"How do you even know if she's a virgin, Zabini?"
Blaise rolled his eyes, "Isn't it obvious, Malfoy?"
They were sitting in the library, observing the platinum haired Ravenclaw's every move. She shifted in her seat, running a hand through her locks.
Draco could sense that she was frustrated.
"You never know," Draco answered, raising a thin eyebrow, "Maybe Saint Potter felt bad for her."
"Listen Malfoy, just believe me when I say, Lovegood is a virgin."
"You know this for a fact?" Draco continued staring at the strange girl, watching the way she chewed her lip in anxiety. She was certainly distracted.
"I do."
Draco's gaze moved sharply to connect with Blaise's dark eyes, "How?"
"A mutual friend."
Ginny. Draco knew instantly it had to be the redheaded Weaslette. She was the only person in the whole of Hogwarts who Blaise trusted with his life.
"Well then," Draco stood slowly, slinging his back over his shoulder and making his way towards Luna's table, "Let the games begin."
Luna couldn't concentrate.
The words in front of her seemed to come together to form something she couldn't quite grasp. She slammed her pen down.
All she could think about lately, was Draco Malfoy and his steely grey eyes.
Why? She rolled her eyes at her stupidity.
"Is this seat taken?" Luna looked up, ready to dreamily smile and tell them 'no' when her eyes connected with none other than Draco Malfoy himself. Her breath got caught at the back of her throat.
"Hello Draco."
"Oh," Malfoy eyes lit up as if he realised for the first time who she was, "Hello Loony."
Luna didn't mind the nickname. Coming from Draco's lips it almost sounded like a compliment.
She shook her head and tried to clear her mind. She should not be thinking that way! And of Draco Malfoy, of all people.
Luna forced herself to turn back to her Potions essay, but couldn't help the butterflies that chewed away at the walls of her stomach. She felt Draco's elbow brush hers, and a blush heated up her cheeks.
"Something wrong, Lovegood?" Draco leaned in to whisper in her ear. She shuddered and tried to regain composure; with little success.
"No," She stammered, biting her bottom lip, "I'm just…I can't concentrate properly."
"I hope it's not me," He smirked and Luna almost felt like slapping him for his arrogance.
"No." She replied sharply, "I'm just tired."
"Mmm." His smirk widened, "Wonder what kept you up so late."
Luna wasn't sure what he meant, but she blushed anyway, "Stop it Draco we're going to get into trouble."
"And?" He licked his bottom lip slowly, "Maybe I want to be punished."
Luna couldn't believe his words. She almost fainted, right there and then.
"Draco, stop it." But she didn't sound at all convincing. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and turned away from him.
"You know Lovegood," Draco began, leaning back lazily in his chair, "If you weren't so damn weird, you'd be pretty hot."
That flared her up. Luna stood up roughly, her chair scraping across the linoleum floor.
"What?" He eyed her innocently, "Did I do something wrong?"
Luna flipped her hair to one side and scoffed, "I will not be spoken to in that manner!" She tried to channel Hermione's typically fiery attitude, and picked up her things, forcing herself to leave the library, and a very confused Draco Malfoy behind.
The inerve/i of that boy. Thinking that she would swoon over him just like that. Just like every other girl in this whole damn school!
She shook her head. No, Luna was not stupid, despite what others thought.
She was in Ravenclaw for a reason.
"Lovegood!" She heard Draco's footsteps following her and she shivered.
"What do you want Malfoy?" Her blue eyes glinted dangerously as she looked up at him. She'd never really noticed how tall and broad he was…
Stop it Luna. Get your head in the game!
"Why'd you run off like that?"
"I do not appreciate being made fun of," Luna shrugged.
"I wasn't making fun of you, Looney."
"Luna," She corrected, "And I've been made fun of enough to know when someone's doing it Draco."
"God Lovegood, are you that nutty that you don't know flirting when you see it?" Despite himself, Draco smiled.
"Flirting?" A pink blush stained Luna's cheeks, "What on Earth are you talking about?"
"I was flirting with you."
"Well," She stammered, taken aback, "If that's your flirting you have a very strange way of doing it!"
"I complimented you."
"You called me weird."
"I also said you were hot," Luna's cheeks blazed at the word. She'd never been called hot by. Pretty, yes. Beautiful, occasionally. But never ihot/i.
"I think I should be going, Draco."
The Slytherin rolled his eyes, "Oh come on Lovegood, I was just messing around."
"Why did you sit beside me anyway?" She demanded, suddenly curious as to Draco's real motives.
He shrugged, "I just wanted to. Is that a problem?"
His confidence should have irked her even more, but for some strange bizarre reason, Luna found that it made him even more attractive to her.
She shook her head. She was being ridiculous now!
"Come on," He told her, smiling a little, "I'll walk you to your room."
"No thank you," But her voice shook as she said it.
Draco stared at her, one eyebrow raised, "Fine then. Have it your way Lovegood." He turned from her and stalked off, leaving Luna alone once more.
It was only when he had rounded the corner, that Luna finally realised how fast her heart was beating.
God. She was making this so goddamn difficult.
Any other girl would have fallen into his arms at his words.
He had had so many girls before Luna, his technique had never failed him.
Why now?
A little voice at the back of his head shouted out that he was going about things the wrong way.
That Luna wasn't like those other girls; easily pleased and fickle.
Luna was of a different calibre. And Draco hated to admit it, but he wasn't sure whether he'd dealt with someone like her in the past.
He pushed himself off the stone wall he had been leaning against and turned around, preparing to follow Luna and make up some bullshit about wanting to get to know her better as a friend, when Pansy Parkinson came into view.
Great, just what he needed.
"Drakey!" She grinned widely, "Oh Drakey what are you doing here? The Quidditch match is in an hour!"
Shit! Draco slapped a hand against his forehead.
She was right. God, he had been so wrapped up in Lovegood and her infuriating game of cat and mouse, that it had completely slipped his mind.
And it was Slytherin Vs Gryffindor too.
He didn't even bother to answer her, and instead bolted down the hallway, making his way into his dormitories, grabbing his kit and running towards the changing rooms.
"Nice to have our star player actually show up," Theodore Nott commented, as Draco slipped into his uniform.
"Shut up." He growled, not wanting to deal with any of their bullshit today. He ran a hand through his messy platinum blonde hair and sighed, "Sorry I'm late guys."
Nobody said anything, and allowed Draco to brood. He wasn't in the mood to play today.
As they made their way outside towards the pitch, and climbed onto their respective broomstick, Draco was pleased to find Luna sitting in the audience, wearing a Slytherin hat, and a Gryffindor blazer. He smiled at her choice of attire, and then realising what he was doing, quickly replaced it with a frown.
Draco's eyes latched onto Harry Potter, and when the games started, he began to play with such a furious competitiveness, it took even him off guard.
As the game ended, and the score was tallied up, Draco fist-pumped the air when Slytherin was crowned winner. He grinned cockily at the other Quidditch players, and caught Weasel giving him the finger.
"Well played, Malfoy," Blaise told him, as they made their way back towards the changing rooms.
"You too Zabini."
"Any progress on Lovegood?" His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Getting there."
"Mmm," Blaise smirked, "I'll talk to you later, Draco."
Malfoy nodded, watching as his almost friend slipped out of his clothing and into the shower cubicle. Draco decided to do the same, and soon found himself being pelted down by scorching hot water.
He hadn't seen Luna's face in the crowd by the end of the game, and hoped she was still out there.
Draco doubted it. She had made it very clear to him earlier that she wanted nothing to do with him.
Or was it that she actually did want him, and the very thought scared her? Mmmm. This would certainly be interesting.
As Draco dried off, he noticed he was the only one left in the changing room. Everybody else had gone off to celebrate their victory no doubt, and get absolutely wasted.
As Draco changed into his normal schoolwear, he felt a presence enter the room. Turning round and expecting to see one of his teammates he was totally shocked when he saw Luna Lovegood.
"Luna?"
"I just came to say congratulations," She told him, ignoring the fact that he was wearing only a pair of boxers, "For winning the game."
"Oh," Draco smirked, "Thanks."
"And urm, I think maybe I was a little harsh on you before," She commented, shuffling her feet, "Maybe…we could go to Hogsmeade for some butter beer, some time?"
"That would be nice."
She nodded slowly and twisted her hands nervously, "Great well…urm I'll see you around then, Draco."
"Luna." She turned at the sound of his voice and was shocked to find him towering over her, his piercing grey eyes almost cutting through her like glass.
"Yes," Her breath got caught at the back of her throat.
"You've got a little something on your nose." He brushed at her skin and smirked when he saw a blush work its way up to her cheeks.
"Oh," She smiled despite her embarrassment, "Thank you."
"Mmm. Your welcome."
They stayed standing like that for what felt like years, just staring into each others eyes, neither one relenting.
And then Draco spoke up, "What are you doing right now?"
"Right now?" She hummed, dazed, as if he'd just woken up.
"Yes." He felt his ego rise at her confused expression. He knew he had done that to her.
"I was going to finish my Potions essay."
"Screw that," He grinned mischievously, "Let's go somewhere."
Luna's eyes widened at his suggestion, "Like where?"
Draco grinned and licked his lips, "The Forbidden Forest."
Luna didn't know why she had agreed to this.
But nevertheless, here she was, walking with Draco Malfoy of all people, towards the Forbidden Forest.
Her feelings were all jumbled up and she wasn't sure what was what anymore.
She shivered against the bitter wind and gasped when Malfoy wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Body heat," He told her smirking, "Unless you find this uncomfortable?"
"No," She squeaked out. What she really wanted to say was that his arm around her sent tiny little bolts of electricity shooting through her, but she kept quiet.
"Luna listen, I know I came off as a bit of a git before…"
"A bit?"
"Okay a lot," He chuckled despite himself, "But I'm really trying here. I want to be your friend."
"Why?"
"Because you're different," He looked up at the dark grey sky, "You're not like any of the other stupid ditzy girls on this campus."
Luna felt her heart speed up, "I always thought being different was a bad thing."
"Mmm. Not always."
Where was this sweet Draco Malfoy coming from?
"What about Pansy?"
"What about Pansy?" He rolled his eyes, "She's just a friend."
"She doesn't seem to think so."
"But I've told her a million times." He pressed, nodding firmly.
Luna shivered again, but not from the cold, and Draco tightened his hold on her.
"So, friends?"
She cocked her head to one side and laughed a little, "Alright Draco. Friends."
Little did she know the mess she had just gotten herself into.