This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Word Count: 2008
Title: Losing Him To Her
Note: For Judging, AU- canon divergent - Luna doesn't actively choose a side, and Draco had told Voldemort he would convince him to join them, despite her making him realise he was wrong.
Warnings: angst, hurt/comfort
Beta: Butterflies765
Golden Snitch
[Name] Crissie
[School] Uagadou
[House] Ogyinae
Quidditch League:
[Team]:
[Position]
[Theme]: Quidditch Supplies
[Prompts]:
[Theme]: Book Club
[Prompts]:
[Theme]: Pokemon
[Prompts]:
International Wizarding School Competition:
[School]: Durmstrang
[Prompts]:
[Theme]:
[Position] Exchange
Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
[House]:
[Assignment]:
[Task]:
The House Cup:
[House]: Gryffindor
[Class] HoH
[Prompts]: [Action] Sneaking around, [Dialogue] "I know you.", [Last Line] And that was the last time that they ever followed him. (Alt, all pronouns can be changed: He/She/They/Them/Name/I/Him/Her).
[Category]: Standard
Hogwarts
Assignment 6: Ancient Studies: Key Figures of Ancient Egypt: Task #2: Thutmose III: Write about someone trying to cover up/maintain a secret.
Yearly:
Seasonally:
Quarterly:
Writing Club:
Oracle Challenge:
Fortnightly:
1:
2:
She has his best interests at heart, she wants the boy she loves to be safe and protected, but she discovers an unlikely ally, but that means she needs to let him go.
I considered myself to be something like his guardian angel; nobody expected me to follow him around, being there when he needed me. I doubted anyone even knew we were friends. But we truly were, because the night when he broke down in the bathroom, I was there, by his side.
"Draco, it's okay," I urged. I longed to reach out and touch him, to pull him against me and comfort him. The Slytherin boy looked so forlorn, I would have given up my life again to remove that look from his eyes.
"It's—" He sniffed. "It's not okay." He almost hiccupped. "It will never be okay."
He showed me his arm, where the skull tattoo lay, like the world's worst fashion statement. I gasped without being able to help myself. I hadn't expected Draco's parents to force him into getting Marked yet. it was so dangerous for a student and if he got caught…
"It's hideous," I blurted, only thinking about all the horrible things this Mark meant for my best friend, and then clapped my hands over my mouth, tears welling up behind my horn rimmed glasses.
"Myrtle, don't cry," he managed a small smile. "If you cry, you know I will cry too."
"I know you," I said, trying to stifle my tears. "I know you're a good person."
"Don't say terrible things like that, people could hear you," he whispered, but there was the smallest hint of humour in his voice.
It was shocking how I studied his every expression. It was almost as if I was an expert in 'Dracology'. I knew the way he raised his eyebrows, I knew the snark he used as a defence mechanism. I knew so much more about him than anyone, and I was honoured that he had chosen me as a confidante. I loved him so much; if I could breathe he would constantly take my breath away.
A clock struck, pulling us from the moment and alerting us to the hour.
"I need to go," he said.
I nodded gently. As soon as he snuck out, I went invisible, doing my best to follow him.
He got back to his room without a single person spotting him, and I was surprised by the elegance with which this man managed to sneak around the castle without getting caught.
I floated along behind him, keeping him safe. I thought to myself how elegant I could be when I tried. If by any chance he needed me, I was there to provide a distraction so he could get away. If he got caught… Merlin knows what could happen to him.
I knew better than anyone what happened if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once, Harry had explained how it was actually the Basilisk that had killed me. The thought of Voldemort gave me the heebie jeebies. Between Harry and Draco, I had been told the whole story about the Chamber of Secrets, among other things I wasn't in favour of a full-blown war and I was a ghost, for goodness sakes.
Draco had been a strange boy from the very beginning. It took him a whole five minutes before he realized he needed someone in his corner, and had spilled the beans about everything. I knew every secret that his boss had ever told him, every mission Draco had to take, every oath I thanked my lucky stars every day that he was so good at hiding his emotions, and that he knew Occlumency.
I watched him tossing and turning in bed, a whimper escaping his pale lips, making me want to touch them. But I never would be able to. I could see, but never feel. I could never truly be with him the way I longed to be.
"Luna."
The word fell from his lips and it felt like a dagger to my chest. I knew he and Lovegood had some kind of relationship, but since most of my sneaking around was at night, I never realised it was a friendship or—Merlin forbid—something more, that would have him dreaming about the girl.
I knew she was pretty, blonde hair, smart, a fellow Raven. I wondered how much he told her, and decided that perhaps tomorrow I needed to see the two of them together. Then, and only then would I be able to lay my worries to rest.
I am the only girl in his life, I assured myself before I left his room, just before dawn, and I watched the sunshine sneak into his open window, caressing him in the gentle morning sunshine.
The next day I went to class, hung around him everywhere, and he didn't notice anything about me floating around. I almost got caught once, I accidently knocked over a suit of armour, but he blamed it on Harry, and I grinned. Of course he would blame his so-called nemesis.
During lunch it got interesting. I expected Draco to head straight for the Slytherin table; he had never told me he had lunch with her. He had walked right over to the Ravenclaw table, as if it happened every day. A prang to my heart. I had to calm down, it didn't mean they were a couple. They were just friends.
Draco had told me Luna was one of the few that valued knowledge to the same extent that I did, that he could trust her—at least somewhat. She was polite to him. I watched them during lunch, and by the end of it, it was clear that both of them felt something strong, but was it just good friendship?
"Morning, did you sleep last night?" Luna asked. I knew what she meant. She didn't ask if he slept well, so she knew about the sleepless nights, the plaguing nightmares.
"I did," he managed a small smile. "It wasn't too bad, actually."
"Oh?" Luna asked, surprised. "That's brilliant."
"I ended up waking up this morning when the sun rose," Draco said. "How was your night?"
Luna giggled, and I realised it sounded somewhat like me when Draco asked about me. "I slept great, I fell asleep reading an Ancient Runes textbook."
"My typical Raven," Draco said. "Did you dream of Runes?"
"How did you know?" she asked, the look on her face was dreamy. I thought it was a stupid question, but perhaps she wasn't that smart after all.
"Call it a lucky guess," he grinned. I was expecting sarcasm, not sincerity. I thought I knew my Draco best, but I had never seen him act so—goofy...
Luna grabbed an apple off the breakfast table, and cut it in half, handing him one half. He took it, and when he took a bite, I felt butterflies in my stomach.
"The apples are nice today," Draco said. Luna nodded.
"Draco, I know you said…" She stopped. My curiosity peaked, what did she want to ask him? What did he tell her? Was it something about Voldemort? Me?
"Please, you know I can't," Draco asked, and I felt the desperation seeping into his voice. The question made him sad. What did this wench want?
"I love you," Luna said, her cheeks were red. But despite the fact that her eyes were on Draco, they seemed somewhat unfocused.
"Don't say that," Draco hissed. I was right after all, he didn't love her!
"You don't need to say it," Luna said softly. "But this won't change."
"You can't mean it," Draco said. "I'm a bad person, Luna. You don't know what I need to do."
I did, I knew he was talking about his mission to kill Dumbledore so Voldy Moldy could take over Hogwarts, flush out Harry, and, well, kill him.
"I know you," Luna said, her voice oddly echoing mine of the previous night.
To my horror, Draco's cheeks went pink. "Then you know we can't be," he paused. "I mean…"
"You do love me too. I know you do," Luna insisted. "You can't deny it, and you're always quick to refute anything you disagree with."
"It doesn't help to say it, my Raven," I swore I saw something glint in his eye, and his hand went up to wipe it away.
I wondered about the 'My Raven' part, but now it was clear, it was a pet name. I couldn't deny it, they made a textbook blonde perfect couple, and their babies would be beautiful, I would need to let him go, but I wasn't ready, not just yet. She could help save him from Voldemort, one day they could be free to live as they pleased.
As soon as I got to my bathroom, I lost all control, sobbing and wailing hysterically, turning on all the taps and watching the water soak the entire bathroom floor, I looked at my translucent reflection, and once I had calmed down, I knew I need to do the right thing and let him go.
I found Luna in the library, with a stack of books, I snuck up to her, and I scoped the surroundings before making myself visible.
"Lovegood?" I said softly, making her look up from her stack of books.
"Yes, Myrtle," she responded. She was smiling at me gently, and I wondered if she knew about me and Draco.
"I need to talk to you, in private," I insisted.
Luna nodded in agreement. "In our common room?"
The way she spoke made me happy. She didn't consider it hers, just because I was living-challenged. I waited for her to carefully pack the books into a large bag, and as a fellow Ravenclaw I had to admire her gentle touch with books.
We made small-talk until we reached her room.
"I used to stay here too," I said, realising that Luna had gotten the bunk that I had been assigned when I was still alive.
"I know, it's pretty cool. It's like we share so much, I know how much you care for Draco too."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," I said softly.
"I assumed as much."
I explained a lot of what Draco had told me to never tell anyone. She was more capable of taking care of him than I was, and I needed to tell her everything, so she could be closer to him.
He wouldn't need me anymore.
"I know he cares for you," Luna said. "You don't need to back off."
"Oh, but I do, for I know I need to let him go completely, or it would kill me to see him with you. One way or another, you two belong together, I can see that now."
"Do you think that means you might be ready to move on?" Luna asked.
"I don't know," I admitted honestly. "It's possible, but regardless, he won't be coming to me anymore after tonight."
Luna nodded. "I'm sorry, Myrtle." Tears welled up in her eyes, and I had to get out quickly, before it did the same to me.
That afternoon when Draco came into the bathroom, I decided it was now or never.
"Hey," I started. He nodded in greeting.
"I can't do this anymore," I admitted, more bluntly than I expected.
"But who will I talk to if I don't have you?" Draco said, his face turning paler as he realised my words.
"Luna Lovegood," I said simply.
"So, this is it then?" Draco asked.
"She is much better for you, she can be beside you, and I…"
"I get it," he said. My heart sank.
"Goodnight, Draco," I said, feeling my tears starting up, and he recognized it.
"Goodnight, Myrtle," Draco said, then turned and left. I made sure he wasn't looking back, went invisible, and snuck after him. When he reached the Ravenclaw common room, I smiled to myself. He was going to her now, and she would take care of him. He was safe now, as safe as any of us in the middle of a war.
And that was the last time I ever followed him.