"You go first, Luna," Draco insisted. They'd been quarrling about this for several minutes now.

Luna, hands on hips, sighed. "Draco, we're being ridiculous. We could have been out and half way down the mountain by now. And I get the feeling all of this bad energy is attracting several different creatures."

"Er...what sorts of creatures?" Draco asked, looking around the cave nervously.

"Well, Sketchaflies, for one," Luna said. She scratched her arm. "I can feel them already. They're the things that make your skin scratch for no reason."

Now that he thought about it, his arms were getting a little itchy. "Okay, here's what we'll do," Draco said, leaning against the cave wall. "You climb out first, because I can barely make it anyways, and then you can try and get the tree out a little farther. Then I can climb out after you."

"That's a very clever plan, Draco," Luna said after a moment. She made sure her backpack was zippered and her shoe laces were tied tight, and she placed her foot firmly on the side of the cave. She squeezed herself through and soon disappeared from Draco's narrow view through the cave opening.

"Luna?" Draco called nervously.

"I'm here," she replied after a moment. She made a small groan of struggle. "I'm going to break off a few of these branches so you can get out, okay? It's sort of wet out here, though, because of the storm."

"Be careful, then, and don't slip," Draco called anxiously. He was suddenly regretting sending her out first. Could he trust her to be safe out there on her own? She was Luna, after all.

"Got it!"

At Luna's exclamation, a huge quantity of light flooded the cave, and Draco squinted. The opening was wide enough that he could walk out with ease. He turned before facing Luna on the outside and made sure that they had everything. Then he turned to Luna.

He winced at the bruise on his face, but it wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Somehow he'd managed to keep himself under control enough not to totally harm her. He sort of wondered what a state he was in, with his nose and his fists.

Luna also visibly winced. "Look what I did to your nose..." She said, and sighed. She tenderly ran her fingers over the affected skin. "I'm sorry."

Draco looked at her seriously. Her hand was still on his face. He wrapped his own rough hand around hers and held it to his face. "You will never know how much I regret what I did last night."

Luna's big doe eyes stared into his. They seemed more sad than the rest of her face did from this very short distance.

Without another thought, Draco's mouth was on hers.

It lasted barely three seconds, but Draco felt an instant change in their relationship, and he quickly pulled back.

Luna wrapped her arms around his waist quickly, then turned from him and began stretching once more. "Okay," she said. "Time to go find help for your dad."

Draco had to use every last ounce of his willpower to move from that spot. He was beyond all normal throught processes by now.

He loved Luna.

It was the strangest thing he'd ever felt, loving who used to be his enemy, someone who he'd never been able to stand because of her strange ways and unique view on life.

And now he was looking at her in a whole new light.

She looked over her shoulder, long, shimmering hair whipping around ever so slightly, and she smiled at him. "Are you coming?"

Draco felt a natural smile pull across his face and he nodded. He jogged to her side and held out his hand.

His stomach dropped when she didn't seem to notice his outstretched hand, but after tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and some apparent thinking, she took his hand, another dopey little smiling gracing her lips, and they descended the mountain together.

...

The trip back up from the mountain wasn't nearly as eventful as the trip down. After a quick stop at a secret wizarding hospital, they were told that their portkey would be leaving in two days. Just enough time for them to get their enchanted toothbrush (the only thing they had to spare) back up the mountain and to Mr. Malfoy.

They stopped for the night just a bit ahead of the cave they had previously been stranded in, and then they finally returned to camp.

...

Hey guys! Only one more chapter after this one. :( But then there may also be a sequel, so keep an eye out for that!

Check out my update journal on my profile for more info, kay guys? :)