate!" Dobby exclaimed in horror. Oh, shit. He had forgotten to keep stirring the liquid. And now his chocolate was a stinking, black mass at the bottom of his pot. He groaned in frustration.

"Don't worry," Luna whispered. "You can just try again. I'm sure Mr Dobby doesn't mind helping us."

"Dobby doesn't mind! Dobby is happy to help!" The elf beamed, his eyes threatening to fall out of their sockets. With a snap of his long fingers a fresh pot appeared in front of Draco and with a sigh the boy started to fill it with all the sweet ingredients and spices he needed once again. Then he placed it over the small fire on the table and proceeded to stir.

"I think you should stop pouting," Luna suggested. "Mum always said the way you feel when you're cooking is also reflected in what you're making. So, when you're feeling good, the food automatically tastes better."

Could that be true? He'd never heard of something like this being important for brewing potions. But then, with potions, the taste wasn't really the most important factor. He tried to think of something nice, just in case. Like how happy Haley was going to be because of his chocolate. He smiled.

"See?" Luna grinned. She was already pouring her chocolate into a metal mould.

"Who is your chocolate for, by the way?" Draco wondered, while he continued to stir. Was there someone she liked? It had been her idea after all. The homemade chocolate. When he'd desperately tried to come up with an idea for the perfect present.

The girl smiled but didn't say anything. She was already starting to make more chocolate in a new pot.

"Is there someone you like? Do I know him?" He wanted to know, suddenly curious.

Luna chuckled. "I like my friends." She said simply, adding almonds to her pot. Oh. He could add almonds, too. Did Haley like those? His chocolate was properly melted now and he carefully poured it into the dragon shaped mould.

"What now?" He asked almost impatiently.

Dobby snapped his fingers once more and made the mould float over toward the other end of the table. "It must cool now." He explained, noticing Draco's confusion.

"Ah." He said, watching Luna fill another mould with chocolate. How many was she going to make? And all of them were for her friends? How many friends did she have?

"What is it?" The Ravenclaw asked, having noticed the staring.

"Nothing," he whispered and then spontaneously decided to make one more chocolate as well. "Could you get me another pot, Mr Dobby," he asked mockingly, just to see how the elf would react.

"Of course, master Draco!" The house elf exclaimed joyfully, jumping up and down and almost stumbling over his own feet in his eagerness to comply. Huh. For the first time, it felt as if the elf was genuinely happy to help him instead of doing it out of sheer dutifulness.

He felt himself smiling for whatever reason. Luna chuckled quietly. Normally, he would have told her to shut up or something like that. But he was in such a good mood that he didn't want to dampen it in any way.

For a while they simply stirred their liquids in companionable silence. Then Luna reached for the owl-shaped mould, that he had wanted to use as well.

"Who is that one for?" He wanted to know, as the girl poured the brown liquid into the mould.

"A friend," she said with a gentle smile. "A special one." She sprinkled some white chocolate flakes all over her piece of art and carefully carried it over to the end of the table where a chocolate rose, a gingerbread man and a dragon where already waiting.

"Oh look, there's another one." Luna noted, placing a second metal owl in front of him. "Did you want to use it?"

Draco snorted. "Sure, why not? Everyone likes owls, right?"

The girl nodded, grinning amusedly.

After finishing up his chocolate owl, the boy leaned against the table and watched his friend fill another pot with sweet ingredients.

"So, do you like one of your friends more than the others?" He asked casually.

Luna shook her head slowly. "You shouldn't ask something like that. I like all of them."

"No, I mean," he raised his eyebrows. "Is there someone you like differently. Like… how Haley and I like each other."

She looked up at him with big eyes that made her look more innocent and young than ever. "I've never… liked someone like this." She glanced into her chocolate pot. "And my classmates… they're not exactly nice to me." She shook her head. "I don't think… any of them could ever see me as anything other than Loony Lovegood."

The words and her dejected tone made a strange mix of sympathy and anger settle in his stomach.

"Screw them." He said simply, balling his hand to a fist and hitting the table once. "People like that aren't worth your time, anyway."

"They're not bad people or anything-" She started to argue but –

"You're incredible." Draco interrupted her.

"What?"

"You made me like you. There aren't a lot of people who've managed to do that. You're incredible." He repeated earnestly. "Anyone who can't see that is an idiot."

"You really think so?" She asked quietly.

"Yes." He grinned at her, placed his hand on her arm and squeezed it.

"I like you, too, you know." The girl said with a smile that made her blue eyes sparkle.

"Of course, you do," he replied with a smirk. "Just don't get any ideas. I'm taken, you know?"

Luna shook off his hand and gave him a look that said, she thought he was being extremely stupid.

"I think your chocolate has cooled off. Don't you want to decorate it?" She asked.

Oh! She was right. Perhaps he could use the almonds for eyes or the dragon's spikes. He couldn't wait to see Haley's reaction when he gave her the gift. Hopefully the chocolate tasted as good as it looked. At the other end of the table, Luna was now pouring dark liquid into a metal mould that was shaped like a moon with a dreamy smile.

The moon. Who is she planning to give the moon to?, he wondered. Well, there was no use in asking another time. He was sure, she would tell him, when she was ready. It would be nice if she met someone who made her at least half as happy as Haley was making him.

…

A/N: Look at how short the chapter is! Where is the rest of the chapter, I hear you wonder. Okay... so before you go and tell me the chapter is too short, let me calm your worries. As you know by now my chapters tend to get fairly long sometimes... so, yeah, I had to cut it again. I mean, who wants to read a 12k+ chapter all at once? No one! So, since the second part is as good as finished, I'll post it fairly soon. Probably this weekend :)