Draco woke the following morning slightly disoriented. He remembered being at Hogwarts, but the usual draftiness of the Slytherin dungeons was missing. He slowly opened his eyes. Light was trying to penetrate the heavy curtains around his bed, but it only made it through in the tiny cracks in the drapery. He sat up and raised his hand to open the curtain enough to see a sliver of the room. He could see the stone walls, a much lighter wash than the ones in the dungeons. The deep blue hues around the room were softened by the morning light that filled the round room. Draco sat up further, tossing the covers off of his legs, and removed his wand from beneath his pillow.
Cautiously, he drew the curtain back, viewing more of the room. The curtains around the other three beds were closed, and faint snoring was coming from at least one of his roommates. It appeared that they were all still asleep. A quick and silently cast Tempus told him that it was nearly seven thirty.
Draco's eyes widened at the time. Draco's internal clock usual awoke him around six every morning. He felt slightly panicked that over an hour would be shaved off his routine, and quickly got out of the bed, retrieved his toiletries from his trunk, and entered what he assumed was the wash room.
Twenty minutes later, he was kneeling at his trunk, pulling out his school uniform. As promised by Flitwick, there was a Ravenclaw tie and badge lying neatly on his night stand. Draco made quick work of removing his Slytherin badge from his outer robe and replacing it with the Ravenclaw badge. It felt surreal, looking at the badge, standing beside his blue-covered bed in Ravenclaw tower. His thoughts were jerked away as he noticed the green lining on his expensive robes. He assumed there was probably a charm to change the color, but he didn't know it off the top of his head. He made a mental note to look it up later.
He heard a rustling from one of the beds behind him. He quickly pulled on his slacks, not wanting to be "caught with his pants down" by one of his new roommates—especially if it was Michael Corner. As he pulled his white button up shirt over his shoulders, the awakened roommate spoke.
"Malfoy—morning," Anthony paused to yawn. Draco turned just in time to see it. "Sleep alright?"
"I slept well, thank you," Draco let a small smile curve the corners of his mouth. He was relieved Anthony had been the first to wake.
Just then, more rustling came from another bed. Michael's feet hit the stone floor hard as he stumbled blearily out of his bed, barely escaping being caught in the hangings. And he was completely naked. Draco was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly looked away, concentrating very intently on buttoning his shirt. He couldn't help but look up, though, as Terry climbed out of the same bed, tying a silky black robe around his middle.
Michael stumbled to the bathroom, grunting a barely intelligible morning greeting. He was obviously not a morning person. When he had disappeared behind the bathroom door, Anthony laughed out loud, bending over his own truck.
"Well, I'm glad to see the two of you have gotten better with your silencing charms since last year," Anthony smirked at Terry.
Terry returned his own smirk and said, "I'll take that as a compliment." Then he looked at Draco. Draco almost looked away from the gaze, but Terry asked before he could, "I certainly hope you're not a homophobe?"
"No, of course not," Draco hurriedly answered.
"I didn't think so, not with what we've heard about Slytherin blokes," Terry smiled at him now.
Draco couldn't help but laugh softly along with Terry and Anthony. "It's true, I'm sure; although…" he paused, almost afraid of offending, but trudged on, "well, I'm as straight as they come."
Anthony laughed out loud again, and Terry joked, "Well, we can't all be one of the chosen few." Draco shook his head as he laughed. The morning wasn't turning out so bad after all.
Michael came out of the bathroom, dripping in water with a towel securely around his waist. He seemed much more awake after his quick shower. He looked quickly at Draco, nodded his head, and went out of sight to the other side of the bed. Draco arched an eyebrow at Terry. Although Michael's head nod wasn't exactly friendly, it was much less hostile than his attitude the night before. Terry had picked up his toiletries and walked over to Draco, saying quietly, "He's hot headed, but he'll come around. He's not a bad guy."
Draco smiled down at him in understanding. Terry headed off to the bathroom, and Draco finished getting ready. He slipped the letter for his mother into his bag before picking it up and heading for the door. He paused at the mirror, straightening his tie and double checking his hair. He breathed in a steadying gulp of air, released a "see you guys at breakfast," and headed to the eighth year common room.
Padma was just exiting the common room when he was walking in. He was just beginning to fidget in his nervous anticipation when Luna walked out of the door leading to the girls' dormitory.
"Good Morning, Draco," she smiled shyly when she spotted him.
"Hi," Draco breathed, hating that he felt suddenly breathless as soon as he saw her. There was something different about her that he couldn't quite place. Nothing about her appearance seemed to be very different: she wore the standard black skirt and knee socks, white button up shirt with her tie hanging loose around her neck, and her robe hanging loose from her shoulders. As she approached him, he noticed she was wearing black stud earrings—the earrings!
Draco opened his mouth before he could stop himself, "You're wearing new earrings." He felt stupid immediately.
"Oh, yes…I got them just before returning to Hogwarts." She blushed a very pretty shade of pink that made Draco's stomach do an odd sort of flip-flop.
"They're nice," Draco spoke and smiled softly down at her. "Did something happen to the dirigible plums?"
The smile of delight that broke out across her face was enough to widen Draco's own smile and fill him with a joy he had never experienced. Making Luna Lovegood smile like that at him was something he wanted to do more of. She looked down, again so shyly, and answered, "I still have them, I just…well, I decided to put them away for a while. Most people call them radishes," she looked back up at him, "I really hate when they do that. They're not radishes." She wrinkled her nose, and Draco could only laugh breathlessly. It was frustrating, yet pleasing, the way she stripped him of every ounce of his Malfoy Swag, as Pansy Parkinson had coined it long ago. "Are you alright?" Luna asked, obviously concerned since Draco hadn't said anything.
"Wrackspurts…I think," he muttered, still slightly stunned by the blond girl before him.
Luna just laughed. When she reached out and tucked her hand under his arm, he had to concentrate on keeping his eyes from bulging out of his head and his heart from beating clear out of his flushing chest. "Are you ready?" she asked him. The look in her eye told Draco that she knew she had shocked him.
"Yeah," he said. When she looked away from him, he was able to gain at least a small bit of composure. He straightened his back and pulled his bag more firmly over his shoulder. "Shall we?" The smirk of old came back to him out of nowhere; she smiled back at him and they left the room together.
Draco and Luna emerged into the main Ravenclaw common room. Luckily, only a few younger students were there. But everyone present was practically gaping at the blond pair. Draco swallowed nervously, but was distracted by the spectacular view of the mountains that darkness had hidden the night before.
"Oh wow," he whispered in awe. He and Luna both stopped to turn and look out the window from the middle of the room.
"I know. It's so beautiful. Just wait until they're covered with snow and ice. It's absolutely breathtaking," she sounded just as awed at the sight as Draco.
"I guess one never gets used to a view like that," Draco reasoned aloud.
"No, of course not. Beauty like that is eternally recreating itself before our eyes," she said, tugging him towards the exit. Draco didn't think she had any clue that she had said something rather profound.
They left the common room, and Luna took her hand away from Draco's arm as they descended the spiral staircase. He noticed that he wanted her hand back on him, and was disappointed when she didn't resume the gesture once they were walking down the corridor. They walked in silence most of the way to the hall. Draco felt awkward in the silence, but a glance at Luna showed that she seemed comfortable with it. As a matter of fact, she looked completely lost in her own thoughts.
As though she had read his mind, she looked at him and began speaking, "Have you ever seen a dirigible plum grow?"
"Um," Draco was caught off guard by the random question. "No…no, I don't think I ever have. I've used them in potions…but that's it. Have you?"
"Oh yes!" Draco watched as her eyes lit up before she began telling him, excitedly, "My daddy bought some seeds off a Herbologist from Ireland years ago and we started growing them at our house. It's really quite amazing. They grow upside down!" Her excitement peeked even more; Draco wondered at how many people had been willing to listen to her share this story. From the sounds of it, no one had. She rushed on, "It's true, they do look an awful lot like radishes, and they are closely connected to radishes, but they are extraordinarily different-" she stopped suddenly, looking at Draco as if she needed permission to continue.
No, Draco realized, no one had ever let Luna talk about dirigible plums. "You mean, other than the way they grow upside down?" he asked. The smile she gave him sent a pleasurable wave of heat soaring through his chest.
"Of course! They supposedly have great magical properties, as well!"
"Supposedly?" Draco cut in.
"Yes, well…some of the more…eccentric…Herbologists—including the one that sold my daddy the seeds, say that dirigible plums open up the door to the extraordinary…" Draco looked at her when she stopped speaking. She was chewing at her bottom lip, looking at the floor, and her cheeks had that lovely pink tint to them again.
Draco didn't understand why she seemed embarrassed, but as soon as he thought it, he realized why. "So the earrings you wore," he started slowly, putting the pieces together, "…they open the door to the extraordinary?"
"Yes, that's why I wore them. But not so much to open the door, as to help open my mind to the extraordinary." She raised her eyebrows at him as she finished, and promptly started chewing on her lip again.
Draco had never heard of dirigible plums having magical properties like that, but he wasn't about to tell Luna that that idea seemed…eccentric, as Luna had put it.
He supposed he had been quiet for too long because Luna spoke again, "Did you know that most Muggles don't believe that Unicorns exist?"
Again, Draco was cut off guard by the random and off topic question. "No," he answered, "I don't know a lot about Muggles."
She giggled and smiled up at him, arching an eyebrow, "That doesn't surprise me."
If someone else had said the same thing, Draco would have been tempted to throw a hex at them, but when Luna said it, there was clearly no malice or judgment in it. She was just stating her thoughts. And her thoughts were right, Draco mused to himself.
"But anyway, there are some Muggles that are considered to be very odd, just because they believe that Unicorns exist," she continued.
"But Unicorns do exist," Draco stated, confused where the topic of conversation was going.
"Yes, well, no Muggle has ever seen a Unicorn. So, of course, they think that anyone who believes in them is odd. Some Muggles believe in Magic, too. We know that Magic is real, but the Muggles that believe in Magic are considered….eccentric."
Draco smiled as she emphasized the last word, "I see your point. And you make a good one. But what do you think of dirigible plums? Did they work for you?" he asked, genuine curiosity bubbling inside him.
"I don't know…maybe they work…maybe I'm just weird," she shrugged and laughed. "But I don't think it matters either way. If I believe that something is real, it doesn't matter to me if I've never seen it…just because something is unheard of doesn't mean it doesn't exist—somewhere."
"You are quite eccentric," Draco smiled at her, tucking a hand into his pocket and pulling his bag further onto his shoulder as he said it.
"Yes, I know," she smiled back. "Perhaps you should think of taking Muggle studies with me. That stuff they taught last year," she shuddered, "well, that was absolutely the most inaccurate teaching of Muggles I've ever had to endure."
"That stuff they taught last year is what I was taught my entire life," he smirked at her.
"Even more of a reason for you to take it," she challenged.
"Maybe I will," he challenged back.
They both looked ahead of them as they moved through the doors to the Great Hall. A few heads turned as Draco and Luna approached the Ravenclaw table. Draco kept his head down, though, trying to avoid the stairs. He half-wondered when Luna would distance herself from him to show the other students that she was not walking with Draco Malfoy. The other half of him felt that Luna wouldn't do something like that. The second half was right.
Just before they reached the table, Luna gently placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "Do you mind saving me a seat?" she asked. She looked over in the direction of the Gryffindor table, "Neville's waving me over, but I'll be right back, okay?" She chewed on her lip, and Draco got the impression that she felt bad for leaving him on his own.
"Go ahead. I doubt I'll have a problem saving you a seat. In case you haven't noticed, some of our housemates are under the impression that I have the plague," he smiled, although he really was nervous now that she was leaving his side.
She laughed aloud at the joke and squeezed his arm before trotting off to the Gryffindor table.
Draco was disappointed that his roommates weren't there yet; he thought perhaps that Anthony, at least, wouldn't object to sitting near him. As it was, the only face that was remotely friendly was Padma Patil's. She nodded as he walked past, but seeing as she was surrounded by younger, glaring students, he didn't even attempt to get near her. He ended up at the end of the table, alone, in the same spot from the night before.
He selected a bagel from the bowl of bread before him, coating it in a thin layer of cream cheese as he let his eyes slowly wander to the Gryffindor table. She wasn't hard to spot. Luna was wedged between Neville and Harry. Hermione and Ron were absent from the table, so Draco assumed they hadn't made it down to breakfast yet. Harry was speaking animatedly about something that had both Luna and Neville roaring with laughter—laughter that was drawing attention from other students in the hall. Then Luna was speaking and Neville and Harry were leaning in even closer to listen to her.
Draco wondered what she was saying. When all three sets of eyes looked up at him, Draco dropped his knife with a loud clatter and quickly ducked his blushing face under the table to retrieve it. When he emerged, half the Ravenclaw table was looking at him as though he had done something absurdly disrespectful. He held up his knife in an attempt for explanation, but from the horrified expressions, it was clear that some of them had taken it as a threat.
Anthony plunked down across the table from him, and Draco didn't think he'd ever been so relieved in his life. Other than when the Dark Lord died, he thought; immediately, he wished he hadn't thought it and was shaking the thought off when Anthony chimed in, "Alright, Malfoy?"
"Yeah. Fine. Where's Corner and Boot?" Draco asked, looking to the entrance. Hermione and Ron were just walking in, hand in hand.
"Oh, they'll be along…" Anthony began filling his plate, and Draco caught Luna's return to the Ravenclaw table from the corner of his eye. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath until she gracefully slid into the seat beside him and he released it.
"Morning, Luna," Anthony said between bites.
"Goodmorning, Anthony!" Luna said happily before motioning at Padma down the table to come join them. "Did I take too long?" She whispered, smiling to Draco as she did.
"Oh…no," Draco smiled what he hoped wasn't a nervous grin, startled by the open friendliness she was showing to him in front of the quickly crowding dining hall.
Padma took a seat on Luna's other side, and Terry and Michael soon joined the group. Easy conversation floated among them, though Draco didn't say much. He listened, nibbling at his food, and took in the details around him. He couldn't help but marvel at the experience of being near what he had so long thought of as these people. Here he sat in the midst of them, the Slytherin Ravenclaw ; and all the reputation of the Malfoy name; students all over the hall constantly casting glances to the small group that had gathered around him. Yet still they let him sit among them, listen to their jokes, listen to them laugh.
Anthony Goldstein looked every inch the prefect badge he wore on his robes. He was neat, but in a boyish manner. He smiled more than anyone Draco had ever seen, especially in the current state of post-war. And Draco could see that his kindness was genuine.
Pamda Patil, on the other side of Luna, was mostly quiet, but when she spoke she was sure of what she said. She seemed strong and shy, at the same time.
Terry Boot was obviously pure-blooded. He sat up straight, properly eating a bowl of oatmeal and drinking a glass of milk. But he had humor that was delivered with such a dignified manner that he was easily bringing the group to laughter over and over again. This was Terry's mask, Draco thought. He spoke and laughed, but behind his eyes, Draco could see he was constantly thinking. It was amazing to Draco that this same man had stood up on this exact same table, screaming the news of Harry's Gringotts break-in, firing hexes at the Carrows. And Draco didn't miss how Terry would occasionally reach over to discretely to touch Michael in some way.
How was it that Michael Corner, who had vocalized so passionately his distaste for Draco, was even here, a part of the group around him? He and Draco could not have been more opposite. Michael seemed like a guy that spent more time on a broom than in a library—they type of guy that would rather lift weights than open a book. He stuffed his face, and sometimes talked with food in his mouth. But you could watch every emotion pass over his face. You'd have to be blind not to see the look of pure adoration he wore when he looked at Terry.
Why did the looks that Michael and Terry shared make him want to look at Luna? So he watched her. He watched her engage in conversation, watched her laugh with her friends. How could she laugh, yet he found it so hard? He had lived as prisoner to the Dark Lord; she had lived as prisoner not only unto the Dark Lord, but also to him. How could she laugh?
How could any of them? Maybe because they had been on the right side of the war. But he didn't really believe that being on the right side would make the suffering after the war any less. Didn't they still hurt? Then a thought occurred to him: Maybe having each other—having friends, is what made them able to be like this; but friends in the sense that Draco had never known it. They were open, and free, and at one time Draco would have called them foolish and careless.
Draco's world didn't feel real. How could these people: the pure, the good, and the war heroes—the ones on Chocolate Frog Cards, be allowing him to sit with them? His mind shouted for him to be safe, strong, and cautious. But another part of him, a part of himself that he vaguely knew, allowed the sudden feeling of hope to seep inside of him. He felt like he was amongst great people that could become his first real friends.
He watched Luna slowly fade from the conversation and stare into space. What was she thinking now? Draco wanted to know, and wondered if it was okay that he wanted to know so badly. When her eyes wandered over to him, he felt trapped, unable to look away. Her pale cheeks turned that innocent shade of pink and she smiled slowly at him. He wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind, so he didn't.
He was both disappointed and relieved when Professor Flitwick claimed her attention. He drank his tea as he tried not to listen while Luna discussed her classes with Flitwick. When she added Muggle Studies, she tapped Draco lightly on the arm. When he looked at her and saw her grin, he grinned back, and didn't try to act like he hadn't heard anything.
"Are you still going to take it with me?" she asked him, the shadow of a dare behind her wide pretty eyes.
Draco didn't hesitate to nod and have Flitwick add it to his class schedule. As Flitwick moved on to the other students, Draco wondered if Luna would sit with him in class. The idea to ask her himself entered his mind, and he only hesitated nervously for a very short moment before opening his mouth and asking her quietly, "So do you wanna…sit with me in class?" He felt foolish immediately and looked away embarrassed, hoping that no one else had heard the stupid words that had just fallen from the hole in his face.
Then she reached over and touched his arm. She was blushing again when looked at her. When she answered him in that wandering, sweet tone, "I was thinking we could sit together in all our classes," he knew he would marry her one day, somehow. His mask slipped, just long enough that Luna would see him looking at her the same way that Michael looked at Terry.