Chapter Five

As they were making camp that night, Draco told himself that the fact that Luna possessed more information about him than he did about her placed him at a "distinct tactical disadvantage" and he determined that he needed to even the playing field as soon as possible. As they were finishing their evening meal, Luna quoted another one of her father's sayings and Draco decided this was the opening he needed.

"Tell me about him."

"Who?" asked Luna.

"Your father."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Really? You actually want to know something about me?"

Draco did his best to appear sincerely interested. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Very well. What would you like to know?"

"You said he left you the maps and other documents. When did he pass away?"

"Just before the war ended. He was placed in Azkaban because he wouldn't stop supporting Harry in the Quibbler. He died there before the prison was liberated."

"I'm sorry." Draco shifted slightly, remembering his family's involvement in placing people like Luna's father in jail. In effort to avoid that topic he asked, "What about your mother?"

"She died when I was nine. That's why my parents never made the second attempt at this journey. They were going to try again after I started school but..." Her voice trailed off as she gave a weak shrug,

Draco recalled what she had said earlier about giving him the opportunity to see his mother and it dawned on him that she had been left an orphan in the aftermath of the war.

"No other family?" Draco asked. She shook her head. "What did you do after the war ended?"

"First, I had to find a place to stay. Our home was destroyed just before Daddy was taken to prison."

"So, where did you live?"

"How do you think I learned so much about living in tents?"

Draco cringed. While his cottage in Essex was substantially smaller than the Manor it was still a good sized dwelling, not to mention a permanent structure.

He cleared his throat and said, "As I recall your father's business was...moderately successful. Surely you could have lived better than that off your inheritance."

"Daddy left some money but it was needed for other things. To make ends meet I sold controlling interest in the Quibbler to Colin Creevy's family. It seemed like the right thing to do."

Draco assumed her father had somehow left her in debt and opted not to pursue that line of questioning. "Why not go stay with one of your friends? I can't imagine Potter, Longbottom or any of the others turning you out."

"If I had asked I'm sure they would have tried to accommodate me but they all had their own losses to grieve at that point. Besides, I knew how Nev's gran felt about me. He had fought enough battles by that point. I didn't want to put him in the position of fighting another on my account."

"Surely you could have gone back to Hogwart's and lived on the castle grounds? I'm certain McGonagall and Flitwick would have agreed under the circumstances."

"You're probably right but..." Luna shook her head "I tried to go back once after the final battle. Too many bad memories. The place was teeming with wrackspurts, making it impossible to think clearly. A group of us petitioned to sit our N.E.W.T's early and be done with it. After all that happened they couldn't really say no, could they?"

Draco had no idea what wrackspurts were and ignored the reference, asking instead, "You took your N.E.W.T's without completing your final year of classes? How did that go?"

"I received three O's and two E's"

Draco's eyes widened in legitimate admiration. "That is very impressive."

Luna gave a dismissive wave. "With all of the practical experience I got during the war, I certainly ought to have scored well in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"What else did you test in?"

"Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology."

Draco raised a glass. "Difficult subjects. Quite an accomplishment. Especially with only six years of school."

"Technically, five and a half. I missed a portion of my sixth year."

"About that, Luna. I am so sorry..." Draco found his fake remorse was slowly turning genuine. He had spent most of his time after the war wallowing in self pity over his situation which - if he were honest - had been at least partially self inflicted. Luna stood up for what was right and suffered far more than he had for her troubles.

Luna reached for his hand. "Don't blame yourself, Draco. I was at the Manor too, remember? I saw how it was there. You were as much a prisoner as I was. True, your meals and sleeping arrangements were better but I wasn't forced to take the Dark Mark and Voldemort never tried to hug me so I'd say we came out about even on that score."

"Touché." Draco pulled his hand back and attempted to navigate the conversation back to safer territory. "So...what did you do after leaving school?"

"I travelled, I wrote... and then I met Rolf." She smiled warmly at the memory. "It was nice to have someone that saw 'Luna' instead of 'Loony Lovegood'. I'm glad he got to know me that way before we returned home. Afraid it was a bit of a nasty shock for him to read what the papers wrote about me when we got back to Britain. Had to physically restrain him on more than one occasion from hexing Rita Skeeter into the next millennium."

Draco made a face. "Should have let him. Done us all a favor."

"One of life's regrets, I suppose." Luna smiled. "Well, enough about me. Fill in the gaps in my research. Why did you never marry? I had you and Pansy Parkinson figured for a manor full of children by now."

"Pansy? Nah. She and I had a ...thing... I guess you'd call it back at school but after the war my views changed to the point where - let's just say that we no longer saw eye to eye on some fundamental issues," Draco admitted as he threw a stick onto the fire. "House arrest doesn't give you a broad range of people to meet. After my sentence was over it was easier to stay at home than to deal with the stares and whispers."

"I can relate to that. I did much the same after Rolf died. Couldn't take all of the fake sympathy or people pretending to understand what I'd gone through. To tell the truth, Rolf and I spent so much time alone together I kind of forgot how to properly interact with other people." Luna blushed slightly. "Not that I ever excelled at that skill to begin with."

"You seem to be coping all right now."

"Just because a person isn't broadcasting emotions, Draco, doesn't mean they aren't having them," Luna said simply. "It's like when you suffer a bad injury. The open wound eventually closes but the scars are always there."

She tucked up her legs and rested her chin on her knees. "I won't pretend that there aren't days when I still struggle. In my darker moments I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to not have loved someone so much if it was going to hurt so dreadfully to lose them."

"I can see where you would have those thoughts," Draco said. "Still and all though I'd have to say that you received a gift. You found someone who saw the real you. A person that looked at you with fresh eyes. No presumptions. No ancient history. Just you. In our world that's something a person can usually only dream about finding."

Luna pondered that before standing and walking into her tent, leaving Draco to wonder what he said wrong. A moment later she returned, peering about the campsite as if she had misplaced something. She turned towards to him and said, "Oh, hello! I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone else was here."

Draco looked very confused as Luna approached and said, "My most sincere apologies. Since we are complete strangers who have never met before this moment, thereby freeing us from any preconceived notions about each other, introductions are in order." She extended her hand. "My name is Luna Scamander, previously Lovegood. And you are...?"

It suddenly dawned on Draco what she was trying to do and to his surprise he found it rather endearing. Deciding to play along, he rose to his feet and took her hand while giving a formal bow. "Introductions. Of course, absolutely. Hello. My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Luna giggled. "What an unusual name. Pleasure to meet you Malfoy Draco Malfoy."

Draco attempted to keep a straight face but was only moderately successful. "The pleasure is all mine, Luna Scamander Previously Lovegood."

Luna dropped into a deep curtsey. "Thank you, sir. So tell me - what brings you to this part of the world, Malfoy Draco Malfoy?"

"Funny you should ask, Luna Scamander Previously Lovegood. I happen to be seeking a mythical scroll that has the potential to save the wizarding world from being eradicated by a deadly plague."

"What a coincidence, Malfoy Draco Malfoy! I happen to be doing the exact same thing!"

"You don't say, Luna Scamander Previously Lovegood!" Draco tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I believe I just had a capital idea. What do you think about joining forces and undertaking this quest together?"

"That is brilliant, Malfoy Draco Malfoy!" Luna clapped her hands then cocked her head and furrowed her brow. "However, I believe we should call ourselves something different. By the time I have yelled, "Look out, Malfoy Draco Malfoy!" you may have already been devoured by a crumple horned snorkack."

"Hmm...Excellent point. By the time I shouted, "Beware of the graphorns, Luna Scamander Previously Lovegood!" it would be far too late."

She gave a decisive nod. "There you have it. I suppose - in an emergency - we could call ourselves...Draco and Luna?"

"Sounds like an ideal solution to me."

Luna stretched her arms wide in an exaggerated yawn. "Well, it has been lovely making your acquaintance, Malfoy Draco Malfoy, but the hour grows late. May I be so bold as to invite you to have breakfast with me tomorrow morning by the fire - say about seven o'clock?"

"I believe my schedule is free, Luna Scamander Previously Lovegood." Draco pretended to consult an imaginary diary. "Ah, yes. It seems I do have an opening at that hour, so it would be my honor to join you."

"Very well. Until then?"

Draco bowed "Until then."

Luna turned and entered her tent, leaving Draco chuckling and shaking his head at the campfire.