p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco walked quickly down the hallway, not looking anywhere but in front of him. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his breath quickened. It felt like the air was being sucked out of his lungs. He felt as though everything that had been happening was coming down on him like an avalanche./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"He walked into a bathroom and turned the water spiget as far as it would go. The pipes shook and gurgled before an unatural orange liquid surged from the faucent before turning clear. He cupped his hands and splashed some frigid water onto his face, hoping it would clear his head, but the awful, suffocating feeling only worsened. The hissing voice of the Dark Lord filled his mind./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Kill him. You have the power, the anger, within you, Draco. Kill him!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco shook his head vigoriously to banish the haunting voice from his head. Then, the tears came like a tidal wave. They flowed from his eyes and dripped into the dingy sink beneath him. Unknown to him, Luna watched causiously from the doorway. Luna suddenly stopped sobbing, the only noise in the cavernous bathroom came from a leaky faucent to his left. Plink! Plink! Plink! Then, Luna sneezed./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Fast as lightning, Draco drew his wand like a knight would his end of his wand glowed white hot./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Who's there?" he asked, fury filling his voice, "Show yourself!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna stepped carefully from the safety of the shadows and into the accusing light of Draco's wand./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"His forehead crinkled with confusion and anger,"Who are you?"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna stood as still as a statue, unable to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Suddenly, Draco's eyes held a flicker of recognition, "Your one of Potter's friends, aren't you? Lovegood, isn't it?"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Yes," she said in a small voice./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""What are you doing here?!" he said in a fierce whisper as Professor/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Flitwick passed the doorway unassumingly./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I... I heard you crying... and I thought that... maybe I could help you or something..." she said quietly./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I wasn't crying and I CERTAINLY don't need your help!" his voice rose enough to echo off the catherdral-like room./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna spoke again, this time her voice more confident, "I know your secret, Draco. I don't know what you are planning, but I know you willingly serve You Know Who."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco turned pale as a ghost and took a few steps back from her shaking his head, "You can't prove anything!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Wrong," she said, "Do you really think you can fool a Ravenclaw? I've seen you sneaking into what can only be the Room of Requirement, and the odd way Professor Snape tiptoes around you, given the rumors of his history."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco, by now, had receded back to the sinks, visably shaken./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""YOU CAN'T PROVE ANYTHING!" he shouted dramatically./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna smiled a pained version of her normally wistful smile, "You could show me your arm, you know."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Causo ignisium!" he cried./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"A fiery orb escaped from the end of Draco's wand and flew across the room staight at Luna who drew her wand in a split second./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Auqus morphium!" shouted Luna./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"By twirling her wand quicky around her head she effectively smallowed the ball of fire in a suspended whirlpool. She released the spell and the water rained down, forming a puddle at her feet before dissappearing down a nearby drain. Draco scowled and retaliated quickly./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Terra jectium!" yelled class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"The awful noise of stone against stone filled the chamber. Pieces of stone in various sizes rose from the floor and walls leaving them pock marked and uneven. They soon surrounded Draco and twirled around him in a deadly dance before flying out quickly from the vortex at lethal speeds. Luna dove out of the way behind some of the green painted bathroom stalls. She pressed up against the cold metal as a small, sharp piece of tile flew dangorously close to her head. She gathered up her courage and walked right into the path of a storm of lethal shards of rock./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Alacer cessio!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"It looked as though time slowed down. The shards that had been flying towards her at blinding speed now moved at a snail's pace. Draco raised his wand, but before he could utter a sound, a smokey, black fog filled the entire bathroom and made it impossible to see even the hand in front of his face. Draco froze and cocked his ear. The only sound in the bathroom came from the dripping of water, not the dull scrape of shoes on stone or baited breathe. He had to hand it to her, she had a knack for suddenly dissappearing. Then he heard a whisper as soft as a moth's fluttering wings, but it was enough./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Lumos maximus," he whispered. A bright light emitted from his wand that he used to guide himself through the impenetrable fog./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Where are you, Lovegood?" he said in a mocking, snobbish tone, "You can't hide forever."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I just want to help you," she said, her voice strangely distant./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I don't need you help!" he shouted into the mist./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Suddenly, the chilling voice of the Dark Lord filled his mind and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Kill her..." it whispered, "Kill her..."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""No!" Draco shouted into the darkness./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You're weak!" came the muted response, "You're as useless as I thought! You are of no further value to me..."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Dont listen to him!" came Luna's class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Her voice was much closer now. Draco quickly turned around and the light from his wand caught the dull glimmer of her long blond hair. The fog had cleared enough so he could see without his wand. Draco released the spell, lunged forward, caught Luna's arm firmly in his grasp and held her up against the green painted metal of a bathroom stall by her neck with one hand and held his wand against her neck like a dagger with the other. He was surprised by his own strength./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""What do you know?" he asked harshly. Luna's mouth opened and gasped for breath. Draco pushed harder against her neck./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" he demanded./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna reached up with both her hands and held tight to his hand and made as if to wrench it away, but he could feel her weakening. Suddenly, Voldemort's voice seemed to fill the whole room./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Now do you see the power of anger, Draco? The power of darkness? Look at the strength your anger has given you. You are more powerful than you know. Now, kill her!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco glanced back at Luna whose face was turning slightly blue./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Draco... please..." and gave him a look that nearly ripped his heart in two./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Kill her!" urged Voldemort./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Don't... listen... to... him..." came Luna's beseeching voice./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""NO!" he yelled and Dark Lord's presence vanished. He let go of Luna and she crumbled to the ground gasping for air like a fish out of water. Draco stumbled backwards, his knees buckling beneath him. He braced himself on one of the sinks./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You don't understand anything, do you?" he said with tears running down his cheeks, "I have to listen. I have to kill him, or else… he's going to kill me."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Draco..." said Luna struggling to her feet./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You don't understand," he sobbed./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Draco... I..." Luna started to say, but was cut short as Draco advanced upon her and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened with surprise but gradually closed. She felt the searing cold of the metal bathroom stall on her back that sent shivers down her spine and the warmth of Draco's body that was pressed up against her own. The kiss was so intense that she finally realized that she didn't understand what he was going through but she realized how scared he truely was. She didn't know if it lasted three seconds or three minutes but when it was over,span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco pressed his finger to her lips and whispered, "Tell not a soul." before disappearing./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"But if she was to save his live and many others, she knew she would have to./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"He walked into a bathroom and turned the water spiget as far as it would go. The pipes shook and gurgled before an unatural orange liquid surged from the faucent before turning clear. He cupped his hands and splashed some frigid water onto his face, hoping it would clear his head, but the awful, suffocating feeling only worsened. The hissing voice of the Dark Lord filled his mind./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Kill him. You have the power, the anger, within you, Draco. Kill him!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco shook his head vigoriously to banish the haunting voice from his head. Then, the tears came like a tidal wave. They flowed from his eyes and dripped into the dingy sink beneath him. Unknown to him, Luna watched causiously from the doorway. Luna suddenly stopped sobbing, the only noise in the cavernous bathroom came from a leaky faucent to his left. Plink! Plink! Plink! Then, Luna sneezed./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Fast as lightning, Draco drew his wand like a knight would his end of his wand glowed white hot./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Who's there?" he asked, fury filling his voice, "Show yourself!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna stepped carefully from the safety of the shadows and into the accusing light of Draco's wand./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"His forehead crinkled with confusion and anger,"Who are you?"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna stood as still as a statue, unable to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Suddenly, Draco's eyes held a flicker of recognition, "Your one of Potter's friends, aren't you? Lovegood, isn't it?"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Yes," she said in a small voice./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""What are you doing here?!" he said in a fierce whisper as Professor/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Flitwick passed the doorway unassumingly./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I... I heard you crying... and I thought that... maybe I could help you or something..." she said quietly./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I wasn't crying and I CERTAINLY don't need your help!" his voice rose enough to echo off the catherdral-like room./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna spoke again, this time her voice more confident, "I know your secret, Draco. I don't know what you are planning, but I know you willingly serve You Know Who."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco turned pale as a ghost and took a few steps back from her shaking his head, "You can't prove anything!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Wrong," she said, "Do you really think you can fool a Ravenclaw? I've seen you sneaking into what can only be the Room of Requirement, and the odd way Professor Snape tiptoes around you, given the rumors of his history."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco, by now, had receded back to the sinks, visably shaken./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""YOU CAN'T PROVE ANYTHING!" he shouted dramatically./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna smiled a pained version of her normally wistful smile, "You could show me your arm, you know."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Causo ignisium!" he cried./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"A fiery orb escaped from the end of Draco's wand and flew across the room staight at Luna who drew her wand in a split second./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Auqus morphium!" shouted Luna./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"By twirling her wand quicky around her head she effectively smallowed the ball of fire in a suspended whirlpool. She released the spell and the water rained down, forming a puddle at her feet before dissappearing down a nearby drain. Draco scowled and retaliated quickly./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Terra jectium!" yelled class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"The awful noise of stone against stone filled the chamber. Pieces of stone in various sizes rose from the floor and walls leaving them pock marked and uneven. They soon surrounded Draco and twirled around him in a deadly dance before flying out quickly from the vortex at lethal speeds. Luna dove out of the way behind some of the green painted bathroom stalls. She pressed up against the cold metal as a small, sharp piece of tile flew dangorously close to her head. She gathered up her courage and walked right into the path of a storm of lethal shards of rock./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Alacer cessio!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"It looked as though time slowed down. The shards that had been flying towards her at blinding speed now moved at a snail's pace. Draco raised his wand, but before he could utter a sound, a smokey, black fog filled the entire bathroom and made it impossible to see even the hand in front of his face. Draco froze and cocked his ear. The only sound in the bathroom came from the dripping of water, not the dull scrape of shoes on stone or baited breathe. He had to hand it to her, she had a knack for suddenly dissappearing. Then he heard a whisper as soft as a moth's fluttering wings, but it was enough./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Lumos maximus," he whispered. A bright light emitted from his wand that he used to guide himself through the impenetrable fog./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Where are you, Lovegood?" he said in a mocking, snobbish tone, "You can't hide forever."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I just want to help you," she said, her voice strangely distant./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""I don't need you help!" he shouted into the mist./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Suddenly, the chilling voice of the Dark Lord filled his mind and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Kill her..." it whispered, "Kill her..."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""No!" Draco shouted into the darkness./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You're weak!" came the muted response, "You're as useless as I thought! You are of no further value to me..."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Dont listen to him!" came Luna's class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Her voice was much closer now. Draco quickly turned around and the light from his wand caught the dull glimmer of her long blond hair. The fog had cleared enough so he could see without his wand. Draco released the spell, lunged forward, caught Luna's arm firmly in his grasp and held her up against the green painted metal of a bathroom stall by her neck with one hand and held his wand against her neck like a dagger with the other. He was surprised by his own strength./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""What do you know?" he asked harshly. Luna's mouth opened and gasped for breath. Draco pushed harder against her neck./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" he demanded./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Luna reached up with both her hands and held tight to his hand and made as if to wrench it away, but he could feel her weakening. Suddenly, Voldemort's voice seemed to fill the whole room./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Now do you see the power of anger, Draco? The power of darkness? Look at the strength your anger has given you. You are more powerful than you know. Now, kill her!"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco glanced back at Luna whose face was turning slightly blue./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Draco... please..." and gave him a look that nearly ripped his heart in two./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Kill her!" urged Voldemort./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Don't... listen... to... him..." came Luna's beseeching voice./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""NO!" he yelled and Dark Lord's presence vanished. He let go of Luna and she crumbled to the ground gasping for air like a fish out of water. Draco stumbled backwards, his knees buckling beneath him. He braced himself on one of the sinks./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You don't understand anything, do you?" he said with tears running down his cheeks, "I have to listen. I have to kill him, or else… he's going to kill me."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Draco..." said Luna struggling to her feet./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""You don't understand," he sobbed./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1""Draco... I..." Luna started to say, but was cut short as Draco advanced upon her and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened with surprise but gradually closed. She felt the searing cold of the metal bathroom stall on her back that sent shivers down her spine and the warmth of Draco's body that was pressed up against her own. The kiss was so intense that she finally realized that she didn't understand what he was going through but she realized how scared he truely was. She didn't know if it lasted three seconds or three minutes but when it was over,span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Draco pressed his finger to her lips and whispered, "Tell not a soul." before disappearing./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1"But if she was to save his live and many others, she knew she would have to./span/p