Chapter Tu
Luna skipped carelessly down the hallway while waving at random people who looked her way. It was growing darker as night emerged. The school prefects were bustling through the hallways to make sure everyone was making it back to their common rooms. Luna merrily followed after the copper-blue crowd.
Once she was inside she headed straight to her dorm to rest. Tomorrow was Sunday and she wanted enough energy to explore.
Before she could lay down peacefully she heard Padma Patil call out, "Luna are you bleeding?" Padma sat in her bed which was closest to Luna's. She stared down at her friend's fingers. Luna sat up and examined her hands then smiled.
"Oh no, it's Draco's blood." Luna shrugged and ventured to her trunk to receive a rag.
"Draco's? As in Draco Malfoy?" Padma jumped up and freely placed herself onto Luna's bed. Luna joined her as she wiped away the dried crimsony blood. After she tossed the rag away she nodded at her friend's question. "And why might I ask is Malfoy's blood on your hands?" Padma put her hands on her hips showing obvious concern.
Luna changed her position on the bed as she thought about this. "His finger was bleeding and I helped stop it for him."
Padma gave her a smirk before replying, "Should've just let him bleed to death. The world would do so much better without evil people like him!"
"That's not true."
Padma's eyes widened as she stared at Luna's sure expression. "What's not true?"
"Draco isn't evil." Luna sighed with a trusting smile, "He's just easily manipulated by evil."
The next morning, Luna found that it was rather difficult to open her eyes. Once she did she felt tears stream down the side of her face. It was an unusual thing for Luna to be crying as the last time she shed real tears was when her mother died. Her dream must've gotten to her, but it was a mystery what could have made her cry like this.
Slowly she lifted from her bed and stepped outside of the curtains. The sun was shining through the glass onto Luna's pale skin. Gradually she traveled down to the dorm bathroom to wash up for the day. Unlike everyone else, Luna preferred to wake up early on weekends and enjoy the day with a few extra hours. This also gave her longer shower time.
Once she had undressed from her bright yellow nightgown she noticed herself in the mirror. She kicked away the clothes pile and closened in on her reflection. Her eyes had thick rings of purple and her skin had gone ghostly white. Her normally rosy cheeks were just as white as the rest of her skin. 'Strange' she thought. Nothing normally surprised her, but it was like looking at a whole other person when she saw herself.
Shrugging it off, she began into the shower by turning the nozzle. Warm water sprouted over her and danced down her body into the drain. It was a normal and refreshing shower for Luna until the water began to chill. Life suddenly seemed like the one thing Luna didn't want. She felt the need to escape and lock herself up in solitude. She couldn't shale away the deathly feeling. The whole room grew darker. Her eyes started to ache as a new patch of tears mixed in with the cold water down her face. It almost felt as if a dementor had risen and was absorbing her every happy memory.
Abruptly, her lungs had come to a stop as she choked out in horror. She could feel her knees meet the tiled floor heavily as she was consumed by a fit of emotions. At last she was laying on the floor being showered by icy misery.
The hospital wing was greeted by a fretting group of Ravenclaw girls as they dragged in a bawling Lovegood. One of the older girls had Luna cradled in her arms while the other few were escorting them into the room. Madam Pomfrey hurried right over and showed the girls to a bed. Luna's cries were very muffled and strangled, but they were pouring out like silent screams. "What happened!" Madam Pomfrey scurried across the room to retrieve a hopstial robe as Luna was only in a cocoon of towels. Her hair was wiley and drenched over her face and shoulders. She could only lay there and shiver between cries as her fellow Ravenclaws explained how they found her.
It was her friend, Padma, who spoke up first. "We could hear the shower running and choking. We had to blast the door just to get in only to find her in a ball on the floor. She must've hit her head on the way!" She lifted locks of hair to reveal the split on Luna's scalp. Everyone there gasped at the sight and had to turn away for a moment. Nobody had seen Luna in such a state before and they couldn't bare to any longer. Once the girls realized she was in a safe place they left in a hurry. Padma lingered a bit before joining them.
Once Luna had calmed down, Madam Pomfrey had helped her into the robes. It only took a few minutes for the large cut to be healed and everything else to be patched up. After her job was done, Madam Pomfrey left Luna for some privacy.
Luna lay back against her pillows and cried silently. She stared up at the ceiling as if trying to find an answer as to what had happened to her. Nothing had happened the night before. Nothing ever made Luna so miserable. The tears finally stopped as she began controlling herself. She lifted up into a sitting position to rethink everything. She had just enough strength to tell herself that she was perfectly fine and healthy. Some mysterious creature must have gotten into her head to make her depressed. Yes! That's it. She had discovered a new creature that controls your emotions.
Still, the sadness lingered over her like a rain cloud. What she needed was a distraction; so she let her eyes travel about the room. There were a couple of sick students sleeping peacefully. All the way across the room was Draco Malfoy who lay there as if he were dead. It was a painful image to look at. It was almost as if he weren't even breathing. Curiously, Luna threw her legs over the edge of the bed and began tiptoeing to Draco's bedside.
Thankfully, he was still breathing. Although his breathing was slowing. Luna quietly placed a finger under his jaw to feel for a pulse. For a moment it was slow and deathly, but suddenly it started beating rappidly. Draco's breathing quickened and his grey eyes shot open. Luna too sprang to life as all of her troubles seemed to have blown up right before her. Both of them panted loudly.
It was Draco who spoke first as he dragged himself upward. "Lovegood?" he eyed her anxiously. Luna merely smiled and nodded. Draco had no idea how he had gotten here. He tried to keep his voice steady as he asked, "Why am I here?"
Luna rose an almost invisible eyebrow as she turned to alert Madam Pomfrey. Draco watched as Luna stepped away towards the office before he had fallen back into the bed and became unconscious once more.
"Well, he was awake just a minute ago." Luna announced as Madam Pomfrey examined the patient. Luna came back to his side and swept away the silvery blond locks from his eyes. Again he awoke in a rush, but this time it was calmer.
"Mr Malfoy! I am honestly relieved! I had thought you would never wake up." This did not comfort Draco at the least bit. He scowled as he fled from his hospital bed. The last thing he needed was for everyone to find out he had fainted and was being coddled by a loony. Only, by the time he had reached the door he was out of it again and on the floor. Pomfrey sighed with slight annoyance. She was quite used to patience who had a little too much pride within them.
Luna rushed over to the boy and shook him awake. "Mr Malfoy, if you cannot control these fainting spells I will not let you leave my hospital." said Madam Pomfrey in a strict tone. Luna gave Draco a sideways smiled as she tried to help him back into bed only to have her hand smacked , he lay back down. "It would appear you're back on your feet, Miss Lovegood. You can go now." Madam Pomfrey nodded toward the door. Luna without further ado turned on her heel and stepped away. She held the doorknob in hand and slowly turned it before she heard, "Wait!" Luna turned around to see Madam Pomfrey staring down at the once more sleeping Draco. "Would you come back here for a moment?"
Politely, Luna returned to hear what Madam P had to say. Draco regained consciousness and sighed almost angrily figuring that this was going to be a long day. Madam Pomfrey gazed curiously at the girl and then asked, "Okay now step away for a moment." Draco could only sit there and watch this parade of idiocy. Luna walked backwards slowly until she was across the room against the wall. Draco watched her until he passed out. Luna could tell Madam Pomfrey was analyzing the situation as she began to pace. "Now, please. Come here again." Luna wasn't tired of this at all. It was almost like a game for her. Soon she was back at Draco's side and he was awake. "Curious..." Madam Pomfrey thought out loud. "Mr Malfoy, may I ask what was the last thing you did before you fainted for the first time last night?"
Luna listened eagerly as Draco thought everything over. He was not about to tell them he was trying to kill Dumbledore! Instead he was going to stretch the truth quite a bit to save him the trouble. "I had been sitting in the Great Hall when I received an anonymous package. It was a shard of glass that cut my finger easily. After a while I got bored and decided to return to the common room when I fainted at the bottom of the stairs."
"Ehem!" Luna piped up. Both turned their attention to her, "he didn't head straight for the dungeons, of course. We ran into each other so I helped stop the bleeding." Luna pointed out Draco's finger that still had a blood stained ribbon around it.
"She was the first person, then? The first person you met before fainting?" Draco shrugged then nodded. "May I see this piece of glass, then?" Draco kept his face straight, though he was actually panicking. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box. Madam Pomfrey took it from him carefully and revealed the piece of glass. "May I ask what this is?" Draco gave her a bewildered look as he believed he had already explained it.
"A potion ingredients is all I know!" He explained rather harshly.
Madam Pomfrey nodded only once before she headed for the door. "If it's a potion ingredients, then obviously this is the job for a potions master."
Luna and Draco sat there for a moment while staring at the door. She had gone to retrieve Professor Snape.
This was going to be a very long day.
Ooh, it's becoming more dramatic! Love it? Hate it? Tell me in the revies. Remember, reviews motivate me to type FASTER!