A/N: Wow, a chapter that took less than two weeks to be updated?! And with my mock exams coming up as well! This chapter is a little fluffy, but admittedly most of them are, I love a bit of fluff though, so why not! Please review/favourite/follow as it encourages me to keep on updating.
Thank you very much PayneMeBieber for your lovely tweet, and also Red for being so great! Also, thank you to everyone else who has reviewed/followed/favourited, I just feel I should thank those of the twittersphere as well! Now on with the chapter...:)

Chapter 16

When Luna had heard about what had happened to Draco, she had been overcome with real fear. Usually, she kept her hopes up and encouraged everyone that everything was alright; reminding them the Wrackspurts were just feeding on their worries, and being scared would only make things worse. This time, however, she knew it wasn't just the wrackspurts at work. She was thinking about what she would do if Draco was gone forever, and this made her realise how much Draco had changed her. Unlike what everyone else thought, this change wasn't for the worst. Before she had been completely carefree, but all her emotions had been locked inside her heart, rhythmically attempting to get out of their cage to the beat of her pulsating heart. They had occasionally slipped through the bars, coursing through her veins and supplying her with feelings which set her mind alight unlike anything except perhaps discovering a new magical creature, or perfecting a spell in the D.A.

The release of these buzzing emotions could have been problematic or notoriously bad, but Luna realised how much better a person it had made her. She had always cared, but now the caring was a new level: she felt fear when someone she cared about was hurt; she felt excitement when she was with Draco, a type of excitement which she wouldn't give up for anything; and the thing she enjoyed most of all was love. At first she had thought a new creature had infested her thoughts, audaciously sordid and formidable in the way it sent her heartbeat out of control and spasmodically stole away her concentration, but then she had realised, admittedly with the help of Ginny, what it really was. She had still not really been sure how she felt, though willing to accept it with open arms, but now, looking down at the motionless figure with scars all over his pale face, she knew what she felt was real.

"What the hell are you doing here, Loony?" Pansy spat, striding through the hospital wing doors as if it was her home and Luna was dirtying the polished floor.

"After seeing Draco and I together after the Quidditch match, I assumed you'd know." Luna said, curious as to why Pansy was questioning her about something which she should already know. "I'm actually rather surprised you didn't turn up sooner."
"Well, unlike you, I want to do well in school and I'm currently learning everything I need to know for my NEWTs. They're rather important you know."
"Oh, of course. It just so happens that I have had a number of free periods. Perhaps I should be studying for my OWLs, but I just can't quite bring myself to leave."

Pansy scowled scathingly, and shoved Luna out of the way with harsh strength. The smaller girl stumbled slightly, but managed to regain her balance by holding herself up on the bed. Or what she thought was the bed.

Draco's knee spasmed beneath her hand and a pained noise escaped his mouth. Words began tumbling from his lips in a waterfall of egregiously anguished slurs. "I can't do it anymore. I can't fulfil this task. I'm not a murderer. Help me."
Pansy immediately ran to his bedside, simpering and stroking his cheek. Her callous fingers ran across the scars which were sewn deeply into his skin. She suddenly seemed to register what he had just said and whispered something in his ear then bolted from the room.

Luna tiptoed over to the chair next to the bed and sat down, regarding Draco thoughtfully. "It's not a bad thing to not be a murderer, you know. There's no need to sound so upset about not being able to kill Dumbledore. I think it's quite admirable, not that you have to listen to me of course."

Draco's eyes flickered open as she was speaking, but when he had fully gained consciousness, Luna had lost all attention on him and was humming whilst looking around the room through those ridiculous cerise glasses she insisted on wearing. There really was nothing that could completely keep her in the real world, including his near death!

"Is this the part where you nurse me back to health?" He croaked.
"Well, due to the fact I am not a qualified nurse, I doubt I will be able to nurse you back to health, you'll have to leave that to Madame Pomfrey." Luna said, turning to peer at him through her glasses.

Draco laughed, but the action sent sparks of pain through his stomach and chest, creeping through his cuts and electrifying his blood. He groaned.

"Why are you laughing?"
"It was a joke, Luna, I don't actually expect you to nurse me back to health."
"I don't understand what's funny about that."

"It doesn't matter." He said shaking his head, the corners of his mouth still stubbornly upturned.

"I think I love you, you know." Luna said, and then began serenely looking around the room. She had decided it would be nice for Draco to know how she felt, which is why she was so surprised when he started sputtering, his mouth open in shock and his eyes wide.
"Thank you?" He said, not quite sure whether to say it back, when he hadn't decided if he felt that strongly yet himself. He desperately hoped Luna wouldn't get upset like any normal girl would. Miraculously, she didn't. In fact, she started beaming. "Great!" She exclaimed, and kissed him quickly in the midst of her happiness.

"You're awake!" Madame Pomfrey said, looking flustered as she bustled out of her tiny office.
"Indeed." Draco said, trying to wipe the look of confusion from his face as Luna grinned next to him.
"Out, out, Miss Lovegood. Mr Malfoy must be in a lot of pain right now, he doesn't need you disturbing him. Thank goodness that Pansy isn't here; the amount of disruption she created when you broke your arm in third year was ridiculous. And a few broken bones aren't even that bad, nothing a simple spell can't fix. I'm sure your exaggeration didn't much help either." The plump woman scolded.

"Exaggeration? That bloody bird could have killed me, I can't believe Hagrid would bring a dangerous creature like that onto school grounds." Draco protested.
"Actually, hippogriffs are very gentle creatures. You must have insulted or offended it somehow." Luna contributed; during her first lesson with Hagrid she had experienced the joy of flying on the back of Buckbeak the hippogriff, having felt a natural connection with the animal. Unfortunately, after that Hagrid's lessons had become somewhat a joke, which was a shame since she knew how capable the half-giant was, and also she would have enjoyed interacting with a number of different creatures.

"Did I not tell you to leave, Miss Lovegood? And I do not appreciate that type of language inside this hospital wing, Mr Malfoy." Madame Pomfrey said, her hands finding themselves clamped to her hips in a very austere manner.

"Oh, sorry. Bye Draco!" Luna said in a sing-song voice, and skipped out of the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey smiled, "I know you have had a lot female admirers, Mr Malfoy, don't laugh, I've worked at this school for twenty years and it has become rather hard not to notice these things, teenagers are very painfully obvious. Anyway, I would have expected Miss Lovegood to be rather near the bottom of the list of girls in this school who would be one of them."

"I'm rather surprised as well, to be honest with you." Draco grinned.

"Well, drink some of this, it should help ease the pain and rid you of those marring scars. Hopefully, it will also help you get to sleep." Madame Pomfrey said, handing Draco a glass bottle.

He looked at the label, which described the ghastly appearing mixture as being "Butterbeer flavoured". Somehow it made the concoction seem even less appealing due to the fact that it was more likely to taste like a mixture of butterbeer which had gone out of date ten years ago and hippogriff vomit. He knew butterbeer would never taste the same afterwards. Medicine rarely tasted like how it was advertised, and it ruined your love of the actual thing it mimicked so horrifically.

Draco braced himself and downed the drink in one, feeling the viscous medicine stinging at the cuts which had sunk their way through his neck and into his throat. The pain was almost unbearable. He could soon feel it stirring in his stomach, bubbling as it began to do its work. As he fell into an oblivion of dreamless sleep, he couldn't help but ponder if he loved Luna back.