A/N: I am finally into the Summer Holidays! Hopefully that means I'll be able to update more, although I'm not making any promises ;)
Sorry that this is such a short chapter, it's about the same length as the first one, but I didn't really have any more to include. Thankyou for all the reviews, favourites and follows I've had so far. I know this is a rather obscure ship so they are much appreciated! Please continue doing so and you'll recieve a virtual potterhead hug, x

Chapter 11

Draco watched a frail, wispy looking middle-aged man sweep into the great hall. His features were strangely colourless, as if all the colour had been sucked out of him. "Good morning, my name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparation instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your apparation test in this time-" The man began.

"So what's your plan for doing, you know, the thing?" Crabbe said, attempting to sound knowledgeable, his voice fading into a whisper.

"I'm not telling you." Draco said primly.

"I can help you."
"No you can't." Draco said, rolling his eyes so that it seemed like his irises were leaping over a stream of white.

"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" Professor McGonagall barked. Dull spots of salmon pink appeared on Draco's cheeks, and in his annoyance he stepped away from Crabbe, feeling as if he had emerged from a bubble of stupidity that accompanied the rotund boy.

"-by which time, many of you may be ready to take your test." Twycross continued, expertly ignoring the interruption.

Draco sighed inwardly, and cursed his late birthday. It would be so embarrassing watching other students less skilled than him pass their apparation tests before him, whilst he had to make do with other forms of Wizarding travel.

"Well, when are you going to do it?" Crabbe urged, once Twycross had finished speaking.

"I don't know how much longer, all right? It's taking longer than I thought." Draco heard shuffling behind him, and turned around to see Harry Potter looking at him, eyebrows raised.

"Arguing about something?" Harry said, looking amused.

"It's none of your business, Potter." Draco snarled.

Harry's voice dropped to an almost inaudible whisper. "The others may believe you didn't give the necklace to Katie Bell, but me and Ron are fairly certain it was you."

Draco's sharp features flickered into an irked frown, and he quickly turned back around, making sure not to talk to Potter for the rest of the lesson.

Overall, the lesson was uneventful, other than the unfortunate splinching of Susan Bones. However, Draco was looking forward to future lessons; he knew that apparating would help him in life, unlike some of things they had learnt previously. Such as those stupid, bloody Flobberworms they had been forced to tend to with the half-giant Hagrid.

Draco retired to his room, flinging himself through his viridian curtains and landing on the mountain of soft cushions on his bed. An insistent squawking catapulted him from the placidness he had sunk into, and a little nip on the finger told him his owl was trying to get his attention. He opened the curtains, watching the sleek silk melt away to reveal a tiny, flustered looking bird with a piece of parchment in his petite talons.

"Thank you." He grinned, plucking the letter from the owl's beak and handing the owl a treat.
After your apparation lesson, meet me in the Forbidden Forest.

The word Forbidden was written upside down, which could only mean the letter was from Luna. It was probably her idea of a secret code, Draco smiled to himself. He quickly brushed his hair from his eyes, returning it to its pristine home in the sea of white blonde hair that swam atop his head. He ran down the stairs, out of the common room, and finally, out of the castle's grand doors. A pocket of blue sky was wedged between the mass of light grey clouds which formed an army of bleak resistance. He sincerely hoped rain wouldn't make an appearance. The green leaves and gnarled branches of the forbidden forest painted a picture of welcoming, and Draco fought his way through them; he ignored the spiky branches which reached towards him like animated pinpricks. Twigs snapped under his feet and the blanket of hardened mud with its skin of soft moss propelled him forwards.

Draco finally saw Luna in the distance, stroking what looked like thin air. She looked completely serene, her light blonde hair like a cloud which her head was floating in. "Hi Luna?" He said, as if questioning whether he was allowed to speak, and perhaps if she would notice in her reverie. "Oh, hello Draco." Luna said, the melodic element to her voice resonating through the air as usual. She threw a large slab of meat into the air, and it then disappeared. Draco's eyes widened in surprise.
"What are you doing?" He queried.

"Feeding a thestral. They seem to enjoy their dwelling in the Forbidden Forest, but I like to give them something to eat."

Draco wondered why he couldn't see anything, he knew thestrals were dangerous and omens of misfortune, but could they have powers he didn't know about? Powers that made them more lethal than anyone could have thought? "Why can't I see it?" He asked. Luna lost her look of calm for a moment, before regaining her indifferent and peaceful composure. "Oh, they can only be seen by people who have seen death." She said. "I assumed you would have already, from living in a house with death eaters."

"I would have too. Unlike Voldemort I don't enjoy seeing the light leave their eyes; their final breath; their final word; their final scream. I don't really like seeing them being tortured either but my Aunt Bellatrix makes me watch. She calls it learning. I hate the idea of death eaters taking over Hogwarts. Who have you seen that's died?" Draco said kindly. Luna looked down at her fingers, then absent-mindedly stroked the thestral Draco assumed was next to her, "I don't like to talk about it, I don't want sympathy. I'll tell you when I'm ready." Luna said quietly, it was the first time Draco had ever seen her looking uncomfortable and wistful. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her; she grinned back, the doleful look she had possessed a few moments ago was gone.

"So you made me come out here to see something I can't actually see." Draco grinned.

"I told you, I assumed you'd be able to see them. However, not to worry, this place is an alcove of interesting things." Luna said, she averted her eyes from him and darted her gaze through the thick tree trunks and spindly branches. She saw a familiar gleam of opaline white through the sparse curtain of greenery and smiled. Here was what she had been looking for.

She crept across the floor of dead leaves, broken twigs and mud. She wandered under the canopy of jade green leaves, sweeping aside the tangled vines which were like long wispy fingers, desperately reaching towards the ground for scraps of safety. And there it was. Standing perfectly still was a unicorn, glowing with serenity. Luna hoped she had inherited her mother's gift for looking after magical creatures, she had always been fine with them before, but unicorns were different. They were more knowing; they could sense people's feelings and intentions. She reached out and stroked the majestic creature's mane, which seemed like it was made of strands of moonlight. Its whole body was so brightly white that snow would look grey in comparison.

Luna stroked its back, and then gestured for it to follow her through the leaves, into the clearing where Draco was waiting. It cantered along behind her on its shimmering golden hooves, and stopped beside Luna in the centriole of it. "Is that a unicorn?" Draco asked, looking surprised.
"Actually it's a grown Flobberworm." Luna quipped.

"Oh yes, of course. How could I ever make that mistake?" He smiled, extending the joke. His tone then changed to a softer one. "This is the first time I've seen a unicorn since first year."

"Really? Padma told me Professor Grubbly-Plank brought some in last year."
Oh, I usually skipped Care of Magical Creatures. It's a complete joke, especially with that-" Draco coughed. "With Hagrid teaching."

"He is somewhat a joke with the Ravenclaws as well, he doesn't really interest us. However, he is very good with satisfying our curiosity if we ask questions, he is clearly very knowledgeable on the subject. He is a lovely person though; I'd much enjoy assisting him in teaching the lesson some time."
"I'm sure you'd be brilliant at it!"
"Thank you! Would you like to come a bit closer to the unicorn?"
"Er, no thanks. I'm not too good with animals."

"The great Draco Malfoy, scared of a unicorn?" Luna giggled, and whispered something in the unicorn's ear. It began to advance on him, and when it was close enough it nuzzled against his arm. He laughed nervously and backed away.
"What a lovely creature." He said, pushing it away from him slightly.

Suddenly there was loud bang and the unicorn bolted away. A phalanx of centaurs entered the clearing. "Miss Lovegood." The one at the head of the clan announced. "We do not much mind you here in the forest, but we do not appreciate the presence of anyone else in our territory."
"Oh, I'm sorry Bane. Do you want us to leave?" Luna said.

"I suggest you get out now, unless you wish to anger us further."
Luna nodded and gestured for Draco to follow her through the trees.

"What time is it by the way?" Luna pondered as they walked towards the castle. "I have no idea of the time whilst I'm out here."

Draco looked down at his watch, which had two snakes circling the face with minute emeralds for eyes. At each hour they would cross paths and travel around the clock face, like slithering trains. "One pm."

"Wow, I've been out here for two hours! It feels like ten minutes." She lowered her voice to an anxious sibilation. "I think it must have been Time Imps. They're awful creatures, with clocks for face and tiny wings, thin as tissue paper, which they flap rhythmically by the second. If they flap their wings faster, time goes on quicker. I've lost a lot of time because of them."

Draco laughed. "You put a lot of thought into this. Are they actually real? I mean, most of the stuff you say is believable but I'm starting to think you make some of this stuff up just to make people laugh." He raised his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair, a smile dancing on his lips.

Smudges of fog swept through the trees. "Of course they're real. They are to me anyway. You know as well as I do, that I don't care what people think, but when it's people I care about…I just want them to be the people that believe me." Luna said softly, her piercing blue eyes boring into his, cutting as the sharpened sapphire that the colour of them resembled. "I didn't mean it like that, Luna. I was just making sure."
"Why did you need to though?" She queried, her curiosity blazing in her expression.

"I don't know."

"Ok."
Draco was grateful for Luna's permissive forgiveness, and relief surrounded him like a comforting blanket as she took his hand and they continued walking through the intensifying fog.

During the next D.A meeting Draco decided to work on leglimency and occulemency. He taught everyone what needed to be done and paired them up. He, of course, made sure he was with Luna. "So you need to think of a powerful memory, which will be easy for you to put at the forefront of your mind so that I don't find anything you don't want me to." He said.
"I know, Draco. I was listening." Luna said, a ghost of a smile haunting her thin lips. He nodded vigorously in response. "Of course, yes." He said, and began in a monologue of prattle about the weather.

What is he talking about? Luna thought to herself.

She hazily heard him talking about rain, and her memory went from thinking about the Great Squid snatching them up from the ground and waving them around like human maracas, to a much more morbid memory. Icy pinpricks of rain bore onto her. The grey clouds were an army of bleak resistance, fervently blocking away the sun. Tiny rays of sun wormed their way through cracks in the cloud infantry, sending spots of heat onto her back alongside the rain. "Luna, dear! I think I've cracked it! I've got the perfect spell to help heal the unicorn. You know, the one who's horn was deteriorating?" Mrs Lovegood called to her nine year old daughter, her lilting voice seemed to part the rain.
Just as her mother had begun to speak, Luna had felt Draco's presence in her mind, but the memory wouldn't stop. It was the sole thing that made Luna truly disconsolate, and she didn't want other people to see this weakness. Draco had latched onto the wisp of memory and now he'd be the only person to know, and unfortunately probably the only person who would try and talk to her about it. The memory continued.

Luna began to run eagerly towards her mother, sparks of interest alighting her mind. Just as she was getting close, she heard a thunderous, explosive sound. A shrill scream. Shattering glass. A wand as it clattered to the cracked mud beside her. Her head hitting the ground as she was thrown backwards.

The sound of her heart slowly breaking.

A dome of blazing fire surrounded the vicinity where her mother had just been standing, the look of excitement plastered to her rosy cheeked face. The feel of shaking arms hauled her up from the ground, she looked up to see her father's face, wet with tears. He pulled her towards the house, where the windows were all shattered, shards of glass forming a virulent moat.

And the memory was gone in a flash of white.

"Luna-" Draco began.

"I think I need to go and lie down." Luna said simply, her heart throwing itself viciously against her aching chest. She felt like she might faint, her thought stream had turned into roiling waves, similar to the burning tears that threatened to tip over her bottom eyelid. "I didn't mean for you to see that memory." She whispered, and darted out of the room, through the corridors, towards the Ravenclaw common room. The brass knocker asked her a question, but her mind was too muddled to register it, let alone answer whatever riddle it had served her. Luckily, a voice behind her murmured the answer. She rushed in, and up the marble staircase, before collapsing onto her bed. It had been a long time since she had thought of that memory. It was the one thing that could break her. The one thing that hurt her.