The war rages on, and we see some action with our characters...

Chapter 15

Luna had to dodge another falling piece of stone. She landed on her belly, which knocked the wind out of her. She looked up to the dark sky, illuminated by fire, and every color of spell one could think of.

"Beautiful," she muttered, but had to dodge more rock toppling from the courtyard arches.

She got up and began running from a Death Eater, and shot a powerful spell that sent him backwards into a pillar. She had just gotten back from fighting a pack of dementors with Harry, Shamus Finnegan, and Ernie Macmillin, so her wand was fresh with strong spell power.

"Luna, look out!"

Luna turned and saw Ginny Weasley scream at her, and she saw what Ginny was talking about. A massive troll held up his club and slammed it on the ground right where Luna was before she quickly moved out of the way.

"Get up!" Ginny hollered, and grabbed Luna's hand, but they instantly had to fall to the earth again to dodge Bellatrix Lestrange's curse.

"C'mon girls, can't take a little cat fight?" Bellatrix sneered at them, cackling.

"We can so!" Ginny shouted, and let a spell fly out of her wand, but Bellatrix jumped out of the way as the spell hit the stone behind her, making it crumble to the ground. Bellatrix laughed.

"Missed, sweetheart!"

Luna was about to cast a spell at Bellatrix, but she noticed movement in a far corridor. A tall form with two other forms, cantering forward and away from the courtyard. The tall form had blonde hair. "Draco," she muttered and took a step towards the person she thought as being Draco.

"Luna!" she heard Ginny scream, and Luna flew to the ground just in time to doge another curse. She stood up and pointed her wand at the wild woman and shouted a spell that repelled the woman back to the ground.

"Nice, one, Luna!" Ginny shouted, but Bellatrix was up again, and cast a curse at the two girls, but they dodged it, and it ended up hitting a random Death Eater behind them. Ginny, Luna, and Bellatrix were soon sending spells and curses back and forth to one another, until Bellatrix raised her wand and hollered,

"Avada kedavra!"

Green light shot out of her wand right at Ginny, but was deflected when Mrs. Weasley stepped in and screamed, "How dare you almost kill my daughter!"

Ginny and Luna backed away and fell over a rock onto their backs, but sat up and watched in amazement and fear as Mrs. Weasley fought the wild woman. Lights flew everywhere, and all were deflected.

But then Mrs. Weasley screamed a curse which made Bellatrix fly backwards into a stone pillar and fall to the ground. Lifeless.

Ginny and Luna scrambled up and began running down a corridor, screams, shrieks, booms, and crashes being heard all around them. They noticed a Death Eater chasing them, and Ginny sent a curse back to him which propelled him back into a wall, knocking him out. They stopped around a corner and took a breath.

"You alright?" Ginny wheezed.

"Yes, you?" Luna said, also wheezing. She moved her wild kinky blonde hair out of her face.

"Alight."

"I was very impressed by you spell-work, Ginny," Luna said almost lightly.

Ginny let out a strained laugh. "Thanks. Harry's class really helped."

"Yes, it did."

Ginny took more deep breaths, her orange hair also frazzled, "Why were you just standing there as that crazy woman almost hit you with a curse?"

"I saw someone—or at least thought I did—who I have wanted to see for a while now."

"Who?"

Luna pursed her lips together. She's told Hermione everything, so she might as well tell Ginny. "Draco Malfoy."

Ginny's dirt-stained face twisted up. "Draco Malfoy? Why in heaven's name would you want to see him?"

"I'm afraid that's a long story, which we don't have time for at the moment."

Right after she said that, the two girls suddenly saw a flash of red light hit the wall right between them. They looked to see a grinning man pointing his wand at them.

"Let's go!" Ginny hollered, and cast a curse back at the man, but missed. Luna cast the same curse and the man went flying through an open window.

The girls ran up two corridors, a flight of stairs, and up another corridor, then stopped, bent over to catch their breath. Luna rubbed sweat off of her dirty face. The two wheezed and wheezed until they were able to regain their normal breathing.

"So," Ginny said, "don't think I let you off the hook. Why Draco Malfoy?"

Luna leaned against the wall. Her legs felt like pudding from running, and who whole body ached from continuously dodging spells. "Well, we got to know each other under the most curious circumstances."

"What kind of circumstances?"

Luna took a deep breath before speaking. She told Ginny a quick version of the story she told Hermione on the sandy hill, only left out the parts where she and Draco were a little too close. Ginny already looked disgusted as it is. After only a minute of talking, Luna stopped.

"So you spent six whole days with him?" Ginny asked in shock, her voice rising at the last word.

"Less than six days, actually."

"Blymee… and you two never tried to kill each other?"

"No. We got along quite nicely, actually. Draco is a good person, even if he doesn't think so."

Ginny stared at her friend, disbelief in her eyes. "I guess… people can change…"

"Yes. They can."

Suddenly, a loud crash and boom was heard on the other side of the wall the girls were next to. Luna immediately leaned off the wall since it suddenly became furiously hot. "Ow!"

"What the…" Ginny let out, and touched the wall, but immediately hollered and retracted it. "It's burning hot!" She looked up. "Wait a minute. This is the Room of Requirement wall! The door shows up right here!"

Luna looked up as well. "It sure does seem like it."

The girls stepped back as they watched the wall conjure itself into a large wooden door, and they jumped out of the way when it flew open, flames and sparks flying out of it. The whole room was on fire!

Ginny and Luna held onto each other on the floor against a wall as they saw everything burn inside the room.

"Look!" Ginny said, pointing inside to the ceiling. "There are things flying up there!"

Luna saw what Ginny had, and those things came flying towards the door.

"Harry!" Ginny shrieked as Harry and someone else toppled off of Harry's broom onto the stone corridor floor. The other person scrambled up. Luna could have died of happiness.

"Draco!"

Draco whirled around as he was about to run for it and saw who shouted his name. He stared at Luna, his eyes widening in pure and utter shock. They started reddening. His hands clenched into fists as he continued to stare at her.

"L-Luna…?" he breathed, his eyes noticeably watering.

Another crash sounded from inside the Room of Requirement, which made everyone scream. Luna felt her hand being grabbed and her legs start running. She looked down at her hand, and saw the pale, dirty hand clutching hers tightly. Her eyes traveled up the suited arm, and on to the back of his blonde head. Her heart soared. This was Draco.

The two stopped in an empty corridor with open windows, the only light source being the moonlight shining through. Draco stood in front of Luna, his hand still grasping hers.

"Draco," she began as he stared down at her with his tearful blue eyes, "how lovely it is to see you again. I thought…"

Draco stopped her from speaking by pulling her into tight hug, his long arms wrapping around her back. He held her to him, allowing her head to rest beneath his shoulder. His warm body was shaking.

"I thought you were…" he began, letting a sob escape, "I thought you were dead. I was told you were dead."

Luna swallowed the emotion that she felt rise in her throat, and she wrapped her arms around his back, gripping onto some of his suit material.

"I'm not, so don't worry. What was the consequence of escaping?"

"Don't worry about that right now," he said in a shaky, tear-filled voice. He held onto her tighter, and he dug his face into her blonde hair.

She savored the moment of him holding her, of feeling his strong heartbeat that synced with her own, of smelling his pine scent that she so desperately missed, even if it mingled with the stench of soot, feeling his warm body against hers…

Draco pulled her back to face him. His face was tear-streaked and dirty, his hair tousled, and his suit outfit was tattered and burnt. But his eyes were still the spring-water blue that she remembered.

She felt an arm leave her back and a soft hand place itself on her face. "I can't believe…" he muttered, and their foreheads touched.

His thumb caressed her cheek and he leaned in. She felt the touch of two feathers on her lips. Luna's heart soared, and she felt dizzy, like nargles were swarming around her head. Her eyes fluttered closed.

Draco's arm pushed her more against him as his mouth moved over hers, and his other arm wrapped around her back again, and she felt his hand slide into her tangled hair. She let the feeling of Draco's mouth pining away at hers circulate through her whole soul, causing her to feel that unfamiliar but pleasant feeling from before. She knew what it was now. She clung tightly to his jacket as he took a deep breath over her mouth and continued kissing her desperately.

Luna moved her mouth along with his, letting that feeling run through her as she held onto him. She felt their teeth clank together, and their tongues even touched, but she continued on.

Voices suddenly sounded through the corridors. The two pulled back, but only far enough to see each other's flushed faces.

"Draco!" they heard one of the voices shout, echoing off the stone walls. "Where'd you go?"

Draco and Luna stared at one and other for a moment. Then Luna did something that she wouldn't have expected herself to do- She brought herself up a bit, and pressed her mouth against his, and he returned the gesture.

"Draco!" the voice echoed again.

The two completely separated. Their gazes held as footsteps where heard around the corner. Draco looked in that direction, then back at Luna. He took her hand, squeezed it, and then let it go.

Luna watched in wonderment as Draco ran down the corridor, then around a corner. Not really paying attention to what the other voices were saying to him, she leaned against the stone wall and gazed out the window at the moon and stars.

Yes. Nargles were everywhere.