Act
Draco huffed as he heard the usual pattern of skipping behind him.
She had been following him for two weeks now.
Had he known this would be his fate he never would have returned he thought with an eye roll.
Luna halted her skipping when she was beside him and began to walk in a disastrous pattern.
"Do you do anything normally Lovegood?" He looked down to her with disdain, but she simply smiled.
It ate him up inside how the blasted witch was always able to smile!
At everything.
He snarled his nose in a disgusted manner down at her.
"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Luna before you finally do it?" Her question caught him off guard as it was off topic.
"That shows a sense of familiarity, which is something we are not. This is proven by the fact that I've been trying to get away from you since we returned to school." He huffed out.
"You don't want me to go away, rather you believe it or not you enjoy my presence."
He gawked at her blatancy.
How is it, a pureblood witch, was never taught the manners to not simply blurt out everything that comes to mind?
"I will not admit it, because it is not the truth. If you don't leave me alone, I will hex you Lovegood!"
"Draco!" He paused in his step turning to her.
This was the first time he had ever seen a serious emotion on her face.
"You stop asking me to leave right this minute. You have to accept the fact that you're alone, half your friends died last year, and the other half won't even claim to know you because of the circumstances of the war. It's not just Hogwarts Draco. You're alone everywhere now, and you will continue to be alone unless you decide to act like someone who deserves a friend. You may say you want to be alone now, you may even think you deserve to be, but are you going to feel that way for the next century? Do you really want to be alone, with no friends, for the next hundred years? Do you want to be that miserable?" She was panting from the force of her rant and Draco's eyes were wide and shocked at the outburst.
His head shook from side to side very gently, realizing that what she said was somewhat the truth.
"Good." She said on a huff before slapping a smile back into its usual spot.
"Then call me Luna."
Once again Draco's movements were so subtle they were easy to miss, but she saw the small nod and accepted it.
Turning and beginning to walk again she looked over her shoulder at him.
"Come along Draco, we don't want to be late to class."
As he caught up to her and walked silently beside her Luna smiled happily to herself.
She knew his self-deprecating lifestyle wasn't how he really wanted to live.
He just needed someone to make him see he didn't have to hide behind his old Malfoy mask.
He could just be himself now. He was free to be Draco.
His life no longer had to be an act.
