A Magical Bonding

Draco cleared his throat uncomfortably. He had no idea how he was supposed to start the game. Luna was looking at him with her large, blue eyes and he felt as though his very life depended on the correctness of his words. "Erm…" he started.

"'Truth or dare…'" she prompted him.

"Truth or dare, then?" he asked, trying to regain a bit of the authority that used to infest his voice no matter what the occasion.

"Truth is the proper first answer, I think," Luna replied happily.

"Right…erm…how many people actually read the Quibbler?" he asked, not fully understanding the purpose of the game.

"No…Draco. You're supposed to ask me something about me!" Luna told him. "And the dares are supposed to be something you want me to do."

Draco sighed. It was indeed going to be a long night for him. He thought hard for a moment. "Right then…what's your middle name?" he asked her.

"That's an easy one," Luna said light-heartedly. "Selene."

"Your parents were very into Moon names, were they?" he asked, a bit amused.

"I was born as the full moon rose," she replied serenely. "Truth or dare, Draco?"

"Truth," he replied quickly, not wanting to give her ammunition against him early by having him do her bidding, though he really wouldn't have minded it so much.

"What's your middle name?"

"Orochi," he told her proudly. "It means 'serpent king.'"

"Well that's interesting," she replied. "Your name means 'serpent king' and you were in Slytherin."

"It probably wasn't a coincidence," he told her. "I was expected to be in Slytherin and so they called me the serpent king. Father wanted me to be exactly what he was: a leader among the Slytherin clan."

Luna nodded, accepting this as reasonable. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Truth or dare?" Draco asked, not wanting to delve too deeply into his past for fear of dragging up old offenses. He was truly different than he had been before the war. Back then he had wanted only to please his father, not caring about the world or people around him. But the thing that had been Draco was gone and he was now a man. His father's illusions about people had been broken and he now simply wanted this creature who had agreed to share his house and part of her life with him to be happy.

Luna thought for a moment. "Hmm…" she tapped her fingers to her lips and the thought struck Draco that she was beautiful when she was thinking. He shook the idea out of his head and waited impatiently for the answer. "Truth," she answered finally.

It was Draco's turn to think. "Erm…why did you come here? To the manor after the war?" he wanted to know.

Luna smiled at him mysteriously and he felt very strangely, as though she was capturing the essence of his soul. "I liked you, even if you were a bit rude to me in school. I thought you were interesting."

Draco nodded, taking in the information that had been presented to him. Somehow he felt as though he wanted something more out of her. He had no idea that she was only telling part of the truth. She hadn't finished her potion yet and the drop that she had put into the cauldron for each glass hadn't fully hit her system yet. She felt a little guilty, however and drained the last of the drink. "I've also had a tiny crush on you for the last three years," she blurted out as soon as she replaced the goblet on the table. Draco stared at her for a moment, surprised by her revelation.

Luna clamped a hand over her mouth, immediately regretting her decision to tell him when he didn't smile at her. Draco cleared his throat again and peered into her pretty eyes. "You…fancy me?" he asked, a bit confused.

"Yes," she told him quietly. "Have you ever liked someone so much, but not had the bravery to just tell them outright?" she asked.

"Not until I met you," he said earnestly. Realizing what he said, a faint pink crept over his cheeks. He hadn't exactly realized it for himself until the truth came spilling over his lips. He fancied Loony Luna Lovegood. She was staring at him as though she had never seen him before in her life. "Truth or dare?" he asked in a whisper.

"Dare," she replied shakily.

"I want you to kiss me, Luna," he breathed, leaning closer to her. She closed her eyes and he was inclined to do the same as her soft lips brushed his gently. For a moment they were barely touching and the idea of not touching her was killing Draco. When he opened his eyes to scan her pale face he realized that she was looking back at him. There was a subtle hunger in her eyes that he didn't expect.

Their lips crashed together and Draco tasted blood. He pulled back slightly and would have moved away, scared to have hurt her, but she slid her tongue between the slight part of his lips to taste the coppery substance and he nearly melted. The remaining blood in his body rushed to his groin and he cupped her cheek with one hand and pulled her closer with the other. She let her fingers wander over the skin on the back of his neck, playing with the ends of his hair and Draco felt as though he could die and be eternally happy in that moment.

Slowly the two broke apart and stared in wonder at the other for several moments, hearts racing, panting as though they had just ran the length of the grounds at Hogwarts. Draco ran a finger over her lips that were stained faintly with his blood before kissing her again, this time slowly. The blood that passed between them had been a catalyst, urging them on and he knew that he must have found his destined mate. She sighed into his kiss and he reveled in the feeling. Who could have known that Draco's pureblood mate was Luna Lovegood?