Happenstance
Chapter 9: When One Door Closes, Another One Opens
After the previous nights interesting turn of events, Mr. Lovegood was certainly eager to see how Luna and Draco's already fragile relationship would fare. When Draco had brought up taking Luna out for the evening, he knew that she'd appreciate it but he hadn't expected her to appreciate it that much. Walking in on his daughter snogging was both surprising and uncomfortable for Mr. Lovegood. Luna had never once even expressed so much as a crush, so he'd never had the chance to prepare and practice for, what he called, his daughters hormonal years. But, after all, she was seventeen and a mother, so its not like he hadn't expected this change in her behavior. Deciding to take it all in stride, Mr. Lovegood continued about his normal morning routine and after preparing a pot of tea and some toast, he headed for the breakfast room.
Right on time, Draco came striding into the breakfast room fifteen minutes later, just as he had done every morning since he'd been invited to stay with them. However, unlike past mornings, Draco was less than chatty. Usually, he would bound into the breakfast room ready to talk but this morning he was tight lipped. After giving the boy enough time to ready his tea and rather angrily butter his toast, Mr. Lovegood decided to find out just what was eating at him.
"Something bothering you, Draco?" Mr. Lovegood asked, smiling as he sipped his tea.
"No," Draco grumbled, sinking his teeth into his toast. For several moments, Draco was silent before finally providing his host with a real answer. "What is wrong her! We were having a perfectly fantastic night and she goes and ruins it by becoming all frigid."
"She didn't look all that frigid to me," her father replied, recalling that the pair looked quite cozy when he'd left them.
"After you went to bed, she decided that she didn't want to mess around anymore."
"I see," Mr. Lovegood replied, sitting his tea cup down. "Draco, I don't think Luna ever planned on taking things as far as you think she did."
"I know we weren't going to shag," Draco assured him. "But I don't understand why she's so bloody well hot and cold, all the time. There's no middle ground and it's really starting to confuse the hell out of me. One minute she wants me, then she doesn't, then she does again but only long enough to get me excited and then she's back to not wanting me!"
"So you are confused," Luna's father said, having expected this all along.
"Yes, I mean if she doesn't want me, than fine, she doesn't want me but don't keep sending me mixed signals; and as far as I'm concerned your tongue in my mouth is a mixed signal," Draco whined, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I just wish she'd make up her friggin' mind."
"I agree," Mr. Lovegood said. "She's just as confused by all of this as you are. Just be patient."
"I have been patient," Draco mumbled. "She's the mother of my son, I adore her... even if I did want a daughter,"
"You wanted a girl?" Mr. Lovegood asked, shocked by that revelation.
"Yeah, I always wanted to have a daughter. Little girls are so much cuter than little boys. Don't get me wrong, I love Landon to death but I'd would have loved to have a girl."
"You do know it's possible to have more than one child, right?" Luna's father asked for clarification. The way Draco was talking you'd think is was impossible or something.
"You think Luna would go for that?" Draco asked, perking up a bit. "I would if she would."
"Why would that concern my daughter?"
"I don't think she'd be too happy if I didn't check with her first," he said, laughing.
"Why would it matter to Luna if you had a daughter with someone else? Say, a wife or girlfriend maybe."
"Oh, you weren't talking about my having another child with Luna, were you?"
"No. Draco you've got to start thinking ahead and in terms of your not being in a relationship with Luna. I know that you've got your mind set on you and her and Landon being a family but that's not what she wants. At least that's not what she says she wants. I'm sorry to say it, but it doesn't seem likely that the two of you'll end up together."
"True, it doesn't look likely, however, I haven't used my best moves yet," Draco informed her father, a sly grin on his face. "But when I do, I don't think she'll be able to resist me. No one ever has." Standing, Draco walked to the doorway of the breakfast room before turning back to Mr. Lovegood. "I'm going to give it one more shot and then I'll let her alone."
"Alright," her father said, smiling. He truly hoped that Draco was successful in his endeavor. Mr. Lovegood really wanted Landon to have, what he considered, a proper family and in order for that to happen, Luna would have to give the young wizard a genuine chance at being a father and significant other. "I hope all goes well."
"Me too," the young man replied, smiling. "I've got to go by the house and make sure everything is ready. I should be back around eleven."
"Okay. Bye, Draco."
"Bye!"
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"Ughhh," Luna groaned softly, pulling the covers up over her head. It wasn't everyday a young witch got caught snogging the father of her child on her sitting room sofa by her father, which was probably why, no matter how hard she tried, Luna simply couldn't get the previous nights events out of her mind. To her father's credit, he seemed to take their liaison in stride and laughed if off, however, Luna couldn't do the same. She wouldn't deny that she did in fact enjoy her and Draco's kiss but she couldn't help but be angry with herself for having so little resolve. Since the moment Draco had popped into her and Landon's lives, Luna had sworn that she didn't desire any sort of romantic relationship with him, but after one night out she'd already reneged, and naturally, it had to be in front of an audience. So, it's not like she could even deny it ever happened
Sure that she would never live down her behavior and far too embarrassed to face her father just yet, Luna remained curled up under her duvet for as long as possible that morning. It wasn't until she heard Landon screaming bloody murder at around nine-fifteen that she finally dragged herself out of bed and went to get him. When she reached the nursery, still unspotted by either Draco or her father, Luna hurried inside to retrieve her agitated son. Gathering the still crying Landon into her arms, Luna hot tailed it back to her room instead of feeding him in the nursery as she usually did. Normally, Luna wouldn't avoid her problems like this, but she wasn't exactly sure how else to deal with it.
Once Landon had been fed and bathed, Luna settled back into bed with her son lying on his back next to her while she played with him. Not twenty minutes later, Luna heard a soft knocking at her door. She was half tempted to ignore it and pretend to still be asleep, but she knew that Landon's presence would give her away, so instead, Luna rose and went to answer her door.
"Daddy," Luna greeted her father, nervously.
"Morning, Love," he said, entering her room and walking over to Landon who lay staring up at the ceiling on his mother's bed. "I was beginning to worry that something was wrong when you didn't come downstairs as usual. Any particular reason you're avoiding me?" Her father eyed her knowingly. Mr. Lovegood didn't doubt that Luna was embarrassed about what happened with Draco last night and he couldn't help but poke fun at her for it.
"No, I was just tired," she said, innocently. "It was a really long night." The moment Luna said it, she regretted it. She knew exactly what her words had implicated and it certainly hadn't been her intention to allude to her and Draco having made a night of it.
"That's not what I meant..."
"I know that nothing more than what I saw happened, Luna," her father replied, hoping to ease her mortification. "Draco spent all morning whining about it. I swear I think that boy sometimes forgets that I'm your father."
"I don't know why he would have expected anything to happen," Luna said, a confused look on her face. "I thought that I'd made it quite clear that there wasn't going to be anything like that between us."
"No, you haven't made it clear," her father argued, sounding a bit agitated with her. "You're being indecisive and it's only proving to confuse Draco."
"How am I being indecisive?" Luna snapped, not appreciating her father's siding with Draco on this. "From day one I said that there would be no funny business."
"And yet, you spent the end of your evening with your mouth effectively sealed against his." he pointed out. "That's not making things clear, Luna. You're right when you say that you've been telling him from day one that there would be no romantic relationship between you, but your actions prove otherwise. And as I've always said, your actions speak louder than your words. It's not fair to Draco for you to keep leading him on like this and it'll only confuse Landon when he's older. If you really mean it when you say that there's no hope for you and Draco than you have to stick by that, otherwise your son's going to end up suffering the consequences." Luna hated it when her father was right. She didn't want to admit it but she had been leading him on a bit. Last nights kiss should have never happened, but because of her lack of resolve, it did, and now she had to deal with the very confusing consequences of it.
"Was Draco mad?" she asked, softly.
"I wouldn't say he was mad," her father said, a small grin on his face. "Draco's used to getting what he wants and now that he can't have it, he's not exactly sure how to handle the situation. I believe, in his mind, this has turned into a game of cat and mouse, and Luna, I don't think you'll stand much of a chance. As I said in the beginning, he can be very charming when he wants to be. You witnessed that last night."
"Bugger," Luna mumbled, knowing damn well that her father was right. Draco had a very competitive nature and he was willing to do just about anything to see to it that he got what he wanted. Last night was definitely a testament to what she was up against. Had Mr. Lovegood not interrupted them, there was a very good chance that she would have woken up with Draco in her bed that morning. "What should I do?"
"Personally, I think you should keep an open mind," her father replied, rocking Landon back and forth as he cradled him. "Draco's not a bad guy and I think that you two compliment each other quite well. You could both learn a thing or two from each other."
"I don't think so," Luna said, pessimistically. "Is he in the kitchen?"
"No, he went by the house to make sure that everything was ready for you and Landon before he had your stuff taken over there," Mr. Lovegood said, smiling at his daughter. "After he vented his frustration over last night, he seemed really excited about the move."
"Did he say when he'd be back?"
"He said he should be back by eleven," Mr. Lovegood replied. "Luna, maybe you should wait a while before you bring any of this up. Today's going to be a good day and you shouldn't put a damper on it for him. At least give him today."
"Fine," she said, breathlessly.
"I'll take Landon so you can get cleaned up and finish any packing that you have left," her father said, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. "Perk up! This is an exciting thing, Luna."
"I'll try," she replied, weakly as her father left the room.
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Just as promised, Draco returned to the Lovegood Estate just before eleven o'clock. Bounding up the stairs, he went straight to Luna's bedchambers so that he could help her move her stuff. When he reached Luna's room Draco was surprised to find that her door was open. Usually she kept it shut, or at least he assumed she usually did seeing as how she had kept it shut ever since he'd started staying there. Peaking inside, Draco found Luna and her father already shrinking her belongings to a manageable size with Landon lying on his blankey watching them.
"Hey," Draco said, entering the room and heading straight for the lounging baby. As usual, at the sight of his father, little Landon's arms and legs started thrashing about excitedly. "Well, hi there little guy."
"So, how did everything look?" Mr. Lovegood asked, as he shrunk what seemed like the thousandth trunk filled with Luna's clothes.
"It looked awesome," Draco said, picking Landon up and lying the boy against his chest as he went over to get a closer look at Luna and her father's progress. "I think you're really going to like it. The whole manor is really bright. I was surprised cause these are the same people who decorated my parents manor and that one turned out really dark and kind of creepy. This one has lots of light blue and white and light oak woods. I think its cause I told them you were in Ravenclaw."
"Did they finish the nursery?" Luna asked, beginning to get excited about seeing the place.
"Yeah, but I didn't look at it while I was there," he replied, laughing as Landon burped loudly in his ear thanks to his father's patting him on the back.
"He just ate again not too long ago," Luna explained, as she wiped the bit of spit up off of the baby's lips and Draco's shirt. "Why wouldn't you look at the nursery?"
"I kind of wanted to wait for you and Landon," he replied, simply.
"Oh, well we're almost done," Luna said, a small smile on her face. She couldn't help but gaze at him as he paced the length of the room cuddling Landon against his chest and whispering in the boys ear. It seemed like every time she was ready to sit him down and tell him how things were going to be from now on, he'd say or do something that was so sweet and completely unexpected that it made her question her entire outlook on their relationship, or lack thereof.
"Actually dear," her father said, jolting Luna back to reality. "We're done." Placing the last shrunken trunk into the case they were using to store her stuff for the move, Mr. Lovegood joined Luna and Draco over by the bed. "Are you guys ready to head out?"
"Yep," Draco said, grabbing Landon's blankey off of Luna's bare bed and throwing it over his shoulder that Landon wasn't lying against. "I'll go get Landon's baby bag."
"Do we have to go so soon?" Luna asked, nervously, having realized that this was really happening. "Its just after eleven. Why rush?"
"Because the three of you have an entire manor to get settled into, and because avoiding it won't change a thing," Mr. Lovegood said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. "Do you need my help with anything?"
"What?" she asked, frantically. "Aren't you coming with me?"
"No, love," he replied, his hand playfully stroking her cheek. "This is something that you, Landon and Draco are going to have to do without me. I'll see the house once you've settled in. Besides, I've got a date tonight so I'm going to go and find something sharp to wear."
"A date?" Luna and Draco shouted, not having expected to hear those words coming from his mouth so soon.
"Yes," Mr. Lovegood replied, proudly. "Draco and I had a chat a few nights ago and after thinking it over, I decided that he was right. It's far time I started dating. I've been single for far too long and if I wait much longer, it'll be too late."
"What did you say to him?" Luna shouted, angrily.
"We talked about this when I asked you to move in with me," he argued, trying to defend himself. "You said it was a good idea for him to start dating."
"That's when I didn't think he'd actually do it!"
"Well I have, Luna," her father interjected, calmly. "And I hope you'll understand why I feel the need to move on with my life."
"I do, Daddy. It's just unexpected," she assured him. "I hope you have a good time tonight."
"Me too," Draco said, glad that Luna's wrath was no longer directed at him. "You about ready to go?"
"Yeah," Luna said, kissing her father on the cheek before she and Draco went to get Landon's baby bag. Luna hated to admit it but she really didn't like the idea of her father dating. Actually, she had liked the idea of her father dating, she just wasn't fond of the reality of her father dating. The last thing she wanted was some witch coming into her life and trying to act like her Mommy.
"Do you want to take the train or apparate?" Draco asked, snapping Luna out of her silent pondering.
"I don't want anyone apparating with Landon until he's older, so we'll have to take the train," she reminded him. "Who do you think it is?"
"What do you mean?"
"Who do you think my Dad's got a date with?"
"Don't know. He didn't say," Draco said, tucking Landon's blankey into the baby bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "Where's his stroller?"
"In the foyer," Luna replied, handing Landon back over to Draco who stood with his arms outstretched waiting. As Luna had already said, Draco was a baby hog. The only time he would settle for not holding his son was when he was being nursed or if he himself was eating. "I can carry the bag."
"I got it," Draco said. The last thing he'd want was for someone to see him making her lug their bags around. If his Mum found out, she'd have his head on a pike. "Are you excited at all?"
"Yeah, I am actually," she replied, genuinely smiling at him. From what he'd described of the house earlier she couldn't wait to see how it had turned out.
"You're going to love your room." he assured her, as they walked down the stairs and headed for the foyer. "I saw it and I have to say, they did a wonderful job."
"Well, now I'm even more excited," Luna said, happily. As she walked out of the door of her childhood home, Luna turned back for one more look before gently shutting the door behind her. While walking down the drive towards the road that led away from her house, Luna couldn't help but wonder if the old saying, 'when one door closes another one opens' was true or not. If it wasn't, she was screwed.
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Luna wasn't exactly sure what had come over him, but Landon was in a terrible mood that afternoon. For the duration of the train ride, the infant simply refused to stop crying. Luckily, Draco had enough sense to place a silencing spell on their private compartment, otherwise the other occupants would have probably thrown a fit. Thankfully though, Draco's manor wasn't too far from Luna's house so they didn't have to endure Landon's fit for long.
As they got off of the train, Luna and Draco's ears ringing slightly, and settled Landon into his stroller, the boy chose then to stop crying. In the back of her mind, Luna had a nagging thought that the baby's change in moods was an omen. It was almost like he was trying to tell her something. Normally, she would assume that he was trying to tell her that he was hungry or that he needed to be changed, but both she and Draco had already tried all of that and Landon hadn't been interested in anything either of his parents had to offer.
It was such a beautiful afternoon and Draco would have preferred to walk home, but he wanted to get Landon home as soon as possible before he had the chance to start throwing another fit, so he decided to hail a carriage to take them instead. In just half an hour the trio arrived at the house and were greeted by a slew of people Luna didn't know. Nervously, Luna, with Landon cradled in her arms, exited the carriage and approached the house, Draco trailing a few steps behind her.
"Who are all of these people?" she whispered, turning to look back at him.
"Those are the decorators," he replied, nonchalantly as he rushed to catch up with her. "I thought they had left when I did earlier."
"Mr. Malfoy!" exclaimed a short pudgy witch, as she strode towards the approaching couple. "We were hoping to catch you before we left. Agatha McCoy," the witch said, extending her hand to Luna. Realizing that the young mother's hands were full, Agatha dropped her hand and ushered them all towards the estate. "Are you ready for the tour?"
"I've already taken the tour," Draco reminded her, rolling his eyes.
"But she hasn't," stated the head decorator.
"I'll give her the tour," the agitated wizard offered, resisting Agatha's attempt at forcing him inside of the house. Landon's constant screaming on the train had given Draco a terrible headache and he really didn't have the patience to deal with that woman's pushiness. "You can go now."
"Nonsense," Agatha said, ignoring his protests. "You haven't the expertise to show the young witch all of the details that have been added."
"I said you can go now," Draco ground out, glaring at the decorator angrily. Perhaps it was his fathers influence showing through, but Draco really hated it when people he was paying for a service didn't do as they were told.
"Well, if you're sure, Mr. Malfoy," Agatha replied, realizing just how serious the young wizard was.
"I'm sure," he spat, gently placing his hand on the small of Luna's back and guiding her towards the door. "Send me the bill." As the couple and their son entered the house the team of disgruntled decorators apparated away, many grumbling under their breath about Draco's treatment of them.
While Draco had been busy berating the decorator, Luna was given the opportunity to get a look at the outside of what was now to be her and Landon's new home. Luna had grown up in a rather large house herself, but it paled in comparison to the place Draco had bought. The estate was three stories tall and was situated at the top of a hill on four sprawling acres of lush grass. The perimeter of the land was surrounded by thick wooded areas which offered them a great deal of privacy. In the back of her mind, Luna wondered what on earth he would be doing that would require so much privacy, but she didn't allow it to overshadow her awe of the estate. Draco called the house a manor but to Luna, it was more like a castle. When she looked at it, she couldn't help but think of Hogwarts, though on a much smaller scale.
Once inside, Luna was relieved to find that Draco was right. The decorators had chosen a much lighter color scheme than one would have expected to see inside of so foreboding a structure. With the way they had styled the interior the house seemed welcoming and warm, not cold and fear inducing like she would have anticipated a Malfoy estate to be.
"I love the colors they chose," Luna said, softly as she exited the foyer and entered the sitting room which was filled with pale blue, silver, and white fabrics. Even the furniture, which was typically made of dark heavy woods, was made of light oak, and it added to the houses all around allure. "It's beautiful."
"Yeah, it is," Draco agreed, ushering her towards the grand staircase. "I want you to see yours and Landon's rooms. They're up on the third floor." As quickly as she could, Luna hurried up the staircase with Draco following closely behind her. When she reached the third floor landing, Luna found that there were three doors. Unsure of where to go, she waited for Draco to tell her. "There are three suites up here; yours, mine and the nursery. Yours is on the right and mine is on the far left. The nursery is situated between them and each of our rooms has a door that leads into the nursery. Don't worry though, when Landon's older and doesn't want us barging into his room, he can move to one of the six other bedchambers."
"That's really clever," Luna said, smiling, "for our rooms to have a door that leads to his."
"Yeah, that was my idea," he said proudly. "Each room also has its own lavatory and enormous walk in closet. So you don't have to worry about my walking in on you while you're showering or anything."
"That's a relief," she muttered, the thought having crossed her mind on more than one occasion. "Can we go into the nursery?" Draco nodded and opened the middle door, leading Luna and Landon inside of the spacious chamber. Luna was floored when she saw what he had done. Though she wasn't sure how he had managed it, Draco had made sure that Landon's nursery remained mostly the same as it had been at her house, though it was much larger. The color scheme and murals that had been painted on the wall, were all exactly the same as the one's she'd had painted at Lovegood Manor. As much as she hated it, her eyes started to tear up and thoughts of actually settling down with Draco buzzed through her head. That would be twice already that morning that Draco had managed to make her start considering the possibility of him being something more than just a sperm donor. So far, things weren't looking very good for her plan of sitting him down and setting their relationship straight once and for all, because now, Luna was even more confused than ever.
"Do you like it?" Draco asked, nervous about her silence. He had taken a chance with not changing the nursery from her original plan at her own house, and now he was beginning to question his decision.
"It's perfect," she whispered, rising to her toes and kissing him on the cheek. As she pulled back, Luna couldn't help but notice the slight blush that crept across his pale face. 'Perhaps this could work,' Luna thought, unable to hold back a smile.
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