This chapter was rather fun, yet disheartening to write. I've always thought Draco deserved better and wished he was more happy… At least we know now that there's a spark of attraction between our two characters ;)

Chapter 7

Day 4

Even though he cast several comforting spells on himself and his conjured-up bed, he still didn't get a good night's sleep. He avoided Luna like the plague after he saw her in the kitchen, not wanting those images of her… body… to come back to his mind.

It was driving him mad!

Yesterday, he walked off away from the house after Luna came out and handed him some vanilla pudding. Thankfully she left, and he was able to eat it in peace. After he finished, he eyed the forest that Luna made a hunting trip in. He decided to get away from Luna and her curves for a while, trudge up to the forest, and walk in. He was immediately met with a loud shriek that nearly toppled him over. Panicked, he ran back to the house, through the long grass, and slammed the door shut. Thankfully Luna was upstairs or somewhere. He decided to sit in the leather chair and read a random book about magical creatures that was lying on the table next to him. Anything to get his mind off the shriek and the girl. Luna came down, saw him reading, and went out the front door. He went to sleep before she came back.

Now, he lay awake on his conjured-up bed, not able to sleep, staring up at the ceiling. He glanced out the window. The sun wasn't even up yet.

He got out of bed, made the bed disappear, and got his shoes and jacket on and left out the door into the cool air, casting the scourgify spell as he walked, making him feel clean and refreshed. He stopped at his usual spot. Images of Luna in the kitchen crept into his mind again.

"Stop it!" he demanded of himself. "You're a Death Eater! Not some slimy love-stuck boy!"

He threw off his jacket and unbuttoned the wrist buttons to his white dress shirt and pulled up the sleeve to reveal the dreaded Dark Mark.

"Pull yourself together," he ordered himself through gritted teeth. "Sometime or later you'll be pulled from this place and be commanded to do another evil task. You have to be ready for it."

He stared at his skull and snake tattoo for a good while, tying to convince himself of the later.

"What a beautiful tattoo," he heard, and all his insides jumped to see Luna staring at it. Where in the blazes did she come from?

"Beautiful," he spat, and pulled his sleeve down, not bothering to button it. "It's evil."

"Evil things can still be beautiful," she said as he stared off into the lighting horizon. "The skull is my favorite part of the skeleton because it houses the most important part of the body—the brain. And snakes are considered to be one of nature's most gentle creatures, but are only bad if their masters make them to be, just like any other creature. Actually, a large anaconda let me use his body as a pillow as I was in the forest."

He shuttered. "What?"

"They're gentle creatures."

Draco thought to the Dark Lord's anaconda Nagini. She is evil. But then, so is her master. He also thought… it makes sense now that Luna smelled of toad slime when she showed after spending the night in the forest.

"What do you know?" he let out in an agitated voice.

"I know a lot about animals and magical creatures." She paused. "I also know that every Death Eater has the same tattoo on their left arm, of a skull and a snake, and when it moves, that is when Lord Voldemort is summoning them."

He stared at her in disbelief, and demanded, "How in the blazes do you know that? Wait, let me guess—Potter told you?"

"No. My father. After he came back from your home all beaten up, he told me of what he found out regarding Death Eaters."

He remembered his father telling him of how Xenophelius Lovegood toured Malfoy Manor and was beaten into secrecy by Greyback to not say a word about it. Of course, Lovegood still printed the story.

Draco nodded and stared back at the yellow horizon. A few seconds ticked by until Luna asked, "May I see it again? Your tattoo."

He glared at her as she had the smallest smile across her thin, pink lips. He huffed through his nose. What could it hurt? She already saw it. He pushed his left sleeve up to reveal the cursed tattoo again.

Luna walked more in front of him, blocking the rising sun from his view. The light of it caught the skin on her face, making it illuminate. He looked away from the pretty sight and down at the Dark Mark. Luna's finger touched it and she ran it slowly and gently over the skull, then down the tail of the snake. Draco held his breath, trying to ignore the shiver her soft touch was sending up his arm and through his chest to his spine, making his heart pound.

Luna cocked her head at it, still running her finger slowly over his skin, and her gray-blue eyes focused on the tattoo. Draco couldn't help but stare at her in disbelief. She wasn't scared. Not of him or the Dark Mark. In fact, she found the cursed tattoo beautiful… and fascinating. She was actually interested in it.

He noticed a small smile appear across her lips again. She stood up straight and met his blue eyes, her finger leaving his arm. Heart pounding hard against his ribs, he turned away from her and pulled his sleeve down and buttoned it up. He stood with hands on his hips and his mouth fell into a scowl.

"You hate being a Death Eater, don't you, Draco?"

That question shot more emotions through him, straight to his heart, causing tears to sting his eyes and his jaw to tighten. He remained silent.

"It would make sense, I guess," she said in her light voice. "It must be a tough job."

He let out a shaky sigh, trying to keep his emotion back. He turned back to face her, and said fiercely, "You… you don't know the half of it. Or a millimeter, even."

"I'm sure I don't."

"Then stop making assumptions," he shot at her, voice thick. He took a quick intake of breath, trying with all his might to keep a dignified composure, but to no avail. He let a sob escape him, and tears fell from both eyes.

A cool gust of wind blew, and thick silence ensued for a good minute.

"I hate it…" Draco confessed, then bellowed, letting out all the emotion that he was bottling up inside him not just now, but since he became a Death Eater, "I hate it! I hate seeing people being tortured! I hate being commanded to torture them! Or kill them, even! I HATE IT! I'd rather die than watch innocent people be tortured and murdered right in front of me!" More tears burned his eyes and fell rapidly down his cheeks. "And it's all because of what you and your stupid friends did at The Ministry!" He pointed a finger to his chest. "I had to pay for it!"

Draco let out several sobs and held a hand over his mouth to keep them in. He suddenly felt a gentle hand on his arm. Too disoriented to notice what was going on, he felt the hand squeeze his arm.

"I'm so sorry, Draco…" came Luna's small voice.

He glanced at her fuzzy form through tear-ridden and bloodshot eyes. He didn't want to look at her. He turned his head away, her hand still on his arm. He felt Luna wrap her arms around his waist and press her whole form to him in an embrace.

His arms dangled there at his sides as Luna hugged him tighter, her cheek just below his shoulder. More tears fell from his eyes as he remembered his mother doing this very same thing when he was feeling broken and in tears when he found out that the Dark Lord wanted him to be a Death Eater, and he was commanded by his father to receive the tattoo.

His mother…

Draco wrapped his arms around the small form against him, holding her tight, and sobbing into her blonde hair, and taking in its flowery scent. "I'm horrible…" he let out.

"No," came her soft voice. "You're good. Just covered with bad."

He swallowed as he held her tighter. She felt her pat his back, which released some of the strain in him.

She was wrong. He's bad. He's bullied people and made them suffer at his pleasure. That evil was given to him from his father in infancy. Now, actually torturing people to death… he couldn't bare it. But he did it. That made him bad… a horrible person.

Something dinged in Draco's head as reality crashed back down on him, and he released Luna, practically pushing her backwards. He immediately turned around as his face began to flush with heat, and just from embarrassment. He swiped the tears from his eyes, appalled that Luna Lovegood of all people had to witness his breakdown. He found her next to him.

"It's okay," she said. "My father has had many of these bursts of emotion. You don't need to feel embarrassed."

Could she read minds or something? He glanced at her and noticed that she shivered from a cool gust of wind. He eyed her short pants and sleeveless blouse. He grabbed his jacket from off the ground and placed it over her shoulders.

"Cover up," he said, and stalked back to the house. "And don't ever wear that purple sweater from yesterday again."

She was close at his heels, clutching onto the jacket so it wouldn't slip off. "I threw away that outfit. The sweater and jeans were far too small."

"No kidding," he said under his breath, remembering that image, and they walked back to the house.

Luna sat at her window again, gazing out at the horizon. A few hours have passed since Draco confessed to his hatred of being a Death Eater. In all honesty, it shocked her to see him in such a state, after watching him the past few years at Hogwart. He didn't seem to have a worry in the world. But after his breakdown, she realized that there was more to him. His past, his upbringing… it caused so much sadness to fill his life. It would for anyone.

She sighed and attempted to shake off the sinking feeling in her stomach at remembering Draco's handsome face twisted in agony. She wanted to go back into the forest. She knew she heard the crumple-horned snorkack yesterday. And she knew Draco heard it, too. She had watched as he trudged through the grass as she sat at the kitchen window after giving him some pudding. She watched until he reached the forest, go inside it, and then immediately run out of it. He had to have heard the shriek.

Hopping off her bed, she went down the spiral staircase and saw Draco by the fireplace, sitting in the leather chair, legs crossed, and a book in hand. She eyed the cover after she stepped off the stairs: Magical Creatures – An Encyclopedia, Volume IV.

Her lips pulled into a smile. He loves magical creatures, too! Or was his choice of reading a casual curiosity because of what she said regarding the snorkacks, or the shriek that he most likely heard?

"Draco?"

His crystal blue eyes looked up at her. "Yes?"

"Curious choice of reading material."

He looked at the book and then back at her. "I suppose so."

She went and sat down in the brown leather sofa, facing him. She asked the question biting at her lips— "Do you have an interest in magical creatures?"

He shut the book. "Not as much as you and your father, apparently. You have ten of these books lying around. There isn't any other reading material besides Quibbler drafts and magazines, as well as drafts for articles."

She nodded. "You're right. We're not very well-rounded people, I suppose."

"Seems so."

"What sparked your interest in magical creatures?"

Draco remained silent for a moment as she eyed his flawless pale skin and very blonde hair, almost the same color as her own. She waited patiently for an answer.

He put the book aside, his blue gaze to hers. "It was a childhood interest."

Happiness suddenly shot through her system. She's never met someone who had an interest in magical creatures! A thought came to her.

"I remember that you hurt your arm because a hippogriff knocked you down."

He grunted. "Yeah. My third year. That bloody chicken…"

"Did you not know how to handle him?"

He sat up and un-crossed his legs. "Thought I did."

"But your arrogance got ahead of you."

He glared at her as she sat calmly, expressionless. He didn't say anything to that sliver of truth.

"I found that showing off never has very good consequences," she said.

"Huh. You're awfully blunt."

"My father says so, too, as do a lot of people."

A few seconds ticked from the clock above the fireplace mantle where the photograph of her mother sat. Draco huffed through his nose and leaned over, resting his arms on his knees.

"It looks as if you want to say something," Luna commented.

Draco sighed again. "Yeah… about earlier today…"

"It's alright. Like I said, my father has broken down before plenty of times. I was able to comfort him and bring him back into a good mood."

He nodded. "Let's drop it, then, and get a few things clear." He leaned in and said in all seriousness, "One, just because that happened, doesn't mean we're closer or anything; and two, if that happens again, don't try to comfort me… or bother me, for that matter. Understood?"

Despite herself, Luna blushed as she remembered hugging his firm torso and hearing and feeling his pounding heart, almost like a lullaby. She also recalled his spicy pine scent that reminded her of the forest. "Understood."

"Good."

He got back to reading from the magical creatures encyclopedia and ignored her after that. But she didn't ignore him. She stayed where she was, sitting on the sofa, staring at him...

He had a firm jawline, full lips, a pointed nose that was not too big or too small for his face, and deep blue eyes that reminded her of the fresh spring of healing water that is hidden deep in the forest. His forehead was large, creased as he concentrated on the book, and some of his wispy, feather-like blonde bangs fell over it.

Luna has thought young men were handsome, passing some in the corridors at Hogwarts, and even found Professor Severus Snape a melancholy wonder... But never has a young man captured her attention from his looks as much as Draco just had.

He is beautiful. Like a fresh pearl. With that pale, ivory skin, strong features that she looked over again, and that tall, lean body that was so prevalent under his clean suit…

Luna stopped and looked away, heat rising in her cheeks profoundly. She's never thought about anyone, any young man, like that. How inappropriate! She shook her head, hoping to erase that thought away.

When her head stopped, she noticed Draco's blue eyes looking right at her. One of his eyebrows quirked up. He huffed through his nose once and quirked up a corner of his mouth. Luna knew that he noticed her eyeing him intensively just now.

She looked away and turned her whole self around to look out the window. She let her thoughts wonder through the clouds until she heard a thump, which made her jump. She turned to find the magical creatures encyclopedia open on the floor, and Draco rising out of his seat and walking straight out the door. Luna's eyes followed him as he cantered down the path to his usual spot in the grass. He placed his hands on his hips and looked down.

She turned out of the sofa and knelt on the floor next to the book. She picked it up and saw the page he was on.

"Thestrals," she read from the heading.

She stood and looked out the window again, eyeing Draco. He was pacing back and forth, hand over his mouth. She placed the book lightly on the paper and book-covered table the chair sat next to. She headed to the door, but stopped when her hand was rounded over the doorknob.

He didn't want her to comfort him. She stood back away from the door, staring at it for a moment, then went to the window. Draco was still pacing.

She has comforted Harry after his loss of Serious Black, but it wasn't as strong as how much she wanted to comfort Draco now. The poor young man has suffered so much in his life, from what she has found out from her father in the past about the Malfoys, and from Draco himself in the past few days.

So what could she do? She stared at Draco, who stopped and looked off into the horizon, his broad back to her. She thought.

And thought.

Then…

That's it! Too bad she didn't have her wand.